Chapter 1238 Can the Imperial Family Be Divided?
Upon hearing this, everyone in the hall looked enlightened. Pei Xingyuan stroked his chin and murmured, "No wonder I didn't see the Princess today."
Jiang Xing also said, "Yes, I didn't see the Princess today, and I was worried that she might be unwell."
Pei Xingyuan smiled and waved his hand at him: "How could that be? If the Princess Consort were really unwell, His Highness Prince Qin would not have time to discuss these trivial matters with us."
Everyone nodded in agreement.
Yuwen Ye's lips twitched slightly.
Dai Junliang said softly, "Should we ask the Princess to come out?"
Yuwen Ye said, "There's no need to invite her. Today, it's just the people here discussing this."
Hearing him say this, everyone knew that he would never allow Shang Ruyi to attend this meeting, but they also understood that Shang Ruyi clearly disagreed with his decision to move to Luoyang in accordance with the emperor's decree. For a moment, everyone fell silent.
Just as the entire hall, and even the Qin Prince's mansion, was unusually quiet and somewhat oppressive, a voice spoke softly—
"If we really want to go to Luoyang, there are certain conditions."
Upon hearing this, everyone's gaze immediately turned to one person, Shen Wuzheng, who had remained silent all day and showed almost no emotion regardless of what the people in the hall said.
He was almost universally recognized as the most intelligent person in the entire Qin Prince's Mansion. In addition, he was also the elder brother of the Qin Princess. Therefore, Yuwen Ye listened to him almost without question on many important matters. Although the two sometimes seemed to be at odds, this did not affect his influence in the team.
So when he spoke, everyone fell silent.
After a long pause, Pei Xingyuan spoke first, saying, "Wu Zheng, I thought you would be on my side."
Shen Wuzheng glanced at him indifferently without saying a word, while Yuwen Ye calmed down immediately after his initial shock, but he didn't feel much joy. He only asked, "What do you mean by that?"
Shen Wuzheng said, "His Majesty promised Prince Qin that he could appoint officials in Luoyang at will by imperial decree. I believe everyone understands what this means."
Everyone nodded.
Shen Wuzheng asked, "How is this different from Liang Shide's situation in Luoyang?"
"..."
"The only difference is that he has no connection with Chang'an at all. These powers were not promised by others, but were earned by himself."
"..."
"So, his power in Luoyang is greater than what the Emperor promised Your Highness. Where is he now?"
Lei Guodao said, "What Lord Shen means is that going to Luoyang means becoming enemies with Chang'an, and the two sides will go to war sooner or later."
Upon hearing this, Yuwen Ye's brows furrowed involuntarily: "I have no intention of making an enemy of Chang'an."
Shen Wuzheng calmly said, "Your Highness, brothers in ordinary families can divide their property, but can the imperial family be divided?"
"..."
"If someone else is sleeping soundly beside your bed, can Your Highness rest in peace? Can the Crown Prince rest in peace? Can the Prince of Qi rest in peace?"
He and Shang Ruyi said almost the same thing in different occasions, one after the other. Yuwen Ye's brows furrowed even more, while everyone else was deeply moved by his words and nodded repeatedly. Pei Xingyuan even said leisurely, "Your Highness, don't forget that on the night the little prince was born, you were in Chengqian Palace, and you were on the verge of death."
When this matter was mentioned, Yuwen Ye's eyes dimmed.
At this moment, Shi Yu thought to himself, "Lord Shen just mentioned conditions. What conditions?"
Shen Wuzheng said, "His Majesty the Emperor gave Luoyang to Prince Qin as compensation, but giving Luoyang is not enough. Otherwise, the battle of Luoyang a few days ago will be a rehearsal for the future. Whether it is us in Luoyang or the Crown Prince and Prince Qi in Chang'an, we will all deplete our strength in this tug-of-war, and in the end, others will benefit from it."
Yuwen Ye frowned.
He then realized that he had been so focused on making the decision that he had forgotten to prepare a backup plan for it. On the contrary, Shen Wuzheng remained calm and composed, and got straight to the point in one sentence.
He thought for a moment and said, "Then what conditions do you think I should ask my father for?"
Shen Wuzheng smiled faintly and said, "Your Highness is well-versed in military strategy. I don't need to suggest this to Your Highness, do I?"
Yuwen Ye was silent for a moment, then said, "I will ask my father for permission to replace the garrison commander of Tongguan with my own men, as well as the garrison commander of Hangu Pass."
Upon hearing this, everyone looked around. This time, no one raised any objections. Tongguan was the only way for Guanzhong to reach the east. Taking control of this place would block the possibility of Yuwen Qian and Yuwen Cheng sending troops eastward. Especially since the current Tongguan garrison commander, Chu Zhengfei, was Yu Dingxing's man, having his men guard such an important place was already disadvantageous to the Qin King's faction. Now that the emperor wanted Yuwen Ye to retreat to Luoyang, this was a good opportunity to speak to the emperor.
Similarly, Hangu Pass is located east of Tongguan Pass and is an important passage from Chang'an to Luoyang. Taking it would allow it to form a defensive barrier in western Luoyang together with Tongguan Pass.
Although Shen Tu Tai looked displeased, he still said, "We must have Shangzhou too!"
Yuwen Ye glanced at him and nodded, saying, "Of course."
Shangzhou, located in the southeast of Guanzhong and adjacent to the southern foothills of the Qinling Mountains, is the location of Wuguan, the most important passage from Chang'an to Nanyang and Jingxiang. Controlling Wuguan would prevent the troops from Chang'an from attacking Luoyang from the south.
Mu Xian murmured, "And then there's Hulao Pass. Only by controlling these places can Luoyang rest easy."
Now that you mention it, it seems to be true.
But Shen Wuzheng did not stop there. When everyone quieted down and began to seriously consider the future of Luoyang, he said in a deep voice, "Not only that, Your Highness must ask the Emperor for two more places."
Yuwen Ye looked at him: "Which two places?"
Shen Wuzheng said, "Shangdang and Puban."
Upon hearing about these two places, while others might be able to understand, Shi Yuxin's expression immediately turned serious. She gave Shen Wuzheng a deep look, and Shen Wuzheng met her gaze, saying, "Miss Shi understands the reasons behind this best."
Shi Yuxin was silent for a moment, then nodded and said, "Back then, I led 80,000 troops with the intention of entering Shangdang through the Fukou Pass, and then heading south to seize Puban. In that way, the entire city of Chang'an would be within my grasp."
Upon hearing these words, everyone fell silent, even holding their breath.
Gao Feng and Jiang Kesheng, in particular, couldn't help but shudder—after all, it was they who had followed Shang Ruyi and led several hundred men to block Shi Yuxin's army in Huyang Valley. After a bloody battle, their elite troops were almost wiped out, a truly tragic situation.
However, it's hard to say whether Chang'an would still be as prosperous as it is today without those days and nights of bloody fighting.
It's even harder to say what the world is like!
At this moment, Yan Buhuai said softly with some hesitation, "But, these two places..."
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