Chapter 149: The Trap

Seeing that Deng Zhiguo and the others had stopped speaking, Ye Xin naturally stopped while he was ahead, and his mood seemed to recover.

After chatting about a few other matters, and with everyone's consultation, choices were quickly made. Finally, the discussion turned to matters of national importance. Both the northern and southern fronts were dangerously vacant, making everyone feel uneasy.

"The military cannot go a day without a commander," Ye Xin said slowly. "Elder Wen, I am afraid I must trouble you to take a trip to the northern front."

"Since the Grand Commandant trusts me and does not mind my old age, I will make the trip," Wen Yuanren readily agreed. Although advanced in years, he was far from senile. At first, he had addressed Ye Xin as 'little Xin', but he immediately realized his own impulsiveness; if he were to treat Ye Xin as a junior in such a setting, it would only diminish Ye Xin's authority.

"Lord Grand Commandant, Elder Wen's ability is obvious to everyone, but... Xiao Mozhi of the Great Zhao Kingdom is known as the number one military strategist among the nine nations, and now there is also Yu Dao. As far as I know, Xiao Mozhi has already incorporated Zhuang Buxiu's Tiger-Head Army. This man is much younger than Zhuang Buxiu, full of vigor, and quite flamboyant. If these two forces combine to invade, I fear Elder Wen will suffer a severe defeat," said Han Sanmei. Assigning generals and deploying troops was properly the Grand Commandant's duty, and furthermore, Ye Xin's emotional outburst earlier had been quite intense, so Han Sanmei's phrasing was much softer and more tactful than before.

"Ever since taking office, Elder Wen has remained in Nine-Tripod City and has no experience in commanding troops in battle," Deng Zhiguo frowned and said. "Warfare is about deception. I worry that Elder Wen will not have the energy to cope with Xiao Mozhi. Once the Great Zhao Kingdom resorts to force again, the northern front will be in great danger."

Wen Yuanren said nothing. Although both Han Sanmei and Deng Zhiguo had expressed a lack of confidence in his abilities, he was a reasonable man and knew very well that he fell far short of Xiao Mozhi. He had agreed so readily solely because Ye Xin wanted him to go.

Han Sanmei intended to pave the way for the Iron Book Pavilion with the remainder of his life, and Wen Yuanren felt the same. On the very day of Ye Xin's coup, he had declared his willingness to serve as the vanguard at Ye Xin's command.

"It does not matter," Ye Xin said. "Within half a year, there will be no war on the northern front. In truth, I am sending Elder Wen to the north because I am concerned that Wei Juan's former subordinates will be panicked and alarmed, stirring up unnecessary trouble. If Elder Wen goes north, as long as he can rally Wei Juan's old subordinates and soothe the morale of the army, that in itself will be a great achievement."

Han Sanmei, Deng Zhiguo, and the others exchanged glances. Deng Zhiguo asked, "Lord Grand Commandant, are these words true?"

"Absolute truth," Ye Xin replied in a resolute tone.

"Very well, since the Grand Commandant is so confident, we have no further objections," Shen Wangji said.

"Compared to the northern front, the southern front is far more dangerous," Ye Xin said. "I have thought it over and over, and only Lord Deng can go to the southern front to take charge. There is truly no better candidate in the court. I wonder what Lord Deng thinks of this?"

Deng Zhiguo was momentarily stunned, then fell into a tense state of thought. Originally, he was the Grand Palace Guard, the supreme commander of the Palace Imperial Guards, but Tie Xinsheng attached immense importance to the only armed force that obeyed him unconditionally and kept the Palace Guard under absolute, impenetrable control. Deng Zhiguo had held not a shred of real power. Yet, the situation on the southern front was hardly any better; with Ye Suifang, Qiu Jiecha, and veteran generals of the Heavenly Wolf Legion stationed there, even if he served as the commander-in-chief, cultivating his own sphere of influence would be exceptionally difficult.

On second thought, however, the current Palace Guard had been practically wiped out, making the position of Grand Palace Guard rather comical. Remaining in Nine-Tripod City held no meaning. Going to the southern front, while difficult, at least presented opportunities—far better than sitting idly in a sinecure as he was now.

As for Tie Renhao, he now possessed not a sliver of hope. Upon hearing of Ye Xin's rebellion, he had been terrified into hiding within his own bedchamber, not daring to show his face for fear that Ye Xin would remember past grudges and send someone to execute him on the spot.

After pondering for a long time, Deng Zhiguo nodded. "Very well, I will go to the southern front. But I cannot do it alone; Pan Yuanshan is also a seasoned military veteran, and I am afraid I may not be his match."

Deng Zhiguo's words carried no personal emotion, remaining purely objective. If a defeat occurred in the future, he had already issued a prior warning today, leaving no room to blame him.

"If the Blood Mountain Legion invades again, Lord Deng only needs to hold out for three days," Ye Xin said. With his current abilities, he could remotely monitor the military intelligence of the Great Zhao Kingdom, but he had no way to intervene preemptively regarding the Great Yu Kingdom. "Within three days, I will surely arrive at the head of the Wolf Cavalry."

"Then I am relieved," Deng Zhiguo breathed a sigh of relief.

* * * *

This cabinet meeting proceeded smoothly. Although disputes arose, compromises were quickly reached. However, the Grand Councilors participating in the meeting failed to realize one thing: Ye Xin's pace was exceptionally fast, so fast that it mirrored the absolute authority of a sovereign. For instance, regarding the public trial of Feng Qishan, when both Grand Councilors were deeply dissatisfied, such a matter would normally have been debated for a long time—sometimes unresolved for days—unless Tie Xinsheng exercised his personal authority to forcefully push it through. Yet Ye Xin had achieved precisely that same momentum.

