Southwestern border, the General’s Mansion.

"General, His Majesty has ordered you to return to the capital to report on your work. If you do not return, it would be a blatant disobedience of the order." The deputy general said worriedly.

Another maidservant said, "But the news from the palace is that Concubine Yan was ordered by His Majesty to reflect on her mistakes behind closed doors, and the fifth prince was sent to Linlang Palace. Concubine Yan sent someone to deliver a message saying that His Majesty might be suspicious of her background."

If the emperor had already known that Su Ruhuan was Xiao Yunjing's man, then summoning Xiao Yunjing back to the capital to report on his work was obviously an attempt to arrest him.

If he were arrested upon returning to Beijing, all his plans would be in vain.

Or maybe the emperor was not sure yet and was just suspicious of him, so he summoned him back to the capital first, just in case.

but……

Xiao Yunjing knew this master quite well. He was an extremely suspicious person.

Once he became suspicious, even without evidence, he would not allow Xiao Yunjing to continue to hold sole power in the southwest.

First recall him to the capital and keep him under control. Only when you are at ease can you use him again.

So how long should he wait?

Moreover, since the emperor took action against Su Ruhuan, he might have some evidence...

He did not dare to gamble whether he would be imprisoned if he returned to Beijing.

Xiao Yunjing was silent for a long time, then asked, "Is Han Xun currently in the Imperial City?"

"Commander Han hasn't conducted an inspection for a month," the maid reported.

Xiao Yunjing frowned even more deeply. The emperor sent Han Xun out of the palace, most likely to go to Jiangnan to investigate Su Ruhuan's background...

And now that Su Ruhuan was imprisoned, the emperor summoned him back to the capital. Could it be that he found out something?

Xiao Yunjing couldn't afford the gamble.

Once I lose my military power, I will be at the mercy of others.

Even if there was only a 10% chance that the emperor would surrender his military power, he would not take the gamble.

At this moment, Xiao Yunjing seemed to understand Cen Huan's feelings a little.

When you are about to lose your military power and are unwilling to accept it, there is no other way to go except to collaborate with the enemy.

Xiao Yunjing pondered all night, and at dawn the next day, he sent an order to his followers:

"Purchase gifts for the emperor and prepare to return to the capital to report on my work."

Everyone thought that Xiao Yunjing was going to return to Beijing to report on his work. But the next day...

Without any warning.

Xiao Yunjing and Daliang cooperated from inside and outside and launched a surprise attack on several passes guarded by the Dong family.

Fortunately, Dong’s army was well prepared to fight against them.

Because Su Ruhuan might also be a member of the Dong family, the emperor did not believe the Dong family and only asked Han Xun to remind the Dong family:

"Your Majesty has received a secret report that Daliang spies may launch a surprise attack in the southwest. Please quietly prepare for it."

Han Xun has the jade letter given to him by the emperor. If I come in person, all the generals must obey his orders.

Marquis Dongchuan was confused about the source of Han Xun's information.

We were watching the front line every day and didn't notice such important news. How did Your Majesty know it in the palace thousands of miles away?

Is it possible that there are people who are against Your Majesty among the high-ranking officials in the Daliang Dynasty?

However, no matter how puzzled he was, since Han Xun had secretly come to see him with the emperor's order, he naturally had no choice but to respond in advance. Otherwise, if something went wrong, he would be blamed.

…

As Xiao Yunjing had expected, most of Dong's army would be killed.

But I didn’t expect…

The two sides fought back and forth.

Not only were Dong's troops on high alert, but nearby generals also rushed to support them as soon as possible.

Xiao Yunjing gave up attacking Dong's army and cooperated with Daliang to invade Dayan from the pass he was guarding.

Xiao Yunjing has been operating in the southwest for many years and has many loyal lieutenants.

Some people followed him in rebellion, while others fled in the direction of Dong's army.

The southwest fell into chaos.

