area51novel Page 292
Page 292
"Your Majesty, eliminating one of Xu Xiao's hidden agents is always a good thing."
"Xu Xiao has hidden a master of the Finger Profound Realm in Qingcheng Mountain."
"It now seems that His Majesty's plan to use Li Chang'an to deal with Xu Xiao has been quite effective!"
Zhao Chun said, "As long as Li Chang'an dares to continue weakening Xu Xiao, we will support him!"
"We also need to restrict him, keeping him in a position where we can crush him at any time!"
"He currently has less than five thousand soldiers, but the hundred thousand Yongzhou troops can be wiped out in an instant!"
Yuan Benxi has always maintained that Xu Xiao, the King of Beiliang, is too powerful to be controlled and is the biggest threat to Liyang.
Compared to Xu Xiao's 350,000-strong army, the small Li Chang'an is nothing to fear.
Zhao Chun said worriedly, "I had previously planned to grant him the four prefectures of Hebei if we dealt with the Northern Liang spy."
"However, Li Chang'an's prestige in Yongzhou is growing, making it highly inappropriate for him to have a fiefdom there!"
Yuan Benxi replied, "This is easy. If Li Chang'an makes further contributions, why not give him a fiefdom?"
"Throughout the world, there's always a barren and chaotic place that can still hold back Beiliang!"
"But for now, the big trouble in Yongzhou should be left to Li Chang'an to solve!"
A glint of light flashed in Zhao Chun's eyes, "Mr. Yuan is talking about Chu Lushan!"
"As expected, Xu Xiao refused to promise that the Northern Liang dynasty would never be hereditary for the sake of Chu Lushan."
"The Northern Liang's Fushui Clan has been making frequent moves in Yongzhou; it seems they intend to abduct Chu Lushan!"
Yuan Benxi continued, "Let Li Chang'an oversee the execution of Chu Lushan and continue the fight against Xu Xiao!"
"Chu Lushan is highly trusted by Xu Xiao, and Xu Xiao will definitely use a lot of his trump cards in Yongzhou!"
Zhao Chun nodded and said, "Alright! Let them fight like dogs!"
"However, Xu Xiao will not give up on the hereditary succession; he must think of a way."
Yuan Benxi said, "Your Majesty, I have a plan!"
Zhao Chun relied heavily on Yuan Benxi, saying, "Please speak, teacher!"
Yuan Benxi said, "We will bestow a marriage upon Princess Suizhu and the Crown Prince of Beiliang, and let Xu Fengnian come to the capital to become the prince consort!"
"Once Xu Fengnian enters the capital, he will never be able to return to Beiliang!"
"No matter how arrogant Xu the Cripple is, does he dare to refuse the Emperor's boundless grace?"
Zhao Chun had six sons and one daughter, and his only daughter, Princess Suizhu, was extremely spoiled.
He gritted his teeth and said, "For the sake of the world of Li Yang, why should I hesitate to part with a woman!"
Ten days later.
The Northern Liang Prince's Palace, Tingchao Pavilion.
Prince Xu Fengnian let out a wail!
"What?! Li Chang'an killed Aunt Zhao!"
When Xu Fengnian was a child, Zhao Yutai, wearing bronze armor, followed Princess Wu Su.
After Wu Su passed away, Zhao Yutai went to Qingcheng Mountain.
Zhao Yutai was an elder whom Xu Fengnian respected.
"Isn't Auntie the first-rank expert you all mentioned?"
"How could she have been killed by Li Chang'an!"
Xu Fengnian clenched his fists, his expression almost crazed!
"That dog Li Chang'an is nothing but a slave of a conquered nation. Why does he repeatedly oppose our Northern Liang!"
"Xu Xiao! Master! Are we just going to let this go like this?!"
Faced with Xu Fengnian's anger, Xu Xiao's face darkened, while Li Yishan seemed lost in thought.
When Xu Xiao first heard the news, he was even more furious than Xu Fengnian!
He had been making preparations in Qingcheng Mountain for a long time, and Zhao Yutai even used the King of Qingcheng as a cover.
