"Your relationship with Xie Chang'an seems to have improved recently?"
When Ye Jingchen once again led his brothers and sisters to pay their respects to the emperor, the emperor asked him seemingly casually.
He was a little unhappy when he asked that question.
He didn't hide his displeasure; it was clearly written on his face.
Although he often appeared unhappy in front of Ye Jingchen, most of the time his unhappiness was feigned, but this time it was genuine.
Ye Jingchen could sense his unhappiness and understood it.
From the emperor's perspective, he disliked Xie Shaoling so much and was wary of the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion. As his most beloved child, how could he possibly get close to the people of the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion?
This is a betrayal of him!
Yes, the emperor was such a petty person.
Therefore, his unhappiness was mixed with a little bit of well-concealed grievance.
However, Ye Jingchen still noticed it.
He has always been very perceptive of the emotional changes of those he cares about.
In fact, he had been waiting for the emperor to ask this question.
If the emperor didn't ask, he was even planning to deliberately mention Xie Chang'an in front of the emperor!
"Since my father has started to give more important positions to his father, I naturally want to cultivate a good relationship with him!" Ye Jingchen answered frankly.
The emperor was somewhat bewildered. "When...when did I begin to value Xie Shaoling?"
"The Imperial Guard originally had a commander, but Father Emperor specially ordered Prince Xie to lead the Imperial Guard to quell the rebellion. Isn't that giving him an important position?" Ye Jingchen asked, head held high and a look of doubt on his face.
The other children also looked at him curiously.
What could the emperor say in front of so many children?
Can he say that he sent Xie Shaoling to quell the rebellion in order to scheme against him?
"Yes..." the emperor said with some discomfort.
"Your Majesty, I have recently been reading military books. The books say that siege warfare usually requires several times the strength of the defending side. I heard that there are 60,000 rebel troops in Jizhou County, and Prince Xie only brought 60,000 guards to attack the city. Father, the number of guards he brought is the same as the number of rebel troops, and he still has to go through a long journey. Is there any possibility that he will fail?" Ye Jingchen asked worriedly.
This question made the emperor even more uncomfortable.
He also read military books and studied military strategy, and had some knowledge of troop deployment. Didn't he know that a siege requires at least twice the number of troops?
He was just deliberately making things difficult for Xie Shaoling.
Who told Xie Shaoling to be so prominent in the past and offend too many people?
The Minister of Justice even secretly suggested giving Xie Shaoling only 50,000 troops. He was worried that if he gave too few men, he would really fail. He was very merciful and gave him an extra 10,000. He was already being lenient enough!
Moreover, it turned out that Xie Shaoling didn't need 60,000 troops at all to attack Jizhou County!
Just as his army reached the city gates and before he even began the siege, chaos broke out in Jizhou County.
According to the military intelligence report, Xie Shaoling had just ordered the attack on the city, and the army had just rushed to the city under a hail of arrows when the city gates were opened by the oppressed people inside.
Xie Shaoling was just lucky; he got lucky and stumbled upon a bargain!
If it were him, he could do it too!
"He has already won..." The emperor said listlessly, under the curious and nervous gazes of the eight children.
"Young Master Xie is amazing! He can win a siege with the same number of troops. It seems that not everything in the military books is true!" Ye Jingchen said excitedly.
The emperor glanced at him sideways, feeling utterly disgusted.
How could his son praise Xie Shaoling's abilities?
"There's also an element of luck involved," the emperor cautioned.
"Isn't luck also part of ability? Don't you agree?" Ye Jingchen not only refuted himself, but also dragged the others into it.
"It's all about timing, fate, and destiny!"
Sometimes luck is more important than ability!
"I also want to have good luck!" Ye Jingshu and the others echoed.
emperor:......
There's no limit to how bad things can get!
I have no appetite for dinner!
"Father is very lucky to have someone as capable as Prince Xie to protect the borders! I've heard that all the men in the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion are as capable as Prince Xie. With them guarding the northern border, Father can rest easy!" Ye Jingchen flattered.
These words were very well said, praising the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion while also taking the opportunity to flatter the emperor.
The emperor's lips twitched; he wanted to speak, but didn't know what to say.
He was indeed able to rest easy because the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion was guarding the northern border.
If it were one of those incompetent men in the guard camp, he probably wouldn't be able to sleep at night!
"Father is not only lucky, but also has the discerning eye to recognize talent, discovering a natural-born general like Prince Xie! It is all because of Father's ability to recognize and utilize talent that we have achieved this victory! Father's strategic planning is also very impressive!" Ye Jingchen racked his brains to think of words of praise.
emperor:......
I was praised, but I'm not happy at all!
Because every compliment he received was inextricably linked to Xie Shaoling!
He even began to suspect that Ye Jingchen might have done it on purpose!
The emperor recalled Ye Jingchen's words and realized that every sentence seemed to be directed at him, making it hard for him to believe that his unfilial son hadn't done it on purpose!
"Who taught you to say these things? Xie Chang'an?" The emperor's expression immediately changed.
"These are my heartfelt words. Is it because I said something wrong that Father is unhappy?" Ye Jingchen asked with a puzzled look, showing no fear despite the emperor's sudden change in expression.
"Also, why did Father suddenly mention Xie Chang'an?" Ye Jingchen continued with his doubts and composure.
The emperor couldn't detect the slightest hint of unease in his expression.
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