Prince An Zhu Youning!

Bian Prefecture, Great Liang.

In a luxurious mansion, pavilions stood in rows.

The interior of the pavilion was neatly furnished, filled with the curling smoke of sandalwood and a rich, antique atmosphere. Outside, however, armored soldiers stood in formation, the defenses tight and rigorous.

Inside the room, several ancient scrolls were displayed on a desk, while a recurve bow, a long sword, and a long spear hung nearby—a rather peculiar sight.

"Zhu Youning, courtesy name Anren, currently Prince An of the Great Liang Dynasty, son of Prince Lang Zhu Cun—who was the elder brother of Zhu Wen—and nephew of the Great Liang Emperor Zhu Wen! What a truly noble status this is!"

Inside the pavilion, looking at the antique-style utensils and the maidservant attending nearby, then glancing at the blood-soaked bandages wrapped around his body, Zhu Youning wore a strange expression.

This was an injury from falling off a horse.

Or rather, it was a fatal wound caused by a fall from a horse.

The original owner was, in fact, already dead.

It was precisely because the original owner had fallen into a semi-dead state on the battlefield that the current Zhu Youning had transmigrated here.

Reborn in another world—he truly did not know if this was a blessing or a curse.

Liang State, Jin State, Qi State, Xuanming Cult, Huan Yin Workshop, Tongwen Hall, Buliangren... As he sorted through the memories in his mind, Zhu Youning could not help but sigh, words caught in his throat.

He seemed to have transmigrated into the special period of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms, but not the version from actual history; it was the world of a work called Buliangren, and he had ended up as the nephew of the Liang Emperor, Zhu Wen.

A noble of the Great Liang imperial family, the emperor's nephew, a vassal king of Liang... This sounded like an incredibly illustrious status indeed!

The Great Liang Emperor, Zhu Wen, was the third-born in his family and had joined Huang Chao's army in his prime alongside his second elder brother, Zhu Cun.

That was right, the very same Huang Chao who wrote, "When autumn comes to the eighth day of the ninth month, my flowers bloom and all others wither. The sky-piercing fragrance permeates Chang'an, the whole city clad in golden armor."

Zhu Wen followed Huang Chao on campaigns across the north, south, east, and west, before eventually betraying Qi to surrender to Tang. After several twists and turns, he finally replaced the Tang Dynasty and ascended the imperial throne.

Although he had ascended the throne, his second brother Zhu Cun, who had always looked after him, had long since died on the battlefield. Consequently, Zhu Wen treated Zhu Cun's two sons with great care, granting them military power and high positions while they were still young.

Zhu Cun had two sons: one was Zhu Youning, and the other was Zhu Youlun.

Zhu Youlun had served as a guard in the sleeping quarters of Emperor Zhaozong of Tang, Li Ye, secretly monitoring the Emperor's movements for Zhu Wen, before being secretly murdered by Zhaozong, dying after a fall from his horse during a polo match.

With Zhu Youlun dead, Zhu Wen became even more protective of Zhu Youning, the only remaining descendant of his second brother's line.

Otherwise, it would have been impossible for Zhu Youning to be granted a military governorship as the Jianwu Army Jiedushi and be named Prince An at only twenty years of age.

The current Great Liang Emperor, Zhu Wen, had three sons: the eldest, Zhu Yougui; the second, Zhu Youwen; and the third, Zhu Youzhen. Aside from these three princes, Zhu Youning's status was the most noble of all.

There was, of course, a reason for this.

Zhu Wen was the third child, having both a second elder brother and an eldest elder brother. The eldest was Prince Guang, Zhu Quanyu, who was still alive today. Logically, Zhu Quanyu's status and position should have been more noble than Zhu Youning's, but Zhu Quanyu considered himself a loyal subject of Li Tang. During a palace banquet, he had publicly mocked Zhu Wen as a usurper, which had infuriated Zhu Wen.

Therefore, although Zhu Wen had granted titles to Zhu Quanyu and his sons, he did not care for them and even felt a degree of disgust toward them.

In contrast, Zhu Youning had studied poetry, ritual, and military strategy since childhood. He was handsome, dashing, and possessed a free-spirited charm. Having accompanied Zhu Wen on campaigns many times, Zhu Wen treated him even better than his own sons.

