"Huh? Why do you suddenly want to go back to Fengtao City?" King Pingnan asked curiously. When he first arrived in the capital last month, he asked Han Dongchen if he was used to living in the capital.
If King Pingnan remembered correctly, Han Dongchen said at that time that the capital city was very fun and there would be no problem even if he stayed there forever.
"My child has been living in the capital for almost a year and wants to go home to visit his mother." Han Dongchen proposed to King Pingnan that he would return to Fengtao City at the end of the year to spend the New Year with his mother on the grounds that he missed his mother.
"Well... your mother will be very pleased that you have such filial piety." King Pingnan nodded. A lot of things have happened in the capital recently, and the most troublesome thing for King Pingnan is the quarrel between them and Zhou Xingyun.
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As the beginning of the conflict, Han Dongchen was full of hostility towards Zhou Xingyun. Now that King Pingnan was competing with Zhou Xingyun, Zhou Xingyun had the upper hand. King Pingnan was worried that Han Dongchen would lose his temper and go directly to Zhou Xingyun to settle the score.
In all fairness to King Pingnan, they really underestimated Zhou Xingyun. Based on the situation during the last meeting with the Holy Emperor and the information revealed by the emperor, it seems that Zhou Xingyun really assisted the royal family and conquered the towns in the north without spending a single soldier.
As the prince who holds military power and guards the south, King Pingnan is aware of the small moves of all forces.
Although King Pingnan could not fully understand the situation in the Northern Territory, he also knew that after the northern princes assisted the Sixteenth Son of the Emperor in their rebellion and retreated, the Western Territory Commandery King and the Northern Territory Prefect Qing Tianxiong quickly divided their territories.
At first, King Pingnan was worried about how everyone was going to deal with this matter. Qingtian Xiong and the Western King were not fools. If the emperor ordered them to return the Northern Territory, would they hand it over honestly?
The answer is clear at a glance. Of course they will not spit out what they have eaten.
Therefore...if the emperor decrees to take back the territory, once Qingtian Xiong and the Western Region King resist the decree, there is a possibility of direct war between the two sides.
King Pingnan had thought about asking the emperor to join forces with the king of the Western Region to deal with Qingtian Xiong.
To put it simply, the emperor gave the northern city land that was annexed by the Western Region County King to the jurisdiction of the Western Region County King in a gracious way. At the same time, he recruited Qingtian Xiong to return to the capital and take back the northern city land in his hands.
If Qing Tian Xiong resists the decree, the emperor will enlist the princes of the Western Region to fight against Qing Tian Xiong.
The Western Territory Commandery Prince received royal favors and legitimately increased his fiefdom. Logically, he could not refuse the Emperor's solicitation. Unless the Western Border Commandery Prince wanted to decide the outcome in a battle with the Imperial Family, he would agree to the Imperial Family's offer and be openly hostile to Qingtian Xiong.
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The Prince of the West is an old fox, and he will definitely not engage in a full-scale confrontation with the royal family for the Sky Bear. Accepting the fiefdom given by the royal family, and then sitting on the mountain and watching the tigers fight, is the style of the Prince of the West...
In this way, the king of the Western Region gained both fame and fortune. He assisted the royal family in defeating the rebels, won praise from the people all over the world, and naturally increased the number of fiefdoms and towns.
To put it bluntly, Qingtian Xiong is just a little kid sandwiched between two giants. If the Western Region King and the royal family hadn't kept each other in check, how would they have allowed him to cause trouble.
The royal family only needs to issue an imperial edict in the form of a favor, granting the northern towns that the Western Territory Prince actually annexed to the Western Territory Commandery. At that time, the Western Border Commandery Prince will just show off, but also accompany the royal family to perform a grand drama of defeating the rebels.
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In this way, the royal family does not have to worry about fighting on both fronts with the Western Region Prince and Qingtian Xiong at the same time...
