beast in human clothing
Xiao Chang'an himself is difficult to distinguish between good and evil, and at this time, his stance is primarily driven by self-interest.
Xie Lang was also having a hard time speaking at this moment. Seeing that everyone had arrived, he nodded to Consort Chen, indicating that she would speak on his behalf.
Consort Chen stood up, first bowing to Xie Lang on the dragon bed, then turning her gaze to A Qiu, and said considerately, "The Grand Music Master has worked hard these days. After receiving the news from the Music Master that the Northern Qiang army was marching south, we immediately verified it with the army, and the result was indeed correct. A large-scale military mobilization is taking place within the Northern Qiang territory. A Zhao, you speak."
She addressed him by Fei Feng's private name, which meant that she regarded everyone present as family.
Sikong Zhao stepped forward, cupped his hands, and said, "According to the news sent back by our vanguard scouts, the 100,000 that the woman from Luoyufang told Lord Sile was only the number of the Northern Qiang vanguard Khan Wang Jun. The Northern Qiang are divided into five tribes, and the other five tribes are supervised and controlled by the brothers of Emperor Huli Jin. They are also gathering in the Heluo area, preparing to come south at his command."
A Qiu gasped, incredulously saying, "Hulüjin isn't just making a show of force to put pressure on peace talks; he's determined to launch a war of annihilation."
She finally understood why the atmosphere in the hall was so heavy.
When she first heard that the 100,000-strong Northern Qiang army was marching south, she felt a chill in her heart and immense pressure. This was mainly because the current Dayan army had never had any experience fighting against the Northern Qiang royal army. The Northern Qiang army was brave and skilled in battle, sweeping across the Central Plains in the north without any rivals. In contrast, the Southern army had not had any real experience fighting against such a fierce and powerful army in recent years. Often, when they quelled internal rebellions, they would just bluff and make a show of it and still achieve great victories, lacking real battlefield experience.
However, in terms of numbers, offense is always more difficult than defense. The Jianzhang Division of the Central Army alone has 80,000 men. Judging from the performance of the Divine Hound Battalion, although it has many bad habits, it is by no means a weakling. In addition, once a major battle breaks out, troops from various prefectures and counties will rush to support it. If Dayan holds the natural barrier of the Yangtze River and is good at using its naval fleet, this battle is not without a chance of victory; at least it is a 50/50 situation.
But Huli Jin not only dispatched an advance force of 100,000, but also orchestrated the entire northern Qiang territory to join the battle. This meant that the era of peace that had begun twenty years earlier, since the crossing of the Yangtze River, had come to a complete end. From this point on, the North and South would enter a period of full-scale war.
Aqiu was mentally prepared to fight one, two, or even ten battles, and to fight local wars with winners and losers, but he was absolutely not prepared to face the continuous offensive of the Northern Qiang that would last for several years and inevitably drag the two intact countries into a quagmire of war.
Not only Ah Qiu didn't have it, but probably no one present did either.
This is an unprecedented challenge and change that Dayan has faced since its establishment.
Consort Chen gestured for Sikong Zhao to return to his seat, and then said softly, "I'm sure you all understand that the Northern Qiang's aim this time is to annex the territory of the Southern Dynasty. They will not give up until they achieve this goal."
Looking at everyone present, although everyone had a solemn expression and no one seemed particularly surprised, it was clear that they had all heard the news from their own sources.
Of all the people, A Qiu paid particular attention to observing the expression on her senior brother Gongyi Xiu's face.
Because up to this point, she still couldn't be sure whether Gongyi Xiu would side with the Southern Dynasty or with the Northern Qiang, represented by her master Wanqiqing.
Gongyi Xiu's expression remained unchanged, only his usual cheerful demeanor had faded, replaced by a solemn expression befitting his current state.
Consort Chen continued, "You are all His Majesty's most trusted and relied-upon people at this moment. If you have any opinions, please feel free to speak them out."
