Video Editor

The undercurrents within the Great Zhou Dynasty ultimately did not escape the notice of the North.

Shangjing, the imperial city of the Khitan.

Emperor Yelü Jing of Liao sat on the large throne covered with a white tiger skin, listening to the intelligence just sent back by the spies who had gone south. A glint of shrewdness flashed in his cloudy eyes.

"Struggle for the throne?" He pondered the words, then suddenly laughed. "That old hag Guo Que'er has raised two fine sons."

Several Khitan nobles standing in the hall also laughed, their rough laughter echoing in the empty hall.

Yelü Jing raised his hand to stop the laughter and looked down at a thin, Han-looking advisor.

"Tell me, which one, the King of Qin or the King of Jin, is more to our liking?"

The advisor's surname was Han, and his given name was Zhigu. He came from a prominent Han Chinese family in the Youzhou area and had been working for the Khitan for more than ten years. He was in charge of intelligence gathering on the Central Plains.

Of course, he also had a huge secret: the business partner of the Qin Prince's Secretariat, "Minglitang," from which he and his family profited handsomely every year.

Han Zhigu bowed and said, “Your Majesty, as far as I know, Prince Guo Rong of Jin is the adopted son of Guo Wei. He has made outstanding military achievements, is highly capable, and is deeply loved by the army and the people. If he succeeds to the throne, he will surely be a great enemy of the Khitan.”

"Where is King Guo Xin of Qin?"

"The King of Qin is Guo Wei's biological son, only eighteen years old, and his military foundation is not as strong as that of the King of Jin. He has never participated in any military operations and has been studying and learning to read and write under Feng Dao in Bianjing. Guo Wei has been arranging for Guo Xin to take over the Imperial Guards, but he owns a business called 'Chengxin,' which specializes in trading goods from both the north and south. He has branches in our Shangjing, Xijing, Nanjing, Zhongjing, and Dongjing. It is clear that King Guo Xin of Qin is more interested in making money."

Yelü Jing narrowed his eyes.

"Business name?"

"Yes," Han Zhigu said. "Chengxin Trading Company deals in leather goods, medicinal herbs, porcelain, silk, and fine wines. Over the years, six or seven out of ten of the finest silks and top-quality wines used by our Khitan nobles have come from Chengxin Trading Company. I've heard that those top-quality wines are all brewed in Chengxin Trading Company's own workshops."

Several Khitan nobles in the hall exchanged glances.

They certainly knew about the Honest Business.

The shop was located on the most bustling street in the capital. The shopkeeper was a smiling middle-aged Han Chinese man who spoke kindly, offered fair prices, and never shortchanged customers.

Most importantly, they always manage to get their hands on things that others can't...

Silk from Jiangnan, brocade from Sichuan, porcelain from famous kilns in the Central Plains, fine wine from the Western Regions, and Moutai, which is more valuable than gold.

Over the years, any Khitan nobleman who held a banquet without purchasing from a reputable merchant felt ashamed.

"Then the King of Qin... wants to do business with us?" Yelü Jing asked, somewhat surprised.

“Yes,” Han Zhigu said. “The Chengxin Trading Company doesn’t just operate in the capital; it also has branches in Datong in Xijing, Youzhou in Nanjing, and Liaoyang in Dongjing. Their people are very disciplined; they only care about buying and selling and never get involved in other matters.”

"Where do their goods come from?"

"According to my investigation, Chengxin Trading Company has its own workshops and dedicated trade routes in the Central Plains. They collect silk from Jiangnan, brocade from Sichuan, and porcelain from kilns around Bianliang, and then travel north to distribute them to our three capitals."

Yelü Jing was silent for a moment, then suddenly asked, "What about the warhorses, cattle, and sheep that we Khitans sold to them?"

Han Zhigu paused for a moment.

"Your Majesty is wise. The Honest Merchants do business with us, not just by selling goods to us. They also buy from us."

What to buy?

"Buy horses. Buy cattle. Buy sheep. Fur."

The hall fell silent for a moment.

Warhorse.

The key to the Khitan cavalry's dominance over the world was their warhorses.

The Central Plains have a shortage of horses, a problem that has persisted for over a century.

Which of the Later Tang, Later Jin, and Later Han dynasties didn't want to buy horses from the Khitan?
But the Khitans never sold—at least not in large quantities.

I was able to buy it from a reputable online store.

And it's been purchased for more than a year.

"What will they use to buy it?" Yelü Jing asked.

