Chapter 896: Extra 1 — Baoshan Bay: The Kite Transforms into a Luan and Phoenix, Its First Cry Rings Out

Extra 1 — Baoshan Bay: The Kite Transforms into a Luan and Phoenix, Its First Cry Rings Out

Extra 1 — Baoshan Bay: The Kite Transforms into a Luan and Phoenix, Its First Cry Rings Out

The salty, damp sea breeze of the Mediterranean drifted slowly into the city of Damascus, bringing with it the faint, damp chill unique to the Mediterranean coast in autumn.

But this was not ordinary, for Damascus is shielded by the Golan Heights and two ranges of the Lebanon Mountains, and on ordinary days the Mediterranean's influence on Damascus generally cannot be felt.

Yet today, everyone felt it.

Just as they watched in utter shock as the army of the Fatimid dynasty, flying green banners, marched into Damascus in a relatively peaceful manner.

One must understand, the Ismaili sect of Islam followed by the Fatimid dynasty was one of the most important branches of the Shia.

And after the Abbasid dynasty had initially used the Shia to rise to power, it immediately turned on them and ruthlessly persecuted the Shia.

The descendants of the Hamdanid dynasty who now controlled Damascus were themselves of Abbasid origin, and had also carried out policies persecuting the Shia.

Even the founder of the Fatimid dynasty, Sayyid Hussein, had been forced to flee to North Africa for refuge because of Abbasid persecution, and had even been thrown into prison.

But now, the descendants of the Hamdanid dynasty had actually abandoned the title of Sultan and welcomed the Fatimid Caliph into Damascus, which could only mean that some more formidable figure had forced the Hamdanid Sultan to bow his head.

Hmm, this formidable figure was also rather conspicuous.

Abu Mansur Nizar al-Aziz Billah. This fifth Caliph of the Fatimid dynasty looked upon the somewhat crumbling walls of Damascus and let out a long sigh.

"If there is a paradise on earth, Damascus must be in it. If paradise is in the heavens, Damascus shares its name.

This is the city of paradise belonging to our faith! If We do not enter Damascus soon, these fools will let it be destroyed at the hands of the infidels."

This was the twenty-sixth year of Qianyuan, the autumn of 985 CE.

After three heart-stopping sieges of Damascus, the Hamdanid Sultan Ali could hold out no longer, and he abandoned the orthodox legitimacy he had upheld for twenty years since the Abbasid Caliph had been carried off.

When Sultan Ali threw open the eight gates of Damascus and welcomed the Fatimid Caliph al-Aziz, it marked the complete end of the Abbasid dynasty, the Black Banner Arabs.

The legitimacy of Islam passed into the hands of the Fatimid dynasty, known as the Green Banner Arabs.

At this point, the war on Arab lands was about to enter its final stage.

Everyone understood that if the Fatimid dynasty fell as well, then no one would be able to stop the Taohuashi people and their vassal, the Kingdom of Persia.

The Great Dynasty, Great Treasure, Great Kingdom of Persia, Tianjuan City, Sheng'en Temple.

As the hour of morning prayers approached, the monks gathered in the great hall and loudly chanted the Supreme Scripture of Deliverance from Calamity, and the fifteen-hundred-jin bronze bell of Sheng'en Temple rang out clang, clang, its sound carrying throughout the entire city.

Tianjuan City, whose full name was the City of Supreme Heavenly Grace and Favor, was in fact Baghdad.

Twenty years earlier, the Hamdanid Sultan Alim had fled in defeat, and Baghdad had quickly fallen to the Zhou army, which, after carrying off great quantities of gold, silver, treasure, books, and maps from the city, handed it over to the Samanid Persian Emir Ansu (Mansur).

Handed over together with Baghdad was the whole of Iraq and the lands surrounding Baoshan Bay (the Persian Gulf).

Fifteen years earlier, the Zhou army had also smashed the Qarmatian Imamate and the Imamate of Oman further south, placing them all under the jurisdiction of the Persian dynasty.

