novelraw Chapter 64 : The Emperor Father’s Conditions
Chapter 64 : The Emperor Father’s Conditions
Chapter 64: The Emperor Father’s Conditions
It was another New Year.
Jiang Zhaoming returned directly to the Qin Residence from the main camp of the Anxi Army.
The moment he appeared, his mother Qin Guiyan had already been waiting for him.
“Ming’er, you’ve grown a lot again this year.”
Jiang Zhaoming grinned and replied, “Mother still looks as young as ever.”
After exchanging pleasantries with his mother, Jiang Zhaoming once again took the Jade Dragon Carriage at dawn and arrived at the Imperial Garden.
This time, when people saw him step down from the Jade Dragon Carriage, no one dared to mock him anymore.
As soon as he alighted, a middle-aged prince came up to him.
“Greetings, Prince of Anxi. I wonder if Your Highness has been well lately?”
Staring at this royal brother, Jiang Zhaoming recalled that he was a county prince of some sort.
However, Jiang Zhaoming had no intention of forming factions, so he exchanged a few polite words before heading straight toward the inner garden.
Along the way, several other princes also tried to strike up a conversation, but he brushed them off with perfunctory replies.
By this point, Jiang Zhaoming could clearly sense one thing—
That as he grew stronger, he was being gradually drawn into the vortex of power.
“But that’s fine too.”
A confident smile appeared on Jiang Zhaoming’s face. Since he intended to contend for the throne, how could he retreat before the struggle even began?
As he reached the center of the Imperial Garden, the figures of the other princes gradually disappeared.
In a lakeside pavilion, a princess dressed in splendid palace attire was gently massaging the Emperor Father’s shoulders.
The Emperor Father had his eyes closed, basking in the warm winter sunlight, the corners of his mouth curled into a kindly smile.
Jiang Zhaoming walked toward the pavilion.
When the princess saw him, she nodded slightly in greeting, and Jiang Zhaoming immediately cupped his hands in return.
The Emperor Father slowly opened his eyes. When he saw Jiang Zhaoming approaching, his smile deepened.
Stepping forward, Jiang Zhaoming said, “Sister Xuan, take a rest. Let me do it.”
Jiang Qingxuan looked toward the Emperor Father, who nodded in consent.
Only then did she bow slightly and quietly withdraw.
Jiang Zhaoming stood behind his father and began to knead his shoulders.
After only a few presses, the Emperor Father spoke on his own accord. “Ah Ming, what your father enjoys most is having you massage his shoulders.”
“Why is that, Father?”
“Your royal brothers and sisters used to do this for me when they were little as well. But Ah Ming, you’ve always been different from them.”
A faint smile played on the Emperor Father’s lips as if he were lost in memory.
“At that time, you were all only this tall—”
He gestured with his hand, about three feet high, roughly the height of a four- or five-year-old child.
“Your bodies were small, and your strength even smaller. Normally, children that age would complain of sore hands after a few squeezes and stop. Only you were different.”
Jiang Zhaoming tried hard to recall but could not remember anything clearly from his childhood.
The Emperor Father continued, “Even when your hands ached, you gritted your teeth and kept going until I told you to stop.”
“Is that so? Then I must have been quite sensible as a child.”
Jiang Zhaoming smiled, but inwardly his thoughts raced.
It seemed that he had indeed behaved too “obediently” back then—nothing like the son of a powerful maternal clan.
How careless of him! In trying too hard to conceal his identity as a transmigrator, he had lost the natural spontaneity a child should have had.
“Mm, you’ve always been well-behaved,” the Emperor Father said, then shifted the topic. “Tell me, how is your Anxi Prefecture faring? Your performance truly surprised me.”
“Since Father asks, your son won’t be polite with you,” Jiang Zhaoming said with a grin.
At that, the Emperor Father chuckled. “Heh, you really are quite blunt, aren’t you?”
“Well, Father, you may not know, but my Anxi Prefecture…”
The Emperor Father leisurely enjoyed his son’s massage while listening to him recount the various difficulties he faced in governing Anxi Prefecture.
When Jiang Zhaoming mentioned his wish for the Emperor Father to lead troops into the Other-Dimensional Passage, the Emperor’s expression instantly changed.
“You brat! The first thing you ask for is something so outrageous!”
Seeing his father’s reaction, Jiang Zhaoming quickly explained the desperate situation of Anxi Prefecture in detail.
