Demoness, where are you Fleeing to?
Chapter 801 - 660: Far-Sighted Li Qianzhi

Chapter 801: Chapter 660: Far-Sighted Li Qianzhi

"This little rascal!"

Li Xuan, disregarding all decorum, burst into cursing.

He wiped the urine off his face, glaring furiously at little Yu Youlong in his hands, yet the child responded with peals of laughter, showing no fear.

Yu Hongshang also let out a chuckle and quickly snatched back little Youlong, "Someone, take the County Prince of Fenyang to change his clothing."

After a short while, Li Xuan returned with a gloomy expression. He saw little Yu Youlong now dressed in new clothes, sitting on Yu Hongshang’s lap, still blinking his large eyes innocently at him.

Li Xuan could not help but smile helplessly, then turned to look at Yu Hongshang, "Hongshang, for what purpose have you summoned me? Is it concerning today’s court meeting?"

His voice paused, his brow slightly furrowing, "Although it is the mourning period of the late emperor, Hongshang, you should have attended as well. Many officials were discussing it today."

"Let them discuss, it matters not to the situation at court."

Yu Hongshang replied coldly, then continued to gaze steadily at the little Yu Youlong in her arms, "The court has you and the Grand Secretary, along with Shaofu Yu to deter and uphold it; lacking me will hardly leave the people’s hearts unsettled. The Emperor governs without exertion, isn’t this the situation those literati desire most?

Moreover, there are matters of varying urgency and importance. For me, the court affairs are currently of no consequence; this child is what’s essential."

She thought about how, if she were distracted by court affairs and something happened to Youlong, what would be done?

This wasn’t an unfounded worry. Her own father had been cursed to death, and her brother has been comatose till now, which reflected the treacherous nature of the palace.

If it weren’t absolutely necessary, Yu Hongshang would not want Youlong to be the emperor, thrust into this perilous pit.

If something were to happen to the child, not only would Yu Hongshang regret it for a lifetime, but the order within the court would also collapse.

How would the hair attach itself if the skin were no more?

Thus, Yu Hongshang currently distrusted anyone within the palace, even the close attendants she had brought up by her side.

Her brother, Yu Jianji, was also surrounded by reliable people chosen by their father, yet he was plotted against soon after becoming the Crown Prince.

"Besides, Xuan, you are here, aren’t you? If there is anything that I must attend to personally, I certainly will not ignore it. But today’s court session is not such an occasion—so why should I bother?"

Li Xuan was rendered speechless, and then thought to himself, well, have it your way.

In the current institution of the Jin Dynasty, it’s permissible for an emperor not to attend court for decades.

The system of the Jin Dynasty was similar to that of the Ming Dynasty, and the peculiar cases of the Jiajing and Wanli emperors from Ming who hadn’t attended court for decades still received decent historical assessments. One was titled ’Emperor of Age’ and the other ’Emperor of Divine Strategy,’ both top-tier temple names.

Such emperors were verbally disliked by the literati, but inwardly, they were exactly what they preferred.

If Emperor Chongzhen of the Ming had only been willing to follow their example, perhaps the Ming might have stood a chance of being salvaged.

Yu Hongshang then resumed a serious expression, her eyes flashing sharply, "This time I have called you here to inquire about the nobles involved in the coup. Xuan, are you truly confident in thoroughly purging these traitors without leaving troubles for the future?"

She knew these nobles had all explicitly or covertly participated in the palace coup and were among the main culprits behind her father’s death.

Yu Hongshang had come to loathe these people to her very bones and would not miss any chance to obliterate them completely.

The issue was that with the current internal and external troubles of the Jin court, Yu Hongshang worried that pushing these people too hard could further worsen the situation.

She needed to understand Li Xuan’s thoughts to see if there was a need for her to compromise.

Li Xuan replied calmly, "Speaking directly might not be illustrative enough, please bring up the map of the Jin Dynasty!"

Soon, someone brought a map, laying it out before Li Xuan and Yu Hongshang on a table.

Li Xuan pointed at the map, "Hongshang, look, Jizhou Town is now in my hands, Jingying is controlled by Yu Jie, the transport Zongdu is my father Earl Chengyi, the naval Canjiang of Yangzhou is my brother Li Yan, the naval Zongbing of Chongming Island is my father’s old subordinate, and the Tidu of the Caojiang navy is Duke Duan Dong. The Zongdu of Sichuan is Li Wenhuan, a deep-seated minister of the former emperor in his princely mansion. Hongshang, what are your thoughts now?"

So-called ’deep-seated’ refers to the residence of the emperor before his accession. This Li Wenhuan, before Emperor Jingtai ascended the throne, had already served as a senior official in his prince’s mansion, a true confidant.

Yu Hongshang looked at the map, her eyes involuntarily gleaming with a unique brilliance, "Are you suggesting that although our Great Jin appears to be unstable, its foundations are actually still solid?"

The Grand Canal and the Yangtze River, key financial and granary regions of the Jin, were still under firm control.

"Therefore, this is an excellent opportunity to cleanse the armies of Weisuo in the north, and possibly the only chance."

Li Xuan’s eyes glinted brightly, "Hongshang, did you know, a few days ago when I returned to the capital? There were four Wei commanders in Jizhou that paid lip service but acted differently, with thirty-seven Qianhu who disobeyed openly or covertly, some even attempting to destroy bridges and roads to block my troops. If this is happening in Jizhou Town, what about other Weisuos?"

