Fu Xiaoguan thought for a long time and shook his head.
"Don't worry about that. As for Yan Xiaolou... although I've met her a few times, there's no romantic connection between us. The Yan clan is a major pillar of the Yu Dynasty, and Yan Beixi won't let it fall easily. He understands that everything the Yan clan has comes from Your Majesty. I thought that after the court opened, he would call Yan Haochu back and have him resign from his position as General of the Eastern Frontier Army, as a way to show Your Majesty his intentions for the Yan clan."
"Why did he do this? Isn't this like cutting off his own arm?" Yu Wenyun asked.
"He's old, don't worry, he doesn't dare to gamble!"
At the same time, in the solemn Yan Mansion, Yan Beixi and Yan Shidao were sitting opposite each other in the study.
Yan Shidao also asked why.
Yan Beixi pondered for a long time and said, "I am old, but Your Majesty is in his prime. I cannot risk the lives of thousands of people in the Yan clan for an unpredictable outcome."
"So we must give up the Eastern Frontier Army?"
"I didn't answer the question that Fu Xiaoguan asked me. Both scraping the bone to treat the poison and cutting off one of his arms hurt oneself. The only difference is that one is a long-lasting pain and the other is a short one. As the saying goes, a short pain is worse than a long one, so why not cut off one of his arms?"
Master Yan's brows furrowed, but Yan Beixi smiled calmly and continued, "He didn't raise a question for me, but rather pointed it out clearly. All I have left is a choice. No matter which choice I make, the Yan clan will suffer a great loss. Of course, it's unfair to only let the Yan clan suffer. If we want to preserve this country, other clans must also be cut off. Let's all suffer together."
"What are Father's plans?"
"Doesn't the eldest prince like fighting? Let's give him a push. The commander of the Eastern Frontier Army is quite suitable for him."
"This...I'm afraid His Majesty won't agree."
"No, your majesty will agree."
Yan Shidao didn't understand why his father was so sure. Once the eldest prince left Shangjing, it wouldn't be easy for him to return. If His Majesty kept him in Shangjing, it meant His Majesty intended to make him the crown prince. But if His Majesty really agreed... then his position as crown prince would be difficult to compete for.
"If the eldest prince goes to the Eastern Frontier Army, then the commander of the Western Frontier Army, Xue Dingshan, must be transferred back."
Xue Dingshan is the uncle of the eldest prince Yu Wentian and the fourth prince Yu Wenshu. He is deeply trusted by His Majesty. Since Xue Binglan passed away due to complications during childbirth, His Majesty ascended the throne and appointed the former Crown Princess Xue Binglan as Queen. He also appointed Xue Dingshan as the General of the Western Frontier Army.
The Xue family of Shangjing, which has always been low-key, married two daughters to His Majesty. Even after Xue Binglan died, she was still posthumously named empress. This shows His Majesty's deep affection for Xue Binglan and his great grace to the Xue family.
Therefore, it is very difficult to move Xue Dingshan.
Yan Beixi shook his head. "Xue Dingshan can't be moved... Let's leave it at that for now. I'm tired. I'll think about other things later."
Yan Shidao looked up at his father and found that his father really looked tired.
Before he knew it, his hair had turned gray, his face was filled with wrinkles carved by time, his eyelids had become loose and were now drooping, making it impossible to tell whether his eyes were open or closed.
Yan Shidao bowed and stepped back, standing in the snow in the yard, looking at the plot of land in the corner - last spring, his father planted a lot of leeks in that plot of land, but because he was busy with court affairs and had no time to manage it, it eventually became overgrown with weeds, and the leeks were buried by the weeds, making it impossible to tell the difference between leeks and weeds.
I still remember that morning, my father looked at the field for a long time. He smiled one last time, took a small hoe, and turned the field upside down. It wasn't long before the field was overgrown with weeds again, but my father ignored it. By autumn, the weeds had all withered, and by winter, there was no trace of weeds left except for the snow.
Now his father was in a dilemma. Although he had made a decision, Yan Shidao understood how difficult it was to make this decision!
Scraping bones to cure poison and cutting off one's own arm, is it really necessary to do this?
Fu Xiaoguan asked if there was any other meaning in that sentence.
Does he know the inside story of the Ximayuan tragedy?
Otherwise, how would he know that Bei Wangchuan shot an arrow at that place?
Why didn't the father decide to kill Fu Xiaoguan but instead wanted to marry Xiaolou to him?
Yan Shidao was puzzled and walked towards his mansion with his head down. Fei Wu, the commander of the light cavalry of the Eastern Frontier Army, had returned to Shangjing on the bustling night of New Year's Eve and was now waiting for his opinion in the study.
…
…
Eunuch Nian arrived at the Fu Mansion at 3:00 PM.
"A few days ago, the young master asked me to investigate something... The first case was far away in Yuezhou, so the news didn't come back quickly. The second case is about Shuiyue Temple, please take a look."
In Li Chenxuan, Fu Xiaoguan and Eunuch Nian sat opposite each other. Eunuch Nian had a few pieces of paper in his hand and handed one to Fu Xiaoguan.
"The third thing is all the information about General Xue Dingshan of the Western Frontier Army. Please review it as well, young master."
Fu Xiaoguan took the first piece of paper and began to read it.
