kingnovel Chapter 448: Fighting into a Group
Chapter 448: Fighting into a Group
In the imperial study, Empress Dowager Naruhito handed the secret letter she received to Xiao Yi.
"This is really strange. It can't be a spy from the Xirong people."
Xiao Yi frowned, but what he was thinking in his heart was that Empress Dowager Naruhito was able to receive the secret report, but he, the emperor, had no news at all.
He doesn't want to be such a cowardly emperor.
"Even if the Xirong had a million guts, they wouldn't dare to send thousands of spies into our border."
"If they are not from Xirong, then who could they be? There can't be someone who wants to rebel."
Xiao Yi quickly went over the King of Tang and the King of Qi in the west in his mind. They were of the same generation as Emperor Jing and were old now. Once they died, he could find a reason to take back their fiefdoms.
Logically speaking, they had reasons to start a rebellion, but their fiefdom was very small and they probably didn't have many people, so what could they use to start a rebellion?
Unless they are crazy.
Naturally, Empress Dowager Naruhito could also think of what Xiao Yi could think of.
Both of them were extremely suspicious. After discussing it, they finally decided to find a reason to reduce the power of the vassal.
"Mother, now including Xiao Mo, there are a total of 6 princes. We can't remove all of them at once."
"First, we should deal with the King of Tang and the King of Qi. We can use the excuse that there are unusual movements in the west. As for the King of Liang in the south and Xiao Mo in the northwest, we should not rush to attack them. Their fiefs are extremely desolate. Even if we want to raise an army, I'm afraid we don't have any troops to do so."
"That's what the Queen Mother said."
Xiao Yi also felt that what Empress Dowager Naruhito said made sense. He suggested taking back the rich land first and leaving the poor land there. This way he could save face.
The next day when Xiao Yi went to court, he casually greeted the ministers and the imperial edict to reduce the power of the princes came down.
As Prince Zheng was rebelling, it was understandable that Xiao Yi suddenly wanted to reduce the power of the princes.
But he acted so quickly that the old ministers in the court were caught off guard. Without any room for negotiation, Xiao Yi issued the imperial edict, which made the old ministers somewhat unhappy.
A dictatorial emperor is not a blessing for the people.
Soon Ye Jintang and Xiao Mo also received the news of the reduction of their fiefdoms.
"I never expected that before my troops arrived at Luojiu City, Xiao Yi stabbed himself in the back."
"Originally, I wanted to wait until I captured Luojiu City before sending people to persuade the King of Tang and the King of Qi to surrender. Now, I guess the King of Tang and the King of Qi will send people to contact me without waiting for my people to go."
"The prince is so confident, maybe they will be willing to be reduced in power."
Ye Jintang looked at Xiao Mo with a smile.
At present, Ningchuan Prefecture had been closed off by heavy snow, so it was not easy for King Tang and King Qi to contact Xiao Mo.
"Don't worry, no king wants to be reduced in power. It's so cool to be a local emperor. If you are reduced in power, you will need to live in the capital. I guess no one will like being watched by so many eyes."
If the feudal system is weakened and the whole family can move to the capital safely, it would be a good ending. I am afraid that in the end I won’t even be able to return to the capital and will die without a complete body.
"Xiao Yi really brought this upon himself."
"Xiao Yi is nothing but a joke for wanting to be the emperor without any courage or strategy. Just wait and see. King Zheng will definitely teach Xiao Yi a lesson he will never forget."
"If the King of Tang and the King of Qi really come looking for us, how will Your Majesty deal with them?"
"I haven't been stripped of my fiefdom, so I won't wade into this mess. Besides, the mountains in Ningchuan Prefecture are already blocked by heavy snow, so by the time they send people over, it will be too late."
Xiao Yi and Ye Jintang decided to stay in Ningchuan City for the winter and watch the show, but Xiao Yi's side was in a mess.
First, the pregnant concubines in the palace suffered miscarriages one after another, and in the end, not a single child was able to be kept.
