Chapter 273: Chapter 169: The Ten Great Masters
Translator: 549690339
A change of dynasty.
Is this something you can decide just by having a meeting?
Although he had some psychological preparation for this due to the previous foreshadowing, it was still too sudden for Lu Yuan.
He swallowed and asked, “Lord Yang, when do you plan to carry out this abdication…?”
Unconsciously, Lu Yuan’s tone carried some respect.
There was no way around it; facing someone who casually changes emperors, no one could dare to treat it lightly.
Yang Jing noticed the change in Lu Yuan’s attitude and was very satisfied.
When he brought up the matter today, besides the appearance of Lu Yuan, who would become an Inborn Grandmaster in the future, forcing these aristocratic families to make some changes to their plans.
He also wanted to deter Lu Yuan more so that the soon-to-break through Innate would know his own weight and not mess around.
At this point, it seemed that the desired effect had been achieved.
So Yang Jing continued with their next plan, “The abdication will not take place so soon, the earliest would be after pacifying the Five Poisons religion rebellion and repelling the Zhou army.”
In order to achieve this goal, we officials have discussed and devised a strategy of the Ten Grandmasters.
As the name suggests, it is to gather ten Grandmasters and then suppress the world.
Shangguan Ming is one of the Inborn Grandmasters cultivated by this strategy,
and I am one of them. The Saint Monk Jihui from White Phoenix Temple is also one of them.
So, now the court already has six Grandmasters, and I should be able to break through in one or two years, making it seven.
So there are only three spots left.
Originally, these three people were meant for the court to continue to recruit Innate Grandmasters from the major Jianghu sects.
But now, since General Lu is about to break through Innate, being one of our own, he is naturally closer than those Jianghu people.
So if the general is willing, I can recommend you to become one of the ten Grandmasters, alongside the rest of us.
How about it, what do you think, General?”
After explaining the plan, Yang Jing looked intently at Lu Yuan, waiting for his reply.
Lu Yuan’s heart surged upon hearing the plan.
The strategy of Ten Great Grandmasters.
The court plans to cultivate ten Grandmasters and then use them to pacify the world?
Just hearing about this grand plan made even Lu Yuan feel overwhelmed.
This was not a matter of just any ordinary people, but ten Inborn Grandmasters!
These were figures at the top of Jianghu, capable of suppressing an entire region and standing up to tens of thousands of soldiers.
Now the court wanted to gather ten of them together, push forward, suppress rebellions, and repel foreign enemies.
It must be said that this kind of broad-mindedness and ambition really made people admire it.
But after the admiration, Lu Yuan soon returned to reality.
Looking at Yang Jing, who was waiting for his reply with a mature demeanor, he thought for a moment and asked, “Lord Yang, what benefits would I get from becoming one of the Ten Great Grandmasters? And what would I need to give up?”
Lu Yuan has always been very practical.
Although the title of Ten Great Grandmasters sounded impressive, and being backed by the Da Yue dynasty, power and status were certainly not lacking.
But with just these alone, they were not enough to make him work for the court.
And what price would the court expect him to pay for these benefits and titles? It was unpredictable.
There’s no such thing as a free lunch in the world; without clarifying the conditions, Lu Yuan wouldn’t easily commit.
However, Yang Jing seemed to have been prepared for this, and confidently smiled when the question was asked, “What benefits will the court give? Do you think the world and the Altars of Soil and Grain are good enough?”
Lu Yuan was stunned. “What does Lord Yang mean by that?”
Yang Jing solemnly said, “1 mean it in a literal sense. The court can divide the land and grant fiefdoms, setting aside a territory for General Lu to establish his own country and become the king of a region.
This time the court has offered to divide the land and grant fiefdoms in order to recruit Jianghu Inborn Grandmasters.
As long as the general is willing to serve the court, the court can give you half the land of a region and five prefectures to establish your own country, and from then on, you can be a king in your own right. However, after founding the country, you must submit and become a subject of the New Dynasty.”
Is this condition enough for you, General? And as for the cost, you only need to help pacify the Miao frontier rebellion after you have attained Innate and assist the court in repelling the invasion of the Zhou Country.”
Dividing the land and granting a fiefdom?
Lu Yuan never expected that the court’s conditions would be so magnanimous.
A tune of half a region and five prefectures for one Inborn Grandmaster.
So if the court recruits four Jianghu Innates, would they not directly give away two regions’ worth of land?
The court might as well just negotiate with the Zhou Country directly and cede the land of Xichuan and Dongting if they are to be so generous.
After all, they would be losing two regions anyway; giving them away now would save the trouble of fighting.
‘No, I can’t say that. The Zhou Country is on the same level as the Yue Country. If it were to take two regions, the disparity between the Zhou and Yue countries would be as much as four regions after one increases and one decreases.
Once the Zhou Country has digested Xichuan and Dongting, their size and greed will not allow them to let go of the significantly weakened Yue Country.
By then, even with a new dynasty in place, the Yue Country would still have to face the threat of destruction after losing the Yangtze River Natural Barrier.
Therefore, the Six Surnames and Seven Clans cannot accept this end result. That’s why they came up with this Ten Grandmasters Plan.”
The idea is rather than give up their territory to the Zhou Country, they would prefer to assign it to Jianghu Innates of the same Yue nationality, letting those major Jianghu sects take the front line and help them share the pressure.
The court retains the core essence of the seven regions while gaining four subordinate states at the same time.
On the surface, the actual power does not seem to have diminished too much.
What a good calculation.’
After analyzing the thoughts of those court officials in his heart, Lu Yuan couldn’t help but admire them silently.
Then, looking at Yang Jing, he replied readily, “Since Lord Yang recommends it, it would be ungrateful of me to refuse. I accept the position of one of the Ten Grandmasters. However, I have a condition – the land designated for my fiefdom must be in Jiuzhen. ”
Jiuzhen Region is located in the southern border of Da Yue, surrounded by small countries. Going there to establish a nation would not face much pressure.
Although Yang Jing didn’t explicitly say so, Lu Yuan inferred that besides Jiuzhen, which was newly conquered, the other land granted by the court for the fiefdom must be Xichuan without a doubt.
And what is the current situation in Xichuan?
The whole region has been devastated, and with deserted places everywhere, it is directly facing the front line of the Zhou Country.
Establishing a nation there is not a luxury but a suffering.
Not only would he have to exhaust his mind and body to restore local production, but he would also have to keep a vigilant guard against the invasion of the Zhou Country.
Lu Yuan would be a fool if he agreed to go to such a place.
And in the face of his request, Yang Jing pondered for a moment before nodding, “I can discuss this matter with the other officials of the court; it shouldn’t be too much of a problem.”
Lu Yuan’s face broke into a smile. “I’ll leave it to you then, Lord Yang.”
At this point, an agreement had been reached between both parties.
The atmosphere became much more cheerful..
