Dynasty Call: Low-key Struggle for Hegemony

"Prime Minister Lin may be delayed by government affairs. Your Highness, you'd better think it over quickly."

When Lu Xun heard Li Mujun asking Lin Shufan, his eyes showed deep helplessness. He knew why Lin Shufan didn't come.

"It's better to wait until Prime Minister Lin arrives." Li Mujun hesitated.

well!

Lu Xun was troubled in his heart. Li Heng had tried to win over him many times, but Lu Xun had always been angry with Li Heng and was unwilling to choose Li Heng because Li Heng was the cause of all this.

If Li Heng hadn't tempted Li Yao to marry his beloved daughter, he wouldn't have chosen Li Yao first. If he hadn't chosen Li Yao, he could have stayed quietly at home, and he wouldn't have come to Li Mujun now.

It's all Li Heng's fault.

So can Lu Xun not be angry with Li Heng?

Seeing that the eldest princess Li Mujun was not getting enough, Lu Xun's eyes showed a hint of determination, and he persuaded her again. If Li Mujun still didn't understand, he would give up this path.

"Elder Princess, Prime Minister Lin will not come. Prince Heng may have arrived at Prime Minister Lin's residence now."

Li Mujun's face changed slightly when he heard King Heng's name, "What do you mean, will Prime Minister Lin agree to King Heng?"

"Your Highness, don't you understand? The threat from King Chu has become extremely great. The most important thing is that now King Chu has no opponent. We can't sit back and watch King Chu become stronger, and King Yu is eyeing our court. The best way is Let King Yu deal with King Chu." Lu Xun said seriously, "King Heng will naturally think of this, so he will discuss with Prime Minister Lin by inviting King Yu to cooperate."

At the end of the sentence, Lu Xun raised his head and glanced at Li Mujun, whose expression changed, and said in a deep voice:

"Most officials in the imperial court will agree with this decision, and Prime Minister Lin is no exception."

Li Mujun couldn't sit still for a moment, and quickly stood up and said: "Master Lu, I have agreed to cooperate with King Yu. You go and invite Prime Minister Lin to come to the palace to have a talk. How about we discuss how to cooperate with King Yu to deal with King Chu?"

Lu Xun frowned.

Li Mujun explained: "If King Heng rushes to Prime Minister Lin's Mansion now, and if I send someone else to deliver the order, Prime Minister Lin will most likely shirk it, so I need to trouble Mr. Lu to go there."

Then why don't you go and invite me yourself?

This will also show more sincerity.

Lu Xun wanted to retort, but seeing that Li Mujun finally understood, he had no choice but to reply:

"Yes, I will go now."

Lu Xun stood up and saluted, then strode away.

"Here comes Lord Laolu." Li Mujun stood up to see him off.

"Alas!" Li Mujun shook his head and sighed when he saw Lu Xun's disappearing figure, with a look of distress on his face.

"Your Highness doesn't want to cooperate with Prince Yu Yu?"

At this time, a female voice suddenly came, and a graceful lady in a silver dress, with shiny black hair and skin as good as snow emerged from the palace screen. Apparently she had been listening to Li Mujun and Lu Xun behind the screen. conversation.

"Yes, I have a bad feeling about cooperating with Prince Yu." Li Mujun was not surprised to see this person coming out, and she had no intention of hiding anything.

The woman in front of him was a talented woman. It was said that Li Yao wanted to lure her to the capital at that time and sent Liu Jin, an expert from the factory, to take charge. Unfortunately, just the day before Li Yao fell into coma, she finally agreed to join the capital.

After that, Liu Jin forgot her in Kyoto. Liu Jin suddenly remembered this incident some time ago, but Emperor Yao was already in a coma and didn't know what to do, so he reported the incident to Li Mujun.

Li Mujun was very curious, so he recruited her. During this period, he found that she was indeed talented and had strong political abilities. He immediately replaced Zhao Yan and made her his confidant.

Her name is Shangguan Wan'er.

Shangguan Wan'er was also very grateful for the eldest princess' regard for her, so she was loyal to Li Mujun and made suggestions behind the scenes.

