There was a small airship port to the north of the Imperial Capital, reserved for the inhabitants of the region.
Lord Riverglance’s airship landed there at noon.
As the number one character among the noble lords, he could bring a total of one thousand and nine hundred fully-armed soldiers into the Imperial Capital, even more than the heavenly monarchs. However, his entourage was only half-full at the moment. It was clear that the passage of time had instilled some humility in this once arrogant and reckless lord.
The couple hundred men was already a strain on this small landing pad. The warsh.i.p.s had to take turns to unload their crew, and the soldiers were lined up in a tight formation on the grounds.
No one noticed when a certain member of the welcoming party boarded the flagship and never came down.
Dressed in full ceremonial attire, Lord Riverglance came down the ramp after the troops and officers were in position. He then boarded a long military vehicle and the motorcade set out immediately.
The airsh.i.p.s took off one after another. They couldn’t remain in the capital, so they had applied for campgrounds outside of the city where the remaining half of Lord Riverlgance’s guards would be garrisoned.
By the time all of the airsh.i.p.s had reached a certain height, they turned toward the west in unison. Only the flagship kept ascending until it was in the void before going into an orbital trajectory.
In the main cabin of the flagship, the Radiant Emperor and Lord Riverglance were seated across one another. In addition to the tea equipment, there were various doc.u.ments and books on the table between them. From the looks of it, some of them were from the Radiant Emperor, while the rest were brought in by Lord Riverglance.
Lord Riverglance picked up a memorial which, from the envelope, appeared to be from the cabinet. He scanned through the contents impatiently, then tossed it back onto the table.
The Radiant Emperor looked rather leisurely. His eyes were fixed on the green tea in his thin porcelain cup, fully enjoying the tea-tasting process.
Lord Riverglance said, “Have you dealt with the Longevity Monarch’s family?”
The Radiant Emperor said, “Everyone at the grandson generation and below have been struck from the familial records. They were allowed to pick a new surname, and their fiefdoms have been exchanged with ones outside of the Imperial family’s domain. I’m guessing the move will take about a year or so.”
Although the Longevity Monarch had almost caused the collapse of the Empire, Lord Riverglance couldn’t help but feel sorry about all his descendants being expelled from the family.
Lord Riverglance’s eyes fell upon that memorial. “The military is now a mish-mash where everyone can come in and interfere. It was definitely troublesome when the Longevity Monarch was in power, but at least there was some semblance of order. Your move of pulling the military under the cabinet might bring more harm than benefit.”
The Radiant Emperor said, “Even the Founding Ancestor and the Martial Emperor never turned the military into a dictatorship. In the Empire, the major clans rule themselves while the generals oversee the battlefield. The military department is the only overlapping area that coordinates between them and allocates balanced resources. Since its founding, the department has always been a place of arguments and contests.
“At least on the surface, the heavenly monarchs appear to be staying away from politics. Few civil officers were ever able to suppress the military generals. Now that the Longevity Monarch has passed and the court appointments have been adjusted, the original alliances have been broken up, and new ones have not yet formed. The big mountains have become little mountains, it’s normal for things to be a bit messy.”
Lord Riverglance frowned. The military department was where the Imperial family, the major clans, the aristocracy, and the army wrestled for power. Even Lin Xitang—as a marshal and the leader of the civil ministers—only possessed a certain degree of power there.
After the Longevity Monarch’s fall, the military was downgraded and incorporated into the cabinet. Things might still be in control if Marshal Lin were in the Imperial Steward position, but now, that post was empty and the newly appointed Minister of the Right needed time to stabilize his footing in the political field.
Such a massive entity was akin to a machine with thousands of intricate parts. A couple of damaged components could be quickly repaired, but removing the rebellious Longevity Monarch was like pulling out the main axle. It wasn’t quite enough to destroy the entire system, but it would take a good deal of repair and remodeling. How could it be that easy?
Lord Riverglance picked up his cup of tea and had a sip, feeling angry about the utter mess. He remembered a certain person at this point, the man who had come to his territory to announce the summons.
