Helian Haotong wiped the wine from the corner of his mouth, his gaze drifting into the distance as he spoke with a trace of reminiscence.
"I, Helian Haotong, am the younger brother of the current Emperor of Chu, the illustrious Ninth Worthy Prince of Great Chu. Our kingdom's system is entirely different from that of your Great Xuan."
"I often envy your Great Xuan. You have a centralized system of government, where Emperor Xuan's every word carries the weight of nine cauldrons, and his power extends over all beneath heaven."
"Our situation in the Chu Kingdom is different from yours in Great Xuan. When the Chu Kingdom was founded, there were many meritorious founding officials. To reward them..."
"Our kingdom adopted a system of fiefs. Today, there are dozens of enfeoffed lords, great and small, within our borders. They enjoy the rights to collect taxes and levy troops within their territories. Their power is tangled like roots and branches, and even my imperial brother cannot fully control them."
"These enfeoffed lords are the shackles weighing on my imperial brother's heart. They are also the root of why our kingdom cannot unite its strength and invade your Great Xuan with the might of the entire nation."
At this point, Helian Haotong paused, picked up the wine jar, and refilled his cup, a trace of unwillingness in his voice.
"The Emperor of Chu and I discussed this for years. We knew that changing all this through internal reform alone would be as difficult as ascending to heaven."
"Only by drawing on external forces, through a war against another nation, could we unite the hearts of our people, weaken the enfeoffed lords, and allow my imperial brother to truly control the Chu Kingdom."
"After repeated planning, we chose Great Xuan's Cool Prefecture as