The Glory After Rebirth [ɇÇ”Ÿä¹‹Å°Šè£] Chapter 421- 423

Chapter 421: Respective Sinister Motives of Other Sides

After seeing Ji Yin and the others off, Ling Zhang returned to the imperial palace. Yuwen Tong, who could tell from his sad face that he was upset and dispirited, informed him of something to distract his attention.

“Diplomatic corps of all the three foreign countries sent word that they’re leaving.”

“All of them?”

Ling Zhang’s attention was immediately drawn to this matter. “I’m not surprised that diplomatic corps of the Wan Kingdom and the Luohai Kingdom are leaving. How come the diplomatic corps of the Fangcun Kingdom are leaving as well? Didn’t they bring some caravans here? To my knowledge, those caravans haven’t returned yet.”

Yuwen Tong tapped the table and said, “Hai Feng’s explanation is that they need to go back to attend their king’s birthday party. He also showed me an invitation bearing their king’s signature, saying that their king invited him to his birthday party.”

“The King of Fangcun’s birthday party? Is his birthday really coming up?”

“Yeah. Still, it might be just an excuse.”

Ling Zhang pondered for quite a while before he said, “Maybe I should have my father ask Luo Sang about it. They’ve been actively cooperating with us, so if there’s anything he could disclose, he definitely wouldn’t keep it back from my father.”

Yuwen Tong inclined his head. “All right.”

…

At the same time. In a courier hostel.

There were densely posted guards both in and outside the courier hostel, most of whom were bodyguards brought to the Great Wen by the diplomatic corps of the three foreign countries. Normally, the host country wouldn’t station any soldiers in a courier hostel. It was considered to be some kind of token of respect for envoys from foreign countries.

“So what do you say, Your Highness? You have everything to gain and nothing to lose by accepting these terms of the deal. If you don’t make a decision soon, the situation will get very unfavorable for our plan.”

Guards from the Wan Kingdom and the Luohai Kingdom could be seen standing at short intervals both in and outside this house, keeping potential eavesdroppers away. Shan Congyi was sitting opposite Mu Rongfeng, gazing squarely at the latter. The two of them were the only ones in this room, and nobody but themselves could hear their conversation.

“Prince Yi, let’s be honest with each other. On the surface I’ll be getting the better end of the bargain by accepting these terms, but the precondition is that the plan succeeds. What makes you so sure it’ll work when there’s such great risk involved?” asked Mu Rongfeng, looking back at him.

“Are you getting cold feet, Your Highness?” sniffed Shan Congyi. “Yuwen Tong sure as hell craves vengeance for our concerted attack on his country. The only reason why he hasn’t taken any action yet is because this country is facing the same trouble that the Wan Kingdom is. He needs more time to rebuild strength, stabilize the political situation and consolidate his position. Once he hits his stride and the Great Wen recovers from the aftermath of the war, we’ll come to grief. Surely Your Highness won’t just stand by and wait for him to attack?”

“Yuwen Tong is welcome to try if he thinks he stands a chance of winning,” observed Mu Rongfeng, a cold look on his face.

Shan Congyi chuckled, “Have you forgotten what else we came here for apart from Yuwen Tong’s enthronement ceremony and wedding, Your Highness? You don’t really need me to remind you of it, do you?

Yuwen Tong is nothing like his fatuous and self-indulgent predecessor of the Zhou family. He’s like a ferocious tiger, one that might bite us at any moment. If we don’t deal him a lethal blow while he’s not at his full strength, his fangs will sink into our body sooner or later.”

“The way I see it, your and your country’s confidence and backbone has been destroyed by him, and you’ve lost the fight you used to have, which is why you’re giving the enemy so much credit and giving yourself so little,” jibed Mu Rongfeng.

Shan Congyi stared at him. “The Wan Kingdom has fought Yuwen Tong so many years, and nobody can deny how strong we are. There’s no need for you to use this kind of words to goad me. Today we came here to talk about cooperation, so why don’t we just be honest with each other? Your evasive manner is a sign of cowardice.”

Mu Rongfeng fixed him with a gaze, his eyes glinting maliciously.

