The capital city, the imperial palace.
Emperor Kangping was having dinner, accompanied by Consort Li.
Consort Li, dressed in an elegant palace gown and with her hair styled in a high bun, rose and personally used chopsticks to serve food to Emperor Kangping.
"Your Majesty, please try this meatball."
Emperor Kangping put down his wine cup and looked at the golden meatballs in the bowl: "These meatballs are made with pork filling, aren't they? I'm tired of them."
Consort Li smiled slightly and said, "Your Majesty, these meatballs were specially made by the Imperial Kitchen. They haven't been named yet. They are made from a mixture of rabbit, venison, chicken, and pork, and the pork is wild boar."
"There's rabbit meat too?" Emperor Kangping chuckled, stirring the meatballs with a spoon. "I've heard that rabbit meat can have a gamey smell if not cooked properly. Will all this meat taste good together?"
Consort Li smiled and said, "This is a recipe I created myself. As the Son of Heaven, Your Majesty should be the first to taste it."
"In that case, I will try the meatballs made by my beloved concubine." Emperor Kangping inserted a spoon into the meatball and scooped out a piece.
A eunuch entered the dining hall, bowed, and said, "This servant greets Your Majesty and Consort Li. Eunuch Yang has returned from the General's residence in Youzhou and is waiting outside."
Emperor Kangping put down his spoon and asked, "Has the goddess arrived?"
The eunuch shook his head and said, "Your Majesty, this servant did not see any. Only Eunuch Yang was waiting."
Emperor Kangping's face darkened: "Let him in."
Seeing Emperor Kangping's displeasure, Consort Li knew it was not the right time to ask questions, so she put down her chopsticks, stood up, and sat to the side.
Yang Yaozu entered and knelt down from a distance, touching his forehead to the ground, and said in a sorrowful voice, "Your Majesty, this servant almost did not see Your Majesty again."
Emperor Kangping asked, "Where is the goddess?"
Yang Yaozu crawled two steps on his knees and cried, "Your Majesty, those people in the General's Mansion, what they did..."
"I'm asking you about the goddess!" Emperor Kangping slammed his hand on the table, making the meatballs in the bowl jump.
Fortunately, Yang Yaozu was a favored eunuch, otherwise this bowl of meatballs would have hit him on the head long ago.
Yang Yaozu shuddered and said, "Your Majesty, please forgive me and allow me to explain slowly."
Emperor Kangping said, "Speak quickly."
Yang Yaozu said, "When I arrived at the General's Mansion in Youzhou, I intended to read out the imperial edict. Who knew that those people in the General's Mansion would steal the imperial edict?"
Emperor Kangping was somewhat surprised: "You mean they dared to steal my imperial edict?"
“That’s right,” Yang Yaozu nodded. “This servant knew that losing the imperial edict was no small matter. So I sent people to search carefully and found the edict in a hidden corner of the general’s mansion. The person who stole the edict did not have time to escape and was also caught by this servant.”
"So, you found the imperial edict and caught the person who stole it?" Emperor Kangping's expression softened slightly.
He initially thought that Yang Yaozu had been negligent and had lost the imperial edict. He originally wanted to arrest Yang Yaozu and punish him directly, but now that he heard that Yang Yaozu had actually found the imperial edict and caught the thief, his anger subsided somewhat.
"I had the thief interrogated and learned that he was sent by the General," Yang Yaozu said. "The General dared to send someone to steal the imperial edict; this clearly shows his intention to rebel. I was afraid that Your Majesty was being kept in the dark, so I rushed back to the capital day and night."
Emperor Kangping said, "Very good. Has that thief also been brought to the capital?"
Yang Yaozu, with a mournful face, said, "Your Majesty, the Grand General harbored rebellious intentions. How could he leave evidence for me? On the way, he sent assassins who killed the thief. I was able to escape only because I was protected by guards. Every word is true. If there is even a single lie, may I die a horrible death."
After hearing this, Emperor Kangping fell into deep thought and remained silent.
Yang Yaozu raised his head and glanced at Consort Li, then turned to Emperor Kangping and said, "Your Majesty, the General sent assassins to silence them in order to cover up the crime. Your Majesty must not overlook this."
Emperor Kangping waved his hand and said, "I know. You've had a tiring trip, go and rest."
Yang Yaozu quickly stood up, bowed, and retreated, saying, "This servant takes his leave."
After Yang Yaozu left the dining hall, Consort Li rose and approached Emperor Kangping, saying, "Your Majesty, if the General truly harbors rebellious intentions, he should be dealt with as soon as possible."
Emperor Kangping said coldly, "I have long suspected that he is up to no good. Now that the Western Rong have made peace, and they have no worries about their rear, are they going to come and attack my country?"
Consort Li smiled and said, "Your Majesty, back when you and the General fought side by side to conquer the world, you could see that he harbored ulterior motives?"
“Of course,” Emperor Kangping said somewhat irritably, “I am the emperor, and Zhao Xian is a general. He has been trying to seize my throne for a long time. I have been withholding military provisions from Youzhou because I am afraid he will gain power. Now that things have come to this, it is better to strike first. I will personally lead the expedition and wipe out this old scoundrel.”
Consort Li quickly said, "Your Majesty, please wait."
Emperor Kangping was about to call for his attendants to come in when he saw Consort Li stopping him. He asked, "Why is my beloved consort stopping me?"
Consort Li said, "Your Majesty, although Eunuch Yang accused the General of treason, the General has no evidence of treason and it is not advisable to launch a direct attack."
"He sent someone to steal my imperial edict, isn't that treason?"
Consort Li smiled and said, "Your Majesty, that's not what I meant. What I meant was that if Your Majesty directly raises an army to attack the Grand General, but the Grand General has no grounds for rebellion, then there would be no suitable pretext for attacking him."
Emperor Kangping said, "Does my beloved consort mean that I should sit and wait for that old scoundrel to raise an army?"
“Your Majesty, if we raise an army directly, the Northwest will surely find out.” Consort Li drew the terrain on the table with her finger. “It would be better to secretly gather troops and at the same time have someone distract the Youzhou army from its rear.”
Emperor Kangping understood somewhat: "My beloved concubine means to have the fiefdom north of Youzhou destroyed."
“Yes, Your Majesty is wise,” Consort Li nodded repeatedly. “The Youzhou army originally had no military provisions and was also threatened by the Western Rong. Now that the Western Rong have made peace, they are planting grain in the north of Youzhou. Once the crops are ripe, they will have solved the problem of the most needed provisions for their expedition. If Your Majesty wants to conquer them, you should first secretly destroy their provisions, and then lead your army westward to take them down in one fell swoop.”
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