This was King Pingnan's plan to regain the northern towns from Qingtian Xiong. He planned to wait until the capital city recovered from the battle where the crown prince seized the throne, and then he would report to the emperor and use this plan to send troops to capture the northern territory occupied by Qingtian Xiong.
However, when King Pingnan was planning to go to Beijing to meet the Holy Spirit at the end of the year,
They reported this matter to the emperor, but the emperor told them that the problem in the north has been solved!
This really shocked King Pingnan...
According to King Pingnan's plan, to regain the northern territory occupied by Qingtian Bear, it is inevitable to start a war with the opponent. Our military losses are conservatively estimated, and nearly 10,000 people will be killed. But...
The emperor disintegrated Qingtian Xiong's forces without any effort and regained the towns in the north. At the same time, he also won over the hearts and minds of the people in the north.
If the spies secretly planted in the north had not received accurate information, King Pingnan would have been unimaginable that Qing Tianxiong, the Northern Territory Priest who he regarded as the biggest crisis at the moment, would have been finished.
Now that he knew that Zhou Xingyun was the secret mastermind behind Qingtian Xiong's defeat, King Pingnan couldn't help but feel tingly in his heart.
Why was King Pingnan so upset? Because he was deeply afraid!
King Pingnan believed that everything from Qingtian Xiong's defeat to the recovery of northern towns to the restoration of the people's hearts and minds in the north was within Zhou Xingyun's prediction and control.
As early as a year ago, Zhou Xingyun began to make plans to regain the northern territory for the emperor. On the surface, Zhou Xingyun resigned and went into seclusion, but in fact, he concealed himself from others, lurked in the north, and began to make plans to target Qingtian Xiong.
As a result, Zhou Xingyun only used one year to help the emperor eradicate the Qingtian Bear and regain the northern city and the people's hearts without using a single soldier. What a wise strategy! What a wise man!
(Zhou Xingyun: Meow meow meow meow? King Pingnan, what are you thinking about?)
King Pingnan thought silently, with such a wise and capable assistant behind the emperor, it is no wonder that the emperor would condone his mischief in the Jinluan Palace.
In King Pingnan's mind, Zhou Xingyun's eradication of Qingtian Bear was not accidental, but the inevitable result of his long-planned plan.
Therefore, King Pingnan began to weigh the pros and cons after returning to the palace. Zhou Xingyun was an extremely terrifying guy. It was a very unwise decision to make an enemy of this kind of god who could destroy an entire party's forces with his own strength.
The relationship between King Pingnan's forces and Zhou Xingyun was just based on emotions, and there was no need to fight to the death.
After all, King Pingnan's ambitions are not big. He has no idea of becoming an emperor. Now, as the prince of the south, although he does not say that he wants to win the wind or the rain, he is also happy and happy with his family. Now that he has returned from his lost way, he and Zhou Xingyun
It is obviously more cost-effective to make good friends than to fight fiercely.
It was precisely because of the above thoughts that Cai Yuanying came to visit this morning, King Pingnan would not be provoked by the other party, and tried his best to avoid another conflict with Zhou Xingyun, and was looking for an opportunity to send someone to negotiate peace with him.
If nothing else works, King Pingnan puts down his face and asks his niece Han Qiumiao to persuade Zhou Xingyun...
"Dad? Have you promised the child?" Han Dongchen saw his father in a daze and couldn't help asking.
"Well. You might as well go back to Fengtao City first." King Pingnan nodded, thinking that if Han Dongchen left the capital, he would try to avoid unexpected situations from meeting Zhou Xingyun.
"Then I'll pack my luggage right now." Han Dongchen was overjoyed. He didn't expect that his father would really agree to let him leave Beijing.
Sure enough, everything was as Uncle Cai expected. As long as he followed Uncle Cai's words, Dad would not be suspicious...
"Are you leaving today?" King Pingnan looked at the sky and saw that it was already after four o'clock in the afternoon.
"Haha, although my son said he didn't want to leave the capital, he was understanding of his father's situation. Now I can't wait to go home and see him."
