Chapter 145: The Three Strategies of Po Jun, at the Nation

Is he the emperor's illegitimate son?

In an instant, Bu Jun understood much.

Including why this Grand Sacrifice tournament was so grand in scale, why it offered a hereditary, founding-era title—Bu Jun pondered and said, "He wants to make the Xue family and the civil officials of Dantai fight each other, then pass the throne to Chen Yuyun."

"He wants Chen Yuyun to reap the benefits of others' strife."

"Is this just to build his momentum? Strange—is he afraid of civil officials and imperial in-laws gaining power, or is the Crown Prince not his own?"

Li Guanyi realized he didn't need to explain anything.

Bu Jun had already deduced everything himself.

Bu Jun lightly tapped his brow with a finger, thoughtful: "No wonder I wondered why the Crown Prince's Donggong faction was allowed to build its own power base, yet the emperor favored Consort Xue and maintained such close ties with the Xue family."

"To establish the legitimate eldest son while doting on a favorite concubine is inherently a method of corrupt governance."

"I thought he was a fool, but it turns out he's this calculating."

"It seems he's been targeting Marshal Yue too—preparing it for his son."

"Tsk. What a vast game."

"I thought he was a foolish ruler, but he's actually a shrewd master of intrigue."

Bu Jun looked at Li Guanyi and said, "He's roughly your age. Your parents' deaths—were they connected to him? Such deadly intent—did he seize something from you? Something like destiny?"

Li Guanyi said, "You don't need to be this clever."

Bu Jun smiled: "These are merely basic tactics, my lord. But if you kill him—ha—to kill the very beneficiary the Emperor spent years preparing, the situation in Chen will shift again. Truly…"

He wore a warm smile, yet his pupils emitted thin streams of purple light.

He was delighted.

He nearly laughed out loud.

You old fools spent your whole lives and never encountered a lord who could stir the winds and clouds—I've been out of seclusion for how long, and already I have this chance!

Bu Jun said bluntly: "So, my lord, how do you wish to kill him?"

"Do you want to kill him yourself, or kill him before everyone's eyes?"

Li Guanyi said, "Are these two mutually exclusive?"

Bu Jun looked at Li Guanyi and said, "That depends on your decision."

Li Guanyi lowered his gaze and replied calmly: "The source of my hatred is the Emperor. My opponent has never been him. I will kill him myself, but I must not implicate the Xue family, nor myself—that is the only requirement."

"The rest, I leave to Mr."

This involves the return of destiny and the jade artifact on his person.

It involves this decade of hatred.

Li Guanyi must kill him himself.

Bu Jun thought for a moment and said, "I have three strategies."

"First, sow discord—he holds weight only because he is the Emperor's most important pawn; discord can divert the Emperor's attention, then you kill him; second, ride the tide of public opinion—before all the people, the Emperor will be forced to kill him."

"But neither, in my view, is advisable."

Li Guanyi waited for Bu Jun's explanation.

The handsome youth sighed softly: "Both strategies confront the Emperor directly—your goal is merely to prevent him from striking back after you kill him."

"Then why confront the sovereign of all under heaven while your wings are still unripe?"

"Why not avoid him?"

Bu Jun said plainly: "Your true enemy isn't Chen Yuyun. Whether through discord or public pressure, you will actually face the Emperor—and Chen Yuyun was always just a pawn."

"Your opponent is the Emperor."

"And the Emperor."

"Never reasons."

"You speak of public opinion, but public opinion cannot sway the Emperor."

"As soon as you kill his illegitimate son before all eyes, he'll say nothing outwardly—but the next day, you'll be dead. Like a mantis trying to stop a cart—the Xue family can't protect you. To kill an Imperial Prince openly is to attack strength with weakness."

"A decade of buildup shattered in one outburst—you won't want to see what happens when the Emperor flips the table."

"Many strategists die not because their plans are flawed, not because their tactics are weak—but because their perspective is wrong."

"Because they don't understand."

"What kind of creature an Emperor is."

Bu Jun spoke slowly, each word deliberate: "An Emperor kills without needing reason."

