Hsu Fengnian entered the carriage. There was still only Xu Zhihu and Princess Jing 'an inside. Hsu Fengnian sat cross-legged, leaning against the wall of the carriage, his brows tightly furrowed.
Xu Zhihu was somewhat distressed. He reached out and smoothed his younger brother's brows.
Hsu Fengnian smiled somewhat bitterly.
Was the delicate situation in Beiliang already so clear that even Cao Changqing could see through it with a glance? How many emperors, especially the founding emperors of previous dynasties, didn't borrow a knife to kill people and then withdraw the knife and stab the companions by their side who were originally in charge of the knife? Dogs were raised to bite people to guard against thieves. If the thieves were gone, how could the dogs be kept to waste rations? But Beiliang was not a dynasty after all. It was divided into territories and occupied a remote corner of the country. No matter what, Xu Xiao was called the Second Emperor. Nominally, he still had to be respectful and reverent to the one in the capital. Allowing him to slaughter people and carry a knife to the palace was a vast and mighty act of Heaven. It was to let the restless Beimang know that the imperial court would not be so foolish as to destroy their own thousand-year foundation. While Xu Xiao was ambitious and ruthless, he was not the kind of cold-hearted person who would cook the hound after the cunning rabbit had been caught. He would also not treat the old generals of Beiliang with indifference. On the contrary, Hsu Fengnian knew better than anyone that Xu Xiao had spent most of his time and energy appeasing and taking care of his former subordinates and descendants. The imperial court seemed to be enjoying this and did not tire of it. The pressure they exerted on him was just right. They did not force him, a prince with a different surname, to rebel, but they also did not let Xu Xiao be truly comfortable. Yan Jiexi, who had betrayed Beiliang, was a typical example.
Intentionally or unintentionally, the white-clothed Confucian had monopolized Chen Zhibao's power and had his own team. Even if it was not as exaggerated as having as many generals as clouds and scholars as rain, it was not too far off. Moreover, the saying that one Chen Zhibao could fight half of West Chu was said by the late Emperor himself in front of Xu Xiao and all the civil and military officials in the Baohe Palace before his death.
Chen Zhibao was widely acknowledged to be the best at national wars. His ability to mobilize more than a hundred thousand troops was superb. It was said that he remembered the names of every captain, as well as their strengths and weaknesses in leading the troops. Opportunities were fleeting, but Chen Zhibao was always able to make the finishing touch in the deployment of troops. The battle of the Western Fortress lasted three days and nights. Chen Zhibao did not sleep or rest. Behind him, the commanding soldiers who held the flag were rotated in six batches of eighteen people. The military historian who was in charge of recording the entire process wrote no less than ten lines of paper. From beginning to end, Chen Zhibao, dressed in white, did not move an inch. Under his countless precise orders, the last several hundred thousand youths of West Chu were exhausted and killed.
It was rumored that when the Emperor read the record, he read it over and over again. The highlights were circled countless times, and at the end of the scroll, he wrote eight words: Truly fascinating, worthy of being called the War Immortal!
In these two years, Hsu Fengnian had no choice but to imagine that if Chen Zhibao, whose reputation and prestige at that time was comparable to the other War Immortal in white, had agreed to the Emperor's request and rushed to Nanjiang, would Beiliang have been simpler? All these years, Xu Xiao had never mentioned anything about his adopted son, Chen Zhibao. Although Hsu Fengnian was his Royal Highness, he did not know Xu Xiao's true inner thoughts.
If one were to say that Xu Xiao had kept Chen Zhibao as a whetstone, it was even less likely that he would slaughter all of the meritorious veterans to pave the way for his successor. After Chen Zhibao, the White-clothed War Immortal, became so powerful that it was impossible to get rid of him. Was he really not afraid that Hsu Fengnian would lose to Chen Zhibao? Would he, who had spent decades in the military, lose everything in the end? As long as Chen Zhibao treated him coldly in Beiliang, how could Hsu Fengnian truly not care about anything else?
Xu Zhihu calmly looked at his younger brother, who was deep in thought. Belatedly, he was shocked. "That Cao Changqing's surname is Cao, and he can make the old God of Swords so nervous. Could he be Cao Guanzi?"
