Chapter 204: If I Can Get the Princess’ Help
That night, the spies hidden in the palace by various princes all saw Shangshu Ling walking on the palace road with a sullen face.
Prince Ning felt a little uneasy when he heard the news. The Shangshu Ling must have been reprimanded by his father. He didn't know if he still dared to stand on his side. However, no matter how anxious he was, he didn't dare to seek death at this critical moment. He could only pace back and forth in the palace.
"It's ridiculous. Second brother and the Marquis of Zhenbei are flirting with each other. Father doesn't mention it, and there's also Sixth Brother... Right," Prince Ning suddenly thought of Xiao Ji, "Is there any movement from Prince Zhao?"
"Your Highness, Prince Zhao has been attending court recently and handling official business at the Ministry of Chancellery. He has also visited the Yang family a few times. There is nothing unusual otherwise."
Prince Ning narrowed his eyes and said, "It seems that this sixth brother of mine has finally stopped hiding his true feelings. I was saying, how could the Yang family really abandon him? I'll pay more attention to him from now on."
Just as Prince Ning had said, since receiving the Yang family's help, Xiao Ji was no longer as constrained as before. Firstly, he had leveraged the connections the Yang family had cultivated over the years, and secondly, he had also obtained a token—the Yang family's greatest trump card.
This token, left behind by Emperor Yang, commands an elite division known as the Hidden Phoenix Guard. This army, assembled in Emperor Yang's later years, consists of only three thousand soldiers, but they have been passed down from generation to generation, hiding in the streets and only obeying orders upon seeing this token.
At first, Xiao Ji had doubts: Could the Hidden Phoenix Guard, now over thirty years old, still be as loyal and brave as it had been back then? After all, the first batch of soldiers were probably already over sixty years old. But Grandfather Yang Gong simply stroked his beard, smiled, and gave a solemn promise.
"Don't worry, this army has no second thoughts."
Later, Xiao Ji met the leader of this army in person and understood why.
"Your Highness, rest assured. The Yang family has treated us with great kindness. We, the Hidden Phoenix Guards, swear to protect the Yang family's bloodline until our death."
It turned out that when Emperor Yang had formed this army, he had already paid three generations' worth of money in advance to each soldier. When the army was passed to Lord Yang, these soldiers had children, and Lord Yang ordered each family to choose one person to inherit the military household, and the Yang family would take care of the livelihood of the remaining children.
Many of them have become managers of the Yang family's shops, and some girls have worked as maids in the Yang family. It can be said that the entire families of these soldiers have been inseparable from the Yang family in the past thirty years.
What surprised Xiao Ji even more was that the soldiers who came to report were all strong and sturdy, and were no less powerful than the elite imperial guards.
You must know that training a single elite soldier costs hundreds of taels of silver—to become an elite force, one cannot be distracted by livelihood and must focus on martial arts training. And to ensure that these three thousand elite soldiers can maintain their fighting capacity for generations, only the wealthy and powerful can afford it.
The honest-looking man patted his chest and said, "Don't worry, Your Highness. We have chosen the most talented and strongest boy in our family. We will definitely not embarrass Your Highness."
Xiao Ji looked at the burly man who was half a head taller than him, and felt both happy and worried.
Now that this army was in his hands, he would definitely have to spend money to support it. He had to think about how to ask Qingqing for funds...
Xiao Ji stroked the token in his hand, calculating secretly in his mind. Although these 3,000 Hidden Phoenix Guards were a special force, their monthly food and salary expenses would probably be 100 taels of silver.
"Your Highness, are you worried about military expenses?" The honest man seemed to see his concerns and took the initiative to tell the truth: "In fact, in recent years, besides training, we, the Hidden Phoenix Guard, have also had our own business. We set up an escort agency. The Yang family has given us a share of the profits from various trade routes. On weekdays, we take turns doing escort and guard duties, and we are able to support ourselves."