Prior to the battle of Chengde, Li Xuan had significantly rearranged the military officers in Jizhou Town, replacing and promoting those he trusted.

Even so, after the palace coup, Li Xuan could not manage Jizhou Town as if it were an extension of his own arm. On his way back to the Capital City, he faced numerous obstacles.

"—These northern generals harbor a deep resentment towards us, having completely lost the integrity and bottom line of being subjects and generals. If the Court were to condone this, it would only make them more unruly.

These men could support the restoration of the Zhengtong Emperor for their own interests today; can you guarantee they won’t commit any audacious acts in the future? In such a situation, how can I dare to lead the army to quell the rebellion confidently?"

"Xuan, you’re right," Yu Hongshang reflected thoughtfully, "If we cannot truly control Jizhou, Datong, Xuanfu, and other towns, then Jianling Emperor will serve as a warning."

During Emperor Taizong’s difficulty in pacifying chaos, the military power difference between Jianling Emperor and Emperor Taizong was more than thirtyfold.

Yet at that time, less than ten percent of Weisuo Institute’s army was truly willing to die in battle for the Court.

This was because the Great Ancestor had executed many meritorious officials in his later years, and Jianling Emperor heavily employed civil officials, which significantly weakened the Court’s control over the Weisuo Institute’s army.

Many local Weisuo commanders sympathized with Emperor Taizong at the time; some were passive in battle, while others directly defected to Emperor Taizong.

"In that case, Xuan, your methods should be even more decisive, not giving them a chance to react."

She thought to herself that this matter should still be handled by the Inner Chang and the Xiuyiwei.

Xuan was a gentleman of Haoqi Liuli; although he was not an easily deceived, conservative Confucian, he understood cunning politicking. However, he still held a high regard for the Court’s laws and regulations.

The problem was, in times like these, how could anyone still talk about rules and evidence?

It only made sense to take down these northern generals’ trusted followers promptly and clean up their influence in the border army.

If these men were not removed swiftly, indeed, they posed a significant hidden danger.

Li Xuan was unaware of Yu Hongshang’s thoughts, his robe sleeve sweeping as he said, "It must be done with the force of thunder and lightning!"

At the moment, his forty thousand Shenji Camp was garrisoned in the Capital City, with Yu Jie’s ten battalions and Sanqian Camp stationed in Datong.

Jizhou, Datong, Xuanfu, or wherever else there might be a problem, they could all be swiftly pacified.

As long as these three crucial towns were stable, other places like Liaodong and Guyuan were just peripheral issues, irrelevant to the overall situation.

"There is another matter,"

Yu Hongshang then presented a talisman paper to Li Xuan, "This is a report from the Xiuyiwei. It states that Prince Yi, Yu Jianshen, has already fled to Shaanxi. He entered the city alone on horseback, convinced the governor of Shaanxi to help him raise troops, and in just three days, he captured many surrounding counties and gathered more than a hundred thousand soldiers.

The Xiuyiwei informed that Prince Yi, Yu Jianshen, must have some powerful support unknown to us; he has many experts around him, already known to have seven at the heavenly level."

"It must be Jinque Heaven Palace."

Li Xuan glanced at it casually, then set it aside, "No need to worry about it for now; just instruct the local military and officials to resist step by step. Our current primary enemy is not Prince Yi."

"Oh?"

Yu Hongshang was somewhat puzzled, "If it’s Jinque Heaven Palace supporting him, wouldn’t the situation be more terrifying? The power of Prince Yi could sweep through Shaanxi and Gansu, even threatening Henan."

Li Xuan shook his head, "Even if he occupies all these places, what of it? The western regions have long lost the vitality to vie for supremacy."

In the Tang Dynasty, the lands in the western regions were overly exploited. By now, the food production there had significantly declined compared to the Tang times by nearly thirty percent, making most places barren.

Even in this world where mystic arts manifested, the yield per acre there was less than three and a half stone.

While in places like Henan and north Zhili, the yield per acre could reach four stone, and in the superior rice fields of the south, it could reach as much as eight stone.

Another world’s Li Zicheng also started gaining the strength to overthrow the Ming Dynasty only after capturing areas around Xiangfan and beginning to farm there.

Yu Hongshang pondered for a moment, then asked, "So are you planning to start pacifying rebellions from Xiangyang? The Court can’t ignore both Prince Yi and Prince Xiang, can they?"

Li Xuan pointed to a location on the map, "My target is here!"

His eyes gleamed sharply, "Whether in governing a country or an army, money and grain are of utmost importance! Only with sufficient money and grain can we stabilize the military, buy firearms, and even recruit those at the heavenly level.

Jinque Heaven Palace’s Dasiming knows nothing of military strategy, so he’s fully supporting Prince Yi, Yu Jianji. But the true threat to the Great Jin, the one that can endanger us, is here, and we can’t wait for Dasiming to realize it."

Yu Hongshang was convinced, her admiration for Li Xuan’s military strategy and foresight growing.

Just then, someone hurriedly entered from outside the palace.

It was a palace maid by Yu Hongshang’s side, "Your Highness, the County Prince of Fenyang. A subordinate of His Highness, Dugu Biluo from the Xiuyi Baihu, requests an audience outside. He says that the County Prince’s mother, Madam Liu, has arrived in the Capital City, and asks the County Prince to return to the mansion as soon as possible."

Li Xuan was startled by the news, thinking to himself why his mother had come to the Capital City without even notifying him?