In the days that followed, Ye Xin became even busier. Eliminating Tie Xinsheng was merely the first step; to fully control the national treasures, much work remained to be done. The most difficult task among them was legalizing everything he had acquired.

The notion that whoever wields the strongest fist commands obedience usually applies only to barbaric worlds or places where order has completely collapsed. Ye Xin knew he could not simply fight and kill indefinitely; true legalization meant establishing a norm—a normalized state recognized and accepted by all.

More importantly, the Nine Tripods of Heaven and Earth generated primordial stones by absorbing human vitality. The greater the turmoil in Nine-Tripod City, the greater the impact on the Nine Tripods, which would directly affect his yields for the coming year.

The fundamental purpose of seizing the national treasures was to acquire primordial stones. If Nine-Tripod City were reduced to ruins, everything he had done during this period would lose its meaning entirely.

Ye Xin was genuinely busy, so busy that he lacked even the time to consolidate his own cultivation realm. He slept only two or three hours a day, burying the rest of his time in a mountain of official documents.

On this day, Ye Xin was reviewing past archives in the Grand Commandant's Mansion while wielding his brush to calculate something. Hao Fei walked in carrying a stack of documents more than a meter high and placed them on Ye Xin's desk, then peered over to see what Ye Xin was pondering. He felt a bit dizzy, as Ye Xin's brush strokes resembled nonsensical ghostly symbols that he could not decipher at all.

"My lord, what are you writing?" Hao Fei asked out of curiosity.

"I am calculating the annual yield of the Nine Tripods of Heaven and Earth," Ye Xin replied without raising his head.

"My lord understands mathematics as well?" Hao Fei was greatly astonished. When it came to mathematics, any ordinary primary school student from Ye Xin's original world could become a national-treasure-level talent here.

"I told you back then, I am capable of commanding armies in the field and serving as prime minister in the court," Ye Xin laughed. "None of you believed me, so I have no choice but to show you my true prowess."

Just at that moment, Xue Baiqi walked in from outside and interjected, "Who among us would dare not to believe? We have long known that the lord is the most formidable."

"That is hardly something you, Xue Baiqi, should say. If Xie En said it, I would be used to it." Ye Xin put down his brush. "Have you found the items?"

"Found them." Xue Baiqi placed a brocade pouch on the desk.

"Boss, isn't it a bit unfair of you to single me out like that?" Xie En's voice drifted over as he strode into the hall, a look of frustration plastered across his face.

"You were always a slacker with no real learning," Ye Xin picked up the brocade pouch, extracted its contents, and slowly reviewed them. "You possess exceptional natural talent, yet you never apply yourself, only pushing yourself at the very last moment. If you had applied yourself with diligence, your cultivation realm today would not lag behind Little Yu'er's."

"Aside from you and Elder Ghost, the Heavenly Crime Camp has always had Little Yu'er first, Moon Tiger second, and me third. I was afraid of surpassing them and making them feel ashamed, so I left them some face," Xie En boasted shamelessly. "Besides, Baiqi's talent is also quite good, yet he's currently not even as good as me. Why aren't you scolding him, my lord?"

"Get out of my sight!" Ye Xin scolded with a smile. "Baiqi's cultivation was delayed because of official business, and I harbor a sense of guilt toward him. What on earth are you busy with every day? Do you think I don't know about those little schemes between you and Moon Tiger?!"

Hearing Ye Xin's final remark, Xie En was startled, his expression turning somewhat uneasy as he hurriedly changed the subject. "Baiqi, what good fortune did you run into just now? You were grinning so hard your eyes disappeared, and I shouted for you forever without you turning your head."

"I had no mood to pay attention to you," Xue Baiqi said with a beaming smile. "My lord, the harvest of the Mother Tripod this year is extraordinarily good. In another seven or eight days, we can begin harvesting the primordial stones."

"Have you seen Mo Yan? Roughly how many are there?" Ye Xin asked.

"I saw him," Xue Baiqi nodded. "There should be between thirty thousand and forty thousand. We cannot descend down there yet, so there is no way to calculate the exact figure."

"Compared to past years, it is indeed somewhat more," Ye Xin nodded. "Yet... has the Azure Origin Sect not sent anyone yet? That is rather strange."

"Once the harvest date passes, they will come sooner or later," Xue Baiqi said.

"That is different," Ye Xin sighed. "The later they arrive, the thornier the matter will become."

"My lord, why is that?" Xue Baiqi asked, perplexed.

"A few words cannot explain it clearly." Ye Xin shook his head, sighed again, and looked at Xie En. "Stop running around aimlessly. If my calculations are correct, someone will definitely attempt to assassinate Feng Qishan. If anything goes wrong with Feng Qishan, I will hold you solely responsible!"

"Fu Shang and Ziche Hui have already gone to the Heavenly Prison, so I just took a brief moment to look around. Besides, Moon Tiger is there as well," Xie En hastily explained.

"Tomorrow is the public trial, so trouble will surely arise tonight," Xue Baiqi noted.

"Mmm." Ye Xin pondered for a moment. "Baiqi, you go replace Mo Yan today, and then have Mo Yan go assist Moon Tiger. On a dark night with a high wind... if we want to retain the initiative, we still need Mo Yan's Demonic Eyes."

"But the Mother Tripod side..." Xue Baiqi paused in surprise.

"I will be there in person," Ye Xin said calmly. "This battle will determine how high a score I give to Zong Bieling. If I am not mistaken, Zong Bieling should be at the Han residence right now, and Han Sanmei will be consulting with him. They will definitely try to obstruct the public trial. If his only aim is to assassinate Feng Qishan, he fails in my eyes; but if he sends people to raid the Heavenly Prison to draw our attention while simultaneously infiltrating the palace... well, he could then be considered a formidable adversary of mine."