"Servants, serve the wine!"
This was Zhuang Yan's main tent, so naturally, he was the host.
Zhuang Yan had close to sixty thousand soldiers under his command. He had brought almost all the soldiers he could gather from the entire Swift White Province. As the most powerful feudal lord, he seemed to have other plans.
Su Changying, Liu Xiyu, and the others sat down one after another. They looked at each other, not knowing why Zhuang Yan had called them here.
"The song and dance can begin now." Zhuang Yan said lightly.
Inside the barracks, slender women in black cloaks walked in one by one. Under the illumination of the candlelight, their beautiful faces were extremely moving. What was unimaginable was that there were actually dozens of high quality beauties hidden within the army. However, it seemed that these beauties were merely Zhuang Yan's exclusive pets.
The dancers raised their hands and untied the cloaks in front of their chests. When the cloaks fell to the ground, everyone's eyes lit up. These dancers only wore close-fitting silk dresses, which outlined their graceful figures very enchanting. Their bodies swayed gently, and it was extremely beautiful.
"Everyone, how are the beauties of my Swift White Province?" Zhuang Yan suddenly asked.
Su Changying was startled, then he smiled and said, "Very good. The Swift White Province is indeed a good place to nurture such stunning beauties."
Zhuang Yan raised his cup and laughed, "Come, let's drink to the brim first!"
No one dared to disrespect Zhuang Yan. Everyone raised their cups.
After three rounds of wine, Zhuang Yan waved his hand. Immediately, the dancers took their seats. Almost every feudal lord had a dancer beside him. Zhuang Yan squinted his eyes and smiled, "There's wine for today. Please don't let this good time go to waste. Hahaha …"
Bai Ling City's Prefect Liu Xiyu frowned and said, "Lord Zhuang Yan, I wonder why you called us here?"
Zhuang Yan said, "It's nothing important. I just wanted to invite all of you here for a banquet. Why, Prefect Liu, do you think I have something on my mind? Hahahaha … "
Liu Xiyu cupped his fists, "No, please don't think too much."
"No, I really do have something on my mind!" Zhuang Yan's voice suddenly became stern. Immediately, all the vassals looked over.
Zhuang Yan seemed to be a bit drunk as he stood up shakily. Holding a wine cup in his hand, he said, "We are all subjects of the Empire, and we have worked hard for the sake of protecting the Emperor. Today, the forces gathered by all of you here are more than ten thousand men. We have dragged out an ignoble existence in our respective cities, seized cities from the enemy, and slaughtered their soldiers. However, to this day, we have not received any rewards. Why is it that Wei Chou, Xu Jiantao, and the others have been promoted to nobility and given more contributions? Why? It's only because they are the direct subordinates of Qin Emperor Lin Muyu. I, Zhuang Yan, feel sorry for everyone here! "
Su Changying remained silent.
Liu Xiyu, on the other hand, put down his wine cup with an indignant look on his face and said, "That's right, they look down on our background and think that we are just local tyrants. The words of Ze Tian Palace have never been in our hands. Her Highness, the Empress, has only put people like Zhen Yifan, Su Yu, Lin Muyu, and Feng Jixing in important positions. She has nepotism, and vassals from other places like us will never have a chance."
"That's right!"
A burly man stood up. He was the prefectural governor of Tianshu Province, and his name was Zhou Heng. He had gathered more than twenty thousand soldiers. At this moment, his face was flushed red, and he said angrily, "We also want to serve the Empire, but why are we always inferior to others?!"
Zhuang Yan smiled faintly and said, "That's right, that's the reason. If we hand over our military power, I'm afraid that we will soon become fish on the chopping board, waiting to be slaughtered. Everyone, we have to think about our future and prospects!"
Su Changying narrowed his eyes and asked with a smile, "Then … what exactly do you think, Sir Zhuang Yan?"
Zhuang Yan laughed heartily and suddenly threw his wine cup to the ground. "The world should be governed by the people of the world. Why should one person have the final say?"
Everyone was shocked. Zhuang Yan's words were no different from treason.
Liu Xiyu frowned and said, "Sir Zhuang Yan, please be careful with your words … Her Highness is benevolent and has never done anything that would harm the common people. If your words are heard by the three dukes or Princess Xi, I'm afraid you will have to bear the consequences."
"Why? Are you afraid, Sir Liu?" Zhuang Yan smiled and pointed at the door. "The door is over there. If Sir Liu is afraid, please leave. I, Zhuang Yan, do not keep cowards in my tent."
Liu Xiyu gritted his teeth. When he came in, he saw many guards outside the tent. If he really went out, he might not have the chance to return to his tent. Zhuang Yan was a ruthless person, and there was nothing he couldn't do.
"I'm not afraid, I'm just worried," Liu Xiyu said.
"Don't worry.
As long as the feudal vassals stick together, what can they do? "Zhuang Yan said.
"Yes!"
"Yes!"
Everyone agreed in unison.
Su Changying said, "Then what does Sir Zhuang Yan want?"
Zhuang Yan said, "Doesn't Her Highness want 20% of our military strength? Then give it to her. After everyone returns to the camp, pick out the old, weak, and sick in the army and hand them over to the Ministry of War. These old and weak people were originally used to make up the numbers, so it doesn't matter if we give it to them. In addition, please gather your encampments and surround the Swift White Province's feudal army. Don't let them break through one by one. "
"Yes, that makes sense!"
