The Prince Is Abolished

Chapter 21

Lu Xang appeared with a few men by his side who Lu Ran immediately recognized as the biggest of merchants of other neighboring states, who either traded under the Lu family or with the Lu family and also enjoyed great ties with the royals across the continent.

Her father was also gearing up for a battle and was putting ducks in a row, she thought with a deep sense of pride. With the combined strength, it was enough to take on the royal family as these were extremely well-connected and powerful merchants with guard strengths in thousands of their own. But will father allow foreigners to meddle in the affairs of Mi? She was perplexed because she never thought that her father would allow such a thing!

'Your father does everything with so much perfection! Even I cannot fathom how, someone so kind, can also be so lethal!' Kang Zhing said as Lu Ran explained the guests who appeared in the basement.

'Ran! Please help me. I want to work under sir and be a merchantess like madam too!'

'Let it all be over and you can learn from my both. They love you too Zhing, as do I and Ji Gang.' Lu Ran said kindly.

The monk also came a while later, and he appeared serious and deep in thought. After greeting the monk, everyone settled down. Lu Xang got up and bowed down to prince Xi Jiang, who entered last. Seeing him, everyone got up, and greeted the prince.

'Prince Xi Jiang, is our heir-apparent. He is the one who will take the throne and bring justice to the daughter of Mi. I request all of you; those who wish to see true change, to back him. Some of my foreign friends who work with me, and with whom I shared my weal and woe with, I urge you to help us by just being present during this bloodless revolution we are trying to bring. We do not seek your men to fight for us, but your presence alone is enough to send a message to Xi Mang and his people that we are not alone. 

Prince Xi Jiang is an honorable man and he does not believe in bloodshed as is the case with Xi Mang and he will work to strengthen our nation-to-nation ties through trade and agriculture. We the Lu family are standing by him and wish to bring him, the true prince of Mi, in power.'

'Avang is very well informed about Xi Mang's blood thirsty plans. He has been meeting mercenaries and diplomats from our kingdom and the emperor discovered it all a while ago. Avang has shared this intelligence with other states, and I can assure you, that if we lend you our personal guards, then too the royal family will back us. No one wants a tyrant around,' the royal merchant of Avang said.

'Well! This makes it easier for us, then. But we still do not wish to shed blood of innocent palace guards, or anyone else who are merely following orders of a fiend. I request you to grant us your guards then, when we take on Xi Mang. Your guards will step in, only if prince Xi Jiang orders them. Otherwise, they will have no role to play.'

'Of course!'

Xi Jiang saw and found the plan flawless on the surface; in this way, they could very well lead a bloodless revolution, but was it so easy?

He kept aside his doubts and thanked the merchants, and said:

'At this stage, I can merely say thank you. I will try my best to not use your guards. Your help will be repaid by Mi soon.'

'Thank you, your highness!' The merchants said in unison.

The merchants departed after chatting with Lu Xang.

Xi Jiang, however, wasn't at ease yet. He spoke to Lu Xang and expressed his thoughts on these foreign helpers.

'Sir, I don't want external forces to be able to intervene so easily, even if it is to help me.'

'I knew you would say this. Here is the problem; they are going to intervene in any case, because Xi Mang is seen as a threat to the sovereignty of all neighbouring states. Did you know that he has been meeting with mercenaries and diplomats willing to ditch Avang and Kayang for long? While seeking mercenaries myself for our present situation, I came to know of this. You tell me; Mi against all of the states combined, how will this kingdom survive?'

'I...am unaware of this.'

'It seems only the empress knew as many of these mercenaries' pointed fingers at her for supporting Xi Mang in this greater Mi grand plan.'

'So, he wants to extend Mi's boundaries?'

'Yes. And he is trying to make it happen for a long time. I recently discovered this and came to know that the neighboring kingdoms are also in touch with our great grand general. It seems our great grand general is weighing on what side he has to turn because, he is likely to go with the highest bidder and I am afraid it cannot be either you or Mang, but the coalition of these states. So, it isn't a battle merely to oust Mang anymore, it is to keep Mi safe from attack of this coalition as well. Removing Mang can keep this coalition at bay forever.'

'Why is Xi Mang such a fool? Can't he see he is dragging our country down? Xi Jiang said angrily.

'He is what he is. I am asking these merchants to send me support in gold as well. I will return all of it soon afterwards but I need to do this as a precautionary measure. Avang and Kayang are poor, but their armies are bigger than ours. It is the royal merchants of these countries who subsidize these armies and that is why royal princesses were married to these merchants. If these merchants are tied with us so closely in money and arm strength, during this time, then there is no way that these countries will be able to attack us in our vulnerable moment, at least in a jiffy.'

'I see.' Prince Xi Jiang gulped the plan down. He was focused on Xi Mang alone, but forgot that foreign players would always eye a vulnerable Mi.

Lu Xang continued: 'Several of these merchants also work with the Lu group. Hence, we are safe as far as they are concerned. One of the reasons why I specifically said that they should hand over their guards to you was to test their thoughts.'

'And I thought, that you have no interest in politics! Truly you are a great strategist.'

'Prince, it is actually my wife. She told me that it is not possible that Xi Mang's news' have not spread far and wide after Himalayan master's visit. She cultivated a news network solely on what the royals and the nobles think in our neighboring countries about him. I thought it was not needed but she begun to think of international-level political consequences as the master is a well-revered figure in this part of the world and his rebuke is bound to create jitters all over. And she was right. These neighboring countries, started keeping eye on Mang's movements even more closely after this rebuke.'

'I get it now!'

Prince was still piecing it all together: 'So, the foreign guards come under me, and these well-connected merchants are willing to hand them over, as they don't want Xi Mang to ascend and threaten the sovereignty of their countries, which they think I won't do. I got this right?'

'Right, also, I have been a heavy donor in nearly all these kingdoms during the times of calamity hence, I do have some currency to pull and push these kingdoms as their royal families have ties with Lu family as well. I will try my best to keep them away from meddling while also, in a way, keep their money bags, i.e. their merchants, under watch in our Lu mansion, just to be on the safer side.'

'Got it now sir. I will try my best to not use their guards. And I need to think everything; national and international consequences of my actions as well.'

'You were not groomed well in politics so it is natural to miss some aspects of this battle. But we are here to fill in those gaps so that you ascend without hiccups. Prince, a wise emperor keeps an eye outside, as much as he keeps one inside. Never neglect neighbors in politics; they can be our boon or our bane.'

'I understood it now.'

'Great. Now let us discuss our next plan. How to force Xi Mang to come out from the shadows and face us when he is most unprepared?'