After recommending Wang Ren, Wen Hu clasped his hands in a fist salute and said sincerely, "Your Majesty, please make a swift decision to protect Changsui and save Dajing!"
Yuan Xiu stopped pacing and walked up to Wen Hu, asking, "At a time like this, if Wang Ren is recalled from the west, what will happen if he disobeys the order?"
Wen Hu understood; this was the problem Yuan Xiu was most worried about.
Feng Jing fled with the Zhennan Border Army, and Zhao Huan led the various counties of Jingdong in rebellion. The eastern and southern parts of Jingguo were in chaos. At this time, would Wang Ren, who had troops in the western part of Jingguo, have no intention of doing anything?
Although Wang Ren is honestly fighting the Atkins coalition, what if he really has ulterior motives?
What if his attack on Atkinson's forces was merely to appease the court's wait-and-see attitude?
What should the imperial court do?
What should Yuan Xiu do?
Wen Hu said with certainty, "Perhaps Wang Ren has the courage to disobey orders, or perhaps Wang Ren will not listen to me, but there is one person whose words Wang Ren will definitely listen to."
"who?"
“My uncle, Wen Tai.”
Yuan Xiu's eyes narrowed sharply, and he asked, "Lord Sha, what do you mean by that?"
Wen Hu clasped his hands and said, “Wang Ren was promoted by Wen Tai. At that time, he lived in the Left Prime Minister’s residence, and I knew him quite well. He prided himself on loyalty and righteousness and was extremely loyal to Wen Tai. Now that Wen Tai is imprisoned, he can act recklessly with military power in his hands. But as long as Wen Tai restores his prime ministership and orders him to come to Changsui to fight against Zhao Huan, Wang Ren will definitely obey.”
Yuan Xiu asked coldly, "Restore Wen Tai's power as prime minister?"
Wen Hu said, "This is just a temporary measure. Although Wen Tai's power as prime minister has been restored, the status of the Central Secretariat will not change. Moreover, the officials of the Left Party have long been eliminated, and Wen Tai has no real power after he comes out. The court is just using him to restrain Wang Ren."
He Yin immediately said, "Your Majesty, please reconsider! Even a starved camel is bigger than a horse. Given Wen Tai's current predicament, he must hate the court. We must not restore his power as prime minister!"
Yuan Li also said, "Your Majesty, I also think it's inappropriate."
Wen Hu argued, "If Wen Tai's power as prime minister is not restored, Wang Ren will not believe that the court has truly appointed Wen Tai, and he will then doubt Wen Tai's orders. Conversely, if Your Majesty does not give Wen Tai any incentives, how can Wen Tai sincerely help Your Majesty?"
Yuan Xiu remained silent and started again.
Wen Hu chased after Yuan Xiu and said, "Your Majesty, at this moment, annihilating the Zhao family's rebel army is of paramount importance. Father and son have already turned against each other with swords drawn; we must not let a small matter cause us to lose the greater good!"
Yuan Xiu stood firm, his eyes flashing with a fierce killing intent, and said, "Just as Marquis Sha said, restore Wen Tai's power as prime minister, and have him send a message to Wang Ren, asking him to lead an army of 300,000 back to annihilate the Zhao family's rebel army!"
"Yes!" Wen Hu clasped his hands in excitement.
He Yin sighed, her face filled with despair.
Yuan Xiu looked at Du Yucheng kneeling in the corner and said, "Du Yucheng, the rebellion of Zhao Huan and his son was caused by your incompetence and carelessness. I will not punish you for now, but let you redeem yourself through meritorious service. There are more than 30,000 troops stationed in the Changsui region. You will lead the Changsui garrison to assist Wang Ren in resisting the enemy. If you win, I will pardon your crime. If you fail, you can go see your father!"
Du Yucheng kowtowed and said, "Your Majesty, I thank you for sparing my life. I will surely execute Zhao Huan and his son. This time, I will bring them back with their heads!"
"Get down and get ready!"
"Your subject obeys!"
After Yuan Xiu left the central platform, Wen Hu, like Wei You, followed closely behind him.
Yuan Xiu slowed his pace and said softly, "Marquis of Sha County, you won't disappoint me after Wen Tai comes out, will you?"
