Chapter 918: That Slash!

The Emperor and the Prince crossed the river.

The procession rested in Yupan City for two days.

The Prefect of Yupan City was Sun Liang.

But the one who truly held power there was his elder brother, Sun Ying.

The Emperor had left his Imperial Guards behind on the western bank.

The Prince, naturally, would not let the Emperor travel in shabby fashion.

The Brocade-Clad personal guards temporarily served as the new Imperial Guards.

Every arrangement followed the ceremonial standards of the Son of Heaven.

Prince Pingxi himself did not overstep and steal the Emperor’s splendor.

Neither the Emperor nor the Prince was easy to get along with.

But once they were actually together... the tacit understanding between them seeped into every crack like oil.

Nothing was missed.

From Yupan City eastward stretched a long band of desolate land.

Eastern Jin’s construction and development were indeed proceeding at full speed.

But covering the entire region comprehensively was nowhere near so simple.

The wounds of war remained plainly visible.

Then, as the procession continued east and entered the outer military-settlement belt centered on Fengxin City... the entire atmosphere changed at once.

Everything inside the military settlements was orderly.

Irrigation channels.

Fortified villages.

Even though they were only fields in the countryside, they carried a strangely refined sense of design.

Beyond that... the routes assigned to merchant caravans, the location and zoning of workshops, the construction of military camps, and the clean planning of new county towns all radiated vigorous life.

This... was the true face of present-day eastern Jin.

Nearly every Demon King had poured heart and effort into this place.

Except Demon Child.

For two years, Demon Child had been too busy raising children.

The others, however... had all contributed enormously.

When only one more day remained before the procession would enter Fengxin City... the Emperor made a request.

He wanted to visit “Mount Tai” first.

And so... the mountain newly named by Prince Pingxi... the first mountain upon which Prince Pingxi himself had prayed for blessings... today welcomed the unquestionably legitimate Son of Heaven of this land.

After these two visits... it would be impossible for this “Mount Tai” not to become famous.

And once fame took root... stories and legends would inevitably grow around it.

The Emperor’s body truly was somewhat weak.

Not the kind of weakness visible in ordinary life.

Most of the time, one could hardly tell.

But the moment he had to walk a long distance or climb a mountain... it became obvious.

So during the ascent... the Emperor walked with one hand hooked around the Prince’s arm.

Empress He Sisi followed behind them.

Farther back came Wei Zhonghe and the Sword Saint.

The Brocade-Clad personal guards had cleared the mountain long ago.

The security perimeter had been pushed far outward.

Absolute safety could be guaranteed here.

Fortunately... this “Mount Tai” was not high.

Once they saw the stone stele inscribed with the words “Mount Tai,” erected at Prince Pingxi’s personal command, they knew they had reached the summit.

Chen Xianba, Liu Dahu, and Zheng Man had climbed the mountain ahead of them.

Inside the pavilion, they had already started a hotpot.

The vegetables and meat had been sliced and arranged.

Serving as Prince Pingxi’s personal guard rarely gave them many opportunities to charge into battle personally.

But if they were ever sent out into civilian life... the three of them could probably open a restaurant and never worry about business.

The Prince and the Emperor sat down.

The Empress began putting meat and vegetables into the pot.

Eating hotpot itself was not a novelty.

But the combination of a red beef-tallow broth with sesame-oil dipping sauce truly was one of Prince Pingxi’s creations.

Not far away... another pot was simmering.

Eunuch Wei, the Sword Saint, Chen Xianba, Liu Dahu, and Zheng Man sat together around that one.

Once the Emperor sat down, he originally intended to remove his boots and loosen his feet.

The Prince kicked him before he could.

Helpless... the Emperor abandoned the idea.

The Empress covered her mouth and laughed.

She knew her husband was genuinely relaxed whenever he was with Prince Pingxi.

She first added the food to the pot.

Then she personally poured a cup of fruit wine for the Emperor and another for Prince Pingxi.

The Emperor held his cup.

He looked out at the scenery beyond the pavilion.

Then sighed:

“Zheng Fan. You are formidable. Truly formidable. Back in the capital, I knew you had built this place up. But I never expected you had built it like this. Those scholars in Qian love telling their Emperor that poetry, books, rites, and moral instruction should be used to transform the realm... that the world should be restored to the age of Great Xia’s ancient order. I always thought that was a dream those scholars had boasted about for generation after generation... until they eventually fooled even themselves. But I never expected... that here in your eastern Jin... I would see something real.”

Naturally, the Emperor looked at the world differently from ordinary people.

And this Emperor was probably the greatest businessman ever to sit a throne.

Running a shop and running a realm were certainly not the same thing.

But beneath the surface... they shared certain principles.

