When they arrived at the entrance of the Prince's Residence, the accompanying guards separated and stood guard on both sides.
Xu Tangran was about to follow them into the Residence when Yang Zhaoqing stopped and turned around. He smiled and reminded him, "Lord Xu, His Highness still has official business to attend to!"
"Uh …" Xu Tangran stopped in his tracks, his expression a little awkward. He nodded repeatedly, but his eyes were on Miao Yi, who entered without looking back.
Yang Zhaoqing bowed slightly, left Xu Tangran alone, and followed him in.
Xu Tangran could only stand outside and watch. His heart felt like it was being scratched by a cat. He knew that the candidates for the positions in the Southern Army were about to be decided, but he didn't have any inside information. He didn't know how Miao Yi would arrange for him.
His participation in this major event was too low. He didn't make any contributions in this war. Other than knowing that His Highness had secretly married Pang Guan's daughter, he knew nothing else. He only understood what was going on when the matter was made clear. He was shocked by Miao Yi's ability, and once again confirmed his suspicions. His Excellency wasn't afraid of things getting out of hand. The bigger things got, the faster he climbed.
But Miao Yi had climbed the ranks too quickly this time. He went from Governor to Commanding Heavenly King of the Southern Army. He, Xu Tangran, was well aware of his own limitations. With his own foundation, it was impossible for him to follow in Miao Yi's footsteps and climb to the position of Marshal.
He knew all too well where did his wealth come from. It was all because he was relying on Miao Yi. Now that he was left behind, there was a huge gap between them. Whether he could still rely on Miao Yi in the future was really a problem. Now that Miao Yi had countless capable people under him, he might forget about Xu Tangran if he wasn't careful.
If he had any thoughts of looking around before, now he didn't have any. Miao Yi was already an extremely high official. As long as he didn't rebel, his official position was already at the peak. He knew that he didn't need any other thoughts now. It was enough as long as he could follow Miao Yi for the rest of his life.
The key was whether he could still follow Miao Yi was a problem. He was very worried.
Inside the Prince's Residence, the pavilions on the left and right were occasionally filled with women, admiring the magnificence of the Prince's Residence. They were all Miao Yi's new concubines. After Yan Xiu's inspection, they had already moved in and had their own courtyards. At the moment, only a small portion of them had entered. Yan Xiu was still quietly investigating the rest. On the other hand, most of the people who had already settled in didn't know who Miao Yi was. Many of them had never even seen Miao Yi's face before. However, when they came here, they saw Yang Zhaoqing. After all, Yang Zhaoqing had politely shown his face to them before.
At this moment, they noticed that Yang Zhaoqing was following behind a man. Looking at Yang Zhaoqing's attitude, they didn't even need to guess to know that the man in front of them was Miao Yi. They couldn't help but turn around to look at Miao Yi. When they realized that he exuded a heroic aura, they immediately felt a lot more at ease. After all, a man's appearance was also a standard for women to judge whether they could accept him or not.
He looked young, not bad looking, and had such great power. There were bound to be people who were interested in him. They wondered when they would be able to meet him. Their families had already warned them that if they could win Miao Yi's favor, their families would have a chance to make a comeback. With the future of their families on their shoulders, even if they were unwilling, they still had to think about how to win his favor. However, from the looks of it, there didn't seem to be any chance to get close to him. For the time being, they weren't allowed to leave their own courtyards and wander around the Prince's Residence.
Gong Nichang and Yuwen Rumeng came together. They were in the same boat and had similar statuses. There weren't many familiar faces here, so the two of them had already become friends. At this moment, they were leaning against the railing of a building, whispering in melancholy. They also noticed Miao Yi.
Unlike the others, Miao Yi brought fear and dread to the two of them. They would never forget Miao Yi's coldness and heartlessness when they first met, and even more so when they sat in the bridal chamber for a few days without seeing even a shadow of Miao Yi. In the end, it was their mother who helped them remove the red veil and told them to let it go. At that time, the two pairs of mother and daughter were in a complete mess. In the end, their parents left, leaving them all alone. The two of them could only become friends to dispel the uneasiness and fear in their hearts for the future.
