Battle Royale of the Sinners

"Tell everybody why before they make another ruckus again."

Liu Xie nodded. He looked at everyone in the meeting as he declared, "If I become an emperor now, our dynasty will collapse into pieces in a few years. Everyone will try to get to my good sides to manipulate me or plan to use me to issue imperial decrees. Other greedy governors from other cities will flock to me and try to kill father in secret."

"Why do you think that?"

"Because I'm still a child."

"But didn't you want to be an adult?"

"I do, but not this way," Liu Xie glared at all officers with a dignified look, "I have not done anything worthy to be called an emperor, but you have been fighting so hard to gather them under one banner. If I become an emperor, our subordinates will separate into two political sides, my father's side and my side. This is not the responsibility I wish to take."

Liu Xie turned to Tong, "Until I become an adult with my body and my mind, I wish to learn it from you, father! Please let me learn how you obtained all the supports from our people! So when the time comes when I have to make this choice again, I'll be ready! I'll gain my men's supports with my hard work and my achievements. I'll gather my allies with my abilities and not relying on you! Only when I can unite everyone under myself, I can sit on the throne!"

Tong laughed while all officers in the hall stared at Liu Xie in awe and respect. Still, his tone was inappropriate since they were father and son. It sounded like Liu Xie was plotting a rebellion against Tong.

Jia Xu clicked his tongue and muttered to himself, "Nasty brat. He has just declared a rebellion."

Murmurs and buzzing noises enveloped the hall. Tong had to clap his hands again to shut their mouths.

"Does anyone object to my son's decision?"

Sima Lang, Sima Fang's eldest son, who was 17 this year, did not hesitate to step forward. Despite his age, he was almost 190 centimeters tall, which made him taller than most of the civil officers in the room.

"Your highness, Prince Liu Xie. You are the only one who carries the bloodline of the previous emperor. It's your job to succeed the throne even if you wish for it or not. I object your idea for throwing away your right for the throne."

Many officers nodded. Since free speech and human's rights were not widely accepted among the ancient people, they believed in traditions and customs. Everybody thought that they were born with a role prepared for them, and they had to perform their duties for their lifetime.

Liu Xie, who had learned the modern lifestyle and mindset from Tong, disagreed with Sima Lang's thought.

"I'm not throwing away my right. I merely postpone it."

"Postpone?"

"Exactly! I said I wanted to learn my father's way of governing his people, and I meant it word by word. I wish for my father to be a temporary emperor until I feel I'm ready!"

Listening to this point, all loyalists had sparkling eyes. Even if Tong took the throne, Liu Xie would still be legitimate to claim it at any time he wanted to. Then, Tong would be nothing but a [Deputy Emperor], working for temporary.

Sima Lang was also satisfied with the answer. He stepped back to his position, waiting for another discussion.

Jia Xu was on the verge of pulling his hair as he did not like this Liu Xie at all.

"Stinking brat! Fortunately, I didn't adopt you back then! If you were my adopted son, I would have drowned you in a river! You &@%@^#$%!"

Xun Yu and Ju Shou did not say anything. They observed Tong's reaction to seeing what Tong would do after Liu Xie had declared his stance.

Tong coughed as he placed his hand on top of Liu Xie's head, scratching it and messing his hairdo.

"You still have a lot to learn, starting from your speech and your true purpose. You said you didn't want to divide my subordinates, but you just did. Heck, you just declare that you'll snatch my throne in the future and made things more complicated. Have you realized this?"

Liu Xie turned around with widened eyes, "Err, whoops."

Tong turned to Lu Zhi, "Master Lu, can I entrust you with one more student?"

Lu Zhi shrugged, "One or two more, it doesn't make a difference. But are you sure? I won't be lenient, you know?"

"Treat him as if you treated me years back. Give him a Spartan course. Shape him into a proper man!"

"As you wish, Hahahaha!"

Zhao Yun and Tian Yu had a shiver running down their spines when they heard Lu Zhi's sinister laughter. Although they had been with Lu Zhi for a few months, they tasted how brutal Lu Zhi's teaching was.

In modern days, ordinary high-school students spent averagely eight hours studying each day. However, Lu Zhi's tutorage took 14 hours daily, which had no holiday or break day included. It was stressful to the point that their mentality was on the verge of collapsing.

Tong coughed again and got to the main point, "Since we have decided that Liu Xie will temporarily step down from the throne. I will occupy the seat in the meantime, so we can work with a proper government system. As for Liu Xie's status, he will be instated as the crown prince, and he will inherit the throne after me! Is there another objection?"

Sima Lang raised his hand again, "How long will you be an emperor, my lord?"

Tong grinned, "Until Liu Xie turns 20! After that, we will employ that election system!"

"WHAT!?"

The crowd went ballistic when they heard about the election. Tong had to raise his hands to stop the protests and loud noises.

