"Alive." Wu Jue said with a smile, "And there is still life to be lived!"
Qiao Yumian was overjoyed, her eyes were red: "I will write a letter to tell my father about this!"
"Don't write a letter yet!" Wu Jue said with a smile, "Let me scare him when I see him someday!"
Qiao Yang has a family and she won't make a big fuss over his life or death. It doesn't make much difference whether he finds out sooner or later.
After hearing Wu Jue's words, Qiao Yumian was not in a position to make her own decision. She smiled and nodded, "I'll do as you say."
Anyway, Dad still has A Wu, his "stand-in", by his side.
Thinking of A Wu, and remembering that she was the first to brazenly guess that A Wu was the reincarnation of Master Wu Jue... Qiao Yumian couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed.
Now when Qiao Yumian thinks about her father's care and emotional support for A Wu, she can't help but feel that the picture reveals a sense of insanity and absurdity...
And, when my father finds out that Master Wu Jue is still alive, I wonder what his reaction will be. How will he feel when he faces Wu in the future? While Qiao Yumian was thinking in a mess, Wu Jue asked curiously, "Did your father cry after I got into trouble?"
People always want to know the reactions of those around them after they die, but very few people actually have the opportunity to know like he does.
Qiao Yumian nodded. Her father had certainly cried before, and now and then he would get upset and recall the past with red eyes.
While Wu Jue and Qiao Yumian were talking, Chang Kuo, who was taking a morning walk, came over and interrupted them, not forgetting to instigate: "...Yumian, this monk has been deceiving you until now, you can't just let it go!"
"Well..." Chang Kuo put on an upright attitude like a judge, waved his hand and gave a verdict: "You stay for lunch at noon, and let him make you a pot of mutton soup, a dozen sesame cakes, and a dish of steamed chicken with vinegar, all as apology!"
Everyone was dissatisfied with this verdict: "Why are they only the things you want to eat?"
Chang Kuo: "Then let Yu Mian order a few more dishes!"
"Anything is fine." Qiao Yumian said with a smile: "I came here today because I want to see Ningning for something. I wonder if she is free at this time?"
"It's still early now. He should not have gone to the study room yet. It's still not too late to go there now." Chang Kuo smiled and waved his hand: "Go quickly. Remember to stay for lunch at noon."
Under the guidance of a female guard, Qiao Yumian arrived at Chang Suining's residence and met Chang Suining coming out of the yard.
"Ningning." Qiao Yumian stopped.
"Sister, you came here so early, is there something wrong?" Chang Suining asked.
"It's not urgent." Qiao Yumian saw that Chang Suining was obviously going to handle official business, so she said, "Ningning, you go and handle official business first. I have nothing to do today, it won't be too late to talk to you in the evening."
Chang Suining smiled and said, "It's okay. It won't take long. Sister, come in with me and talk."
It would be fine if she wasn't busy every day, but once she got busy, she couldn't stop easily. Qiao Yumian came here so early, so how could she let her wait until the evening?
Seeing Chang Suining turn around and go back into the yard, Qiao Yumian hurriedly followed him.
Knowing that Chang Suining was busy, Qiao Yumian did not want to disturb her too much. As soon as she followed Chang Suining into the hall, she asked directly: "Ningning, do you know what's going on in Xingzhou now? I heard that the Fanyang army has already..."
Chang Suining nodded: "Xingzhou has fallen into the hands of King Fanyang."
Qiao Yumian's eyelashes trembled slightly, and she asked hurriedly, "Then...are the members of the Qinghe Cui clan safe?"
"The Cui clan was able to move to Taiyuan in time, and they are not in danger for the time being." Chang Suining stated what he knew, "But as far as I know, the people under King Fanyang still took away dozens of Cui clan members."
Qiao Yumian's heart, which had just settled down when she heard the first half of the sentence, suddenly rose again: "Ningning, do you know who are among those dozens of disciples?"
Chang Suining was stunned for a moment, then tried to ask: "Sister, do you want to know if Cui Liulang is among them?"
A hint of discomfort flashed across Qiao Yumian's eyes, but she nodded without hesitation.
The year is peaceful and clear.
When she was in the capital, she only saw Cui Lang often following behind her sister Mianmian, whose eye disease had not yet healed, like a shadow...
Now it seems that the one who is willing to be a shadow is not the only one who is interested.
Chang Suining did not ask too much about this intention, and only said: "I just learned about this matter the day before yesterday. The identities of the dozens of Cui family members have yet to be confirmed. When I get the detailed information, I will inform my sister as soon as possible."
Qiao Yumian nodded slightly: "Ningning, thank you very much."
