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The midday sun was warm. After enjoying lunch in the main hall, the three dispersed.
His reason for summoning Xiao Ziyan this time was purely out of courtesy. After all, once he decided on something, Xiao Ziyan had no choice but to comply. Who made him the one with the golden tongue now?
After seeing off Xiao Ziyan, Xiao Ming and Fei Yuer went to the pavilion outside the bedchamber. At this point, he suddenly asked, “Princess Consort, why did you suddenly bring up the matter of the Prince of Huainan just now?”
Fei Yuer chuckled softly, “During Your Highness’s absence from Qingzhou, quite a few officials mentioned this matter. Father and Chief Grand Secretary Pang both seem to have this intention. Father anticipated that the three families would surely attack Your Highness, and Prince Yan is certainly the instigator among them. To the south of Yan is the Prince of Huainan’s fiefdom. The two families fought a battle over the imperial cities, and the Prince of Huainan harbors considerable resentment towards Prince Yan for this. At this time, if Your Highness proposes an alliance, the Prince of Huainan might agree.”
“Elder Fei Ji taught you to say that, didn’t he?” Xiao Ming’s gaze was profound. Speaking of which, he and Fei Yuer were merely in a political marriage, and now he seemed to be treading the traditional path of every emperor again.
Fei Yuer sighed. She said, “Your Highness, it’s not just Father; I also think so. In this way, it can both help Your Highness stabilize the realm and allow Your Highness to extend your lineage. I will also not be criticized by the ministers.”
Xiao Ming frowned. For these ministers, his family affairs were state affairs. Xiao Ming felt quite helpless about this, as he was currently unable to change the form of traditional imperial power.
As the two were speaking, Wang Xuan suddenly approached him. After saluting Fei Yuer, Wang Xuan opened his mouth as if to speak but hesitated.
“Both good and bad. Which would Your Highness like to hear first?” Wang Xuan was unusually humorous for once.
“I always prefer to gnaw on tough bones first. Tell me the bad news,” Xiao Ming said. The source of this content ɪs 𝕟𝕠𝕧𝕖𝕝✶𝕗𝕚𝕣𝕖✶𝕟𝕖𝕥
“After the chaos in Chang’an, the King of Chu continuously seized imperial prefectures and counties to the south. A month ago, the King of Chu’s army reached the vicinity of Annam. It is said that they encountered invading Annam and French forces,” Wang Xuan slowly said.
“The French,” Xiao Ming’s heart skipped a beat. This Annam was later Vietnam. According to Claire, Annam had actually become a colony due to the joint invasion of the French and Spanish.
And the French had always been ambitious, wanting to open trade routes with the Great Yu Empire through Annam, so they had been instigating Annam to invade north. Now, the news Wang Xuan brought back confirmed this.
“This is indeed bad news. I hope the King of Chu will not collude with the French,” Xiao Ming said, somewhat worried. The current foundation of the King of Chu’s alliance with him was muskets and cannons.
If the King of Chu compromised with the French and sold out territory in exchange for technology and weaponry, the King of Chu might very quickly turn around and deal with him.
“What’s the good news?” Xiao Ming suddenly felt a headache coming on.
“Our maritime merchant informants sent back news that Japan is mobilizing its army. They plan to cross the sea to invade Goryeo by the end of this month,” Wang Xuan smiled.
Hearing this news, Xiao Ming’s heart immediately relaxed. If this happened, the barbarians’ attention would likely turn to Goryeo, thus preventing them from participating in the allied army of the three princes.
“Any other news?” Xiao Ming asked.
“Yes, the Fourth Prince is having a very difficult time in Yan. He has been humiliated several times by Cui Zhang and Cui Tong in Bozhou. He is now living under others’ roofs, in great distress,” Wang Xuan said. “I have secretly contacted the Fourth Prince. The Fourth Prince has now developed other intentions. He said that as long as Your Highness can help him take Yan, he will honor Your Highness as his sovereign.”
“Help him take Yan? Does he have the ability?” Xiao Ming frowned.
“Your Highness, you might be mistaken. The powerful families in Yan are also full of contradictions. The Tian and Ji families in Yan have long been dissatisfied with Prince Yan. I have investigated, and it is indeed as the Fourth Prince said. The Tian and Ji families are the maternal families of Prince Yan’s two secondary consorts. In the past, to gain the reputation of a wise prince, Prince Yan ceded the land of these two families and their affiliated powerful families to the common people. Since then, the two families have harbored resentment.”
“I see. To be a wise prince, one must inevitably offend powerful families. This Prince Yan is interesting,” Xiao Ming said.
Wang Xuan laughed, “Your Highness is mistaken this time. This Prince Yan is just an old fox. He returned part of the land he seized from other powerful families to the common people, but another part fell into the Cui family’s hands.”
“Hmm, so it’s possible that the Fourth Prince could succeed,” Xiao Ming suddenly felt a little excited. He said, “This allied army of the three princes is an opportunity, but Prince Yan is not good, and neither is he.”
Wang Xuan nodded. He said, “However, with Japan invading from the west, barbarians eyeing us covetously, Annam causing trouble in the south, and Tibet frequently invading from the west, I believe that Your Highness should, like the late emperor, appease the various vassal princes and make them honor Your Highness.”
Xiao Ming sighed slightly. Wang Xuan’s meaning was very simple: he wanted him to learn from Xiao Wenxuan to stabilize the country, and then, with imperial power in hand, deal with the disobedient minor powers one by one.
It was then that he realized how difficult it was for Xiao Wenxuan to maintain a unified Great Yu Empire.
“I understand your meaning,” Xiao Ming said.
As Pang Yukun and Fei Ji had said, he now needed to unite all forces that could be united, including the powerful families. Only then could he unify the Great Yu Empire as quickly as possible, rather than exhausting national strength in a long civil war.
He knew the Fourth Prince’s character well, but now, the enemy of his enemy was his friend. As long as the Fourth Prince could call him emperor, this deal could still be made. However, before that, he still needed to do one thing: ascend the throne!
Only by formally putting on the imperial robes could he hope to restore the Great Yu Empire to its state before the Chang’an chaos without bloodshed, or rather, it would be enough if he simply defeated Prince Zhao and Prince Liang.
“By the way, Your Highness, there’s another happy piece of news,” Wang Xuan suddenly smiled slyly. “Prince Huainan is threatened by Prince Yan to the north and Prince Chu to the east. Now, in the official circles of Jingzhou, many officials are suggesting a marriage alliance between Prince Huainan and Prince Yan. The rumors circulating in Qingzhou City were also deliberately spread by Huainan merchants to test Your Highness’s reaction. It seems Chief Grand Secretary Pang and Elder Fei Ji both approve.”
“Prince Huainan can both threaten Yan and also serve as a thorn in Prince Chu’s side. His location is very important. Moreover, from Jinling City, my fleet can reach him in less than seven days. If we can build good relations with the King of Chu, it would naturally be icing on the cake,” Xiao Ming mused.
Wang Xuan smiled upon hearing this. He said, “Your Highness, what I was going to tell you about important intelligence is this. This is the remaining intelligence.”
As he spoke, Wang Xuan handed Xiao Ming a booklet.