Chapter 198: Build High Walls, Stockpile Grain, Delay Proclaiming Kingship—Ten Years of Great Governance!

Outside the Wumen Gate of the Imperial Palace.

It was already afternoon!

Sunlight dappled the stone path, shadows interweaving.

Lu Jiaxuan stood alone, watching his Lu Family Army march in orderly formation.

Liu Wen and Wei Gao descended slowly from the city wall.

Liu Wen greeted first: "General Lu!"

Wei Gao, in a deep, rumbling voice, called out: "Brother-in-law."

Lu Jiaxuan turned at the sound, his gaze landing gently on the two.

Liu Wen immediately bowed deeply, every gesture brimming with respect.

Wei Gao shifted uneasily, as if struggling to speak.

Lu Jiaxuan smiled slightly and said:

"That little girl, Wei Yue, went to the Lu Mansion early this morning—how come you, as her father, haven't gone to see her?"

Before Lu Chen entered the palace, he specifically sent Wei Yue to find Lu Chen's mother at the Lu Mansion.

Wei Yue had been exhausted all day; she shouldn't have to follow him running about.

Wei Gao sighed: "I'm just afraid my nephew and daughter will be angry—my daughter feels guilty, and my nephew is genuinely frightened."

"Brother-in-law, you know as well as I do—when Shen Zhou commands the army, he's a completely different person from how he is in daily life."

Upon hearing this, Lu Jiaxuan understood at once.

Though Liu Wen and others had meticulously planned this entry into the capital,

as a father, he could fully comprehend Wei Gao's difficulties and considerations in hiding this from Wei Yue.

Wei Gao cleared his throat and asked: "Brother-in-law, dare you go home and face your wife?"

Lu Jiaxuan, upon hearing this, unconsciously touched his beard, his lips twitching slightly.

He had also concealed this matter from Lu Chen's mother.

Lu Jiaxuan and Wei Gao exchanged a glance, both silent.

"Headache!"

Liu Wen, sensing the tension, interjected with a reassuring smile:

"I believe Miss Wei and the Lady Mother are both women of great wisdom—they will eventually understand the necessity."

Lu Jiaxuan fell silent for a moment, then set aside his inner turmoil and asked seriously:

"Master Liu, in your view, how will Shen Zhou next maneuver this chessboard?"

Liu Wen had previously overseen finances and grain supplies within the Lu Family Army, holding a position of great authority.

Liu Wen smiled humbly: "General Lu, you flatter me—I dare not accept the title 'Master.'"

"To plot a great transformation is no easy matter. The timing has not yet come. The day we helped the Eighth Prince flee the capital was when we planted the seed of this scheme—usurping the throne is never a noble name."

"But if Zhou Cheng were still here, this would merely be a domestic matter of the Daqing family, posing no threat to the Young Protector."

He paused, then continued:

"The Young Protector has no ambition for the empire, yet he cannot bear to see the people suffer. All decisions rest with him; his servants dare not presume to guess."

Lu Jiaxuan nodded slightly upon hearing this.

Shen Zhou had always devoted himself to spiritual cultivation and transcendence of worldly matters, since childhood.

"The Jiangnan region is wealthy, its gentry and powerful clans deeply entrenched. The Daqing Zhou family has ruled for four hundred years and nurtured scholars for generations—this web has been woven for a thousand years, its roots unshakable. If we forcibly uproot it, we may plunge Jiangnan's people into dire suffering."

"War, ultimately, is a war of population and economy."

"The north has always been the heart of the empire. Since ancient times, it has been the empire's center—the former capital of the Daqing Dynasty was seated here."

"Looking back to Emperor Jing's reign, he adopted Master Zhu's strategy, vigorously developing Jiangnan, making the region known alongside the capital as the Two Capitals, enjoying great prosperity."

Wei Gao nodded—earlier, the north's prosperity had rivaled Jiangnan's capital, earning the title of Two Capitals.

"Yet regrettably, after Master Zhu's death, Emperor Jing rescinded those wise, far-sighted policies that had benefited the nation and its people. Had he not done so, Daqing might already have possessed the strength to unify the Four States."

"The Founding Emperor seized the empire from the north, sweeping across the land. His famous state policy: Build high walls, stockpile grain, delay proclaiming kingship."

