Governing the country, enriching the people, an unparalleled imperial tutor

The door to the side hall was still open. He was about to step out with his left leg when a very soft sound came from the side hall behind him. It was the sound of a rope snapping and then suddenly loosening, like the moment a bowstring snaps and springs back to its original position.

Prince An suddenly turned around to check, and realized something was wrong!

Lin Yanzhou had already stood up. The severed hemp rope hung down from his wrist, the break clean. He held a sharp dagger in his left hand, and when he looked up at Prince An, a faint smile played on his lips.

"Since you're so eager to be tortured," he said, "fine, I'm not going to act anymore."

His voice wasn't loud, but it was enough for everyone still breathing in the side hall to hear. Several bound old ministers looked up, their eyes still filled with lingering confusion. Zhao Yan sat in the main seat, still bound, but the moment he saw Zhao Yan stand up, the confidence in his eyes became even more certain.

Lin Yanzhou turned his head to the side and raised his chin slightly towards the back door of the side hall: "Princess, it's time for your entrance."

Zhao Lingxi stood behind the threshold, dressed in dark riding attire with a narrow leather belt around her waist. She had been waiting impatiently for some time; Lin Yanzhou had repeatedly emphasized beforehand that she was not to come out of the hall without his orders, regardless of what happened inside.

Behind her stood a dozen or so Imperial Guards, each holding a musket. As Zhao Lingxi led her troops past Prince An, she cursed, "You old thief, you just wait!"

The dozen or so Imperial Guards simultaneously stepped forward, lowering the nozzles of their iron pipes by an inch, pointing precisely at the rebels surging in from the palace gates. Before the first few rebels could even see what those iron pipes were, the two leaders were struck in the chest by bullets from muskets, their bodies jolting back half a step before collapsing to the side.

The people behind stopped in their tracks, but were then pushed forward a few steps by those behind them, crashing into the second row of bullets. As the iron pipes spewed fire again, several more bodies lay on the blue brick ground.

Where in this era had anyone ever seen such a weapon? They were terrified. The few who rushed in from the third row threw down their knives and ran back the way they came. Only a few scattered iron spears and a few dark patches slowly spreading between the blue bricks remained on the open ground inside the palace gate.

Prince An looked at the row of iron pipes, his gaze lingering for a moment on the remaining white smoke at the pipe openings. The row of iron pipes was just an unexpected piece on his chessboard, temporarily disrupting his rhythm, but not enough to change the outcome of the entire game.

"You hid this stuff," Prince An said. "Well hidden. But do you think this little bit can stop the army outside the city? Three hundred thousand men are already in position. Closing the city gates won't help; they'll be scattered in all directions waiting for the signal before dawn." He pointed to the slowly fading red smoke trail above his head. "The signal has been given; the attack can begin at any time. Your men can defend the palace, but they can't defend the city gates."

Lin Yanzhou sheathed the short dagger into his sleeve, as if using an invisible sheath to return the sword to a non-existent place: "You're talking about that army that came from the southwest in three routes outside the city, right? From the east, from the west, and from the south. Um, they've been lying in wait around the capital for almost two months now, waiting for you to give the signal so they can surround us from three sides at the same time."

Prince An's eyebrows twitched slightly. It was a very slight movement, but he didn't deny it: "You... how did you know???"

"There's something you might not know," Lin Yanzhou said. "Last night, an army from the north arrived ahead of your three forces. They were hiding in the valley without setting up camp. Your men waited outside the city for so long, looking in the southeast and west, but no one even glanced north." He paused. "Because you thought there were no organized garrisons in the north, that Zhang Lin had already scattered them."

Prince An's gaze lingered on his face for a moment, as if he were trying to fit those words into a color space.

"Those 300,000 men in the north," Lin Yanzhou said, "were already in place three days ago. Although your forces are numerous, they are scattered on three sides, and they haven't even changed their armor since entering the capital. If they want to besiege the city, those 300,000 men in the north only need to close their trap."

Prince An was silent for a moment, then said, "What about the well water? You can't possibly have replaced all the medicine in the city's wells beforehand. The emperor's men shouldn't still be standing. Your men shouldn't even be able to hold their swords."

Lin Yanzhou's gaze fell on the blood-red jade pendant, pausing for a moment. "It was changed last night," he said. "The water used in the palace and the Imperial Guard camp has all been replaced with water transported from elsewhere."

Prince An pressed his fingertips against the jade pendant with a slight increase in pressure: "You can't possibly replace all the well water in the city."

"We don't need the whole city," Lin Yanzhou said. "We just need to change the water sources in the palace and the Imperial Guard camp. No matter how detailed your pharmacy's purchasing records are, they only show well water from the streets and alleys of the capital. You never considered that the water tanks in the palace and the water storage barrels in the camp could be replaced overnight."

He tilted his head and looked at Zhao Yan. "The tea on Your Majesty's table today, from the time the water was boiled to the time it was served, went through a water vat with a different water source. The Yunnan black tea you brought is indeed good, but the medicine in that cup of water was changed the night before."

The three leaders behind Prince An had unknowingly moved closer together. Li Chong sheathed his short blade in his sleeve, Duan Heng rested his broadsword on his knee with the tip pointing down, and Helian Mu squatted in the corner, looking up at Lin Yanzhou with fear in his eyes.

Lin Yanzhou looked at him and added, "You've been operating in your southwestern fiefdom for twenty years. I've found out the troops you've accumulated and the people you've contacted during those years. I've also found out the spies you've planted all over the capital. All the arrangements you've made over so long have been dismantled one by one. I waited until today to close the net because you thought you wouldn't lose."

Prince An muttered to himself, "You're not human, you really aren't human... When did you start setting this up?"

"When you arranged for the first group of people to enter the capital," Lin Yanzhou said, "your people were hidden in the caravans, and you thought you were hiding very well. But you chose your contact points too early and too close to the city. From the moment you planted the first piece, that piece had already been turned over."

Prince An looked utterly dejected: "I've been running this business for twenty years, and you've only been here for less than a year."

"Didn't you also hear that I'm a deity descended to earth? Do you believe it now?" Lin Yanzhou said.

Lin Yanzhou walked to Zhao Yan's side, bent down, and cut the ropes binding his wrists. Zhao Yan flexed his wrists: "Sir, how much longer until we reach the city gate?"

"It's been closed for a long time," Lin Yanzhou said. He straightened up and glanced at the outside of the palace gate.

Lin Yanzhou's gaze fell on Prince An's face, as if he had just remembered something he hadn't said yet: "Oh right—you just said that you've been operating in the Southwest for twenty years, and that you're more suited to sit in that chair than a mere child. You've been operating for twenty years, setting up such a huge scheme, and yet you didn't even know that the tea you sent out had been switched. Of the three allies you found, one stood by the window for half a day without moving, one leaned against the door frame until his back almost gave way, and the other squatted in the corner and ate an entire plate of boiled pork. Of all the people you spent twenty years befriending, not a single one of them even informed you."

A moment later, Zhao Lingxi walked in from outside the palace gate. The muzzle of the musket in her hand was pointing downwards, still emitting a wisp of white smoke. She stopped in front of Lin Yanzhou and said excitedly, "All the rebels in the palace have been annihilated. The palace gates, side gates, and corner gates have been resealed."

Lin Yanzhou turned his head and grabbed the blood-red jade pendant of Prince An. Instantly, a warm and comfortable feeling swept over his whole body.