Volume 6, Chapter 26: Guests Stay for Tea (1/2)

Volume 6, Chapter 26: Guests Stay for Tea

When I entered the cabin and looked around, I was taken aback Standing in a corner of the cabin was a fellow in black robes as clearly Xiaoshunzi, yet his facial features had transforh his brows and corners of his eyes had barely changed, he looked like a completely different person In addition, his aura had becoht moon It would be impossible for others to tell he was the most elite Xiantian expert in the world I knew Xiaoshunzi was using his internal energy to alter his facial e wasn’t drastic, as not even the boat creould notice, people who recognized him absolutely could not tell he was the Deave it soht and realized why The boy had quite the reputation in nize hie his appearance His thought process was always aze over Xiaoshunzi, pretending I didn’t see him I sat at the table and stated with a smile, “Pardon me, I still haven’t asked you two your na, and this is my friend, Daoist Priest Bitter Baetically

My eyes lit up I knew of these two I’d heard Xiaoshunzi bring up Priest Bitter Baent for Southern Chu Back when Xiaoshunzi chased Vicious Killer a thousand li to kill him, he spared Priest Bitter Bamboo Afterwards, the priest was too asha and returned to Southern Chu, where he vanished without a trace I never expected to see hied his appearance so quickly Over the years, Xiaoshunzi’s appearance hadn’t changed lance As for Dingnan’s nan’s best assassin, the Merciless Gentleer of the Pavilion of Heavenly Secrets; the world’s best poisoner, Shen Ruhui; and the last one was Wuyue’s best swords So called the best in Jiangnan However, he was humble and refused to accept the title

I turned these thoughts over in my mind Of these four, tere related to me The Merciless Gentleman was Yulun, who’d withdrawn from the Secret Cath to be the best assassin And wasn’t I the er of the Pavilion of Heavenly Secrets? As for Wuyue’s best swords’s secret agents to control Jiangnan’s eistered hiyi Sect had relocated to Jiangnan, they lost experts such as Fan Huiyao and Wen Ziyan because of their past dispute with Jiangnan’s their reputation It was extrenan’s wulin</eain control of a group of experts froain a portion of their strength They could cast aside any fancies of leading the hteous sects, only Ding deserved to be called a leader

What a coincidence that these two personages came aboard my shi+p I showed an enthusiastic expression and saluted theether You two are in the saures as Zhu Jia and Guo Jie¹ It isof the Huishan Spring water² Proprietor Zhou just sent us and a bag of the new tea leaves My servant’s tea brewing is extraordinary And the tea is newly picked Terrifying Fragrance,³ which is why I invited you two to taste sorance produced at Zhenze Lake is already a good tea, and with the water of the Second-best Spring under Heaven, hearing of it refreshes one’s spirits,” Ding is truly carefree I boast I am carefree, but I am fettered by mundane affairs I can’t free ’s i isme Who doesn’t know that life is but a dream? It would be most difficult and painful if you insisted I pass the days clearheaded The priest just bla of my hometown but didn’t know just how heartbroken and depressed I was The trend of the times is unification There’s no difference between the south uniting the north or the north uniting the south No matter who ascends to the throne, the ones who suffer are us colian⁴ of the Warring States were alive, he couldn’t persuade the Yong En, let alone persuade the Southern Chu King and ht⁵ In any case, the ravages of war are already difficult to avoid I ao with the tide, powerless to resist the stor Jiaxing in blood this tiedy It’s likely that fellonsman of mine remembered his roots⁶ Otherwise, I fear the flourishi+ng region of Wuyue would have turned into a sea of blood and carnage”

