EES - Chapter 4

Chapter 4

"Well, you did your best."

An Lin wasn't sure what else to say, offering a perfunctory word of comfort.

She didn't feel much sympathy or empathy.

After all, the pressure had now landed squarely on her shoulders.

She had thought she would simply transmigrate and become an emperor, never expecting a five-year countdown to the kingdom's collapse to hang over her head. If she couldn't avert it within five years, she would likely die with it.

As for how to resolve it?

Either make the nation so powerful that no other country dares to touch it, or strike preemptively to destroy the other countries before they could destroy hers. Though these seemed like two options, they were fundamentally the same: there was no avoiding the need to develop national strength.

"Since we have some time, let's talk. What functions does this Emperor Simulator currently have?" An Lin got straight to the point.

Having finished recounting the history of the kingdom's collapse, the gloomy Chibi Emperor no longer had time to wallow in self-pity. He gathered his spirits, walked over to the menu bar in the upper right corner of the memorial, and pointed to the National Map. "This shows the entire map of the Xuan Kingdom. Once you open it, you can select a county at random and see its current conditions as if you were there, making it easier to check whether policies were being carried out."

That sounded somewhat interesting.

Following the Chibi Emperor's beginner guide, An Lin opened the map. It instantly expanded across the entire desk surface, revealing miniature mountains, towns, rivers, and markets.

It resembled a large-scale sandbox model, except this one featured countless ant-sized figures tilling fields, walking through markets, and entering and exiting block-sized houses. On the main thoroughfare, a team of tiny figures slowly pushed a horse-drawn cart slightly larger than themselves.

An Lin's eyes lit up immediately. She stepped away from her chair and crouched beside the desk.

Viewing it from this horizontal angle, she could even see figures in official robes sitting on the dais inside the county office, presiding over cases. Across the street, a vendor selling flatbreads flipped one on the griddle while craning his neck to peek into the county office.

If An Lin wanted a closer look, she simply leaned in, and the image automatically zoomed in. To shrink it back, she just moved away.

This, this was incredible!

With this feature, she could spend the whole day doing nothing else... cough, she meant she could effectively monitor whether each prefecture and county was genuinely implementing policies.

An Lin thoroughly enjoyed switching between several counties for quite a while before finally straightening up and returning to the menu bar.

As she stood, she was slow to lift her gaze and happened to notice two small arrows in a corner she'd overlooked, arranged tip to tail like a switch icon.

"What's this for?" An Lin pointed at the conversion icon and asked.

"It allows you to take control of another available body," the Chibi Emperor replied.

An Lin thought back and suddenly remembered the name of the installation package when she downloaded the game.

[Emperor Simulator + Empress Simulator_Collection]

However, she had never once seen a trace of the Empress Simulator while playing, and had naturally forgotten about it.

"If I'm not mistaken, the other available body refers to the Empress, doesn't it?" An Lin casually tapped the conversion icon, but pressing it multiple times yielded no response. "Can't use it?"

The Chibi Emperor paused tactically, then murmured, "To activate the Empress Simulator, you first need an Empress."

An Lin: "...Right. Well, never mind. Continue introducing the rest."

Thereafter, An Lin began reviewing other memorials, simultaneously familiarizing herself with the Emperor Simulator's functions.

For something like this, ignoring it was fine, but once she started, a strange compulsion took hold. She had to finish everything, rather than leaving half-done tasks pending. It was like seeing a red notification dot on a game interface; she absolutely had to clear it.

Thus, An Lin spent the entire day in the study, aside from lunch and dinner.

Only when the sun had dipped halfway below the horizon did she finally clear the pile of memorials. Chief Eunuch Wang Xiuwen promptly brought her tea with considerate timing.

An Lin stretched her fingers that had been gripping the brush, took a sip of water, and let out a long sigh of relief. Pointing at the processed memorials on the desk, she said to Wang Xiuwen, "The flooding in Huaian County is urgent. Relay the order immediately. Have the Ministry of Revenue get to work by tomorrow. Afterwards, instruct the relevant departments under the Ministry of Works to send personnel quickly to repair the people's homes damaged by the flood. Go handle it."

"This one goes to the Ministry of War. Bandits are causing trouble on the route from the capital to Huaian County. Dispatch six thousand troops to suppress them first, led by..." An Lin's instructions faltered abruptly here.

She glanced down at the desk surface. Relying on the fact that others couldn't see the Emperor Simulator's panel, she openly checked the Register of Officials.

Selecting someone to suppress bandits required some care. Assigning an overly high-ranking official would seem like overkill; sending a General Pacifying the State to hunt bandits would be absurd, subtly undermining public credibility, and making rewards difficult. Too much would drain the treasury; too little would cost face. But if her choice lacked competence and failed, it would be even more embarrassing.

An Lin mentally scrolled through the Register of Officials, flipping past the top-tier ranks. She skipped anyone with a [Military] value below 50.

When she reached the fourth page, her gaze suddenly sharpened. Amidst a sea of dull gray numbers, she caught a strikingly bright gold.

