Chapter Thirty-Six: Entering the Game in Person

Looking back at the first thirty years of the Jiacheng reign, they were years of vigorous action and relentless upheaval.

Internally, the Emperor rationalized the administration, renovated the Yellow River and the Grand Canal, opened maritime trade, and implemented the "Gaitu Guiliu" policy—the replacement of hereditary tribal leaders with appointed officials—among other reforms.

Externally, he waged war against the Rossiya, expanding the borders by a thousand miles, annihilated the Joseon kingdom, and more. The greatest of these military campaigns was the Southern Expedition. From the moment the Jiacheng Emperor conceived the idea to the recruitment of the navy and the establishment of the massive Great Xia Fleet, it took over a decade before he could dominate the South China Sea, annex thirteen kingdoms, and claim thousands of miles of territory.

Believing his hegemony was secured, he toured the Liangguang region and even considered a voyage across the sea, only returning after being dissuaded by his entourage.

Upon his return, he fell ill. Then, the case of the treacherous Crown Prince broke.

From that point on, He Chong’an observed that the Jiacheng Emperor did only one thing: maintain. As long as the Great Xia did not fall, he was content. As for anything else, he did nothing.

At court and in the provinces, high-ranking officials were rarely replaced unless they died.

This was the broader context for why the Marquis of Wuning, who had wished to return from the Western Sea, had been unable to do so for years.

Zheng Bangcheng was well aware of these circumstances.

Perhaps the Jiacheng Emperor’s plan for the first half of his reign had been to replace the founding nobility with the nobility of the Southern Expedition. But as for what the Jiacheng Emperor was thinking now? No one knew.

The current Emperor seemed to ignore everything, acting merely as a figurehead, but who could forget the ruthless methods he employed during his first thirty years?

Who dared to make a move?

Even Zheng Bangcheng felt a tremor of fear.

He Chong’an said in a low voice, "Lord Zheng, have you ever considered your own future? Do you believe you can hold the South China Sea and replace the Prince of the Southern Seas?"

"Before you mentioned it, I had thought of it, but now I dare not," Zheng Bangcheng replied quietly.

To rule the South China Sea as a hereditary fief—it was not that the Zheng family didn't want it; they dreamt of it. But they knew it was just a dream.

Although the Jiacheng Emperor had not been diligent in his governance for the past decade, the foundations laid by his four predecessors, combined with his own thirty years of turbulent efforts, had brought the Great Xia to the height of its power.

The vastness of its territory far surpassed that of the Han and Tang dynasties. Even the Yuan Dynasty, excluding its four khanates, could not compare to the current Great Xia.

As long as the Great Xia imperial court stood, the Zheng family's ambitions could only remain ambitions.

Zheng Bangcheng had previously thought that he might eventually succeed his father, but now he realized that no matter who sat on the throne, they would never allow it.

"Lord Zheng, you must understand: only by holding a position in the Privy Council are you truly a Duke. Without a seat in the Privy Council, even if you bear the title of Duke, it is hollow."

"Do you truly have no designs on a position in the Privy Council, Lord Zheng?"

Zheng Bangcheng’s expression shifted slightly.

His role as a Minister of the Imperial Guard, while seemingly high-ranking and powerful, was essentially that of a glorified sentry for the Emperor.

Everyone scrambled to serve as the Emperor’s guard for the sake of their future prospects, not out of a genuine desire to stand watch for a lifetime. And where did the chief of the military officials reside? In the Privy Council.

The Privy Council, which commanded all the armies of the realm.

Without entering the Privy Council, without becoming a Privy Councilor or holding a similar chair, one could at most become a regional commander, a provincial governor, or the leader of a garrison in the capital—and that would be the end of it.

Was Zheng Bangcheng content with that?

Currently, he relied on his father’s status to stand on equal footing with the founding nobility, but in the future, he would be relegated beneath them.

How could he be willing to accept that?

