Abdullah's meaning was very clear. He was not willing to submit to Mansur. While his words were pleasant, saying that he couldn't bear to see the Apus dynasty fall into the hands of those with ulterior motives and that he was responsible for the future of the empire, he himself was a person with ulterior motives. He had only said these words in a tactful manner to give Apus face.
If he directly told Apus that he wanted the position of Caliph and that he had to give it to him, he would be openly robbing. A smart politician would not do such a thing.
Apus understood the hidden meaning in Abdullah's words, and he was extremely worried about this. A few days ago, he had tried to probe Mansur. At the time, when Mansur had heard that Apus was planning to give him the position of Caliph, he had not refused, and his eyes had shone with excitement and anticipation. It was clear that his little brother was getting impatient.
As a result, he was caught in a dilemma. If he was healthy, he had the ability and means to weaken one of them to ensure the safety of Dynasty. However, he was bedridden and did not have the ability to weaken any one of them.
The only thing that comforted Apus was that Mansur and Abdullah were still rational and had not done anything too out of line. They still respected him, at least on the surface, and this was all he could ask for.
"Speak! What has Mansur done to make you so worried? "
Apus asked. He also wanted to know if Mansur had made any moves.
Abdullah paused for a few moments before saying, "Venerable Caliph, Your Holiness knows of the situation in Aden to the south. Ziyad and his soldiers are all there to keep Osman and Altik busy, but Your Holiness must not know! Ziyad has already returned, and he is currently in Abu Muslim's residence. This is extremely unusual. "
Apus's eyes flickered, and he forced out a cold chuckle. "My uncle, all of the important figures of Khorasan, is there anyone who is not under your surveillance? I presume that there are also people of yours at my bedside!"
After saying this, he looked at the servants at his side, causing them to tremble in fear and take a few steps back.
Abdullah did not deny it, and boldly said, "Venerable Caliph, I was worried that someone would try to harm Your Holiness, so I did not intend to see Your Holiness. As for the important figures outside, I had to ensure that they were loyal to Your Holiness. If someone were to take advantage of Your Holiness' illness to cause trouble, Your Holiness would be terrible!"
After saying this, he looked at Apus without the slightest hint of panic in his eyes. It was clear that Apus had people at his side... Apus could only submit.
Apos could only give in. He didn't continue to make things difficult for Abdullah. After a pause, he asked, "Seiyad is back? When did that happen? By the way, how's the situation in Aden? Is Artek still unwilling to surrender? .. and that damned Osman. Has he still not been eliminated? "
Abdullah said, "Ziyad just returned today, and there's been no special news from Aden. It's probably the same as before. However, Ziyad is the commander of the army. He abandoned ten thousand elite soldiers and ran back alone. If Osman and Altik suddenly attacked, the situation would be very bad. To take such a big risk and bring Ziyad back, Abu Muslim must be thinking of something. You should know that Ziyad's ability to command Khorasan cavalry is second to none."
His meaning was very clear. He was accusing Mansur of disregarding the interests of the empire and privately bringing back Ziyad to Khorasan. The deeper meaning was that he wanted to tell Apus that Mansur had privately brought back Ziyad, who was adept at commanding Khorasan cavalry, in order to prepare for the position of Caliph. He might even strike first and kill the two of them.
Apus fell into deep thought. Ziyad's return to Khorasan was such an important matter that Abdullah wouldn't lie to him, nor was there a need to. He was also confused as to why Ziyad had come back. No matter what happened in the Imperial Court, it had nothing to do with a general who had led soldiers into battle. As a famous general, how could he not understand the consequences of abandoning his army? Osman was no pushover. Without Ziyad holding the fort, ten thousand elite cavalry might not be able to defeat Osman's army.
Could it be that Mansur was really going to make his move? Apus couldn't help but consider this possibility. After all, this was a special period where anything could happen. He was also a rather suspicious person, so how could he not think about something like this?
But even if something like this really happened, he didn't have the ability to stop it. He didn't even know how many days he had left to live, and he felt very helpless and powerless.
"Relax, uncle! My uncle, I'll get someone to investigate this matter. Do you have anything else to say? "
Apus was already very tired. He didn't want to continue speaking with Abdullah, and he didn't know what to say. He knew that he couldn't convince Abdullah.
"Revered Caliph, please rest early!"
Abdullah had already finished his report, so there was naturally no need for him to stay.
He had come to meet with Apus for two reasons. The first was to report on Ziyad's return to the Khorasan, and the second was to observe Apus' complexion so that he could estimate how long Apus had left to live so that he could begin his own operation.
After Abdullah left, Apus fell into deep thought. His thoughts were similar to Abdullah's, and he had also thought of several scenarios, but he couldn't determine which one was true.
However, he was in no mood to worry about Ziyad. Although Ziyad was a renowned general, he was still just a general. What he was more concerned about was the stability of the Abbasid Dynasty that he had personally created.
From their conversation just now, it was clear that Abdullah was very unconvinced by Mansur, and Mansur was similarly unconvinced by Abdullah. Moreover, Mansur's number one supporter, Abu Muslim, had actually transferred Ziyad back to the Khorasan. What was this about? Was this the start of a war?
Apus, whose body was on the verge of collapse, was extremely worried about this, but he couldn't think of a good way to deal with it. Not only were Mansur and Abdullah evenly matched in terms of strength, they were also actively making preparations to guard against the other. Dealing with either side would not be easy. Moreover, the majority of his trusted aides had been bribed by these two. He could sense and guess at this. After all, when the tree fell, the monkeys would scatter. His trusted aides needed to find new backers.
