As soon as An Yan entered the palace, he learned the news from the Queen of Heaven. There was a civil strife among the Yanzhou rebels. Its original leader Pei Xiao was assassinated by his subordinates. Then there was a fight between several more powerful generals fighting for sovereignty. .
Pei Xiao was assassinated by his subordinates?
This is too much of a coincidence!
An Yan felt that everything happening was a bit weird.
"An order has been sent to Wu Shiwei to march with all his strength and clear Yanzhou City within seven days!" said the Queen of Heaven.
"This Pei Xiao was really killed by his subordinates?" An Yan couldn't help but ask.
"The specific reason is not yet clear. We have to wait until the dispatched spies come back." Tianhou said.
However, after this incident, Wu Shiwei no longer had any reason for delaying the advance, and it was unjustifiable to continue to push the envelope and delay the war.
An Yan originally thought of letting Master Xuanyi use some outside forces to assassinate Pei Xiao, so that the rebels would inevitably be leaderless and defeated. But this time it coincided with his idea.
After the morning session, An Yan went to the Purple Orchid Palace.
"Pei Xiao, the rebel leader in Yanzhou, is dead."
"I already know." Master Xuanyi said.
An Yan couldn't help but be surprised and asked, "Did you learn about it from the Queen of Heaven?"
Master Xuanyi handed over a jade slip, and An Yan reached out to take it. The moment he touched it, a voice rang in his mind.
"The harm has been eliminated, and we will use our full strength to implement it."
An Yan was surprised and asked, "Did you send someone to do it?"
Master Xuanyi shook his head: "Someone did it themselves. The current Xuantang is not suitable for civil strife. It blocks the way of too many people."
"who?"
"I have informed some people before that they are doing these things."
"Are they all monks?" An Yan asked again.
Master Xuanyi said slowly: "This huge Xuantang seems to have inexhaustible treasures of heaven and earth. There are few monks, so there is no need to fight with each other. However, people's qualifications are limited. A person's innate abilities are limited." It is extremely difficult to make up for what is not there the day after tomorrow. Those who have lived for hundreds of years cannot see the way forward, so they need a huge change, seek opportunities in this chaos, and wait for higher ground."
An Yan was speechless, and after a long time he said: "Chaos is a ladder."
"That's right." Master Xuanyi nodded and said, "But the chaos before that may actually ruin the big thing. They will remove these obstacles on their own without our intervention."
An Yan breathed a long sigh of relief, then laughed: "It seems that the Three Realms are related to each other, and it has attracted the attention of all parties in the Xuantang cultivation world, but there are so many participants, aren't you worried that the final matter will be out of our control?"
"My Xuanzhen is the only Taoist lineage in Xuantang. Those people are just idle cultivators. Some of them have founded their own sects privately, but they can't compare to my thousands of years of inheritance." Master Xuanyi said calmly.
"The most important thing is that we have queens. They can only have soup by relying on us."
#
In the evening, An Yan went to the Prime Minister's Mansion first.
Yu Jingtang didn't come back, but Wang Gui said he went to Wenren's Mansion.
An Yan waited quietly in the study, picked up a book, and read while drinking tea.
It quickly became dark.
"I heard that you rarely go to Wentang Pavilion today." Yu Jingtang's figure suddenly appeared at the door.
An Yan put down the book, bowed and said, "My nephew often reads at home."
Yu Jingtang nodded lightly: "Even if you become an official, don't waste your career in literature. I will ask Wang Gui to give you a few more books later."
"Nephew, remember this."
Yu Jingtang walked to the main seat and sat down: "What do you want?"
An Yan stepped forward to pour him a cup of tea and asked, "Is it because of the incident in Yanzhou that my uncle went to his father-in-law's house?"
Yu Jingtang paused and said thoughtfully: "Not bad, what's wrong?"
"Uncle, does he know how the rebel leader Pei Xiao died?"
Yu Jingtang slowly shook his head: "We have sent someone to check."
"The queen did it."
"What did you say?" Yu Jingtang suddenly raised his head.
"The Queen of Heaven secretly sent someone to assassinate Pei Xiao." An Yan looked at Yu Jingtang and said calmly.
Yu Jingtang looked at the teacup on the table with a look of surprise, unable to regain his composure for a long time.
His expression changed, and he asked for a long time: "How did you know about this matter? The Queen did not avoid you?"
An Yan said, "The Queen of Heaven told me personally."
"..."
An Yan continued: "The Queen's intention is to tell my uncle through my mouth. The Queen also asked me to ask my uncle if Shentu wins and falls, does he have someone to replace him?"
However, to An Yan's surprise, Yu Jingtang showed no joy after hearing this. Instead, he sat weakly on his seat with a dazed look on his face.
He thought about it: "Uncle?"
Yu Jingtang looked at him and asked blankly: "The Queen, did you really say that?"
An Yan's mood changed rapidly, and then she nodded slightly.
Yu Jingtang fell silent and said no more words.
An Yan asked, "Uncle, are you unhappy?"
Yu Jingtang breathed a long sigh of relief, then twitched the corner of his mouth, his cold face now looking more and more weathered.
"Happy, why am I not happy?" he said calmly.
"Shentu Ying is arrogant, extravagant and self-respecting. If the Queen has this intention, it will benefit the country and the people!"
An Yan asked, "Then how should I reply to the Queen?"
Yu Jingtang was silent for a while: "...wait, wait for Yanzhou to rebel..."
