Chapter 73: Counterattack

  This is the world that Chu Li has to face.

  Many beautiful scenes in the eyes of outsiders are often piled up with blood and tears. Only when you truly put yourself in it will you really feel the sword lights and shadows, and the cold wind all over your face.

  Nanchu is located in the southwest of China, which is now known as Chongqing, Sichuan, Guizhou, Yunnan, and even most parts of Tibet are also part of Nanchu's territory. The southwestern region of our country has always been a place where ethnic minorities gather and live together, with scattered political power, numerous tribes, and fierce folk customs, which also determines the instability and dispersity of Nanchu's regime.

  Tribal leaders and family forces occupy an important proportion in the country, each vassal state governs itself, on the surface under the maintenance of Southern Chu, barely maintaining a relatively harmonious fusion, but privately, they are at odds with each other, secretly surging, and the struggles and annexations have almost never stopped for thousands of years.

  When Qing Xia saw the confidential files of Nan Chu's military department, she was so shocked that her mouth was agape.

  In an era of low productivity like the Cold Arms Era, the system implemented was a voting system for collective recommendation and election by the leaders of the vassal states. Those familiar with the current theory of historical evolution should understand what a huge miracle this is. Tracing back, this system was actually created by Hu Hai, the second ruler of the Qin Dynasty, who did not establish the position of crown prince, but instead implemented voting within the ancestral temple.

  The starting point may have been good, but history has proven that the productive forces at that time were clearly not adapted to such advanced reforms. As time slowly passed, all countries gradually abandoned this unrealistic system, but only Nanchu continued to retain it due to its unique national composition. To a certain extent, this greatly restricted the monarch's power, and incompetent rulers found it difficult to gain support from the various vassal states. When they stirred up trouble, they would always be purged, and as a result, the country's strength developed greatly on this foundation. However, precisely because of this, Nanchu fell into a very strange vicious cycle.

  That is, without the change of monarchs every thirty years, a larger-scale chaos would be triggered, and the national strength of Southern Chu would inevitably suffer extremely devastating damage under such conditions. This is also the reason why Southern Chu retained such advanced institutions but was unable to become strong.

  In less than three hundred years since the founding of Southern Chu, its capital was besieged by various vassal states as many as eighteen times, among which there were even four times when the emperor was replaced. If it weren't for the intervention of other vassal states, the Chu clan might have already disappeared from the map of China.

  Qing Xia flipped through the military exploits of Chu Li's return to his country, and suddenly felt an uncontrollable pang of sadness.

  In just a year and a half, he had been assassinated more than 40 times, with over 10 times being on the brink of death. In the period after his return to the country, there were almost four or five assassination attempts every month. In the first year, he fought in several battlefields in southern Chu, and it seemed that the previous king of Chu had intended to kill him. The most absurd time was when he was sent to lead less than 2,000 soldiers to quell the rebellion of 300,000 people in Yunli country. Before the 2,000 soldiers even entered Yunli, they were dispersed by the civilians. Afterwards, he wandered among the people alone, walking thousands of miles on foot along the way, begging for food and returning home, taking more than a month.

  In a year, he was impeached by the Council of Elders with over 10,000 memorials, and the abolition of the Crown Prince's Palace was proposed more than 20 times. He was deposed three times, but was able to reverse the situation thanks to the strong opposition from the Empress Dowager of the Li Clan, the Holy Maiden of the Southern Border Wu Xier, and the former Empress Zhou of the Chu Palace. For a year, he did not have his own mansion in the capital, could not enter the Chu Palace at will, could not enjoy the salary of an imperial prince, and could not even use the four-carriage procession of an imperial son. All this changed slightly after he took Zhu Dan, daughter of the great clan of Lingnan, as his wife.

  She closed the thick dossier and let out a long sigh. It wasn't until now that she truly understood how difficult it was for Chu Li to ascend to the throne, and thinking about his overly suspicious personality that was almost impossible to understand, she couldn't help but shake her head secretly. The environment shapes people, and Chu Li is a clear example of this.