Thus the territory of the Kingdom of Persia now comprised the entire later Iraq plus Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman, Qatar, and part of Saudi Arabia — in later times, one would truly call that dripping with wealth.

In gratitude, Ansu renamed Baghdad the City of Supreme Heavenly Grace and Favor, and after being enfeoffed as Great King of Persia, made it his capital.

Of course he was grateful, for the Kingdom of Persia could be said to be the wealthiest state in the entire Five Western Provinces.

The Persians who followed Ansu to Iraq numbered only a little over seven hundred thousand, yet they ruled close to nine million Arabs of various tribes, and every one of them had gained enormous benefits.

Thus over these twenty years, all the dirty and exhausting work — persuading people to convert, rooting out hidden underground sects, the three sieges of Damascus, and so on — had been undertaken and presided over by the Great King of Persia, Ansu.

To this day, this Great King of Persia, who had been entrusted by his father Emir Hamid to his aunt Zhaorong Sefiye and raised by Guo Zhou'er as Sefiye's sworn younger sister, had become Zhang Zhou's most useful white glove and enforcer in the far west.

Morning prayers concluded, the Great King of Persia Ansu took his queen by the arm, and the two walked intimately out of Sheng'en Temple. Cao Guangshi, Grand General of the Palace Guard, who had long been waiting outside, immediately stepped forward to report:

"Great King, Ali of Damascus has submitted. He welcomed the Caliph al-Aziz, who rules Egypt, into the Umayyad Mosque. It seems he is determined to oppose us to the end."

Ansu flew into a rage. "That wretch Ali has no sense of decency! I sent envoys several times, guaranteeing wealth and honor for his whole family, yet he ignored them, and instead handed Damascus over to the jackals. Let us see how he gets out of this!"

But unlike Ansu's fury, Kou Zhun, the Chancellor of Persia, who had been personally appointed by the Great Emperor to enrich his resume and broaden his experience in the Kingdom of Persia, burst out laughing.

Ansu of course knew that this Chancellor of his was no ordinary man. He was the greatest young talent the Emperor valued most, and once his gilding here was complete, upon returning home he would start at the rank of Participant in Determining Government Affairs at the very least, and in the future would become a President of the Department of State Affairs.

So when he saw Kou Zhun laughing heartily, he was not annoyed, but instead asked with a chuckle in completely unaccented Heluo speech: "Why does Pingzhong laugh so heartily? Could this actually be a good thing?"

Kou Zhun looked at the nearby Princess Wei of the State Zhang Yuan, who was brimming with excitement, and said to Ansu with a smile: "It seems the Princess has already understood. Why not let Her Highness explain it to the Prince Consort?"

Princess Wei of the State Zhang Yuan, originally named Zhang Qiyuan, was the sixteenth daughter of Zhang Zhao, born to Yelu Abuli. From childhood she had disliked feminine attire and loved martial dress, was skilled in archery and horsemanship, and could wield spear and sword, just like a man.

As she grew, she delighted in commenting on the affairs of the world, befriending young heroes and bold men of humble origins who came to the capital, and helping them display their talents. Thus she enjoyed outstanding renown in the Divine Capital, very much in the manner of Princess Yuzhen, sister of Emperor Xuanzong, in former times.

The Enyuan Trading Company and Enyuan Banking Association that she ran with her mother Yelu Abuli was the third-largest commercial group within Zhang Zhou's realm specializing in providing financing for Xia lords and Yi subjects.

It could be said that Zhang Yuan, relying on her mother Yelu Abuli, had from a very young age displayed extremely strong political ambition and flexible political skills.

In the eighteenth year of Qianyuan, 977 CE, the Great King of Persia Ansu requested marriage from Zhang Zhao for the fifth time, hoping to wed a princess.

Zhang Zhao had not originally wanted his daughter to marry so far away, but he truly could no longer refuse.

