Chapter 717: Talent for Conspiracy

Duke Xuanyuan was very disdainful of their performance: "Those who achieve great things do not care about trivial matters. The army formed by the Du family is human, but are the soldiers under my command not human? In war, there will always be sacrifices."

He sighed, "If the Du family really can't understand, then it's just a marriage. As long as the matter is settled, I can naturally arrange another good marriage for Lu Yunjue."

Nangong Yue silently complained: "That good marriage you are talking about, wouldn't it be the second daughter of your family?"

Duke Xuanyuan's face darkened. "Your Highness, please be careful with your words. A girl's maiden name is not something to joke about."

Nangong Yue stuck out her tongue, returning to her usual serious demeanor. "Then I'd like to ask the Duke, if I were to arrange for the Second Young Lady to marry the deposed Crown Prince, and have her endure humiliation and stay by his side to gather information, would you agree?"

"Your Highness, you must not do this!" The Duke subconsciously raised his hand, the anger in his eyes could no longer be suppressed, but he suddenly realized something.

He was so angry just by proposing such a hypothesis, which shows that no matter how determined one may be, the feelings between one and the one whom one loves most can never be severed.

But just now, he was righteously teaching Mu Qing and others how to deceive their own brother and in-laws, and even let Lu Yunjue sacrifice his marriage to help them achieve their great cause.

The four people in the hall were silent for a moment. Duke Xuanyuan said with a stern face, "How can these two things be compared?"

In the end, the few of them parted on bad terms.

On the way back to Yimei Garden, Hu Xin'er was in a depressed mood: "I also expected the Duke to be decisive and ruthless, but I didn't expect him to be so ruthless as to let us use Yun Jue and the Du family as pawns."

Mu Qing sighed slightly, "Back before the palace walls, he almost disobeyed His Majesty's orders and killed both the Crown Prince and the Princess. To maintain the stability of his kingdom, he would do anything."

Both of them could see that although the Duke's statement was extremely difficult to accept, it was reasonable and well-founded. At least the starting point was for the country.

If the prince really succeeds in raising an army, who knows how many people will be slaughtered and how many innocent families will be harmed along the way.

If this trustworthy army of Qingzhou can really hold the prince back, the losses can be minimized.

But……

Hu Xin'er stopped and kicked the stone gloomily. "Should we really listen to him and trick the Du family into sending their disciples to die on the front lines?"

This is too unfair both morally and logically.

However, as the Duke said, the disciples of the Du family went to die. Aren’t the soldiers of the imperial court also going to die to maintain the stability of the country?

We can't just sacrifice the latter decisively just because the Du family disciples are closer to them and the soldiers have no relatives with them.

There can be no war without bloodshed; the only difference is who is sacrificed.

However, when Hu Xiner thought about all the people who died in the battle, that they were all living beings and that they also had their own families, she could not bring herself to say that their sacrifice was justified.

Just as she lowered her head, not knowing what to say, someone suddenly rubbed her head gently.

Mu Qing took her hand and walked back: "I thought of a better way."

"What method?!" Hu Xiner was surprised and happy.

Mu Qing smiled slightly. "We've just been talking about how the Crown Prince is so scheming and manipulative, how he unites the seven princes, trains the army, creates rumors to discredit the Crown Princess, and sows discord. Since his methods are so powerful, can we learn from him?"

Mu Qing's words gave Hu Xin'er a new idea: "You mean..."

"That's right," Mu Qing nodded. "To suppress a rebellion, an army is naturally indispensable. However, history books often record battles where the outnumbered defeated the larger force. This shows that relying solely on brute force isn't enough; intelligence is actually what's most important."

He nodded his head: "As long as the strategy is appropriate, the casualties can be reduced to a minimum..."

Since the prince might ally with the seven kings, they tried their best to destroy the alliance and sow discord among them.

If the Crown Prince were to be targeted by seven princes at the same time... No, considering his current power, even if only one prince was tricked into dealing with him, it would be enough to make him extremely anxious.

Lu Yunjue and others can also contribute to the country at this time, but they no longer need to use their own army. Instead, they can take advantage of the power of the enemy prince and use his strength to defeat the prince.

"That's right! The Crown Prince has so many scheming tricks, so let's give him a taste of his own medicine!" Hu Xin'er laughed excitedly. "By the way, didn't Yin Li say that several princes died because of the Crown Prince's abdication? We can use this to create hatred and pit them against each other."

Her thoughts were opened, and she began to talk non-stop: "We can also offer a reward for the prince. Whichever prince gets the prince's head, we will reward him handsomely!"

"If you're still worried, we can have Yun Jue serve as an advisor to that prince. On the surface, it's to help, but in reality, it's to plant an undercover agent..."

By the time she finished speaking, she had already reached the gate of the Yangxin Palace. Mu Qing looked at her with admiration: "Madam, I never thought you were such a conspirator."

Hu Xin'er couldn't help but punch him: "You're going to die! What's the adjective for conspirator?"

Mu Qing didn't feel any pain after being hit, but instead felt an itch in his heart. He couldn't help but laugh: "I was just praising Madam for her extraordinary wisdom and insight into people's hearts. She doesn't need anyone to teach her at all, and she can come up with so many ways to sow discord."

A gust of cold wind blew by, and Hu Xiner couldn't help but tighten her clothes. The rippled hem of her skirt swayed in the wind. Although it looked beautiful, it made her look even colder.

She muttered, "Are you praising me for my talent for conspiracy? That doesn't sound like a nice word."

Even if she hasn't seen pork, she has seen pigs run. Although she can't get involved in political struggles, she has read a lot of power struggle novels, melodramatic time-travel dramas, and time-travel comics.

Especially after a certain dynasty became popular, she became addicted to a time-travel drama and almost memorized the storyline of the nine princes competing for the throne.

I didn't say anything before because I didn't understand the basic situation. Now I understand it after listening to the popularization of Nangong Yue and others. Doesn't that mean I have an idea?

What the two of them just said was actually just one point.

"The deposed Crown Prince still has much to teach us." Mu Qing smiled delicately. "He's now wielding the pretext of ridding the country of a threat and wantonly slandering the Crown Princess. If he's truly deceived many civilians and officials, the consequences will be disastrous... Regarding this matter, I'm afraid only you can handle it and counter his schemes."

Hu Xin'er was confused: "Me?"

Mu Qing nodded seriously: "Yes, Xin'er, only you can do this."