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

Chapter 39 They forgot who set the table, and they forgot who was actually sitting in the seat of honor.

It was still the warm pavilion of Qianqing Palace, and Wang Chengen had already gotten used to the emperor's habit of handling official business at night.

The underground heating system was burning very brightly, providing a warm and cozy atmosphere, even a bit dry.

The scent of precious ambergris mixed with the aroma of aged sandalwood in the air did not calm the mind; instead, it felt like an invisible pressure, weighing heavily on everyone's hearts.

The huge sandalwood sand table in the very center of the warm pavilion is the source of this pressure.

On the sand table, mountains, rivers, cities, and passes are vividly depicted, forming a miniature map of the northern border and capital of the Ming Dynasty.

At this moment, the owner of this map, the Ming Emperor Zhu Youjian, was extending a slender finger and gently touching a small mark made of red sand on the sand table.

That's Xuanfu Town.

Zhu Youjian stood there, dressed in a simple black robe. His figure appeared somewhat thin in the bright candlelight, but the aura emanating from him silently absorbed all the light, sound, and even thoughts around him.

The other four people in the warm pavilion were like four statues frozen in place, completely motionless.

Wei Zhongxian, the Grand Eunuch of the Directorate of Ceremonial, bowed deeply, his eyes downcast, his old face etched with deep wrinkles that seemed to have been carved by a knife, each crease concealing a bloody history of power struggles.

Tian Er, the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, was like an iron tower. His muscles were taut under his flying fish robe, and his eyes, like those of an eagle, were fixed on the sand table, as if he wanted to carve through that small geographical model with his gaze.

Zhou Quan, the director of the Western Depot, wore his signature smile, a smile that was somewhere between flattery and sinister. But at this moment, the smile was somewhat stiff. His gaze wandered across the streets and alleys of the capital on the sand table, like a snake searching for its prey.

Duke Zhang Weixian of England, a veteran of three reigns, had a face even paler than his beard. Looking at the emperor and the three most feared figures of the Ming Dynasty, he felt that the air in the warm pavilion was more biting than the cold of a winter night.

Finally, Zhu Youjian spoke.

He asked a question that no one would have expected.

“Tell me,” he said softly, “what does this sand table resemble?”

This question, like a pebble thrown into stagnant water, brought the four statues to life.

But no one dared to answer easily.

This is a very strange question.

A sand table is a sand table; it is a map and a tool for simulating major military and national affairs.

What else could it resemble?
Is the new emperor deliberately creating mystery, or is he... testing them?

In the silence, Zhou Quan spoke first: "Your Majesty, I am foolish. But in my opinion, this sand table is the universe in Your Majesty's hands. Mountains and rivers and all things are within your control."

Flattery must be delivered quickly and loudly; this is a professional skill that those close to the emperor must possess.

Zhu Youjian remained noncommittal upon hearing this, and turned his gaze to Tian Ergeng.

Tian Ergeng was clearly not good at this. He clasped his hands in a muffled voice and said, "Your Majesty, in my opinion, this is the battlefield. It is obvious where to fight and where to defend."

Simple, direct, and full of pragmatism.

Zhu Youjian nodded, seemingly finding this answer more interesting than Zhou Quan's.

His gaze finally settled on Wei Zhongxian.

The former Nine Thousand Years Old pondered for a moment, seemingly organizing the most exquisite words; he was much more composed than Zhou Quan.

“Your Majesty,” Wei Zhongxian spoke slowly, his voice hoarse yet revealing a worldly wisdom, “this old servant thinks this sand table is like a dining table.”

This analogy surprised both Tian Ergeng and Zhou Quan.

Wei Zhongxian, however, seemed oblivious and continued, “This table is laden with delicacies from land and sea. Some people want to eat, some are eating, and some are eating too much and too full, but they have forgotten who set this table and who is sitting in the main seat.”

As he spoke, he slightly raised his cloudy old eyes and glanced at the emperor.

"Your Majesty, you are the master of this table. Whoever you want to eat can eat, and whoever you don't want to eat must give this old servant everything they've eaten, bones and all... Here, spit it out!"

