Chapter 469: Chapter 424, Chaos of the Hundred Schools
The official behind immediately called out with urgency, "No! People are not livestock. How can we use bran to relieve the disaster?"
Fa Wu spoke with compassion, "In a year of great disaster, humans are even worse off than livestock. It’s already a great fortune to be able to survive, who could still care about not eating well?"
With hands clasped together, he bent deeply in a bow and said, "Please, Prime Minister, make a swift decision.
Prime Minister, you must consider the welfare of the myriad common people!"
The officials behind were all looking at the Prime Minister with concern. If word of this got out, the Prime Minister’s lifetime of reputation would be ruined.
The Prime Minister’s face changed several times, pondered for a moment, then looked up resolutely and said, "If His Majesty seeks accountability, I will take full responsibility."
The officials behind exchanged glances, and together they bowed, saying, "We will stand with the Prime Minister in all actions."
Fa Wu revealed a smile, with hands clasped together, he praised, "The Prime Minister has a compassionate heart, on behalf of the tens of thousands of common people, this monk thanks the Prime Minister."
...
Xianyang, a grand and squarely built structure resides at the heart of the city, solemn and meticulous. Two fully armed soldiers stood before the wide-open gates. The armor of the soldiers bore the character "Law" on the left, and "Military" on the right. This is where the Legalist and Military Schools joined forces to establish the Supervision Institute, meant to capture those within the country who break the law and disrupt order.
A chubby monk and a middle-aged man dressed in black arrived not far from the Supervision Institute, standing at the entrance of a small alley.
The chubby monk said angrily, "I never thought the Confucian School could do such a thing—embezzling all the disaster relief funds and leaving the common people to eat chaff and drink filthy water. My heart is filled with immense sorrow!"
The middle-aged man’s expression was extremely unsightly.
Bowling deeply and with great fervor, the chubby monk said, "To expose the Confucian School’s embezzlement and hypocrisy that harms the common people, I entrust this matter to you, sir, with thousands of common people waiting for you to seek justice on their behalf."
The middle-aged man nodded, his expression filled with righteousness, and said, "This is an undeniable duty!" He strode toward the Supervision Institute.
Inside the Grand Supervision Institute, people were coming and going with inspectors donned in uniforms and long swords at their waists moving briskly, all in a rush.
The middle-aged man followed the stream of people into the spacious hall.
A young man in uniform came over, sized up the middle-aged man, and with a flash of surprise in his eyes, he smiled and asked, "A friend from the Mo School, have you come with a matter to address?"
Among the Hundred Schools, there are closer and more distant relations—the Mo School advocates universal love and non-aggression, mainly focusing on mechanical arts, never stirring trouble, and has a good relationship with the Legalist.
The middle-aged man spoke earnestly, "I am here to report a crime."
"A report?" The young man was surprised, a thought flashing through his mind—was there an incident at the mechanical art school? He immediately gestured with his hand, "Follow me."
The young man led the middle-aged man into a room, sitting down at opposite sides of a desk.
The young man picked up paper and a brush and asked, "Name—"
"Lan Ze—"
"Gender—"
"Male!"
"Age—"
"Three hundred and twenty years old..."
The young man’s hands paused for a moment, he looked up at the middle-aged man; still so young at over three hundred years old, could he be a cultivator?
His mind became alert. Cases involving cultivators were always extremely difficult, already beyond his own scope of handling. He asked directly, "What crime do you wish to report?"
Lan Ze said sternly, "This year, a great drought in the south caused the common people unbearable hardship. His Majesty sent Prime Minister Wei Lin to relieve the disaster, and my Mo School organized mechanical cars to transport the money and grain.
However, as we later found out, the excellent grain we shipped there all turned into bran by the time it reached the hands of the disaster victims."
"What?" The young inspector exclaimed in shock, abruptly standing up, disbelieving as he stared at Lan Ze. The Prime Minister swapped the food for bran?!
Lan Ze said solemnly, "I have not told a single lie, and I implore the inspection team to conduct a thorough investigation."
