When news of what happened in the Northwest reached Jiangnan, it indeed shocked everyone.
The various warlords in Jinling were especially excited at this time.
Within half a day, Li Qin received dozens of petitions requesting to return to his jurisdiction.
Hong Chengchou was particularly excited, and in just half a day he wrote seven memorials requesting to return to the Northwest.
After all, he was the most agitated when something happened on his territory.
Li Qin granted all their requests, except for those submitted by Hong Chengchou and Jiang Xiangyang of Datong.
Hong Chengchou certainly couldn't let him go back.
As for Jiang Xiangyang, he's in Datong, which is so close to the capital.
I'm leading a large army in Jiangnan. If he were to lead the army back...
If he causes any trouble, I won't be able to control him.
Of course, among all the vassal lords under him, Qin Chenyao was the only one who did not submit a memorial to the emperor.
In his words, the other feudal lords were eager to return because they were afraid something would happen to their own territories.
He didn't go back because he knew his territory had already been compromised and thoroughly infiltrated by Li Qin.
Therefore, he was not in a hurry at all, and after learning about the Northwest Incident, he did not write a letter back.
Instead, he continued to live in his own residence and Jinling's residence as usual, and even prepared to hand over the army to Li Qin.
According to reports from my Jinyiwei (Imperial Guards) who are monitoring him, he has recently been drafting a memorial requesting to retire.
He was preparing to return to his hometown in glory with this royal title.
Of all the vassal kings who requested to return, he agreed to return to his fiefdom only to three.
These were Li Hongji from Henan, Jin Hufu from Jiangxi, and Liu Sixiu from Sichuan.
Because he knew that even if the three feudatories returned, they wouldn't cause any trouble.
Li Hongji of Henan was facing Zu Zhilong in the northwest and Zhou Wentong to the west, while Shandong, which he had basically controlled, was to the east.
As for Huguang in the south, Lianghuai in the southeast, and Hebei and Shanxi north of the Yellow River, those were all his territory.
Moreover, the Henan region under his control only included the south bank of the Yellow River, and even that south bank was missing Runing Prefecture. Furthermore, due to the impact of the Yellow River's breach, the economy was still in a state of severe decline.
Would he dare to raise the flag of rebellion against himself?
After entering Jiangnan, he kept thinking about Dong Zhong Tower, the place where the Yellow River was dug.
This time, I allowed him to return to Henan, and to appease him temporarily, I also handed over Dong Zhonglou to him.
He said he planned to take Dong Zhonglou to Kaifeng and publicly execute this man who had harmed Henan in front of the people of Henan by slow slicing.
As for Jinhu Prefecture in Jiangxi, with the acquisition of Jiangnan and Zhejiang, it is now surrounded on three sides.
Besides, I'm still in Jiangnan, right next to you. Do you dare cause me any trouble?
As for Liu Sixiu of Bashu, that's even more so; Bashu is a wonderful place.
The Shu Road is difficult, but it's hard for outsiders to get in, and it's also hard for insiders to get out.
Li Qin also very much wanted to deal with these three feudatories, but he knew that now was not the time.
I can't fight them now; the risk is too great.
Problems need to be solved one by one.
They have now acknowledged his imperial status and submitted to him.
He still had those who hadn't submitted to him to deal with.
As for Jiang Xiangyang, whom he had bestowed the title of Prince of Datong.
Once I return to the capital, I will have plenty of ways to deal with him.
Without the support of the imperial court, the taxes collected from Datong will be recovered.
Now that we've got the money from the local purse strings in Datong, let's see how you, Jiang Xiangyang, raise your army.
Without money, who will risk their life for you?
After receiving Li Qin's decree allowing them to return to their own territory.
Li Hongji, Liu Sixiu, and the other three feudatories immediately led their troops back to their own territories.
At the same time, Li Qin also instructed Li Wenqi in the capital, the generals in the west, and Liu Shengwu and other generals in Huguang to be on guard and monitor the three vassal states as they returned to their territories.
Upon seeing Li Hongji, Liu Sixiu and the others began to return to their own territory.
Jiang Xiangyang was getting more and more nervous.
"Brother, Liu Sixiu is also leading his army, preparing to return to Sichuan and Chongqing along the Yangtze River."
"Now, the only ones left in Jiangnan who haven't left are us, Hong Chengchou, and Qin Chenyao."
At this moment, Jiang Xiangyang's younger brother walked in, threw the riding whip in his hand onto the table, and angrily said to Jiang Xiangyang.
Jiang Xiangyang's expression was also very unpleasant.
Because at this moment, everyone could see that Hong Chengchou was anxious because of the situation in the Northwest.
Li Qin wouldn't let him go back because he was afraid he would ruin the situation in the Northwest.
As for Qin Chenyao, he has now basically submitted to Li Qin completely.
He did whatever Li Qin told him to do.
He's even preparing to hand over the army and become a carefree prince.
He was left living in constant fear in Jiangnan.
Is Li Qin also planning to take action against his own Datong?
Jiang Xiangyang slumped in his chair, constantly worrying about everything that might happen in the future.
But what can I do now?
There's nothing we can do.
Li Qin had hundreds of thousands of troops gathered in Jiangnan, while he only had tens of thousands of soldiers under his command.
They had no foothold in Jiangnan and were essentially a guest army.
If he dares to confront Li Qin head-on, that might actually be exactly what Li Qin wants to see.
They'll just take me in too.
I thought about the current situation.
Jiang Xiangyang finally sighed helplessly.
The huge gap in strength is truly frustrating.
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