Volu (1/2)

Volu Dynastic Records</eraphy of Gaozu</e Haitao gazed at Jiang Zhe Although still young, he knew full well thisin the guest courtyard The Princess of Yong would frequently stop by to see hi Haitao was most curious about this sickly youth who seemed liable to die at anyand yet he still did his ut Haitao’s life Moreover, apparently his uncle, the Prince of Yong, listened closely to his advice As a result, Jiang Haitao had used the need to personally express his thanks as justification to enter the Cold Courtyard Upon entering the Cold Courtyard, Jiang Haitao could i hly The defenses around the Cold Courtyard were strict and tight, likely even surpassing the defenses around the Prince of Yong hister He was still young and carried a childish innocence about hih his intent from his pair of clear eyes I could not help but have a favorable ister However, at the same time, I also became suspicious As the son of the Marquis of the Eastern Sea, how could he have such li it over, I skillfully inquired, “The Little Marquis is a tiger cub of a martial family Presumably, you are adept at naval warfare Have you come today to borrow the copy of Illustrated Treatise of the Seas in my collection?”

This question I posed was quite clever To an ordinary individual, the more than an abstruse and difficult to understand, useless book However, to the Jiang fa, it was absolutely priceless This book had originally been lost Prior to co the ment of the book As far as I was concerned, this kind of rare book was priceless beyond measure After I had entered Southern Chu’s Hanlin Academy, I had searched the academy’s extensive¹ book collection and was able to collect so e as a basis, I fully repaired and coment When I had presented this book to the Southern Chu court, no one paid it any particular attention, only delivering it to the Palace of Subliinally, this book, akin to buried treasure, would never have seen the light of day again However, when Great Yong and Southern Chu were negotiating peace, the Prince of Yong included a demand for Southern Chu to present a portion of its collection of books and records As a result, this book, the Illustrated Treatise of the Seas</es of attachment to this book As a result, I had deliberately kept it with me

I did not kno, but news of the Prince of Yong’s possession of a solitary extant copy of this book spread like wildfire² In addition, news that the Prince of Yong had bestowed this book to me was also known There wereAs a result, there were many who visited to seek a look at this book However, as I did not accept outside visitors, their wishes were unable to be fulfilled

Today, this question that I was posing to Jiang Haitao was actually quite profound If that man who fled to the Eastern Seas and proclaimed himself the Marquis of the Eastern Seas truly was as adept at naval warfare and farsighted as the intelligence reports proclaimed, then the existence of the Illustrated Treatise of the Seas would definitely catch his attention If Little Marquis Jiang knew of this book, then Jiang Yong regarded this beloved son of his with great i revealed by this youth were fake If he did not know a thing about this book, other than undeserving of training, it ed and pampered this son of his However, I had seen that this child was sincere and innocent, possessing top-quality aptitude, a diah³ I would find it very difficult to believe either of those reasons

Jiang Haitao sprang to his feet in excite, “The Illustrated Treatise of the Seas! I have heard Daddy speak of it many times Daddy even lamented that he could not take a look with his own eyes Are you truly willing to lend it to azes of a youth seeing an object that he loved This caused him to appear to be even more open and candid⁴

I was now full of curiosity What kind of person was this littleover that copy of the Illustrated Treatise of the Seas”

After a short while had passed, the Illustrated Treatise of the Seas</eht over Before handing it to Jiang Haitao, I s Every section that you finish reading, I will ask you some questions If your answers are acceptable, I will allow you to continue reading If you can’t answer my questions, then I won’t let you continue to read”

Co, I have followed Father for years Although there are sos that I a as Jiang daren’s questions aren’t too difficult, Haitao is confident that I will be able to answer”

“I naturally won’t s deliberately difficult for you,” I confir Que to take the book out of its box and place it on the desk Jiang Haitao knew he could not personally flip through the pages of this kind of precious book Excited and filled with expectation, heQue stood at his side, turning the pages for hi a section, I asked him a few questions As expected, he was ready with his answers⁴ Although some of his ansere superficial, it was already quite outstanding for soreatly astonished, however, was that he had his own understanding and views about several sections During the conificant ah I was able to add information about maritime affairs from other sources, there were several sections that I was unsure about As a result, I hadthe source of the inforement I deliberately questioned him about these sections Several of his ansere far more accurate compared to my determinations Over the next few days, ould discuss these sections daily, feeling boundless joy

