Chapter 947: Meng Shanming Arrives in Person

At the military drill ground in Nanzhou's provincial capital, Luo Da'an was fighting ten men at once. Wielding a wooden spear, he battled and defended against the ten attackers in a live-combat drill.

Beneath a cloth awning outside the field, Meng Shanming sat in his wheelchair watching. Lu Zheng, dressed in armor, stood behind him with his hands on the chair.

Hearing an unusual commotion, Lu Zheng looked back. Seeing Shang Chaozong and Lan Ruoting approaching together, he immediately bent down and said into Meng Shanming's ear, "Marshal Meng, the Prince and Mr. Lan are here."

Meng Shanming turned his head. Seeing that they had already arrived, he immediately cupped his hands. "Your Highness."

Shang Chaozong stood beside the wheelchair and watched the clatter of fighting on the drill ground for a moment. Luo Da'an's wooden spear knocked one man sprawling, and someone outside immediately rushed in to replace him, maintaining a constant formation of ten men attacking at once.

After observing for a while, Shang Chaozong chuckled. "Da'an's spear technique keeps improving. He has acquired quite a measure of Marshal Meng's essence."

Meng Shanming said, "Your Highness flatters him. Your Highness, is something the matter?"

Lan Ruoting said, "Marshal Meng, Master Dao has replied. He says he's already settled things with Zijin Cave. Bozhou won't be a problem either and will cooperate fully with us. He told us to make absolutely certain the matter is handled properly. Master Dao said he doesn't care about the process. He only wants the result!"

"Zijin Cave actually agreed to this?" Meng Shanming was somewhat surprised and could not help clicking his tongue in admiration. "Master Dao truly is Master Dao."

One could glimpse the whole leopard from a single spot. From a certain angle, this showed that Niu Youdao was by no means as weak within Zijin Cave as he might appear. Naturally, that pleased everyone here.

Shang Chaozong said, "Exactly. It's obvious Master Dao attaches great importance to this matter. We must handle it thoroughly and not fail the trust he's placed in us."

Meng Shanming stroked his beard and nodded. After a little thought, he said slowly, "If that's the case, then I'll personally make a trip to Bozhou and take command at the Bozhou front myself."

Shang Chaozong and Lan Ruoting exchanged a look...

At Tianwei Residence in the State of Wei, Grand Commandant Nan Renyu and Censor-in-Chief Jin Lingzan arrived together. Naturally, someone led the two inside to see Xuan Wei.

They sat for a short while in a pavilion over the lake before Xuan Wei arrived. Apart from Ximen Qingkong, who accompanied her, none of the three had brought anyone else. They had important matters to discuss.

After exchanging courtesies, the three took their seats according to precedence.

"The Chancellor summoned us. May I ask what the matter is?" Nan Renyu asked.

Xuan Wei said, "I heard Lord Jin has been discussing certain measures with people, intending to strictly control grain shipments from within our borders to the State of Qin."

Jin Lingzan said, "That is indeed the case, and there is a reason for it. Qin was only recently established and needs enormous sums of money. They have started brewing liquor and are continuously expanding the scale of production. From this alone, it is clear the profits must be substantial. Nanzhou in Yan has already stopped brewing liquor. I suspect that when Xiaoyue Pavilion raised troops in coordination with Niu Youdao, the brewing business may have been part of some exchange."

Xuan Wei said, "What does that have to do with the measures you're preparing?"

Jin Lingzan replied, "From our observations, it is already obvious that Qin's liquor production requires huge quantities of grain. Qin suffered from war and has only recently been established. It simply doesn't have that much grain. Because it borders our state, and because our state produces grain in abundance, it has been purchasing grain from us on a large scale. How can we allow Qin to accumulate wealth, strengthen its finances, and grow powerful? Naturally, we should restrict the trade and cut it off! To prevent people from secretly selling grain, we'll also need the military to cooperate in tightly controlling the border. Later I'll draw up detailed regulations and coordinate their implementation with the military."

Xuan Wei said, "Drop the matter here. Don't bring it up again."

Jin Lingzan was surprised. "Does the Chancellor intend to sit by and watch Qin accumulate wealth and grow strong?"