These words, though chilling and explicit, are incredibly apt.

A barely perceptible hint of jealousy flashed across Zhou Quan's face. He knew that his flattery skills were still far too rudimentary in front of this old ancestor.

When Duke Zhang Weixian of England heard the words "spit out bones and flesh," his heart skipped a beat, and a chill ran from the soles of his feet to the top of his head.

He suddenly had a very ominous premonition.

Zhu Youjian finally smiled.

A faint smile, tinged with approval. "Wei Banban, well said." He withdrew his finger and slowly straightened up. "It's time to make some people vomit up what they've swallowed."

He looked around at the four people, and his voice suddenly turned serious.

"Twenty days."

Inside the warm pavilion, you could hear a pin drop.

Twenty days.

These three words were like three mountains, pressing heavily on everyone's hearts.

Zhang Weixian finally understood that tonight's meeting was not a temporary one, but the beginning of a storm that would begin twenty days later.

Zhu Youjian seemed quite satisfied with their reaction at that moment; he liked the feeling of having everything under his control.

"Twenty days from now, once all the troops that have departed from the capital are in place, I want all the nodes on this network to be activated at the same time."

Zhu Youjian raised his head, his gaze like a drawn sword, slowly sweeping over the four people in front of him.

"Wei Zhongxian".

He was the first to call out the old eunuch's name.

"The old slave is here!"

Wei Zhongxian bowed even lower, his voice revealing an barely suppressed, bloodthirsty excitement.

"The northern front, Xuanfu, is yours." Zhu Youjian's tone was devoid of any emotion.

"Sun Yingyuan and his 1,500 most elite men from the new army have already changed into the uniforms of the Beijing Garrison. Tomorrow morning, you will lead your men to Xuanfu with them under the pretext of 'rewarding the border troops.' Make sure the ceremonial procession is grand and the rewards are plentiful, so that everyone believes you are representing me to appease the soldiers of the nine border regions."

"When you arrive in Xuanfu, your task is not to take action, but to put on a show. You must go to see the commander-in-chief of Xuanfu, hold his hand and ask him what's wrong. You must tell him that I value him highly. You must invite all the lieutenant generals and guerrillas under his command to drink and listen to music, and reward them with gold and silver. You must let them live a life of debauchery."

Zhu Youjian paused, a cold smile appearing on his lips.

"You're best at this, aren't you?"

This somewhat mocking question made Wei Zhongxian's heart skip a beat. He heard the extremely subtle yet incredibly clear warning in the emperor's words.

He knew the emperor was reminding him that the emperor was fully aware of his past methods of winning people's hearts and forming cliques for personal gain.

"This old servant...this old servant will certainly not fail Your Majesty's trust." Wei Zhongxian's voice was somewhat hoarse.

"Acting is just the prelude." Zhu Youjian's voice turned cold and hard again. "When the time comes, whether to kill or arrest is up to you to decide. But you must remember my bottom line."

Zhu Youjian's voice suddenly turned cold.

"Fast and steady".

"Quickly means to completely sever their command center before the ordinary soldiers in Xuanfu Town can react. Stably means to absolutely prevent a large-scale mutiny. What I want is a complete and still strong pass that can defend the borders of the Ming Dynasty, not a ruin destroyed by internal strife."

"Xuanfu is the northern gateway to the Ming Dynasty. This gateway cannot be compromised in your hands."

"do you understand?"

A fine layer of cold sweat had already seeped onto Wei Zhongxian's forehead.

He understands.

He understood it all too well.

The emperor gave him a task that seemed to be the most glamorous and rewarding, but behind this task lay the sharpest knife.

If he does well, he will be the key contributor to establishing a foothold on the frontier.

If he messes it up, he will be a sinner for all time, shaking the foundation of the country and causing chaos in the border towns.

At that time, the emperor only needs to hang his head on the city wall of Xuanfu to quell the anger of all the soldiers.

But he had no choice.

"This old servant... obeys the decree." Wei Zhongxian replied in a hoarse voice, "Your Majesty, rest assured, Xuanfu Town will not be in chaos."

(End of this chapter)