Chapter 1237: Releasing Yu Qian

"What? Youzhou has rebelled?"

"Declared themselves emperor?"

"Are they insane!"

Everyone in the hall was stunned.

This Youzhou really wasn't an obedient child; it was always causing trouble! It was enough to make one's head spin!

Causing trouble before was one thing, and after being whipped for so long, they were at it again!

Everyone felt that Youzhou had gone mad.

How could they dare!

They only had a few hundred thousand troops!

"Preposterous! Absolutely preposterous!"

Everyone was filled with righteous indignation and extreme fury.

The expression of Prince of Qin, Xie Zhao, also changed.

At such a critical juncture, Youzhou had actually rebelled!

Wasn't this a slap in their faces? They were still making things difficult for Liu Zheng over the matter of Yu Qian, and now the other side had rebelled... how utterly disappointing!

The others were also lost in various thoughts.

They knew that Youzhou liked to cause trouble.

That was why the imperial court would turn a blind eye when Youzhou was occasionally disobedient.

But this time...

This was treason!

This was declaring themselves emperor!

This was committing a grave taboo!

"Chief Councilor, in my opinion, the Youzhou Army has only risen in rebellion because Yu Qian killed the Prince of Zhao! Kill Yu Qian to vent the Youzhou Army's anger, and the chaos in Youzhou can be resolved!"

The Minister of War stood up and said earnestly.

Others followed suit one after another.

"Is that so?"

Liu Zheng gave a cold laugh; even at this moment, these people were still trying to find ways to argue.

"Everyone, the Youzhou Army has always coveted the empire of Longyan. Do you really think they care about the head of a mere Sixth-Rank Assistant Minister? Have you forgotten Chao Cuo of the Han Dynasty? They failed in their rebellion and are now making a desperate gamble for their own survival. Don't tell me our Councilors are all fools with such limited vision? It seems we should hold a new election, don't you think?" Liu Zheng said coldly.

"You..."

Rebuked by Liu Zheng, the Minister of War's face changed drastically, but he dared not say anything.

After all, when Jinghua City was on the verge of falling, he had been among the first officials to flee. If Liu Zheng were to expose that, he would be finished in the imperial court.

"Everyone, stop arguing. The event has already occurred; saying anything now will not help. Let us think about how to solve the problem. Declaring themselves emperor is a minor matter; the rebellion of two hundred thousand troops is what matters. They retreated last time, but this time, they will absolutely not let it go. If they fight to the death, Jinghua City will be hard to defend!"

The Prince of Yong said.

Among these people, the Prince of Yong was the most rational.

He was also someone who had always stood on Liu Zheng's side.

After arriving in Jinghua, if it hadn't been for the Prince of Yong protecting Yu Qian, he would have long since been purged by this group of people!

The Prince of Yong was very worried about the Rebel Army from Youzhou.

However, Liu Zheng did not take it to heart.

Previously, the intelligence agency had provided Liu Zheng with information on Meng Zan's itinerary. He had gone to the Mongols first, then sent people to Tsarist Russia, and only after that did he declare himself emperor and rebel. Clearly, he had gone to make friends.

Both the Mongols and Tsarist Russia had recently been defeated and their morale was damaged; it was impossible for them to send troops to help Meng Zan at this time. The only possibility was that they needed Meng Zan to express a stance, and then proceed with a "mutual defense" policy.

Without allies sending troops, and with only the Youzhou Army as a single force, Liu Zheng believed Meng Zan was merely launching a probing attack to fulfill his obligations.

After all, the Jinghua garrison had finished resting, and the armies that had come to the rescue earlier had not gone far. Meng Zan was no brute; he would not risk his life fighting a battle that could not be won and would only increase casualties in vain.

However, although Liu Zheng was confident, he did not say it directly.

He wanted to use this opportunity to get Yu Qian released.

"This time, the Youzhou Army is surely fighting a war of revenge. If they capture Jinghua, I can guarantee that everyone here will be implicated. And to avoid such a tragedy,

there is only one method."

Liu Zheng chuckled.

"What method?"

The crowd asked with worried expressions.

"Release Yu Qian and let him handle it."

Liu Zheng said indifferently.

"What! How can that be?"

"He is the one who caused this disaster. Not only are we not killing him, but we are releasing him? What kind of logic is that?"

As soon as Liu Zheng finished speaking, the whole hall was in an uproar.

"Yu Qian was able to withstand the hundred-thousand-strong Mongol Army and scare off the two-hundred-thousand-strong Youzhou Army. If it were any of you, who could do it? Don't blame me for not warning you; the opportunity for battle must not be lost. Once Yu Qian is released too late and there is no plan to deal with the Youzhou Army, then you will all pay the price of your lives for your hesitation."

"Moreover, given Yu Qian's track record, as long as Youzhou learns that he is being heavily relied upon by us..."