It was no exaggeration to say that in Zhu Wen's heart, Zhu Youning—who had been clever and handsome since youth and had achieved many glorious military feats—was even more favored than his own son, Zhu Youzhen.

But what of it? How long could this last?

Zhu Youning's honor and status stemmed from the Liang State established by Zhu Wen; if the Liang State were to fall, he would likely be finished as well.

The current Great Liang Dynasty dominated the Central Plains. On the surface, it appeared militarily powerful and prosperous, but internally, it was already riddled with holes.

Although the Great Liang Dynasty occupied the Central Plains with great power and strong armies, it could not last long.

First, the internal situation.

Zhu Wen was drowning in wine and women, growing increasingly despondent and having long since lost his former ambition. Furthermore, the Four Ancestral Corpses of the Xuanming Cult—a famous assassination organization in Liang—had disappeared without a trace, leaving the Xuanming Cult lacking in top-tier combat power.

Moreover, the position of Crown Prince remained undecided, creating the risk of a struggle for succession.

Then, the external situation.

In the north, the Lulong Jiedushi, Liu Rengong, harbored ambitions of carving out his own territory. Although Prince Zhao, Wang Rong, had pledged allegiance to Zhu Wen, he was not truly loyal, and the Khitan were eyeing them like tigers, waiting for an opportunity to invade.

To the west, the states of Qi and Jin possessed formidable military strength and were constantly watching, plotting to march east under the banner of reviving the Great Tang.

To the south, there were numerous regimes such as Shu, Chu, Jing, and Wu. The Ten Thousand Poison Cave of the Rao Border and the Three Rao of Nine Li were also mobilizing their troops and training, hoping to wash away the Humiliation of Maple Leaf and sweep across the nations of the Central Plains.

Beyond all this, there was the Buliangren lurking in the dark corners.

That was right, the Buliangren!

The organization established by Yuan Tiangang, who had lived for over three hundred years, specifically to serve the Li Tang royal family—the Buliangren!

It could be said that Zhu Wen's success in establishing the Great Liang Dynasty had much to do with Yuan Tiangang's policy of non-resistance.

Yuan Tiangang himself possessed peerless martial arts; even if he could not stop Zhu Wen's massive army, taking Zhu Wen's head would have been as easy as reaching into his own pocket.

The reason he had not assassinated Zhu Wen, but instead sat by and watched him grow until he could declare himself emperor, was partly because Zhu Wen's army was indeed formidable and had capable successors. The other reason was to deal with a divination he and Li Chunfeng had cast.

The divination concerned the fall of the Great Tang Dynasty.

To reverse this omen, Yuan Tiangang had chosen the method of "Break Then Establish." He did not fully resist Zhu Wen's army, but instead hoped to restore the country through the last descendant of the Li Tang royal family, Li Xingyun, the son of Zhaozong Li Ye.

Once Li Xingyun grew to adulthood, Yuan Tiangang would inevitably bring the Buliangren out of the shadows to help Li Xingyun ascend the throne.

At that time, the Great Liang Dynasty would surely be in grave danger!

When the nest is overturned, no egg remains intact!

When that time comes, the fate awaiting Zhu Youning, the Prince An of Great Liang, will be nothing but death and the destruction of his kingdom, leaving him a laughingstock for others.

He would become a mere piece on the chessboard of those who manipulate the world, a withered bone in the struggle of dynastic rise and fall, a speck of dust in the long river of history!

As long as one is human, one fears death, and Zhu Youning was no exception.

As long as one is human, one has ambition, and Zhu Youning was no exception.

Therefore, he could not die, and furthermore, he had to realize his own ambitions.

"Zhu Wen has only been on the throne for four or five years, so there might be five or six years left until Li Xingyun, the descendant of the Li Tang royal family, comes of age!"

"In these five or six years, I must proceed with caution, seize every available resource, and become one of the chess players of this world."

A hint of gravity flashed across Zhu Youning's eyes as he stared at the progress bar only he could see. "I hope this cheat won't disappoint me."

As if in response to his thoughts, a mechanical voice rang out:

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[Resist unhealthy games, refuse pirated games. Pay attention to self-protection and beware of being deceived. Moderate gaming exercises the brain, while addiction harms the body. Arrange your time reasonably and enjoy a healthy life.]

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