Far away in the capital city, both Prince Chu and Prince Wei received a letter from Zhao Yao. In the letter, Zhao Yao informed them that Prince Han wanted to collaborate with him in business and would send someone to Swamp Prefecture. He specifically sent someone to investigate Prince Han, and the result was that Prince Han had been doing business in Youzhou and also had trade interactions with the Western Regions. Apart from business dealings, Prince Han had not been involved in any other activities privately. At the end of the letter, he emphasized repeatedly that he felt Prince Han might not be as "innocent" as the investigation suggested and urged Prince Chu and Prince Wei to be vigilant against Prince Han.
Yang Ling noticed that Prince Chu’s face seemed somewhat upset after reading the letter and promptly asked with concern, "Your Highness, what did His Highness Prince Han write in the letter?"
Prince Chu handed the letter to Yang Ling, "Sir, please have a look."
Yang Ling took the letter and carefully read it. After finishing, his expression turned somewhat grave.
Prince Chu asked, "Sir, what do you think?"
Yang Ling returned the letter to Prince Chu and said solemnly, "I think the same as His Highness Prince Han; Prince Han is definitely not as simple and clean as the investigation suggests."
Prince Chu’s impression of Prince Han was similar to Zhao Yao’s. In his memory, Prince Han and Prince Chen always followed Prince Zheng around, behaving like frivolous and dissolute playboys. When they were young, they often mocked and bullied the tenth brother. In any case, he had no good impression of them.
Later, when Prince Han came of age, he went to Youzhou and had not returned over the years. Prince Chu had not paid attention to him, not expecting Prince Han to be someone with hidden depths.
"Your Highness, it is unexpected that Prince Han is such a profound person." Yang Ling frowned and said, "We miscalculated, thinking Prince Han was an inconsequential opponent."
"It was my oversight," Prince Chu thought Prince Han was of the same ilk as Prince Zheng and Prince Chen, not worth worrying about.
"Your Highness, it seems that besides Prince Wei, Prince Han is also a formidable rival." Yang Ling had broken out in a cold sweat after reading the letter, "Fortunately, His Highness Prince Han realized that Prince Han is not simple, otherwise in the future when we and Prince Wei fight to the death, Prince Han might exploit the situation and annihilate us both in one strike. That would indeed be like making a wedding dress for Prince Han."
Prince Chu nodded slightly, "This time we owe it to the tenth brother." Otherwise, they didn’t know when they would see through Prince Han’s true face.
"Your Highness, we must urgently send someone to investigate Prince Han thoroughly." Yang Ling said sternly, "We must find out what Prince Han has been sneakily up to over these years, or it will be too detrimental to us." Presently, they were in the open, while Prince Han was in the dark. If they didn’t find out, they wouldn’t know when they would be hit by Prince Han’s sneak attack.
Prince Chu nodded lightly and immediately took a map from the bookshelf. This map was a drawing of the Great Zhou’s territory, redone by order of the late emperor upon ascending the throne. Prince Chu stared at Youzhou on the map.
Yang Ling saw the Xiongnu Grassland on Youzhou and a thought crossed his mind.
"Your Highness, could Prince Han be secretly colluding with the Xiongnu?"
Prince Chu’s eyes suddenly turned sharp, and his voice became chilling: "If he dares to collude with the Xiongnu, I will not spare him."
"The Yuan Family incident just passed not long ago, so I think Prince Han wouldn’t rashly collude with the Xiongnu." Yang Ling thought of another matter, "Youzhou is after all a key region in the north, and the emperor’s assignment of Prince Han to Youzhou surely includes precautions against him colluding with the Xiongnu. Besides, the Northern Garrison reports directly to the emperor. It will undoubtedly monitor Prince Han’s every move."
"Sir, you have a point. Prince Han can’t collude with the Xiongnu under Father Emperor’s eyes," said Prince Chu, looking down and scanning the map sharply. Soon, his gaze rested on the Western Regions.
Yang Ling also thought of the Western Regions. He smiled and said, "It seems, Your Highness, you have the same idea as I do." Pointing to the Western Regions on the map, he said, "His Highness Prince Han mentioned that Prince Han has been doing business with the various countries in the Western Regions; it’s very likely Prince Han has undisclosed dealings with them." Yang Ling emphasized heavily on the words "undisclosed dealings."
He continued, "Your Highness, you can send someone to investigate deeply in the countries of the Western Regions. I believe there will be unexpected results."
"That is exactly my intention."
Many years ago, several countries in the Western Regions were on good terms with Great Zhou and earnestly requested that the Great Zhou send people to their nations to teach Confucianism. The emperor ordered emissaries to be sent to the countries of the Western Regions to instruct and spread Confucianism. The people dispatched were selected by the Imperial College, which meant they were finalized by Minister Li.
Over the years, Confucianism blossomed brilliantly in the countries of the Western Regions, attracting many people there to fall in love with it. In recent years, many talented young people from the Western Regions have been sent to Great Zhou’s Imperial College to study.
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