EMHTC -Chapter 47 Your Majesty! I am guilty of death!

“What? Xu Yanmiao has been abducted?!”

The old emperor, already gravely ill, sat up in shock and cursed, “Which wretched little scoundrel dares to target Xu Yanmiao?! I’ll flay him alive, tear out his sinews, and hang his skin on the city gates for three days and nights!”

The Jin Yi Wei hesitated before reporting, “Along with him, the Minister of Personnel, the Minister of Revenue…”

Before they could finish, the old emperor roared, “That’s irrelevant!”

The other officials taken along: Wait, so you only care about Baize, huh?

“I know them well enough! A bunch of crafty old foxes—they wouldn’t get abducted unless they had something scheming in their minds. But Xu Yanmiao? He’s as naive as a freshly steamed white bun—utterly clueless. He probably followed them like a fool!”

After unilaterally insulting everyone, the old emperor calmly gave orders: “Do not alert the enemy. First, infiltrate with the Jin Yi Wei, then…”

The emperor enunciated clearly: “Reveal your identities and mobilize the troops for a siege!”

As for going undercover? How could anything be more important than Xu Yanmiao?

In the middle of a sermon, a group of people in robes embroidered with white sun symbols burst in, visibly panicked.

“Master! It’s terrible!!!”

The White Sun Cult leader was puzzled. “What’s so terrible? Why are you panicking?”

Surely, the imperial forces couldn’t have shown up, right? That’s impossible—they had been careful. They’d been preaching for half a year, and the authorities hadn’t noticed a thing.

The flustered follower rushed in like a spinning top but then froze in confusion once at the center of the gathering, seemingly unsure what to say.

Xu Yanmiao helpfully prompted, “Maybe explain what happened outside and why you’re so frantic?”

The follower’s eyes lit up, as though a lost lamb had finally found its shepherd.

He blurted out, “Master! The emperor is here!!!”

The cult leader almost choked. You might as well have stayed silent!

Looking down, the commoners were already murmuring uneasily. The cult leader quickly tried to calm them: “Everyone, fear not! Perhaps the emperor is merely passing by and may not even…”

But someone in the crowd shouted, “Let me out! I only came for the eggs! Who wants to rebel?!”

“Exactly! I still have land at home!”

“Please, Your Majesty, don’t arrest us! Let me go!”

Even some of the cult’s followers started insisting they wanted to leave.

The cult leader was dumbfounded. “You all have a deep understanding of the White Sun Cult’s teachings. How can you still cling to the old summer day? That emperor is cruel and unjust, blind to reason, layering taxes upon taxes—even the incense money for temple blessings before boat journeys falls on us! Don’t you feel it’s intolerable? Don’t you want to change the sun?!”

He had learned all of this from the Xiangyang Uprising handbook he’d stumbled upon!

The genuinely perplexed commoners replied, “But didn’t His Majesty execute corrupt officials and proclaim to the world that it was all their fault? He stood up for us and killed them all! Who dares to demand so much money now? He’ll kill them too!”

The cult leader froze in disbelief. He pulled out the Xiangyang Uprising handbook from his pocket and flipped through it, growing increasingly pale. “No, that can’t be right. This doesn’t mention the government killing corrupt officials—it only says they exploit us, the authorities are complicit, and the people will naturally grow discontent, leading to rebellion!”

The Minister of Personnel, observing his distress, kindly reminded him, “Did your handbook happen to include a publication date?”

The cult leader checked. “No.”

Both the Minister of Personnel and the Minister of Revenue leaned over to take a look.

“Ah, this!”

“This handbook… wasn’t it originally created by His Majesty…”

Yes, back during the Xiangyang Uprising, the emperor had his strategists compile this handbook to incite rebellion among the common people under Xiangyang’s control. It was an early draft—the first edition, in fact—later followed by several revised versions.

The two officials exchanged awkward glances.

The people in the audience craned their necks curiously. What exactly are they looking at?

Still bewildered, the cult leader asked, “What emperor?”

