The Demon Lords

"Should we take them all together?"

"I think we can."

"Have Gao Yi bring the people later, how shall we transport them back?"

"Let the Li Tian City garrison escort them back to Snow Sea Pass; Mr. Chen can take charge."

"Him? He’s easy to fool."

"That was before."

"Forget it, Mr. Chen followed this time to learn skills from the Sword Saint, let Gao Yi escort with a hundred bodyguards back."

"Alright."

Zheng Fan thought it wouldn’t be a big problem if Li Tian City would let people go.

As long as he could leave here immediately, the Prefect of Li Tian City would most likely agree to any request.

"What about Fushun Ear?" Zheng Fan asked.

"I haven’t asked what he found."

"Send him back along as well."

"Yes, my lord."

Zheng Fan nodded, finishing his soup.

He put down the bowl,

and said:

"Pack up, we should hurry and depart."

...

Yanjing,

The royal palace,

The Imperial Study.

If the court is the power center of Yan, then this Imperial Study represents the core of the nation’s power.

If it were a weak emperor, the Imperial Study might be merely for show;

but the present Yan Emperor is clearly not associated with mere appearances,

every day,

the will emanating from here is meticulously pondered over by the entire main government personnel.

The emperor’s power,

is exemplified fully with this supreme being.

Behind the imperial desk,

the Yan Emperor tossed a memorandum aside,

Wei Zhonghe, attending by his side, immediately picked it up and delivered it to Prime Minister Zhao Jiulang’s desk below.

Most of the time, only the emperor and minister review the documents in the Imperial Study, Zhao Jiulang came from a humble background, he was promoted directly by the Yan Emperor, if not for the precedents of the Earl of North Border and Lord Jingnan, perhaps, the harmonious relationship between emperor and minister in Yan could be best described with this Prime Minister.

Zhao Jiulang opened the memorandum and found it was sent by Mao Mingcai, the Prefect of Ying Capital City.

In this past month, the number of memorandums from Ying Capital City increased severalfold compared to usual.

However, this time it was not about rebellion or requests to execute someone but rather concerning a flood disaster at Wang River.

Currently, the rainy season has not yet arrived, but signs are already evident, Mao Mingcai petitioned the court to allocate additional military resources and grain for the next season to manage the river works.

Zhao Jiulang closed the memorandum.

The Yan Emperor smiled and said:

"Mao Mingcai is indeed diligent."

Zhao Jiulang concurred:

"Yes."

The rebellion in Ying Capital City was concluded with Grand Tutor Sun’s comeback to settle it, Mao Mingcai did not continue focusing on those matters but turned his attention to river engineering.

He indeed deserves to be called a dedicated border official.

Some officials exhaust every effort in factional conflicts, while in mundane matters they evade responsibilities, such people are of no benefit to the state.

"Your Majesty, river works at Wang River were originally the mandatory task for the Situ Family to govern annually, but in the past two years, it was delayed due to wars. If it’s truly as Mao Mingcai reports, we should preemptively prepare, as the Three Jin region is in a recovery period and cannot withstand further flood harassment."

Yan faces a formidable issue now, which is the rapid annexation of the Jin land.

Originally, capturing half of it slowly to integrate and stabilize wasn’t problematic, but the wild people invaded once, forcing Lord Jingnan to lead the army and conquer the entire Jin land.

In doing so, Yan must sustain the entire Jin land’s defense and administration, essentially using resources from Yan State to aid Jin land.

Currently, it is not expected that the Jin land can repay Yan’s assistance shortly; the hope is for Jin land to recuperate soon, easing Yan’s burden.

"Assign the Ministry of Works to oversee river engineering, and instruct Mao Mingcai to involve former Cheng State Ministry of Works officials and those experienced in river management.

My dear minister, arrange this."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

"Have the Fifth Prince Ji Chengmin oversee the Ministry of Works, he’s always been interested in such things, and this time, I’ll give him an opportunity, as my Yan cannot sustain idle princes."

"Your Majesty, should the Fifth Prince immediately accompany the Ministry of Works personnel to Ying Capital City?"

"No rush, isn’t Lord Pingye about to enter the capital?"

Wei Zhonghe quickly responded, "According to Your Majesty, he should be arriving soon."

"The Ministry of Works needs time to prepare, and the Ministry of Revenue also needs to make additional arrangements for the next season’s grain supply to Ying Capital City. Let Ji Chengmin return to Jin land together with Lord Pingye upon his departure.

By the way, have you read the memorandum from Wujing?"

"To answer Your Majesty, I have. The Eldest Prince stabilized the situation by consecutively defeating two Qian army routes near Nanwang City."

"Hmm, in this world, aside from Wujing, I’ve not seen another general who could achieve victory in every battle, and my Yan only has one Wujing.

This child, raised in the military camp from a young age, excels in every way, except for being overly contemplative. I was originally worried he might become discouraged because of the Wang River campaign, but apparently, I worried too much.

Issue a directive in the name of the central government to commend him, but also caution him not to become greedy for exploits, just stabilize the situation, as I worry he might be too eager to seek military credits."

"Your Majesty, the Eldest Prince has always been prudent and cautious in warfare."

"Hmm, alright, that’s enough for today, my dear minister, you’d better go home early to hold your granddaughter."

Zhao Jiulang’s eldest daughter-in-law recently gave birth to a girl.

"Your subject thanks for Your Majesty’s grace."

After Zhao Jiulang left the Imperial Study,

the Yan Emperor, who had been sitting behind the imperial desk, suddenly stiffened;

Wei Zhonghe immediately pulled out a handkerchief and handed it to the Yan Emperor,

"Cough, cough..."

The Yan Emperor suddenly began to cough violently,

when it subsided,

Wei Zhonghe swiftly collected the blood-stained handkerchief, then served tea.

This illness had improved for over two years but recently started again.

In the entire palace, only Wei Zhonghe truly understood the changes in the Yan Emperor’s condition.

The Yan Emperor held a teacup,

took a sip,

and said:

"When will Zheng Fan enter the capital precisely?"

"To answer Your Majesty, at noon the day after tomorrow."

The Yan Emperor took a deep breath,

exhaled slowly,

placed the teacup on the desk,

closed his eyes slightly,

and said:

"Good."

"Your Majesty, may I boldly ask what the arrangements are for the day after tomorrow?"

The Yan Emperor slowly opened his closed eyelids,

his gaze fell on Wei Zhonghe, and he said:

"What, even you, a mere servant, think that Zheng Fan’s visit to Li Tian City compels me to have thoughts?"

Wei Zhonghe immediately prostrated himself, kowtowing and said:

"This servant dares not, this servant deserves death."

The Yan Emperor slowly closed his eyes again,

"Heh..."