"..."

Cao Gan looked at the slightly yellowed edict in his hand with a dry mouth, and the meaning was so complicated that it made him feel dizzy. He subconsciously swallowed a few mouthfuls of saliva, hesitated for a long time, and asked,

"Before I came here, I heard rumors that Wen Muqiao and the Wen clan were kidnapped in Xuzhou. I also heard rumors before that Han Linggong was detained when he received an order from the late Emperor of Chu to see Wen Muqiao before he was killed -

So, Wen Muqiao is in Tangyi at this time?"

"Does Mr. Cao want to see Mr. Wen at this time?" Han Qian asked in a deep voice.

"That's not necessary." Cao Gan shook his head. He also knew in his heart that Han Qian had disclosed such a confidential matter to him. If he insisted on seeing Wen Muqiao, he would be looked down upon.

However, Cao Gan still couldn't suppress the shock and excitement in his heart. He didn't expect that the secret that Tangyi could easily rob the Wen clan from Xuzhou was here. This also meant that Han Qian's move to surrender Wen Bo and the Luoshan garrison would not be possible.

There are no more substantial obstacles.

Cao Qian's heart was pounding for a long time before he came back to his senses and saw Han Qian. Feng Liao, Guo Rong and others were all staring at him. He coughed twice to resolve the embarrassment and said:

"...My king's physical condition is worrying, but he is determined to become emperor, and no one can persuade him. And if Zhao Mengji and Wang Xiaoxian succeed in leading the troops to capture Guanzhong, and the crown prince Li Hongyi can support the king and proclaim himself emperor, Sichuan and Sichuan are afraid that there will be no more marquis of my family.

This is my foothold - Zhao Mengji, when Wang Xiaoxian's troops are trapped in Guanzhong, it may be my Marquis's last chance. I also ask the Marquis Han to help him. If the Marquis Han asks for anything, my Marquis will not do it.

I will forget today’s feelings.”

After listening to Cao Gan talking about their plan, Feng Liao and Gao Shao thought about it secretly, thinking that it was really no different from their previous expectations. No matter how stupid Wang Yong was, he would definitely wait until Zhao Mengji and Wang Xiao led 70,000 elites into Guanzhong.

It is best to wait until Zhao Mengji and Wang Xiaoxian's troops besiege Yongzhou City (Chang'an) and suddenly launch a mutiny to control the capital of Shu.

In that case, it would only be three months before Zhao Mengji and Wang Xiaoxian received the news and withdrew their troops from Yongzhou and returned to Liangzhou.

This gave Wang Yong relatively ample time to take control of the situation in Shuzhong and send troops to block the passage between Liangzhou and Shuzhong.

However, they could also judge that Cao Gan was not completely telling the truth.

Feng Liao glanced at Han Qian and wondered whether he should continue to press Cao Qian for more details about the mutiny:

For example, how many manpower has the Changxiang Marquis Wang Yong deployed near the Shu capital? How many officials in the Shu Dynasty support the Changxiang Marquis Wang Yong? Also, for example, among the generals of the imperial army who stayed in the Shu capital, who has been bribed by them and can

Ensure that the Yuzhou army enters the Shu capital city as soon as possible, instead of being blocked outside the towering Shu capital city by the imperial army remaining behind.

Of course, it was no longer possible for them to persuade Cao Qian and Wang Yong to give up their plan to rebel and usurp the throne.

There is no turning back when the bow is fired. Even if the news is accidentally leaked at this time, it will only make Wang Yong act hastily and give it a go.

"If you really want to plan something, you can't wait until the situation is critical before borrowing troops from Xuzhou - the elites of Xuzhou are not heavenly soldiers and generals. If you really have to borrow troops, Master Cao will think that three to five thousand elites will go down the Qianjiang River.

What's the use of passing through Yuzhou and then entering Shuzhong?"

Han Qian knew that Cao Gan could not reveal all their plans and trump cards, and he did not intend to ask too many questions. After taking back the edict, he motioned to the guards to bring a mat and asked Cao Gan to sit down in front of his case, and said,

"If you really want to plan something, you have to prepare for the worst from the beginning. For example, Wang Hongyi may get wind of it in advance. For example, the partner you choose at this time may have ulterior motives. For example, Zhao Mengji and Wang Xiaoxian will send troops to come back faster than

It was faster than you expected, and for example, you failed to successfully seal the passage between Northern Shu and Liangzhou..."

"If you want to plan big things, how can you not take some risks?" Cao Qian naturally knew that their plan had many risks. This was mainly directly related to the people and strength they had at their disposal. If the people and strength they had at their disposal could completely eliminate these risks,

If we get rid of it, what kind of position would we usurp? Can't we just wait until the king of the country, Wang Jian, dies and takes over the throne?

"If you want to make a big plan, you need to take some risks, but why does Mr. Cao think that I am willing to get involved?" Han Qian asked.

"What does the Marquis need?" Cao Gan asked.