For in order to marry a princess of the Great Dynasty, Ansu had remained unmarried until the age of twenty-seven, and had not yet produced any heirs, all while waiting for Zhang Zhao's favor.

Every year on Zhang Zhao's birthday and on the Lantern Festival he would invariably send his closest kin as envoys, traveling ten thousand li back to pay court and present great quantities of treasure, more diligent in his visits than Zhang Zhao's own sons.

Such sincerity — even the common people of the Divine Capital felt it was more than enough.

Moreover, in the far west, Zhang Zhou could not do without Ansu and his Great Dynasty, Great Treasure, Great Kingdom of Persia. So at the Lantern Festival family banquet, Zhang Zhao announced that from among his fourteen daughters of marriageable age, one would be chosen to marry far away to Tianjuan City.

At the time, all the princesses showed fear, and only Zhang Qiyuan stepped forward, willing to marry far away, willing to share her father's burdens and secure for Great Zhou this white glove and good enforcer in the far west.

Zhang Zhao was overjoyed, and immediately enfeoffed Zhang Qiyuan as Princess Wei of the State, bestowing upon her the name Yuan.

Yuan means eagle — which shows that although our Sage Zhang has aged, his mind is still quite clear, and he knows exactly what kind of temperament this daughter of his has.

Born of Yelu Abuli, after all — it would be abnormal for her to lack political ambition. One must remember that this little wildcat, in the original history, rebelled against her brother Yelu Ruan three separate times; her political ambition was terrifyingly great.

In the twentieth year of Qianyuan, 979 CE, Princess Wei of the State Zhang Yuan set out with a vast dowry.

It included two thousand sets of iron armor, three thousand five hundred sets of leather armor, four thousand Hexi dragon horses and heavenly horses, two thousand crossbows, six thousand bows of various kinds, and ten thousand sabers, spears, swords, and halberds.

With the one thousand ceremonial guards granted by Zhang Zhao, and the six thousand men Zhang Yuan herself recruited from the common people by virtue of her former renown — younger sons of meritorious officials, brave lads of Helong, steppe riders, and wandering heroes of the Central Plains — along with tens of thousands of mules, horses, and camels, she married into the Kingdom of Persia in magnificent procession.

The westward marriage of Princess Wei of the State held tremendous significance for the entire far west and the Arab lands.

The Great King of Persia Ansu thereby truly entered the Zhang imperial clan, and the Kingdom of Persia became, to a certain extent, one of the states of the Various Xia.

At the same time, with the support of Zhang Zhao and Yelu Abuli, the dowry brought by Princess Wei of the State Zhang Yuan could be said to be extraordinarily lavish, even more lavish than the enfeoffments of some imperial princes.

Her arrival had enormously strengthened the Kingdom of Persia, which was why there had been a second and a third siege of Damascus.

Otherwise, after being repulsed in the first Battle of Damascus, the Kingdom of Persia would in fact have had no capacity left to continue attacking.

This was also why Ansu, though he held the dignity of a king, preferred others to address him as Prince Consort.

Zhang Yuan waved the surrounding maids and guards away, then smilingly drew Ansu to sit down in a pavilion. Although the two were twelve years apart in age, their affection for each other was excellent.

Because they shared the same aspirations and ambitions, they could resonate in soul at the same frequency. After Zhang Yuan arrived, Ansu had even immediately dismissed all his concubines and handed over the entire authority of the rear palace to Zhang Yuan.

"Great King, do you know why we have besieged Damascus three times yet have never been able to take it?"

Zhang Yuan asked softly, but without waiting for Ansu to answer, she immediately supplied the answer herself.

"It is because we cannot mobilize all the strength of the five westernmost provinces. My brothers do not support our entry into Damascus.

Because then the Kingdom of Persia would become too large, and would even have the strength to lead all the Xia states of the far west.

But now, a descendant of Fatima has entered Damascus, and a powerful enemy has appeared. If we do not go and defeat him, the security of the five westernmost provinces will be threatened. Even if my brothers can ignore it, Father Emperor will not permit it."

