By the time Ma Xiyue heard this much, Zhu Youning's audacious idea had left him speechless.
The Liang emperor, Zhu Wen, had not led a campaign against another state in years. How had his nephew become so warlike?
If they really followed Zhu Youning's plan, the Wu State would have no chance of holding out!
One move would affect the whole situation. Once war broke out, the Wu State's thousand-mile front along the river would be thrown into turmoil. Fighting could erupt anywhere, at any time, affecting the entire campaign. The King of Wu was already old, growing more muddleheaded by the day, and simply couldn't oversee the bigger picture.
On top of that, if Liang, Chu, Wuyue, Min, and Han all attacked at once, the Wu State would never be able to preserve itself amid the chaos.
The Wu State's final fate, of course, would be its destruction!
But once it was destroyed, how would they divide up its territory?
Zhu Youning naturally saw what Ma Xiyue was thinking.
"Loot a state and divide the spoils: whoever contributes more gets a bigger share!" Zhu Youning paused, then continued, "Of course, under normal circumstances, Liang would take the lands north of the Yangtze and Huainan. As for the vast territory south of the Yangtze, the four southern states would divide it among themselves."
"Among those four southern states, Chu is the strongest. Surely Chu wouldn't be denied a larger share?"
"If we succeed, this will be a tremendous achievement: expanding our territory and extending our borders. It would be no less impressive than the Old King of Chu's conquest of new lands. The opportunity won't come again, so the King of Chu must seize it!"
The next day, Zhu Youning reported for his usual duty at the military camp.
During the trip to Luoyang, Li Cunxiao had wounded several hundred elite soldiers from the Longxiang Army. All of them had come from the Right Wing of the Longxiang Army, which now needed to replenish its ranks and reorganize.
So Zhu Youning first exchanged for two Great Buddha Sticks and presented them to Zhu Wen. Then he petitioned for permission to reorganize the Longxiang Army.
Zhu Wen didn't seem particularly interested in the matter. He was far more taken with the feeling of being mighty and invincible in bed after taking the medicine. When Zhu Youning presented him with another "elixir," he agreed to everything without a second thought.
Only then did Zhu Youning dare to take the next step.
In these chaotic times, aside from one's own martial strength, the army was what mattered most. After all, every bit of added strength meant a greater chance of victory.
Zhu Youning immediately sent people to select brave men skilled in battle, forming a special force of more than eight hundred soldiers to reinforce the Right Wing of the Longxiang Army.
In selecting these soldiers, Zhu Youning placed the greatest importance on their backgrounds being above reproach. Physical fitness came second.
The backgrounds of all eight hundred men had been verified. Most came from reputable families, and their household records were all properly registered. Even their family ties—parents, grandparents, and the like—could be checked in full.
He also rejected older men and accepted only young, able-bodied recruits. Older men might have ties to the previous dynasty.
Zhu Youning did this to reduce the chance of spies as much as possible. The Buliangren's infiltration was simply impossible to guard against. Once a man's household records were registered, even a traitor with ulterior motives would have to think twice before betraying Liang and putting his parents and family at risk.
As soon as the Right Wing of the Longxiang Army had been reassembled, Zhu Youning found weapons and equipment in the camp, armed the entire unit, and drilled them day and night.
But soon Zhu Youning ran into trouble.
In Bian Prefecture, everyone had plenty of eyes watching them. No unusual move could go unnoticed. Just as expected, Zhu Youning soon heard that an official had submitted a memorial accusing him of reorganizing the army without authorization, an act that violated regulations.
This left Zhu Youning quite puzzled.
He had merely carried out a normal reorganization of the troops, and he had even obtained Zhu Wen's approval. How could anyone call that a violation of regulations?
But that was only the beginning. Soon, upright men at court were loudly denouncing Zhu Youning for raising a private army with treasonous intent. They demanded that his posts as Jiedushi and commander of the Longxiang Army be stripped from him as a warning to others.
Zhu Youning couldn't help laughing when he heard that.
The censor seemed to have forced himself to say it; it clearly wasn't what he truly thought. His accusation was certainly a peculiar one.
Of course, there were also some fairly sensible arguments at court. But even those were aimed at Zhu Youning.
One censor advised that Pinglu was a major regional command, governing Zi, Qing, Qi, Hai, Deng, Lai, Yi, Mi, Pu, Xu, Yan, Yun, and Di. Its territory was immense, making up roughly a fifth or even a quarter of the Liang State. If it were truly granted as a fief, it would become Liang's largest command. Better, then, to divide Pinglu's thirteen prefectures into several smaller regional commands, such as the Qingzhou Jiedushi, the Qizhou Jiedushi, the Yanzhou Jiedushi, and so on!
When Zhu Youning heard this, his brow furrowed.
The argument wasn't wrong. Pinglu Garrison covered such a vast area that it already accounted for a quarter of the Liang State's total territory. It was practically half of half the empire.
It might have been only a quarter, but even so, that was enough to rival the western lands of Fengxiang—or even the territory of the entire Qi State!
It was no exaggeration to say that if the Pinglu Jiedushi declared independence, he could establish a state of his own—and a great one at that!
What these censors were really saying was that if Zhu Youning became Pinglu Jiedushi, he would already be powerful enough to rebel.
Although that was unlikely.
In no time, Zhu Youning had been pushed to the eye of the storm, leaving him deeply troubled.
At this point, Zhu Youning naturally understood that someone was deliberately targeting him.
Once he made a point of investigating, Zhu Youning quickly learned who was directing the censors.
Prince Jun, Zhu Youzhen.
Though a prince, this man disliked his own father, Zhu Wen, who in turn did not favor him. He had managed to obtain the post of commander of the Tianxing Army, but the Tianxing Army was no battle-hardened force, and Zhu Youzhen himself had not even been granted a fief and made a Jiedushi.
To "establish a command" meant being enfeoffed as a Jiedushi. One might hold a prefecture or command in name only, or rule it in practice, but either way, it was the highest honor a military officer could receive.
Now that he saw Zhu Youning, who was not even Zhu Wen's own son, repeatedly receiving fiefs and gaining Pinglu—the richest territory of all—Zhu Youzhen could no longer sit still.
Zhu Youzhen himself naturally wanted to become emperor. It wasn't that he wanted to be emperor for the sake of supreme power; he wanted to accomplish something against heaven's will that seemed impossible. But since he had already decided to become emperor, he had to clear away every obstacle.
Right now, Zhu Youning was that obstacle, because his power was growing far too quickly. According to reports from Zhu Youzhen's men, Zhu Youning seemed to have risen so rapidly because he had presented some kind of aphrodisiac.
That left Zhu Youzhen deeply uncomfortable. A man could get promoted just by offering an aphrodisiac?
So, driven by all kinds of resentment, Zhu Youzhen sent the censors loyal to Prince Jun's faction to bombard Zhu Youning with accusations.
But unexpectedly, Zhu Wen didn't even listen. He didn't so much as glance at the memorials, and carried on amid music, dancing, and extravagant indulgence.
Zhu Youning hadn't expected it, but in hindsight, it made perfect sense.
Who would have thought Zhu Wen's neglect of state affairs would prove so useful at a time like this?
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