When Cai Jing, Tong Guan, and the others discovered that Fang Zhiyi was not only unpunished but had even begun to expand his forces on a massive scale, they immediately panicked. However, when they tried to do something about it, Gao Qiu stood in their way.
Taking advantage of the open and secret struggles among the court officials, Fang Zhiyi simultaneously demonstrated his loyalty to Emperor Huizong of Song and began to change the original functions of the Imperial City Division. Previously, the Imperial City Division of the Northern Song Dynasty merely handled trivial matters like intelligence gathering and guarding the imperial city. But now, Fang Zhiyi had transformed the entire division into a full-fledged secret police agency.
Drawing upon his past experiences, he granted his subordinates the authority to surveil and arrest officials at will.
All at once, the entire Imperial City Division became like a massive machine, its stagnant gears slowly beginning to turn.
"The commander has ordered! Anyone who sees the waist tag of the Imperial City Division must not resist! Those who resist will be punished for treason!"
"Everyone in the Imperial City Division has the special privilege to execute first and report later! Authorized by imperial power!"
Teams of men and horses began to actively patrol the streets and alleys.
Some officials belonging to the factions of Tong Guan and Cai Jing were drinking and watching beautiful women dance one day, only to be suddenly dragged away for interrogation by Imperial City Division agents who broke down their doors the next.
For a time, everyone in Bianjing felt their lives were in danger, and even the usual discussions about the political situation decreased significantly.
The hundreds of officials in the court were as silent as cicadas in winter. They could not help but harbor deep resentment toward Gao Qiu. How did his playboy of an adopted son suddenly get an official position? Getting a position was one thing, but now he was acting like a madman!
Cai Jing and his cohorts naturally sensed the danger, but they were stretched too thin. They had to guard against Fang Zhiyi while simultaneously wrestling with Gao Qiu. The other officials found the spectacle quite fascinating; it was a rare sight to see these three scoundrels biting at each other.
Emperor Huizong of Song, who initially had some misgivings, found that ever since Fang Zhiyi began his operations, he reported his achievements and news almost daily. Furthermore, the voices that used to criticize the emperor had all vanished.
For Emperor Huizong of Song, this was a great thing.
In his heart, he once again awarded Fang Zhiyi the title of a loyal subject. It was only now that he felt a real sense of control. In the past, he had to rely on those old fools to know anything, but not anymore! If he wanted to see Li Shishi in the afternoon, he only needed to say the word, and an hour later, Li Shishi would definitely be brought to the palace to meet him!
"A truly loyal subject!" In the eyes of Emperor Huizong of Song, Fang Zhiyi was absolutely his most trusted confidant.
Now, when he looked at Cai Jing and the others, he could not hide his disgust.
You keep saying it is for my own good, but in reality, you are forming factions for selfish gain, aren't you? You are deceiving me, aren't you? Now I have the Imperial City Division! You mean nothing!
Even Gao Qiu was driven out by him.
Seeing that Emperor Huizong of Song was starting to rely on the convenience of the Imperial City Division, Fang Zhiyi knew the time was ripe.
He began to mix some fabricated news into his reports, just enough to be believable without going overboard. For example, he reported that Cai Jing was cursing the emperor at home for being incompetent and only knowing how to seek out prostitutes, or that Tong Guan had planted his own spies around the emperor.
No matter how incompetent Emperor Huizong of Song was, he was still an emperor. Especially after experiencing this feeling of total control, the aura of a supreme ruler could no longer be concealed.
"Bastards! My beloved subject! To think they would curse me like this behind my back!" He paced back and forth in his bedchamber in anger. Fang Zhiyi stood to the side with his hands behind his back. A moment later, he took out another secret memorial, a look of determination on his face.
Emperor Huizong of Song paused, looked at Fang Zhiyi, and took the secret memorial.
"Grand Marshal Gao Qiu has withheld approximately one hundred thousand shi of military rations destined for the border..."
Emperor Huizong of Song frowned and turned to look at Fang Zhiyi.
Fang Zhiyi looked conflicted, but eventually said, "The Imperial City Division is loyal to Your Majesty. We will not conceal any information from Your Majesty."
After a long silence, Emperor Huizong of Song patted Fang Zhiyi on the shoulder. "A loyal subject! My beloved subject, it is only today that my eyes can finally see clearly. You are the true loyal subject!"
"Holy crap, so you saved Gao Qiu just to sacrifice him at this moment? Brilliant move!" Little Hei was dumbfounded.
Having further secured the emperor's trust, and with the former favored officials now falling out of favor, Fang Zhiyi's methods became increasingly ruthless.
He began to make his move against Tong Guan, Cai Jing, and the others. Secret agents frequently slipped in and out of their estates. He did not even need to fabricate crimes for these guys; a simple investigation turned up a massive pile of them.
When Fang Zhiyi deliberately chose a time when the emperor was in a bad mood to present these findings, as expected, Emperor Huizong of Song's furious curses rang out.
"Investigate thoroughly! Punish them severely! These bastards! Punish them all severely!"
Tong Guan never imagined that while he was still hesitating about how to deal with Fang Zhiyi, bad news would arrive one after another.