“Even if it fails, what could we possibly lose? The nightmare scenario would merely be losing some men. But if the plan succeeds, the Great Wen will descend into civil strife which will cost this country a lot of manpower, material resources and money, and it’ll rock the foundations of Yuwen Tong’s status as well. In that case, it’ll take only a single concerted operation of ours to throw the Great Wen into chaos. With such a golden opportunity in front of us, I really couldn’t understand why Your Highness are still hesitating,” added Shan Congyi.

Mu Rongfeng suddenly smiled, the malevolence in his eyes vanishing instantly. “You overthink it, Prince Yi. I was just trying to confirm whether the Wan Kingdom has really sent some men there. If things do come to that as you said they would, Jiangzhou will be fraught with perils. I value my life very much and I don’t want to die there.”

Shan Congyi also smiled, “Rest assured, Your Highness, my men have successfully paved the way. As long as you give me a hand, things will soon escalate in Jiangzhou.”

“Good. Now that you’ve done so much, I’ll cooperate with you,” said Mu Rongfeng.

Shan Congyi’s face took on a satisfied expression. “Then I’ll wait for your message.”

“Well, I’ve given you my word, so I’ll see it done by hook or by crook,” said Mu Rongfeng.

“I’m glad to hear that. We’ve been here long enough. I should take my leave lest anybody become suspicious.” Shan Congyi rose to his feet, intending to take his leave.

“Okay, Prince Yi. Pardon me for dispensing with the courtesy of walking you to the front gates, will you?” said Mu Rongfeng.

Shan Congyi gave a nod and then left the room. The moment he disappeared from view, Mu Rongfeng’s face immediately fell emotionless and with that a man walked out from behind a screen, who was a member of the diplomatic corps of the Luohai Kingdom and also Mu Rongfeng’s henchman.

“Your Highness, are we really going to join hands with the Wan Kingdom and make the situation in Jiangzhou escalate?” asked the henchman hesitantly.

Mu Rongfeng replied, “The outcome might be beneficial to us.”

“But our goal is to play the Great Wen off the Wan Kingdom. Only by having them fight each other would we be able to benefit from the situation. If it’s Jiangzhou that descends into chaos, the Great Wen will be the only side that suffer losses, and the Wan Kingdom will get enough time to rebuild its strength. In that case, our action would be synonymous with feeding a tiger to our own detriment. The Wan Kingdom’s armies are quite strong, and once they get back to full strength, they’ll be a great threat to us. Judging from Shan Congyi’s words, the Wan Kingdom has a plan to weaken the Great Wen first and then send its armies southwards to subject the Great Wen to its rule. If things do come to that, we’ll be in serious trouble,” said the henchman.

Face darkening, Mu Rongfeng sniffed, “It won’t be that easy for the Wan Kingdom to annex the Great Wen.”

“Your Highness, I think you need to reconsider your decision. If our original plan succeeds, the Wan Kingdom and the Great Wen will start fighting. The more they weaken each other, the more beneficial the situation will be to us. In that case, we’ll be the only strong country left, and it won’t be difficult for us to annex them both. But if we personally nurse the Wan Kingdom back to full strength, it’ll grow into a ferocious tiger, one we’ll have a hard job to keep under control, one that might turn against us at any moment,” commented the henchman.

Mu Rongfeng kept silent for a long moment before he said, “The situation in Jiangzhou could escalate very easily, and now is the best opportunity to make it happen. If we miss it, there will never be a second one. By comparison, driving a wedge between the Great Wen and the Wan Kingdom is not that easy. Yuwen Tong is no fool, and neither is the monarch of the Wan Kingdom. Currently they both need time to rebuild their strength. No matter what happens, they’ll always seek to settle it in a non-violent way. If we stick to our original plan, the process will be quite time-consuming, and it’s very likely that the two of them will return to full strength before we could make our plan work. In that case, the situation of tripartite confrontation will be restored and we probably won’t get any benefits.”

“Well…” The henchman hesitated. Of all these words of Mu Rongfeng’s, what struck him as the most convincing was the remark “Yuwen Tong is no fool.” In terms of Yuwen Tong’s astuteness, both of them had learned their lessons previously. How was it possible for a man like him to fall prey to their tricks?

“Moreover, there’s also a chance that things in Jiangzhou might not go as expected, so we might as well follow Shan Congyi’s plan first. If it works and the Great Wen descends into civil strife, it’ll be a good thing for us; if it fails, we’ll switch to our original plan,” said Mu Rongfeng.

