The news of Yi 'an Junzhu chasing her husband in the rain, which eventually developed into a fierce battle between the thousand horsemen and the Jin Wu Guards, was enthusiastically spread by the common people of Luoyang. Soon, it became a household name, and the dignity of the imperial family was completely gone.
Wu Zetian and Li Xian, the Prince of Luling, were also frightened by Yi 'an Junzhu's valiant behavior. After the shock, they became' furious'. The imperial family wanted face, and it was not easy for the daughters of the imperial family to marry. Now that their reputation was even worse, who would the daughters of the imperial family marry in the future?
The aristocratic families had always been dismissive of the imperial daughters, and the scholars and scholars with a future kept a respectful distance from the imperial daughters. Instead, they circled around the noble aristocratic families like smelly flies. All of this had long made the imperial family unhappy. In the end, those imperial princesses were so troublesome. It was fine if they only had a private imperial examination and secretly had a lover, but now they had even publicly beaten their husband. The imperial family was supposed to be an example to the world, but didn't they become the laughing stock of the world?
Before Pei Junma's snot and tears could finish complaining, Wu Zetian had drawn up the punishment measures: Yi 'an Junzhu would be demoted to Yi' an Junzhu, and the rules and etiquette would all be lowered by one grade. Originally, the Junzhu had a salary of first rank, but now, she was demoted to second rank.
Wu Zetian also selected three female officials from the palace for her. One would lecture on Ban Jieyu's "Women's Precepts", one would lecture on the "Women's Rules" written by Empress Zhangsun of the Tang dynasty, and one would lecture on the "Essentials of Internal Conduct" written by Emperor Zetian of the current dynasty. Wu Zetian vowed to teach her to be a good wife and mother, so that she would not embarrass the imperial family again.
As for Pei Xun, having a mistress was also a mistake, so he was punished as well. He was demoted from the capital and appointed as the Provincial Governor of Feng Province. In fact, this was a kind of compensation for his apparent demotion but hidden promotion.
After Ma Shang Junzhu of Pei County, he was promoted to a fifth-rank official to disperse the court. He had no real power and his official position was not high. Now, he became the Provincial Governor of Feng Province, a fourth-rank local official. Furthermore, the scenery in Pang Province was beautiful and rich. Prince Pei would return to the capital sooner or later, so he was being demoted but actually rewarded.
That day, there was another Wei Junma who had been beaten, and his ending was even worse than Pei Junma. Both his buttocks had been smashed and he had to be carried home. Xin Ping Junzhu, who had just been married and was sticking to her husband like glue, felt her heart ache so much that tears rolled down her face. She couldn't resist running to the palace to see her parents and viciously complaining about Yang Fan.
That day, the one who had attracted the most attention was the junzhu beating her husband. Yang Fan and Wei Jie, who had not announced his status as the junzhu, were ignored by the common people and did not spread among the people. Now, they wanted Li Dan to take the initiative to explain this matter to the emperor? Hadn't their family suffered enough humiliation? After being scolded by his mother, Li Xiangang didn't dare to look for trouble. He could only scold his daughter and tell her to restrain her husband. He told her not to get too close to Wu Yizong and not to provoke Yang Fan.
When Wu Yizong heard that Wei Jie had been beaten, he went to visit. Commandant Guo Yi's position among his subordinates wasn't small, and he also had the status of a junzhu. When Wei Jie saw the Grand General, he immediately complained tearfully and even added details to the story, saying that he had mentioned Grand General Wu, but Yang Fan didn't give him any face.
Wu Yizong gritted his teeth as he listened. He was so angry that he wanted to immediately find trouble with Yang Fan. But charging into the camp was akin to mutiny, and he didn't dare. While the thousand cavalry were on duty in the capital, they were within the palace. Wu Yizong's sphere of influence was outside the palace. He didn't dare to charge into the palace and fight, and could only endure it for now.
