“The princess thinks I intend to deceive, yet does not know that during the Marquis’s mission to Chu, there were two occasions when he sent envoys to meet secretly with Master Jing, both observed by Jinyun Tower’s spies…” Han Qian sat back down in the wooden pavilion, not minding informing the Marquis of Changxiang and Princess Qingyang that Jinyun Tower had spies planted in Shu territory.
Han Qian also knew that it wasn’t merely because the Marquis of Changxiang said “Master Han, please instruct me” that both sides could sit down and speak openly without reservation, nor was it just because of the Marquis of Changxiang’s “Master Han, please instruct me” that he would truly reveal all his cards without concealment and ask for his counsel.
On the contrary, both sides still needed to produce more substantive offerings before cooperation could truly advance in a meaningful way.
The Marquis of Changxiang Wang Yong’s expression shifted between cloudy and clear, then he quickly understood why Jing Qiongwen had been targeted.
Aside from Jing Qiongwen, he really couldn’t find another minister with sufficient standing to remonstrate with the King his father regarding Qingyang’s marriage.
Of course, Jing Qiongwen being targeted, along with Han Qian directly revealing that Liang Wanqin’s skills were taught by Jing Qiongwen, showed that Han Qian’s investigation and understanding of them had already gone deep enough.
Yet they had not been in contact with Han Qian for long—at most only five months.
In such a short time, Han Qian already understood them so thoroughly. If the Marquis of Qingjiang had not been deceived by the false appearance he had carefully maintained these years and had always sent people to secretly watch him, then how many secrets here had fallen under the Marquis of Qingjiang’s eyes?
Thinking of this, cold sweat began seeping down the Marquis of Changxiang Wang Yong’s back.
“Everyone says that once the marriage alliance succeeds, Great Chu will proceed with deposing the legitimate heir and establishing a new one, as if the throne of Great Chu is already in the Third Prince’s pocket,” Han Qian broke off a willow branch and used it to tease the plump koi in the fish pond before the pavilion, saying with a smile, “But surely I need not explain in detail—the Marquis also knows that nothing in this world comes so easily…”
The Marquis of Changxiang Wang Yong, having had his background exposed by Han Qian, had no choice but to respectfully address him as “Master Han” and persuade Han Qian to stay, but his heart had not surrendered so easily. He narrowed his eyes, forcibly calming his turbulent emotions, looked at Han Qian, and asked with a forced smile:
“His Majesty dominates the Jianghuai region, his civil and military accomplishments both command universal respect—what petty schemer would dare harbor different thoughts?”
“If things were truly as easy as the Marquis says, Master Shen would not have died from poison.” Han Qian said with a derisive laugh.
The Marquis of Changxiang Wang Yong’s eyes suddenly narrowed.
When Shen He arrived in Tanzhou bearing the imperial edict at the end of August, the sickly appearance he presented was clearly that of poisoning, yet the physicians in Han Qian’s household and the medical officials of Tanzhou insisted on treating Shen He as if he had contracted miasmic plague. After Shen He returned to Jinling, he died from the disease within less than a month.
The entire affair did not stir up much turmoil in Jinling—after all, birth, aging, sickness, and death were great tribulations no one could escape—but the Marquis of Changxiang Wang Yong knew the whole matter was not so simple.
It was just that his sources of information in Jinling and Tanzhou were limited, and he could not yet penetrate the layers of mystery to see the truth.
Now that Han Qian personally admitted he was certain Shen He had died from poison, he was actually admitting that having Shen He treated as miasmic plague during his time in Tanzhou was Han Qian deliberately concealing the truth of the matter.
“When in Tanzhou, why did Lord Han insist on saying Master Shen had contracted miasmic plague?” Princess Qingyang couldn’t help but ask.
The Marquis of Changxiang’s consort Liang Wan looked over with equal shock, wanting to know the answer.
Han Qian glanced at Princess Qingyang and said: “The princess can figure it out!”
Princess Qingyang felt like lifting her foot and kicking Han Qian in the face. This was a puzzle they had never been able to solve, and now Han Qian said this—wasn’t he mocking their stupidity?