Gu Congyun investigated and investigated, and finally all the clues pointed to Ye Yanran.
A few days later, news came from the west that the King of Tang and the King of Qi did not agree to reduce the power of the fiefdoms, and the people they sent to take over the fiefdoms were defeated by the two.
Although they haven't said they want to start a rebellion, their current posture is almost the same.
The battle between King Zheng and Xiao Yi's men in Qushui City was fierce.
When two armies confront each other, it depends not only on the number of soldiers on each side, but also on whether the generals leading them can fight.
General Song and General Yang, who were under the orders of Empress Dowager Naruhito, were obviously very powerful. The two sides fought in Qushui City from early winter to the New Year, but there was no clear winner.
The New Year should be a happy occasion, but as the rumors in the capital about Xiao Yi being unkind and being punished by God spread more and more weirdly, Xiao Yi and Empress Dowager Deren had no mood to celebrate the New Year at all.
Empress Dowager Naruhito had no control over the war, but she was able to deal with the problem of the successive miscarriages among the concubines in the harem.
"There are all kinds of rumors about offspring. Your Majesty, please think about how to deal with them."
In the bedroom of Empress Dowager Naruhito, Xiao Yi sat on the Arhat bed with a gloomy face.
He was silent for a while before he spoke.
"Those who say that I have failed in my moral conduct and that this is the retribution for my descendants should all be found and their tongues cut out to stop them from gossiping."
"Can the emperor pull out the tongues of all the people in the capital?"
Empress Dowager Naruhito was not angry this time. She knew the tricks in the harem best. Apart from Ye Yanran, she probably couldn't find anyone else so cruel and ruthless.
"Then mother, do you have a good idea? I am already exhausted from dealing with the rebellion of Prince Zheng all day long, and I don't want to worry about such a small matter in the harem."
"Okay, since the emperor says so, I will handle this matter."
"It's no coincidence that so many concubines in the palace suddenly had miscarriages. I have ordered a thorough investigation. It was all done by Su Shu, the head maid in the Queen's palace. She couldn't stand the torture and bit her tongue to commit suicide."
"Although this was done by Su Shu, the Queen is definitely involved. Since the Queen cannot manage the harem well, she should reflect on her mistakes behind closed doors. We will deal with everything after the war is over."
When Xiao Yi heard this, he immediately understood that Su Shu was just someone who came out to take the blame. She was probably trying to kill them because Ye Yanran couldn't bear to see the other concubines get pregnant.
"The Queen is really causing trouble for me. I think Concubine Yun is good. Why not let Concubine Yun help my mother manage the harem."
Xiao Yi has his own little plans. Empress Dowager Naruhito has no chance of controlling the harem.
When the war is over, they will slowly settle the accounts.
Xiao Yi's army and King Zheng stayed in Qushui City for a whole winter. Finally, in the spring of the second year, King Zheng broke through Qushui City and headed straight for the capital.
Xiao Mo, who had been hiding his strength, finally showed up in Qushui City.
His appearance immediately threw Xiao Yi off balance.
"Mother, how could Xiao Mo suddenly lead his troops to appear in Luojiu City? He even shamelessly used the banner of serving the king."
Xiao Yi thought that the King of Tang and the King of Qi would rebel, but it turned out that their efforts were ineffective and they were captured by the people he sent.
Xiao Mo, the person he took the least seriously, raised an army at this critical juncture.
The more Xiao Yi thought about it, the angrier he became. Xiao Mo was already disabled, how could he dare to raise an army?
"Your Majesty, why are you so anxious? The spies haven't come back yet, and we don't know what the specific news is from Luo Jiucheng. Your Majesty should stop overthinking and scare yourself."
"Xiao Mo dared to raise an army, he must have someone on his side. He is not a fool."
Xiao Yi has lived in the shadow of the outstanding Xiao Mo since he was a child. He knows Xiao Mo relatively well. He is a sly person and is definitely not someone who acts impulsively.