Demoness, where are you Fleeing to?
Chapter 817 - 676 Quanzhou Good News

Chapter 817: Chapter 676 Quanzhou Good News

Li Xuan and his companion had just crossed Juyong Pass in their Red Thunder Chariot when they were stopped by a Darkdragon Guard sent by Yu Hongshang.

According to this Darkdragon Guard, The Court wished for Li Xuan to stay outside the city for a few days and then hold a grand triumphant celebration to stabilize public sentiment and promote national prestige.

However, Li Xuan rejected this proposal, using the mourning period of the Emperor as a reason. He thought to himself where would he find the time to participate in such a triumphal celebration?

This mere nominal reputation held no benefit for him at this point.

Yu Jie also declined, as he also had no liking for such ostentatious matters.

Nonetheless, Li Xuan understood the intentions of The Court’s regent ministers, so he handed over Totaabuqa Khan and the three Mongol Taiji he had captured.

With these four individuals, and with additional prisoners and captured military equipment sent from Xuanfu, The Court could organize a decent presenting of prisoners ceremony, which would address the doubts of the people and confirm this significant victory.

Throughout this process, Li Xuan kept observing Yu Hongshang’s "Darkdragon Guard".

This was a recently selected member of the Darkdragon Guard who was still very unskilled in controlling Dragon Qi, causing it to leak out.

Li Xuan estimated this person’s strength, which should’ve been at the level of the 12th house level.

Within the palace, this person could reach the power of the middle heaven level, and within a hundred miles around Beijing and Nanjing City, he was at the peak of the sub-heavenly level.

Outside of this range, his strength would dramatically decrease, falling below that of the normal sub-heavenly level.

The further he was from the Capital City, the less Dragon Qi he could control.

However, with just six such "Darkdragon Guards", the safety of the Capital City could be ensured.

Afterward, the two continued to drive the Red Thunder Chariot into the city. Yu Jie did not accompany Li Xuan to the palace for an audience with the court; he got off the chariot and left when it flew over to the north of the imperial city, near the Beian Gate.

An urgent matter had arisen in the Ministry of War that required his immediate attention.

It concerned several armories the Ministry of War had established in Tianjin, where five flanged cannons, fifty Hudun cannons, and two thousand muskets, all guarded by the storekeepers, had been stolen, making these firearms vanish without a trace. It was highly likely that they had been delivered to Prince Yi in Shaanxi.

Originally, this matter was tightly concealed by local officials.

But after Li Xuan’s victorious battle against the Mong Wu, someone immediately exposed it, reporting the incident to the Xiuyiwei.

This issue had caused a great stir within The Court, and as Minister of War, Yu Jie could not shirk his responsibility.

Although there was also a left Shilang of the Ministry of War, Shang Hong, he had been marginalized by Yu Jie to only manage the affairs of Zhisi.

The main responsibility of Zhisi was to analyze military affairs throughout the land, formulate military plans, undertake military coordination, and to provide military maps, intelligence, marching routes, and bridge building during combat, among other tasks.

This role was not only arduous and risky, it hardly held any real power, let alone any perks.

Hence, the matter of Tianjin’s armories couldn’t fall onto Shang Hong’s shoulders.

Li Xuan then went alone on the divine carriage to Qianqing Palace. When he descended from the carriage, entering into Yu Hongshang’s bedroom, he saw a figure in plain white rushing towards him, embracing him tightly.

The strength was so great it nearly broke his waist.

Startled, he looked around immediately, only to find that the palace maids and eunuchs had all disappeared from sight.

Relieved, Li Xuan secretly praised Yu Hongshang’s control over her people and with a smile asked, "Shang, why are you so enthusiastic today?"

At that moment, he noticed a slight change in expression. He could feel Yu Hongshang’s magnanimity was extraordinary, surpassing the past, and he also smelled the familiar scent of milk.

Li Xuan’s senses were still fluttering when he noticed Little Yu Youlong lying on the bed, staring unblinkingly at them with round, curious eyes.

"It’s nothing." Yu Hongshang leaned her forehead against Li Xuan’s chest, her eyes dimming slightly.

She had missed this scoundrel, and perhaps the Emperor’s death had left her spirit unusually fragile.

During the days Li Xuan had been away from the Capital City, outside of handling state affairs, she found herself thinking most about Li Xuan.

The world was vast, yet only Li Xuan could give her warmth, give her support; even her own Empress Mother couldn’t do so.

However, in the next instant, Yu Hongshang was poked by Li Xuan’s waist knife. She blushed, stepped back a few paces, then spat, "Why are you like a monkey?"

—Always in heat, regardless of the situation or place.

Li Xuan’s lips twitched slightly, "Can you blame me? Who asked you to lean in so close?"

If it weren’t for the fact that it was Yu Hongchang’s father’s mourning period and the location was inappropriate, he would have taken her down right there and then.

