Chapter 704: Wuyue May Be Small, but Its Schemes Are Plenty

Cao Yuanxin had predicted correctly: Zhang Zhao would not be sending Liu Shaoji back to Quanzhou any time soon.

It was not that a petty two-prefecture, thirteen-county separatist regime like the Qingyuan Army warranted such scheming, but rather that Zhang Zhao was preparing to formally accept Liu Congxiao as territory under the imperial court.

Zhang Zhao planned, before long, to announce in the presence of the Southern Tang and Wuyue envoys that Liu Shaoji had come to pay tribute and had been appointed a court official.

The root of all this was still Champa rice.

Liu Congxiao had so thoughtfully volunteered to take on the preliminary work for Champa rice, which had unquestionably lightened Zhang Zhao's burden enormously and shortened the time needed for its promotion.

So Zhang Zhao did not dare gamble on it — what if Li Jing's brain seized up one day and he decided Liu Congxiao had slapped his face, and while Zhang Zhao was out on campaign beyond the frontier or at some other moment, he sent troops and broke through Quanzhou?

Even if he could not break through, if the disorderly troops inadvertently destroyed Zhang Zhao's Champa rice fields, the loss would be enormous.

Better to make the matter public right now, and point Li Jing out by name, telling him not to act rashly.

Since the decision had been made, there was no need to keep the Southern Tang and Wuyue envoy delegations shut outside the city any longer. Zhang Zhao immediately had the accompanying Ministry of Rites officials notify the envoys of both states to enter the city.

However, the first person Zhang Zhao summoned was not the Southern Tang envoy Li Jingda, but the Wuyue chief envoy Pei Jian and his party.

The reason was that the state of Wuyue had simply been too outrageous these past few years.

This Pei Jian had last come to the eastern capital to pay his respects in order to request investiture for the Great King of Wuyue, Qian Zuo. This time, barely a year later, apart from coming to Liangzhou to offer birthday congratulations to Zhang Zhao, he had another task: to request investiture for Wuyue's new Great King, Qian Hongchu.

In the space of a single year, not only had Qian Zuo, in the prime of life, dropped off the line, but absurdly enough, between Qian Zuo and Qian Hongchu there had also been a Qian Hongzong.

The reason was simple: when Qian Zuo's father, the second Great King of Wuyue, Qian Yuanguan, passed away, Qian Zuo was only thirteen, and had been lifted onto the throne of Wuyue by a pack of powerful Wuyue ministers.

Correspondingly, the great power within Wuyue was all held by the powerful ministers who had backed him at the time — men such as the Chancellor Cao Zhongda, the Inner Supervisor Zhang De'an, the Upper Commanding General Kan Fan, the Right Supervisor Li Wenqing, and the Right Commanding General Hu Jinsi.

Later, as he grew a little older, Qian Zuo naturally began wanting to seize back the power that had been carved up among the various powerful ministers.

Had he been an ordinary ruler, he would long since have been forced to abdicate or been deposed. But Qian Zuo happened to be a very capable ruler. At sixteen, exploiting the conflicts among the powerful ministers, he executed Du Zhaoda, the Inner Supervisor who had driven out Zhang De'an.

From then on he could not be stopped. Using the aid to Wang Min and other internal and external factors, he slaughtered nearly all the powerful ministers, within and without.

For a time, the whole state of Wuyue was terrified, and the power Qian Zuo held far exceeded that of his father Qian Yuanguan, approaching that of his grandfather Qian Liu.

It all looked splendid, and Qian Zuo was indeed very wise, but in reality what he was doing was putting the cart before the horse.

Because the true powerful minister in Wuyue was not any of these figures he had executed who had jumped onto the stage, but Hu Jinsi.

Hu Jinsi was born in the twelfth year of Dazhong under Emperor Xuanzong of Tang, that is, 858 CE. This year he was already ninety years old, yet his body was still extremely robust — a super-centenarian rarity of the age.

