Page 220

"Father, you’ve been staring at these grains for two hours now. What on earth are you thinking about?" The legitimate eldest son of the Duke of Wei looked at his old man with some helplessness and asked.

Mainly because it looked somewhat possessed by demons, it was quite scary.....

"Have they... left?" The voice of the Duke of Wei was somewhat hoarse; his eyes were bloodshot, resembling a wild beast on the verge of attacking!

"Not yet..." The young son took a few steps back in fright at the sight of the Duke of Wei and stammered: "They.

.. they are still loading iron ore onto the ship.

" He grew somewhat excited as he spoke: "That ship is truly huge, it seems that one ship can carry at least a thousand people. We helped to move so much cargo onto it, and it still holds up well. Tsk tsk, we need to get a few of those ships in the future, they’d be perfect for doing business! "

Upon hearing this, the Duke of Wei came back to his senses and slowly did the math: "One ship can carry at most a thousand people, fifty ships in total.

.. The ships are meant for carrying cargo, so they will certainly not be fully manned.

Hence, their soldiers will at most number twenty thousand. We can handle them!!"

"Father!!" The Duke of Wei’s legitimate son was startled by the other’s words and quickly said: "That’s not possible!"

He said his old man was staring at the grains and lost in thought, but it turned out he was considering this idea; he immediately objected: "That Xuu Hu is not to be underestimated in strength, and behind him, there’s another Super First Rank Warrior, and his men number over ten thousand, each one at least a Sixth Rank Warrior—absolute elite soldiers! "

"So what?" The Duke of Wei said with bloodshot eyes: "We can take them down!"

"And after we do, what then? Are we to make enemies of the power behind them?

" The legitimate son angrily said: "They have us completely figured out, and we know nothing about them. Not to mention, just the craftsmanship of those ships indicates a major seafaring nation. Now, we have to deal with the Imperial Court’s forces, and also the backlash from the four Ancient Huan Countries.

In such a situation, do we really want to offend another enigmatic maritime power and court death? "

The legitimate son’s vehement protest seemed to sober the Duke of Wei up a bit.

He sat on the ground, somewhat dispirited: "But, my child, look at all this stuff..."

He pointed at the grains: "These grains naturally replenish qi and blood. They’re not only nourishing, but also highly satisfying.

The fact that they can sell so much indicates they must have ample supply.

Do you understand what this represents, child?

If we had these, we could expand our bloodline descendants.

Nowadays, Great Jin has many bloodline families; once expanded, wherever our troops point, all is imperial soil! "

"Does any Ancient Huan Country even exist in this world anymore?"

"I understand what you’re thinking, Father.

.." The legitimate son sighed: "I’m also tempted, especially seeing their soldiers so full of vigor and spirit, clearly eating such food every day. If this were in the past, with His Majesty’s great talent ruling in the Capital City and all of us united, of course, we’d not hesitate. But what is the situation now?"

"The Capital City is now under the spell of that demon empress; I’ve heard she’s openly attending court, and all the civil and military officials see nothing wrong with it? That shows how powerful that demon really is; I’m afraid that His Majesty..."

"Not to mention the turmoil elsewhere. Princess Chang, who had been lying low for years, caused an upheaval overnight, swallowing up three hundred thousand of the Golden Dragon Guards. The Duke of Qin’s faction is also more likely to meet with disaster than fortune, and Duke Chu from Yundu has always been ambitious.

He has made excuses to refuse our repeated calls for help, clearly standing by while watching the fire from the other side of the river. "

"Great Jin... is falling apart, and we’re in no position to be plotting against others when self-preservation is already difficult!"

The Duke of Wei became silent at these words and gradually calmed down.

His gaze turned dim; the North was the nation’s stronghold, the first line of defense against Ancient Huan, as well as the Central Plains’ red line.

He had experienced it: the chaotic era when the people of Ancient Huan flooded into the Central Plains, what a horrifying scene it was?

Demons everywhere, human nature utterly distorted; the people of the Central Plains were directly sold as food, and a bipedal sheep was not even worth as much as a quadruped sheep.

Those outlandish barbarians, consuming human flesh and raping their kin, would then casually slaughter them after use.

They were truly human-shaped beasts, even more harmful than demons!

This was also why, half a year ago, when they were close to breaching Nan Shui Pass and storming into the heart of the Capital City, they didn’t hesitate to return and muster support at the news of Ancient Huan’s invasion, right?

Would they truly be short of food after breaking into Nan Shui Pass?

They simply didn’t want to...

Because he had lived through it. He knew how terrible it was to let that pack of beasts into the Central Plains!

"The demon in power doesn’t care about the Central Plains!

" The legitimate son said fiercely: "If His Majesty had even a shred of clarity, he wouldn’t do such a thing.

And I suspect that most of the Dukes in the Capital City have been bewitched by demons, forgetting the original blood oath completely! "

The Duke of Wei remained silent, thinking of the family blood oaths... No matter the internal strife, the moment Ancient Huan invaded, the primary objective was to resist the barbarians; any family that dragged its feet would be condemned by all!

Yet now, the current emperor, the ruler of the Central Plains, was secretly allied with Ancient Huan!

Who came up with this idea? Surely, a demon wouldn’t have such awareness. It must be a human-animal bereft of basic humanity!