Shangguan Wan'er had a faint smile on her pretty face, and there was a sense of confidence in her behavior. She gave a slight salute to Li Mujun:

"Your Highness is prepared for a rainy day. Wan'er admires it. Your Highness must be thinking that King Yu has always supported King Heng before. King Heng has most of King Yu's people under his command, so the relationship between King Heng and King Yu is very close. If the imperial court cooperates with King Yu, Heng Wang Hui has a huge advantage and can easily suppress us in our cooperation with King Yu."

Li Mujun's mind flashed like a flash of lightning, and he suddenly realized that he finally knew why he felt bad about cooperating with King Yu, and where was his helplessness.

It turns out to be here!

"Yes, that's right, that's what I think."

Li Mujun walked up to Shangguan Wan'er in a few steps and looked at Shangguan Wan'er with bright eyes.

As expected of Shangguan Wan'er, she guessed what she was thinking in an instant, her eyes were very eager and she said: "Wan'er, what can you do about this?"

Shangguan Wan'er's black and white beautiful eyes turned slightly, her thin lips were pressed tightly, and there was a hint of trouble on her face:

"Your Highness, the entire court is now shaken by what happened to King Chu. These important officials in the court do not want to see King Chu strong. They unite with King Yu and let King Yu deal with King Chu. In their view, it is a matter of killing two birds with one stone. This is the general trend. , if His Highness stops it, I’m afraid it will be difficult to stop it.”

When Li Mujun heard this, her eyes showed deep helplessness. She knew what Shangguan Wan'er was saying. Those petty officials were okay, but it was the ministers who would oppose her. These few ministers could already represent the opinions of the court.

"Yes, Prime Minister Lin, the six ministers, and even the six ministers do not dare to let the King of Chu become stronger. If the King of Chu competes for the world, their positions as officials will probably be removed." Li Mujun showed a look of disdain. , the longer she stayed up there, the more and more she became aware of how much these officials valued their position.

"Therefore, it is imperative that the imperial court unite to honor the king." Shangguan Wan'er said with twinkling eyes.

"That's natural," Li Mujun gritted his silver teeth and said, "If I don't agree, I'm afraid the entire court will support King Heng, so I have to agree."

Shangguan Wan'er sighed on her face: "But I agreed. When King Heng cooperated with King Yu, he used King Yu's influence to slowly win over the neutral ministers of the court. Once King Chu was solved, King Heng's prestige greatly increased. Coupled with the support of most people in the court, we are afraid..."

Li Mujun clenched her fists tightly. Although Shangguan Wan'er did not finish her words, she knew very well that she would be replaced by King Heng as the supervisor of the country.

In addition, King Heng had already won the support of the ministers of the court at that time, and he wanted to return to his former self.

Now if you don't agree, you will be directly boycotted by the court officials. If you agree, you will be boiled like a frog in warm water and slowly lose power.

I am not reconciled, I am really unwilling!

"Wan'er, you are so smart, is there any way to save you?" Li Mujun couldn't think of any other way and looked at Shangguan Wan'er expectantly.

Shangguan Wan'er's eyes flickered. Looking at Li Mujun's eager eyes, she paused and said hesitantly:

"Your Highness Princess, why do we have to work so hard? This duty of supervising the country only lasts for one year. After one year, Your Highness Yao Huang will wake up, and even if the imperial court cooperates with Prince Yu, Chu may not be able to be solved within this year. king.

Once Emperor Yao wakes up, he will naturally not watch King Heng control the court and start another fight.

According to my subordinates, everything we are doing now is useless. It is better to obey the court's opinion, cooperate with King Yu, and then quietly wait for Emperor Yao to wake up, and let Emperor Yao fight with them. "

"No, I will never admit defeat!"

When Li Mujun heard Shangguan Wan'er's words, her eyes showed unprecedented determination. She recalled that all the officials in the court saluted her in unison, and she felt an unprecedented feeling in her heart, the pride of having the power of the world in her hands, which made her unable to stop.

Having enjoyed such power, Li Mujun was even more unlikely to give up.

When Shangguan Wan'er saw Li Mujun's appearance, she hesitated to speak, but persisted in persuading:

"But when Emperor Yao wakes up, everything for us will return to where it started. Prime Minister Lin, Shangshu Lu, and Shangshu Tang also supported us because of Emperor Yao."

