Chapter Eighteen: Boredom—I Want to See Rivers of Blood!

"So they were at the bell tower after all..."

Seeing that his "other self" had successfully located the target, Zhou Liang could not help but breathe a sigh of relief. As the leader of a rebellion, he had always known these people were stationed near the Xi'an Bell Tower, but he had never been certain whether an ordinary commoner would be fortunate enough to stumble upon them.

Fortunately, they had crossed paths—or rather, they had been lured out by him.

They were the Jinyiwei, the legendary personal guards of the Emperor.

Before the God-Emperor ascended to godhood, the Jinyiwei had already been a terrifying force, notorious for "the Embroidered Uniforms spreading out to arrest the loyal and righteous." After the Emperor's ascension, they became even more formidable. Not only had the God-Emperor granted them vast divine power, turning them into skin-clad monsters capable of crushing armies single-handedly, but he also placed absolute trust in them, granting them the privilege of overseeing local affairs.

Stationed in major cities across the empire, they maintained constant contact with the God-Emperor. Should local officials falter or peasant uprisings break out, they would immediately move to suppress them. They were the most loyal and savage hounds of the God-Emperor, their hands stained with the blood of the people.

Zhou Liang's own "Butcher Society" had been crushed by the Jinyiwei, and he himself had died under the pressure they applied. He had never held any affection for these lapdogs of the Emperor. Had he not been truly desperate, he would never have let his "other self" seek their help.

"I didn't seek out the Jinyiwei before, first because the risk was too high—a rash report might have branded me an accomplice..."

"Second, these lapdogs almost certainly knew about the corruption in the provincial examinations. They were always around, so it was impossible for them not to know. If they knew and did nothing, it implies they were likely part of the same web of interests. If I had simply gone to report the examination fraud, they wouldn't have helped—they might have silenced me instead."

Having studied the Ming bureaucracy for years, Zhou Liang was not naive enough to believe the Jinyiwei would stand up for a commoner. He was certain: to catch a big fish, one needs big bait. To drag the high-and-mighty Jinyiwei down to earth to serve justice for the people, he had to provide them with a sensational headline.

And in all the world, there was perhaps no news bigger than "The discovery of Li Laiheng, the remnant of the rebel forces."

Besides, didn't Li Laiheng want to make a big splash, too?

Then he would make their dreams come true.

Zhou Liang curled the corner of his mouth.

[Assassinate the Provincial Administration Commissioner?]
[Boring. I want to see rivers of blood!]
[In a state of extreme agitation, once your floodgates opened, they could not be closed...]
["Li Laiheng is right in my hometown, Mizhi County!"]
["And the entire Shaanxi Provincial Administration Commission is involved in an anti-Ming organization!"]
[Jinyiwei: ...]
[Admittedly, your shocking claims sounded remarkably like a malicious accusation, so the Jinyiwei were skeptical. However, since it concerned the remnants of the rebel forces, they had to investigate regardless of the truth. If it were false, they would simply dispose of you. But if it were true, the implications would be immense...]
[After a brief discussion, the Jinyiwei took you back to Mizhi County, where they identified the group of old men based on the description you provided.]
[They did not move to arrest or interrogate them immediately, as they were unsure of the number of hostiles or if the old man was truly Li Laiheng. They decided to investigate first.]

