Demoness, where are you Fleeing to?
Chapter 730 - 605: Preferring to Suffer While Alive for the Sake of Keeping Face _1

Chapter 730: Chapter 605: Preferring to Suffer While Alive for the Sake of Keeping Face _1

Onodera Keigo had an odd expression on his face: "Marquis of Guanjun, I can accept most of these conditions. To be honest, they have taken me by surprise. You could have told me directly and I would not have refused."

What Li Xuan was asking for involved some testimonies, some material evidence, and a files related to a family annihilation case that happened in Fusou Kyoto, including the ’Kyoto Magistrate’ who was in charge of the case.

The first feeling Onodera Keigo had when he saw it was, why did Li Xuan have to make such a fuss?

These weren’t difficult tasks. Could not Li Xuan directly ask their Fusou delegation? Could they dare to refuse him?

Then he started to speculate about the purpose for Li Xuan wanting these items.

This Marquis of Guanjun, would not aim without a target.

This list might even be related to the current climate of the Great Jin Dynasty.

Li Xuan could not help but raise the corner of his lips in a cold smile: "I guess you’re wondering why I want these things? What is my aim? Are you wondering whether you should carefully investigate their true value and if you can use them as leverage against me?"

Seeing the embarrassed look on Onodera Keigo’s face, he ridiculed with a smile, "Mr. Onodera, to tell you the truth, these items are indeed very important to me. But are you sure you want to make an enemy of me?

I think you should have realized by now, no matter what kind of backer you find in the Jin Dynasty or how strong your reinforcements are, I have ways to prevent you from getting the trading agreement.

Even if you get the trading agreement, you can’t carry out the trade. It’s difficult to accomplish things in this world, but disrupting things is a lot easier."

Onodera Keigo couldn’t help but fall silent. Over the past month, he had come to understand Li Xuan’s power in the Jin Dynasty.

As far as he could see, even if the emperor was replaced, the power Li Xuan wielded would not diminish much in a short period of time.

Li Xuan’s power was rooted in his military prowess and his position in the Confucianism of Jin Dynasty - this was the Jin Dynasty’s power clique that could mobilize over ten heavenly level forces!

But the key was the East Sea - Onodera Keigo only understood the lengths of Marquis of Guanjun’s power in the East Sea not long ago. The general’s three warships, built at considerable cost, sank off the southern coast of the four nations three days ago. It is said to have been smashed by a dragon at the False Heavenly Realm.

There was no doubt that this was a demonstration of power from Marquis of Guanjun. The relationship between the East Sea Dragon Clan and Li Xuan was closer than he could have imagined.

Li Xuan said in a leisurely manner: "In short, the people and things on this list, I need you to deliver them perfectly intact to the Great Jin within a month. There must not be a single item missing.

Also, I do not want you to leak any information about this matter. If this causes me to fail, your country will not be able to obtain the trading agreement from the court of the Great Jin Dynasty for three to five years."

Onodera Keigo’s mind shuddered, he deeply bowed: "I will report this matter to my country as soon as possible, I think they will definitely agree. But wouldn’t one month be too short? Could you give us a little more time?"

"It’s not short, It’s the monsoon season now. You can send a message back in half a month, and then the ship can reach Tianjin. There may be some people who do not want to see this ship enter Jin, so you need to be careful with the escort. I believe you have the power to do that."

At this time, Li Xuan took another leisurely sip of tea: "I forgot to tell you, the Yamana family of your country also sent an envoy to the capital recently, planning to get the trading agreement from the court."

Onodera Keigo’s face changed slightly at that.

In Fusou, there is a family named ’Yamana’, who are the local warlords that the Shogunate General dreads the most.

The Yamana family flourished during the Northern and Southern Dynasties period, and at their peak, they owned eleven of the sixty-six states in Fusou, which was known as the ’One-Sixth Palace’.

Now, the Yamana family is experiencing a resurgence with a wise head of the family and an vast territory.

They also have the largest gold and silver mine in all of Fusou, boasting constant finances.

If the Yamana family were to get involved in trade agreements, the consequences would be unimaginable.

