877 The Envoy (1/2)

The surname of this envoy of the Central Plains was Ma, and his full name was Ma Lian. He was in his forties and his official position was that of Imperial Minister or some other sinecure. It was a little unusual for him to come to the Western Regions to investigate military exploits. Wei Song's explanation for this was, ”Prince Xiao had a slight disagreement with the General-in-chief. Since the people in the Imperial Court already trust Prince Xiao, they sent a civil official here as a reward for the troops.”

Wei Song's introduction was very brief and almost the same as the one given by Prince Xiao. And then he asked, confusedly, ”Do you suspect Ma Lian, Dragon King? It's very unlikely. As far as I know, he never held any grudges towards Lord Gu. Actually they barely ever interacted with each other.”

”I have some speculations.” Gu Shenwei had been paying attention to Wei Song's every expression, but he found nothing suspicious. This old fox concealed his true thoughts very well and didn't show any signs of them. ”The one who hired Golden Roc killers to kill my entire family must be a dignitary of the Central Plains. I once pretended to be the son of Yang Zheng and tried to avenge the murder of Gu family through that avenue. The Central Plains should have known about that by now. The one behind it all won't just stand by, and he'll probably send someone here to investigate. Who else is more suitable to perform this task than the envoy? Lord Wei, you said it yourself: Ma Lian's appointment is somewhat unusual. Even if the Imperial Court trusts Prince Xiao, it should have sent a civil official of a higher rank and with more power to the Western Regions.”

Wei Song frowned slightly. After contemplating for a while, he said, ”The Dragon King's words are reasonable, but… they're all speculations, and there's no proof. My suggestion is that the Dragon King shouldn't make any rash decisions. The situation is very favorable, and the Imperial Court will soon confer Dragon King with a title. With your military exploits, you can just identify yourself and then tell the emperor what happened to your family. I'll vouch for the Dragon King with my own life. With the emperor's order, finding the one behind it all will be as easy as winking.”

”It seems like this is the only way. After all, the Central Plains is too far away and there's very little I can do.”

”Ha-ha. You managed to throw the Norland into chaos all by yourself. Even if that mastermind's status is only second to the emperor, he's probably hiding in fear now.”

When the two parted, the atmosphere was very harmonious. Wei Song even shed tears. ”Fortune and misfortune always go hand-in-hand. Your current achievements are more than enough to comfort the souls of your deceased family members.”

After returning to the camp of the Dragon Army, Gu Shenwei sat alone in his tent. The desire to take revenge swelled inside of him and he had to try very hard to stop himself from assassinating Wei Song.

A guard outside reported, ”The Prime Minister's here.”

Gu Shenwei immediately stood up and his look returned to normal. The Prime Minister had arrived just in time, as he desperately needed an advisor and counselor.

Zhong Heng knew the true identity of the Dragon King, and Wei Song was also his enemy. So, he had unconditionally supported the Dragon King in his revenge from the very beginning.

”In Jade City and Xiaoyao Lake, Wei Song escaped death twice. I can't let him get away again.” After briefly exchanging the usual pleasantries, Gu Shenwei immediately went to the main topic.

Zhong Heng had traveled a long way here and there was still some fatigue on his face. He had come up with a plan on his way here. ”We have a good opportunity right in front of us.”

”Hmm.”

”I'm not familiar with this Central-Plains guy Ma Lian, but according to my knowledge of the Imperial Court of the Central Plains, even though this Imperial Minister is just a sinecure, anybody in this position is under the immediate command of the emperor, and a lot of them were promoted to other positions with actual powers. And by convention, one has to make a contribution to get promoted. I think that this assignment of Ma Lian is a sign of his imminent promotion.”

Gu Shenwei began to understand Zhong Heng's intentions. ”The greater the contribution Ma Lian makes in the Western Regions, the higher the status he will be granted after returning to the Central Plains.”

”Exactly.”

”But he's just here to reward the troops with food and drink, and in passing, investigate the military exploits. These things will never count as a great contribution.”

”Um. When an envoy is on an official visit, it will count as a contribution as long as everything goes smoothly. But you're right. It won't be a great contribution. If Ma Lian is truly ambitious, then he will try to achieve more.”

”As long as there's a chance, everybody will be ambitious. Confirmation of Prince Xiao's fraudulent claim of military exploits will surely be a great contribution, right?”

”Certainly. But I suspect that Ma Lian wouldn't dare to claim that contribution. The emperor trusts Prince Xiao very much, so it's not that easy to bring him down. And he even might offend the emperor by doing this. So, we can bait him with a contribution of incriminating someone else of a lower status.”

Zhong Heng was a Central Plainsman, and his tone was full of respect when he mentioned the emperor.

Gu Shenwei felt like he had come to the right person. ”Ma Lian, Ma Lian. Whose side is he actually on?”

”Didn't Prince Xiao say anything?”

”Prince Xiao said that Ma Lian has always stayed away from the political disputes of the Imperial Court, and he barely has any contact with any of the other sides. But I suspect that things are not that simple. Besides… I also suspect that he's aware of my true identity.”

Zhong Heng knew what the Dragon King was worried about. After thinking for a while, he finally said, ”I'm afraid you'll have to test him out, Dragon King. If we confirm Ma Lian's stance, then it will be much easier to drive a wedge between him and Wei Song.”

Gu Shenwei agreed with him. Seeing that there was an inexplicable smile on Zhong Heng's face, he was a little surprised. ”What?”

”This conversation with the Dragon King reminds me of that Cripple Tie.” Zhong Heng knew that Tie Hanfeng had died to the Dragon King's saber, so he didn't show any respect when talking about him.

”One has to sever the targets' relations with others before killing them.” This remark had been imprinted onto Gu Shenwei's heart, and he had even adapted it into his strategy of fighting for supremacy.