Puppet Emperor 012

Several blades pierced his abdomen, and Fang Zhiyi spat out a mouthful of blood, dyeing everything before his eyes red.

But he did not fall. Instead, he spun around, snatched a blade, and swung it out once more. Grand Commandant Yi, who was closest and still standing there in a daze, had his throat directly slit by this strike.

That day, the news of Fang Zhiyi's death spread throughout the capital.

Everyone was stunned. That disgraceful emperor was dead? What? And he took the ruler of the Mang Kingdom down with him before he died?

Disbelief was written on everyone's faces. It wasn't until the entire capital descended into chaos, with armored soldiers beginning to patrol the streets, that they realized the emperor had truly killed the ruler of Mang—and even managed to kill a Grand Commandant as a bonus!

Covered in mud, De Xiang pulled out the letter Fang Zhiyi had personally given him from his robes with trembling hands and handed it to Fang Fengqi, who stood before him.

Fang Fengqi's expression was solemn as he reached out to take it.

There were only a few words on the paper. It said nothing about the succession to the throne, offered no self-defense, and didn't even have a signature.

"You little bastard, remember to pay off my debts for me!"

Fang Fengqi looked at the ledger De Xiang pulled out next, which recorded the funds plundered from the commoners and deposited in the bank.

"Your Highness, this old servant must return. His Majesty, he..." De Xiang didn't finish. He just wiped his nose and stood up to leave, but he was immediately held back by two people.

"Your Highness, His Majesty is truly not the kind of person you think he is! Please let this old servant go back!"

Suddenly, a man with a straight back walked into the tent from outside. He glanced at De Xiang, and De Xiang also looked at the man in surprise. Xie Wanyuan bowed deeply to Fang Fengqi: "Your Highness, His Majesty has passed away."

De Xiang's body went limp and collapsed, his eyes full of disbelief.

"How is that possible? How could this be? When I left, His Majesty was still..."

Xie Wanyuan's face was grave. "Chief Eunuch Li, His Majesty waited for the opportunity to meet with the ruler of Mang, took the chance to strike and kill him, and even hacked the Grand Commandant of Mang to death before his own end."

"This..." De Xiang looked around in a panic. "His Majesty, His Majesty was no puppet, nor was he a cowardly ruler!" As he shouted, he began to laugh, and then he burst into tears. "This old servant shouldn't have left! It should have been this old servant who went!"

Suddenly, Fang Fengqi crouched down and patted his shoulder. "Chief Eunuch Li, I will have to trouble you to help me handle matters by my side from now on."

De Xiang looked up at Fang Fengqi with red eyes.

"I didn't know before why he was so weak. He not only surrendered but also willingly made money for those people. It wasn't until he drove me out of the capital that I finally understood a little."

Fang Fengqi pointed outside. "The bank my royal father established provided us with massive amounts of funding. Every time, it was sent through one route, exchanged for some relatively useless goods, and hauled back."

De Xiang remembered. He had once been curious as to why Fang Zhiyi, the very person who founded the bank, would still borrow money, only to use those borrowed funds to buy worthless things to take back.

"Could it be? His Majesty was..."

At the same time, the bank's storehouse where the ledgers were kept suddenly caught fire. The blaze was immense, and some people couldn't even react in time. However, soldiers who wanted to take advantage of the chaos to loot some silver attacked the bank's vault, whose guards had already fled, only to open it and find it completely empty.

Upon inquiry, they learned that a caravan of carriages had come earlier, claiming they needed to transfer assets back to Great Mang.

Xie Wanyuan cupped his hands. "Your Highness, it is time to raise our troops. The news of the Mang ruler's death has already reached their army. Taking advantage of their unstable morale, we can retake the capital in one fell swoop. His Majesty said that when we capture the capital, he would have a grand gift for us."

Fang Fengqi's complexion was poor, but after a moment of thought, he ordered, "Pass this down. The three armies are to heed my command! March back to the capital! Avenge the late emperor!"