The current Shogunate General came to power with the support of another local warlord, the ’Hosokawa’, but the Yamana family has always been questioning the legitimacy of the Shogun, which is likely to lead to a civil war that would sweep over all of Fusou.

Onodera Keigo took a deep breath and again kneeled on the ground, "I see. I will do my best to fulfill the wishes of the Marquis of Guanjun. But the last condition, no matter what, I can’t agree."

The final condition that Marquis of Guanjun wanted to know was about why Kamo Ittosai, who appeared at Chengde Qiuhu Office two months ago, had come.

Li Xuan’s eyes cooled at once: "It seems you don’t want to get the court’s trading agreement."

"Marquis of Guanjun, every matter has its value."

Onodera Keigo raised his head, looking at Li Xuan without yielding: "The mission that Mr. Kamo undertook is of greater importance than the trading agreement in our delegation. If you insist, then I can only regretfully lead the delegation back."

Li Xuan stared at him for a moment, and then laughed: "If you don’t want to tell me, then forget it, just handle the previous matters for me."

He looked thoughtful, about the ambitions of these Fusou people, as well as the Mongols, he was becoming more and more curious and vigilant.

What on earth are these guys up to?

Chengde Qiuhu Office is located outside Gubei Pass. It used to be ruled by Prince Ning, but was later occupied by the Duoyan three departments and became their grazing ground.

Not long ago, the Mongols invaded the south and the three departments of Duoyan were seriously damaged. Chengde Qiuhu Office was recaptured by Jin and became a Qiuhu Office under the control of the Changming Guard.

Li Xuan wondered what attracted these heavenly positions to this place.

Then he thought of the other world he came from, where the Qing Emperor Kangxi built a summer resort in Chengde, making it the de facto second political center, the sub-capital of the Qing Dynasty. Was there a connection between the two?

※※※※

Over the next month, the Capital City was bustling with excitement.

Due to the "Imperial Examination", thousands of civil and military officials from the provinces came to the Capital City, causing all the major inns in the city to be fully occupied.

The markets were also incredibly busy, with stationery, paintings, and antiques selling like hotcakes.

These were all gifts brought by local officials. At this time, the mansions of all the major power players were as busy as marketplaces.

Li Xuan’s Marquis of Guanjun mansion was also filled with guests. Unfortunately, he did not receive many gifts, on the contrary, he had lost a large sum of money entertaining them.

These guests knew that Li Xuan had the ’Haoqi Liuli’ characteristic, which made him an honest and upright official. They decided not to bring up anything unpleasant and often brought a stack of rice paper as a gift to show their goodwill.

The key point was that they didn’t have much money. Most of these military officials and civil officials were upright in their work and did not have extra wealth.

They did not have the money to bribe their superiors and did not want to be pushed aside by others, so they could only seek help at the Marquis of Guanjun mansion. All they needed was a business card from Li Xuan, and the officials who graded their exams in the Ministry of Personnel would not dare to act recklessly.

Li Xuan was also easy to talk to and did not ask for any bribes. As long as they had solid achievements and a tolerable reputation, he would not hesitate to extend his help, living up to his title of Hufa of Neo-Confucianism.

As a result, the number of officials visiting his mansion increased, even some poverty-stricken nobodies who couldn’t afford a guesthouse came to borrow money from him.

If there was lending and repayment it wouldn’t be a problem, but looking at these officials with patched-up official robes and yellowish facial muscles, Li Xuan estimated that the money would be like throwing a meat bun at a dog, never returning.

Li Xuan was worrying about his growing debt, but at this time, he must persevere even if he had to puff up his face.

Luckily, Xue Yunrou and Luo Yan were generous and never put him in a difficult position.

Now, Li Xuan could only look forward to the early arrival of the 14th year of Jingtai’s reign.

By the New Year, the ’imperial examination’ would end, and all the civil and military officials would leave the Capital City. Those poor officials should also be leaving.

Also, after the New Year, Earl Chengyi’s mansion would give him a dividend. Then the government’s salary, which was given twice a year, could reach as much as four hundred thousand teals, barely covering the debts.

