As someone in the seat of power, Prince Nolan has responsibilities he must bear. Leading troops into battle is clearly not the job of a Regent Prince. If Nolan wants to personally campaign against Northlyn, he must win the support of the court ministers. William Wang, to a large extent, represents their views.
As long as William Wang is convinced, Nolan won’t have to personally handle the court’s persuasion; William will take care of it himself.
But William Wang is truly not so easy to persuade.
Of course, this is also because Nolan respects William Wang. Otherwise, Nolan could simply say, 'This is an order.' Even if William Wang is unhappy, he would still find a way to complete whatever Nolan assigned him.
If a ruler commands his minister to die, the minister cannot refuse. William Wang isn’t blindly loyal to that degree, but he’s also not someone who would openly defy imperial power. He’s not alone; behind him stands the entire Wang clan. Nolan may not be able to do much to him personally, but making trouble for the Wang family wouldn’t be difficult.
Look at the Cui Clan in Westlyn—they’ve been tormented enough by the Princess Royal.
In chaotic times, families like theirs suffer most. They have people and grain, so everyone wants to win them over. If they bet on the right side, they’re fine; but if they misjudge and back the wrong power, the whole clan could be ruined.
Only the strong earn respect. As Nolan’s power rises day by day, William Wang treats him with even more deference, truly regarding Nolan as the future emperor.
Likewise, Nolan fears pushing too hard—William Wang might take his whole family and switch allegiances, or simply resign from office. So Nolan shows him plenty of respect.
Honoring the talented is exactly what an emperor should do.
Nolan’s decision to personally campaign against Northlyn was set in stone, but to make it easier for William Wang to accept, Nolan still explained his reasons briefly.
"Liancastle’s new City Lord is gravely ill and will soon go to Jiangnan for treatment." There are things everyone knows, but saying them aloud benefits no one.
With just that one line, even if William Wang couldn’t guess everything, he’d get at least eighty percent of the picture.
"Are you just trying to dodge trouble?" William Wang looked at Nolan, amused. He didn’t believe Nolan would be afraid of Liancastle. The fall of Chu City was only days away; once it was taken, Nolan would have time to deal with Liancastle. A mere Liancastle was hardly a threat.
"No, I want to drag things out..." Drag it out until Jason Lan’s illness is beyond saving, so Liancastle loses both its bride and its army.
"This isn’t the best way. Can’t we come up with something less risky?" Nolan had plenty of options besides going himself; William Wang just couldn’t understand why Nolan always chose the dangerous path.
Did he even realize how many clans in Eastlyn, just like his own, had staked everything on Nolan? Nolan still had no heir—if something happened to him, what would become of all those families?
"Dominic Zhai is about to take command of Northlyn’s frontier troops. Do you really think he can hold those men down if I don’t go myself?" Nolan threw out another reason William Wang couldn’t refuse.
"You want to use Dominic?" William Wang admitted—he was torn.
He knew Dominic Zhai’s abilities, and that there were plenty of men in the Eastlyn army as talented as Dominic. But given the choice, he still wanted Dominic to have a real future.
Nolan nodded. "During the recent campaign against Northlyn, he fought under a hidden name and achieved significant merit. With those achievements, plus my personal oversight, taking command of Northlyn’s main army won’t be difficult for him."
"Let me think about it..." The offer Nolan put on the table was tempting—William Wang hesitated, glanced at Nolan, and asked, "Does Serena know?"
"She knows." Because of this, their lunch earlier hadn’t gone smoothly.
Since Serena wasn’t worried, he had no reason to be. William Wang nodded. "I’ll persuade the ministers."
"Good." Nolan smiled, lifted his teacup, and took a sip. "Once I leave the city, spread some news for me."
"What kind of news?" William Wang paused, teacup in hand. He knew Nolan wouldn’t make things that easy.
"First, have people spread that Liancastle holds clues to the Former Dynasty imperial hoard, and its new City Lord, Mr. Jingyang, is a direct Lan-clan heir."
"Second, spread that the Cui Clan shelters Lan descendants and intends to help restore the Lan dynasty."
"Third, spread that Prince Damien of Southlyn knows the secrets of the Former Dynasty hoard."
"Fourth, spread that I was secretly named crown prince by the late Emperor, the edict is in the Imperial Temple, and the current Emperor’s father usurped the throne."
"Fifth, spread that Moonvault Palace Sect is hiding the Former Dynasty’s senior Princess Royal."
"Sixth, spread that Skyvault Fortress is colluding with foreign powers and has deep ties to the Former Dynasty."
"Seventh, spread that the Prince of Jiangnan is plotting rebellion."
"Eighth, spread that the King of Phoenixfield was killed by Southlyn, and the Phoenixfield clansmen are returning for revenge, vowing a death-feud with the Lan line and Southlyn."
"Ninth, spread that Saint-Min Grand Empress Dowager is of Former Dynasty descent and is secretly conspiring with Lan loyalists to restore the old dynasty."
"Tenth, spread the name and rumors of Ghost Hall and the Ghost King far and wide."
Ten explosive rumors, each one enough to throw the realm into panic. Yet Nolan tossed them out all at once—was he trying to make everyone in the world uneasy?
"These ten rumors... Aren’t you afraid of causing trouble?" William Wang had meant to ask if at least seventy percent of them were true, but he stopped himself halfway.
Some things are best left unspoken—saying them aloud might get you killed.
"I trust you. You’ll make good use of these ten rumors." Nolan smiled with deep meaning. William Wang felt a chill run down his spine; he could already imagine the shockwaves these rumors would cause.
Still, this had its advantages. With ten such weighty rumors thrown out, Nolan and Serena’s backgrounds were deliberately left to the end. Even if they were true, few would believe it—instead, people would think Liancastle and Prince Damien of Southlyn planted false news to mislead everyone.
After all, with talk of the Former Dynasty hoard and restoration, everything else faded into insignificance.
But Nolan wasn’t satisfied with just that level of shock—he added, "Remember, pin the blame for spreading these rumors on Ghost Hall."
Once the rumors swept the realm, who could tell truth from lies? The main thing was, Liancastle would lose all bargaining chips to negotiate with him.
Once the news was everywhere, it was worthless.
"I know what to do now." William Wang nodded lightly. Even hearing so many bombshells, he managed to keep his composure—he had to admit, he was impressed with himself.
William Wang feared Nolan might drop another bomb, so he planned to leave quickly. But before he left, he couldn’t help asking, "Serena—does she know?"
"Don’t let her know." Nolan’s words held a hidden sternness.
Only if Serena believed the rumors came from Ghost Hall would she be unable to tell which were true and which were false...