I'm not a fortune teller.

Chapter 98 Analysis!

"Master Zhang, please stay!"

Inside the palace, with the emperor's final resort, this event that almost wiped out the civil and military officials of the Jin Dynasty came to an end. The military honor group was extremely dissatisfied with the emperor's repeated concessions to the aristocratic families, and they left in dismay.

The Warlock family is facing a very critical step.

That is. Which prince should we choose?

Although it is not necessarily possible to force out that person by choosing him, and the bargaining tactics between the noble families will not be completely eliminated because of the wrong choice at the beginning, but no matter what, if you can choose the real owner of the painting market, you can always gain the upper hand.

As for the candidate, no one could think of which prince was the most likely candidate.

These things are the headaches for the big families. Many small officials, especially those who have just arrived in Beijing, such as Zhang Rui, naturally have nothing to do with them. What did Zhang Rui think originally?
But just when he was happily preparing to take his family out of the palace to eat dumplings, he was still in trouble.

"Your Excellency the Duke." Zhang Rui sighed inwardly but forced a smile on his face in return.

The one who called him was the head of the Lu family: Lu Chengfeng.

As the financial sponsor who gave him a luxury house as a gift when he first arrived in Beijing, it was naturally difficult for Zhang Rui to completely avoid him.

"Master Zhang is going back now?"

"I can't help you if I stay here, right?" Zhang Rui said with a wry smile, "Besides, the women in my family are all very scared this time, so they need to go home and have a good rest."

"Master Zhang is too modest." Lu Chengfeng said with a smile, "They are just some painted spirits. With Master Zhang here, how can they hurt Master Zhang's family? But I'm curious, where did Master Zhang go just now?"

For such a big event, this man who once rescued the third prince from the painting market in the north made too little noise this time. According to his son, he didn't see Zhang Rui from beginning to end.

"After the accident, I was worried about the safety of my family, so I searched around the palace anxiously. Fortunately, nothing happened." Zhang Rui looked like he was still frightened.

"I see." Lu Chengfeng nodded, but he didn't believe it at all. It was impossible that this guy didn't do anything. It was just that for the time being, the whole thing seemed to have nothing to do with him.

"My Lord the Duke came to me, isn't that the only thing he wants to ask me?"

"That's not the case." Lu Chengfeng rubbed his hands and smiled, "You saw it just now. Our emperor is very resourceful. This move not only resolved the Jiang family's impulse, but also tore the alliance between the aristocratic families apart."

Everyone could see that Jiang Linfeng did not intend to give up, but the risk was extremely high at the time. If he forced them to be held accountable, not all the noble families would necessarily follow him. It was precisely because of this that he chose to stop after the emperor threw such a big bait, because the probability of success was too small.

I have to say, this emperor is very good at calculating people's hearts!
"You are joking, Lord Duke. Your Majesty is so honest that he is even willing to hand over his own son to a noble family for house arrest for the sake of the country. He is truly a rare benevolent monarch in the world."

"Master Zhang," Lu Chengfeng shook his head and said, "Given the relationship between you and me, there is no need to say such polite words, right?"

"Isn't it you, the Duke, who has been talking about polite things?" Zhang Rui said with a smile, "It is you, the Duke, who has been unwilling to talk about serious matters."

"Haha." Lu Chengfeng laughed immediately: "That's right, I was dawdling, let's get down to business." He lowered his voice and asked: "Which prince do you think has the greatest possibility, Lord Zhang?"

Zhang Rui frowned when he heard this. He didn't expect that the other party would come to discuss this matter with him.

The emperor threw out such a bait, and many noble families jumped decisively even though they knew it was a trap. But no matter what, this choice was very important.

Whoever can choose the true master of the painting spirit will have the upper hand.

"How would I know?" Zhang Rui said with a smile, "I am just a lowly official who just came to Beijing. The Duke really thinks highly of me."

"Sir Zhang, there's no need for such polite words in our relationship. I just want to hear your opinion." Lu Chengfeng looked at Zhang Rui seriously.

Zhang Rui frowned when he heard this, knowing that he couldn't escape today.

The other party gave him a house and a woman, and he also had the other party's Hundred Eyes God Seal on him. Before he succeeded in his plan to get that seal, he had to maintain this relationship temporarily. Thinking of this, Zhang Rui said slowly: "There are now fourteen adult princes. Except for the third prince Li Yu, most of the remaining princes have no sense of existence. They are basically commoners or daughters of minor officials. It is difficult to guess from their backgrounds, but there should still be some traces."

"What do you mean?" Lu Chengfeng asked quickly with his eyes lighting up.

"All adult princes will have fiefs. Although most of them have not left the capital yet, their fiefs have been reserved long ago. The other party wants to rely on his status as a prince to legitimately inherit the Jin Dynasty and secretly build a dynasty headed by Hua Ling. In the end, he still has to use force to speak. He has always wanted to cause chaos in the world and take the opportunity to gain power, but at least he has to have power. If he doesn't prepare anything, even if the world is in chaos, how can he unify the country?"

"So, the other party would make some changes to the fiefdom?" Lu Chengfeng nodded.