“Presumably Lord Han and the Third Prince had already secretly memorialized His Majesty about Junior Supervisor Shen’s poisoning?” The Marquis of Changxiang Wang Yong narrowed his eyes and asked Han Qian.
“The Marquis should have long had such speculation, yet you cannot discern any trace that His Majesty knows of this matter, so your heart remains deeply perplexed, correct?” Han Qian smiled slightly, lifting the willow branch wet with pond water, then asked again, “Since the Marquis has contacts with old associates of the Divine Mausoleum Bureau in Jinling, did they not provide some useful intelligence to enlighten the Marquis?”
“Hmph!” Hearing Han Qian say this, Princess Qingyang couldn’t help but let out a light snort, her dissatisfaction overflowing.
Han Qian smiled inwardly. When great disaster strikes, each flies separately—the Divine Mausoleum Bureau had long since fallen apart. How many people in this world would remember old associations?
“Please, Master Han, instruct me.” The Marquis of Changxiang Wang Yong had no choice but to offer up these five-character incantation again, bowing in respect.
“The campaign to reduce the feudatories went too smoothly. Anning Palace has already realized that deposing the legitimate heir and establishing a new one is unavoidable. Having Shen He die of illness and allowing Chen Xingmo to succeed as Junior Supervisor of the Palace Attendants Bureau is merely to facilitate their great undertaking,” Han Qian said. “If we had memorialized too early that Junior Supervisor Shen’s death from poison was Anning Palace’s scheme, and if His Majesty could not contain his impatience and wanted to eliminate the traitors before year’s end, he could only deploy Chu Province troops to cross the river southward. In that case, wouldn’t all our painstaking efforts have made wedding clothes for Prince Xin!”
“You treated Shen He as miasmic plague with the actual purpose of concealing the truth from Emperor Tianyou?” Princess Qingyang asked, unable to suppress her inner shock. “Aren’t you afraid that when Emperor Tianyou learns of this, he will punish you for deceiving the sovereign and have your head chopped off?”
Emperor Tianyou rose in the Jianghuai region, spent half his life in military campaigns, his prestige formidable—who could imagine that among his subjects there would be one who dared deceive him so?
One must know that for Yang Yuanpu to smoothly inherit the throne, this matter would ultimately be difficult to conceal. In the end, Han Qian could not escape the crime of deceiving the sovereign!
Unless Han Qian had never considered Yang Yuanpu smoothly inheriting the throne?
Thinking of this, Princess Qingyang stared at Han Qian in shock and asked: “On your mission to Shu, besides welcoming the bride, what other purpose do you have?”
Han Qian looked at Princess Qingyang with some surprise, not expecting that Princess Qingyang, who usually seemed quite temperamental, would think of the key point before the Marquis of Changxiang.
“We must prepare for the worst-case scenario, and the worst situation would be turmoil breaking out in Jinling,” Han Qian said calmly. “Should this situation occur, His Highness must beforehand have the ability and preparation to command troops back to the capital to suppress the rebellion! This preparation, besides the one hundred thousand elite troops in Tanzhou completing initial organization and training, besides securing the support of generals like Du Chongtao and Zhang Xiang, to a certain extent also requires obtaining Shu’s support. Clearly from the current situation, Princess Qingyang marrying into Great Chu cannot guarantee that Shu will definitely support the Third Prince!”
Princess Qingyang’s beautiful face flushed red. Han Qian’s words undoubtedly meant that she, as the beloved daughter of the Lord of Shu, was so insignificant in the relationship between Chu and Shu.
Han Qian did not look at Princess Qingyang’s reaction, but instead said to the Marquis of Changxiang Wang Yong: “The Marquis should now understand that when I said I wanted to cooperate with the Marquis of Qingjiang, it was absolutely not to frighten the Marquis.”
The Marquis of Changxiang Wang Yong sat there in shock, not having imagined that Han Qian’s fundamental purpose in his mission to Shu was actually this.