"Disaster! Disaster! Lord Privy Councillor! All of your eunuchs in the palace have been arrested by the Imperial City Division!"
"My Lord, my Lord! Several generals have been secretly brought back to Bianjing, and they are all locked up now!"
"What?" Before Tong Guan could recover from the shock, a squad of grim-faced Imperial City Division agents suddenly charged through the door. When a servant tried to stop them, the leader drew his sword and slashed him down. The screams left Tong Guan stunned.
Have they gone mad?
"Tong Guan! Come with us."
"What are you doing! I am the Privy Councillor!"
"You can be whatever you want, but save your words until we get back!"
A similar scene was playing out at Cai Jing's estate, where Cai Jing was practically dragged out.
"Striking their weaknesses with the speed of lightning... you must have been planning this for a long time, haven't you? Even the military has people from the Imperial City Division?" Gao Qiu sat in his grand armchair, looking at Fang Zhiyi, who was seated opposite him.
Fang Zhiyi stared straight at him.
Gao Qiu suddenly laughed in self-deprecation. "You are not my son. My son was never as ruthless as you... Previously, someone said that Gao Lian had provoked ghosts and gods, and I didn't believe it. Now it seems... hehehe." He picked up the tea in his hand and drank it all in one gulp.
Fang Zhiyi remained silent.
It was not surprising that Gao Qiu could tell he was not the original person. After all, no one would willingly believe such a bizarre thing. Perhaps it was only at this moment, when Fang Zhiyi completely bared his fangs, that Gao Qiu became certain the adopted son before him had long been replaced by someone else inside.
"Come on then. I'm guessing my subordinates have already been detained by your people, yes or no?"
Fang Zhiyi chuckled. "Don't worry. After all, you've helped me so much; I won't do anything to you. Men, please invite Grand Marshal Gao... back to the Imperial City Division for a chat!"
Gao Qiu stood up, let out a slightly sorrowful sigh, and then suddenly stood still. "Just how far do you intend to go? Right now, you are the emperor's favored subject, but acting like this, I fear that one day, you will end up with the same fate as me!"
Fang Zhiyi began to laugh, but did not answer him.
Seeing Fang Zhiyi's smiling face, Gao Qiu suddenly froze. A moment later, he pointed his finger at Fang Zhiyi, his fingertip trembling slightly. "You... you... could it be that you want to..."
iaobai: "Councilor Dad, front me some funds. I want to hire ten thousand professional miners for a project!" [Five-Star Mission Issued: Capture the leader of the Blood Heaven Pirate Gang, who is on the run in the Radiant Star Sector. It is said the gang has over a hundred members. Proceed with caution.] Lu Xiaobai: "Councilor Dad, lend me the family's hundred-thousand-strong Lu Army!" [Seven-Star Mission Issued: Subdue a juvenile Void Dragon Beast.] Lu Xiaobai: "Councilor Dad, I'm taking your tamed Void Dragon Beast King out for a family reunion!" I said, System, don't you have any slightly more challenging missions? You're just not up to par! [Nine-Star Mission Issued: Become the Human Councilor.] Lu Xiaobai: "Dad, there's a small matter I'd like to discuss with you..."
lanned to earn money steadily and take life at a slower pace. But he never expected... his father's remarriage, and the stepmother bringing along a dependent, would completely disrupt his life's plans...
ut it can buy an entire year of absolutely perfect training results! Su Yu stared at his empty wallet and decisively opened up various online loan platforms. “Borrow a thousand bucks! Recharge my vitality!” Boom! His vitality broke a hundred points, shattering the limits of the human body! “Borrow ten thousand bucks! Recharge my combat skills!” Boom! A basic punching technique so common it was everywhere instantly maxed out, revealing the ultimate assassination technique of Five Elements Unity—Inner Force! When a rich kid hired assassins for a midnight ambush, aiming to break both of his legs, they instead ran headfirst into a monster—a human-shaped tyrannosaur, brimming with dragon-like vitality. With just two fingers, Su Yu snapped a steel staff reinforced with alloy. Staring at the killer’s stash of stolen cash—a staggering quarter-million dollars—he showed a corporate-sincere smile: “Thanks for the pre-exam gift pack, Mr. Zhao! I’m gonna go re-invest this!” Three days later, at the National Martial Arts College Entrance Exam, while everyone else struggled just to reach the passing line, Su Yu threw a single punch—and more than a thousand vitality points literally detonated the entire arena!
ing gift was a patch of barren land, and disciples were all picked up along the way. He spent fifty years diligently building three "ramshackle little sects," thinking he could finally live a carefree life relying on his disciples. But right at the fifty-year mark, he was suddenly swept away by a spatial rift and exiled to the Chaos Desolation, the Disorderly Ruins. There was no spiritual energy there, only slaughter. Relying on the cultivation feedback from his disciples, Gu Changyuan hacked his way through a sea of blood for eleven hundred years. When the system finally fished him back out, he discovered the ramshackle little sects he'd built back then had developed a rather... unusual style. Hold on... I vanished for a thousand years, so how did my ramshackle little sects become holy lands?!
