Chapter 201
Zhu Junlan's heart tightened, and he had a very bad premonition.
He knew before returning to Yichun that things would be difficult, as all the arrangements hadn't yet taken hold, and the results would undoubtedly be less than expected. But there was no way around it; Yao Chunnuan's reaction was too swift. She had disrupted their rhythm, and some things hadn't even had time to properly prepare; the impact was too significant.
If Zhu Junlan were from the future, he would understand their situation. It was like a witch in a magical world, only halfway through a spell, before it had its full effect, when the opponent noticed and tried to interrupt them, ruining their efforts. If they didn't release their magic at this point, they might not even have the chance to do so. But releasing it now would be too hasty and would most likely fail to achieve the desired effect.
But Zhu Junlan knew very well that it would be difficult to plot against someone as smart as Yao Chunnuan without anyone noticing.
Yao Chunnuan: It's not that she is sensitive, but the relationship between her and Wang Lang is inherently sensitive. She has never hesitated to assume Wang Lang with the greatest malice. Once she finds something wrong, she will never wait passively.
Sure enough, his bad premonition came true. Yao Chunnuan took something out of a wooden box beside her, held it in her hand, and thrust it towards him. "Zhu Junlan, look at this, what is it?"
Zhu Junlan looked at the object in front of him and his eyes suddenly widened.
The eyes of the others were involuntarily focused on Yao Chunnuan's hand, but when their eyes fell on the token in her hand, they all showed expressions of surprise.
"Is this a tiger talisman?"
"It's the Tiger Talisman, for sure."
After they confirmed that the tiger talisman in Yao Chunnuan's hand was genuine, everyone fell silent. The general truly trusted Lord Yao. Lady Yao was already the acting city lord, and now with the tiger talisman, it was like concentrating military and political power in her hands. In other words, if Lady Yao showed any signs of disloyalty, Youzhou would be handed over to her!
Zhu Junlan's eyes were red, his chest heaving. The general had actually given her the tiger talisman! Why?! He was the general's old subordinate, having been with him through thick and thin. Yao Chunnuan had joined later, and now the general trusted her more than himself?
Yao Chunnuan was filled with mixed emotions about the tiger talisman in her hand. The general had spoken with her for half an hour before leaving for the battle, and finally handed her an exquisite wooden box, telling her to open it if anything happened to him.
She hadn't even thought of this military token when she returned to Yichun from Houcheng. It wasn't until General Wu reminded her this morning that she remembered to check it. Inside the box, the general had left a brief note, essentially telling her to fetch it herself in Youzhou if anything happened to him or the situation became dire. The only thing he had in mind was that he hoped she could protect his family.
Yao Chunnuan's mind raced as she quickly composed herself.
"Zhu Junlan, do you still think I'm collaborating with the enemy?" Yao Chunnuan asked calmly.
Zhu Junlan: ...
Everyone: Is Lord Yao taking the lead in collaborating with the enemy and rebelling against himself?
Facing Zhu Junlan's silence, Yao Chunnuan had no intention of letting him go. "If I really wanted to surrender to the imperial court, I could have just used the tiger symbol to order the soldiers to capture all the rebels, then opened the gate to welcome Wang Lang. Why would I have to be so sneaky?"
Wu Zongguan nodded. He agreed with Yao Chunnuan's statement. If she wanted to launch a coup, there was no need for such a roundabout way. With the tiger talisman and the general's letter, she could easily capture Yichun at lightning speed.
"The general has shown me great kindness and has promoted me. He has treated me like a great man, and I will repay him with my kindness. What virtue and ability does the new emperor of Daliang have to make me kowtow to him? I haven't forgotten that I was exiled to Yichun because of my involvement in a case!"
"Finally, Daliang is almost finished. I have about 500,000 soldiers and horses in Youzhou. What's the difference between us and the Daliang court? I want to give up my position as the master of Youzhou and submit to Daliang instead?"
Yao Chunnuan's last words were spoken with such arrogance that everyone present was deeply moved. That's right, why didn't she want to be the master of her own house, but instead wanted to be a slave in someone else's?
Yao Chunnuan looked at Zhu Junlan, "It's you, Zhu Junlan, who's so anxious to get me out. Are you trying to seize this opportunity to take over all the power? Who's behind this?"
Zhu Junlan lowered his head. "Master Yao, I was mistaken this time. I was worried about Youzhou being robbed by thieves because of the general's disappearance, so I suspected you. But you can't slander me just because I suspected you. This is an act of revenge!"
"It's not a personal vendetta. It just so happens that I also suspect you of collaborating with the enemy."
Zhu Junlan: ...
Zhu Fugui burst out laughing.
Yao Chunnuan shouted, "Come here, take Zhu Junlan away!"
Following her command, four strong and powerful guards came in.
As Zhu Junlan fought with the guards, he shouted angrily, "Yao Chunnuan, you are clearly using your power to settle personal grudges and exclude dissidents."
Yao Chunnuan responded indifferently to his slander.
Anyone entering the City Lord's Mansion, no matter how high their rank, had to remove their weapons. Zhu Junlan, who was unarmed, was quickly subdued.
After Zhu Junlan was restrained, Yao Chunnuan waved his hand and said, "Take him away! Zhu Junlan, don't be stubborn. I must have sufficient evidence to do this. Don't worry, our Yichun Qingli Division will not wrongly accuse a good person nor let a bad person go. If you are innocent, I believe you will be released soon."
