Chapter 12: The Game of Power

“I have eaten,” Wuque answered. Then, he asked with a reluctant tone, “How is your mobility recovering now?”

“Hmm,” Shen Gong’ao said.

Then, he remembered his wife’s illness and wanted to speak up.

But recalling his wife’s words and her strong-willed character, he feared if Wuque really treated her, she might actually chop off her own leg with a knife.

Besides, over these years, countless famous doctors had visited, even several imperial physicians from the palace had come.

Marchioness Mu Hongyu’s illness could not be cured; they could only strive to control it and delay its progression as much as possible.

Moreover, the Marchioness’s illness was not like Shen Gong’ao’s so-called brain-splitting tapeworm.

The brain-splitting tapeworm disease was strange and unheard of.

And Marchioness Mu Hongyu had “Xiao Ke” syndrome, a well-known illness; there were thousands upon thousands of people in the world who suffered from it. Not to mention her, a Marchioness, even members of the royal family had this disease, and it still couldn’t be cured, only managed with effort.

But the outcomes were generally poor—either death from the illness.

Or the legs rotting, leading to forced amputation.

Weren’t the royal family members more noble? Didn’t they have better medical resources? Yet, they still watched helplessly as the condition worsened?

Since the world’s famous doctors couldn’t cure it, Wuque probably couldn’t either, so he decided not to mention it.

“Wuque, now that you’ve returned home, do you have any plans?” Shen Gong’ao asked indirectly.

Wuque said, “Yes!”

Shen Gong’ao said, “Tell me. As long as it’s not too far-fetched, I will support you.”

This was a rare concession from him. After speaking, he felt awkward himself and hurriedly poured a cup of tea to ease the tension.

Wuque said, “I want to compete for the Heir Apparent Position. I want to inherit the title of Marquis of Zhenhai.”

“Cough…” Instantly, as Shen Gong’ao took a sip of tea, he choked and spat it out.

Then, he looked at Wuque in disbelief.

Was he hearing things?

Did his ears hear correctly?

Shen Wuque wanted to compete for the Heir Apparent Position? To seize the Marquis of Zhenhai title?

After a long moment, Shen Gong’ao spoke in a grave tone, “Wuque, I don’t care what you’ve been through outside. But I have a few words I want to say to you.”

Usually, Shen Gong’ao had a fiery temper, beating or scolding this son.

But now, this son had run away from home for eight years, and upon returning, had directly saved him. He couldn’t bring himself to scold him.

To be honest, the main reason he wasn’t using a harsh tone wasn’t because Wuque had cured him. It was because this son had left him for eight years, and he didn’t want it to happen again.

Wuque said, “Please speak.”

Shen Gong’ao said, “First, have you heard of my reputation over the years?”

Wuque said, “I’ve heard of being undefeated in battle, conquering all, and unrivaled. Over the past decade, the Great Xia Empire expanded its territory by seven counties, five of which were conquered by you. In these years, you killed nearly a million Southern Barbarians and eliminated over three hundred thousand troops. If you weren’t a naturalized alien, you would have already entered the Imperial Central Authority by now.”

Shen Gong’ao said, “Correct, I am undefeated in battle, conquering all. But in recent years, seven or eight out of ten major victories were won by your eldest brother. I merely commanded from the rear. He is the one who is truly undefeated, conquering all.”

“Wuque, your eldest brother Wuzhuo’s skill in military strategy may even surpass mine. Although his Martial Arts are currently slightly inferior to mine, within ten years, his Martial Arts will surpass mine. Our Shen Gong Family will produce an even stronger Commander.”

“Second, you should know that your father is average in internal affairs. In the early years, our family’s internal affairs were handed over to subordinate officials, most of whom were sent by the Mi Clan. That put us in a very passive position, until your second brother Shen Wuyu rose to prominence.”

“In just over ten years, our family reclaimed most of the internal governance power from the Mi Clan bureaucrats. Our territory spans over ten thousand square kilometers, with a population of several hundred thousand. All internal and external affairs are managed in perfect order by your second brother.”

“Do you know how many private troops we have? A full fifty thousand!”

“Do you know how many people are in our territory? A total of six hundred seventy thousand.”

“Six hundred seventy thousand subjects supporting fifty thousand troops, all of them elite. Do you know how terrifying that ratio is?”

“What does war depend on? Logistics! Over the years, for the sake of the family’s foundation, I could be called overly militaristic, yet each time, our logistics ran smoothly. We have been fighting constantly, yet instead of becoming poorer, we have grown richer.”