Liu Wen continued: "Fifteen years of rest and recuperation have restored the north's economy—we have achieved 'build high walls.'"

"Today's rulers of Qianyuan, Han, Chu, and Beifeng are no ordinary men—each excels in his own way, equal to the great sovereigns of past dynasties."

"Qianyuan has not yet swallowed Han or Chu outright, yet this signals that the tide of conquest in this chaotic age has temporarily slowed—perhaps ushering in a rare period of peace."

Once the turmoil in the capital subsides, the world may enter a brief era of peace—a golden opportunity for governance and development, possibly lasting ten years.

Liu Wen's voice grew low, yet carried unshakable resolve:

"Ten years from now, the world will face an unprecedented chaos—its scale and brutality may surpass any period in history."

Liu Wen's expression grew slightly animated: "What is one Daqing emperor? If the Young Protector wishes to sit upon the throne, let him sweep away the five kings."

"Unify the Four Seas, forge a legacy for a thousand ages."

Lu Jiaxuan sighed: "When the realm prospers, the people suffer. When the realm falls, the people suffer."

In the rise and fall of the world, it is always the common folk who suffer most. In the scramble for dominion, it is still the common folk who suffer most.

Lu Jiaxuan seemed to grasp Liu Wen's deeper meaning and asked:

"Master, do you mean we should divide the realm north and south, each governing independently?"

Liu Wen smiled and shook his head:

"It is not merely a simple north-south division. This capital affair—the ten thousand Lu Family troops marching south—has another deeper purpose: to seize Zhou Xuan's Hexi territory and establish markets there, promoting economic exchange between north and south, elevating both population and economy to a new level. This will strengthen ties between the two regions and lay the foundation for the grand future."

Wei Gao, a mere warrior, did not understand.

He grasped only two points:

For the next ten years, the world will stabilize, and all states will rest and recuperate.

After ten years, the true final battle begins.

Liu Wen smiled:

"To follow the Dao and rule all under heaven—that is the Son of Heaven. There are five states, four emperors, one empress—yet who is the true Dragon Emperor?"

"We merely seek to make the Young Protector the first sovereign in three thousand years to hold such power."

"For the first time in three thousand years, the sun and moon will reopen and unify heaven."

Wei Gao's heart surged with excitement.

Though Lu Jiaxuan appeared calm, his eyes still held traces of concern as he said slowly:

"Currently, Qianyuan and Zhou Xuan's Hexi have allied, directly threatening the capital, while Beifeng watches from the shadows—this situation is indeed grave."

Liu Wen dismissed it:

"With the Young Protector, the Lu Family Army is invincible."

"As long as the iron armor stands, the Young Protector stands—what is there for General Lu to fear?"

Liu Wen gazed at the capital, bathed in sunlight like gilded gold, and said calmly:

"The Young Protector has lain dormant for fifteen years—it is time the world hears the dragon's roar!"

The three fell silent.

Watching the Lu Family Army soldiers enter the palace.

It is time!

To settle the capital once and for all!

…………

…………

【You step once more into this magnificent, glittering palace, where palaces rise in every direction, opulent beyond measure.】

【White jade halls, golden horses, glazed tiles, golden nanmu wood.】

【Three thousand beauties in the inner court, all testament to the splendor of this golden age.】

【Here, at the pinnacle of Daqing power, lies the dream of every man—to rule the world awake, to lie drunk upon a beauty's lap.】

【Yet you merely shake your head, murmuring: "White jade, like cicadas, is illusion; pointing to the moon through blue sky, all is empty."】

【In your eyes, worldly splendor is but a fleeting dream—far less pure and transcendent than the quiet cultivation of the mountains.】

【Passing through the solemn Wumen Gate, your scouts urgently report: the Fengtian Hall has erupted into chaos—three factions are already fighting.】

【Your expression does not change; you nod gently: "Seal off the palace. Kill all who resist."】

【Advancing along the central axis, the Taihe Gate and Taihe Hall emerge—one after another, symbols of supreme imperial power, and now the epicenter of today's storm.】

【The outline of the Fengtian Hall grows clearer—but what greets you is not solemn grandeur, but a horrifying scene of blood and screams.】

【The once-hallowed hall has become a slaughterhouse—blood pools on the ground, corpses litter the floor, severed limbs and broken bodies, too gruesome to behold.】

(End of Chapter)