After two daughters of the Prince of Xiang's estate had entered the Dao and become monks, Emperor Li Xian could no longer continue to oppress the Prince of Xiang. If this continued, he would not be able to achieve his goal, and his already poor reputation would drop even further. Helpless, Li Xian could only adopt the Prince of Yong, Li Shouli's daughter, Li Nunu, as his adopted daughter, bestowing upon her the title of Princess of Jincheng, allowing her to marry into the distant Tufan Empire.
Li Nunu did not have the guts to become a monk like Golden Immortal and True Jade. The Prince of Yong, Li Shouli, did not have the courage to challenge Li Xian. As a result, the fourteen year old Princess of Jincheng, Li Nunu, was quickly escorted to Tibet by the Grand General of the Left, Yang Juhu, and married to the six year old Tibetan Zanpu.
After this matter, the relationship between Emperor Li Xian and the Prince of Xiang, Li Dan, dropped to a freezing point. Even the commoners knew of the grudge between the Emperor and the Prince of Xiang. However, now that Li Dan had handed over his military authority, he didn't even leave his residence every day. He could only cautiously pass his days in the Prince's Mansion. He had made great contributions, and now that he had not made any mistakes, Li Xian couldn't do anything to him. For the time being, it was a peaceful situation.
Ever since Yang Fan became the General-in-Chief Who Supports the Nation, other than appearing in court during the Grand Assembly, he had basically faded out of the court. He spent every day with his wife, concubines, and children. Occasionally, he would accompany Xiao Man, who deeply sympathized with the plight of the two princesses of the Prince of Xiang's estate, to the Jade Truth Temple.
The Yuzhen Temple was located in Longqing Square, and it was built next to the Longqing Pool. It was originally called the Sanqing Temple, but because Li Chiying was in a hurry to become a nun, they didn't have time to build a new one for her. Therefore, they hurriedly tidied up the place and chased a few Taoist priests to another Taoist temple. They changed the plaque and it became Li Chiying's place of cultivation.
Although it was called cultivation, Li Chiying's life was not much different from before. She was still living a life of luxury, with countless servants. The only difference was that she had more time to do her homework. In terms of food and drink, if she did not want to be vegetarian, as the head of the monastery, all the female Daoists in the monastery were her palace maids, who would be willing to meddle?
Today, Princess Yuzhen set up a banquet to entertain Yang Fan and his wife. She ordered people to prepare a banquet with wine and fish. However, she was a young lady and her diet was light, so she didn't eat too much meat. The Golden Immortal Princess was also at the Jade Truth Monastery. These two sisters often met. Rather than saying that they were cultivating, it would be more accurate to say that they treated this monastery as a courtyard for the Prince of Xiang's estate. It was more suitable for them to cultivate here.
After the banquet, the Golden Immortal and True Jade accompanied the Second Rank Honored Madam, Xiao Man, to the rear courtyard to drink tea and discuss the Dao. Meanwhile, Yang Fan brought Gu Er and Ren Wei for a stroll through the bamboo forest to aid their digestion. It was already late autumn, and the bamboo leaves were beginning to turn yellow, losing the elegant taste of the slender bamboo.
After strolling for a while, Yang Fan asked Ren Wei: "Have Sun Long, Pei Yao, Zheng Li and the rest followed my instructions to Luzhou (present-day Shanxi)?"
Ren Wei replied: "Following Sect Head's instructions, these people have all headed to Luzhou separately. Currently, those who arrived first are in Luzhou making connections with the local officials and nobles. They are purchasing land, buying residences, and opening up shops for grain, cloth, salt, horses, etc."
Yang Fan nodded with satisfaction and asked: "These people's identities are extremely secretive?"
Ren Wei replied: "Sect Head can be rest assured. These people were either recruited by our Evident Sect in recent years or their original identities are extremely secretive. The Hidden Sect will not be able to detect their true identities."
