Chapter 1344: Intelligence Takes the High Ground

"What does this have to do with the immigration you mentioned?"

Yu Yu Zhaoan looked slightly displeased.

He felt Chen Chen Guanlou was deliberately muddying his train of thought, stirring a clear pool into murky water so he could fish in the muddied waters.

He must not fall for it!

Back when he was locked up in the Heavenly Prison, he already knew how glib that man's tongue could be.

"The connection is huge! At first, Hou Fu was also eyeing the Northwest, thinking that land had its merits. Later, I discussed and analyzed it carefully with Chen Chen Guanfu—the Northwest has already been beaten to a pulp, and it won't recover without twenty or thirty years. Rather than clinging to a ruined territory and spending endless energy, manpower, and money, it's better to pull the resources out and start fresh—saves money too. It also lets us dodge the court's scheming and put the Emperor's mind completely at ease."

"He listens to you?" Yu Yu Zhaoan said, half-believing.

Chen Chen Guanlou raised an eyebrow and smiled. "As long as the profit is big enough, he'll always listen. Marquis Pingjiang's meaning is: as long as you can persuade the Emperor to launch the immigration project, he's willing to cooperate. The specifics—you two can discuss face to face once you reach the Northwest. I'm just an advance scout, giving you a heads-up in advance."

Then, with a sigh, he went on, "Marquis Pingjiang is a loyal minister! Utterly devoted to Your Majesty, utterly devoted to the court. He doesn't want to stay in the Northwest eating sand year after year either. He's willing to serve the court in a different way."

"Such as…"

"Such as Grand Commissioner of Immigration, Grand Commander of the Navy, Grand Commissioner of Maritime Trade!"

What nerve!

Yu Yu Zhaoan gave a cold laugh. "Asking for too much!"

"Too much? Compared to the Emperor's greatest headache—the Northwest Army—is it really too much? The Emperor doesn't like having Marquis Pingjiang underfoot, and Marquis Pingjiang doesn't much like being in Jingcheng underfoot either. In the face of profit, everything is negotiable! The key is finding the right angle!"

"Let me think it over! I feel your scheme is playing on too high a level—it's practically wild fantasy, no grounding in reality, impossible to pull off."

"Whether it's hard depends on the person." Chen Chen Guanlou smiled, half-serious. "Minister Yu, you also want to leave your name in history, accomplish something, even outshine Xie Changling. Immigration is your greatest chance.

The Northwest—let me put it this way—doesn't leave much room to maneuver. Unless Marquis Pingjiang voluntarily gives up his military power, your slow-and-steady plan, your divide-and-conquer plan, will definitely fail. In two years, Xie Changling will be kicked out. If you can persuade Xie Changling, there's a seventy percent chance you can persuade the Emperor."

When all is said and done, Xie Changling is the Emperor's beloved minister, the apple of his eye! Whatever Xiao Xiao Changsheng, whatever Feng Yilang—they're just toys for amusement.

"You even know the two-year deadline?" Yu Yu Zhaoan felt a chill of horror.

Chen Chen Guanlou smiled and said nothing.

Although Chen Chen Guanfu didn't attend the court audience, that didn't mean he didn't know what was discussed.

There are no real secrets in the palace.

It all comes down to whose methods are sharper, who hides deeper.

Hou Fu has been rooted in Jingcheng for over a hundred years, with a long string of in-laws and old acquaintances—connections inside the palace are endless. The guards at the gate might even share some distant relation with Hou Fu.

Some minor official taking meeting minutes might well be a nail Hou Fu planted by the Emperor's side. These small fry are unremarkable, but they're incredibly useful for passing messages.

"Is it strange that I know? I'm backed by Hou Fu, after all. What I just told you is what Chen Chen Guanfu and I discussed together. Following your line of thinking, Marquis Pingjiang either rebels or dies—no third path. So we just create a third path ourselves, hand the court and the Emperor a ladder, and everyone's happy. From this you can see Marquis Pingjiang truly has no intention of rebelling."