Han Xun made public His Majesty's secret decree:

"The Emperor's edict: Xiao Yunjing is plotting rebellion. The commander of the Imperial Guards, Han Xun, is appointed as the commander-in-chief of the southwest. All the troops in the southwest must obey his orders and work together to suppress the rebellion."

The emperor's reply to him at the beginning asked him to go to the southwest immediately to prepare for battle. If Xiao Yunjing returned to Beijing, the imperial edict would be invalidated.

If Xiao Yunjing disobeyed the order, the imperial edict would be read out publicly, and the military power would be assembled to defend the southwest.

Since arriving in the southwest, Han Xun has made many preparations in advance.

But after all, Xiao Yunjing has been running the business for many years...

There is also a beam to cooperate with.

In the southwest situation, Xiao Yunjing had the upper hand and won several games in a row.

Han Xun led Dong's army and other troops to defend the city walls, but was defeated step by step.

The news was reported back to the capital.

The emperor immediately ordered the Tang family army in the northwest and the Xue family army in the southeast to send troops to support the southwest.

…

Xiao Yunjing rebelled, and the ministers were in an uproar.

The Cen family was defeated by Xiao Yunjing in the past, but unexpectedly, he is now following the same old path as the Cen family.

The ministers were very shocked by this matter, but they were not too worried.

Da Yan has never lacked generals who can fight. Without Xiao Yunjing, there is still Han Xun. Without Han Xun, there is still Tang Yuan and other generals.

The troops that followed Xiao Yunjing to surrender to the enemy were only a part of the military camp that he himself led and controlled.

There are many other generals who are loyal to the court, not Xiao Yunjing, and will not rebel against him.

After being shocked, the court officials began to discuss military logistics.

No one expected...

"I have decided to lead the army in person." The emperor on the dragon throne suddenly said in a deep voice.

He didn't say this on impulse.

Ever since he wrote that secret decree to Han Xun and considered that Xiao Yunjing might rebel, he began to prepare for a personal expedition.

First it was the Cen family, then it was Xiao Yunjing.

There may be others in the future.

The root of all this, in the final analysis, is that the emperor’s influence on the border was too weak.

Some soldiers did not recognize the emperor, but only recognized the generals leading the troops.

Some generals did not consider themselves loyal to the emperor, but only to their commander-in-chief.

The people in the southwest have no impression of the emperor.

The emperor needs to lead the army in person to gain prestige in the army, the love of the people living on the border, and most importantly, direct control of the border troops.

If the rebel army only has a few hundred or a few thousand people, there is nothing to be afraid of.

There were always big chaos every time, and many ordinary soldiers followed. One reason was that there were loopholes in the military camp system, and the other was that the people in the southwest did not support the emperor.

Helian Qi wanted to solve these problems completely, so he had to go on this expedition in person.

"Your Majesty, the front line is dangerous. Your Majesty is precious and you must not do that!" The Minister of Rites quickly expressed his loyalty and dissuaded him.

Duke Xue said in a deep voice: "We have General Han Xun and many other generals in the southwest, so the war will surely be quelled. If Your Majesty is worried, I am willing to fight! Please take care of your health and put the country first."

Song Gu also disagreed and advised: "The country has no crown prince. If Your Majesty leaves the capital, the capital may be in chaos."

"I have made up my mind, my dear ministers, there is no need to say more. After I leave the capital, I will appoint Duke Suguo and Zuodu Yushi (Song Gu) as regents. You two dear ministers will be in charge of the government affairs, and the six ministers will assist you." Helian Qi stated his arrangements in an orderly manner.

The Wen family and Xiao Yunjing met with accidents one after another.

The undisputed leaders of the civil and military ministers in the court were Song Gu and Duke Xue.

The two ministers are in charge, and the six ministers are in charge as assistants, and they jointly supervise the country.

This arrangement was obviously not a spur of the moment decision by the emperor.

The emperor had already been preparing to lead the army in person.