In the study, Yu Qizhe arranged for the escort of Zhou Li back to the capital, and discussed with his staff how to lure Ji Wudao back to the capital. Now the news had leaked out in the capital, if Ji Wudao was summoned back to the capital with great fanfare to be questioned, it might cause Ji Wudao to rebel, or he might flee for fear of punishment and become the second Xiao Ning.
Ji Wudao holds the military power of two major military garrisons. Since he dared to smuggle war horses and military equipment to the Tatars and commit such a treasonous act, it must have been his intention to be disloyal. If he is pushed too hard, he may rise up in rebellion or surrender to the Tatars.
The staff members thought about the plan for a long time, and finally Yu Qizhe came up with the strategy.
In the daytime, Shen Tian invited Yu Qizhe to his house because he had heard the rumor. He wanted to protect Ji Wudao and was willing to promise Yu Qizhe a successful career and a huge fortune.
Shen Tian was anxious to protect Ji Wudao because Xue Rong had fallen out of favor and was imprisoned in Changle Palace, and she also lost the dragon heir that she had conceived with great difficulty. Without the child, Xue Rong would have no chance of competing for the position of crown prince in the future. Regardless of whether Shen Tian wanted to help Xue Rong regain favor, he could not lose Ji Wudao's arm. After all, the military power of the two military towns was the Shen party's greatest reliance.
Although the cabinet could disrupt the government, the Imperial Household Department was above the cabinet, and Cheng Ying was the one who truly held the power, with her red ink.
Shen Tian had been operating for several years and had used a lot of tricks to make Xiao Ningcheng a criminal. He vacated the positions of the three generals and installed Ji Wudao in the position to take over the troops of Xuanfu and Taiyuan. He just wanted to use the military power to compete with Cheng Ying in the court.
But Xiao Ning has accumulated great power in Shanxi, and all the troops of the three major military towns were led by him. He is really a tough nut to crack. The Weining Army in Datong has not been taken down by Ji Wudao yet.
However, the combined forces of Xuanfu and Taiyuan amounted to more than 100,000, which was enough for Ji Wudao to run rampant in Shanxi.
Otherwise, he would not be so arrogant as to smuggle arms and war horses to the Tatars. The Weining Army guarding Datong was fighting against the Tatars, and Datong and Taiyuan were mainly dealing with the Oirat tribe. Ji Wudao's move might be to use the Tatars to weaken Datong's military strength. Fortunately, after both sides were defeated, he took the opportunity to capture the Datong Weining Army and secure his position as one of the three generals.
Therefore, Shen Tianbao and Ji Wu are just a bunch of people who prosper together and disgrace together.
Yu Qizhe decided to take advantage of the situation. Shen Tian tried to win him over in order to save Ji Wudao, so he might as well pretend to join Shen's party and trick Ji Wudao back to Beijing.
But this "pretend to surrender" must be so real that the old fox Shen Tian will believe it. Shen Tian was able to rise from a commoner to the position of Prime Minister of the Cabinet, and he is not so easily fooled. He is a man who will not release the eagle until he sees the rabbit.
Yu Qizhe instigated Xue Qingshang to seek help from Shen Tian, and he had already thought of using Xue Rong's restoration of favor as a pretext to submit a "letter of allegiance" to Cheng Ying.
After speaking to his aides, he heard the sound of the night watchman striking a gong outside. Yu Qizhe glanced at the clock, signaled his aides to leave, tidied up the table, and returned to the backyard.
The maid who was on night watch was leaning against the pillar, feeling drowsy. She was startled when she heard footsteps and quickly woke up. She stood properly, bowed and whispered, "Sir, Sister Jianjia said an hour ago that the Madam has gone to bed. May I light the lamp for you?"
Yu Qizhe whispered, "Send the hot water to the bathroom in the west. I'm going there to take a shower and change clothes. Be careful not to disturb my wife's sleep."
The little maid responded and went to the kitchen to get some water.
Yu Qizhe took a bath in the west room before returning to the east wing. The maid wanted to go forward to light the lamp, but Yu Qizhe raised his hand to stop her. He entered the room in the dark, and after his eyes adjusted to the darkness, he walked towards the bed. Seeing that Yu Jiao was already asleep, he climbed onto the couch gently, tucked in the quilt for Yu Jiao, and then lay down.
In the darkness, he lay on his side and stared at Yu Jiao's sleeping face with deep eyes for a long time. Even though she was lying next to him, he still felt unsatisfied. He always felt that it was not enough, as if the left side of his chest was not filled.
He used his fingertips to slightly pinch Yu Jiao's face, which was no longer fat but was becoming more and more charming and delicate, and sighed softly: "Jiao Jiao, don't ever think about leaving me again in this life, otherwise I'm afraid I will go crazy..."
He no longer wanted to be the person who could only watch her from afar and observe her colorful life. He wanted to intervene in the rest of her life, control her firmly in his own hands, infiltrate and devour everything about her. Both her person and her heart would belong to him completely, and the rest of her life's joys and sorrows would depend on him alone.
But, she was too opinionated, which always made him feel powerless and unable to hold on to her.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
