The Ming Storm by Yan LeiSheng

Author:Yan LeiSheng [Leisheng, Yan]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Assassin's Creed, epic fantasy, action and adventure
ISBN: 9781839080890
Publisher: Aconyte
Published: 2021-05-31T23:00:00+00:00

“Pleased to meet you, Lord Xu,” she responded.

He appeared to be disappointed. He had clearly expected to be recognized.

“My name means nothing to you?” he asked, pouring a new cup of wine to cover his embarrassment.

What kind of person, especially at that age, could expect that everyone would know his name? An unlikely idea suddenly entered Shao Jun’s mind.

“Are you… the prince of Wei?” she guessed.

“Miss,” responded her host with a satisfied smile, “you have before you the commander in chief of the troops of the prefecture of Nanjing, imperial guardian of the principality of Wei.”

“So, you’re a descendent of the king of Zhongshan… Which explains your high level of kung-fu.”

The history of this seven-generation noble title was rich and complex. It began with General Xu Da, king of Zhongshan and the first prince of Wei, whose two sons had been officers in the service of Jianwen, the second Ming emperor, and whose daughter had married the prince of Yan. When the latter, who would later be known to the world as Ming Yongle, had entered the war of succession which would see him become emperor in 1402, the fates of the two brothers were rather different… The younger, Xu Zengshou, had caused the defeat at the battle of Nanjing by failing to prevent the leak of key information – and had been beheaded for this mistake – while his elder brother, Xu Huizu, had always remained loyal to Jianwen even after his fall.

He thus refused to submit to the victorious Yongle, but rather than kill his brother-in-law – whose father was a close friend of Hongwu, the founder of the Ming dynasty – Yongle chose to strip him of his titles and pass them on to the son of Xu Zengshou. He could not however remove his status as the prince of Wei, which resulted in the division of the Xu family into two noble branches, that of Beijing and that of Nanjing, from which Pengju descended. He had himself become prince of Wei ten years earlier, during the thirteenth year of Zhengde’s reign. This title, in which he took great pride, and which drove him to study martial arts, made him the official supreme guardian of the peace in Nanjing. Nonetheless, there were many in the nobility and administration who secretly saw him as nothing more than a meritless upstart who liked to see himself as a hero. Shao Jun’s compliment on the quality of his kung-fu delighted him. He felt the beginnings of a certain bond between them.

“Miss, you flatter me.” He emptied his cup. “You must be eager to know what happened to the old eunuch… Do not fear, he now enjoys the supreme happiness of the other world, where he will be forever silent!”

How could such a young and well-raised young nobleman speak with the coolness of a professional assassin?

“Lord Pengju, why are you helping me?”

“If I am not mistaken, Wang Yangming entrusted you with his pendant with the recommendation that in the event of great difficulty, you find the master of the Temple of the Jade of the Five Virtues.

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