Princess Xu appeared to be joking, but in reality, she was making a statement.
From then on, the Yongwang Mansion became an appendage of the Yuewang Mansion.
Whatever the Prince of Yue's Mansion decides to do, the Prince of Yong's Mansion will follow closely and provide full support!
Helian Jue and Xie Yuan exchanged a glance, both understanding the unspoken meaning behind Princess Xu's words.
The two of them raised their wine cups together.
Princess Xu raised her cup while giving the Fourth Prince a meaningful look.
Although the fourth prince didn't quite understand, he knew to listen to the princess.
Following the example of Princess Xu, the Fourth Prince also raised his wine cup.
"please!"
Helian Jue and Xie Yuan raised their glasses in invitation.
"please!"
Princess Xu and the obedient Fourth Prince both raised their glasses.
The two princes' residences, four people, drank it all in one gulp, and the alliance was thus established!
Since it was a true alliance, Princess Xu began to seriously consider the matter.
She put down her wine cup, pondered for a moment, and said, "To open up Yuling, we must take Guangcheng."
Guangcheng is not too far from Yuling.
Such a large-scale project as tunneling through mountains requires the use of a large number of laborers.
The construction period cannot be too short.
Ahem, Princess Xu has temporarily ignored Xie Yuan's mention of "three months".
Because it's impossible!
Princess Xu was not arbitrary; she knew that Xie Yuan was capable enough.
However, the feat of carving through the mountain in three months is beyond the comprehension of ordinary people.
Princess Xu didn't say "daydreaming" and was willing to discuss the matter of opening up Yuling as a serious matter, which shows that she trusts Xie Yuan a lot.
With so many laborers and a long construction period, it's bound to attract the attention of those around us.
With such a powerful presence, over the years, the governor of Guangcheng was either blind, deaf, or simply died in office.
Otherwise, even the governor would receive the news.
Once he found out, the imperial court also found out.
Guangcheng will definitely try to stop it.
The imperial court will also have countermeasures.
To maintain complete secrecy, it is essential to ensure that the Prefect of Guangcheng does not speak carelessly.
The safest way is to take Guangcheng directly, or even the governor, and shut up the local officials!
"Take Guangcheng? Impossible!"
The fourth prince was the first to shake his head, "Father wouldn't care about the entire Lingnan region, but he would never give up Guangcheng."
Guangcheng is a bustling city with an excellent geographical location.
This place is quite important to the imperial court.
Although the governor of Guangcheng came from a prestigious family, he was also someone trusted by the emperor.
The sage placed him in Guangcheng to guard the southern border.
In addition, there is a large camp in Guangcheng, with soldiers and sailors totaling 10,000 men.
Attacking Guangcheng would not only be difficult, but would also incur the wrath of the sage.
He could tolerate Helian Jue's quiet expansion of his territory in Lingnan.
Because the places occupied by Helian Jue, such as Huangzhou and Jiaozhou, were too remote and plagued by miasma, they had little value.
Even if Helian Jue didn't attack, the local powerful clans had already secretly seized it.
By taking back these places, Helian Jue was actually protecting the territory of the Great Zhou Dynasty and demonstrating the divine power of the Helian royal family!
This is also the main reason why a sage can turn a blind eye to one thing.
It's better for the wild lands of Lingnan to fall into the hands of one's own son than for them to be stolen by outsiders.
Guangcheng is different; it is a bright pearl of Lingnan, and the emperor would never allow it to be divided up by his subjects.
Even if it's his own son, it's not allowed!
The fourth prince was surprisingly clever this time.
Helian Jue gave his younger brother an approving look.
Fourth Prince: ...Helian Jue, what do you mean? Are you saying that I was only smart this time?
cut!
My princess said that I am wise in disguise!
Actually, I've always been quite smart.
However, due to Helian Jue's imposing presence, the Fourth Prince only dared to mutter a few words to himself.
“Your Highness Prince Yong is absolutely right, Guangcheng is indeed in some trouble.”
Xie Yuan nodded.
She mentioned drilling through Yuling just now, which came to her mind suddenly.
She didn't consider it in detail, so there are bound to be oversights.
There are no technical problems with this.
However, security and secrecy still present many challenges.
However, it's good to put this on your agenda and prepare in advance.
When the time is right, we can do it directly.
As for "timing"—
Xie Yuan narrowed his eyes. The capital was in turmoil, and although Lingnan was remote, it was not isolated overseas.
More or less, sooner or later, we will be affected to some extent.
There was no other way; the imperial examination system was nothing short of groundbreaking.
It overthrew an entire, vast privileged class.
In other words, the sage had the great achievement of unifying the North and the South. Although he was not the founding emperor, he had more prestige and courage than the founding emperor.
Only he dared to propose the imperial examination system and openly challenge the aristocratic families.
However, sages do indeed have prestige and sufficient ability.
As for the aristocratic families, after frequent wars and dynastic changes, they gradually showed signs of decline.
However, even a starved camel is bigger than a horse.
Even a centipede with a hundred legs doesn't die easily!
The privileged class of aristocratic families has existed for over a thousand years.
They still possess profound knowledge and formidable fighting power.
Leaving aside others, even the governor of Guangcheng, who was just discussed, was from a prominent family.
This governor's surname was Li, and he came from the Li clan of Longxi.
His ancestors were pillar generals of the Northern Dynasties and were once bestowed the surname "Bu Liuhu" by an emperor.
However, as the Northern Dynasties became Sinicized, for a period of time, the royal family members all changed their surnames to Han surnames.
The Li family also took the opportunity to change their surname back to the original "Li".
However, the Li family got involved in the struggle for imperial power and lost their hereditary title of Pillar of State General.
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