Feng Yu Jiu Tian - Volume 11 - Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Rong Tian nodded in favor, “If that’s the case, I will personally write a secret order, allowing Zi Yan to sneak into Zhao Bei and secretly deploy the troops.”

“No, Your Majesty must make the trip personally.” Lie Zhong Liu said with a serious look, “Your Majesty should not underestimate this matter. Our troops are scarce right now and these ten thousands soldiers are not a small number, we cannot be negligent about it. Without these elite troops, it would be difficult for us to take immediate control of the situation in Dong Fan. If we cannot control the situation in Dong Fan then Your Majesty cannot establish factories to create weapons and cannot recruit soldiers or other possible priorities at hand.”

Feng Ming did not expect Lie Zhong Liu to think far ahead and was surprised he even thought about building weapon factories and recruiting soldiers.

LZL: Your Majesty, please think about it. Dong Fan just met with smallpox so their soldiers will be sick if not dead. Its military strength is greatly reduced. If in the future, Your Majesty wishes to

unify the world, you would need a strong army. In order to restructure a powerful army, outside troops and veteran generals will be essential to the training. Once Your Majesty deploys these ten thousand elite troops to Dong Fan, within half a year later, you will have three times as many troops.

Everyone nodded in awe and complete admiration regarding Lie Zhong Liu’s words.

LZL: Therefore, we must be careful at this time. What I’m most afraid of is their journey to Dong Fan;the ten thousand troops will need to pass through many different nations. If their movement is exposed, wouldn’t the other kingdoms swallow our troops up like they’re eating dumplings? That’s why Your Majesty need to personally lead them and sneak them into Dong Fan. Take advantage of the time and make decisions according to the situation, you must not leave the responsibility to another person to avoid any future problems.

RT: What Prime Minister said is very right, I shouldn’t be careless. After this meeting ends, I will immediately head to Zhao Bei and bring these troops safely to Dong Fan. Zi Yan will bring 300 soldiers under my command and sneak into Zhao Bei.

ZY: Understood.

LZL: Good! After today’s meeting, other than Qian Lin and the guards stationed in Yue Zhong, everyone else will need to prepare for the journey tomorrow. I will leave a little later since I’ll be waiting for Empress Dowager to arrive here. Afterwards, we’ll be heading to Dong Fan and meeting up with His Majesty at the capital.

LE: If Prime Minister didn’t mention it, I would have forgotten that Empress Dowager is on her way here.

“That’s why he is the Prime Minister; everything is taken into account under his watch.”

CY: Is Lady Lie also coming along with Prime Minister, returning to Dong Fan?

After being called out by Chiu Yue, Wei Chiu Niang turned around and glanced at Lie Zhong Liu.

How would Lie Zhong Liu dare to order his wife around? He lowered his head and started grinning, “My Lady, you can stay wherever you like to stay.”

WCN: You don’t need to pretend in front of me, didn’t you already guess that I won’t be leaving the city of Yue Zhong?

LZL: If you prefer to stay here in Yue Zhong then it’s not something bad. It’s just that when I’m at Dong Fan, I will be thinking of you every day.

WCN: I don’t need you to think of me.

Without a care, Wei Chiu Niang turned her head and faced Qian Lin, “You better guard my city of Yue Zhong well. If Yue Zhong meets with trouble, then you don’t need to wait for the enemies to invade, I will be the first person to stab you with my sword.” Her very serious tone did not have any hint of joking around.

Wei Chiu Niang’s warning gave Qian Lin a shock, he didn’t know whether to laugh or cry; thus, he didn’t know how to respond to her.

He saw Wei Chiu Niang turned her back and stared at Lie Zhong Liu, “Seems like you’re smart, you know how to choose someone who is clever. Well, I do know that you never had good intentions, always trying to steal a glimpse of the Wei family military guide.”

Even though Lie Zhong Liu was being lectured by his wife, he still put on a smile and even bowed down at her, “I hope My Lady will be merciful.”

Those who were listening to their conversation couldn’t understand a single word and were confused. Wei Chiu Niang again nodded her head and sighed, “This time I’ll let it go, but I have to give a punishment. Who would have known that Yue Zhong would fall into his hands? My ancestors had worked hard to contribute to it, so I can’t allow it to be buried.”

