Late at night in the capital, not a single servant was left to attend in the secret room of the Second Prince's backyard.
Only a single oil lamp with a bean-sized flame was lit on the long desk.
The shadow of the lamp pressed against a yellowed map of the waterway transport routes, with a few pages of excerpted spoilage accounts copied from the Ministry of Revenue scattered beside it.
Xiao Jingcheng held a black chess piece between two fingers and struck it heavily against the chessboard.
"Imperial Father has truly been ruthless this time. To cover the deficit in military rations within a month and hand over a perfectly clean and clear account."
He tossed the black piece into the chess bowl, leaned back, and crossed his arms over his chest.
"Shang Qitai is really being roasted over a fire this time. If he can't fill the hole, the heads of his entire family, young and old, will roll."
"This old fox usually summons the wind and rain in the Ministry of Revenue, but now he probably can't even sleep soundly."
The young man sitting opposite him picked up a coarse porcelain teacup and skimmed the foam off the top.
This man was the young master of the Shen family of Runan, Shen Zhaoqu.
Shen Zhaoqu did not even bat an eyelid, just stared at the endgame on the chessboard and took a slow, deliberate sip of tea.
He set down the teacup, placed his fingertip on the waterway transport map on the desk, and traced a line along the route.
"At most, he is just a white glove who receives money, launders accounts, and transfers goods for others. The real lion's share has long gone into the First Prince's pockets!"
Xiao Jingcheng did not reply, only watching Shen Zhaoqu's finger moving across the map.
"His Highness the First Prince raises private soldiers outside the borders, bribes regional supervisors, and hoards massive amounts of armor and horses. Which of these doesn't require oceans of silver to fill?"
Shen Zhaoqu's finger stopped on a red circle on the capital's waterway map and tapped it heavily twice.
"Jiangnan grain merchants falsely report water wastage, the Tongji Waterway Association uses night ships to transport smuggled salt, the water transport office secretly alters shipping schedules, and the granary clerks swap the seals."
He tapped the pages of the spoilage accounts, his tone laced with mockery.
"These people make their living on the water, using one set of underworld jargon after another. When military rations are loaded onto the ships, smuggled salt is padded at the bottom, and moldy old rice covers the top."
"When the ships arrive at the docks, the granary clerks only check the seals without inspecting the goods, signing them into the warehouse with a stroke of a pen. By the time the audits come around, the water transport office has already altered the schedules beyond recognition, claiming they encountered storms on the river and all the grain fed the turtles."
"Finally, the Ministry of Revenue signs off, using these spoilage accounts to blame all the deficits on natural disasters and water hazards."
"This is an interlocking chain. Shang Qitai alone couldn't pull it off, nor does he have the guts to swallow such a massive operation."
Xiao Jingcheng let out a laugh, picking up the cold tea at his side and taking a gulp.
"The Tongji Waterway Association is no ordinary martial arts sect."
"It is a massive waterway network cobbled together from dock laborers, boatmen, accountants, and official liaison offices. These people make their living on the water; they recognize money, not people."
"Shang Qitai can sit securely in the position of Minister of Revenue entirely because this network can safely deliver dirty silver to where it needs to go."
"He is just a passing god of wealth. If he is really asked to empty his own pockets to cover the deficit, what will he use to cover it?"
Shen Zhaoqu picked up a white piece and placed it in a dead corner of the chessboard, completely sealing off the black piece's retreat.
"His Highness the First Prince has swallowed too much silver too ruthlessly. The Ministry of Revenue's hole is too big this time. Even if Shang Qitai sells everything he owns, he won't be able to fill it."
"If he can't fill it, His Highness will not step in to save him. To protect the private soldiers outside the borders, His Highness will only push Shang Qitai out to take the blame."
Shen Zhaoqu looked up, meeting Xiao Jingcheng's eyes directly.
"Once Shang Qitai becomes a discarded pawn, the large group of old hands along this waterway transport line will have to find a new master."
"Your Highness, this is a golden opportunity that comes once in a thousand years."
Xiao Jingcheng was about to speak when a very light knocking came from outside the secret room.
Three long, two short.
Shen Zhaoqu stood up, walked to the door, and pulled it open a crack.
Outside stood a grey-clad aide, who handed in a bamboo tube sealed with wax, turned around, and left without a single wasted movement.
Shen Zhaoqu crushed the wax seal, pulled out the tightly rolled secret report inside, and walked over to the lamp to unroll it.
He only glanced at it twice before his brows twisted into a tight knot, and his expression shifted.
"An urgent dispatch from the Northern Border."
Shen Zhaoqu pushed the secret report in front of Xiao Jingcheng, pointing at the tiny, fly-head-sized characters on it.
"That eldest miss of the Xu family has stirred up a massive commotion in Zhenbei City."
Xiao Jingcheng leaned in to look. The writing on the report was incredibly small, densely packed with Xu Qinghuan's actions in the Northern Border.
"Promoting medicinal rations, building water purifiers, mining black stone to make coal stoves, and even creating some sort of firearms. She even managed to rope that bunch of lunatics from Luoxia Valley into the military workshop."
The more Xiao Jingcheng read, the more absurd he found it, tapping his finger heavily on the paper twice.
"Did this woman go there to be an imperial envoy or a god? Those people from Luoxia Valley have tempers as foul as rocks; they don't even give face to Imperial Father. How did she get them into the military workshop?"