  "Miss!" Xu Quan called out from outside the tent, and after getting Qing Xia's permission, he walked in neatly, put down the things Qing Xia wanted to check, and stood with his hands hanging at his sides.

  Qing Xia knew that these were military secrets, but she didn't expect that just mentioning it to Chu Li would make him so generous in letting her see them. It seems that he really doesn't guard against her being a spy for Qi An anymore.

  "Is everything here?"

  "Yes, it's all here."

  Yesterday, I beat up the General of Nanfu, and this morning when I got up, I found that all the black-clad guards had changed their attitude towards me, with a hint of warmth and gratitude in their respect. Qing Xia naturally understood the reason behind it, smiled and nodded: "Thanks for your trouble."

  Xu Quan retreated. Qing Xia's eyebrows furrowed slightly as she pulled out Wu Si Mei Er's file from the thick stack of documents.

  Chu Li had really done his homework in the intelligence department, and it was not easy for them to achieve this level at this time. Qing Xia's eyebrows were slightly raised, and she saw that the small script was neatly recording the life story of Wu Si Mei Er, which was also very detailed. Even her ambiguous relationship with the ruler of Bifang Country, when they met in private, was recorded clearly.

  This was just a born-to-be-wild woman, and it seemed that none of the several elders in Nanjiang had not had an affair with her. Qing Xia frowned and looked carefully, finally seeing what she wanted to see: 17 days ago, Wu Si Mei Er had exchanged letters with Zhu Dan Chen, and then dispatched a large number of Nanjiang feathered troops to pursue northward, presumably after herself. As for the outcome, a small horizontal line was drawn above, it was unclear whether it represented that the investigation was not thorough or that the pursuit was unsuccessful. Thinking of Yang Feng, who had still not been in contact, Qing Xia felt a wave of annoyance.

  The lower left corner of the volume is an analysis by Wu Si Mei, a scout from Chu Li's camp, on her recent movements and the current trend, which are roughly not in line with each other. What's strange is that if Chu Li had already sensed the unusual movement in the southern border, why didn't he take precautions beforehand, but instead let things get out of hand like this?

  Qing Xia's eyebrows furrowed slightly, her mind racing. At this moment, she suddenly saw a line of bright red comments at the bottom corner, with bold and inspiring handwriting that seemed to leap off the page, exuding a strong and sharp beauty. One glance told her it was Chu Li's writing, which read in small script: "A woman of loose morals, one who is satisfied by carnal desires, can be easily broken."

  Seeing this, Qing Xia couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed. It turned out that Chu Li also knew about Wu Si's true nature, and if he hadn't forcibly intervened, perhaps Chu Li would have really been satisfied with just physical desire as he had said.

  The following is a document from the Southern Court of Li Yuan. A thick scroll that looks full of ancient, heavy feeling.

  The Liyuan originated in the Warring States era, and after Qin Shi Huang, they gradually settled in the southern border, with their fiefdom roughly being present-day Guizhou Province. According to legend, they were a branch of the Mohist school. The Nanfu was a remnant of the Liyuan that survived by hiding deep in the mountains with a large number of classics after Qin Shi Huang's burning of books and burying of scholars. They did not re-emerge until Hu Hai's promotion of the Hundred Schools of Thought, which revered Mohist techniques. Over a thousand years of cultural accumulation gave the Nanfu of Liyuan an unparalleled status, with their master having equal standing with those of the great Qin, Xichuan, Nanchu, and Dongqi clans. They were known for not kneeling when meeting royalty, and were considered to be among the highest-ranking nobility on the continent.

  As the eldest daughter of the main house of the Li family in Lin'an Mansion, Mrs. Lan's identity and status are naturally not to be underestimated.

  Mrs. Zhuolan's original name was Li Zhuolan, the eldest daughter of the previous head of the household, Li Song. She had been exceptionally talented and intelligent since childhood, but she was also ruthless and cruel. The records in Chuli's volume revealed several secrets about her killing her own younger brother, which showed how unusual this woman was. After Li Song passed away, due to the death of all the male heirs in the main house, the position of head of the household was succeeded by Li Zihou, the son of Mrs. Zhuolan's older brother. However, it turned out that Li Zihou was timid and weak by nature, often ill and frail, so most family matters were handed over to his aunt, Mrs. Zhuolan. Gradually, Mrs. Zhuolan became the true head of the Li household in Nanyuan Prefecture.

