klisemfg Chapter 279 Rebellion Artifact
Chapter 279 Rebellion Artifact
"Fish-shaped talisman!"
Lin Ke lowered his voice, and those two words seemed to carry a thousand pounds of weight.
"The fish tally bestowed upon the Marquis of Jinghai by the late emperor sank along with the gold transport ship in the waters near Ghost Tooth Reef."
Xu Yi's pupils contracted immediately, her face filled with surprise.
Fish-shaped tally.
Legend has it that this token was able to command the troops of the seven southeastern provinces, but its whereabouts have been unknown since the Marquis of Jinghai was executed for his rebellion twenty years ago.
The seven southeastern circuits refer to Huainan Circuit, Jiangnan East Circuit, Jiangnan West Circuit, Qianzhong Circuit, Lingnan Circuit, Jiannan Circuit East, and Shannan East Circuit.
It's not just about controlling the imperial purse strings; it's more accurate to say that whoever controls the seven military routes in the southeast holds the lifeline of the southeastern coastal defense.
If planned properly, this force could march straight to Chang'an should a rebellion break out.
"I don't quite understand!" Xu Yiyi frowned.
"If this fish tally is truly something lost from the previous dynasty, then more than a decade has passed. According to the records in the 'Tianheng System,' military tallies are changed every ten years. When an old tally is discarded, a new one must be cast."
She raised her eyes, her gaze sharp: "Then this fish-shaped talisman that fell into Ghost Fang Reef should have become ineffective long ago. Why?"
A cold smile appeared on Lin Ke's lips.
“Our Marquis Jinghai was the most beloved child of the late emperor. When the late emperor was on the throne, he granted the Marquis Jinghai eternal military power, and the dragon-patterned fish tally he held was permanent and would not be replaced according to usual practice.”
Xu Yiyi's mouth dropped open.
Isn't this ridiculous?
Eternal military power.
The fish-shaped tally will remain unchanged forever.
In other words, even if the Marquis of Jinghai were long dead, the person holding the fish tally could still command the navy.
It's practically a weapon of rebellion.
The late emperor must have been out of his mind; this is no way he would have loved his children.
Xu Yi cursed inwardly, but dared not show it in front of Lin Ke, an official of the imperial court.
The two remained silent for a while before Xu Yiyi suddenly realized something.
"Wait a minute! Shouldn't the emperor's son be a prince? Why is he a marquis?"
She held the teacup, her fingertips unconsciously tracing the blue-and-white pattern on the rim.
The words fell into the quiet study like a pebble thrown into a deep pool, creating ripples.
Lin Ke, who was sitting opposite her, paused slightly in his hand holding the teapot, and the tea swayed gently in the cup.
He put down the purple clay teapot, letting the wisp of white steam rise between the two of them.
"It's a long story."
He hesitated for a moment, seemingly considering whether or not to tell Xu Yiyi.
After a long pause, he continued, "In the first ten years of the late emperor's reign, four princes and three princesses were born in the palace."
His voice lowered, as if afraid of disturbing something: "The longest-lived one only lived to be three years old. I heard from my elders that on the day of the Spring Equinox, that princess was still full of energy chasing butterflies in the Imperial Garden, but unexpectedly she developed a high fever the next day. The Imperial Hospital took turns watching over her, but she still passed away on the morning of the fifth day."
Xu Yiyi raised an eyebrow, a sudden guess forming in her mind.
"It's not what you think!" Lin Ke pursed his lips. "There was no poisoning, no conspiracy. The harem back then was as clean as a blank sheet of paper."
Xu Yiyi disagreed, but did not refute Lin Ke's affirmative words.
"Later, the Imperial Preceptor dared to submit a memorial, saying that the palace was filled with too much yin energy, and the imperial princes and phoenixes could not bear it."
He withdrew his gaze, his face blurred by the rising steam. "It just so happened that Consort Kang was found to be pregnant at that time, so she was secretly sent to a villa in the suburbs of the capital before giving birth. Three days after the child was born, the late emperor issued an edict with tears in his eyes, saying that the child was born to a collateral branch of the imperial clan, and granted him the title of Marquis of Jinghai, raising him outside the palace."
