Chapter 858 The Secretary and Military Officer
Shen Wuzheng glanced at her, then lowered his eyes without saying a word, but there seemed to be a deeper worry in his eyes.
Shang Ruyi's heart pounded even harder.
She was furious when she learned that Shang Shoufei had been appointed as the Right Supervisor of the Crown Prince. This "brother" who had bullied her so much had shamelessly climbed the social ladder through her, yet now stood against her. He even took action against her over the hawthorn cake incident. These days, she almost didn't want to think about him, because just thinking about him felt like swallowing a fly.
What angered her even more was that Yuwen Ye had previously told her that Shang Shoufei had been appointed as the Right Gatekeeper, becoming a military general and thus having the authority to command troops.
If war breaks out in the future, he will be able to lead troops into battle!
This was the thing that had always been the most thorn in Shang Ruyi's side. When she heard Yuwen Ye tell her these words, she even asserted that if he were to lead the army, he would be the biggest joke in the Great Sheng Dynasty for ten thousand years!
But unexpectedly, the current situation may actually turn out this way.
The fact that Shang Shoufei, as the Right Palace Guard, did not continue to serve as the guard of the Eastern Palace after the Crown Prince moved into the Crown Prince's residence suggests that he had other uses for him. And then there's the thought of Yuwen Cheng's confident demeanor at the wedding banquet yesterday.
Shang Ruyi gritted her teeth and said, "This has become a joke."
Hearing this suddenly surprised Shen Wuzheng. He opened his eyes wide and looked at her. Shang Ruyi then angrily told him what had happened. Shen Wuzheng listened in silence for a long time before letting out a long sigh and saying, "There's nothing we can do about it. If His Majesty really wants him to get involved..."
Shang Ruyi frowned, gritted her teeth, and whispered, "Too foolish..."
She only said these words in front of Shen Wuzheng, and in such a low voice, because it was too audacious. Shen Wuzheng, however, did not show much emotion when he heard them, and simply said, "Your Majesty is getting old."
Shang Ruyi looked up at him—Shen Wuzheng meant that Yuwen Yuan did this because he was getting old and couldn't handle many things anymore, so he could only entrust them to his son. Yuwen Qian had already been made crown prince, so he would no longer be able to go to the battlefield as easily as before. Moreover, Yuwen Ye was involved in the death of the Duke of Shenwu, so even if Yuwen Yuan didn't punish him according to the law, he would still have to give him some punishment. So the only one left was Yuwen Cheng.
She smiled wryly and said, "His Majesty isn't that old, is he?"
Shen Wuzheng shook his head and said, "Military generals, especially those who have fought in battles for years and suffered many injuries, are prone to developing chronic illnesses. In addition, he has been working tirelessly day and night for years without rest. What do you think of his health?"
At this point, Shang Ruyi frowned.
She didn't know much about Yuwen Yuan's health, because the emperor would never allow anyone to know about his physical condition. If anyone dared to inquire about this information, they would be punished immediately. But she thought of her father, Shang Ruohong, the valiant general who had once fought on the battlefield.
He died of illness in his prime.
The cause of his death was the recurrence of old injuries he had suffered in his early years and the lack of proper care and conditioning, which ultimately led to his untimely demise.
Upon thinking of this, Shang Ruyi's eyes dimmed, while Shen Wuzheng continued, "His Majesty is wise. He may not be able to fully understand the enemy, but he certainly understands himself. If he makes such an arrangement, there is only one possibility: he has already decided to abandon the eastward advance."
Shang Ruyi suddenly widened her eyes: "You mean—"
Shen Wuzheng said, "There are reasons for this matter, both internal and external. For an old man, the departure of someone of his generation is a great blow. Moreover, the Duke of Shenwu is definitely not just an ordinary subject to His Majesty. It is not surprising that His Majesty would have the idea of retiring at this time."
"..."
"From an external perspective, Liang Shide occupies Luoyang, absorbs the power of Wang Gangzhai, and is also in cahoots with the Turks. His strength is already formidable. Moreover, he interrogated Jiang Chongen a few days ago. Although the Luoyang defense map he presented was not entirely genuine, we were still able to extract some information from him about that side. Liang Shide has now also taken over the remnants of Wang Shaoqiu's forces. In addition, his strength has increased several times over after years of managing the Eastern Capital. It will be very difficult for him to take over the Eastern Capital."
"But that doesn't mean we can't win."
Shen Wuzheng took a deep breath and said, "Ruyi, do you know how many forces in the world are eyeing Xijing and Dongdu right now?"
Upon hearing this, Shang Ruyi's heart skipped a beat: "Brother, are you saying that someone is waiting for us to attack?"
Shen Wuzheng said, "Nowadays, heroes are rising up all over the world, but the strongest are us and Liang Shide. The two sides are evenly matched. If we really fight each other and fight to the end, it is very likely that we will both be severely injured."
"..."
"What will happen to the smaller factions around here?"
Shang Ruyi frowned: "They will swarm in and devour both of us."
"good,"
Shen Wuzheng nodded and said, "So, His Majesty previously ordered Shen Tu Tai to lead troops to take Song and Xu prefectures, and Liang Shide wanted to use Jiang Chongen to devise a plan to intercept and kill His Majesty in one fell swoop. Both sides were trying to come up with a solution."
