Such a situation, which angered both heaven and man, naturally did not escape Zhu Wen's notice. However, at the moment, Zhu Wen was discussing the true meaning of life with his daughter-in-law and paid no attention to these matters...
Prince Jin's Residence!
The scene was incredibly lively, but everyone was filled with unease, fearing that the Prince of Jin would discard them after using them, and kill them all to silence them once he had acquired their private army…
In a corner, Zhu Yougui found Li Tiande and immediately said to him with a slightly apologetic tone...
"Patriarch Li, I have truly offended you greatly. I had no choice but to do so. I hope you can forgive my offense..."
Li Tiande, who was resting with his eyes closed, slowly opened them upon hearing Zhu Yougui's words, but quickly closed them again and said...
"It's alright, I understand your difficulties, Your Highness. This is fine too, since food and lodging are provided..."
This made Zhu Yougui a little embarrassed, but he quickly covered it up and continued to whisper in Li Tiande's ear.
“Patriarch Li, I believe the Second Young Master has already explained the situation to you. As long as you hand over the Li family’s private soldiers to me, I will have Qinglu appear before you immediately. What do you say?”
Li Tiande said without even looking up.
"What do you mean by that, Your Highness? I have already offered up all the servants in my household, and they are all obediently following my orders. Where would I find private soldiers to hand over to you?"
Zhu Yougui cursed under his breath, "Old fox! Even a ghost wouldn't believe that!"
"Doesn't Patriarch Li want to obtain Qinglu?"
Zhu Yougui looked at Li Tiande with a puzzled expression and asked!
"Given your father's character, do you think I could possibly obtain Qinglu (a type of spiritual dew) at the Prince of Jin's residence?"
Zhu Yougui was speechless at these words. That made sense, since his father was a lecherous man. How could he allow a beautiful woman in the mansion to serve someone else?
Even his beautiful wife was snatched away, let alone someone as exceptional as Qinglu…
"Patriarch Li, you misunderstand. How could I not have thought of that? What if I said Zhu Wen wouldn't live much longer?"
Upon hearing this, Li Tiande abruptly opened his eyes, staring at Zhu Yougui in shock. He understood the meaning behind Zhu Yougui's words, and it was precisely because he understood that he was shocked. He gained a new understanding of Zhu Yougui's ruthlessness; he actually wanted to murder his father and usurp the throne…
Li Tiande took a deep breath, then shook his head and said...
So what?
Zhu Yougui knew that Li Tiande had fallen for the trap, so he quickly smiled and said...
"That way, no matter where Qinglu is, she will belong to you..."
Li Tiande glanced at Zhu Yougui silently, then asked with extreme seriousness.
"What is your purpose?"
"The Li family's private soldiers..."
"The Li family has no private soldiers..."
"Patriarch Li, without the Li family's power, how could I have accomplished anything? Do you intend to remain locked up here forever, living a precarious life every day..."
Zhu Yougui angrily questioned Li Tiande, who refused to budge!
Li Tiande's eyes kept changing, then he seemed to resign himself to his fate and sighed.
"Alright... I'll risk everything for Qinglu. You can go find Zimu. There are thousands of ronin in Taiyuan Prefecture, all masters of ninjutsu. They're perfect for killing people. These ronin have always been supported by my Li family; it's time for them to do their part..."
Zhu Yougui smiled slightly. He had finally gotten Li Tiande under control; things would be much simpler from here on out…
Other family heads would obediently comply with a little coercion or enticement. In order to infiltrate the private army, Zhu Yougui even asked Xun Daoren to use the enormous influence of the Heavenly Dao Alliance to infiltrate people into the private army and make them hate Zhu Wen enough...
Outside Yangcheng! The New Tang army camp!
Upon returning to the military camp, Li Zhu immediately opened the letter he was carrying…
Upon reading the contents of the letter, Li Zhu was so shocked he could hardly close his mouth...
The Li family is incredibly audacious. They actually gave him a secret passage into Taiyuan Prefecture, which means he can launch an attack on Taiyuan Prefecture at any time, without Taiyuan Prefecture being at all prepared...
Why would the Li family tell him such an important secret? Could the Li family really be the Emperor's spies here?
If that's the case, then this matter is terrifying to think about. How did Father Emperor know he would come to Jin?
Judging from Li Zimu's reaction, he was initially unsure of his identity, and the later compliment was a test. Only after seeing his reaction did Li Zimu confirm his identity...
As for the map in his hand, it was given to him by Li Zimu's father, which shows that Li Tiande is not the lecherous and shameless person rumored to be. Otherwise, how could he have made such a precognitive arrangement?
If the other party really was someone planted here by the Emperor, then this reputation for lust might just be a facade, intended to lull everyone in Taiyuan Prefecture into a false sense of security…
Thinking about this, Li Zhu felt a sense of sudden enlightenment. He admired his father, the emperor, for being able to plan so far ahead and establish his own forces in Jin so early on…
That makes him even more confident in this battle; now he's just waiting for an opportunity…
Taiyuan Prefecture!
Zhu Yougui was already taking stock of the private soldiers and retainers sent by the powerful clans. Some families had several hundred men, while others had a couple hundred, totaling tens of thousands of soldiers...
However, the quality of these people varied greatly. Some could use the weapons immediately, while others didn't even know how to handle them. Sending such people to the battlefield would only lead to their deaths...
He didn't have the luxury of being picky now, so he could only dress these people in armor, issue them weapons, and organize them into some ranks, and that would be considered the training completed...
There is another important thing to do now, which is to recruit those ronin into our camp!
He was mentally prepared to be harassed by the ronin, but when he actually met Uesugi Kenshin, he was still so angry at the other man's exorbitant demands that his face turned pale...
"Brother Li, say something, these conditions are too..."
Zhu Yougui whispered in Li Zimu's ear, hoping that the other party could say a few words on his behalf!
"Your Highness, I am merely the eldest son of the Li family. It is already a great honor for Uesugi-kun to grant me an audience. As for what requests he may make, there is nothing I can control..."
Li Zimu also said with a helpless expression, "It looks just like a real thing..."
“Uesugi-kun, ronin are never settled down. Your request for an entire province is really difficult to agree to…”
Helpless, Zhu Yougui could only cautiously negotiate with Uesugi Kenshin. After all, this continent was neither too big nor too small, but the Jin region was not as large as the Central Plains. Giving away a continent would be a significant loss...
Moreover, the wars among the people of the Central Plains are all internal conflicts. If they were to give away land just to win a battle, they would be criticized behind their backs...
"Since Your Highness shows no sincerity, please leave..."
Uesugi Kenshin gestured for Zhu Yougui to leave…
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