Xuan Wei said, "I've already obtained a detailed understanding of Qin's liquor production. The profits truly are enormous—windfall profits. But I have my own arrangements. You don't need to worry about Qin. I understand the grain supply connected to their liquor production very clearly, and I know where the limits lie."

At those words, Jin Lingzan and Nan Renyu exchanged smiles. Even the intelligence supplied by the Mist Bureau had not made this matter clear, yet Xuan Wei said she understood it very clearly. What did that imply?

The two had previously thought Xuan Wei had truly handed the Mist Bureau's intelligence apparatus over to His Majesty in its entirety. Looking at things now, that did not seem to be the case.

Put another way, neither man believed Xuan Chengtian possessed enough ability to shoulder the heavy responsibility of the State of Wei. Neither wished to see Xuan Chengtian take full control. They still hoped Xuan Wei would keep the reins in her hands. From what she had just said, they assumed what they had seen was merely superficial and that Xuan Wei had not truly surrendered the Mist Bureau.

A woman was attentive to subtleties. Xuan Wei read the implication in their reactions and explained, "Don't misunderstand. Qin had only just been established when it began making such a stir with this brewing business. I was uneasy, so before handing the Mist Bureau over to His Majesty, I secretly arranged for a group of people to penetrate the relevant circles in Qin and focus solely on this matter. Fortunately, Qin was newly established and its defenses in this area were not yet complete, which gave them an opening. Once matters on that side stabilize, I will still hand them over to His Majesty. It isn't what you're imagining."

The two fell briefly silent, their hearts sinking somewhat. Jin Lingzan could not resist advising, "Chancellor, there are some things you should think through carefully!"

Xuan Wei waved a hand, unwilling to discuss it.

In truth, there were matters she herself still had doubts about. But she had promised Ximen Qingkong she would let go, and she had resolved to withdraw. Better to surrender the authority sooner rather than later. First, it would allow the emperor to familiarize himself with affairs while she was still there to help him mount the horse and escort him a little farther. Second, she did not want attachment to power to make her younger brother misunderstand her intentions.

When the emperor had previously tried to relieve Nan Renyu of military command and she had intervened to stop it, she had already faintly sensed that her imperial younger brother was unhappy with her.

Xuan Wei returned to the earlier topic. "What I said still stands. Shelve what you were preparing. Don't mention it again for now. Stop before any rumors begin to spread."

Nan Renyu and Jin Lingzan exchanged a helpless look. Jin Lingzan said, "If the Chancellor is going to handle matters this way, may I ask why?"

"Precisely because the profits I've learned of are enormous. People are greedy. Once things reach a certain point, Qin will find it difficult to stop..." Xuan Wei rose as she spoke and paced back and forth beneath their attentive gazes. "Remember this: keep the grain price inside Wei under control. Do not allow Qin's large-scale purchases to drive prices upward. You must control it strictly! If anyone defies the order, kill them under the charge of 'disrupting the people's livelihood.' I have only one objective: make everyone in Qin, from top to bottom, understand that growing grain costs more than buying it!"

Nan Renyu and Jin Lingzan both froze for a moment, seeming to understand her intention.

Xuan Wei abruptly stopped, turned, clasped her hands behind her back, and looked down at the two men with commanding presence. "In troubled times like these, money is money only when it can be used. When it cannot be used, it is nothing but scrap metal. I don't care how rich Qin becomes. Do you understand what I mean?"

Beside her, Ximen Qingkong showed a faint smile. Whenever Xuan Wei was like this, her bearing and presence had a distinctive magnificence.

Nan Renyu and Jin Lingzan rose together and cupped their hands with smiles. "Yes!"

With no other matters to discuss, the two left the lakeside pavilion. While crossing the bridge, Jin Lingzan could not help sighing. "With one hand she impoverishes Jin; with the other, she enriches Qin. His Majesty is far inferior to the Chancellor!"

Nan Renyu said gloomily, "The Chancellor withdrawing from affairs is not a good thing!"

At the railing of the pavilion, Xuan Wei watched the two officials recede into the distance. Then, as though thinking aloud, she murmured, "Niu Youdao is actually going to Sacred Realm for tempering..."

Ximen Qingkong smiled beside her. "Still can't get Niu Youdao off your mind?"