Wen Hu firmly replied, "Of course. I betrayed my uncle, and he hates me to the core. If my uncle were to gain power, I would surely face certain death. Once my uncle is released, I will only stand by Your Majesty's side and help Your Majesty suppress my uncle."
"Hmm... then I'll leave Wen Tai's affairs to you." Yuan Xiu said leisurely, and strode forward.
...
After successfully joining forces in Yanchuan City, Zhao's army underwent several days of reorganization. Zhao Cheng not only regained control of the money in the secret underground chamber of the Right Prime Minister's residence, but also gained Xiao Luomu's full support.
Warfare involves both people and money. Zhao Cheng not only has readily available huge military funds, but also the Oriental Chamber of Commerce, which can continuously generate wealth.
Xiao Luomu managed the Eastern Chamber of Commerce and had many affairs to attend to, so he assigned Xiao Luoyan to be in charge of matters related to the Zhao family army. Zhao Cheng then arranged for Xu An, who was in charge of the affairs of the Eastern Chamber of Commerce, to liaise with him, which allowed Xu An to play his role to the fullest.
In addition, Zhao Huan made new adjustments to the structure of Zhao Family Army.
Yang Taozhi's central army, Yue Jiti's left army, and Xiao Luofeng's right army were combined into the vanguard, with Zhao Cheng, the young marshal, still serving as the vanguard's commander-in-chief.
The 80,000 men under Li Dai, Li Lu, Deng Fugui, Huang Zhen, and Cai Qiong were reorganized into the Rear Army, each serving as the commander of their own troops, and were under the unified command of Zhao Huan.
At this time, Zhao Huan and his son had already learned of the court's order to recall Wang Ren to Changsui. Without further delay, they set out from Yanchuan City on the 18th day of the first month of the thirteenth year of the reign of Emperor Zhishang.
On the same day, Wang Ren led an army of 300,000 to the outskirts of Changsui City. Wang Ren left Wang Yuluan to guard the city and led his personal guards into the palace to meet the emperor.
Yuan Xiu arranged to meet Wang Ren at the central government headquarters.
To Yuan Xiu's surprise, Wang Ren did not go to the Central Platform, but instead went to the Tianze Hall.
"What does Wang Ren mean?" Yuan Xiu asked Jin Hu, who had come to deliver the message.
Jin Hu said tremblingly, "General Wang said that he doesn't know anything about the Central Secretariat. He only remembers that when he used to meet the Emperor, it was always in the Tianze Hall."
Yuan Xiu looked at the officials of the Central Secretariat, each of them looking somewhat embarrassed.
"Lord of Sha County, where is Wen Tai?" Yuan Xiu suddenly asked.
Wen Hu said, "We should stay with General Wang."
Yuan Xiu asked, "Could it be Wen Tai's idea to hold a meeting at Tianze Hall?"
Wen Hu shook his head and said, "That can't be. My uncle isn't such a petty person. But General Wang has been the governor of the three counties of Xinbei for two years, and his temper must have grown a lot. It's understandable that he would feel indignant on behalf of my uncle."
Chen Changyun tried to smooth things over, saying, "In that case, let's go... There are Wang Ren's soldiers all outside the city!"
Yuan Xiu slammed his hand on the table and roared, "What Wang Ren's soldiers? Those are the soldiers of the Great Jing, my army!!"
Chen Changyun wiped his sweat and said, "Wang Ren's unit is our last hope to stop Zhao Huan and his son..."
Yuan Xiu clenched his fist and said, "Minister Dian! Call for Chengdu!"
"Your Majesty, I am here!" the two replied, clasping their hands in greeting.
Yuan Xiu instructed, "Dian Chen, take three hundred guards and lie in ambush outside Tianze Palace. If there is any unusual activity, seize Wang Ren!"
"Du Yucheng, you take men and seal off the gates of Jing Palace. If anything happens today, you must not let Wang Ren leave Jing Palace!"
"Yes!!" The two accepted the order.
Wen Hu saw all of this and couldn't help but sneer inwardly.
Yuan Xiu could never shake this flaw: wanting to use people while also being wary of them.
However, you don't have much time left to run wild...
"Let's go, Your Majesty."
Wen Hu bowed slightly, gesturing for Yuan Xiu to go first, a cold smile already playing on his lips.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com