Princess Promotion

At the next morning court session, Yao Chuguang sat upright on the dragon throne, his eyes slowly sweeping over the ministers in front of the palace.

The military generals were fine, but almost all the civil officials had dark circles under their eyes, almost comparable to the pandas she saw in the zoo in her previous life!

Yao Chuguang was very puzzled. It should be the military generals who should be worried when the army is about to go to the battlefield, but why are these civil officials acting as if they are going to fight the enemy themselves?

Li Jinglong had huge dark circles under his eyes and looked a little listless as he looked at the head of the Wu family and others next door who also had dark circles under their eyes.

Li Jinglong was also surprised. He couldn't sleep because he was angry about Li Hanlin. Why couldn't they sleep?

Could it be that because of the incident of him sending clothes, these treacherous ministers gathered together and laughed at him all night?

This results in a sleepless night, which makes you feel exhausted!

Li Jinglong tilted his head to look behind him, and saw Liu Shu also had the same dark circles under his eyes, and looked dazed!

Li Jinglong further confirmed his guess. These old villains were successful. Knowing that Li Hanlin was defeated and Liu Shu was the quartermaster, they must have laughed their mouths off last night!

The head of the Wu family yawned secretly. He didn't care why Li Jinglong and the others couldn't sleep at night.

Now he only cares about making sure nothing goes wrong with Liu Shu.

The head of the Wu family only feels deeply powerless towards the empress. If he encounters a ruffian in normal times, he can just hide from him if he can't afford to offend him!

But when this scoundrel holds the power of life and death, the destructive power is so great that it makes people despair.

In the past, the four heads of the family fought openly and secretly. When the fight was the most intense, they would rather damage their own interests than let others profit.

That's how it is, even if it harms others and does not benefit themselves or their enemies, they have to unite and point their guns outward when facing Yao Chuguang.

Facts have proved that there are no eternal enemies, only common interests.

If they don't unite, they might really be killed by Yao Chuguang.

After all, you can't expect any bottom line from an empress who can strip her subjects' clothes in the street. As long as she can achieve her goal, the empress will definitely use any means.

The morning court session did not last too long. Today it was just a formality to formally appoint Liu Shu as the quartermaster.

After the court was dismissed, Liu Shu and Fu Hongxuan were left behind to convey the imperial edict to the imperial study. Li Yinhan and Yao Chuguang were already discussing in front of the sand table.

There are exquisite models placed on the sand table, including mountains, rivers, cities and passes, everything is a miniature version.

Seeing the two approaching, Yao Chuguang didn't exchange pleasantries and went straight to the point. He pointed to a fork in the road on the sand table and said, "After the army reaches this Black Water Stream, they will turn and head straight for Youzhou."

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone instantly understood why Yao Chuguang had called them here today.

They made a big announcement to the outside world about regaining the western border, and the army was heading towards the western border.

But he turned around halfway to attack Youzhou. Not only Liu Shu but also Li Yinhan couldn't figure out why Yao Chuguang did this.

Although Youzhou is located at the junction of the two places, this is not the only way to reach the Western Border. We are not very worried that Youzhou will collude with the Western Border to cause trouble and cut off the army's food supply.

It's like two martial arts masters making an appointment to fight, but one of them suddenly runs over and beats up the bystanders who are watching next door.

This is really like using a sledgehammer to crack a nut!

Li Yinhan frowned and asked, "Why do we have to go all the way to Youzhou? Taking Youzhou in the western border would be as easy as taking candy from a baby for us."

Yao Chuguang looked at Fu Hongxuan, who had remained silent from beginning to end, and asked, "What do you say?"

Fu Hongxuan twitched his lip and said bluntly, "Your Majesty's move is not because you think Youzhou is important, but because you want to target the Yan family of Youzhou."

The ancestors of the Yan family of Youzhou once assisted the Western Zhou royal family in conquering the world. Later, they retired after their success. The Western Zhou emperor was grateful for the Yan family's contributions and specially granted Youzhou to the Yan family.

Youzhou did not have to pay tribute or taxes and was fully managed by the descendants of the Yan family.

It is no exaggeration to say that the Yan family in Youzhou is the local emperor, with its own laws, taxes, and army.

But Youzhou is such a small place after all, and no matter how much it is controlled, it will be a drop in the bucket for the Western Zhou Dynasty.

Moreover, there have been many famous teachers in Youzhou Yan family in recent years, and many court officials of the former Western Zhou Dynasty have studied in Youzhou Yan family.

It is no exaggeration to say that the disciples of the Youzhou Yan family were spread throughout the Western Zhou Dynasty, so the emperors of the Western Zhou Dynasty in every dynasty had great respect for the Youzhou Yan family.

Fu Hongxuan pondered for a moment and said, "The Yan family of Youzhou are all scholars who teach and educate people. If we take over the western border, they will naturally surrender. There is no need to do this."

Yao Chuguang's tone was a bit cold. "Since they will have to surrender sooner or later, why don't they surrender now? Why do they have to wait until we take over the Western Territory and leave no room for maneuver before surrendering? How can a scholar who sits on the fence be considered nobler than others?"

Yao Chuguang brushed her sleeves and lowered her eyes. "Why can't you do it because you were once a student of the Youzhou Yan family?"

Fu Hongxuan was slightly stunned and said, "They are just a group of scholars. Your Majesty, why do you have to kill them all?"

Yao Chuguang sneered sarcastically, "Fu Hongxuan, why do you think I kept it a secret from everyone, wasted so much manpower and resources, and even ignored the formidable enemy in the Western Territory, instead targeting this so-called scholar?"

