Chapter 1542: Sovereign and Subject, Uncle and Nephew

"Lord Li, what we discussed today truly must not be disclosed to outsiders. I must ask you, my lord, to absolutely not speak of it to anyone." Ning Zeguang suddenly admonished Li Jingsi.

So he is still afraid I'll wag my tongue in front of the Crown Prince? Li Jingsi smiled bitterly to himself.

Although the Crown Prince tours on behalf of Heaven, in the end he is nothing more than a teenage boy. What great authority could he possibly have to handle such matters? Telling the Crown Prince would only bring trouble upon myself, wouldn't it? No benefit at all, and I'd earn nothing but the vile reputation of driving a wedge between the Crown Prince and the Marshal.

"Advisor Ning, rest assured, I would never play the petty villain!" he immediately declared his resolve.

"That is good, then." Ning Zeguang's smile grew even more cheerful.

While these two were conversing, the fleet had already entered the harbor and was gradually slowing its speed.

The mighty and majestic fleet had now fully revealed its towering grandeur, imposing an indescribable sense of suffocation upon everyone present—even though most of them were battle-hardened warriors.

The foremost warship, the largest in size, was naturally the fleet flagship carrying the Crown Prince: the Songshan.

When the warship was only a few zhang from the pier, the gunports on both sides of its hull suddenly swung down, and cannon after cannon, dark and brooding, were thus concealed within the body of the ship. This reduced some of the sea beast's ferocious menace, leaving only its solemn majesty.

Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, Duke of Ji and Marshal Chen Sheng slowly raised his hand, then swung it down heavily.

"Fire!" An officer observing his movements from afar immediately shouted.

The artillerymen, already standing by in full readiness, at once began to ignite the guns.

Boom! Boom!

The deafening roar of cannon fire, one blast after another, startled the gulls and herons from the sea and also expressed the fervent welcome of all the civil and military officials of Liaodong for the Crown Prince's arrival.

Accompanied by the thunder of the salute cannons, the Songshan continued forward unhurriedly and finally came to a stop beside the pier.

Then, a long wooden gangplank was lowered from the ship's deck.

Marshal Chen walked unhurriedly to the gangplank and then stepped onto it.

"Lord Li, would you care to go up together?" Seeing the undisguised envy on Li Jingsi's face, Ning Zeguang asked the Governor with a smile.

"No… no need." Li Jingsi gave a start and quickly shook his head in refusal. "The Marshal may go ahead to receive him; I shall await the Crown Prince and the Marshal down here."

He recalled that Marshal Chen had close ties with the imperial family, and the Crown Prince had very likely brought some personal message from the Emperor. If he were standing right there watching at that moment, wouldn't he just be an eyesore to both the Crown Prince and the Marshal?

"My lord is truly a man of noble character and integrity. I thank you." Ning Zeguang smiled his thanks with a meaningful look, then followed Marshal Chen onto the gangplank.

The Marshal's steps were very forceful, and his expression remained unchanged, as if he were walking on flat ground. Ning Zeguang was more agile; he deliberately quickened his pace to catch up behind the Marshal.

"Marshal, Governor Li is fairly sensible after all. As long as he is here, life won't be so difficult for everyone in the future," he said quietly from behind and to the side of the Marshal. "You can set your mind at ease now, can't you, Marshal?"

"At ease or not at ease," the Marshal's pace did not slow as he continued ascending step by step, "if the court truly intended to investigate, why would they wait until now to establish the province? And why would they proceed so slowly?"

"Marshal, do you mean… could it be that the court has no intention of pursuing anyone?" Ning Zeguang was taken aback. "Then… then why…"

He wanted to ask the Marshal why he had then required him to be so obsequious toward Li Jingsi, but he felt it would be too impertinent, so he held his tongue.

"If we don't humble ourselves a little, how can we make those below feel fear, and how can we make everyone respect the authority of the court?" Little did he know, the Marshal seemed to see right through his thoughts and directly gave a cold laugh. "Today, with the Governor and the high officers of the Shenyang garrison rarely all present, after this display of yours, they will probably understand that the court's majesty is no empty talk."

"So… so that is how it is…" Ning Zeguang was first stunned, then suddenly saw the light. But then he felt a pang of indignation for his superior. "Marshal… you, a man of your stature, why must you go to such lengths?"

"What stature do I have? I am the Duke of Ji of the Great Han, the Marshal of all its armies!" The Marshal's reply was still very curt, his steps never pausing. "I hold the court's highest title of nobility and its highest salary. If I do not think for the Great Han, must I wait for others to do my thinking for me?"

"Does the Marshal truly intend to deal with things severely from now on?" Ning Zeguang now understood the Marshal's intent.

"They have fed for a few years; they should be full by now." The Marshal stepped onto the last wooden stair. "My old brothers have followed me through life and death for so many years. In the founding of the new dynasty, they were all meritorious subjects. If I didn't let them take a little capital home, if I didn't give them a good retirement, how could I bear it in my heart? But after feeding for these few years, it should be enough. If they don't rein themselves in now, how will the court and the people of the realm view our Liaodong Army? And how will they view me? There is a limit to the court's generosity toward meritorious officials…"

"Ah… what the Marshal says is all sound principle. If only they all understood the Marshal's painstaking intentions, why would we need to go through all this today…" Ning Zeguang let out a long sigh.