No one knows why, but when Lie Zhong Liu heard those words, he was ecstatic and rushed over to grab Qian Lin by the wrist. “Congratulations, hurry and bow down to your Master.”

Qian Lin seemed confused, but did not dare to argue even when he was being pulled forcefully by the wrist and pushed in front of Wei Chiu Niang.

“Hurry and call her ‘Master.’”

“Ah? Prime Minister, this...”

“Don’t be wordy, just quickly say it.”

Everyone was staring with wide eyes and with a suspicious look on their faces, but they all knew how amazing Lie Zhong Liu was. This Prime Minister had done many things and no matter how strange they were, all of them had their own reasons; therefore, no one bothered to intervene.

Qian Lin stood in front of Wei Chiu Niang with an inscrutable look on his face. “Prime Minister.”

“Quickly, say it!”

Lie Zhong Liu was the Prime Minister and considering this fact, he was a superior to him so it was one’s duty as a subordinate to obey orders. Lie Zhong Liu insisted him to call Wei Chiu Niang, ‘Master,’ so he just had to obey him. With a confused expression while looking at Wei Chiu Niang, Qian Lin called out, “Master.”

Whether it was because of Lie Zhong Liu’s brutality in dragging Qian Lin in front of her or the word “Master” that strangely came out of Qian Lin’s mouth, it made Wei Chiu Niang’s lips curve upward into a smile.

WCN: I have never seen a reluctant disciple worshiping his Master like this. (She glanced over at Lie Zhong Liu and sighed) Sure enough, as a Prime Minister, you would bring good things for me. However, when there is hardship, there is no guarantee that you might carry me off and sell me to Xi Lei King as payment.

LZL: No way! Absolutely not!

Wei Chiu Niang ignored him and switched her attention over to the embarrassed Qian Lin, “Don’t worry, once you call me Master, you won’t have to suffer. What your Prime Minister sees as important is not me, but the Wei ancestral military strategy book that was left behind.”

Her words startled the whole crowd in the room.

Even Rong Tian who was normally calm, couldn’t help from being enthused.

Isn’t Wei Chiu Niang’s ancestor, the great and all-powerful General Wei Qian?

“Could it be that General Wei had handed down his military strategy book?” Rong Tian asked.

“That’s right.”

A dull sound rang out from the hall. Originally, Qian Lin was standing in front of Wei Chiu Niang, but now his knees fell below him, carrying an expression of disbelief.

All of the soldiers and generals have all worshipped the Great General Wei as their most admired idol.

He didn’t know what kind of luck he had, but not only did he meet the descendant of General Wei, he even got the chance to learn from the long kept-secret of Wei family ancestral military strategy book.

If General Wei did leave behind a handwritten military guide, then how precious would that be? Just thinking about it for a moment is enough to seem like a dream.

“Qian...Qian Lin, gives his greeting to Master.” Qian Lin was trembling with excitement that his lips were quivering. With an incomparable worship, he gave Wei Chiu Niang a respectable greeting.

Wei Qiu Niang received his bow and after examining him for a while, she said, “Stand up.” Seeing Qian Lin picking himself up from the ground, she carefully scrutinized his behavior and appearance. He had a straight nose, eyes full of determination and he seems more agile and gallant than a regular person, which made her secretly nod in approval.

Lie Zhong Liu’s judgment seems very good indeed.

Ever since General Wei passed away, the Wei family had kept his painstakingly handwritten military strategy as a secret. However, none of his descendants had enough talent to study those strategies.

Also, since Yong Yin royal family no longer value the Wei family, they never had an opportunity to utilize this “Art of War.”

Zi Yan walked over to share the excitement with Qian Lin, upon receiving such blessed fortune, “You’ve become the successor of General Wei, now no one else can compete with you on the

battlefield. In the future, if His Majesty send troops on the battlefield, I will have to be under your command then.”

LZL: Zi Yan, you’re wrong. The Art of War is an impermanent, just like a textbook, learning to write is just the first step. After learning to write, it doesn’t necessary mean one can write a wonderful article. The reason why I chose Qian Lin to defend Yue Zhong and learn from Wei ancestral Art of War is because I believe he has the talent and his character has many similarities to General Wei. Compared to you, Qian Lin can easily understand General Wei’s strategies. As for you...