Having already talked about this step, Cao Qian certainly wouldn't think that Han Qian still wanted to stay out of the matter. He didn't need to be a lion to open his mouth and raise the price, right?

"I don't want to get anything, but I hope that Lord Cao, the Marquis of Changxiang, can reduce the risk to a lower level," Han Qian said. "I will send Han Donghu to lead a thousand elite cavalry on the merchant ship of the Chishan Society and go directly to Chongqing with Lord Cao.

State, but Yuzhou must prepare a thousand war horses in advance. After all, more people can be hidden in the cabin of the merchant ship, but it is too big a goal to transport a thousand war horses from Tangyi. At the same time, after Han Donghu arrives in Yuzhou, he hopes

The Marquis of Changxiang wrote an edict directly and declared himself a minister to Shu instead of an emperor..."

A ship with two thousand stone warehouses can barely hold four to five hundred people, but it may not be able to hold a hundred horses. Therefore, Han Qian sent cavalry soldiers over, but the horses could not follow, so Yuzhou was needed.

Prepare an extra batch of war horses over there.

As for the Marquis of Changxiang directly writing an imperial edict professing vassalage to Shu, it would not have any substantial impact on the military affairs of the Kingdom of Shu after the Marquis of Changxiang, Wang Yong, Cao Qian and others succeeded in usurping the throne. They could also change their names and gain the favor of Chu Ting.

support.

For Tang Yi and Han Qian, it could resolve the criticism they would face if they borrowed troops without authorization to cooperate with the Marquis of Changxiang in launching a mutiny to usurp the throne.

Cao Qian did not express any objection and listened patiently as Han Qian continued:

"... Yuzhou had better cooperate with Chishan as soon as possible to completely cut off the communication between Shu and Chu, so as to prevent the news from spreading to Jinling prematurely and making it difficult for me to behave inside and outside; Mr. Cao should also know that the great Chu court officials

Duke, especially Lu Qingxia, the remnants of the previous dynasty, at least at this time, they absolutely do not want to see anyone disrupting the Chu-Shu allied army's crusade against Guanzhong."

Cao Gan's eyes twitched but he still did not express any objection.

"When Mr. Cao returned to Yuzhou, he helped me deliver this letter to someone. This is the key to the success of Changxiang Hou's plan," Han Qian handed the letter he had just written to Cao Qian and said.

, "I will directly order Tan Yuliang to lead 3,000 elite troops to send troops directly from Wuchuan and arrive in Yuzhou in about a month and a half. This time should be your best opportunity to make trouble. Since your best opportunity to launch a mutiny is only so short

, even if I lend you tens of thousands of sets of soldiers and armor, you may not have time to expand your troops, and there will be no need..."

When Cao Gan heard Han Qian urging them to launch a mutiny as soon as one and a half months later, he couldn't help but asked in shock:

"How can the Marquis be so sure that Zhao Mengji and Wang Xiaoxian can invade Guanzhong within one and a half months?"

There is no doubt that no matter how hastily they are, they will have to wait for Zhao Mengji and Wang Xiaoxian to lead 70,000 elites into Guanzhong before taking action. But how can they be sure that Zhao Mengji and Wang Xiaoxian can open the pass into the hinterland of Guanzhong within a month and a half?

"I would like to ask Lord Cao, if Li Zhigao, Xu Mingzhen, and Yang Yuanyan besieged Huaixi with four troops from Jinling, should I divide four troops to meet them and keep them out of Huaixi, or should I let them enter Huaixi and then attack

?" Han Qian asked, "If Mr. Cao and Marquis Changxiang can't even boldly confirm this, this matter will really be in doubt!"

Cao Qian understood what Han Qian meant by saying this. They had also considered that Liang Emperor Zhu Yu would take the initiative to abandon the defense of the outer pass of Guanzhong and let the enemy troops enter Guanzhong, but Han Qian was not so sure.

"No need to think about it. If the Liang Army divides its troops and sticks to the periphery, first of all, the northern line will be frozen due to the Yellow and Wei Rivers, making it difficult for Hejin and Tongguan to resist small groups of enemy troops advancing straight in. This will inevitably stir up chaos in the hinterland of Guanzhong.

The air is full of smoke and the wind is roaring. At this time, the loss of any pass city is likely to trigger a series of defeats for Liang Jun like an avalanche, and eventually the situation is completely out of control. Compared with dividing his troops to defend the perimeter, Zhu Yu has a greater chance of letting go.

Only when soldiers and horses from all walks of life have entered the pass, he can rely on a few strong cities such as Yongzhou, take advantage of the alertness and precautions between the enemy armies on each road, concentrate his elite combat power, and attack the enemy armies separately on the Weihe Plain."

Han Qian said calmly,

"Of course, although Wang Xiaoxian is brave but lacks decisiveness, Zhao Mengji is a rare good general in Shu. If you want to wait until Zhao Mengji and Wang Xiaoxian's troops are severely damaged by Liang Emperor Zhu Yu before you start planning, you may need to wait for the first half of the year.