"Shuiyue Temple was first built in the third year of Hongde in the previous dynasty, and has a history of over 560 years. It houses a statue of the goddess Nuwa. It was once a popular place of worship, but now it has declined, with few people visiting to worship. The reason for this is unknown in historical records. Rumor has it that the last emperor of the previous dynasty disrespected the statue of Nuwa, leading to the fall of the dynasty. After that, the goddess Nuwa departed, and the temple lost its spirituality."
"Shuiyue Nunnery is currently staffed by only one old nun. Her real name is Chen Xiyun, and her Buddhist name is Master Bunian. She entered the nunnery in the twentieth year of the Taihe era, making it over forty-two years now. Five days have passed since we received the order, and no one has been observed entering the nunnery. The 354th floor will continue monitoring until this order is lifted."
Fu Xiaoguan frowned, bit his lip, put the paper down, and asked, "How old is this old nun now?"
Eunuch Nian was stunned. The intelligence didn’t mention that, so he shook his head.
"Where is this old nun in front of Rushuiyue Temple? What is she doing? Where is her home? Does she have any relatives?"
Eunuch Nian was bewildered. With a population of over a million in such a large city like Shangjing, how could he possibly know unless he went to the Jinling prefectural governor's office and looked through archives from decades ago? So he shook his head again.
Fu Xiaoguan chuckled, and his face suddenly became gloomy.
"I'm going to tell you something you might not like, but this Xiyu Tower... is nothing special!"
Eunuch Nian's face changed. This Xiyu Tower was built by Concubine Shang with great efforts, and it was something Concubine Shang was proud of. However, when it came to the mouth of Fu Xiaoguan, he received such a bad review. Of course, he wanted to refute, but Fu Xiaoguan did not give him a chance to refute.
"To be truly intelligent, one must understand the ins and outs of all the people and events involved! If one doesn't know the cause, how can one know the effect? If one only looks at the surface, how can one discover what lies deep within?"
"Pass my words on. From now on, I want to know every detail of the intelligence and orders sent by the various departments of Xiyu Tower. Remember this, every detail!"
“Details determine success or failure; only by digging deep can we get to the bottom of things!”
"Also, Xiyu Tower's management method is wrong. This information came into your hands, and you passed it on to me. Can you tell me how much time you wasted? If it was an emergency, by the time I knew about it, it would have been cold. So, Eunuch Nian..."
Fu Xiaoguan's serious expression suddenly faded, revealing a faint smile. He poured a cup of tea for Eunuch Nian, looked up at him, and said seriously, "From now on, all intelligence will be sent directly to me. As for the palace... it's okay if you learn about it later. This is my opinion. Eunuch Nian, please tell Concubine Shang that if she doesn't like it, then this Xiyu Tower, to be honest, is just useless to me."
Eunuch Nian was stunned for a moment, then laughed. "In that case, I will report this to Her Majesty the Imperial Concubine. I believe Her Majesty will agree. After all, Her Majesty has already handed the Phoenix Sword over to you, which means you can make any changes to Drizzle Rain Tower."
"That's good."
He picked up the pile of information about Xue Dingshan and began to read it. He added, "When you return, pass my order to the 12th floor. Ye Wusui...is not to my liking. He actually charged me for tea! Well, don't tell him for now. I'll replace him when I find someone suitable."
Although he said it so casually, Eunuch Nian was shocked.
Of course, he was not surprised that Fu Xiaoguan accepted money from him when he bought tea at the Twelve Floor, but the hidden meaning behind Fu Xiaoguan's words.
The previous sentence was about taking power, and this sentence is about cleaning up.
This kid is really brave. It seems that Concubine Shang was right about him.
Drizzle Tower wasn't perfect or rigorous. Although the plot had been laid as a secret intelligence gathering organization, numerous problems remained. Imperial Concubine Shang was aware of this, but as a consort, she lacked the time and energy to care for it. Now that it was in the hands of Fu Xiaoguan, Imperial Concubine Shang had worried that he wouldn't take it seriously, but her worries were unnecessary.
"All arrangements at Xiyu Tower will be based solely on your opinion."
"Um...Xue Dingshan, this man's wife is Xi Xunmei's sister Xi Hua..."
Fu Xiaoguan frowned again and asked, "Did the Xi family provide almost all of the Yu Dynasty's war horses?"
"My lord, that's right. The Xi family primarily operates ranches. Their head, Xi Zhier, is sixty-five years old this year. He doesn't live in Shangjing, but rather at the Monan Ranch, one of the three major ranches. The Xi family began operating ranches during the previous dynasty. Before the previous dynasty fell, the Xi family provided many fine war horses to the founding emperor of Dayu, helping Dayu to annihilate the previous dynasty in one fell swoop. At the outset of Dayu's founding, the three major ranches of the Yu Dynasty were handed over to the Xi family for management. The founding emperor even personally wrote a note inscribed with the words "Rise and Fall with the Country" and presented it to the Xi family."
Fu Xiaoguan picked up the second page and continued reading. "So, the Xi family has a talisman?"
Eunuch Nian nodded. "That's about right. The Xi family has been favored by successive emperors, but they also keep a low profile. Xi Xunmei is the only official in the court... And Xi Shuang, last year's runner-up, Xi Xunmei's eldest son, has been exiled to Henan Prefecture in the Western Capital to serve as the magistrate of Gong County. I think he'll be leaving the capital soon."
"Well, go ahead...and ask Ye Wusui to come see me."
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