The priest’s face grew cold at the words “All you young aristocrats, rich and powerful families, and wealthy merchants only think about family instead of country,” he snapped “How else could it have come to this, beset by the enemy on all sides, when our Southern Chu controlled a vast swathe of territory—including the strategic regions of Sichuan, Jingxiang, and Jianghuai—and possessed the two large Junshan Navies of Ninghai and Dinghai? Young master Yun should know our Southern Chu navies have already fought two battles with the Yong navy in Hangzhou Bay Neither battle could deter is very tense, for the Nanyang ar ar for trouble Yet our Southern Chu aristocrats are still drowning themselves in alcohol and fantasies On the day of the Lantern Festival, the Pavilion of Heavenly Secrets organized an auction in Jianye One glass disc with dragon designs sold for two ant luxury has beco practice, and they sit back and watch the people suffer If Southern Chu is destroyed, all of you will have caused it”

Ding furrowed his brows He knew that ever since Priest Bitter Baed frohu His temper often went to extremes Most of the time it didn’t matter, but noas not the tientleman surnamed Yun presumably possessed hidden influence within Wu Co to fundraise in Wu Co Priest Bitter Baetic tone, “Brother Yun deeply understands the current situation This battle for all the land under the Heavens is presu master Us two are earthly people and truly cannot bear to see the Yong heavy cavalry tranan The two countries are in a north-south staleth, Southern Chu’s forces are far inferior to Great Yong’s But if we consider territory and financial resources, Southern Chu is no worse than Great Yong If we can halt the Besides, our Southern Chu may be cowardly, but we have the Grand General as a pillar of the nation He inflicted heavy losses on the Yong h the Yongto battle, the Southern Chu soldiers and civilians will unite and help each other with victory expected as long as the Grand General plants his banner Isn’t young master’s inclination to finance a volunteer arhts of the affairs of state? Priest Bitter Ba izing already?”

With those words, Priest Bitter Baize I also stood and returned the salute, saying with a slass disc with dragon designs o and both one raved with one hundred eight coiled dragons If placed under laons ca like they would break out of the disc In addition, the fine lines in the glass looked just like thick clouds That dragon disc is priceless I once got a look and could hardly tear ht it Now it’s probably under heavy guard in a tower, never to see the light of day again It’s sad and a sha’s skill First, he tactfully criticized my concern about the fate of the nation, then he hinted to Priest Bitter Ba funds to the volunteer arn He truly considered every detail While Southern Chu had as ht sky, they had unfortunately been obscured by clouds If the Southern Chu court had governed with prudence, we truly couldn’t have attacked

Priest Bitter Bamboo became despondent at the words, but he didn’t want to say so’s eyes, however Having the qualifications to participate in an auction held by the Pavilion of Heavenly Secrets entleman had to be the head of a wealthy and famous Southern Chu faht over a terracotta tea set, two bags of tea leaves, and a sealed jug of spring water I changed the subject “Drinking tea ought to be enjoyable Since I have guests today, I should play a piece on the zither Are you in theabout changing the subject and replied, “I was just about to ask to hear sire’s playing Please, enlighten me” As he spoke, he noticed a zither stand inside the cabin He also had a very good sense of melody and knew the emotions expressed by h I knew his intent, I wasn’t worried I walked to the zither stand and sat down Clearingstreaers, zitherlike the music emulated the pitter-patter of drizzle as it fell fro over rocks and sweeping past roots and grass It sounded like strea into a lake It echoed the surging of the lake outside the cabin, fusing such that the distinction between inside and outside disappeared Anyone who heard theto the sounds of nature, not zither strings And the music was free and easy, the unfettered nature obvious to the ear

Off to the side, Xiaoshunzi was slowly brewing tea, doing each step with extre with the raceful, and calh the air, spilling into the entirety of the cabin Xiaoshunzi split the tea into three porcelain teacups, each one crystal clear and translucent, white as snow He delivered the teacups With the color of the teacups, the tea appeared to be pure jade, either green or dark green During the deep conversation, stea heavy and the tea aroma perfused Some of the tea leaves in the teacups curled up while others stayed flat

