The beginning thirty years ago
Tang Feng frowned. "Su Zili... what do you mean by that?" Su Zili looked at Tang Feng and finally said in a calm voice, "I... I know this is cruel to you, after all, His Majesty has harmed you to this extent... Zhao Nan also lost his life because of it. I know... you hate him, but the people of Yan Yun are innocent... I witnessed His Majesty's northward journey. Corpses lay strewn across the fields, the entire hillside, the ground beneath his feet, stained with blood. You don't know the feeling of that kind of misery... I only hope that if you can go back... save Yan Yun, not for His Majesty... but for the people."
Tang Feng was somewhat confused by Su Zili's intentions, thinking that even if he agreed, he should still ask for clarification. "Could I... ask why? After all, you're no longer in Yanyun, so why are you so concerned about the people of Yanyun...? Also... has something happened in Yanyun?"
Su Zili took a deep breath and slowly exhaled, "About Da Ruan... how much do you know?"
Tang Feng pieced together what he had heard from Tang Zhaonan years ago, then shook his head. "I only know that Da Ruan was the predecessor of Yan Yun... As for other things... I'm not very clear." After listening, Su Zili continued, "Da Ruan was the predecessor of both Yan Yun and Pu Yuan. In the spring of the forty-seventh year of Fusong, an urgent message arrived that the country was in mourning, with the entire nation wearing mourning clothes and keeping vigil for the emperor. As an ancient dynasty, Da Ruan had seen ninety-seven emperors before it, so you can imagine... its strength and stability were very solid. However, the emperor died suddenly, without leaving a will. The consequences of not leaving a will... you must know very well: the world descended into chaos and disintegration... Therefore, after several days of discussion, the ministers decided that the world could not be without a ruler for a day, but with so many princes, they feared that the matter of choosing an heir would cause further turmoil."
Tang Feng frowned after hearing this. "So..."
"So... they installed the eleven-year-old eldest grandson as the new emperor, and supported the nineteenth prince, Li Lingyan, who held considerable military power at the time, as regent... Li Lingyan was arrogant and conceited. The young emperor had no real power, and the ministers were wary of his army, so the court was in his hands. Birth, old age, sickness, and death, and the changing of emperors are all normal. Nobody took this seriously until Li Lingyan reported to the court and suggested that the Nine Provinces reduce their power."
"Reduce the power of the vassal kings?" Tang Feng was a little confused. "Is this person crazy? Reducing the power of the vassal kings will only damage their interests. He just took power and he wants to reduce the power of the vassal kings. Won't this make the vassal kings in various places restless?" Su Zili smiled. "Everyone understands this, but he doesn't. Li Lingyan is a very power-hungry person. He never thinks about the consequences of his actions. Even things that are closely related to himself are not important to him. All he cares about is power and status."
Tang Feng raised an eyebrow, intrigued. "Such a stubborn person who cares so much about power, he'll probably be the one everyone kicks when he falls from grace, right?" Su Zili shook her head. "The change of dynasties isn't as simple as you think. No matter how arrogant or stupid Li Lingyan is, he's still the symbol of imperial power, the symbol of the legitimacy of the Great Ruan Dynasty. So... even if he's incompetent, many ministers will still follow him."
Tang Feng thought for a moment, then asked, "Then... Emperor Yun..."
"His Majesty is a prince born of a concubine, but not a vassal king. So when Li Lingyan ordered the old prince to lead troops to suppress the rebellious vassal king in Liaopu, the old prince, although loyal to the Da Ruan, did not approve of Li Lingyan's actions. The reason why the Da Ruan could continue for so long was entirely due to the vassal kings guarding the border. Those vassal kings were all those who followed the ancestral emperor in battle and were eventually enfeoffed as vassal kings based on their military merits. Therefore, the reduction of vassal kings in the Nine Provinces caused great dissatisfaction among the vassal kings in various places. The most serious case was Liaopu. Liaopu is a place with high mountains and dangerous terrain, easy to defend and difficult to attack. The old prince and His Majesty attacked for more than three months and were about to run out of ammunition and food. The court did not send troops to help. So, in a fit of anger, he hit it off with Yu Wanzhang, the vassal king of Liaopu, and decided to go north to establish a new emperor."
"So they rebelled?" Tang Feng processed what Su Zili had said, still somewhat bewildered by the sheer amount of information.
"You could say... or you could say no," Su Zili sighed. "The old prince... was determined to return to Da Ruan and establish a new emperor, while His Majesty wanted to establish a separate dynasty. Yu Wanzhang also wanted to use the old prince's reputation to travel north, ultimately reaping the benefits. All three had their own agendas... When they arrived in Lanxi..." Tang Feng had never heard of Yu Wanzhang before. Listening to Su Zili's account, and recalling the Yun Emperor's temperament, Tang Feng asked, "This Yu Wanzhang... died in the end?"
Su Zili nodded, looking at the black cat in her arms. "It was His Majesty who killed him. His Majesty is a man..." Su Zili paused, then gave a bitter smile. "He's ruthless in achieving his goals. The old prince often tried to mediate, hoping to resolve the conflict once they reached Xiling. However, Yu Wanzhang and His Majesty disagreed on the marching routes and methods, so in Lanxi... they launched the Lanxi Reform, and my brother... also became a victim of this war."
