Chapter 76

"Fan Binqi has repeatedly opposed you, Lord Zhao. I thought he was some great talent, some upright gentleman, but it turns out that he couldn't even withstand the first of our four tests: 'wine,' 'women,' 'wealth,' and 'anger.' He's already struggling at the 'women' test!"

As he spoke, Xiaoshancai wore a look of disdain, but his eyes gleamed with excitement. This excitement did not escape Zhao Junchen's notice. Zhao Junchen understood Xiaoshancai's thoughts and frowned slightly. Xiaoshancai not only had a natural talent for such corrupting activities but also clearly took great pleasure in them. People like Xiaoshancai, who indulged in eating, drinking, and pleasure, had likely been mocked and even morally condemned by so-called "upright gentlemen" in the past. For Xiaoshancai, corrupting these "upright gentlemen" was a form of revenge, one that filled him with satisfaction.

Zhao Junchen understood Xiaoshancai's petty thoughts and, though he found them distasteful, did not say much. After all, he had no right to lecture others. Many of the designs for "Heaven on Earth" came from Zhao Junchen's own ideas, and Xiaoshancai's actions were all carried out under Zhao Junchen's instructions. However, Zhao Junchen's slight frown was noticed by Xiaoshancai, who clearly misunderstood it, thinking that Zhao Junchen was still worried. So he reassured him, "Please rest assured, Lord. Someone like Fan Binqi will never escape our control. I guarantee that after tonight, he will be one of us. Just the 'women' test has already shaken him. He clearly lacks resolve. The 'wine,' 'wealth,' and 'anger' tests will follow, and he will surely fall."

Zhao Junchen nodded, still saying little, his expression distant. No one could tell what he was thinking. However, he had no doubt about Xiaoshancai's confidence. "Wine," "women," "wealth," and "anger" were the four methods of corruption that Zhao Junchen and Xiaoshancai had devised together, targeting the four major weaknesses of human nature. First, they would use women to cloud his mind, then wine to weaken his will, followed by wealth to ensnare him, and finally, anger to ruin his behavior. Few could withstand such a series of temptations.

In fact, even if someone could resist "wine, women, wealth, and anger," the people around them likely could not. Take Fan Binqi, for example. He had barely made it halfway through the "women" test before losing his composure. The next day, he would wake up from a night of debauchery, facing a massive gambling debt of hundreds of thousands of taels of silver and various pieces of evidence. With a bit of coercion and inducement, he would surely submit.

People in this era, limited by their conditions, were mostly just "country bumpkins." They had never experienced true luxury or faced true temptation. Even the so-called "upright gentlemen" had only average psychological defenses. When Zhao Junchen brought forward the sophisticated temptations from his future world and had them improved by someone like Xiaoshancai, how many of these naive ancients could resist?

Initially, Zhao Junchen had worried that things like "cheongsam" and "pole dancing," which were beyond their time, might be too much in this era dominated by Confucian thought, potentially backfiring. But in practice, temptation was still temptation, and human nature was still human nature.

...

With a light sigh, Zhao Junchen finally spoke, saying slowly, "Tomorrow, Fan Binqi will still submit a memorial opposing my reorganization of the Ministry of Revenue's accounts. However, the memorial he submits to His Majesty will change. His tone will be more intense, his hostility more evident, but his arguments will be weaker, and his reasoning will be full of flaws. As a result, his memorial, though nominally opposing, will actually make His Majesty more supportive of my reorganization. Moreover, from now on, he will still be a supporter of the Crown Prince and will continue to oppose me, but he will inadvertently reveal information about the Crown Prince to you."

Zhao Junchen's tone was casual yet firm, like a prophecy or an order. Xiaoshancai understood perfectly and smiled, saying, "As you say, Lord. I guarantee that Fan Binqi will do exactly that tomorrow."

Hearing this, Zhao Junchen nodded, praised him a few times, and then stood up, preparing to leave. Although Fan Binqi opposed him at every turn, he was ultimately just a minor official. Zhao Junchen had many ways to deal with him and didn't need to use "Heaven on Earth" or personally oversee the operation. The reason Zhao Junchen was here was simply to see how effective "Heaven on Earth" was. Fan Binqi was just a test subject. Since the results were clear, Zhao Junchen had no intention of staying longer.

On the other side, seeing Zhao Junchen's intention to leave, Xiaoshancai was taken aback and quickly said, "Lord, are you leaving? Why not stay the night here? I have reserved the best for you. Why not take the opportunity to rest?"

Zhao Junchen smiled lightly and shook his head, "Can you really rest here? I'm truly tired."

Xiaoshancai was taken aback. In his mind, no one could resist the temptations of "Heaven on Earth." Seeing Zhao Junchen's response, he clearly misunderstood something. Zhao Junchen's recent friendliness and courtesy emboldened him, and he asked, "Lord, in the annex, I have prepared several young men, all with delicate skin and tender flesh..."

However, he stopped mid-sentence. Zhao Junchen turned to look at him, his eyes cold, devoid of the usual warmth and friendliness, making Xiaoshancai shiver.

"Slap! Slap!..."

Xiaoshancai hurriedly knelt before Zhao Junchen, slapping himself seven or eight times, and said repeatedly, "I spoke out of turn, I spoke out of turn. Please punish me, Lord."

In fact, Xiaoshancai had no ill intentions. In this era, indulging in young men was a trend among officials and wealthy merchants, even considered a refined pastime, and was not seen as shameful. Zhao Junchen continued to stare coldly at Xiaoshancai for a moment, until his face turned pale and he broke out in a cold sweat. Finally, Zhao Junchen said, "Remember your place. Those who forget their place will not end well."

"Yes, yes, I understand. Thank you for your instruction, Lord, thank you for your instruction..."

Seeing that Zhao Junchen was not going to pursue the matter, Xiaoshancai quickly agreed. Zhao Junchen nodded, not pressing further, and said, "Prepare ten regular customer silver tokens for me. I will take them with me. From now on, this place is yours. Do not disappoint me."

With that, Zhao Junchen turned and walked out without delay. He planned to distribute these tokens to people like Zuo Lanshan and Zhan Shanchang. "Heaven on Earth" would not only be used to corrupt specific targets but would also serve as Zhao Junchen's private club.

Xiaoshancai did not dare to say more and hurriedly had someone fetch the tokens. He had already realized that, despite Zhao Junchen's usual calm demeanor, his mood was actually quite bad. Saying the wrong thing at such a time was his own fault, so he dared not say anything more.

Indeed, Zhao Junchen's mood had been bad since he arrived at "Heaven on Earth." In fact, it was very bad.

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ps: Something happened at home yesterday, and I thought it was over, but there were more developments. I can only update once today, and I will make up for the missed updates over the next two days. I apologize for the inconvenience.

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