Yang Fan smiled and said: "That's good. The Prince of Xiang's estate's third son, the Prince of Lin Zi, Li Longji, is currently serving as a consort in Luzhou. You can ask Zheng Li to find ways to curry favor with him. This child is rather ambitious and has the intention to do something big locally. If he knows that Zheng Li is going to build a large horse farm in Luzhou, he will definitely support it with all his might. Give him whatever the Prince of Lin Zi wants. Give him money, silk, and women. He will fulfill all his requests. This is the fastest way for us to establish a connection with the Lu Province officials. As long as Zheng Li succeeds, we will be able to establish a foothold in Luzhou. "
Ren Wei acknowledged and accompanied Yang Fan for a while. He then asked with a puzzled expression: "Sect Head, this subordinate doesn't understand. Luzhou is not a developed place for trade. Why are we spending so much effort to establish a foothold in Luzhou?"
Yang Fan replied: "It is precisely because Luzhou is not a developed place for trade. That is why the Hidden Sect's influence in Luzhou is very weak. This is our opportunity. Otherwise, do you think we will be able to intervene smoothly and snatch such a large territory from the Hidden Sect so easily?"
He glanced at Ren Wei and suddenly laughed: "Do you think that Luzhou is of little value to us?"
Ren Wei smiled embarrassedly.
Yang Fan withdrew his smile and spoke with a stern expression: "You are wrong. Luzhou is very important to us. Gongji Province is currently the capital city. If we are going to fight to the death with the Hidden Sect, we cannot choose this place. Otherwise, once the imperial court finds out, everyone will be finished. Then, where can we choose? "
Yang Fan stretched out his hand and casually pointed in the air. "The west is Longyou, which is the Hidden Sect's foundation. Even if we use all our strength, we can forget about uprooting it. In order to defeat the Hidden Sect, we can only use the method of weakening them step by step. In the east and south, our strength is stronger than the Hidden Sect. Once we make a move, we will be able to eliminate their forces quickly. To us, the hardest to deal with is the hard bone that is the Hebei Province. "
Ren Wei seemed to understand and said, "This subordinate understands. Sect Head wants to control Luzhou and then separate the Longyou Province from the Hebei Province."
Yang Fan nodded and said, "That's right! The Hebei Province is not only an extremely important territory for the Hidden Sect, but it is also connected to the Hidden Sect's trade with Korea and Japan. When we are able to control Luzhou firmly, it will be the time for us to launch an attack on the Hidden Sect's forces in the Hebei Province. As long as we take over the Hebei Province … "
Yang Fan let out a cold laugh. Ren Wei understood and immediately continued, "By then, our Obvious Sect will be able to use the prestige of victory and gather the forces from the north, east, and west to encircle and annihilate Longyou. Even if we can't annihilate them, we can still chase them back to Longyou and force them to hole up. From then on, our Obvious Sect will be able to unify the central plains!"
Yang Fan laughed heartily while Ren Wei rubbed his fists and said, "This subordinate understands. This subordinate will definitely do his best and manage Luzhou well for Sect Head."
Yang Fan nodded and said, "En! It is extremely important for Zheng Li and the others to complete their mission. Their identities are considered top secret. In the future, if I have any instructions, I will give the order to you directly. You will be the one to contact them. You must not let anyone else do it. You must ensure that their identities will not attract the Hidden Sect's attention. "
"Yes!"
…
After Lu Binzhi finished reading a small piece of paper, he flicked it lightly and threw it into the brazier. The paper quickly turned into a pile of ashes. Lu Binzhi spoke arrogantly and proudly, "The Obvious Sect and Hidden Sect are finally going to fight."
Ding Yue used a bamboo ladle to scoop a bowl of tea for him and gently pushed it in front of Lu Binzhi. He smiled and said, "Young Master seems to be a little impatient."
Lu Binzhi smiled and said, "That's right. I have been impatient for a long time. However … I am also clear that they will not make a move so quickly. Before the troops are mobilized, the rations and fodder are already in advance. They will definitely make ample preparations before they think about making a move. This is also our chance.
