Chapter 316 Their Deal
Yanbei joined forces with Beixun to launch an attack on the entire northeastern part of the Great Zhou.
General Zhenyuan requested assistance from the imperial court, which required mobilizing a large amount of manpower and resources to keep the troops of both countries outside the northern border defense line.
As winter approaches, maritime trade is slowing down.
This took away all the money the imperial court had earned in a year.
Yun Zhao searched his memory for a long time, but couldn't find a single piece of information about the Northern War in his past life.
Even though she was young at the time, it's impossible for her to have no memory of such a big event.
If we're talking about major events in recent years, aside from the Great Zhou Jiangnan floods...
That will be the snow disaster in the northern part of the country next spring.
The snow disaster did not affect a wide area, but due to internal strife within the Northern Xun royal family, the third prince, who was in charge of disaster relief, was framed, resulting in countless deaths and injuries among the people.
But by this time, the snow disaster should have already begun to take shape.
Why would Yanbei and Beixun form an alliance at this time?
Could it be Ling Xuerou?
Yun Zhao quietly sneaked into the study, where Yun Xuan, Xu Zhenbang, and Wei Mingde were all present.
"Has the Grand Tutor sent any letter?"
This is Wei Mingde's voice.
"Since my mentor first wrote last month, no more letters have been sent. I suppose my brother is keeping a close watch on things, and to avoid involving more people, my mentor is also reluctant to send letters."
Yunxuan's voice sounded tired.
The temperature has dropped sharply these past few days, and his legs are in a lot of pain.
"The situation on the northern front is, after all, based on military reports, and the Grand Tutor wouldn't know much about it."
I do have a few old friends in the military in Yunnan, and I've heard that the impact on them isn't that significant.
It's somewhat strange that Bei Xun's forces are mainly concentrated on the Yanbei battlefield.
Xu Zhenbang was a military general, and his analysis of the battlefield was always more accurate than the other two.
"The Northwest Army is not far from the Yunbei Army. With Beixun's forces, the Yunbei Army alone is sufficient."
They launched a war in winter, surely wanting something, but they concentrated most of their forces in the north.
"Isn't that helping Yanbei attack my Great Zhou? It won't do them any good."
"Unless Yanbei promises him something."
Yunxuan suddenly spoke.
"Now that you put it that way, I'm starting to suspect that Lord Yang wasn't investigating before."
The General of Zhenyuan is secretly trading with the Northern Frontier? Could they be eyeing maritime trade?
Upon hearing Wei Mingde's words, Yun Zhao froze completely.
You, Ling Xuerou, actually had such a plan!
"Squeak!"
The door was opened at some point, and Yun Zhao plunged inside headfirst!
"Ouch!"
Xu Zhenbang scooped her up.
"Zhaozhao? What are you doing here?"
He also said that someone was eavesdropping outside, and it turned out to be his little granddaughter.
"Hehe, Grandfather~ I just came to check on Daddy's leg. It's been hurting a lot these past few days!"
She definitely couldn't just say she was there to eavesdrop!
"Come here, Zhaozhao, come to Daddy."
Yunxuan reached out to her, and Xu Zhenbang shoved her into his arms.
"Does Father's leg still hurt?"
Yun Zhao blinked and asked curiously.
"I'm much better, thank you for your concern, Zhaozhao."
He pinched his daughter's little cheek, the smile in his eyes seeming to tell her that her father saw through everything.
Yun Zhao immediately looked away, feeling a little guilty.
"Oh right, Daddy, what are you talking about? Can Zhaozhao hear me?"
She blinked, looking completely innocent.
Are you planning to listen openly and honestly?
Yunxuan gently tapped her forehead affectionately.
"When you were at the Marquis of Dingyuan's residence, did you ever see the Marquis of Dingyuan as having close relationships with anyone?"
Before his rebirth, Yun Zhao had no idea that Marquis Dingyuan was related to the King of Yue.
But from her experiences in both her past and present lives, she already knew who the Marquis of Dingyuan was related to.
"I don't know either~ But once when I got up in the middle of the night, I overheard them talking about it."
The King of Yue wants the salt and iron mines of Huainan. Father, why? Are these things very valuable?
She tilted her head back, feigning curiosity, and asked.
