Following the guards into the reception hall of the Zhu Residence, an handsome middle-aged man came into the envoy's sight. Perhaps due to his long tenure in a high position, the man's dark eyes simply gazed calmly at the entering envoy, yet they gave him a feeling of authority without anger.
The man was Zhu Xianye, the current head of the Zhu Family and the father of Zhu Zhuqing and Zhu Zhuyun.
Just as the envoy was still observing the man, a steady voice fell into his ears.
"Dai Mubai sent you?"
"Yes, greetings, Nether Duke. I was once a member of the Star Luo Central Army, and now I follow the Third Prince to plot the restoration of the kingdom."
The envoy, who had once been a member of the Star Luo army, had also heard of the Nether Duke's great name. After respectfully bowing, he stated his identity and current situation.
Hearing this, a cold smile curved at the corner of Zhu Xianye's mouth, as if disdainful of Dai Mubai's naive idea.
"Restoration? With that remote place in the Kville Kingdom that Dai Mubai currently controls?"
"Although the Third Prince is currently short on troops and generals, as long as the Nether Duke is willing to lend a hand and the two sides work together to take down the Nili Kingdom, then with the three provinces in hand, everything will be greatly promising."
Ignoring Zhu Xianye's condescension, the envoy laid out Dai Mubai's plan in its entirety.
"That Xue Qinghe took advantage of the situation to annex Star Luo territory. Now the entire Star Luo military force has been greatly reduced. As long as our plan succeeds, with the reputation of the Dai and Zhu families in Star Luo, we will surely receive a hundred responses to a single call. At that time, there is a great chance of forming a confrontation with the Heaven Dou Empire."
After saying all this, the envoy looked at Zhu Xianye's still unperturbed face, a hint of anxiety flashing in his heart, and began to explain the stakes involved.
"The Star Luo Zhu Family was once a powerful family second only to the Dai Family. Are you truly satisfied with your current power?"
"Taking a step back, even if the Zhu Family is satisfied with its current status, will that Xue Qinghe truly let the Zhu Family off? Isn't the constant encroachment on the Zhu Family's industries in the Star Luo territory over the years the best proof? And doesn't the fact that the military strength of Spirit Cat City has never been reduced represent that the Zhu Family is also wary of Heaven Dou?"
As the envoy laid out the situation, Zhu Xianye's fingers began to tap the table incessantly, his heart falling into deep struggle.
Everything was as the other party said. The current Zhu Family seemed to have retained its title and still appeared glorious, but the difficulties within were only clear to their own people. Xue Qinghe had never given up suppressing the old Star Luo nobles. Whether it was reducing the military strength of the various kingdoms throughout Star Luo or swallowing the industries of those nobles, it all showed that the other party could not allow them to be as powerful as before.
But for Zhu Xianye to risk everything to support Dai Mubai, he had absolutely no confidence in his heart. After much thought, he decided to discuss it with the clan elders before making a decision. After all, the Zhu Family had a large enterprise and was not his one-man show.
"You can stay at the Zhu Family for now. I need to discuss it with the clan elders."
"Yes, Nether Duke."
A hint of joy flowed across the envoy's face. Zhu Xianye's lack of direct refusal indicated that he was actually not satisfied with the Zhu Family's current situation, and all that was missing was an opportunity to counterattack. Now, they just had to wait for the Zhu Family's clan elders to evaluate the chances of success for all parties.
After ordering someone to take the envoy away, Zhu Xianye immediately summoned the other powerful clan elders of the Zhu Family to the Council Hall. Seeing the seriousness on the patriarch's face, the few people also understood that something big had happened. Without saying much, they directly took their seats and waited for the next part.
Unlike the former Star Luo Royal Family, the Dai Family, where power was extremely concentrated, a portion of the power in the Zhu Family was held by the various clan elders due to the lack of an elimination-based patriarch selection mechanism.
