bookrandom Chapter 448 Joy of Life 4
Chapter 448 Joy of Life 4
Thanks to Si Gu Jian's extensive recruitment of disciples, Dongyi City has become the place with the most ninth-rank masters in the world.
Coupled with its unique geographical location, it became incredibly wealthy, becoming a fourth power independent of the Three Kingdoms.
As for other small countries in the surrounding area, they are negligible due to their weak power.
When Li Chengze finished sorting through this, he felt that the situation was strangely familiar.
Wasn't the same situation when he traveled to Beili in the last world?
In the south there is the Southern Martial Arts, in the north there are the Northern Barbarians, and beyond the realm there is the Heavenly Outer Heaven, which is eyeing us covetously.
Martial arts realms are divided into ranks, with the highest realms transcending the mortal realm.
However, the martial arts level of the previous world seems to be higher than that of this world.
After all, when one meditates in a state of spiritual wandering, one's mind can travel thousands of miles and even ascend to the heavens (doge).
After carefully comparing the similarities and differences between the two worlds, Li Chengze refocused his attention on the Qing Kingdom.
Currently, in the Qing Kingdom's court, besides him and the Crown Prince vying for the throne, there are three other forces that cannot be ignored.
The first to be affected was the civil service group centered around Prime Minister Lin Ruofu.
Such as the Ministry of Rites, the Ministry of Personnel, the Ministry of War, the Ministry of Revenue, the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Works, the Censorate, the Court of Judicial Review, the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, etc. However, although this force seemed huge, it was not monolithic.
Within this civil service system, there were royalists who swore to be loyal to the emperor to the death, princes who firmly supported the crown prince, the second princes who supported Li Chengze, and neutral parties who remained neutral and did not want to get involved in the struggle for the throne.
It can be said that the civil service system of the Qing Kingdom appears to be powerful on the surface, but it has long been internally fragmented, with each department acting independently, resulting in a complex power structure.
The second force was the financial power of Princess Li Yunrui.
As Emperor Qing's younger sister, Li Yunrui was granted the title of Princess upon Emperor Qing's ascension to the throne.
However, she was able to manage the inner treasury with extraordinary means, firmly controlling the economic lifeline of the entire Qing Kingdom.
With such immense wealth in hand, the power behind Li Yunrui is naturally not to be underestimated.
Although Li Yunrui is still unmarried, she had a romantic relationship with Lin Ruofu and even had an illegitimate daughter named Lin Wan'er.
However, due to their differing political views, their relationship gradually deteriorated, and now they are quite hostile towards each other.
This matter was almost an open secret in the upper echelons of Qing Kingdom society, but due to the special status of the two individuals, this past event was rarely mentioned.
The last force was the Overwatch Council, led by Chen Pingping.
The Censorate operates outside the civil service system, directly answering the emperor. It acts discreetly and mysteriously, yet its influence is as pervasive as a spider web throughout the country.
This force basically represents Emperor Qing.
The three forces check and balance each other, forming a delicate balance that maintains the political stability and power structure of the Qing Kingdom.
Compared to the somewhat immature, overt struggle between Li Chengze and the Crown Prince, the behind-the-scenes game between these three parties appears to be much deeper and more complex.
While pursuing their own interests, they also maintain a certain degree of restraint and caution to avoid direct conflict and thus prevent disrupting the existing power balance.
Furthermore, these three forces might cleverly exploit the conflict between Li Chengze and the Crown Prince as pawns or bargaining chips to achieve their own interests.
Therefore, to some extent, Emperor Qing's suppression of the struggle between him and the Crown Prince was also a way of using them to warn and balance the various forces.
In this way, he could control the excessive fighting between the two and avoid unnecessary depletion of national strength, while also skillfully balancing the forces of all parties and ensuring his absolute authority and ruling position.
It seems that in order to break the current deadlock, I will have to make some changes.
However, given Emperor Qing's abnormal desire for control, the moment he makes a move, the other side will quickly receive the news and, in order to regain his control, will likely take corresponding actions.
and so……
He needs an excuse now.
An excuse that would justify all his subsequent actions and changes.
An excuse that would prevent anyone, including Emperor Qing, from attacking him.
Ideally, this pretext should involve all the various factions in Kyoto, so that one can take advantage of the chaos and profit from it.
Li Chengze kept mentally rehearsing his future plans and the various variables that might arise.
He was so focused that he didn't realize that his usual rest time had long passed.
Fan Wujiu and Xie Bi'an noticed something amiss and, puzzled, both turned their gazes toward the figure on the bed.
Behind the thin curtains, a slender figure leaned over the table, seemingly completely immersed in his own world, not giving the two of them a second glance, but simply wielding his brush on the Xuan paper on the table.
The desk and couch were already covered with layers upon layers of Xuan paper, densely covered with writing, like snowflakes falling in winter, filling every inch of space.
Because of the curtain, Fan Wujiu and Xie Bi'an could not see what was written on the paper, nor did they notice that the handwriting on the paper was quietly changing.
On the latest piece of paper, the handwriting was indistinguishable from the original owner's.
The original owner used to have a fairly regular schedule and rarely stayed up late into the night.
However, faced with Li Chengze's serious expression, Xie Bi'an and Fan Wujiu could only guess that he was thinking about something of utmost importance.
Although she had doubts, she did not say anything to disturb them.
She simply continued to quietly attend to her own affairs, occasionally glancing out of the corner of her eye at the focused figure on the couch.
In the blink of an eye, the watchman outside had already struck the fourth watch gong.
The repeated clapper sounds resonated in people's hearts. Li Chengze seemed to draw inspiration from the sound, and his brush moved more and more rapidly until the sound of the clapper completely disappeared. Only then did he slowly put down his brush, a satisfied smile appearing on his face.
"call!"
Li Chengze let out a long breath, raised his hand to rub his furrowed brow, and stretched his body, which had become stiff from sitting for so long.
All the analyses I had just made flashed through my mind like a revolving lantern: the power structure of the major forces in Kyoto, the network of connections and resources the original owner possessed, and the general plans for the future, etc. I quickly went through them all.
After confirming that everything was correct, he gathered all the papers together and ordered someone to bring a brazier.
As the flames leaped, sheets of paper turned to ashes.
Li Chengze poured the tea from the table into the brazier, mixing it with the ashes to completely cover up any trace that might have leaked information. Only then did he nod in satisfaction.
……