Chapter 811: Jingnan Army

Fengxin City.

Welcome Guest Inn.

Almost every shop and workshop inside and outside Fengxin City belonged, in one way or another, to the industries of the former Marquis Pingxi Residence. From great caravans that traveled the snowfields and smuggled goods into Chu, all the way down to pastry shops on the streets, even coffin shops inside the city, the Residence’s reach had penetrated nearly every aspect of eastern Jin.

Welcome Guest Inn naturally belonged to the Residence as well.

Most of its customers were outsiders.

Caravans stopping to rest formed the majority.

People traveling to visit relatives or simply passing through were fewer.

Anyone seriously intending to settle here or attach himself to this place had to register and enter the household rolls.

If someone tried to disappear into the population as an unregistered resident and was discovered, not only would that person be punished, anyone who had helped conceal him would be punished severely as well.

Whenever scholar-officials in Qian encountered certain policies, they often liked to shout:

“One must never compete with the people for profit!”

Prince Pingxi Residence in eastern Jin, however, had elevated “competing with the people for profit” into an art form.

There were two reasons it worked.

First, eastern Jin had previously been reduced almost to wasteland by war. Much of the population consisted of miserable refugees who had wandered from place to place. After witnessing how cheaply human life was treated during wartime, they felt genuine gratitude and satisfaction toward their present peaceful lives.

Second, the people under Prince Pingxi Residence genuinely enjoyed better treatment, food, and clothing than people in most other places.

Even in Qian’s Jiangnan, universally regarded as the richest region in all Xia, the lives of the lowest commoners might not be as secure and steady as the lives of ordinary people here.

One example alone was enough.

Even now, every state, including Yan, still treated the labor of the common people as state property and could requisition corvée service at will.

Prince Pingxi Residence, by contrast, had long since paid wages for work inside its workshops.

That alone placed it an enormous step ahead.

Years ago, the Sword Saint’s wife had supported both her mother-in-law and Liu Dahu by working in the perfume workshop.

As for the laborers requisitioned whenever the Residence mobilized for war, they truly were not paid in advance.

But after victory, those laborers received a share of the rewards as well.

And virtually every foreign campaign launched by the Residence had ended in victory.

Once victory itself became habitual, ordinary people began treating war as a shortcut to wealth and gradually ignored some of war’s darker qualities.

On top of that, the many theatrical troupes beneath Prince Pingxi Residence frequently staged stories about the miserable lives of Jin commoners before Marquis Pingxi came to eastern Jin, when Savages and Chu troops had pillaged the region.

Those plays did not make the people fear war.

Instead, they reinforced one lesson:

If war had to be fought, then fight it outside.

Fighting on someone else’s land was always better than fighting in your own home.

The Blind Man once joked that what he had designed was not a vast landlord’s estate at all.

It resembled an “enterprise” much more closely.

The entire Residence was, in essence, a disguised “company.”

At this moment... two men sat inside a private room beside the window on the third floor of Welcome Guest Inn.

Both were dressed like merchants.

One had a clean, fair face.

The other looked far rougher.

The small dishes on the table were ordinary enough.

But the Huadiao wine served with them had real pedigree.

Its flavor was thick and heavy, pressing firmly against the throat.

Those who liked it loved it to the bone.

The fair-faced man was surnamed Miao.

Miao Lin.

The rougher man was surnamed Lu.

Lu Xiong.

Miao Lin was a junior shopkeeper attached to a Qian caravan.

Lu Xiong was a junior shopkeeper attached to a caravan from the State of Lu.

The former was registered by name with Qian’s Silver-Armored Guard.

The latter actually held an official appointment in the State of Lu.

The State of Lu was a small country situated where the territories of the four great states converged.

But here in Fengxin City, in eastern Jin, men could put aside the difference in the size of their home states and sit together as equals over wine.

In this age, merchants, especially merchants who traveled abroad, almost always had some connection to official intelligence.

Either the shopkeeper had a background of his own, or one of the caravan hands did.

Everyone understood the arrangement.

Most such merchants merely lent their names to an intelligence service and carried home whatever scraps of rumor and hearsay they happened to encounter.

They were fringe auxiliaries even among fringe auxiliaries.

In Fengxin City... even this phenomenon had been openly formalized.

Anyone with that sort of registered identity could simply report it to the innkeeper.

He would receive discounts on food and lodging.

When buying and selling goods, he could even present an iron token and move to the front of the queue.

But if he concealed the identity and was later discovered... being flayed alive and having his tendons pulled out would count as a merciful punishment.