It’s worth mentioning that his mother, Mrs. Liu, initially planned to come to the capital at the end of the year to celebrate the New Year with him.

However, in October, elder sister in-law Su Zhaojun broke through to the tenth house level of cultivation, and less than a month later, she became pregnant.

Su Zhaojun had not given birth before because she wanted to preserve her Yuan Qi and break through to the tenth house level as early as possible, opening the door to heaven. This was the root of the discord between Su Zhaojun and Mother Liu.

Now that Su Zhaojun had succeeded in breaking through and was expecting less than a month later, this brought great joy to Mrs. Liu. After that, her precious younger son was thrown out of her mind.

In the middle of December, Quan Dingtian and Wei Zhen came to visit with somber expressions.

They brought bad news. Within these three days, seven fifth-rank officials in the court had been impeached or arrested.

Almost all of these seven people had close relationships with the Marquis of Guanjun.

They were once followers of Wei Zhen, had impeached the former crown prince, had impeached Huangfu Xuanji, and had cooperated with Li Xuan to struggle against Great General Liang Heng. They were recognized as core members of Li Xuan’s group.

Li Xuan did not have the intention of forming a party, but now, his followers had spread all over the court.

"Are these charges true?" After reading the copies of the imperial documents and the articles from the Inspectorate handed over by the two, Li Xuan could not help but slightly frown.

"None of these are major crimes; five of them were mistakes made when they were local officials or practical officials; two were suspected of mocking the Emperor and belittling The Court in their writings, but the Emperor is generous and should not mind."

Quan Dingtian coldly commented, "The problem is what happens next. Since they have made mistakes, demotion and reassignment are inevitable. And from what I know, they are actively preparing to take more measures before the New Year."

"Yes, Qianzhi . " Wei Zhen voiced his concern, "In such a short time, so many of our compatriots have been sent to local offices, which will cause many people to doubt you."

The key point was that these people were demoted because of the personal grievances between Li Xuan and the Fusou delegation, which inevitably attracted criticism.

Li Xuan asked in confusion, "To my knowledge, the Neiguan Bureau should not have the ability to do this, should it?"

Even Qian Long, the Chief Eunuch of the Sili Bureau, didn’t have this ability. Since Wang Zhen, the Sili Bureau’s authority was at its weakest.

"It should be Prince Xiang." Quan Dingtian’s eyes flashed with a chilly light, "It should be because the followers of Prince Xiang have started to intervene. They should be doing this for the Golden Knife Case."

It seemed that the Xian Emperor, praised by all, was not as virtuous and generous as he seemed.

Li Xuan’s expression also froze for a moment, and then he put away these imperial documents and papers from the Inspectorate.

"I have no immediate solution to this problem; it can only be delayed for now. Uncle Wei, you can think of a way to stall their cases as much as possible, the later the better."

"This is not difficult." At this moment, Wei Zhen hesitated, but then reluctantly said, "Qianzhi, I’m naturally willing to help you, but many of my colleagues are doubtful at the moment.

The Emperor is practising the Locked Yuan Secret Technique, which means he is destined to have no heir. The only ones who can inherit the throne in the future are either Prince Xiang or Prince Yi. And we have a stiff relationship with the Empress Dowager, the True Emperor, and Prince Yi. We don’t need to offend Prince Xiang, who has an excellent reputation in the court, do we?"

Upon hearing this, Li Xuan knew that the imperial censors and Kedao officials were now wary of Prince Xiang.

They were willing to join him in impeaching the Neiguan Bureau but dared not rashly involve themselves in the dispute for the throne. After all, it involved life and death, family survival, could they not be cautious?

After thinking for a while, Li Xuan smiled faintly and said, "This way, tomorrow, a ship from Fusou will arrive in Tianjin. You can come with me to see, and then you will understand."

Probably because they were in a rush to reach an agreement, the response from the Fusou side was very quick.

Quan Dingtian and Wei Zhen, upon hearing this, looked at each other with curiosity in their eyes.