"Exactly! If Aziz has taken Damascus, then he will become the third caliphal family, after the Umayyad Caliphate and the Abbasid Caliphate, with hopes of unifying the Arabs. This is a threat, but it is also our opportunity."

Ansu was also greatly excited. It must be known that before this, after Crown Prince Zhang Xianjing personally led a great army to storm Baghdad, the joint command of the five westernmost provinces had been disbanded.

For these twenty years, it had in fact been Ansu's Kingdom of Persia fighting alone against the Hamdanid dynasty of Damascus.

The only one who could give them a little aid was the Great King of Qi, Zhang Xianzhi, the eleventh son of the Emperor, whose mother was Zhao Rongniang, who had his capital at Tongzhi City (Shiraz) and ruled the former southwestern Persia.

However, because Zhang Xianzhi's maternal family specialized in medicine, he had not received much support in military force when he was enfeoffed. After his enfeoffment, the Persians in his domain rebelled frequently, and the security war dragged on for over a decade, so the help he could give Ansu and the Kingdom of Persia was limited.

Therefore, the words of the State-Protecting Princess Zhang Yuan were reasonable. The reason the Kingdom of Persia had besieged Damascus three times and never been able to take it was that it had not received the full support of the Xia states of the five westernmost provinces.

And now, the Caliph Aziz of the Fatimid dynasty had recklessly entered Damascus, instantly shattering the balance of power between the two sides.

The Great Zhou and the Xia states of the far west would certainly not permit a unified Arab kingdom to appear at their side. A great war was bound to break out.

"However, even so, it will not be easy to get the Medicine Master Light King Buddha and my brothers to send troops. There is no such thing in this world as getting people to work for free."

The Great King of Persia, Ansu, was still very clear-headed. He knew that even if the Xia states were forced to come support him, they would not permit the Kingdom of Persia to hold both Tianjuan City and Damascus at the same time.

If that happened, the Kingdom of Persia would become the third dynasty to unify the Arabs.

"Then split it up!" The State-Protecting Princess Zhang Yuan gritted her teeth and said through clenched teeth:

"Split off Tianjuan City and Xiliang City (Basra). Leave Tianjuan City to the eldest son, and give Xiliang City away — give it to the eldest son of a concubine of Brother King An. You and I, husband and wife, will go to Syria and Canaan to be king and queen. I will personally submit a memorial to Father Emperor to beg his gracious approval."

"Hiss!" Cao Guangshi, the great general of the Imperial Guard, could not help sucking in a breath of cold air. Once again, his understanding of the upper limits of the State-Protecting Princess Zhang Yuan was refreshed.

This was a truly ruthless person! In order to obtain Damascus, she was actually willing to split up the present Kingdom of Persia.

Amid Cao Guangshi's cold hiss, Ansu also wore a pained expression. Iraq was a fine place! It was the largest grain-producing region near Baoshan Bay.

Although Tianjuan City was still left to the eldest son, the Zhang Zhou Imperial Clan Court managed such matters very strictly.

Once a split enfeeoffment of this kind was established, when the enfeoffed lord reached the age of twelve, the Imperial Clan Court would select a State Chancellor, Left and Right Chief Clerks, and others to assist in forming a government, and at eighteen he would assume personal rule.

That is to say, once it was enfeoffed out, the time the couple would control Tianjuan City would be only about seven or eight years.

Even if the Emperor was far away and his reach limited, and they could to some degree influence the officials sent by the Imperial Clan Court, it would still be less than fifteen years.

Then Tianjuan City would become an independent kingdom. As for Xiliang (Basra), that would be directly carved away!

"Only by losing can one gain. How could all the advantages in the world be ours alone?

Syria and Canaan are no worse than Tianjuan City, and this is a heaven-sent opportunity. If we do not occupy them today, later generations will never be able to obtain them. I beg the Great King to decide quickly."