"Mm, indeed no intention of rebelling—because he looks down on that Northwest land, and because the Jiangshan of Daqian hasn't yet reached the point of collapse. Better to go overseas and play king, right?"

Yu Yu Zhaoan was no fool either. After being led on for a while, he finally came to his senses and guessed Marquis Pingjiang's real thinking. The court didn't want him acting as a local emperor in the Northwest, forcing him to rebel. So he'd simply do the opposite—go stir things up in lands the court didn't care about. The premise was immigration!

With people, you have everything!

Through immigration, defuse the Northwest conflict—the fundamental goal is to hollow out the Northwest completely. Leave those local gentry and big households to play among themselves.

Barren land, worthless population—not worth caring about.

Once Yu Yu Zhaoan worked it all out, he immediately sucked in a cold breath.

"By your scheme, in a few decades won't Hou Fu be able to found a nation overseas?"

"Not at all, not at all!" Chen Chen Guanlou waved his hand. "Hou Fu doesn't have that big an ambition—at most, we'd expand the marquisate's fief a little."

Yu Yu Zhaoan laughed coldly, his eyes clearly saying: Do I look like I believe that?

Believe it or not, it doesn't matter.

As long as the current crisis can be resolved, everything is negotiable.

Does Marquis Pingjiang truly not want to rebel?

Not really!

However, the Northwest Army isn't a solid block—every military leader below has his own agenda. Once the rebellion starts, no one can guarantee everyone will follow. If someone turns coat halfway through, before they've even made a name for themselves in rebellion, they'll be busy with internal strife, busy putting down the turncoats.

In the early stage of rebellion, the worst thing is being stabbed in the back. No matter how formidable the rebels, they can't withstand an early backstab. Not only will their strength be severely damaged, they might also lose their heads and collect the nine-clan execution package.

If they take them out one by one, the court won't give them that much time, and the military leaders below won't give them that much time either. Supplies are another problem that must be solved.

If Marquis Pingjiang rebels, it certainly won't be like some barefoot rabble—gathering a few dozen men, pulling together a thousand or two to attack a county. Take one, burn and loot, coerce the population, then move on to the next city.

If he rebels, his army must number in the tens of thousands at minimum, his logistics in the tens of thousands more.

More men means better fighting, but correspondingly heavier burdens.

Marquis Pingjiang's current situation is actually a bit awkward—neither up nor down, no supply base of his own, no rear area. Once he fails, he can only become a bandit.

Bandits clearly have no future.

With such a big target on his back, he can't quietly build up strength and bide his time either. The court will watch him from every angle, beat him down, kill him without a second thought. Not even a moment to catch his breath.

So rebelling would be rebelling into nothing.

Better to open a different path, gradually cutting ties with the court.

Actually there's a fourth path—kill the Emperor, put a puppet on the throne. Learn from Cao Wei, and twenty years later, take over in his place.

That has the highest difficulty rating, isn't very workable, and also needs time and opportunity. Immigration is more workable.

Of course, both paths can be pursued at once.

It all depends on how Hou Fu chooses.

Chen Chen Guanfu is only responsible for providing ideas, passing along the message. Not responsible for making decisions!

Anyway, even if it's execution of the nine clans, it won't reach his head.

Yu Yu Zhaoan asked curiously, "Is Marquis Pingjiang truly willing to give up the Northwest he's spent years building?"

"That's something you'll have to discuss with the Marquis in person. I don't know." Chen Chen Guanlou was telling the truth. He really didn't know Marquis Pingjiang's thinking.

Yu Yu Zhaoan pondered for a moment. "I need to talk to Chen Chen Guanfu first."

"You two can't meet easily."

"You tell him to figure something out. I must speak with him face to face, otherwise I won't push the immigration plan forward. I am a loyal minister of the court, I must share Your Majesty's burdens!"

Chen Chen Guanlou let out a snort of derision.

They're all equally thick-skinned — the elder brother has no right to mock the second, they're all about the same.