Chapter 163 The Messenger

When the first spring rain fell in Xunyang City, Ruan Hui's messenger, wearing a straw raincoat and riding a dark horse, galloped into the palace.

Sun Wei was quite surprised by the visitor, it was Xie Xiao.

He wiped the raindrops from his face and bowed happily: "I pay my respects to the princess!"

Sun Wei hurriedly asked him to stand up.

After not seeing each other for half a year, Xie Xiao looked different from before. He was half a head taller than her.

Sun Wei couldn't help but smile and said, "Young General, how are you?"

Xie Xiao scratched his head shyly and said, "I have already told the princess that you don't have to call me General. I don't hold any official position now, so I can't bear this title."

Sun Wei said, "By the end of this year, the period of mourning for the young general will be over, and it is inevitable that he will take up his post. I call you General, not out of courtesy, but in the hope that you will not forget your original intentions."

Xie Xiao hurriedly said, "Don't worry, Princess. I won't forget."

Sun smiled.

"The last time I met General Chu, I asked about the young general's recent situation. General Chu said that the young general has been assisting Ruan Zhubu recently and seems to have made considerable progress?" Sun Wei asked after sitting down.

"That's right," Xie Xiao said excitedly, "Brother Ruan is very knowledgeable and tactful. I've learned a lot from following him."

Sun Wei nodded. "Since Chief Ruan has specially asked the Major General to come here, I believe he has something important to say."

When it came to business, Xie Xiao restrained his expression.

He handed a letter to Sun Wei and said, "This is Brother Ruan's reply. If Princess has any questions, you can ask me directly to save the trouble of sending letters back and forth."

Sun Wei took the letter, glanced at it, and his eyes immediately fixed on it.

The opening news shocked her.

"Master Zhou is ill?"

Xie Xiao nodded. "Ever since the Grand Tutor returned to Jiankang, Princess Wanshou has sought out renowned physicians to diagnose him. Initially, things seemed to be improving, but then, due to the Crown Prince's house arrest, the Grand Tutor traveled extensively and even argued with Princess Wanshou. He became so angry that he fainted and has been bedridden ever since."

After hearing this, Sun Wei couldn't help but ponder.

Zhou Chang, this old man, is indeed a man of character. He may seem unserious on weekdays, but when faced with serious matters, he is willing to risk his life to fight for them.

But this makes things even more troublesome.

The letter said that although Zhou Chang was conscious, he was in poor health. In addition, Princess Wanshou kept him under strict supervision, and his correspondence with Ruan Hui had ceased.

However, according to Ruan Hui's inquiries, the Empress Dowager, because Sima Jun had obstructed the Wang family's attack on Jingzhou, completely sided with Wang Han this time, and even briefly considered having Wang Zhi succeed him as the governor of Jiangzhou. Fortunately, Sima Jun relented in time, and the Crown Prince pleaded for mercy, so the Empress Dowager temporarily suppressed the idea.

But the Queen Mother was determined to teach Sima Jun a lesson, so she placed him under house arrest in the palace to make him reflect on his mistakes.

This is an ominous sign.

The empress dowager always treated Sima and Wang equally, treating them well or badly, without any bias.

However, letting Wang Zhi take over as the governor of Jiangzhou was equivalent to handing over 50,000 Jiangzhou troops to Wang Shi. Sun Wei knew that her intention was to give Wang Zhi troops to use to defeat the Huan family. But once these 50,000 troops were fed to Wang Shi, would they ever be spit out again?

The Queen Mother is not stupid and would not have failed to think of this.

But since she had this idea, it meant that Sima Jun's words and actions had indeed angered her.

"The Queen Mother has asked, when will the Crown Prince be released?"

"They didn't say it explicitly. They just said they wanted the Crown Prince to focus on mourning, so they confined him to the palace," Xie Xiao said. "But Brother Ruan thinks this is just a facade. The Queen Mother actually has another intention."

"What's your intention?"

"Princess, do you know where Wang Zhi is now?"

"I don't know."

