Chapter 58: The Return of the Chancellor

In the early morning, Ning Chen woke up feeling refreshed and in high spirits.

Stretching lazily, he shouted with great ambition, "A new day has begun, time for court!"

Sitting upon the dragon palanquin and watching the Hall of Supreme Harmony draw nearer, Ning Chen’s gaze grew increasingly resolute. No matter how tightly the Empress Dowager tightened her grip on the court and the country, she could not derail his plans. Now that he had amassed enough funds, the next step in his plan was to sever the Empress Dowager’s most formidable wings—Zhao Siwen!

Inside the Hall of Supreme Harmony, Ning Chen sat upon the dragon throne, maintaining a picture of absolute innocence. Yet, he noticed that the Empress Dowager seemed to be in an exceptionally good mood today. Before the officials had even finished their ritual prostrations, she asked impatiently, "Has the Grand Chancellor not returned yet? Where is he?"

Ning Chen frowned slightly. Had Grand Chancellor Song Guozhong returned already?

Just as the thought crossed his mind, a figure slowly walked through the entrance of the hall, instantly drawing everyone's attention. Song Guozhong kept his eyes half-closed, his official robes impeccably neat, and his steps measured and steady, neither rushed nor slow. Yet, no expression could be read on his aged face.

Reaching the head of the civil and military officials, Song Guozhong prepared to pay his respects: "This old minister greets Your Majesty and Her Majesty, may Her Majesty live for ten thousand years..."

The Empress Dowager interrupted him directly, "Aijia exempts you from these formalities! Quick, tell us, how did this northern mission for peace talks progress?"

Song Guozhong stroked his beard, his face still devoid of any expression, and spoke with calm indifference, "Reporting to Her Majesty, the peace talks went quite smoothly. The Great Jin has agreed to halt the war and is willing to reduce the originally demanded five million liang of silver down to three million liang! The fine silk will be reduced to three hundred thousand bolts, and warhorses to fifty thousand..."

A loud rumble echoed through the hall before his words even faded. The entire court instantly erupted into a deafening roar of astonishment:

"What?"

"The tribute silver reduced to three million liang? The silk to three hundred thousand bolts? And warhorses directly cut in half?"

"This, this is impossible! How could the Great Jin suddenly become so benevolent?"

"Good heavens, just how did the Grand Chancellor pull this off..."

"This is simply unimaginable..."

The Empress Dowager was struck dumb with shock. She stared in disbelief at Song Guozhong, who remained calm and expressionless, her eyes filled with excitement and thrill. "Beloved minister, is what you speak the truth?"

Song Guozhong immediately cupped his hands and bowed. "Her Majesty, this old minister would never treat such a monumental matter as child's play! At first, when this old minister put forward these terms, they certainly refused, but this old minister..."

Song Guozhong was about to explain the details, but the Empress Dowager seemed entirely consumed by her excitement and paid no heed to his explanation. She abruptly stood up, stepped out from behind the beaded curtains, and proclaimed loudly, "Good! Excellent!"

"The Grand Chancellor is truly the pillar of our Great Ning!"

"You have executed this northern peace mission brilliantly and shall be regarded as Great Ning's foremost meritorious statesman..."

At these words, the officials rushed to echo her sentiments, and for a moment, lavish praises filled the entire Hall of Supreme Harmony.

Ning Chen, however, frowned. Could this Song Guozhong truly possess such capability? How could he possibly force the Great Jin to make such massive concessions? I fear there is a hidden agenda behind all this...

As he pondered this, Song Guozhong spoke up once more, "Your Majesty, although the Great Jin has agreed to my demands, they have also proposed a new condition."

The Empress Dowager’s expression shifted slightly. "What condition?"

Song Guozhong replied, "They require our Great Ning to deliver the payment within two months!"

Hearing this, Ning Chen raised an eyebrow. No wonder the Great Jin agreed to lower their demands! It seemed his previous guess was correct; the Great Jin must be suffering from a depleted national strength, unable to sustain a prolonged war, and thus desperately needed Great Ning's tribute. If Great Ning had only kept fighting, the Great Jin would have inevitably collapsed!

At this thought, he immediately stood up, looked toward the Empress Dowager, and said, "Mother Empress, the reason the Great Jin acted this way must be due to their exhausted national strength. Our Great Ning ought to—"

Before he could finish, the Empress Dowager interrupted him harshly, "This matter is settled! You need not concern yourself with it!"

Ning Chen frowned. He believed the Empress Dowager must have understood this as well, so why did she still insist on peace talks? Was her spine truly this soft?

Unexpectedly, the Empress Dowager looked out at the officials and smiled with confidence. "A mere three million liang is nothing more than a drop in the ocean to our Great Ning, entirely negligible! There is no need to waste any more human and material resources on war."

With that, the Empress Dowager commanded, "Hear my decree, all officials!"

Upon hearing this, the courtiers dropped to their knees in unison.

The Empress Dowager declared loudly, "I appoint Yu Xiaoqing, Commander of the Western Capital Garrison, as the Great General Defeating the West. He is to lead troops to Yanggu City immediately, take over the military affairs of Great General Defending the North Xiang Qing, reorganize the border defense, and thoroughly investigate Xiang Qing's failure to hold the territory!"

Hearing this, Ning Chen experienced a sudden flash of insight. So that was it! No wonder the Empress Dowager insisted on peace talks! It turned out to be a ploy to have her maternal cousin, Yu Xiaoqing, take over the northwest border army and further tighten her grip on Great Ning's military power!

What a clever scheme. Truly a brilliant scheme...

While he was thinking, the Empress Dowager continued, "Where is the Minister of Revenue?"

