ALL NOVEL chapter 26
Chapter 26: One Person Below, Ten Thousand Above?
In the imperial palace, Qin Ji walked into His Majesty’s study.
“Speak, what do you need my help with this time?”
It was now eight in the morning, and Xia Yuxiao had already been working for two hours, so when Qin Ji arrived, she was at her most alert.
“Your Majesty, this is the recent funding project required by the Imperial Ministry of War. It might… be a bit much.”
Qin Ji said.
“I have already seen your report this morning. The money you requested, I have approved it,” Xia Yuxiao continued, “Is there anything else to report?”
Qin Ji stood there, looking somewhat uneasy.
“What is it? Such hesitation is not like you.” Xia Yuxiao looked up, curiously glancing at him.
“Your Majesty, I am considering the matter of the Soleqin Dynasty.”
“The Soleqin Dynasty? That is a country with well-built fortifications. Do you have thoughts about that country?”
“Your Majesty, I hope Your Majesty can allow me to strive for military passage rights through the Soleqin Dynasty,” Qin Ji said.
A trace of coldness appeared in Xia Yuxiao’s eyes.
“What do you mean? You hope to allow our army to pass through the Soleqin region? For what purpose?”
“To end the chaos in the northern border.”
Qin Ji said firmly.
“Do you know what you are saying?” Xia Yuxiao put down the pen in her hand and rubbed her temples, “You want to directly resolve the Sal Dynasty, right? But, just bribing other tribes has already consumed a large amount of the national treasury. Now, you want to obtain passage rights through the Soleqin region. Do you want to use force or diplomacy? Regardless of whether it is force or diplomacy, the empire will lose another part of its national strength.”
“I know, but…”
Qin Ji thought for a long time, then mustered up the courage: “Forgive me for speaking bluntly, but our Xia Kingdom no longer has enough time.”
“Bang!”
The expensive desk in front of him was slammed, and the deafening sound was shocking.
“I allow you to speak frankly to me, but why do you curse the Great Xia’s rivers and mountains so?”
“Your Majesty, please calm down,” Qin Ji became more familiar with the emperor’s temperament, so he wasn’t flustered, “What I mean is that in dealing with some future threats, the Xia Kingdom doesn’t have enough preparation time. I wasn’t referring to the nation’s destiny.”
“Tell me, why do you think so?”
“Currently, there are people inside and outside our Xia Kingdom colluding with each other. Internally, there are treacherous ministers causing chaos, and externally, there are barbarians coveting us. Far across the continent, the Holy Church and other countries are eyeing the Great Xia covetously. The time left for Xia to prepare for war is running out. The Church will eventually try to achieve their expansion through force. Therefore, Xia must be adequately prepared to face the western threat,” Qin Ji said, “If Your Majesty believes that preparing for war is necessary, then I hope you will allow me to resolve the northern border issue as soon as possible. This is not just a matter of dealing with the barbarians, but also the best opportunity to purge a significant portion of the domestic opposition.”
At this point, Qin Ji took a deep breath and then smiled slightly, “Your Majesty, I hope the empire can break free from its shackles as soon as possible.”
Xia Yuxiao propped her chin and listened to his words.
She didn’t say anything, just casually picked up the jade seal in her hand and pushed it forward:
“Do whatever you want, I can’t stop you anyway.”
However, Qin Ji didn’t move. He bent down, “I don’t want Your Majesty to leave this entirely to me. As the emperor, Your Majesty should decide everything. Without Your Majesty’s order, I dare not act.”
“Then I order you,” Xia Yuxiao’s smile was somewhat wild, “Take the jade seal.”
“I dare not!”
“Rest assured, it’s not that I doubt your loyalty,” Xia Yuxiao’s tone softened a lot, “This jade seal doesn’t represent my own seal, but it is almost equivalent to the emperor’s order—second only to the real one in my hand. If I don’t speak, the orders you issue with it are basically equivalent to my own.”
“Qin Ji, I entrust you with such a heavy responsibility, hoping you can accomplish three things for me.”
“Please enlighten me, Your Majesty.”
“First, resolve the northern border issue as quickly as possible—be as fast as you can.”
“Second, I want you to speed up the process of rooting out those treacherous ministers—at any cost. Once caught, hand them over to me immediately.”
“The third thing…” She pondered for a moment, then said, “I want you to build a team of death warriors loyal only to me.”
Qin Ji took a deep breath.
This request seemed somewhat absurd because, as the highest authority in the empire, Xia Yuxiao already had the most death warriors. But she said she still needed a team of death warriors.
The meaning of this sentence was actually emphasizing that she wanted a team loyal only to her.
However, Xia Yuxiao should always distrust Qin Ji. In this situation, letting Qin Ji be fully responsible for forming a team specifically to serve the emperor? What was the emperor thinking?
But in any case, Qin Ji couldn’t refuse such an order.
“I will do my utmost to complete Your Majesty’s tasks.”
“That’s good.” Xia Yuxiao said, handing the jade seal to Qin Ji.
Qin Ji’s hands trembled slightly.
He was a person, a living person, not a machine. And as long as he was human, he would have some fascination with power, more or less.
The jade seal in his hand was the symbol of the empire. Although it was not the genuine article, under the emperor’s order, it was infinitely close to the real one. This jade seal represented power second only to the emperor, and the future of the entire Xia Kingdom was in his hands.
The jade seal was heavy. This piece of jade, carved from a whole block of jade, had extremely few impurities, almost flawless. The jade seal was somewhat heavy, but compared to its symbolic meaning, its actual weight was not that heavy.
“Would you like to take a walk with me?” Xia Yuxiao, after placing the jade seal in Qin Ji’s hands, looked at his slightly trembling hands and smiled, “The scenery in the imperial garden is quite nice. You’ve been busy with state affairs, it’s time to relax a bit.”
“Thank you, Your Majesty.”
The Imperial Garden, also called the Flower Garden, could almost be considered a park.
Countless birds and animals were kept here, and it was a place for the emperor to enjoy leisure. However, no matter what, this was still a forbidden area of the palace, so guards were stationed at intervals within the Imperial Garden. Their task was to protect it from any outside intruders.
Walking through the bamboo forest, with the sounds of birds and the fragrance of flowers all around, Xia Yuxiao didn’t seem to mind her expensive clothes getting dirtied by the soil. She just continued walking deeper into the forest. Qin Ji, though puzzled, did not dare to disobey Her Majesty’s orders and simply followed behind her.
Suddenly, the view ahead opened up.
They had arrived.