He himself had no strong desire for wealth, so despite being Marshal Chen's trusted aide, he had never sought personal gain for himself. Perhaps that was precisely why the Marshal placed such special trust in him. Others, however, were different. Ning Zeguang himself knew of many colleagues who secretly engaged in commerce and land acquisition, and he had long been troubled by this phenomenon, remonstrating with the Marshal about it several times.

He could more or less guess the Marshal's thoughts: they were all his own brothers, men who had faced life and death together for so many years. Who could truly bear to deal with them ruthlessly? That the Marshal had only been ambiguous for a few years could already be considered loyal to the state and considerate of his comrades.

Looking at it from this angle, perhaps the court's establishment of the province had not displeased the Marshal after all; it had stripped him of some power but also given him a good pretext to restrain his subordinates.

While he was still lost in thought, the Marshal had already ascended the final step and set foot on the deck.

The sailors and officers of the warship, already assembled together, recognized his identity the moment they saw the medals pinned to his chest and immediately saluted him in unison.

The captain of the ship stepped forward and bowed to the Marshal again. As the captain of the Songshan, he was ordinarily a figure of some importance in the navy, a man with a boundless future ahead of him. Usually, he carried himself with haughty arrogance before his subordinates and colleagues, but before the Marshal, he was nothing more than a minor pawn.

The Marshal raised his hand in return salute. At this moment, Ning Zeguang behind him also came up. Seeing the massive Silver Orchid Medal on his chest, the others saluted them once more.

And just at that moment, several people happened to emerge from a cabin.

The person on the left was dressed in a naval uniform and also wore medals. The Marshal recognized him as Cai De, Marquis of Langya, the commander of the Northern Fleet.

The person on the right was an old subordinate of his, now enfeoffed as the Count of Xingyang, Zhao Song. Zhao Song was now also looking at him with a face full of smiles, radiating smug satisfaction.

And the one standing in the middle was a youth. The youth had a square, honest face and was not tall, but his expression was solemn, giving him a precocious maturity beyond his years. At the same time, though he appeared very amiable, one could faintly discern between his brows a trace of His Majesty's shadow from years past, carrying a natural dignity of its own.

The Crown Prince has truly grown up… A new generation replaces the old; it is indeed time. A sigh of emotion inexplicably rose in Chen Sheng's heart.

"Uncle!" The Crown Prince was visibly moved the moment he saw Chen Sheng.

Although he had not met Marshal Chen in person all these years, during his lessons he had heard countless times from his tutors the stories of how the dynasty had risen from humble beginnings, hacking through brambles and thorns step by step, until it finally seized the realm. And in those stories, this uncle's meritorious deeds and glorious achievements were repeatedly mentioned, so he naturally held a degree of admiration for Chen Sheng.

Now, seeing the man in person, he felt the heroic spirit emanating from the Marshal at the very first glance, and he could not help but be stirred by it.

"Your subject greets the Crown Prince!" Though his heart was stirred, Chen Sheng's movements were not the slightest bit slow. Together with Ning Zeguang behind him, he bowed deeply. "May the Crown Prince live ten thousand years, ten thousand times ten thousand years!"

"Uncle, please rise!" Seeing the Marshal perform such a salute to him, the Crown Prince hurriedly rushed forward to help him up. "Uncle need not stand on such ceremony… Please rise, please rise!"

"The Crown Prince is the realm's heir apparent and tours on behalf of the Son of Heaven. As a subject, I must not be remiss in the slightest propriety." After the Crown Prince reached out to support him, Chen Sheng slowly straightened his back. "Your subject Chen Sheng respectfully welcomes His Highness the Crown Prince on his tour of Liaodong."

Then, he studied the Crown Prince, and for a moment found himself speechless.

"Uncle?"

"Your Highness tours on behalf of Heaven; you must not show excessive familiarity with your subject, lest the royal dignity be compromised. You may address your subject by official title or noble rank…" Chen Sheng carefully reminded the Crown Prince, and then his voice suddenly trembled slightly. "Your Highness, Crown Prince… seeing Your Highness's bearing, your subject… is deeply gratified. It is as if I were seeing His Majesty in those bygone years."

The Crown Prince was momentarily taken aback.

He had been told many times that he resembled his father, but coming from Marshal Chen, who had always remained by his Imperial Father's side, the words carried exceptional weight.

"Thank you, Uncl… Thank you, Duke of Ji!"

He kept holding the Duke of Ji's hand, his own heart greatly stirred.

"Your Highness, may I ask, is His Majesty in good health now?" After the initial surge of emotion gradually subsided, Chen Sheng inquired after the imperial health.

"His Majesty is in good health; the Duke may set his mind at ease." The Crown Prince quickly answered. "My Imperial Father in the capital also misses the Duke greatly. He has often said that Liaodong is bitterly cold, and that the Duke remaining there all the time might be detrimental to his health. He also entrusted me to ask how the Duke's health is now?"

"Your servant's body is still hale and healthy; I dare not trouble Your Majesty with concern." Chen Sheng's heart grew increasingly stirred. "Your Highness the Crown Prince, though spring has now begun, Liaodong cannot compare to the capital — it remains bitterly cold. I beg Your Highness to also take good care of your health."

"Many thanks for the reminder, Your Grace."