Ding lifted his teacup and was a little surprised As a er to the Terrifying Fragrance produced on the Green Snail Peak of Zhenze Lake’s East Mountain This tea was characterized by its slender leaves that curled into a shape rese a snail The leaves were covered with fuzz, of a silvery, rich green color, and had a heady aroma When brewed, the tea tasted reen and clear The leaves at the bottohtened However, today’s serving of tea clearly had another famous tea mixed in Curiosity arose within hiulp But the taste was ever-changing, and it tasted rich Conte the flavor, he was actually rather unfa up his brows and sinking into deep thought

Although Priest Bitter Bamboo was quite cantankerous today, he was still the best and brightest of Southern Chu’s secret agents Hearing Ding’s hint, he calmed down He was a yellow-hatted Daoist priest and often drank tea while cultivating He’d also traveled all across the north and south banks of the Yangtze He knew quite a few of the fa the tea, he pondered it for aMaojian ood mood”

I also drank the tea intea He’s seen almost all the world’s farance leaves were picked pre equinox, so the flavor was too light As a result, he co Maojian The Daoist priest hit the nail on the head, showing he’s also a aze fell upon Xiaoshunzi The servant’s face looked norh the servant was taciturn, his eyes were icy Both brewing tea and serving tea required mastery and experience Every wealthy and influential family hadtheirmaster Yun had this kind of servant with hiround, and in addition, he was old friends with the proprietor of the Xiexiu Workshop The two of the had never heard of a large and influential fa before Suspicion started to creep into his , you’ve presu the assault on Wuyue What does the young master think of that man?”

“You’ve put h I was born in Jiaxing, my family was poverty-stricken since my childhood My relatives are as few and far between as the brightest stars on a cold night As for Jiang Zhe, it’s said he also left town in childhood And with the Jing branch of his faet a chance to get acquainted with hi wishes to knohat kind of person he is, you don’t need to ask me You need only listen to the talk of the town to knoever, in my opinion, he’s a lucky man He married a wife as beautiful as a flower and has the deep trust of the Yong Eood fortune?”

Dingyour current success , I believe But with the young nan, aren’t you worried the flahts turned over again and again in hismaster Yun’s tone doesn’t sound like the tone of a son of a fa and characterof wealth demonstrates he was a wealthyI can’t let hi had lived in Wuyue for a long time, but had never heard of thisto h?

I s enerations of Southern Chu kings, except for His Imperial Majesty, Emperor Wu, the ones whoasked in a low voice

I looked out theand evenly explained, “Once the Jin Dynasty was established, the court selected officials by placing the ree Such ‘virtue’ had always been lauded by the influential faree’ kicked the poor and commoners out the door As a result, the state’s power declined with each passing day, to the point that barbarians overran the i all the imperial consorts to self-immolate The crown prince sailed south and established Jianye as the secondary capital The dynasty on its last legs, people later called this Jin court the Eastern Jin The current Southern Chu palace is built in h the Central Plains armies drove the barbarians out in the end, and the i’an, the process of selecting officials didn’t change

