Castle of Black Iron

Gazing at Fang Qingming who was bowing deeply towards him expressionlessly in the parlor, Zhang Tie admired the great convincing power of this adviser of late Crown Prince Changying.

Fang Qingming was crystal clear about his target here in Xuanyuan Hill; therefore, he put it straight with enough reasons the moment he saw Zhang Tie.

“Mr. Fang, please get up!” Zhang Tie walked to the main seat and sat down, continuing, “Is that Empress Shaoyi and Mrs. Xiao who asked Mr. Fang to come here? Mr. Fang, do you think I want Xuanyuan Zhu to be the new emperor only because I let him stay with me today?”

Empress Shaoyi was late Crown Prince Changying’s mother. Zhang Tie had not seen her; however, he heard that she was a powerful figure in the royal palace. Only after having a brief talk with Mrs. Xiao today, Zhang Tie had known that Mrs. Xiao could never be matched by ordinary women.

It was said that Monarch Qianji was going to replace the royal households across Xuanyuan Hill. Therefore, all the members of the royal household were in panic. Zhang Tie had sensed it as he was firstly welcomed by three princes today. It was a very rare courteous reception. It was very abnormal for the royal household to do that. It might display the royal household’s fear and concern about Zhang Tie’s ambition. However, the royal household could do nothing to relieve their fear and concern; because most of the people across Taixia Country were standing on Zhang Tie’s side; especially the military and local major clans and sects. The royal households had very few trump cards; additionally, Zhang Tie was not afraid of their trump cards at all. Besides the identity of the royal household of Taixia Country, there was an employed sage-level knight who was said to never leave the royal palace. As for the branch of late Crown Prince Changying, they might not even match the three princes who welcomed Zhang Tie today after Crown Prince Changying was assassinated and Meng Shidao chose another wise owner. Given seniority and cultivation level alone, the three princes could definitely suppress Xuanyuan Yunfei and his brothers and sisters.

Actually, before Zhang Tie returned to Taixia Country, Xuanyuan Lie the ninth prince of Emperor Xuanyuan had already been ready to ascend to the throne and the branch of late Crown Prince Changying had already been completely marginalized. If Zhang Tie didn’t come back, the last obstacles for Xuanyuan Lie to ascend to the throne might have been completely cleaned up after the three major sects joined hands to crack down Jinwu Palace.

Given political tactics alone, if Xuanyuan Zhu became the new emperor, those who benefited the most would be the branch of late Crown Prince Changying, then the entire royal household, Zhang Tie and Jinwu Palace in the end.

Fang Qingming had already got up and sat on his seat calmly.

“Of course Empress Shaoyi and Mrs. Xiao hoped that the descendant of Crown Prince Changying could rule Xuanyuan Hill. It’s human nature!” Fang Qingming admitted in a euphemistic way, “Monarch Qianji, you must be crystal clear about the current situation facing the royal household of Taixia Country. Although those princes are excellent, they’re unable to ascend to the throne without the support of people. Although Xuanyuan Zhu is late Crown Prince’s grandson, he inherits a part of your powerful bloodlines. His flair in cultivation could definitely rank first among the descendants of late Crown Prince Changying. He could definitely cultivate Xuanyuan God Sutra  in a couple of years; he has infinite potential in the future. What’s more, as long as Xuanyuan Zhu could win your support, nobody else in the royal household would be qualified to scramble with him for the throne. He will smoothly become the new emperor of Taixia Country. Taixia Country has not got a ruler for too long. Many problems have been aroused because of this. Even the third prince and ninth prince have lost their lives. Royal Alliance also raised winds and waves across the country. The whole country urgently requires an emperor to maintain its stability, even though it’s just a nominal emperor!”

“Without Monarch Qianji’s support, nobody else could take that seat. Of course, you could take that seat yourself; however, if you really do that, the turmoil across the country might not come to an end in a short period of time. When you pacify the entire country by force and have the royal household to give the seat to you with sincerity, it would be many years later. During these years, many more people would lose their lives. I know Monarch Qianji is always magnanimous and compassionate. You would never allow hundreds of millions of Taixia people to suffer from more hardships. As for whether Emperor Xuanyuan could come, it’s still of uncertainty. On this occasion, the complete alliance between Jinwu Palace and the royal household of Taixia Country would be the best choice for both parties!”

“Xuanyuan Zhu behaves like a wise emperor. As his teacher, I’m crystal clear about this point. Besides the late Crown Prince’s bloodline, he also has your bloodline. He’s also your grandson. If you assist him to ascend to the throne, he will never betray his bloodline in the future. It’s nothing different than ruling the country yourself. It’s just a title! When Xuanyuan Zhu promotes to a knight and could wield power officially, the holy war might have already come to an end!”

Fang Qingming said everything possible. His reasons were sufficient and convincing. As a result, Zhang Tie became silent. Even though Zhang Tie had made a decision, he didn’t want to state his own stand so fast. At least Zhang Tie wanted to communicate with the three councilors and the nine ministers and his father-in-law Lord Guangnan. Even though he just went through the moves, it was very necessary for him to inquire about these moguls’ opinions. It was of great significance for the overall stability of Taixia Country in the future.

Fang Qingming was the first person who paid a visit to Qianji Mansion. After Fang Qingming left there, more and more people came to Qianji Mansion. After making exchanges with those major officials, officers and influential figures of local major clans and sects in Taixia Country except for Meng Shidao, Zhang Tie gradually formed a unified opinion with them.

The major event was fixed!

…

On February 14, the 933rd year of Black Iron Calendar, namely one week after Zhang Tie came to Xuanyuan Hill, Xuanyuan Hill had been in commotions; because on the same day, two pieces of news spread over Taixia Country and the other continents and subcontinents from Xuanyuan Hill. The shocks aroused by the two pieces of news almost immediately covered the situation facing the holy war in the west of Taixia Country.

The first piece of news was Xuanyuan Zhu, the 8-year old grandson of late Crown Prince’s ascended to the throne officially and administered affairs of the state on this day and became the supreme ruler of Taixia Country nominally. After Emperor Xuanyuan missed so many years, Taixia Country finally got a new emperor.

The second piece of news was that Zhang Tie, also Monarch Qianji, was conferred as Lord Xuanyuan, the head of seven lords in Taixia Country.

Zhang Tie was conferred as Lord Xuanyuan without the process of dripping his blood on a strange crystal and displaying his meritorious deeds on Heavens Fortune List. However, nobody across Taixia country had any dissent about it; because Zhang Tie’s meritorious deeds were greater than that of any lord…

Therefore, Zhang Tie became the only one who was conferred as the supreme lord and was widely accepted by all the humans without the process of dripping his blood on a strange crystal and displaying his meritorious deeds on Heavens Fortune List in the three holy wars.