Chapter 98: Plotting

“How about it? Still wanting me to praise you?” Listening to Yu Huatian’s words, Zhu Yu was somewhat amused by the anger in his tone.

“Slave dares not, slave only wants to say that although there was a mishap in the matter, it can still be salvaged.” Yu Huatian wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and continued.

“Tell me.”

“Reporting to Your Majesty, due to the mistakes of those under my command, waiting for the jianghu forces to ferment the matter on their own might involve risks. It would be better for us to put in more effort and elevate the treasure map matter to the highest point, even advancing the plan ahead of schedule.” Yu Huatian paused, laying out his prepared thoughts.

“Waiting for my words? One sentence? What’s the hurry, say it quickly.” Seeing Yu Huatian selling suspense, Zhu Yu seemed a bit impatient.

“Yes, Your Majesty. Our original plan was to start with the scattered jianghu people, slowly drawing out those major sects in the martial world.

But now the situation is different. Instead of going backwards, let’s first pull those major jianghu sects into the water; those scattered jianghu people will naturally be attracted like sharks smelling blood.”

“Pull the major sects into the water? What are you thinking?” At this, Zhu Yu showed some interest.

“Reporting to Your Majesty, the matter of the Grandmaster’s treasure has long been widely circulated in the jianghu. Even an ordinary servant in a small inn in this remote town we’re in can rattle it off. How could those major sects not know about it?

These days, the major sects haven’t made any moves either because they’re deep-backed sects like Shaolin and Wudang, which don’t value this supposedly Grandmaster treasure that’s true or false.

Others are holding their status high, unwilling to be the first to act, and moreover, the jianghu now is filled with hearsay without any substance, so naturally the major sects want to observe first.

But if we hand over the treasure map personally, it absolutely will cause a storm in the janghu, achieving Your Majesty’s purpose.”

“Looks like you had a detailed plan long ago. Tell me.” Zhu Yu glanced at Yu Huatian and said indifferently.

“Yes, slave dares to show off. First, regarding the lost part of the treasure map, slave can send people to find out who benefited from the scene, then expose his identity and whereabouts.

Whether those major sects will act or not is uncertain, but the scattered jianghu people will definitely surround and intercept, causing a bloody storm.

Slave heard that the father of Consort Yan is the unparalleled righteous hero in the jianghu, Jiang Biehe. If at this time, the State Preceptor descends to mediate, those scattered jianghu people will temporarily coalesce into a force not to be ignored. With high skill, this force can even take the State Preceptor as its leader.

As for the other two treasure maps, one slave plans to secretly send to Songshan Sect. In the jianghu, the Five Great Sword Sects are like one family, that’s not false, but among the Five Great Sword Sects, Huashan has long monopolized the lead, commanding the other four for many years. Other sects aside, Songshan has long been discontented.

If Songshan gets the treasure map, not to mention how he would use it, he absolutely would pull the other four sects into action. Songshan or Huashan alone acting would not cause much wave in the jianghu, but if the Five Great Sword Sects, their status in the jianghu is still weighty. The Five Great Sword Sects moving, some sects that were watching would definitely follow suit...”

At this, Zhu Yu couldn’t help interrupting Yu Huatian’s account.

“Since in your plan you’re maneuvering the Five Great Sword Sects, why send the treasure map to Songshan Sect? Why not to Huashan, the leader of the Five Greats?” Hearing Zhu Yu’s question, Yu Huatian wasn’t flustered, smiled slightly and said.

“Reporting to Your Majesty, because Huashan’s strength is the strongest, saying it’s the Five Great Sword Sects, but in truth only Huashan is truly useful here. If we really send the treasure map to Huashan, it might be that Huashan acts alone, which would be a loss.” Yu Huatian spoke while looking at Zhu Yu, and finally swallowed the part about being ordered by Consort Yan to imprison Jiang Biehe in the Western Factory prison.

Upon hearing this, Zhu Yu nodded and said, “I understand. Continue, and the last treasure map, how do you plan to use it?”

“Actually, at this point, people and forces in the jianghu who have ideas about this Grandmaster treasure won’t remain unmoved, so this last treasure map, sending it to the jianghu now has little significance. Slave plans to send it to Qidan.” At this, Yu Huatian deliberately paused, seeing that Zhu Yu didn’t respond, then continued.

“Slave sending the last treasure map to Qidan has two reasons. First, the position of Qidan is close to Your Majesty’s destination, and although Qidan is a country, there isn’t much that can be used as a showcase of martial skill experts. On the battlefield, those jianghu people would definitely not be Qidan’s match, but if it’s a few people fighting, although Qidan’s army is strong, they might not gain much advantage. Second, slave received news from the Eastern Factory that Qidan is currently arming and preparing for war, but unfortunately, the direction of the military peak is not yet known. This matter can temporarily divert Qidan’s attention, allowing the people from the Eastern Factory to take the opportunity to scout military intelligence.

As for whether this can divert Qidan’s attention, of course there’s no need to say, it’s certain. As slave mentioned earlier, although Qidan is strong on the battlefield, they rarely have organized sects that can form high-skill forces. This is one of Qidan’s few shortcomings, and they will definitely pay attention. The scattered jianghu people, the martial sects, and Qidan as one country; these three forces added together absolutely can achieve or even exceed Your Majesty’s expectations.”

Upon hearing Yu Huatian’s words, the scene fell into silence. Sitting on the bed, Zhu Yu’s facial expression seemed unchanged, but his heart had quite a few indescribable meanings. Yu Huatian’s remedial measures were not bad? No, of course not; in fact, it could be said to be many times better than the plan Zhu Yu thought of. His current awkwardness was that the things Yu Huatian said were clearly planned for a long time, it’s just that previously Zhu Yu had set a framework for him to operate within. Now that things had a leak, to compensate, Yu Huatian had brought out his ideas.

Zhu Yu coughed lightly and continued, “Your ideas are good, let’s proceed as you said.”

“Yes, I wonder if Your Majesty has any more instructions?”

“None. You may withdraw first.” Zhu Yu waved his hand casually, indicating that Yu Huatian could step down.

Seeing this, Yu Huatian bowed and slowly retreated. Just as Yu Huatian turned to prepare to open the door, Zhu Yu’s voice sounded from behind again.

“Your ideas are good. If there are any more good ideas in the future, you can tell me. I am not one who cannot accept admonishments. Also, the secret report from the Eastern Factory, I still don’t know about it. You knew first, and your post as Supervisor of the Western Factory is truly excellent. If there’s a next time, punish yourself.”

“Slave obeys the decree.”