Take control of Wei Zhongxian at the start and confiscate 100 million from him!

Chapter 321 Even the Emperor Can't Compare to Me

Li Chaoqin was stunned for a long time, but the emperor's posture did not falter in the slightest.

Heading north from the wealthy and extravagant Songjiang Prefecture, after a day's journey, you'll reach a county seat called Huating.

Although this place cannot compare to Songjiang Prefecture, where merchants gather in droves and the noise of carriages and horses can be deafening, it is still a rather lively place because it controls the throat of the official road leading north. Officials and merchants come and go like a shuttle loom, making it a bustling place.

Right there in this official post station of Huating County sat the county's postmaster, named Li Zicheng.

To be honest, the post of postmaster was not even considered a high-ranking official in the vast bureaucracy of the imperial court. He was just a minor official in charge of miscellaneous tasks such as welcoming guests, feeding horses, and chopping wood.

In terms of rank, he was not much higher than a grasshopper hopping on a field ridge. If such a status were placed in the capital, even the gatekeepers of princes' mansions would be more respectable and would walk with their backs straighter.

But as the saying goes, "A local official is more powerful than a distant one."

Within the few acres of this post station, Li Zicheng was the one whose word was law, the local tyrant of the post station and the few rooms in the backyard.

Speaking of his official position, it wasn't earned through years of hard study and countless hours of studying in the highly competitive imperial examinations. Instead, it was obtained through his family's connections, which involved several roundabout ways, and he spent a considerable amount of money to donate it to the Ministry of Personnel.

Therefore, Li Zicheng had no thought whatsoever for the country or the people, nor did he take the thick book of the "Great Ming Code" seriously. He was only focused on how to get back the money he had spent on buying an official position, and then make a lot of money from it so that he could enjoy the rest of his life in peace.

According to the regulations issued by the imperial court, all officials passing through this post station could eat, stay, and change horses for free.

The official meal allowances were clearly posted on the wall.

However, the rules posted on the wall are nothing more than a facade to fool outsiders.

Li Zicheng's own meals and drinks were all served by the famous chef from Suzhou in the "private kitchen" in the backyard.

Every day, the delicacies changed. Breakfast was a mixed fruit cake made from fine rice, served with bird's nest broth; lunch and dinner consisted of either braised pork hock with Jinhua ham or freshly caught whitefish from Taihu Lake; and in autumn, the juicy Yangcheng Lake hairy crabs were a must. The wine they drank was a vintage Shaoxing wine that had been buried in the cellar for many years, incredibly fragrant and mellow.

They lived in a separate courtyard with a garden at the back; they were served by two pretty maids from Yangzhou who served them tea and water, massaged their legs and feet, and were completely attentive to their needs.

Such food and drink, such warmth and softness in my arms—even the emperor cannot compare to me!
Ultimately, all this extravagance and blissful life didn't fall from the sky; it was all squeezed out bit by bit from the very word "inn."

In the past, minor officials without powerful connections would not fare well if they came to him.

They would serve you spoiled food and sick horses, or provide you with a leaky, dilapidated house, forcing you to hand over your filial piety money. Once you had the money, everything would be fine.

The fast horses and superior rooms at the post station were originally for public use, but in his hands they became his private property. He rented them out at high prices to wealthy merchants, and all the ill-gotten gains went into his own pocket.

As for falsifying accounts, that's something he's particularly good at.

He would write the cost of fodder for 30 horses when there were 10 horses, and write the expense of 50 taels of silver when there were only 10 taels. This ability to fabricate expenses out of thin air was so subtle that no one could find out, and the silver in the national treasury became his private property.

Furthermore, he colluded with county officials to forcibly apportion the expenses of the post station to the surrounding people, squeezing them dry and exploiting them to the bone, turning the people's blood and sweat into his own wine.

Therefore, this small post station became Li Zicheng's bottomless money bag, a den of iniquity that devoured people without spitting out their bones.

He lay on Da Ming's body, sucking blood, and occasionally smacked his lips, complaining that the blood wasn't juicy enough.

Hearing that the war in Liaodong was escalating and bandits were rising up in the northwest, the emperor in the capital was worried sick about the military pay.

Li Zicheng, meanwhile, was in his comfortable home, eating a piece of fatty meat while cursing, "Damn it, these days it's getting harder and harder to make a living!" After saying that, he stuffed the piece of meat into his mouth and ate it with his mouth full of oil.

Li Zicheng was one of these thousands of vermin, and one of them was living a particularly comfortable life.

……

However, his peaceful and happy life has recently been disrupted by a major event that came out of nowhere.

The emperor, the current Son of Heaven, is actually passing through this post station and will even stay here for the night!
The news struck Li Zicheng like a bolt from the blue, leaving him both shocked and terrified.

To his astonishment, he never imagined in his life that someone as insignificant as himself would have the opportunity to see with his own eyes what the legendary Son of Heaven looked like.

What he feared was that the shady dealings within his post station, any one of them, could cost him his head.

If this gets out, his head, which's so used to eating and drinking, probably won't be much harder than a raw melon in the ground.

It's unclear whether His Majesty is truly as rumored, having slaughtered countless people in Jiangnan and feeling uneasy, fearing assassins on the road, or if there's some other reason that others can't fathom.

On the way back to the capital, instead of staying in the spacious and comfortable palaces in those prefectures, they insisted on resting at post stations along the way.

The imperial decree was as imposing as a mountain and as powerful as thunder; even if Li Zicheng had a hundred times the courage of a leopard, he wouldn't dare utter a single word of "no."

His fleshy head on his neck was nowhere near as hard as the blade of the embroidered spring knife hanging at the waist of those Imperial Guards.

