As for the city of Kaifeng, every civil and military official was shocked!

The emperor’s thunderous decisiveness truly made people see him in a new light.

Just yesterday, William Harris summoned everyone to the Chui Gong Hall, announced his vow to resist the Jin to the death, personally took charge of state affairs, and appointed Thomas Lee as prime minister...

These three actions were already quite surprising, but everyone merely marveled at them for a moment.

A new official always makes a strong impression at first; after all, William Harris had just ascended the throne as emperor—if he didn’t make some noise, wouldn’t he be even less impressive than a plate of osmanthus duck?

But then again, Charles Harris had been emperor for over twenty years and never managed anything remarkable—what could William Harris possibly do? At most, he’d say some tough words to show he was different from the retired emperor. As soon as the Jin arrived, he’d surely become obedient.

After all, given the current situation, what can be done besides negotiating peace?

This was the opinion of over ninety percent of the officials; only a fool like Thomas Lee, so out of touch with reality, would sincerely think of resisting the Jin!

All speculation and conjecture came to an abrupt halt the moment Samuel Todd’s head fell!

King Todd is dead!

A blood-soaked head now hung at Tongjin Gate.

Cowardice before the enemy, deceiving the emperor and breaking the law!

Who would still dare not to resist the Jin?

Whose official rank was higher than Samuel Todd’s?

Whose neck was tougher than Samuel Todd’s?

If the emperor dared to kill even Samuel Todd, who could possibly be spared?

That night, all the officials were doomed to sleeplessness, each one trembling with fear, sighing and racking their brains. In all these years, they had never encountered an emperor of this sort...

And the culprit behind the officials’ terror was, at this moment, sleeping soundly in the Funing Hall.

William Harris was utterly exhausted. Not only had he stayed up all night yesterday, but now it was well past midnight again. He had barely lain down before he fell asleep.

It’s often said that the imperial harem holds three thousand beauties, as if every emperor is surrounded by women and endless pleasure.

But in reality, it’s nothing like that. Not to mention the ordinary concubines—even the empress herself, if she wanted to see the emperor, had to go through layers of reporting, then proceed to the Yanfu Palace for the meeting. Whatever the emperor and empress said or did, and for how long—all of it had to be recorded, with a crowd of eunuchs and palace maids observing, not a single mistake allowed.

After figuring out this whole process, William Harris couldn’t help but sigh.

No wonder Charles Harris would rather sneak through tunnels and run off to the Yuxiang Pavilion! The palace rules really are torturous.

But in a way, it was a good thing. Precisely because of these rules, and with the nation in crisis, William Harris could temporarily shake off unnecessary troubles and focus on recuperating.

Though the nap wasn’t long, he slept especially soundly... William Harris dreamed of clashing swords and armored horses, of a million-strong army, of famous generals restoring the nation, of reclaiming Yan and Yun. He woke up with a smile.

But as soon as he opened his eyes, all that was left was a long sigh—and the old eunuch David Carter!

“Your Majesty, the ministers have already arrived at Chui Gong Hall. Your move to ‘shake the mountain and startle the tiger, kill the chicken to scare the monkeys’ was truly brilliant.” David Carter praised from the heart. If no one else would say it, at least the old eunuch, following the emperor, felt proud and powerful.

William Harris smiled, “I just want them to know who’s in charge in this Song dynasty!”

David Carter quickly added, “Your Majesty is wise. Why not let them wait a while, see who dares to take you lightly?”

William Harris was quite tempted, but on second thought, this really wasn’t the time to show off. “Forget it. The Jin are right at our doorstep—we still need them to stabilize the court. No need to scare them all out of their wits. Hurry and help me change.”

David Carter quickly agreed, helped William Harris into his official attire, and without even having breakfast, they headed straight for Chui Gong Hall. But as they left Funing Hall, William Harris remembered something.

“Chief Carter, later you take over the duties of the Imperial City Department. Don’t let the third prince embarrass us!”

David Carter was overwhelmed with gratitude. Last night the emperor had mentioned using him, and this morning he was given the all-important Imperial City Department—he truly meant what he said and kept his word.

How could a humble servant like me ever repay such imperial grace, even with my life!

The Imperial City Department controlled palace security and intelligence gathering, similar to the Jinyiwei of the Ming dynasty.

Logically, such an important position should be entrusted to the emperor’s closest confidant. But Charles Harris, with his muddled mind, insisted on giving it to his third son, Prince Yun Andrew Harris!

This Prince Yun was quite a character. He perfectly inherited Charles Harris’s artistic flair, was exceptionally talented in literature, and even secretly took the imperial exams. Remarkably, he fought his way through and became the top scholar—the highest-ranking zhuangyuan in the history of the exams.

Of course, that was the extent of his abilities.

During the Jingkang Incident, this zhuangyuan was captured just like everyone else and died in the Jin state, without causing a ripple. Clearly, scholarly talent alone could not save the Song dynasty.

William Harris had already confined the retired emperor to Longde Palace; there was no need to let Andrew Harris get in the way. Taking over the Imperial City Department pushed the progress bar of seizing power forward by a big step.

But before he could enjoy this for long, James Lewis rushed in, flustered, arriving before William Harris could head to Chui Gong Hall, to offer his advice.

“The three thousand Shengjie troops are all willing to obey orders and swear to serve the country, but...”

William Harris gave a helpless smile. “Just say it. I’m not that fragile.”

James Lewis quickly bowed. “It’s just that Samuel Todd is dead, and morale is unstable. I ask Your Majesty to grant rewards to calm the people!”

William Harris nodded. “So, in plain terms, you want money, right?”