After venting his anger on the two male prostitutes, Prince Duan calmed down a bit and summoned his subordinates to the Hall of Diligent Governance for a meeting.
"What are your thoughts on the fall of Yiling?"
Summoned to a meeting in the middle of the night, none dared to harbor the slightest dissatisfaction. However, no one dared to easily answer the Prince Duan's questions.
Who in the Hall of Diligent Governance doesn't know what's been going on lately?
Finally, it was Wei Zizhan, the second son of Prince Duan, who spoke first, "Your Highness, the most important thing right now is to send troops to support us as soon as possible, in order to prevent the Western Rong from occupying more of our cities and territories."
He now holds a position in the garrison. Except when they meet in private, where he calls Prince Duan "Father," he addresses Prince Duan as "Your Highness" like any other minister.
The mere mention of sending troops to provide support infuriated Prince Duan. Did he not know he should send troops to help?
It can be said that upon learning of the Western Rong's attack on Minhe, he immediately began to mobilize troops to provide support.
But to his utter surprise, a problem arose with the supplies when troop deployment was underway.
The disappearance of food supplies and weapons from the warehouse shattered all his earlier plans.
Even when his own son spoke, his anger couldn't be contained and it flared up uncontrollably.
He sneered, his gaze sweeping across the crowd like lightning. "What are your thoughts on the matter of recovering the military supplies from the warehouse?"
Everyone broke out in a cold sweat under his gaze.
No one dared to speak.
Finally, Wei Zizhan withstood the pressure and asked, "Has Your Highness heard anything about what's happening in the Western Rong army?"
Prince Duan looked at him coldly, signaling him to continue.
"As far as I know, a few days ago, Helian Heng, the commander of the Western Rong, sent people to search for information about bandits in the Jianghu."
It is said that a fire broke out in the grain depot of the Western Rong camp that day, and the heavily guarded granary of the Western Rong was burned to the ground.
However, after Helian Heng inspected the warehouses, he discovered that, apart from a few granaries that had indeed been burned down, the grain in the other granaries had long since been moved. Only the empty shells had been burned. "Your Majesty," he said, "I believe this theft from our granaries is very similar to the theft of grain from the Western Rong."
Prince Duan had been keeping an eye on the Western Rong's movements, so he naturally knew that what his second son said was true.
He stroked his beard, a hint of appreciation appearing on his face. "So, in your opinion, what's going on here?"
Wei Zizhan's forehead was covered in a fine layer of sweat. He steadied himself and said, "As far as I know, Helian Heng led his troops to attack Puzhou that day. However, he received news that the grain supplies had been burned halfway there, so he hurriedly returned to the camp."
Regardless, Puzhou is the one who benefits from this whole affair. I think this matter is inextricably linked to Puzhou. And now, the Western Rong have abandoned Puzhou and turned their attack on Minhe. All these factors indicate that we underestimated Puzhou. That place… there's probably a mastermind directing things.”
After Wei Zizhan finished speaking, everyone showed their admiration. Prince Duan also looked at his son with satisfaction.
It must be said that he was only focused on his anger and couldn't understand many things, but he overlooked the fact that these events were connected and who would ultimately benefit.
Prince Duan asked, "Then, in your opinion, who is that mastermind stirring up trouble in Puzhou?"
Wei Zizhan said, "In my opinion, this person is Lu Shiyan." He then gave several reasons for believing that Lu Shiyan was Lu Shiyan.
Zhang Kui was a mediocre talent; if it weren't for someone helping him from behind, Puzhou would certainly not have been able to be defended.
Apart from Lu Shiyan, they did not find out anyone else in Puzhou.
Another matter is Lu Shiyan's recruitment of refugees into soldiers. Although he seems like a poor boy who doesn't know his place, you can tell from the slogans he used when recruiting soldiers that he is not ignorant of his place. At most, he is just pretending to be stupid.
Furthermore, if the Western Rong were to engage in battle with them, they would have no time to deal with them, allowing Puzhou to catch its breath and develop. Also, where would Puzhou get the money to support its army?
Watching his younger brother speak eloquently and seeing the admiring look on his father's face, Wei Zicheng's eyes flashed with jealousy and disappointment.
Besides feeling jealous and disappointed, she was also a little resentful, thinking that Wei Zizhan had played a trick.
Who doesn't know these things?
It's just that everyone is afraid of their father and dares not speak out. He got away with his clever trick this time, but sooner or later he will be defeated by his own cunning.
As Wei Zicheng was thinking, Prince Duan slammed his hand on the table above him, startling him so much that he instinctively lowered his head even further.
Prince Duan above did not notice his eldest son's unusual behavior. He sent several trusted men to Puzhou to investigate the recent situation there, focusing on the origins of Puzhou's grain and weapons, and to investigate whether there were any irregularities in their origins.
Thinking of how Lu Shiyan had previously taken action to eliminate their spies planted in Puzhou, Prince Duan felt a surge of hatred.
If he hadn't previously used a scheme to uncover their spies planted in Puzhou and eliminated them in one fell swoop, he wouldn't have completely cut off news from Puzhou.
But in the end, it's still his fault for underestimating his opponent.
They hadn't planted many spies in Puzhou before, and they didn't take a young man like Lu Shiyan, who came from a poor farming family, seriously.
Prince Duan was filled with regret and hatred, but he couldn't spare the time to deal with Puzhou.
He rallied his spirits, procured grain from elsewhere, and dispatched troops to intercept the Western Rong.
Inside the cave, Jiang Tangtang had a wonderful sleep and felt refreshed when she woke up.
The rain outside had stopped sometime ago.
From where she lay, she could see the lush green leaves outside the cave and the bright sunlight.
Listening to the birdsong in the mountains, she slowly sat up and rubbed her shoulders.
The environment is great, the air is fresh, the only downside is that it lacks a latex mattress.
If I could put a latex mattress in the space so I could take it out for camping anytime, that would be perfect.
Just then, Lu Shiyan walked in from outside, his clothes soaked with dew.
Upon seeing Jiang Tangtang, his expression softened involuntarily. "When did you wake up?"
Jiang Tangtang turned to look at him.
He walked towards her against the light, looking radiant, and his sharply defined features made her heart pound uncontrollably.
She unconsciously pressed her hand to her chest, silently telling herself that she was only attracted by male beauty, that everyone has a love of beauty, and that she was simply appreciating male beauty.
She reminded herself of this several times before calming herself down and answering him, "I just woke up."
Lu Shiyan seemed oblivious to her discomfort. "Want to go for a walk?"
Jiang Tangtang raised her hand, put the things into her spatial storage, and said, "Let's go!"
After the rain, the air was filled with the fresh scent of earth and wild grass. Raindrops still clung to the emerald green leaves, and wildflowers bloomed intermittently in the woods. Birds hopped merrily among the trees.
Jiang Tangtang felt as joyful as birds leaping and chasing each other in the forest, and the corners of her lips unconsciously turned up.
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