Chapter 689
Chapter 689
Two days later, in the capital of the Great Southern Kingdom.
Zhu Rong, the Governor of Tiannan Province, received a secret letter from Zhu Hongzhu. It stated that Zhu Ying was to be married to the Third Prince, Ying Qi, and a young lady from a collateral branch of the clan was to be married to Zhu Hongbing. After reading the letter, Zhu Rong was astonished and deeply shocked, yet he felt it was not entirely unexpected.
*The day has finally come.*
It signified that the Zhu Clan was completely abandoning Ying Yi to support Ying Qi. The secret letter even contained a coded message that only Zhu Rong could decipher. The content was simple but even more shocking: prepare for a coup, ensure Ning Yuanxian loses power, and in return for being granted full authority to negotiate with Prince Jiang Li, cede Tiannan Province to him.
“Uncle, has Grandfather sent new instructions?”
Ying Yi burst into his room. This was the Great Southern Kingdom; it was difficult for anyone to visit Zhu Rong in complete secrecy. Ying Yi’s eyes betrayed a hint of anxiety. This was because Prince Jiang Li had previously seen through their plans, predicting that the Zhu Clan would switch their allegiance to Ying Qi. Ying Yi couldn't believe it, but at the same time, he couldn't afford not to. He harbored illusions of turning the situation around, but he was by no means naive.
Zhu Rong said with a smile.
“My father has urged His Majesty of the Great Yan Dynasty to apply pressure, instructing me to renegotiate with Prince Jiang Li and halt the war!”
“Is that so? That's a relief.”
Ying Yi said, his voice trembling.
***
Prince Jiang Li maintained a calm expression, but inwardly, he was anxious. No news had arrived from the Great Southern Kingdom. No news was good news, and he hoped it would stay that way. If five, then six days passed without bad news, this contest would be settled. He had to trust Grand Preceptor Siyin. He was an exceptionally wise man; he would handle Shen Lang well. Standing before a map, Prince Jiang Li looked toward his capital and murmured to himself.
“Shen Lang, you must not think of that.”
His wife, Shaman, approached and wrapped her arms around his waist.
“My lord, don't worry. You are a man blessed by the heavens; Shen Lang can never defeat you. He won't be able to work a miracle in our capital. Su Nan sent a secret message by crow. He says the effects of the Golden Dragon's Blood on the guards in Yangguo City are beginning to fade. Su Nan saw through Shen Lang's use of the First Nirvana Army to counter his small-scale probing attacks. In another three or four days, once the effects of the Golden Dragon's Blood have completely worn off, he will attack the city again. He will easily conquer Yangguo City then and lead his army north to attack the capital of Yue.
Furthermore, with Jin Mulan having left with three thousand master archers, the Xuanwu Marquis's Estate is now vulnerable. My father and Nangong Ao's combined forces will be able to take it. The fate of the State of Yue is sealed; it cannot be changed. Ning Yuanxian will hang himself in the royal palace, and you, my lord, will have your revenge and finally settle your grievances. You will have accomplished what the Kings of Chu and Wu could not. You will have utterly destroyed the King of Yue, the hegemon of the south.”
Queen Shaman spoke with fervent passion. Just then, a subordinate's voice came from outside.
“Your Highness, Zhu Rong requests an audience!”
Prince Jiang Li gestured to refuse, but then worried that not seeing him would betray his own anxiety, so he granted the audience.
***
“Prince Jiang Li, what I am about to say represents the will of the new court of Yue, as well as the will of the Zhu Clan of Yanjing. We are prepared to cede the entirety of Tiannan Province to you. We ask that you halt the war.”
At Zhu Rong’s words, Prince Jiang Li replied.
“The Zhu Clan has completely abandoned Ying Yi to support Ying Qi? Then I suppose the Xue Clan's fleet will soon attack Raging Tide City?”
Zhu Rong sighed heavily. Negotiating with a man of supreme intelligence was both remarkably simple and exceedingly difficult. From his new stance, Prince Jiang Li had deduced the entire shift in the political landscape. Queen Shaman spoke to him.