"If I were him, I would definitely find a way to get a fiefdom that is not very impressive but actually has great value. Most princes like rich places, such as Jiangnan, Xijing, and the area north of Longjiang. These places have rich tax revenues and can distribute enough money to the princes. Under the current system, there is basically no possibility of local princes rebelling, so they all want to covet places with beautiful mountains and rivers and developed commerce."

"As for the man in the painting market, he probably has accumulated countless gold, silver and treasures over thousands of years. What he lacks is manpower. The more remote and cold the place is, the better it is to produce soldiers. In addition, the emperor is far away, so if he gives a little sweet treat, he can make many people loyal to him. It is also less likely to attract attention if he secretly raises soldiers."

"Then according to Lord Zhang, which place is the best?" Lu Chengfeng said with a smile.

He actually knew these principles, but he just wanted to hear something different from Zhang Rui.

“Southern Xinjiang.”

"Where?" Lu Chengfeng was stunned.

Southern Xinjiang? He had never expected this.

He always thought that the other party would talk about some places in the north, such as Yunzhou near the Youzhou area or the more remote Zhangzhou. Although the north is bitter and cold, the land is not bad, and the crops grown can feed a large population. Because of the weather, northern men are generally taller than southerners, and are more able to endure hardships and fight better.

The system in remote areas is chaotic, and it is easy to raise private soldiers by relying on smuggling across the border. Now, the first generation of vassal kings in Yunzhou has passed three generations, and their titles have been reduced to ordinary marquisates, who only receive support from the marquisates. The vacant place is just right for the new king to turn over the land. Six years ago, the fourth prince Li Yan was chosen as the king.

Li Yan is only half a year younger than Li Yu, and is extremely low-key on weekdays. As a prince, he is too low-key compared to the up-and-coming Li Yu. He is neither good at literature nor martial arts, and is even more stupid than his father, the emperor. In his heart, he has always been the focus of suspicion.

Unexpectedly, Zhang Rui's suspect turned out to be this damn place called southern Xinjiang.

How can we conquer the world with that place?
There are many mountains and miasma, and there are few flat lands. If some precious medicines were not in southern Xinjiang and relied on many drug dealers to trade in exchange for food, otherwise, with the current population, even if half of them died, they might not be able to be fed by the family. In addition, there are many aristocratic families from the previous dynasties entrenched there, who severely exploit their subordinates. The forces are chaotic and divided. It is impossible to get in from the outside, and it is impossible to get out from the inside. It is a place where dragons are trapped. All the warlords who were driven back to that place in all dynasties had a good end.

The Lord of the Painting Spirit is not a fool, so how could he choose that damn place?

Zhang Rui looked at the other party's surprised eyes, knowing that the other party certainly did not expect it, so he whispered: "The many bad things in Southern Xinjiang are for the human forces. For someone like him, such a chaotic place can make a fortune and secretly train private soldiers."

Lu Chengfeng frowned when he heard that. There were indeed mixed forces there, and it was nominally under the management of the court, but in reality the court could not even collect a few cents of taxes. Serving as a county magistrate there was not much different from being exiled. But if one was the owner of the Painting Market, and took advantage of the chaotic situation there and moved around, he could indeed fish in troubled waters and obtain a lot of supplies, and it was possible for him to create a force there.

But it's not a big problem to have some private soldiers, but it's basically impossible to unify southern Xinjiang.
"Most of the forces in Southern Xinjiang are from the previous dynasty. Back then, Taizu secretly planned with the help of the Painting Market and drove those former top families to a barren land like Southern Xinjiang. Now, won't those people who were once in the clouds rely on the Painting Market to fight back?"

"Master Zhang means that the owner of the painting market has won over the remnants of the former dynasty in southern Xinjiang?"

"I'm afraid there are more than that." Zhang Rui said dimly, "There are many hidden families in the previous dynasty who serve as officials in the court. After thousands of years of accumulation, they are also a considerable force in secret. There are even two families that have squeezed into the capital, right?"

As soon as these words came out, Lu Chengfeng's eyelids twitched!
Indeed, the two outsiders are too cooperative with the Jiang family today. Although they are already local big families, in terms of their roots, they did come from southern Xinjiang.

"One is in charge of the Ministry of War, the other is in charge of the Ministry of Revenue, plus the power of the hidden families in Southern Xinjiang serving as officials in various places in the court, Lord Lu still thinks that there is no chance for Southern Xinjiang to be crowned king?"

"I see!" Lu Chengfeng bowed to Zhang Rui and said, "Thank you for your advice."

Then he hurried back. The king of Southern Xinjiang was the seventh prince Li Qi, who was also an extremely unpopular character. However, the Minister of War had just expressed his intention to choose such a character. He felt a little confused just now, but after listening to Zhang Rui's analysis, he suddenly came to his senses.

I have to get the Seventh Prince before that person does!

　I have to go back to my parents' home tomorrow, so I have to take another day off. It's my first marriage, I don't know anything, and I even forgot about going back to my parents' home.
　　I have no chance to write any articles. I should be free after tomorrow. I will keep updating as normal!!
　　
　
(End of this chapter)