Chapter 882

Lin’an.

Sima Hao fiercely overturned the table before him. His eyes were bloodshot and wild, like a beast’s. News of the battle in Suzhou City had arrived, and his beloved eldest son, Sima Lang, had died at the hands of the imperial army.

The former Prince of Chu’s residence was filled with powerful families from all over the State of Chu. They looked at Sima Hao, awaiting his decision, for Li Chuyuan’s order had already reached Lin’an.

He announced his abdication of the Prince of Chu’s throne, pledging to follow the imperial family’s mission of great unification, and from then on, he would blend in and submit to the imperial court’s governance.

“This brat Li Chuyuan betrayed the old Prince of Chu, and he betrayed all of us. Now, he is merely Xiao Ming’s puppet. We can no longer trust him; we can only rely on ourselves,” Sima Hao said, word by word.

“Then what should we do now?” a powerful family member asked anxiously. “Now the imperial army occupies Suzhou, Songjiang River, and Jiaxing. The lands near the Yangtze River have all fallen. After they recuperate, their next target will surely be Lin’an.”

“That’s right. Eighty thousand soldiers have all dispersed. Now, we only have over ninety thousand troops that can be mobilized. How can we resist Xiao Ming’s one hundred thousand strong army? Moreover, a portion of the people have now obeyed Li Chuyuan’s order and surrendered to Xiao Ming.”

“Hmph! It’s those low-born generals who surrendered; there’s nothing to worry about!” a powerful family member said disdainfully. He said to Sima Hao, “Lord Sima, from the very beginning, this Xiao Ming intended to destroy our State of Chu. Our only hope now is for all of us to join the merchants’ council. This way, we can still have a councilor’s status. If the merchants’ council establishes a nation, we will still preserve our wealth and status. But this Xiao Ming is different. Look at the north; all those powerful families have now become commoners, at most retaining some silver. The imperial court is essentially uprooting powerful families that have existed for thousands of years.”

Sima Hao heard this and lowered his head in silence.

The man continued, “Moreover, Cao Kun is now supported by Westerners, and also aided by the Azure Dragon King. This Azure Dragon King has some capability. He has now gathered a large number of followers and is very influential. Now, he promises the common people in the south land redistribution and tax exemption, winning over many hearts.”

“Hahaha…” Sima Hao suddenly laughed several times. He then said coldly, “Yao Bin, I have long suspected you of having secret dealings with the merchants’ council. I was right after all. Now you are inciting people; what are your intentions?”

Yao Bin did not panic. Instead, he looked calm. He said to Sima Hao, “Speaker Cao Kun asked me to thank the Chief Sima. If not for the Chief Sima’s leniency, the council would not have been able to withdraw from Suzhou City so smoothly.”

As these words were uttered, the powerful families in the hall immediately began to discuss animatedly, and the way they looked at Sima Hao changed.

Sima Hao’s face darkened. From the beginning, he had not fully trusted Xiao Ming. If Li Chuyuan had not been nominally the Prince of Chu, he would not even have allowed the imperial army to enter the State of Chu’s territory.

And when the imperial army captured Songjiang and Jiaxing, two cities they hadn’t been able to take in months, in just a few days, he panicked. He was very worried that Xiao Ming would come after them immediately after dealing with the council army.

So, he played both sides, placing some of his bets on the merchants’ council. Now, this decision seemed to be entirely correct.

Sima Hao’s expression was observed by Yao Bin. He said, “Lord Sima, Speaker Cao Kun also said that if you willing to join the council, he is always welcome and willing to give Lord a Vice Speaker position.”

Then he turned to the other powerful families and said, “Gentlemen, the only way for us to preserve our lives and property now is to join the council. In fact, the merchants’ council protects the interests of large merchants and powerful families. In the future, we will not only lose nothing, but will also gain more rights through legislation.”

The powerful families were slightly moved. Yao Bin’s words resonated with them.

Sima Hao’s expression softened at this point. He said to Yao Bin, “Long live the merchants’ council! I, representing the Sima family, join the merchants’ council.”

“Our Sun family also joins.”

“The Dong family also joins.”

“…”

After Sima Hao, one powerful family after another declared their allegiance.

Yao Bin smiled. He said loudly, “There’s no time to lose. Now, we must gather all private armies and the new army. If nothing unexpected happens, the imperial army will soon march south. Before they march south, we must build defenses around Lin’an to hold back the imperial army here. Only then will the council army have breathing room to establish a foothold in the south.”

Sima Hao nodded. He said, “Our powerful families have been passed down for a thousand years, and have always been at peace with successive imperial courts. But Xiao Ming wants to destroy our foundation, and divide our land and wealth among the common people. How can we tolerate this? Let’s fight him! Even if we can’t win, we’ll wear him down until he’s exhausted. When the barbarians in the north recover, that’s when we’ll launch a pincer attack from north and south.”

Yao Bin nodded in satisfaction. Not long after his return from Europe, such changes occurred in the State of Chu. This excited him greatly, feeling that what he had learned in Europe could finally be put to use.

And in his two years in Europe, his mentality had also changed drastically. Europe’s prosperity and strength filled him with envy, which made him firmly believe in the correctness of establishing a merchants’ council.

…

Suzhou City, Xiao Ming was with Li San, marking the current positions of the council army on a map. After the war began, large numbers of secret guards flooded the south to gather intelligence.

Lying on the map, the strong smell of ink wafted over. This was not a hand-drawn map, but a printed one.

For the convenience of warfare and reconnaissance, Xiao Ming had ordered the printing factory to engrave several versions of maps. These maps ranged from simple to complex, including simple world maps, as well as local prefecture and county maps. Mineral, water conservancy, ocean, and ocean current maps were also included.

Besides a portion used for education, most of these maps would be used for military and exploration.

Lin Youde was now retreating south with the council army. Before he left, he revealed the merchants’ council’s decision: they would establish a foothold here, here, and here.

As he spoke, Li San pointed to locations on the map.

Xiao Ming nodded slightly. These places in modern terms were Fujian, Hunan, Jiangxi, Guangdong, Guangxi, and Yunnan, while the State of Chu included parts of southern Jiangsu, Shanghai, Zhejiang, and eastern Jiangxi.

Now, he had captured Suzhou, Songjiang, and Jiaxing, which meant he had taken southern Jiangsu, Shanghai, and the Jiaxing area of Zhejiang. This was only a part of the State of Chu; most of its territory was still under Sima Hao’s control.

“Cao Kun, that old fox, is no ordinary character. And he probably has someone advising him behind the scenes. All his actions are proceeding in an orderly fashion,” Xiao Ming mused.

“Indeed. We found traces of the British society’s activities. They are very likely advising Cao Kun,” a person said.

The novel has already been fully translated up to the final chapter. You can access it on my Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/caleredhair