Chapter 475: The Jade-Faced Young Master

Latest website: "I, I shall send men to seize Yuan Li at once."

Riding a tiger, it is hard to get off.

Han Qi stammered, agreeing with his mouth, but his eyes shifted restlessly.

Zhao Heng nodded with satisfaction.

This time, no matter what, he could no longer tolerate Yuan Li.

Last time the Yuan Family attacked Yanguan, he had let it slide lightly out of selfishness and the protection of the powerful clans.

He had warned Yuan Li to restrain his ambition and be content as a pawn to keep Yan Wang in check.

But Yuan Li did not repent and committed such an act of treason and selling out the country again; how could he tolerate it?

Moreover, Yan Wang had already been dissatisfied last time.

If he continued to favor Yuan Li, it would ruin his grand plan to use Yan Wang to balance the other powerful clans.

At the last banquet, although Yan Wang did not say it directly, he had already hinted at it to him.

"Unable to restrain the generals under one's command." This sentence was telling him that if he continued to favor Yuan Li, Yanzhou would no longer listen to the Imperial Court's orders in the future.

It would mean that Yan Wang, like the powerful clans, would carve out a territory for himself in Yanzhou.

At present, Yan Wang sits firmly in Yanzhou, far from Jingshi, and possesses the method of forging Artillery, with strong troops and sturdy horses.

If he really hardened his heart to carve out a territory, he would truly have no way to stop it.

Although he could let the powerful clans send troops to suppress the rebellion, and the powerful clans would certainly be willing.

But if Yan Wang were destroyed, he, the Emperor, would no longer have any bargaining chips to suppress the powerful clans.

Therefore, even if a pig were sitting on the throne, it would make the decision to let two tigers fight so that he could profit.

Moreover, one must add fuel to the fire while the two tigers are fighting.

This is the reason why he supports Yan Wang with such a clear banner.

The Southern Three Commanderies, the right to maritime trade, and even the position of Imperial Heir, he deliberately loosened his stance on these as well.

All of this,

is to provoke the powerful clans and make them fight with Yan Wang next.

"Does Prefect Wang have anything to report?" After reprimanding Han Qi, Zhao Heng cast his gaze toward Wang Kang.

Wang Kang's expression was awkward; in the eyes of the powerful clans, Zhao Heng had always been cowardly.

That he was so tough in front of them this time was something they had not expected.

Leading troops here this time, he was also invited by the Han Family.

The purpose was naturally to take back the Southern Three Commanderies and vent anger for Yuan Li.

But clearly, Zhao Heng, being in Yan Wang's fief, had Yan Wang to embolden him and gave them no face at all.

This time he was determined to take down Yuan Li.

"Replying to Your Majesty, upon learning that Your Majesty was trapped in Xian City, I have been worried day and night. Upon learning that His Highness Yan Wang had rescued Your Majesty, I rushed here under the stars to protect the Emperor," said Wang Kang.

Zhao Heng nodded, "I am very safe in Yan Wang's fief. Your two families' troops should not enter Yanzhou. However, I accept your good intentions; I will reward you heavily after returning to Jingshi."

"Thank you, Your Majesty." Wang Kang and Han Qi were delighted and bowed in response.

A smile appeared at the corner of Zhao Heng's mouth; taking Yuan Li was to appease Yan Wang's anger.

Rewarding the two Prefects was to give Yan Wang a reminder.

Even if he, the Emperor, is in Yancheng, there must be no acts of overstepping.

The troops protecting the Emperor were at the border of Yanzhou.

After saying a few more things about being trapped in Xian City, Zhao Heng let Wang Kang return to the army to wait for orders.

The war had not ended yet, and there might still be a place where he could be used.

Han Qi went back to seize Yuan Li as ordered.

The two set off from Nanmen and were about to go their separate ways at the fork in the road.

Wang Kang asked, "Brother Han, are you really prepared to seize Yuan Li? If Yuan Li dies, the Yuan Family troops under his command will not be easy to control."

"Brother Wang is overthinking. Would I do such a stupid thing? I will just have Yuan Li set himself on fire and hand over a charred corpse," Han Qi sneered.