The remark carried an ambiguous implication. Xuan Wei could not help shooting him a glare, the expression entirely that of a woman rather than a statesman. It stirred an urge in Ximen Qingkong to pull her into his arms, but under so many watching eyes, he restrained himself from acting recklessly.

After composing herself, Xuan Wei turned back toward the lotus blossoms on the lake and sighed. "I was only thinking about it because I've learned how profitable Qin's liquor brewing truly is. The profits are staggering. Niu Youdao held the brewing formula before, yet he always kept the operation small. He possessed enormous profits but did not pursue them. Compare that to Xiaoyue Pavilion's wild delight, and the difference is like Heaven and earth. A man who can control his own desires is frightening. Only now do I truly understand what is frightening about Niu Youdao!"

...

Once the forces in Jinzhou, Nanzhou, Beizhou, Bozhou, and the other territories under Zijin Cave's control began moving, Yan's Intelligence Directorate detected the activity immediately.

The Yan court grew nervous. Xiaoyao Palace and Lingjian Mountain grew nervous as well. Forces throughout the country began mobilizing in response, preparing themselves for possible conflict.

Emperor Shang Jianxiong of Yan immediately sought out Shen Baochun, the Zijin Cave Elder stationed in the imperial palace, and demanded to know what was happening.

Shen Baochun acted as though nothing were wrong. He said it was nothing, merely military exercises.

Nothing? With movement on this scale, it clearly looked as though someone was preparing to attack and wage war, yet he still called it nothing?

Soon afterward, Zijin Cave received distinguished visitors. Long Xiu, Sect Leader of Xiaoyao Palace, and Meng Xuan, Sect Leader of Lingjian Mountain, arrived together.

The moment host and guests met, Long Xiu warned, "Brother Gong, don't think that because the forces under Zijin Cave are strong and numerous you can act recklessly. If we tear away all pretense of civility, none of us will have an easy time. It will benefit no one."

This truly demonstrated the benefits Niu Youdao's entry into Zijin Cave had brought the sect. Across the entire State of Yan, if war truly broke out, there was probably no force on the battlefield capable of defeating Zijin Cave's side. Zijin Cave now held enormous weight in military affairs, to the point that Xiaoyao Palace and Lingjian Mountain had to join forces merely to balance it.

But the party that was truly nervous was the State of Song.

Niu Youdao had warned them to hand over Hui Qingping. Wu Gongling ignored him, and Bozhou, which bordered Song, immediately began displaying an obvious offensive posture aimed directly at Song.

Reports arriving one after another also showed that the forces associated with Niu Youdao were urgently mobilizing troops and gathering all manner of supplies for war.

Under Shang Chaozong and Meng Shanming's skillful orchestration, the movements of Zijin Cave's forces alarmed the rest of Yan into mobilizing in response. Of course they had to prepare. Were they supposed to wait until an army came crashing down on their heads before making ready?

Inside the Imperial Study, Wu Gongling summoned his civil and military officials for an emergency discussion over whether Yan truly meant to attack or was merely bluffing.

Opinions differed. Listening to the two factions argue, Wu Gongling paced back and forth with his hands behind his back, equally anxious. He had not expected Niu Youdao to truly make such a large move over Hui Qingping, nor had he expected Niu Youdao to wield this much influence over Zijin Cave.

"Your Majesty, urgent military intelligence from Bozhou!" A eunuch entered and presented the report from Yan.

Wu Gongling snatched the intelligence report and read it. One look was enough to make his heart pound.

Their spies had learned that Meng Shanming had already arrived in Bozhou and assumed overall command of all Bozhou's forces. He was personally touring the region and redeploying troops throughout the territory.

Before one wave had settled, another rose. A eunuch suddenly hurried in from outside to report, "Your Majesty, Meng Shanming of Yan has sent a message!"

Wu Gongling snatched that over as well and read it. Only then did he realize this was no ordinary letter. It was plainly a war proclamation.

Meng Shanming declared that he had been appointed commander-in-chief of the eastern expedition against Song. He issued Song a warning and a three-day deadline: if Hui Qingping was not handed over within three days, the Yan army would immediately attack Song!

[End of Chapter 947]