Chapter 142: Trouble
"Yes?" Sun Wei was surprised. "When does the Duke of Nanjun plan to send his troops?"
"This is what I want to discuss with the princess. Twenty thousand soldiers and horses cannot be dispatched at will. The prince wants to send the troops in February, but the Duke of Nanjun said that we have to wait until at least March."
"March?"
"Exactly."
Sun Wei pondered for a moment, then said, "Then please ask the Chief Secretary to go back and tell the Duke of Nanjun that I thank you for your kindness, but the Crown Prince will not be lending you these troops."
Lu Qiuyan was puzzled: "This matter is of great importance. Didn't the princess discuss it with the prince?"
"No need." Sun Wei said decisively, "I can make the decision."
"Princess, could you tell me the reason?"
Sun smiled.
"What is the Duke of Nanjun planning? Doesn't the Chief Secretary know about it? If I were the Chief Secretary, wouldn't I refuse?"
Lu Qiuyan remained silent, saying slowly, "I am only the Chief Secretary, and I dare not speculate on the Duke of Nanjun's intentions."
Sun Wei knew that he was pretending to be stupid to test how much she knew.
She didn't bother to talk any more. "Since that's the case, I've said everything I need to say. Tomorrow, I'll have Cui Pan taken to the capital and handed over to the Supreme Court."
"The prince is currently deploying troops. Does the princess want to keep 20,000 soldiers out?" Lu Qiuyan asked.
Sun Wei didn't say anything, just ordered the guests to be sent away.
Lu Qiuyan looked at her and suddenly smiled helplessly.
"Princess, why are you so anxious?" he said. "As I said last time, this matter concerns the two families of Jingzhou and Jiangzhou, so we must take a long-term view. Why don't you discuss a countermeasure with me?"
Sun Wei thought, after all the pretense, his true colors were finally revealed.
She didn't answer, just waited for him to speak.
Lu Qiuyan said, "Princess, I'm sure you know that the Duke of Nanjun and Wang Pushe have been at loggerheads over the death of the previous Crown Princess and the selection of the new one."
"I know. With the Queen Mother here, the Duke of Nanjun will probably be in trouble."
"Exactly. The Duke of Nanjun has a violent temper and regards the Wang family's actions as a great disgrace. This year, he may launch an attack."
"I wonder what the difference is between launching an uprising and sending troops?"
"There's no difference." Lu Qiuyan looked at her, "So the princess already knew?"
Sun smiled and said, "I knew it last year."
A light flashed in Lu Qiuyan's eyes.
"As far as I know, although the Duke of Nanjun has had this intention for a long time, he only made up his mind during the Chinese New Year this year." He said slowly, "The princess's family background is truly impressive."
Sun smiled faintly and said nothing.
If Sima Jun heard what she said, he would just sneer and think that she was just playing tricks.
As for Lu Qiuyan, people like him are not really superstitious, so it is unknown whether he really believed her.
"The Crown Prince has personally taken charge and has cleared out Xunyang City. The Duke of Nanjun's Jingzhou troops were originally unable to cross Jiangzhou," she said. "Now, the Crown Prince has borrowed troops from the Duke of Nanjun, which is exactly what he wants. The 20,000 troops sent to Kuaiji can just make a detour and march straight from Jiangzhou to Jiankang. Am I right?"
"Perhaps more than 20,000." Lu Qiuyan said, "The princess already knows that Jingzhou has 50,000 soldiers and horses. 70,000 can be recruited after the new year. As long as they can wipe out the Wang family, the Duke of Nanjun is willing to go all out."
These words were said without any concealment at all.
Sun Wei said, "Jiankang is guarded by the Northern Army from Jingkou. Isn't the Duke of Nanjun afraid that the Crown Prince will turn the tables and take advantage of Jingzhou's emptiness, allowing the Jiangzhou army to capture Jingzhou directly? If that happens, not only will he fail to capture Jiankang, but he'll also lose Jingzhou, and he'll have no choice but to commit suicide in the river."