There were also a few trusted aides who had not been bribed who were trying to find out what he was thinking. They needed to follow the right person, and they naturally needed to follow the next Caliph. If they followed the wrong person, at best, their careers would be ruined, and at worst, their lives would be forfeited.
He detested such people, but this was the truth. Even if he hated them, it was useless. He could not change anything.
In Abu Muslim's residence, Ziyad was drinking tea with Abu Muslim and discussing the current situation in the Abbasid Dynasty.
"Sir, all the factions are opposing us, and the remnants of the Umayyad Dynasty have yet to be wiped out. In these circumstances, if the empire's internal divisions begin to break apart, the empire will definitely be destroyed."
Ziyad worriedly said.
Abu Muslim chuckled and softly said, "Ziyad, you're worrying too much. Do you really think that old man Abdullah can stir up any waves? He has many soldiers under his command and occupies a lot of land, but in my eyes, he's just an incompetent person. As long as my Khorasan cavalry attack, they'll be able to quickly crush Abdullah's soldiers and avoid a drawn-out war. "
Abu Muslim was extremely confident in his ability to command soldiers and the fighting power of his Khorasani cavalry. He was confident that Abdullah would have no chance of victory if they began fighting.
Ziyad was also confident in the fighting power of the Khorasan cavalry. After some thought, he worriedly said, "If we really do fight, our chances of victory are rather high, but we'll still suffer heavy losses. This is bad for the empire."
"Losses are unavoidable. Ziyad, there's no need for you to worry about these things."
Abu Muslim didn't seem to care about these losses.
"Right, Sir, it's best if you tell Mansur about my private return as soon as possible! He's a very suspicious person, and if you don't explain it as soon as possible, he'll become suspicious. "
Ziyad kindly reminded him.
Abu Muslim chuckled and disdainfully said, "Relax! My Ziyad, Mansur desperately needs my strength. If I choose to support Abdullah, he'll have nothing. Thus, I can explain your matter, but I can also choose not to. Do you think he'll criticize me? "
It was clear that Abu Muslim was too proud. He believed that he was an indispensable and decisive force under Mansur's command, and Mansur simply couldn't do without his support. Thus, he didn't need to be too submissive to Mansur.
But he would never have imagined that he was committing a major taboo. Since ancient times, when ambitious and ruthless people were fighting for the throne, they could tolerate the arrogance and impudence of their subordinates. But once the realm was stabilized, these arrogant generals would be dealt with. The reason was very simple. These people believed that they had contributed too much and were far too arrogant and despotic. They were a serious threat to the authority of the emperor. In order for the next generation to smoothly ascend the throne, or in other words, in order for one's own throne to be stable, it was necessary to kill these founding ministers.
Thus, a talented general could either rebel and become emperor, or keep a low profile and sully their own reputation. They could not be someone who would make their master suspicious.
Although the Gaozu had agreed to Han Xin's arrogant demand for an official position, he had not been very happy. At the time, he had needed Han Xin to fight for the realm, so he naturally wouldn't have done anything. But once the realm was stabilized, he would have to deal with someone like Han Xin. This brat was too arrogant, and he didn't know how to sully his own reputation. This would threaten the authority of the emperor, so there naturally wouldn't be a good ending.
Ziyad pursed his lips. He had wanted to say a few more words of advice, but he understood his superior well, so he swallowed them back down. He knew that saying more would be useless. Abu Muslim would not listen to him, and he was also extremely worried that Mansur would come to settle accounts with Abu Muslim in the future.
If Abu Muslim really did come to settle accounts, he would not be able to escape. After all, he was Abu Muslim's trusted aide.
At this moment, Ziyad suddenly felt that there was no point in him returning to Khorasan. Although he was extremely skilled in battle, he was completely at a loss when it came to matters of the Imperial Court. Abu Muslim would not listen to his advice, and he didn't dare to casually interact with Mansur and Abdullah. As for meeting with Abbas, he didn't even dare to go, and he didn't even know what to say.
But since he was already in Khorasan, he could not be in a rush to go back. At the very least, he needed to stay a few days and chat with Abu Muslim. Even if they didn't get along very well, their relationship was very good and comfortable.
Abu Muslim was feeling much better, but he had neglected to consider what Mansur was feeling. Ever since he learned that Ziyad had returned to Khorasan, Mansur had been speculating about the reason for Ziyad's return. He felt that if Ziyad had suddenly returned, Abu Muslim would have immediately given him an explanation and let him know the truth. But after so much time had passed, Abu Muslim had not said a single word to him. It was clear that he had no intention of telling him about Ziyad's return.
Regardless of why Ziyad had returned, Mansur felt that Abu Muslim needed to tell him everything. This was what a loyal person needed to do. But Abu Muslim had not done so, leaving Mansur very dissatisfied. But because of Abdullah's existence and the fact that he still needed Abu Muslim's help, he could only endure his dissatisfaction. But since he had his suspicions, he would have to settle accounts later.
The reason Mansur had such a personality, other than genetic factors, was because the higher a person's position was, the more afraid they would be. There was a saying, "It's lonely at the top." Once a person entered the upper echelons, they would be worried about losing everything they had. They would be fearful, paranoid, and sensitive. The slightest movement would cause them to be in a state of panic.
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