The Prince drank some wine.

Because the Empress sat directly opposite him, he had to angle his body slightly and look toward the scenery on the other side.

“Efficiency.”

The Emperor bit out those two words.

Zheng Fan turned and looked at him.

Then smiled and nodded.

The Emperor... truly understood.

All the development and planning in eastern Jin ultimately served one purpose: so the Prince could fight the next war better.

The Standard Household system existed for war.

Growing grain existed for war.

Commerce existed for war.

The workshops existed for war.

Development itself was meant to prepare for the next, even larger round of war.

It merely happened that, along the way, the common people—most of them once refugees—also became prosperous.

But the logic could be turned around just as easily.

Eastern Jin occupied critical strategic ground.

If it could not keep enemies outside... if it did not possess abundant military strength... then once war crossed the border, the common people would simply become two-legged sheep again.

On that point, Zheng Fan had profound firsthand experience.

The destruction brought by war was always the fastest... and the greatest.

The Emperor, however, clearly had no intention of discussing details with Zheng Fan.

His imperial study already contained many memorials analyzing eastern Jin’s development model.

Even in their private correspondence, the two sides often exchanged views on the subject.

Though the Emperor understood perfectly well that the person corresponding with him might not actually have been this bastard Zheng sitting before him now.

“Since ancient times, state monopolies over salt and iron have been nothing unusual. Imperial estates are nothing unusual either. With the momentum you have now, eastern Jin can indeed continue rising steadily for several more years. But as the population keeps increasing... as more and more territory truly recovers... if every large and small matter depends upon industries controlled by your Residence... then eventually the Residence itself will become a restriction.”

Zheng Fan nodded.

“Once a few more years pass and development reaches a certain level, we’ll open some industries to private households. But the premise will remain that industries under the Residence form the main body of eastern Jin’s economy. Private business will be positioned as an effective supplement to the Residence’s state-run enterprises.”

The Emperor opened his mouth.

He looked somewhat surprised.

Then he slapped his forehead.

“I didn’t expect you to actually understand this.”

It was a simple sentence.

But in it, Zheng Fan had clearly stated the two most important elements: the main body... and the proper role.

For an “expert” like the Emperor... that already counted as an unusually deep level of understanding.

The Prince held his wine cup and smiled with restrained dignity.

I do not actually understand.

But I know how to recite the answer.

“What a pity,” the Emperor said. “This system of yours only works in eastern Jin. It cannot be copied elsewhere.”

“Yes. We benefited from beginning on essentially empty land.”

“Exactly. Everyone understands that if you can plow the whole field flat and plant everything again from scratch, that is always the cleanest and easiest method. To hell with ‘governing a great state is like cooking a small fish.’ To hell with endlessly patching holes in paper windows. Everyone knows tiny repairs cannot solve the fundamental problem. But what choice do you have? My reforms have only just entered the proper track. And even then, I needed this Eastern Inspection and a borrowed gust of spring wind from your territory to truly push them through. To be honest... I cheated a little.”

“You’re being too polite.”

“But you have problems here too.”

The Emperor’s expression became serious.

“Your Standard Household system has indeed reconciled the contradictions created by the complicated mixture of peoples under you. It also guarantees that during this period, you possess abundant military power and the ability to absorb people from every direction. But how long can the Standard Household system actually survive? If this place remains surrounded by enemies forever, then perhaps it can continue. But now the snowfields are temporarily no threat. And in the future, once Chu is smashed apart, the moment no powerful enemy remains around you... your Standard Household system will immediately begin rotting from the inside. These Yan people, Jin people, Chu people, Savages, and Barbarians... right now they are loyal to you. They follow you into war. They do not fear death. But once peace lasts long enough... their next generation... will inevitably become useless wastrels who know nothing except how to chew on this iron rice bowl! And afterward... they will become... an enormous burden upon your Residence.”

Zheng Fan drank another mouthful of wine.

The military system of Prince Pingxi Residence had been adapted by him and the Blind Man from the Eight Banners system.

And it genuinely suited eastern Jin’s present conditions.

Ji Old Sixth’s prediction was extremely accurate.

Because in another time and space... after the Qing entered the passes, the Eight Banner cavalry, once small in number but terrifyingly effective, had needed very little time to decay into a class of useless men who walked birds and fought crickets.

Meanwhile, the Qing court had been forced to shoulder the enormous financial burden of supporting them every year.

The Emperor looked at Zheng Fan.

He asked:

“You think I’m wrong?”

“You genuinely understand.”

“Heh-heh-heh.”

The Emperor smiled with satisfaction.

Zheng Fan said:

“A method belongs to its moment because it must suit the situation of that moment. Circumstances are like water. Water has no fixed form. Methods should have no fixed form either.”

