The old Duke and Princess Sheng An were having their dinner. The Duchess was also invited to stay for dinner by the Princess. Halfway through their meal, they were informed that the Crown Prince had arrived. They immediately put down their chopsticks and hurried to meet him.
It should be noted that, Crown Prince Yan Huisheng, in order to avoid suspicion, had rarely set foot in the Duke’s Residence over the years, except for the holidays or the birthdays of the old Duke and Princess Sheng An.
The last time he visited was when Zhou Gu was critically injured and on the brink of death.
Now, he is visiting again, only the second time this year.
The saying goes, "You don’t come if there’s nothing important," so Yan Huisheng’s late visit to the Duke’s Residence must mean something is amiss.
The first person they thought of was Zhou Gu. They feared that some bad news about Zhou Gu had reached Yan Huisheng, prompting his hurried visit.
Although the old Duke was very concerned about his grandson, he was able to maintain his composure. His steps were big, but still steady. Princess Sheng An was particularly worried about Zhou Gu, and despite being assisted by the Duchess, she was a few steps behind the old Duke, her face obviously filled with anxiety.
Yan Huisheng was led directly to the old Duke’s courtyard. When he saw the three hurriedly coming out to greet him, he paused for a moment, then hurried up to them and greeted, "Old Duke, great-aunt, and madam, it is late, and I apologize for the disturbance."
"Why would Your Highness consider it a disturbance? Has something happened to Gu?" Princess Sheng An anxiously asked.
Yan Huisheng quickly responded, "Great-aunt, it’s not about my cousin. He’s doing fine. I am here today to discuss a different matter with the old Duke. Please be assured."
Upon hearing this, Princess Sheng An immediately felt relieved, "That’s good, as long as Gu is alright."
After she finished speaking, she was about to apologize for her lack of composure due to old age, jumping to the worst conclusions upon hearing of his arrival, when she saw Yan Huisheng’s troubled expression and instantly realized that although Zhou Gu was fine, whatever had brought Yan Huisheng here at this hour must be an urgent matter.
She promptly waved her hand, "In that case, you should hurry to the study!"
Yan Huisheng nodded in agreement.
The old Duke quickly escorted Yan Huisheng to the study.
After they left in a hurry, Princess Sheng An looked worried, "I wonder what has happened? The Crown Prince has always been steady, it’s rare to see him like this."
The Duchess comforted, "Mother, let’s go back to the room and wait. Once Father and the Crown Prince finish their discussion, we can ask about it privately."
Princess Sheng An nodded, and the two of them returned to their room.
As soon as the old Duke and Yan Huisheng arrived in the study and shut the door, Yan Huisheng handed over the letter from Su Rong to the old Duke without further ado, "Please read this, old Duke."
"What is this?" The old Duke extended his hand to receive it.
"A letter written personally by Su Rong, also endorsed by Zhou Gu," Yan Huisheng explained.
Upon hearing this, the old Duke hurriedly opened the letter. After reading it, his face immediately darkened, "This is outrageous, Zhang Ping is truly ambitious, intending to cause chaos within the country."
Both Yan Huisheng and the old Duke knew exactly how capable Zhou Gu was. His inference was logical and evidenced, not simply an unfounded assumption. Especially with the astute Su Rong being in Nanping, if she also agreed with this deduction, then this matter was almost certain.
Yan Huisheng added, "Better believe it and not make a mistake."
The old Duke nodded, "That’s correct, military strategies are deceitful, and we must avoid underestimating the enemy." He looked at Yan Huisheng, "What does Your Highness think we should do?"
Yan Huisheng replied, "As soon as I received the letter, I came directly to the Duke’s Residence. Since the Emperor has entrusted me with full authority over Jibei, I believe we need not report to him in the palace. Doing so could leak the information, Yan Lin and Yan Li may not have made any significant moves recently, but they have many informers. If they get wind of this and secretly send a message to Zhang Ping, even if they pay the ultimate price, I will still be the one to suffer the loss."
The old Duke nodded, "So, Your Highness suggests we mobilize troops in secret?"
"Yes," Yan Huisheng confirmed, "Although Su Rong mentioned in her letter that she had sent a message by falcon telling Zhou Che to change route with his hundred thousand troops, if the number of privately raised troops in Jibei is too substantial, the hundred thousand troops won’t be enough to rescue Nanping or suppress the rebellion in Jibei. Therefore, upon receiving this letter, I thought about secretly dispatching another hundred thousand troops to Jibei."
"Twenty thousand men have already been quietly dispatched by Zhou Che, and so far no one has discovered this secret. However, if we were to send another hundred thousand, I’m afraid we won’t be able to keep this secret for long," the old Duke pointed out.
After all, there’s a big difference between thirty thousand troops and a hundred thousand troops.
"We have no choice but to hold this secret as long as we can. If Zhang Ping really does rebel, I will take down Yan Lin immediately," Yan Huisheng responded.
If possible, Yan Huisheng would like to transfer all the thirty thousand troops from the Duke’s Residence. However, that’s not possible. With Yan Lin, who has other aspirations, and the important capital, precautions must be taken. He must keep some troops at his disposal.
The old Duke nodded, "Now, the most urgent task is to avert the crisis in Nanping. Let’s hope it’s just a false alarm and Zhou Gu made a mistake in his deduction. But if he didn’t, these two hundred thousand troops combined with the troops from Marquis Nanping’s Residence should be more than enough to confront Zhang Ping no matter how many troops he has, at least, it won’t allow him to achieve his ambition and take Nanping."
Yan Huisheng nodded, "Exactly."
The old Duke asked, "In your opinion, who should we send to lead the troops this time? Zhou Wei? Or Zhou Shen, the second son?"
"Zhou Shen, leave Zhou Wei in the capital," Yan Huisheng suggested, "After all, he is the heir and thus attracts more attention."
The old Duke nodded, "I will send someone to deliver the order to Zhou Shen immediately, instructing him to lead the troops to Nanping right away."
Yan Huisheng nodded, "Tell him to move discreetly but to hasten their march, they must reach Nanping as soon as possible. When they arrive at Marquis Nanping’s, they will be entirely under the orders of Zhou Gu and Su Rong."
The old Duke nodded, "Don’t worry, Your Highness, I will send a trusted person to deliver the message right away, instructing him to depart tonight."
Yan Huisheng nodded in agreement.
After giving his instructions, Yan Huisheng left a written order and promptly left the Duke’s Residence.
As soon as Yan Huisheng left, the old Duke immediately summoned someone and ordered him to quickly go to the military camp and deliver a secret letter, along with half of his Tiger Talisman and Yan Huisheng’s written order, to Zhou Wei and Zhou Shen.
In the deep night, Zhou Wei and Zhou Shen received the old Duke’s secret letter, half of the Tiger Talisman and the order. They were immediately shaken and took urgent action. Zhou Shen rallied his troops overnight and left the camp for Nanping.
Zhou Che and Zhou Shen quietly led away two hundred thousand troops to address the pressing issue in Nanping. However, this also caused Zhou Wei back in the Capital City to face a problem: the departure of these two hundred thousand soldiers meant all the provisions and military pay in the camp was gone.
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