Chapter 151

At Xue Jin'an's friendly and sincere request, the Third Prince and Minister Zuo wisely kept their mouths shut. Neither of them dared to gamble on whether the crossbow would actually pierce their hearts. After all, this was the Seventh Prince, and the chances of surviving under his command were slim, so they had to cherish what they had.

Seeing that the two were behaving themselves, Xue Jin'an didn't make things difficult for them. He put away the weapon and continued with his plan. He looked around the architectural model in the courtyard and selected the rooms corresponding to four maps: the desert map, the rainforest map, the Western Regions map, and the capital city map.

These four topographical maps, when placed together, essentially illustrate Xue Jin'an's ideas about the future foreign wars of the Great Qi Dynasty:

The desert map was undoubtedly aimed at the Rong and Di tribes, and even the Left Minister, who didn't care much about military affairs, could see it.

The rainforest map is related to Southern Xinjiang. Geographically speaking, Southern Xinjiang was not particularly suitable for raising Gu worms. However, the Divine Cult was willing to invest heavily, extensively modifying and imitating the ecological environment of places with many insects, such as Dianzhou, within its territory. It is unknown how they did it, but they actually created a miasma rainforest, forming a natural protective belt around Southern Xinjiang. This is the main reason why, even though the missionary work in Southern Xinjiang spread to the Great Empire, the Great Empire never launched a military campaign against Southern Xinjiang.

The Western Regions map is the largest and most complex of the four maps, including some desert areas and oasis (rainforest) areas. The vast territory of the Western Regions itself leads to great differences in climate within it. In addition, it is a place with many ethnic groups and many countries. At its peak, this area was divided into as many as thirty-six countries, which shows how complex the internal power structure was... All these factors make this one-to-one replica of the Western Regions map unpredictable and mysterious.

As for the final map of the capital, those who didn't understand it would only assume that Xue Jin'an wanted to wage street warfare—after all, the capital is a bustling city, with main streets divided into four directions: east, west, south, and north, and countless branch alleys. This is even after excluding some privately opened side streets. If you include these side streets, even a seasoned resident of the capital who has lived there for over ten years might not be able to navigate them all. Two years ago, Xue Jin'an recorded the map data of the capital during a festival celebration and had already discovered this point—but those who understood the intricacies didn't dare to speculate on Xue Jin'an's intentions.

As the capital of the Great Qi Dynasty, the capital city of Beijing had a very advantageous geographical location. It was protected by the Northwest Army and the Southwest Army on the outside, and the Imperial Guard was stationed inside. There were also spies from the Imperial Guard roaming around in the shadows. With these layers of defense, there were only two possible scenarios in which the capital city would be dragged into war.

First, the Northwest Army's front collapsed completely, leaving the border defenses wide open with no one available. The Rong and Di tribes marched from Yanzhou straight into the capital and stationed their troops there. Second, chaos erupted within the capital, with some people rising up in rebellion and forcing the emperor to abdicate.

The former possibility was extremely slim after the previous defeat of the Rongdi, while the latter... Since ancient times, countless princes/kings have rebelled, so it is only normal for one or two to do so in Daqi.

However, it's best to keep these thoughts to yourself; no one dares to ask the Seventh Prince what he's thinking. Even those who understand must pretend not to, in order to protect their lives amidst the power struggles.

Zuo Mengchang was sometimes stubborn, but that didn't mean he wasn't smart. On the contrary, the fact that he could befriend Feng Yinshou, who was as cunning as a sieve, proved that he was quite intelligent.

Zuo Mengchang couldn't help but feel some regret.

If it were just Zuo Mengchang, he would be willing to risk his life for the Seventh Prince's talent in craftsmanship, without the slightest hesitation. Unfortunately, Zuo Mengchang also had family and relatives, as well as the entire Ministry of Works.

Zuo Mengchang could marry the Third Prince. No matter how much trouble the Third Prince caused, as long as all the royal relatives were still alive, he would basically have no chance of rising to prominence. This was a relatively safe option for the entire family. The Seventh Prince's ambition was already out in the open. If he succeeded, it would certainly be a very profitable deal, but if he failed, even an entire family genealogy wouldn't be enough to fill the void.

Zuo Mengchang was not Feng Yin Shou after all.

The reason why Feng Yinshou and the eldest prince had such a falling out was not because he was forced to participate in the struggle for the throne, but because he was forced to board a ship with an uncertain future. The side he chose did not meet his expectations. If he did not want to participate in the first place, his son would not have become the prince's study companion. As for Zuo Mengchang, he really did not want to participate. He devoted himself to the management of the Ministry of Works and only wanted to quietly build up the Great Qi and make some money and benefits for the Ministry of Works. His greatest pursuit was nothing more than hoping to be like the Minister of Personnel and the Left Censor-in-Chief and retire in the final stage of his career.