How absurd was that age? Zhang Zhao's great-grandfather Zhang Yichao had once been enfeoffed as Right Shenwu Commanding General, and Hu Jinsi had also once held a sheltered post in the Right Shenwu Guard.

That is to say, Hu Jinsi had once, on paper and in name, been under Zhang Yichao's command.

His age was greater than that of Zhang Zhao's grandfather Zhang Huaiding. One could more or less say he was a figure of the same era as Zhang Yichao, Li Keyong, and Zhu Wen.

Amid the wars, after Hu Jinsi moved his whole family to Huzhou in the Jiangnan East Circuit, he immediately became a local magnate, because the Hu family had originally moved from Huzhou to Chang'an on account of holding office; now they were merely returning to their native registration.

After that, when Qian Liu rose, Hu Jinsi quickly became a key minister at Qian Liu's side, ranked second in the Hall of Meritorious Officials that Qian Liu built, enfeoffed as Grand General, and specially granted the privilege of wearing sword and shoes into the palace hall.

One could say that Hu Jinsi was the benchmark for powerful ministers in Wuyue. Qian Zuo killed a great batch of so-called powerful ministers — in particular, he executed three Inner Supervisors within two years, and his methods could not be called anything but ruthless. Yet he did not move, or did not dare move, against Hu Jinsi, and that was digging his own grave.

While Qian Zuo was killing people, Hu Jinsi behaved with great cooperativeness, even secretly advising Qian Zuo behind the scenes. He seemed loyal, but in reality he was setting Qian Zuo up to roast over a volcano.

When Qian Zuo once again used ruthless methods to execute the Inner Supervisor Cheng Zhaoyue, who had committed no great crime, everyone in Wuyue, powerful minister or not, felt extreme terror.

Because they did not know whether the next person Qian Zuo killed would be themselves. After all, the lower bound of what counted as a "powerful minister" was being continually redrawn by Qian Zuo's own hand.

Originally, perhaps only a Chancellor counted as a powerful minister; now even a mere troop captain in the army might be one.

Using killing as the primary means of solving problems was convenient and did indeed solve problems, but the accumulated resentment and panic were also spreading rapidly.

Hu Jinsi saw his moment, raised his arm and gave the call, and the whole state of Wuyue responded. Just three months after Qian Zuo killed Cheng Zhaoyue, he assembled armored soldiers and charged into the Wuyue royal palace, killed Qian Zuo outright, and then installed Qian Zuo's younger brother Qian Hongzong as Great King.

When Qian Zuo was killed, he was only twenty years old. It was publicly announced that he had died of illness.

Qian Hongzong naturally knew his elder brother had not died of illness, so he felt no gratitude toward Hu Jinsi and the others who had put him on the throne. Instead, he deeply dreaded them, and several times sought out men dissatisfied with Hu Jinsi, plotting together to kill him.

And an old fox like Hu Jinsi naturally kept constant watch on Qian Hongzong's movements. When he discovered that Qian Hongzong intended to kill him, he decided to strike first.

Thus, less than six months after installing Qian Hongzong, Hu Jinsi incited a mutiny among the Wuyue inner yabing guards, imprisoned Qian Hongzong in the Yihe Courtyard within the palace, and publicly announced that Qian Hongzong had suffered a stroke and could no longer manage affairs.

What a joke. One must remember that Qian Hongzong was only eighteen at the time. Even if he were the one-in-a-million chosen one who suffered a stroke at eighteen, it could not possibly have happened so conveniently — a miraculous stroke right at the moment he was about to kill Hu Jinsi.

This was practically announcing his deeds to the whole world — and, of course, a show of force.

After imprisoning Qian Hongzong, Hu Jinsi and the others installed Qian Hongzong's younger brother Qian Hongchu as successor.

Sure enough, having witnessed the fates of his two elder brothers, with all power within and without in the hands of Hu Jinsi and his faction, Qian Hongchu did not dare entertain any other ideas at all.