"He is the master of authority—anger brings rivers of blood."

"The Emperor is a master of strategy and conspiracy—but he is still a sovereign."

"Don't say you kill Chen Yuyun—even if you wound him and he dies suddenly; even if he faces you, is disgraced, and is forced to die—he will still blame you. You are still a coiled dragon—you cannot stand against the Emperor."

"It's collective punishment. It's rage-driven murder. If you insist on cutting him down, what I can do—or…"

Li Guanyi replied, "I don't care what he thinks."

"Torturing him won't bring me joy."

Li Guanyi sat upright, his voice calm:

"I only want to kill him."

"But I must kill him."

So Bu Jun said, "Then my third strategy is this:"

"Kill him directly!"

"Why wait for schemes, why weave chains? It's just one sword."

Bu Jun waved his hand: "Cut him down—like slaughtering an old pig or dog."

This answer surprised Li Guanyi, and Po Jun laughed.

"Don't let folk tales mislead you. Since ancient times, stratagems have never been so intricately linked; my master taught me that the first rule is: human hearts are unfathomable. Every additional link in a chain of schemes, every extra person involved, causes success rates to plummet."

"The more precisely a stratagem is calculated, the more failure points it creates in execution—and the less likely it is to succeed."

"Throughout history, the only key to a successful stratagem is one thing."

"Precision."

"Appear where the enemy least expects it, act beyond their expectations—like Chen Wu Di leading elite troops into the imperial palace. If he'd relied on chain schemes, one betrayal or one death would have collapsed it all."

"Such things happen often: one night's coup, win and you become Wang Hou, lose and you die."

Po Jun's eyes glowed with violet light: "I have a stratagem—but it's not meant to kill him."

He smiled: "Chen Yuyun is not worthy to be your opponent; wasting your energy on him is pointless. Killing him with a stratagem would be a waste. Better to make his death one link in a greater scheme—to stir the whole world, wouldn't you agree?!"

The young strategist rose, walked beside Li Guanyi, knelt down, pulled his right sleeve with his left hand, and traced lines on the table with his finger: "We still have the corpse of Situ Deqing, the tenth deadliest assassin in the world. And didn't you say you understand Situ Deqing's qi?"

"I've preserved this corpse well. His cultivation is formidable—his flesh remains uncorrupted, unblemished. The coroner cannot determine his time of death."

"And you said he was a man of the Chancellor's Dan Tai clan."

"The most brilliant part? The Empress is Dan Tai Xianming's daughter."

Li Guanyi froze.

Po Jun smiled: "How do you ensure your own safe withdrawal? Not by lowering the enemy's hostility—but by presenting a second enemy. That is victory without battle."

"Ordinary strategists merely frame someone deliberately. But I am different. The true masterstroke is to point to someone the Emperor already suspects—and to ensure there is one point where, the moment Chen Yuyun dies, the Emperor will inevitably suspect him."

Li Guanyi fell into thought.

Po Jun said:

"Did Dan Tai Xianming discover the identity of the illegitimate son?"

"This must be the Emperor's greatest torment for the past ten years—restless, sleepless."

"The Emperor cannot ask this question. Dan Tai Xianming cannot speak of it himself."

"They will only suspect each other. Suspicion accumulates into murderous intent. The master of conspiracy is the most cunning—someone like you would never fall for such a scheme. But Chen Huang? He will fall for it without fail."

Li Guanyi pondered, and suddenly a scenario lay before him. Po Jun spoke gently:

"The truth is: Dan Tai Xianming learned of the illegitimate son's existence, and deduced that Chen Yuyun—the rising star of the Grand Sacrifice—is that very son. To protect his daughter and his grandson, to secure his own lineage's power…"

"He dispatched his assassin—the tenth deadliest in the world, Situ Deqing—to kill Chen Yuyun."

"To guarantee the Crown Prince's authority and his own future control over the court."

"This is clearly a palace intrigue by imperial in-laws, a minister seizing state power, another covert clash between chancellor's authority and imperial authority—intensifying the court's internal strife."

"Such events have always happened, and will always happen again. Chen Yuyun is merely a trivial, pitiful pawn."