A Qiu secretly calculated in her heart that the people present, including the former Fei Feng, were like Emperor Xie Lang's own family. Their attitudes would definitely be the same as Xie Lang's, and Consort Chen was also aware of this.
As for the opinions of Pei Yu, who represents Fei Feng this generation, they are equivalent to those of Mu Huaying and can be disregarded. Fan Liancheng's attitude, representing the Northwest Army, must be taken into consideration.
Although A Qiu herself has the title of successor of the Junior Master, since the departure of the Junior Master Charioteer represented by Lie Changkong, she has no subordinates and no real power, so her opinions are not that important.
The two people who need to make a statement now, besides Fan Liancheng, are actually the Right Chancellor Shangguan You, who represents the powerful aristocratic families. After all, he is the patriarch of the Shangguan clan, the most prominent aristocratic family in the Southern Dynasty. His decision represents the views of most of the high-ranking families in the Southern Dynasty.
Secondly, there was the Left Chancellor, Gongyi Xiu. He came from a humble background and had no powerful connections, but he represented the views of most of the commoner gentry and lower-ranking officials in the court. If they were to actually go to the battlefield, Gongyi Xiu would be needed to contact and encourage these people.
Among them, Shangguan You was the oldest and most senior. Therefore, it was only right that he should speak first.
However, as a veteran official and the head of the Shangguan family, Shangguan You remained silent, as if he had nothing to say.
Gongyi Xiu was subordinate to Shangguan You, and since Shangguan You did not speak, Gongyi Xiu naturally would not rush to answer Consort Chen's question.
Ah Qiu finally understood that this matter was of utmost importance; a slight misstep could lead to the destruction of the entire nation and the downfall of the family. Therefore, Shangguan You was unwilling to speak lightly.
At this moment, A Qiu couldn't help but miss Zhao Lingying, the sharp-tongued and talented woman who served the emperor.
If she were there, no matter how heavy the matter was, she would relentlessly force out everyone's thoughts, whether through open mockery or veiled sarcasm, and speak frankly and openly.
Consort Chen was gentle yet elegant, Mu Huaying was arrogant, and Sikong Zhao was a military general who was not eloquent. Only Zhao Lingying could use her brilliant writing and eloquent debate skills to make the entire group of civil officials admit defeat and submit to her command.
Ah Qiu missed Zhao Lingying and didn't want the situation to stalemate. She thought to herself, "Senior Lingying, let me take your place and play the role you played back then. But I don't have your silver tongue, and I'm afraid I'll mess things up. Please bless me from heaven."
In this situation, whether we fight or seek peace, we must work together with one heart and one mind. If everyone harbors their own concerns and fails to communicate them, mistakes will inevitably occur on the battlefield.
Seeing that no one answered Consort Chen's question, A Qiu cleared her throat, but instead of directly answering her own thoughts, she posed a question.
And this problem was completely unexpected by everyone.
She asked casually, "Gentlemen, does anyone know what Hulü Guang has been doing lately?"
After what happened at Bifu Pavilion, no one who knew the inside story would want to bring it up with A-Qiu. But unexpectedly, A-Qiu himself brought up this seemingly unrelated matter at this time.
Among those present, Shangguan You was the first to have his face darken. It seemed he was also well aware of what had happened to Shangguan Yuqi and A Qiu.
The answer to this question still came from Sikong Zhao, because she was the person most familiar with the movement of all kinds of people inside and outside the capital, and the post station where Hulü Guang was staying was under her special surveillance.
An admiring look flashed across her eyes, clearly approving of A Qiu's frankness in discussing the matter. She then replied, "He is still the same as when he first arrived in the capital, visiting various powerful families, noble clans, and officials with an air of elegance and deep admiration for Chinese learning. He always uses the pretext of reciting poems and calligraphy to make friends, and sometimes he stays until late at night, completely unaffected by the events at Bifu Pavilion."