Marquis Dingyuan once wanted her to marry the King of Huainan in order to help the King of Yue secure the Huainan iron mine.
Unfortunately, he didn't know that the King of Huainan had already mortgaged the iron ore to the private chamber of commerce.
With the emperor's intervention in this life, Mu Yangxian can no longer become the crown prince.
Given the emperor's personality, knowing that the Prince of Huainan had ulterior motives, he would definitely find a way to reclaim the Huainan fiefdom.
It is estimated that the salt and iron industries in Huainan will be reclaimed by the national treasury.
Upon hearing her words, Yunxuan couldn't help but frown.
"Could this sudden war be related to the salt industry in Huainan?"
Banyan Tree Village, Nanxi Prefecture.
The Ling family has been living here for two months.
The two guards sent by the Prince of Yue's mansion stood outside the door, shivering from the cold.
"So Nanxi Prefecture gets this cold in winter?"
"One of the guards said."
"I heard that it'll only be cold in Nanxi Prefecture for ten days to half a month, so let's just bear with it!"
"Why do you think the Prince is helping the Ling family? I really don't understand."
The Ling family doesn't seem like a big deal, yet they sent two of their personal guards to Nanxi Prefecture for protection.
"Shh! I heard that the Ling family offered advice to the prince and received quite a few good things in return."
The two fell silent instantly.
The prince never shortchanges anyone who can bring him benefits.
Similarly, those who cause trouble for the prince will all die a terrible death.
Ling Xuerou listened to their words, then turned and went back with a cold smile.
"Father, has there been any news from the Prince?"
"A letter just arrived today. The fighting has already started in the North. The plague in Jiangnan at the beginning of the year caused heavy losses. I reckon your plan should be able to succeed."
Ling Ruofeng smiled and drank a glass of wine, feeling delighted.
"Our Xue'er is so clever! Once my father submits a memorial to His Majesty accusing the Huainan salt industry of wrongdoing, His Majesty will surely order the Prince of Huainan to hand over the salt fields!"
Lin Shujing poured wine for Ling Ruofeng, her tone full of pride.
Her daughter is indeed clever!
"That was all thanks to Xue'er's precognitive dream, which revealed the extravagant lifestyle of the Prince of Huainan's residence, prompting the prince to send men to infiltrate it."
Within a month, evidence of his crimes was found. Now that the war was urgent and maritime trade was in a lull, this was the perfect excuse.
"Her Majesty should hand over the salt fields of Huainan to fill the gaps left by the war in the north!"
Ling Xuerou simply lowered her eyes and chuckled softly, but a flash of hatred appeared in her eyes.
If Ling Ruofeng hadn't been so stupid that his smuggling of salt had been exposed, she wouldn't have had to go through so much trouble to come up with ideas for the King of Yue.
Her maternal family, on the other hand, were opportunistic. As the Salt Commissioner, they were afraid that the Ling family's affairs would implicate him.
As soon as Ling Ruofeng was arrested, he was eager to distance himself from the situation.
If it weren't for the need for him to write to the emperor, she wouldn't have put this good opportunity on him!
Concealing the hatred in her eyes, Ling Xuerou raised her gaze and said gently, "It's all thanks to Father's planning; otherwise, how could Grandfather have cooperated so well with my plan?"
Ling Ruofeng's smile softened when this matter was brought up.
His father-in-law's family is indeed disheartening.
Seeing the panic on Lin Shujing's face, he sneered, "So be it, people's hearts have always been like this."
“If we hadn’t provided these clues to the King of Yue, why would he have been willing to send people to protect us? We would have ended up like the Yun family, doing hard labor in Liang Town.”
He understood when he was abandoned.
"Father, rest assured, the Emperor will not allow Yunxuan to live. On the contrary, what about the Wei family? We had someone monitor Wei Jingchen last time. Have you heard anything?"
What Ling Xuerou cared about most was when Wei Jingchen would start to take notice of the identity of Young Master Jun.
In this lifetime, we must never allow Young Master Jun and Yun Zhao to have any further interaction!
"Oh, I'm surprised you brought this up. The Yuan family said..."
The young master of Tingyu Pavilion is elusive and mysterious; he last appeared in the clouds, and then disappeared.
They searched for a long time but couldn't find any trace of the person; it was as if he had vanished into thin air!
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