Chapter 1 The Wedding

The wedding of the First Prince took place.

No lanterns hung on the long street,

No welcoming procession formed by sons of princes and nobles,

No eager crowds of Yan capital's citizens thronging to watch.

Everything was simplified,

Everything was quiet.

The Yan Kingdom's court sent a national letter to the desert barbarian royal court, containing two messages.

One message was in the official language, nothing more than platitudes about good neighborliness and both peoples desiring peace;

The other message was written in the Yan Emperor's own hand.

A truly powerful emperor, possessing supreme authority, his handwritten letter held far more weight than any so-called official language.

He could sit regally on the high platform of the Son of Heaven,

Or he could sit beside you like a neighbor, chatting about everyday life.

This was his freedom, his power, and even more so, his confidence.

In the personal letter from the Yan Emperor,

The Yan Emperor first explained to the barbarian king the reason for the simplified wedding. One reason was that Ji Wujiang was a defeated general, still burdened with guilt, unable to make grand displays, so, he could only ask your daughter to suffer a little.

The other reason was that war between Yan and Chu might break out again. According to Yan's tradition, this was a time when marriages were forbidden, so it could only be held quietly.

However, at the bottom of the letter, the Yan Emperor personally promised the old barbarian king that as long as the two countries did not engage in war, he, Ji Runhao, could guarantee the barbarian princess a lifetime of peace.

Even if war broke out and Yan won, he could still guarantee her safety.

The content of the letter was that straightforward.

It is said that,

After receiving this letter,

The barbarian king cursed the Yan Emperor three times for being utterly shameless,

But that night, he drank alone until he was drunk, and when he passed out, he was still clutching a wolf-skin cloak that he had personally made for his youngest daughter when she was young.

A political marriage began in this way, and ended in this way.

For the next period of time, the centuries-old adversaries, one needed to focus on the strategic situation of the eastern countries;

The other needed to face pressure from western countries, while also completing its internal power transition.

A truce,

Was reached in a tacit understanding.

…

"Diplomatic relations between countries are not much different from doing business, it's all about getting what you need."

Ji Chengjue sat at the table, drinking tea and crossing his legs as he spoke.

Sitting in the seat of honor beside him was the First Prince, Ji Wujiang.

"Of course, if you can completely destroy the other party's business and take it over for yourself, that's even better, but if you can't afford to destroy it, you still have to focus on getting what you need.

With no war on the western front, our great Yan can put more energy into the east.

Qian and Chu are the real prize, the desert, what's the point of biting it, chewing sand?

Don't you think that makes sense, sister-in-law?"

The barbarian princess glared at Ji Chengjue and said angrily:

"You talk too much."

"Hahaha."

Clearly, the relationship between the uncle and sister-in-law was very good.

The Sixth Prince had a knack for getting along with people, even if what he said was a little prickly, it wouldn't make people feel disgusted, but rather would make them feel that he was very sincere.

Those in positions of power,

Except for that supreme being who can practice the kingly way,

The rest must add a bit of warm sincerity. As long as you're not wearing a dragon robe, you can't be without that flavor.

The First Prince was quite open-minded, and said directly:

"I don't mind. I'm a defeated general, everything is as it should be for me; it's just that I've wronged my sister-in-law."

"No, no, no, there's no question of being wronged or not, brother, just treat my sister-in-law well;

Since ancient times, there has rarely been happiness in marriages of convenience. Among these aristocratic marriages, how many are truly loving?

Treat my sister-in-law well. I'm not saying you have to live a life of perfect harmony, but at least there's peace in tranquility. Harmony and warmth, the life of an ordinary family, that's good too.

Don't you think that makes sense, sister-in-law?"

The barbarian princess smiled and said very frankly:

"My mother once told me that life is for oneself. Husband, I don't care about those things."

The First Prince nodded upon hearing this.

