Bai Chuxiao said calmly, "General, I am not asking you to abandon Tongze. On the contrary, if you are willing, I can continue to have you stationed in Changzhou and other places..."
Lu Fengxian looked at her in confusion, "The Princess Consort is still willing to use the Changzhou Guard..."
Bai Chuxiao smiled slightly, "Why wouldn't I be willing? We are all people of Great Xia, there's no need for us to fight to the death. Besides, the Changzhou Guard was previously led by the General, and they haven't done anything heinous..."
A look of hesitation crossed Lü Fengxian's face. Bai Chuxiao continued, "General, do you truly intend to serve His Majesty in the palace? If you make a decision now, the Changzhou Guard can suffer fewer casualties..."
Lu Fengxian's eyes held a complex expression. "Your Highness, why did you use me? If I betray the court and side with you today, I might betray you in the future..."
Bai Chuxiao suddenly chuckled, "The one in the palace was never properly appointed. In terms of legitimacy and ability, the Prince of Yan should be the rightful leader of the Great Xia Dynasty. So how can you say that the general has betrayed or defected? The Prince of Yan's mansion has always been good at recognizing and using people. They would never allow someone who knows nothing about fighting to be the commander-in-chief..."
Lu Bu was not a pedantic man. After thinking for a moment, he finally stood up, cupped his hands, and said, "This humble general greets the Princess!"
Bai Chuxiao stood up, walked to Lü Fengxian, helped him up, and said solemnly, "General Lü, there's no need to be so polite. Later, I will arrange for you to meet with the other generals. Why don't you go and rest first..."
Lu Fengxian shook his head, gave Xia Fan a resentful glance, and then said, "Your Highness, I rested very well. I am a straightforward person, may I ask if General Murong and General Yu have gone to attack Changcheng? Perhaps I can try to persuade some of my old subordinates..."
Ever since Zhang Yu and his group arrived, Changzhou Guard has been constantly ostracized, and in the end, they were even handed over to a foolish second young master to command. The soldiers had long been dissatisfied, and now that Fengyun Valley has fallen, these people have no will to fight...
Bai Chuxiao nodded with a smile, "Very good, then I will leave Changzhou Guard to the General. I can also give you a heads-up: as long as Changzhou Guard sincerely submits, their military pay and benefits will be the same as those of the Changning Army. This was the case with the Mianqi surrendered army before..."
Lu Fengxian's face lit up with joy. Since the princess had spoken so openly, it couldn't be fake. He didn't want his brothers who had followed him to be treated coldly after joining him; that would be no different from what Zhang Yu had done before...
"Thank you, Your Highness. This humble general will certainly do his best."
Bai Chuxiao nodded and instructed, "Yes, Zhan Chi, escort General Lü to Second Brother Feng Yang's place and have them cooperate with General Lü in everything they do."
"yes"
After the two left, Xia Fan stepped forward and said, "Your Highness, you're just trusting him like that? What if he's only pretending to surrender? That would be like letting a tiger return to the mountains..."
Bai Chuxiao stood with her hands behind her back, watching the two figures disappear into the distance, and smiled, "Don't worry, he's a smart man. Now that he's shown his face here and met with me, the news can't be kept secret. Those people in the capital will never trust him again. He knows very well that even if he wins this battle for the court, Chu Tianling will never let him go..."
Xia Fan smiled and said, "Your Highness is wise!"
Bai Chuxiao turned her head and asked, "Did you find anything with Wei Changkong?"
Xia Fan nodded. "The people who infiltrated Yunzhou reported that Commander Wei, because he refused to submit to Chu Wenzheng and had helped us, was imprisoned and tortured daily by Chu Wenzheng after the Prince of Qi ascended the throne. He is currently in the Provincial Administration Office..."
A cold glint appeared in Bai Chuxiao's eyes. "We owe him so much for leaving Yunzhou that day. It's good that he's still alive. We must find a way to rescue him no matter what..."
"Understood!"
Soon, Lin Huai, dressed in plain clothes, entered carrying a person. "Your subordinate greets Your Highness."
"Ugh," Zhang Shaowei, his mouth gagged, looked at the scene before him, his eyes practically spitting fire, yet he couldn't speak...
Xia Fan looked Lin Huai up and down and teased, "Mr. Huai is back..."
Bai Chuxiao nodded repeatedly and said with a smile, "Yes, Mr. Huaicai is indeed very talented. How about he stays and becomes a staff member of the Prince of Yan's mansion?"
Lin Huai stroked his chin and said helplessly, "Your Highness, Xia Fan, please stop making fun of me. I would never be a strategist. Only a fool would believe that..."
Bai Chuxiao glanced at Zhang Shaowei, who kept mumbling, and said listlessly, "He's a bit stupid, but he's still a great contributor to our cause. Take him away and let him meet his father and elder brother..."
"yes"
Inside the Imperial Study in the palace, all the ministers were filled with unease. The Prince of Yingchuan, whose position as the emperor's father-in-law had barely been established, and now his two sons were imprisoned—a devastating blow to everyone.
Chu Tianling, seated at the head of the table, slammed the memorial in his hand down. "Useless! A bunch of useless trash! You occupied such a strategically important location, yet you still managed to lose to traitors! What use are you to me?!"
He trusted Zhang Yu so much, and what happened? Not only did he fail to capture Bai Chuxiao, but he also lost himself in the process. It was an utter disgrace. Now that the Emperor's father-in-law has been captured, morale is low across the country...
"Your Majesty, please calm down..." The ministers dared not voice their opinions freely anymore, and could only offer perfunctory and insincere words.
Chu Tianling roared, "Calm down? Zhang Yu has been captured, and Lü Bu has also defected to the enemy. It looks like the Changyun prefectures are about to fall. How can I calm down!"
The ministers broke out in a cold sweat. Apart from the battle against the Prince of Xiang, the court had indeed not won a battle for a long time. The northwest was still in retreat, and the rebel army of the Prince of Yan's mansion was advancing unstoppably. At this rate, the capital was not far away...
Seeing that no one spoke, Chu Tianling looked at Chu Wenzheng beside him with a stern face and said, "Royal Uncle, Yunzhou is your fiefdom. Are you confident that you can defend it?"
Chu Wenzheng said calmly, "Your Majesty, it's too late to send reinforcements now..."
Chu Tianling gritted his teeth and said, "According to you, I should just hand over several states to Bai Chuxiao, right..."
Chu Wenzheng said lazily, "I never said that."
Chu Tianling said coldly, "Uncle, what are your plans? Speak frankly..."
Chu Wenzheng said with a half-smile, "In my opinion, the most capable and skilled generals in the court today are none other than the Duke of Zhenguo and the Heir Apparent of Wei..."
Wei Junyan's expression hardened, and he quickly said, "Your Majesty, I naturally wish to quell the rebels, but we must guard against the northern regions..."
Having learned from Zhang Yu's example, he dared not act rashly; the people in the Prince of Yan's mansion must hate him to the core...
Chu Tianling nodded, "That's right, the Duke of Zhenguo cannot be touched..."
With the emperor's father-in-law arrested, the only person he can trust now is his uncle. Does Chu Wenzheng really think I don't know what he's up to? He just wants all his confidants dead so that the capital can be his personal fiefdom. Don't even think about it!
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