MLMD -Chapter 284 It’s Not Your Fault You Didn’t Read Much

“Are these your personal guards?”

A cold sneer curled at Yue Yang’s lips. He pointed at the line of soldiers kneeling nearby and said disdainfully, “Fine troops you’ve trained, Lord Chen. Vice General Jiang and I were standing at the city gate to welcome you, yet these so‑called personal guards of yours charged about recklessly—disturbing the people and even assaulting and injuring them. So this is what the Governor‑General’s personal guards looks like. This really opens my eyes. According to the laws of our dynasty, any official whose men disturb or oppress the people, or even injure them, shall be punished with ninety strokes of the rod and three and a half years of penal servitude. Lord Chen hasn’t forgotten that, has he?”

“Nonsense—!” A shrill voice suddenly rang out.

“I’ve read the Great Ming Code myself, and there’s never been such a rule in it. Could it be that you, Yue Yang, just made this up yourself?”

Without even turning to look, Yue Yang knew it was Gao Qiqian speaking. Eunuchs’ voices were sharp by nature—something ordinary people couldn’t imitate even if they tried. Clearly, seeing his ally in trouble, Gao Qiqian had immediately stepped in to support him.

Slowly turning his head, Yue Yang glanced at Gao Qiqian and said with contempt, “Eunuch Gao, I know you didn’t read much. That in itself isn’t your fault. But knowing full well that you’re poorly read and still coming out to show off—that is your fault. Who told you this was from the Great Ming Code? These words come from the Recorded Sayings of the Taizu Emperor. As a servant who attends to the daily life of the imperial household, you don’t even know what your own master once said—don’t you think you’re a grossly incompetent slave?”

“Yue Yang… you… you’re going too far!”

Gao Qiqian was nearly driven mad with rage. He had always been known at court for his knowledge of military affairs, yet Yue Yang mocked him for being poorly educated—an unbearable humiliation. Worse still, Yue Yang had openly ridiculed him in front of everyone as a “slave of the imperial household.” That was what Gao Qiqian found most intolerable.

Fine—Gao Qiqian admitted it. Eunuchs were imperial slaves. But some things could be tacitly understood by everyone; saying them out loud was a naked insult.

In fact, it wasn’t just Gao Qiqian. Everyone around stood dumbfounded. Even Xu Dingchen, Steward Tang, Yang Guozhu, Hu Dawei, and the others stared in shock. None of them had expected Yue Yang’s tongue to be this venomous. It seemed Gao Qiqian was about to explode.

And indeed, he was.

Seeing Gao Qiqian’s face twist in fury, Yue Yang added fuel to the fire, feigning surprise as he said, “Eunuch Gao, what’s wrong? Did I say something incorrect? Aren’t you eunuchs servants of the imperial household? Or could it be that the thing down there has started growing back for you? If so, then congratulations, Eunuch Gao—after you die, you’ll finally be able to enter your ancestral grave!”

The moment those words left his mouth, all reason left Gao Qiqian. He shrieked, “Yue Yang! I’ll fight you to the death!”

As his shout fell, Gao Qiqian leapt down from his horse and lunged at Yue Yang like a madman. His eyes were bloodshot, the muscles of his face completely contorted. At that moment, there was only one thought in his mind: kill this man. Even if it meant dying together, he wouldn’t hesitate.

It had to be said—Yue Yang’s words were truly vicious. For a eunuch, the greatest regret of a lifetime was losing that vital part of manhood. Among the common folk, there was an old belief: no matter how powerful a eunuch had been in life, after death he could not be buried in the ancestral grave and would instead become a wandering, lonely ghost. Now Yue Yang had openly mocked Gao Qiqian over precisely this point. To Gao Qiqian, this was no longer mere hatred—it was enmity beyond reconciliation.

Seeing Gao Qiqian charge at him like a frenzied tiger, Yue Yang curled his lips slightly. He shifted his body to the side, letting Gao Qiqian rush past him, then subtly stuck out his foot in front of him. Gao Qiqian’s tall body pitched forward, and he slammed into the ground, performing a perfect face‑plant.

Thud.

The heavy impact made the corners of everyone’s eyes twitch. Just how much force had Eunuch Gao put into that leap? Even the ground seemed to tremble slightly.

That dull thud made everyone’s hearts jump—and it knocked Eunuch Gao unconscious as well. At last, the world grew quiet.

After Gao Qiqian passed out, Yue Yang spread his hands and said to Chen Xinjiang, “Governor‑General Chen, you saw it yourself. Eunuch Gao seems a bit overexcited and has fainted for the moment. You should quickly have someone carry him inside and call a physician to take a look.”

“Yue Yang… you… you… you…” Chen Xinjiang pointed at Yue Yang, his finger trembling uncontrollably. At that moment, he no longer knew what to say.