Ulti Haitao was naturally suited as being a naval commander, I also arrived at another conclusion Aside frohtforward individual with virtually no other interests If assigned to explore or fight on the seas, he would be an extre otheron hiratified and vexed at his son’s interests S Que collect it, which he did so in an exasperatingly slow fashi+on Over these last few days, I had written several notes that I had hient, not peeking at a single note or asking me my intentions

This day, I ithin the garden, appreciating the beauty of the bloo walked towards and faced s could happen at any moment”

I shness, please explain”

“Imperial Father has announced that the day after to Palace to hold the Autumn Hunt,” answered Li Zhi “All of the imperial kinsmen in the capital are to attend The Prince of Qi has sub off due to illness, however, Imperial Father has demanded that he take the journey even if he is ill”

I pensively observed, “It see very careful I wonder why the E, Li Zhi revealed, “These last few days, ly inconsequential events have occurred It truly is difficult to explain in a feords … This Prince originally believed that there was no need to bother Suiyun … but now, looking back, I do have to trouble you”

“For Your Ihness to treat Zhe so affectionately,” I replied properly, “If Zhe cannot help Your Ihness at the critical hness’s great kindness? Your Ihing again, Li Zhi explained what had happened these last few days Since I fell ill on the third day of the ninth , the Prince of Qi only made small moves without end However, as asoon discovered that the sole objective of the Prince of Qi’s troops was to lay in ambush

Today, Li Yuan had issued an edict to hold the Autu Imperial Guard numbered twenty thousand and would be commanded by Grand General Qin Yi Of these numbers, ten thousand were fro and assisted by Huang Sha and Sun Ding Both of these assistant couardsuards Qian, assisted by Huyan Jiu; and five thousand guardsmen from the Northern Barracks, co The crown prince, the Prince of Yong, and the Prince of Qi were required to accompany the procession In addition to this, Esun, noble Consort Yan, Princess Changle, Li Zhen, and the Princess of Jingjiang, Li Hanyou, all accompanied the emperor Left behind to defend the capital were Pri Xia Responsibility for the capital’s security was left to the Commander of the Western Barracks of the Imperial Guard, Tan Yi In addition, the nu the i ofShu, the Princess of Qi’s father, Attendant Gentleman of the Imperial Secretariat Qin Wuqi, the newly appointed to the I, and the Crown Prince’s Junior Mentor, Lu Jingzhong

And there wasand Qi to bring a hundred household guards with the would adhere to military discipline with the Grand General Who Suppresses Distant Lands, Qin Yi, as the commander-in-chief It seemed like the emperor understood clearly the tense circumstances

After the Prince of Qi had failed in his attempt to be excused from the Autumn Hunt, his ar believed that the arht without proble’an In addition, the reasons given by the Prince of Qi forhis troops were actually quite a had also made his own preparations, ready to check the Prince of Qi’s forces at a moment’s notice However, if this were to happen, then it would lead to all-out civil war

However, the Prince of Yong and his subordinate coreed to accompany the emperor and take part in the Autumn Hunt With him not present, there was no one else that could co at the intelligence reports in my hands, I could not help but frown The occurrence of such a result ithinhad sent a secret letter to Grand General Qin, explaining Li Hanyou’s suspicious history Although there was no clear evidence, it was obvious that Li Hanyou was separated fro discovered by the Fengyi Sect Master and delivered to the Prince of Jingjiang’s household At the very least, this information would raise Grand General Qin’s suspicions There were sos that one would rather believe existed than not I had already learned the result Once the letter reached the grand general’s household, Cheng Shu was invited over Afterwards, Qin Yong was also suh there was no way forwas dispatched to hurry to Grand General Qin’s ar the Autumn Hunt, the troops that Qin Yi could inally, I had no hopes that they would believe the contents of the letter, only desiring that they make preparations This result was already beyond my expectations

In addition, just yesterday, the wife of Eastern Palace Reader-in-Waiting Shao Yan, Lady Huo, hung herself froht, news broke of the crown prince raping the wife of a subject, causing the woossip on the streets, when compared with the crown prince’s previous conduct, practically everyone believed it to be true Although the emperor had not yet learned of this scandal, it was impossible to keep it hidden once the Autumn Hunt concluded As a result, if the crown prince could not force the e the Autumn Hunt, then i it would likely be extre deposed