The next morning, after finishing his training, Wu Jian had his lunch in the main hall. Beside him was a refined-looking man in his middle age, wearing a long gown and a goatee, who served Wu Jian humbly with occasional flashes of shrewdness in his eyes. This man was Wang Fu, the steward who had been serving in the Yong Mansion for many years and was responsible for managing all the affairs under the orders of Ye Qingfu.
"Master Wang, yesterday five Marquis from the Eternal Eight Banners sent their greetings, saying that they would come to visit after noon today," said Ye Qingfu, slapping the table.
"These old foxes are probably up to no good. When the old Master was still alive, he kept them at bay, but now they probably want to rise again. Hehe," Wang Fu said with a sullen face and a cold laugh.
In ancient times, there was a saying that "a man of a different surname cannot become a king." Nowadays, the nine states of the Qiguo Kingdom are all governed by hereditary kings from the direct lineage of the royal family to ensure the purity of bloodline and consolidate the royal power. If someone has made great contributions to the expansion of the territory, they will be granted an honorary title of king with a different surname. The Eternal Eight Banners were all titled dukes from different surnames.
"When my father was alive, he could make them bow their heads. Now it will be the same with me," Wu Jian said calmly after sipping his tea.
"If I don't allow them to raise their heads, they won't be able to move an inch," he continued.
At that moment, a guard at the door announced:
"Young Master, the Marquises of Peace, Grace, Sun, Spirit, and Order are here to pay their respects."
"Allow them in," Wu Jian said.
"Yes, sir."
In no time, the five Marquises from the Eternal Eight Banners entered the main hall and bowed to Wu Jian.
"We pay our respects to Your Highness," all of them said.
"No need for formalities," Wu Jian replied.
The five Marquises took their seats, and then the Peace Marquis, Zhong Jing, spoke up after a moment of contemplation.
"Young Master, ever since the old Master died, the Everlasting Prefecture has been in decline. This cannot continue. With the upcoming Great Competition in the Imperial Capital, if we cannot win over the other states, the resources of the Everlasting Prefecture will not be able to sustain us."
The Qiguo Kingdom was founded on martial arts and considered martial arts as the foundation of the country, and culture as the means to govern the country. Every four years, a Great Competition was held where the royal families of the nine states would participate, and the younger generation would compete in martial arts and strategy to determine the allocation of taxes and resources for each state.
The older generation of lords and kings only compete with their own cultivation level, which is the main battlefield. They obtain more cultivation resources such as martial arts secrets and refining stones according to their ranking.
Ten years ago, when the Yong King died in battle, there was no top-notch expert to lead them, and the Everlasting Prefecture has been at the bottom in the past two competitions. If it remains the same this year, the entire Everlasting Prefecture will face problems even with basic needs such as food and shelter, and it will become a vassal state of other provinces.
"Moreover, I heard that the young prince was seriously injured not long ago, this is worrying..." The five lords, with the martial safety lord as their leader, spoke with concern for the future of the Everlasting Prefecture.
Wu Jian coldly looked at the old men's poor acting and asked, following their lead, "According to your words, what is the best course of action for the Everlasting Prefecture?"
At this moment, the Grace lord, You Zhong, standing next to the Peace Lord Zhong Jing, straightened his brocade robe and flattered, "In my humble opinion, the Peace Lord broke through the Master Barrier a few days ago, from the realm of Innate Great Perfection to the Half-Step Master level. He should lead this competition."
"His son, the Peace Lord's son, is also better than his father. His martial arts cultivation has reached the ninth level of the Innate stage and he is about to reach the next stage soon. He should be the representative of the younger generation in this martial arts competition."
"As for the strategic and intellectual competition, it should be led by the young prince. What do you think?"
This remark made it clear that the five lords had ambitious intentions.
The Peace lord wanted to use the competition as an opportunity to openly replace the position of the Yong King's household. If the the Peace Lord led his team to achieve a good ranking in this competition, he could gradually erode the foundation of the Yong King's household, which would result in the Yong King's household being replaced completely. But Wu Jian couldn't immediately say that he was at the peak of power in this world at the age of sixteen, he didn't want to show his hand too early, either way he will be in a advantaged position and will eventually make those trying to take advantage of him regret it.
"Okay then, we will arrange it according to your suggestions for this competition," Wu Jian sighed helplessly, looking defeated and despondent.
Upon hearing this, the five Lords were immediately delighted and pretended to show gratitude, "Young Prince, you understand the greater good. We will do our best."
After the five old foxes left, steward Wang Fu looked unwilling and said,
"Young Prince, we can give them the battlefield for top-notch combat power, but how can we let them take the representatives of the younger generation? Won't we become a laughingstock of the Yong King's household?"
"No problem. If it is something that belongs to me, I won't give it up. They won't be able to take it by force," Wu Jian replied coldly, fearing the hidden Blood Lotus Cult and not wanting to reveal his true strength too early.
Although Wu Jian killed the cult's Master, the other party would not suspect that it was the work of a sixteen-year-old boy. The biggest suspicion might be that there were other powerful forces in the Everlasting Prefecture City.