That was not to say there were no merchants utterly loyal to their home states.

But most did not possess that degree of conviction.

Miao Lin and Lu Xiong belonged to the group that understood the times.

“Shopkeeper Xiao’s trade route was blocked by the fighting some time ago,” Miao Lin said. “I heard he had to detour through Fan City. With that delay, it isn’t strange he failed to arrive. But what about Shopkeeper Fei? Why hasn’t he come either?”

Shopkeeper Xiao was a Chu man registered with the Phoenix Nest Internal Guard.

Shopkeeper Fei was a Yan man.

Lu Xiong smiled.

He pinched up a piece of duck meat, placed it in his mouth, and said while chewing:

“A Secret Intelligence Department operative from Yan may not dare enter Fengxin City anymore.”

“Oh-ho. Now that really is fresh.” Miao Lin laughed. “A Yan spy afraid to enter Yan territory?”

“Haven’t you noticed? Prince Pingxi Residence... ptui, Prince Pingxi himself... this Fengxin City is more like an independent military domain than any military domain I’ve ever seen. Call it a state within a state and you wouldn’t be exaggerating.”

“Yan’s new Emperor certainly has patience. Put this in Qian and... heh-heh.”

“What? Put it in Qian and you’d repeat the old affair of the Tattooed-Face Chancellor?”

“Hey. Don’t poke the sore spot.”

“You Qian people love doing this sort of thing. You stab yourselves in the ass, then shout about how good it feels.”

“Must you say it that crudely?”

“What, now I’m not allowed to say it?” Lu Xiong laughed. “This is exactly like doing business. We’re both shopkeepers. Once your business grows large and you have too many people under you, the proprietor starts having thoughts about you. Maybe he shelves you. Maybe he punishes you. Maybe he finds an excuse to crush you completely. None of that is strange. But what’s the point of guarding against your own people forever? If you want the business done well, then of course you have to choose men you can actually use and trust. Yet in the proprietor’s eyes, that means you’re building your own little hill and preparing to stand on your own. My Lu is only a small state. I even bear the same surname as Lu’s ruling house, though I’m so far removed I couldn’t claim kinship with our sovereign if I tried. Still, as a man of Lu, I genuinely wish our state could produce someone like Prince Pingxi.”

“What, your courage has climbed into Heaven now?” Miao Lin rolled his eyes at Lu Xiong and lifted his cup. “Let me tell you something. Great Qian and Chu have already formed an alliance. Just watch. The Yan won’t have such an easy time anymore.”

“Pfft!”

Lu Xiong sprayed the wine he had just swallowed straight out through his nose.

“Hahahahaha! Originally, Chu might have lost battle after battle and soldier after soldier, but at least it could still hold on. Yan’s stomach isn’t large enough to swallow Chu the way it swallowed Jin. Now you’ve added Qian. Two against one. Somehow, I think Chu is in even more danger.”

“Outrageous! Absolutely outrageous!”

Shopkeeper Miao’s face trembled with anger.

“Yo. You two are eating and drinking well.”

At that moment, a man pushed open the door.

Both shopkeepers immediately rose to welcome him.

The newcomer was none other than Dai Li, one of Xue San’s capable subordinates.

He had rendered merit on the snowfields and had recently received a new assignment.

Now he was responsible for keeping watch, openly and secretly, over agents of other powers inside and outside Fengxin City.

There was plenty of grease in this assignment.

Dai Li took what should be taken.

After reporting the arrangement to those above, half of what he collected was turned in.

The remainder was divided among the brothers.

No matter the age, yamen were always the same.

Some starved to death.

Others drowned in grease.

Dai Li took a small sip of wine.

The two shopkeepers drained their cups.

“All right. You two keep drinking. There are a few other shopkeepers over there I need to greet.”

“Boss Dai, take care.”

“Take care.”

Among these merchants, Dai Li had once possessed another nickname.

Because he never hesitated to accept silver from any household, and because the merchants themselves did business while he effectively did business with merchants, they called him Great Shopkeeper Dai.

Later, no one knew which great figure inside the Residence heard the name and laughed:

“Boss Dai sounds better.”

No one knew exactly which important person had said it.

But from that moment on, Dai Li wore the title proudly.

Anyone who called him “Shopkeeper” would be corrected.

“Boss.”

Every time he said it, his face glowed with pride.

After seeing Boss Dai out, Shopkeeper Miao and Shopkeeper Lu sat down again.

By coincidence, the procession leaving the Residence was passing along the street below.

Both men leaned toward the window.

Miao Lin sighed.

