Chapter 679
Chapter 679
“His Highness the Third Prince is a man of exceptional talent and strategy. How could our Zhu Clan dare to curry favor with him?”
Zhu Hongzhu replied to Zhong E in a subtle tone.
“The current situation is simple: either the State of Yue perishes, or it does not. Does Prime Minister Zhu wish to see the State of Yue fall?”
“How could I wish for its destruction after pouring so much of my heart and soul into it?”
“Then that settles it. The Zhu Clan is deeply rooted in the Great Yan Dynasty, with power that reaches the heavens. But that is the Zhu faction in the Yan Capital. Your faction, Prime Minister Zhu, still shares its fortunes and misfortunes with the State of Yue, does it not? In the future, when His Majesty the Yan Emperor unifies the world, do you not hope to be recognized for your efforts, promoted to the Yan Capital, and instantly become a powerful minister in the Eastern world?”
Zhu Hongzhu frowned. He disliked such vulgar and overly blunt words.
*What promotion? What powerful minister? A scholar does not reveal his thoughts and scorns any discussion of power.*
Zhong E continued, “However, it seems the State of Yue is destined to fall. Because we have found ourselves with a monarch who is a madman and a gambler.”
“A subject does not speak of his sovereign’s faults.”
Hearing Zhu Hongzhu’s words, Zhong E sneered inwardly.
*Zhu Hongzhu, you’ve opposed His Majesty more than once or twice. Are you pretending to be loyal again?*
“I have a proposal that I hope Prime Minister Zhu will consider.”
“Speak.”
“The State of Yue is now divided into two factions: His Highness the Third Prince and the Zhu faction. If we remain divided, we cannot handle this great undertaking alone, and the State of Yue will surely fall. But if our two factions join forces, we can salvage any situation in this state.”
Zhu Hongzhu knew what Zhong E was going to say without him even opening his mouth. But some words needed to be heard aloud.
“First, we must renegotiate with Prince Gong, ceding the entire Tiannan Province to him and ending the war with the Great Nan Kingdom. Second, we must negotiate with Prince Wu to prevent the Wu army from advancing south, ceding to him the six commanderies of Tianbei Province, as well as Raging Tide City and the Leizhou Archipelago. This will allow our State of Yue to concentrate all its remaining strength for a decisive battle against Prince Chu. While completely defeating his three-hundred-thousand-strong army is exceedingly difficult, we can defend Tianxi Province and force Chu to return empty-handed.”
“A fine idea. You may proceed with it.”
“However, the Zhu Clan’s involvement is crucial for this plan. The Zhu Clan and the Hidden Yuan Society must jointly persuade the imperial cabinet and His Majesty the Emperor. Only by having the Great Yan Dynasty pressure the State of Wu can this plan succeed.”
Shu Baidao was also a man of immense power, and he could mobilize the headquarters of the Hidden Yuan Society using Raging Tide City. But persuading the imperial cabinet and the Emperor was beyond his strength alone; he needed the Zhu Clan to lend its weight. Zhong E continued.
“Even if Prince Gong maintains his alliance with Chu and Wu, the greatest prize he can hope for is the cession of Tiannan Province. So, if we simply cede it to him, he will be satisfied and will have no reason to continue leading his army on a northern campaign.”
“His Majesty will not permit it.”
“I believe that in a time when the nation's very survival is at stake, the state must be prioritized over the sovereign.”
Zhong E spoke with righteous conviction, but the implication was terrifying. It was a call to strip Ning Yuanxian of his authority, tantamount to a coup. Zhu Hongzhu leaned back, saying nothing, lost in thought.
“If our two factions unite, no force in the State of Yue can stand against us.”
Zhu Hongzhu still said nothing.
“Prime Minister Zhu, time is of the essence! With a single nod from you, we can prepare the grand army.”
The grand army he spoke of was, of course, Xue Che's naval fleet. The Hidden Yuan Society would step in to hire them, and they would sail under the banner of the State of Wu to attack Raging Tide City.