The Syria Zhang Yuan spoke of was Greater Syria in the geographical sense, including the later Syria, the Kurdish regions of Turkey, and most of Lebanon.

Canaan was the greater Palestine region, including Palestine, Jordan, the Sinai Peninsula of Egypt, Lebanon, and part of Saudi Arabia.

This was a fine place, and had always been very wealthy.

Hearing Zhang Yuan say this, the King of Persia Ansu pondered for a moment, then also gritted his teeth and nodded. "Those who plant trees for later generations to enjoy the shade — a father giving his sons a bit more of the family property is only right. Let's do it!"

Kou Zhun had been slowly drinking tea the whole time. Only after the King of Persia and the State-Protecting Princess, husband and wife, had both decided to do it did he speak:

"Since we are going to do it, the Great King and Her Highness the Princess might as well add fuel to the fire and divide off a little of the pearl industry of Baoshan Bay as well, letting all the great kings of the five westernmost provinces take shares — and especially giving His Highness the Crown Prince a substantial share of free equity."

Baoshan Bay was simply the Persian Gulf. Unlike the later impression of this place as all desert, wealthy from selling oil, at this time Baoshan Bay had an extremely profitable industry: pearl diving.

It could be said that at this time, seventy percent of all the pearls in the world came from the South Baoshan Province of the Kingdom of Persia — that is, the later area of Bahrain, Qatar, and Oman.

It was said that historically the great filial son Emperor Wen of Wei, Cao Pi, obtained a giant purple pearl called Purple Qi from the East, which was placed on his Heaven-Reaching Crown, and it was produced here in Baoshan Bay.

By the Northern Song period, the pearl exports of Baoshan Bay amounted to as many as two thousand single-masted dhows a year.

The pearls of this place were the finest of the finest among natural pearls, even better in quality than the East Pearls of historical China.

And in this era when the Silk Road had been completely opened, they held even greater significance.

Because on the Silk Road, the products of the Central Plains were too strong. Silk, porcelain, tea, rhubarb, fine steel, refined sugar — every one of them was a money-making item, and demand was enormous.

What other places could send into the Central Plains was only top-grade timber, various spices, olive oil, fine carpets, ivory, various gems, lapis lazuli, and other luxury goods in small quantities. Thus they had always been in a state of being drained by the Central Plains.

But the pearls of Baoshan Bay were one of the very few products that were light in weight, extremely valuable, in high demand, and capable of reversing the trade deficit — a flagship product.

Kou Zhun had in fact long seen that among the reasons the Xia states were unwilling to help the Kingdom of Persia attack Damascus, the Kingdom of Persia growing too powerful was only a very small part.

What a joke. The elite of the Kingdom of Persia consisted merely of the seven or eight thousand Central Plains armored soldiers and a few thousand Persian warriors the State-Protecting Princess had brought. Even if it annexed Damascus, so what? Could it overturn the heavens with ten thousand elite armored soldiers?

Could they defeat the allied forces of the far western Xia states, which could continuously recruit armored soldiers from the bitter cold steppes, the high mountains of Xiliu (Afghanistan), and the Central Plains? Don't dream!

Even without recruiting, the combined allied forces of the five westernmost Xia provinces had at least two hundred thousand infantry and cavalry, of which at least one hundred fifty thousand were genuine Han elite troops. What could the Kingdom of Persia use to fight them?

What the Xia kings truly coveted was the pearl industry of Baoshan Bay — a great industry with an annual surplus of seven or eight million strings of cash, and it had all been taken by the King of Persia and the State-Protecting Princess, husband and wife. How hateful!

And you still want the Xia kings to come help you attack Damascus? Hah! That they have not come at you with reddened eyes, have not directly come and seized it by force — they have already been exerting primordial strength to control themselves.

The State-Protecting Princess Zhang Yuan did not speak. This was a woman of great vision. She gave up Iraq because she could gain more.

