The general defending the northwest frontier nowadays is from the Du Family. They know their boundaries well. As long as the Great Zhou does not station troops in Dayue, the movents of Dayue must not be overlooked even for a day.
"It turns out that since Dayue’s defeat and their subsequent dynastic change, Dongzi has had several conflicts with them. King Dongzi, Jin Xu, is in his pri. Judging by their actions, it seems they want to benefit without doing the work."
After reviewing the military report, the Assistant Minister of Ministry of War analyzed the military situation with the sand table.
Liang Chen and Pei Zhan both remained silent.
Cheng Chiren stroked his chin and said, "If Dongzi harbors ambitions towards Dayue, they would logically start a major conflict. These small skirmishes are illogical."
The Minister of War said, "Before Dayue’s defeat by the Great Zhou, Dayue’s national power was always stronger than Dongzi’s. This led to Jin Xu’s sister, Princess Yilan, being married to King Yi. A year after the marriage, she died without any clear statent from Dayue.
"Yet, the news from the northwest in recent years claims that since Jin Xu’s ascension, Dongzi has been biding its ti and recuperating for thirty years. If he desires to seize Dayue, he indeed has the strength."
"Having the strength and having the intention are two different matters," Liang Chen interjected, folding his arms. He turned to Pei Zhan, "What is the relationship between Jin Xu and his sister, Princess Yilan?"
Pei Zhan took a deep breath: "When the spies gathered intelligence so years ago, they incidentally brought back information that Princess Yilan and Jin Xu are full siblings from the sa mother. As the eldest sister, the princess is over ten years older than Jin Xu. In their youth, they were not favored in the palace and it was Princess Yilan’s endurance and protection of her brother through various hardships that allowed them to grow up safely.
"Princess Yilan died a year after her marriage, without any explanation from Dayue. Jin Xu couldn’t help but hold a grudge.
"I have speculated before; during the war between the two countries, the King of Dayue sent emissaries multiple tis to persuade Jin Xu to join the war, but he ignored them. This likely has roots in his resentnt towards Dayue."
"But wasn’t Princess Yilan married to King Yi?" The Assistant Minister of Ministry of War looked over, "In that case, if he harbors resentnt, it should be towards King Yi. At the ti, King Yi was rely a casualty in the power struggle of the King of Dayue, and had no conflict with the King of Dayue."
"Human emotions cannot be easily predicted," Pei Zhan replied. "If Dongzi’s recent actions toward Dayue show no signs of territorial aggression, it is very likely that due to Princess Yilan’s death, Jin Xu, taking advantage of Dayue’s dire situation, is starting to act."
"But everyone in the Prince Yi Mansion is already dead," Liang Chen disagreed with the notion. "Xu Yin, the last descendant of the Prince Yi Mansion, is already in the Heavenly Prison of the Dali Temple. Who else would Jin Xu seek revenge on?"
"It makes sense," the Minister of War nodded in agreent, "since those in the Prince Yi Mansion are all gone, if he intended to act, he would have done so earlier. Since he hadn’t already acted, there’s no reason to do so now."
Pei Zhan did not argue.
He couldn’t co up with a reason to argue, after all.
"Xu Yin’s trusted aide by the surna, Lian, has already fled, and we don’t know where he has gone. Soone still needs to be sent to Dayue to investigate before we can feel at ease about the situation," Liang Chen concluded.
Pei Zhan, hearing this, unfolded his crossed arms. "Once I clear up the matters at hand, I will personally make a trip there."
"How can you go?" everyone objected in unison, "Such significant matters have just happened in the palace, the defensive line in the Capital cannot be compromised. You are the commander of the Capital Camp, you cannot leave the Capital lightly."
Pei Zhan wanted to explain his reasoning, but Liang Chen stopped him firmly: "You don’t need a sledgehamr to crack a nut. Discard that notion."
The whole room nodded in agreent, and Pei Zhan didn’t argue further.
After leaving the Ministry of War, Du Mingqian still had social engagents and parted ways. On horseback, Pei Zhan spoke with Liang Chen: "Yesterday, Taiping heard so news from Li Yi of Taishan Hall. The eldest prince is very likely still alive, and he has possibly been to Dayue and may have even lived there for so ti.
"Since the abolition of the Crown Prince, although there is King Yan as a potential heir, there seem to be doubts regarding him as well.
"Moreover, his health is indeed not good. It is unsettling to place the future of the Great Zhou solely on him.
"If this is an inevitable solution, both you and I could only grit our teeth and go through with it.
"But now that there’s news about the eldest prince, we must actively pursue it."
"We don’t decide who becos the heir, but if we have an alternative, it would spare the court from much unrest."
It’s not that King Yan is not favored; he has his points of suspicion, but he hasn’t done anything unjust yet — at least, there’s no evidence. Thus, in the current situation, making him the heir poses no problem.
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