Chapter 172

"But if the rebellion is truly quelled, the imperial court can't possibly not grant rewards, right?"

"By then, if they don't want to continue promoting the Lord's military rank, they will have no choice but to summon the Lord to Luoyang and promote his civil rank!"

"This is actually not a good thing for the Lord."

"If that happens, the success of Nanjun's development will be mostly wasted!"

"Moreover, many of the things we have hidden that cannot see the light of day will likely face a huge risk of exposure."

"Therefore, even if the Son of Heaven is willing, I do not suggest the Lord truly exert effort to suppress the rebels and build merit."

"There will be plenty of opportunities to build merit in the future, and besides, the Lord's current position and power are already sufficient!"

"To be safe, it is better to wait until the world is truly in chaos before expanding our power!"

"For now, it is best to continue focusing on developing ourselves and solidifying our foundation."

Su Xuan and the others all nodded one after another upon hearing this.

"Tian Yuanhao's words have awakened the dreamer; you are right! At this time, it is indeed no longer appropriate for us to send troops to build merit!"

"Indeed!"

"Agreed!"

Everyone spoke up one after another to express their agreement.

Su Xuan finally spoke: "Since that is the case, I will first submit a memorial to the imperial court, and additionally, let Jia Yi go to Zhang Rang's residence to move things along."

Although Guo Jia and Tian Feng had already analyzed that it was highly probable that the various factions would not let him go to suppress the rebellion and build merit this time.

But for the sake of caution, Su Xuan still prepared to play it safe, letting Zhang Rang help out by speaking ill of him in front of the Son of Heaven to break the momentum.

Lest the Son of Heaven have a sudden lapse in judgment and actually issue him an order.

At that point, he would truly be riding a tiger and unable to get off; he would have to go.

And with the capabilities of him and his troops, a mere Qu Xing—wouldn't he be captured as easily as reaching for something?

He couldn't just deliberately slack off at that time to avoid building merit, could he?

That would likely give others a handle against him and anger the Son of Heaven.

Instead, it would lead to him being punished.

The cautionary examples of Lu Zhi and General Huangfu Song were still there.

"The Lord is wise!"

Xun You and the others smiled and praised him after hearing this.

Their Lord really had utilized the eunuchs to the extreme!

He asks them for help to build merit;

He also asks them for help when he doesn't want to build merit.

They suddenly discovered that, in fact, eunuchs were still very useful and easy to use.

Afterward, Su Xuan did not submit the memorial immediately.

After all, normally speaking, he shouldn't have received news of Qu Xing's rebellion in Changsha so quickly.

He had to wait at least two days.

The intelligence system of the Secret Guards and their ability to transmit information could not be exposed.

Therefore, Su Xuan waited two days before submitting the news to the imperial court, and deliberately requested to send troops to suppress the rebels.

More than a day later,

Su Xuan's memorial had already arrived in Luoyang,

And not only did the Son of Heaven know immediately, but the Lord Yuan clan, He Jin, and others also knew immediately.

"This time, we absolutely cannot let Su Xuan build merit again! Otherwise, he will become completely entrenched in Jingzhou!"

"Or perhaps he will seize greater military power and be transferred to Luoyang!"

"These are not things we want to see."

"Therefore, Grand General, I hope that tomorrow we can join together to oppose letting Su Xuan suppress the rebellion and let His Majesty send someone else."

Lord Yuan Kui found He Jin immediately and said this to him.

"That is my intention as well!"

He Jin nodded repeatedly, then frowned and said: "However, who should we recommend? His Majesty trusts Su Xuan's ability very much; if there is no suitable candidate, His Majesty may not necessarily listen to us."

"That is only natural!"

Lord Yuan Kui nodded with a cold sneer: "How about Sun Sun Jian? This man's bravery is no less than Su Xuan's, and he himself is from Yangzhou, so he is actually quite familiar with the terrain of Jingzhou."

"Recommend him as the Administrator of Changsha, let him go to suppress the rebellion, and take the opportunity to plant a nail next to Su Xuan in Jingzhou to pin Su Xuan down, so as to prevent him from becoming entrenched in Jingzhou!"

"Moreover, our Majesty does not truly trust Su Xuan that much; otherwise, why not let him come to Luoyang to serve as an official?"

"I fear His Majesty is also somewhat wary of him."

"He wants to use him to balance you and me, yet worries about him becoming entrenched in the imperial court, growing too big to be controlled, and becoming another you or me."

"The matter of Zhao Ci's rebellion last time was unavoidable; Nanyang is too important."

"Zhao Ci was also too swift, which caught us all off guard!"

"Who would have thought this fellow was such trash, being easily wiped out by Su Xuan in just a few days!"

"He was completely here to add to our troubles and deliver merit to Su Xuan!"

"Therefore, I believe that as long as we stand up to oppose it this time, His Majesty will certainly agree to it."

Lord Yuan Kui believed he understood the Son of Heaven too well.

His judgment would absolutely not be wrong.

Moreover, with him and He Jin opposing it together, even if the Son of Heaven truly had a different opinion, he would have to hold it in.

"Good!"

He Jin heard this and immediately slapped his hand down: "Then let's do it this way!"

"This time, no matter what, we must suppress this little brat Su Xuan!"

While He Jin and Lord Yuan Kui were conspiring here,

Jia Yi also quietly brought local specialties to Zhang Rang's residence and met with Zhang Rang.

Zhang Rang saw him and immediately squinted his eyes with a smile: "You have arrived right on time! Does your Lord want me to help him fight for the opportunity to send troops to Changsha this time?"

To tell the truth, this matter was truly not easy to handle.

Like Lord Yuan Kui, Zhang Rang also believed he understood the Son of Heaven very well.

He was especially clear about the Son of Heaven's complex psychology regarding Su Xuan.

— Author's Notes —

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