He really had a good relationship with this barbarian princess, so sometimes he might suddenly feel melancholy at night because this marriage had completely cut off his chances of seizing the throne;

But when he saw his wife's face in her sleep, his heart couldn't help but soften.

How can life really be perfect?

"Has the younger sister arrived?"

The barbarian princess asked Ji Chengjue.

Ji Chengjue replied:

"It should be soon. I came first, but my wife and her elder brother wanted to bring a pig over and have a pig-slaughtering feast, so they went to the market to pick one out first. Judging by the time, they should be here soon."

"Then I'll go and welcome them. The younger sister has a very good nature and I can talk to her. Sixth Brother, bring your younger sister over often in the future, so we sisters-in-law can have fun together to relieve our boredom."

Ji Chengjue immediately cupped his fist and said:

"I dare not disobey!"

With that, the barbarian princess got up and went to the front yard to prepare to welcome the He family's little lady and the He family's elder brother.

After she left,

The First Prince glanced at Ji Chengjue and said:

"What you said earlier about a simple life being the best, you were actually talking about yourself, weren't you?"

A dignified prince, marrying a butcher's daughter.

Ji Chengjue shook his head and said:

"I don't want to go through my mother's family's situation again."

The topic had reached a sensitive point.

The chaos caused by the maternal relatives had always been deeply hated by the emperors;

Because the power of the maternal relatives and the imperial family was actually symbiotic, an integral part of each other, with the maternal relatives dependent on imperial power.

When the maternal relatives became powerful, the imperial power would inevitably decline.

In the past, because the aristocratic families were numerous and the imperial power was compressed, the previous generations of the imperial family had no choice but to marry into the aristocratic families. The aristocratic families themselves were powerful, and with the status of maternal relatives, they naturally became even more inflated.

Therefore, after the current emperor took back power, eliminated the maternal relatives, and suppressed the aristocratic families, this was undoubtedly in accordance with the development and expansion of imperial power.

But within this, there were indeed drops of blood and tears. When the aristocratic families and maternal relatives were already intertwined, eliminating any of them would hurt oneself.

This was the case with the Min family,

And so it was with the Tian family.

"Ten thousand barbarian cavalry have already been sent over," said the First Prince.

In fact, before the wedding, a barbarian tribe had been sent over by the barbarian king.

This tribe had a population of nearly thirty thousand, with nearly ten thousand capable of wielding bows. Of course, the "nearly ten thousand" here included young boys and old men.

In a barbarian tribe, once they reached the age to ride horses, they were considered qualified warriors.

"Marquis Jingnan submitted a memorial early on, he wanted this barbarian tribe, and there was no room for discussion," said Ji Chengjue.

Originally, the idea of using barbarians to control barbarians had been well-received as soon as it was put forward.

Using barbarians to resist the wildlings, reducing the burden on Great Yan, was truly a good policy for governing the world.

In addition, Marquis Jingnan spoke out without hesitation,

It was a foregone conclusion that this barbarian tribe would be sent to the Jin Kingdom to supplement its defenses.

Currently, the Jingnan Army was not only responsible for the defense of the entire Three Jins region, preventing the Jin people from rebelling, but also had to guard against the snow plain wildlings, the Chu people, and the threat from the Nanmen Pass.

Their forces were truly stretched thin.

And who this tribe would be sent to after entering the Jin region, there was no need to guess at all.

According to reliable intelligence, it was Zheng Fan, the newly appointed General of Xuehai Pass, the Earl of Pingye, who had replaced Marquis Jingnan in ordering the massacre of the Chu army.

In fact,

There was one thing that Lord Zheng had been thinking too superficially about,

He only thought that by ordering on behalf of the Marquis, he was just building goodwill and trust within the Jingnan Army,

But in the imperial court,

The impact of this matter was actually greater.

The fact that Zheng Fan, the Earl of Pingye, was personally selected by Marquis Jingnan as his successor in the army was almost semi-public.

