Chapter Three: Brothers

  "Yang Chengfeng has met Big Brother and Third Brother," Yang Chengfeng smiled slightly, adjusting his clothes as he bowed slightly to Yang Zun and Yang Chengyun.

  "Why did Fourth Brother come late? Is it because I'm here and making things difficult for him? If that's the case, then from now on, wherever Fourth Brother is, I'll retreat three houses." Yang Zhong raised his head and looked at Yang Chengfeng with a hint of pride.

  "I don't dare."

  "Originally, I didn't want to come here today for my brother's sake, but since Xīnwén is here today, I have no choice! Protecting Miss Xīnwén is my responsibility." Yáng Zūn said with a smile, glancing at Zhōu Xīnwén.

  Yang Chengfeng's eyes flashed with a cold light, and Yang Zun's words, although only expressing his relationship with Zhou Xinyi, were an insult to him.

  "Fourth brother, what do you think?" Yang Zun smiled and asked Yang Chengfeng.

  "Big brother is right, as the eldest prince of the empire, it's big brother's responsibility to protect the people of the empire. Moreover, Miss Zhou isn't an ordinary citizen of the empire." Yang Chengfeng replied respectfully.

  A look of arrogant anger flashed across his face, he never thought that the usually weak Yang Chengfeng would dare to fight back today. Zhou Xinyi looked at Yang Chengfeng with a surprised expression, apparently also shocked by Yang's performance.

  "Big brother, am I wrong?" Yang Chengfeng pretended not to see Yang Zun's anger and asked innocently.

  "That's right, absolutely right." Although he was furious in his heart, Yang Jun did not dare to show it. If he denied it, these words would reach the ears of his father, the Emperor, and do him no good.

  "Kong Gongzi, you didn't invite us here to just sit around doing nothing, did you?" Yang Chengfeng sat down elegantly in the taishi chair, swept his gaze over everyone once, and then settled into a composed and refined demeanor, neither arrogant nor humble.

  Zhou Xīnwén looked at Yang Chéngfēng, no matter how picky she was, she couldn't help but admit that the Yang Chéngfēng in front of her today performed extremely well, with a noble and elegant demeanor, an air of refinement and elegance that was hard to put into words. Was this really her fiancé Yang Chéngfēng? Why was he different from before?

  "Oh, of course, of course." Upon hearing Yang Chengfeng's words, Kong Xing finally snapped out of his astonishment.

  Wenwen Yaya's Wang Zhīyuǎn then saw a few hidden, hard-to-detect sharpness and a refined, steady, and rugged masculine aura from Yang Chengfeng's warm smile, so he showed a smiling-but-not-smiling expression and glanced at Yang Chengfeng.

  Yang Chengfeng felt that their expressions were different and said loudly: "I didn't expect Mr. Kong to be so extravagant in hosting a banquet today, making Yang Chengfeng feel uneasy."

  He looks completely at ease, with sharp words and hidden implications. On the surface, it sounds like praise, but in reality, it's sarcasm. However, he makes it impossible for you to pick out even half a sentence of fault. He's formidable! This man has an army in his chest! Wang Zhiyuan glanced at Kong Xing beside him, waiting to see how he would respond.

  Kong Xing's expression was calm, but this person's city government was extremely deep. He chuckled and said: "Being able to invite the Fourth Prince is Kong Xing's good fortune, it's a high match for Kong Xing!"

  Yang Chengfeng smiled slightly, "Young Master Kong is too polite. As a member of the renowned Kong family and with his extraordinary bravery, who would dare to be on an equal footing with him? Young Master Kong's words are just a joke, I won't take them too seriously."

  Kong Xing Cheng's face turned red with anger, his narrow eyes gleaming with annoyance as he said in a neutral tone: "The Fourth Prince is renowned throughout the land, and Kong Mou has heard of him like thunder. Hearing is not the same as seeing, today Kong Mou finally got to see it for himself."

  Yang Chengfeng burst out laughing, looking at Kong Xing with disdain. "Kong Gongzi's words are quite off the mark. I may not be as famous as you, but your reputation precedes you - your horses, dogs, and concubines are all top-notch. The beauties in your household are like heavenly goddesses, yet you still find it insufficient to indulge in Qin Lou and Chu Guan. Who in Luoyang doesn't know about this?" With a few swift words, he neatly shifted the topic to Kong Xing.

  Kong Xing was furious, when had anyone ever spoken to him like that, let alone in front of Zhou Xinwen and Yu Ziting, two great beauties.

  "Haha, it's been three days and I'm seeing a different person, in just a few days, your eloquence has improved greatly, but this isn't the time to talk about that. The wine and dishes have arrived, let's drink, everyone, let's drink." Yang Chengyun smiled and mediated.

  Although it seems so on the surface, Yang Chengyun was overjoyed in his heart. Currently, the most advantageous contenders for the position of crown prince are Grand Prince Yang Zun and Second Prince Yang Yu. They both have very powerful forces backing them up. Although Yang Chengyun's backing force is not weak either, he still can't compare to theirs, so he temporarily joined forces with Yang Zun in order to wait for an opportunity to strike.

