Chapter 809 A Dream of Youth 341
Five days later, Xie Ning, who was far away in Bingzhou, also received a letter from Yan Xi, along with the four secret guards who delivered it.
I also learned from the letter about some things that had happened in the capital during this period.
What made Xie Ning suspicious was that she had taken the emperor's pulse before leaving the capital. Even if the news of the Northern Jin's invasion of Hedong reached the capital, no matter how angry the emperor was, he wouldn't collapse so suddenly.
The emperor fell ill so quickly that Xie Ning began to suspect there might be other hidden reasons behind it.
But she couldn't leave at the moment. News had recently come from Zhen Ding that the situation there was even more serious than in Bingzhou, with only 5,000 soldiers defending the city.
The reinforcements from Shaanxi have been assigned by General Xu to support Zhengding, hoping they can hold out longer. The situation in Northern Jin is also not good; they cannot fight a protracted war.
Moreover, this was in a foreign country, where resupply was difficult.
Xie Ning unfolded the map, her fingertip landing on the line of the Yellow River. She remembered that there were tens of thousands of Zhou troops on the south bank. It was the Northern Jin army that abandoned Zhen Ding, which they had been besieging for a long time, and left a part of their troops to besiege it before the main army marched south. This place could hold them off for a long time, after all, the Yellow River was a natural barrier.
Unfortunately, Xie Ning's understanding of the corruption of the Great Zhou army was not deep enough. Even though she had experienced the Western Expedition, she spent most of her time in the rear. Moreover, the army she was in, led by Fu Yao, was very brave. No one could have imagined that the Zhou army south of the Yellow River would flee without a fight.
After roughly assessing the situation, Xie Ning replied to Yan Xi. Currently, the Empress Dowager and Prince Zhao are locked in a stalemate, with Prince Zhao seemingly gaining the upper hand. Moreover, judging from Prince Zhao's intentions, he probably won't leave any princes for the emperor.
Yan Xi wanted to be the oriole that stalked the cicada, but she had no troops or power. All she had were the personal guards and secret guards that the emperor had given her after she came of age and favored her. The personal guards were her private army, numbering only three hundred, and the secret guards numbered thirty.
These are all people who belong exclusively to Yan Xi. The emperor originally prepared eight hundred personal guards for Yan Xi, but five hundred of them were intended to be given to her when Yan Xi got married.
Not to mention the private subsidies from the Emperor and Empress, Yan Xi herself owns many businesses, so supporting so many soldiers is not a problem. Moreover, she has secretly increased the number of her private soldiers. Even Xie Ning doesn't know how many people Yan Xi has now.
But no matter how many, they would be hard to contend with King Zhao, unless... she could control the Imperial Guards, but that possibility was extremely slim, after all, the status of a princess and an empress dowager were different.
The Empress Dowager also supported the young prince as the crown prince, and he was quite prestigious. Any minister in the court who believed in orthodoxy would side with the Empress Dowager.
Moreover, the Empress Dowager not only had power and prestige, but she also had troops. Princess De'an's husband, Zuo Chen, was one of the commanders of the Imperial Guards, with 30,000 Imperial Guards under his command. According to what Yan Xi said in his letter, the Prime Minister's family was probably also secretly standing behind the Empress Dowager.
In this way, the Empress Dowager would have 50,000 imperial guards.
In addition, there are 20,000 Imperial Guards... However, the number of Imperial Guards should be reduced, as the Empress and the young Crown Prince were under the protection of the Imperial Guards when the incident occurred, which shows that the Imperial Guards are not entirely clean.
On the surface, the Imperial Guards may seem to be under the Empress Dowager's command, but it's likely that half of them secretly stand behind King Zhao.
Xie Ning rubbed his temples, unsure where to find a breakthrough. After thinking for a long time, he only mentioned a few names in the letter, and they were several familiar noble ladies.
Her meaning was clear: she was reminding Yan Xi that he could gain the support of the forces behind them by starting with them.
Yan Xi's identity is indeed a challenge for some old-fashioned ministers and feudal customs, but what if she is the only one left to take charge?
This is one of the reasons why Yan Xi remained indifferent to some of the actions of King Zhao after the death of the young prince.
However, this move is not safe, because even if only princesses like Yan Xi remain in the emperor's lineage, and only Yan Xi is outstanding, there are still collateral branches, such as the descendants of Prince Duan and Prince Zhao, or the offspring of other princes.
There's always someone who can sit in that seat.
At this point, some deterrence is needed, and the most effective deterrence is military power.
"Go back and tell His Highness that I will try my best to return to the capital before spring." By then, she won't be the only one returning.
The chaos in Hedong is a perfect opportunity to rise to power.
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