Investiture of the Gods: Childhood Sweetheart Daji, Starting with Quasi-Saint Cultivation

Noon.

The Golden Palace.

The officials stood solemnly, the atmosphere heavy.

King Zhou sat high on the dragon throne, his face calm, but a cold glint was hidden in his eyes.

He knew that today would be a tough battle.

"If you have something to report, please do so; if not, the court may adjourn," the eunuch announced.

Before he finished speaking, Zhou Ji, the Minister of Works, stepped forward.

"Your Majesty! I have a memorial to present!"

King Zhou said calmly, "Speak."

Holding his official tablet, Zhou Ji declared loudly, "Your Majesty, I impeach General Su Yunbai for ten major crimes!"

The hall fell silent instantly.

Everyone looked at Su Yunbai.

Su Yunbai stood at the head of the military officers' ranks, his expression unchanged, as if he hadn't heard anything.

King Zhou narrowed his eyes: "What are the ten major crimes?"

"Firstly, he abused his power and overstepped his authority! The Tian Ce Prefecture was originally an oversight agency, yet Su Yunbai privately recruited craftsmen, established a Craftsmen's Division, and interfered in the affairs of the Handicraft Department!"

"Secondly, it's a waste of public funds and resources! Promoting these so-called new devices has squandered countless amounts of national treasury money, yet yielded minimal results!"

"Thirdly, they are misleading the emperor! They are using strange and ingenious tricks to deceive His Majesty, attempting to undermine the foundation of the nation!"

Fourthly, he formed cliques and pursued personal gain! He colluded with treacherous officials like Fei Zhong and You Hun to eliminate dissidents!

Fifthly, they disregarded the law! They issued blueprints without the Ministry of Works' approval, disrupting local order!

"Sixth..."

Zhou Ji rattled off ten major crimes in one breath, and finally said sternly, "Your Majesty! Su Yunbai is a young man who has achieved success at a young age and is arrogant and conceited. If he is allowed to continue, he will surely become a great threat! I beg Your Majesty to investigate thoroughly, dismiss him from his post, and punish him for his crimes!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the thirteen court officials behind him said in unison, "Your Majesty, please investigate!"

Loud.

These were all officials from the Dongbo Marquis's faction, or nobles with interests related to the Ministry of Works.

They had long been dissatisfied with Su Yunbai.

Today, they finally launched their attack.

King Zhou remained silent.

He looked at Su Yunbai.

"Minister Su, do you have something to say?"

Su Yunbai stepped forward.

He took a step forward, his tone calm.

"The ten major crimes that Minister Zhou mentioned are all false and baseless."

Zhou Ji sneered: "General Su, are you trying to make excuses?"

"This is not sophistry, it's the truth."

Su Yunbai turned around and faced the officials.

"You accuse me of overstepping my authority. But the establishment of the Crafts Bureau within the Tiance Prefecture was personally approved by His Majesty. Recruiting craftsmen is for the purpose of selecting talent for the country. How can that be considered overstepping my authority?"

"You say I'm wasting people's time and money. But the curved plow saves half the effort, the waterwheel irrigates a hundred acres a day, and the spinning machine is ten times more efficient. The people praise me, and my good deeds are a blessing from heaven. How is that wasteful?"

"You accuse me of bewitching the Emperor. But yesterday, the golden light of my merit was witnessed by all the officials in the court. Heaven approves of it; how could it be bewitching?"

With each word he spoke, Zhou Ji's face paled a little more.

"As for forming cliques for personal gain and disregarding the law..."

Su Yunbai sneered.

"Fei Zhong, You Hun."

"Your Majesty, we are here!" The two stepped forward.

"Present the evidence of the Ministry of Works' crimes."

"yes!"

Fei Zhong stepped forward, holding a thick stack of account books in both hands.

"Your Majesty, this is a copy of the Ministry of Works' account books for the past ten years. Upon investigation, it has been found that the Ministry of Works has embezzled a total of three million taels of silver! They have used inferior materials, withheld wages from craftsmen, causing delays in dozens of projects and injuries to hundreds of craftsmen!"

You Hun also stepped forward: "Your Majesty, this is evidence of the crimes committed by Zhou Ji and thirteen other officials, who colluded with local nobles to seize farmland, illegally mine, and smuggle salt and iron!"

The two presented the account books, letters, and testimonies one by one.

The eunuch took it and placed it on the dragon table.

King Zhou casually flipped open a book.

The more he looked, the sullen his face became.

Finally, he slammed his hand on the dragon table.

"Zhou Ji! How dare you!"

Zhou Ji trembled and knelt down with a thud.

"Your Majesty! I am innocent! This is all a frame-up!"

"A frame-up?" King Zhou sneered. "The account books are crystal clear, and the letters are irrefutable! You still dare to deny it?"

He looked at the other thirteen people.

"Do you have anything else to say?"

The thirteen men were so frightened that they knelt down and kowtowed repeatedly.

"Your Majesty, spare me! Your Majesty, spare me!"

King Zhou stopped looking at them and instead looked at Su Yunbai.

"Minister Su, what do you think should be done?"

Su Yunbai said calmly, "According to the law, he should be executed."

Upon hearing those four words, Zhou Ji and the others turned ashen-faced.

"Your Majesty! Your Majesty, spare my life!"

"We, your humble servants, know we were wrong!"

"It was all instigated by Minister Zhou! It has nothing to do with us!"

Some people have started to shirk responsibility.

A hint of disgust flashed in King Zhou's eyes.

