Chapter 90.2

Thousands of people going to dig the hidden river would create a huge commotion, making it difficult to keep it a secret.

Qin Zheng was someone who took action immediately.

She rummaged through the bookcase and found the records she often used about the Yuanjiang River basin.

“Digging a river from Dakan Village to connect to the Chishui River is not an easy task. Let me calculate the flood discharge capacity this river needs to bear.”

If it was impossible to complete the project within the time frame, they would have to release half of the water from the Dadu Weir in Qingzhou.

However, once the Dadu Weir was opened, it couldn’t be hidden.

If Li Xin’s side found out they were short of water in the reservoir, they would definitely not release the water from the fish-mouth weir to flood them.

This year, extensive farming was being done in Qingzhou, and in two months, it would be the season when the crops would need water the most.

If the Dadu Weir ran out of water, the crops would wither.

At that time, the peasants who relied on the harvest in the fields would definitely complain if they learned that Li Xin’s faction had released water from the Dadu Weir.

If Li Xin stirred up trouble and disrupted their military morale, it would be even more detrimental.

So, the most prudent approach for now was to secretly construct the flood discharge channel.

…

Li Xin was furious at being unjustly accused of digging up the imperial tomb.

The literati across the country were criticizing him, and this calamity was entirely unwarranted.

He knew that many former officials of the Great Chu Dynasty would definitely harbor even more resentment towards him.

Furthermore, the former crown prince’s side was also trying to disgust people.

At this time, he promoted the governor of Meng County, who had contributed grain to the Chu army, and sent him with a generous gift to persuade some of the former officials of the Great Chu Dynasty.

The old officials whom the governor of Meng County approached were just like him—opportunists.

Li Xin was afraid that they would really lead some cities to surrender to the former crown prince.

In a fit of anger, he ordered the killing of several officials who had been bribed and sent his own trusted officials to take their places.

The territory was preserved, but his reputation became even worse.

The trusted old officials who had followed him from Qi County to Bianjing quickly advised him, “Your Majesty, the remnants of the former dynasty are slandering Your Majesty. Your Majesty, why do you rush to acknowledge it?”

Li Xin threw the poems written by the literati of Bianjing who cursed him at the old officials’ feet. “Look at how those who only read the books of sages and virtuous men are pinning this crime on me! I should have them and their entire families executed!”

The old officials did not read the sarcastic and cruel poems cursing Li Xin and said, “Your Majesty, if you do so, you will lose all the people’s hearts, which is exactly what the remnants of the former dynasty want!”

Li Xin retorted coldly, “Then what should I do?”

The old official, whose face was as aged as pine bark but whose eyes were as bright as an eagle’s, said, “The troops stationed at the imperial tomb in Hu Prefecture are under the command of the Crown Prince. If Your Majesty doesn’t want to push the Crown Prince out, there is still Shen Yanzhi, isn’t there?”

Li Xin’s eyes sparkled. “Are you suggesting that we shift the blame for digging up the imperial tomb onto Shen Yanzhi?”

“Exactly. Moreover, the Shen family has grievances with both the Chu imperial family and the former dynasty. If the news spreads, the people of the world won’t doubt it.”

Li Xin laughed heartily. “Good! Let the Shen family and the remnants of the former dynasty fight each other like dogs!”

The eunuch serving tea on the side bowed his head and said nothing, but he glanced discreetly at the old official who had given the advice.

…

That night, a secret letter was delivered into Shen Yanzhi’s hands.

After reading the letter, a cold smile appeared on Shen Yanzhi’s pale face, showing a hint of brilliance under the candlelight. “They want this prince to be a scapegoat. Let’s see if his two good sons are willing.”

He burned the letter in the candlelight and watched it turn to ashes before commanding, “Go see the Crown Prince.”

Ever since the army sent to Hu Prefecture pretended to attack the city and was labeled with the accusation of digging up the imperial tomb, the Second Prince’s faction had been suppressing the Crown Prince in court.

The Crown Prince harbored resentment towards Shen Yanzhi, but what annoyed him even more was that the main general, for some unknown reason, had gone to camp at Longgu Mountain, handing their enemies a pretext.

When he heard that Shen Yanzhi wanted to see him, he deliberately kept him waiting for the time it would take to brew two cups of tea before sending someone to escort him in.

The first thing Shen Yanzhi said upon meeting the Crown Prince was, “Prince Shen, what a clever scheme you have! Do you feel satisfied now that I am in this situation?”

Shen Yanzhi bowed and replied, “Please calm down, Your Highness.

We are on the same boat, how could I harm Your Highness? I did not expect the remnants of the former dynasty to slander Your Highness in such a manner.”

The Crown Prince had been given the title of Prince Xiang.

“But I think General Jin’s troops happened to encounter the Chu army on Longgu Mountain. It seems that the Chu army had long been on the mountain,” Shen Yanzhi said, looking at the Crown Prince.

The Crown Prince furrowed his brow. “Are you saying that the remnants of the former dynasty had planned to dig up their own imperial tomb long ago?”

Shen Yanzhi nodded. “Exactly. The remnants of the former dynasty seized four cities in one night and rapidly expanded their military strength.

It is said that they manage their troops well and do not trouble the common people. Where did they get the money to raise troops?

In my opinion, the remnants of the former dynasty were secretly digging up the imperial tomb to use the treasures inside to raise soldiers.

It’s just unfortunate that they were discovered by General Jin, so they took advantage of the situation and shifted the blame onto General Jin.”

The Crown Prince slammed his hand on the table. “Nonsense! Those remnants of the former dynasty dare to harm me to this extent!”