With the Obvious Sect and Hidden Sect's massive forces and how secretive their forces are, even if we use the army to annihilate them, we will not be able to do anything. If the two sects use some martial artists to fight and kill, it will not harm their vitality. Their true battlefield will not see blood, but it will also be the most damaging. At that time, their strength will truly be exposed. We will then be able to sit on the mountain and watch the tigers fight. When the Obvious Sect and Hidden Sect are mutually injured, they will come out to clean up the mess. We will then take over and rebuild the Succession Hall. "
Ding Yue said excitedly, "This subordinate understands. Then … when the Obvious Sect and Hidden Sect are preparing their troops, should we not interfere in order to avoid alerting them?"
Lu Binzhi nodded and said, "Of course, but …"
Lu Binzhi rubbed his chin and muttered, "In the north, in terms of foundation, who can compare to our Lu Clan? Of course, we cannot help, but if we don't help at all, it seems like we aren't fulfilling our responsibility as the host."
His smile was a little sinister, and Ding Yue couldn't help but ask, "Then Young Master plans to …"
Lu Binzhi said, "Let our men in Lu Province try to provide some convenience to Yang Fan's men and help them establish a foothold in Lu Province as soon as possible!"
Ding Yue smiled knowingly and said, "This subordinate understands!"
…
Yang Fan and Xiao Man stayed at Yuzhen Temple until the evening before leaving. The couple came out of Yuzhen Temple and drove back to their mansion. But as soon as they entered the mansion, Mo Xuanfei whispered in Yang Fan's ear, "Ah Lang, Shangguan Zhaorong has arrived."
Yang Fan nodded and informed Xiao Man before walking to the back garden. There was a small building in the back garden. This was where Wan 'er and Yang Fan met after leaving the palace. Although Madam Zheng was not very satisfied with Yang Fan's somewhat unfair treatment of her daughter, her daughter's heart was on Yang Fan, so she could only let it be and use her mansion as a cover for the two.
Yang Fan arrived at the back garden and strolled to the front of the small building. As soon as she saw Yang Fan, a cute round-faced maid hurriedly bowed to him and pointed upstairs, smiling mischievously at Yang Fan. This master was very easy-going, so the maids in the inner residence were not afraid of him.
Yang Fan smiled knowingly and walked upstairs.
Wan'er had already showered and changed into a soft robe. She was lazily leaning against the quilt, reading a book. Hearing the sound of the stairs, Wan'er listened attentively. She immediately tiptoed off the bed, put on her soft-soled shoes, and quietly hid behind the screen.
But with Yang Fan's skills, how could she hide her movements from Yang Fan? She was leaning against the screen waiting for Yang Fan to come out and scare him. Unexpectedly, Yang Fan suddenly flashed over from the other side of the screen and grabbed her waist, startling her.
Yang Fan laughed and fell on the bed, pulling her to his side. Looking at the book by the pillow, he asked, "How come you have time to read today? You didn't bring Dai 'er here?"
Wan 'er sighed and said, "That girl is gradually growing up, and her temper is also wild. She runs around with her Brother Ji all day. I want to bring her here to accompany her, but she is not happy. In the past, I could tell her some stories, but now she is tired of listening to them. It is so annoying. "
Looking at her bitter expression, Yang Fan couldn't help but laugh. Wan 'er rebuked him and hit him, saying, "You are still laughing. Isn't it because of the good daughter you raised? You have no conscience. Now you are far away from the court and have found a place, but what about her? You are not thinking of a way. "
"Don't worry. Soon, I am thinking of a way."
Yang Fan hugged her and comforted her. He asked, "How is the situation in the palace now?"
Wan 'er sighed and said, "What else can it be? The ruler is not the ruler, the minister is not the minister, the husband is not the husband, and the wife is not the wife. It is really disappointing. "
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