The Brocade-Clad Poison Strategist: Scheming Against Men, Nations, and the World

[Court and Jianghu] [Political intrigue] [Scheming strategist] [Decisive and ruthless] [No System] Female Emperor: Powerful clans dominate the land, and the common people are suffering. How do we break this deadlock? Jiang Yi: Introduce an equal-field system. Encourage the people to stand up to the powerful clans and distribute the fertile land. Female Emperor: Wouldn't war leave the people suffering even more? Jiang Yi: It may offend Heaven, but it won't harm the people. If everyone has land to farm and every household has grain in storage, how could the people suffer? Female Emperor: How can ordinary people fight the powerful clans? I can't openly intervene, either. Jiang Yi: Set up another guard alongside the Embroidered Uniform Guard: a Secret Guard. Make it look like a Jianghu sect, and hire heroes of the Jianghu by offering bounties for missions. Have them frame, assassinate, and otherwise target the powerful clans to support the people. Female Emperor: Wouldn't that be too cruel? Jiang Yi: Is it any less cruel than them usurping Your Majesty's power? Female Emperor: Approved! Female Emperor: The Northern Barbarians are hateful, but natural disasters and epidemics have struck year after year. We're short on people and food. How should we punish them? Jiang Yi: Have people gather the corpses and blood of those who died in the epidemics, then secretly transport them into Northern Barbarian territory. Dump the corpses in their tribes and pour the blood into their water sources. Female Emperor: Wouldn't blood be harder to detect? Jiang Yi: The corpses will draw attention, making the blood harder to notice. Female Emperor: We're short on food for the northern campaign against the barbarians. How do we break this deadlock? Jiang Yi: Your Majesty, dried meat made from Northern Barbarian two-legged sheep actually tastes quite good. Female Emperor: ?? Female Emperor: Do you have a good plan to ease my present predicament, my minister? Jiang Yi: I have a thousand plans to resolve this urgent crisis. Female Emperor: You must not offend Heaven. Jiang Yi: Then I have a hundred plans. Female Emperor: You must not burden the common people. Jiang Yi: Then I have ten plans. Female Emperor: You must not damage my reputation. Jiang Yi: Then I'm out of ideas. Female Emperor: Off you go, then!