Bai Chuxiao said with a smile, "It's a pity, the will has already been handed over."
Lord Kong said helplessly, "It is still this humble official who has dragged down the Prince and Princess."
If he hadn't been sent to retrieve it, the princess might not have so easily handed over the throne to Chu Tianling. And now that the imperial edict is in hand, Chu Tianling's position on the throne wouldn't be so secure.
Fan Ziming laughed, "The absence of a will is no problem. As long as we beat the palace to it and announce to the world our accusations against the palace for its misdeeds, we will have a legitimate reason to act."
Chu Tianze said calmly, "You're right, but we still need someone of high moral character and prestige."
Fan Ziming cupped his hands and said, "In my opinion, since Lord Kong is the Minister of Rites, it is most appropriate for him to write this document."
Chu Tianze smiled faintly, "Indeed, I wonder what Lord Kong thinks?"
Lord Kong felt something was amiss; it seemed he had been tricked. Were these people waiting for him all along?
Murong Cheng also laughed and said, "We are all roughnecks; if Lord Kong were to write it, it would be more convincing to the people of the world."
Lord Kong was speechless. Well, no wonder they made him stay earlier; they really wanted him to do something. But now he was already on the wrong path. "This humble official is willing to give it a try, but will this anger that person in the palace? What about the entire Kong family..."
Fan Ziming smiled and said, "With this announcement, the Kong family will only be safer. Lord Kong, you can rest assured."
Bai Chuxiao smiled and said, "The news of the hostages will be presented to the palace within three days. Even if Chu Tianling doesn't care about his reputation, he still has to consider the lives of his two beloved generals." After all, killing a member of the Kong family of the Ministry of Rites brings no benefit other than venting his anger.
Lord Kong was somewhat puzzled, "Can news travel so quickly from the Northwest to the capital?"
Murong Xuan smiled slightly, "Father-in-law, knowing you were coming, how could we be completely unprepared? The situation is urgent; we can't afford to waste even a day."
Lord Kong sighed softly, "Good lad."
They'd definitely been tricked; these people were sitting calmly in the northwest, clearly waiting for them to take the bait.
Murong Yuan suddenly said, "The eldest princess..."
Only a few members of the Murong family knew Chu Tianze's true identity, and they naturally wouldn't speak carelessly before Chu Tianze revealed it. Upon hearing this, everyone looked at him, somewhat puzzled.
Bai Chuxiao smiled faintly, "Before I left the capital, I sent a message to the eldest princess, asking her to take the opportunity to visit old friends in Jiangnan. Lin Huai will lead people to escort the princess back to Yongzhou."
Taking the eldest princess with them would be like trying to hide something obvious; it would be much safer to send her south, in the opposite direction.
She had treated her younger brothers quite well before, but she treated Chu Tianze differently in private. He was just a princess, so Chu Tianling wouldn't care too much...
Chu Tianze said softly, "Xiaoxiao has considered everything carefully."
Yu Fengyang finally couldn't help but ask, "What does this have to do with the eldest princess? Even if the palace is utterly ruthless, they wouldn't take their anger out on the princess, would they?"
Chu Tianze ignored him and said calmly, "Alright, Shen Tao is already attacking Yuzhou. Before the imperial court and Xiyue can react, we must take Shuozhou as soon as possible and join forces with Shen Tao to besiege Jizhou. We must take the four western prefectures before the end of the year, otherwise we will be attacked from both sides."
Murong Yuan said in a deep voice, "That's right, but Your Highness will need to remain here temporarily before we capture Shuozhou."
Chu Tianze said without hesitation, "Murong Che, Murong Xuan, Murong Shuo, and Yu Fengyang, the four of you will set off immediately to assist Song Fei. As for me, the Marquis, the General, and I, we will stay behind to prevent Xi Yue from noticing anything amiss."
"Yes," the men stepped forward and answered solemnly.
Outside the main tent, Chu Tianze gazed into the distance and said in a deep voice, "If we retreat like this, Xiyue will soon enter the pass."
Bai Chuxiao said calmly, "Whether we retreat or not, the result will be the same. How can Pang Kun and Zhang Tuo, who has never been on the battlefield, possibly deal with the Prince of Huainan?"
