Free Web NovelChapter 1209: Chapter 1191: Decisiveness
"He and Princess Xiangcheng have been married for many years. Even if he reached a dead end, it wasn’t right for him to dismiss her maids and guards, leaving her alone halfway. Moreover, at that time, he was merely eager to rendezvous with King Langya and avoid my sights, so that I wouldn’t know of his desertion," Zhao Hanzhang said, "I had Yuan Li investigate, and I heard that when he first became Prince Consort, he was informal and ill-matched with the meticulous Princess Xiangcheng. The princess’s maids often mocked him, but he never changed his expression or took it to heart, which earned him a reputation for being broad-minded and carefree."
"He endured for years, yet he always remembered the resentment of being belittled by the princess and her maids, and when he was sure the princess had no chance to rise again, he retaliated harshly. Such a person, once freed from constraints, do you think he would not eagerly seek to control everything?"
Zhao Hanzhang said, "The Central Plains are already unified. Even if he combines all the forces of Jiangnan, he may not be able to defeat me. Moreover, King Langya and Wang Dao are unwilling to heed his call to attack north. To gain absolute authority, he will certainly first vie for Jiangnan, then lead his troops north."
Zhao Hanzhang’s gaze was icy, "He knows that, given his abandonment of Qingzhou and desertion, I will not easily let him go; he murdered Wang Cheng. Wang Xuan and Sister Four are immediate family of Mrs. Wang and will certainly not allow him to rise again, so he cannot return to Jiangbei."
This was his desperate gamble.
Moreover, he certainly wouldn’t be willing to be subordinate again. Once a person escapes the cage, they will not want to re-enter it.
Zhao Shen pondered, and before leaving, suddenly asked, "What about Princess Xiangcheng?"
Zhao Hanzhang: "She went missing then. I have already sent people to search for her, after all, she is the Ancestor’s daughter..."
If we find her, even if Wang Dun and King Langya do not fall out, they can still raise an army in her name justifiably.
But in the vast expanse of people and land, how difficult it is to find a person?
Liu Kun is very loyal to the Jin Dynasty, so Zhao Hanzhang wrote of this matter in a letter, also entrusting him to search.
Liu Kun folded the letter and sighed deeply, "She may have been abandoned at the junction of Xuzhou and Qingzhou, but at that time there was chaos, with refugees, rogue soldiers, and Xiongnu everywhere. Where to look for her?"
He couldn’t help but resent Wang Dun, "She is a princess, a ruler, and as a subject, instead of protecting his sovereign, he maliciously dismissed her guards and maids, which is truly not the conduct of a gentleman."
He has always thought of Wang Dun as a righteous, albeit somewhat impulsive, gentleman.
Even when he killed his friend Wang Cheng, he had made excuses for Wang Dun, thinking it must be because Wang Cheng said something unpleasant, which provoked him.
He saw it as a crime of passion, thus somewhat forgivable.
But looking at Zhao Hanzhang’s letter, it is clearly not the case.
The aide also finished reading the letter that Liu Kun handed him and felt he hadn’t grasped the main point, "Your Lordship, about persuading King Langya to surrender in Jiangnan..."
"Is there any question?" Liu Kun said, "If it can resolve military affairs, it benefits both banks, so I must go."
The aide reminded, "King Langya has always had the intention to rebel. What reason will Your Lordship use to persuade him?"
"I don’t think that’s the case," Liu Kun said, "King Langya’s rebellious intentions are not strong. He misunderstood the Great General, thinking he would replace the Little Emperor, so he intends to hold Jiangnan to preserve the embers of the Jin Dynasty. Now he must have seen the humility and talent of the Great General, and should take a step back to let Jiangnan return to the court."
He said, "Since the Han Dynasty, the world has been in turmoil. Now that we have finally unified the land, there must be no more chaos."
The aide thought about it and felt that if Liu Kun used this mindset to persuade, he might indeed succeed, so he said no more other words and agreed, "Your Lordship, when shall we cross the river?"
"First, send a letter to them and choose an auspicious day to cross the river," Liu Kun sat at the desk and began to write, "I will first write a letter to the Great General, you dispatch people to search for Princess Xiangcheng, and prepare some gifts, preferably local products of Langya, which I want to bring to King Langya and Wang Dao."
He hopes that when they see the wares of their homeland they will be moved by nostalgia. Jiangnan may be good, but it certainly cannot compare to home.
Langya County is under the jurisdiction of Xuzhou, so finding local products from Langya in Xuzhou is very easy, the aide immediately agreed.
Just as Liu Kun prepared to head south, the wars in Jingzhou and Yangzhou indeed stalled as Zhao Hanzhang expected.
Wang Dun indeed wanted to unify Jiangnan first, then attack north, so upon seeing Wang Xuan cease hostilities and focus on governing the conquered counties without further advances, he also calmed down and did not attack Jingzhou, but he began thinking of ways to break the stalemate.
Dai Yuan had not yet arrived in Yangzhou from Guangzhou, but Wang Dun thought it wouldn’t delay much longer, thus he should resolve things swiftly.
Wang Dun promptly made a decision, with even more resolve than Zhao Hanzhang imagined.
Yuan Li threw the mutton he had bought into a basket and headed home, greeting many people along the way.
After taking seven or eight steps into the alley, his smile slightly froze, and his steps slowed.
Though the alley was inward, the weather was fine, with warm sunlight, in winter people liked to sit in the alleys and bask in the sun, but now the alley was empty.
The moment Yuan Li paused, several people appeared behind him, drawing their swords with a clang, and menacingly advanced towards him.
Yuan Li turned his head to glance back, and from the surrounding walls in front, several people leapt out, surrounding him front and back.
In that moment, many thoughts flashed through Yuan Li’s mind. He suddenly threw the basket backward and swiftly darted up the wall to leap onto a rooftop, hoping to escape.
He would only be useful if he escaped.
Just as he leapt onto the rooftop, more than a dozen people suddenly emerged from behind the roof ridge, surrounding him from the front on the roof.
Mere moments later, people behind him also caught up. With a swipe to his waist, he drew a soft sword with a swoosh, and turned to rush at the person who had just jumped up and was not yet steady behind him.
The two sides instantly exchanged three or four blows, and Yuan Li had his answer, "You are sent by Wang Dun?"
The military styles and habits were familiar to him.
Half of Yuan Li’s heart settled. He fought with them while laughing heartily, "So Wang Dao knows nothing yet, right?"
He wasn’t afraid if it was Wang Dun attacking, at worst their group would be annihilated; he feared Wang Dao.
In just moments, Yuan Li wounded four and severely injured three, while he himself suffered two slashes. However, they seemed to be holding back, so he was restricted in places.
Yuan Li fought while fleeing in the direction of Wang Dao’s house, only a few more houses to go and he would reach it.
But just as he leapt onto a rooftop, he saw people below in the courtyard turn to look at him, and rows of crossbows aimed at him.
Yuan Li immediately didn’t hesitate, took out a bamboo tube from his waist, twisted it, and yanked it open, with a whoosh, a bright light shot from the bamboo tube directly into the sky, emitting a clear sound.
Wang Dao, living not far away, raised his head from his desk and frowned in confusion, "What’s that sound?"
