The land of the Capital is prosperous, with merchants coming and going like ants. Should someone who practices cultivation gaze down from the sky, they might even see a great dragon of national destiny coiling above the Capital City, while the vast and misty territory of the Jin Sect appears like a pearl spat out from the dragon's mouth.
In contrast, the Northern Territory, thousands of miles away, is a scene of desolate pastoral borderland beauty.
On the summit of Dragon Head Peak in the Northern Territory, Zhu Yongzheng, whose skin is no longer fair and now sports a few strands of stubble, supports his sword and gazes at the vast mountains and rivers before him.
Behind him, Wang Liang, whose body has fully grown, accompanies him protectively, and there is an ordinary-looking retainer from the prince's residence standing guard with a hand on his knife.
Zhu Yong's original name was Zhu Huai'an. He was once a dog driven away by the royal family's fears, exiled to the Northern Territory.
And the mountains and rivers blocked by clouds and mist stretching for thousands of miles before him were his path of arrival.
Besides his bodyguard, there was a former criminal dressed as a herdsman accompanying him.
This person was named Li Zheng, once a descendant of famous officials. However, due to speaking out for justice, he was dismissed and exiled by Emperor Longping, implicating even his wife and children.
Zhu Huai'an, taking a break from his busy schedule, happened to meet Li Zheng, who was living in seclusion, while hiking up Dragon Head Peak.
At that time, Li Zheng was singing a hermit's song, singing loudly, which happened to catch Zhu Huai'an's attention as he climbed the mountain.
Was it really such a coincidence? That Li Zheng neither sang early nor late, but on this very day when Prince Zhu came to Dragon Head Mountain, he sang a hermit's song.
How could there be such coincidences in the world?
However, in fact, there weren't so many coincidences.
Dragon Head Mountain was once the place where the Sword King Changting pointed north to the court of the Northern Territory to raise flags.
From the moment Li Zheng learned that Prince Zhu was coming to the Northern Territory, he set up a humble lodge at the foot of Dragon Head Mountain, waiting every day in the cold like a grandson for Prince Zhu to arrive.
Li Zheng was once praised by the Sword King Changting as a talented official for troubled times, unfortunately born in a prosperous era.
Li Zheng originally thought so too, until he wandered to the Northern Territory, leaving him with only one thought: to hell with the prosperous era!
The Sword King Changting, despite his great merits intimidating the monarch, still adhered to loyalty and righteousness, wanting to leave a clear name for ten thousand generations, what was the outcome? He inevitably met death.
Now that Prince Zhu had wandered to the Northern Territory, it was his only opportunity.
The Northern Territory's military governors were divided among themselves, and the former subordinates of the Sword King Changting enjoyed the greatest fame. As long as Prince Zhu had the intention to sweep away all under the heavens, he was willing to serve loyally.
Today, when Zhu Huai'an and his two companions rode up, the famished-looking Li Zheng took one look, and saw that this man had the appearance of a dragon and snake rising from the ground, with an undercurrent of destruction.
We don't know if this person had been living in such humble quarters for so long that his brain had frozen and his vision starved, that he could see such extraordinary signs on anyone.
In any case, Li Zheng saw it.
In his eyes, in a bird-shit-free place like Dragon Head Mountain, who would come?
Other than someone whose father died and was 'exiled' to the Northern Territory like Prince Zhu, he couldn't think of anyone else.
Zhu Huai'an was also puzzled. He had changed his name and identity, never revealing his background to others. How was it that the moment he arrived here, someone saw through his identity? Was this person really that formidable?
Prince Zhu grew wary. His plan was to deny everything, and if push came to shove, in this desolate wilderness, just silence the man by killing him.
But when the other party heard him say his name was Zhu Yong, not Prince Zhu, it only made them more certain of his identity.
Zhu Huai'an found it strange and, with patience, asked further, discovering that this person truly had considerable talent, though he was a bit fond of flattering, constantly speaking of heavenly mandate and fledgling dragons, seemingly unafraid to let others know he intended to revolt.
"Li Zheng, you say I bear the heavenly mandate and are here to help me overturn the world?" Zhu Huai'an's smile faded, and he spoke each word slowly, "The Zhu Family has always been devoted to Zhao, never harboring even a hint of rebellion. What you say—aren't you afraid I'll hand you over to the Imperial Court for punishment?"
Li Zheng laughed heartily and said, "Zhu Yong, Zhu to Exterminate. The prince took this name, surely not to merely contribute to the Dayong Dynasty, right?"
Listening to this, Zhu Huai'an felt a strange familiarity with the sarcastic tone.
Seeing through his thoughts, Zhu Huai'an simply stopped pretending and directly asked Li Zheng, you said you have ability and talent, then I would like to humbly ask for some advice on this method of overturning the world.
This person Li Zheng, seeing that Zhu Huai'an was quite polite, had his impression improved upon him considerably.
This monarch is worth dealing with!
Immediately, Li Zheng cupped his hands in salute, his gaze burning, and said:
"Recently, I've been observing the stars day and night. The purple imperial star intermittently shows a strange light, like a lampwick split into two stalks: one strong but waning day by day, the other weak yet increasingly flourishing. This, with my shallow understanding, exactly indicates the young lord's assumption of the heavenly mandate."
Zhu Huai'an furrowed his brows slightly and, before he could speak, heard Li Zheng say again:
"These words are not mere flattery. If you truly wish to take the world, you must heed four strategies as guidance."
"First strategy: the heavenly mandate is with me. Send alchemists, monks, and Taoists to widely spread prophecies, proclaiming that the transformation of the black river into a qilin and the growth of sacred fungus from dead wood are all omens of the rise of the dragon. Command scholars to compile records of the harsh and tyrannical policies of the previous dynasty, distribute them as street ballads, so that the common people all know the old cauldron should topple, and the new lord is the star transformed into a savior of the living. Besides this, it is heard that the Zhao Family's imperial mausoleum was struck by Celestial Thunder, indicating that the heavenly favor has been lost, and the true dragon is in the wild. Furthermore, rumors abound that the current false Son of Heaven killed his brother to seize the throne, indicating a lack of filial piety. As the saying goes, where there's smoke, there's fire. The young lord can greatly exploit this, framing him as the false Son of Heaven. When their power declines and ours rises, the trend will begin to change."
"Second strategy: divide and conquer the central powers. During my time in office, I often heard of old grievances between Commander He and Elder Shi and Minister Yan. You can emulate the strategy of the lost letter—use gold foil to forge a letter of treasonous collusion in the handwriting of the Grand Commander and have a death courier 'accidentally' lose it. The current false Son of Heaven is quite wary of the Crown Prince, and Commander He greatly admired the Prince back then. When their ruler and subjects undoubtedly grow suspicious of each other, at the opportune moment, entice the Grand Commander's students to defect, and the enemy will be in chaos."