"It will be an election between only Liu Xie and me. All voters will be the selected 500 senates with the rank of governor, general, grand commander, or anything higher than a minister! Both of us will prove our worth to you, so you will judge us if you want me to retain the seat, or you wish to try your luck with Liu Xie! Each election term lasts four years. That means we will select a new emperor every four years!"

Te Langpu squeezed through the crowd and stepped onto the center carpet. He, too, wanted to protest.

"The constitution laws are still too new in this world! You're not ready for an election! Heck, normally, we choose a prime minister, not the fking king!"

Tong stared at the former president, "Liu Xie is 8 this year, so you have 12 more years to prepare. Do you think you don't have enough time, Mr. President?"

"All officers here will divide into two factions! You're splitting them! Don't you afraid of internal disputes?"

"With two factions, hidden crooks from both sides won't be able to use shady means to accomplish their goals, and it will reduce the possibility of embezzlement and corruptions. Since each faction will find fault in the other, it will keep the crooks in check."

"You're still too naïve, Tong! Elite corrupted politicians will always find the loophole in the system. Your democracy is too green!"

Tong grinned from ear to ear, "Patch them for me, Mr. President. As you said, I'm a noob at this. That's why I need your veteran's experiences."

Te Langpu groaned in frustration. Out of spite, he demanded, "I want a raise! You've overworked me!"

"5,000 gold a month, but you will be instated as the Prime Minister."

"Tsk, deal!" Since he could not defy Tong's order in public, he receded.

The exchanges between Te Langpu and Tong caused another uproar. Just like that, Te Langpu was promised with the Prime Minister position before Tong could officially be their emperor.

Tong turned to his officers, "All of you will be competing against each other to achieve the best for our country. I want both Han loyalists and my supporters to fight fair and squire. Also, I want you to think of our country's interest before your personal gain! Remember, both Liu Xie and I are from the same family, so are you all!"

Everybody bowed in confusion. There were many things that they did not understand, but they had to acknowledge Tong's new idea. It would take these officers a few years before they could comprehend the constitution and democratic systems.

However, Tong did not stop there. He turned to Sima Fang.

"Senior Sima Fang, remember when we talked the first time?"

Remained indifferent, Sima Fang walked to the center carpet and bowed, "I remembered. What do you wish for my service, your majesty?"

"Because of my new election system, our court will eventually split into two factions. I want you to remain neutral in all this!"

"Oh? Then, what about my opinion?"

"Your duty is not to give opinions. You have one job, weed out anyone that use underhanded means to eliminate their opponents! There will eventually be nasty bastards that will employ assassins or thugs to cripple the other side. I've entrusted you with the policemen and the department of justice in Julu, so you should have experience in dealing with criminals. Establish more policemen in all cities, and keep these annoying politicians in our room in check!"

Tong took out Emperor Sword, which he retrieved it from Ding Yuan and Zhang He.

"This will be yours from now on. You will be my eyes and my sword. Get rid of any corrupted bastard in here that dares to fight dirty. There is only one punishment, three-generation execution!"

Everyone had a chill running down their spine. Three-generation execution was a severe punishment.

Sima Fang recalled the memories when they first met. A faint smile appeared on his face before it receded.

'A neutral faction, is it?'

"I understand, your majesty."

.

Sima Yi, who hid behind all civil officers, sneered at Liu Xie in secret, "Naïve! A parent's asset is your asset. Not relying on it is a waste of resources!"

*Dong*

A hammer fist landed on top of Sima Yi's head. It was from one of his mentors, Te Langpu, who slipped to the back in a bad mood, planning to skip the meeting.

"Relying too much on your parents will spoil you in the long run. You should strive to be a self-made man, not a papa's son, you dumb little prick!"

"I didn't say that I will 100% hiding behind my father's shadow! What I meant are the resources! The gold, the assets, the authority, he said he wanted to gain everything from the ground up which I disagree!"

"If you haven't learned the value of assets, how can you manage it in a macro-scale, I wonder?"

"That's simple! You look at the big picture and compare the value with something similar. Then, you can judge the importance this way, right?"

Another hammer fist landed on top of the 9-year-old Sima Yi's head.

"Brat, you haven't learned the value of labors, workers, and employee psychologies. You can't be a good strategist this way. I think you'll have to attend my class the hard way from now on. I'll talk to your father after this."

"N-No! Please, sir Te! Anyone but my father!"

.

The meeting continued for an entire day, which many new roles were given to all officers.

It was the day that settled confirmed Tong's stance, which sent the frantic Cao Cao's spies into actions.

March 22nd, 188 A.D.

In a flash, everybody spread words.

It was the day that everyone became aware of Tong's name, including slaves and rural peasants.

The coronation ceremony took place in Ye, which Tong was now officially a new emperor.