Chapter 198
Although Yao Chunnuan didn't know what the new emperor and Wang Lang's conspiracy was, their purpose was obvious, which was to take over Youzhou while General Xing Changfeng was missing.
Wang Lang came to recruit her tonight in order to ensure a smooth transition.
If she refuses, she will be the biggest obstacle to controlling Youzhou in their hands, so getting rid of her is imperative.
As the saying goes, your enemy is the one who knows you best. Yao Chunnuan didn't know whether Wang Lang knew her well or not, but she felt that her rejection should be within his expectations.
Moreover, Yao Chunnuan believed that rather than handing Youzhou to a dangerous person like her, they should be more inclined to give it to the person they chose.
Therefore, Wang Lang came to see her with two purposes: one was to recruit her, and the other was to pave the way for something.
Eliminating her by force was impossible. She was surrounded by A-Xia and the secret guards Xiao Jieming had placed around her. Furthermore, using external forces to eliminate her would only add fuel to the fire, creating a rebellious mentality among the Yichun Legion and the people of Youzhou. Then, Youzhou and the Yichun Legion could become a sharp weapon used against the imperial court. This was incompatible with their calculated goal. Therefore, only by dismantling the group from within could they fully achieve their goal.
In order to confirm their guess, Yao Chunnuan and Qi Yingshan did not return to the house immediately, but continued to stay in the pavilion.
Not long after, Zhu Junlan and Guo Huai ran over.
Guo Huai was also a member of the shogunate. He and Yao Chunnuan had worked together all the way from the shogunate to the city lord's mansion, so they were very familiar with each other. Zhu Junlan was the general of the cavalry battalion. Before Zhou Yushu came, he was the only general in charge of the cavalry.
Both of them were old subordinates of General Xing Changfeng, and followed him from Beijing to Yichun.
When Zhu Junlan came in, he took in the scene in the pavilion at a glance.
"Master Yao, are you okay?" Guo Huai asked first.
"fine."
Guo Huai thought for a moment and asked again, "Master Yao, was the thief who just escaped Wang Lang, the commander of the enemy army outside the city?"
"It's him."
Guo Huai looked as if he wanted to say something but stopped, and he stamped his feet in anger. Wang Lang, the enemy commander, came to see Lord Yao at this time. What do you think is going on?
Guo Huai is known for his straightforward character, so Yao Chunnuan focuses on Zhu Junlan.
Guo Huai finally couldn't help but said hatefully, "What does he want to do by coming to see you at this time!" The two armies were fighting, and Wang Lang suddenly came to see Lord Yao's ex-wife, which definitely meant that he had bad intentions.
"He must have his reasons for coming."
Yao Chunnuan's words were suggestive, and Zhu Junlan, who had been watching closely, didn't show the slightest change in expression. In fact, this lack of change was his biggest flaw. Just look at Guo Huai. After hearing her words, he subconsciously frowned, wondering why he'd come.
Yao Chunnuan continued, "But he brought us some bad news."
"What news?" Guo Huaixin felt nervous when he saw Yao Chunnuan's serious expression.
Yao Chunnuan had no intention of hiding it. "He said the general disappeared in Jiaozhou." Even if she didn't say anything, Wang Lang and the others would surely spread the news, disrupting the morale of the army and the people. The more she kept it a secret, the more disadvantageous it would be to her. Xing Changfeng was missing, and she had to protect herself.
"This, this..." Guo Huai stood up in shock.
Zhu Junlan also looked surprised.
After a while, Guo Huai managed to calm down and asked, "What does our intelligence department say?"
Yao Chunnuan glanced at him approvingly and said, "Our intelligence department hasn't received any relevant information yet."
Yao Chunnuan added, "This news should be true. Wang Lang wouldn't deceive us with such easily debunked fake news."
Guo Huai nodded. Indeed, their Yichun intelligence department collected intelligence very quickly. Moreover, Jiaozhou was now one of the areas that the intelligence department focused on. Probably, accurate information would be transmitted back tomorrow or the day after tomorrow.
"Wait, how did Wang Lang get this accurate information that the Yichun Intelligence Department hasn't even sent him? He doesn't think the imperial court's intelligence department can be faster than them." Thinking of a certain possibility, he couldn't help but take a breath, "Master Yao, the imperial court..."
They all came from the military staff, and their brains were not bad. Guo Huai left something unfinished, and Yao Chunnuan knew that he had guessed that the court was colluding with foreign tribes, so she nodded at him.
Guo Huai was completely dumbfounded. He never expected that the imperial court would be so shameless.
At this moment, Xiao Jieming came back to report that they did not catch Wang Lang and let him escape.
Yao Chunnuan didn't say anything because this was within her expectations.
Guo Huai, on the other hand, was both angry and worried. He was angry because Xiao Jieming's pursuit and Pan Buyi's defense of Houcheng had failed to capture Wang Lang. He was worried because Wang Lang's appearance and successful escape at this critical juncture might cause serious trouble later.
Yao Chunnuan told the two, "I want to return to Yichun overnight" to prevent a possible coup.
Guo Huai wholeheartedly approved of her decision. If the general truly disappeared, then Lord Yao's presence in Yichun would stabilize the people's hearts. Guo Huai was incredibly grateful that the six counties of Youzhou now had spacious new cement roads. At night, torches dipped in oil were lit beside each carriage, allowing them to gallop safely. Lord Yao rushed back to Yichun overnight, accompanied by his guards and secret guards, for a quick and safe return.