But can you have the patience to wait for so long? Many people involved in the plan are probably on pins and needles at this time. Can Mr. Cao guarantee that they will not notice the flaw within half a year unless the Lord of Shu, Wang Jian, and the Crown Prince, Wang Hongyi?"

The matter was so serious that Cao Gan couldn't give Han Qian an answer on the spot and said, "I'm afraid I have to ask my Marquis for instructions before he can make a decision?"

"The matter has come to this point. It's no longer up to you, Mr. Cao, to hesitate any longer. You don't have time to go back and forth to Yuzhou to send letters and ask for instructions. This is the reason why you will not grant your orders when you are away. Mr. Cao, you should give me a clear answer today.

Reply," Han Qian said in a deep voice, "If the whole matter is as delayed and hesitant as you planned before, Mr. Cao, it will surely drag Xuzhou into a place of eternal disaster. I believe Mr. Cao will never want to force Han to make a decision.

Isn’t it detrimental to Marquis Changxiang’s decision?”

Listening to Han Qian's threatening words, Cao Gan was stunned and speechless for a long time: "..."

"My lord showed me this edict to Lord Cao, which is our greatest sincerity. Only when the Marquis of Changxiang succeeds in his plan can we, Tangyi, rely on us. Lord Cao, why are you still hesitating?" Feng Liao did not miss the opportunity.

asked beside him, adding fuel to the flames.

…………

…………

Yesterday there was only some light snow falling in Liyang, which looked nothing like it. After the fog cleared this morning, the weather was still quite sunny. But Feng Xiao took the memorial prepared by Han Qian in the afternoon and took a boat down the river before it got dark.

Entering Jinling City, heavy snow falls from the hazy sky.

At this time, Feng Liao was the director of Tangyi Xingyingzhifu. In addition to being fully responsible for the civil affairs of Huaixi, he also served as the governor of Chaozhou. If it was not a particularly urgent or important matter, he would not come to Jinling in the past two years.

.

There are also dedicated officials in the Department of Metropolitan Affairs responsible for submitting memorials and liaising with the Central Academy Department, and they will not directly trouble Feng Liao.

Therefore, when he learned that Feng Liao had crossed the river and was taken to Yanyuan Building for a banquet, Han Duan, who was somewhat upset about the current situation, rushed back to the mansion as soon as possible and saw Mingjutang.

Here, except for his father and uncle Han Daoming, the old man who rarely asked questions directly in recent years was also sitting behind the desk with a solemn expression, listening to what Feng Liao was saying.

"What's the urgent matter? Could you please Mr. Feng to cross the river in person?" Han Duan walked in and asked.

The Han family had long ago sent Han Jun, his wife and children back to their old home in Xuanzhou to recuperate on the pretext of "sudden illness that would not be cured after a long period of treatment". Regardless of the old grudges Han Duan had with Han Qian before, the Han family completely merged with Tangyi.

After that, it all disappeared.

Among the younger generation of the Han family, Han Duan's status has always been on par with Han Chengmeng and Qiao Weiyan.

At such a critical moment, there were some things that required his involvement. Feng Xiao pondered for a moment and said: "Yuzhou Sima Cao Qian secretly arrived in Liyang yesterday to meet with the Marquis. The Marquis of Changxiang will be here in a month and a half at the earliest.

We will send troops from Yuzhou back to the capital of Shu to usurp the throne of the Lord of Shu..."

"..." Han Duan opened his mouth and didn't know what to say for a long time. He never thought that Tangyi's kidnapping of the Wen clan had just spread in Jinling City, and now he would be directly involved in the usurpation of Shu by the Marquis of Changxiang.

In the plot of the Lord's throne.

Han Duan felt like his heart couldn't bear it anymore.

Feng Liao had just walked into the Han Mansion and sat down in the Mingju Hall. He simply repeated what he had just said to Han Daoming and the others to the frightened Han Duan:

"The Marquis of Changxiang is worried that something is wrong and wants to borrow troops from Xuzhou. The Marquis has decided that as soon as tomorrow, a thousand elite troops, led by Han Donghu, will follow Cao Gan directly on the merchant ship of the Chishan Society and take the secret route of the Yangtze River.

Rushing to Yuzhou. Worrying that something might happen if Fei Ge delivers the message, the messenger going to Xuzhou to deliver the message has already set out on the road at noon today with the Marquis's personal letter. If everything goes well, in one and a half months, Tan Yuliang will lead 4,000 elite troops along the Qianjiang River waterway.

Go to Yuzhou and meet up with the Marquis of Changxiang, Cao Qian and the others. The most important thing now is to recruit Wen Bo and the Luoshan garrison in the shortest possible time. I am crossing the river this time to present a memorial on behalf of Han Qian and to see His Majesty...
To be continued...