Yingzhou Island

"Huh?" Hearing Li Junqing's teasing tone, Xu Yuan's mind short-circuited for an instant. Dongying invaded by blonds? What kind of Black Ships incident was this? Yet after that momentary freeze, Xu Yuan collected his thoughts. With Great Yan's current level of martial prowess, forget black ships—even if an aircraft carrier showed up, it would be dismantled and its crew sent to the fields to pick cotton. Exhaling softly, Xu Yuan murmured with great interest, "Blond barbarians? Crossing the vast ocean to invade Dongying... can the locals hold them off?" As the string music drifted lightly through the room, Li Junqing pondered for a moment before replying, "According to my maidservant, their cultivation system is somewhat different from Great Yan's. That said, the combat strength of their top practitioners isn't overwhelmingly formidable. It's just that on the battlefield, the qi released from those iron cylinders is rather troublesome to deal with, like a tortoise shell. Aside from that, their high-powered secret arts are probably the only things worth keeping an eye on. "As for Dongying... they're likely no match for those blond barbarians. In barely three months, they've already lost nearly a quarter of their territory." "……" Xu Yuan listened intently, deep in thought. This world was seemingly larger than he had imagined... Right then, Li Junqing suddenly gave a chuckle. "Are you worried about those barbarians, Young Master Xu?" Xu Yuan gathered his wits, shook his head, and smiled. "The Third Prince jests. A bunch of foreign barbarians hardly warrants concern. I was merely curious." Seeing the look in Xu Yuan's eyes, Li Junqing chuckled, leaned in closer, and whispered conspiratorially, "If you're interested in those blonds, once the war in the Northern Border wraps up and we return to the capital, you can visit the new brothel I'm preparing to open. I struck a few deals with a daimyo over in Dongying—he can send over a batch of captured blond lasses. Mine will be the only establishment in the Imperial Capital that has them." "……" Xu Yuan's eyes narrowed slightly, his interest piqued. "Your Highness is very thoughtful. I would certainly love to learn some foreign languages." Having said that, Xu Yuan suddenly asked, "Wait, didn't you just swindle that daimyo out of his silver? He's still willing to do business with you?" Li Junqing burst into laughter and patted Xu Yuan on the shoulder. "Things are a mess over in Dongying. There's far more than just one so-called daimyo. When this prince does business, I naturally seek out the biggest one." "……" Hearing this, Xu Yuan understood almost instantly what this scoundrel was up to. A veteran proxy puppet master. Saying no more, Xu Yuan slowly rose to his feet and patted Li Junqing on the shoulder in return. "Very well, I shall look forward to Your Highness's new brothel." Li Junqing offered a stiff, insincere smile. "Just as long as you don't take it upon yourself to demolish this brothel of mine too, Third Young Master." With that, the two paused for a second before exchanging a smile. "I shall take my leave then, Third Prince. Until tomorrow." "I won't see you out, then. See you at the North Gate tomorrow." Left sitting alone, Li Junqing watched sideways until Xu Yuan was entirely gone, then reclined lazily against the soft divan with a sigh. "Haah... Fortunately, Yuntian Palace was only open for regular business tonight without any courtesan poetry gathering. Otherwise, the loss would have been massive. He truly is a jinx." At these words, Eunuch Hou stepped forward and whispered, "Your Highness, did you inform Xu Changtian about Yingzhou Island to test him?" Li Junqing gave an indifferent shrug. "Hardly a test. It's an affair neither trivial nor monumental; the Chancellor's Manor surely knows already, and I wager they're preparing to step in as well." With that, Li Junqing retrieved a pristine cup, poured himself some of the fine wine Xu Yuan and his companion had left behind, crossed his legs, and took a sip. Glancing at the cup in mild surprise, he muttered, "Well, well. He actually splurged on this Qinghua Brew. A man of wealth indeed." "Your Highness, Xu Changtian did not pay." "……" Li Junqing went silent. Cursing under his breath, Li Junqing steered back to the point and said with a smile, "Eunuch Hou, I could certainly turn a blind eye to those blond monkeys and the Wokou tearing at each other's throats. But the fact that they crossed the ocean and still managed to send those Wokou into headlong retreat... that is something we must keep an eye on." Eunuch Hou was a shrewd man who knew exactly how to play along. "You mean..." Li Junqing rubbed the rim of his cup, a glint of cold sharpness flashing across his eyes before a smile returned to his face. "I suspect those barbarians might want to turn Yingzhou Island into a forward tributary state. As for what follows... heh. Once this trip is over, I plan to ask Imperial Father for some troops to go pay that place a visit." Eunuch Hou froze, astonishment coloring his gaze as his tone grew hurried. "Your Highness, you mean—" Li Junqing glanced at him and spoke as though it were the most natural thing in the world, "Imperial Father isn't Duke Xu. He doesn't give a damn whether this son of his lives or dies." "……" Eunuch Hou was struck speechless. Having served him for nearly two decades, he understood the Third Prince's intentions all too well. This master of his was planning to run away again... Once the Northern Border war concluded, the Imperial Capital would inevitably become the center of a hurricane; even the sect uprising might be triggered directly. When that time came, no matter how chaotic Yingzhou Island became, could it possibly compare to the chaos in Great Yan itself? If handled properly, he might even get to live as an overseas warlord king. *** "Invading Great Yan?" Inside the study of the Chancellor's Manor inner court—quaint, ancient, and elegant. Silence fell for a moment after the words were spoken. Upon returning to the Chancellor's Manor, Xu Yuan had intended to speak with his old man about the matter immediately. But his father was nowhere to be found; he only found Xu Changge handling official business. Xu Yuan looked at Xu Changge with a peculiar expression. Seated behind the study desk, looking down at the official documents in his hands, Xu Changge nodded impassively. "Yes. That is the Black Scale Guards' analysis." "……" Xu Yuan was speechless. Great. Here he had thought the Chancellor's Manor knew nothing about it, only to find they had already reached their conclusion. Pausing for a breath, Xu Yuan asked, "For something so important, Father doesn't have any thoughts on it?" An amused glint appeared in Xu Changge's eyes. "Is this important?" "Is it not? A mighty empire is preparing to—" "Changtian." Xu Changge interrupted him, sounding rather helpless. "You haven't taken charge of family affairs yet, so there is much you don't know. Across Great Yan's fourteen provinces, without the court lifting a finger, the sects of a single province could unite and wipe those Wokou off the face of the earth. "Meanwhile, those blond barbarians have been on the island for three months, continuously raising their stakes. Though the Wokou are falling back, to this day they have merely lost a quarter of their land, and they've now reached a stalemate along the Minghu River on Yingzhou Island." "……" Xu Yuan pondered for a moment, then suddenly asked, "Don't we need to intervene?" Xu Changge offered a faint smile. "We are already doing so. The Tian'an Chamber of Commerce has made contact with a Wokou chieftain, preparing to trade munitions for special minerals and silver from Yingzhou Island." Xu Yuan fell silent, letting out a long exhale. "My opinion is that it's best to have those Dongying people cause more trouble for the blond barbarians and let them tear each other apart. The Black Scale Guards should also set up a new intelligence network there as soon as possible, ideally extending all the way to the blond barbarians' homeland..." Xu Changge waved his hand dismissively. "Enough. These matters are not for you to worry about. Hurry back and rest; tomorrow you set off for the Northern Border." Pausing for a moment, Xu Changge set down the documents in his hand and said softly, "Changtian, you have never seen a real battlefield. Once you get there, be sure to stay close to Wuyuan."