Chapter 276

The unpleasant contact made Marquis Wuyang decline the welcome banquet and directly stay in a nearby post station, not even going to the residence arranged by the local yamen.

The game of the high-level did not affect the good mood of the soldiers, who left the ship cabin one by one in high spirits and entered the camp that had been prepared for a temporary stay.

Just after arranging the affairs in the army, Li Mu was invited over by Marquis Wuyang.

Prince Lu and Duke Yansheng were indeed difficult to deal with, but the Viceroy, an imperial relative holding real power, was also not a master to be bullied.

Having suffered such a big loss, he must find an opportunity to retaliate.

"Marquis, I don't know why you summoned this subordinate in the middle of the night?"

Li Mu asked knowingly.

It was not easy to be a trusted aide, and participating in this level of collision now was still too early for him.

The status of the Liangguang Commander was indeed prominent, but his seniority in the court was too shallow, and the local area had not yet been fully managed.

Offending Prince Lu didn't matter; the two sides were far enough apart, the vassal king's hand couldn't reach over, at most he would buy a few Censors to impeach.

Anyway, there were no military generals who were not impeached, and he could withstand general Ding Yushi impeachments.

If he was really forced, at worst, he would make the contradiction public and then deliberately guide the direction of public opinion.

A vassal king interfering in military affairs was itself a taboo matter. Emperor Yongning was a suspicious master, as long as he was suspicious, it was enough for Prince Lu to suffer.

But Duke Yansheng was different.

Not only did he have the name of a direct descendant of the sage, but he was also responsible for the main sacrifice of Confucius, had the right to interpret Confucian classics, and had great influence in the scholar forest.

Offending this guy, of course, would not take Li Mu's life. But one word from him could make people notorious in the scholar forest.

In a feudal dynasty, reputation could eat people.

As long as there was a choice, Li Mu would not offend Duke Yansheng, at least not on the surface.

"The matter during the day, you saw it all."

"Those two old thieves actually dared to threaten this Viceroy."

"If I don't give them some color to taste, what face does this Viceroy have to mix in the court!"

Marquis Wuyang said with murderous intent.

It could be seen that the matter during the day disgusted him badly. The essence of Prince of the Blood saving the Emperor was not the event itself; the Northern Barbarians did not yet have the ability to conquer the capital.

Rushing over all the way was mainly to show loyalty to the Emperor.

Now the team was left in Shandong; what kind of talk was this.

"Ask the court for instructions", which was equivalent to transferring the contradiction upwards.

Many things could be done, but they could not be said.

With this farce today, no matter if it was Emperor Yongning or the civil and military officials in the court, it was impossible to propose abandoning Shandong.

The Prince of the Blood main army staying in Shandong almost became inevitable, and the court would likely require them to fight all the way from Shandong.

As long as there was a decent battle result, all parties could account for it, but the hidden danger was buried.

Whether the Emperor would be suspicious of Marquis Wuyang, no one could guarantee. Perhaps looking at the Empress Dowager's face now, it would not be shown, but it would be hard to say in the future.

Countless prominent imperial relatives in history vanished, all starting from suspicion.

Marquis Wuyang struggled so hard and desperately drilled into the circle of meritorious officials, just to keep the family prominent forever.

Now that someone suddenly destroyed his plan, no matter what the reason was, that was an enemy who would not stop until one died.

"Marquis, those two suddenly came out with this, mainly to protect their own property, and there must be cooperation from the local yamen behind them."

"They keep saying it's for the people, and on the surface we can't refute it, let alone retaliate."

"Some things we can't do, doesn't mean no one can do them."

"The grassland coalition army is looting everywhere, and they are the most greedy. If an enemy army accidentally enters..."

Li Mu replied, biting the bullet.

"Borrowing a knife to kill", this traditional skill, Marquis Wuyang certainly knew.

Saying it through his mouth was nothing more than a political statement.

After all, no matter how good the plan was, it needed someone to implement it.

Just leading the grassland coalition army over was not enough, they also had to carry out follow-up in time to ensure that the situation would not get out of control.

How far to retaliate, Marquis Wuyang still had to make the decision.

Whether it was just letting Prince Lu and Duke Yansheng lose some property, or stirring up a massacre of the whole family, the political influence caused was completely different.

If it really made a big scene and the court held them accountable, not only would the local yamen be unlucky, but their reinforcements would also inevitably be questioned.

Li Mu and these military generals were fine, mainly Marquis Wuyang, the Regional Commander, who needed to bear the political pressure from the court.

"What you said is not bad, the situation on the battlefield is ever-changing, and accidents are inevitable."

"As an official of the court, we should share the worries for the court. We must not let the enemy army disturb the peace of the sage, and the important city of the province cannot be lost either."

"If things cannot be done, everything should be based on preserving oneself. The court will hold them accountable, and this Viceroy will bear it alone!"

Marquis Wuyang said with satisfaction.

As expected of a trusted aide, he was reliable at the critical moment. Even if he encountered big figures like Prince Lu and Duke Yansheng, he dared to take up the knife.

"Borrowing a knife to kill" was never an easy thing. If the grassland cavalry did not cooperate, then arrange for people to do it themselves.

If one was not careful and leaked the news, that was a life-threatening matter.

Even Marquis Wuyang himself was very uneasy. But there was no way, mixing in the court required being ruthless enough.

According to the previous plan, after the Prince of the Blood war ended, the title on him would become a hereditary military merit title.

To ensure the plan went smoothly, in recent days, the Empress Dowager had not talked less about their goodness in front of the Emperor.

Having paved the way so much, the appearance of Prince Lu and Duke Yansheng directly caused the plan to go bankrupt.

Fighting from Shandong, the troops led by Marquis Wuyang could not do it at all. This meant that he could not become the first reinforcement to arrive at the capital.

Anyone who had played politics knew that the most valuable thing was always the first one.

The Emperor took the opportunity to reward Marquis Wuyang heavily, which was a justified thousand-gold burial, and the civil and military officials would not object.

Missing this opportunity, wanting to be ennobled for military merit later, with his current merits, at most it would be a hereditary Earl.

Wanting to become a hereditary Marquis, unless he could take advantage of the situation to pacify the Liaodong Peninsula after annihilating the rebels.

"Marquis, rest assured, this subordinate will arrange this matter properly."

"Even if an accident occurs, it will not have anything to do with us."

Li Mu immediately guaranteed.

Saying it was arranged properly, deep in his heart he was already calculating to let the accident be bigger.

If he could take the opportunity to get rid of these two scourges, it would be even more perfect.

Anyway, now he was a little brother, and if something happened, Marquis Wuyang would be in front to top it.

Not looking at the monk's face, look at the Buddha's face, the Empress Dowager was recuperating in the palace. As long as there was no direct evidence that they participated in it, the officials in the court would not bite Marquis Wuyang to death.

Now was the time when people were needed, the Emperor would not deal with his uncle who had great military achievements at this time, and the court would hold them accountable, most likely the local yamen would take the blame.

It was not wronging them; this matter itself was caused by them.

Daring to forcibly keep the Prince of the Blood main army, naturally they had to bear the backlash brought about by it.

"..."

Capital.

Looking at the memorial sent from Shandong, Emperor Yongning's face suddenly became gloomy.

Originally thought that after the Liangguang reinforcements arrived, they could threaten the enemy army from behind and force the grassland coalition army to withdraw from the siege of the capital.

Now everything had become a bubble, the reinforcements stopped in the territory of Shandong, and by the time they fought all the way over, it was likely that the daylily would be cold.

(End of this chapter)