209 Untitled (1/2)
The sound of the golden bell and jade drums resonated through the air as the emperor of a new dynasty sat before a golden throne glittering with a thousand jewels.
With regards to the creation of a new dynasty, the first in line in terms of contribution was none other than the already famous Meng Fuyao.
This person had silently infiltrated the enemy territory and toppled the throne, instigated the troops to switch sides, and miraculously preserved the military power of a hundred thousand soldiers. Considering the extent of her merit, she was indisputably number one, much more than even Jing Yan and Ming Lun who had been fighting from the very beginning. It was known that going undercover in court was much more exhausting than fighting on the battlefield.
It was a pity that this number one contributor had put on such proud and arrogant airs while mentioning that it was not easy to accomplish her feat, that she should present herself in front of the new emperor, yet she had fallen sick and hence was unable to attend court, simply scribbling the words, ”The new era has arrived!”, on a piece of paper.
Zhan Beiye stared at the words for a long time. He remembered that this was meant to be an insult, yet based on his understanding of Fuyao, she would definitely not curse herself, so this line was most probably meant for him.
The poor new emperor squeezed the garlic bulb in his fist as he approved her absence; the award ceremony had to go on—the previous general of the imperial army Meng Fuyao would be the King of Fan, and for her contributions, she would be gifted the six towns around Mt. Changhan as well as Mt. Changhan itself. She would also have full autonomy over the troops stationed at the border pass.
A wave of disbelief sounded among the officials—they knew that Meng Fuyao had to be rewarded generously, but they never thought it would be this generous!
The Dahan empire no longer had any direct relatives, and originally in Tiansha only those who carried the Zhan surname were able to receive the title of King, and those of other surnames would only be able to receive the title of Lord as the highest honor. Even though Meng Fuyao's contribution was indispensable, was the 18-year-old Meng Fuyao able to carry this heavy responsibility? In the future, there was much time to contribute, even more, this award should be kept first and given later as a promotion. If she were to be given the title of king now, what was there to reward her with if she made further contributions?
The officials all thought that the Dahan empire would no longer have kings, but they did not think that His Majesty would be so generous!
Even more generous was that this was the ironclad King of Fan, offering land was the same as offering the country; a king was the true ruler of the land with his own army and governance. It would not be easily influenced by the imperial court, and although there were many rural villages in the Changfan region, it was also a plot of Dafan's land; His Majesty had just given someone of a different surname one-sixth of his country, wasn't he afraid that it would come back and bite him in the future?
As for the officials who loved manipulating words, they somehow saw ”King of Fan” as ”King of Han”; the nation was called Dahan, and Meng Fuyao was now given the title of ”King of Han”, what was this supposed to mean? This was simply not appropriate at all! His Majesty's affection was like a burning cage, burning too strongly and harming himself. Could it be that there was a deeper meaning? It couldn't be that… His Majesty was planning something behind the scenes?
All the officials were in disarray, but Zhan Beiye remained sullen and stone-faced at his throne, squeezing 'Zhangsun Wuji' the garlic bulb in his hand continuously…
'Damn you, Zhangsun Wuji, borrowing flowers to offer Buddha, how shameless!'
He had originally planned to give the three rich provinces closest to Pandu to Fuyao. She was worthy of such a gift, and he had already planned to give Fuyao this surprise during the official award ceremony. He did not think that Zhangsun Wuji's single letter would throw all of his plans out the window.
That person had said in the letter, in view of Fuyao's great contribution, he beseeched His Majesty to give Fuyao the title of King of Fan to serve as a support for the rest of her life. If he was scared of the court officials opposing to such an idea, he, Zhangsun Wuji, was willing to compensate His Majesty in private by humbly announcing that he actually did not help much. And if His Majesty could remember his help, he did not have to repay him, but just add it to Fuyao's contribution and reward her with something even better. As for the gifting of land, he had talked to Fuyao that the title of King of Fan was but an honorific, and it was not respectful to ask for good land and make things difficult for His Majesty. Thus, they would settle for Mt. Changfan, since Fuyao had also mentioned that she had some interest in the land as well.
After reading the letter, Zhan Beiye was so angry he nearly executed the soldiers present in front of him.
Obviously, he wouldn't be petty and give Fuyao only the best reward, yet Zhangsun Wuji made it seem as if he was unwilling and only after Zhangsun Wuji's persuasion did he gift the title of King of Fan to Fuyao.
He was the one who had planned to give Meng Fuyao a surprise, but now it had become a surprise that Zhangsun Wuji used to please her instead.
Clearly, the land of Dahan belonged to him and was up to him to give away, yet now it had become the ingredients in Zhangsun Wuji's dish, and he had gone first and served it to Meng Fuyao, even self-righteously helping Fuyao select this and that, choosing the damned Mt. Changhan region. And even worse, he couldn't refuse, not just because the region was the least likely to be objected by the court officials, but also because—Fuyao liked it.
He was clearly willing to give, yet it had become as if he was unwilling; he wanted to give her something good, yet now it became as if he couldn't not give something lousy. He was the one who had thought of giving much earlier, yet now it seemed as if Zhangsun Wuji who had fought for it.
What an unfortunate and mournful turn of events, the prince of deceit had cheated the king of thieves!
And the one thing that made Zhan Beiye unable to soothe his anguish was that he had taken Mt Changfan!
What meaning did Mt. Changfan have? It was situated between the borders of Dahan and Wuji, and it was the only passageway that allowed his troops to pass through to Wuji. Now that it belonged to Fuyao, she was like a protective barrier between him and Zhangsun Wuji. In the future, if he wanted to seek revenge for this arrow of betrayal and wanted to pass through, how could he?
Meng Fuyao would definitely not let him pass through Changfan to take Wuji. If he really did such a thing, there was a high chance he would have to first face Meng Fuyao's retaliation and anger, and given Fuyao's strength, she would definitely cause a great deal of trouble for him. By then he would already have his hands full, so how could he touch Wuji?
Even if Meng Fuyao didn't take action, once she was angry with him, he wouldn't have to think of ever getting her in this lifetime!
What a vicious and sinister plan it was…
Everything had been taken by him first, everything had been precalculated by him, even the good intentions were replaced with him, and in the end, he still had to offer Changfan with both hands, clearly knowing that giving Meng Fuyao was equivalent to giving Wuji, yet he couldn't not give.