Secular Immortal of the Nine Realms - Chapter 116

Chapter 116: Fang Chen, Are You Staging a Rebellion?

“Imperial Duke Fang, I’m afraid this is not appropriate. His Majesty has his reasons for placing people in their respective positions. You might be the imperial duke, but this is not a matter you should interfere with…” Li Guozhu spoke up.

He was Great Xia’s prime minister, after all. His standing might be beneath Fang Chen, but he had built up significant influence in Great Xia over the years. His willingness to intervene made many of the officials breathe a sigh of relief.

Xiao Shence’s complexion slightly improved too.

All of them thought that Fang Chen was already bordering on blasphemy.

He actually tried to replace the emperor’s aide with his own, and he did it so openly too… This is no different from staging a rebellion!

Such a thought was on everyone’s mind, but no one dared to bring it out in the open. They feared that pointing it out might throw Great Xia’s future into uncertainty.

“Prime Minister Li,” Fang Chen called out. “This course of action is to Great Xia’s benefit. I’ll do whatever is beneficial to Great Xia. Great Xia belongs to the people as well, not just His Majesty. Sometimes, there’s no choice but for His Majesty to take a step back.”

“Atrocious! How can you utter such blasphemous words!” Some of the older officials couldn’t tolerate it anymore and pointed a trembling finger at Fang Chen.

The generals present remained silent, though they occasionally exchanged glances.

The emperor turned livid. Years in the imperial court had taught him how to conceal his emotions and thoughts, but he struggled to maintain his poker face after hearing Fang Chen’s words.

Xia Yu even reddened in anger. What is Fang Chen trying to do here? Great Xia belongs to our Xia Clan! This has been a fact from the moment Great Xia was founded!

“Enough,” the emperor said. “Xiao Shence has indeed been incompetent in his duties. I hereby dismiss him as the Valiant Defenders’ commander. Huang Sihai will take his place instead.”

The crowd fell silent.

Tao Mingsheng had begun trembling. Xiao Shence has failed to keep his subordinate in line, but it’s the same for me too. Qin Dong is the Vice Minister of Rites, my direct subordinate…

“Imperial Duke Fang, are there any more suggestions you’d like to make?” the emperor asked with a smile.

“Your Majesty, when do you plan on holding the Third Prince’s funeral?” Fang Chen asked.

The Third Prince’s funeral? Are the rumors true?

The crowd was taken aback. Was it due to Fang Chen purging the Greenpine martial artists that Greenpine had the Third Prince killed out of vengeance?

Xia Yu stared fixedly at Fang Chen, as if trying to see through his intentions.

“Fang… Imperial Duke Fang, are the rumors… true?” the emperor grimly asked.

“Yes, Your Majesty. The Third Prince has died for Great Xia.” Fang Chen nodded.

“Imperial Duke Fang, my Third Brother wouldn’t have died such a pitiful death if not for you!” Xia Yu suddenly cried out.

Fang Chen had displayed overwhelming power, and the Fang Manor’s guards had even massacred hundred Nightmare Knights with ease. Even the Ji Clan’s cultivator had died in his hands.

Yet, Xia Yu still stood up to criticize Fang Chen at this juncture?

A lot of the older officials looked heartened. At least our crown prince dares to speak up.

“Indeed. You should have been the hostage instead. Even I am in awe of the Third Prince’s governance ability. His death is truly a pity.” Fang Chen smiled.

Xia Yu looked as if someone had stuffed dog shit down his throat. His face nearly turned green.

The officials of the imperial court, however, were already accustomed to Fang Chen’s way of speaking. This was how he had rendered them speechless on the imperial court five years ago.

Seeing that Xia Yu dared not squeak anymore, Fang Chen turned to the three envoys and said, “What are your names? Forget that, it’s not important. Return home and tell your lieges that your countries will be our vassals from this day onward. If anyone has any complaints, do relay them to me. I’ll personally pay them a visit to convince them.”

The envoys were just about to introduce themselves, only to hear that Fang Chen wasn’t interested in knowing their names at all. The blatant lack of respect made them redden in anger.

“Also, whatever you have been paying to Chillwater before, you shall double that for us. Shortchange us by ten percent, and we’ll take a city of yours. Shortchange us by thirty percent, and we’ll wipe your country off the face of the world,” Fang Chen said.

The three envoys gasped. You want us to double our tribute for you, and you’re threatening violence if we fail to obey? This is too much!

As infuriated as they were, they had no choice but to lower their heads out of fear of Fang Chen’s means. They didn’t even dare to meet Fang Chen in the eye, fearing that the latter would find an excuse to kill them.

“It’s getting late. You should quickly return and relay the message. Make sure to send the tribute over as soon as possible,” Fang Chen said with a casual wave of his hands.

The envoys were sent away as if they were mere flies. Without daring to leave behind a threat, they awkwardly left with their elite troops.

“If we double the tribute of those three states…” Li Guozhu murmured contemplatively before his eyes suddenly lit up. “That would at least add a few million taels to our treasury each year!”

The officials snapped out of the incident involving Xiao Shence, and their eyes gleamed in excitement when they realized just how wealthy their country was going to be.

Even Great Xia’s annual tax income was only a few million taels!

Through the tribute of their three vassal states, they would be able to slowly recover from the huge setback they had suffered five years ago. It wouldn’t take long for them to revert to their previous state.

No! We’ll be even more prosperous than before, especially since we are now a grade-8 state!

“Imperial Duke Fang, there’s something I’d like to ask you,” the emperor suddenly spoke up.

The crowd quickly turned to the emperor.

“Your Majesty, please speak your mind,” Fang Chen replied.

“A grade-9 state advancing to grade-8 will require not just the agreement of Chillwater but the other nearby superior states too. If the others don’t agree to it, it would be in vain,” the emperor said.

“What reason do they have to oppose our promotion? Will they dare to oppose our promotion?” Fang Chen replied.

The crowd was startled. What domineering words! Fang Chen must be confident about this!

“That would be for the best. There are other matters I’d like to discuss with Imperial Duke Fang, so I’ll have to ask you to follow me back to the imperial palace,” the emperor said with a nod.

The emperor and the officials left under the escort of the guards. The civilians were still immersed in what had happened, and they excitedly chatted with one another while making their way back to the city.

The severely wounded Ji Lengyue hadn’t been forgotten either. The Valiant Defenders threw him onto a carriage and brought him to their inner city’s barracks.

In the Imperial Library, the emperor looked at Fang Chen lividly and bellowed, “Fang Chen, are you trying to stage a rebellion here?!”

The eunuch and maids standing outside were horrified by the bellow. Yan Beihan, who was standing at the entrance, was taken aback as well. He nearly rushed into the Imperial Library, though he held himself back in the end.

“What makes you say so, Your Majesty? I’d have rebelled long ago if I wanted to. There’s no need for me to wait to this day,” Fang Chen calmly replied.

The emperor paced around the room while seething with rage. In the end, he stopped in front of Fang Chen and stared at him, as if to verify if he was truly blind or not. “If you aren’t planning on staging a rebellion, why did you coerce me into dismissing Xiao Shence. He’s my aide! Why do you keep putting me in a spot before the officials of the imperial court? Fang Chen, you should remember that I’m your uncle too! My empress is your aunt!”