King Jing, whose full name is Li Li, is the younger sister of the fifth empress of the Cloud Moon Kingdom. She is 65 years old and her fiefdom is Jing County, Jing Prefecture, Lizhou.
Seventeen years ago, in the year 3225 of the Azure Continent, the fifth empress of the Cloud Moon Kingdom, for reasons unknown, did not appoint a crown prince and suddenly passed away in the palace at the age of 48.
At this juncture, the second princess, who remained in the capital, was overjoyed. With the support of the court officials, she immediately ascended to the throne as empress, but was not recognized by the other imperial daughters.
Especially the eldest princess, who believed in the principle of primogeniture, that she should have been the one to inherit the throne. The eldest princess, with the righteous claim of being the eldest legitimate son, quickly gained the support of the border armies, surrounding noble families, and sects. She then brazenly raised an army to attack, vowing to reclaim the throne.
The other princesses were also unwilling to be outdone, ambitious to contend for the throne, plunging the Cloud Moon Kingdom into civil war.
At that time, in the enfeoffed state of Kongxi County, Li Kongxi, who was 29 years old and pregnant, did not get involved in this affair. She only sought self-preservation and sealed off the county.
A year later, Li Xin Yue was born. Another year later, when Li Xin Yue was one year old, Li Kongxi, who only sought self-preservation, could not avoid the flames of war. The conflagration of the civil war spread to Kongxi County, and her husband unfortunately died in battle while defending the city.
Just as the city was about to fall, Chen Yuanliang, from an unknown source, brought five hundred retainers to join the defense of the city. Together with Li Kongxi, they successfully defended Kongxi County.
Realizing that she could not live in peace alone in a chaotic world, and having personally experienced the brutality of the civil war, Li Kongxi, under Chen Yuanliang's persuasion, began to recruit soldiers and expand her forces.
With Chen Yuanliang's entire fortune and the strong support of the surrounding gentry and powerful families who had suffered the consequences of war, Li Kongxi's power grew exponentially.
Subsequently, Chen Yuanliang recruited talented individuals for Li Kongxi, lobbied sect masters to join them, and persuaded two noble families to switch allegiance and support Li Kongxi.
From then on, Li Kongxi was unstoppable. Within two years, she quelled the war within the kingdom, ascended to the throne, personally killed the impostor empress whom she did not recognize, abolished and destroyed her temple, and seized her tomb. She declared herself the sixth empress.
And amidst this turbulent and crisis-ridden situation, King Jing, Li Li, managed to preserve herself and expand her landholdings, which can be considered the mark of a remarkable individual.
Now, King Jing has keenly sensed the potential crisis in the current reforms of the imperial court.
In King Jing's mansion, the advisors before King Jing were deep in thought, contemplating how to respond.
The Chief Clerk of the Mansion thought for a moment, cupped his hands, and said, "Your Highness, the court's reforms this time not only affect the interests of our mansion, but also the interests of anyone who owns a large amount of land and shops. It is not a time of war, so brute force cannot be used. I believe we should unite with the surrounding noble families and powerful families in court, and jointly submit a memorial to His Majesty, explaining the critical points and the root causes. I am sure His Majesty will reconsider."
"Heh heh~"
King Jing rolled her eyes and sneered, "I have observed history, and it is evident that whenever reforms occur, the various kings and their regional officials are never content. Now that my niece is acting like this, I fear it will inevitably lead to more conflict and bloodshed. Is it just about paying a little more or less tax? Although I do feel the pinch."
The Chief Clerk was startled and asked, "Your Highness, what do you mean?"
"Memorials are useless, think of other ways," King Jing waved her hand impatiently.
The officials of the Six Ministries exchanged glances, unable to come up with a plan. They had never done such a thing before, so they turned their gaze to the Chief Clerk.
