Chapter 413 Useless!
Yu Yanqiu frowned when he heard that Ning Yunchuan had no interest in his eldest granddaughter, Yu Mengting. After a moment of contemplation, he said, "Tell me the details of what happened back then."
Yu Heng was already embarrassed that his daughter had gone out of her way to meet a man and was treated coldly. Even though she was her own father, he didn't want to go into details. However, he still recounted the situation in detail and then said, "Father, I think it's best to let it go."
Yu Yanqiu frowned and remained silent for a moment, then said, "I'll think about this some more."
Yu Heng tried to persuade him again, but seeing Yu Yanqiu's calculating face, he swallowed back the words he was about to say. Although he was the eldest son, the real power in the Yu family still lay with his father.
...
The Yu family had been entrenched in Lingnan for centuries, a deeply entrenched local power that even the King of Lingnan had to give them some leeway. Sending a message to General Zhao Yi, the garrison commander in Lingnan, would have been a simple task for the Yu family.
The next day, Ning Yunchuan and the heir of the Marquis of Chengen met Zhao Yi in a very secluded courtyard.
After exchanging greetings, the heir of the Marquis of Chengen took out an imperial edict, unfolded it, and said, "General Zhao, please accept the edict."
Zhao Yi was shocked for a moment, then immediately knelt on the ground, listening to the heir of the Marquis of Chengen read the imperial edict. The edict was simple: he was to cooperate with the heir of the Marquis of Chengen and Ning Yunchuan's plan.
After the imperial edict was read, Zhao Yi rose solemnly and asked Ning Yunchuan and the heir of the Marquis of Chengen what their purpose was in coming to Lingnan. The two did not answer, but said, "We will inform you when General Zhao is needed."
Zhao Yi hesitated for a moment, but still nodded in agreement. Ning Yunchuan and the heir of the Marquis of Chengen exchanged glances upon seeing his expression. Ning Yunchuan smiled and said, "Before setting off for Lingnan, I had a sparring session with your son at the horse farm. Your son is indeed young and promising."
This is telling Zhao Yi that his family is still in the capital, and if he disobeys the imperial decree, even if he can escape, his family cannot.
Zhao Yi was taken aback again, then laughed and said that his son was naughty and couldn't compare to the two of them. But Ning Yunchuan and the heir of the Marquis of Chengen were still a little worried, mainly because Zhao Yi had been in Lingnan for seven or eight years, and the King of Lingnan would surely try to win him over.
However, the two of them did not say anything more. According to their original plan, news of the Marquis of Chengen's "bandit suppression" would soon reach Lingnan. At that time, Zhao Yi would have to cooperate with their actions if he did not want to be executed along with his entire family.
After chatting for a while, the three parted ways. Ning Yunchuan and the heir of the Marquis of Chengen returned to the Yu family. For the two of them, the Yu family was now the safest place to hide.
After the two sat down in the guest courtyard, the heir of the Marquis of Chengen asked, "Do you think Zhao Yi has sided with the King of Lingnan?"
Ning Yunchuan thought for a while and shook his head, saying, "It shouldn't be. Zhao Yi's entire family is in the capital, which is his weakness. If he really surrenders to the King of Lingnan, he will be putting the lives of his entire family on the shoulders of a rebel."
Having served in the military for so many years, he was very steady and wouldn't do something so foolish as to gamble his entire family's lives. However…
He has been stationed in Lingnan for seven or eight years. The King of Lingnan will surely try to win him over. If he were to break ties with the King of Lingnan, he would likely find it difficult to maintain his position in Lingnan. In my opinion, he is currently mostly maintaining a superficial relationship with the King of Lingnan, neither willing to submit nor willing to easily turn against him.
The heir of the Marquis of Chengen nodded after hearing this, "Judging from the time, news of my father's bandit suppression should arrive in the next two days. We should hurry up and get started."
“We already know where the Prince of Lingnan is privately printing silver notes. Tomorrow, the two of us will go and scout the location first. If nothing unexpected happens, the day after tomorrow, we will have Zhao Yi lead troops to encircle and suppress him,” Ning Yunchuan said.
"good."
After finalizing their plans, the two returned to their rooms to rest. Both were injured, and they needed to conserve their energy for the plan to proceed smoothly.
.........
The commotion caused by the Marquis of Chengen's suppression of bandits reached the Lingnan Prince's residence earlier than Ning Yunchuan and the Marquis of Chengen's heir had anticipated. The Lingnan Prince received the news as night fell.
"Useless!" The Prince of Lingnan roared at the attendant who had delivered the message to him. "How many spies have I planted in the capital? So many people have been watching Prince Rui's every move, investigating for so long, and yet we still haven't found out a single clue about what new weapon he's developing!"
The attendant lowered his head, not daring to speak, while the Prince of Lingnan paced back and forth in the room, hands on his hips. After a while, he stopped and looked at the attendant, asking, "Tell me the details."
"Reporting to Your Highness," the attendant lowered his head even further, his voice trembling slightly, "It is said that there was not a single word before June 16th, but on the afternoon of June 16th, Marquis Chengen personally led his troops straight to Black Stone Ridge. The army came quickly and urgently, without stopping for even a moment along the way."
After the troops surrounded Black Stone Ridge, less than half an hour later, the mountain suddenly exploded! The commotion was terrifying; the booming sound could be heard dozens of miles away. Black smoke, along with sparks, shot into the sky, blackening half the sky.
Our men sneaked over to take a look amidst the chaos. Several deep craters, several meters deep, had been blasted into the mountainside of Black Stone Ridge, with piles of rubble forming small hills. We didn't see the bodies of the Black Stone Ridge bandits, but given the massive craters blasted into the mountain, their remains were likely gone.
Upon hearing this report, the King of Lingnan could no longer contain his temper. He gritted his teeth and said, "Black Stone Ridge is only twenty miles away from the capital. What fool would want to be a bandit there?"
The attendant, his body tense and head bowed, waited for him to finish venting before carefully saying, "Also, on June 10th, the Duke of Chu was assassinated on his way back to his residence after finishing his duty. In the face of death, the Duke of Chu used some weapon that instantly killed three or four assassins."
The Prince of Lingnan closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and waved for his attendants to leave. He sat down in a chair and remained silent for a long while before turning to ask his eldest son, Zhu Huai'an, "Have those two been captured?"
Zhu Huai'an shook his head. "No."
The King of Lingnan frowned deeply. "Do you know who it is?"
Zhu Huai'an cautiously replied, "According to the report from the soldiers who pursued them, it seems to be Ning Yunchuan, the eldest grandson of the Duke of Wei, and Shen Yanzhou, the heir of the Marquis of Chengen."
The King of Lingnan had calmed down by now. He lowered his eyes and pondered for a moment before saying, "It seems there's something big going on!"
"Then my son ordered the pursuit to continue," Zhu Huai'an said hastily.
The King of Lingnan snorted, "It's no use. They must have already contacted Zhao Yi. Although Zhao Yi has been at peace with us all these years, he will definitely obey the imperial edict once it arrives."
"Then... what should we do?" Zhu Huai'an's face showed panic. "The emperor has such a powerful weapon, what about us..."
A sharp gaze shot over, and Zhu Huai'an immediately shut his mouth, looking as if he knew he was wrong. Seeing this, the Prince of Lingnan's face showed clear disappointment.
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