Chang Suining originally thought that there was no need to thank him. Cui Lang at least called her Master, so she should take better care of him. Moreover, she should try her best to know the actions of various forces in the world.
But looking at Qiao Yumian in front of her, Chang Suining suddenly felt that this thank you was a matter between her sister and Cui Lang, and there was no need for her to reject it on her behalf.
"Ningning..." Qiao Yumian asked with a somewhat uneasy look, "In your opinion, can the imperial army resist the Fanyang army?"
The Fanyang army's rebellion was very sudden. They were unstoppable and their power grew rapidly wherever they went. It was really frightening.
"Weizhou will most likely not be able to be saved." Chang Suining said, "It all depends on the battle for Xiangzhou."
When the Fanyang army captured Xingzhou, Weizhou and Xiangzhou both sent troops to support it. After Xingzhou was captured, Weizhou almost lost its ability to resist.
The situation in Xiangzhou would not be much better, but the troops sent by the imperial court had arrived in Luoyang and were now heading towards Xiangzhou.
The location of Xiangzhou itself is not that important, but the bad thing is that below Xiangzhou is the eastern capital Luoyang.
Once Xiangzhou is captured, the Fanyang army can directly attack Luoyang, and then further threaten the capital.
This was also the fundamental reason why the Fanyang Army was able to focus on its mission and move quickly southward.
Therefore, the upcoming battle in Xiangzhou is extremely crucial. If the imperial court loses the Eastern Capital, people’s hearts will be in chaos… By then, it will be unknown whether the prince’s wedding can be held as scheduled next month.
The Empress's gambling game started off very unfavorably.
This was almost within Chang Suining's expectations. It was a risky move. One wrong opportunity would be enough to cause the cauldron of the world, which had already shown signs of being broken, to topple over. The fire in the furnace would soon burn this gray and turbid world into a huge purgatory.
At the beginning of a war, the empress did not think about victory but about defeat. She should have expected the current situation.
But under such circumstances, Chang Suining almost no longer believed that the empress had the ability to deal with the aftermath well.
For some things, it's time to prepare in advance.
After having someone prepare breakfast for Qiao Yumian, Chang Suining met Chang Ren in the inner study before going to the outer study.
"Uncle Blade, I have something I need you to do."
Chang Ren clasped his fists and said, "Please give your orders, young lady!"
"I need you to secretly bring someone back to Beijing to arrange some things."
Seeing Chang Suining taking out two folded booklets, Chang Ren hurried forward.
Chang Suining first handed one of the pieces to Chang Ren: "This is the manpower and locations of the secret agents that can be mobilized in the capital."
Chang Ren took it and looked at it, only to see that the locations on it were densely packed and spread over a wide area. One of the hidden locations was actually Dengtai Tower in the capital.
Chang Ren was shocked. He had followed Chang Kuo for many years and was sure that these were not the foundation left by the Marquis. His own Marquis, a military commander, definitely did not have such great ability...
Could it be that this is also one of the inheritances left by the girl’s unknown “ancestors”?
Could God come and tell him who the girl's ancestors were? Chang Ren almost wanted to scratch his head.
"Uncle Ren can mobilize them with this order." Chang Suining handed a token handed over by Meng Lie to Chang Ren.
After Li Shang's death, Meng Lie never stopped operating secret agents in various places, which naturally included the capital. However, one must be more cautious when acting under the feet of the emperor, so Meng Lie had only tried his best to retain the original power in the capital, and had not taken the risk to expand and extend it further.
But since he met Chang Suining last year, Meng Lie, under the instructions of Chang Suining, tried to secretly expand the influence of the capital.
The situation in the world at that time was already in turmoil, with various forces in the capital competing openly and secretly, and the forces surrounding the imperial power were not as tight as before. As gaps gradually appeared, it was a good time to expand.
In addition to the deep-rooted foundation, the secret organization in the capital centered on Dengtai Tower has more than doubled in this year.
Not only are they responsible for collecting intelligence from all parties, they also have a considerable number of secret guards at their disposal.
It is the time when the kings are entering the capital. In order to avoid unrest, the capital has very strict inspections on those entering the capital. If Chang Ren wants to enter the capital smoothly, he is destined not to bring too many people with him. The secret guards in the capital can come in handy.
Chang Ren took the token, suppressed his confusion, and tried to ask, "What does the lady want her subordinate to arrange?"
Chang Suining handed over another brochure: "If the capital falls into danger in the future, you must do your best to protect these people."
When Chang Ren took it and opened it, the first person he saw on the first line was: "...Master Chu?"
Looking down, it was Qiao Jijiu... But Chu Taifu was ranked before Qiao Jijiu? Chang Suining nodded with a smile: "Taifu is old, so he is the most important."