The Chief Clerk cursed inwardly, but then an idea struck him. He said, "Your Highness, I heard that this reform was proposed by the current Prime Minister, Chu Chen. His Majesty is influenced by him, and this person has likely misled His Majesty quite a bit. Otherwise, why not unite with the people of the sects and have them send experts to intercept and assassinate him when he leaves the capital?"
"The matter of reform was indeed proposed by that Chu Chen. This person is rumored to have been born a eunuch, and to have reached this position is indeed a talent."
Mentioning Chu Chen, King Jing said with a hint of admiration. Then she changed the subject, "This person is not only talented in invention and administration, but he is also a genius in martial arts. At only twenty-three years old, his cultivation has already reached the peak of the Cloud Moon Kingdom. The Qi Transformation realm is not so easily killed. As far as I know, among the sects, only the sect leader of the Crimson Feather Sword Sect is in the Qi Transformation realm. How can he be killed?"
"..."
The plan of sowing discord failed, assassination failed, and neither civilian nor military means worked. What should be done?
The Chief Clerk cursed inwardly, feeling dejected and lowering his head to continue thinking of a solution.
At this moment, the Minister of Personnel suddenly said, "Your Highness, although Chu Chen's martial arts are powerful and his cultivation is in the Qi Transformation realm, the reform needs to be implemented nationwide. Our country spans millions of square kilometers. How can he accomplish it alone? There will undoubtedly be countless supporters, but surely not all of them are highly skilled in martial arts?"
"Hmm?" King Jing was taken aback, and looked at the Minister of Personnel with a smile, "You have reminded me. This is indeed a feasible method. As far as I know, Chu Chen has not yet begun to implement the reforms. He has only announced it to the world. He himself is busy with some farm, and then he handed over the specific handling to two people."
"Your Highness, these two people are likely being used by Chu Chen to handle the farm matters and are being trained in advance. When the formal reforms truly begin, these two will likely be the vanguards. Why not eliminate these two first when the reforms officially commence?"
"This way, we can warn Chu Chen, and secondly, we can sever his left and right arms in advance!"
The Chief Clerk's heart rejoiced, and he quickly refined the Minister of Personnel's suggestion.
"But who knows the cultivation of Zhang Chenzhu and An Xian?" King Jing scanned the room and asked.
"Your Highness, I have heard of these two before."
The Chief Clerk said proudly, "Zhang Chenzhu and An Xian are quite talented. After the previous dynasty's imperial examinations, due to their incorruptible ideals, they were unwilling to collude with the court officials. Therefore, they served as county magistrates and prefects, and were then transferred back to the court, where they were idle in the Hanlin Academy, compiling books as low-ranking officials for several years, with no opportunity to rise.
It was only when Chu Chen was by the side of the fifth princess, and when Chen Yuanliang's rebellion caused heavy losses among the court officials, that Chu Chen suggested to His Majesty to replenish the court officials. He personally promoted many personnel from the Hanlin Academy to fill the gaps, thus giving them some room to display their abilities.
Afterward, Chu Chen became the second prime minister, and he promoted the two of them to higher positions. It was only when the prime minister suggested reforms that they began to be heavily relied upon.
Although the two of them are talented, their cultivation has not even reached the Body Tempering realm. If a few skilled individuals from a sect are sent to ambush them on their journey, I believe they will be safe and sound!"
The Chief Clerk introduced the resumes of these two individuals and sinisterly revealed their cultivation levels.
"Hahaha, they haven't even reached the Body Tempering realm, and they dare to go out important matters while fearing ordinary soldiers? Is Chu Chen blinded by his success?"
King Jing was taken aback, her heart overjoyed, and she laughed heartily in mockery.
With a strength below the Body Tempering realm, King Jing thought that perhaps it wouldn't even be necessary to invite sect members. A thousand or so mountain bandits would be enough to take care of these two.
"In that case, first investigate whether these two have any experts secretly protecting them. If not, find a third-rate sect and a group of bandits."
Saying this, King Jing made a throat-slitting gesture.
The Chief Clerk nodded with a sinister smile.