“Ahem. I mean, this is…”

Under the cult leader’s confused gaze, the Minister of Personnel “helpfully” explained, “This was distributed during the Xiangyang Uprising. Oh, you’ve heard of the Xiangyang rebels, right? They were so extravagant they used meat as saddle padding! That meat came from exploiting their people.”

So the handbook wasn’t wrong, just outdated.

“?!”

The cult leader frantically flipped through the handbook again, then threw it aside and turned to the crowd. “Then why do you all come here every day…?”

The commoners, not understanding his frustration, confidently replied, “Because you give us eggs!”

The cult leader grew more anxious. “And why do you help me recruit people…?”

Even more confidently, they answered, “Because you pay us!”

“I even brought my third aunt and eighth cousin!”

“Ha, I didn’t bring anyone—I just came for the money myself!”

The cult leader’s leg started trembling violently, the frequency increasing as he finally realized—these people weren’t here to support him. He also finally understood how ridiculous it had been to print revolutionary materials at someone else’s factory instead of setting up his own.

How had he even lasted six months without being caught?

Xu Yanmiao pondered for a while about why someone could be so absurd even in rebellion, then suddenly had a revelation:

【Some people rebel, crown themselves emperor, and establish their “capital” in a remote mountain village, promising every villager five eggs upon joining. Compared to that, this White Sun Cult leader… well, isn’t he about the same?】

No! Everyone else still found this absurd!

The officials present were overwhelmed by a peculiar sense of powerlessness, as if they were trapped in a world full of oddities. Where do all these “village emperors” even come from? Why hadn’t anyone reported them?

Another follower rushed in, visibly distressed but visibly relieved upon seeing the cult leader. “Master! Out-outside…”

The cult leader, now uninterested, said listlessly, “I know. The emperor is here in Zhengzhou.”

The follower was in awe. “Master already knows? Truly divine and omnipotent! I haven’t even reported it yet, and you already know we’re surrounded by imperial troops!”

The cult leader instinctively nodded. “I know—”

“No! I don’t know!”

“What did you just say?! The outside is already surrounded by imperial soldiers?!”

The person reporting the situation looked at the panicked expression of the cult leader and suddenly felt a sense of hopelessness. He replied blankly, “Yes, and according to their shouts, the one leading the army is… the Emperor.”

“What?!”

“What?!”

After his initial shock, the White Sun Cult Leader turned to the group of people who had come to listen to his sermons in exchange for eggs, clearly baffled. “Why are you so shocked?!”

Shouldn’t you all be excited that the imperial soldiers are here to rescue you?

The officials who had cried out awkwardly fell silent for a moment. They exchanged glances before several generals stepped forward. One of them, a General, rolled up his sleeve, revealing arms bulging with muscles. “I am the General of the Imperial Court! Surrender at once, or face the consequences!”

The White Sun Cult Leader froze. “The Imperial Court?!”

How had court officials infiltrated his ranks?!

He hadn’t paid much attention to the crowd from the stage earlier. But now that he looked more carefully, his expression cracked. “Who brought them in here?! Look at them—all well-fed, strong, and healthy. Do they look like people who can’t afford to eat and want to rebel?!”

The rebel responsible for letting them in quietly shrank back into the crowd.

Of course, he’d noticed. But as long as people came in to take money, why overthink it? Most of the people standing below the stage looked healthy.

In these times, who honestly joins a rebellion out of true conviction? Isn’t it just for a bit of extra cash?

The General issued a stern proclamation, “Consider your options carefully! This is your chance to redeem yourselves!”

The cultists exchanged glances. The quicker ones immediately tackled the slower ones to the ground. “We surrender! We surrender!” They even covered the mouths of the others to prevent them from shouting the same.

The White Sun Cult Leader didn’t even get the chance to cry out his surrender. As soon as the General finished speaking, several people had pinned him down, intending to use him as a token of their loyalty.

Faced with the absurdity of the situation, the White Sun Cult Leader could only laugh bitterly. “Who are you all? Can you at least tell me your identities so I can die knowing the truth?”

“I am the Minister of Personnel.”

