The ninth son of the emperor was demoted at the beginning. I have a famous Chinese general.

"This subordinate greets His Majesty the Ninth Prince and General Liu!"

As soon as Ning Quan and Liu Wenjie came in, everyone shouted in unison.

"Everyone is free of charge."

Ning Quan waved his hand, signaling them not to be so polite.

Everyone stood up and stood respectfully on both sides.

"Everyone, my royal brother has unfortunately passed away. From now on, I will temporarily take over the affairs of Hexi. I hope you can cooperate."

Ning Quan glanced at everyone present and said lightly.

"I will do my utmost to assist His Highness the Ninth Prince."

Everyone replied in unison.

"Okay, thank you all for your hard work."

"In that case, everyone should go back and do your job well."

Ning Quan waved his hand.

Everyone bowed in agreement and left the hall.

"General Liu, thank you for what happened today."

After everyone left, Ning Quan said to Liu Wenjie with a smile.

"Your Highness is too polite. I didn't do anything."

Liu Wenjie quickly said politely.

"Haha, there's no need to be so formal between you and me."

"Don't worry, General Liu. I'll take note of your kindness."

Ning Quan smiled slightly.

"Thank you, Your Highness."

"Your Highness, now that the danger in Hexi has been resolved, it is time for me to return."

"I plan to lead my troops back to Longyou tomorrow." Liu Wenjie said with a fist salute.

"Yes, the King will personally see you off tomorrow."

"Then I'll take my leave."

Liu Wenjie bowed and stood up to leave.

After walking out of the mansion, Liu Wenjie immediately breathed a sigh of relief.

Finally, he got rid of the Ninth Prince. Thinking back to the Ninth Prince's behavior just now, Liu Wenjie felt a little scared.

The Ninth Prince's acting skills and methods made him shudder.

........

"Prime Minister, you must immediately write a memorial to His Majesty, reporting the results of the battle and the death of the First Prince."

After Liu Wenjie left, Ning Quan gave instructions to Zhuge Liang.

"The minister obeys the order!"

Upon hearing this, Zhuge Liang replied respectfully.

"Also, write a letter to my father-in-law on my behalf, telling him that I want Hexi and asking for his help."

Ning Quan continued.

"Your Highness, if you want Hexi, will His Majesty agree?"

Zhuge Liang hesitated.

Ning Quan has occupied Anxi, and the court has not yet given an explanation. Now he wants Hexi. Your Majesty will definitely not agree.

"That's all. Just add 'This is it' to the end of the letter."

Ning Quan said lightly.

"Your Highness, do you mean that after taking Hexi, you will completely let go of Daqian?"

Upon hearing this, Zhuge Liang was surprised.

"Yes, although the emperor disliked me, he ultimately couldn't bring himself to do anything cruel. I must repay this favor."

“Furthermore, we can look further ahead.”

"The world is so vast, where can't I expand?"

"You must be interested in this little piece of land in Daqian."

Ning Quan said calmly

"I understand what Your Highness means."

Zhuge Liang suddenly realized

"Well, go write the letter quickly and send it to the capital immediately."

"I obey your command!"

Zhuge Liang responded quickly.

"Your Highness, since you are determined to occupy Hexi, what about the ministers and generals in Hexi?"

"After all, they are all the eldest prince's people?"

After Zhuge Liang left, Jia Xu asked.

"Wenhe, what do you think the king should do?"

Ning Quan asked back.

"Your Majesty, this question first depends on how Your Majesty responds."

"If His Majesty agrees to hand Hexi over to Your Highness, then everything will be fine. The former officials of Hexi will obey your orders."

"But if Your Majesty disagrees, there will definitely be trouble, and we will have to take extraordinary measures."

Jia Xu pondered for a moment and said.

"Well, Wenhe is absolutely right."

"Then we will wait and see how His Majesty responds."

"Of course, military power must be seized first."

Ning Quan nodded.

"Your Highness is right. As long as we keep the Hexi Army under tight control, there will be no problem."

"Your Highness, I have another idea. I wonder if Your Highness would listen to it?" Jia Xu asked.

“Oh? What’s the idea?”

Ning Quan narrowed his eyes and asked.

"Your Highness, the Hexi Army currently has over 20,000 men, which is still a considerable force."

"If we want to completely control it, we must break it up and reorganize it, and incorporate it into other departments. This is the only way to ensure that nothing goes wrong."

"Another way is to send them out to fight, for example, Jiannan?"

Jia Xu suggested.

"Jiannan?"

"You mean, we're going to use military force against Jiannan?" Ning Quan asked in surprise.

"Exactly."

"Your Highness, when you asked the Prime Minister to write the letter just now, I wanted to say that you should add one more sentence, that is, to send troops to Jiannan. This is your Highness's greatest bargaining chip."

Jia Xu smiled slightly and said.

"I understand what you mean."

"I will send troops to Jiannan to force them to withdraw from Xuanwu. This will relieve the pressure on Daqian."

"But we don't share a border with Jiannan. If we want to attack Jiannan, we must cross Tubo."

Ning Quan frowned.

"It's not a border, but Your Highness, do you think Tubo dares to stop our army?"

Jia Xu said with a faint smile.

"Hahaha, Wenhe is right. It's good that I don't attack them."

"If it's just a matter of passing through, Tubo would definitely not dare to stop us."

"Hahaha, Wenhe, you really are my wise man!"

"Quick, go tell the Prime Minister to add this sentence!"

Ning Quan laughed.

"Yes, I'll go right away."

Jia Xu bowed respectfully and turned to leave.

"Someone, go and invite General Li and General Yue."

After Jia Xu left, Ning Quan immediately gave orders.

"Yes, Your Highness!"

The guard quickly agreed.

Soon, Yue Fei and Li Jing came to the hall.

"This general pays homage to His Highness!"

The two of them knelt down and bowed.

"Stand up."

Ning Quan raised his hand and said.

"Thank you, Your Highness."

After thanking him, the two stood up straight.

"General Li, General Yue, I intend to send troops to Jiannan. What are your opinions?"

Ning Quan was direct and to the point and stable.

"Your Highness, this depends on your purpose in sending troops to Jiannan."

"If you want to destroy Jiannan, then I don't agree. After all, there is Tubo between us and Jiannan."

"If you want to intimidate Jiannan and force him to withdraw his troops from Xuanwu, I think it's feasible."

Li Jing cupped his fists and said.

Li Jing was such a smart guy that he could guess what Ning Quan was thinking as soon as he finished speaking.

"General Yue, what's your opinion?"

"Your Highness, I agree with General Li's opinion."

Yue Fei clasped his fists.

"Well, that's good."

"Of course, I have no intention of destroying Jiannan. I simply want to force Jiannan to withdraw his troops and reverse the unfavorable situation in Daqian."

"There is another purpose, which is Wenhe's proposal to send the Hexi Army to fight."

"This way, there will be no obstacles for me to take over Hexi."

Ning Quan said.

"Your Highness, this is a good idea. It kills two birds with one stone."

"But our army is running low on food and fodder. It's only enough for this one expedition."

Yue Fei reminded.