"High, truly high." Wang Kang gave a thumbs up, "In this way, Yuan Li will be grateful to Brother Han and will surely be obedient to Brother Han in the future. Moreover, Yuan Li deeply hates Yan Wang and will definitely act as a vanguard in opposing Yan Wang."

Han Qi became even more smug, but suddenly his expression sharpened, "When I left, His Highness the Second Prince said some things to me. This time, the Emperor seems to favor Yan Wang a bit too much. Not only did he give him the Southern Three Commanderies, but it is said he also gave him the right to maritime trade, and even loosened his stance on the matter of the throne."

Wang Kang's brows knitted together, "Although Yan Wang saved the Emperor this time and reversed the decline of the Northern Expedition, rendering great service, these rewards are too generous, completely different from the previous two times of suppressing Yan Wang."

"That is simple. This time the war situation in the Northwest suffered setbacks, and the Imperial Guards suffered heavy losses, losing all the imperial prestige that Yan Wang had previously built up. They have fallen into a disadvantage in front of the powerful clans and may even be unable to recover in the future. Therefore, the Emperor has loosened the shackles on Yan Wang and held him up high, forcing us powerful clans to take action to suppress Yan Wang, so that he can profit from it," said a handsome young man with a face like the bright moon beside Wang Kang.

Han Qi looked at the youth and was dazed for a moment.

If he were not completely clear about the youth's background, he would definitely think the youth was a woman dressed as a man.

But Wang Kang indeed had such a handsome son.

And among the peers of the Wang Family, this Wang Xie could be called a crane among chickens, outstanding and exceptional.

He was much more capable than the eldest son of the Head of the Family, Wang Zi'an.

"Your nephew's words have enlightened me," Han Qi tilted his head and smiled.

After a pause, he said, "But does your nephew have a countermeasure?"

"That depends on what the Northern Di does next. War and peace have different methods, but both will make it difficult for the Imperial Clan to recover," Wang Xie held his head high, his expression arrogant.

Han Qi nodded slightly and said, "The Emperor is also waiting for the Northern Di's next move. Since that is the case, a few days later, I would like to hear your nephew's guidance."

"Hahaha..." Wang Kang laughed loudly, "Brother Han is too polite. Xie'er just has some small cleverness."

The three of them said a few more words and left separately.

Yancheng.

After Wang Kang and Han Qi left, Zhao Heng suddenly became nervous about the current war.

After all, Zhao Xu was very confident in his "besiege Wei to rescue Zhao" plan.

Therefore, he was very concerned about whether the siege of Xian City had been lifted as a result.

This time, although he had escaped from Xian City, Yang Feng and the others were still in Xian City, and their provisions could not last for long.

He did not care about the life or death of the aristocratic clans' troops.

But he could not bear to see the Imperial Guards, which he had forged with real gold and silver, just disappear like that.

"By the way, isn't Wulanba imprisoned in the Yancheng dungeon? Send someone to tell Mule Hongzhen that if the Xian City troops retreat into Qin Pass, I will release his son," Zhao Heng said.

Worried that Zhao Xu might be dissatisfied since Wulanba was Zhao Xu's captive, he explained, "Exchanging Wulanba for nearly two hundred thousand troops is worth it."

"Father Emperor, rest assured, your son thinks the same as you," Zhao Xu said.

Yang Feng and Mo Di were both the only remaining star generals of the Great Song.

Furthermore, although the Great Song troops in Xian City belonged to different factions.

They were all subjects of the Great Song.

Internal strife is one thing, but there was no need to let them die in Xian City when he was in a position to save them.

At the same time, he felt this was also an opportunity to win over people's hearts.

Even though saving them would not mean they would join his command.

At the very least, he would have the grace of saving their lives.

If they were to meet on the battlefield in the future, it might be of some benefit.

However, he felt it was still not appropriate to be too hasty, as it would make them appear desperate for peace.

So he said, "However, Father Emperor still needs to wait patiently; whoever moves first loses a step."

Zhao Heng thought for a moment, finally nodded, and forced himself to be patient.

Yet, only six days passed before he could no longer remain calm.

It was as if his eyebrows were on fire.