Zi Yan’s forehead was sweating from listening to Lie Zhong Liu’s words. He felt ashamed and when Lie Zhong Liu started mentioning about him, he quickly bowed submissively and respectfully said, “I’m pleased to listen to Prime Minister’s guidance.”

LZL: Your character is different from Qian Lin. You’re very careful and more meticulous than Qian Lin. As for being mindfully agile and looking for a solution out of hardship in abnormal situations, Qian Lin cannot compete with you. (he paused as he looked down at Zi Yan and continued in a gentle kind voice) That is why I chose you to follow along with His Majesty, risking danger to sneak into Zhao Bei. The situation will be more severe with unpredictable changes, which can stimulate your potential. Maybe in the future, you will find your own path and develop a set of strategies on your own.

After listening to these earnest words of expectation, Zi Yan was filled with gratitude that his eyes were slightly red. His throat tightened up so he couldn’t say anything and could only respectfully bow down at Lie Zhong Liu.

Feng Ming saw that everyone seemed to have their own mission and was curious if Lie Zhong Liu had anything for him to do.

LZL: Of course Duke Ming has a task. No need to worry, the most important task is left for you. Rong Tian’s face became pale.

Chiu Lan curiously asked, “Isn’t Duke Ming accompanying Prime Minister and Empress Dowager back to Dong Fan?”

“Of course not.”

“Ah? Then what does Prime Minister want Duke Ming to do?”

RH: Even though His Majesty said that Prime Minister can command Duke Ming, but as to where Duke Ming should go, I suggest Prime Minister be extremely cautious. Duke Ming is already a target of many different nations. No matter what becomes of Xi Lei, His Majesty would still protect him from anyone who dares to bring harm to Duke Ming, causing him to meet with numerous dangers. Since the situation is like this, we must be more diligent in protecting Duke Ming. Overall, Dong Fan seems to be the most suitable place for Duke Ming right now.

The relaxed atmosphere suddenly became tense.

Lie Zhong Liu already predicted the outcome and was not willing to change his mind just by Rong Hu’s mere speech. He approached Feng Ming and stared straight into his clear crystal eyes, he smiled as he said, “Duke Ming, I have a fun and exciting mission reserved just for you, are you afraid?”

When Feng Ming heard the words “fun and exciting,” he felt eager inside.

Seeing his eyes shining with anticipation, Rong Tian secretly scolded him inside his mind. He gave a soft cough and pulled Lie Zhong Liu aside, “Prime Minister, can you first tell me what mission you intend to send Feng Ming on?”

Lie Zhong Liu had only been Xi Lei’s Prime Minister for one day, but his words were filled with a hidden meaning beyond anyone’s expectation.

This is certainly a good thing.

But if it is something that will create incredible inconvenience to Feng Ming, then he isn't a good person either.

All of them knew that Lie Zhong Liu’s words and actions are hard to figure out. After Rong Tian set the question, they all held their breaths in anticipation, waiting to hear what plans Lie Zhong Liu had for Feng Ming.

He blinked his eyes and looked slightly upward as if reading poetry, then he replied in a slow pace, “Your Majesty has made a promise to me, not only Your Majesty, but also Duke Ming will be under my command. Haha, if a King doesn’t keep his promise then how can he be qualified to govern a nation and rule over his people?”

Seeing how he mentioned the words Rong Tian said earlier, everyone was a bit surprised but became amused after understanding the meaning behind it.

It seemed that Lie Zhong Liu purposely provoked Rong Tian, it wasn’t because he simply wanted Rong Tian to obediently leave for Zhao Bei, but it was to prepare for Rong Tian’s pressure against the situation of commanding Feng Ming.

Rong Tian’s face became pale. Since Lie Zhong Liu thought beforehand of setting a trap when he made such a statement, needless to say, the mission he planned on having Feng Ming accomplish must be something that Rong Tian would never approve of.

“I clearly remember what I said,” his sharp piercing eyes were staring at Lie Zhong Liu and in an unnatural way, he said, “Whatever plan you have for Feng Ming, just happily say it out at once!”