Zhao Siwen stepped forward in response and said, "Her Majesty, this humble minister is here!"

"Can the treasury raise the required tribute within two months?" the Empress Dowager asked.

Hearing this, Zhao Siwen wore a troubled expression as he replied, "I-I am afraid it might be somewhat difficult!"

"What?" The Empress Dowager was momentarily stunned, her voice turning stern. "Did your systems of purchasing official ranks and commuting crimes not already generate several million liang for the imperial treasury? How could it not be enough?"

Zhao Siwen answered, "Your Majesty, the revenues have indeed been substantial, but they can never keep pace with the speed of consumption! The resettlement of refugees in the northwest, the disaster relief across various provinces, and the border garrison troops—all these areas require funds! That is why this old minister previously proposed increasing taxes and expanding the rank-purchasing and crime-commutation systems."

At this point, he cast a disdainful glance at Ning Chen nearby and continued, "Unfortunately, our current Emperor strongly opposed it back then! However, Your Majesty may rest assured, provided His Majesty is willing to admit defeat right now, it is not too late to increase taxes and intensify the New Policies. This minister guarantees that the required sum will be raised within two months!"

Saying this, Zhao Siwen shot another smug look at Ning Chen. "It is just that there is still some time left before the half-year deadline. I wonder if His Majesty is willing to concede defeat in advance?"

As soon as these words were spoken, all eyes turned involuntarily toward Ning Chen on the dragon throne, every single one of them wearing an expression of eager anticipation for a good show. For they all knew very well that the young Emperor had no chance of winning the wager whatsoever!

Zhao Siwen’s words now were tantamount to backing the young Emperor into an inescapable corner! If the young Emperor conceded defeat, he would simply have to abdicate obediently. If, on the other hand, the young Emperor insisted on refusing to concede on the grounds that the deadline had not yet arrived, then he would be branded as reckless, disregarding national priorities, and ruining affairs of state!

With such a disastrous sovereign, wouldn't it be all the more justifiable to drive him off the throne?

Seeing the gloating expressions on everyone's faces, Ning Chen frowned. He naturally knew what kind of malicious intentions Zhao Siwen was harboring! Yet, he welcomed such a turn of events! Before coming to court, he had already planned to seize an opportunity to strike back at Zhao Siwen. Never had he expected that Zhao Siwen would eagerly rush into the crossfire on his own!

"Very well, since you seek your own death, I shall grant your wish!"

Murmuring this inwardly, he slowly stood up and stared straight at Zhao Siwen. "Concede defeat? What defeat do you expect me to concede?"

Zhao Siwen sneered, having seemingly anticipated that Ning Chen would refuse to yield, and smugly said, "Naturally, conceding defeat on our previous wager! Your Majesty, the Great Jin has advanced the deadline for tribute. If Your Majesty refuses to concede, then this old minister cannot push forward the New Policies, nor can we raise the tribute needed for the Great Jin in time. If state affairs are ruined as a result, I fear Your Majesty will not be able to bear the consequences..."

Before he could finish, Ning Chen interrupted him coldly, "Absurd! Do you overestimate your own importance so much? When did I ever say that I needed you to raise the tribute?"

As soon as these words fell, everyone was frozen in place, especially the faction of officials led by Zhao Siwen! They had anticipated that Ning Chen might stubbornly refuse to admit defeat, but they had never imagined that Ning Chen would adopt such an arrogant attitude!

He didn't need the Minister of Revenue, Zhao Siwen, to raise the money? Ridiculous! If he wasn't counting on Minister Zhao, was he counting on himself—a nine-year-old puppet emperor? He spoke as if he were capable of raising the funds himself...

The Empress Dowager was also stunned for a moment. She likewise had not expected Ning Chen to take such a stance, and thus reprimanded him with a hint of displeasure, "Chen'er, do not throw tantrums! This is no longer a simple wager! This concerns affairs of state and must never be treated as a game! Hurry and concede defeat and apologize! If you are not relying on Minister Zhao to raise the silver, do you expect—"

Before she could finish, Ning Chen suddenly turned to face the Empress Dowager, bowed respectfully, and said with unwavering firmness, "Mother Empress, Chen'er is not joking! Chen'er has already raised the required tribute!"

Gasp!

As soon as these words were uttered, the court instantly exploded into uproar!

"What? The required tribute has already been raised?"

"How is this possible? He is merely a nine-year-old emperor, how could he possibly raise millions of liang of silver in such a short time?"

"He must be lying, yes, he is definitely lying!"

"As the Son of Heaven, speaking utter nonsense regardless of the occasion is utterly shameful..."

The Empress Dowager and Zhao Siwen widened their eyes almost simultaneously, staring at Ning Chen in sheer disbelief. During this period, Ning Chen had clearly done nothing at all; how could he possibly have earned so much silver?

Zhao Siwen could not resist taking a step forward, saying in a deep voice, "Your Majesty, surely you know that a sovereign's words carry absolute weight! Since this matter is of the utmost gravity and Your Majesty claims the silver has already been raised, may I ask where the silver is? Please present it for everyone to witness..."

Just as he spoke, Ning Chen stepped forward abruptly and said coldly, "I know the lot of you do not believe it! But what if I do produce it..."

Saying this, Ning Chen took another step forward, extended his arm to point directly at Zhao Siwen, his gaze piercing like a sharp blade straight into Zhao Siwen's face:

"Zhao Siwen! Are you willing to honor our wager and execute yourself to appease the realm?!"

For a moment, the entire Hall of Supreme Harmony fell into absolute silence, leaving only the resolute challenge of the nine-year-old boy echoing through the grand hall...