"In Wujun. Wang Zhi is now the commander of the army of Wujun. And the Jiangzhou army has 8,000 elite soldiers stationed in Wujun."

Sun Wei thought for a moment and said, "Does Ruan Zhubu mean that the Queen Mother still wants to hand over the Jiangzhou army to Wang Zhi?"

"That's right," Xie Xiao said. "Brother Ruan believes that the Queen Mother isn't soft on the Crown Prince, but rather isn't entirely confident in Wang Zhi. She knows Wang Zhi has never led an army, and she's unsure about handing the Jiangzhou army over to him. So the Queen Mother is holding the Crown Prince back and letting Wang Zhi lead a portion of the Jiangzhou army. Firstly, to see if he can win over the Jiangzhou army; secondly, to see if he has the talent to lead troops once the war breaks out."

Sun Wei was shocked when he heard this.

She once told Sima Jun that among the Three Wus, Kuaiji and Wujun were the most important, and that brutal wars would occur there in the future, so they could not afford to lose. That was why Sima Jun placed the elite troops of Jiangzhou in Wujun.

But this actually became a place for the Queen Mother to train Wang Zhi.

She frowned and said, "On the battlefield, human lives are at stake. How can we afford to play with them? Wang Zhi is a mediocre person. If the lives of eight thousand Jiangzhou soldiers were placed in his hands, wouldn't that be a waste?"

"That's right," Xie Xiao said, "but Brother Ruan is only a small clerk. Even if he says a lot, it will be useless. If he becomes hated because of this and loses his position, Kuaiji will be left without a leader. It's a loss that outweighs the gain. Brother Ruan intends to tell Brother Chu about this idea and ask him to try to persuade the Queen Mother to give up this idea."

Chu Yue?

"That's inappropriate." Sun Wei said, "General Chu has just secured his position as the governor of the Northern Prefecture, so he can't afford to get into trouble."

"That……"

Sun Wei thought for a moment and said, "General, please go back and tell Ruan Zhubu that since this is related to the survival of the Jiangzhou army, I will find a solution."

Xie Xiao asked in surprise: "What do you want, Princess?"

Sun Wei said, "I have my own ideas. I wonder how the war is going in Kuaiji? Has Kong Qi made any recent moves?"

"Things are relatively peaceful at the moment," Xie Xiao said. "Kong Qi has stockpiled a large amount of supplies on the islands he's occupying. Spies report that shipyards and weapons workshops are everywhere. The princess predicted they'd attack the Three Wus in April, and I think it's correct."

"Oh?" Sun Wei asked, "Does Ruan Zhubu have any countermeasures?"

"The Crown Prince once told Brother Ruan that the islands are poor in resources, while Kong Qi receives a steady supply of money, food, and supplies, which shows that he is colluding with the powerful on land. Brother Ruan has been investigating and investigating these days and has already found out who is supporting Kong Qi. When the time comes, we can eliminate him."

Sun Wei nodded. Sima Jun had done this in a methodical manner, and Ruan Hui was competent, which made her feel a little relieved.

As the affairs of Kuaiji were very busy, Xie Xiao had his meal and then hurried on his way again.

Xie Xiao mounted his horse, turned to look at Sun Wei, and said, "Princess, please do not worry too much about the Crown Prince. Brother Ruan said that the Queen Mother cares about the relationship between grandfather and grandson and will not take action against the Crown Prince. The Crown Prince is resourceful and will definitely find a way out."

Sun Wei said, "I understand. On the battlefield, swords have no eyes. Young General, please take good care of yourself."

Xie Xiao bowed and said goodbye, then rode away at full speed.

The spring rain keeps falling, bringing with it a few lingering traces of winter chill.

"This late spring cold snap is killing us." A'ru said, "Let's go back. It seems we need to add more charcoal braziers."

Sun Wei didn't move.

The civil unrest in Jingzhou would continue for a while, and Lüqiu Yanteng could not intervene in Jiangzhou. Xunyang had stabilized for the time being, and it was time for her to move on.