At the same time, having killed one ruler and imprisoned another within a single year, Hu Jinsi truly did not dare harm Qian Hongchu any further. If he kept it up, there would be no other choice left but for Hu Jinsi himself to take the throne.

But Hu Jinsi was already ninety years old, and all his sons were mediocrities. In this world, who rebels and ascends the throne at ninety? And so the state of Wuyue sank into an eerie calm.

Pei Jian had come this time for two purposes: first, to offer birthday congratulations to Zhang Zhao, and second, to seek investiture for Qian Hongchu.

As long as Zhang Zhao was willing to enfeoff Qian Hongchu as King of Wuyue, it would signify that he accepted Hu Jinsi's two acts of treason against his sovereigns.

Well — one should say not exactly acceptance, but rather that he would no longer pursue the matter. In any case, as long as the investiture was obtained, Hu Jinsi's deeds could be covered over.

Zhang Zhao had originally not understood this whole chain of upheavals in Wuyue. After getting to the bottom of it, Sage Zhang's face was so black it could have dripped ink.

In the Central Plains he promoted loyalty and righteousness, and rewarded loyal ministers and righteous men. And here was Hu Jinsi, squatting quietly in Wuyue, playing Dong Zhuo, was he?

Seeing Zhang Zhao's expression, Pei Jian and the other Wuyue envoys knelt to the ground together, not daring to utter a word.

Zhang Zhao paced slowly in a few circles, but in his heart he still could not make up his mind.

Hu Jinsi and his faction clearly held all the power in Wuyue. If he were to send a punitive expedition against them, it would be no different from going to war with Wuyue.

Not to mention that the Southern Tang lay in between. If this matter caused the Southern Tang and Wuyue to come together, that would be far from ideal.

Zhang Zhao also finally understood why, historically, Qian Hongchu had so readily presented Wuyue's household registers and maps, surrendering to the Northern Song without a single clash of arms. So it turned out that within Wuyue, he was little more than a half-puppet!

The atmosphere was unbearably heavy. Only now did the Wuyue envoys realize that having an audience with a great dynastic sovereign like Zhang Zhao was completely different from paying respects to Qian Hongzong or Qian Hongchu.

This majesty, accumulated over thousands of years by the emperors of the Central Plains, was something they had never before witnessed.

But Pei Jian understood that his moment had come. While the other Wuyue envoys dared not raise their heads, he repeatedly lifted his.

Zhang Zhao noticed him at once, because Pei Yuan had sent a secret memorial from the eastern capital mentioning this Pei Jian as someone who could be consulted on great matters.

So Zhang Zhao immediately seized the chance to fly into a rage, stripping the Wuyue envoys of their official robes and sending them to the Yongxun Palace, to the place where palace eunuchs and servants who violated palace rules were ordinarily confined, to be held in solitary imprisonment.

The others were locked up at once, scared out of their wits. But the moment Pei Jian entered the place of confinement, in the next second he was taken away from behind by a eunuch attendant of Zhang Zhao bearing a warrant.

Zhang Zhao looked at this Wu-Yue minister who had vanished for three to five minutes and then reappeared before him, and asked coolly, "Are you a man of Hedong?"

Pei Jian cupped his hands. "In reply to the Sage, this subject is not only a man of Hedong, but shares the same Wenxi Pei clan as the Duke of Zhao.

This subject's great-grandfather, the Baron of Zhengping County, Pei, posthumously named Qian, was the great-grandson of the Duke Xian of Wenxi, Minister of Rites of the Great Tang and posthumously appointed Grand Governor of Yangzhou."

Well now! Zhang Zhao understood why Pei Yuan wanted to link family registers with this Pei Jian before him. Pei Yuan's family, though called the Hedong Pei clan, was in fact of very low status—they merely bore the surname Pei and had no other connection to it.