“Setting everything else aside, Prince Pingxi’s life has truly been worth living.”

Lu Xiong immediately jerked his head back inside and glared at him.

“You damned bastard! We’ve both registered with Boss Dai. All we do is hold names in our own countries’ services. Why the hell would you suddenly say something like that and drag me down with you?”

“What did I say?” Miao Lin asked in confusion.

“What do you mean, ‘Prince Pingxi’s life has been worth living’? What, you’re planning to end His Highness’s life right here? What sinister intention are you harboring?”

“...” Miao Lin.

Realizing he had misspoken, Shopkeeper Miao did not argue.

He silently took another drink.

“From today onward, Fengxin City’s Marquis becomes a Prince,” Lu Xiong said with feeling. “Grand Tutor to the Crown Prince and now a Prince as well. Remarkable. Truly remarkable.”

“I’m done. I’m done drinking.” Miao Lin could no longer stomach the wine. “The more I drink today, the worse it tastes.”

“What’s wrong?” Lu Xiong laughed. “Far as I can see, you Qian people all share the same illness, from the hundred officials at the top, to scholars in the middle, to merchants at the bottom. Just like that concubine I took last year. Starts crying that it hurts at the slightest touch. Never lets a man enjoy himself properly.”

“Great-state dignity is something a man from a tiny state like yours could never understand. Back when the Four Marquises opened the frontiers...”

“Ptui!”

Lu Xiong spat.

“The Three Marquises opened the frontiers, and by the time the story reaches you Qian people it somehow becomes Four Marquises. Shameless enough, aren’t you? Forget it. Forget it. This wine is ruined. No matter how much I drink, all I taste is sourness. I’m leaving. I’m heading outside the city to watch the ceremony. I’m done with you.”

“You...”

Miao Lin badly wanted to say that he had clearly been the first to announce he was leaving.

Yet somehow this Lu fellow had taken the first step and turned the entire matter around.

Merchants loved calculating gains and losses.

No matter how Miao Lin calculated this one... he felt as though he had somehow swallowed the sour end of the bargain.

Outside Fengxin City... a high ceremonial platform had been erected.

A sea of people surged around it.

Prince Pingxi rode out through the city gate atop his Pixiu.

In an instant... cheers crashed like mountains and seas.

Mao Mingcai sat atop a Pixiu beast and lightly stroked his long beard.

Years ago, when he was Prefect of Yingdu, he and Prince Pingxi had once misunderstood each other.

After that misunderstanding was cleared away, Mao Mingcai had come to admire him greatly.

Now that Mao Mingcai sat in the position of Acting Chancellor... he discovered he admired Prince Pingxi even more.

Unlike the officials at court who feared Prince Pingxi and feared great regional military powers, Mao Mingcai had personally seen Prince Pingxi’s genuine popular support throughout eastern Jin.

His wings were already full-grown.

At this point... one could only stroke the feathers in the direction they lay.

The court officials truly did act from public-minded motives.

Perhaps... a little too public-mindedly.

Everyone knew the world could not truly be divided into pure black and pure white.

But shouting that everything must be either black or white was cheap and easy.

The former Fifth Prince, Ji Chengwen, looked toward Mao Mingcai with a smile.

“Lord Mao, Prince Pingxi enjoys deep popular support in eastern Jin. With Prince Pingxi guarding eastern Jin for Great Yan, the snowfields, Chu, and the lands of Jin can all remain secure.”

Mao Mingcai smiled and nodded.

He did not think the former Fifth Prince was trying to apply eye medicine against Prince Pingxi.

Eye medicine could not poison a military domain to death.

As the Emperor’s brother, once the next generation began, Ji Chengwen would instantly fall from direct imperial blood into a collateral branch of the Ji clan.

Handling practical affairs.

Repairing rivers.

None of that was a problem.

If he truly tried to become famous as some “virtuous Prince” deeply concerned with state and realm... that would simply mean he thought his own life too long.

As soldiers and civilians knelt together, Prince Pingxi’s procession drew closer and closer.

With it came a vast pressure that could almost be felt physically.

Mao Mingcai raised one hand.

He signaled every imperial commissioner and attendant around him to dismount and prepare to salute.

His Majesty had decreed that Prince Pingxi need not kneel when receiving imperial edicts.

That meant, as imperial envoys, they possessed no qualification to receive a kneeling salute from him either.

“May Your Highness live a thousand years, a thousand years, a thousand thousand years!”

“May Your Highness live a thousand years, a thousand years, a thousand thousand years!”

The soldiers and civilians around them began shouting.

The members of the imperial mission exchanged glances.

