The servants at the Duan Residence were all threatened by Shen Yi, forbidden from escaping. If anyone dared to escape and was discovered by her, she would send them to accompany their master in death.
So, even though the servants of the Duan Residence were terrified and extremely afraid of her, they still stayed to serve her in the residence, with no one daring to run away.
After Su Rong woke up, Fen Ling told her that Shen Yi had agreed to go with her to Nanchu Country. Su Rong nodded and made a note to write a letter to Yan Huisheng.
With Shen Yi going with her, the valuable imperial concubine in the Imperial Mausoleum would naturally have to die suddenly.
The evening meal was very abundant. The chefs in the kitchen showed exceptional skill to serve the current mistress of the Duan Residence.
Fen Ling enjoyed the meal and gave a thumbs up to Shen Yi, "Master Shen, you are powerful, with real management skills. Look at how you have made the servants in the Duan Residence obey you as if they were your own in such a short time."
Shen Yi scoffed lightly, "I have been in the palace for over a decade, a mere Duan Residence is nothing."
"That’s true," Fen Ling nodded in agreement.
The palace is a place where people are consumed. Being able to summon the wind and rain there, holding favor over six palaces and making even the Empress retreat in her presence, was not something anyone could do. Especially as the current Emperor was very cunning. It was not easy to deceive and gain his favor.
"Eat more if it’s delicious," said Shen Yi, turning to Su Rong, "You seem to have lost weight." 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞
Su Rong was already slim, she always looked frail, and now even more so, like she would collapse in a breeze.
Fen Ling intervened, "My sister was seriously hurt once, and almost lost her life. It was when Nangong Yu was trying to kill her. She’s still recovering from that injury."
"If you’re tired, why not stay here for a few more days before you go?" Shen Yi asked when she heard this.
"Let’s go. We can take it slow on the road and travel by carriage instead of horseback," Su Rong shook her head. "Since Jibei city is not in any chaos, there’s no need to delay our journey."
Shen Yi nodded, "Alright then!"
Anyway, since they weren’t waiting for Duan Xiao here, she didn’t want to stay.
So, the next morning, Su Rong, Fen Ling, and Shen Yi left Jibei City in two carriages.
After they left, the servants of the Duan Residence were freed and gradually left the residence.
Having travelled a hundred miles from Jibei City without incident, Fen Ling asked Su Rong, "Sister, do you think the people of Nanchu Country have decided that even if they send more people they won’t be able to kill you, so they’ve given up trying?"
"That’s impossible. They just don’t plan to send people to Daliang to kill me. They know they can’t kill me in Daliang, so they don’t want to lose more men. They’re saving their strength to wait for me!" Su Rong said, "When we cross from Daliang into Nanchu Country, you’ll see. At that time, I fear assassins will swarm towards us."
Fen Ling thought for a moment and agreed, "Then they have made a wrong calculation. Based on Duke’s meaning, they can only look on helplessly by then."
Su Rong squinted, "If we borrowed troops to go to Nanchu, perhaps, we’d not only make them watch helplessly, but also do something else."
"What else?" Fen Ling asked with sudden interest.
"Uproot the Nangong Family’s secret agents," Su Rong said.
Fen Ling chuckled, "Good idea."
Rubbing his hands together, he thought for a moment, "Speaking of secret agents, Zhang Yun is the expert. Let him handle it at that time."
Su Rong nodded, "Yes."
Shen Yi, listening to their casual conversation where they decided on a matter with a few words, asked, "What’s this about borrowing troops?"
Fen Ling immediately told her about Duke’s suggestion to let his sister lead two hundred thousand troops to Nanchu. Firstly to assist her, and secondly to alleviate the pressure on Daliang.
"Three hundred thousand," Su Rong corrected.
Fen Ling adjusted, "Right, my sister said it should just be a round number, like three hundred thousand."
Shen Yi laughed, "The old Duke has a long term strategy and is quite formidable, otherwise, the Emperor wouldn’t have been wary of him all these years."
She asked Su Rong, "Would the Crown Prince agree to lend troops? Isn’t he afraid you won’t return them?"
"It shouldn’t be like that, right?" Su Rong had faith in her own character. Would Yan Huisheng not believe her?
Shen Yi reminded her, "With so many people you’ve taken to Nanchu, it’s hard to say whether the Crown Prince might think you’ll make them your own in the future."
Su Rong thought for a moment and murmured, "Well, if he doesn’t trust me, there’s nothing I can do about it. Anyway, he can’t afford to maintain that many troops now."
"That’s true", Shen Yi, who was very clear about the state of Daliang’s treasury, said, "So how are you going to sustain three hundred thousand troops? If the Crown Prince agrees to lend you troops, are you planning to take these three hundred thousand to raid the treasury of Nanchu? As a newcomer to Nanchu, I fear they won’t let you touch the national treasury."
"I have money," Su Rong said, "It’s not a problem to maintain them for a year or two."
After a year and a half, when she had gained a firm foothold in Nanchu, she could then touch the funds in the treasury.
"Actually, the Zhang Family also has some money. Although Zhang Ping maintains 450,000 troops, he has been making money in addition to asking for military pay from the Imperial Court for many years. As far as I know, he privately mined a salt mine and re-sold fine salt. The two sons of the Zhang family, Zhang Mao and Zhang Yun, should be very clear about where the money is," said Shen Yi. "There’s only a small amount in the Pingxi General’s warehouse. The bulk of the money should be in a safe place."
"Is the vault hidden behind the big Buddha temple Zhang Ping’s?" Su Rong asked.
"Yes, but you’ve already given it to the Eastern Palace." Shen Yi looked at her.
"The Eastern Palace needs money. These years the Emperor has been suppressing them, and the Crown Prince has no way to make money." Su Rong willingly gave it to Yan Huisheng. After all, she still needed him to be her support. If he didn’t stand firm, how could she? She never regretted giving it away.
"Then ask the Zhang brothers? Since they have pledged allegiance to you, they should be willing to," said Shen Yi. "If they aren’t willing, they aren’t sincere enough."
"They are all sincere enough. If they don’t want to, that’s also okay." Su Rong didn’t care and didn’t insist. Whoever had money in their hands felt secure, and she wasn’t short of money herself. Moreover, the people under her knew how to make money. As long as they didn’t wage wars and tremendously consume military pay, she could afford to sustain it.
Shen Yi looked at her for a few moments before laughing, but said nothing else.
The carriages went towards the border, stopping at inns as they encountered them. While the three were leisurely travelling, Zhou Gu had already arrived at the border with one hundred thousand troops.
A spy reported, "Dawei indeed has some military movements. Secretly deployed troops of three hundred thousand are stationed in Dawei and are ready to act at any time."
Ever since the peace agreement was signed between the two countries sixteen years ago, it was stipulated that the border force of both parties should not exceed one hundred thousand. The old Duke was seriously injured after that battle, his son had died, and his grandson was not yet grown up. The Emperor let the old Duke lead three hundred thousand troops back to the city for defense and assigned Zhang Ping with one hundred thousand troops to guard Jibei, a few days’ journey away from the border. Jibei was turned into a warning line, and only two thousand troops remained at the border outpost.
Dawei also arranged its military in a somewhat similar way to demonstrate the friendship between the two countries and that they would not wage war within the terms of the agreement. After all, the battle sixteen years ago was too harsh, and both parties were heavily damaged, needing time to recuperate.
But now, sixteen years have passed, and Dawei’s ambition is resurfacing.
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