That war had made it impossible for the Wan Kingdom, the Luohai Kingdom and the Great Wen to live in peace, especially after Yuwen Tong’s enthronement, for both the Luohai Kingdom and the Wan Kingdom were very defensive with the Great Wen. They must make sure the Great Wen didn’t return to its full strength, either by throwing the Great Wen into civil strife or by getting the Great Wen and the Wan Kingdom to fight each other! Otherwise they would undoubtedly end up dead.

The problem facing Mu Rongfeng right now was which plan to choose. Before he came to the Great Wen, their main plan had been to hoodwink the Great Wen into fighting the Wan Kingdom. After arriving in the Great Wen, Mu Rongfeng had found that the situation in the Great Wen was different than what he’d imagined it to be, and Yuwen Tong was also not exactly the same as the kind of person he’d expected him to be. This man was so shrewd and had enough military power at his command. Would it really be that easy to trick the Great Wen into fighting the Wan Kingdom?

Mu Rongfeng’s uncertainty had been the reason why he’d chosen to cooperate with Shan Congyi.

Seeing Mu Rongfeng had made up his mind, the henchman came to realize that it was no good trying to dissuade him, that what they needed to do was make sure the situation in Jiangzhou escalated to the level they wanted it to reach!

“Your Highness, Shan Congyi is even more cunning than Shan Congwen. If we’re to cooperate with him, we’ll have to be extra careful.”

Mu Rongfeng said, “I know. Shan Congyi might be able to fool the others with his pretence of fragility and harmlessness, but he doesn’t fool me.”

The henchman felt a slight sense of relief in the knowledge that Mu Rongfeng was also aware of it.

…

Meanwhile, the expression on Shan Congyi’s face also disappeared immediately after he walked out of Mu Rongfeng’s room, his eyes flashing with anger. Although Mu Rongfeng had agreed to cooperate in the end, Shan Congyi had perceived something from his hesitant attitude. Escalating the situation in Jiangzhou to throw the Great Wen into civil strife was obviously a perfect move which would do them only good and no harm, but Mu Rongfeng had still hesitated as though it was not to his liking, which suggested that Mu Rongfeng had another plan which he found more appealing.

Though unable to divine what kind of plan Mu Rongfeng had, Shan Congyi had a hunch that it was against the interests of the Wan Kingdom, which was why he was quite annoyed.

He thought, ‘Mu Rongfeng is not content with annexing the Great Wen. Is he planning to annex the Wan Kingdom as well, by any chance? What a greedy bastard. It’s true what they say, ‘A man whose heart is not content is like a snake which tries to swallow an elephant.”

“Please calm down, Your Highness. Now that Mu Rongfeng has agreed, all we have to do is follow the plan and make sure he meets his end in Jiangzhou. In that case, you’ll get your vengeance on him,” said Shan Congyi’s henchman.

Shan Congyi sneered, “You’re right. Since Mu Rongfeng dared covet our land, that will be the consequence he deserves to suffer. The Luohai Kingdom want to play us off the Great Wen and profit from the conflict. Humph. We’ll see if they could live long enough to do that.”

“Mu Rongfeng is the crown prince of the Luohai Kingdom. If he dies in the Great Wen, his father would definitely go berserk. The old monarch of the Luohai Kingdom has always been rather bitter about the defeat he suffered in this war. If we add a little bit fuel to the flames of his anger, he would sure as well send his armies to the Great Wen. As long as he attacks, the Great Wen will have no choice but to fight him. In that case, the Great Wen will lose its opportunity to rebuild strength, and the Luohai Kingdom’s troops, material resources and wealth will dwindle perpetually as well. When they are at their weakest, we’ll make our move and reap the fruit.”

Chapter 422: The Wan Kingdom’s and the Luohai Kingdom’s Conspiracy

“Humph,” Shan Congyi sneered. “You’ll see. I’ll get my vengeance on each and every single one of them. This time I’m going to make Yuwen Tong pay for what he did. Luohai dared plot against us, and they shall find the price for it quite heavy.”

“You’re truly a wise leader, Your Highness,” remarked his henchman obsequiously.