“How about Fang Qingkong? I remember he used to be the inspector emissary of the right. He might be lacking in experience, but it’s not impossible to promote him to the head minister of the cabinet.”
“Fang Qingkong used to handle intelligence reports for Marshal Lin, and he’s still performing the same duties now.” With that, the Radiant Emperor said with a smile, “He has already asked for permission to return to the Northern Legion.”
Lord Riverglance was surprised. “Is there any problem there?”
The Radiant Emperor said, “The legion itself is fine, but Fang Qingkong wants to return to his original rank and name, Lin Wu.”
The Northern Legion was, at present, categorized as a duke’s private army, but it had remained on the Western Continent to fend off the beast army’s invasion. The Lin family never had a suitable candidate, so the procedure was never completed. It would be too much for the Lin family’s early champion-rank experts to lead an elite corps.
Lord Riverglance knew more about Fang Qingkong’s origins than outsiders. This man was born in the military’s assassination camp, a suicidal soldier without family background who had made his way from the dark to the light. Of course, this part of his history would have to be modified a bit if he were to join the civil ministers.
Considering Fang Qingkong’s cultivation as a divine champion, even the position of corps commander would be too low for him. He should be a deputy marshal at the very least. However, Lin Xitang’s warzone on the Western Continent had been placed under the Zhao clan’s marshal. It wouldn’t be a good thing to place them together.
Lord Riverglance was still thinking about this when the Radiant Emperor said, “I’ve already given him permission. The intelligence division will be in your hands from now on.”
The lord’s expression went dark as this wasn’t a good job. Strategic intelligence reports were vital to the Empire’s operation, a grave responsibility.
Then again, Lord Riverglance knew why the Emperor would give him this department. The Imperial Family’s divination department served to assist in war preparations, and their findings would have to be matched against strategic intelligence reports. Now that the Empress was in charge of the divination department and Lord Riverglance was to act as regent, it was vital to control all sources of information.
The lord hadn’t expected the Radiant Emperor to be so thorough.
Lord Riverglance couldn’t help but jab at the Emperor. “I would’ve brought more men if I knew you were so generous.”
The Emperor was nonchalant about it. “Ah, Uncle, it would be best if you transfer your entire Historical Manor over here.” In order to show that he wasn’t being sarcastic, he added, “We really are short on people.”
Lord Riverglance pointed at the memorial, saying, “Since the intelligence is in Fang Qingkong’s hands, what’s up with these rumors about Lin Xitang? It has even reached my place.”
The Radiant Emperor said indifferently, “Oh that. It came from the rebel province of Serene South and reached the Imperial Capital within days. As for the bridge, one of them is the Victory Palace.”
Lord Riverglance’s expression darkened. “The Zhao clan again?! Are you done yet?”
The Radiant Emperor pointed at a pile of doc.u.ments on the table. “Get used to court affairs as quickly as you can, I want to visit the Western Continent for a bit.”
The lord had already listened to Fang Qingkong’s reports about the heavenly monarch meeting and major developments in the Empire. He had already read through some of the doc.u.ments in the big pile, but he couldn’t help but look a bit pained.
Lord Riverglance suddenly thought of something, “How about the heir position?”
The Radiant Emperor said calmly, “There’s no need for one as long as I’m still alive.”
The Emperor was already a heavenly monarch. As long as he didn’t fall and as long as he was willing, he could pick someone from the grandson generation as heir. But who could say for sure that they would return from the battlefield? It wasn’t as though the Emperor didn’t understand this logic. He had made all the necessary arrangements, so why did he forget this one?”
Lord Riverglance looked serious as he stood up and looked intently at the Emperor. “The crown-prince position is the foundation of the Empire.”
The Radiant Emperor said, “No, Uncle, the heir position really isn’t important.”
Lord Riverglance pondered on these words, his expression turning solemn as he did so. “What did the heavenly monarchs say?”
The Emperor smiled. “The Imperial family doesn’t interfere with the internal affairs of the aristocracy, and the reverse holds true. What opinion can they have?”
