Happy Emperor

Chapter 141: Villains Cannot Be Underestimated

"Uncle, you...it was my nephew who acted rashly this time."

Duan Chengming has always been in awe of his uncle.

The fact that he was able to serve as an official in Shengjing was actually a compensation from the late emperor for dismissing him from the post of governor of Liaoan Province.

Later, when Baturin and Ji Feng controlled the situation in the north, his uncle had been secretly warning him not to get involved in either camp.

This allowed him to stay out of trouble and also laid the foundation for Emperor Li to gain his trust and control of the government.

In almost every critical moment, as long as I listen to my uncle, I will have the last laugh.

This time, Duan Chengming was in a hurry and did not listen to his uncle's advice not to go to Qingning Mansion. At first, he did not understand why his uncle asked him to do so, and did not follow his arrangements.

This led to the current situation.

"It's okay. Sometimes you can only grow gradually through experience."

Li Zuo smiled faintly and did not blame Duan Chengming at all for not following his advice.

"And..." Li Zuo looked at his daughter beside him and said, "Yuer, go to the study and bring me the letter on the table."

After Li Yue left, Li Zuo looked at Duan Chengming again and said, "Besides, even if Tang Bo instigated the people of Qingning Prefecture, his safety could not be guaranteed."

"As long as Emperor Li sends troops to encircle Qingning Prefecture and kill them, and releases the stored grain, the entire situation can be reversed immediately."

"If I'm not mistaken, the Emperor will immediately dispatch his troops to Qingning Prefecture as quickly as possible after receiving your message. Even with the security officers Qingning Prefecture can currently mobilize, they are simply no match for the Emperor Li's troops."

After hearing this, Duan Chengming felt a little relieved.

As long as there is room for resolution of this matter, Emperor Li will not blame him too much.

The most important thing is that he is now wholeheartedly on the side of Emperor Li and sincerely hopes that Emperor Li will win the battle against Prince Pingdong.

"Uncle, what does Tang Bo need to do to make Emperor Li dare not really touch him?"

Duan Chengming's face was solemn. He still couldn't understand what Tang Bo was going to do?

"Military power! Without military power, everything is in vain!"

"This...this is impossible!"

Duan Chengming certainly knew that as long as he took away Emperor Li's military power, Tang Bo would be able to rest easy.

Forget about disobeying orders, even if it means retaliating against Emperor Li, it doesn't matter.

But the military power in the north is firmly controlled by Emperor Li!

"Uncle, the one who currently controls the military power of Liaoan Province is the late emperor's Seventh Prince. Since Emperor Li was able to hand over military power to him, it means that the Seventh Prince had long since submitted to Emperor Li. Moreover, the two are brothers. How could the Seventh Prince possibly go against Emperor Li for Tang Bo?"

Duan Chengming asked in confusion.

"Haha, Chengming, you should focus on the surface."

Li Zuo chuckled. "Did Emperor Li hand over all northern military power to the Seventh Prince? How could an emperor allow his brother to hold sole control of the military?"

"Um... indeed not." Duan Chengming nodded in reply.

"Besides the 150,000 troops commanded by the Seventh Prince, there are also 100,000 troops commanded by An Jie and Ji Qiang. The military power of the Batu family has long been handed over to these three people."

He was responsible for the transportation of grain and fodder between the two provinces, so he naturally knew the specific situation.

"The old guy Baturin is quite smart and knows when to advance and retreat. But his descendants are not that good!" Li Zuo narrowed his eyes and said meaningfully.

"Uncle, these three are all close confidants of Emperor Li. As far as I know, An Jie and Ji Qiang made great contributions when Emperor Li seized control of Shengjing."

They were no fools to choose between the emperor and the governor. Moreover, Emperor Li had shown them great kindness.

On this point, Duan Chengming was very familiar with Emperor Li's ability to control people.

Including him, none of the ministers around Emperor Li would be assassinated.

Not to mention a small Tang Bo, even the King of Pingdong would not surrender to the other side.

This is also the reason why Duan Chengming never thought that Tang Bo could seize military power.

"You know that the Liaoan Provincial Governor has always been in Anfeng City, right?"

"I know! Didn't you personally go to pick this person up some time ago?"

"Yes, this man's name is Lu Jianyan. He used to be the governor of a city, just like me."

"I know him, he's just an incompetent villain. Uncle Tang sent him here to help me transport grain, but this guy has never done anything practical." Duan Chengming looked disdainful.

"You're right. But how could such a person be appointed governor when the Batu family was in charge of Liaoan Province? And why did Tang Bo immediately promote him to the position of governor of Liaoan Province after he came to power?"

"Are Baturin and Tang Bo both fools?"

"Um... I don't know. Maybe, maybe he's a flatterer."

Duan Chengming replied truthfully.

"Yes, that's his skill. Someone who's good at twisting right and wrong and flattering others can sometimes play a role that shouldn't be underestimated."

"Tang Bo sent him here not for you and me, but to persuade someone to surrender..."

"Old General An Xia!"

After hearing this, Duan Chengming immediately reacted and stood up excitedly.

His face was full of worry.

If it's someone else it might not matter.

But if An Xia really wants to surrender to Tang Bo, it would be really troublesome.

Because he is An Jie's father and the uncle of An Bilie, the commander of the imperial guards around Emperor Li.

Moreover, this person has always held a grudge against Emperor Li because of what happened back then.

"Uncle, based on your understanding of General An Xia, is it possible that he would surrender to Tang Bo?"

"No, An Xia hates evil, how could he possibly be interested in someone like Tang Bo!"

Hearing this, Duan Chengming felt a little relieved.

Li Zuo spoke calmly again: "However, if Emperor Li dares to come to our Anfeng City, he would dare to send people to assassinate Emperor Li."

"Ah? This... This. This is impossible. An Jie and An Bilie are both close to Emperor Li... If An Xia really did this, it would make the two of them..."

Duan Chengming opened his mouth in surprise. He didn't expect his uncle to say that.

You know, my uncle is always very good at judging people.

Since he said that General Anxia would assassinate Emperor Li, then he must have done so.

"broken!"

Duan Chengming clenched his fists and his hands began to tremble uncontrollably.

"Uncle, I need to leave the city right now to pick up Emperor Li. The emperor may come to our Anfeng City."

He was about to leave after saying that.

"Wait a moment!"

Li Zuo called out to Duan Chengming. At this moment, Li Yue also rushed back and handed a letter to Li Zuo.

"Uncle, Emperor Li has shown me great kindness, and I cannot let him down. You also know how dangerous the narrow gap at the entrance to Anfeng City is. If Emperor Li really..."

Although Duan Chengming was very anxious, he did not really leave.

"This morning, I sent someone to investigate and found out that the people An Xia sent have returned, but they didn't see Emperor Li. And it seems that Emperor Li really did come to our Anfeng City. But for some reason, he didn't enter the city."

"What? Uncle...why didn't you tell me this earlier?"

"I only found out about this after receiving this letter this morning."

Li Zuo handed the letter in his hand to Duan Chengming.

Duan Chengming immediately opened the letter, which contained only a few large characters.

"An Xia, trying to assassinate Emperor Li!"

"Uncle, who wrote this?"

"I don't know." Li Zuo replied truthfully.

"But if I'm not mistaken, it should be the Governor Lu Jianyan."

"Yes, it's him?" Duan Chengming was suspicious when he heard this.

"How could he possibly help Emperor Li? Could he be planning to defect to Emperor Li? But...but if he really wanted to defect to Emperor Li, wouldn't it be more convincing if he told me the news directly in person?"