Chapter 619

Zhu Jingchen could only force himself to keep the matter of Xu Heming marrying Shangguan Yun buried deep in his heart. Otherwise, if Xu Heming backed out at a time like this, he would be the one to suffer.

However, Xu Heming’s suggestion that they prepare the stakes in advance was indeed something he needed to consider carefully.

After all, the people of Qinling would certainly make such a demand. If they waited until then to discuss it, it would probably be too late.

Besides, the old ministers in court knew nothing of their plans today.

Nearby, Zhang Yanchu kept his head lowered, feeling somewhat uneasy. In the past, he would never have dared speak so openly to the emperor.

Today, he had his younger sister to thank for his good fortune. He had finally made something of himself and had even been brought directly to the emperor by Prince An to conspire over a major plan.

But when he thought about how their discussion concerned the future of the entire Lan Nuo Kingdom, Zhang Yanchu did not dare treat it lightly.

“What do you think Qinling will demand?” Zhu Jingchen asked after giving the matter some serious thought.

“Cities,” Xu Heming replied without the slightest hesitation.

Although he knew Qinling wanted far more than just a few cities, they wanted Lan Nuo to submit to them and become a vassal state of Qinling, paying tribute every year.

“Princess Consort of An!” Zhang Yanchu blurted out. The moment he finished, he received a cold, cutting glare from Xu Heming and instinctively shrank his neck.

He had not said anything wrong, had he? After all, wasn’t Shangguan Mu still obsessed with Li Zhiwei?

Xu Heming glared daggers at Zhang Yanchu. If looks could kill, Zhang Yanchu would have been slain a hundred or a thousand times over by now.

“Our Lan Nuo Kingdom does not need to rely on a woman to preserve peace,” Xu Heming said indignantly.

His words also made his own stance clear: he would never sacrifice his wife in exchange for peace in Lan Nuo.

If it came down to it, he was willing to lead the troops into battle himself.

Zhang Yanchu rubbed his nose sheepishly, realizing that he had indeed misspoken.

“This subordinate spoke out of turn!” he hurriedly apologized.

“Your Majesty, this subject believes that Jingbian Pass, which borders Qinling and Lan Nuo, would be the most suitable,” Xu Heming said. “Jingbian Pass is an extremely important strategic stronghold for Lan Nuo. It is easy to defend and difficult to attack, so it should be tempting enough for Qinling.”

One had to be willing to sacrifice something valuable to catch a wolf. If they did not put something on the line, Qinling would likely refuse to offer its own cities as stakes.

“Prince An, Jingbian Pass is one of the most important cities in our Lan Nuo Kingdom. If we lose it…” Zhang Yanchu did not dare finish the sentence. If Jingbian Pass fell, would Qinling not be able to invade Lan Nuo with ease?

The consequences would be unimaginable.

Zhu Jingchen also looked at Xu Heming. He knew that Xu Heming never fought a battle without preparation, but if Jingbian Pass truly fell, the consequences would be beyond their control.

They would not merely be losing a city. They might lose the entire Lan Nuo Kingdom.

Zhu Jingchen understood all too well that if they lost, he might become the ruler who lost his kingdom.

Faced with such stakes, even Zhu Jingchen began to hesitate.

“If we do not use Jingbian Pass as bait, how can we make Qinling put Golden Sand Valley, Tianlong Gorge, Jiulong Mountain, and Changyi River on the line?” Xu Heming asked, pointing toward the several cities bordering Lan Nuo on the map of Qinling and Lan Nuo.

Zhu Jingchen and Zhang Yanchu immediately followed the direction of his finger.

Upon hearing this, Zhang Yanchu quickly picked up the cinnabar brush beside him and marked all those locations.

“Why don’t we demand Wusong Slope as well?” Zhang Yanchu asked, puzzled.

Xu Heming took the brush from him and drew lines connecting the several locations.