[The investigation immediately revealed problems...]
[The group’s behavior was indeed strange. While they acted like ordinary commoners, the keen-eyed Jinyiwei quickly realized: these old men had definitely been soldiers! Elite ones, at that.]
[The disciplined air and murderous intent inherent in elite troops could never be fully erased. Even if they disguised themselves well, a professional observer would always find the cracks.]
[At their age, and having been soldiers...]
[The Jinyiwei exchanged meaningful glances: they might have truly caught a big fish.]
["Tell us, who are their accomplices?" one Jinyiwei asked suggestively. "You can say whatever you like..."]
[Everyone present was no fool, and your intentions were transparent: reporting the rebel was clearly not your true goal. Otherwise, you wouldn't have started by attacking the entire Shaanxi officialdom.]
[Everyone could see you were using this opportunity to settle personal grudges.]
[The Jinyiwei didn't care. They cared nothing for your grievances, but since you had delivered a big fish, they didn't mind trading a favor.]
[In fact, they weren't afraid of you speaking out; they hoped you would open your mouth wide and implicate several high-profile targets. The more powerful the target you reported, the larger their case would be. As the Emperor's personal guards, there were few people they feared. They only worried the case wouldn't be big enough, for the bigger the case, the greater their reward...]
[You: Since everyone knows, I won't play the act anymore!]
[In your excitement, you began to recall the darkness you had witnessed in your short life...]
[Your master, along with the local education official and the magistrate, had repeatedly marketed fake child prodigies to swindle huge rewards!]
[The down-and-out scholars in northern Shaanxi, following your lead, fabricated wild histories to slander the long-dead Li Zicheng. Because the smear campaign was so vicious, you were doxed by the remnants of the rebel forces and nearly killed!]
[When you took the provincial examination, the door attendant openly sold Juren degrees to you!]
[After the exam, you, who should have passed, failed because your paper was swapped!]
[When you went to the Xi'an prefectural office to check the papers, the clerk lied to your face, insisting a failed paper was yours!]
[When you went to the Provincial Administration Commission to report it, the guard, who clearly knew something, barked at you to get out!]
[...The butcher Zhang in Mizhi County always gave short weight.]
[...The crooked grain merchant always used different-sized measures to profit.]
[...The student nicknamed "Leopard Cub" in school always bullied younger children; he and his hoodlum cousin often caused trouble in the county, beating people, robbing money, and molesting women...]
[In an instant, you thought of so many people and things that infuriated you—large and small. From the Provincial Administration Commissioner holding the power of a province to the street thugs and delinquent students... The darkness was everywhere. It filled you with disgust and nausea. You wished you could become the Monkey King, smashing them one by one until the world was turned upside down and they were reduced to dust!]
[Before, you were too weak and powerless, so you could do nothing.]
[But now, the most powerful instruments of violence in the world stood before you, willing to use their tangible power to help you with a minor task that was, to them, mere child's play...]
[You smiled, seized the opportunity, and refined your plan in an instant.]

["Accomplices? Of course there are!"]
[You spoke to the Jinyiwei with great solemnity: Li Laiheng had been hiding in Shaanxi for years without being discovered—was that even possible? Was the Ming administration really that corrupt?]
[Clearly not! Under the careful governance of His Majesty the God-Emperor, the world was a land of peace where people lived in contentment—a golden age where no one picked up lost items on the road and houses were left unlocked at night!]
[The eight directions sang praises of the Chongzhen golden age; the world united under the God-King of Coal Mountain!]
[In such a prosperous age under such a wise monarch, how could the Shaanxi officials be corrupt enough to fail to catch Li Laiheng? Especially when he lived in his hometown of Mizhi County—if they couldn't catch him right under their noses, could the officials truly be innocent?]
["Therefore, the Shaanxi officials must all be involved in hiding Li Laiheng. And it's not just this current batch of officials—the previous ones are guilty too! From the seventeenth year of Chongzhen to the present, over thirty years, every Provincial Administration Commissioner, Prefect, Magistrate, and clerk should be thoroughly investigated!"]
[Jinyiwei: ...]
[You grew more spirited: these traitors who were disloyal to the Ming and even more disloyal to the God-Emperor must be nails driven into the Ming by the rebel Li! We must pull them out and cleanse the poison!]
["How can we have good governance with these vermin? For the sake of the Ming and His Majesty, we should send them all to heaven!"]
[Jinyiwei: ...You are a bit too extreme.]
[The Tang dynasty brutal official Lai Junchen once wrote the "Classic of Fabrications," a book teaching how to frame others. It was so ruthless that even a fellow sadist like Zhou Xing exclaimed: Lai Junchen is even more extreme!]
[But in truth, those with real "talent" don't need to study such books. They simply exercise their innate gifts, enough to make an old veteran of frame-ups exclaim in awe...]
[You clearly had talent. In a few words, a complete "Shaanxi anti-Ming, anti-God-Emperor organization" was laid out before the stunned Jinyiwei.]
[Your ambition startled the Jinyiwei. While they wanted a big headline, they hadn't expected you to set the fire so high!]
[From the Commissioner down to the grassroots clerks, from the current administration to thirty years ago... you were effectively plowing through Shaanxi multiple times! Even when the founding Emperor purged the court, he hadn't bitten at everyone like you were doing...]
["This is too outrageous... let's tone it down."]
[One Jinyiwei shook his head. "At most, we can take down the current Provincial Administration Commissioner. And without direct evidence linking him to the rebels, even that might be impossible. We can take down a few prefects at best."]
[At these words, you were slightly disappointed. It seemed a river of blood was unlikely, as you had no evidence—you were simply making wild accusations...]
[Wait! Evidence?]
[You paused, then asked with a strange tone: "Does a confession from the rebel himself count as evidence?"]
[A Jinyiwei raised an eyebrow, seemingly understanding your meaning. "A mere confession has limited utility... But if there were a letter written by the rebel to the Commissioner, and it was discovered in the Commissioner's home, that would be another matter..."]
[You smiled knowingly and walked toward the house where "Li Laiheng" lived, to negotiate a deal that would satisfy both sides...]
[As for revenge, you were serious.]