“Exchange it for silk, porcelain, and fine wine,” Han Zhigu said. “Which of those tribal chiefs wouldn’t want a robe made of silk from Jiangnan? Who wouldn’t want a set of fine porcelain bowls and cups from the Central Plains at their banquet? What Chengxin Trading Company offers is exactly what they’re looking for.”

"So those tribes sold their horses to the Honest Merchant?"

"Yes."

Yelü Jing did not get angry.

He simply leaned back in the tiger-skin chair, a complex mix of emotions flashing in his cloudy eyes.

Selling horses to the Central Plains is, in principle, aiding the enemy.

Since the founding of the Khitan state, all Liao rulers have strictly prohibited warhorses from flowing south.

But the tribal chiefs didn't think so.

In their eyes, those horses belonged to them, not to the Khitan royal family.

Trading a few horses that are not worth much for a fine piece of silk that can last a lifetime is a worthwhile deal.

Yelü Jing knew about this, but he turned a blind eye.

Because the silk, porcelain, and fine wine sold by the Honest Merchant also flowed into his royal court and into the mansions of his nobles.

He drank Moutai brought by Chengxin Trading Company, wore silk sold by Chengxin Trading Company, and then...

Then they plotted how to use this business to disrupt the succession struggle in the Great Zhou Dynasty.

"That King of Qin..." Yelü Jing began slowly, "Does he want to be the Crown Prince of the Great Zhou?"

Han Zhigu paused for a moment.

"I do not know."

"I don't know?"

"Yes. The people of Chengxin Trading Company never discuss the politics of the Central Plains, nor do they discuss their boss. I have sent spies to test them many times, but their managers either pretend to be confused or directly turn hostile, saying, 'We only talk about business, nothing else.'"

Yelü Jing smiled.

"That's interesting."

He stood up, stepped down from his throne, and slowly paced around the hall.

"That King of Qin, so young, already knows how to send merchants to do business with us. The tribal chiefs sell him horses, and he trades them with us in exchange for silk and porcelain, so he doesn't offend anyone."

He stopped and turned to look at the people in the hall.

"Tell me, if someone like that were to become the emperor of the Central Plains, would it be a good thing or a bad thing for us?"

The Khitan nobles exchanged glances, not daring to speak easily.

Han Zhigu spoke first, “Your Majesty, I believe that if the Prince of Qin succeeds to the throne, he will surely be an enemy of the Khitan.”

"why?"

“Because he is too patient,” Han Zhigu said. “He sent people to do business with us not to make money, but to find out our strength. He used the horses he sold to train his cavalry. His people secretly collected the intelligence and used it to figure out how to deal with us. Such a person is more difficult to deal with than the Prince of Jin who directly fought against us.”

Yelü Jing nodded.

"Then let's help him become emperor?"

A moment of silence fell over the hall.

Han Zhigu asked cautiously, "Your Majesty means..."

“Support him,” Yelü Jing said. “Doesn’t he want horses? Sell them to him. Doesn’t he want cattle and sheep? Sell them to him. Let him use those horses to train a capable cavalry force to go back and compete with that Prince of Jin.”

"Wait until those brothers are fighting to the death, then we'll..."

He didn't continue speaking, but simply raised his hand and made a gesture as if waving a knife.

The Khitan nobles in the hall finally understood and burst into laughter, their laughter filled with smugness.

Han Zhigu also smiled, but deep in his eyes, there was a very faint hint of smugness.

He remembered the always smiling manager of Chengxin Trading Company, and the unfathomable light that occasionally flashed behind those smiling eyes.

Is this deal really a scheme by the Khitans to take advantage of the Central Plains?
still is……

Is the Central Plains plotting against the Khitan?
He dared not think further, nor did he want to, after all, this world did not belong to him.

As a result, batches of warhorses flowed from the Khitan tribes to the horse farms of Chengxin Trading Company.

The number is small, sometimes dozens or hundreds, mixed in with the herds of cattle and sheep, inconspicuous and unnoticed.

But little by little, it adds up.

Over a year, that amounts to several thousand horses.

These horses were transported to Bianliang in batches and assigned to the cavalry regiments of the National Defense Army.

The cavalry of the National Defense Forces went from nothing to something, and from something to a large number.

By the time the Khitans finally realized something was wrong, the Great Zhou already possessed an elite cavalry force that was no less formidable than the Khitan cavalry.

