Chapter 568
Chapter 568
After arriving at the Northern Yuan Hunting Grounds, the Palace Guard was separated from the regular troops. Gu Duhuan trained the officers, while the Nirvana Army trained the soldiers at a one-to-two ratio.
The officers and soldiers of the Palace Guard thought they were facing their final days.
Do you have any idea how terrifyingly Gu Duhuan trained the officers?
The ten Nan brothers would have the most to say about this.
Though they were now impressive officers with considerable abilities in many areas, they would still cry out in their sleep whenever Gu Duhuan appeared in their dreams.
Under Gu Duhuan's whip, no one dared to voice a dissenting opinion.
Because one wrong move, and he might actually beat them to death.
He would often strip them naked, tie them to a tree, and whip them.
Gu Duhuan had a motto he lived by.
“If you’re going to beat them, beat them half to death. There’s no soldier in this world who won’t become obedient after a good thrashing.”
Reality proved him right.
The officers trained like madmen during the day and were relentlessly indoctrinated at night.
Exhausted every day, they didn't even have the energy to cause trouble.
But the regular soldiers had it even worse.
What was the character of the Nirvana Army, whose bloodlines had been transformed?
They were focused, serious, and there was no one more diligent in this world.
They couldn't overlook the slightest mistake, had to complete their daily tasks without fail, and had to meet their training objectives.
They didn't beat the soldiers, but they watched over them constantly, making them train again and again.
The soldiers could only sleep after meeting their goals. Until then, even late into the night, the Nirvana Army would stay by their side and continue the training.
Want to resist them? Could the soldiers even defeat them?
Besides, the Nirvana Army never hit the soldiers; they would simply pin them to the ground, and the person pinned couldn't move an inch.
Gu Duhuan issued another order to them.
Each Nirvana Army brother was responsible for two Palace Guard soldiers. If they reported one of their charges to Gu Duhuan even once, the reported soldier would receive thirty lashes.
If reported twice, they would be stripped naked and tied to a wooden post for a full day and night.
If they froze to death, it would be a dog's death.
If reported three times, they would be immediately expelled from the Palace Guard.
As a result of this order, the Nirvana Army brothers were so patient that not a single one went to report anyone. No matter how much of a bastard the Palace Guard soldiers acted, they said nothing.
In the end, the Palace Guard belonged to the court, not to Zhang Zhao.
Through the grueling training, they began to submit to Gu Duhuan and the Nirvana Army, and a sense of camaraderie gradually developed.
Eating from the same pot, a bond of comradeship was bound to form.
Moreover, the Nirvana Army warriors were the most exceptional, innocent, and good-natured men the Palace Guard soldiers had ever met, so it was natural for them to grow fond of them.
As for the troubles caused by the Palace Guard, Ying Ding used a gentle approach to gradually reduce friction and conflict, allowing the two forces to merge.
* * *
After several days and nights of investigation into why the capital's security had deteriorated so severely and why vicious incidents were occurring frequently, Ying Ding confirmed that the cause lay with the underworld bosses.
The capital was the city at the king's feet, so could such an underworld organization truly exist?
Of course. Even in modern Earth's New York or Tokyo, underworld organizations were rampant.
These underworld bosses had powerful figures backing them, and they handled all their dirty work.
The capital had too many local ruffians to catch or kill them all, so the underworld bosses were tasked with controlling them.
If any trouble related to the underworld arose, one simply had to go to the bosses.
Before Ying Ding's appointment, most of his predecessors as the Capital Admiral had devised all sorts of ways to tame the underworld bosses and turn them into their hunting dogs.
Furthermore, these bosses paid a respectful tribute to the Capital Admiral every year. This year, just after they had bribed Zhang Zhao, he was abruptly dismissed, and a new admiral, Ying Ding, took his place.
They had essentially wasted their money, so naturally, they were quite displeased.
Believing Ying Ding to be a useless prince, lacking in authority, untrustworthy, and unlikely to hold his position for long, they didn't even bother to pay him a visit.
They waited for Ying Ding to summon them to discuss the capital's security, but he never did.
So, these underworld bosses began to subtly express their displeasure, and the local ruffians started causing disturbances.
With the ruffians left unchecked, all sorts of vicious incidents began to occur frequently.
These cases were first handed over to the Ping'an County Office or the Wannian County Office, and more serious ones were sent to the Grand Court of Revision.
However, whether the cases went to Ping'an County, Wannian County, or the Grand Court of Revision, they ultimately ended up at the Capital Admiralty.
This was because the Capital Admiralty had the soldiers to enforce order in such situations and quell disturbances.
Ying Ding now realized that the Admiralty was responsible not only for major matters like the city's defense but also for minor ones like managing the capital's security.
In any case, the Admiralty didn't have much say in true military affairs.
Above the Admiralty was the Central Military Commission, and above that was the Privy Council.
