Chapter 013: Instigating Rivalry (Part 1)

Instigating rivalry!
Du Fan let out a sigh and understood.
Inside and outside the imperial capital, the only family capable of playing such a game was the Green family.
Seeing Du Fan’s expression, Duke Green sighed again and said, “If I’m not mistaken, the old emperor knows exactly which major families in the capital support which prince—whether they’re loyal to the Crown Prince or Prince Fischer. So for him, although those nobles pose a certain threat, they’re all under his control… After his death, no matter which prince ascends the throne, those who support the other prince will likely suffer greatly… This is actually the best outcome for their royal family.”
Du Fan frowned and asked, “Why?”
Duke Green smiled faintly and replied, “That’s what’s known as the art of ruling. A country can’t have just one emperor handling everything; his power must be delegated. But once delegated, it’s not so easy to take it back… Over time, the emperor ends up with less and less power. If he happens to be a foolish ruler, it’s not hard to depose him… Of course, it’s better if those who depose him are loyal ministers. But Du Fan, how many loyal ministers do you think exist in this world? Look around the imperial capital—aside from the Austin faction, how many others want to become emperor? Moreover, during the period when an old emperor dies and a new one takes over, the new emperor’s power is unstable, making him more vulnerable to being overthrown by powerful ministers… To prevent this, certain actions must be taken. This is why the imperial capital always becomes chaotic when a new emperor ascends… Some are suppressed, others are won over, and still others are promoted. Especially when those major families are suppressed, the emperor’s authority becomes even stronger. But suppressing them isn’t easy—there’s a risk of backlash… So the best opportunity is to take advantage of the struggle for the throne, completely suppressing those who are on the wrong side, so that the other nobles won’t object… If you simply suppress some nobles in peaceful times, they might unite against you, and then the throne might really need to change hands.”
Du Fan tapped the desk beside him, pondered for a moment, then said, “So, Father, are you saying that the current rivalry between the Crown Prince and Prince Fischer was deliberately orchestrated by the old emperor?”

Duke Green nodded and said, “Yes… Otherwise, with the Great Prince’s nature, how could he have allowed Prince Fischer to live to this day? As early as when Prince Fischer showed remarkable talent in his youth, the Great Prince likely already harbored murderous intentions toward him. If it weren’t for the old emperor’s careful protection, not just one Prince Fischer, but even ten of them would have been dead.”

Du Fan thought for a moment before continuing, “But after all these years of careful planning by the Great Prince, how could he still allow Prince Fischer a chance to build power?”

“Isn’t that simple?” Duke Green replied calmly. “As long as the old emperor spreads the news that he wants Prince Fischer to be the crown prince, naturally, many people will flock to Prince Fischer’s side. After all, there are only limited positions around the Great Prince, which have already been taken by others… Moreover, choosing which prince’s side to stand with is essentially a high-stakes gamble… Do you understand? If you choose the right side, you’ll enjoy wealth and power for generations, but if you choose the wrong side, you’ll lose your head. After all, no matter what kind of emperor it is—whether a foolish one or a wise one—he favors those who support him as emperor and hates those who support others…”

“I see,” Du Fan sighed. “Supporting a prince is indeed the best way for a family to rise to power. But Father… I have a question… I wonder which prince you’ve placed your bets on?”

Duke Green suddenly gave a bitter smile and said, “That’s exactly the problem. It’s also why both princes want to win you over… Our Green family hasn’t placed our bets on any particular prince. Or rather, I originally didn’t plan to return to the capital and get involved in this power struggle. In that case, no matter which prince ascends to the throne in the future… we won’t be blamed for anything, and at least we won’t be suppressed. With those documents from fifty years ago, our Green family wouldn’t have declined… But now, it’s different…”

At this point, Duke Green shook his head.

Du Fan glanced at his father and already understood somewhat. After a moment, he asked again, “Then Father… why have you…?”

“Why?” Duke Green glanced at Du Fan. “I’m sure you understand in your heart. Originally, our Green family had this superior status—so long as we stayed out of this throne struggle, the old emperor wouldn’t dare touch us during such a critical time, after all, the North still needed our family to maintain order… But you, you killed Aldas in the North…”
Saying this, Duke Green sighed and continued, “By killing one Aldas, our family has now been forced to truly stand against the Berlinger family. With Duke Berlinger’s cunning, he certainly won’t choose the wrong side this time. In other words… he will likely gain even more power in the future. And if he were to take revenge on our family by then… it would be quite troublesome…”
Du Fan suddenly felt a sense of guilt, realizing that his reckless actions had brought endless trouble to this family…

Seeming to sense Du Fan’s guilt, Duke Green laughed and said, “Du Fan, I’m not blaming you… The Belinger family has been overreaching these past years. Killing one of their geniuses and putting pressure on them is only right. At least on this matter, those military elders are on our side… If the old emperor could live another ten or eight years, then even if you killed Aldas, or even if you took Emily, who is against you, as your wife, the Belinger family wouldn’t be able to do anything to us… But now, the biggest problem is that the old emperor probably doesn’t have more than a year to live. By then, when a new emperor ascends the throne, if the Belinger family bets wrong, it’s fine, but if they bet right, things will get very troublesome. At that point, it won’t just be the Belinger family against us—it will also be the new emperor and a bunch of nobles who have temporarily allied with them. Even if our Green family becomes ten times stronger, we might still be crushed. So this time, we no longer have any chance to stay neutral. The only thing we can do is choose a prince and support him… And whatever happens, we must choose correctly—there’s no room for error… The future status of our Green family depends on this decision… This is also the real reason I returned to the capital this time, and it’s why the old emperor wanted to warn us. Right now, the situation in the capital is that the Crown Prince and Prince Fischer are roughly evenly matched. But our Green family’s involvement will not only disrupt this balance but may also cause some military elders who originally wanted to remain neutral to ally with us. That would likely lead to complete chaos, which is definitely something the old emperor never wanted to see!”
Du Fan thought for a moment, glanced at his father again, before saying, “Father, I think I understand what you mean… In other words, at this moment, our Green family’s choice can even determine who will sit on the throne.”

Duke Green sighed, a hint of coldness in his eyes. After a moment, he said coldly, “That’s indeed the case. Both we and the old prince, the two princes, as well as the powerful families in the capital are probably fully aware of this. So now, every move we make as the Green family must be under the watchful eyes of many. If I’m guessing correctly, Prince Fischer intended to take you to that gambling den outside the city last night to enjoy yourself thoroughly, so as to win you over completely. Naturally, the eldest prince wouldn’t allow that to happen, which is why he sent people to assassinate you. In fact, the eldest prince’s target wasn’t Prince Fischer at all, but you… Because if you and Prince Fischer died together, I would inevitably take my anger out on Prince Fischer. By then, it would be completely impossible for Prince Fischer to win over our Green family.”

Du Fan smiled bitterly and shook his head. “Then, Father, are you ready to put our family in that position now?”

“Not yet. Even after what happened last night, I haven’t made a decision,” Duke Green said, shaking his head. “I originally planned that no matter which prince the Belinger family supported, we would support the same one. In that way, although we might not win, we could at least avoid defeat… But then I realized that this wouldn’t solve the fundamental problem of complete estrangement between the two families. It would only delay the conflict for decades. Moreover, over time, the hatred between the two families would only grow stronger. So I’ve decided to make a choice this time—only one of us, the Green family or the Belinger family, can survive!”