"That's because if word gets out that the imperial court is going to deal with the Yan clan of Youzhou, any attempt to take them down would inevitably cause chaos, and the people would suffer."

Yao Chuguang's voice was cold and emotionless as he said, "Have you ever considered that the Yan Clan of Youzhou is not the sacred place for education and nurturing students that you imagined, but has become a cancer."

Fu Hongxuan's brows, which were originally slightly furrowed, tightened even more.

Yao Chuguang asked, "I just want to ask you one thing. Are all the students accepted by the Yan family in Youzhou from prominent families or children of noble families?"

Fu Hongxuan was about to answer, but Yao Chuguang stopped him short: "If there are talented children from poor families, are they all adopted by the Youzhou Yan family and tied to their interests?"

Yao Chuguang lowered his voice and asked slowly, "If more than half of the civil and military officials in the court are from the Youzhou Yan family, then any decree that is detrimental to the Youzhou Yan family will not be able to reach them."

Yao Chuguang leaned back and said in a calm voice, "By then, the emperors will truly be constantly changing, but the Youzhou Yan family will remain unshakable. No matter who becomes emperor, they will remain standing."

Fu Hongxuan hesitated for a while, then sighed and asked, "If Teacher is willing to submit to Da Qi, can you give his people a chance to live?"

Upon hearing this, Yao Chuguang raised his eyebrows and said, "Of course, as long as the Yan family is willing to disband their members, I will naturally not pursue any further matters."

Fu Hongxuan was just about to say that he would go to Youzhou in person to persuade his teacher.

Yao Chuguang put forward his own conditions and said, "How you want to persuade them is up to you, but there are two rules you must abide by. First, you must not meet anyone from the Youzhou Yan family alone. Ask them to come and see you."

Yao Chuguang pointed at Li Yinhan and said, "Second, my brother must be present when you meet."

Liu Shu didn't know how Fu Hongxuan reacted after he finished speaking, but he himself was flustered and cold sweat oozed from his forehead.

Oh my God! A conflict broke out between His Majesty and the Commander-in-Chief before the battle even started. I have to say His Majesty is truly a ruthless person.

If you don't take action, it's fine. But if you do take action, it's a fatal blow. You attack General Fu's master right away. This will definitely force him into a lonely place, and he can only be used by you from now on.

By then, even if General Fu had rebellious intentions, he would still be firmly held in the hands of the empress and would not be able to make any waves.

Yao Chuguang turned around and said calmly, "General Fu, if you have nothing else to do, you can go back and prepare for tomorrow's expedition."

Fu Hongxuan didn't say anything in the end and walked away slowly.

Watching Fu Hongxuan leave, Li Yinhan hesitated for a moment and asked in a low voice, "Isn't this a bit too much?"

Isn't it said that scholars value their promises the most? Especially Fu Hongxuan's teacher Yan Mingzhe, who is a world-renowned scholar. How could he use insidious and dirty means?

Others might think that Yao Chuguang did not trust Fu Hongxuan and therefore did not allow him to meet with Yan Mingzhe privately. He was afraid that Fu Hongxuan would be persuaded by Yan Mingzhe, so he was so cautious.

But Li Yinhan knew Yao Chuguang. If Yao Chuguang had any doubts about Fu Hongxuan, he would never let Fu Hongxuan serve as the commander-in-chief of the three armies.

Since Yao Chuguang trusts Fu Hongxuan, the only reason he does this is to guard against Yan Mingzhe, fearing that Fu Hongxuan will suffer a fatal blow because of his mistaken trust in Yan Mingzhe.

But there is a problem with doing this. Scholars are all aloof. If you clearly don't trust them like this, what if they just throw away their sleeves and fight to the death?

Yao Chuguang naturally knew what Li Yinhan meant. Throughout history, countless heroes and great men have been defeated by their own people. This has never been an isolated case.

Yao Chuguang stopped and asked without turning his head, "What if Yan Mingzhe was determined to die and killed Fu Hongxuan and then committed suicide?"

Li Yinhan was unable to refute it for a moment. After all, no matter how big the debt was, it had to be paid off. A world-renowned scholar paid with his life for a breach of trust, and future generations would not blame him.

By then, the reputation of the Youzhou Yan family will rise again, and they will become the representatives of scholars who are not afraid of power. They will completely become villains, levying heavy taxes and oppressing the people.

Yao Chuguang snorted coldly and said, "If this really happens, you already know how harmful it is to change generals at the last minute."

Therefore, as long as the Youzhou Yan family kills Fu Hongxuan, it will only benefit them and not harm them. If they handle it well, they can even gain both fame and fortune while overturning the situation of the war.

In the face of huge interests, who can't be killed, betrayed or abandoned? That's why those people can be so high and mighty and criticize this and that.

It’s simply that the benefits for them to take action are not big enough. As long as the benefits are big enough, human nature will not be vulnerable.

Even if we take a step back, Yan Mingzhe is a gentleman and he really didn't want to attack Fu Hongxuan.

What about the other members of the Youzhou Yan family? Did they all keep their promise and not harm Fu Hongxuan?

The probability of this happening is so low that it is impossible for a sow to climb a tree.

As long as one of them has this idea, they can ambush Yan Mingzhe on the road and get rid of Fu Hongxuan without even knowing.

At worst, when Yan Mingzhe finds out, he will feel so guilty that he will be buried with Fu Hongxuan. What the Youzhou Yan family lacks the least is great scholars.

By then, Yan Mingzhe's descendants will be great scholars of the time. Can Yan Mingzhe still let his entire family be buried with him for Fu Hongxuan?

Are you afraid that you won't die fast enough while acting emotionally in battle?