Dust Settles

Zhang Wuji turned his head and glanced at Zhuge Huaijin beside him. He saw that this usually righteous and awe-inspiring Chief Minister, though wearing a solemn expression at the moment, had his eyes constantly drifting between the eunuchs and the military officials. It seemed he had figured something out, as he now stood calmly to the side without saying a word.

Zhang Wuji smiled bitterly in his heart. He knew exactly what Zhuge Huaijin was thinking. Zhuge Huaijin was weighing the pros and cons; if he fought to the death to keep the courier stations right now and completely enraged the Emperor, then the General Taxation Bureau he dreamed of might also go up in smoke. In order to seize the taxation power to deal with the noble families, Zhuge Huaijin had already tacitly allowed the eunuchs to take away the courier stations.

The hearts of the people were divided; the civil official faction was no longer united as a fortress when it came to restricting imperial power.

Wang Hao looked down at the three distinct factions below, mutually hostile yet keeping each other in check, and was overjoyed.

An unprecedented sense of control boiled in his blood.

Checks and balances. This was the imperial art written about thousands of times in the history books, yet only truly understood when sitting in this very seat!

He was not afraid of struggles in the imperial court; what he feared most was a monolithic court. As long as the three parties—the civil officials, the military generals, and the inner court—bit at each other and held mutual animosity, the strongest power, the civil official faction, would no longer be a solid block. They would forever have to rely on the Emperor sitting on the dragon throne to be the final judge.

The timing was just about right; if he let the fire burn any longer, the pot would boil over.

"All of you, shut your mouths!"

Wang Hao's voice was not loud, but through a special vocal technique, it exploded like thunder within the grand hall.

He abruptly stood up, the sleeves of his dragon robe tracing an elegant arc in the air. He pointed his finger at the mass of kneeling officials below, his face timely displaying extreme anger and heartache.

"Look at yourselves! Look at what you have become! Dignified officials of the Great Zhou court, pillars of the state, shouting and screaming in the Fengtian Hall like market shrews, your mouths full of foul language! What kind of decency is this? Have all the books of the sages you have read gone to the dogs?"

The entire hall instantly fell dead silent. Civil and military officials alike prostrated themselves on the ground, crying out, "Your subjects deserve death."

Wang Hao looked down at them from his high vantage point, leaving them hanging for a full half-cup of tea's time. Only when he felt the atmosphere had reached the pinnacle of oppression did he put on an exhausted and helpless expression, slowly sitting back down on the dragon throne and letting out a heavy sigh.

"Enough. Let us argue no more about this matter. As I see it, both sides make valid points."

This phrase, both sides make valid points, made Zhang Wuji's heart sink heavily. He knew the Emperor was about to start slicing the cake.

Wang Hao's gaze first fell upon Zhuge Huaijin and Zhang Wuji. His tone softened slightly, carrying a hint of appeasement, "I understand the Cabinet's concerns. The founding ancestor instructed that inner court eunuchs must not interfere in politics; this is the bottom line, how could I not know? Therefore, have I not entrusted the establishment of the General Taxation Bureau—a major office concerning the livelihood of the people and the foundation of the state—to your Cabinet?"

He stared into Zhuge Huaijin's eyes and said, emphasizing every word, "My beloved subject Zhuge, how to collect commercial taxes, how to avoid disturbing the common folk, and how to enrich the state treasury—that is the expertise of you civil officials. I am handing this heavy burden to you; you must not disappoint me."

Zhuge Huaijin trembled all over, an unconcealable wild joy erupting in his eyes. He immediately kowtowed, "Your subject, Zhuge Huaijin, will surely give his all until his dying breath! I will absolutely not fail Your Majesty's heavy trust!"

Hearing the Emperor personally confirm that the General Taxation Bureau would belong to the Cabinet and be personally led by the Chief Minister, the civil officials in the back, though still feeling stifled, breathed a sigh of relief.

Indeed, the courier stations were a mess; if the eunuchs took them, so be it. In contrast, the General Taxation Bureau was a solid, legitimate second-rank major office that controlled the lifeblood of the world's money and grain. As long as they retained the power to collect taxes, the civil official faction had not entirely lost. In fact, to some extent, their power had even become more centralized.

Observing the micro-expressions of self-consolation among the civil officials, Wang Hao sneered inwardly, but his face instantly frosted over. He immediately changed the subject, his gaze sweeping like a blade toward Sun Li and the other eunuchs, while simultaneously issuing a warning to the Ministry of War.

"However!"

"The courier stations run a deficit year after year, the couriers do not have enough to eat, and they are abused by the powerful—this is also an indisputable fact! Since the Ministry of War is powerless to maintain them, they must be reformed! If they are not reformed, are we to let the world laugh at me? Laugh at the Great Zhou?"

Tie Yi and Zhao Fengchun pressed their foreheads against the brick floor, breaking out in cold sweat, not daring to utter a single word.

Wang Hao stared at Sun Li and shouted sternly, "Hai Dafu! Since you lot keep claiming that you can make money for me and the imperial court, I will give you a chance! Starting today, the courier stations across the realm are immediately stripped from the Ministry of War!"