“Father, Anxi Prefecture truly needs the Anxi Army to hold the line. If they’re not stationed there, your son really can’t keep things under control.”
At this, the Emperor Father blew his beard and glared. “Absolutely not!”
Jiang Zhaoming wasn’t particularly disappointed, for he had known from the start that his father would never agree.
He had raised the issue merely as a setup for what he truly wanted to ask next.
According to psychology, if you wanted someone to agree to a “small” request, you first had to present a “larger” one.
Once they refused, their psychological threshold would lower—making them more likely to accept your real request afterward.
“In that case, Father, how about this—your son wishes to open a passage through the Burial Dragon Mountain Range…”
The Emperor Father furrowed his brows as he listened. “To open such a large gap in the Burial Dragon Mountain Range—who would guard it?”
Seeing that his father didn’t immediately reject the idea, Jiang Zhaoming’s heart leapt with joy. There was room for negotiation.
He immediately said, “Your son will personally guard it! I guarantee I won’t need a single soldier from Father!”
“Hmph! With your pitiful number of troops? They wouldn’t even fill a tooth gap! Even if you transferred the entire Anxi Army, it’d be useless.”
Jiang Zhaoming exaggeratedly sighed. “Ah? That won’t do either?”
After a moment of silence, the Emperor Father finally spoke. “Very well then. If your Anxi Prefecture can, within twenty years, produce five generals of the Myriad Phenomena Realm and one million elite soldiers of the Tempering Bones Realm, then I shall permit you to open the mountain.”
“Furthermore, I will lend you a military force to guard it for a hundred years. However, that force may only be used to defend the mountain pass.”
Hearing this, Jiang Zhaoming’s face lit up with delight.
This outcome far exceeded his expectations!
Although his father’s conditions were demanding—both five Myriad Phenomena Realm generals and a million Tempering Bones soldiers were no small feat—
Jiang Zhaoming possessed the River of Fortune, which gave him absolute confidence.
Besides, the armies guarding Zhenlong Pass and Canglong Pass were all elite forces led by Golden Body Realm commanders.
If he were to gather such strength on his own, it would take him many long years.
Yet his father was willing to provide such an army once he met the requirements.
Even though the Emperor Father was indirectly helping Anxi Prefecture, that army would not directly intervene in its affairs—thus, it did not violate the Ancestral Decree of Great Zhou.
Jiang Zhaoming had truly struck a great bargain!
“Your son thanks Father for his grace!”
Hearing his son’s words of gratitude, the Emperor Father was not displeased in the least; instead, he became even more cheerful.
Seizing the opportunity, Jiang Zhaoming brought up another matter—facilitating easier passage for commoners through the gates—and the Emperor Father agreed almost without hesitation.
With the two most important matters resolved, Jiang Zhaoming finally relaxed. He stayed a while longer, chatting idly with his father.
Just then, Jiang Zhaoqian strode quickly into the garden from the outer path.
From afar, he saw Jiang Zhaoming laughing and conversing happily with their father, and his brows furrowed deeply. He quickened his pace toward the pavilion.
“Your son greets Father.” He first bowed to the Emperor Father, then turned his gaze toward Jiang Zhaoming.
Their eyes met in midair, both sharp and unyielding.
“Eh? You only greet your father? Not your younger brother as well?” the Emperor Father reminded him.
Jiang Zhaoqian forced a smile. “Prince of Anxi.”
Jiang Zhaoming returned the same expression. “Prince of Yan.”
“Hey! You two!”
Seeing the sparks fly the moment they met, the Emperor Father couldn’t help showing irritation.
Sensing this, Jiang Zhaoming quickly smiled, exchanged a few polite remarks, then excused himself and left.
His act of courtesy was out of respect for his father.
But his confidence in standing toe to toe with Jiang Zhaoqian came from the River of Fortune flowing within him—and the solid backing of the Qin Residence.
Unlike the other princes, Jiang Zhaoming had no reason to fear the sons of the Empress.
After Jiang Zhaoming left, the Emperor Father asked with some displeasure, “Ah Qian, what brings you here?”
“Can’t I visit Father simply because it’s been too long?”
As he spoke, Jiang Zhaoqian began massaging his father’s shoulders as well.
Yet in his words, he hinted and probed, trying to find out what Jiang Zhaoming and the Emperor Father had discussed earlier.
According to his sister Jiang Qingxuan, it seemed their father had promised Jiang Zhaoming something.
That cursed curiosity—it was enough to drive him mad.