“Don't waste your breath. Our Great Southern Kingdom's army will soon crush the Xuanwu Marquis's Estate and conquer Yangguo City. Then, our two great armies will converge and march north to attack the capital, and your State of Yue will be annihilated.”
“Why go to such lengths? Prince Jiang Li, did you not wish for our State of Yue to survive? You previously offered very generous terms.”
Prince Jiang Li offered no reply to Zhu Rong's words. Queen Shaman spoke up.
“When the King of Yue, Ning Yuanxian, plotted against my father-in-law, did he ever imagine a day like this would come? We will destroy the State of Yue to avenge our grievances. When my husband annihilates Yue, his name will shake the world.”
Prince Jiang Li remained silent as Queen Shaman continued.
“Guards, escort Governor Zhu Rong out. We will negotiate no further.”
Soon after, Governor Zhu Rong was escorted away.
***
After Zhu Rong was gone, Queen Shaman asked.
“My lord, why? When you asked for only five commanderies, you didn't intend to destroy the State of Yue.”
“Since Ning Yuanxian rejected my generosity, I must demonstrate overwhelming, thunderous might. Moreover, the situation is developing unfavorably for us. The King of Wu may be pressured into not mobilizing his troops. The State of Yue has a greater chance of preserving half its territory, which does not align with our interests.
However, if our forces march to the very walls of Yue's capital, Ying Qi's coup will be thwarted, and the King of Wu will have no room for compromise. He will have to dispatch his army south immediately. Otherwise, he won't get a single bite of the meat that is the State of Yue, will he? Ying Qi wants the throne? Fine. But we will negotiate again only *after* I have destroyed the capital of Yue. Not now.
Send a crow message to Su Nan at once. Tell him to attack Yangguo City the moment he receives the letter. There is no need to wait for the effects of the Golden Dragon's Blood to fade completely from Yue's guards. Afterward, he must immediately march north and attack the capital. The capital of Yue is unimaginably empty right now; he must strike with great speed! If we wait until after Ying Qi's coup succeeds and the King of Wu compromises, it will be too late!”
“Yes!”
Queen Shaman began writing the secret letter herself. But just then, three crows flew in from the west, through the window, and landed directly on Queen Shaman's arm. Seeing this, Prince Jiang Li's heart skipped a beat.
*A crow message from the west... Please, let it not be bad news. Let it not be a nightmare.*
Queen Shaman removed the secret letter from the ring on the crow's leg and handed it to Prince Jiang Li. The moment he opened it, Prince Jiang Li flinched and froze on the spot. It was a familiar letter—the very one he had written himself and left for Shen Lang outside the gate of the ancient ruin. The one that began, "Worthy Brother Shen Lang, if you have obtained this wooden sword..."—his letter of concession.
“Shaman, we have lost, and Shen Lang has won! We must withdraw from this battle. Make preparations. I must negotiate with Shen Lang.”
Queen Shaman looked at him in disbelief.
“What on earth happened? Did Shen Lang conquer our capital? Did he take everyone inside hostage?”
Prince Jiang Li took another rolled-up paper from a crow. It was a secret letter from Grand Preceptor Siyin. It contained a single, short line.
*Shen Lang conquered the Great Southern City but withdrew unconditionally.*
It was a simple message, but from it, Prince Jiang Li could surmise what had transpired in the Great Southern Kingdom.
*Shen Lang is not only brilliant but also benevolent. Remarkable, truly remarkable.*
After reading it, Prince Jiang Li passed Grand Preceptor Siyin's letter to his wife. Queen Shaman looked at it and said in surprise.
“Shen Lang is not known for his benevolence, yet he has shown it to us. To repay him, we need only release his family; there's no need to withdraw our troops. Can nations truly operate on benevolence alone? This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, my lord—you must not give it up! For the sake of avenging your father, you must destroy the State of Yue and achieve a century of hegemony.”