Zhu Junlan always has a blank expression on his face.
Yao Chunnuan did not delay at all. She had someone prepare the carriage overnight and then returned to Yichun, the political center of Youzhou.
Late at night, after seeing off Guo Huai and Zhu Junlan, Qi Yingshan thought of the troublemaker Wang Lang and couldn't help but sneer, "What kind of man is this?"
Ah Nuan was his wife after all, and now they have a daughter, Xiao Yaoxi. Even so, he still plots against Ah Nuan. "He is such a man, worse than pigs and dogs!"
Qi Yingshan couldn't help but curse.
Yao Chunnuan thought the man who stood up for her was so cute and couldn't help but smile.
Qi Yingshan rolled his eyes at her and said, "How can you still smile?" He was worried to death.
"That's not a big deal. If he dares to plot against me, I'll kill him!"
Qi Yingshan raised his eyebrows, "After all, he is little Yaoxi's father, you--" Can you bear to do it? Can you do it?
Yao Chunnuan's eyes were cold, "I have let him go once for the sake of my daughter." Otherwise, what would have been waiting for him that year would have been death, instead of simply being expelled from Yichun and being able to run away to Qiannan to become an official.
Qi Yingshan nodded, remembering the pressure and danger she faced after the general's disappearance. She couldn't help but hold her watch and said, "No matter what decision you make, I will support you." Including my family. They were originally grasshoppers on the same rope, rising and falling together.
Yao Chunnuan looked solemn and her heart was heavy. She had a premonition that with the disappearance of General Xing Changfeng, she would also face a major crisis.
After the carriage was ready, Qi Yingshan settled Yao Chunnuan and got on another carriage. He knew that Yao Chunnuan needed independent and quiet space to think, and he also had to think about how to deal with the drastic changes that might follow after the general's disappearance.
Yao Chunnuan didn't say anything about this. Her entire mind was now focused on thinking about the dramatic changes that might be caused by the general's disappearance, as well as her position and what she needed to do.
First of all, now that the general is missing, she will read the detailed information carefully after the intelligence department presents it to her to see if she can infer the possibility of the general's survival.
Another thing is, if Xing Changfeng cannot survive, what is her way out?
Yao Chunnuan first considered the possibility of her getting promoted, but after weighing the pros and cons, she gave up the idea.
Even though she was respected now and was the acting city lord, the people of Youzhou might not object to her taking the throne after Xing Changfeng's accident. As the saying goes, they only cared about whether they could have enough food to eat and live a good life, and it didn't matter who became the emperor.
But the generals and colleagues in the Yichun City Lord's Mansion were different. Ancient people valued loyalty, filial piety, benevolence, and righteousness. Even though Xing Changfeng was gone, the Xing family still existed, and so did his wife. If she tried to ascend to power, it would be disloyal and unrighteous. Loyalty, filial piety, benevolence, and righteousness would become grounds for attacking her.
The most important thing is that if she came to power, it would give Wang Lang and others an excuse to attack her, which should be what Wang Lang wanted.
In the original novel, almost all members of the Xing family died out, except for Xing Xingyue.
After Xing Changfeng's death, his subordinate Ji Ze was able to smoothly take over his power because he adopted Xing Xingyue's child to Xing Changfeng under the pretext of revenge, supporting his successor. Even Ji Ze only stated that he was temporarily taking over the other party's army and did not dare to openly occupy it.
Even if she could rely on force and skill to suppress all opponents and ascend to power, there would undoubtedly be internal friction during this period. She would also have to face the division and counterattack of the Huo family army, and even the tremendous pressure from the imperial court. With internal and external troubles, this road would be very difficult to walk.
Even if she succeeded in getting to the position, because she did not get it right, it actually set a very bad precedent.
Besides, she had no ambition to become an empress, nor did she have the ambition to go against the ideas of the entire era. That would be too tiring. Like when the general was still around, being second only to the emperor and above everyone else was pretty good.
Furthermore, even if she had this ambition, the time was not yet ripe because people had long been dominated by men, and even if they wanted to change, it would take a long time.
It took many years for Empress Wu Zetian to go from a talented woman to Empress Wu, and many more years to go from Empress Wu to Empress. The former was full of hardships, and the latter took her thirty years, and she finally became the Empress of the Great Zhou when she was in her sixties.
For more than 30 years, she has been ruling China as the second chief to the throne. After more than 30 years of preparation, she naturally became the first empress of China and ruled China as the number one chief.
After weighing the pros and cons, Yao Chunnuan roughly knew what to do after returning to Yichun.
Wang Lang learned that Yao Chunnuan drove back to Yichun overnight.
He stared at the flames for a moment, lost in thought. Many people, upon realizing disaster is imminent, might resort to an ostrich mentality. But Yao Chunnuan was different. She was decisive, her reactions quick and direct. She always proactively addressed problems, never avoiding them.
He sighed softly. No wonder she was so highly regarded by Xing Changfeng, no wonder she could govern the vast Youzhou so well. Her only flaw was her stubbornness, her single-minded determination to persevere. She was so ignorant of the times. If such a capable person could not be used by the new emperor, then she would only be destroyed.
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