…

In another house of the same courier hostel.

Hai Feng, the Prime Minister of the Fangcun Kingdom, was playing Chinese chess with an envoy. After a while, someone walked inside to deliver a message to him.

“Your Lordship, their meeting’s over. Shan Congyi has returned to his room.”

Hai Feng fingered his mustache. “How did he look when he left?”

“Shan Congyi didn’t look very happy when he walked out of the house, but he was not as angry as he was the last time either.”

Hai Feng and the envoy looked at each other for a moment before the former said aloud, “I see. You may leave.”

“What do you think Shan Congyi and Mu Rongfeng are up to exactly, Your Lordship?” asked the envoy.

Hai Feng pondered for a little while and then replied, “As for their specific plans, your guess is as good as mine, but considering the overall situation, I think they’ll either do something in Jiangzhou, or tamper with something in Cangzhou, or resort to assassination.”

The envoy was taken aback by these words. “So they’re bent on making trouble for the Great Wen?”

Hai Feng responded, “I’ll be surprised if they’re not. Yuwen Tong is too formidable an opponent. He took the throne from the Zhou family with barely any bloodshed and then stabilized the political situation within a very short time. Currently he only needs some more time to rebuild strength. Under no circumstances would the Wan Kingdom or the Luohai Kingdom allow such a strong enemy to return to full strength. The two countries have both fought Yuwen Tong and been defeated by him before. They fear Yuwen Tong, and there’s no doubt they’ll do something to hinder Yuwen Tong from strengthening his position.”

The envoy was secretly startled. “Your analysis sent a chill down my spine, Your Lordship. No wonder you’re in such a hurry to get out of this country. I really admire your insight.”

Hai Feng gave a chuckle at the compliment. On the surface, he looked like a rich merchant, and his smile was genial and seemingly inoffensive, but the envoy sitting opposite him was aware that Hai Feng was definitely a formidable political figure as well. Although he didn’t work in the capital city of Fangcun, he had long since heard about Hai Feng’s reputation.

“My unwillingness to be dragged into the upcoming rough-and-tumble between the three countries is indeed part of the reason why I’m leaving in such haste, but His Majesty does want me to return as soon as possible,” said Hai Feng.

On hearing this, the envoy hastened to smile, “I should’ve thought of that. Please pardon me for my lack of perception, Your Lordship.”

Hai Feng asked, “I heard that Luo Sang’s trading fleet and the Ling family are pretty close. Is that true?”

The envoy hadn’t thought that Hai Feng would suddenly bring this up, but he didn’t dare keep anything back. “Yes. The Ling family own a large herb farm in Tanyang, and a lot of the herbs they plant there can’t be found in our country. In addition, the Ling family have Ling Zhang at their back, so their businesses will no doubt thrive. Luo Sang has always been in cooperation with the Ling family, and this time he took advantage of the opportunity and furthered their partnership. I can’t say for sure how things would turn out in the long run, but in the next few years, the Ling family will rely on Luo Sang’s trading fleet to do business with our country.”

After saying this, the envoy, seeing Hai Feng was silent, asked, “Is there anything particular you want me to do about it, Your Lordship?”

Hai Feng responded, “Disclose to Luo Sang the secret talk between Mu Rongfeng and Shan Congyi. Tell him there’s a very high chance they’re conspiring against the Great Wen. Have him intimate it to the Ling family if the occasion arises.”

“Are you saying that we’ll give Yuwen Tong a word of warning?” asked the envoy.

Hai Feng smiled, “You still haven’t got the point. You don’t seriously think Yuwen Tong needs me to forewarn him of this? I’m just doing him a favor that costs me nothing. No matter where the Great Wen will be standing with the Wan Kingdom and the Luohai Kingdom in the future, our friendship with the Great Wen will make things a lot easier for us during our future dealings with it.”

The envoy’s eyes lit up. “You’re so visionary, Your Lordship. I really admire you. I’ll go and repeat this to Luo Sang.”

…

Ling Zhang had someone deliver a message to Ling Zhaowu, who gave it some thought after receiving it and then sent Luo Sang an invitation.

Luo Sang, who had just finished his talk with the envoy when Ling Zhaowu’s invitation came, instantly broke out in a cold sweat. ‘The emperor of the Great Wen has indeed become suspicious. This matter might be the very reason why Ling Zhaowu sent me an invitation,’ he thought.