Prince Jiang Li handed her another letter. It was the letter of concession he had written himself. In that moment, Queen Shaman was completely stunned, unable to believe what she was seeing.
“Shen Lang found our ancient ruin?”
Prince Jiang Li nodded. Queen Shaman continued in a shocked voice.
“H-How is that possible? Only you can enter the Cave of Ten Thousand Vipers; even I cannot. If I went in there alone, I would be bitten to death by poisonous snakes. Not just one Li Qianqiu, but ten Grandmasters would die if they entered. How did Shen Lang possibly enter the Cave of Ten Thousand Vipers and not get bitten to death by countless snakes?”
Prince Jiang Li shrugged, as if to say he didn't know either.
“Even if Shen Lang found the entrance to the ancient ruin, he could never have solved that thousand-year-old mathematical puzzle. There is no one in this world who can solve it.”
“Shen Lang was also the one who cracked the entrance to the ancient ruin on Black Stone Island in the southern sea. I recently studied the Four Color Theorem myself, and it's a problem that would take hundreds of master mathematicians years to solve.”
“Then how does the puzzle at the entrance to the ruin in the Cave of Ten Thousand Vipers compare to the Four Color Theorem?”
“It appears simpler, but in reality, it's a problem that hundreds of mathematicians couldn't solve in years. The calculations would require hundreds of millions of sheets of paper.”
“So you're saying it's a problem that no one should be able to solve, yet Shen Lang solved it?”
Prince Jiang Li nodded.
“The man is truly a prodigy!”
Prince Jiang Li sighed and replied.
“We need to write new letters for Su Nan and Nangong Ao. Tell them to halt all attacks immediately and await further orders.”
Queen Shaman nodded, burned the letter she had just finished, then wrote two new ones, tied them to the crows' legs, and sent them flying.
“Sending only the crows is not enough. Let's dispatch messengers as well to deliver the orders to Su Nan's and Nangong Ao's armies.”
“Understood.”
Queen Shaman wrote out the new orders, stamped them with Prince Jiang Li's great seal, and entrusted them to two groups of Shaman tribe riders. They galloped off frantically to deliver the message. At last, Prince Jiang Li let out a sigh.
“It seems I'll finally meet him.”
“My lord, are you really going to give up just like this?”
Prince Jiang Li replied with a smile.
“Destroying the State of Yue would make my name renowned, allow me to avenge my grievances, and let me carve off a large, fat piece of meat. But to lose that ancient ruin would be to lose everything.”
Queen Shaman fell silent. Prince Jiang Li had risen to prominence, making a name for himself and creating one miracle after another. How was this possible? It was due to his wisdom, his boldness, and his ambition. But most importantly, the knowledge contained within the ancient ruin formed the very foundation of his success. In the past two years, he had helped the hyena tribe, teaching them ancient techniques for training beasts of prey, making them stronger. He aided the serpent tribe, enabling their shamans to control more snakes, and even used those snakes to create various medicines that saved countless lives, allowing many to grow stronger. He also helped the Divine Bow tribe and the elephant tribe, and mediated countless disputes between the tribes.
He discovered several underground rivers, leading the Shaman warriors to catch fish in abundance, and brought back many seeds from the ancient ruin. In particular, he planted sweet potatoes and medicinal herbs, solving the Shaman tribes' famine and extending their people's lives. Prince Jiang Li's unification of the Shaman tribes was not achieved through slaughter and violence. In the hearts of countless Shaman people, he had become like a god, capable of anything. Most of these miracles were accomplished thanks to the ancient ruin. And this was only the beginning. To guide the Great Southern Kingdom down the path of civilization and make it even stronger, the ancient ruin would be absolutely essential.
“Why not revive the previous offer? The cession of the five southern commanderies of Tiannan Province?”
Hearing Queen Shaman's words, Prince Jiang Li merely smiled, offering no affirmation.
“Prepare to receive him. Shen Lang should arrive here in about four or five days. I am very much looking forward to it. Is he not a significant reason for the State of Yue's strength? I am eager to see just how meticulous a man he is.”