Meanwhile, the Khitan nobles were still drinking the fine wine brought by the Chengxin Trading Company, wearing the silk sold by the same company, and plotting how to continue to "support" that Prince Qin.

……

Shangjing, a branch of Chengxin Trading Company.

The shopkeeper's surname is Zhou, given name Tai, a student of the fourth cohort of the study companion camp, and a former military supervisor of the National Defense Army.

He was standing in the backyard warehouse, checking a batch of new goods that had just arrived.

Two hundred bolts of silk from Jiangnan.

One hundred bolts of brocade from Sichuan.

Three hundred sets of fine porcelain from the Bianliang official kiln.

Fifty jars of fine wine from the Western Regions.

One hundred jars of Moutai produced by the company itself.

He held the ledger, checking off each item one by one, his face bearing the amiable smile typical of businessmen.

Behind him, a young man dressed as a shop assistant whispered, "Boss, should we distribute this batch of goods according to the usual rules?"

Zhou Tai did not turn around.

"According to the old rules, 30% will be kept in the capital, 10% each in the western capital, Nanjing, central capital, and eastern capital, and the remaining 30%... will go along that route."

The young man nodded and didn't ask any more questions.

Zhou An closed the ledger and turned to look out the window.

Outside the window was the bustling street market of Shangjing, where Khitans, Han Chinese, Bohai people, and Uyghurs came and went, their voices of bargaining rising and falling.

He stood there and watched quietly for a while.

Then he turned his attention back to the next batch of goods.

His expression was calm, showing no sign of emotion.

Just as the King of Qin taught...

If you're going to do business, you should act like you're doing business.

……

In the winter of the fourth year of Guangshun, Guo Wei, who had dealt with Wang Jun and Wang Yin, finally couldn't hold on any longer.

In fact, his health had been deteriorating day by day ever since he took control of Bianjing.

The imperial physician said that the old injury had recurred, and coupled with the fatigue of the past years and the grief of the massacre of his entire family, Guo Wei was already on his last legs.

Guo Wei himself was quite easygoing, attending court as usual and reviewing memorials as required, but his mental state deteriorated, and in the end he couldn't even sit still.

That day, Guo Wei summoned his two sons to his bedside.

Prince Guo Rong of Jin entered first.

He stood before the bed, looking at the old man who was so thin he was just skin and bones, and his eyes immediately welled up with tears.

"Father..."

Guo Wei waved his hand, signaling him to be quiet.

Where is your third brother?

"Wait outside."

"Tell him to come in."

Guo Rong turned around and personally went out to lead Su Ning in.

Su Ning was dressed in a plain dark robe, and his face showed no expression.

He walked to the bedside and sat down on the low stool beside it.

"Father."

Guo Wei looked at Su Ning, his cloudy eyes filled with a complex expression.

This son was given to him by God out of pity.

That year, Su Ning was only fourteen years old, skin and bones, and cried so hard that he couldn't breathe while hugging Guo Rong.

Five years have passed, and he is now eighteen years old, the youngest King of Qin in the Great Zhou Dynasty. He has 20,000 elite troops under his command, as well as a trade route and intelligence network that extends throughout the world.

But he was ultimately too young.

Eighteen years old is a time of youthful vigor and high spirits in ordinary families.

But in this imperial court, being eighteen years old means being too inexperienced, it means that those entrenched old ministers will not submit to him, and it means that those arrogant and fierce generals may rebel at any time.

Guo Wei closed his eyes and sighed deeply.

“Xin’er…actually, your father really wants to give you the throne.”

Su Ning raised her head and looked at her father.

"But Father Emperor dares not."

Guo Wei opened his eyes, his cloudy eyes glistening with tears.

“Your elder brother has been with me for over twenty years, fighting since he was a teenager. He fought alongside those veteran generals, defending Chanzhou and Yedu. In the court, no one dared to cause trouble for him. In the army, no one dared to disobey him.”

"You are different."

“Your national defense forces were trained by yourself, your military supervisors were appointed by yourself, and your businesses were opened by yourself. Your father knows all of this. But the old ministers in the court don’t know, the regional military governors don’t know, and those old generals who have been reorganized into the national defense forces may not be convinced.”

"Father is afraid..."

Guo Wei's hands trembled as he grasped Su Ning's hand.

"Your father is afraid that if he were to hand over this empire to you, you wouldn't be able to manage it."

Suning remained silent.