Regarding the capital's worsening security, Ying Ding clearly identified the source of the disturbances and obtained a very important list.
He decided to crack down hard on criminal activities, from the lowest ruffians to the bosses at the top.
His plan was to launch a severe strike against the capital's criminal activities as soon as he had complete control over the Palace Guard, or even just half of it.
Suspects in vicious incidents would all be severely punished. Criminals who would normally be exiled would all be executed, and those who would normally be imprisoned would be shackled and sent to the mines for a lifetime of hard labor.
The task of cracking down on the entire capital was entrusted to Madman Nan.
Why? Because Madman Nan had once been a vagrant and a local ruffian himself, so he knew the business inside and out.
This crackdown on crime in the capital was planned to start from the bottom and burn its way up to the top ranks.
After killing even a few of the capital's underworld bosses, the rest would be trembling in fear.
Now, how to deal with the Admiralty officials who paid lip service while secretly disobeying?
Madman Nan suggested pressuring them into submission under the pretext of fighting corruption.
But after pondering it late into the night, Ying Ding rejected the proposal.
Ying Ding ordered an investigation into how many lower-ranking officials in the Admiralty, especially those without backing who couldn't realize their ambitions, there were. He then planned to empower these officials, causing the high-ranking ones to lose their real authority.
He also sought to discover talented individuals from among these lower-ranking officials.
Finally, Ying Ding personally wrote a long memorial to the king, asking for his approval to crack down hard on the capital.
The king replied in writing, stating his opinion.
* * *
In truth, the king had recently been spending most of his time poring over all the secret reports about Ying Ding.
The king did not like Ying Ding, but since he had publicly agreed to let him participate in the struggle for the throne, he had to thoroughly understand this son of his.
This matter concerned the fate of the nation, so he absolutely could not be negligent in the slightest.
After reading the reports on Ying Ding, Ning Yuanxian was quite shocked.
It wasn't because Ying Ding was brilliant that he was surprised.
The methods he intended to use were not particularly outstanding or clever.
This was because he chose relatively cumbersome and time-consuming methods to solve problems.
But they were also very reliable methods.
Except for true criminals, Ying Ding was remarkably tolerant of the troublemaking Palace Guard and his disobedient subordinate officials, choosing not to kill them indiscriminately.
If Shen Lang or Ning Yuanxian had been in his place, countless heads would have rolled long ago.
Especially Shen Lang—that bastard wouldn't have the patience to listen to another word and would simply choose to kill them.
Ying Ding handled all matters, big or small, with diligence, using impeccably correct methods.
Ning Yuanxian disliked that type of person the most.
Because they chose such foolish and difficult paths.
But perhaps, at a time like this, the State of Yue needed a ruler who was relatively a bit duller?
Only such a ruler would meticulously attend to all state affairs and resolve all potential troubles.
In Chinese history, there were many emperors who were extremely diligent in their duties.
For example, Emperor Hongwu or Emperor Yongzheng.
And there were also especially clever and bold emperors like Jiajing and Qianlong.
After reading the secret memorials several times, Ning Yuanxian couldn't hold back any longer and asked.
“Li Sun, isn't Ying Ding a bit too... moderate?”
Li Sun remained silent and did not answer.
He certainly did not think Ying Ding was mediocre; on the contrary, he believed the boy possessed the strongest will.
When Ning Yuanxian passed away, the State of Yue his successor would inherit would still be a reasonably strong nation, not completely decrepit, but it would be rife with countless potential troubles and problems to be solved.
Ning Yuanxian was too clever, so he always avoided potential troubles with the best possible strategies, constantly delaying the moment the boils would burst.
He lacked the patience for it.
Faced with the chaotic internal affairs of Yue, any monarch with even a slightly weaker will would try to retreat or avoid the situation.
For example, Ning Yuanxian knew it was good to implement new policies, but he was unwilling to move against the Xue Clan, even though he had moved against the Jin Clan, and he was even more reluctant to move against the Zhong Clan.
As a eunuch, Li Sun never interfered in state affairs, but he was the king's household servant. Just as a dog is most loyal to its home, he too loved this country deeply from the bottom of his heart.
So, Li Sun had also been observing who would be best to ascend the throne, and he realized he was gradually being persuaded by Shen Lang.
This Young Master Shen was unreliable in his actions and even more so in his words, but his judgment was exceptionally accurate.
His Highness Ying Ding was certainly different from both the Crown Prince and the Third Prince, Ying Qi.
Ning Yuanxian recalled Shen Lang's claim of earning three million gold coins in half a month and suddenly asked about him.
“Has that scoundrel started yet?”
Li Sun felt his hair stand on end as he reported.
“He has.”
Then, he presented a detailed report.
The king quickly read the report, his teeth chattering as if from the cold, and said.
“Isn't this... this damned scoundrel bluffing too much?”
Wasn't he? Shen Lang's bluff was so outrageous that even Li Sun couldn't bear to watch.