But this Pei Jian before him was a true descendant of the Wenxi Pei clan of Hedong. The seventh-generation ancestor he spoke of—Minister of Rites, posthumously appointed Grand Governor of Yangzhou, Duke of Wenxi, posthumously named Xian—was none other than the famed general of Emperor Gaozong of Tang's reign, Su Dingfang's last disciple, the great Tang military strategist, statesman, and master calligrapher Pei Xingjian.

This man had a complete family register, his ancestors being a close branch of the Wenxi Pei clan.

Pei Yuan had now grown rich and powerful, and wanted to elevate his family's origins, so naturally he needed Pei Jian to vouch for him.

And Pei Jian also wanted to climb onto a high branch, so he was naturally glad to draw close to Pei Yuan.

Zhang Zhao nodded, then asked, "The Duke of Zhao sent a secret memorial a few days ago, saying you intend to serve the court?"

It looked like he was about to be accepted, right? But this was actually a life-or-death question.

For Zhang Zhao, Wu-Yue was not a state that absolutely required an inside agent to deal with, because their strength destined them to be unable to resist the Central Plains.

In fact, from the founding king Qian Liu onward, Wu-Yue had never thought of resisting the Central Plains.

Among the Ten Kingdoms under Heaven, the only ones that truly thought of resisting the Central Plains were Meng Shu, Southern Tang, and Southern Han.

The first had the natural defenses of mountains and rivers, and fifty thousand armored troops who were the surviving elite of the Central Plains—it had the strength to put up a fight.

The middle one stretched a thousand li across rich and prosperous lands, with a population in the millions and more than a hundred thousand men under arms, and moreover regarded itself as the legitimate line, so it harbored ambitions to contend for the realm.

The heavyweight last one, because the Emperor was far away and his reach did not extend there, wished to emulate Zhao Tuo and shut the gates to be emperor in its own corner.

The remaining states, in truth, had neither the strength nor the inclination to resist the great Central Plains dynasty.

And precisely because they had no such inclination, within their borders there existed large numbers of people loyal to the court and supportive of unification—such as Sun Guangxian of Nanping, Zhang Shaodi and Yuan Heng of Ma Chu, and others.

Correspondingly, Wu-Yue had no shortage of such people either. Even if Zhang Zhao needed an inside agent, he had plenty of candidates to choose from.

Historically, Qian Hongchu had been sweet-talked into going to the Eastern Capital by ministers loyal to the great dynasty and devoted to the ideal of grand unification, and then he could not leave, and could only surrender his land and present his memorial.

So Zhang Zhao's question to Pei Jian was deeply meaningful.

Now that he, Sage Zhang, upheld loyalty and righteousness, someone like Pei Jian could not be accepted by Sage Zhang without some high-sounding justification, lest his reputation be sullied.

However deferential Wu-Yue might be, it was still a separatist territory. Pei Jian, in the final analysis, was not a subject of the Zhou state, but a subject of Wu-Yue.

If he could not give Zhang Zhao a plausible reason for defecting, Zhang Zhao would certainly not accept him.

And anyone who could not even see through this point was presumably a mediocrity, and using a mediocrity as an inside agent often brought more loss than gain.

Fortunately, Pei Jian was no mediocrity. Historically, he had been the Wu-Yue Chancellor who received the posthumous name Wenxian from the Later Zhou.

So after only a brief moment of thought, he understood the purpose of Zhang Zhao's question. He weighed his tone for a moment, then spoke slowly.

"This subject is originally a man of Hedong. My ancestors drifted to western Zhe and only thus survived. For two generations, father and son, we received the gracious patronage of the Qian clan and entered official service. If judged by loyalty and righteousness, I ought to die in the Qian clan's service.

But alas, since the passing of King Wenmu, the Qian clan has known no peace. Within, lord and minister struggle against each other; without, the calamities of war drag on. Three rulers have changed in a single year, and all under Heaven look on askance.

Now Hu Jinsi and his ilk hold the young lord hostage, and the inner yabing guards do not obey orders—compared to the military provinces of Weibo in former years, they are no better.