The decree had not even been read yet.

But circumstances were stronger than men.

No one was foolish enough to criticize the crowd for overstepping ritual.

So everyone simply joined in and shouted along.

Mao Mingcai, kneeling at the front, narrowed his eyes.

He was waiting for Zheng Fan to come help him back to his feet.

He waited a long time.

No hands came.

When he finally raised his head... he discovered Prince Pingxi had already led his people straight toward the high platform.

The man had not noticed him at all.

A faint sourness rose in Lord Mao’s heart.

Ever since Zhao Jiulang died... the Chancellor of Great Yan seemed to have been abruptly downgraded.

Part of that came from the change in personnel and the loss of prestige that followed.

But the greater reason was that the new Emperor had divided the Chancellor’s former responsibilities among several offices.

The position itself had been broken apart.

After those powers were distributed downward... today’s Chancellor simply no longer carried the same weight as the Chancellor of old.

In truth...

Lord Mao had misunderstood Prince Pingxi.

Today was the day he became Prince.

Prince Pingxi had simply... swollen.

He regarded the ceremony as a formality.

And so he truly treated it as nothing more than a formality.

Details.

Ritual.

Making sure every side received proper consideration.

All of those things had been washed away beneath the intoxication of the moment.

He had already asked Tian Tian, right in front of the Crown Prince, whether he liked the dragon pattern on the Crown Prince’s robe.

That alone showed how wildly arrogant Zheng Fan had become.

When reading history, people often found it incomprehensible when someone suddenly elevated to a lofty position became arrogant and domineering.

They wondered whether those men had lost their minds.

But people were simply like that.

Once you stood high enough... most would begin to float.

Zheng Fan was one of them.

Right now, he could not calm himself down.

Nor did he care to.

He simply wanted to enjoy this moment.

Especially beneath the kneeling worship and thunderous cheers of the entire city’s soldiers and civilians.

He was high.

Truly high.

Mao Mingcai and Ji Chengwen could only stand up by themselves.

One carried the imperial decree.

The other carried ceremonial robes.

Together with the others, they followed onto the platform.

Once Mao Mingcai reached the top, the first thing he noticed was the woman standing beside Prince Pingxi.

His instinctive assumption was that she must be the Princess of Chu.

Then he suddenly discovered another woman standing behind her.

That woman was the one truly dressed in the magnificent phoenix robes of Chu.

This...

When the court enfeoffed a Prince, naturally it prepared formal robes for his Princess Consort as well.

And the Princess of Chu had practically been accepted as an adopted daughter by the late Emperor before being granted in marriage.

Whether by sentiment or ritual... her position as principal wife should have been ironclad.

Yet now... how had a magpie taken over the dove’s nest?

Prince Pingxi actually dared cast aside the late Emperor’s will and ignore it completely?

What caught Ji Chengwen’s attention first was the boy in Zheng Fan’s arms.

His first thought was that it must be his nephew, the Crown Prince of the present dynasty, the “fine imperial grandson” his late father had once praised.

But the longer he looked... the stranger it became.

When had his nephew grown so quickly?

He looked sturdier.

Taller.

Fatter.

And taller again.

And his clothes looked rather plain.

The embroidery on them was... a python!

Ji Chengwen had spent most of his time away supervising river works.

He rarely returned to the capital.

Even when he did, he might see the Crown Prince only once.

Children changed quickly.

Failing to recognize him at first glance was normal.

But on his second look...

Ji Chengwen finally noticed the child standing beside Prince Pingxi wearing the Crown Prince’s dragon robe.

That was his actual nephew!

Carrying the Crown Prince in one’s arms would have been an outrage.

A display of utter contempt toward the sovereign.

But leaving the Crown Prince standing there while carrying another child... was somehow even more outrageous.

Unfortunately... outside Fengxin City, here in eastern Jin, neither Mao Mingcai nor Ji Chengwen possessed the courage to point out Prince Pingxi’s gross breach of ritual to his face.

Not entirely because they did not dare.

More because... they could not.

...

“How does it feel?” the Blind Man asked Xue San beside him.

“Master should be extremely happy today,” Xue San answered.

“Mm.” The Blind Man nodded. “As far as I’m concerned, the more overbearing Master becomes, the better.”

Xue San smiled.

Of course he knew what the Blind Man had always wanted.

“It’s only a pity that Master and that Emperor in Yanjing already have their tacit understanding and agreement.”

The Blind Man heard that and did not care.

He reached into his pocket.

No orange.

Third Master released a long breath of relief.

