Chapter 72 Ending
The Emperor of Southern Yan naturally would not ignore Yan Fengxiao's words.
In his eyes, Yan Fengxiao had a clean background and no complicated forces were supporting him behind the scenes. He was the one who helped him achieve what he had today.
Therefore, Yan Fengxiao was arranged by him to deploy troops in the capital, and his real purpose was actually only one.
That is to protect his safety and the stability of the entire imperial city.
With such an identity and status, he can be said to be the absolute confidant of the Emperor of Southern Yan.
"explain."
Yan Fengxiao said calmly, "Almost half a year has passed. The defense map he drew has long since become obsolete. Regardless of whether it's true or not, there's absolutely no need to believe anything that the Northern Frontier Princess casually showed people."
Upon hearing this, the Emperor of Southern Yan immediately put down the defense map.
"That makes sense."
Just one simple sentence changed the Emperor of Southern Yan's mind.
Because compared to Yan Qinghao, who is not sure whether he is loyal or treacherous, Yan Fengxiao's words are obviously more convincing.
Yan Qinghao's heart, which had been somewhat at ease, suddenly rose to his throat. He said in panic, "Your Majesty, the defense map that the criminal general handed over was obtained after a lot of hard work and effort. It is not something that can be seen casually. Please trust me. If this defense map is really completely useless, you will still have time to deal with me!"
His words made some of the ministers in the rear feel somewhat shaken.
A general suddenly stepped forward and bowed to the emperor above him. "I believe that Marquis Dingyuan would not joke with his own life. Perhaps this defense map is indeed of some use."
A square-faced general in the back stepped forward. "He's been caught. He's definitely going to die for faking his own death and deceiving the emperor. He just pulled out a random defense map and expects people to believe he's fine? It's ridiculous. Instead of wasting the lives of his soldiers and generals testing the authenticity of this map, we should just gather our forces and crush the enemy!"
"Your actions are simply reckless. I wonder how many lives could have been saved with this defense map!"
"We can't just blindly believe the slander of a traitor. What if this is false and a trap set by the enemy? How many people will be killed?"
The two generals below started arguing.
One side wanted the emperor to first check whether the defense map was true, while the other side felt that Yan Qinghao's defense map was useless and could not absolve him of his guilt.
This kind of situation is commonplace in the court. No matter what the matter is, they have to argue about it before making a decision.
Of course, the only person who can truly make the decision is the emperor.
After listening to the arguments among the officials below, the Emperor of Southern Yan pondered for a moment.
He was the emperor, so naturally he wouldn't deliberately take sides. Instead, he said, "If this blueprint is useful, I can spare your life. But before that, you will remain in prison. Governor Yan, he is your legitimate brother after all, so you will be the one guarding him. You will be responsible for everything concerning him."
Yan Fengxiao had no expression on his face. "Yes, sir!"
"Your Majesty, Yan Fengxiao and the criminal general have an old grudge. All the scars on the criminal general's body were caused by him torturing him privately. If the criminal general falls into his hands, I'm afraid he won't survive for many days!"
When Yan Qinghao heard that the emperor was going to continue to hand him over to Yan Fengxiao, he felt a little uneasy.
He had only been at the Governor's Mansion for one day when he was beaten half to death.
If you continue to stay here, you will be disabled even if you don't die.
The Emperor of Southern Yan lowered his eyes and looked at him, his eyes full of majesty, without any personal emotions.
"Commander Yan, if the investigation reveals that the defense map he gave me is incorrect, execute him immediately and treat him as if he had died on the battlefield. His affairs must be kept secret for the time being and no one is allowed to disclose them."
"I obey your order!" As soon as the emperor finished speaking, all civil and military officials shouted in unison.
The emperor was talking about everyone, so even if all the officials and ministers knew today that Yan Qinghao had returned alive, he would still be dead in the eyes of outsiders.
The reason why the Emperor of Southern Yan did this was that he didn't want to cause any trouble. If the families of the 50,000 soldiers heard that Yan Qinghao was still alive, they would definitely feel resentful.
The dead Marquis Dingyuan is the good Marquis Dingyuan.
If Yan Qinghao really made contributions after being captured, the defense map he brought was real, and it brought huge benefits to the State of Southern Yan, then at most his merits and demerits would offset each other.
But just like what Yan Fengxiao said, things like defense deployment change from time to time. Even if he brought back the original real defense map, it might not be of any use.
Yan Qinghao's life was hanging by a thread this time, so even though the emperor saw that Yan Fengxiao had dealt a heavy blow to the other party, he still didn't say a word.
It takes time to find out the defense map. After all, Yan Qinghao is a marquis with a very high status and his ancestors have made great contributions in the past, so he cannot be killed directly.
Therefore, Yan Fengxiao ordered someone to send Yan Qinghao back to the dungeon of the Governor's Mansion.
The court meeting was already halfway through when the Emperor of Southern Yan suddenly turned his head to look at the Second Prince Yan Liuchen, who was standing respectfully with his head bowed.
"Chen'er, you've done a good job with this disaster relief effort. I've already learned that the refugees over there have been properly resettled."
Yan Liuchen suddenly had an idea and stepped forward quickly, "Your Majesty, thank you for your praise. This is all within your responsibility."
Seeing Yan Liuchen walk out to receive the reward, the man standing in the front at this moment had a stern expression on his face.
His appearance is 50% similar to that of the emperor, and his aura seems to be intentionally imitating that of the emperor. Although his face is handsome and upright, his eyes give people a very gloomy feeling.
Obviously, he is the eldest prince of Southern Yan, Yan Xuanjing.
"Chen'er, the Minister of Revenue has been in poor health recently. Since you are free, you can help him out."
Yan Liuchen only felt a bright light before his eyes.
His expression was expressionless, but he said seriously, "Don't worry, Father. I will do my best to assist you uncles."
The Minister of Revenue understood something instantly.
The claim that he was in poor health and needed help was just an excuse. The emperor's intention was very clear, he wanted the second prince to manage the finances!
The Minister of Revenue was a somewhat plump middle-aged man in his forties with a very greasy face. He quickly pretended to be weak and said, "Thank you, Your Majesty, for your consideration. I feel very honored. With the Second Prince's help in the future, my life will be much easier."
He had a smile on his face, and it looked quite flattering.
However, it is not easy for someone to manage the Ministry of Revenue.
The fact that Yan Liuchen was able to obtain such a lucrative position really made the other princes show different expressions on their faces.
Especially the eldest prince Yan Xuanjing, the jealousy in his eyes seemed to be overflowing at this moment.
He suddenly said, "Father, I received some news a while ago, but I don't know whether I should tell you."
"What news?" There was a look of confusion in the eyes of the Emperor of Southern Yan.
"My second brother's disaster relief money was hijacked by bandits on the way. Although not many people know about this, it just so happens that one of my subordinates happened to see it. Someone who can even lose the disaster relief money is truly unfit for this important task!"
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