“Your Majesty, please rest assured. Not only is this mission exciting, it is also extremely easy.” Lie Zhong Liu continued, “I want Duke Ming to take a trip through the different nations.”

LE: Prime Minister wants Duke Ming to sneak into other nations. That can’t be done, it’s too dangerous!!”

Chiu Yue and the other maids also desperately shook their heads.

“Not sneak into, but to loudly sound the drums and gongs, using the title of Young Master Xiao to declare your trip to inspect the shipping industry.” Lie Zhong Liu leisurely said, “First, gather the large ships of the Xiao family, from Yong Yin, you’ll follow the Aman River to Tong Kingdom. Then you will disembark and travel north to Bo Jian, Bei Qi, and Dong Fan. After taking a break, you’ll continue onward to Pu Rong and Yan Ting. What does Duke Ming think of this?”

While he was saying a list of nation names, Feng Ming was counting them with his fingers and trying hard to imagine the map of the eleven kingdoms from memory. In the end, he was tongue- tied as he answered, “This...this is like taking a trip around the world~~”

Leaving out Zhao Bei, Xi Lei, Li Kingdom and Fan Jia of course. “Yes, it’s very exciting, isn’t it?”

“It is exciting, however...”

“It’s too dangerous,” Lie Er interrupted, “Right now, His Majesty has yet to return Xi Lei, those nations we have good relations with will not necessary respect His Majesty and treat Duke Ming with courtesy. Not to mention that Tong Kingdom and Bei Qi are two nations in which we have hostile relations with.”

Rong Tian replied in a low voice, “I don’t agree.”

“Ah?” Lie Zhong Liu asked, “Could it be that Your Majesty wants to change your mind?”

“As long as it puts Feng Ming’s life in danger, I will never agree to it.”

Lie Zhong Liu smiled brightly, “Your Majesty does not intend to keep your promise?”

“I can agree to anything Prime Minister suggests, but anything that involves Feng Ming’s safety needs to be reconsidered.”

“Alright.” Lie Zhong Liu nodded.

Still worrying that the two would continue the conflict, Chiu Lan exhaled a breath before taking the opportunity of the ease atmosphere to gently speak, “Then Prime Minister should agree to reconsider this.”

“Fine, we’ll reconsider. Since His Majesty changed his mind, then I, Lie Zhong Liu, will immediately resign my post as Prime Minister. We will become strangers from now on, with no relation with each other at all.”

His comment made the whole room become dead quiet. Everyone stopped breathing and was pale white.

Rong Tian had never been as gloomy as he was at that moment.

He had always been arrogant and with the unhappy look on his face, other people would have been scared silly and begging for mercy. For Lie Zhong Liu to not fear death, he would be the first person Rong Tian encountered. As a courtier to a sovereign and yet he dares to threaten the King of Xi Lei.

“Are you threatening me?” The angrier he was inside, the more it did not show up on his calm face. Rong Tian forced a snicker.

Lie Zhong Liu knew he was angry, but was not even a bit scared, he gave a rebellious look, “If a King cannot keep his promise then he cannot be trustworthy. How can he even be worthy of conquering the world? Why would Lie Zhong Liu put in his hard work and effort thinking up of plans for this person?”

Being mocked by him, Rong Tian had a sudden loss for words and couldn’t find anything to say in response.

It was Rong Tian who was prideful earlier and openly said that Duke Ming could also be under Lie Zhong Liu’s command.

Feng Ming was sitting beside Rong Tian and could feel the violent sparks erupting between the two so he quickly tried to appease them, “Please don’t argue, let’s all discuss it slowly. Please don’t be upset Prime Minister. You are the Prime Minister of one nation, you can’t just simply resign. Rong Tian is a King so he has to keep his promise and cannot go back on his words.”

Only he has the audacity to scold at Lie Zhong Liu and Rong Tian like that. After reprimanding them, he comfortably ordered, “The atmosphere here is too tense, everyone must be thirsty so hurry and bring up the tea.”

Although Chiu Yue and Chiu Xing were frightened, they acted quickly and immediately ran to the small pantry and came back with a pot of hot tea. Feng Ming personally poured a cup for Rong Tian.