Xiao Ji's eyes lit up when he heard this, and he heard the man grin and said, "Mr. Yang has already told us that Your Highness has a big plan that will cost a lot of money, so let us be self-sufficient first. Once Your Highness has accomplished the big plan, it won't be too late to discuss rewards."
Looking at the group of simple soldiers in front of him, Xiao Ji couldn't help but sigh, how could he have such a grandfather and such a group of people?
After the soldiers withdrew, Yang Gong strolled in. He smiled and asked, "What do you think of this army? Is it as poorly trained and full of idle soldiers as you imagined?"
Xiao Ji shook his head slightly in embarrassment, and then bowed sincerely to his grandfather again, "Thank you so much for your help, grandfather. It costs a lot to raise these soldiers, but now you have handed them over to me."
Yang Gong quickly supported Xiao Ji's arm, a trace of relief flashing in his eyes: "Silly child, why are you thanking me? Emperor Yang gave us this army to protect the Yang family, but grandfather never forgot his roots. These soldiers should have belonged to the royal family, and now they are returned to their rightful owners."
He pulled Xiao Ji to sit on the armchair, took the semicircular ring from Xiao Ji's hand, and suddenly sighed, "But you can tell from this half of the ring that the Hidden Phoenix Guard is divided into two groups, the left and the right. Yours is the right group... It's fine if the leader of the other group doesn't move, but it would be bad if he confronted us."
Xiao Ji frowned slightly when he heard this: "Where is the other leader now? Grandson can go and try to win him over."
Yang Gong gently put down the teacup and said, "Tsk!" "If my guess is correct, the Left Leader's token should be in the hands of the Grand Princess."
Emperor Yang had lived a turbulent life, and there were few things that could make her worry in her old age. Her maternal family, the Yang family, was one, and the other was naturally her daughter. She was worried about her daughter, fearing that after she was gone, her daughter would be settled by her son.
If not, how could the emperor respect the eldest princess so much? His cousin is not a delicate princess, but a female general who can really launch surprise attacks.
"Grand Princess?" Xiao Ji's expression turned a little funny, and he asked in disbelief, "You mean... Grand Princess Mingyi, the one who protects the country?"
Seeing his grandfather's matter-of-fact look, Xiao Ji almost couldn't help laughing out loud.
Who would have thought that another Hidden Phoenix Guard was in the hands of his wife's grandmother?
This is simply... Qingqing is simply his lucky star!
He had tried hard to control his expression, but he couldn't help showing a hint of joy, which made Yang Gong wonder.
"Although the Grand Princess has spoken up for you to regain your throne, she may not always be on your side... However, your grandfather will do his best to mediate for you. After all, I am her cousin..."
Even though he was not close to his cousin because of his elder brother's incident, it was always better to have this blood relationship, wasn't it?
Xiao Ji wanted to stop his grandfather, but finally held back and advised: "Don't force it. In my opinion, my great-aunt will not interfere in this matter. She must have come back to spend her old age in peace."
This made Yang Gong feel somewhat dissatisfied. He frowned and lectured his grandson, "Are you underestimating the usefulness of these three thousand elite soldiers? In the past, the princess led several thousand elite soldiers and won many unexpected victories, defeating the enemy with fewer troops. If you can gain her support, you will have six thousand elite soldiers under your command, and you can emulate the previous Emperor Taizong."
At this moment, Yang Gong also heard his grandson add: "In fact, the left and right eunuchs of the Eastern Palace are also loyal to me, about 5,000 people."
Most of the Ten Commanders of the Eastern Palace were loyal to the prince. After Xiao Ji retired to the status of prince, he had no right to command. However, he had been the prince for so many years, and he was generous and forgiving. He had already captured the hearts of the inner soldiers. Even if he did not have the status of prince, they would still fight for Xiao Ji at his command.
Xiao Ji's previous lack of interest was all at his behest. He hoped they could run the business well and wait for his return.
"So, if you can gain the princess's help, and you lead over ten thousand elite soldiers, what can't you accomplish?"
Xiao Ji nodded. If grandma had these ten thousand elite soldiers under her command, she would probably be able to ascend the throne in just over a month, right?
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