Li Xuan had great respect for the Jingtai Emperor, and in an era that emphasized propriety, some matters could not be neglected.

His expression then turned solemn as he pulled out a Tiger Talisman and stamped letters from his sleeve, holding them before Yu Hongchang, "This battle at Xuanfu, your servant has finally lived up to his mission. These items can now be returned."

These were the symbols of military authority that Yu Hongchang had granted him when he took control of the army at Xuanfu.

Although the army of Weisuo was under the overall control of the Military Commission, it was only responsible for daily training, military affairs, armament, garrison, and other matters.

Without the Tiger Talisman and stamped letters issued by The Court, there was no right to mobilize troops.

Yu Hongchang, however, didn’t seem to care much; with a wave of her sleeve, she casually placed these items on the bookshelf nearby.

She knew that for a commander like Li Xuan, who had immense personal charm and deep military loyalty, such objects were practically superfluous.

If Li Xuan valued them, then these two objects were indeed Tiger Talismans and stamped letters.

If Li Xuan lost respect for The Court, they would mean nothing.

Li Xuan was then ready to follow procedure and report on the battle situation at Xuanfu.

But Yu Hongchang wasn’t interested as the Xiuyiwei had already provided her with all the details of the Xuanfu battle.

If it were a regular imperial audience, not only would Yu Hongchang patiently listen to Li Xuan’s entire report, but she would also, based on the personality and specific circumstances of the subject, give praise, win them over, or interrogate and warn them accordingly.

However, she had never regarded Li Xuan as a subject nor did she wish to use methods of control on him.

She walked directly to the writing desk, fetched several stamped letters, and handed them to Li Xuan, "These are the latest military intelligence from the Xiuyiwei. You might want to have a look—"

Without any hesitation, Li Xuan took them and glanced over the contents, his brows arching slightly.

Yu Hongchang explained, "It’s mainly about two issues, not only the Tianjin Arsenal. After the major incident at the arsenal, the Xiuyiwei examined the armories in Shanxi and Henan and found that some of them were also empty, indicating that Empress Sun had a premeditated plan and Shaanxi was their fallback position.

Additionally, son of Prince Xiang, Yu Qiyong, announced his rebellion under the pretext of purging the court in Xiangyang City, supported by the guards and troops of Prince Xiang’s mansion. After seizing Xiangyang, he dispatched an army of ninety thousand to march north towards Xinye, ravaging the counties along the way.

Xueshi Shang stated that Yu Qiyong’s intention is to take over Dengzhou and Nanyang Government, forming a pincer with Prince Yi in Shaanxi, creating a coordinated stance."

Li Xuan had come to the same conclusion, but he felt slightly relieved, thinking if Yu Qiyong had headed south to Huguang instead, that would have been the real trouble.

Now during the critical time for spring plowing, a war in Huguang would disrupt the planting season, creating a much bigger issue.

In terms of tactics, Yu Qiyong’s move was advantageous, but in the broader scheme, it was rather foolish.

Therefore, a smile appeared on his face, "As expected. In the Nanyang area, Shaobao and I are prepared and can hold it. As for Shaanxi, as long as The Court blocks Tongguan and Pingyang Government, there’s no rush to deal with it."

Yet soon after, Li Xuan saw the pile of memorials stacked like several mountains on Yu Hongchang’s writing desk, and his brows deeply furrowed, "Are these the memorials you have to handle today?"

Not only were there several ’mountains’ on the desk, but there were also more on the nearby bookshelf, totaling over two hundred volumes.

Following his gaze, Yu Hongchang glanced over and then smiled slightly, "It’s not as troublesome as you think. Most of these have actually been drafted by the cabinet and the Sili Bureau, and I just need to stamp them.

However, aside from Xuan, I don’t trust anyone else right now, so I have to review each one. Also, if it hadn’t been for the children making such a fuss these past two days, it wouldn’t have piled up this much."

At that moment, Yu Hongchang looked at Li Xuan, her eyes showing a hint of admiration and reverence, "Actually, it’s much better than the first few days. I didn’t expect Xuan to achieve such a decisive victory. Many aspects of governing are much simpler now."

Li Xuan’s victory at Xuanfu had a direct effect of significantly increasing The Court’s deterrence over the locales.

In the initial days following her father’s death, The Court had to be considerate of the thoughts of the military commanders, garrisons, and local officials when replying to local memorials, being cautious and strategic in wording and adopting safer policies.

But now, things didn’t need to be so complicated. If anyone in the locales dared to have an opinion or disobey, they would simply be dealt with directly.

"Oh, there’s also this matter—"

Yu Hongchang then took out another stamped letter, "The Shibo Division in Quanzhou has sent word that the potatoes, corn, and sweet potatoes you were looking for have been found overseas and are currently on their way to Capital City."

Li Xuan immediately perked up, a gleam of joy in his eyes.

He had merely intended to try his luck but hadn’t expected that these three kinds of food could actually be found in this world.