This subject deeply fears they will harm my sovereign, yet I lack the power to protect him. But I thought that the Sage Son of Heaven, who governs all under Heaven with loyalty, filial piety, benevolence, and righteousness, surely could not stand by and allow Wu-Yue to see four rulers enthroned in two years.

If Great King Qian Chu of the Qian clan is a man of loyalty and righteousness, he will naturally know that surrendering his land and presenting a memorial to return to the state is the proper path.

What this subject desires is to awaken Great King Qian, to bring him back to the right path, and also to borrow the authority of the Sage Son of Heaven to overawe men like Hu Jinsi, so that they dare not act recklessly again."

Well said. Zhang Zhao felt like applauding. And this was exactly the awareness he wanted—as for what the reason was, he was not so concerned. Besides, the reason Pei Jian had found was quite excellent.

Setting everything else aside, just as Pei Jian said: if, at the very time when he, Sage Zhang, was vigorously propagating loyalty, filial piety, benevolence, and righteousness—especially loyalty and righteousness—Qian Hongchu were deposed by Hu Jinsi and his ilk, and Wu-Yue saw four kings changed in two years, would that not be a slap in the face of Sage Zhang?

The moment Pei Jian finished speaking, he knew he had guessed Zhang Zhao's mind correctly, because Zhang Zhao had personally helped him to his feet, and his manner was exceedingly amiable—clearly he was prepared to accept him.

Pei Jian could not help pinching his own thigh. The pain instantly sobered him a little, and inwardly he kept warning himself: never treat a founding sovereign like this Shaoming Son of Heaven as if he were a ruler like Qian Yuanguan or Qian Zuo.

"What sort of man is this Hu Jinsi? Is he a... ah, is he a powerful minister like Wang Dao or Huan Wen?"

Zhang Zhao had been about to say "a man of Cao Cao or Wang Mang's sort," but suddenly remembered that Emperor Wu of Wei, Cao Cao, was nominally the ancestor of the Empress's family, so he hastily changed the comparison to the less precise Wang Dao and Huan Wen.

Pei Jian hesitated for a moment, then still shook his head. "This man Hu Jinsi, though he has acted domineeringly, is not of the sort of Wang Dao or Huan Wen.

In his early years he followed King Wusu, and won considerable merit in battle. Thereafter he served two rulers and held real power, yet he never harbored disloyal intentions—he only wished to preserve his family's wealth and rank.

Moreover, Wu-Yue is different from the great dynasty. The great dynasty was founded single-handedly by the Sage, and the other famous ministers and generals were merely followers.

But Wu-Yue rose from the Eight Garrisons of Hangzhou. King Zhongsu was elevated to his position by acclamation back then, and afterward he relied heavily on the power of the great families of eastern and western Zhe.

Therefore, although the Qian clan holds the title of Great King, they cannot decide state affairs with a single word."

Zhang Zhao understood now. Wu-Yue was in fact a crowdfunded franchise company—the realm had been won by everyone acclaiming Qian Liu.

When Qian Liu was on the throne, he had wanted to use the Wuyong Garrison, the surrendered troops of Sun Ru, to consolidate power, but in the end he did not succeed.

Since even the founding king was like this, it naturally became the established custom. His son Qian Yuanguan, when on the throne, also respected this way of doing things, and so the state was stable and the economy developed.

When Qian Yuanguan's son Qian Zuo succeeded to the throne, he was young and headstrong, arrogant and conceited, and acted with excessive impatience.

He treated these minor shareholders within Wu-Yue as hired general managers—if they did not perform, he immediately "fired" them. Physically fired them.

This provoked resistance from the Wu-Yue shareholders. Hu Jinsi raised his arm and gave the call, and Qian Zuo went to heaven. Qian Hongzong refused to submit, and was likewise immediately deposed.

Pei Jian continued, "Hu Jinsi is now, in truth, riding a tiger and finding it hard to dismount. At the age of ninety he has still done such a thing, and he lives in fear that his family will not be safe after his death.

