After the previous emperor of Beimang ascended the throne, he believed he had done four major things. He unified the imperial tent, built more than six hundred relay stations, dug wells where there was no water, and set up Red Army guards in all the military towns and cities. The present empress had usurped the throne but did not change politics. Other than continuing to work hard on these four matters, she also did two other things. She separated the military from the people. She separated the military from the people. She also set up taxes and household registration. She also set up the agriculture department and wrote the "Essentials of Agriculture." The civil official system in Beimang was not as perfect as it was in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Central Plains. The emperor had to spend a great deal of energy on every matter. Therefore, in Hsu Fengnian's view, wearing the dragon robe was not attractive at all. Every family had their own problems. Emperor Zhao of the Liyang Dynasty was even more diligent. It was said that in these years, he wrote thousands of words a day. It had to be said that this was an emperor who ruled the world, and not a scholar who pursued authorship. To say nothing of other things, just the court meetings where he personally sat at the court door and dealt with all the major and minor matters of the three provinces and six ministries made the people who thought that an emperor only had three palaces and six courtyards fearful.
It was late spring, the season of the Valley Rain. The heavy rain poured down on Great Peace City.
Previously, the capital did not have the custom of putting up seals of the Taoist Master Forbidden Scorpion. However, as Prime Minister Qingci Zhao Danping gained power in the capital and the people praised it, especially after the example of the Emperor, the entire city had the custom of putting up seals of the Forbidden Scorpion in cinnabar. Normal people would go to the Taoist temple and spend a few dozen wen to buy the seals. Rich families naturally had ways to get the Taoist Spiritual Master to personally write the seals. In the big houses, the clever old immortals in the Taoist temples of the capital would send Taoist children to deliver stack after stack of Vermilion seals to their doors. This was no different from the warm tea given in the Valley Rain during the Qingming Festival. At this time, there was still a short time before dawn. A man wearing a red python robe walked deep inside the palace. He held a few yellow talismans with red pellets that were completely different from the ordinary Forbidden Scorpion Talismans. His other hand hung down in his sleeve, carrying an ordinary oil-paper umbrella.
He slowly walked through the corridors and aisles, heading towards the North Gate of the Black Tortoise in the Imperial Palace. The man had no eyebrows or beard, only a head full of snow-white hair. Two strands of long hair hung down in front of his bright red robe. The hand that held the talisman in his sleeve seemed to be trimmed and was as fair and slender as a woman's. However, upon closer inspection, there were countless red threads that looked like tiny snakes wriggling in the air. Although it was just a light drizzle, it was probably because they were close to the lake. After the shower, there were sounds of frogs croaking nearby. The North Gate of the Black Tortoise had a drum room and a leaky room. There were diligent eunuchs on duty in each room. This eunuch in the python robe, whose hair was as white as frost, but whose face was well maintained and who looked to be middle-aged, walked without a sound, like a red cat that was hunting mice in the night. The number of eunuchs in the Imperial Palace who were qualified to wear the red python robe could be counted on one's fingers. In terms of official rank, they were led by a fourth-level official who was in charge of the Ceremonial Seal Eunuch and a fourth-level official who was in charge of the Ceremonial Brush Eunuch. The Imperial Palace of Great An City was said to have one hundred thousand eunuchs. Although this was an exaggeration, it also showed that there were many eunuchs in the Zhao Family that ruled the world. This eunuch, whose attire was enough to be called Diao Temple, came to the Black Tortoise Gate and stuck a red seal with a picture of a rooster pecking at a scorpion. He didn't know how to read and naturally couldn't recognize what was written on those exquisite seals. When he entered the Imperial Palace at a young age, he didn't have the money to enter a school or private school. After entering the Imperial Palace and following his master, he was so busy that he didn't have the time to study. Later, his master became the Emperor. Probably to avoid suspicion, he didn't have the inclination to study.
Standing under the gate and looking at the seal personally written by Zhao Danping of Longhu Mountain, this eunuch's lips moved slightly and he said three words that no one could hear, "Ghost Seal."
He raised his head to look at the sky. There was going to be a heavy rain. It was a pity that the newly red peach blossoms and the newly green buds would be ruined. He silently picked up his umbrella and walked back. As the fourth watch approached, an old eunuch on duty hurriedly ran toward the drum room with a green plate with golden characters on it. Along the way, all the eunuchs, regardless of their status, had to stand sideways to show their respect. Even the eunuchs inside the room, whose doors were not closed, had to stand up when they saw the old eunuch. Eunuchs, in the eyes of the world, were shrouded in fog, and there were too many rules and regulations to pay attention to. Once, there was a great eunuch with imperial favor who bumped into an eunuch on duty and missed the night shift. That great eunuch's former supervisor had already become the head of the Imperial Horse Directorate. In private, they called each other father and son. The eunuch on duty was bitten back and beaten to death. Later, when Han Diaosi found out, not only was this great eunuch in his prime, but even the head eunuch of the Imperial Horse Directorate was lynched and skinned alive. This was a major matter that even the officials of the imperial court were terrified of. The Emperor, who was used to personally attending to matters of state and family, only laughed it off. As for the censor's accusations, which were like snowflakes falling from the sky, he dismissed them with the words, "It's a family matter." At this time, the old eunuch, who was heading toward the drum room to deliver the hour plate, was immersed in the reverence of all the eunuchs he passed. When he saw the big red python robe and white hair turn around the corner, his hair immediately stood on end. He didn't dare to stop. He only bent down and lowered his head. His large strides became small steps, but he increased his pace so that his speed didn't increase. The white-haired, red-python eunuch moved his shoulders slightly. The two eunuchs, whose statuses were as different as heaven and earth, brushed past each other. The old eunuch didn't even dare to breathe loudly. How could he not be afraid? When the new prince, who had been left behind among the common people, entered the palace, the person behind him had killed more than 400 eunuchs who dared to talk about the prince's identity in private. Among them was the head eunuch of the Guard Bureau, one of the 24 yamens that he trusted.
This red-python eunuch with bloody hands was naturally the head of the 100,000 eunuchs. Along with the butcher Xu Xiao and Huang San Jia, he was known as one of the three pests of the dynasty, the cat man Han Diaosi.
When the fifth watch sounded, it was also the break of dawn.
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