“Raging Tide City is completely empty right now. The Heavenly Path Society is frantically recruiting, but their strength is limited. Every day is precious; we must not delay.”
Zhu Hongzhu still did not open his mouth.
“When His Highness Prince Yingji ascends the throne, our Zhong Clan will continue to focus on military affairs, and the Xue Clan on intelligence. The Grand Secretariat and the civil officials will still belong to you, Prime Minister Zhu. We will never take what is not ours, and the Zhu Clan will remain the leader of the literati in the State of Yue.”
Zhu Hongzhu remained silent. Zhong E hesitated for a long moment, then gritted his teeth and said.
“His Highness the Third Prince, Yingji, can marry a daughter of the Zhu Clan. When he ascends the throne, the daughters of our Zhong and Xue clans will gladly become consorts, and the daughter of the Zhu Clan will be the queen!”
Zhu Hongzhu suddenly spoke.
“My clan's Zhu Hongbing is quite a promising young man. He passed this year’s silver-rank provincial and metropolitan examinations with outstanding results. Your clan’s Zhong Sisi is not yet married. How about she marries my grandson, Zhu Hongbing?”
Zhong E was taken aback.
*Huh? Zhu Hongbing? The foremost genius of the capital, an undeniably outstanding man. But… wouldn't that boy be afraid of being beaten to death if he married our Zhong Sisi?*
Moreover, the Zhong Clan had always intended to marry Zhong Sisi into the imperial family of the Great Yan Dynasty. They were still pulling all sorts of strings to arrange a marriage with a prince of the empire. The Zhong Clan had long since perceived the Emperor's determination to unify the world, which was why they had risked Ning Yuanxian's wrath to forge ties with the empire. For Zhu Hongzhu to now demand Zhong Sisi marry Zhu Hongbing—wasn't this cutting off the Zhong Clan's path to becoming imperial relatives? The Zhong Clan had no other peerless beauties to offer. In that moment, Zhong E faced a difficult choice.
*This old fox, Zhu Hongzhu, is a master at pushing a man to his limits.*
Zhu Hongzhu stood up and said, “It seems Privy Councilor Zhong is not in a position to decide this matter. Then let us consider this conversation to have never happened. Please act as if this old man was never here today.”
Zhu Hongzhu started to walk out, and the Hidden Yuan Society’s Shu Baidao shot Zhong E a fierce glare.
*What time is it to still be weighing such things?*
“Very well! Prime Minister Zhu, let it be so.”
At Zhong E’s cry, Zhu Hongzhu turned back and sat down.
“Today, we have discussed only the marriage of our two children. Nothing else was spoken of.”
“Indeed. We discussed only marriage, not matters of state.”
“Then let us arrange the betrothal.”
“Excellent. We shall proceed as the Prime Minister wishes.”
Soon after, with Shu Baidao of the Hidden Yuan Society as a witness, Zhu Hongzhu and Zhong E signed two copies of a marriage contract. The Third Prince, Yingji, would take Zhu Ying as his primary wife. (The original primary wife was a daughter of the Zhong Clan, but as she is childless, her status has been demoted by one rank. —Author's Note) And Zhu Hongbing would take Zhong Sisi as his wife. The signing of these two contracts signified the formal alliance of the two largest political factions in the State of Yue. One controlled the civil administration, the other the military; united, they were unrivaled. In a situation like this, a narration such as the following would be fitting.
*The wheel of history had rolled forward another step.*
This signaled that the Zhu Clan had officially changed its stance to support the Third Prince, Yingji.
* * *
Not long after Zhu Hongzhu returned home, a dozen or so warriors from the Zhu Clan set out in a flurry, some heading north, others south. Those heading north would enter the Yan Capital to have the main branch of the Zhu Clan do everything in its power to persuade the imperial cabinet to have the Great Yan Dynasty pressure Prince Wu. Those heading south would persuade the Ends of the Earth Sea Pavilion and inform Zhu Rong to prepare for new negotiations with Prince Gong.