He simply gripped his father's hand tightly, offering no explanation for his own ability. He knew that explanations were pointless; Guo Wei believed he was incapable, and even if he were, he wouldn't be.

Guo Rong stood by the couch, head bowed, without uttering a word.

Guo Wei released Su Ning's hand and turned to Guo Rong.

"Rong'er".

"Your subject is here."

"come over."

Guo Rong stepped forward and knelt down in front of the bed.

Guo Wei looked at him with a complicated expression.

This son has been with him for over twenty years, from a teenager to a middle-aged man in his thirties or forties.

Those days of fighting together, drinking together, and crawling out of piles of corpses together are still vivid in my mind.

But he was not his biological son after all.

Guo Wei remained silent for a long time.

"Rong'er, I entrust this Great Zhou Dynasty to you."

Guo Rong was startled and abruptly raised his head.

Guo Rong looked up, a hint of undisguised surprise flashing across his face.

The surprise was brief, fleeting, but Su Ning noticed it.

"Father..."

"Let me finish," Guo Wei raised his hand to stop him. "You are older than your third brother, more experienced, and have a deeper foundation. I trust you with this empire."

"Father..."

"But I also have something I need you to promise."

Guo Rong kowtowed on the ground: "Father, please speak, I will obey without question."

Guo Wei looked at him and said, word by word:

"Succession from elder brother to younger brother."

"After you ascend the throne, immediately declare that the Prince of Qin is your only Crown Prince. After you pass away, this empire will belong to your third brother."

The area in front of the bed remained quiet for a long time.

"Your subject... obeys the decree." Guo Rong's voice trembled slightly. "Father, rest assured, your subject will treat your third brother well and will never betray him."

Guo Wei nodded and turned to Suning.

"Xin'er, is there anything else you want?"

Suning was silent for a moment, then looked up.

"Have."

Guo Wei was somewhat surprised.

He thought his usually taciturn son would say nothing and that he would follow his father's arrangements.

"explain."

“First,” Su Ning said, “the Palace Guard under the Prince of Jin must be reorganized into the National Defense Army.”

Guo Rong's expression changed slightly.

The Palace Guard was his personal army, which he had cultivated for many years. These three thousand elite soldiers were his greatest asset in the court.

He knew all too well what the reorganization of the National Defense Forces meant...

The military supervisors took over, the accounts were audited, and the personnel were reorganized and reshuffled.

Then they would no longer be Guo Rong's private soldiers.

"Secondly," Su Ning continued, "I want to control all the troops in the land, and my elder brother wants to eliminate the military power of the regional military governors. From now on, the Great Zhou will implement the separation of military and political power."

These words stunned even Guo Wei.

To control all the armies under heaven?

That is the Grand Marshal of all the armies under heaven, is...

“It is not to replace the Privy Council,” Su Ning said. “What I mean is that the National Defense Army, as the Imperial Guard, will be in charge of the defense of the capital region. The troops of the regional military governors will be under the jurisdiction of the National Defense Army, and will be managed and commanded by both the Privy Council and the National Defense Army. They will be subject to an annual inspection by personnel sent by the National Defense Army. Any troop deployment must be countersigned by the National Defense Army’s supervising officer.”

"Father Emperor said that the root of the disasters caused by Wang Jun and Wang Yin was the loss of military power. Your son only wants to keep this military power in the hands of the court forever."

It was so quiet in front of the bed that you could hear the sound of the spring breeze blowing outside the window.

Guo Wei looked at his youngest son, at his calm face, and suddenly smiled.

That smile held both relief and heartache.

They believe that the massacre of his family back then made Su Ning feel insecure, which is why he has been frantically training the national defense forces, even spending every day in the military camp himself.

“Rong’er,” Guo Wei then turned to Guo Rong, “what do you say?”

Guo Rong knelt there, head bowed, his expression unreadable.

After a long while, he finally raised his head.

"Your subject... agrees."

Guo Rong's voice was very steady, without any discernible emotion.

"The Palace Guard has been reorganized into the National Defense Army. All the troops in the land are now under the control of the King of Qin."

Guo Wei nodded.

He grasped Su Ning's hand again, holding it tightly.

“Yi-ge’er…”

This is Suning's nickname; no one has called him that for many years.

Su Ning's eyes suddenly stung with tears. The old man in front of her was truly pitiful; after all, not everyone could bear the pain of having their entire family wiped out.

"Father, I am here."

"Your father is going to see your mother."

Su Ning's hand trembled slightly.