Hearing this, one can know that all of Hulü Guang's movements in the capital are under the close surveillance of Sikong Zhao.
What A-Qiu didn't expect was that Hulü Guang's mentality would recover so quickly after being threatened by her. This shows that he has extraordinary mental fortitude.
Shangguan You's face was as black as ink. He finally couldn't help but let out a heavy snort and said, "This man is a beast in human clothing! It's a pity we can't expose his deeds to the public, otherwise his elegant facade will no longer find anyone to listen to him in any of the noble families of Jianzhang High School."
Hulü Guang actually attempted to seduce Shangguan Yuqi, the jewel of the century-old Shangguan family, a family of upright officials, and in such a despicable way that Shangguan You, as the clan leader, truly wished he could eat his flesh and sleep on his skin.
However, this matter cannot be made public, because it would first affect the reputation of Shangguan Yuqi and A Qiu, and if it caused a huge uproar, it would be a disgrace to the entire Southern Dynasty.
Pei Yu said fiercely, "We can't avoid this battle with the Northern Qiang anyway, so why should we care about their reputation? What's wrong with just killing this man?"
Hulü Guang's insults towards A Qiu and Shangguan Yuqi were similar in age and status to Pei Yu. Among this generation, Pei Yu had the most fiery temper and was the most empathetic, hence his inability to swallow this insult.
But her question instantly drew everyone's attention to the same point. Even the usually composed Shangguan You's eyes lit up.
What she said actually made a lot of sense. A Qiu had held back then simply to maintain the pace of negotiations between the two countries, not wanting to rashly kill someone at this critical juncture. But now that a major war was imminent and unavoidable, why bother with such considerations anymore?
Mu Huaying spoke, her voice chilling: "If the Court of Justice were to handle this, it would be easy to create an accident. Unless the Northern Qiang conquer Jianzhang Palace, they would never come to our Southern Dynasty to investigate the case in person."
Mu Huaying was known for her ruthlessness and cruelty towards her enemies.
Shangguan Yuqi is, after all, the new generation's leader of the Flying Phoenix Guard, making him her junior. If he were to fall into the hands of Hulü Guang, it would bring shame upon the reputation of the Flying Phoenix Guard. Mu Huaying is extremely concerned with her reputation; she even sought revenge for Huang Chao'an, a musician from the Pei family, so it's not surprising that she harbors murderous intent towards him.
This was probably the first time in his life that Shangguan You genuinely agreed with the opinions of Madam Pei and her daughter. Just as he was about to express his agreement, A Qiu interrupted him, pondering, "May I ask, Commander-in-Chief, have you found any other clues about Hulü Guang's frequent social interactions these days? Is he truly only admiring Han poetry and literature?"
Sikong Zhao's eyes lit up with admiration again as he replied, "Lord Sile's insight is extremely clear. According to my understanding, he is likely trying to win over and divide the hearts of our people, silently laying the groundwork for the Northern Qiang in this battle without bloodshed. For example,"
She organized her thoughts and recalled: "He vigorously promoted how the upper class of the Northern Qiang admired Confucianism and Han culture, and was trying his best to promote civil administration. He wanted to emulate our three-tiered management system of prefectures, counties and districts, and also planned to promote officials and civil servants to replace the backward slave system of the former tribes."
A Qiu, however, was unaware of these matters. She looked around and asked, "How credible are his words?" In her heart, she thought that if Xiao Chang'an were here, she could ask him to find out if the situation was true.
In fact, among those present, only Sikong Zhao still had spies in the north; most of the others had grown up in the Southern Dynasties and had never been to the Northern Qiang, so they could not answer the question.
At this moment, Gongyi Xiu stepped forward, cupped his hands, and replied, "When I was young, I also spent some time at my uncle's house in Heluo, so I can answer the Grand Master of Music's question. I should say that what I said is half true and half false, about 50/50."
At this moment, A Qiu humbly asked, "Please enlighten me, Right Chancellor."
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