The Minister of War pondered for a long time. Finally, he summoned his student.
When Xu Qun arrived, he saw the Minister of War sitting in front of the desk, his face full of worry.
He raised his eyebrows, a look of delight on his face.
"Sir, you've summoned me in such a hurry. Could it be that there's a mission?"
The minister sighed and poured a cup of tea for him personally.
"Xu Qun, what do you think of how I've treated you on weekdays? Have I ever forgotten you when there's something good?"
Although he was a bit puzzled as to why the minister suddenly said these things, the man in tight - fitting clothes still nodded seriously.
"Sir has treated me extremely well. You've never forgotten me whenever there were opportunities for promotion and honors."
With this answer, the minister was relieved that his next plan would succeed smoothly.
"Then listen carefully to what I'm going to say. Remember to complete it well. After it's done, I'll let you take my position."
The reason why he listened to the minister was simply because he valued the minister's status and the benefits he could bring.
Now hearing such great news, there was no way Xu Qun would refuse.
There was a glint in his eyes as if he could already see himself sitting in the position of the Minister of War.
Almost without hesitation, he immediately agreed. Anyway, the Minister of War would never let him do anything too dangerous, because he knew he had a handle on the minister.
"Sir, just give me your orders. As long as I can do it, I'll go through fire and water."
"Good. This is the attitude I'm looking for. Don't worry. I won't treat you badly after it's done."
The two talked in the study for a long time before finally finalizing the plan.
The next day, Xu Qun voluntarily entered the palace to meet the young emperor.
Seeing the man sitting on the high throne, a flash of greed crossed his eyes, but it disappeared quickly.
"Your subject pays respects to Your Majesty."
The young emperor waved his hand casually and sized up the man below.
"I heard that you're the student of the Minister of War?"
"Yes, Your Majesty. Your subject hopes to relieve Your Majesty's worries and go to the South of the Yangtze River personally to help suppress the rebels."
Hearing this, the young emperor's expression remained calm. He didn't show much joy because of this.
"In that case, go back and prepare quickly. Set off tomorrow."
But as soon as these words were spoken, they were immediately rejected by the man below.
"Your Majesty, your subject thinks it's inappropriate to send troops at this time. Not to mention the right time, favorable geographical position and good relations with the people, the time is too rushed. It's better to let me make careful preparations."
Ji Heng frowned. His mother had already sent a second letter. There wasn't that much time left for these people.
There was a hint of impatience in his tone.
"I know you're the student of the Minister of War and you must listen to him in some matters. However, I must remind you not to treat everyone as a fool. If you don't set off tomorrow, then the position of the Minister of War should be given to someone else."
Xu Qun was a bit dissatisfied. The young emperor was clearly younger than him, but he had to be inferior in front of him.
However, all his dissatisfaction had to be suppressed.
"Your subject just wants to make careful preparations to avoid any accidents during the march."
Hearing this, Ji Heng sneered.
"As the saying goes, we train soldiers for a thousand days to use them for an hour. I've trained so many soldiers. They've already been ready for battle at any time. You don't need to do anything extra."
Xu Qun couldn't refute this. In the end, he had no choice but to agree.
"Your Majesty, rest assured. Your subject will lead the troops to set off tomorrow."
"Alright, step back."
Watching the man retreat from the door, the emperor always felt something was not right. This man was the minister's man. It was still uncertain whether he would play any tricks. If something went wrong with this matter, it might implicate his mother and so many common people.
He couldn't pin all his hopes on just one person.
After some thought, he had someone summon Shi An.
Shi An looked at the man sitting on the high throne, neither over - awed nor humble: "Pays respects to Your Majesty."
Ji Heng sighed and told him everything that had happened in the South of the Yangtze River.
"That's how things are. What's your opinion, my dear minister?"
After hearing that his little sister had done such a dangerous thing, Shi An almost couldn't hold back his scolding. But he also knew that it was his little sister's own choice and he couldn't blame anyone else.
He had no choice but to take a deep breath.
"Your Majesty, rest assured. Your subject will lead his men to go tomorrow and will surely arrive before them."
"That's good. Remember to protect the queen mother well."
When Shi An left the palace, he immediately summoned the shadow guards.
"Go and gather the men at once. We'll set off today."
The shadow guard was stunned for a moment, then flashed away.
...
On the other side, Shi Muwǎn didn't know that there was already turmoil in the capital. She looked at the city in the South of the Yangtze River that had just experienced another great battle and couldn't bear to look directly at it, so she turned her head away.
The man beside her looked even more solemn. He directed people to comfort all the wounded first.
This time, he had called out all the shadow guards around him. Although it could relieve some pressure on the city in the South of the Yangtze River, it was only temporary. Sooner or later, the city gate would be breached.
The official clenched his fists and wiped the tears on his face.
"Queen mother, national master, there's something I don't know if I should say or not."
Shi Muwǎn pursed her lips: "We've all been through life - and - death together. There's nothing you can't say."
"Then I'll just say it straight. Wu Lin is just a reckless man. He only knows how to solve problems with his fists. But these repeated attacks don't seem to be something a mountain - village brute like him could arrange."
As soon as these words were spoken, the atmosphere suddenly turned cold.
Cui Qizhou directly turned his head and stared intently at the official, making him feel a bit scared and he subconsciously took two steps back.
"Is there something wrong with what I said?"
"No, you've discovered something that no one else has. We were just focused on dealing with his attacks before and forgot the most important link."
"Yes. We never paid attention to Wu Lin's identity before. We thought he was just following the strategies in the military books. But now it seems that's impossible."
Xiao Xiao, on the side, suddenly came up with an idea.
"Qin Feng suddenly disappeared before and there's still no news of him. Could this matter be related to him?"
Cui Qizhou's expression tightened: "Go to the prison at once. Someone must know what's really going on."
The group then went to the prison gate in a grand manner. When they saw the people inside, Shi Muwǎn almost didn't recognize them.