Pei Junma heard that he had profited from a disaster. Not only could he leave that tigress, but he could also become a local tyrant. He couldn't help but be overjoyed and immediately went to find Yang Fan to thank him. He didn't forget that if it wasn't for Yang Fan's generous help, he wouldn't have remembered to complain to the Emperor. Even if he remembered, he wouldn't have been able to enter the palace. He couldn't possibly cry and pray to the Imperial Palace, could he?
If the matter really got out of hand, the dignity of the imperial family would be gone. Although the Emperor would still punish Yi 'an Junzhu, he wouldn't be able to have such a good job. Pei Junma excitedly went to the Yang residence with generous gifts. After asking around, he found out that Yang Fan had already returned to the thousand cavalry camp. Pei Junma left the gifts and personally went to the thousand cavalry camp in the north of the city. He insisted on thanking Yang Fan in person, and it could be said that he was very sincere.
In the thousand cavalry camp, the soldiers were doing their daily drill on the drill ground. The sound of battle cries were uniform. Yang Fan walked slowly along the green path at the foot of the mountain. Beside him was Ren Wei, who was quietly reporting something to him. Yang Fan asked, "It's been more than a month. You still haven't found anything that can be used against them?"
Ren Wei replied, "I won't hide it from Sect Head. Ever since the Obvious and Hidden Sects fell out, both sides started to conceal their respective powers. Young Master Jiang came to Luoyang from Chang 'an, hoping to make a comeback here. In the end, because the three swindlers Old Nun Ha Noi, Taoist Si Fang, and the barbarian Mo Lei fell from power, his power was wiped out in one fell swoop. The Obvious and Hidden Sects also learned a lesson from this.
From then on, the identities of the officials that were supported and bribed by the Obvious and Hidden Sects, as well as the officials that had never been exposed before, were only known by the few core figures in the sects. No one else had the chance to know. The few officials that belonged to the other side in the past had all fallen from power in a few fights. Now, it's very difficult to determine who's on the other side if we want to control them. "
Ren Wei sighed and continued, "As for the Hidden Sects' weaknesses in other areas, Shen Mu has returned to the central plains for more than a year. I'm afraid that all the loopholes that could be filled have been filled. Up until now, we haven't found any places that can be attacked. "
After Ren Wei finished speaking, he was afraid that Yang Fan wouldn't believe him and continued, "This matter concerns the future status of our Obvious Sect. Even though there are a few elders in the sect that are dissatisfied with Sect Head acting arbitrarily, they will definitely not drag Sect Head down on this matter. They said that they haven't found any weaknesses of the other side, and that should be the truth!"
Yang Fan nodded and slowly stopped walking. He asked, "What suggestions does' Tian Shu 'have?"
Ren Wei said, "They believe that rather than casting a wide net and investigating aimlessly, it will waste time and effort with little results, it is better to focus on one point."
"What point?"
"Food!"
"The reason?"
"Food is the foundation of the Imperial Court, and it is also an important method for me to influence the Imperial Court. Once the scale is large, it will not be easy to hide everything. Therefore, if we start from this aspect, we should be able to obtain some results. Also, Shen Mu and Young Master Jiang once fought over food, and then he was sent to Xin Luo … "
Before he finished speaking, Yang Fan started to smile. He had already secretly sent people out of the capital with the goal of food. However, he hadn't thought of the first reason that 'Tian Shu' thought of. The reason he set his target on food was because he thought of the second reason.
In the battle of Chang 'an two years ago, the weapons that both sides used were food.
In that vicious battle, logically, the Obvious Sect had the advantage and was much stronger than the Hidden Sect. However, because Young Master Jiang did not listen to honest advice and was obstinate and self-opinionated, and the 'Succession Hall' was established by him with the full support of the Lu Clan, no one could do anything to him. As a result, they fell into Shen Mu's trap and suffered a crushing defeat.
But to kill one thousand, one would lose eight hundred. To defeat Young Master Jiang, Shen Mu's losses would not be small. After that, Shen Mu was sent to Xin Luo. He did not have time to make up for the losses caused by using food in the battle.
