Although in all the respects mentioned above, bringing Zong Rulin into the Black Stone Kingdom would be considered an excellent outcome,
there was one more thing. Wang Dong had not said it outright, but both he and Zong Rulin understood it perfectly.
That was Zong Rulin's identity.
As a rare prince of a different surname, one of a kind in the New Song Kingdom for centuries,
Zong Rulin commanded far greater prestige within the New Song Kingdom than an ordinary royal prince.
This was especially true in the hearts of the New Song Kingdom's ordinary citizens.
King of Cizhou Zong Rulin, a great figure born a commoner who had ultimately ascended to the throne of a prince of a different surname, represented their greatest hope of rising through the social ranks and was the best example they could follow.
If such a legendary figure could join the Black Stone Kingdom,
there was no doubt it would bring enormous benefits to the Black Stone Kingdom's large-scale intervention in the New Song Kingdom.
These included, but were not limited to, easing the resistance of ordinary New Song Kingdom citizens, gaining a vast network of connections within the New Song Kingdom, and obtaining a wealth of intelligence on its upper echelons—as well as a host of other intangible benefits.
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 advantages.
From this perspective,
the terms the Black Stone Kingdom had offered Zong Rulin were not merely reasonable; they even seemed somewhat... meager.
As stated before, if the Free State Conglomerate had had the chance to recruit Zong Rulin under these circumstances,
the terms it offered would undoubtedly have been a hundred times better than those put forward