Luo Sang went to the appointed place at the agreed time with unease. At the sight of Ling Zhaowu looking at him with a smile, he hastened to greet him. “It’s an honor to bow before you, Earl Taichang (AKA the Earl of Prosperity). There’s no need for you to be so courteous, Your Lordship. You could’ve just summoned me. Had you done that, I would immediately go to your abode to visit you.”

Ling Zhaowu said, “You’re being too polite, Captain Luo. We’re business partners, so you may see me as a businessman. ‘Earl Taichang’ is nothing but a fancy title. It’s unnecessary for you to bother with the formalities because of it.”

With frequent, polite chuckle, Luo Sang chatted with Ling Zhaowu for a while and then inquired, “May I ask what it is that Your Lordship want to see me about? Have there been any changes in our cooperation?”

“Don’t worry, Captain Luo. Our partnership is very solid. It’s not about business,” answered Ling Zhaowu.

If it was not about business, then it must be about the matter that he was thinking of. ‘I knew it,’ Luo Sang thought, his face becoming much more serious. “If there’s anything I can do for you, all you have to do is ask, Your Lordship.”

Ling Zhaowu said, “Thank you in advance, Captain Luo. I invited you here because there’s something I want to ask you about. I heard that the diplomatic corps of your country is going back. Is it because of something urgent?”

‘Oh, here it comes, here it comes,’ Luo Sang muttered madly in his head. Affecting a calmness he did not feel, he replied, “Our king’s birthday is coming up. I think the Prime Minister is going back to help with the preparations for the party.”

“It’s said that the Fangcun Kingdom is seething with talents. His Majesty’s birthday party is indeed very important, but it doesn’t strike me as necessary to specially have your prime minister travel thousands of miles to go back to help. If you know some inside information, would you please confide it to me? Our countries are on friendly terms, and I’m really worried that it’s because the Great Wen is not hospitable enough that your diplomatic corps are leaving in such great haste,” said Ling Zhaowu.

On hearing this, Luo Sang came to realize that there was no need for him to be evasive about this matter, for Ling Zhaowu’s question was explicit enough.

So he said with a smile, “I’ve indeed heard something on the grapevine, but I’m not sure whether it’s true or not.”

After he said this, the smile on his face disappeared and his countenance grew a lot more grave. He continued, “This message might be of some importance to your country, so please relay it to His Majesty after I tell you, though whether there’s any truth in it is still unknown.”

Ling Zhaowu’s heart did a somersault. Looking at Luo Sang, he said, “Please go ahead, Captain Luo.”

“I have a distant relative who works in the capital city of our country and came here as a member of the diplomatic corps this time around. Right now he’s staying in the courier hostel. He once told me that the prince of the Wan Kingdom and the prince of the Luohai Kingdom seem to be plotting something, that they’ve been acting stealthily as though they harbor malicious intentions. Both the two countries were defeated by His Majesty, and there’s no telling whether or not they’re unreconciled to their defeat and seeking to do the Great Wen harm, so please be careful.”

As he finished these words, the expression on his face was replaced by an embarrassed one. “Of course, it was through the grapevine that I heard this. I have no intention whatsoever to make mischief. Just take it as a word of warning. It does no harm to be more vigilant.”

Ling Zhaowu looked at him and smiled, “Relax, Captain Luo. I know what you mean. I’ll figure out a way to mention to His Majesty what you just told me.”

Luo Sang felt a sense of relief, feeling that he’d finally got the job done.

Ling Zhaowu observed the unnoticeable relieved expression on Luo Sang’s face, drinking tea without the slightest change of his countenance. Luo Sang had clearly made preparations for this talk. The so-called “distant relative” and “grapevine” were just a smokescreen he’d put up to hide the fact that the Fangcun diplomatic corps had sent him here to deliver a message. Still, as things stood, the reason why the Fangcun diplomatic corps were leaving with great urgency must be that they’d perceived the two princes of the other two countries were plotting something, something they didn’t want to be dragged into. Given that that wily old fox from the Fangcun Kingdom was leaving in such haste, it was by no means a trivial matter.

