The following days passed by quickly. Having assumed to rightful place upon the seat of the empire, the young emperor got to work.
First, he pulled out the roots of his uncle's power and influence and consolidated his own. Second, he sent orders to the scattered armies and generals, instructing them to return to the capital post-haste. Third, he focused on cleansing the capital of its strange obsession and forcibly re-educated the local masses. Fourth, he rearranged the foreign talents who had arrived seeking employment a few months ago and stationed them at appropriate posts.
It was when he worked on this task did he realised just how many talents had flooded into the empire during the past few months and how many more were being severely mistreated and under-utilized. Not sparing a single moment, Alexandros immediately purged the official ranks of corrupt officials and personally saw to the employment of these foreign talents.
It was also during this, that he ran into a buried diamond; a jewel, that for some inexplicable reason, was imprisoned at a guard house.
By noon of the fourth day after Alexandros' retrieval of the seat of the empire, a dirty and dishevelled Tang Gui was brought before the young emperor. The latter wasted no time in interviewing the former and after a greatly satisfying interview, immediately promoted the confused scholar to the temporary post of 'Prime Minister!'
This promotion utterly shocked Tang Gui and the rest of the imperial officials. Voices of jealousy and discontent immediately propped up and were thoroughly suppressed by the iron hand of the young emperor. Such actions left the others confused and wondering just what was so special about this foreign scholar.
Little did anyone know that Tang Gui possessed a direct recommendation from the Imperial Tutor and Personal Advisor of the Emperor, Wuzhi. During one of their conversations during the month-long travel to the Hielands, the young scholar had off-handedly remarked to the emperor about Scholar Tang's remarkable talent and potential. To quote his exact words, Wuzhi had said, 'To become a Prime Minister in this lifetime would not be beyond his reach.'
Alexandros remembered each word spoken by Wuzhi and would never forget such rare words of praise toward another person. Such being the case, when the young emperor coincidently came across this talent, he skipped all steps and directly promoted Scholar Tang to the temporary post of 'Prime Minister.' As for the permanence of this title, it would depend on his performance and the outcome of the war.
Having scaled the heavens in a single step, Tang Gui was instantly burdened with a mountain's worth of work. He hardly found the time to breathe let alone protest this sudden promotion to the emperor.
As the days passed, Alexandros realized just how wise it was to listen to the words of your elders. Scholar Tang's… correction, Prime Minister Tang's performance of his duty had left the emperor feeling that listening to Wuzhi's advice and promoting this man had been the second wisest decision that he had ever made; first had been asking Wuzhi to become his teacher.
With Prime Minister Tang in his post, Alexandros found his impossible workload of running and preparing the empire for war reduced by more than half. Even the other court officials, who had been initially resistant toward this sudden promotion, held their tongue when they witnessed Prime Minister Tang's word ability and efficiency.
In just a week and a half, the internal situation of the South Aislan Empire was brought to a level of unprecedented stability. Of course, to bring about such stability naturally meant bloody and brutal struggles; and so was the case. Fortunately, with the great power of the Hielands supporting him, Alexandros didn't even have to wait for the arrival of his loyal generals and armies, thereby saving a lot of time; the single resource that the empire desperately lacked.
War rations had been prepared and multiple war conferences and strategy meetings had been convened. Alexandros did not miss a single one of these; he was always the first to arrive and the last to leave.
Perhaps, it was from witnessing such a display of dedication that the reality of the situation truly hit home for even the most delusional of officials. Their mistaken sense of lethargy and peace, stemming from the previous few months of peace and cease-fire, had been utterly shattered, creating a sense of desperate urgency in its place.
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They realized that they had to work and give it their all, putting aside all of their petty grievances and power-plays, if they wanted to survive this war and come out on top. It also helped that Alexandros' power and competence inspired sufficient confidence in the ability of the empire's ability to prevail.
Furthermore, the news of the empire's one-hundred-thousand (100,000) strong army's arrival and the secret news from the Hodgepodge faction that they stood in support of the empire in the following days served to further boost everyone's morale.