"So...the Marquis of Jinghai back then..."
“It’s that child from back then.” Lin Ke nodded slightly. “The late emperor wanted to acknowledge him before he died, but the Marquis had already married and had children outside the palace, and he was used to being a leisurely Marquis. The throne was inherited by the current one.”
As he spoke, Lin Ke clasped his hands in a salute to the north.
Xu Yiyi looked down at the tea leaves floating in the teacup, but her mind was elsewhere.
The claim that the yin energy is too strong is just an excuse.
If she remembered correctly, intermarriages between three generations of the royal family and marriages between cousins were commonplace.
The newborn child will either die or be injured, and even if the child is raised to adulthood, the probability of the child being normal is not high.
The Marquis of Jinghai and the current emperor were both born to women from commoner families and had no blood relation to the royal family.
Therefore, they are able to grow up healthy.
"According to what you've said, if the Marquis is determined to be a carefree prince, why would he rebel?"
Xu Yi stared intently at Lin Ke's reaction. "This doesn't make sense."
Lin Ke raised an eyebrow and tapped his knuckles on the table: "People always change. Just because they didn't want it then doesn't mean they won't want it later. How many people who have tasted power can be content to be a wealthy idler for the rest of their lives?"
Xu Yiyi forced a smile but didn't respond.
"Only half of the fish tally has fallen from Ghost Tooth Reef! The other half must be in the hands of the Marquis of Jinghai's heir."
As Lin Ke spoke, he couldn't help but cough, which aggravated the wound on his chest, making his face even paler with pain.
"The fish tally is only half useless. I think the person behind the Northern Trading Company must be the heir of the Marquis of Jinghai."
This is just Lin Ke's guess; otherwise, it would be hard to explain why those people were so obsessed with that sunken ship.
Xu Yiyi wished she could cover her ears. Why was she being dragged into this kind of thing again?
"If we follow your logic, these people definitely won't give up."
Now that he's got the military tally, is he going to start a rebellion?
Xu Yiyi secretly guessed.
Once war breaks out, their lives will truly become difficult.
"Therefore, this fish-shaped talisman cannot fall into the wrong hands. I need your help."
Lin Ke looked directly into Xu Yiyi's eyes; this matter truly required her.
"If that's the case, then there must be many forces watching that place. If I go and steal it, won't people find out?"
Xu Yi hesitated. She only wanted gold, but she didn't want to be targeted at at all.
"There's one more question."
Lin Ke pushed aside the nautical chart on the table with his left hand and pointed to a sea area circled in vermilion.
“The location where the gold-carrying ship sank is a frequent haunt of pirates. During my recent patrols, I discovered that a very arrogant group of pirates is entrenched there, calling themselves the Red Sharks.”
Lin Ke stared at the bright red marker. That area was riddled with reefs and was known as the infamous Ghost Tooth Reef, where few ships ever made it out alive.
During his patrol last month, he spotted several oddly shaped sailboats in the distance, but they quickly disappeared into the fog.
"These pirates are not the ordinary pirates I've seen before."
Lin Ke looked up at Xu Yiyi, his voice suddenly turning cold and hard, "A few days ago, they attacked a naval patrol boat."
Xu Yiyi's gaze immediately fell on Lin Ke's injured chest.
"Could it be that your injury was also caused by... those pirates?"
Lin Ke did not answer directly.
"Their prows were inlaid with bronze sharks. Although their speed was not as fast as that of a small boat, it was much faster than that of an ordinary warship. Their tactics were unpredictable, and I think that's where their name comes from."
As he spoke, a strange smile appeared on his lips. "What's even stranger is that they also seem to be looking for that golden ship."
Xu Yi stood there, stunned, her mind blank.
"We can launch an operation under the pretext of suppressing bandits."
……
Xu Yiyi pursed her lips, lost in thought.
With the military tally in hand, the son of the Marquis of Jinghai will surely be unable to suppress his rebellious intentions.
But the current emperor is a rare and good ruler.
So this fish-shaped talisman can't fall into the hands of other forces, right?