“Yupan City was handed over to us in exchange for us turning a blind eye while the court reorganized the former Jingnan Army. You know about that, yes?”

“Yes. I know. What about it?”

“Some time ago, I sent letters to every former Jingnan Army Garrison Commander. I told them that today our Master would be enfeoffed as Prince.”

“What, you expected them to come watch the ceremony?”

“Yes.”

“Leaving one’s post without authorization is a serious crime,” Xue San said. “Especially right when the court is reorganizing the Jingnan Army. You’re handing the court a perfect handle against them.”

“When everyone breaks the law, the law cannot punish everyone.”

“Heh. When the court first started reorganizing them and stripping away their local administrative power, quite a few former Garrison Commanders wrote to us. We acted like we saw nothing, heard nothing, and never took the lead. Now you still expect them to come flatter us?”

“In the letter, I told them Tian Tian would publicly appear at our Master’s princely investiture ceremony as the Heir of Prince Jingnan, announcing the existence of His Highness the Heir of Prince Jingnan to the world.”

Xue San froze.

Then said:

“You discussed this with Master? No. Impossible. Since Master already made an agreement with the Emperor in Yanjing, he wouldn’t deliberately stir up this sort of trouble now. You never discussed it with Master. You calculated that Master would do this on his own?”

The Blind Man neither admitted nor denied it.

“You’re finished. You actually dared calculate Master’s behavior.”

“This is called a prediction born from perfect mutual understanding.”

“Then forget about upgrading this time.”

“Master will be happy. Look at the smile on his face today.”

“Blind Man, you’re playing with fire.”

“Warm, isn’t it?”

“...” Xue San.

“Relax. As long as it feels good, that’s enough. If Master curses me later, he curses me. If he blames me, he blames me. None of that matters.”

“Ptui. Treacherous minister!”

...

On the high platform...

Mao Mingcai forced himself to take out the imperial decree.

At the same time, he coughed several times.

He hoped Prince Pingxi would first put down the child in his arms so they could complete the formal process.

But just then... from the west side of the platform, more than a dozen groups came riding toward them.

Their armor differed markedly from the troops beneath Prince Pingxi Residence, who had already completed their equipment changes.

The soldiers on this side did not stop them.

No scouts shadowed them either.

Clearly... instructions had been issued beforehand.

Otherwise, outside troops could never have ridden in here so openly.

Most eyes above and below the platform turned toward the riders.

As those groups drew closer... one roar after another rolled across the field.

These men had once followed Prince Jingnan through campaign after campaign.

Some had since been granted general titles.

Some had even been made Counts.

But today... every one of them returned to the title he had originally held beneath Prince Jingnan.

“Garrison Commander Luo Ling under Prince Jingnan has come to pay respects to His Highness the Heir!”

“Garrison Commander Chen Yang under Prince Jingnan pays respects to the Young Master!”

“Garrison Commander Ren Juan under Prince Jingnan greets the Young Master!”

“Garrison Commander Zhao Ande under Prince Jingnan pays respects to the Young Master!”

“Garrison Commander Li Guangzong under Prince Jingnan wishes the Young Master health and fortune!”

“Garrison Commander under Prince Jingnan...”

“...”

Mao Mingcai swallowed instinctively.

What in Heaven’s name were they doing?

Ji Chengwen shivered.

Was this a princely investiture... or the raising of a rebel banner?

One great commander after another who guarded different regions of Jin had ignored orders, failed even to report in, abandoned their posts, and gathered here together!

The soldiers and civilians watching the ceremony assumed so many generals had simply come to offer congratulations.

Hearing those great titles only made the occasion feel more glorious.

Most of them had also heard that the legitimate son of the famed Prince Jingnan had always been raised inside their own Prince’s Residence.

So the cheers became even louder.

The officials of the imperial mission who stood on or below the high platform... felt something entirely different.

A terrifying unfamiliarity.

As though they had been sucked into a dreadful whirlpool.

As though one more turn would grind them all to powder.

Crown Prince Ji Chuanye looked toward the Elder Brother Tian Tian who had been caring for him these past days and still asked at night whether he needed to pee.

Just as the Blind Man had predicted...

Prince Pingxi looked surprised at first.

Then... a smile spread across his face.

At this moment... it felt as though they had returned to the old days.

Armies from every direction arriving beneath Prince Jingnan’s command banner.

Drums sounding.

Generals gathering.

“Dad, who are all those people?” Tian Tian asked.

Zheng Fan answered:

“They’re all your real father’s men.”

“All of them?”

“Yes. Every one of them. Including Dad.”

[End of Chapter 811]