Chapter 47: My Lord, There Is Still a Chance

"Your Highness, if that person in the capital is truly a puppet pushed forward by the nobility, perhaps we still have a chance."

"What chance?"

Hearing the words whispered by Yao Guangxiao, Zhu Di immediately wore a look of pleasant surprise.

Yao Guangxiao turned to glance behind him, and seeing that the men trailing him were all the Prince of Yan's personal bodyguards, he smiled unconcernedly. "Your Highness surely understands the true nature of those nobles better than this poor monk does. What do you think they will do if their greed leads them to control the new sovereign?"

"Hmph! With the likes of them... they'll probably turn the Great Ming upside down." Zhu Di gave a soft snort, his face full of disdain.

He had spent his childhood mingling with the scions of the nobility, and even his beloved wife was from a noble family. Naturally, he understood the mindset of the nobility better than anyone. He knew that if Zhu Yunxiu were truly a puppet pushed up by the nobles, the nobles controlling that puppet would undoubtedly make endless demands. With Lan Yu's arrogant disposition, it was not beyond the realm of possibility that he might carve out a territory and declare himself king.

Yao Guangxiao still smiled, continuing his low-toned analysis, "Precisely so! When that time comes, wouldn't it be the ideal moment for Your Highness to raise the banner of righteousness and set things right?

"Right now, the civil officials in the court are undoubtedly being coerced by the nobility. When Your Highness raises the banner to restore order, what do you suppose these officials, oppressed by the nobles, will do?"

"Good, good, good! The Grand Preceptor's plan is brilliant." Zhu Di's understanding dawned instantly, and he couldn't help clapping in praise.

Just as Zhu Di was rubbing his hands in excitement, Xu Miaoyun, who had remained silent all this time, suddenly chimed in, "Your Highness, Master! It is time to return to the Prince's Mansion. Even though His Majesty issued an order forbidding us from returning to the capital for the mourning rituals, the Prince's Mansion must still hold memorial ceremonies for the late Emperor."

Uh...

The two men, deeply engrossed in their exciting scheming, were abruptly interrupted. A flicker of imperceptible annoyance crossed Yao Guangxiao's eyes. If a person of a later era had witnessed that expression, they would have instantly recognized it as the gloom and frustration of someone whose close companion had just been snatched away.

Zhu Di remained completely oblivious. He grinned and pulled Xu Miaoyun into a shoulder embrace. "Miaoyun is as virtuous as ever. The more it is like this, the less I can afford to give anyone a handle against me, or else I will surely be attacked by others in the future."

With that, amidst Yao Guangxiao's resentful gaze, he helped Xu Miaoyun back toward the carriage, while shouting loudly at Zhu Gaochi, who stood frozen in place, "Hey, Gold Nugget, what are you standing there blankly for? Pass the word down immediately: we are returning to the Prince's Mansion at once to pay our filial respects to your Imperial Grandfather."

"Ah! Yes, Father!"

Zhu Gaochu hastily acknowledged the order, turned, and trotted off to inform the bodyguards.

Time flew by in a blur.

Over the course of several days, civil officials busied themselves incessantly with rallying every official they could win over, and news of the establishment of the Cabinet and the military reforms consequently spread like wildfire.

The news finally reached the ears of the Huaixi nobility.

Upon hearing this, a group of crude, boorish generals immediately panicked, leaping to their feet and surging in a chaotic mob straight to Lan Yu's Duke of Liang Mansion.

Geng Bingwen, Zhu Shou, Cao Xing, Cao Zhen...

Dozens of people surrounded Lan Yu in the center of the main hall, chattering incessantly like a flock of ducks, demanding that Lan Yu find a way out—they simply could not hand over military power so easily.

At that moment, they completely abandoned all thoughts of the merit of supporting a new emperor; without military power in their hands, no amount of achievements would be of any use.

Having clawed their way out of eras of warfare as reckless brawlers, they naturally understood better than anyone the principle that holding troops in one's hands keeps the heart at ease.

Lan Yu had a splitting headache from their noisy racket, yet he was utterly helpless.

He had no desire to surrender military power either, but who could blame him when the person proposing the institutional reforms was none other than his own nephew-grandson? As the grand-uncle, it hardly looked appropriate for him to step forward in opposition.

Thinking back and forth, Lan Yu could come up with no better solution, so he cast his gaze upon Zhang Wen, the man among them most adept at using his brains.

"Old Zhang, what do you think?"

Ever since entering the Duke of Liang Mansion, Zhang Wen had been sitting calmly with his eyes closed, preserving his energy, looking entirely out of place amidst the panic of the others.

Hearing Lan Yu's inquiry, he slowly opened his eyes.

After sweeping his gaze across the crowd, he couldn't help curling his lip. "Duke of Liang, I actually think this is not a bad thing at all. On the contrary, it might be a tremendous blessing."

Yet, the moment his voice trailed off, the gathered nobles exploded in an instant.

They began shouting and arguing over one another all at once, except this time, the target of their hostility was Zhang Wen.

"Damn it! Zhang Wen, have you lost your mind to even say such a thing?"

"Precisely! Everyone calls you Old Zhang the Little Zhuge, but I say you're full of hot air! If we follow the Third Highness's way of doing things, we won't have a shred of military power left in our hands. How are we supposed to protect our family fortunes in the future?"

"Zhang Wen, did you take bribes from those civil officials, which is why you're deliberately talking like this?"

...

*Crack!*

"Quiet, all of you! Do you think this is a vegetable market, raising such a racket?"

Lan Yu could bear it no longer and finally slammed his palm down on the table.

The outburst frightened the nobles into shrinking their necks and instantly sealing their lips.

Seeing this, Lan Yu turned his gaze back to Zhang Wen, studying him suspiciously before asking, "Explain yourself."

Zhang Wen shook his head imperceptibly, seeming quite dissatisfied with the rashness and ignorance of the nobility, but he calmly analyzed the situation nonetheless. "First of all, we were the very first to step forward in support of the Third Highness—that is an indisputable fact. Furthermore, I do not believe the Third Highness would agree to our terms only to suddenly go back on his word. Don't assume that because the Third Highness is young, he is easily hoodwinked by the civil officials; just think back to his performance in the imperial court over the past few days, and you will understand.

"Secondly, the Third Highness's purpose in reforming the military is undoubtedly to gather all military power into his own hands—that much is also unquestionable. But how many emperors throughout history have *not* done this? Could it be that military power should be left in the hands of outsiders like us, just so our descendants can rebel in the future?

"Moreover, I am certain the Third Highness will not simply strip us of our military power without offering compensation. There must be recompense for us.

"That is why I said this might not necessarily be a bad thing..."

In truth, Zhang Wen had deduced much more through the military reforms, but sensing that the boorish generals before him might not grasp the deeper significance, he simply opted to tell them what they most wanted to hear and could easily comprehend.

Sure enough, the moment Zhang Wen finished speaking, the nobles stopped their brawling and arguing entirely, each of them wearing an expression filled with intense curiosity.

They seemed to be guessing what kind of compensation Zhu Yunxiu would grant them, or whether they would still retain the right to command troops in the future.

"Zhang Wen, what kind of compensation do you think Yunxiu will give us?" Lan Yu asked directly.

He had little choice; he possessed the greatest achievements and commanded the largest number of troops among the current nobility. Just days ago, he had cut off his own flesh by personally sending his adopted sons and personal servants to the Ministry of Punishments, and now he was expected to surrender his command of troops as well. Naturally, he felt a deep reluctance in his heart.

Without sufficient compensation, Lan Yu felt he simply could not cross that hurdle.