1911 safety, rumors flying everywhere
The civil strife in Xiling ended half a month ago. Although the reinforcements arrived in time, they only drove the eldest princess out of Kyoto, but did not capture her, or even kill her.
The eldest princess crossed the river with her subordinates and occupied the territory of Xiling near Beiling. She divided the river with the emperor of Xiling and proclaimed herself Emperor Wu'an in the north.
From then on, Xiling was divided into two, with two emperors coexisting, and a fifth country appeared on the Kyushu continent.
Although Emperor Xiling was dissatisfied, his old illness relapsed because of the eldest princess' rebellion and he had no energy to handle state affairs. He could only let Xiling Tianyu handle it. However, Xiling Tianyu would never kill the eldest princess at this time.
In fact, Xiling does not have the military and financial resources to cross the river and fight the princess. At that time, whether Xiling wins or loses, it will benefit outsiders. Except for the emperor who is in the middle of the situation and wants to vent his anger, all the ministers in the court do not agree to send troops to attack the princess.
"Look, father, your most beloved sister repays you in this way, while your brother, who you have high hopes for, was forced by you to turn to me at the critical moment." Facing the questioning of Emperor Xiling, Xiling Tianyu answered with a mocking look on his face.
Emperor Xiling was so angry that he cursed Xiling Tianyu as a wicked son. Xiling Tianyu sneered and did not make any excuses. He knelt on the ground obediently. No matter what Emperor Xiling said, he no longer cared anyway.
The Emperor of Xiling was very angry and threatened to depose Xiling Tiandingdi. However, the power of Xiling had fallen into the hands of Xiling Tianyu. The Emperor had only the power in name only and could not depose Xiling Tianyu even if he wanted to.
At the morning court session, the Emperor reprimanded Xiling Tianyu in front of all the ministers, intending to depose him from the position of Crown Prince. As a result... the ministers headed by Mr. Yinli said that the Emperor listened to the slander of the villain and misunderstood His Royal Highness the Crown Prince.
Xiling Tianyu cried bitterly in the hall with a sad face. He said that he was unfilial and asked to be abolished as crown prince in order to please the emperor.
After hearing this, all the ministers tried to persuade the prince, saying that the prince was kind and filial. They hinted that the emperor was stimulated by the eldest princess's affair and was afraid of everything, and asked the prince not to take it to heart. Everyone in Xiling knew that the prince was kind and so on.
Xiling Tianyu refused and insisted on abolishing the position of crown prince. As a result, all the ministers knelt down and refused to agree. The emperor knew that his situation was hopeless. Xiling was now the Xiling of the crown prince and the eldest princess. He, the emperor, was just an empty title.
"The situation in Xiling is just as the Ninth Prince predicted. Tianyu will not become a king who loses his country." Feng Qingchen found that he admired Tianyu a little. The throne was within his reach, but he was able to hold back. He was worthy of being the person the Ninth Prince favored.
“A chaotic Xiling is more in line with the interests of the Ninth Uncle. What the Ninth Uncle has always wanted is Prince Tianyu’s power in Xiling.” Wang Jinling naturally knew the Ninth Uncle’s plan for Xiling, and he naturally took secret action on Xiling’s affairs.
Regardless of whether the Wang family and the Cui family are in-laws, there is a competitive relationship between the Wang and Cui families. As the head of the Wang family, Wang Jinling will naturally not allow the Cui family to become too powerful. The chaotic Xiling can hold the Cui family back and make them fall into a quagmire.
"Beiling will probably not be too peaceful. The Ninth Prince does not like to suffer losses." Thinking of the Ninth Prince who was about to arrive at the border, Wang Jinling silently mourned for the generals on the front line and Beiling.
Beiling interfered in Dongling's internal affairs, provoked civil strife in Dongling, and instigated Taicheng to take the opportunity to cause trouble in Dongling. Given the Ninth Prince's temperament, he would definitely retaliate, or even double the return.