"By special decree: Establish the Great Zhou Royal General Post Office, to be directly governed by the Directorate of Ceremonial! The original couriers of the stations who wish to stay will be re-registered and issued their full wages; those who do not wish to stay will be given a severance allowance and dismissed. From this day forward, all free private use of courier stations by officials across the land is halted, shifting to a per-item fee-based public collection system! Furthermore, the General Post Office will establish an independent department to transmit official documents, letters, and military intelligence for all levels of government. No one is allowed to interfere; otherwise, they will be killed without pardon."

At this point, Wang Hao slammed his hand heavily onto the dragon desk, producing a loud smack.

"I will make the ugly truth clear upfront! This General Post Office will be responsible for its own profits and losses; the imperial court will not allocate a single cent more! One year! I am only giving you one year! If, after a year, you have not only failed to earn silver for the state treasury but have also paralyzed the courier stations..."

Wang Hao's voice revealed a chilling murderous intent, "Not only will I strip you of your posts, but I will also skin you six eunuchs alive and hang your hides outside the Meridian Gate to air dry!"

Hearing these harsh, almost draconian conditions, the civil officials suddenly felt much more balanced in their hearts. Solely responsible for profits and losses in one year? And they have to make money? To them, this was simply a fantasy. The courier stations were a bottomless pit. Since these damn eunuchs wanted to court death, then let them go to their deaths!

However, Sun Li, Wei Zhongxian, and the other great eunuchs reacted as if they had heard celestial music.

"Your servants thank the Lord for His immense grace! Long live the Emperor, long live, long long live!"

Thump! Thump! Thump!

The six eunuchs kowtowed with all their might in perfect unison, their foreheads instantly drawing blood.

Harsh conditions? Fatal consequences?

No! Only they themselves knew what they had just obtained! They got a super privilege that allowed them to openly and legitimately establish an intelligence network, a logistics network, and a financial empire on a national scale! One year? With the Emperor's secret guidance, in half a year at most, they would let those mocking civil officials know what it meant to have wealth rivaling the nation!

The wood was already made into a boat.

Under the glaring eyes of a large number of military generals, and under the Emperor's seemingly fair ruling of striking both sides equally, the civil official faction ultimately chose silence.

A power transition that should have triggered a massive earthquake across the court and the public was thus bizarrely completed under Wang Hao's overt scheme.

Only Zhang Wuji, kneeling on the freezing golden bricks, felt a piercingly cold chill. He turned his head to look at his colleagues who were secretly rejoicing over having secured the General Taxation Bureau, feeling a profound sorrow in his heart.

What a bunch of fools.

They had no idea that surrendering the courier stations was tantamount to gouging out the Great Zhou Dynasty's eyes. Furthermore, taking over the General Taxation Bureau to collect taxes from the powerful aristocratic families was akin to the civil official faction roasting themselves over an open fire. Today, the civil officials had not only forfeited their current bottom line but also severed their future path of survival.

Yet, he could say nothing, for this was the emperor's most flawless and uncounterable overt plot. Even knowing it was poison, they had to swallow it willingly.

Court is dismissed!

As the attending eunuch's shrill voice pierced through the grand hall, Wang Hao did not linger for even a moment. With a forceful sweep of his broad sleeves, he turned and strode into the rear hall.

The midday sun filtered through the gaps in the glazed tiles above the corridor, casting mottled shadows over Wang Hao's bright yellow dragon robe.

Walking down the secluded and empty passageway, completely removed from the ministers' line of sight, the suppressed curve of Wang Hao's lips finally expanded, ultimately blossoming into wild ecstasy.

It was too perfect.

With the General Postal and Logistics Bureau placed under the jurisdiction of the Inner Court, he could finally and justifiably bypass the Ministry of War. He could deploy his eunuchs to aggressively develop a Great Zhou version of a highway network, establish a state-run express delivery monopoly, and even found the earliest financial institutions and clearinghouses—banks. This would not only resolve his intelligence and logistics problems but also serve as a goose that laid golden eggs!

Handing the General Taxation Bureau over to the Grand Secretariat was an even greater stroke of genius. The very first thing Zhuge Huaijin and his faction of humble-born civil officials would do upon receiving this blade was to tear into those deeply entrenched local aristocratic families.

The imperial court demands taxes; the noble families refuse to pay; the civil officials are forced to coerce them.

All the conflict would be concentrated entirely between the civil officials and the local tyrants. By the time they beat each other bloody and thoroughly shattered the foundational control over the local grassroots, Wang Hao would not only shed a massive financial burden but also reap both fame and fortune.

In today's grand court session, he had eaten one fish three different ways. It was an absolute triumph.

Fight. Fight with all your might.

Wang Hao halted his steps. Listening to the faint sounds of shifting blame and bickering drifting from the direction of the Fengtian Hall as the ministers dispersed, his gaze gradually grew profound and unfathomable.

By the time you parasites beat yourselves into mutual destruction, the new, invincible fleet funded by my commercial empire, along with the new firearms army destined to sweep across the world, will have finally taken shape. When that time comes, those who submit to me shall prosper, and those who defy me shall perish!