Chapter 193 Petition
Sun Wei pondered for a moment and said, "Sir, do you think Li Mo can accomplish anything?"
"The Crown Prince has Kong Qi in his hands. If he uses Kong Qi as bait, the Crown Prince has a better chance of winning."
"What if Wu Fen replaced Kong Qi?"
Sima Jun was startled and asked, "What does Madam mean?"
"Wu Fen is a man of great wit and ambition. If Kong Qi died, it wouldn't be a bad thing for him. Wu Fen would probably wish the Crown Prince would kill Kong Qi so he could take his place. If that were the case, why would he take the Crown Prince's bait? How would the Crown Prince stand a chance of winning?"
Sima Jun felt that what Sun Wei said made some sense.
"In your opinion, Madam, what will Wu Fen do next?"
What happens next has already been revealed in the previous life.
"Wu Fen will lead the remaining troops to Guangzhou, where they will recuperate and then launch another northern expedition."
"Madam, do you think that when Wu Fen went to Guangzhou to meet Liu Ke last year, they didn't discuss money and food, but rather strategies for recuperation?"
Sun Wei thought that Wu Fen's original intention was to ask for money and food. But no one expected Kong Qi to be defeated so quickly, including Sun Wei.
"It doesn't matter what they said. If Wu Fen is defeated, he can only retreat to Guangzhou. If nothing unexpected happens, neither the Crown Prince nor Li Mo will be able to capture Wu Fen..."
Before Sun Wei could finish, she heard Yin Wen say from outside, "Aru, what are you standing there for? Why don't you go in?"
After saying that, Yin Wen knocked on the door and said, "Prince, A'ru is here to deliver the food."
Sima Jun couldn't help but frown when he heard the word "food".
Sun Wei knew that people who suffered from heatstroke would feel nauseous when they saw food.
She said "Come in" to the outside, and then said to Sima Jun, "I asked Aru to bring them here. They are all refreshing side dishes. Please enjoy some, Your Highness."
Sima Jun looked reluctant.
When the food was served, Sima Jun took a quick look, felt nauseous, and did not touch his chopsticks.
Sun Wei's eyes fell on Aju who was standing beside him.
Her eyes flickered, as if she was worried about something.
Sun Wei knew what she had just heard outside the door.
Liu Ke was originally a subordinate of Aju's father, Ning Xiu. In Aju's mind, Liu Ke's appointment as Governor of Guangzhou was tantamount to usurping the throne.
But Sun Wei knew very well that Ning Xiu's death was not as simple as Aju thought.
The time was not right yet, and A Ru's revenge plan would take time. Therefore, whenever Sun Wei discussed Liu Ke with Sima Jun, he tried to avoid A Ru.
Unexpectedly, she heard it this time.
Now that you've heard it, there's no point in avoiding it.
She said to A'ru, "Please wait for a moment. When the prince and I have finished, you can take the food box away."
Aju agreed.
Sun Wei served Sima Jun some lotus root soup and asked, "How much does the prince know about Liu Ke?"
Sima Jun took a bite and seemed to find it acceptable, so he didn't resist.
"He was the Left General under Ning Xiu, the former Governor of Guangzhou. I once met him. When I was young, Ning Xiu brought Liu Ke to visit Jiangzhou. I remember that Ning Xiu always brought him with him and seemed to hold him in high esteem."
Sun Wei glanced at Aju.
"Oh?" she continued, "How did he replace Ning Xiu and become the governor of Guangzhou?"
"In the ninth year of Jianyang, Zhao Que of Yizhou rebelled, and Ningzhou and Guangzhou followed suit. Ning Xiu also rebelled. Taking advantage of the Northern Court's dispatch of troops to Yizhou, he led the Guangzhou garrison north along the coastal route, intending to attack Jingkou. Fortunately, Liu Ke lured Ning Xiu into captivity before they could leave, putting down the rebellion. Ning Xiu was later beheaded, and the court commended Liu Ke for his meritorious service by appointing him Governor of Guangzhou."
"Your Highness is wrong. Ning Xiu never rebelled!" Aju suddenly said.
Sima Jun looked at her in surprise.
"Aru." Sun Wei said calmly, "Hearsay cannot be used as evidence. Let's listen to what the prince has to say first."
Aru bit her lip and said nothing.
Sun Wei smiled at Sima Jun and said, "Aru has told me about her past in Guangzhou several times. When she was little, she heard about General Ning's loyalty and bravery and regarded him as a hero. That's why she can't stand hearing others speak ill of him. Please don't blame me, my lord."
Sima Jun looked at A'ru with interest: "What have you heard? Why don't you tell me?"
Aju looked at Sun Wei.
Sun Wei said: "Since the prince asked, you should tell the truth."
Aju immediately became energetic.
"I've heard that Zhao Que, the Yizhou rebel, once worked with General Ning. They were good brothers who shared life and death together. Before launching his rebellion, Zhao Que did visit General Ning, hoping to join forces, but was rejected on the spot. If General Ning did anything wrong, it was because he, out of old friendship, didn't report the matter to the court. As a result, when he was later framed, he couldn't justify himself with his words."
"You said General Ning rejected Zhao Que's offer, but why did General Ning still send his troops north?"
"Because someone tampered with the military orders," Aju said. "When Zhao Que started his rebellion, the Minister of the Five Armies sent a military order to General Ning, ordering him to lead 30,000 defenders to suppress the Ningzhou rebels. However, the order General Ning received was to march north to Jingkou and defend Jiankang."
Sima Jun frowned after hearing this. "If what you say is true, tampering with military orders is an unforgivable crime. But General Ning, as a veteran, how could he not know that Jiankang was guarded by the Northern Palace? Why did he choose to send troops from Guangzhou instead of the nearby city?"
"General Ning knew about this, but the deadline on the military order was tight, and he didn't have time to send anyone to verify it. He planned to set off on his journey while sending a trusted confidant to Beijing to gather information. However, he was unexpectedly captured by Liu Ke at the dock just as he was about to depart."
Sima Jun already knew what happened next.
At that time, he followed Prince Yuzhang to attack Yizhou and heard the news of Ning Xiu's rebellion.
Everyone knew about the personal relationship between Zhao Que and Ning Xiu, so although this unexpected change was surprising, upon closer thought, it was reasonable.
At that time, Zhao Que was advancing aggressively. Wang Hao, who was in charge of the imperial court, heard that Ning, Jiao, and Guangzhou had responded to Zhao Que's attack at the same time. He was worried that the war would escalate further, so he decided to kill Ning Xiu first to scare the monkeys and stabilize Guangzhou.
Later, wars followed one after another. The Zhao Que Rebellion was about to subside when the Kong Qi Rebellion broke out. The court was constantly busy, and gradually, the Ning Xiu case faded from its mind.
"If he was wronged, why didn't his subordinates and family members go to the capital to petition?"
Aju's eyes dimmed.
"His family members were killed or scattered, making it difficult for him to even leave Lingnan, let alone enter the capital. He didn't even know who to contact to petition. As for his subordinates, they were either killed or deceived by Liu Ke, who believed that General Ning really had rebellious intentions. It's all because General Ning trusted the wrong person and entrusted all important matters to Liu Ke, allowing Liu Ke to cover up everything and take advantage of the opportunity."
Sima Jun didn't say anything, just looked at A'ru, his emotions unclear in his dark eyes.
"Where did you hear this?" he suddenly asked.
A'ru glanced at Sun Wei and lowered her eyes: "I just heard about it from everywhere."
"Oh?" Sima Jun asked, "Why are you so sure these rumors are true?"
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