Shen Yanzhi continued, “Your Highness, please calm down first. The gold and silver buried with the royal family bear the royal seal.

If they want to sell them, it won’t be a small transaction.

When gold and silver bearing the royal seal flood the market, we can follow the clues and expose the remnants of the former dynasty, showing the world what kind of people are desecrating their own ancestors’ tombs.”

The fire in the Crown Prince’s heart seemed to be extinguished.

He softened his expression towards Shen Yanzhi. “I am fortunate to have your help!”

Shen Yanzhi lowered his eyes, concealing the hint of mockery that flashed across his eyes, and said, “The most difficult issue at hand is still the Second Prince’s faction.”

As soon as the Second Prince was mentioned, the Crown Prince’s hatred flared up. “He has been accusing me in front of Father Emperor these days. That coward who can’t even wield a sword, he’s only good at manipulating words!”

Shen Yanzhi said, “This time, due to the matter of the imperial tomb, His Majesty is furious. The Second Prince will definitely do everything in his power to suppress Your Highness. Your Highness, why not sever a limb to save a life?”

The Crown Prince looked at Shen Yanzhi. “What do you mean?”

“Your Highness, sacrifice General Jin, and then plant a few boxes of burial objects with the royal family seal in the Second Prince’s secondary residence,” Shen Yanzhi said in a gentle tone, but there was a chilling smile on his lips, making his words horrifying.

“If the Second Prince accuses Your Highness of hoarding private soldiers and digging up the imperial tomb to plunder treasures to raise soldiers, and the treasures from the tomb fall into the Second Prince’s hands, then have General Jin confess that he dug up the tomb under the Second Prince’s orders. With both the evidence and the person, it will be clear to everyone that the one with no conscience is the Second Prince.”

The Crown Prince was tempted by what was said, but still hesitated. “General Jin has been loyal to me…”

“Your Highness, when it comes to major matters, we shouldn’t fuss over minor details. Be generous to General Jin’s family,” Shen Yanzhi advised.

The Crown Prince closed his eyes and finally agreed.

Initially, they had devised this plan to have Dong Cheng act as an insider.

But now, whether Dong Cheng could gain the favor of the former crown prince was uncertain.

Moreover, based solely on Dong Cheng’s uncle’s words, there was no guarantee that he wouldn’t discover the truth while in the Chu camp.

When the Crown Prince suggested that Dong Cheng couldn’t be trusted, Shen Yanzhi said, “Nowadays, there are many former officials who have gone to join the remnants of the former dynasty. If Your Highness dares to gamble, you might as well gamble big.”

The Crown Prince asked, “What do you mean?”

Shen Yanzhi pointed to the map and indicated the region of Yunzhou. “The several officials whom Mengjun County Governor went to persuade were all executed by His Majesty, which backfired.

Many prefectures and counties secretly harbored rebellious thoughts, secretly contacting the remnants of the former dynasty.

Your Highness might as well detain General An’s wife, children, and elderly mother in Yunzhou and have him pretend to surrender Yunzhou.”@@novelbin@@

Surrendering an entire prefecture as a gesture of surrender, especially after Li Xin’s anger in killing the former officials of Chu, would definitely not arouse suspicion from the former crown prince.

Once the two armies engaged in battle, if Yunzhou switched sides, the former dynasty would be caught between a rock and a hard place.

“For the sake of his family, General An will definitely not betray Your Highness.

Keep it a secret from both him and Dong Cheng, so that they don’t know each other’s roles as our insiders.

If Dong Cheng’s intelligence matches General An’s, it means Dong Cheng is still useful.

If not, spread the word that Dong Cheng is our insider, and let the remnants of the former dynasty kill him.”

The Crown Prince clapped his hands and laughed heartily. “I thought Dong Cheng would become worthless. Yan Zhi’s plan has revived this game.”

Shen Yanzhi also laughed, but his smile seemed too superficial, like a fragile layer of paper stuck on his face.

That night, someone sent a cup of pigeon wine to General Jin’s tent. It was said that after a few wild laughs, General Jin cut his finger, drew a signature on the paper, drank the wine, and left.

Shen Yanzhi stood outside the tent in the cold wind all night.

He knew that the next day, another group of soldiers would go to Yunzhou and “invite” General An’s family to be guests on their side.

The night wind was chilly, and it felt like there were thousands of ants gnawing at his lungs.

He coughed continuously, coughing up blood.

When Chen Qin helped him back to his tent, he looked at his slender, pale hands under the candlelight, with a smile that seemed mocking and self-deprecating.

These hands were clean and fair, but they had been stained with the blood of countless people.

But he had to keep living. If he wanted to live, he could only step on the corpses of others to rise.

Li Xin wanted him to take the blame, and the Second Prince wanted to eliminate his faction supporting the Crown Prince.

He used the power struggle between the Second Prince and the Crown Prince to drag the Second Prince down as well.

With the testimony of General Jin on paper, how could Li Xin still make him take the blame?

In this world, honest people didn’t live long. The ones who lived well were always the villains.

He might as well be a thorough villain. After all… he no longer felt like he had any dignity left.

As for the former crown prince’s side, he finally discovered that secret.

The former crown prince was indeed not a reckless person, but he had tarnished his own reputation just to survive under Emperor Yang.

After going through the initial hysteria of hatred and anger, he had slowly learned to calm down.

He admitted the strength of his opponent and accepted the fact that his beloved girl might fall for this unmasked former crown prince.

But that didn’t mean he would let go.

The grudge of taking his wife couldn’t be erased.

What was his, would ultimately be his.

Even if he had to fight for it, even if he had to snatch it, he would reclaim that gem that rightfully belonged to him.