“Now it is time for the Marquis to show sincerity.” Han Qian gently stirred the pond water with the willow branch, not forgetting to remind the Marquis of Changxiang Wang Yong that he had just said so much not because he had nothing better to do and wanted to tell them stories.
Before the realm and state built upon countless corpses and blood and flesh, the weight of a single woman was truly too light.
As long as they could obtain Shu’s support, it was not Han Qian, but rather the Third Prince Yang Yuanpu who could abandon or sacrifice Qingyang at any time—and this outcome would be devastating for the Marquis of Changxiang’s household.
The Marquis of Changxiang Wang Yong gave a bitter laugh and said: “This marquis does not have someone of Master Han’s caliber to assist him. These years I have only had Master Jing’s secret support. Whatever I want to accomplish, every step is difficult!”
Han Qian had laid out such critical and important matters from their side openly, and the Marquis of Changxiang Wang Yong knew in his heart he should show something in return, otherwise he could not blame Han Qian for leaving with his sleeves flung back.
However, compared to Yang Yuanpu who, besides the prestige accumulated from controlling Jing-Xiang and the campaign to reduce the feudatories, also commanded the Left and Right Vermillion Bird Armies, controlled military preparations in the eight provinces of Hunan, and had the support of Han Daoxun and his son Han Qian, the Marquis of Xinchang’s household, the Zheng clan, Shen Yang, and a large group of civil and military officials, when the Marquis of Changxiang Wang Yong thought about the personnel available to him, it was truly bleak.
“Please, Marquis, do not belittle yourself. The situations in Shu and Chu are different, and the response strategies are also different.” Han Qian said.
“Please, Master Han, instruct me.” The Marquis of Changxiang Wang Yong said.
“I must also ask Princess Qingyang not to forget Han Qian’s scheming efforts today.” Han Qian bowed to Princess Qingyang.
Qingyang still felt somewhat displeased in her heart, but also understood the meaning of Han Qian’s bow.
The first level represented the alliance between the Third Prince Yang Yuanpu and her elder brother at the level of the two nations of Chu and Shu, while also representing the alliance between her and Han Qian among Yang Yuanpu’s people.
It was just that having her bow her head and acknowledge inferiority at this moment made her somewhat unwilling and reluctant.
At this moment, the Marquis of Changxiang’s consort Liang Wan inadvertently tugged at Qingyang’s sleeve, and only then did Qingyang curtsy and say: “Please, Master Han, instruct me.”
Han Qian smiled slightly, then explained in detail the fundamental differences between the political systems of Chu and Shu.
In the early period when Emperor Tianyou rose in the Jianghuai region, he accommodated the forces of the Guangling Military Commissioner’s Office to suppress the various powers of Jianghuai, but this also resulted in the Xu clan’s power as imperial in-laws becoming too strong. He had no choice but to have Prince Xin seize the troops of the Prince of Eastern Zhe, Li Yu, and garrison Chu Province to counterbalance them.
The Lord of Shu Wang Jian dominated the Sichuan-Shu region alone. Although during his rise he also incorporated remnants of various forces, and these remnant forces formed different factions within Shu, not one faction could be as strong as the Xu clan in Chu.
This allowed the Lord of Shu Wang Jian to control Shu’s military and political power better than Emperor Tianyou.
The Marquis of Qingjiang, as heir apparent, currently directly commanded only six to seven thousand household guards. The Marquis of Wei, who had campaigned in military expeditions these past years, had only three thousand cavalry in his so-called Black Cloud Cavalry. Even if the Marquis of Qingjiang and the Marquis of Wei were united as one, together they directly commanded only ten thousand troops.
Furthermore, although the imperial in-laws, the Zhao clan, held high positions and great power, they controlled politics but not military authority.
In reality, changes in Shu’s political situation largely depended on the changing attitudes of the founding princess Wang Jian. And Wang Jian, who had spent a lifetime in military service, enjoyed prestige in Shu no less than Emperor Tianyou enjoyed in Chu.
In the end, Han Qian said: “The Marquis’s scheme is not to scheme against the Marquis of Qingjiang, but to scheme against the Lord of Shu…”