Chapter 348 - Chapter 348: Chapter 240 The Door is Open, Come on In_1

Chapter 348: Chapter 240 The Door is Open, Come on In_1

Upon hearing Qin Yushan mention the remnants of Chen Nation, Lu Chen immediately set aside the intelligence report he was holding, lifted his head to glance at Qin Yushan, then continued, “Gathering towards the North Country? Is their number large?”

Qin Yushan replied, “Many. The Palace Master of the Mysterious Moon Palace has issued a call to arms, planning to take advantage of the Great Sum’s internal strife to restore their nation.”

At this point, Qin Yushan looked at Lu Chen and then asked, “Prince, do we need to stop those people from Chen Nation from coming to the North Country?”

Qin Yushan knew that the Palace Master of the Mysterious Moon Palace had been living in the Prince’s Mansion, and it was clear to any discerning eye that Lu Chen was definitely interested in the Palace Master of the Mysterious Moon Palace.

Unsure whether Lu Chen had succeeded with Chen Wanrong, Qin Yushan found the affair regarding Chen Nation somewhat difficult to deal with through the Brocade Guard.

Lu Chen said with a smile, “Since they wish to come, then let them come.”

Lin Wanyun had been thoroughly bamboozled by him by now; she could no longer leave him and had become his person, and Chen Wanrong was close behind.

Mu Zixuan and the two Xiaozhous had already been pregnant twice, so Lu Chen no longer intended to let them have more children. He planned to let them rest for a few years, focusing next on the women in the Prince’s Mansion who possessed inner strength, with Chen Wanrong being one of them.

Chen Wanrong was too saintly, which is why he never entertained those thoughts in front of her. Lu Chen knew very well that to entertain wicked thoughts in front of Chen Wanrong, a “fairy,” he would need to become close to her. Next, he would look for opportunities to get close to Chen Wanrong.

Finding an opportunity to get close to Chen Wanrong was very easy because she too was looking for such an opportunity to bewitch him with her gu; they were both eagerly rushing towards each other.

At that moment, Lu Chen asked, “Any other intelligence?”

Qin Yushan continued, “The Dongfang Family plans to move directly to the North Country. I am not sure if the Dongfang Family Master’s letter has reached your hands, Prince.”

Because the Brocade Guard made extensive use of the Pigeon Letter, their intelligence was often quicker than that delivered by horse. Even as Dongfang Yi’s letter was still en route, Qin Yushan was already aware of the Dongfang Family’s plan to migrate to the North Country.

Upon hearing this from Qin Yushan, Lu Chen curiously asked, “Move to the North Country at this time? War has already broken out in the South, how can they extricate themselves?”

Qin Yushan answered, “Their plan is to use the Dongfang Family’s large merchant ships to come directly by sea to the North Country.”

After hearing Qin Yushan’s explanation, Lu Chen realized that, as rumored, the Dongfang Family’s large merchant ships were even bigger than the warships of the Great Sum court and could transport a great many things.

The Sum Emperor, in order to catch the aristocratic families of the South off guard, even borrowed the Dongfang Family’s merchant ships to transport some imperial soldiers to the South.

If they were to come by sea, indeed, they would not be easily discovered.

With this thought, Lu Chen said, “Dongfang Yi’s letter should still take a few days to arrive. If they wish to migrate here, then let them. As long as they are not discovered, that will suffice.”

Lu Chen had originally planned to have the Dongfang Clan act as undercover agents, lying dormant on his father emperor’s side, and then one day, when he needed them, he would have them switch to his side.

But seeing how eager the Dongfang Family was to flee to the North Country, Lu Chen had mostly guessed the Dongfang Family’s thinking.

They probably believed that the Sum Emperor might end up killing the donkey after the milling is done, so they decided to escape in advance, letting the imperial army and Jiangnan’s aristocratic families, led by Lu Shuyun, slowly fight it out.

At this point, Qin Yushan said, “That’s all the intelligence for now. If the Prince has no other orders, your subordinate will take his leave.”

Lu Chen said, “Mhm, you may go.”

“Your subordinate takes his leave.”

Qin Yushan then turned and left the study.

…

After the Great Sum’s imperial army headed south, fierce battles broke out with the rebel forces led by Lu Shuyun. In just a short month’s time, hundreds of thousands perished.

The war was more brutal than people had anticipated, with many commoners choosing to head north to avoid being swept into the conflict.

Lu Chen had the Brocade Guard spread quite a bit of information to the South about redistribution of land in the North Country. The common people knew that the land in the North Country wouldn’t belong to them, but the crops they grew on it did, and there were no agricultural taxes to pay. Just for that alone, the North Country wasn’t a loss; it was certainly better than being affected by the war and dying in it.

For the refugees to travel to the North Country, they would have to pass through Qi Country, which gave the Qi Prince a major headache. When Great Sum had ceded three provinces to Great Wu, a large influx of refugees had already poured into Qi Country. Now, with Great Sum’s civil war, more refugees were running to Qi Country.

With no better options, the Qi Prince had no choice but to send envoys once again to North Country and transferred all those refugees to the North Country. This further bolstered the population of the North Country.

When Lu Chen ordered a new population count, the North Country’s population had already exceeded five million. With such a sudden surplus in labor, the North Country was poised for rapid development.

Meanwhile.

Great Sum, Capital city.

Within the Royal Garden.

The Sum Emperor was playing chess with the State Preceptor, Situ Ce. The hand that Situ Ce used to hold the chess piece paused above the board as he scrutinized the entire game, then asked, “Your Majesty, you are willing to abandon such an important piece?”

The Sum Emperor responded indifferently, “To me, as long as I can achieve the final victory, nothing is irreplaceable.”

No sooner had the Sum Emperor uttered these words than the leader of the Shadow Guard appeared outside the pavilion, “Your Majesty, the Brocade Guard in the Capital city have almost entirely vanished overnight, and those we captured have all taken poison to commit suicide.”