"But what does this have to do with you?"

As Po Jun leaned closer, his smile warm, his face dimmed by the light behind him, only his pupils glowing with eerie violet, Li Guanyi said: "So… just do it directly?"

Po Jun laughed: "Of course not."

"Throwing it straight at Dan Tai Xianming would be too obvious. We need it to seem plausible—not certain. A stratagem too confident will make Chen Huang suspicious. Let him come to it himself."

"Wait until just before Chen Yuyun confronts Yuwen Hua—then kill him."

"Then leave Situ Deqing's corpse, nearly severed into three pieces, where it will be found."

"Situ Deqing's body carries an extremely pure, dense Bai Hu qi… How could that possibly be the work of a Second Tower master like you? And conveniently, the one who gains the most from this will be Yuwen Hua."

"So who killed Chen Yuyun?"

"Dan Tai Xianming—or did Yuwen Lie frame Dan Tai Xianming?"

"This alone will sow discord among all three…"

"Let this duel become the first link in the opening of chaos. As for Chen Yuyun—"

Po Jun lowered his gaze and said: "If he knew his death carried such meaning…"

"Wouldn't he feel honored even in death?"

Li Guanyi realized: he had merely wanted to kill Chen Yuyun, reclaim the qi to feed his cat, and retrieve the jade plate. But under Po Jun's hand, it had been elevated into a scheme stirring the winds and clouds of the world.

Li Guanyi sought to devise a stratagem with Chen Yuyun's death as its end.

Po Jun used Chen Yuyun's death as its foundation and beginning—and laid out a scheme for the world.

Li Guanyi sighed in admiration: "Your talent and strategy surpass mine tenfold."

Po Jun accepted the praise calmly, then smiled: "As for why I suggest killing him directly…?"

"You don't want to wait, do you?"

"Preparing a stratagem takes time. Chain schemes require at least ten days, ideally years. But youthful impatience dissipates such time. A mere illegitimate son of one country—kill him when you wish."

"As your strategist, my duty is to aid you in traversing the world and realizing your stratagems."

Po Jun said: "You must kill him yourself. I will find the moment."

"I will create for you an absolutely safe opportunity—brief, but with your strength, you can kill him and escape unharmed. For a man like him, the best moment is when he is most triumphant."

"That is when you kill him."

"It will utterly shatter his spirit."

"It is the greatest humiliation."

Li Guanyi watched Po Jun speak with such certainty, everything prepared—and suddenly understood why, in history, lords who gained a strategist valued them so deeply. He asked: "Why are you certain Chen Yuyun will face Yuwen Hua in the quarterfinals?"

Po Jun laughed: "It's simple. Let me calculate it for you, my lord."

"You are a Xue family scion. Your first true opponent must be the grandson of the Donggong's Sword Saint."

"What better way for a prince of the Central Plains to proclaim his name than to defeat Tie Futu, a foreign warlord, before the Grand Sacrifice? Thus, in Chen Huang's calculations, the final match must be 【Chen Yuyun】 versus 【Geshu Yin】."

"Then it becomes simple."

"In the round of eight, you will face 【Xu Huiyang】—to sow discord between the Xue family and the Crown Prince."

"Chen Yuyun, Geshu Yin, and Yuwen Hua have advanced; the semifinal will be Chen Yuyun versus Yuwen Hua. Yuwen Hua is a war general of Ying State. At this moment, Chen State is hosting a grand sacrifice. Chen and Ying have just become allies. When Yuwen Lie speculated that you might possess the Bai Hu Da Zong destiny, he still could not bring himself to strike hard."

"Yuwen Hua lacks the aura of his uncle by a wide margin."

"When he faces a Chen royal, the Ying Crown Prince will surely make him fight beautifully before surrendering."

"Therefore, Chen Yuyun will surely advance to the final."

"If he faces Xu Huiyang in the final, Chen Yuyun will have defeated the Crown Prince's top retainer from his humble days, stepping on the Crown Prince's face to rise."

"If he faces Geshu Yin, it will be even more loudly proclaimed as a battle for homeland and nation."