"And your second brother, and your sisters..."

Guo Wei's voice grew weaker and softer.

"They're waiting for me over there..."

He released Su Ning's hand, looked at the top of the tent, and seemed to see something in his cloudy eyes.

“Zhang Shi…I’ve come to keep you company…”

"Dong'er... Erlang..."

"Father is here..."

His hand slowly fell to his sides.

Su Ning knelt before the bed, watching her father's hand slip from her palm, watching his gaunt face gradually lose its last trace of color.

He didn't cry.

He just knelt there, holding that already cold hand, without moving.

Guo Rong knelt on the other side, head bowed, shoulders trembling slightly.

Outside the window, the spring breeze brushed against the palace walls, bringing with it the scent of newly sprouted plants in the Imperial Garden.

Inside the palace, Guo Que'er, the founding emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty, had passed away.

When the death knell tolled, Suning had already stood up.

He stood before the bed, gazing at his father's peaceful face, and remained silent for a long time.

Guo Rong also stood up and walked to Suning's side.

"Third brother..."

"Big brother." Su Ning didn't look at him. "The reorganization of the Palace Guard will begin tomorrow."

“…Alright!” Guo Rong paused for a moment. “We’ll discuss the matter of the army after Father’s funeral.”

“Okay.” Su Ning turned around and looked at him.

The two brothers stood facing each other, less than three feet apart.

Su Ning's gaze was calm as still water.

Guo Rong's eyes, however, held too many things he couldn't see clearly.

“Brother,” Su Ning suddenly spoke up, “what were you thinking when you agreed to Father’s request just now?”

Guo Rong was stunned for a moment.

“I was thinking…” he paused, “that this empire is finally in my hands.”

Suning nodded.

He didn't ask Guo Rong if he had considered reneging on his promise, going back on his word, or how he would deal with him, the "Crown Prince," in the future.

Suning simply nodded and turned to walk out.

When they reached the palace gate, they suddenly stopped.

"Big brother."

"Ok?"

"Our father is watching over us brothers from heaven."

Without looking back, he pushed open the door and went out.

Guo Rong stood there, watching the figure disappear outside the door, motionless for a long time.

Outside the palace, the spring breeze remained unchanged.

Su Ning walked out of the palace, stood under the corridor, and looked at the gray sky.

Zhao Pu emerged from the shadows and stood silently behind him.

"Your Highness..."

"Pass on the order," Su Ning said, "National Defense Forces at Level One Combat Readiness."

"All supervisors, return to your posts immediately."

"Chengxin Merchants' branches across the country have activated their emergency response plans."

"Mingli Hall reports every three days."

Zhao Pu agreed to everything without asking a single question.

He knew what the King of Qin was thinking.

Reorganizing the Palace Guard was no easy task.

The King of Jin's men will not willingly relinquish power.

The control of the military forces across the land is so absolute that a single move can have far-reaching consequences.

Those regional military governors would not willingly submit to their control.

The King of Jin agreed, but whether he could actually deliver was another matter entirely.

The King of Qin must be on guard.

We must guard against the Prince of Jin reneging on his promise, guard against those people causing trouble, and guard against chaos arising so soon after the change of rulers.

Su Ning looked up at the sky and suddenly said, "Father called me by my childhood name at the end."

Zhao Pu did not respond.

He said he was going to see my mother.

Suning's voice was very soft and was carried away by the wind.

“I was only fourteen when my mother died. She hid me in a well and...didn’t come out herself.”

"I haven't dreamed about her in the past five years."

"My father said he's going to see her today..."

Suning didn't continue.

Zhao Pu stood behind him in silence.

In the distance, the bells outside the palace walls continued to ring, one after another, echoing throughout the entire city of Bianliang.

That was the death knell for the founding emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty.

It was also the clarion call for a new emperor's ascension to the throne.

Su Ning stood there, listening to the bell tolling, gazing at the gray sky, her face expressionless.

Suddenly, I remembered that five years ago, when I climbed out of that well, the sky was just like that.

It was all gray and the sun was nowhere to be seen.

Now, my father is gone too.

In this world, I'm truly all alone.

No, there's also an "elder brother".

A "big brother" who has just seized power and has too many hidden agendas.

Suning closed his eyes.

"Let's go."

He turned and walked out along the palace corridor.

Zhao Pu followed closely behind.

The bells are still ringing.

One sound after another, stretching on and on.

...(End of this chapter)