"And that mysterious force has been quite righteous to us too. At the very beginning, it was they who provided us with food to stabilize the people, wasn’t it?" the legitimate son continued.

"Hmph..." Duke of Wei’s face turned red upon hearing this, and he let out a cold snort, "If it weren’t for this reason, do you think I would let those merchants have their way here?"

"Father is benevolent and righteous..." The heir quickly breathed a sigh of relief, afraid that his father’s bullish temperament couldn’t be reined in.

"Go tell Xu Hu to ask his lord if he is willing to form a long-term alliance!"

"Yes!"

--------------------------------------

"Is it really a good idea to deliberately leak information to the Imperial Court like this?" On a boat in Nanyang City, Shen San and Chen Qing were playing chess and chatting, with two cups of tea set beside them.

The moves on the chessboard seemed strange to onlookers, but those in the know understood that this was a game of historical strategy chess invented by Lord Chen. Although the moves were simple, they were interesting and had become quite popular among the common people of Nanyang.

"Of course, we must leak it to the Imperial Court..." Chen Qing said with a smile, sipping his tea, "Tell me, which power is currently the most suitable for us to use to establish our authority?"

Shen San took a sip of tea and exhaled a satisfied breath, "The situation in the West Sea is escalating. Who would have thought that the Duke of Qin’s heir would collapse so quickly?

Princess Chang and her opponents currently each hold five cities, like two wild beasts locked in a fight to the death.

At this time, any power intervening in their conflict would be playing with fire. "

"Meanwhile, if we look at the Imperial Court, it appears to be the strongest force in the eyes of the world, but in reality, it is the weakest. Half a year ago, Duke Wei rebelled and conquered more than seventy cities in succession, almost reaching the outskirts of Capital City.

If not for the sudden attack from Ancient Huan Country, Duke Wei might well have penetrated to the heart.

This fully demonstrates how weak the Imperial Court is right now. "

"At present, the Imperial Court cannot mobilize its main forces; it appears like a strong giant but is actually very fragile. Using it to kill one to warn the others is indeed a good choice!"

Chen Qing immediately laughed, "Shen San truly has a keen understanding of the situation."

"Since I’ve already pledged myself to you, there’s no need for you to address me in such a manner.

.." Shen San said with a chuckle. "When it comes to the overall situation, my understanding is far from matching yours, my lord. From the beginning, you allowed Gu Beiquan and his group to do as they pleased. You’ve managed to use such small characters so precisely; you truly are a skilled player. .."

Chen Qing sighed, "It was an accident. Originally, I thought we were all from the same academy, so I didn’t want to go to extremes, but he was just too obviously trying to climb up the ladder, and unexpectedly, he actually managed to make a name for himself..."

Shen San laughed without comment, clearly disbelieving, while Chen Qing felt an inward helplessness.

He truly wasn’t lying. Long ago, Chen Ying had reported to him that Gu Beiquan and others had been so humiliated that it was inevitable they would harbor thoughts of rebellion.

At that time, he didn’t take it seriously; after all, when scholars rebel, it takes ten years without success.

With a pedantic Confucian like Gu Beiquan, if such people could upset his plans, then he wouldn’t need to bother trying at all.

However, he had not expected that the young man would actually accomplish something, bringing together those dissatisfied with the system—those wealthy merchants and gentlemen—and even making contact with the Imperial Court. It really was beyond his expectations.

He had originally intended to casually squash this restless flea, but then he heard about the incident in the north and, after thinking it through, Chen Qing came up with the plan he now had in motion!

Now that Princess Chang, preoccupied with the West Sea, had withdrawn from Nanming Prefecture, he had taken charge of the Jiangnan Gateway. Moreover, Nine Heavens Mirror had reached its limit, and it was only a matter of time before he had to face those outside coveting what he had.

Princess Chang had spent a year in Jiangnan without ascertaining his true strength, biding her time; not because she was a ruler who kept promises, but due to uncertainty.

Yet, that didn’t mean she would allow him to continue unchecked, especially after he had gladly supported her with a large amount of grain and provisions to facilitate her departure.

The fact that Jiangnan had abundant grain was now understood by the other party, and they would certainly have their designs.

After all, the zombies under her command do not produce; they can only sustain themselves by plundering.

Infested with Ancient Worm, they are unlike the zombies in modern media.

The living dead here still require nourishment, particularly higher energy to maintain the bodies of those who have evolved.

Their need for grain is no less than that of regular soldiers.

By sending her so much grain at once, Chen Qing certainly alleviated her immediate crisis, but she’s an ambitious individual. Taking a favor doesn’t necessarily lead to gratitude; more likely, she would covet being in complete control of his grain resource.

Add to that the fact that he had utilized the chaos from their conflict in the West Sea to send out so many tradeships, amassing such great wealth. Such riches would be a tantalizing target for any power.

Wealth must be guarded by strength, and to maintain the trade channels in Jiangnan, one must show a certain level of deterrence.

Hence, the first display is especially important...

If one desires remarkable results, the choice of chicken to be slaughtered must be carefully made.

The Imperial Court, as the greatest force on the surface yet actually the weakest, resembles the Great Song of history—a prime, plump chicken!