By all the measures mentioned above, Zong Rulin would have been considered exceptional if he had joined the Black Stone Kingdom.
But there was one more factor, though Wang Dong had not mentioned it aloud. Both Zong Rulin and Wang Dong understood it perfectly well.
That was Zong Rulin's identity!
As a rare prince of a different surname, the first in the New Song Kingdom in centuries,
Zong Rulin commanded far greater prestige within the New Song Kingdom than an ordinary royal prince!
Especially in the eyes of the kingdom's common people.
King of Cizhou Zong Rulin, a man of humble origins who had ultimately ascended to the throne of a prince of a different surname, was the greatest hope and finest example they had for achieving upward mobility!
If such a legendary figure could join the Black Stone Kingdom,
then without a doubt, he would bring immense benefits to the Black Stone Kingdom's large-scale intervention in the New Song Kingdom!
These included, but were not limited to, reducing the common people's resistance, gaining an extensive network of connections within the New Song Kingdom, and acquiring a vast amount of intelligence on its upper echelons—all sorts of intangible advantages.
Even if the Black Stone Kingdom explicitly promised that Zong Rulin would not have to oppose the New Song Kingdom, it would still enjoy all these benefits.
From this perspective,
the terms the Black Stone Kingdom had offered Zong Rulin could hardly be considered generous. If anything, they seemed rather... meager!
As I said, if the Free State Conglomerate had had the opportunity to recruit Zong Rulin under these circumstances,
the terms it offered would certainly have been a hundred times better than those offered by the Black Stone Kingdom!
Of course, the Black Stone Kingdom and the Free State Conglomerate