Voice after voice passed the command down the line.

"Avenge the late emperor!"

Just as Fang Zhiyi had anticipated, with their ruler dead, their Grand Commandant dead, and their Great General imprisoned, the Mang army was like a headless pheasant. Faced with the charge of the Li army, they were completely at a loss. Although some resisted bravely, many more secretly fled. These fleeing soldiers played a role, as their fear swept away even more troops.

The great army that had conquered thirteen cities of Li in one fell swoop suffered a total collapse.

One side had lost its ruler and was in a state of panic, while the other was entirely focused on avenging Fang Zhiyi.

The remnant forces quickly retreated into the capital. Looking at the solid city walls before him, Fang Fengqi couldn't understand how they had lost in the first place, just as he now couldn't figure out how to break in.

The soldiers who closed the city gates gasped heavily for breath, discarding their helmets and armor. Some merely rested for a moment before fleeing in another direction. Fortunately, the defending general still had his wits about him and loudly ordered the soldiers onto the walls to repel the enemy.

After a bout of chaos, a defensive response was finally mounted on the city walls.

But right at that moment, an inconspicuous beggar suddenly stood up and approached the city gate.

"What are you doing? Get away!" a soldier yelled.

The beggar tossed his messy hair. "Me? I'm just a beggar."

"Scram immediately! Or I'll kill you! You lowly Li scum!"

"Pfft!"

He clutched his throat, looking in astonishment at Scarface, who had suddenly rushed over. The blade in his hand had hacked into the soldier's neck.

The other soldiers tried to shout, but they saw a dozen more people surging forward. These people acted as if they didn't care for their lives; having no armor, they used their flesh to block the blades. The already routed soldiers were terrified by these dozen or so men.

It wasn't until the defending general on the wall heard the screams below that he realized something was wrong, but it was already too late. The city gate was desperately pushed open by a man covered in blood.

"Your Majesty! This commoner thanks you for your grace!!!"

Teng Shuchang had also just been released from prison. Looking at the officials before him who wanted him to take charge of the situation, he didn't have time to ask questions and hurriedly walked outside. But as soon as he stood on the main street, he felt the ground trembling, and then the army holding the banners of Li came into view.

Teng Shuchang knew that everything was over.

Watching those formerly arrogant Mang soldiers surrender one by one, Little Hei clapped his hands. "Honestly, I thought you raised those death squads to kill Teng Shuchang."

Fang Zhiyi laughed, "Teng Shuchang? Is he even worthy? People like him are the most troublesome; they want the credit but don't dare to be greedy. If this Grand Commandant hadn't come, it really would have been hard for me to handle."

Little Hei thought about it. If Fang Zhiyi had chosen to drag Teng Shuchang down with him from the start, he probably would have been dead beyond dead long ago.

Records of Great Li: Emperor Lie of Li, Fang Zhiyi, feigned surrender and endured humiliation, preserving the commoners of the thirteen cities occupied by the Mang dynasty. At the same time, under constant surveillance, he transported supplies to the southern army. On the day he met with the ruler of the Mang Kingdom, he publicly assassinated the Mang ruler and the Grand Commandant of Mang. Emperor Wu of Li, Fang Fengqi, once said that although his father had no political achievements during his reign, his reputation was enough to resound through heaven and earth.

In the same year Li was restored, every household across Great Li hung white mourning silk to commemorate Emperor Lie, Fang Zhiyi.

The Chronicles of Mang: The people of the Li State are deceitful beyond measure. They infected the officials of Mang with their corrupt ways, draining our nation's strength and inciting the fury of the masses. May future sovereigns heed this as a grave warning.

The Comprehensive History: As for Fang Zhiyi, the man defies judgment. He possessed not a shred of imperial majesty, behaving instead like a vulgar merchant. Yet, his actions extended the destiny of the Li State by three centuries. His merits and sins, his rights and wrongs, must be left to the judgment of posterity.