“Do you know what our territory consists of? Land seized from the Southern Barbarians. Our subjects are partly Southern Barbarians, partly immigrants, totaling over a dozen ethnic groups, with constant conflicts and disputes. The difficulty of governance is simply outrageous.”

“But over these dozen years, our family territory has flourished and prospered.”

“Who is responsible for all this? Your second brother Shen Wuyu! He is a true genius of strategy and governance, a real genius in internal affairs. I can’t even imagine how he managed it.”

“Your eldest brother is a genius in military strategy and Martial Arts, peerless in the world.”

“Your second brother is a genius in statecraft and governance, also peerless in the world.”

“All the nobles in the world don’t envy my achievements over the years, nor do they envy the territories I’ve conquered. What they envy most is that I have two exceptionally outstanding sons, brilliant and dazzling, unmatched.”

“One thing that greatly troubles me now is how to choose between your eldest and second brother for the Heir Apparent Position.”

“And now, you say you want to compete for the Heir Apparent Position.”

“The fifty thousand private soldiers in our family all admire and support your eldest brother. Do you have your eldest brother’s prestige? Do you have countless military achievements to your name?”

“Several hundred officials in our fief all respect your second brother. Under his command, talented people are as numerous as rain, and capable individuals as many as trees. From village heads to city lords, and countless wealthy merchants, they all loyally serve your second brother Shen Wuyu from the heart. Do you have his years of accumulated political achievements? Do you have so many people supporting you?”

No, he had nothing.

What Wuque probably had was only a poor reputation.

Absolute zero foundation, even negative foundation.

When people talked about Shen Wuque, there were likely a few labels.

First, the pitiful ‘licking dog’ abandoned by Fu Caiwei.

Second, the blind jerk who abandoned his newlywed wife at the wedding.

Especially since his wife, Zhi Fan, had now become the Master of the Star Pavilion, a legendary woman, making Wuque seem even more blind.

“Lastly, our family’s fief of fifteen thousand square kilometers, nearly a million subjects, and fifty thousand private troops. The survival of all these people, the honor and disgrace of our Shen Gong Family, all rest on one person.”

“We are naturalized aliens. We’ve risen too fast these years, offended too many people, and shown off too much. How many people are sharpening their knives against our family? In the future, whoever inherits the Marquis title will not only gain power and glory but also bear enormous responsibility. The responsibility for the lives of over a million people, the responsibility for the Shen Gong Family’s centuries-old legacy.”

“Over these dozen years, I appeared arrogant and domineering on the surface, but in reality, I’ve been treading on thin ice.”

“You say you want to compete for the Heir Apparent Position and inherit the legacy. Have you considered this tremendous responsibility? Have you considered the dangers involved? Becoming the master of this over ten-thousand-square-kilometer land means entering the most brutal arena, the game of power! The slightest misstep, and the entire family faces utter destruction, with tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of people buried along with you.”

“The Ying Clan of the past, a thousand-year-old glorious clan! Possessing over a dozen counties, a population of millions, and over a hundred thousand troops. So glorious, so noble, yet in the end, they met total annihilation, the extinction of their clan.”

“After hearing all this, do you still want to compete for this position?”

Wuque stared at Shen Gong’ao and nodded, saying, “Yes, I want to compete.”

“Impossible, absolutely impossible,” Shen Gong’ao said. “Wuque, you are my biological son. Although I beat and scolded you a lot when you were young, my affection for you is no less than for your eldest and second brothers. But wanting to compete for the Heir Apparent Position is absolutely impossible. Give up this thought.”

“You can have wild ideas, you can misbehave, but I cannot,” Shen Gong’ao said. “Because on my shoulders rests the entire family. The current situation is fraught with internal and external pressures. Your eldest and second brothers are extremely outstanding; I already have no choice. I absolutely will not allow you to get involved. I absolutely will not allow you to ruin the current favorable situation.”

“Competing for the Heir Apparent Position—don’t even think about it!”

Then, Shen Gong’ao’s tone softened. “Wuque, I know you’ve been holding a grudge inside. In the past, I was too harsh on you, always beating or scolding, causing our father-son relationship to become distant, and you even ran away from home for several years. Now that you’ve returned, I will make it up to you.”

“Apart from competing for the Heir Apparent Position, I will support you in anything else.”

“Also, the wife I found for you is very good—beautiful, talented, and now she has built a great career. Since you’re back, I’ll have her return home, and you can live a good life together from now on.”

“It’s settled then. Tomorrow, I’ll have your wife Zhi Fan also come home. The family will have a proper gathering, clear the air, and improve your marital relationship so you can have children soon.”

…