Xu Xiao truly never expected that Li Chang'an would actually attack Qingcheng Mountain and kill Wu Lingsu's entire family!
That was the Prince of Qingcheng, personally appointed by the late emperor!
"It has now been confirmed that there are armored figures in Qingcheng Mountain."
"However, your aunt was cautious and did not leave any evidence related to Beiliang."
At present, Xu Fengnian is completely unaware of Xu Xiao's plans.
"Xu Xiao! Li Chang'an crippled Lu Qiu'er, stole my second sister, and now he's killed my aunt!"
"Our Northern Liang Royal Palace is renowned for its prestige; how can we allow this despicable person to humiliate us like this!"
Xu Xiao sighed, "What can we do?"
"Possessing armor privately is a crime punishable by the extermination of nine generations of one's family, yet Li Chang'an was ordered to suppress bandits."
Xu Fengnian couldn't help but angrily say, "So, Lu Qiu'er broke the law and deserves to die?"
"My aunt's whole family deserved to be wiped out?"
"What crime? What offense? What imperial decree?"
"When have we in Northern Liang ever feared the laws of the land?"
No matter how much Xu Fengnian raged and threw a tantrum, Xu Xiao and Li Yishan simply let it be.
They wanted to let Xu Fengnian experience what it felt like to be bullied.
After Xu Fengnian finished cursing, Xu Xiao took out a bright yellow scroll.
"Feng Nian, this is the Zhao family's greatest rule, an imperial edict!"
Xu Fengnian took the imperial edict while cursing, and his anger flared up again after reading it.
"Is this Princess Suizhu really that beautiful? She certainly has quite the airs!"
"If I, the young master, am sent to the capital to become a prince consort, will I ever be able to leave Tai'an City?"
"How stifling it is to be a prince consort! You can only have one woman in your life, the princess!"
"What if Princess Suizhu really looks like a pig, and is as ugly as a pig?"
After Xu Fengnian finished cursing, Xu Xiao also started cursing.
"Damn it, that old bastard Yuan Benxi is full of evil schemes!"
Xu Xiao cursed a couple of times, then turned to Xu Fengnian.
“However, Feng Nian, your master and I have already come up with a plan.”
"I'm kicking you out of the house for three years of wandering because you're a spoiled and unfilial brat!"
"You're not even in Beiliang, what can the imperial court say?"
After Xu Xiao finished speaking, he noticed that the usually carefree Xu Fengnian had suddenly fallen silent.
"Ahem, son, you're not really an unfilial brat..."
He had only said two sentences when Xu Fengnian interrupted him.
"Xu Xiao! Stop saying such useless things!"
"Lu Qiu'er hasn't been rescued yet, and Auntie can't have died in vain!"
Upon hearing this, Li Yishan suddenly raised an eyebrow. "Does Your Highness have an idea?"
Xu Fengnian said, "Have you been trying to rescue Lu Qiu'er these past few days?"
"The bandits of Daliang Mountain, the martial arts sects of Yongzhou, the officials and wealthy families in Jincheng City, aren't you all making plans?"
Li Yishan said, "That's right, some of them, like Zhao Yutai, have been spies for many years."
"There are still some, and we are working hard to infiltrate them."
Xu Fengnian said with a sneer, "Since you're going to put on a grand show in Jincheng, how can it be complete without me, the young master!"
"Since the emperor is so eager to marry his daughter to me, then I, the crown prince, will obey the imperial decree and complete the marriage!"
Upon hearing Xu Fengnian's words, Xu Xiao immediately became anxious.
"Ouch!"
"Son, you mustn't say things in anger!"
"Even if Princess Suizhu were a celestial being descended to earth, you cannot go to the capital to marry her!"
Li Yishan smiled knowingly and said, "Your Highness, don't be in a hurry!"
"Feng Nian's meaning is to feign an attack on one front while secretly advancing on another!"
"The Crown Prince was ordered to marry, but he was robbed by bandits in Yongzhou and his whereabouts are unknown!"
"Of course, these bandits are our own people."