Chenxi was very pleased with Tang Junyao's surrender.
Having come from a background of secret guards and having experience training them, cultivating some spies should be a piece of cake for him.
Shenxi allowed Tang Junyao to select suitable candidates, aiming to quickly assemble a qualified team of spies.
Shenxi also inquired in detail about the current state of affairs in the world.
Although Crown Prince Yelü Caichu was weaker than the third prince Yelü Jingrui, he still had many ministers who upheld the system of succession by the eldest son.
Although the Third Prince Yelü Jingrui is currently enjoying great success, Consort Tai is very fond of her youngest son, the Fifteenth Prince Yelü Qing, and there are undercurrents in the relationship between Yelü Jingrui and Yelü Qing.
There were supporters for each prince, which led to the formation of many factions among court officials and local officials.
Taking advantage of the current chaos in the world, instead of thinking about how to maintain stability and suppress it, they fight their own battles and even drive the rebels to enemy territory to deplete the enemy's strength.
If a prefecture is invaded or occupied by rebels, even neighboring areas will not be supported if they belong to different political parties. Not only will they not support them, but they may even take advantage of the chaos to gain some benefits.
The northernmost prefectures of Beishang and Beijiang have been completely occupied by several rebel groups, and the imperial court there exists in name only.
The reason he was hunted down by the Third Prince Yelü Jingrui was because he had been sent to Nanning Prefecture, ostensibly to befriend Marquis Xie, but in reality to secretly support his adopted son Xie Ning.
The Third Prince, Yelü Jingrui, had long coveted Xie Hou's military power. He exploited the conflict between Xie Ning and Xie Hou, ostensibly assisting Xie Ning in suppressing various rebellions, but in reality, he was seizing control of the military forces and placing them under Xie Ning's command.
Then, they secretly recruited the generals under Xie Hou's command.
The Xie family has deep roots and is not easy to shake. If Xie Ning, who has little foundation, is supported, then the power of Nanning Prefecture will fall into the hands of the Third Prince.
The most powerful force adjacent to the capital is Nanning Prefecture.
Whoever controls the military power in Nanning Prefecture will be able to gain a foothold.
Who knew Xie Ning harbored such wolfish ambitions, setting the Third Prince up in a trap, causing the Third Prince's years of strategic planning to be in vain!
Xie Ning raised the banner of "acting on behalf of Heaven and driving out the Tartars," which meant he had declared himself independent and was no longer under the control of the imperial court.
As the bodyguard who contacted Xie Ning, Tang Junyao naturally became the subject of the Third Prince's suspicion.
Better to kill a thousand innocent people than let one guilty person go free. All the secret guards who followed Tang Junyao were killed, and only Tang Junyao escaped.
Shenxi's understanding of Xie Ning became much clearer once again; this person should not be underestimated.
A child from a poor family, who, by assessing the situation, seized control of the entire Nanning Prefecture, was truly a hero in troubled times.
Meanwhile, at the Third Prince's residence, Yelü Jingrui was throwing a tantrum: "Useless! A bunch of useless people! A dozen people chasing a few people and he still managed to escape!"
Fan Shi, one of the advisors in the Third Prince's residence and the one most trusted by Yelü Jingrui, stood up and advised, "Your Highness, he's just a captain of the secret guards. It's fine if he runs away."
Yelü Jingrui's breathing stabilized slightly: "Fortunately, he is not a core member, and what he knows is not a secret. If he were a core member, we would track him down to the ends of the earth."
Fan Shi agreed, adding, "Even if His Highness suspects those close to him, they will not run away."
Yelü Jingrui sighed, "It's not that I'm suspicious, but Tang Junyao's actions are hard to believe. Right under my nose, he let Xie Ning succeed and outmaneuvered me."
"My father entrusted me with the task of dealing with Marquis Xie. Now that I have done such a disservice, what will my father think of me?"
Fan Shi remained expressionless: "That's alright. Xie Ning rebelled against the court, which has nothing to do with Your Highness. The Emperor will naturally send troops to suppress him."
"Your Highness can then request permission to fight and personally eliminate Xie Ning. In that case, the power of Nanning Prefecture will still belong to you."
Yelü Jingrui's expression softened, but he still had some doubts: "Will Father allow me to request permission to fight?"
After all, Xie Ning was someone he created.
Fan Shi smiled and said, "That depends on whether the Imperial Concubine is willing to help."
Yelü Jingrui's face darkened again, his chest tight with anger: "My mother has no regard for me, her son; she only thinks about Yelü Qing."
Fan Shi's eyelids twitched: "Your Highness, please be careful with your words. The Imperial Concubine is your mother, and that cannot be changed."
Yelü Jingrui also knew that he was so at ease because his mother was around.
The fifteenth prince is still young, and even if he were to compete, he wouldn't be able to win at this point.
Two years from now, when he is old enough to compete, Yelü Jingrui will already have real power in his hands. Why would he be afraid of a teenage prince?
However, he was particularly unhappy. Born of the same mother, his mother doted on his younger brother far more than he did.
Under the explicit and implicit suggestions of the Empress Dowager, the Xiao family's influence has begun to shift towards Yelü Qing.
Fan Shi's persuasion finally calmed Yelü Jingrui down.
The other staff members, seeing that His Highness was no longer angry, reported back one after another.
Fei Penglang held up an official document and said, "Due to continuous torrential rains, the dikes of Luanjiang in the south have breached, flooding vast tracts of fertile land and leaving millions of people along the river homeless."
The Luanjiang River basin, which runs through several prefectures in the south, has always been a land of plenty. However, in the downstream areas affected by the breached dikes, the grain harvest has almost completely failed.
Yelü Jingrui hurriedly asked, "I wonder if this has hindered Guangyuan?"
Fei Penglang replied, "Guangyuan Prefecture was not flooded, but Liangzhou, Qiqu, and Jiangxia were flooded."
Yelü Jingrui breathed a sigh of relief. Guangyuan Prefecture was his territory. The mountains were rich in tea, and the plains produced excellent rice yields. One-third of his annual wealth came from Guangyuan Prefecture.
However, this means that Father will definitely have to manage the river and provide disaster relief.
I'll inevitably have to donate some money to show my filial piety, and I feel a little unwilling and reluctant to spend the money!
At this moment, the imperial court was in an uproar. If the Luanjiang River were allowed to overflow, there would likely be unrest in some areas.
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