Moreover, many big shots knew who was helping to raise Marquis Jingnan's son.

The imperial court had not yet reached the point where the birds were gone and the good bows were stored away. It still faced a huge threat of war, and Marquis Jingnan's ability to lead troops on expeditions was unmatched in the world of Great Yan.

The Yan Kingdom's rulers would not do anything to destroy their own Great Wall.

At the same time, although Marquis Zhenbei had already handed over half of his military power, if you moved Marquis Nan, it would inevitably make the others feel that they were next; moving one would inevitably alarm the other.

The previously extremely stable triangular relationship, from another point of view, was a situation where moving one part would affect the whole.

Therefore, stabilizing Marquis Jingnan had always been a matter of urgency. Similarly, stabilizing Marquis Jingnan's successor was also crucial to maintaining the mountain stronghold tradition and stability of the Great Yan army.

With almost no obstacles, this barbarian tribe was transferred to the Jin region and handed over.

"Hehe, I originally told Zheng Fan that I would send him this dowry, but in the end, I didn't even have the right to say a word.

It should have been his all along."

The First Prince said this with some despondency.

This was originally a trump card that he was willing to take out, but who would have thought that this card had nothing to do with him at all.

"Ah."

Ji Chengjue also let out a long sigh and said:

"Brother, isn't the opportunity right in front of you? In less than two months, you'll be able to lead troops again. Last time, when you suppressed the aristocratic families, you killed them off too quickly. After the Zhenbei Army trampled over them once, they immediately went south and joined the battlefield.

As a result, the weeds grew too quickly. This time, our two brothers can tidy them up properly."

"Corrupt officials can never be completely eliminated," the First Prince said with emotion.

"I didn't say I wanted to eliminate them completely. If they can do things, then let them be a little corrupt. I still understand the principle that officials only seek wealth when they're thousands of miles away from home, but some people in some places are a little too greedy, eating their mouths full of oil while letting the rats run rampant in the national treasury. That won't do.

It's like a room, it's impossible to keep it clean all the time, let alone spotless, so you have to clean it diligently every now and then."

"Just do as you say. Anyway, your elder brother is half a cripple now. Just tell me directly what you need me to do."

"Brother, let's not rush, let's take our time."

"Oh, right, I heard your sister-in-law say that the Keyan tribe, which was sent over by the barbarian king this time, is very unruly."

The barbarian king sending a dowry was actually sending trouble.

He would naturally not send out his own direct tribes, the royal court had to strengthen its own strength instead of continuing to weaken it.

Therefore, the Keyan tribe, which had always disobeyed the royal court's control, became a "sacrifice."

The royal court was not convenient to openly conquer and kill the Keyan tribe, as this would make the other tribes on the desert feel that their lips were cold from the loss of their teeth, which would not be conducive to the royal court's continued rule and power transition.

Therefore, under the pretext of sending the Keyan tribe to Great Yan's beautiful lands, and in the form of a marriage alliance with a dowry, coupled with the threat of tens of thousands of royal court iron cavalry, forcing the Keyan tribe to accept this condition for migration, was the most secure way.

The habit of politicians is that every needle has its use.

"Don't worry about him. That Zheng guy isn't some softie. He can digest even the strongest-flavored food for you without leaving a trace."

Ji Chengjue was one hundred percent confident in Zheng Fan.

The First Prince then said:

"I heard that recently some people in the imperial court have accused you of bias in matters of money and grain, using public office for private gain, and using the resources of the court to cultivate your own confidants."

"Oh ho, this wind is really blowing hard, it's even blowing into your ears, brother."

"There's no smoke without fire, and besides, you told me last time that you really did it."

"Yes, yes, yes, I really did it, but so what? If you don't give your own people more benefits when you're in power, who will be willing to work for you and serve you?

Even these ministers who are criticizing and impeaching me now will still stand on my side when they need to choose sides in the future, at least they will know that by following me, there's meat to eat."