Miao Yi's mind wasn't on them at all. He went straight to the restricted area of the Inner Residence.
In the main hall of the Inner Residence, Yang Qing appeared once again. He cupped his fists and welcomed Miao Yi, "Congratulations, Your Highness!"
Miao Yi smiled and stepped into the hall. He turned around and stood properly. Suddenly, he bowed to Yang Qing, who had followed him in, and said, "This time, we were able to successfully take over the Southern Army's territory. It was all thanks to Mister Yang's brilliant plan. Mister Yang deserves the greatest credit. I will first thank you here. I will seek to repay you in the future!"
Yang Qing hurriedly dodged and returned the greeting. "Your Highness is too humble. Yang Qing is only an armchair strategist. In the end, it was all thanks to the resources Your Highness has accumulated." Being polite was one thing, but he also didn't want to take credit for it.
Miao Yi didn't try to shirk the responsibility. He said in a low voice, "It was quite troublesome!"
Yang Qing smiled. "Everything has its pros and cons. At the very least, the access to the Primordial Dead Lands is now in Your Highness's hands. The Path of Enlightenment of the Purgatory has also been opened by Your Highness."
Miao Yi turned around and sat down. "There was a small hiccup. Lord Qing wants Yuan Venerate Qing to take over the Netherworld Governor's Office."
"Yuan Venerate Qing?" Yang Qing was taken aback. He raised his hand and slapped his forehead. "It was my miscalculation. How could I have forgotten about that brat? Letting Yuan Venerate Qing in is indeed a brilliant move. If everything goes according to plan, Lord Qing will probably transfer a batch of personal guards to form the Netherworld Army."
This was exactly what Miao Yi was worried about. He had been thinking that no matter who went in, they would run into trouble. Here, he and Cao Man could easily make it difficult for the other party to gain a foothold. However, if Yuan Venerate Qing led the personal guards in, Lord Qing would definitely choose reliable men to cooperate with Yuan Venerate Qing. With the absolute advantage in military power, even Cao Man wouldn't be able to do anything to Yuan Venerate Qing. Furthermore, Cao Man had already taken over the position of Family Head. From the perspective of the Xiahou Clan's interests, they probably had a long-term expectation of Yuan Venerate Qing.
As he thought about this, Miao Yi sighed. "Lord Qing can choose any of the positions in the Southern Army as a hostage. I'm afraid I have no choice but to hand over the Netherworld Army!"
Yang Qing pondered for a moment and nodded. "Now that Your Highness is in control of the Southern Army, stabilizing the overall situation is the most important thing. Now that things have come to this, we can only make compromises!"
Miao Yi couldn't help but laugh bitterly. "It's good to have a Celestial Emperor as a father. Everything has been paved for him, allowing that brat to reap the fruits of his labor so easily. Now, it seems that creating the Netherworld Governor's Office has become my own doing. If Yuan Venerate Qing imitates the way I overthrew Hao Defang and deals with me one day, I'll be in for a treat if he has the support of his father."
Yang Qing shook his head. "Everything has its pros and cons. This is true for us, and it is also true for Lord Qing. Furthermore, it is unlikely that Lord Qing will allow Yuan Venerate Qing to wield too much military power unless the day comes when Lord Qing wants to kick the bucket. A legitimate successor might be a greater threat to Lord Qing than you, so you don't have to worry at all. Furthermore, in my opinion, Yuan Venerate Qing isn't much different from Xiahou Ling. He has a smooth road ahead of him and suddenly grasps such great power. He lacks experience and won't be able to withstand the wind and rain. There's nothing to worry about. I have a good plan to deal with the father and son! "
Miao Yi's eyes lit up. "I'd like to hear the details!"