Shen Zhaoqu gave a cold snort.
"Xu Qinghuan's methods are quite ruthless. She probably grasped Luoxia Valley's obsession with novel gadgets and used a few blueprints as bait."
Shen Zhaoqu pointed to a line of small text at the very bottom of the report, his tone carrying a chill.
"Your Highness, look here. The information sent back by our Shen family spies is detailed to the extreme."
"The backyard of the Xu Manor in Jiangning is now implementing a graded packaging system. Green vegetable packs sealed with red thread are exclusively for severely wounded soldiers, carrot top packs sealed with black thread are reserved for the night-scout spies, and mixed vegetable packs sealed with white thread are given to ordinary cooks."
Shen Zhaoqu paused and continued reading.
"The wounded soldier camps in the Northern Border collect medicinal rations daily according to the register, and the night-scout spies collect the black-thread packs separately. The accounts are crystal clear; not even a single ounce of vegetable leaf can be embezzled."
"Xu Qinghuan manages the military supplies like an iron bucket; even Tie Lanshan can't pick out the slightest flaw."
Hearing this, Xiao Jingcheng pushed the secret report aside, leaned back against his chair, and crossed his legs.
"She's pulling all these tricks in the Northern Border, but which one can be exchanged for actual military power?"
"Without military power, on this chessboard of the succession struggle, she is just an ant that can be crushed to death at any moment."
"Even if she makes the Zhenbei Army's meals as good as can be, when the Helian people's scimitars slash over, are they going to block them with green vegetable packs?"
Shen Zhaoqu shook his head, sat back down in his chair, and looked at Xiao Jingcheng.
"Your Highness miscalculated."
He held up one finger.
"Medicinal rations can buy the lives of wounded soldiers. When the wounded soldiers survive, the morale of the Zhenbei Army will stabilize. Once morale is stable, Tie Lanshan can free his hands to deal with the Helian people."
He held up a second finger.
"Purified water can buy order in the camp. With no one getting sick, the great army can strike camp and go to war at any time."
He held up a third finger.
"Coal stoves can buy the Northern Border's winter. When the Helian people are so frozen they can't even hold their swords, the Zhenbei Army can still eat hot meals. In a world of ice and snow, this means an extra life."
Finally, he slammed his palm heavily onto the table, shaking the water out of the teacup.
"As for those firearms, they can buy a breach in the grand formations of the prairie cavalry!"
"Add these four things together, and the Zhenbei Army's combat power will at least double. That stubborn donkey Tie Lanshan is probably worshipping Xu Qinghuan as a living bodhisattva right now."
"Although Xu Qinghuan does not hold the military tally in her hands, she now grasps the very lifeline of the Zhenbei Army!"
The secret room was so quiet that only the faint crackle of the lamp wick could be heard.
Xiao Jingcheng stared at the waterway transport map, silent for a long while.
He strung all these clues together in his mind and suddenly burst out laughing, laughing so hard that tears almost came to his eyes.
"Oh, Imperial Father, you are playing a truly massive game of chess."
He pointed in the direction of the Northern Frontier, laughing uproariously.
"Eldest Royal Brother is raising a private army beyond the borders, so Imperial Father allows Xu Qinghuan to take over the military supplies of the Zhenbei Army."
"This is to forge the Northern Frontier into a blade, a sharp blade specifically used to check and balance Eldest Royal Brother! This blade of the Xu family is now polished to a gleaming shine, just waiting to draw blood."
Shen Zhaoqu held his teacup and did not reply, tacitly agreeing with this deduction.
Having laughed enough, Xiao Jingcheng wiped his face, stood up, and stretched lazily.
"I really don't want to get involved in this messy battle for the throne anymore."
He walked over to the wall, took down a longsword hanging there, and casually flourished it. The blade flashed with a cold light under the lamp.
"Eldest Royal Brother has troops in his hands, and Third Royal Brother is starting to get the backing of the noble families. Caught in the middle, I suffer from both sides."
"Calculating this and that is exhausting to death. It would be much more satisfying to just be a carefree young master roaming the martial world. Drinking wine and listening to music every day, without having to plot for other people's heads all day long, nor worrying about my own head parting from my shoulders."
He turned to look at Shen Zhaoqu, raised an eyebrow, and spoke with a teasing tone.
"I think that Xu Wuyou of the Xu family has it pretty good. Stirring up trouble in the capital all day, living such a comfortable life. He dares to detain the shopkeeper at the docks, dares to trample the dignity of the Ministry of Revenue underfoot. I am actually a bit envious of his arrogance."
Shen Zhaoqu placed the secret report over the oil lamp to light it, watching the flames devour the paper completely until it turned into a pile of ashes.
"If Your Highness wants to be carefree, it depends on whether the First Prince and His Majesty will give you that opportunity."
"Xu Wuyou is currently stepping on the Ministry of Revenue's vital weak point. If Shang Qitai is driven to desperation, the first one he bites will be him."
"The Xu family is now riding the crest of a dangerous wave; they could be smashed to pieces at any moment."
Xiao Jingcheng sheathed his longsword with a crisp ringing sound.
"Then we shall see how that old fox Xu Youde protects his precious son."
"Xu Youde knelt in the imperial court to confess his guilt, forcing Shang Qitai into a corner. That old man's methods are incredibly venomous."