The inner yabing guards took part in deposing their sovereign, and their appetites have been whetted—they are much like the Weibo yabing guards of former years. To call him a Wang Dao or Huan Wen is really overestimating him."

Zhang Zhao rubbed his chin and thought for a moment. Even Pei Jian could see that Zhang Zhao's promotion of loyalty and righteousness meant he could not tolerate the way Hu Jinsi and his ilk were carrying on in Wu-Yue.

Could an old fox like Hu Jinsi—who at ninety still dared to stage a coup and murder his sovereign—not know this?

Why did he not intervene in the selection of envoys in order to deceive and cover things up, but instead made Pei Jian—who had been sent to the court several times and was very likely to be bought off by the court—the chief envoy?

But Zhang Zhao did not show this doubt. Instead he continued to ask Pei Jian, "Since Hu Jinsi is being roasted over the fire and is no Wang Dao or Huan Wen, what is Tingshi's view?"

Tingshi was Pei Jian's courtesy name. Hearing the Emperor call him directly by his courtesy name, Pei Jian's heart tightened, as if he sensed something, but he could only steel himself and continue.

"Sage, at this moment in Wu-Yue, high and low alike are all tangled together. The troubles are like silk threads wound around each other, very hard to untangle. To break the deadlock, there is no choice but to rely on outside force.

Hu Jinsi and his ilk have committed great crimes, but if the Sage were to launch a punitive expedition, it would instead unite these troublesome elements.

Though they could not resist the celestial army, once the flames of war rise, the people of Wu-Yue will surely live in deep misery, and a Wu-Yue reduced to ruins is certainly not what the Sage wants."

"If the Sage can be magnanimous and spare Hu Jinsi and the others, resolving this difficulty for him, it will not only avert a war but also win their hearts."

"Mm." Zhang Zhao nodded, narrowing his eyes slightly and fixing Pei Jian with a look that made his hair stand on end.

"So that's why Hu Jinsi sent you, Pei Jian — the two of you have been in league all along."

"And Pei Jian, it seems, is also from Huzhou. The two of them may even be relatives."

"These words — you worked them out with Hu Jinsi and came specifically to say them to Us, didn't you!"

Pei Jian felt as if struck by lightning. He truly had not expected Zhang Zhao to find the heart of the matter so quickly. After his whole body went numb for a long moment, Pei Jian prostrated himself on the ground and knocked his head against the floor.

"The Sage, from a thousand li away, perceives all things — truly a sovereign sage!

Your servant deserves death ten thousand times and dares not deceive the Sage. When I set out, Hu Jinsi did indeed discuss this with me, but the predicament Hu Jinsi and the others are in is also real.

They truly are no Wang Dao or Huan Wen, nor do they have the standing to be Wang Dao or Huan Wen. They only hope the Sage can forgive their offenses, so that in days to come they may serve the Sage."

Pei Jian's heart went ice-cold. This Shaoming Son of Heaven was too formidable — he had seen straight through Hu Jinsi's ploy. Now he would surely distrust this newly submitted Wuyue minister even more. Disaster was at hand.

At that thought, Pei Jian grew even more afraid, and his body, prostrate on the ground, began to tremble faintly.

Was Zhang Zhao angry? He was not angry at all. In this world, how many ministers like Zhuge Kongming could one find — men both capable and free of self-interest?

This Pei Jian had only just decided to submit; he would not be some pure-hearted minister either. What he considered first was naturally his own interests. A man who could share the court's burdens and solve its difficulties while preserving his own interests already counted as usable.

When Pei Jian said just now that Wuyue was not the Qian family's Wuyue but a joint-stock company, he was in effect saying that he, Pei Jian, and his family were also minor shareholders in that company.

Such a man naturally could not be used the way Zhang Xichong, Yan Jin, Murong Xinzhang, and Pei Yuan were used — but neither could he be beaten to death with a single club.

So Zhang Zhao did not immediately have Pei Jian dragged away. Instead he told him to raise his head, then asked again, very gravely: "Are Hu Jinsi and the others truly usable?"

