Chapter 586: Asking for Marriage
Xiao Yan guessed that Emperor An was most likely to do the latter.
After Marquis Wenxin and his men led the troops out of the capital, someone would tamper with the baggage, food, or other matters, or find a way to delay the war so that the two men would "fail" in suppressing the rebellion, and then use the excuse of having someone take over the army to take back the tiger talisman from Marquis Wenxin and his men.
Tang Ning nestled in Xiao Yan's arms, listening to his analysis with a frown on her face. "Emperor An doesn't have many capable people around him. Liu Tong'en is one of them, but he must know that we're keeping an eye on him and wouldn't dare let him get involved. Furthermore, Liu Tong'en has failed to do his job well several times, and Emperor An has gradually lost his patience and trust in him."
"As for the aristocratic families, Emperor An knows that we're not on good terms with them. Rumors of my brother extorting money from them will surely leak out. Will Emperor An use his own interests to instigate Liang Guangyi and the aristocratic families to get involved in this matter?"
Xiao Yan laughed: "Liang Guangyi is not a fool."
If Emperor An was still in control of his power and his words were final, Liang Guangyi would have chosen to help Emperor An deal with him without hesitation, and would even use all his strength to stop the rebellion. But now...
An emperor who cannot control the prince, cannot suppress the court officials, sees the people losing power and makes a fuss, but cannot even come up with money for compensation, and is very likely to target the aristocratic families and make them empty their pockets.
Liang Guangyi must be crazy to take on such a crappy job.
"If Liang Guangyi doesn't agree, will he look for someone else?" Tang Ning asked.
Xiao Yan pondered, "That's possible, but apart from Liang Guangyi and the aristocratic families, the number of people in the court who dare to risk the wrath of the world and help him in the war in the South can be counted on one's fingers."
None of the military generals trusted by Emperor An had the ability to get involved in this matter. The only ones who could get involved, besides Liang Guangyi and the aristocratic families, were Cao Dejiang and two or three old ministers in the court. Apart from them, there were only Prince Ji and Prince Huan from the royal family.
The first two can be eliminated directly, and the remaining old ministers are all experienced and shrewd.
They value their reputation more than anything else, and are quick to change their attitude according to the situation. Emperor An does not offer any benefits that are attractive enough and can be delivered to them immediately. No one would dare to risk ruining their reputation to help him do such a thing.
As for the royal family...
"Prince Ji is a man who knows how to handle the current situation. Otherwise, he wouldn't have come forward at the palace banquet that day, and he wouldn't have taken the initiative to show us goodwill later when he saw that the situation was not going well. He sacrificed his wife and daughter, and gave away so many gifts. He has long lost the trust of Emperor An. Even if he wanted to turn around and help Emperor An, he wouldn't believe him."
"It's that King Huan..."
Xiao Yan narrowed his eyes and pondered for a moment before saying, "He's not someone you can worry about."
He seems to have no desires, but in fact he has a lot of plans in mind. We have to be on guard against this person in advance.
Xiao Yan said, "Looks like we need to find someone to keep an eye on Prince Huan."
Tang Ning looked up: "Who should I look for then?"
Xiao Yan pondered for a moment and said, "Prince Ji, and Liang Guangyi."
Tang Ning looked surprised: "Liang Guangyi?"
Prince Ji is fine, as he and Prince Huan are both members of the royal family. He is afraid that Prince Huan will cause trouble that will implicate himself, so it is possible to let Prince Ji keep an eye on Prince Huan. But for Liang Guangyi, it is good enough that he does not plot to trick them and get back at them.
How could he possibly help them keep an eye on King Huan?
Xiao Yan chuckled softly, "When I left the palace, I reminded Liang Guangyi about this."
Tang Ning was surprised: "What?"
Xiao Yan whispered a few words, and seeing Tang Ning's pupils widen, he chuckled softly, "That old fox has always been very calculating. A single sentence can be interpreted in a thousand different ways. Even if Emperor An speaks to him sincerely now, he will still suspect that he is after their money."
Tang Ning was shocked at first, and then he seemed to imagine that after Emperor An made a mistake, he originally sought out Liang Guangyi to discuss countermeasures and seek an alliance to deal with Xiao Yan together. He was submissive and tried to persuade him in every way to show his sincerity, but in Liang Guangyi's eyes, he had bad intentions.
Tang Ning couldn't help but burst out laughing: "You fooled him like this, and when he realizes it later, he will definitely be embarrassed and angry with you."
"What's there to be ashamed of? I'm just helping him avoid disaster."
Xiao Yan said righteously, "Emperor An's actions are becoming increasingly unscrupulous. If Liang Guangyi steps into this mud pit, it will be impossible for him to get out in the future. Rather than rolling in the mud and letting his family be completely annihilated, I saved the Liang family for him. He should be grateful to me."
The power of the aristocratic families must be suppressed. If the Wei Dynasty wants to be strong, it must never allow the aristocratic families to continue to dominate the court, use their monopoly to prevent the court from selecting talented people, or even break the imperial power from being independent of certain laws and regulations.
But whether it was Xie Tianzhao back then or Xiao Yan now, neither of them had ever thought of wiping out the aristocratic families.
There are also capable people in the aristocratic families, and not all of them are mediocre. Xiao Yan just wants them to have equal opportunities like everyone else and to fight for a status that matches their abilities.
But the premise of all this is that the aristocratic family does not cross the line, nor does it do something that is absolutely forbidden like the Lu family did back then. Otherwise, no matter how much Xiao Yan values talent, he will definitely not tolerate them.
Xiao Yan said, "Liang Guangyi is a smart man. He's surrendered several times to protect his family. I didn't cross their line and forced them to kill them all. Naturally, they should return the favor. After all, favors always have to be reciprocated."
He reminded Liang Guangyi, and Liang Guangyi helped him keep an eye on King Huan. Isn't that fair?
Tang Ning: “…”
Even though it was Xiao Yan who spoke, she couldn't help but remain silent.
In his eyes, after accepting 800,000 gold from someone and stripping them of their skin and bones, and nearly destroying them, he still calls it a favor?
Tang Ning raised his head and said, "Brother, don't say this to anyone."
Xiao Yan looked at her face, which was full of confusion and she couldn't express it in words. He smiled and lowered his head to bite her cheek: "Why, are you afraid that I will be beaten to death?"
Tang Ning: “…”
Did you know you would be beaten to death?
…
Xiao Yan held Tang Ning and talked for a while, then he carried her inside and slept with her clothes on for a while.
Xiao Yan woke up around noon and saw the little girl in his arms still sleeping soundly with her eyes closed. He kissed her forehead, then carefully pulled his arm out, sat up, tucked the quilt for her, stood up, and left with the cloak beside the bed.
I went to the side room to change my clothes, and Yuejian brought in some warm water.
Xiao Yan said as he washed up, "Have the kitchen prepare some food and keep it warm. Bring it over after Tang Ning wakes up. You stay at Heli Hall and don't let anyone come over to avoid waking her up."
Yue Jian nodded in response: "Master, would you like to have dinner?"
Xiao Yan put the handkerchief aside after wiping his face: "No more eating, I have something to do at the Cao family. If Tang Ning wakes up, tell her."
"yes."
After Xiao Yan finished packing, he went to the warehouse to get some things and went out directly.
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