Thinking of this, Zuo Mengchang looked at Xue Jin'an with a disappointed and accusatory gaze, as if to say: "Seventh Prince, you have such a high talent in craftsmanship, why don't you come to our Ministry of Works and make it shine? Why did you have to be so foolish as to cause trouble?!"

Xue Jin'an noticed his gaze but couldn't quite understand it, so he simply ignored it.

Before the training began, Xue Jin'an went to check out the room. It has to be said that Minister Zuo really took this project to heart. The room not only replicated the map one-to-one, but also simulated many details such as vegetation, flowers, grass, terrain, and even traps and mechanisms, all based on the ecology of the reference location on the map.

Minister Zuo proudly recounted how he had spent a great deal of gold and silver to perfectly replicate these terrain features.

Even the Third Prince couldn't help but marvel at this extravagance, and even wanted to try imitating the rooms at the Southwest Army's garrison. He praised sincerely, "No wonder Minister Feng's daily routine after court changed from beating Feng Shi to scolding you for being a spendthrift. You really are a spendthrift."

It wasn't that the Third Prince intentionally inquired about matters concerning Feng Yin's residence; it was simply that his internal strength was high and his hearing was excellent. He was so tired of listening to government affairs in court every day that he was constantly sleepy. Only these little gossips circulating in private could keep him awake. In fact, the Third Prince knew about this matter because of the First Prince.

These princes who had entered the court to listen to the government were also of age to leave the palace and establish their own residences. However, it took time to build their residences. It was normal for a prince's residence to take one or two years to build. Only the eldest prince had a longer time. His prince's residence started construction in the twenty-fifth year of Jiahe, and he officially moved in this February.

Whether it was unintentional or planned beforehand, the location of his princely residence was only a quarter of an hour's walk from Feng Yinshou's residence as Minister of Revenue. If Minister Feng did something in his residence, it would spread to the prince's residence in no time. Not to mention that there was Feng Shi in the Minister's residence who would call the prince "brother-in-law" so happily that anything could be exposed.

Minister Feng was shrewd for half his life, only to end up with a son who was dedicated to ruining his father. The fact that Feng Shi is still alive and well is thanks to him being Minister Feng's biological son. In any case, Minister Feng is now extremely wary of people even at home. Locking the study door isn't enough; he locks every cabinet and box in the house. Important account books are always hidden close to his body in his clothes, and he dares not let his guard down for even a moment.

The eldest prince was quite good at dealing with people. No matter how much Minister Feng disliked him, he always kept a smiling face, with gentleness and humility etched on his face. His manners and etiquette were impeccable. It was just a pity that Feng Shi was not only a troublemaker for his father, but also for his master. It was Feng Shi who went to tell the eldest prince about Minister Feng scolding Minister Zuo for being wasteful at home. This happened before the start of a morning court session, when the court officials were waiting for the palace gates to open.

Feng Shi was probably unlucky enough to escape a beating, so he couldn't help but gloat to the Crown Prince. Of course, he still knew to consider his father's face and spoke in a low voice, but there were not only civil officials but also military officials in court. Those with strong inner strength and sharp ears and eyes could hear his supposedly careful rant. The Crown Prince's sculpted smile could hardly be maintained.

Minister Feng, on the contrary, remained calm, standing there with his hands in his pockets, his gaze fixed on the palace gate, never turning his head once.

Others, out of respect for Minister Feng and the Second Prince, pretended not to hear and remained silent, but the Third Prince, without any restraint, laughed gleefully on the spot.

Although the Second Prince's constant meddling has almost completely sealed the grudge against him for being framed and crippled years ago, and if the Second Prince were to say even a single extra word to the Third Prince, the latter would likely launch a revenge attack. However, the Second Prince's descent into darkness doesn't mean the First Prince, who is hiding behind the scenes, has become innocent. The Third Prince isn't that forgetful either; he still remembers the scheming, and the First Prince was one of the masterminds behind it all.

The Third Prince had someone spread the word about this matter, but he concealed the kind of publicity that highlighted the First Prince, which really made things worse for the First Prince's already flawed reputation. The Second Prince took the opportunity to make his move and pushed the First Prince, who had been keeping a low profile for so long and was planning to re-emerge in the capital's elite circles to win people's hearts, back down.

We won't go into how frustrated the eldest prince was, but whatever made them unhappy, the third prince was happy.

