Realistic governance games for both male and female audiences

Chapter 6 Internal Troubles and External Threats

Meanwhile, in the Daliang Dynasty.

The morning court bells had just fallen silent, and the golden dragon pillars in the hall cast dappled shadows in the morning light. The echoes of the courtiers' shouts of "Long live the Emperor!" still lingered in the air. However, when Emperor Xiao Qingkuang, dressed in his dragon robe, slammed the urgent border report, delivered by the courier, onto the dragon desk, the entire court fell into a suffocating silence.

This was no ordinary memorial; it was a blood-soaked letter, steeped in the smoke of war—the strategically important northern border town of Yanmen Pass had fallen!

According to custom, such a major military and national matter should be discussed in court immediately, and then the ministers would express their opinions, some advocating war and others advocating peace... But Xiao Qingkuang did not do so!

His deep eyes swept over the faces below, some filled with fear, some with indignation, and some with hidden scheming. Finally, he uttered only two words softly: "Dismiss the court!"

Upon hearing this, the courtiers were taken aback, but outwardly none of them dared to disobey.

However, although the civil and military officials withdrew from the Golden Palace, they did not leave the palace.

These court officials gathered spontaneously at the foot of the steps outside the Golden Palace.

They huddled together in small groups, whispering in hushed tones, their eyes darting from time to time toward the tightly closed vermilion gate, their gazes filled with curiosity.

Meanwhile, the eyes of the courtiers were focused on what lay behind that tightly closed vermilion gate.

At this moment, only Xiao Qingkuang and Grand Commandant Gu Youzhi were in the main hall.

Gu Youzhi, an old minister with white hair and beard who had served three dynasties, was bowing slightly with a solemn expression.

Looking at the young emperor who stood with his back to him and his hands behind his back, he could clearly feel the suppressed rage beneath the bright yellow robe.

"The Northern Xiongnu have invaded our borders, killed our people, and destroyed our passes. This is intolerable...this is intolerable!"

Xiao Qingkuang suddenly turned around. His originally handsome face was now slightly distorted with anger, and his eyes were bloodshot, like an enraged lion.

He threw the urgent report hard at Gu Youzhi's feet, the paper drawing a tragic arc in the air.

"Your Majesty..." Gu Youzhi bent down to pick up the urgent report, his tone steady yet tinged with helplessness, "But for now, Your Majesty, you still have no choice but to endure it!"

"Should we still endure it?"

Xiao Qingkuang sneered, strode up to Gu Youzhi, and almost poked the old Grand Commandant's nose with his finger.

"How can we tolerate this?"

"To consistently yield to robbers and insatiable thieves only emboldens them!"

"Anyone who is still a human being, a man with any sense of decency, cannot tolerate this!"

"I am the Son of Heaven, my people are bleeding, my territory is being lost. If I were to continue to endure this, I would be a coward, a sinner!"

…………

Xiao Qingkuang's voice echoed in the empty hall, causing dust to fall from the beams.

Gu Youzhi was not deterred by the emperor's anger. He slowly unfolded the urgent report and glanced at the shocking contents: the entire garrison at Yanmen Pass had been wiped out, and the Northern Xiongnu cavalry had crossed the Great Wall and were pressing into the heartland!

"The Northern Xiongnu are indeed greedy and insatiable bandits, and I have no objection to that."

Gu Youzhi slowly raised his gaze from the urgent report, his cloudy eyes revealing a penetrating light.

"But Your Majesty, if I may be so bold as to say this, the threat from the Northern Xiongnu is merely a minor ailment, though it is painful and itchy, it is not fatal. What is truly terrifying now... is ultimately our internal troubles!"

"Internal troubles?" Xiao Qingkuang's eyes sharpened. "What... what new developments have arisen with the vassal kings?"

"Exactly!" Gu Youzhi pulled out another secret report from his sleeve. This report was even thicker than the urgent reports from the border, and its cover was stamped with a vermilion seal that read "Top Secret." "This is intelligence that the imperial court's secret envoys sent to various regions risked their lives to bring back... Your Majesty, please take a look!"

Xiao Qingkuang took the secret report with suspicion, turned to the first page, and his face instantly turned ashen.

"Your Majesty, look at what's recorded here... The King of Chu in the Southern Frontier is privately mining copper to mint coins, the King of Su in the Western Frontier is blocking the plank roads and acting like a local tyrant, and even the small vassal kings around the capital are secretly recruiting assassins and stockpiling grain..."

Gu Youzhi recounted the calamities caused by the vassal kings with great sorrow and indignation.

"If these warlords, who are eager to seize power, were to find an opportunity, the world... would be thrown into utter chaos!"

At this moment, Xiao Qingkuang's fingers were tightly clenched around the folds, and his knuckles began to turn white from the excessive force.

He knew, of course, that the problem of the vassal kings had always been a major concern for the Da Liang Dynasty, but he did not expect that the situation had deteriorated to this extent.

"Your Majesty!" Gu Youzhi stared intently into Xiao Qingkuang's eyes. "Your Majesty, those treacherous princes are waiting for you to make the wrong decision!"

"A wrong decision?" Xiao Qingkuang murmured softly.

"Exactly!" Gu Youzhi's voice suddenly rose, carrying a melancholic air of world-weariness. "The Northern Xiongnu invasion may seem like an external threat, but in this old minister's view, if this matter is not handled properly, it could very well become the fuse for an internal upheaval!"

After a slight pause, Gu Youzhi asked directly, "What do you think those vassal kings who received news of the Northern Xiongnu's capture of Yanmen Pass are hoping for right now?"

Before Xiao Qingkuang could answer, Gu Youzhi replied to himself, "They are hoping that the imperial court will fight a protracted war with the Northern Xiongnu!"

Upon hearing this, Xiao Qingkuang's pupils contracted slightly.

At the same time, Gu Youzhi's words did not end there.

"Once the imperial court devotes all its strength to the north to resist the enemy, the national treasury will inevitably be empty and the military strength will inevitably be exhausted."

Gu Youzhi continued slowly, recounting the chilling reality.

"At that time, the imperial court will be bogged down by the Northern Xiongnu and unable to extricate itself, while those vassal kings who have long been sharpening their knives will flock to the capital from all directions under the banner of 'purging the emperor's corrupt advisors' and 'serving the emperor'!"

"Of course, they flocked to the capital from all directions, not to rescue the emperor!"

"They...are only here to 'help' Your Majesty maintain order!"

…………

At this point, Gu Youzhi abruptly flicked his sleeve, his tone filled with boundless indignation: "At that time, those who will enter the capital will take over the government in place of Your Majesty, or even... replace you!"

Xiao Qingkuang remained silent.

A deathly silence fell over the hall, broken only by the heavy breathing of the two people.

At the same time, outside the vermilion gates, beneath the steps of the Golden Palace, the court officials were still anxiously waiting.

They didn't know what was happening inside the hall, but they could sense that behind that tightly closed door, a storm more ferocious than the snowstorms of the northern frontier was brewing...