[Qi Donghan (Regimental Commander)

Governance: 60 | Military: 96 | Learning: 60 | Martial Strength: 90 | Politics: 59 | Management: 80 | Ambition: 59 | Loyalty: 90 | Prestige: 1000]

Afraid she had misread it, An Lin deliberately looked again.

Military, Martial Strength, and Loyalty were all gold-tier and above 90! Where had this lopsided powerhouse come from? Why hadn't she noticed such stats during morning court, even though she'd nearly gone blind staring?

A hidden gem?

Still, wasn't it strange for a previously unknown official with little contact with the Emperor to start with a loyalty score of 90 or higher?

An Lin had a dozen questions for the chibi emperor sitting on the desk, but since Wang Xiuwen was still present, she held them back. Picking up her previous thread, she told Wang Xiuwen, "Have Regimental Commander Qi Donghan lead the troops sent to suppress the bandits."

This also gave her a pretext to promote her hidden-gem, Gold Card Warrior after the campaign and slot him into an important position.

Wang Xiuwen recorded all of An Lin's orders. Upon hearing the final arrangement, he paused briefly, then a gentle smile spread across his face. "It seems Your Majesty has cooled off? Young General Qi will surely be very pleased."

An Lin: "...Huh?"

It sounded as if her hidden gem had a good personal relationship with her, or rather, with the Chibi Emperor.

"Xinzhu was my study companion since childhood," the chibi emperor explained.

Ah, so they had known each other since youth. That must be why his loyalty sat at 90.

An Lin nodded to show she understood.

...

With these two edicts dispatched to the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of Works, their personnel quickly fell into a frenzy of activity.

Meanwhile, the Minister of Rites and another Grand Secretary had already clocked out for the day. After leaving court, they took the same route to... eat small wontons.

The two veteran ministers sat upstairs in a teahouse, eating wontons and watching pedestrians pass below. They chatted occasionally about court affairs. Lord Ji, the Slick-Shouldered Minister, even remembered to send the errand boy next door to buy his wife's favorite steamed custard, so he could take it home and make her happy.

As they talked, the conversation drifted to that day's court session.

After swallowing a mouthful of wontons, Grand Secretary Song looked out at the passing pedestrians and suddenly remarked, "Old Ji, don't you feel His Majesty acted differently today compared to usual?"

"Indeed. His Majesty made decisions directly in court today instead of deferring them for post-session consultation." Lord Ji Zhengqing had noticed it too.

"And every decision was perfectly calibrated." Lord Song couldn't help but smile.

They weren't so fanciful as to suspect the person inside the emperor had been swapped out; they simply felt deeply relieved. After all, these veteran ministers had worked hard teaching the young ruler recently, harboring only one wish: that he could uphold the weight of the nation. "He still glances our way occasionally, but this is already significant progress."

Lord Ji nodded in agreement. "Perhaps Lord Song's admonishment last time took effect. With this, once the court stabilizes, we old men can soon petition for official retirement."

"My old bones wouldn't last much longer if I kept sitting here!" Lord Song chuckled, shaking his head.

For a moment, the air filled with a relaxed atmosphere. Both veteran ministers looked forward to their leisurely post-retirement lives, free from court duties and office hours. Unaware that the emperor they pinned their hopes upon was also frowning over the retirement countdown timers for those high-quality veteran officials in the Register of Officials.

Retirement? Absolutely not.

The new generation of talent hadn't emerged yet. If the veterans left, who would she replace them with? The imperial examinations could produce at most three high-quality talents and a few mid-quality ones per cycle. Even if she changed the exams to annual sessions, the next batch wouldn't arrive for a full year.

If all the veterans retired, her court would be left with nothing but incompetents and ambitious schemers.

Honestly, she might as well scrap retirement altogether. If things collapsed, the kingdom would fall in five years anyway. Might as well stay in court and burn brightly while there was still a chance to turn the tide... Though as officials aged, their capacity and mental stamina for governance would inevitably decline. Forcing them to stay would yield diminishing returns. She still needed a painless transition plan to hand power over to the new generation.

An Lin pondered while washing up, pondered while viewing the simulator map, and pondered even as she lay down to sleep. Truly worried herself sick.

But as she mulled it over, just before falling asleep, a sudden spark of inspiration struck her.

What if she established an academy in the capital, similar to the Jixia Academy or the Hongdu School, and placed retired veteran officials with high stats there as instructors? Would that boost the overall stats of future talent?

At the very least, everyone's stats could be improved. For instance, those in the 0 to 50 range currently sitting at 30 could raise theirs to 50 through acquired learning, making 50 their ceiling. The 51 to 89 range formed another tier, while 90+ belonged to a different world entirely, relying on innate talent.

Graduates from this academy could then be dispatched to the provinces to establish local schools, enlightening the populace. In doing so, she could discover talented people whose abilities might otherwise go unnoticed or remain undeveloped because they lack access to education.

Hmm, this idea is worth a try. Time to put it into action!

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