Everyone thought the Third Prince's actions were surprisingly clever, a masterful use of a third party to achieve his goal. They speculated that he might have a powerful strategist behind him, and the rumors even convinced the Eighth Prince. He subtly inquired with Consort Xian several times about the Third Prince's advisor. Consort Xian, upon being questioned, also became suspicious and asked the Third Prince. However, the conversation involved the Eighth Prince, leading to another heated argument and a bitter parting. All questions were forgotten, and even if Consort Xian learned something, she couldn't remember it. Ultimately, the Eighth Prince's inquiries yielded no results.

Xue Jin'an learned about this from Fu Lu, who cautiously asked him, "Master, who do you think is guiding the Third Prince? I haven't heard a single word about it. It's truly mysterious."

Only Xue Jin'an saw through the surface and realized that the Third Prince had no one backing him. He didn't think much about it when he sent people out to spread the news.

"It can be considered an accidental revenge," Xue Jin'an commented.

Left Minister Zuo was speechless at the Third Prince's words. He chuckled and gritted his teeth, saying, "Your Highness really knows how to flatter. It's making my head spin." — He was purely angry.

"That's all you've got to offer," the Third Prince said, giving a thumbs-up in approval.

"..." I forgot this guy is brainless and doesn't understand sarcastic remarks at all. Minister Zuo turned his head with a blank face, flashing a smile at Xue Jin'an, "What does Your Highness think?"

"That's good. The money was spent where it was needed, it was well worth it." Xue Jin'an gave the first compliment since arriving here.

Minister Zuo was finally pleased. He smiled as brightly as a chrysanthemum at the Seventh Prince, while taking a moment to glare at the Third Prince: "You should learn the art of speaking from His Highness the Seventh Prince!"

Those who were nearly choked to death by the Seventh Prince probably never imagined that the Seventh Prince would one day become a representative of high emotional intelligence in his speech.

Xue Jin'an ignored Zuo Mengchang's little tricks and suggested, "We can add a topographical map of the Russian Empire."

Although he has reached a verbal agreement with Irina on peace between the two countries, the probability of Irina successfully becoming empress is not 100%, so appropriate precautions must be taken against the Great Empire.

Zuo Mengchang looked troubled.

Xue Jin'an thought it was a problem of the difficulty of copying. He flipped through his memory and immediately said a few book titles, "These are all books about great empires. The terrain, customs and local conditions are relatively realistic and can be used as reference materials."

Minister Zuo was quite embarrassed upon hearing this, his face flushed slightly, and he coughed before speaking, "Ahem, to be honest, Your Highness, our reference material actually comes from... the Ten Perfections Prince..."

His voice grew softer and softer until only his lips were moving, and his head was almost touching his chest.

Xue Jin'an didn't see his lip movements, but he quickly guessed what he was going to say. The Third Prince, however, couldn't understand what he was saying after listening for a while. He couldn't help but say, "Are you a mosquito? What are you buzzing about? Speak louder!"

Minister Zuo mumbled it again, his voice indistinct.

"What about Young Master Shi Quan?" the Third Prince said impatiently. "Is your mouth full of mush? You can't even explain yourself clearly in one sentence. Aren't you annoying?"

Upon hearing a gasp from Minister Zuo, Xue Jin'an swiftly opened the main page, navigated to the control center, and activated the Do Not Disturb mode.

Almost the instant he activated Do Not Disturb, he saw Minister Zuo raise his head, grab the Third Prince's ear, and begin to roar from the depths of his lungs. Even with the mute function activated, Xue Jin'an couldn't hear the sound, but he could tell from their expressions just how loud Minister Zuo was.

Minister Zuo shouted at the top of his lungs, "The questions from the 'Perfect Prince'! I'm going to the Ministry of Rites to get all those geography and landscape questions from the last imperial examination as reference material!"

"Did you hear me clearly?!" Minister Zuo sneered as he pulled away from the Third Prince's ear.

The third prince covered his ears, feeling like he was going deaf. His head was buzzing, and he couldn't come to his senses for a long time.

As expected, it was that one. Xue Jin'an read the lips smoothly and was not surprised by the Left Minister's answer. He turned off Do Not Disturb and the sound came back to his ears. The first thing he heard was the faint footsteps behind him.

Zuo Shangshu's roar was heard by everyone in the venue. Cui Zui, who was getting acquainted with his temporary subordinates whom he was about to command, came over upon hearing the noise. His first reaction was to give Zuo Shangshu an approving gesture, "My master—the Ten-Complete Young Master—is a literary star descended to earth, unmatched by anyone."

"You have good taste." Cui Zui's eyes seemed to say, "As long as you praise my master, we're brothers."

"Great minds think alike!" Zuo Mengchang's eyes lit up, and he quickly walked over to pat Cui Zui on the shoulder.

The two self-proclaimed "perfect gentleman" friends met and looked at each other with obvious regret for not having met sooner.