The previous matchmaking attempt had left an unforgettable scar on the fatty Jin Mucong, but for Zhu Ying, it was merely an amusing experience that caused not even a ripple. She still remained at home every day, studying various books, lost in a sea of knowledge. She had been studying Shen Lang’s Four-Color Arrangement, marveling at it while also being deeply puzzled. The Four-Color Arrangement wasn't a test of a genius's intellect, but a problem that required a vast amount of calculation. It was sheer drudgery. Though there were certain shortcuts, one couldn't arrive at the answer instantly; it was the kind of work that required hundreds of master arithmeticians to perform countless calculations simultaneously to find a solution. How had Shen Lang managed to complete it in such a short time? No matter how she thought about it, she simply couldn't understand.
But Zhu Ying always grew bored quickly and loved to explore new things. After about a month of studying the Four-Color Arrangement, she cast it aside and this time began to study Prince Gong. It seemed this reclusive young lady would study whoever was popular and on everyone's lips. And recently, in the Eastern dynasties, no one was more popular than Prince Gong. She began by meticulously researching the trajectory of Prince Gong's rise, first forming a bold hypothesis and then proving it in detail.
How did Prince Gong, a man who was like a stray dog, enter the Four Barbarian Tribes alone and manage to unify them in just two short years? There must have been a miraculous, unexpected encounter. What, then, was the greatest miracle he encountered? An ancient ruin? Following this line of thought, Zhu Ying began to study the entire history and geography of the Four Barbarian Tribes, borrowing a large number of ancient texts on the subject.
But confoundingly, the texts on the geography of the Four Barbarian Tribes were mostly written in another script, with characters that resembled Sanskrit. Left with no choice, Zhu Ying began to learn Sanskrit. Lately, she had been studying ancient texts and the history of the Four Barbarian Tribes every day. From a thousand years ago, two thousand years ago, all the way to the history of the ancient era, she was so engrossed that she truly forgot to eat and sleep.
“My child, have your studies yielded any results?”
Zhu Hongzhu asked. Zhu Ying replied.
“In the lands of the Four Barbarian Tribes, during the ancient world, there was an extremely prosperous and powerful nation. Their people were tall and slender, with strong arms and legs. They built their cities atop giant trees and possessed the most wondrous archers in the world. The name of that nation was the Great Chi Empire.”
Zhu Hongzhu was startled. He hadn't expected the child to have actually researched and discovered so much. Zhu Ying continued.
“The territory of the Great Chi Empire was immense, more than ten times the size of the State of Yue.”
Ten times the size of the State of Yue? How large would that be? At least seven million square kilometers. It was truly a great empire.
“Then, wouldn't the territory of the State of Yue have been part of the Great Chi Empire during the ancient era?”
“No, the Great Chi Empire’s territory was in the south, so it would be submerged in the sea now. In the ancient era, a catastrophe struck, and the world changed drastically, with much of the land sinking into the sea. This event is recorded in many ancient texts. The discovery of quite a few ancient ruins under the sea also proves this point.”
Zhu Hongzhu temporarily set aside his work, sat down quietly, poured tea for his granddaughter, and began to formally exchange ideas with her.
“Grandfather, didn't the Ends of the Earth Sea Pavilion and Fudao Mountain recently discover an ancient ruin in the southern sea? If my guess is correct, it must be a ruin of the Great Chi Empire.”
That guess was very, very well-founded.
“Grandfather, do you know what ancient ruins are?”
“The ancient civilization was annihilated, and all its nations fell to ruin. But some areas, due to special reasons or sheer luck, were able to preserve relatively intact remnants.”
“By my guess, the Great Chi Empire was so powerful back then that it wouldn't have left behind just one ancient ruin. That's why I suspect there is another ruin within the territory of the Four Barbarian Tribes. Perhaps that is the truth behind Prince Gong’s rise to power.”
She looked up excitedly, ready to continue the conversation with Zhu Hongzhu, only to find her grandfather wearing a solemn expression.