"Well, then you go... By the way, spend the New Year with your mother, and remember to come back immediately. I will return to the territory in early February to train three thousand war horses for the emperor."
"Okay." Han Dongchen responded cheerfully, then walked out of the study and began to pack his luggage and leave Beijing.
Because of Zhou Xingyun, Han Dongchen had been very upset in recent days. He really didn't know how to eat and couldn't sleep at night. He originally thought that his father would come forward and read Zhou Xingyun's book in the Jinluan Palace, which would ruin his reputation and ruin his family.
Who would have known that instead of blaming Zhou Xingyun, the emperor actually promoted him to a higher rank.
Afterwards, King Pingnan returned to the mansion without saying a word, and locked himself in the study to think deeply. It was not until midnight that he walked out of the study, found Han Dongchen, and asked him not to conflict with Zhou Xingyun and the people around Zhou Xingyun for the time being.
Although Han Dongchen was very angry inside, he had no choice but to nod his head obediently. After all, his father had not been able to unseat Zhou Xingyun, so he would only ask for trouble if he overestimated his ability and caused trouble for Zhou Xingyun.
However, this morning, when Han Dongchen was drinking in a brothel to soothe his sorrows, Cai Yuanying met him by chance.
The two talked about a lot of things. Han Dongchen vented his bitterness in front of Cai Yuanying and complained about the recent frame-up by Zhou Xingyun.
After Cai Yuanying heard what Han Dongchen said, she immediately became angry and said that this matter must not be taken lightly, and she must vent her anger on Zhou Xingyun.
In this way, Cai Yuanying and Han Dongchen hit it off immediately, chatting like bosom friends who had long since met.
Han Dongchen learned from Cai Yuanying that Zhou Xingyun opened an inn in Fujing City, and the maids in the inn were all extremely beautiful.
If Han Dongchen wants to take revenge on Zhou Xingyun, he can start at the inn in Fujing City.
The capital is the territory of the royal family. Han Dongchen is concerned about the royal family's face and cannot make a big move in the capital. But Fujing City is different. Its geographical location is close to the fiefdom of King Pingnan. It is an area where King Pingnan's power can reach out. Han Dongchen only needs to return to the fiefdom.
If you go there, you can summon people to make trouble at the 'Linfeng Inn'.
After listening to Cai Yuanying's words, Han Dongchen immediately felt that this plan was good. He could not cause trouble for Zhou Xingyun in the capital. Going to his hometown to destroy his territory would also eliminate his simmering resentment. What's more, Cai Yuanying clearly told Han Dongchen that he was willing to help him.
If he takes the initiative, he will definitely help him win the 'Linfeng Inn'.
At the checkpoint on the outskirts of the capital, a carriage stopped in the woods beside the official road. Two cleanly dressed men stood under the tree and waited...
"Brother Cai, do you really want to help Prince Pingnan win the 'Linfeng Inn'?"
"That small inn is nothing. Just kill a few people and kidnap a few beautiful maids."
"Oh, the prodigal of Jianshu Villa, is he really going to go against the Nanwang Mansion for a few maids?"
"Inevitably, his reaction in the Jinluan Palace is enough to show that this person is not only lustful, but also extremely possessive and does not allow others to touch his things, especially women."
"The prince of the county is truly lucky to have Brother Cai to help him!"
"To put it bluntly, I am just a low-ranking staff member under the king of the county. There are many assistants who are better than me. What's more, didn't I just say it? A small inn is nothing. Our goal is... King Pingnan
Prince."
"Does Brother Cai plan to..."
A flash of killing intent flashed in Cai Yuanying's eyes. If King Pingnan knew that his child was killed after a conflict with someone at the 'Linfeng Inn', then the relationship between King Pingnan and Zhou Xingyun would completely collapse, and both parties would definitely fight to the death.
"That's all. Just follow my instructions and do your job..."
Halfway through their conversation, the two saw Han Dongchen, the prince of Prince Pingnan, riding a horse to meet them at the appointed place.