Ling Zhaowu, after taking his leave of Luo Sang, had someone deliver a message to the palace, along with his own opinions.

Ling Zhang, after receiving the message, mulled over it for a few moments before he went to see Yuwen Tong.

“Considering even Hai Feng is leaving to stay out of it, this thing is probably going to happen very soon. It’ll either endanger this city or affect their return trip…”

Ling Zhang analyzed the situation in a quiet voice. With only two small groups of men under their command, the two princes, if they wanted to cause severe harm to the Great Wen in a short time, would have to either stir up trouble in the capital city or make mischief by means of the current situation in some area. Otherwise they wouldn’t be able to achieve anything, given what they had in hand presently.

It was very difficult for them to stir up trouble in the capital city. Currently, it could be said that the Shadow Battalion were keeping everybody in this city under constant watch, that Yuwen Tong had absolute control over this city. The diplomatic corps of the two countries couldn’t do anything without being immediately spotted, which was a fact Ling Zhang believed the two princes were not too stupid to be aware of. And that Hai Feng guy from the Fangcun Kingdom probably had perceived it as well. Therefore, their only option was to make mischief by taking advantage of local situation. As for situations that the Wan Kingdom and the Luohai Kingdom could make use of…

Knitting his brows, Ling Zhang recalled what Yuwen Tong had said to him that day and immediately looked up at Yuwen Tong.

He saw that Yuwen Tong was quietly looking at him and thinking about something, his face very calm.

Surprised, Ling Zhang asked, “Why are you looking at me like that? And why are you not worried?”

Yuwen Tong chuckled, “There’re not many things they could do in these circumstances. I’ve guessed it already. How about you tell me what you think first?”

Ling Zhang, “…”

That would be so boring. Yuwen Tong was depriving him of his sense of accomplishment by doing this.

“Forget it. You’ve already come to know about it anyway. What’s the point of me expressing my opinions?”

As Yuwen Tong perceived that Ling Zhang’s temper began to fray, his survival instinct kicked in and he quickly apologized and explained, “I thought of it only a short while ago, just a little bit earlier than you did. Think about it, apart from anything else I’m several years your senior, so you shouldn’t be surprised that I guessed it sooner than you did. Had I not guessed it in advance, you would be worried about my competence in being an emperor, wouldn’t you?”

Ling Zhang quietly gave it some thought and felt that Yuwen Tong had got a point. He was the emperor after all, so he had to be smart.

This thought dissolved his anger instantly. Also, it struck him that he was being a little unreasonable just now. With a somewhat embarrassed look on his face, he said, “I think they’re going to do something in Jiangzhou. Ji Yanlai also reminded you that something was not quite right in Jiangzhou, that there was going to be some kind of trouble.”

Seeing he was no longer angry, Yuwen Tong came to know that he’d successfully got off the hook. His explanation was a trifle lame and Ling Zhang would find out he was lying if Ling Zhang gave it some more thought, but clearly Ling Zhang trusted him completely and wouldn’t dwell on this kind of details. Yuwen Tong was happy about this but at the same time also felt that Ling Zhang’s gullibility might not be a good thing. What if he got tricked by others?

Chapter 423: The Current Situation in Jiangzhou- A Dispute (I)

What he failed to realize was that the reason why Ling Zhang seemed so credulous was because the liar was him.

“You’re right. The situation in Jiangzhou is indeed the most likely to be tampered with by the Wan Kingdom and the Luohai Kingdom,” said Yuwen Tong.

Ling Zhang gave it some careful thought before he inquired, “What do you think they are planning to do?”

Yuwen Tong replied, “Presently Jiangzhou is under the control of Wang Xiangxin, the commander of the Jiangzhou garrison. If they want to fan the flames of disorder in Jiangzhou, they will inevitably have to cooperate with Wang Xiangxin.”