The young inspector hurriedly said, "Please wait a moment, sir, I will go and call the captain over."
As the sunset in the west, Lan Ze walked out of the Supervision Institute, looking up at the setting sun with a resolute look in his eyes, I don’t care what kind of Prime Minister you are, nor what kind of Great Scholar you may be, treating the citizens like livestock, I will not spare you.
In a tower far away, the chubby Monk Fa Wu stood respectfully behind Jin Chanzi.
Jin Chanzi said with a smile, "The Confucian scholars strive to save people, believing they are not wrong.
The Legalists adhere to the laws, also believing they are not wrong.
The Mixed School simply made deals, thinking they too are not wrong.
The Mo School exposed the darkness, and they don’t believe they are in the wrong either.
In their eyes, the wrong ones are always the others, which then gives rise to contradictions, and so the four schools are bound to come to blows."
Fa Wu spoke admiringly, "Bodhisattva masterfully lured the four schools into the game with extraordinary subtlety, I am profoundly impressed."
Jin Chanzi flicked his finger, with an ambiguous smile, and said, "It’s still far from enough! More people need to be killed, to truly enrage them, and more scholars from the Hundred Schools need to join the fray. Let me be the one to instigate the calamity of the Hundred Schools! Hehe~" And he disappeared in a flash of golden light.
Subsequently, the Legalists imprisoned Left Minister Wei Lin, and the imperial censor Li Si was promoted to take over his position, becoming Prime Minister Li Si.
The Zen School continued manipulating from the shadows, causing never-ending strife amongst the Hundred Schools, plunging the entire Great Qin into chaos.
The Yin Yang School quietly infiltrated the Imperial Palace.
...
In Xianyang stood a towering structure akin to a high tower, with firelight shining from the very top.
Within the palace at the top of the tower, "Donghuang Taiyi" sat in the place of honor, his tall figure exuding a formidable pressure.
Xu Fu knelt below, not daring to raise his head.
"Donghuang Taiyi" asked, "Xu Fu, at what stage are we now?"
Xu Fu replied respectfully, "Reporting to the Family Head, we are about to break through the path to the East Sea. We need Emperor Qin to make an eastern journey to form the configuration of the Golden Dragon entering the sea, which is also the path to connect the Qi Fortune."
"Donghuang Taiyi" laughed heartily, "Our nation is about to be established, and we will soon dominate Heaven and Earth. Xu Fu, once this is accomplished, you will be the first Emperor of Heaven of our empire."
Xu Fu promptly kowtowed, anxiously saying, "The Family Head has clear insight, your disciple harbors no such ambitions. The title of Emperor of Heaven belongs to none other than the Family Head."
"Donghuang Taiyi" responded calmly, "A mere mortal Human King is of no concern to me. If I say it is yours, then it is yours."
A gleam of eagerness flashed in Xu Fu’s eyes as he restrained his excitement and asked, "Family Head, what shall our state be named?"
"Donghuang Taiyi" slowly rose to his feet, looking towards the Eastern horizon and said, "We shall name it ’Fusang,’ with the Great Sun as our banner." In his heart, he silently added, "And a million members of the Demon Clan as our faith."
Xu Fu too turned towards the east, where in his vision, he seemed to see the Great Sun rising. Countless citizens basked in its warmth, while he himself sat loftily on the throne, becoming the revered Human King, his heart swelling with pride.
...
Not long afterward, the aged Emperor Qin Shi Huang began his journey eastward. Along the journey, storms raged, mountain paths crumbled, and tumultuous seas roared, as if Heaven and Earth themselves were obstructing Emperor Qin Shi Huang’s eastern expedition, but all were overcome by Emperor Qin.
Meanwhile, the strife among the Hundred Schools intensified, eventually escalating into large-scale battles that spiraled beyond control.
Some Saints within the Hundred Schools began to sense that something was amiss, but their disciples had already been provoked into genuine rage. Old grudges resurfaced, fueling the fierceness of the conflict.