Just then, a servant knocked lightly on the door and said, "Master, if you don't head to work, you'll be late."

He was met with a roar from Zheng Bangcheng: "Get out!"

The servant scrambled away, bewildered by what had happened.

Then, the door opened, and Zheng Bangcheng ordered, "Go and report my absence. Say I have caught a chill and dare not risk passing the illness to the Inner Palace. Tell them I am taking a day off."

"Yes, sir."

"Also, seal off this courtyard from now on. Anyone who enters without authorization is to be executed."

Zheng Bangcheng no longer dared to underestimate He Chong’an.

He was the first person Zheng had met who could analyze the situation with such clarity. Some of what He Chong’an said, he had considered, but some he had not, and certainly never with such precise articulation.

The officialdom of later ages was fundamentally the same as that of ancient times, yet a hundred times more complex.

This was because the models of interest differed.

In ancient officialdom, all interests flowed through a single channel: power. With it, one had everything; without it, one had nothing, including one’s own life and that of one’s family.

With the development of capital in later ages, there were too many ways to amass wealth, which in turn diversified the methods of struggle. Given that He Chong’an had served as a high-level aide, his ability to dissect the Great Xia bureaucracy was naturally impeccable.

"I once fought side by side with your father in the South China Sea. I shall call you my nephew."

"I pay my respects to Uncle Zheng," He Chong’an said, immediately seizing the opportunity.

Zheng Bangcheng said, "Nephew, since we have spoken so plainly, how do you advise me?"

"I understand your concerns, Uncle. The Zheng family has vast interests. If you were to misinterpret the Emperor’s intentions and something went wrong, the consequences would be irreversible. Therefore, we should first test the waters and probe..." He Chong’an gestured toward the heavens, "...the Emperor’s will."

Zheng Bangcheng nodded. "That is sound advice from a seasoned mind. But how do we probe?"

"There is an opportunity right before us. The Duke of Ning, Pei Zhao, is oppressing the Marquis of Wuning’s estate. The Marquis of Wuning’s estate is seeking help from you, Uncle. If the Marquis’s estate charges into the fray, their success or failure will reveal the Emperor’s intent." After speaking at length, He Chong’an finally revealed his true purpose.

Zheng Bangcheng, who had been nodding, felt a stir in his heart upon hearing this. The Marquis of Wuning’s estate—was that not He Chong’an himself? He couldn't help but laugh. "Nephew, you spoke for so long just for this?"

"Yes and no," He Chong’an replied. "I brought a letter from my mother. The He family is willing to follow the lead of the Prince of the Southern Seas, and we are even more willing to act as your vanguard, Uncle, to test the divine will."

Politics is the most realistic and cruelest of games.

Everything is a bargaining chip; everything can be weighed.

To make the Zheng family intervene on behalf of the Marquis of Wuning, he had to prove that the Marquis’s estate was useful to them.

At this moment, human lives were merely chips.

Furthermore, He Chong’an’s experience in the political arena told him that the political world was no different from the world of gangsters.

If you want to rise, you must be the first to charge. You either die or you make your mark.

This might not be the safest path for the He family, but it was the fastest path for He Chong’an to grow.

And He Chong’an believed in himself. As long as he had enough chips behind him, he would not lose.

Now, it was a matter of whether the Zheng family would place their bet.

Zheng Bangcheng, having spent his life sailing ships and fighting battles, possessed a deep-seated spirit of brotherhood. He said, "Fine. Since you’ve put it that way, my nephew, how could your uncle watch you be bullied? Tell me, how do you want me to help?"

He Chong’an felt a secret surge of excitement.

*It is done.*

From this moment on, the He family had finally boarded the Zheng family’s ship.

He Chong’an said, "I can handle Pei the Second myself. I don't need much help from you, Uncle—just two things. First, money. It is shameful to admit, but the He family’s resources are shallow, and I lack the capital to run the coal-ball business. I am willing to sell the business to the Zheng family, if only..."