"Princess Anping is in Beiling." Even if Feng Qingchen didn't say these things, Wang Jinling could think of them.
“If Beiling knew that the princess they had tried so hard to marry would become the fuse of civil strife, I wonder if he would regret it so much that he would vomit blood.” Wang Jinling said with a smile, but the smile did not reach his eyes.
Seeing Feng Qingchen's relaxed expression, Wang Jinling knew that Feng Qingchen didn't know about the rumors outside, but the Ninth Prince repeatedly warned him not to tell Feng Qingchen about these things. He also couldn't be a mean person, so he could only hint to Feng Qingchen that all countries and cities would be in chaos for a while, and asked Feng Qingchen to be more careful. If nothing happened, it would be best not to leave the capital. The imperial city was definitely safer than the outside world.
The news about Lan Jingyang's identity and the treasure of the previous dynasty were only circulated among the top leaders of the four countries and nine cities. Naturally, it was impossible for such a big event to spread all over the streets. Only those who stood at the pinnacle of power could know the news first.
Although Feng Qingchen's information network is not small, it is still a little inferior to the information network in various countries and cities that has been operating for decades. Moreover, under the concealment of some people, it is even more difficult for Feng Qingchen to receive this news.
Feng Qingchen did not think too deeply about Wang Jinling's reminder. After all, in the current situation, wars could break out between countries and cities at any time, and it was indeed very unsafe outside. However, Feng Qingchen still responded, "Don't worry, I will not leave the imperial city alone in the short term."
"Just don't leave. As for the meeting with the Grand Empress Dowager tomorrow, you don't have to worry about it. I will ask Grand Empress Xie to accompany you." Wang Jinling secretly breathed a sigh of relief. As long as Feng Qingchen was in the imperial city, it would not be difficult for him to protect Feng Qingchen with his ability.
"Okay." In order not to make Wang Jinling worry, Feng Qingchen agreed and made assurances again and again.
Feng Qingchen had no need to go out recently. Yun Xiao, Wang Qi and Sun Sixing were in charge of Jiangnan's affairs, so she couldn't just sit there and do nothing. As for Shandong's affairs, if nothing unexpected happened, there would be good news soon...
As time went by, Taicheng slowly showed signs of decline. Although Shandong was a small city, Taicheng could not be conquered for a long time. Not only the ordinary soldiers, but even the Lord of Taicheng could not sit still.
Seeing that the war between Chucheng and Beiling was about to end, when Dongling was free, a small Taicheng would not be enough to fill the gap in Dongling's teeth. By then, Taicheng would definitely become the second Yecheng, and the Lord of Taicheng would be imprisoned in Dongling like Ye Ye, and would never have freedom in his life.
Now the Ninth Prince personally led an expedition to Beiling, and won the first battle. If nothing unexpected happens, Beiling will definitely be repelled. Tai Chengzhu found that his two allies were about to be destroyed, and he panicked. He once again gathered his troops and launched a large-scale attack on Shandong.
The result was that Taicheng made a huge strategic mistake. News came from Shandong that Taicheng was ambushed and 30,000 vanguard troops were killed, with no remains left.
These 30,000 troops were the main force of Taicheng. Without this force, the defeat of Taicheng would be a matter of time.
When the news from Taicheng came, Feng Qingchen felt relieved. If nothing unexpected happened, Taicheng would be where the Fengli clan would live in the future, and her identity would probably be exposed soon.
Feng Qingchen had prepared herself mentally and had anticipated the troubles that might arise after her identity was exposed, but she had not expected that her identity would be exposed so quickly and in such a strange way...
A word to readers: These two chapters are a big turning point. I wrote them several times before I was satisfied. I wrote at least 10,000 words, and revised them until they were 4,000... I didn't finish them until 15:00 in the morning. In my excitement, I knocked over the glass of water I had just poured, and then I heard a "pop" sound, and the computer screen went black. It seemed that I was also shocked.
I thought I would travel through time... but it turned out that only the computer keyboard was broken, and the computer could be turned on again.
I am so grateful!