ful, he is ultimately just a vassal king.The Imperial Court, if it commits wholeheartedly to a single strategy, could destroy any vassal king completely, leaving them unable to recover for generations...Chapter 1515: Jin Xueyan Was Not Living Well

Li Chen's browsing speed was incredibly fast, honed from countless nights spent sifting through mountains of documents.

If Li Chen didn't have the ability to read a thousand words at a glance, he wouldn't have been able to finish processing all the documents every day.

Now that he is at Yueya Pass, even sending a message from the capital would take several days to arrive, so all information has a delay. Therefore, unless it is a matter of great importance, there is no need to report to him.

Even if matters that require his attention are brought to him, Li Chen mostly leaves them unattended.

Unless there was something inappropriate about how Xu Changqing and others handled it, Li Chen would only add comments and then have them sent back to the capital through the Jinyiwei.

At a glance over the recent political affairs, Li Chen paused his gaze for a long time on one particular matter.

"Did the emperor of Xian Chao die"

Li Chen looked up at Chen Tong, frowning and asking, "When did this happen"

Chen Tong replied, "About a month ago."

This is the bad part about being in an outdated era.

News from afar could take a long time to reach, even with the most sophisticated intelligence network. Information still relied on human messengers or horses, and Li Chen didn't have the resources or energy to build another network of skilled martial artists transmitting information from Yueya Pass to Beijing.

Speaking of which, this barbaric method was copied from the Jin Dynasty.

But for the Fresh Dynasty, Li Chen obviously couldn't afford to spend such a huge price to build such a channel. You have to know that even now, this one is almost running out of Dongchang's reserves of light gong masters.

"The royal family of Xianchao, it seems there are no male heirs this generation" Li Chen asked again.

Chen Tong hastily replied, “Your Highness, there are actually two. One was captured by the Eastern Isles and later killed by them after they were defeated as an act of revenge. The other died from illness during the war... As for the current Xian Dynasty royal family, only Princess Jin Xueyuan, who visited the capital that day, remains.”

Li Chen frowned slightly, recalling the news of chaos in Xianchao that he had heard from Zhao Tailai. He asked, "What's the situation in Xianchao now"

Chen Tong replied, "Not really."

Although the Xian dynasty successfully recovered its territory with the help of my Qin army, after our withdrawal, what was left behind was a devastated nation. Moreover, the Xian royal family's performance in the war against Toyo left the people deeply disappointed. These factors combined have made things extremely difficult for the Xian dynasty domestically.

"The most important factor was poverty. Next came the weakness of the royal family, who were unable to rebuild the country. As a result, the people suffered greatly. Some starved, some died from illness, but even more began to turn to banditry. This led to further instability in society."

"Some local warlords, their greed not satiated, began to carve up the territory. The current royal family has become a mere figurehead, with no one regarding them seriously."

Li Chen said faintly, "This is only natural... The royal family is incompetent, with internal thieves betraying their lord. With no money or soldiers, who would take them seriously Now that the old monarch has died and there is no successor to the throne, their situation becomes even more dire."

Chen Tong didn't dare to speak any further.

What he should do is provide all the information he knows when Li Chen asks questions, instead of making subjective opinions.

"How is Jin Xueyan doing now" Li Chen asked again.

Chen Tong hesitated for a moment before carefully replying, "Not very well."

He was one of the few who knew about the affair between the prince and Princess Xianchao... So when answering this question, he naturally had to be careful.

"The royal family was weak, and as the only princess left, she was in a difficult position. She was almost a puppet, being fought over by numerous warlords and powerful local families within the Xian Dynasty..."Highness the Crown Prince.”"Best regards and looking forward to a fruitful collaboration."Li Chen also raised his glass and gently touched it to Fu Cha Huanzhen's.They drained their glasses in one gul...