"The Duke of Nanjun is old and willing to burn his boats to achieve hegemony."
Sun Wei understood that this was Huan Yi's last chance in this life.
But the lives of others are still long, and they may not share the same aspirations as him.
For example, Luqiu Yan.
"So it seems that the Chief Secretary does not agree with this move." Sun Wei said.
"I think this is a rather unwise move. However, as the Chief Secretary, I have only loyalty to the Emperor, not to the Emperor."
Sun Wei sneered: "Why did the Chief Secretary risk coming to Xunyang?"
"It was to fulfill the agreement with the Crown Prince and allow him to borrow 20,000 troops from Jingzhou."
Sun Wei gave him a deep look and said, "It seems that the Chief Secretary has already made his plan."
"It is somewhat possible," Lu Qiuyan said, "but whether it can succeed depends on whether the princess and the prince are willing to trust me."
"oh?"
"Given the current situation in Jingzhou, the Duke of Nanjun is unlikely to lend you 20,000 troops, so you can only use your wits to conquer."
"How to outsmart them?" Sun Wei was puzzled.
"Please listen to me carefully," Lu Qiuyan said. "When we last met, I told you that I wanted to discuss the affairs of the Huan family."
"Could it be that this clever method is related to the Huan family affairs?"
"That's right," Lu Qiuyan said. "There's a connection here. I wonder if the princess has heard of Huan An, the sixth son of the Duke of Nanjun?"
Sun Wei was stunned. She naturally knew Huan An.
In his previous life, after Huan Yi's defeat, Lü Qiuyan gathered all of Huan's former followers. In order to seize control of Jingzhou, he killed all of Huan Yi's descendants.
The one who resisted him to the end was a young man named Huan An. The fierce battle between the two sides continued until after Sun Wei and Sima Jun got married.
Sun Wei still remembered that when Sima Jun heard the news of Huan An's death, he sighed and said, "The Huan family is dead."
However, Sun Wei always thought that Huan An was the nephew of Huan Yi's family.
When did he become the sixth son of the Huan family? Huan Yi clearly only had five sons.
Seeing Sun Wei's silence, Lu Qiuyan assumed she truly didn't know and said, "It's only natural that the princess doesn't recognize the Sixth Young Master. This Sixth Young Master is the son of the Duke of Nanjun and an outside actor. Since the mistress doesn't acknowledge him, he naturally can't be called a Young Master. Everyone in the Huan family dislikes him, with one exception."
"Who?"
"The fourth young master Huan Xiu who just died."
According to Lu Qiuyan, Huan Xiu was born to the favorite concubine of the Duke of Nanjun. Even though he was also disliked by the mistress, no one dared to do anything to him.
He has a strange temper, but he feels quite sympathetic towards Huan An, who is in a similar situation.
When Huan An was bullied, Huan Xiu repeatedly helped him, vacated his own courtyard for Huan An to live in, and recommended Huan An to serve in the Jingzhou camp.
Huan An was quite ambitious, starting as a small soldier and repeatedly making achievements. Eventually, Huan Yi took a new look at him and appointed him a general, who now commanded the vanguard battalion of the Jingzhou army.
Huan Yi's sons had made no progress. Huan An's sudden rise to power had aroused their fear. They had been looking for an opportunity to get rid of Huan An.
But Huan An remained cautious until Huan Xiu died.
"Princess, you know that a while ago, I accompanied the Fourth Young Master to Jiangxia to inspect the fortifications. But you may not know that the Sixth Young Master was also among them."
After hearing this, Sun Wei roughly guessed what he was going to say next.
"Huan Xiu died in Jiangxia, so they blamed Huan An for Huan Xiu's death?"
Lu Qiuyan nodded. "When the Fourth Young Master returned to Jiangxia, he first went to find the Sixth Young Master, perhaps to discuss how to get rid of me. However, the moment they met, the Fourth Young Master lost consciousness. The Sixth Young Master was indeed the last person to see the Fourth Young Master. I once told the princess that I did not kill the Fourth Young Master, and the Sixth Young Master can testify."
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