"In any case, there will be no loss."

Po Jun praised: "Truly an old schemer—Emperor Chen. Though I don't like him, he's still a formidable hero with some wit. To ensure Chen Yuyun wins, I suspect Emperor Chen has given him something extraordinary."

"Perhaps some pill, or a treasure weapon."

Po Jun said: "Thus, my plan is simply this: use Chen Yuyun's death to stir the world; use Emperor Chen's ten-year torment—Dantai Xianming—and Ying's famed general Yuwen Lie to bind Emperor Chen's heart, then sow discord among the imperial court's civil ministers."

"As for this grand tournament Emperor Chen prepared so his son might astonish the world."

He bowed: "It will naturally become your glory."

"I hereby congratulate you, my lord..."

Li Guanyi thought for a moment and said: "Thank you, Mr., for your flawless strategy."

"With your aid, I am like a fish in water."

"Like a fish in water"—such a subtle compliment carried immense weight, striking deep into Po Jun's heart as a strategist. He smiled faintly, lips curling, then pressing together, then lifting again, finally saying with casual ease: "Ahem, you overstate it."

"It's nothing much."

After bidding farewell to Li Guanyi, Po Jun departed calmly, turning a corner.

Noticing Li Guanyi was no longer there.

Po Jun drew a deep breath.

Clenched his fist tightly.

Good!

A passerby walked by, staring at him with a strange expression.

Po Jun cleared his throat, straightened his back, placed his right hand behind his back, and once again became the elegant, refined strategist, leaving with calm indifference.

In the next two days of preliminary rounds, the eight-to-four matches, Li Guanyi indeed faced Xu Huiyang, the grandson of the Sword Saint—everything matched Po Jun's description. Ye Buyi and Zhou Liu faced Yuwen Hua and Geshu Yin respectively. Only Chen Yuyun's opponent was slightly weaker, guaranteeing his win.

Zhou Liu's face was nearly mournful: "Yuwen Hua? How am I supposed to fight him?"

"He's several years older than me."

"I'd have to use my head to fight him—better just surrender."

"Eh, is it still possible to withdraw now?"

Ye Buyi said: "If you surrender without fighting, your father won't hold a Jin Yu belt—he'll hold a horse-chopping saber instead. Then it won't just be your father coming for you; your mother might even stand beside him, handing him the cudgel to join in the beating."

Those who surrender without fighting—be executed!

Zhou Liu muttered: "It's just talk—no one dares actually surrender. My grandfather would rise from his coffin. But you, Boss, you've got it hard."

"Xu Huiyang is already ranked thirty-four on the Famous Heroes List."

"And that's even though he rarely travels the Jianghu—he's only nineteen! He's practically a monster."

"His sword qi is peerless, and he's already at the Third Floor. Be careful. If we had an army, we wouldn't fear such a swordsman—but on a dueling stage, one-on-one, we're at a disadvantage."

Li Guanyi nodded.

Zhou Liu said: "Alas, I heard His Majesty said he wishes to share joy with the people."

"The top-four matches will be open to the public. Many martial artists are said to have come."

"After today, Xu Huiyang's rank on the Famous Heroes List will rise further. I've heard many major events in the Jianghu can only be invited by the Famous Heroes List—there are many benefits. For instance, the Ying State's Sword Casting Valley gathering, and even the Beauties List's most exquisite beauties enjoy befriending young heroes from the Famous Heroes List."

"In the past, our Tai Ping Gong once held the title of Number One Famous Hero."

"Indeed, nearly all the Shida Sect Masters were Number One Famous Heroes in their youth."

"I've heard the Crown Princess once ranked among both the Famous Heroes List and the Beauties List's top ten."

"Will this edition of the Beauties List be released soon?"

"It seems so..."

The youths chatted over wine, but Li Guanyi paid no mind to such talk. Yet when he returned, there was a carriage at the Xue residence—exquisitely decorated. One man, seeing Li Guanyi arrive, smiled brightly and said:

"Captain Li, long time no see."

He bowed with a smile:

"His Royal Highness, the Crown Prince of Ying, invites you to a banquet."