Ling Zhang, who was barely acquainted with the commander of the Jiangzhou garrison, only knew that Wang Xiangxin had been in charge of the Jiangzhou garrison for almost a decade. For some unknown reason, the former emperor had seemed to be quite pleased with Wang Xiangxin’s service, which was why the latter had never been transferred elsewhere. Afterward, when the Fang family had been plotting a coup, Wang Xiangxin had chosen to side with the Fang family after bargaining with Fang Quan over the terms of their deal, intending to assist the Eighth Prince to succeed to the throne. When Fang Quan had been arrested, Wang Xiangxin had even hired some killers to rescue him. The rescue operation had directly led to the “deaths” of the last two princes of the former imperial household. As a result, Ling Zhang was aware that Wang Xiangxin was an ambitious man, that his personal ambition remained unchanged despite the several setbacks he’d suffered. Had that rescue operation not failed like a farce in the end, the situation in Jiangzhou would have gone out of control some time before.

Afterward, Yuwen Tong had acceded to the throne and the Jiangzhou garrison had been laying low ever since. From this fact alone, Ling Zhang could vaguely tell that apart from ambition, Wang Xiangxin also possessed patience, that he was not a man lacking resource and astuteness. This kind of person struck Ling Zhang as the most formidable. From the vantage point of the present, the reason why Wang Xiangxin had been laying low was probably not only because he was a patient man but also because he had long since made contact with the Wan Kingdom and the Luohai Kingdom and had these two countries at his back, conspiring with them. In addition, it was more convenient for the Luohai Kingdom to contact Jiangzhou than it was for the Wan Kingdom, considering there was only Taizhou between Jiangzhou and the Luohai Kingdom.

“I wonder whether it was the Wan Kingdom or the Luohai Kingdom that initiated the deal. Given that they’ve been having secret talks in the courier hostel, they shouldn’t have done any premeditation about the matter of Jiangzhou previously. If it was the Wan Kingdom who initiated it, the Jiangzhou garrison would get only limited support from the Wan Kingdom; if it was the Luohai Kingdom, they might have made some preparations some time ago,” said Ling Zhang, analyzing the situation, his frown deepening with his every word.

Yuwen Tong said, “That might not be the case. Although Taizhou is the only city between the Luohai Kingdom and Jiangzhou, there are quite some lofty mountains and high ranges between Taizhou and the Luohai Kingdom. Also, the borders are heavily guarded. It is impossible for the Luohai Kingdom to skip Taizhou and directly make contact with Jiangzhou.

Come with me.”

Yuwen Tong ushered Ling Zhang into the side hall. On a wall of the hall hung a giant map. Previously Ling Zhang had seen this map once, but he was still somewhat awed by it. It was gigantic and minute. This map was no doubt a national treasure and must not be shown to any outsiders.

Yuwen Tong walked up to the map where Jiangzhou was marked. Pointing at Jiangzhou, he said to Ling Zhang, “Take a look at the terrain of Jiangzhou and the couple of neighboring prefectures.”

Believing there must be a reason why Yuwen Tong was asking him to take a look, Ling Zhang stepped up and began studying the map.

Shown on the map, Jiangzhou approximated an oval, bordering Taizhou to the south, Yanzhou to the north, Cangzhou to the east, Haizhou to the west. The part of it bordered by Taizhou was not big, mainly Jiangguan County and Youguan County. However, the national road in this area didn’t go through Taizhou. It stretched northwards along the boundary between Taizhou and Cangzhou. The main reason for this was that the part of Jiangzhou bordered by Taizhou was a maintain named Mt East, the main body of which formed the boundary of Jiangzhou. It started from the part bordered by Taizhou, stretching east all the way to Jinhai County which was in the south-east corner of Jiangzhou and was connected to Haizhou by a national road. It could be said that Mt East was a natural barrier to both the north and the east, that Jiangzhou was a prefecture half surrounded by Mt East.

Though Mt East was the boundary between Jiangzhou and Taizhou, there was no national road through it. To reach Jiangzhou from Taizhou, people had to detour around Mt East and get onto the national road which would lead them into Jiangguan County.

The part of the south end of Mt East where a national road had been built was the only part of Jiangzhou bordered by Haizhou – the national road in Jinhai County.

Jinhai County not only bordered Haizhou to the west but also bordered Yanzhou to the north. There were two national roads in it: a east-west one leading to Haizhou, and a north-south one leading to Yanzhou.

As for the western part of Jiangzhou which adjoined Cangzhou, it consisted of three counties: Jiangguan County in the north, Xishan County in the south, and Zuoguan County between the former two. The parts of Jiangguan County and Zuoguan County bordered by Cangzhou were separated from their neighbor by Mt Cang which was located in Cangzhou. This was why the north-south national road was along the boundary between Taizhou and Cangzhou. This was the only section the terrain of which sloped gently and was relatively suitable for building a national road.