The Emperor nodded.

“I understand what you mean. Reform and renewal, yes?”

Before the Prince could continue... the Emperor slapped his thigh.

“But that creates the same old problem again. When Father trampled the hereditary clans, he used the Zhenbei Army. The commander was Li Liangting. The Zhenbei Army came from Beifeng Commandery and the desert frontier. The Li Clan was once called the foremost hereditary clan in Great Yan. But you and I both know... the Li Clan was not truly one of those hereditary clans. And precisely because the Zhenbei Army stood outside that web, trampling the clans became possible. Why did Prince Jingnan exterminate his own household? And why, when Father began trampling the hereditary clans, did he not use the Jingnan Army as his first blade? Because at that time, across Great Yan’s court, localities, and even military... the only force not bound by the hereditary clans was the Zhenbei Army. Everyone knew Great Yan needed centralization if it wanted to crush the Barbarians completely... and if it wanted to unify All Xia. But the problem was... centralize whose power? Use their knives... to cut their own flesh? Why is reform difficult? Who can sit on a chair... and at the same time flip that very chair upside down? Take your eastern Jin as an example. Suppose one day... the two of us truly succeed. If you, Zheng, are still alive, then with your prestige perhaps you truly could make one last change. Alter the system again. But your son? Could your son change it? These Standard Households would support your son inheriting your princely title. They would be the people holding his throne steady beneath him. How could he then turn around and cut flesh from their bodies? In the end... it becomes three new years, three old years, then another three years of patching and mending.”

Zheng Fan fell silent.

As an outsider to this world... he often possessed a kind of arrogance.

He instinctively believed he could see through everything... and stood above everything.

But in truth... every age produced people whose vision could pierce through the limits of that age.

People who saw higher.

Farther.

Ji Old Sixth... was one of them.

The Emperor ate a piece of meat.

He accepted a handkerchief from the Empress and wiped his mouth.

“So after thinking all this through... I let it go. Your father here cannot live forever. There is no such thing as a system capable of lasting ten thousand generations. The sun and moon rise and fall. The four seasons revolve. In the end... it comes back to that old saying. Children and grandchildren will have their own fortune.”

The Emperor reached out and draped one arm around the Prince’s shoulder.

“Our generation... we brothers... should first aim for the unification of All Xia. As for everything after that... let the descendants play with it themselves.”

The Emperor was laying bare his true thoughts.

These were not words suitable for letters.

Only spoken face-to-face could they carry real sincerity.

Because this too... was a kind of agreement.

Mutual fear.

Counter-fear.

The court and the locality.

All those contradictions... could be put aside.

Leave them for later generations.

The two of them... only needed to play freely during this lifetime.

For the Son of Heaven to speak this far... was truly rare.

“Heh.”

Zheng Fan smiled.

“Ji Old Sixth.”

“Yeah?”

“I’ll say something from my heart too. I, Zheng Fan, from beginning to end... have never believed I owe you anything.”

“You’re full of shit! Don’t think I don’t know what was inside that coffin you used to bring with you on campaign... or what lies buried beneath your Residence now.”

The two had first met in the desert outside Marquis Zhenbei Residence.

Sha Tuo Queshi had knocked on the gate.

When they were surrounded, he had broken out and charged straight toward the Sixth Prince’s carriage.

Zheng Fan had “risked his life” to save the Prince.

“I always thought it was strange,” the Emperor continued. “How did a pair of hidden dragons and young phoenixes like you people... such capable talents... also possess this damned much luck? You just happened to save me? It isn’t even that I deliberately investigated you. Only in these past few years, once your foundation became strong enough, you stopped bothering to hide so much. There have always been plenty of rumors about the coffin beneath your Residence. And once I connected that with the corpse of the Left Guli King that reanimated and escaped back then... everything matched! You never saved me. But from the beginning... I helped you. I even found a way through the Ministry of War to transfer you to Cuiliu Fort in Yinlang Commandery, right on the front line of the coming campaign. And you still say you don’t owe me?”

“What does it mean to owe a debt?” Zheng Fan asked.

“Mm?”

“If I acknowledge the debt, then I owe it. If I refuse to acknowledge it... then I don’t.”

“...” the Emperor.

The Empress could not hold back her laughter.

She rose and refilled both men’s cups.

“Sisi. Listen to this bastard Zheng. How can a man be this shameless?”

Zheng Fan stretched lazily.

“It was business. I laid a trap. You walked into it. That means you misjudged the deal yourself. And besides... you supported me back then merely because I saved your life?”

“What? Was I investing in your looks? Are you better-looking than me?”

As the Emperor asked that, he looked toward the Empress.

The Empress spat lightly at him and ignored the question.

