Chapter 415 - 413: He Is Still a Powerful Courtier (First Update)

Chapter 415: Chapter 413: He Is Still a Powerful Courtier (First Update)

Xiao Yi seemed too lazy to even glance at Zhao Jingming. He reached out to touch the teapot on the table, feeling that the tea inside was warm, before pouring a cup for Xu Jing, and said, "If you chase after them now, can you stop them from escaping? Based on today’s situation, it’s likely that ever since the former He Dong Jiedu Shi Li Yuan was captured by us, they started secretly mobilizing troops, planning today’s surprise attack.

And it was only after the new year that we began closely monitoring the Jiang Family and started dispatching troops to the Western Capital. Now, before our main forces have arrived, the Jiang Family has run away."

Zhao Jingming thought about the unexpectedly large number of troops from the Jiang Family today and couldn’t help but open his mouth, unable to say a word.

Indeed, what’s the use of chasing after them? When their main forces haven’t yet been deployed, and most of the troops remain in the palace to protect the Holy Emperor, chasing after them would mean getting beaten.

Xiao Yi also poured himself a cup of tea, took a slow sip, and continued, "Duke Xing is not a simple person. He knew that our main forces would arrive at the Western Capital in a few days, so he chose today to break through the city gates and escape."

Zhao Jingming was completely speechless, seeing Xiao Yi and Xu Jing leisurely drinking tea, he pretended to be angry and said, "Xiao Yanci, you’re pouring tea, so why not pour me a cup as well? I’ve found that you’re becoming more partial to close friends and family."

Xiao Yi put down the tea cup and looked at him with a confused expression, "As if I’ve ever poured for you before."

Zhao Jingming: "..."

Indeed, he hasn’t!

This guy has had a terrible temperament since childhood, and unless he’s in an exceptionally good mood, he would never lower himself to pour tea for him.

Zhao Jingming twitched at the corner of his mouth and resignedly poured himself a cup of tea, glancing at Xiao Yi as he said, "Why do I feel that you’re not worried at all? Are you and my brother hiding some backup plan from me?"

The Jiang Family has fled, and it seems the Great Chu is on the verge of turmoil. Even if he knows chasing them won’t help, it’s really not the time to be calmly drinking tea!

Xu Jing also silently looked at Xiao Yi upon hearing this.

This was a question she wanted to ask as well.

Xiao Yi noticed Xu Jing’s gaze and couldn’t help but curl his mouth with a helpless smile, saying, "What backup plan could we have? We have to admit when we’re less competent. Although they’ve run, I know they wouldn’t dare make any significant move at this time. Our main forces may not have arrived yet, but they are already close to the Western Capital. When the Jiang Family began their raid tonight, Prince Zhao sent someone with an urgent dispatch, instructing them to turn and closely pursue the Jiang Family group.

For several major local garrisons, we had previously warned them to remain on the defensive tonight and guard against the Jiang Family seizing the opportunity of tonight’s chaos to take over the towns of Great Chu."

Xu Jing asked, "Do you know where the Jiang Family is heading?"

It seems he hasn’t been idle these days and has done a lot indeed.

Xiao Yi nodded, pointing with his right index finger at the tea in his cup, then lightly touched a spot on the upper right of the table, his eyes deep and solemn, "During this time, we found that among the existing Military Governors, those with the most clandestine troop movements were the Pinglu Jiedu Envoy in the northeastern part of Great Chu and the Beiting Jiedu Envoy. Based on investigations by our Hidden Guards secretly placed within the Jiang Family, it’s known that the Jiang Family has been in correspondence with these two Jiedu Envoys, though their letters are kept very secret, and our people have yet to see the contents.

Yet it’s not hard to guess that the Pinglu Jiedu Envoy and Beiting Jiedu Envoy have always been in collusion with the Jiang Family. The most likely possibility for the Jiang Family’s escape is to rendezvous with them."

Zhao Jingming couldn’t help but gasp, "The Pinglu Jiedu Envoy is among the most powerful of the current Jiedu Envoys, with a force of over a hundred and fifty thousand troops. The late emperor always wanted to weaken him but found him to be a tough nut, refusing both carrot and stick.

The Beiting Jiedu Envoy’s forces are slightly weaker but still number eighty thousand troops.

Moreover, we don’t know if there are other Jiedu Envoys colluding with them. If they all band together, this war won’t be easy to fight..."

Xiao Yi glanced at him and said calmly, "To my knowledge, the Jiang Family has attempted to collude with other Jiedu Envoys, but those others have yet to give a definitive response. This war shouldn’t be escalated; the current priority for other Jiedu Envoys should be stability. In fact, early in the year, the Holy Emperor covertly sent envoys to meet with several other Jiedu Envoys, probing their stance and making the promise that as long as they assist him in defending Great Chu and ensuring stability, the Wei Royal Family will not remove them from their positions as Jiedu Envoys for as long as they remain in power."

Zhao Jingming’s eyes widened, "Can they do that?! But... but hasn’t the Holy Emperor always aspired to eliminate all powerful Jiedu Envoys and centralize military authority?"

"Matters should be prioritized, and for the sake of Great Chu and its people, some sacrifices are inevitable."

Xiao Yi tapped his forefinger on the table, "The Holy Emperor knows this well. Besides, although he promised not to depose them as Jiedu Envoys, there are more solutions to eliminate the remaining Jiedu Envoys than just forcibly removing them."

Everyone present was shrewd enough to catch the implicating nuances in Xiao Yi’s words.

Though the Holy Emperor promised not to remove them directly, once the war settles, methods to undermine their power and turn them into mere figureheads, or make them willingly resign, are all ways to fulfill his wishes.

There is never only one path to a destination.

Xu Jing pondered for a moment and said, "Would they be willing?"

Among those several Jiedu Envoys, surely there are also clever individuals.

Xiao Yi turned to Xu Jing, lowering his voice with a rare touch of arrogance, "The remaining Jiedu Envoys have relatively weak forces. The Holy Emperor directly assigned Cui Han and Ning Yuanjie, who now serves as the Inspector of Yuanzhou, to lead troops to negotiate with them."

Yuanzhou is where the troops of the former He Dong Jiedu Shi were stationed. After the court eliminated the He Dong Jiedu Shi, they merged the other prefectures from his jurisdiction into Yuanzhou and appointed Ning Yuanjie as Inspector.

Cui Han’s forces are quite strong, although not as formidable as those of Pinglu Jiedu Envoy, they still amount to about a hundred and twenty thousand troops. Ning Yuanjie, being a trusted confidant of the Holy Emperor and stationed at the border, naturally has a commendable number of troops, totaling a hundred and fifty thousand.

With the two of them negotiating with those minor Jiedu Envoys with such a display of troops...

That’s not negotiation; it’s practically blatant coercion!

Xu Jing silently looked up at the sky, truly realizing for the first time that her own husband is indeed a power player, a master of politics with a heart as dark as night!

Nevertheless, although they couldn’t prevent the Jiang Family from escaping, their preliminary work successfully minimized the potential impact of this conflict.

Zhao Jingming was left astonished, and finally, with a bit of reluctance, he pursed his lips, "I knew you were hiding some backup plan from me. So it turns out that you and my brother had already done so much work beforehand."

He... he’s just a few years younger than them!

If he were a little older, he surely wouldn’t fall short of them!

But Xu Jing suddenly turned to Xiao Yi and said, "Oh, by the way, Jiang Erlang said something strange to me earlier. He said that the Wei Royalty had previously oppressed the Jiang Family, and that everything they are doing is merely to reclaim what rightfully belongs to them."