Echoes of My Heart Throughout the Court

“Wha—?!”

Master Hu’s eyes widened blankly, filled with confusion.

Seeing the puzzled expression of the Jibei King, Master Hu was startled. He quickly adjusted his demeanor and declared with unwavering conviction, “What is the King hesitating for? A true emperor needs no guidance from omens! The only word you need to remember is kill! That’s it!”

Even if the Jade Emperor himself descended today, the first word out of his mouth would also be kill!

The Jibei King’s face flushed with excitement. “Master, you are absolutely right! I am the Son of Heaven. Why should the Son of Heaven seek advice from the spirits?”

Turning on his heel, he began making arrangements for the uprising.

As soon as he left, Master Hu wasted no time. He quickly dragged a bundle out from under his bed, revealing it to be full of gold and silver leaves. Over the years, the Jibei King had rewarded him handsomely, and he had exchanged those rewards for gold and silver, which he then hammered into leaf form for easy transport.

“Time to go! Staying here any longer is asking for trouble!”

Leaving behind a farewell letter, he tossed his belongings over the wall. Then he pushed aside a loose brick at the base of the wall, revealing a small tunnel. Crawling on his hands and knees, he began to squeeze through.

“Good thing I prepared in advance for a quick getaway…”

Suddenly, a shadow loomed over him. Master Hu froze, palms sweating against the ground. Swallowing hard, he tilted his head upward.

The former commander of the Jinyiwei, who had been sent by the emperor to infiltrate the Jibei King’s residence, tapped Master Hu on the back of the head with his knuckles twice. Smiling, he said, “Master Hu, why don’t you come with us for a little chat?”

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Master Hu left willingly—or at least that’s what he wanted everyone to believe. The letter he left behind explained that his only duty was to guide the true dragon to emerge. Now that the true dragon had risen, his mission was complete, and it was time for him to retreat.

In the letter, he earnestly requested the Jibei King to honor their bond as sovereign and subject by never attempting to find him, as he was a Daoist who sought only the solace of nature and seclusion.

“Master Hu truly embodies detachment from worldly affairs,” the Jibei King sighed. “For the past thirty years, before I could transform from a flood dragon into a true dragon, he stood by my side, offering counsel. Now, just as I am about to succeed, he chooses to leave.”

But the Jibei King didn’t have much time to dwell on sentimentality.

The emperor had indeed discovered his plans for rebellion and swiftly deployed troops from nearby prefectures, surrounding Jibei entirely!

“Hah! Gao Jianyi, you’ve grown too complacent in these years of peace. Have you forgotten that I, too, am well-versed in the art of war?”

The Jibei King laughed, pulling out a battle formation diagram from his sleeve. His expression was calm and composed. “Send the orders: deploy the troops according to this formation to counter the Xia forces!”

He then climbed to a high vantage point to observe the battlefield.

His private soldiers were indeed following his instructions, forming their lines precisely. The vanguard’s center was left deliberately exposed, luring the enemy forces into advancing. Meanwhile, the left flank was divided into two subgroups, poised to encircle and crush the enemy once they entered the vulnerable center.

“Long live the King!”

The soldiers, brandishing their weapons, shouted with unbridled fervor.

The Jibei King pulled out a telescope to survey the distant battlefield. Suddenly, his brows furrowed. He called for his messenger.

“You there! Deliver this order! Tell the musketeer in the third row on the right flank, fifth from the left, to raise his musket barrel by one inch.”

The messenger froze.

Was there really such a way to command troops?

Jibei King snapped, “What are you standing there for? Hurry up and go!”

The messenger had no choice but to run toward the battlefield.

The Jibei King continued observing the battle through his telescope, smirking coldly. Gao Jianyi! Your failure today is because you’re an emperor—you can no longer personally lead troops into battle.

“With me commanding the Jibei forces, we will capture cities and achieve victory without fail!”

“Send another messenger! Tell the [fire][gun] brigade to advance twenty steps forward!”

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Regarding court discussions:

From records in Shangyu Archives and memorial reports describing imperial councils during the Qing Dynasty, particularly since Emperor Qianlong’s reign, these documents mainly recorded admonishments of officials for tardiness, negligence, or breaches of protocol during court hearings. Examples included Imperial Academy scholars misreading texts, Six Ministries officials collectively arriving late—or not showing up at all—on duty days, or court officials tripping and falling. These offenses usually resulted in salary deductions.

Since these archives primarily focused on military and state affairs and were kept confidential at the time, they only recorded violations during court hearings rather than actual deliberations. This wasn’t due to secrecy but rather because the hearings had lost their substantive content, becoming more of a ceremonial formality.

—Excerpt from Deciphering the Imperial Court: Late Qing Court Sessions, Documents, and Political Decisions

(In the story, court sessions don’t purely devolve into rituals; they still involve real discussions, albeit interspersed with such amusing incidents.)

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Regarding sweet-talking emperors:

Here’s a rare example:

The emperor, in anger, said to his ministers: “For two hundred years, my ancestors ruled this land, ensuring stability and prosperity. And yet, what use is it now with the East Palace so powerless?” He repeated himself several times, each phrase accompanied by a stomp of his foot and a clutching of the minister’s hand.

The minister replied, “Your Majesty, may you live long and prosper—why would you speak so?”

The emperor sighed, “Someone is bullying me.”

—Excerpt from Illness-Bed Chronicles

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Regarding rebellion inspired by fortune-telling:

Astrologer Su Xuanming and a dye worker, Zhang Shaoshan, conspired together. Su told Zhang, “I divined your fortune. You’re destined to ascend to the throne, dine with me, and share power and wealth. The emperor, spending all day playing ball games and hunting, is rarely in the palace—this is an opportunity to make your move.”

Zhang believed Su’s words and secretly gathered over a hundred rogue workers from the dye workshop to plan their rebellion.

(Translation: Su Xuanming, a fortune-teller, befriended Zhang Shaoshan, a court dye worker. Su claimed Zhang’s destiny was to become emperor and persuaded him to conspire by exploiting the emperor’s frequent absences.)

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Regarding the Wei King and fortune-telling:

During the rebellion against Qin, Wei Bao proclaimed himself King of Wei. The fortune-teller Xu Fu once predicted that Wei Bao’s concubine, Lady Bo, would give birth to the Son of Heaven. At that time, the outcome of the struggle between Xiang Yu and Liu Bang was still undecided.

Initially aligned with Liu Bang against Chu, Wei Bao changed allegiance after hearing Xu Fu’s prediction, thinking he could seize the throne. Liu Bang subsequently defeated Wei Bao, captured him, and absorbed Wei’s lands. Lady Bo was sent to Han’s palace to work in the weaving chamber.

—Excerpt from Records of the Grand Historian

(Translation: During the rebellion against Qin, Wei Bao self-proclaimed as king and took Lady Bo, whom Xu Fu predicted would bear the future emperor, into his court. Wei Bao betrayed Liu Bang based on this prediction, only to be defeated, with Lady Bo becoming a servant in Han’s palace.)

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Regarding telescopes:

“Far-Seeing Mirror: Resembles a bamboo shoot about a foot long. When extended, it reaches about five feet, with each section fitted with glass. Looking through it, distant objects appear near, and small objects appear large. Qi Chongye used copper cannons capable of hitting enemies 30 miles away and employed the ‘thousand-li mirror’ to scout enemy positions.”

—Excerpt from Anthology of Yuan and Ming Matters

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Jibei King’s commands:

The micromanagement during Jibei King’s battle is inspired by certain real-time strategy game memes. 😄

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