The Emperor looked somewhat helpless.

In his youth, he had indeed been a handsome and elegant young nobleman.

But over the past few years... he had gained quite a bit of weight.

The bastard Zheng, meanwhile, had continued fighting war after war.

His cultivation steadily improved as well.

The gap... had opened.

“I only acknowledge two debts,” Zheng Fan said. “One is the promise I owe Prince Jingnan. The other... is the eight thousand comrades who stayed behind to cover my retreat in Qian.”

“I understand.”

The Emperor caught the key point instantly.

“Chu must be fought first. Qian goes last.”

At that moment... inside this small pavilion... the two men standing at the very summit of Great Yan’s power... looked at one another.

And smiled.

...

Fengxin City had made extensive preparations to welcome the Emperor of Great Yan.

Since ancient times... the first rule when welcoming an honored guest had always been: clean everything.

Originally, the Residence had also planned an entire series of grand displays to present to the Emperor.

Prince Pingxi Residence had no intention of being stingy on that front.

Even the Blind Man, who remained committed to rebellion, insisted the Emperor should be received with magnificent ceremony.

No matter what... one’s scale of vision could not become petty.

But the Emperor sent an imperial decree ahead of time.

Everything was to be kept simple.

Liu Dahu carried the decree.

After reading it aloud, he also conveyed one sentence from the Prince:

“He is not speaking in reverse.”

So... there was no grand welcoming ceremony.

Even so, the soldiers and civilians of Fengxin City remained intensely... curious... about the arrival of His Majesty the Emperor of Great Yan.

Not enthusiastic.

Curious.

They simply wanted to see the spectacle.

Because in the eyes of the people here... their own Prince... was the true “Son of Heaven.”

They wanted to see what this Emperor actually looked like.

The man who somehow still had the nerve not to move aside and make room for their Prince.

Fortunately... such thoughts remained buried inside people’s hearts.

Nobody was stupid enough to shout them publicly.

And when the imperial procession entered sight... the commoners knew proper behavior.

They knelt.

They shouted:

“Long live the Emperor!”

Then:

“Long live the Prince!”

One cry for the Emperor.

One cry for the Prince.

After enough rounds... nobody could tell which one was being added on for the other.

The Emperor and Prince rode together inside one of the enormous custom carriages belonging to Prince Pingxi Residence.

Listening to the cries of “Long live” outside... the Emperor laughed.

“How about this, Zheng Fan. I’ll grant you the title ‘Nine-Thousand-Year-Old.’ Round it up... and you’re basically a Ten-Thousand-Year Lord too.”

If an ordinary man heard the Emperor say something like that... he would probably collapse to the floor in terror.

It would obviously mean he had done something wrong.

Touched an imperial taboo.

But Prince Pingxi merely gave the Emperor an irritated sideways glance.

Then cursed:

“Fuck off.”

At the Emperor’s request, the procession did not enter Fengxin City immediately.

Even though the Empress was nearly frantic to see her son.

Instead... the procession turned and first went to Gourd Temple outside the city.

Aside from the gods, Buddhas, and longevity tablets for Prince Pingxi’s household...

Gourd Temple also held memorial steles for soldiers who had died in battle.

They too... received incense offerings here.

The Emperor came to pay respects to them first.

Only after the memorial rites were finished did the Emperor and Prince formally enter Fengxin City together and proceed to the Residence.

Once the two most honored guests had left...

Young Monk Liaofan supported Old Monk Kongyuan to the edge of the temple well.

Because the visit had been added to the itinerary at the last moment, Gourd Temple had been thrown into complete chaos.

Now... master and disciple were genuinely exhausted.

“Disciple. We saw the Emperor today.”

“Mm.”

“Disciple. Maybe it’s because we see the Prince too often, but even though this was the first time we saw an Emperor... he was... just about like that, wasn’t he?”

“Mm.”

As the two monks whispered together... the paper man who had previously been curled in one corner floated out again.

He muttered to himself too.

“Isn’t that obvious? That Prince of yours is separated from being Emperor by nothing but a dragon robe. No. Add one more claw to the python on his robe... and that would already do it. Two bald donkeys who’ve never seen the world!”

The young monk picked up half a bucket of water resting beside the well.

Then splashed it onto the ground.

“Aaaah!”

The paper man shrieked and retreated, terrified he might get wet.

Afterward... the paper man returned to his corner.

He murmured to himself:

“I never expected it. Never expected it. Too vicious. Truly too vicious. You cultivated for an entire lifetime. And I always thought that among all people in this world, only you were fit to stand beside me in reputation. Who would have thought... you truly abandoned every last shred of face. Heh-heh. Master Cang’s slash... actually landed here.”

[End of Chapter 918]