  The Li family dominated the entire southern frontier's commerce for generations, and monopolized the northern warhorses' military supplies. Their business establishments, shops, and wine houses were almost everywhere in the country. Even the Eastern Qi imperial family, who had always been known for their emphasis on commerce, couldn't compare to the Li family in terms of doing business. The Li family's wealth was so immense that it couldn't be calculated by numbers. To say they were rich enough to rival a nation would be an understatement; with the Li family's power, they could be said to have fortune that rivals heaven itself.

  Those who have experienced the financial crisis will understand what consequences wealth concentrated in one family can bring. If something happens to the Li family, it would be a disaster for the entire world. Therefore, even if there is no large-scale enclosure of land, as the most powerful of the eight great families of Southern Chu, the Nanfu of the Li family still has to bear the responsibility of being the first.

  In this way, it's not hard to understand what kind of status and position Madame Zhuolan had in Southern Chu.

  Mrs. Zhuolan is fifty-six years old this year, and she has already passed her prime, but she has a unique gift, every night she is infatuated with men, and there are more than 300 male concubines in the mansion, which is even more lively than the imperial palace. In the jurisdiction of the Liyuan Institute, Mrs. Zhuolan's behavior of forcibly taking men away from others often occurs, the most famous one being a woman named Yuanying who traveled thousands of miles to kowtow and petition, crying blood in front of the previous Southern Chu Emperor, asking him to force Mrs. Zhuolan to return her husband.

  Unfortunately, the previous Emperor himself was one of the guests who had been invited by Zhūlán Furen. Yuè Yīng was bound and sent back to Lí Yuàn Province, where she was pecked to death by white cranes in the public square after being mutilated. The incident became one of the most infamous injustices in Southern Chu history, and the name of Zhūlán Furen became notorious throughout the land for her lustful ways.

  Chu Li's first meeting with Zhuo Lan's wife began when he escaped from Qingli Country and returned to the Imperial City. Chu Li's mother, Xiao Gui Fei, took the initiative to apologize for Chu Li's failure to complete his mission, requesting that the Emperor severely punish Chu Li and exile him to Nanjiang Caishi Valley. Chu Li, accompanied by less than a hundred remaining Black Armor Guards, appeared before the palace gates to apologize, where he first saw Zhuo Lan's wife, who had come to attend the ceremony to strip Chu Li of his crown prince status in Shengdu.

  After the second day, Zhūlán Fūrén became the greatest help for Chǔ Lí Tàizǐ's position.

  After that, Chuli was dispatched to the Liyuan and served as a special envoy for two months. Two months later, he finally obtained the position of commander-in-chief of the Junji Dajiang.

  Qing Xia slowly closed the volume, took a deep breath, and the answer was so clear. Chu Li had accompanied Mrs. Zhuolan, this lustful old woman, for two months, and finally won the military power of Southern Chu. She had laid a solid foundation for her own rights and interests, and had taken the first difficult step. At the same time, she could also imagine how Chu Li, that proud and arrogant man, had managed to survive among the many men in the harem for two months.

  No wonder he has such a knot in his heart.

  Some things are destined to be a lifelong nightmare for a person.

  Is that Mrs. Lu Lan? Qing Xia let out a cold hum, a flash of chilliness suddenly flashed across the corner of her eye, and the corner of her mouth slanted upwards.

  "Then let's start with you!"

  "Miss!" A guard walked in and said respectfully to Qing Xia: "The Emperor has returned, he is now discussing matters in the central military tent."

  "Got it." Qing Xia nodded, "Go find some information on the head of the Lei Institute, Lei Zihou. I need it now."

  "South Palace's sickly child?" The black-clothed guard, already quite familiar with Qing Xia, said in puzzlement.

  "That's right, it's that sickly child." Qing Xia smiled faintly and said in a low voice.