Following behind, Fan Ziming slowly said, "Without destruction, there can be no construction; to repel external aggression, we must first pacify internal strife. The people of Xiyue have already won over the hearts of all, while only Daxia and Beiyan are still locked in internal strife. If we wait for Beiyan to consolidate power first, Daxia may truly be devoured by the two countries."
Chu Tianze said calmly, "You certainly have a long-term vision."
Fan Ziming smiled and said, "Your Highness actually understands everything, otherwise the Xuanjia Army of Yongzhou wouldn't be attacking Yuzhou so quickly. It's just that Your Highness has devoted yourself to guarding the border all these years, and there's always been a hurdle in your heart."
Chu Tianze said calmly, "There's no need to flatter me."
Fan Ziming smiled and said, "I just wanted to tell Your Highness that the world is about to descend into chaos, and Your Highness should not only focus on the Great Xia."
Bai Chuxiao smiled and said, "Brother Fan, your ambitions are quite considerable."
Fan Ziming said, "A certain amount of ambition isn't a bad thing, but of course, we still need to overcome the current difficulties first."
Chu Tianze suddenly pulled a silk cloth from his pocket and threw it to him, saying, "This matter is entrusted to you."
Fan Ziming quickly took it, and when he saw the contents, his face showed shock and confusion. "Your Highness... this..."
Chu Tianze said calmly, "Alright, take Kong Linghui and head to Zhenzhou first."
Fan Ziming replied respectfully, "It is Your Highness."
Inside the imperial study of the palace, Chu Tianling looked at the letter in his hand and angrily exclaimed, "Outrageous!"
"Father-in-law, these are the men you recommended. Before they could even make a move, they were arrested by the Seventh Prince. What do you suggest we do now?"
Zhang Yu lowered his eyes and said, "Your Majesty, those members of the Kong family are insignificant to begin with; we can simply replace them."
Chu Tianling snorted coldly, "If we let the Kong family leave, there will be no one in the capital who can stop them."
Zhang Yu said slowly, "The Prince of Yan's actions are tantamount to open rebellion. He may not really care about the fate of the Kong family; he's only doing it out of respect for the Princess Consort. The Kong family has no use to him anyway; the important matter is more important."
Chu Tianling then asked, "Then, Father-in-law, what do you think we should do now?"
Zhang Yu spoke in a deep voice, "The Prince of Yan and his men are still guarding Yumen Pass. So let's proceed according to plan, using the Western Yue army and the imperial army outside Zhenzhou to jointly besiege the Prince of Yan."
Chu Tianling coldly said, "If he doesn't defend Yumen Pass, but instead breaks out of the northwest and returns to Yongzhou, the Xuanjia Army is still there. He can easily make a comeback."
Zhang Yu frowned and said, "If that's the case, then the Prince of Yan's reputation will be ruined. Your Majesty can simply issue imperial edicts to openly and justly punish the rebels."
Chu Tianling then looked at the two people who had remained silent at the head of the table and asked, "What do you think, Uncle and Imperial Uncle?"
Chu Wenzheng said with a half-smile, "At this point, I think we should directly send troops to attack Yongzhou and cut off the Prince of Yan's retreat."
Wei Junyan frowned and said, "This... we have no legitimate reason to attack the fiefdom of a vassal king. I'm afraid it will damage His Majesty's reputation."
No matter what, on the surface, the Prince of Yan is still guarding the border and stopping the Western Yue people. How do the people view their actions?
Chu Wenzheng raised an eyebrow and said, "Those who achieve great things don't concern themselves with trifles. What do we need a reputation for? Besides, do we even have one?"
Chu Tianling pondered for a moment, "Let's follow the Grand Tutor's advice. Yongzhou might not be captured anytime soon. If we do that, we'll just be giving the Prince of Yan a reason to rebel."
Chu Wenzheng said lazily, "Whatever makes Your Majesty happy." Anyway, this empire isn't his, so let them make a scene, the more they fight, the better... the happier they are, the better...
Chu Tianling stared at him with an inscrutable expression. If this royal uncle was after power, why did he so readily hand over the throne to him? And why wasn't he particularly enthusiastic about politics? What was his true motive?
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