And then there was Xishan County. It could be said that Xishan County was almost “trapped” in Jiangzhou. The reason was that inside Xishan County stood Mt Xilian, which started from western Xishan County and stretched all the way west, dividing Xishan County from the main part of Jiangzhou. To enter Xishan County, people had to detour to Jincang County first, and the transportation there was very difficult. Jincang County adjoined Jinhai County and, as the name implied, bordered on Cangzhou.

Jiangzhou was a prefecture with only one north-south national road running through it. Flanked by towering mountains, it was easy to hold, but people in there could also easily get trapped.

After reading the map, Ling Zhang came to understand what Yuwen Tong meant. It was impractical for anybody from the Luohai Kingdom to get to Jiangzhou through Taizhou. They had to go through another prefecture to reach Jiangzhou, no matter through which part of the boundary they entered it. And they had to undergo several layers of security check.

When Ling Zhang had finished reading the map, Yuwen Tong started filling him in on the current situation in Jiangzhou.

“There are four major checkpoints in Jiangzhou. One of them was in the north on the national road; another one was in Jincang County, and the other two in Jinhai County. All four checkpoints are heavily guarded by Wang Xiangxin’s men. Except for the one in the north on the national road, all of them are also well defended by other forces, the two in Jinhai County by the Haizhou garrison and the Yanzhou garrison, the one in Jincang County by soldiers under the command of the General Zhongwu’s deputy. As things stand, Jiangzhou is now a turtle in a jar. Wang Xiangxin doesn’t stand a chance of breaking out of Jiangzhou, no matter which checkpoint he chooses to attack.

That’s why I chose to disband the armed forces there from within to resolve the knotty matter of Jiangzhou. As Wang Xiangxin wouldn’t be able to elude me, it’s more advisable to settle the issue in a way that would cause less casualties and cost less money. At least there won’t be much bloodshed, and it’ll spare the people of Jiangzhou some sufferings. Still, now that the Wan Kingdom and the Luohai Kingdom have got involved in the matter of Jiangzhou, there’s an eighty-percent chance that things will change, and I can’t exclude the possibility that I’ll have to resort to violence in the end.”

After hearing this, Ling Zhang had a general idea of what the current situation in Jiangzhou was like.

“Not a single official of Jiangzhou attended your enthronement ceremony or our wedding ceremony. Are all the officials of Jiangzhou in cahoots with Wang Xiangxin, by any chance?”

“Wang Xiangxin killed the Jiangzhou governor, Sun Tai, the day before my enthronement ceremony and had Zhu You, the then assistant governor, take Sun Tai’s place. All other officials of Jiangzhou who value their lives have knuckled down to him, willingly or affectedly. The terrain of Jiangzhou has also contributed to this tragedy. I mean, they’re unable to escape from that place even if they want to.”

Ling Zhang was taken aback by these words. Jiangzhou was rather far away from the capital city after all. It was not until he gave it some careful thought that he came to realize that the current situation in Jiangzhou was probably dire. Yuwen Tong wanted to disband the armed forces there from within because it was a relatively peaceful solution, one that would allow people of Jiangzhou a chance to gather themselves, but now, seeing as the Wan Kingdom and the Luohai Kingdom had waded in, there was no telling how things would turned out eventually.

“You said that you want to disband them from within. How do you plan to do that specifically?”

Yuwen Tong replied, “Li Rong, the other assistant governor of Jiangzhou, used to work in the capital city. His family and the family of the Prefectural Tongpan, Cao Hua, are all in the capital city, so the two of them are unwilling to wallow in the mire with Wang Xiangxin. I found them and had them pretend to submit. They’re now working for Zhu You and will play a big part in my plan when the time comes. And then there will also be a targeted assassination of Wang Xiangxin. Once Wang Xiangxin dies, his subordinates will be thrown into panic, but Wang Xiangxin does have a little bit of smarts. He’s gone into hiding and is nowhere to be found.”

“What do you mean by ‘nowhere to be found?'” Ling Zhang was surprised. “Has he fled Jiangzhou?”