No one else dared to plead for mercy. Lady Yao had already said so. She controlled the intelligence department, and even the military reconnaissance department was now under her jurisdiction. There must be a basis for this. What if they pleaded for mercy and were considered accomplices and implicated themselves?
Even if they were honest and upright, they wouldn't be afraid of being investigated. It was clear that the Yichun City Lord's Mansion would be making major moves, whether to rescue the general or resist the imperial army. The opportunity to achieve great things was right before their eyes; if they were investigated, they would lose it.
Besides, Lord Yao has also said that he will not wrongly accuse a good person, and will not let a bad person go. So, General Zhu, you can go in with peace of mind.
Zhu Fugui shook his head: "Why bother messing with Yao Chunnuan for no reason? We've worked together for so long, don't you know she's a pervert? Now, she's been fucked, right?"
In the end, in addition to Zhu Junlan being taken away, the young player who was exposed before was also chosen by Yao Chunnuan to be taken away.
Yao Chunnuan could see that people's hearts were still unsettled because of the influence of the tiger talisman.
She decided to give everyone present a shocking blow to knock out all their restlessness.
"Although the general is missing, the city lord's wife is already pregnant. In just six months, the baby will be born, and the general will have an heir. Even if the general is truly gone, his successor will be the Lord of Youzhou. I advise those who are worried about the general's disappearance and whether he is alive or dead to put away all their thoughts and don't try to take advantage of the situation."
Chief Steward Wu also followed suit, "Master Yao, I second your proposal!"
"I second that!"
Yao Chunnuan's statement was crucial. It practically confirmed she wouldn't take advantage of the situation to replace him, instantly reassuring the generals. Even if the general was gone, the young master still existed, a continuation of the general's will.
Well, don’t think about it, everything will remain the same.
Seeing that everyone had calmed down, Yao Chunnuan nodded quietly. She knew full well that a stable environment was crucial for the implementation of various policies. A new emperor means new ministers, but this also meant that policies could change from day to day. Why were their motherlands able to implement five- and ten-year plans, build large-scale infrastructure projects, and lead their economies to take off, astonishing the world? Wasn't it because of the stability provided by a single party in power and the stability of certain fundamental policies that remained unchanged for five to ten years? In contrast, in a certain large country, two parties alternate in power. Every time the opposing party comes to power, they ruthlessly overturn the other's policies, regardless of whether these policies benefit the country. Without a stable social environment, it would be impossible to build large-scale infrastructure projects that would last for three to five years.
After the conference hall was cleared, Yao Chunnuan began to get to the point.
She cut to the chase, "Everyone knows we face two crises. The first is the general's disappearance. The second is how to resist and even counterattack the 150,000-strong national army led by Wang Lang. Let me state this first: I must save the general."
Others also echoed.
“It should be.”
"Yes, the general will definitely save him."
She carried out her previous plan, which was to send two teams, one visible and one invisible, to Jiaozhou to search for the general.
In addition, before these two actions, she planned to purge the army, at least to eliminate soldiers with obvious problems.
In this regard, no one objected because of the precedent of Zhu Junlan.
Just do the cleanup. Anyway, the Yichun Corps has never carried out a major purge since its establishment, and the military inspection department has only cleaned up soldiers with obvious problems.
For the defense of Houcheng, Yao Chunnuan decided to boldly deploy new generals. Pan Buyi was clearly no longer suitable to lead the second front. Since they were fighting on their own doorstep, if they weren't suitable, they could simply make adjustments. She didn't intend to use established veterans like General Zhu, not because they were incompetent, but because she wanted to take the enemy by surprise.
After some thought, Yao Chunnuan chose Zhou Yushu.
"Me?" Zhou Yushu didn't expect that he would be appointed as the commander of the second front, and was stunned for a moment.
"Yes, it's you, General Zhou. Do you dare to obey my orders?"
Zhou Yushu took a step forward, knelt on one knee, and said solemnly, "I will do my best! As long as the city is safe, I will be safe. If the city is lost, I will die!"
Yao Chunnuan stepped forward and supported him, "Okay, I'll leave Houcheng to you."
Pan Buyi felt bitter. Before the general went on the expedition, he was given opportunities, but he had fought several battles miserably. Now Lord Yao wanted to change the general, which was justified considering the overall situation.
Seeing Pan Buyi's gloomy expression, Yao Chunnuan said gently, "General Pan, there's no need to deny yourself. Your ability to lead troops and fight is not a problem. It's just that Wang Lang's situation is a bit strange, so he is being more restrained towards you."
Yao Chunnuan was at a loss as to how to explain Wang Lang's rebirth, so she could only offer him this comfort.
While in Houcheng, she had carefully studied several of Pan Buyi's battles. His command of troops was impeccable, and his tactics were even commendable. She felt that if he hadn't met Wang Lang, this battle would have become a classic and much-talked-about one in Pan Buyi's military career.
However, it is probably because of this that Wang Lang studied him thoroughly. In the original novel, Pan Buyi should be a famous veteran. His personality, his famous battles, etc., are all well known to Wang Lang, and he cracked them in a targeted manner.
She replaces Pan Buyi with Zhou Yushu. Wang Lang, can you handle this move?
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