Tang Feng frowned, not quite understanding. "But at this point, even if they're not on good terms... they're still in the same boat, aren't they? Fighting amongst themselves will only result in mutual destruction... Li Linglan must know that, given her personality, right?"
“He knew…that’s why he sent my brother.” Su Zili’s face was filled with grief, forcing a smile, seemingly not wanting Tang Feng to see his pain. “Originally, we agreed that Yu Wanzhang and His Majesty would be the vanguard to occupy Lanxi City first, while the old prince would come in a few days. But when His Majesty arrived in Lanxi City, he closed the city gates and locked Yu Wanzhang outside…In the end, a battle broke out outside the city. My brother and I met at the Luo family tea garden and became sworn brothers. He has always treated my sister and me very well…But His Majesty…is inherently jealous and suspicious. He suspected that my brother had ill intentions towards me, so he plotted to provoke my brother into fighting Yu Wanzhang. In the end, my brother fought alone.” For three days, the city gates remained tightly shut... He died from a hail of arrows piercing his heart. The old prince... had always admired his elder brother. His Majesty told the old prince that his brother had only gone to war because he was resentful of Yu Wanzhang's repeated superiority. The old prince was furious upon hearing this... Originally unwilling to let these matters affect his northward campaign, the old prince sent men to raid Yu Wanzhang's camp in the dead of night, taking his head. From then on, Yu Wanzhang's army was incorporated into His Majesty's forces... From then on... His Majesty changed too. He was no longer himself; he cared more about power, about interests, about himself... Everything spiraled out of control...
"Uncontrollable?"
Su Zili nodded. "Originally, all the way to Xiling, according to the old prince's plan, the rebel army would negotiate with Li Lingyan. The general idea was to depose Emperor Li Ye and establish a new emperor. Li Ye was still young and powerless, so Li Lingyan would have full control. The new emperor would be chosen from among the late emperor's sons. Although Li Lingyan held considerable military power, he was not the eldest son of the emperor. Therefore, after establishing a new emperor, Li Lingyan would have to relinquish military power to the court. Originally, some of Li Lingyan's ministers were already complaining about the reduction of the power of the princes in the Nine Provinces, so they secretly agreed to the old prince's demands and were willing to negotiate. However, before the rebel army could enter the city, the old prince died of illness on the road. Li Lingyan knew that his ministers had betrayed him, so he massacred the court and, with his troops, kidnapped Li Ye and headed north."
Tang Feng found this rather strange. He knew very well that the northern border of Yan Yun was in Mu Xi, but according to Su Zili, how could the Yun Emperor, a power-hungry man, simply hand over the area north of Mu Xi? Furthermore, Li Lingyan had established Pu Yuan, a major threat to Yan Yun. The Yun Emperor hadn't seized this opportunity to advance north, but instead released a tiger back into the mountains—this was truly incomprehensible to Tang Feng. He hesitated to ask for fear of touching on Su Zili's concerns, and several times he tried to speak but held back. Su Zili seemed to understand Tang Feng's meaning and smiled, "It was I who told him not to..." They were going to head north again... That year, the new emperor ascended the throne, and His Majesty took me to a family banquet. I had divined Li Ye's fate: "He is destined for a short life, unfit to bear the responsibilities of an emperor," unable to enjoy family happiness, and perhaps even dying young. Later, these predictions came true. On the day of the great victory at Muxi, Li Ye sneaked into the camp late at night, begging me to persuade Li Linglan to abandon the northward journey and leave Muxi behind. However, I feared Li Linglan might return, so I only agreed to ask verbally... The result... The next day, Emperor Jinglian, Li Ye, hanged himself in Muxi City...
"So you softened and advised Li Linglan to withdraw his troops back then?"
Su Zili nodded. "The battle at Muxi resulted in heavy losses. Li Lingyan severely wounded 300,000 troops, while the rebels only achieved a pyrrhic victory. I went to His Majesty... and persuaded him to consider the people's welfare. Although His Majesty agreed... it wasn't unconditional. He knows that keeping Li Lingyan alive is like releasing a tiger back into the mountains. Given Li Lingyan's character, he will surely repay the humiliation at Muxi tenfold in the future. For the sake of Yanyun, and also to keep me under control... His Majesty made me swear that if Li Lingyan attacks Xiling again, I will bear all the responsibility..."
"Since you promised Emperor Yun that you would take full responsibility for this matter, why didn't you go yourself? You've gone through all this trouble and now it's all ended up on me."
"To my shame... I will never see Your Majesty again in this lifetime."
Tang Feng raised an eyebrow, leaned on the table, propped his chin on one hand, and chuckled with narrowed fox-like eyes, "Oh? But most of what I heard in Yan Yun was about Emperor Yun's sincere feelings!" Seeing that Tang Feng wouldn't let go of this matter, and remembering that she needed his help again, Su Zili could only sigh and slowly explain, "Everyone has moments of deep affection... especially His Majesty... Even the supreme ruler is still a mortal. Ling Lan and I were destined to have a shallow but deep relationship. To His Majesty... perhaps we once liked each other, but later, suspicion, exploitation, and disappointment gradually wore away the last trace of affection."
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