“But our two heavenly monarchs…” Lord Riverglance suddenly went quiet, frowning.
The Radiant Emperor said, “Is there a difference today between the Imperial clan and the aristocracy? The Greensun and Vastnorth Zhang families are both surnamed Zhang. The Imperial family and clan are both surnamed Ji. That’s all.”
Lord Riverglance didn’t have a good reply. The clans and aristocratic families had seen some division throughout the years, only the Ji surname did not.
The Ji family’s mode of inheritance was actually no different from the other families, a deep network of marital connections and alliance agreements forming its core. The relationship between the Emperor’s branch and the rest of the Imperial clan might not be any better than that of the aristocracy and their branch families.
There were thirty-six branches in the Ji family, fifteen of which had changed their ancestry. After driving out the Longevity Monarch’s descendants from the Ji family, the only branch left that hadn’t lost their inheritance was the Solemn Emperor’s.
Lord Riverglance was quite aware of his own familial issues as well. His great-grandmother was a member of the Imperial clan and had too many traces of aristocracy on her. In his earlier years, he was a representative character among Lin Xitang’s political enemies—just as Zhang Boqian had become the de-facto leader of the major clans.
The difference between them, however, was that Riverglance did not possess the latter’s special status, nor his unrestrained boldness. Hence, he could only seek permission to be assigned to a border region.
After a moment of silence, Lord Riverglance said, “I remember five princes went to war on the void continent. One was killed, two were crippled, and two injured. In the end, there was an additional princess on the casualty list.”
The Radiant Emperor drank his tea calmly; there wasn’t the slightest ripple on his expression.
Lord Riverglance continued, “The Empress’ children have been excluded from succeeding the throne. Only Concubine Zhao’s children remain if something happens to you. Is that truly wise?”
There wasn’t anyone from below the aristocratic family level in the Imperial harem. Under such equal terms, the status of the princes and princesses came from their individual talents and their maternal families.
If the Radiant Emperor were to fall without naming an heir, the throne would surely turn into a warzone for the major clans. Concubine Zhao would most likely be the final victor. Without a strong will to rule as an Emperor, the princes would naturally become the spokespersons for their maternal clans. And all of that was discounting Concubine Zhao’s temperament.
The Radiant Emperor asked, “What’s so bad about that?”
Lord Riverglance was stopped up. “When that time comes, the Zhao clan will probably fall into a degree of internal conflict as well…”
The Radiant Emperor laughed. “I’ve never held back from giving the Zhao clan what is due. Even though Duke Weiyuan never gained the fame he deserved, his title and contributions have all been credited to the Zhao clan. How they distribute it is none of my business, however. As for the carved Heavenly Merit record, I have no idea why they would send such a report to Monarch Zhang. He wrote those words himself, so even the elder prince wasn’t willing to interfere. Then again, the Swallowcloud Zhao Clan has no lack of names on the merit wall, I don’t think they’ll mind one less.”
Lord Riverglance couldn’t help but laugh wryly. No family was a block of steel—to ask whether one’s family or in-laws were more important was no different from asking one to choose between the wife and one’s mother. The Zhao clan’s branches had remained unified for four generations, with hundreds of descendants. Who would they nurture and who would they suppress? It could be considered a just outcome if the elders followed family rules and did not interfere too much.
At present, the Zhao clan’s fame had already surpassed the Zhang clan’s; all they needed was a heavenly monarch. Their internal balance of power was disrupted in this generation when the clan lord’s position was taken by Duke Chengen, deviating from their usual sequence. Suddenly gaining the Emperor’s position might seem great, but it would be like pouring oil onto raging flames.
Lord Riverglance sighed. “You really hate the Zhao clan, don’t you?”
The Radiant Emperor said indifferently, “They also hate me, and that’s fine, but why would they hate Teacher? Besides, even as the Emperor, I can’t just deduct their contributions, ignore their daughter, and treat their descendants differently. It’s not like I’m trying to centralize power, why should I suppress them?”
Lord Riverglance was dumbfounded. The relationship between the Zhao clan and the Radiant Emperor was simply a mess.