The cult leader consoled himself: Alright, alright, high-ranking officials like this shouldn’t appear in large numbers.

“I am the Minister of Revenue.”

The cult leader’s expression stiffened slightly, but he refused to give up hope. Struggling, he looked toward the third person.

That person smiled slightly. “I am the Minister of the Imperial Ancestral Temple.”

The cult leader’s face lit up with relief. “Never heard of you!”

The Minister of the Imperial Ancestral Temple: 🙂

Hah.

The Marquis of Yongchang chuckled, “Haha.”

The cult leader turned toward him. The Marquis of Yongchang straightened up with pride. “I am the Marquis of Yongchang. Have you heard of me?”

The cult leader: …

Overwhelmed by alternating waves of despair and relief, he nearly stopped breathing.

The Marquis of Yongchang’s military achievements were so legendary in the Great Xia Empire that even a three-year-old would know of them. How could a small, insignificant place like this attract the Marquis?!

By the time he heard the others reporting their identities, his mind had already gone blank—

“I am a senior official from the Ministry of Justice.”

“I am a censor of the Surveillance Bureau.”

“Well… not a high-ranking official, just a secretary from the Ministry of War.”

“I’m a secretary from the Ministry of Personnel!”

The cult leader: …

So it wasn’t that imperial officials had infiltrated a rebel stronghold—it was that we rebels had unknowingly infiltrated the imperial court?!

The cult leader raised both hands and slapped them onto his own face with a loud “smack.”

It hurt.

This wasn’t a dream.

Who on earth recruited these people?! With this level of talent, why waste time rebelling? Just head straight to a gambling house!

The rebel who had brought the officials in took another step back. And another. And another…

When the Emperor heard that the White Sun Cult had surrendered voluntarily, he wasn’t surprised. If he hadn’t known what kind of people they were, he wouldn’t have felt so confident in profiting from their printing fees.

When he saw his officials returning, he personally stepped forward to greet them. “My dear ministers, are you all unharmed?”

Though he addressed them all, his gaze kept drifting toward Xu Yanmiao.

The other officials: …

We’re used to it.

The Minister of Revenue stepped forward. “Your Majesty, I have something to ask.”

The Emperor replied casually, “What is it? Speak freely.”

“Your Majesty, I’ve heard that the cult’s scripture books were printed at the Han Classics Press? Even the rebel manifestos were produced on paper from the same source?”

The Emperor’s eyelid twitched. Facing the intense stare of the Minister of Revenue, he cleared his throat to cover his embarrassment. “Well… uh, I just… I merely…”

The Governor Zhengzhou, who had rushed over, tried to make himself invisible.

He had advised His Majesty against it, but the Emperor hadn’t listened. He figured that since the rebels would need someone to print their materials anyway, why not keep the profits in-house?

Suddenly, the Emperor seemed to think of something and straightened up. “Alright, fine! It was a mistake to let the Han Classics Press print the rebels’ materials. But does the Ministry of Revenue bear no blame? Look at me, the Emperor, reduced to finding ways to fund myself! Look at that previous dynasty’s ruler—he built palaces whenever he wanted, repaired summer palaces whenever he wished!”

Xu Yanmiao muttered quietly in his mind: 【And that’s why he lost his kingdom. If he hadn’t built those palaces, you’d still be farming at home.】

The Emperor fell silent, choking on his words.

He glared at the Minister of Revenue. “So! Where am I at fault?!”

The Minister of Revenue immediately admitted, “Your Majesty! If there is fault, it lies entirely with me! As a senior official, I have failed to alleviate your burdens!”

With a thud, he knelt down. “Your Majesty! I am guilty unto death!”

The Emperor paused, his tone softening slightly. “No need for such extremes… Stand up. It isn’t entirely your fault.”

The Minister of Revenue rose, visibly moved. “Thank you, Your Majesty!”

The Emperor added, “But as for the rewards I intended to distribute to all of you…”

With another thud, the Minister of Revenue knelt again. “Your Majesty! I am guilty unto death!”

The Emperor: …

Perhaps you should just stick with being guilty unto death.