Facing the smiling Feng Ming, Rong Tian’s inner anger was temporarily contained. He received the cup of tea and sipped a mouthful.

The tense atmosphere seemed to subside a bit.

Feng Ming held another cup and stood in front of Lie Zhong Liu, who had a dismayed look on his face. “Prime Minister, please drink a cup of tea to calm down.”

Lie Zhong Liu stared for a moment at the cup of tea, he sighed as he accepted the cup, but did not immediately drink it. Instead, he placed it on the table and said, “Duke Ming, let’s talk in private.” After saying that, he took Feng Ming and went outside.

“Wait.” Rong Tian’s voice rang out from behind. Both of them stopped their pace.

Rong Tian placed the cup on the table and quickly walked beside Feng Ming. His hand held onto Feng Ming, but did not say a single word.

Feng Ming sighed, “I’m just going to speak with Prime Minister for a bit.”

RT: What is there to speak privately about? I am the King, there is nothing that I shouldn’t oversee.”

LZL: State Affairs is very important and every ranking officials and courtiers need to complete their duties well in order to have a world of peace and harmony. If Your Majesty oversees everything, what is the need for a Prime Minister and other officials?

RT: Even if I can’t oversee everything, I can still listen to the conversation, right?

Wei Chiu Niang, who had not made a sound suddenly stood up, and came forward to speak, “This place here is my residence after all. I request that everyone take a tour around the place with me. Lie Zhong Liu can still speak with Duke Ming, I will guarantee that during their conversation, Xi Lei King will not intervene and interrupt you. It will be the same for everyone else. If we do it like that, then it will no longer seem like a private chat, am I right?”

Everyone nodded in agreement, “That’s right. We will not interrupt.” “Not even a single word.”

“Not even a cough.”

“Even a fart is not welcome.”

Chiu Yue raised her eyebrow, “Lie Er, you’re really...”

Since his wife had made the suggestion, Lie Zhong Liu did not have the courage to dismiss it. RT: Then let’s do as Lady Lie said.

They were all relieved and at this time set off together. Lie Zhong Liu was standing on the left of Feng Ming, while Rong Tian who was guarding Feng Ming like a mother tiger, stood on the right. The rest of the group walked behind them.

LZL: Does Duke Ming believe that having the world is easy or governing the world is easy? Feng Ming was feeling nervous inside.

According to Lady Lie’s proposal, no one else could speak up for him so when Lie Zhong Liu gave the question, only Feng Ming could answer.

No different than a facing a huge exam.

What was frightening was the fact that Lie Zhong Liu was not in a good mood, so if Feng Ming’s answer did not please him, then maybe Lie Zhong Liu would hate him and high kick him.

The consequences could be very serious....

The more Feng Ming worried, the more his heart raced, he respectfully replied, “Having the world is not easy, governing the world is not as simple. I feel that governing the world is even more difficult than taking over the world. The reason is because even though we might understand the people, it doesn’t necessarily mean that we will govern the world in good way, just like the Qin Dynasty, etc..ah,..just pretend I didn’t say anything.”

Lie Zhong Liu stopped in his tracks, turned around to look at Feng Ming and smiled gently, “Duke Ming does not have to think about choosing your words, if there is something you wish to say, just say it. Right now, we are just chatting and not testing your knowledge.” After finishing, he continued to walk leisurely onward.

Feng Ming’s forehead was covered in cold sweat. He secretly thought to himself, who dares to think that this is only chatting? It’s obviously an interrogation. He shrugged his shoulders and gave a hesitant chuckle, “I’m completely relaxed.”

One can say that Lie Zhong Liu’s attitude towards Feng Ming is always better than when he is talking to Rong Tian.

LZL: Among the monarchs in the world, within those ten people, at least nine of them wish to unify the world. Out of those nine people, those who understand that governing the world is even harder than conquering it, are probably only four. The world is not a piece of meat that one can just take and swallow completely, believing that everything will be fine. The world is filled with many people, once someone conquers it, if that person doesn’t know how to govern it then there will be chaos, and many will once again be trampled upon.

FM: What Prime Minister speaks of is very true.