  However, for any opportunity to weaken Da Huangzi Yang Zun, he will not let it go. Now this Kong Xing is Yang Zun's confidant, and being scolded by Yang Chengfeng like that, how can he not be happy?

  "Everyone, have you heard? Our Great Qin Empire has deployed tens of thousands of troops on the border with the Wind Cloud Empire. I wonder who will win if they start fighting." Kong Xing asked with a smile as he looked at everyone.

  "Of course, our Great Qin Empire won. My Great Qin has been established for a hundred years, with strong soldiers and horses. The small Wind Cloud Empire actually dares to resist my Great Qin, it's simply ignorant of the consequences." The Crown Prince Yang said with a disdainful smile.

  Yang Chengfeng smiled and looked at Yang Zun, saying: "Big brother is right, our Great Qin Empire was founded on military power, with hundreds of thousands of troops, for hundreds of years neither the Northern Great Qing Empire nor the Northwestern Kaisar Empire were a match for us, how could the Southern Fengyun Empire be a match for our Great Qin?"

  "Haha, even our fourth prince knows this, how could the people of the Fengyun Empire not know? They dare to oppose me, the Great Qin, only because they have the Mongolian Empire and the Qing Empire supporting them from behind." Kong Xing looked at Yang Chengfeng with some disdain.

  Yang Chengfeng felt a flash of anger in his heart, but he quickly regained his composure. He knew that others looked down on him because he had been hiding his true strength, but he didn't want to reveal it yet. After all, the imperial court was an unforgiving place, and if he didn't protect himself, he would be the one to suffer in the end.

  "Gong Xing, don't say that. As one of the six major empires in today's world, the Fengyun Empire has its own way of survival. Otherwise, relying solely on others' help would not be enough to resist our Great Qin for hundreds of years." Yang Chengyun said with a smile, but it was clear to everyone that he was subtly mocking Yang Chengfeng.

  "In the south, there are few horses, and both the Qing Empire and the Mongol Empire were famous for their cavalry. In order to counter our Qin's cavalry legions, the Fengyun Empire had no choice but to cooperate with the Qing Empire and Mongolia, which had never been done before. But if Gong Xing says that the Fengyun Empire was able to survive in our Qin's military peak only with the support of the Qing Empire and Mongolia, then doesn't that mean that our Qin can't even eliminate a country supported by others?" Yang Chengfeng smiled as he looked at Gong Xing.

  "Who?"

  "Kong Gongzi, as a descendant of Confucius, do you not have faith in Great Qin? Or do you think your great talent is not worthy of serving the Great Qin Empire?" Yang Chengfeng glared at Kong Xing.

  The Great Qin Empire was founded by military power, and at the beginning of its founding, the status of military personnel was high, while civilians were often below them. However, after hundreds of years of development, civilians gradually gained control over the military, although there were two great generals loyal to the imperial court, they were restricted everywhere by civilians. Half of the Great Qin Empire's one million field army was under civilian control, and General Wang Fei was also a civilian-born general.

  "You, what do you mean? My family, the Kong's, have been loyal and virtuous for generations. We are deeply devoted to Great Qin... I, I..." Kong Xing was shaken all over by Yang Chengfeng's words.

  "The fourth brother's words are not right, Gongzi and his family's actions towards the Great Qin Empire are clear to everyone. If Gongzi is unwilling to serve our Great Qin, then who in the world would be willing to serve my Great Qin?" Yang Zun said, seeing Yang Chengfeng constantly pressuring Kong Xing.

  Yang Chengfeng smiled slightly, his main purpose for attending this banquet was to change the image he had in people's eyes. He knew that the Mongol Empire had already declared war on the empire, and when the time came, Lanzhou and other places would definitely be attacked by the Mongols without the preparation of the Northwestern Blue Feather Army and the Northwestern Border Army. At this time, the empire's main force was in the northeast and south, and it did not have the ability to support the northwest. According to the court's past performance, it would definitely send a member of the royal family to the northwest. If Yang Chengfeng still had his previous weak personality, he would definitely seize the opportunity to go to the northwest behind the scenes. Therefore, he wanted to take this opportunity to change his image in people's minds, so that he would have the opportunity to develop in the northwest later on.

  A fierce glint flashed across Kong Xing's eyes, and he lowered his head, lost in thought.

  "Alright, I'd say you're either eating or discussing the times," Yu Ziting interrupted them, saying, "If you continue talking about these things, don't blame me for getting angry."

  Yu Ziteng, although the daughter of the Minister of Rites, was fierce and overbearing, with great prestige among the noble children. She herself was a stunning beauty with exceptional martial arts skills, so those nobles all obeyed her every command.

  Yu Ziting has spoken up now, and Kong Xing didn't say much either, he just gave Yang Chengfeng a vicious glare.

  Looking at Kong Xing, Yang Chengfeng just smiled disdainfully and then winked at Zhou Xinwen. In an instant, Zhou Xinwen's face turned bright red.