“After less than a hundred years passed, the Eastern Jin fragmented into multiple nations His Imperial Majesty, Enan and established an empire He switched to the institution of the i officials The selection of military officers was even more eclectic Unfortunately, Enan’s aristocracy for the sake of this grand undertaking, relinquishi+ng a share of his authority to the aristocracy However, because of Eifts and bold vision, those aristocratic families didn’t try to overly thwart him At that ti personnel eren’t confined to a given background and weren’t asked to uphold a certain ideology That was the period Southern Chu was most prosperous It’s a pity and a misfortune that E Southern Chu After King Ling succeeded the throne, the power of the aristocracy reared its head again The next three kings allhow to balance the power of the aristocracy to protect their position on the throne The imperial examination turned formulaic and even tactical, with talent selected based on their skill at co lyrical poems And even if one passed the i colors, if one weren’t part of an influential family, one couldn’t be pro skill And so, most of the personnel in the court was replaced by aristocrats contending for supreated to hu officials became incompetent Southern Chu’s talent withered,still doesn’t know to exert himself to defend the state’s power, let alone us co’s eyes He started as a poor scholar, and when studying wouldn’t do, he turned to the sword Although he became a well-knoordsman, he was just a warrior in the eyes of the aristocracy Heto dedicate hi stones to do so However, he still said, “The King is young and hasn’t yet governed by hih e, the situation in the court can still be called stable Also, Grand General Lu pro to merit to protect our territory If we receive the assistance of a sage, a turnaround ht in the world If you’d be willing to serve the country, you’d assuredly be the eneration Why do you bury yourself a your ti truly thinks this, then this one will have to see you out assuoverned yet… Brother Ding ns is currently stored in the treasury of the inner palace And ever since the twenty-second year of Xiande, when Li Zhi sacked Jianye, the aristocratic faes of war Only the Shang fa the laws of the royal court For the past ten years, the court has beenthe final say Unfortunately, Shang Weijun doesn’t have enough skill and is shortsighted, not knohen to take the advantage to implement new policies and weaken the aristocracy’s local influence His only skill lies in acting to increase national power, yet he is nepotistic, not heeding how coo, the court still had so family’s vassal is useless, with the exception of one or two people And while Grand General Lu does as you say, pro Weijun If one wants to be promoted to colonel, it requires the Ministry of War’s stamp of approval Lu Can h these years have risen froeneral? Moreover, Lu Can can only select talent from the army he personally leads Even with a direct descendant of the Lu fa an arree Lu Can hie this If this weren’t the case, ould a hero like brother Ding wish to serve his country but never enlist in the ar to provide assistance in an unofficial status?”

Dings to say Everything the gentleman in brocade robes said was true He had no way of countering anything His only response was, “The rise and fall of the nation concerns everyone! Although young s on a knife’s edge We can’t just sit by and watch as the Yong are Wuyue and strew countless countrymen across the land Unfortunately, most of the unaffected aristocrats andmilitary They’re too scared to donate funds to the volunteer ar hi doesn’t kno the aristocrats and merchants think These people only care about their own interests If this weren’t true, ould private coastal trade be the prevailing practice? Most of the court’s decrees for the region of Wuyue are e Weijun went out of his way to send one of his trusted aides to govern Wuyue to covertly conduct private coastal trade, didn’t he? In their eyes, their interests areelse If they funded a volunteer arer be unrestricted froovernest profits for the aristocracy in Wuyue coest port But now it’s been blockaded by the Yong navy, so before the victor becomes clear between the two navies, Wuyue’s aristocracy naturally doesn’t want to antagonize the Yong navy”

At these words, Ding businessman He’s so talented he can perfectly describe the critical juncture I had never even heard of such things before, and he has a good relationshi+p with the Xiexiu Workshop, judging fro as well Besides retrieving the distant Huishan Spring water and sending it here, he also hustled over with Terrifying Fragrance before the peak tiht be the power behind the Xiexiu Workshop</eht inmaster’s opinion, how should the Wuyue aristocracy be convinced to support the funding and raising of the volunteer army?”

I didn’t hesitate to answer, “Since merchants chase profit, one must bait them into action The power Grand General Lu wields can’t stay in Wuyue for long, and once he leaves, if there isn’t a volunteer army to help Southern Chu consolidate their coastal defenses in Wuyue, the Yong navy will go ashore once again and plunder Wuyue If the Yong navy succeeds again and again in Wuyue, Wuyue’s aristocracy will have no choice but to play into Yong’s hands, even if Great Yong is willing to open up the private coastal trade Eneth, and so cannot get the upper hand while cooperating As a result, for the Wuyue aristocracy, there’s only a possibility of negotiations if the Yong navy is forced to retreat to the sea Moreover, each of Wuyue’s aristocratic fauards and personal soldiers If they’re worried the court will take control of the volunteer are their assets, why not mix in some of their personal soldiers into the volunteer army? That way, Wuyue’s aristocracy can control the army so that it won’t turn into a tool of the court used to eli furrowed his brows “In this fashi+on, the volunteer army can be successfully funded and raised, but that’ll reduce it to a private fighting force for the Wuyue aristocracy”