It was at this moment that all of Wuzhi's schemes and strategies ever since his arrival at the South Aislan Continent culminated. He had directed the previously weak and fractured power of the empire to become one of the leading contenders for the seat of hegemony.
All cards fell into place and the odds of the empire's victory rose to an all-time high. They were ready to face anything that their enemies threw at them and were prepared to struggle crazily for victory.
---
The date was the 11th Day of the Eleventh Month in the Year 735 NCE.
Alexandros was inside the imperial study tending to some important work when a particularly grim-looking Prime Minister Tang entered.
"Your Majesty," Tang Gui greeted with a bow. He did not take a seat, instead choosing to stand while nervously fidgeting with his fingers.
The young emperor replied to his greeting with a nod of his head and put down the pen in his hand. He then turned his gaze to the scholar and asked, "Prime Minister Tang, what impossible matter had brought you to my office?"
He spotted the beads of sweat on the scholar's face and added, "And with such urgency?" Alexandros straightened his relaxed position, seemingly sensing the important nature of this conversation.
Prime Minister Tang nervously gulped at his query. His hands continued to restlessly fidget while his gaze strangely refused to meet the young emperor. After almost a minute of silence, he heaved a sigh and softly explained his visit.
"Your Majesty, following your previous orders, we continued investigating the Ex-Regent and his cronies for all their unlawful possessions and wealth. While seizing some of the immovable assets, we came across a certain manor located in the Third Inner Ring of the capital city."
He paused for a moment out of hesitation before biting his lips and continuing with the narration. "Following protocol, we searched the manor to collate and tag everything worth anything. It was then that we… discovered the princess."
BANG! Alexandros leapt out from his seat, disbelief plastered on his face. An instant later, his disbelief gave way to immense joy as he excitedly asked, "What!? Is it true!? You have found my eldest sister!!?"
Facing the young emperor's excitement, the nervousness and grimness on Prime Minister Tang's face grew even more pronounced. With a voice that betrayed his hesitation, he quietly said, "Your Majesty… you have to meet with the princess."
"Let's go! Let's go right now!!" Alexandros directly started and walked across the scholar. In his infinite happiness, he seemed to have completely ignored the look of anxiety and worry on Prime Minister Tang's face.
"Your Majesty, wait up!" Prime Minister Tang chased after the young emperor.
---
As he was led through the imperial palace by Prime Minister Tang, Alexandros felt his initial excitement recede and give way to doubt. His doubts only seemed to compound as he was led farther and farther away from his expected destination.
"Prime Minister Tang, why are we heading to the Eastern Palace?"
"Prime Minister Tang, how did my sister look? Did she ask for me? Did she tell how and where she had disappeared to for all this time?"
"Prime Minister Tang, why aren't you telling me anything? Is there something wrong with my sister?"
"Hold on, why are we heading toward the Medical Wing!?"
At this point, Alexandros could no longer wait and rushed towards the medical wing. Upon arrival, he was immediately struck dumb, losing strength in his legs and lustre in his eyes. His mouth opened to release a cry; however, no sound left his throat.
Resting upon a bed was a young woman of familiar features. Her expression, however, seemed a little blank and lost; akin to someone suffering from mental retardation. She watched her surroundings with a dumb expression on her face, with her mouth slightly open and saliva dripping from the corners of her lips. At a glimpse, she also seemed to possess no teeth.
Bruises, scars, and scratches filled every inch of her two arms; a sign that she had been a regular victim of abuse. However, the most shocking and disturbing feature of the young woman was the fact that she was missing both her legs; with only two stumps in the place of her knees. It was evident that someone had maliciously dismembered her legs.
Gazing at this person, Alexandros was overcome with infinite sorrow. His conscious mind refused to equate this tortured woman with his mental image of his intelligent, graceful, and beautiful sister.
Vaguely, memory seemed to appear and replay its recording within his mind.
-
'Little sprout, do not think that you can grow up and boss over me just because you're a boy and that you will become the emperor. Remember, that for as long as I'm your sister, I will be the one to boss you around!'
-
"SISTER!!!" Alexandros screamed, his voice dripping with blood and grief.