Hsu Fengnian, who had come back to his senses, said helplessly, "Unfortunately, you were right. This person is the Great Officer who went to the Imperial Palace to play hide-and-seek with the Han cats when he was bored. "
Princess Jing An was not stupid. Jiang Ni's surname was Jiang. She was a servant girl, but when she interacted with His Royal Highness, when did she have the slightest awareness of being a servant? Pei Nanwei laughed coldly. "It's one thing to secretly hide the fallen princess, but the old officials of West Chu came knocking on your door. How will Your Highness explain this to the capital? If the Jiangnan scholars find out about this, they will exaggerate it and provoke the Emperor's anger. Won't Your Highness come aggressively in high spirits and leave dejectedly with a face full of dust? "
Hsu Fengnian's mood had already hit rock bottom. He said unhappily, "It's not your turn to be secretly happy. If I'm at peace, your life will be more comfortable. If I'm not at peace, how good can you be? With your tolerance, to be able to become the princess consort of Jing An Palace, Zhao Heng must be blind with his discerning eyes. On top of that, there's Zhao Xun, who covets your body. This family is unfortunate. I saved you from the abyss of suffering. It's fine if you're not grateful, but you dare to take joy in my misfortune? Have you forgotten the taste of being slapped in the face with the Embroidered Winter Scabbard? "
Pei Nanwei only laughed coldly.
Cao Changqing and Jiang Ni's true identities will be revealed. This matter is indeed troublesome. "Xu Zhihu said with a headache," The old swordsman in the tea room mentioned Cao Guanzi's name. Based on Xu Huipong's cautious nature, she will definitely say it to the old Consecrators. "
Hsu Fengnian thought about it and smiled. "Troublesome is troublesome, but it's not a big deal. Although those shrewd old bastards in the Jiangnan Scholar Group aren't good people and like to fish in troubled waters, they may not be willing to shed all pretense of cordiality with our Beiliang. What's the benefit of having a death grudge with Xu Xiao? Boorish men use their blades, scholars use their mouths, and the well water doesn't interfere with the river water. Unless it's absolutely necessary, there won't be a desperate fight between pen and knife. That's fine, I've killed a few low-level scholars. Now that Cao Guanzi has come out to stir things up, I'll just treat it as giving the old family heads something to use against me. This way, their hearts will be balanced and they won't feel like they've lost face. If nothing unexpected happens, before I leave Yangchun, someone will come to remind me. It'll be nothing more than 'Your Highness, it's wrong of you to kill someone. We've caught your tail this time in Yangzhou, but it's fine, we'll let bygones be bygones and turn a blind eye to it. Therefore, Your Highness, shouldn't you restrain yourself a little and stop making a ruckus? It's not good for everyone.' That kind of boring tone, haha.
Xu Zhihu listened to his younger brother imitating the old pedant's tone and nodded vigorously. He couldn't help but hold his belly and laugh.
Princess Jing An couldn't believe it and muttered, "State affairs are such a trifling matter?"
Hsu Fengnian sneered and said, "Trifling matter? How is this a trifling matter? Do you really think that aristocratic families are favored by the imperial court? That they have to wag their tails and beg for mercy from the emperor? State affairs are state affairs, how can they be compared to family affairs? If that's really the case, then wouldn't all those princesses who couldn't marry into the aristocratic families and princes who couldn't marry into the aristocratic families for hundreds of years have suffered humiliation in vain? "
Hsu Fengnian knocked his head against the wall of the carriage and flicked the embroidered winter on his knee with his finger. He narrowed his eyes and smiled. "It's only been twenty years. A centipede dies but doesn't fall down. It's hard to say what will happen in the future. It has to be said that Xu Xiao is really fierce. Ten aristocratic families with intertwined roots that don't recognize the emperor and only recognize the family, he chopped melons and vegetables like cutting vegetables. Those emperors who died at Xu Xiao's hands might have one or two clever people who died with a smile. How could our emperor tolerate so many potholes from the four clans of Yangzhou appearing in the courtyard of a flat expanse of land? Bestowing the title of king and holding the fort in all directions was for the sake of cutting flesh with a blunt knife and slowly cleaning up these stubborn skin diseases. There were pros and cons to this action, but taking ten thousand steps back, if these powerful vassals wanted the position of emperor, regardless of victory or defeat, wouldn't they still be surnamed Zhao? Wouldn't the world still belong to the Zhao family? In fact, in the Spring and Autumn War, the ones who lost the most were Princess Pei's arrogant families. The current scholars are clamoring and cursing fiercely, but Xu Xiao wasn't afraid because he had calculated the emperor's thoughts. I dare to kill people in Yangzhou for the same reason. Princess Pei, why don't we make a bet? Right now, the scholars of Jiangnan are working with the students of the Imperial College to accuse me of ignoring the laws of the country and committing crimes. Let's bet on who will be beaten down by the emperor with a plank? "
Princess Jing 'an nodded and said, "Alright! I don't believe that the emperor won't even give you a verbal punishment! "
Hsu Fengnian struck while the iron was hot and said, "You think about the wager."
Pei Nanwei was also decisive and said in a low voice, "Alright."
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