A surge of joy rushed into Pei Jian's heart. He kowtowed three times heavily, then cried: "Truly usable!

Rulers and ministers throughout Wuyue have long yearned to return to the nation. When I set out, Hu Jinsi said that so long as the Sage has use for them, they would be willing even to ruin their families and exhaust their fortunes."

Zhang Zhao thought for a moment. At present, most ships sailing east to Japan departed from Mingzhou — the area around what later generations would call Ningbo.

This was precisely the territory of Hu Jinsi and his faction. Presumably Wuyue's shipbuilding base was also located here.

Mingzhou was several thousand li from the Central Plains. Zhang Zhao could not sit in Mingzhou to supervise, and Murong Xinzhang could not remain there long-term either.

Therefore, to use Mingzhou as one of the main departure points for Murong Xinzhang's eastern expedition against Japan, he would indeed need to rely on Hu Jinsi and the other locals.

But Zhang Zhao was not about to let them off easily. His small eyes narrowed, and a scheme came to mind. Looking at Pei Jian, he said: "Hu Jinsi and the others may have acted under duress, but to rise in rebellion against their lord is a crime of the greatest evil, and truly cannot be forgiven."

Pei Jian was no fool. If the crime were truly unpardonable, the Emperor would simply have ordered troops dispatched to execute them — why state it so plainly? To say it this way naturally meant there was still a chance.

At once he continued prostrating himself and kowtowing on the ground, until his forehead was bruised black and blue. His mouth said nothing else, only wailing: "Sage, spare my life!"

Only after Pei Jian had kowtowed several more times did Zhang Zhao slowly speak. "Out of pity that you acted under duress, the death penalty may perhaps be remitted — but the living punishment cannot be escaped!"

This was exactly the sentence Pei Jian had been waiting for. He immediately stopped kowtowing and said: "I submit entirely to the Sage's judgment!"

Zhang Zhao shook his head. "This is not a matter for Us to judge. If you ask Us to judge, then We can only sentence you to death!"

Pei Jian gritted his teeth. The Shaoming Son of Heaven was making him walk into the trap himself! Hardening his heart, he said: "Your servant can persuade Hu Jinsi and the others to submit a pledge of allegiance!"

"How would they submit it? And what would this pledge be?"

"Your servant can have Hu Jinsi and the others write out in their own hand how they murdered King Zhongxian in the past. If they ever dare betray you, the Sage can proclaim it to the world, and they will surely be utterly disgraced, their entire clans destroyed."

King Zhongxian was Qian Zuo. Officially he had died of a sudden illness. If Hu Jinsi and the others wrote it out in their own hand, it would indeed be a powerful hold over them.

Without this hold, if Zhang Zhao punished Hu Jinsi and the others, the local people would surely be resentful. To suppress them, it would take no less than five or eight years before the seething discontent could be quelled — and the matter of building a naval base at Mingzhou could not even be discussed.

But with this, it would be entirely legitimate. Qian Liu had treated the people of Wuyue well, and they would surely not support Hu Jinsi and the others.

A vicious scheme! And from this one could see that Pei Jian had certainly not taken part in Hu Jinsi's rebellion. It seemed he was even more usable than Zhang Zhao had imagined.

Excellent! With a hold over Hu Jinsi and the others, he could half-control Wuyue for the present, and in the future it could become the main base for the navy's eastern expedition against Japan. Not bad!

"Tell Hu Jinsi and the others: if any further mishap befalls Qian Hongzong, they can wait for their entire clans to be buried with him!"

In the end, Sage Zhang delivered this stern warning to Pei Jian.

This was the truth. As things stood now, Zhang Zhao could still find a way to suppress the matter. But if Qian Hongzong met with another mishap, then Zhang Zhao would rather lay Wuyue to waste.

Pei Jian was overjoyed, and cried out from the ground that he would not dare.

(End of Chapter)

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