"Whether this Youzhou Army dares to come is still a question..."

Liu Zheng used all his strength to threaten them.

"This..."

"Chief Councilor, what you say is not without reason..."

"It can only be this way!"

Upon hearing these words from Liu Zheng, the gathered ministers reached a consensus: let Yu Qian come out to put out the fire first, and discuss the specifics after the incident concludes.

"Since that is the case... then let Yu Qian atone for his crimes through meritorious service!"

The Prince of Qin also saw it clearly; this time, Liu Zheng was determined to protect this Yu Qian!

In the end, this face could not be denied.

Liu Zheng then cupped his hands in a salute.

Naturally, it was Liu Zheng himself who went to release Yu Qian.

Firstly, no one was willing to go and invite a prisoner they had thrown into the Heavenly Prison to come out, and secondly, it was because Liu Zheng wanted to hear Yu Qian's thoughts.

If Yu Qian could still remain calm even if Mount Tai were to collapse before him, and handle the crisis at hand with his own logic, then he would be a peerless talent, and Liu Zheng would immediately promote him.

But if he stammered and did not know what to say, it would mean he still lacked the necessary seasoning and needed to be tempered further.

Before two hours had even passed, Liu Zheng returned to the Heavenly Prison once again.

This time, Yu Qian did not choose to ignore him as he had before.

He knew that Liu Zheng was also a person of great talent, and one must show respect to such a person.

Liu Zheng ordered someone to open the cell, and then walked straight in.

"Although I very much want to protect you, with all the Feudatory Kings applying pressure, it is hard for me to be too forceful. Whether you can survive depends on yourself. Youzhou has declared an emperor and rebelled, and their military spearhead is already pointed at Jinghua. The pressure of two hundred thousand troops is not small. If you can resolve this crisis, I can save your life, and even promote you."

Liu Zheng said, getting straight to the point.

"In that case, I can leave now," Yu Qian said with a light laugh.

"What do you mean?" Liu Zheng asked with great interest.

"The Youzhou Army is merely putting on a show; they will not truly attack," Yu Qian said.

Hearing these words from Yu Qian, Liu Zheng's eyes lit up; he had not expected that Yu Qian's viewpoint would actually coincide with his own!

What was important was that Yu Qian had been in the Heavenly Prison the entire time!

This really was a case of knowing the affairs of the world without stepping out of the door.

"Your insight is very perceptive. However, I don't intend to let you walk out of here without doing anything. Besides, letting a rebel army circle the gates of my capital and return unscathed would not be good for the influence of my Longyan. If other rebel armies follow suit in the future, that would be troublesome. They can come, but they must pay a price. Can you do that?" Liu Zheng asked with a chuckle.

After Liu Zheng finished speaking, Yu Qian began to think.

Protecting Jinghua was no problem, but if one wanted to make the Youzhou Army pay a price, that would be difficult. After all, that was an army of two hundred thousand, not an easy bone to chew.

Yu Qian pondered for a moment and said, "There is a Method, but it carries some risk."

"Speak."

Liu Zheng became interested.

To have thought of a countermeasure in such a short time, this Yu Qian was truly not simple.

He had to hear whether this Yu Qian was just engaging in empty talk on paper and bragging.

"To the north of Jinghua, there is more than just the Youzhou Army."

Yu Qian said.

"Oh?" Liu Zheng's focus sharpened again; he did not expect that Yu Qian had once again hit upon the thoughts in his heart.

"Outside the pass, there is still a powerful Liaodong Army. Apart from the Qingzhou Army engaged in fierce battle with Tsarist Russia, Liaodong also has one hundred thousand troops deployed. These soldiers have lived in the bitter cold for years, and their combat effectiveness is far beyond that of the soldiers inside the pass. Furthermore, they were once a Rebel Army themselves and are in urgent need of recognition from Longyan. In this battle, they will certainly do their utmost to fight a battle to clear their names!" Yu Qian said.

Yu Qian's words spoke to the very heart of Liu Zheng.

These one hundred thousand men were once subordinates of Qiao Yuan; after Liu Zheng defeated them, he accepted their surrender and reorganized them. They had no great merits, and Liu Zheng dared not promote them, so he could not elevate any generals to make them his confidants.

And after this battle, Liu Zheng would be able to reward those with merit and unite the strength of the Liaodong Army for his own use.

He wanted to use these one hundred thousand Liaodong troops to keep the Qingzhou Army in the Northeast in check.

Although the Qingzhou Army led by Xiao Qian had gone through life and death with him, the Qingzhou Army was ultimately that of the Prince of Wei, and the commander of the Qingzhou Army, Xiao Qian, was also a confidant of the Prince of Wei. When interests were aligned, the Qingzhou Army was naturally Liu Zheng's greatest helper, but once interests conflicted, this Qingzhou Army would be his greatest opponent.