Even though Shen Mu had quietly returned to Chang 'an last year, when he returned to the Central Plains, the Khitans had rebelled and then the Tu Jue had invaded. The hundreds of thousands of troops of the Imperial Court had moved to the north and gathered large amounts of food from various places. The Guanzhong granary was the main gathering area.
The war in the north had continued until last winter. In other words, during this period of time, in such a large environment, Shen Mu had no way to make up for the problems that had occurred with food. The only thing Shen Mu could do was wait until this year's autumn harvest had large amounts of surplus food.
Right now, it was summer and still far from the autumn harvest. Shen Mu could not make a pile of food out of thin air. Therefore, starting from this direction should be the most correct direction. The reason that Yang Fan was happy was because from the suggestion of 'Tian Shu', he was sure that the Succession Hall was now of the same mind as him.
When a new Emperor ascended the throne and the military power was scattered and the throne was unstable, the most commonly used and effective method was to divert trouble from the outside. Through external wars that concerned the life and death of the entire interest group, they could consolidate the internal forces, establish prestige, sort out relationships, and control military power. He was the Obvious Sect Lord, and this method was also applicable.
As long as they were forced by the external crisis and listened to his orders and arrangements, and planned for him wholeheartedly, when the external threat was resolved, his authority within the internal forces would be established. During this period of time, if anyone provoked him, he could use the fact that most people were forced to obey him due to the overall situation to easily kick the other party away with the least resistance and replace them with his own people.
"Good! This is a good idea. Let's start from this direction. " Yang Fan clapped his hands in praise. He naturally did not have to say that he had already sent people to act. It was not a smart idea to let the people of 'Succession Hall' discover that he did not trust them enough.
Ren Wei said, "But there is one more thing. Our Obvious Sect has also used a large amount of food. If we want to make a fuss about this, how do we prevent the fire from coming to us? This is a problem."
Yang Fan frowned and asked, "Do we have a lot of holes?"
Ren Wei said, "Not a lot. After all, the food has always been in our hands. While the Hidden Sect had secretly started to interfere with the food storage, they had to avoid our eyes and ears and did not dare to make too big of a move. Most of the food they obtained was given to Wu Zhile, who was supported by them. Thus, they used much more storage than us. But just in case, we need to be clear about ourselves. Before this, we cannot launch a counterattack in case they become desperate and try to take us down with them! "
Yang Fan nodded and said, "Alright! Have 'Heaven's Pivot' draw up a detailed plan. On one hand, we will fill in our holes, and on the other hand, we will look for their holes. Whoever makes the first move will be able to influence the outcome of this battle! "
"Yes!" Ren Wei responded solemnly and turned to leave.
Yang Fan walked to the front of the slope and looked up at the sky. The coolness from yesterday's heavy rain had been gradually dispelled by the sun in the sky, and the earth was once again hot and stuffy. Just as Yang Fan was about to rush back to his tent before the sun's power was fully unleashed, a junior colonel rushed over from afar and reported in a loud voice, "Middle Commander, there is a Prince Consort Pei outside the Yuan Gate who wishes to see the general!"
Yang Fan was startled and asked curiously, "Consort Pei! What is he doing here? "
That junior colonel said, "I heard him say that he is indebted to the General's help. Now that the imperial court has appointed him as the Provincial Governor of Feng Province, he is here to express his thanks!"
"Feng Province?"
Yang Fan's eyes suddenly lit up. Among the prefectures in the Guanzhong Prefecture, the Feng Prefecture was a major grain-producing prefecture, and Lady Gu was headed there. If the provincial governor there could give him convenience, wouldn't he have more confidence in dealing with the Hidden Sect?
Yang Fan looked at the sun that was gradually emitting blazing rays and smiled as he muttered to himself, "Even the heavens are helping me. Elder Brother Shen, what do you have to fight against me?"
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