All around them was dead silence. Everyone stared at Yue Yang with strange expressions. His performance today was utterly shocking—first openly butting heads with Chen Xinjiang, the newly appointed Governor‑General of Xuan‑Da, and then publicly humiliating a supervising eunuch. Was this the prelude to rebellion?

Among the senior officers behind Chen Xinjiang, Xuan‑Da Commander Yang Guozhu sucked in a cold breath and whispered to Hu Dawei and the others, “Commander Hu, what exactly is Brother Yue trying to do today? Could it be that he really intends to… well… resist the court?”

Hu Dawei’s face was dark as water as he shook his head. “I don’t know either. With this fellow, it wouldn’t be impossible.”

“This is hard to say,” Wang Pu, who had always had a good relationship with Yue Yang, said with a cold laugh. “Some people are just too shameless. Brother Yue is an honest man, but this time Governor‑General Chen and Eunuch Gao have gone too far. Who doesn’t know they’ve come for the grain and land in Brother Yue’s hands? If it were me, I’d fight them to the death as well! Some people will throw away all dignity for a few taels of silver.”

“Ah…”

Everyone shook their heads in unison.

People always compare. They had followed Lu Xiangsheng for several years, and now Chen Xinjiang had taken up the post of Governor‑General. Once compared, the difference was obvious—whether in conduct, governance, or military ability, Chen Xinjiang fell far short of Lu Xiangsheng. This time, by bringing all of them to Hunyuan Prefecture, Chen Xinjiang’s intention was clear: he wanted them to bolster his authority. Normally they wouldn’t want to get involved in such a mess, but in officialdom, rank crushed all opposition. Since the Governor‑General had spoken, they could only comply.

Still, they had already made up their minds: they were here merely to watch the spectacle. They would never risk their necks to fish for benefits on Chen Xinjiang’s behalf.

Looking at Chen Xinjiang’s ashen face, Yue Yang stopped beating around the bush. He said coldly, “Governor‑General Chen, I’m a rough man and don’t know how to speak in circles. Anyone with eyes can see why you’ve come to Hunyuan Prefecture this time. Now I have something to say as well. Some days ago, I fought the Tatars with everything I had, yet the court rewarded me with a mere two thousand taels of silver. Frankly speaking, that isn’t even enough to compensate the fallen soldiers—let alone feed the horses. Therefore, starting today, I will cease paying autumn grain and taxes to the court. I ask His Majesty for understanding.”

“How dare you!” The moment Yue Yang finished, Chen Xinjiang nearly jumped. His voice rose an octave. “Yue Yang—are you trying to rebel?”

The word rebel fell like a thunderclap. The surroundings went deathly quiet, as if the air itself had frozen.

After a moment of silence, Yue Yang suddenly burst into loud laughter. He took two steps forward, stopping in front of Chen Xinjiang. With his right hand resting on the hilt of his saber, he stared coldly at him and said, word by word, “Governor‑General Chen jokes. I naturally have no intention of rebelling. However, if the court truly presses me too far, I might just have to purge the evil around the emperor.”

Boom—

The moment the words purge the evil around the emperor were spoken, everyone was stunned.

What did “purging the evil around the emperor” mean? It meant eliminating the emperor’s corrupt favorites. In principle, it sounded righteous—but in reality, it was often the pretext ambitious men used to rise in rebellion against the court. The most famous example in Ming history was the Prince of Yan, Zhu Di. After his father’s death, he marched on Nanjing under the banner of “purging the evil around the emperor,” toppled his nephew, and eventually seized the throne himself. Because of this, that slogan could not be uttered lightly—it was practically no different from outright rebellion, merely wrapped in a seemingly noble guise.

Hearing this, Chen Xinjiang finally realized he had underestimated Yue Yang. If pushed to the brink, this man really could do such a thing.

“Brat… you insolent brat—how dare you!” Chen Xinjiang’s face went from green to white. A chilling thought crossed his mind: if Yue Yang truly rose in the name of purging the evil around the emperor, would he immediately turn on them and kill both himself and Gao Qiqian right here? Given Yue Yang’s temperament, it wasn’t impossible.

“I wouldn’t dare?” Yue Yang let out a cold laugh. It had all started with a mere argument in the Governor‑General’s residence, yet Chen Xinjiang had since tried every possible way to put him to death. This time, arriving together with Gao Qiqian, Xu Dingchen, and the Xuan‑Da generals, they had clearly come to force him to hand over grain and taxes—perhaps even to strip him of his command. Yue Yang knew all too well what would happen if he lost his troops. Not only would he die, but his three wives, his two children, the old matriarch, and his sister Yue Ying would all meet grim ends.

At that thought, the hatred in Yue Yang’s heart could no longer be contained. He drew his sword in one swift motion and slashed twice around Chen Xinjiang’s head. Chen Xinjiang first felt a chill by his ear, then a sharp pain exploded there. A moment later, a piercing scream rang out—

“Ah… my ear…!”