The teacher was narrow-minded, and would probably be furious if he knew that she had never put him first.
Chang Ren suddenly realized that if they were arranged according to age and status, that would be the case.
But when he read further, he found that many of the people in the book were court officials. He couldn't even remember when the girl had too many interactions with them. Was the girl going to use her power to protect them? "Da Sheng can't do without these people." Chang Suining said.
She also can't lose her teachers and friends.
She has to protect the people she cares about, and cannot allow the schemer to put their safety at risk in this gamble.
Chang Ren's face became serious, and he clasped his fists and said, "Yes, I will obey your command!"
"There may be many dangers on this journey, so please take care of yourself, Uncle Ren."
"Please rest assured, girl!"
After Chang Ren left, Chang Suining went to the study room.
The weather today is not very good, and there seems to be a sign of rain. Chang Suining turned his head to look towards the north where gray clouds were floating, with a trace of worry between his brows.
"grown ups."
A female guard who looked unfamiliar walked over quickly and saluted Chang Suining.
Recently, She Cai, Hao Huan and others have all followed Chang Suining's orders to go to the military camp to arrange affairs. Most of the female soldiers in charge of guarding the mansion were newly promoted by She Cai. Although they are occasionally unfamiliar, they are very efficient and attentive in doing their work.
At this moment, the female guard said, "Sir, Mr. Meng is back."
Meng Lie is back? Chang Suining immediately asked someone to invite him over and talk to him in a nearby pavilion.
Meng Lie was exhausted and only changed into an outer robe in the car before entering the city, but he was in good spirits and did not show any sign of fatigue.
After he saluted, Chang Suining asked him to sit down and talk, but he still said, "I'm not tired," and quickly reported to Chang Suining in detail about the affairs of the trip to the northern border.
Chang Suining was naturally relieved that he was doing the job, so he just listened and nodded, and finally said: "You did a great job, thank you for the hard work."
Meng Lie smiled and said, "I am still able to do a little for Your Highness. I haven't felt so relaxed for many years."
Chang Suining smiled and said, "In which lifetime did I accumulate this blessing?"
Meng Lie smiled and said, "No matter which life, Your Highness has done immeasurable merits and virtues."
After the two of them laughed and talked for a while, Chang Suining asked, "Before you came back, was Cui Jing's recruitment going smoothly?"
Meng Lie nodded.
With sufficient military pay and the prestige of Xuan Ce's army, the expansion of the army was much smoother. However, the Northern Di's war was also very sudden. Cui Jing was fighting the enemy in the front, and the recruitment and training of soldiers in the rear had not stopped.
Finally, Meng Lie said, "Before leaving, Grand Commander Cui asked me to convey a message to Your Highness."
Chang Suining listened carefully.
He said: [Cui Jing is here, please rest assured.]
After a moment, Chang Suining looked towards the north, nodded slightly, and replied, "Okay."
Since he said so, she calmed down for the time being and did what she had to do.
In the afternoon, after discussing matters with Wang Changshi and others, Chang Suining checked the letters sent from various places.
The turbulence of the situation is also very obvious in the details. If the recent letters from the Jiangdu Governor's Mansion are not sorted out in a few days, they will pile up like a mountain.
In addition to her personal letters and important intelligence from various places, most of the letters sent directly to Chang Suining were from the provincial governors of Huainan Road.
The provincial governors of various states in Huainan Road have been sending messages very frequently in the past two months, and among them, the most prominent one is Shao Shantong, the governor of Guangzhou.
Chang Suining estimated that Shao Shantong had written her at least 20 letters in just two months, which meant there was one letter every three days. And all this started with an order Chang Suining issued two months ago...
At that time, Chang Suining was already preparing for war, so he instructed the governors of each state to recruit another 5,000 soldiers on top of the original number of garrisons, under the pretext of "ensuring the defense of Huainan Road."
This 5,000 men is not a small number. If each state expands by 5,000 men, the total number of troops in the twelve states will increase by 60,000.
Nowadays, various forces are recruiting soldiers either under the order of the court, or out of ambition or for self-protection. Recruiting soldiers and buying horses can be seen everywhere. The court is no longer able to carry out strict supervision and control. In comparison, the move by Huainan Road is not a big deal worth mentioning.
It happened to be after the autumn harvest, and there was sufficient grain in Huainan Road. It was almost easy for each state to recruit 5,000 troops. Within a month, the governors of each state had completed this order one after another.
Regarding this matter, Shao Shantong also sent a reply letter soon. In the letter, he apologized to Chang Suining in a panic, saying that he accidentally collected 10,000 more people, so - please tell me, sir, whether to dismiss them on the spot? (End of this chapter)
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