"My Lord, the reply from the clan compound has arrived. They agreed to your appointment as the deputy of the north. Unfortunately, there are no material rewards," Uchiha Shinji said, sitting on a cushion with Uchiha Yutaka's reply in hand.
Xuan gave a look, and Akahane Yui stood up to take the letter, bringing it back to place in Xuan's hand. Xuan smugly pinched her soft cheek and chuckled, "Good girl!"
She glared at him bitterly, but was completely helpless.
The message in the reply was very brief. First, it praised Uchiha Shinji's achievements and heavily flattered the prosperity of the north—essentially just blowing smoke. Then, it expressed the clan's difficulties, stating they lacked the funds and supplies to offer any rewards. Of course, the letter also praised Xuan's contributions. Although they couldn't possibly know exactly what Xuan had done, it didn't stop them from calling him the "Rising Star of the Northern Uchiha" and the "Light of Hope for the Clan's Rise." Amidst all this empty flattery, they naturally approved Xuan's appointment as the deputy of the north.
Finally, they subtly brought up their hope that the north could provide some supplies to the main clan, as the frontline situation was incredibly dire.
Xuan's eyes narrowed slightly as he finished reading the letter. He chuckled, "These old geezers are quite smart."
Although the letter was phrased subtly, it clearly revealed that they knew the north currently possessed a massive stockpile of supplies. This had nothing to do with intelligence networks; it was simply because Uchiha Yutaka had personally participated in clan-extermination wars in the past. He knew exactly how much wealth could be plundered from wiping out an entire faction. The north had to be dripping with wealth right now.
But this was exactly Xuan's goal. Hoarding supplies in a warehouse to grow mold and attract rats was something only a miser or a fool would do. Xuan's objective was to leverage these supplies to extract massive benefits and further his own grand plans.
This world operated on strength. If you lacked strength, no matter how loud you barked, it would only be treated as the pathetic whimpering of a weak dog.
Therefore, Xuan had constantly been working to turn himself into a true powerhouse. 'Strength' encompassed many things: personal combat prowess, the faction backing you, the resources in your hands, and your future potential. All of these were facets of true power.
Now, Xuan was ready to execute the first step of his plan: acquiring sufficient political capital and a voice within the Uchiha clan. Under normal circumstances, this would be incredibly difficult. First, he was too young, so many would refuse to submit to him. Second, he had a deep grudge with Uchiha Tajima—the Patriarch had even harbored killing intent toward him. In the Uchiha clan, if you made an enemy of the Patriarch, climbing the ranks was harder than ascending to heaven.
However, a heaven-sent opportunity was now laid bare before him. The stalemate between the Uchiha and the Senju had reached a point where neither side could afford to back down.
Under these circumstances, the Uchiha clan's war reserves were critically depleted. Coincidentally, Xuan had just acquired a massive hoard of supplies—everything the clan desperately needed. Now, he could price-gouge to his heart's content and shamelessly extort the clan for political concessions, and the clan would have absolutely no room to refuse.
When it comes to negotiations and extortion, I consider myself quite the veteran, Xuan thought, casting a smug glance at Yui standing behind him.
"Shinji, write a reply to Uchiha Yutaka. Don't write anything of substance—just fill it with mundane, everyday pleasantries. Then, dispatch men to deliver 100,000 catties of grain. Tell them we scraped it together by living frugally. Let's see how that old geezer reacts," Xuan instructed, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. The north was pacified, so his opponents naturally shifted. However, these new opponents weren't enemies he needed to fight to the death, because they all shared the surname Uchiha. This would be a war without smoke—a political struggle for power.
"Heh, to think that brat Uchiha Shinji has actually learned to be this hypocritical. He never used to be like this."
Inside the Uchiha clan compound, Uchiha Yutaka chuckled darkly as he held the reply from the north. He handed the letter to the other two elders and began pondering the situation in his mind.
Uchiha Taka and Uchiha Kangan read the letter one after the other. "What exactly does Shinji mean by this?" they asked in confusion. "The entire letter is just empty pleasantries without a single main point. And then he sends over 100,000 catties of grain? I don't get it."
Yutaka replied, "Although I might be slow to react to schemes on the battlefield, I can read this kind of political maneuvering perfectly well. That brat Shinji is extremely dissatisfied with our previous reply."
"Ah?" The two Peak Jōnin voiced their confusion simultaneously. They hurriedly flipped the letter over and read it again, but the entire page was just mundane greetings. They couldn't read between the lines at all.
"Lord Yutaka, Shinji didn't use a single harsh word in this entire letter, not even a hint of emotional grievance. He even sent us 100,000 catties of grain. How could he be dissatisfied with us?" the two asked.
Yutaka smiled profoundly and explained, "The two of you used to be commanders fighting on the front lines; you don't understand internal politics. I've managed the Uchiha clan's internal affairs for nearly twenty years. How could I not see through his intentions? Put yourselves in his shoes. If you achieved a monumental feat like pacifying the north, and the clan only offered you verbal praise—not only giving you zero material rewards but actually turning around and demanding money, grain, and weapons from you—would you be satisfied?"
"But if he's dissatisfied, why did he still send the grain?" That was the part that truly baffled them.
"Heh, that's exactly his brilliant move. He is directly telling us that our guess is completely correct: he currently possesses a massive amount of grain and the war resources we desperately need. Yet, he only sent 100,000 catties. The subtext is glaringly obvious. If we want the rest of the supplies, we have to offer him some real political benefits. Otherwise, this 100,000 catties is all we'll ever get. He's stretching out his hand and demanding power!"
Yutaka's explanation left Taka and Kangan completely dumbfounded. To think that a simple delivery of 100,000 catties of grain contained such deep political maneuvering!
"Write a reply. Tell him we are overjoyed to receive the grain. Say that for Lord Shinji to still be thinking of the clan during such a critical crisis makes him the absolute paragon of an Uchiha hero. Tell him that once this war is over, I will personally propose to the Patriarch that Lord Shinji be inducted into the Uchiha's highest decision-making circle. Write exactly that."
"This old geezer still hasn't figured out the real situation. The highest decision-making circle? Heh!" Xuan held the reply from the main compound, sneering mockingly. "Send a reply. Don't write a single word. Give him a completely blank piece of paper."
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