"Hehe, you're not even concealing it in front of your brother anymore?"

"It would be too distant to conceal it any further, and besides, it's exhausting to conceal things all the time."

The First Prince hesitated for a moment,

And then said:

"This impeachment against you was probably not done by the Second Brother."

"Of course it wasn't done by the Second Brother. The alliance that he worked so hard to create was treated like toilet paper, how could he be stupid enough to jump out and do this at this time?

I, now, have to work hard, so that when the money and grain are escorted into the capital in the autumn, I can give our imperial father a satisfactory answer;

He, since doing more leads to more mistakes, it's better to do less, or even do nothing. My Second Brother, your Second Brother, is good in every way, but he's just too steady.

Too steady, and therefore boring."

"How can you say that about your own brother?"

"Isn't it true?

Oh, right, Brother, there's one more thing I need to discuss with you in detail."

"What is it?"

Ji Chengjue took out a letter from his chest and placed it on the table, saying:

"This letter is a secret message from Xu Wenzu, the General of Nanwang City."

Upon hearing this, the First Prince's eyes involuntarily narrowed, and he said:

"As a prince…"

Ji Chengjue answered first:

"As a prince, if I don't collude with the military, am I waiting to die?"

The First Prince was choked for a moment, but he immediately said: "If I remember correctly, Xu Wenzu is from Beifeng County. Although he was at odds with the Marquis of Zhenbei's mansion when he was an official in the imperial court in his early years, judging from his actions in blocking the Qian Kingdom's border army from attacking Nanwang City during the war two years ago, he is by no means incompetent, so…"

Most capable people disdain being opportunistic followers of the wind.

"I don't care whose man he was before, now that Marquis Zhenbei has handed over his military power, Xu Wenzu is the court's man.

The court's man is equal to someone we can dig out ourselves. To tell you the truth, my contact with Xu Wenzu also went through Zheng Fan, Zheng Fan and Xu Wenzu have a good personal relationship."

"Sixth Brother, you're playing with fire."

"Then who put me on the fire?"

Ji Chengjue reached out and tapped the envelope, saying to the First Prince:

"Do you want to see it?"

"I won't look. It's not that I'm afraid, but that I'm not suitable to see it."

"Look, look, you're becoming distant, you're becoming distant."

"Sixth Brother, I've realized that you've never been afraid of the Second Brother, have you?"

"Afraid of him? Why should I be afraid of him?"

Ji Chengjue stood up from his chair, stretched, and said:

"Because he's our imperial father's eldest son? Because he's the son-in-law of the Marquis of Zhenbei? Because he's the nephew of the Marquis of Jingnan?

Hehe, the Marquis of Zhenbei is a little better, but after all, the marriage hasn't been completed yet, has it?

As for our imperial father, our Marquis of Jingnan, which of them truly cares about their relatives?"

Ji Chengjue took a deep breath and slowly exhaled it:

"Brother, don't think I'm moving too fast or too arrogantly. My life and death never depend on whether I'm low-key or arrogant;

Whether I'm humble and low-key, or arrogant and domineering, it has nothing to do with whether I can keep my little life."

"Then what does it depend on?"

"Ooh…"

Ji Chengjue made a long sound,

And then laughed to himself,

Pointing to the outside,

He said:

"Brother, tell me, isn't it funny? My life depends on the faces of that official in Qian and that regent in Chu.

If they're useless and are directly swept away by our imperial father, then the best ending for me is to go to the Lake Heart Pavilion to write poetry with the Third Brother;

If they can hold on, then even if I bring a knife to the court tomorrow, our imperial father will have to grit his teeth and pretend he didn't see it.

Hiss…

It was precisely because I had figured it out long ago that I found it absurd;

Damn it,

Should I hope that those two are enlightened rulers or useless trash?"

————

Don't panic, there will be another chapter tonight, probably at two o'clock, everyone should still not stay up late.