Zhuang Yan squinted his eyes and said, "In addition, we have to submit a joint memorial."
"Oh, what memorial?" Su Changying was stunned.
"Power reduction. For the stability of the people of the empire, power must be reduced."
"Whose power is reduced?"
"The three dukes, four dukes, and five marquises!"
"…"
Everyone fell silent. The three dukes, four dukes, and five marquises were all important officials of the empire. Other than Yao Yuan, the Marquis of the Tranquil Sea, and Luo Xin, the Duke of the North, the rest had made great contributions to the empire. It wouldn't be easy to reduce their power.
Zhuang Yan seemed to have seen through everyone's doubts. He smiled and said, "I know that everyone thinks this is difficult, but it's actually not that difficult. We only need to submit a request. The decision can only be made by Her Highness. All we need to do is to put on a show. Only by reducing the power of the three dukes will we have a chance, right?"
"Yes!"
Everyone nodded in unison.
Liu Xiyu frowned and said, "If we were to submit a memorial like this, I'm afraid it would be no different from a rebellion. After all, Her Highness the Empress is a God State cultivator. In addition to Lin Muyu, Feng Jixing, and the others, how are we mortals going to face their might?"
"Therefore, we need someone who can make Her Highness fear and control Lin Muyu and Feng Jixing at the same time," Zhou Heng said with a smile.
"Oh?"
Zhuang Yan was stunned. "There is such a person in this world? Who is Lord Zhou Heng? "
"If I can invite this person, he will definitely be able to turn the situation around."
"Who is it?"
"Qing, allow me to keep you in suspense. Hahaha, just wait and see."
Zhou Heng said proudly, "My Heaven's Pivot Province is rich in resources and has many hidden dragons and crouching tigers. It will definitely broaden your horizons!"
…
Seven days later, at the barracks of the Ministry of War.
Early in the morning, a group of cavalrymen flew into the barracks. It was Lin Muyu and Feng Jixing. They had brought a group of guards to select new soldiers. This was a promise that Qin Yin had made to them. She had allowed the Longdan Army Camp and the Imperial Army to have priority in recruiting new soldiers. The vassals outside the city had contributed 20% of their troops, which was a total of 130,000 soldiers. It should be enough.
However, when Lin Muyu and Feng Jixing entered the drill ground, their faces turned ashen.
The drill ground was densely packed with new soldiers, but their clothes were disheveled. Almost all of them were veterans, and many of them were crippled. They couldn't even lift a spear.
"What's going on?" Wei Chou frowned. "Their average age is enough to be my father's!"
Feng Jixing sneered. "I knew it. These vassals won't be so kind as to hand over their elite troops. They are just putting up a front. We should have killed them back at Ze Tian Palace."
"If you kill them, Xiao Yin will have a hard time as the empress." Lin Muyu curled her lips.
"Then what do you think we should do?" Feng Jixing was getting impatient.
"It seems that the vassals have already begun to form an alliance. They started moving their camps a few days ago. Now, all of them are in the southern area of Lanyan City. There are a total of 600,000 to 700,000 men and horses. The amount of rations supplied to them every day is not a small amount. If this goes on, I'm afraid that Lanyan City will be emptied by them in less than half a year!"
"Yu, what should we do?" Feng Jixing asked. "We can't always be so passive and helpless, right?"
"We don't have any soldiers now, and we can't use force against them. After all, they are all people of the empire. If we use force, I'm afraid that we will lose the support of the people." Lin Muyu pondered. "How about this? Think of a way to capture the leader first. Find an opportunity to kill all the feudal lords, and their troops will naturally belong to us."
"What kind of opportunity?"
"A banquet. Brother Feng, you can host a banquet in your own residence to entertain the feudal lords."
Feng Jixing rolled his eyes. "Are you kidding me? Where would I get a residence? It's not like you don't know that I've been freeloading in the imperial army's barracks ever since I returned to Lanyan City. However, it's better to host a banquet in your residence."
Lin Muyu glared at him. "Do you think I have a residence? Have you forgotten that I've been freeloading at Xiao Yin's place for seven or eight days? "
"Then what should we do?"
"Let Duke Fan host? The Divine Marquis's residence is still very big … "
"That's good too. We'll discuss it with Duke Fan."
"Okay!"
Zeng Yifan, who was drinking his morning tea, suddenly sneezed.
"What's wrong, father?" Zeng Fang asked.
Zeng Yifan rubbed his nose and said, "I have a feeling that something bad is coming."
"Oh, what could it be?"
A guard's voice came from outside the door. "Duke Fan, Prince Qin, Prince Xin, and Duke Wei are here!"
"Sure enough, something bad is coming!"
Zeng Yifan squinted his eyes and smiled. "These people are definitely not good."
Zeng Fang: "…"
…
Ten minutes later, Zeng Yifan's face was ashen after listening to Lin Muyu's words.
"Duke Fan, please make a decision with benevolence and justice!"
Lin Muyu said, "Brother Feng and I don't have a decent residence in Lanyan City. Your Divine Marquis's residence is so spacious. Moreover, with your reputation, the feudal lords will definitely come!"
Zeng Yifan took a deep breath. "When will the banquet be held?"
"Three days later."
"Then … alright …" Zeng Yifan raised his head and looked at Lin Muyu and Feng Jixing. "Does Her Highness know about this?"
"I don't know."
"The two of you are really daring."
"Duke Fan is too kind!"
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