I don't understand humans... especially this one.
In front of a campfire under a starry sky, an eight-year-old boy, dressed in black and slightly sweaty, looked like he'd just come from military training. He had intense blue eyes, light skin, and a ponytail. A gray fox with a long tail and green eyes stood in front of him. On the campfire were some sticks with fish stuck on them.
The boy looked at the stars while his dinner was being prepared and suddenly said to the fox, "One day I will be a great emperor, I will protect the innocent and end wars," the little boy said to the gray fox. "I wish you were human, you would be my best friend and my brother, although I have other brothers, they always compete with me. If you were my brother, I would make you my right-hand man and a great general," said Liu Zhen as he gave the little fox some water. "You know? I love your green eyes, they match my blue eyes, stay by my side, okay?"
Then Xie Lan woke up with a thud on the pillow. He seemed to have fallen asleep.
"Hey! Stop dreaming. If they catch you sleeping, I'm afraid they'll make us run across half the southern territory again," Chao Tao said, his eyes filled with dark circles.
"Heh, are you sure those rules apply to that pretty boy? We all know he's Shizun's favorite. What kind of tricks did he use to win her favor?" asked Xue Yu, Xie Lan and Chao Tao's martial arts partner.
"Hey, Yu, what the hell are you saying?" Chao Tao said, a little tired of him.
"It's true that we've been training a lot in the Golden Dragon Technique lately, and Shizun is kinder to A-Lan, but A-Lan is amazing. She was able to master the technique faster than us! And besides, Xie Lan has a crush on a pretty girl. The first day we met, he said he wanted to get her attention."
"Huh? A handsome guy can't attract a woman's attention? What kind of otherworldly beauty is he? He'll make me jealous," Xue Yu said with a hint of mischief and amusement.
"You're disgusting, let's go or we'll be late," Chao Tao said, and Xie Lan nodded, not wasting any energy on them. No matter how hard he tried to explain that he didn't want to attract anyone's attention, those two idiots wouldn't understand, and he wouldn't make the effort to explain it to them either, so he left with them.
At the same time, in the carriage, Liu Zhao and Liu Zhen looked at each other for a few seconds before making a sound. Then Liu Zhen spoke first: "Tell me, little brother, who do you think is the corrupt official who wants to defeat the Qi clan?" Liu Zhen clearly had the answer, but he wanted to test his younger brother. "Gege, don't you know already?" Liu Zhao was no fool. He knew that his brother wanted to test him. Suddenly, he had an idea: he took the Go pieces from the board and started arranging them one by one. "Gege, let's play for a while," Liu Zhao suggested. Liu Zhen knew his brother's intentions, so he let him do whatever he wanted.
He knew his younger brother had no intention of leaving his side that afternoon. After all, he was just a child curious about what his older brother was doing, and Liu Zhen's thoughts weren't far from reality. Liu Zhao carefully arranged the pieces to play against his older brother. He chose the black pieces, and his brother chose the white pieces.
"I heard that a military supply caravan that was supposed to arrive from the northern territory disappeared near the southern pass, at a Qi clan sentry post," Liu Zhao said, moving the black piece on the board. Liu Zhen nodded. He remembered perfectly well that, in his previous life, the missing caravan had caused his father a great deal of trouble, and as the crown prince, he had to learn how to solve these kinds of problems, so the burden fell on him as well.
"If I recall correctly, there were 130 military weapons, 200 sealed prisons, and important documents from the militia and supply department," Liu Zhen said, moving the white piece on the board. "A week later, a troop from the Wei clan appeared at the northern pass by chance and without authorization, under the pretext of training. Although it's an absurd justification, it was enough to allay suspicions."
Liu Zhao nodded, somewhat impressed by his older brother. Normally, he wouldn't have known such information. He'd never been very interested in politics, so his curiosity increased considerably.
"At the same time, a Hao clan soldier publicly denounced the leak of documents that should have reached the administrative ministry regarding the missing caravan that left their northern region, claiming that his clan had nothing to do with it," Liu Zhao said, moving the black token.
"The Hao Clan didn't say anything for or against the Qi Clan, which means..." Liu Zhen said, encouraging Liu Zhao to figure it out as he placed the white piece on the board. Liu Zhao wasn't naive at all. He knew his brother was making it easy for him, so as he moved the black piece, he said, "The Hao Clan's justification is nothing strange. If they stay away from suspicion, they won't be involved in the embezzlement of military funds."
-in the missing caravan there were 130 military weapons each with a value of 50 gold taels what they should have reported to the administrative ministry was 6,500 gold taels worth of military weapons when the caravan was found there were a total of 78 weapons which means that 52 military weapons disappeared so they only reported 3,900 gold taels to the administrative ministry in the market in which a military weapon costs around 70 gold taels per weapon (52 x 70 = 3,640 gold taels) it is not impossible to accuse the Qi clan when a considerable amount of weapons disappeared in their southern territory with greater military influence- added Liu Zhao
"If I'm not mistaken, little brother, are you implying that the Hao clan had something to do with the caravan's disappearance or that they indirectly brought it south to embezzle military funds with the weapons and sell them in the market?" Liu Zhen asked, his hand raised, inches away from placing the white piece. Liu Zhao nodded as he sipped his ginger tea. Liu Zhen was impressed by his younger brother's intelligence, however...
"Your insinuation is valid, but remember one thing, little brother," Liu Zhen said, placing the last white piece on the board to win.
"To protect the king, sacrificial pawns are always needed."
Liu Zhao didn't understand at first, but when he realized it, it was as if a bolt of lightning had struck him, and his eyes opened wide.
"The Wei clan..." he murmured.
"That's right, the Hao clan is just a pawn of the Wei clan, protecting a king we don't know," Liu Zhen told his brother, who was frowning.
"If that's true, we must tell our father so that the Wei clan can be annihilated," Liu Zhao said, somewhat frightened. The idea of someone pulling strings behind the scenes to bring down a clan as large as the Qi clan could easily annihilate the imperial family. It was too terrifying an idea.
"But first, we need sufficient evidence," Liu Zhen said. "If we accuse the Wei clan without proof, the old fox of the Wei clan, Wei Hao, will bite us first."
"Where will you get that evidence? At this rate, they'll have already eliminated everything," Liu Zhao said, a little annoyed. "That's why we're going to the Administrative Ministry. They can eliminate evidence from the Imperial Court, but a market sale is something important. An arms deal can't go unnoticed. We'll find the evidence we need there," Liu Zhen said.
◉ Wei Clan (魏氏)
Influential and manipulative clan. They are suspected of being behind the plan to weaken the Qi Clan and control the military distribution. Wei Hao, their leader, is described as an "old fox."
◉ Shizun (師尊)
Respectful term for the main master or instructor in martial arts or cultivation. Xie Lan and his companions train under this figure.
◉ Golden Dragon Technique (金龍術)
Advanced combat or cultivation technique that Xie Lan masters faster than his companions. It is a symbol of prestige within the training. ◉ Wei Clan (魏氏)
Influential and manipulative clan. They are suspected of being behind the plan to weaken the Qi Clan and control the military distribution. Wei Hao, their leader, is described as an "old fox."
◉ Shizun (師尊)
Respectful term referring to the main teacher or instructor in martial arts or cultivation. Xie Lan and his companions train under this figure.
◉ Golden Dragon Technique (金龍術)
Advanced combat or cultivation technique that Xie Lan masters faster than his companions. It is a symbol of prestige within the training.
◉ Go (圍棋 / Wéiqí)
Traditional strategy game that Liu Zhen uses to teach and measure Liu Zhao's tactical ability.