He stopped abruptly mid-sentence, and then said to An Yan: "Before you enter the palace tomorrow morning, come to my place... and I will give you an answer."
"……yes."
"You go back first." Yu Jingtang waved his hand.
"Nephew, please leave. Uncle, please rest early."
An Yan bowed and retreated, still thinking about it after leaving the study.
Why does Shentu Ying want to fall, but Yu Jingtang doesn't look so happy?
He was obviously still planning this matter before, is it possible that he is still thinking about his old relationship?
But no matter what, An Yan must control Xuantang's military power, or let Yu Jingtang hold it. This is the safest thing.
Otherwise, even if the Three Realms Gate is opened in the future, there will still be unpredictable things.
Early the next morning, when An Yan was about to go out, he saw Wang Gui, the manager of the Prime Minister's Mansion, coming to his home.
"Master An, this is what the Prime Minister gave you."
Wang Gui respectfully handed over an envelope.
An Yan opened it and saw that there was only a simple name on it.
Jiang Ting.
An Yan thought about it carefully and remembered that this person was the eldest brother of Yu Jingtang's first wife Jiang's wife. It was this person who helped deal with Jiang's maid Minglan.
Jiang Ting's official position was not high, but Meng Zuyin also had a third-class dukedom and was from a family of warriors.
"Manager Wang, please tell me back to your uncle. My nephew knows about it." An Yan put away the envelope and said to Wang Gui.
An Yan didn't know what Yu Jingtang was thinking, but now he seemed to agree.
It would be difficult for him and Wen Ren Yunjian to overthrow Shentu Ying, but with the current An Yan, it was different.
Inside Fuluan Hall.
"You want Shentu Ying to step down?" The Queen looked at An Yan in surprise.
"Why...why?"
"Before the Three Realms Pass is opened, military power must be in our hands."
The Queen of Heaven said blankly: "However, he will not disobey my will. If I want to open the Three Realms, he will obey and support whatever I do."
An Yan said: "If the military power is not in his hands, it is not a safe solution after all. He will not resist the order now, and there is no guarantee that he will not have any dissatisfaction in the future. Once the Three Realms Gate is opened, the world will change."
"But... but..." The Queen wanted to say something more, but she was at a loss for words when facing An Yan.
She got up from the bed and walked to one side, facing away from Anyan.
"Why, aren't you willing?" An Yan stepped forward and asked.
"..."
The Queen was silent for a long time, and then said again: "Shentu Ying's influence in the court is so intricate that even I cannot make him step down so easily. On the contrary, it will trigger a counterattack from his subordinates."
"You can let my uncle's people replace his people bit by bit first," An Yan said.
"If this court becomes a family, the ministers below will also have no taboos." The Queen of Heaven said.
An Yan said calmly: "In party struggles, one side will always lose power and the other side will gain power. It's better to have other plans for the future. What we need to do now is to take back the military power."
The Queen of Heaven turned to look at him, with light waves flowing in her beautiful eyes.
"You... really can't tolerate him?"
"Are you reluctant?" An Yan asked with frowning eyebrows. "Is there any special relationship between you and him?"
"What nonsense." The Queen shook her head, "Shen Tuying's loyalty to the late Emperor is unparalleled throughout history."
"The late emperor is dead."
The Queen suddenly felt a little sad.
An Yan frowned and thought for a while, then said: "When Shentu Ying recommended Wu Shiwei as a general, you knew the calculation behind it all, but you still agreed. As a queen, you actually take the life and death of the people of a state as a trifling matter!"
"...If Pei Xiao wants to achieve great things, he can't do anything that hurts the people." The Queen's eyes moved slightly and she said slowly.
An Yan sneered coldly: "The Queen is really considerate of her subjects. What about the dead soldiers?"
The Queen of Heaven did not answer this question, but said: "The people under Shentu Ying are a bit arrogant and domineering, but he should not end up like this... I can ask him to hand over his military power, return it to me, and then let him go."
"I'm afraid that just because he is the Duke of Zhenguo, he can command the armies of the world. How can I feel at ease with such a person?"
"..."
The Queen of Heaven was speechless, and Fuluan Hall fell into silence.
#
Inside the Purple Orchid Hall.
"You're thinking a little too easily."
Master Xuanyi said to An Yan.
"Shen Tu Ying is a man who has been too indulgent by the Queen. Now, even the Queen and Yu Jingtang can't bring him down. His power in the court has been damaged in the slightest. Even if Shen Tu Ying doesn't do anything, his Those subordinates won’t agree either.”
An Yan frowned and said: "There is always a chance. We are not in a hurry. My uncle's power is also not small. Just eat it away slowly."
"People in the court are not fools. Once the Queen makes a move, they will be able to guess clearly what happened. If the Queen and Yu Jingtang really stand together, they will force Shentu Ying to rebel."
An Yan pondered: "Will Shentu win against you?"
Master Xuanyi said slowly: "It doesn't matter whether Shen Tu Ying wins or not. His old subordinates will rebel. Shen Tu Ying still has a son. Even Shen Tu Ying's life won't matter at that time."
An Yan frowned and thought.
"You have misunderstood one thing. Shentu Ying did not rely on the Queen to get where she is today. It was the Queen who relied on Shentu Ying to sit in power for more than ten years. The court seems to be divided into different parties. It is nothing more than Shentu Ying, Yu Jingtang, Pei Shihe, how do you know that no one is interested in Chang'an?"
Also, it’s true
(End of chapter)