Just as the two were about to start bragging, it was the Perfect Young Master himself who steered the conversation back on track, saying, "The two hundred people will be divided into four groups to compete simultaneously..."

"What? Simultaneously?" Cui Zui was startled by the news. He hadn't felt any difficulty when he was commanding two hundred people, but he never expected that these two hundred people would be divided into four battlefields and carried out simultaneously. He only has two eyes, and he probably couldn't keep up with them all!

Cui Zui shook his head so hard it was practically a rattle drum. "No, no, no, that won't do. This level of strength right from the start? The opponent is Helian Cheng. I can't handle it. How can you make a common soldier a marshal right from the start and have him fight against Bai Qi at the Battle of Changping? Whoever does that will end up like Zhao Kuo, infamous for all eternity!"

Although Cui Zui knew he had some talent in military affairs, he was also self-aware. He said helplessly, "Master, I am not you. I really can't do that. Please don't make things difficult for me."

Xue Jin'an remained unmoved.

“It’s precisely because the opponent is Helian Cheng that you need to go for it.” Xue Jin’an’s dark eyes were cold and deep as he looked straight into Cui Zui’s eyes with a calm and indifferent expression that seemed to have seen through everything. “Neither the young and famous war god Helian Cheng nor the unknown Cui Zui thinks you can win.”

"And what about you?" Cui Zui asked subconsciously.

Xue Jin'an was very honest: "Your chance of winning is 10%. Of that 10%, 80% is that the Northwest Army will lose due to arrogance and complacency. The other 15% is that Helian Cheng will be in poor condition and make mistakes in command. The remaining 5% is that you will defeat Helian Cheng with your true abilities."

Cui Zui: "..." In a daze, he felt that the arrow Xue Jin'an shot, which did not pierce the chests of the Third Prince and the Left Minister, pierced his heart.

Cui Zui was somewhat unconvinced, but had no way to refute it. After a long while, he could only mutter, "Master, don't boost others' morale and diminish my own. I'll cry, I'll just wail and cry."

“That’s true. Helian Cheng is experienced and his soldiers trust him completely. Just in terms of following orders, you can’t beat him.” As it turned out, Xue Jin’an’s words proved prophetic.

Although Cui Zui was determined to get his men to follow orders, once they got to the battlefield, those troublemakers initially behaved under their master's authority. But once they got into the heat of battle, they became headstrong and wouldn't listen to a word. Standing on the command platform overlooking everything, Cui Zui watched helplessly as his men ran into the traps set by the Northwest Army. He wished he could just draw his bow and shoot those disobedient men on the spot.

However, he couldn't do that. Not only could he not, but he also had to adjust his emotions and continue the chaotic competition.

Of course, that's a story for later. Right now, Xue Jin'an said to Cui Zui, "Everyone knows you can't beat Helian Cheng, so why not just ignore everything? No matter what methods you use, the result will be the same, won't it? At worst, you'll just lose."

Cui Zui seemed to have been enlightened, and a lot of insidious tactics popped into his mind in an instant. He couldn't wait to rub his hands together, and all his tension and resistance vanished.

"He's here." A system message popped up in Xue Jin'an's eyes: [You have received a gray message]

Helian Cheng: All two hundred men are present and ready for battle. [List of two hundred men.jpg]

“Go.” Xue Jin’an placed his hand on Cui Zui’s back and gently pushed him forward. “Go and show the world your meteoric rise.”

"Yes, disciple will not tarnish your reputation, Master." Cui Zui left with a resolute expression.

Xue Jin'an used ninety percent of his magic power to cover the four rooms, and his eyes were immediately divided into four screens. The number of people displayed on each screen was increasing rapidly. In addition, the silhouettes of Helian Cheng and Cui Zui gradually appeared. One was wearing old armor and his face was weathered, while the other was wearing new military uniform and was full of vigor. The two faced each other from afar, having an epic meeting across countless mountains and rivers.

Unbeknownst to the two, Xue Jin'an turned to the Third Prince and said, "When both sides have fewer than fifty players, Third Brother, you will lead a team composed of eliminated players as a third party to enter the battlefield and reap the final blows. Is there any problem with that?"

In most wars, both sides suffer heavy losses, while the bystander, the third or fourth party, is often the ultimate victor. The Third Prince will play the role of this "mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind" third party.

Xue Jin'an did not intend to let the victory of this battle fall entirely to the Northwest Army. It was a good opportunity for him to test whether Helian Cheng's sword had rusted after being left unused for so long. After all, if nothing unexpected happened, the Northwest Army would not be able to continue doing nothing for more than half a year. It was time to sharpen its claws and teeth and give the enemy some intimidation from the Eastern Dragon.