Seeing that everyone had arrived, Zhu Xianye did not keep them in suspense and directly explained the intention of the envoy sent by Dai Mubai.
"Dai Mubai intends to join forces with our Zhu Family to take down the Nili Kingdom. Tell me your opinions."
"Dai Mubai? That good-for-nothing who didn't even dare to compete for the throne head-on?"
"Xianye, you can't be foolish. Now that Heaven Dou's power in Star Luo is stable, we no longer have a chance."
"First Elder, you are wrong. If we don't fight to the death, are we just going to sit back and wait for the other party to completely swallow us until we have no power to resist?"
"That's right, I think we can take this opportunity to try and resist."
"..."
As Zhu Xianye's words came out, the entire Council Hall was stirred up like a stone thrown into a thousand waves. Some people disagreed with betting the family's life on Dai Mubai, but there were still many radical factions who said that this was a rare opportunity to try, because they understood that Heaven Dou would not allow the Zhu Family's power to continue to grow in the Star Luo territory.
Seeing this, Zhu Xianye sighed slightly in his heart. It was said that a daughter's personality followed her father's. Being able to give birth to children with the personalities of Zhu Zhuyun and Zhu Zhuqing, Zhu Xianye still had some spirit in his heart. If Xue Qinghe had treated their Zhu Family normally, he would never have had the idea of taking risks, but the problem was that the Heaven Dou Empire did not trust the old Star Luo nobles. In the long run, the Zhu Family's power could only be gradually eroded until there was no chance to launch a rebellion.
This was also the fundamental reason why Xue Qinghe ordered the demobilization of troops throughout Star Luo and his Zhu Family did not comply, yet was not purged. As long as their industries were continuously eroded, they would eventually be unable to afford the expenses of a large military force, and at that time, they would naturally be forced to demobilize. At that time, the threat of the Zhu Family could be eliminated without a single soldier.
"But everyone should know that all of the Zhu Family's industries outside of Spirit Cat City have basically been swallowed up by the new nobles. We will soon be unable to afford the military expenses."
Hearing this, a white-haired elder below Zhu Xianye pondered for a moment and then offered his suggestion. This person was the First Elder, whose status in the Zhu Family was second only to the patriarch, and he was from Zhu Xianye's father's generation.
"Xianye, Star Luo has already changed drastically. Some things should have been given up. It is definitely impossible to be as powerful as when the Dai Family was still there. I also know that Xue Qinghe will not let us continue to grow stronger, but now we can only choose to cut off our tail to survive. It is not advisable to take risks to pursue that slim chance."
"The First Elder is right. If we keep our tails tucked, there is still a glimmer of hope. At least the master of Spirit Cat City will still be the Zhu Family, but if we support Dai Mubai's rebellion, the outcome is hard to say."
The First Elder's words were met with a hundred responses. Launching a rebellion required a huge amount of money and food, and this support would be shared among each of them. Moreover, this was originally a gamble with a slim chance of success, so it was reasonable for the elders to object. Zhu Xianye could only sigh helplessly and agree, because most of those who supported the war were clan elders with very little power in their hands.
Just as the other clan elders had almost dispersed, leaving only Zhu Xianye and a few others including the First Elder discussing how to deal with Dai Mubai, two figures slowly walked into the Council Hall.
"Dai Weisi, Zhuyun? What are you doing here?"
Dai Weisi's presence in Spirit Cat City was a secret that Zhu Xianye had deliberately kept sealed. A few clan elders also knew about it. This was a backup plan left in case the Zhu Family had to rebel. After all, with the former Star Luo Crown Prince in hand, it would be easier to raise a banner.
Now seeing the couple barge into the Council Hall, several elders showed displeased expressions. It was not their place, as juniors, to interfere in the matters here.
"Zhuyun, what is it?"
Seeing that the elders were about to make a fuss, Zhu Xianye spoke first to save his daughter from embarrassment.
"Father, Weisi and I are here to tell you to support Dai Mubai in taking down the Nili Kingdom."
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