“Compared with Golden Sand Valley, Tianlong Gorge, Jiulong Mountain, and Changyi River, Wusong Slope is not as important. Besides, if we ask for too much at once, they may refuse.”

“This plan will work. We shall follow Prince An’s suggestion and demand Golden Sand Valley, Tianlong Gorge, Jiulong Mountain, and Changyi River—the four cities in all,” Zhu Jingchen said with a nod.

“General Wen, are you confident about facing Zhao Jiugao tomorrow?” Zhu Jingchen then turned to Zhang Yanchu.

Until that moment, Zhang Yanchu had not felt that there was much of a problem. Now, however, he felt an enormous weight pressing down on him.

Good heavens. It turned out Xu Heming had shifted all the pressure onto him. No wonder he had dared to use Jingbian Pass as the stake.

If he lost to Zhao Jiugao, he would be facing far more than defeat in a mere contest.

“Your Majesty, this subject will certainly do his utmost,” Zhang Yanchu replied. Unable to think of anything else to say, he could only promise to do his best. He would not dare slacken for even a moment.

“Minister Wen, you need only perform as you normally do. I believe that with your ability, that Zhao Jiugao will be no match for you. Besides, we have the excellent weapons prepared by Prince An. We will certainly beat that so-called First Warrior of Qin Ningling into complete disarray,” Zhu Jingchen said, firmly patting Zhang Yanchu on the shoulder.

In truth, Zhu Jingchen was thinking that Zhang Yanchu absolutely could not afford to lose. Otherwise, his reign as emperor might well be coming to an end.

“This subject obeys Your Majesty’s decree!” Other than this, Zhang Yanchu could think of nothing else to say in reply.

“Your Majesty, how should Prince Lanhuai be dealt with?” Xu Heming asked, remembering Prince Lanhuai’s collusion with the Third Prince of Qin Ningling.

“Hmph! That traitor who turned his back on his own country.” The thought of Prince Lanhuai’s attempted rebellion filled Zhu Jingchen with fury.

If he had relied on his own abilities, that would have been one thing. But he had actually colluded with an enemy nation.

He had intended to hand over Lan Nuo’s splendid realm to another country, all for the sake of his own selfish ambitions.

“Since he is My imperial uncle, I will at least leave him an intact corpse. Grant him a cup of poisoned wine,” Zhu Jingchen said coldly.

“The ​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​​‌​​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌‌​​​​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌‍envoys from Qin Ningling are still here. For now, let him live a few more days in the Imperial Clan Court,” Zhu Jingchen added.

“What about the property of Prince Lanhuai’s estate and his female relatives?” Xu Heming asked again.

“Those possessions shall naturally all be confiscated. As for the women of his household, considering the enormity of his crimes, the fact that I am not implicating his entire clan is already an act of mercy. Grant them all three feet of white silk,” Zhu Jingchen said coldly.

Xu Heming nodded at that. At last, he had been able to vent some of his anger.

The three of them continued discussing how to respond to Qinling’s challenge before finally dispersing.

Zhang Yanchu glanced hesitantly at Xu Heming.

He did not know whether he ought to thank Xu Heming for putting in a good word for him before the emperor, or resent him for saddling him with this responsibility.

Even now, Zhang Yanchu still felt as though everything that had happened today was a dream. Somehow, he had become one of the emperor’s most trusted ministers.

“Prince, you’ve finally left the palace.”

The moment Xu Heming stepped out of the palace gates, he encountered a servant sent by the Li family to wait for him.

“What happened? Is something wrong with Zhiwei again?” Xu Heming asked, his heart leaping into his throat when he saw the servant.

Had the thing he feared most happened again?

The thought that Li Zhiwei might be unconscious and unable to wake up made Xu Heming so frantic that he did not even wait for the servant to finish speaking. He mounted his horse and galloped toward the Li residence.

“Something happened to your princess consort again?” Zhang Yanchu asked, looking at the servant in confusion.