Land — it was everywhere. As long as she obtained the support of Father Emperor and her brothers, even Egypt could be reached.

But money trees were not plentiful, let alone that this money tree was also her hope of recovering after a future setback.

But since Kou Zhun dared to bring it up, he certainly had a way to persuade the State-Protecting Princess. He gave a light cough and said concisely:

"The gazette sent at the Beginning of Summer says that His Highness the Crown Prince has again been blessed with a noble son. This Fifteenth Young Master was born of Lady Qian, the daughter of the Prince of Lu, and is of the most exalted status!"

Most of Kou Zhun's words were nonsense; only the number fifteen was the core.

The current Crown Prince, Prince of Liang Zhang Xianjing, is simply too prolific — not yet forty, he already has fifteen sons. The Sage's sons need to be provided for, and the Crown Prince's sons need to be provided for as well.

And every one of these provisions represents an enormous outlay of money.

To put it simply, the Crown Prince, lacking the Sage's control of a dozen merchant houses and banks, is desperately short of cash.

The Princess of Wei rose to her feet, took a few steps, then looked at Kou Zhun and said, "Minister Kou, I want the Fruit City of India. Can this wish be fulfilled?"

Fruit City is the later Indian Goa, which the Indians call Goparashtra, and which the Han people simply call Fruit City.

By this time the Maritime Silk Road had already begun to flourish — especially after the fifteenth year of Qianyuan (974), when Qian Weicui, sixth son of Qian Hongchu, Prince of Lu, crossed east from Sendai to the Eastern Body Continent in only thirty-six days with a single ship, then returned in twenty-seven days, a feat accomplished in sixty-three days total with crew losses under ten percent. After that, Zhang Zhou's nautical technology began to develop at tremendous speed.

Princess of Wei Zhang Yuan had long seen this, so she had always wanted to seize Fruit City — a city in southwestern India with fertile land, a populace easy to subdue, and a key stopping point after exiting the Gulf of Basra — and build it into a major hub of the Maritime Silk Road.

But the Kingdom of Persia itself had no powerful navy, and on land it still had to contend with the Arabs, so it lacked the strength to conquer and develop Fruit City.

Kou Zhun thought for only five seconds, then immediately nodded and agreed. "Rest assured, Your Highness. Once I return to the Central Plains, I will certainly see this matter done for you."

Old Kou the Westerner was a shrewd one. The Emperor was seventy-three this year, and apart from holding military power, he basically no longer concerned himself with affairs. The governance of the court was all handled by the Crown Prince.

After finishing his gilding next year, he was to return to court to serve as Vice Chief Minister, but if he wanted to advance further and become Chief of the Outer Court as Prefect of the Masters of Writing, or Chief of the Inner Court as Grand Scholar of the Qionglin Academy, he would very much need the Crown Prince's support.

And securing a share of the pearl trade in the Gulf of Basra for the cash-strapped Crown Prince was the best possible way to build a relationship with him.

At the same time, taking Fruit City was difficult for the King of Persia and the Princess of Wei as a couple, but for the court, which had already begun carving out territory in India on a grand scale, it was no great matter.

Seeing Kou Zhun agree, Princess of Wei Zhang Yuan excitedly pumped her fist. Though she had lost the money tree of the Gulf of Basra, she had gained a fallback for herself and her descendants.

If the rule over the Arab lands ever proved unstable, at least the holdings in India would be beyond anyone's reach.

The Kingdom of Anfan, Kangju City (Bukhara).

Zhang Xianyu, King of An, the Western Medicine Master Lapis Lazuli Light King Buddha, turned exactly fifty this year.

Unlike his father Zhang Zhao, who began to gray at fifty, Zhang Xianyu at fifty had a full head of black hair, and his skin still glowed with youthful luster.

At one meal he could eat two jin of flatbread and a jin of meat; in good spirits he could finish an entire roast lamb by himself; and strong grape wine of over thirty percent he could drink two or three jin of without getting drunk.