"Someone come here!"

Imperial guards poured into the palace.

"Remove Zhou Ji and the other fourteen others from their official positions and imprison them! Confiscate their property and exile their families!"

"yes!"

The imperial guards stepped forward and dragged away the fourteen people who were crying and begging for mercy.

The main hall was deathly silent.

Everyone was stunned by this thunderous method.

Su Yunbai's expression remained unchanged.

He knew this was just the beginning.

King Zhou surveyed his officials.

"Who else wants to impeach Minister Su?"

No one answered.

"Since there isn't one, then I'll say a few words."

He stood up.

"Minister Su's implementation of new technologies has improved people's livelihoods; his merits are divinely bestowed, a blessing upon the great Shang Dynasty!"

"From this day forward, the Crafts Bureau is upgraded to the 'Institute of Manufacturing,' directly under the Tian Ce Prefecture, and will oversee all matters concerning craftsmen, technology, and inventions nationwide!"

"All state governments must fully cooperate! Any obstruction will be treated as treason!"

"Court adjourned!"

King Zhou turned and left.

The eunuch announced, "Court is adjourned—"

The officials finally breathed a sigh of relief.

The look in his eyes as he gazed at Su Yunbai was filled with awe.

This young general who protects the country is not only unfathomably powerful, but also incredibly ruthless.

With a single move, he brought down fourteen court officials.

This included important officials such as the Minister of Works.

From now on, no one in the court would dare to provoke him easily.

Su Yunbai walked out of the Golden Palace.

Fei Zhong and You Hun followed behind, their faces full of excitement.

"General, that was a brilliant battle!" Fei Zhong whispered.

"With Zhou Ji gone, the Ministry of Works will be vacant. We can send our own people in," You Hun said.

Su Yunbai nodded.

"Do you have a suitable candidate for the position of Minister of Works?"

Fei Zhong thought for a moment: "Zhang Qian, the Vice Minister of Works, is an upright man with good abilities, and he has never had any dealings with the Dongbo Marquis's faction."

"Zhang Qian..." Su Yunbai pondered, "Have him come to Tian Ce Mansion to see me."

"yes!"

As the three were talking, a general from the Imperial Guards approached.

"General Su, Grand Tutor Wen requests your presence."

Wen Zhong?

Su Yunbai raised an eyebrow.

This old minister, who had entrusted the care of the young emperor, was finally going to meet him.

"lead the way."

---

The Grand Tutor's Mansion.

study.

Wen Zhong sat behind his desk, reading a military report.

Upon seeing Su Yunbai enter, he put down the military report and stood up.

"General Su."

"Grand Tutor Wen."

The two sat facing each other.

Wen Zhong sized up Su Yunbai.

After a long silence, he spoke: "I know everything that happened in court today."

Su Yunbai remained noncommittal.

"Zhou Ji and the others certainly deserved their punishment," Wen Zhong said, "but General, your methods were a bit too hasty."

"Does the Grand Tutor think I've acted too hastily?"

"Yes." Wen Zhong spoke frankly, "The balance of power in the court is such that a single move can have far-reaching consequences. If you bring down fourteen people today, twenty-four people will see you as an enemy tomorrow."

Su Yunbai smiled.

"Grand Tutor, if we proceed step by step, how long will it take to cleanse the court?"

Wen Zhong remained silent.

"Three years? Five years? Or ten years?"

Su Yunbai continued, "But does the Great Shang Dynasty still have that much time?"

"Xiqi has been established as a state, the Chan religion has intervened, and the feudal lords from all directions are eyeing it covetously."

"If we continue to play the balancing act here, the court will still be a disorganized mess when the enemy comes knocking."

A complex look flashed in Wen Zhong's eyes.

"you're right."

He sighed.

"I'm getting old, and there are some things I dare not do, and I can't do."

"But you can."

He looked at Su Yunbai, his gaze sharp as lightning.

"Su Yunbai, His Majesty trusts you greatly and has entrusted you with important responsibilities. I only have one question for you—"

"What exactly do you want to do?"

Su Yunbai said calmly, "I want the Great Shang Dynasty to survive."

"Is that all?"

That's all.

Wen Zhong stared at him for a long time.

Finally, he nodded slowly.

"it is good."

"Since you are determined to do this, I will lend you a hand."

He took out a token and placed it on the table.

"This is the 'Grand Tutor's Decree.' With this decree, one can mobilize 100,000 imperial guards in Chaoge. When the troops stationed in various places see this decree, they will treat it as if they were seeing the old man himself."

"Go ahead and carry out the military reforms. If there is any resistance, I will suppress it for you."

Su Yunbai looked at the token, his heart trembling.

Wen Zhong has essentially given him half of the military power.

"Grand Tutor..."

"No need to say more," Wen Zhong waved his hand. "The survival of the Shang Dynasty is of paramount importance."

"I only hope that you will not let His Majesty down, nor will you let down the Great Shang Dynasty."

Su Yunbai stood up and bowed respectfully.

"Yun Bai will not fail in his trust."

Wen Zhong nodded.

"Go then. I still have military affairs to attend to."

Su Yunbai put away the token and left the study.

As he stepped out of the Grand Tutor's mansion, he took a deep breath.

With Wen Zhong's support, military reforms could proceed in a sweeping manner.

Next-

It's time to reorganize the army.

He looked towards the direction of Tian Ce Mansion.

A sharp glint flashed in his eyes.

The court has been half-empty.

The army needs to move.