Yang Qing was silent for a while. After sorting out his thoughts, he slowly said, "Your Highness needs to continue befriending the Empress. That woman is brainless and does things according to her temperament. It won't be difficult to appease her! Your Highness also needs to befriend Yuan Venerate Qing! Zhan Ruyi is a thorn in the Empress' side. His hatred will never be appeased if he isn't eliminated. Unfortunately, Lord Qing dotes on Zhan Ruyi. Your Highness just needs to find an opportunity to provoke him a little. Lord Qing is protective and the Empress is prone to jealousy. You can imagine how Yuan Venerate Qing will feel if things go awry and Mother is humiliated. Yuan Venerate Qing might tolerate it, but if Your Highness tries to interfere, I'm afraid he won't be able to do anything about it. "
Miao Yi asked, "How?"
Yang Qing smiled. "Your Highness should take the opportunity to increase the intensity of the fire. Keep in close contact with the Empress and Yuan Venerate Qing at the same time. If necessary, let Yuan Venerate Qing take over some of the southern army's territory. As long as the troops are in Your Highness' hands, you can take back the territory at any time. In short, use all kinds of methods to let Lord Qing see that Yuan Venerate Qing wants to expand his power. Because of Zhan Ruyi's matter, both mother and son are making moves both internally and externally. How can Lord Qing not be alarmed? Once Lord Qing has the intention to control Yuan Venerate Qing, Your Highness can take the opportunity to magnify Lord Qing's intentions in front of him. How can Yuan Venerate Qing, who holds military power, just sit and wait? There will be a good show to watch between father and son! "
Miao Yi understood now. Sow discord between Lord Qing and his son! He immediately stood up and applauded. "Good! What a good plan! "
Yang Zhaoqing looked at Yang Qing and thought to himself, 'What a poison warrior!'
However, there was one thing that Yang Zhaoqing had to admit. If it weren't for Yang Qing's ingenious plan, with His Highness's strength, it would have been impossible for him to take over the southern army's territory!
After calming himself down a little, Miao Yi continued, "As you expected. Fei Hong has reported that Lord Qing is indeed planning to assassinate me. Now we still need to stall for time. We must carefully consider what excuse we can use to stall for time without arousing Lord Qing's suspicions."
Yang Qing smiled. "What's so difficult about that? Isn't there still a group of Your Highness's concubines outside? They are all women, so it would be inconvenient for a man to come into contact with them. Since Madam Hong is here, it is reasonable for her to go over and take care of things on behalf of Your Highness. This will reduce the chances of Madam Hong making a move against Your Highness. Madam Hong will also be able to answer to the Left Division of the Overseers. This is a good excuse to stall for time. "
Miao Yi immediately nodded slightly at Yang Zhaoqing, indicating that he would do as he was told.
Miao Yi then brought up another matter that worried him. "The foundation of our army is still too weak after all. We have no choice but to use some of the original troops of the southern army. No one can predict what those people are thinking!"
Hearing this, Yang Qing sighed inwardly. Miao Yi was beginning to view his subordinates with suspicion. In the past, he was vigilant, but not so fearful. In the end, it was inevitable that this person's mentality would take this step. He consoled, "Your Highness. The entire southern army's territory is so vast, and there are so many troops. Everyone will inevitably have their own selfish motives. It is impossible to make everyone satisfied and completely submit to Your Highness. If Lord Qing were to ally himself with the Buddhist Master, it would not be impossible for him to wipe out the original few magnates. The reason why he didn't do so is because he knows very well that once the old are gone, a new one will emerge. No matter who he supports to the throne, it will be inevitable. This is a cycle. He can only do his best to divide and balance them. Since ancient times, it is very unlikely that there will be a situation where one person has absolute authority over the world. The main point is to balance and control. This point is also applicable to you, Your Highness! "
Miao Yi listened and nodded, feeling slightly relieved.
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