Chapter 219: Chapter 114: Storm Arises_3
"Hmm." Zheng Fan sipped his tea; he had already heard these things from Mr. Chen on the carriage ride that night.
"The last governor and Chief General of Nanwang City both died under mysterious circumstances. Furthermore, Lord Jingnan took command of the city with his troops on the day of the funeral. This act was indeed overly presumptuous. Moreover, the Jingnan Army has still not withdrawn its forces from Nanwang City, and Lord Jingnan himself has taken up residence there. That is why there are rumors that Lord Jingnan feared Hui Wenzu, who was dispatched from the northern territories by the imperial court to serve as Chief General in Nanwang City, was meant to restrict and counterbalance him. Therefore, he decided to go all out and have him ambushed and killed at the Yin City Posthouse."
"But that’s not right. The assassins shouted that they were here to kill me."
"Hui Wenzu did indeed report it truthfully. However, judging by the reactions from all sides, it’s believed that Hui Wenzu and the imperial court deliberately said this to save face for Lord Jingnan. The fear is that at this critical moment, with the court already at odds with the Earl of North Border’s household, they can’t afford to also have a complete break with Lord Jingnan. Therefore, even though Hui Wenzu’s memorial and reports from other channels stated that the assassins’ target was you, my lord, all the influential parties and the feedback received indicate a direct assumption that the intended target was still Hui Wenzu."
"Oh, I see. So in other words, I’m just not important enough, right?"
You lack status; you don’t even deserve to be the target of an assassination.
A mere commander of a small fortress, does he even qualify for such a grand, publicized assassination attempt?
"However, I’ve interacted with Lord Jingnan twice. How should I put this? I don’t really think he’s the type of person who would resort to assassination. If he wanted to deal with Hui Wenzu, he probably wouldn’t use such methods."
Zheng Fan had witnessed Lord Jingnan’s arrogance and domineering nature. For someone like him, if he wanted to kill Hui Wenzu, the scenario Zheng Fan pictured in his mind was Lord Jingnan ordering Hui Wenzu to be shot dead directly beneath the city gate tower upon his arrival at Nanwang City, and then having his flesh cut off to be made into cured meat.
"That puppeteer from the Jin State’s Celestial Armament Cabinet involved in this assassination was a disciple of the Grand Minister of the Celestial Armament Cabinet of Jin State. He had limitless prospects, yet he participated in this assassination and died in Yan State. Then, on the very day of the assassination, it was the seventieth birthday of the Tian Family Patriarch. The Jin State envoy also went to offer congratulations. On the congratulatory memorial presented, the Patriarch’s son, Tian Wujing, was addressed as ’Prince Jingnan of Yan State’ instead of ’Lord Jingnan’."
"Prince Jingnan?" Zheng Fan chuckled. "That’s too deliberate."
According to Great Yan’s rules, only imperial princes can be enfeoffed as kings. Even someone as powerful as the Earl of North Border is still a Lord, and the title of Marquis is already the pinnacle for non-imperial nobles in Great Yan.
"The explanation given by the Jin State envoy was that the congratulatory memorial was written incorrectly, and the person responsible for writing it had already been punished."
"Heh."
"Also, the first batch of assassins who stormed the Grade A Courtyard of the posthouse were government soldiers—soldiers from the Jingnan Army’s rear camp."
"Rear camp?"
"That’s right, my lord. The Jingnan Army has an official strength of fifty thousand men. However, fifty thousand men alone are somewhat insufficient to garrison the southern border of Yan State. Therefore, the Jingnan Army has its own rear camp. These soldiers are usually dispersed for training or to serve as county militia. In reality, they are the Jingnan Army’s reserves. Once hostilities begin, these men can be immediately mobilized and integrated into the Jingnan Army."
"Still, it seems too deliberate."
"After Hui Wenzu left the posthouse, he first went to the north gate of Yin City to request entry. However, the captain guarding the north gate of Yin City refused to open it and wouldn’t let Hui Wenzu enter the city. Hui Wenzu had no choice but to turn to the county garrison and summon the county militia. That captain of Yin City’s north gate had once been one of Lord Jingnan’s personal guards before being reassigned two years ago. This captain committed suicide the very next day, leaving no last words."
"TSK..."
"My lord, yesterday, Grand Commandant Yang, the Triple-Province Commander of Qian State, sent an official dispatch. He expressed his hope to meet with Lord Jingnan once to resolve the current friction on the Yan-Qian border. He also hopes that Yinlang County, under Lord Jingnan’s governance, can maintain its original harmonious relationship with Qian State, just as before."
Zheng Fan drained the tea from his cup and said, "With all this, even fabricated matters are now hardly distinguishable from the truth."
"Yes, my lord. Regardless of whether it’s a covert plot or an overt one, the objective has been achieved. With Jin State’s help, Qian State’s acknowledgment, and the Jingnan Army’s support, all that’s missing now is a dragon robe."
Zheng Fan nodded.
This is no longer a question of whether the Yan Emperor, Ji Runhao, still possesses great talent and bold vision and can tolerate capable individuals. Because matters have reached this stage, it’s infinitely close to the scenario of the ’yellow robe being draped upon him’. For an emperor, the rise and fall of the realm is a game where losing means the annihilation of his entire family. Throughout history, there are almost no imperial families that have met a peaceful end. Even if an emperor abdicates, and though he might appear to be treated favorably on the surface, his direct imperial line is inevitably doomed to extinction. As for the ministerial families below, they actually have a chance to reshuffle the deck and start anew. At worst, they can just switch to a different card table and continue playing.
"I just don’t know how Lord Jingnan will choose to respond," said Zheng Fan.
Blind Bei nodded in agreement and added, "The Tian Family is already the foremost imperial affine family of the current era, and the Tian clan itself is one of the great and powerful lineages. If they were to ride this current wave of momentum, perhaps by exerting some effort while the imperial court and the Earl of North Border’s household are in a standoff—or even if they do nothing and say nothing at all—the Yan Emperor will inevitably have to swallow his pride and confer a king’s title upon them."
At that moment, Liang Cheng walked in from outside, holding a letter. "My lord, the results of the investigation in Chahe Village, Qian State, have arrived. Our spies in the merchant caravan delivered this back by express horse."
"You read it." Zheng Fan gestured towards Blind Bei.
Having Blind Bei read letters was a unique custom at Green Willow Fortress.
Liang Cheng handed the envelope to Blind Bei. Blind Bei took the letter but didn’t open it. He just squeezed it lightly, pondered for a moment, then turned to Zheng Fan and said, "My lord, this matter wasn’t difficult to investigate, as many people were involved."
"Go on."
"It was a Qian State Assistant Commander leading troops in pursuit of you, my lord. On the way, they went to Chahe Village to requisition supplies and clashed with the villagers. During the conflict, his soldiers killed someone."
"And then?"
"Then that Assistant Commander, deciding to see it through to the end, simply massacred the entire Chahe Village."
"So, is Mr. Chen really such an idiot? He saw an entire village wiped out and immediately assumed I was the one who slaughtered them? Didn’t he even think to investigate it himself?"
"After slaughtering and looting the village, that Assistant Commander inscribed a line of characters on the memorial arch at the village entrance: ’Zheng Fan, Commander of Great Yan’s Green Willow Fortress, was here!’"