He had no choice but to muster all his energy, temporarily putting away all his personal possessions, and directing his couriers to clean and tidy up the entire post station, inside and out, in preparation for receiving the emperor.

To his surprise, besides the stern-faced Imperial Guards with their hawk-like eyes scanning the surroundings, those who arrived first included some rather strange-looking soldiers. These men were of varying ages; the older ones looked like seasoned veterans who had crawled out of piles of corpses, exuding a murderous aura; while the younger ones were energetic young men with bright, clear eyes.

The mix of old and new looked quite neat, but they were all like stone sculptures, silent and only concerned with setting up defenses at key locations throughout the post station and measuring distances, completely ignoring everyone else.

Li Zicheng didn't think much of it, assuming they were just imperial guards protecting the emperor, and that they were just a bit cunning.

He wanted to bow and scrape forward to curry favor and get closer to the soldiers, but they all ignored him like he was mute. Instead, one of the leaders impatiently waved him aside.

In reality, it's really not his place to worry about it.

Before the emperor even arrived, the provincial governor and the prefectural governor, along with a large number of their subordinates and servants, rushed over in a great hurry, like cats smelling fish.

In no time, the small post station was packed with people, and even the officials' hats were so dazzling that they made people dizzy.

These usually dignified gentlemen were now extremely busy, their faces tense as they directed their subordinates to move tables and make beds, as if they wanted to replace the entire floor of the post station.

Li Zicheng, the rightful postmaster, was sidelined and left with nothing to do.

He thought to himself, "Look at you officials, so capable! You've been busy all this time, and you don't even know where to heat the water!"

Meanwhile, deep down he was praying, "Your Majesty the Emperor, please come quickly, stay for a while, and then get out of here! So that we, this local tyrant, can continue to live our hedonistic and carefree lives!"

Moreover, he had another, even more smug plan in mind.

In recent months, for some unknown reason, Songjiang Prefecture, which is not far away, has become more and more lively and prosperous.

According to merchants traveling from the north and south, Songjiang Prefecture is now a treasure land overflowing with gold and silver.

As a result, the number of merchants coming and going was several times greater than in previous years!
Those businessmen were all incredibly wealthy and extremely generous with their money.

His illicit income from this post station also increased dramatically, more than doubling!
Li Zicheng chuckled inwardly. It's true, everyone says how strict His Majesty is, but his antics in the south have actually made our lives easier.

It seems this emperor is quite the god of wealth!

I really should kowtow to him sincerely when I get back!
If this trend continues, by the end of the year, I might actually be able to accumulate a fortune of several thousand taels of silver!

When that time comes, we'll go to Songjiang Prefecture, where land is incredibly valuable, and buy a grand mansion with a garden. Then we'll buy seven or eight delicate and beautiful concubines from the enchanting Qinhuai River, changing one every day. Wouldn't that be wonderful?

He was happily planning in his mind, fantasizing about the blissful scene of having women on both sides and reveling every night.

As evening approached and the sun began to set, a bright yellow procession finally appeared on the dusty official road in the distance, with banners waving. The imperial procession had arrived.

Li Zicheng was startled and quickly wiped his mouth with his sleeve, straightened his official hat, and knelt down on the main road outside the post station with the impatient prefect to welcome the emperor.

Amidst the swirling dust, he furtively lifted his eyelids and glanced at the figure slowly descending from the imperial carriage.

This...this is way too young!

The young emperor was dressed in a black casual robe. His face was thin and his lips were slightly thin. Although he did not have a dignified expression, the innate air of a nobleman, as if heaven and earth were bowing down at his feet, was so overwhelming that people could not breathe and dared not look him in the eye.

This appearance was much younger than the image of a long-bearded, pot-bellied, and imposing emperor that Lee Ja-sung had imagined, and it made him even more intimidated.

Li Zicheng, along with the crowd, shouted "Long live the Emperor!" at the top of his lungs, while his heart was pounding with anxiety.

These local officials knelt outside the post station in a dense crowd, waiting for the emperor to enter the main hall and settle down, so that they could prepare anything needed immediately.

Just then, a member of the Imperial Guard dressed in a flying fish robe and with an embroidered spring knife at his waist walked straight up to him, expressionless, his voice as cold as ice: "Where is Li Zicheng, the postmaster? His Majesty has something to ask you."

Upon hearing this, Li Zicheng felt a surge of excitement rush from the soles of his feet to the top of his head. He was both surprised and delighted, and his heart almost jumped out of his throat!
I have the honor of meeting the Emperor!

This is a chance to be summoned by the Emperor himself and to meet his face!

The dignified fourth-rank prefect kneeling beside him has yet to receive this immense favor!

Li Zicheng, an insignificant postmaster, actually won first place!

He subconsciously glanced at the prefect kneeling not far away out of the corner of his eye, and saw that the official's face indeed showed an undisguised look of surprise and envy.

But the prefect quickly composed himself, lowered his voice, and warned him, "Director Li, this is an immense favor. When you meet the Emperor, remember to be careful with your words and actions, and respond with seriousness. In front of His Majesty, you must not lose your composure or speak recklessly!"

On the surface, Li Zicheng naturally kowtowed respectfully and replied, "This humble official understands, thank you for your guidance, sir."

Inwardly, however, he was overjoyed, thinking disdainfully: What does "losing one's senses" mean? This is the perfect opportunity for Li Zicheng to rise to the top! If I handle things appropriately, if my words touch His Majesty's heart and resonate with him, who knows, the Emperor might be pleased and casually bestow upon me an official position. Even if it's just a ninth-rank inspector, that's still a legitimate official rank!

When that time comes, if you, the prefect, see me again, you'll probably have to politely bow and address me as "Lord Li"!

(End of this chapter)