His health was simply excessive.

With his birthday approaching, all of Anfan was busy preparing his birthday celebrations. It was said that the Crown Prince, the King of Yan, and the King of Chu had all dispatched envoys bearing birthday congratulations, already on the road.

But Zhang Xianyu had not been very happy lately, because his household was not at peace.

When he had first gone to the Five Western Provinces to make his way, his principal wife Lady Pei and his concubine Lady Li had remained in the Central Plains.

Accordingly, his eldest son Zhang Nengying and second son Zhang Nengjie had also remained in the Central Plains, only coming to Transoxiana to reunite with him in the tenth year of Qianyuan (971).

And during those eight years from the second year of Qianyuan to the tenth, he had taken two more consorts in Transoxiana and had a third and fourth son.

This made for trouble. The principal wife and eldest son from the Central Plains believed they were the rightful heirs.

The consorts and the third and fourth sons, who had lived with Zhang Xianyu in Transoxiana for eight years, simply could not accept this, because they were used to having Zhang Xianyu to themselves.

From the moment the principal wife and eldest son arrived, they began fighting among themselves, and by five years ago it had become almost open conflict.

The Kingdom of Anfan was actually not small — roughly equivalent to all of later Turkmenistan and part of Uzbekistan, plus Khorasan in general, that is, northeastern Persia, as well as the later Iranian territory along the Caspian coast.

If it were truly divided up, it could be split into at least five or six grand duchies.

But on one hand, Zhang Xianyu knew his father the Emperor Zhang Zhao would never agree to a division, because the Kingdom of Anfan was the anchor of the Five Western Provinces.

On the other hand, the eldest son and the third son each believed he should take everything, and the other should get nothing.

Zhang Xianyu did indeed favor Consort Kang, whom he had taken in Transoxiana, and his third son Zhang Nengheng, but in his heart he knew clearly that installing the eldest son as heir was the correct choice.

Especially since the eldest son Zhang Nengying was the maternal grandson of Pei Yuan, the founding meritorious official, Prefect of the Masters of Writing, one of the twenty-five meritorious officials painted in the Phoenix Pavilion, posthumously enfeoffed as Prince of Hedong, with the posthumous name Wencheng — Prince Wencheng of Pei.

Although Pei Yuan had been dead for over a decade, the second and third generations of the Pei family were all outstanding, and the court, the provinces, the Academy of Works, and other offices were full of Pei family sons.

The current head of the Pei family, Pei Ji, was Vice Commissioner of Military Affairs, and had served as Grand Defense Commissioner of Helong, Chief Minister of the Hexi Province, Chief Minister of the Anxi Province, and Governor of Ningyuan, among other posts — a general of towering renown in the court.

If he truly tried to change the succession, not only would his father never agree, he would never get past the Pei family.

But if the fighting continued like this, Zhang Xianyu knew that once he closed his eyes, the third and fourth sons would probably follow one after another, "dying of illness."

Once an imperial household breeds resentment, once it has fought over supreme power, that is how cruel it becomes.

Before his own mountain crumbled, he absolutely had to find a place of refuge for his third and fourth sons — this was Zhang Xianyu's present worry.

And just as Zhang Xianyu was in this dilemma, Cao Ding'an, son of the great general Cao Guangshi and secret envoy of the Princess of Wei Zhang Yuan, arrived at Kangju City.

Zhang Xianyu was overjoyed. He did not even look at the other conditions; the moment he heard Cao Ding'an say the Princess of Wei was willing to cede the Western Liang region (Basra), he immediately agreed. This was a pillow delivered just as he was falling asleep!

The Medicine Buddha jumped up from his folding couch at once and shouted gleefully:

"Send couriers to the kingdoms and grand duchies of the Xia — Zheng, Song, Jin, Qi, Han, Zhao, Liao, and the rest — and have them gather at Kangju City for my birthday banquet. We shall hold a great republican assembly!"

Related