Chapter 123: Using this as a pretext to start a war

Yes, Song Anbang was jealous, extremely jealous.

He was jealous of the sons of the powerful and wealthy who were born into good families, and jealous of his cousin's beautiful face, which allowed her to catch the emperor's eye simply because of her looks.

If he also had such a naturally gifted appearance, he could become a live-in son-in-law in a landlord's family, saving him at least ten years of hardship.

He was even jealous of the village's simpleton, who wandered around the village entrance every day with snot running down his face, never having to worry about food or drink, and never knowing what trouble was.

Song Anbang's jealousy was dozens or even hundreds of times greater than that of ordinary people, even though Jiang Yichun was his mentor who recognized this talented individual.

But he still couldn't help feeling jealous.

Jiang Yichun, that fool, clearly possesses the world and supreme power. Although many things are hindered by aristocratic families, he is still the emperor.

Why bother with all this when you already have everything?

Using up the royal family's accumulated wealth to help those disaster victims was incredibly stupid and just asking for trouble.

Song Anbang thought that if he were in that position, he would definitely enjoy it and wouldn't cause so many troubles to ruin himself.

Even though his mind was racing, Song Anbang remained expressionless. This was a skill he had honed over the years; he absolutely could not let outsiders see what he was thinking.

Otherwise, it would be difficult to remain hidden.

Hensheng quickly adjusted his mindset. Now that he was in the enemy's hands, anger and impulsiveness would not solve anything. He should think about how to get out of there.

"Where is this?" Hensheng continued to ask.

Song Anbang didn't hide anything from him, "Yangcheng is located between Shanxian and the capital."

Hensheng originally did not know the entire territory of this dynasty, but after he subdued the Huo family army, Qingshan drew him a map, which he recalled in his mind.

Yangcheng's area is not large, about the same as Shanxian, and because it has no special strategic significance, it is even less than Shanxian, which was not destroyed by war.

Song Anbang abducted him, but instead of returning to the capital, he stayed in Yangcheng.

It seems his influence within the imperial court is not significant enough.

In other words, this person is just so-so, he doesn't have much power. Otherwise, he wouldn't be staying in this small town temporarily. Instead, he should find a place with high walls and strong defenses, and then use his name to build momentum and recruit talents from all over the world.

Having figured all this out, Hensheng was no longer in a hurry.

Song Anbang hasn't even established his own power base yet, and he still has to evade the court's eyes and ears. Zhenzhen should be able to find him soon.

Seemingly sensing that Hensheng's mood had eased, Song Anbang didn't forget to pour cold water on him.

"Think someone will come to rescue you soon? Too bad, when I brought you out, I already left behind a double that looks exactly like you."

This was another move by Song Anbang; he had already made two plans.

If we can successfully take Hensheng away, that would be ideal. Otherwise, we can always have one of our capable subordinates disguise himself as Hensheng and cause trouble.

To put it bluntly, "Hateful Life" is just a title, a name that occupies the title of Jiang Yichun's legitimate son.

Hensheng was somewhat surprised, but quickly understood what "exactly the same" meant.

It must be that Song Anbang has capable men under his command who know some martial arts tricks to deceive others.

However, Hensheng had great confidence in Su Zhenzhen. What was fake would always be fake and could never become real; it was only a matter of time before it was discovered.

It must be said that Hensheng's confidence in Su Zhenzhen was not blind.

If it weren't for the fact that Su Zhenzhen couldn't meet him before the wedding due to marriage customs, she probably would have been stuck in Shanxian County and unable to leave as soon as Song Anbang was replaced.

Meanwhile, in the mountain village, Aoyama also got a question from the driver.

Upon learning that Song Anbang had fled eastward, Su Zhenzhen did not hesitate and immediately sent a message to Chunzhi, asking her to send troops to support him.

Aoyama roughly guessed her intentions. "Miss Su, do you want to take this opportunity to promote His Highness's name and justify launching a military campaign?"

Su Zhenzhen nodded, her face showing approval.

"Indeed, although there is a puppet emperor on the throne, real power is in the hands of powerful families. Although the people are suffering, no major disturbances have occurred. Launching a war rashly would easily incite public resentment. The people will not care who is the emperor, but they will definitely hate the person who started the war."

"Song Anbang's abduction of Hensheng has given us a reason to send troops. The late emperor's only living descendant has been kidnapped by a traitorous minister; the Huo family army, always loyal to the emperor and patriotic, will naturally send troops to rescue him."

Su Zhenzhen paused and continued, "Moreover, if the commotion gets too big, the capital will definitely find out. How could the powerful families allow any royal bloodline to still exist? They will definitely send troops to besiege Song Anbang. There's no need to worry about Hensheng's safety either; Song Anbang must do everything in his power to protect him. Only if he is safe and sound will we be hesitant to act rashly, and only then will he be able to negotiate with us or even join forces to fight against the court."

Given the current situation, Song Anbang only has Hensheng as a bargaining chip.

Qingshan was clearly aware of this as well. Although the Huo family army was small in number, they were seasoned veterans, and it was time for them to make their move.

After bidding farewell to Su Zhenzhen, Qingshan went to integrate the Huo family army and arranged for them to guard the front and back gates of Shanxian County to prevent enemy attacks.

At the same time, he ordered the ordinary people to work in the mountain county and not to leave the city for the time being.

Su Zhenzhen is now in a difficult position to make any other moves. It will take some time for Chunzhi's troops to arrive, and she must remain in the mountains to prevent any unexpected trouble from arising.

Although you can buy some powerful weapons for conquering cities and seizing territory in the system store, even the Thunder Bomb in your hand can blast open a road to heaven.

But this was not a matter of personal safety; it was a power struggle within the dynasty.

Intervening rashly could lead to karmic consequences.

Four or five days later, Jiang Sijin returned looking disheveled.

This little monster always cares about its appearance, but now its hair is disheveled, suggesting that its search has not been smooth.

Su Zhenzhen didn't expect her to be able to find the person. Her main purpose was to send her away so that the fact that the border state had sent troops could be kept from her.

After all, this young lady has quite a bit of ambition. Who knows if she'll be tempted by the troops from the border region? Then she could use the excuse of Hensheng's passing to seize power.

Those who have an extremely high desire for power cannot be judged by ordinary standards.

However, Su Zhenzhen still had to ask a couple of questions, "Where have you searched? Don't you really have any news at all?"

Jiang Sijin shook her head helplessly, "I've searched everywhere I've been, from east to west, and even Song Anbang seems to have vanished into thin air. I've only searched the north and south directions."

Jiang Sijin is now filled with endless regret; she is truly afraid that hatred might bring about something bad.

Although she wanted to seize the emperor's fortune, she never considered taking her own life.

Ultimately, they all shared the same surname, Jiang, and the same ancestor. After their fratricidal conflict, neither of them had the face to face their ancestors.