I, Am a Living Yama; Empress Advises Me to Stay Calm

On the tenth square of the board, Yang Yi used the tip of a brush dipped in ink to write a small “1024.”
On the seventh square, he had already switched to using a brush. After all, the first six squares could still be filled with rice. Beyond that, it was impossible to place the grains physically, so he could only write numbers.
Seeing that it was only the tenth square and Yang Yi had already written “1024” on it, Shangguan Wan’er’s eyes widened in shock, leaving her speechless. She hadn’t expected that the tenth square would require 1024.
To think that the seventh square only needed one hundred twenty-eight grains. And yet, in just a few squares, the numbers had skyrocketed!
Her head spun as she tried to process it.
Wu Zhao wasn’t much better off. Her phoenix eyes stared blankly at the board, dumbfounded. A faint inspiration flickered in her mind, but she couldn’t quite grasp it.
Taking a deep breath, Wu Zhao lifted her fair and beautiful face and fixed her gaze on Yang Yi.
“This board has at least three hundred squares. How many grains of rice would it take to fill it?”
Yang Yi smiled cheerfully. “I don’t know, but this bowl of rice is definitely not enough.”
He paused for effect, then added, “Because I know it will take at least a million grains by the twentieth square.”
Wu Zhao and Shangguan Wan’er both widened their eyes in disbelief, staring at the seemingly simple board.
The difference between the tenth and twentieth squares was only ten, yet the amount of rice required had already become astronomical.
The hall fell into a tense silence.
Wu Zhao bit her lip, her mind racing. “You say this board and the rice are related to your strategies… how exactly?”
She felt like the answer was just within reach, hidden behind a thin veil she couldn’t pierce.
Shangguan Wan’er’s curiosity mirrored Wu Zhao’s. Both women turned their gazes to Yang Yi.
Yang Yi smiled slightly, his eyes gleaming with a sharpness that seemed to cut through the fog of history.
“Your Majesty,” he began, “one grain of rice becomes two, and by the tenth square, it exceeds a thousand. Now, what if there were twenty Ming princes, and each had far more than two children? After a hundred years, how many royal descendants would the Ming Dynasty have?”
Wu Zhao’s breath caught as the realization hit her. Yang Yi’s demonstration wasn’t just a math trick—it was a metaphor for the exponential growth of royal descendants in the Ming Dynasty.
If each prince had only two children, there would already be over a thousand descendants in ten generations. But a worthy prince would surely have far more than just two.
What about dozens of princes?
Her eyes narrowed in horror. Although she wasn’t skilled in arithmetic, she understood enough to see that the numbers would be staggering!
The implications of Yang Yi’s strategy began to sink in.
Shangguan Wan’er, too, was stunned, staring at Yang Yi in disbelief. She had never imagined that the number of royal descendants could be calculated like this.
Ignoring their astonished gazes, Yang Yi addressed Wu Zhao in earnest.
“Your Majesty… After a hundred years, the royal descendants of the Ming Dynasty will swell to hundreds of thousands, perhaps even millions! And those millions of royal descendants won’t be commoners—they’ll all be members of the royal family.
“They will not engage in production. All their expenses will be covered by the court. And the lowest among them will hold the title of National Commander. Your Majesty, that means millions of National Commanders!
“What kind of wealthy court could possibly afford to support these millions of parasites?”
Then, his voice turned icy, carrying the weight of a devastating truth.
“My strategy is this… Those millions of National Commanders will drag down the finances of the Ming Dynasty!”
His words hung in the air like a thunderclap.
Wu Zhao’s body trembled, her heart pounding like a storm. Her pupils dilated in shock as Yang Yi’s words echoed in her mind:
Millions of National Commanders will drag down the finances of the Ming Dynasty!
Each part of the plan—from the three defensive lines Yang Yi proposed to Zhu Yuanzhang’s system of inheritance—was meticulously designed to exploit Zhu Yuanzhang’s character flaws.
In the end, it would ensnare the Ming Dynasty in a self-destructive cycle.
Zhu Yuanzhang would never suspect that the strategy he believed would secure his dynasty’s prosperity for generations would instead lead to its economic collapse within two hundred years.
Even if brilliant minds emerged to salvage the Ming Dynasty during a crisis, as long as Zhu Yuanzhang’s foundational rules remained, the dynasty’s fate was sealed.
Wu Zhao’s gaze deepened as she stared at Yang Yi, her mind racing. This man planned to use the Ming princes and their descendants to topple the dynasty from within. Zhu Yuanzhang himself would unwittingly destroy his own dynasty.
The ruthlessness of it took her breath away.
If Zhu Yuanzhang ever realized the truth, he’d likely be so furious that he’d vomit blood.
Shangguan Wan’er was equally shaken. Her thoughts were a chaotic whirlwind.
She thought of how the entire world still believed Yang Yi was aiding the Ming Dynasty. Even Zhu Yuanzhang, smug in his supposed triumph, had no idea that this was all part of Yang Yi’s plan.
This move was beyond treacherous. He deserved his reputation as the Great Zhou’s “Living Yama.”
The hall remained silent for a long time.
Wu Zhao took a deep breath, regaining her composure. She fixed Yang Yi with a complicated gaze.
“I knew you didn’t have good intentions… There’s no such thing as a free lunch in this world. Zhu Yuanzhang, of all people, doesn’t realize that.”
Yang Yi replied confidently, “Yes, yes. How could Zhu Yuanzhang possibly drive a wedge between me and Your Majesty? My relationship with Your Majesty is very close—”
Wu Zhao suddenly narrowed her eyes.
Yang Yi quickly cleared his throat. “A very close ruler-minister relationship.”
Satisfied, Wu Zhao raised her chin slightly.
“That’s more like it.”
If this guy tried to take advantage of her again, she’d definitely teach him a lesson!
…
The next day, at dawn, Yang Yi rode a carriage from his residence to the Hall of Government.
The Great Zhou court sessions were divided into minor and major sessions. Minor sessions occurred every three days, while major sessions were held every ten days.
The day of his return happened to coincide with a major session.
After the time it took to burn an incense stick, Yang Yi appeared in the Hall of Government.
Many ministers looked at him with strange expressions, but Yang Yi didn’t mind. After all, it was only natural for him to stir controversy—especially now that Zhu Yuanzhang had exposed him.