Chapter 154 Opening a Militia and Training

Ancient people loved to talk about the correspondence between heaven and humanity, and the emperor, being the Son of Heaven, naturally became the primary representative of this belief.

To forcefully add drama to the emperor's role, officials would go to great lengths to connect every single event in the world with the emperor's daily life and movements.

For instance, if an earthquake occurred in a certain region, someone would inevitably claim it was due to a lapse in the emperor's virtue. As the father of the Son of Heaven, Heaven had deliberately sent down the disaster to warn its son.

Of course, this was just standard procedure for the officials. After all, the ultimate right of interpretation for this whole theory rested in their hands. Most of the time, even the emperor himself was powerless to resist such rhetoric.

Therefore, usually after a severe natural disaster, many emperors would issue a "Edict of Self-Reproach." As the saying goes, "Though tens of thousands suffer, the fault rests with me alone"—that is how it originated.

The root of this entire theory lay in the legitimacy and justification of the emperor's rule over the realm.

In order to proclaim the righteousness of his dominion over all people, the emperor had assumed the identity of the Son of Heaven to facilitate his governance, and consequently, he had to bear the other negative side effects brought by this theory.

From this, the emperor's domestic affairs naturally ceased to be his private business, but instead became matters intimately connected to the entire world.

Following this drought, which had lasted for over half a year, signs of floods were emerging everywhere within the borders of the Great Yan Dynasty. Many even concluded that once the flood season truly arrived, widespread water disasters would be unavoidable. Such a severe natural disaster inevitably meant the Son of Heaven would be dragged out to take the blame.

Regardless of whether the grand ministers in the imperial court believed it in their hearts or not, they always had to provide an explanation to the masses of the world.

Originally, the current sovereign was already prepared to issue an Edict of Self-Reproach. After all, he was an emperor nurtured by civil officials; whether he recognized the doctrine of the correspondence between heaven and humanity was secondary—what the civil official faction wanted him to do was what mattered most.

However, once the accusation of "virtueless behavior in the inner palace" was raised, ripples instantly surged through the court once again. The sovereign, who had long been plotting to depose the empress, suddenly found his attitude growing ambiguous and equivocal.

To be frank, within the current court of the Great Yan Dynasty, there were truly very few ministers who actually feared the emperor.

In fact, quite a few people—especially the so-called purists—were just waiting to anger the emperor so they could suffer punishment. Demotion and imprisonment were mere trifles; if they could even experience a round of court floggings, it would be sheer perfection!

Any minister who had been disciplined by the emperor could usually harvest immense fame among the literati. The identity of an upright and outspoken loyal minister would be firmly secured, and the ultimate benefits brought by this were simply countless!

Of course, such good fortune was strictly limited to civil officials. If military generals dared to follow suit, it would be considered insubordination, harboring evil intentions, and attempting to rebel and plunge the realm into chaos!

Under these circumstances, the prominent figures within the court genuinely did not fear the emperor.

Yet, what was utterly absurd and bizarre was that these people held a deep and profound dread toward Consort Chen, who exclusively monopolized the emperor's favor.

Seeming completely unreasonable, it had nonetheless happened in reality.

Those purists who attacked the Empress—the ruler of the inner palace—did not proactively raise the matter of deposing her. Instead, they stubbornly clung to the notion that the calamity descending from the heavens was caused by a lack of virtue in the inner palace.

The malicious intent behind this could be seen even by a fool.

This was equivalent to two armies engaging in battle: one side proactively launched a probing strike, and once they seized the initiative, all sorts of subsequent tactics would pour in endlessly.

As was customary in the imperial court, no matter the issue, if someone supported it, someone else would naturally oppose it.

Under the circumstances where the barbarian armies still lingered within the borders of the Great Yan Dynasty, where local garrisons were collapsing one after another, and amid the wails of countless common folk, a fierce struggle erupted within the court centered on whether the disaster from the heavens was caused by a lack of virtue in the inner palace!

It even escalated to the point where certain officials began attempting to promote a Grand Discussion of Rituals!

Facing this situation, even Zhao Hengyi, who understood little of politics, felt it was utterly preposterous and absurd to the extreme!

What on earth was there to discuss about this? Moreover, they dragged every single official in the court into it, purely to debate whether the emperor's legal wife possessed flaws in her virtue that had angered the heavens!

If there was concrete evidence, bring it out; if there was no concrete evidence, shut up!

Even if one wanted to fabricate slander out of thin air, the whole matter shouldn't possibly escalate to the point requiring a Grand Discussion of Rituals!

Truly, when a country is about to perish, monsters are bound to appear. If this Great Yan Dynasty did not fall, it would defy the very laws of nature!

Of course, regarding the barbarian invaders who stubbornly refused to leave, there were still some in the court who took the matter seriously. After all, truly letting the Great Yan Dynasty collapse did not align with the interests of the majority.

Yet, the relaxation and even decay of military preparedness was not a matter of a day or two. Even if the imperial court desired to revitalize and govern with vigor, results could not be seen in a short period of time.

The local government armies had already rotted to the core. Even the most naive officials now understood that there was not a single usable army left in the realm!

If they wanted to drive the barbarians out of their homeland, they had to carve out a new path!

It was unknown which clever mind came up with the idea, but they actually proposed that the imperial court open up local militias, allowing local gentry and squires to train able-bodied men, equip themselves with weapons and armor, and drive out the barbarians who had offended the Great Yan Dynasty!

Unexpectedly, this preposterous proposal actually passed the deliberation of the Three Departments, and the lofty sovereign stamped it with the imperial jade seal, officially promulgating it to the entire realm!

What others thought of this decree, Zhao Hengyi did not know, but he felt a heartfelt gratitude toward the eight generations of ancestors of that clever mind!

With things coming to this, Zhao Hengyi, holding the peerage of a Baron of Cangwu County, was fully qualified to establish a local militia.

The hunting team and the security guard unit would undergo a transformation and become a legally armed group within the Great Yan Dynasty.

As for whether those aristocratic clans and local gentry would harbor other ulterior motives after establishing militias under their absolute control, no one knew.

As for whether those militias would obediently disband after driving out the barbarians, Zhao Hengyi was equally unsure, but as for himself, he would absolute never give up an armed force established through legitimate and proper channels!

Upon learning that the imperial court was opening up militias, the most panicked person was Liu Rui, the magistrate of Danyang County.

Others might not know what kind of fierce army would be whipped into shape once Zhao Hengyi and Yushu Bay were given a free hand, but Magistrate Liu Rui knew!

As a business partner deeply valued by Zhao Hengyi, many things had been intentionally revealed to him by Liu Rui. For instance, why had the mountain bandits vanished without a trace within Danyang County and its surrounding regions?

And what Zhao Hengyi had done when he traveled to Yonggu City as a commoner—all of this bore witness to the fact that this wealthy merchant Zhao was an unmatched military talent!

Once such a person was given free rein and allowed to establish a militia under conditions of abundant wealth and provisions, he would inevitably evolve into an uncontrollable force in the future!

When that time truly arrived, let alone Danyang County, even the entire Jiangling Prefecture would likely have to follow the lead of that wealthy merchant Zhao!

Liu Rui transmitted his worries via a confidential dispatch to his senior martial brother, Zhang Qicheng, the Prefect of Jiangling. The reply he received, however, consisted of only four words: "Fully cooperate!"