"..."
"But all battles must be fought with one's own survival as the prerequisite; otherwise, one will suffer the same fate as Xue Xian in Fufeng."
Shang Ruyi frowned even more deeply and said, "In other words, both sides must take down the other with minimal sacrifice, otherwise, it may affect our own survival."
"yes."
"But how could that be?"
Liang Shide was no fool, and besides, he had the shrewd strategist Xiao Yuansui by his side, and now the cunning Wang Shaoqiu. To think that he could take away Liang Shide's power in Luoyang with minimal sacrifice was practically wishful thinking.
Unless a god descends upon the world!
Shen Wuzheng said, "So if His Majesty really sends Prince Qi and Shang Shoufei to lead troops into battle this time, although it will still be sending troops, the methods will no longer be as ruthless."
"..."
“If they can’t take Dongdu, he might really give up on advancing eastward.”
Shang Ruyi's heart sank. Not only did she not expect that the death of the Duke of Shenwu would have such a great impact on Yuwen Yuan, but what made her even more uneasy was that Yuwen Ye had once said that he wanted to compete with the Crown Prince, and the only thing he could rely on was his military achievements. However, if Yuwen Yuan gave up the eastward advance and stopped waging war against foreign countries, then Yuwen Ye's abilities would be essentially shelved, and he would only be a Prince of Qin who was merely a figurehead.
Now that things have come to this, the Crown Prince will absolutely not let him go!
Unexpectedly, the death of the Duke of Shenwu had such a significant impact on Yuwen Yuan and the overall situation. Shen Wuzheng also sighed deeply and said, "This time, the Prince of Qin really didn't think things through."
"..."
"He must correct this habit in the future, otherwise—"
Mentioning this, Shang Ruyi also showed a bitter smile. Now that she thought about it, Empress Dowager Jiang's words after the fire at Dayan Temple, though simple, were worth more than a thousand pieces of gold. She saw Yuwen Ye and the whole situation very clearly. It was a pity that she was unable to persuade Yuwen Ye at that time.
As a result, they are now clearly at a disadvantage in their competition with the Crown Prince.
By the way, the Crown Prince...
Everything they said was arranged by Yuwen Yuan, but what about Yuwen Qian? What role did he play in this matter?
Previously, what they had been worried about was Yuwen Qian's revenge, seizure of power, and harm to others. Even if the emperor really appointed Shang Shoufei to lead the expedition, how much of a relationship could Shang Shoufei have with Yuwen Ye? He was just their elder brother, and a completely hostile one at that. Even if he really died uselessly on the battlefield, they would not only not shed a single tear, but might even be happy to drink a few more cups.
Thinking of this, Shang Ruyi's expression became even more serious, and she said, "But all of this has nothing to do with the Crown Prince. If he wanted to seize power and harm people, he shouldn't have started with Shang Shoufei."
Mentioning this, Shen Wuzheng's eyes dimmed again.
But before he could say anything, a series of heavy footsteps suddenly came from outside. He turned around and saw that Yuwen Ye had returned.
The two immediately stood up, but before they could even bow, Yuwen Ye had already taken off his outer robe and tossed it to Chang Wan, who had followed him in. He nodded to Shen Wuzheng and said, "No need for formalities, please sit down."
After saying that, he walked over and squeezed down next to Shang Ruyi.
Shang Ruyi couldn't help but frown. Just as she turned to complain, she saw Yuwen Ye's brows furrowed slightly, as if a heavy gloom was gathering between them, and she immediately swallowed the words that were about to come out.
He already knew about Shang Shoufei's matter last night. Now, is there some trouble again?
After sitting down, Yuwen Ye didn't say anything immediately. Instead, he was covered in sweat and casually picked up the teacup next to Shang Ruyi and took a sip.
Shen Wuzheng lowered his eyelashes slightly and remained silent.
Yuwen Ye must have gone to the military camp before rushing back, and he had obviously left in a hurry. You could feel that he was breathing heavily. After taking a sip of tea to calm his breathing, he looked up at Shen Wuzheng and, without asking what the two of them had just talked about, said directly: "Just now, the Emperor's decree has reached the Ministry of War."
The imperial edict to the Ministry of War was essentially a formal investiture ceremony for the campaign in Luoyang!
Shang Ruyi immediately asked, "How is it?"
Yuwen Ye said, "He appointed the Prince of Qi as the Grand General of the Henan Road Army, and appointed Shen Tu Tai and Shang Shoufei as the Deputy Grand General of the Henan Road Army and Zhaowu Colonels, respectively, all of whom have the authority to act at their own discretion."
Shang Ruyi and Shen Wuzheng exchanged a deep look, but remained silent.
It seems that their guess was correct. However, even if Yuwen Yuan had some intention to back down, he was not so foolish as to completely hand over the war in the east to Yuwen Cheng and Shang Shoufei. Therefore, he added Shen Tu Tai.
But even that might not be enough.
At this moment, Shang Ruyi noticed that Shen Wuzheng and Yuwen Ye exchanged another glance, and there seemed to be an indescribable shadow in their eyes.
She immediately asked, "What's wrong?"
"..."
Yuwen Ye looked at her, remained silent for a moment, and said, "The Crown Prince still recommends Fu Ming as his secretary and military advisor, and together they will march to Luoyang."
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