Li Mujun said with an extremely firm tone: "Whether it's Li Heng or Li Yao, I will never admit defeat, even if the fight reaches the final moment of failure!"

Upon hearing Li Mujun's words, Shangguan Wan'er's face was startled, "Your Highness, do you even want to fight Emperor Yao?"

"Wan'er, you have been with me for so long, you should be able to vaguely guess my thoughts,"

Li Mujun looked up at the glorious palace outside, and heard a sonorous and powerful voice, expressing his firm belief.

"Why do we women have to rely on others? Isn't it possible that our future is in our own hands? Does the emperor's seat have to be for men only?"

Shangguan Wan'er's face was startled, as if she had seen Li Mujun have such a noble wish for the first time.

"Wan'er, are you willing to follow me on this thorny road, this unprecedented road!"

Li Mujun looked at Shangguan Wan'er with piercing eyes. This was the first time that she revealed her true feelings in front of her subordinates. She had an unprecedented feeling about Shangguan Wan'er. She felt that Shangguan Wan'er was the only one who understood her and would understand her. The one who supports her!

Shangguan Wan'er's eyes were stunned. She didn't know if it was a moment or how long. Her bright and clear eyes gradually became firm, and a faint smile appeared on her beautiful face. She bowed to Li Mujun and said in an extremely firm tone:

"Shangguan Wan'er is willing to follow His Highness, even if he is shattered to pieces!"

Li Mujun's eyes lit up and she couldn't help but smile. She knew that she had truly conquered Shangguan Wan'er. She quickly helped Shangguan Wan'er up and said, "With Wan'er here, I feel that no matter how powerful the enemy is in the future, I won't be afraid."

"Thank you for the compliment, Your Highness."

Shangguan Wan'er's eyes shone with confidence.

When Li Mujun saw Shangguan Wan'er's confident expression, she felt even more satisfied. She liked subordinates who were as confident as herself.

"Now that we have decided to cooperate with King Yu to deal with King Chu, I will never admit defeat." Li Mujun snorted coldly, thinking of the dire situation.

Shangguan Wan'er's face moved slightly, her eyes flickered, and she seemed to have firmed up her mind.

Li Mujun immediately noticed the change in Shangguan Wan'er's face, so he asked with some surprise: "Wan'er, do you have any ideas?"

"Before, I didn't understand His Highness's real thoughts, but now I understand and have a bold idea. If we can succeed, not only can we defeat King Heng, but even if Emperor Yao wakes up, we can't stop His Highness from taking control of the court!" Shangguan Wan'er's eyes narrowed slightly, showing a sharp look.

"Oh, what can I do!" Li Mujun's eyes widened, he grabbed Shangguan Wan'er's hand and asked extremely excitedly.

Shangguan Wan'er looked around, looking cautious.

"Wan'er, don't worry. The palace maid has already asked them to retreat. There are only you and me here, and the news won't spread." Li Mujun glanced at the empty palace and smiled.

This is her palace. If she is still suspicious and unsure of herself in her own palace, wouldn't she be too useless?

"Yes, Your Highness."

Shangguan Wan'er came close to Li Mujun's ear and her voice became an octave lower:

"Your Highness, the officials of the imperial court and King Heng want to cooperate with King Yu to defeat King Chu, then we will secretly cooperate with King Chu!"

"What!"

Li Mujun looked shocked when he heard Shangguan Wan'er's method.

Cooperate with the King of Chu?

King Chu is now so powerful, and he still cooperates with him. If King Chu defeats King Yu and King Heng, then what's the point?

"Your Highness, please sit down and listen to my explanation."

Shangguan Wan'er seemed to know Li Mujun's surprise, smiled and asked Li Mujun to sit down.

He continued: "Your Highness, think about it, King Yu has now taken control of two states, and King Chu has just taken control of two states. Fengzhou and Yizhou even need troops to control them, so King Chu's strength is even greater than that of King Yu. Weak, coupled with the imperial army, the King of Chu will definitely be defeated."

"If we secretly cooperate with King Chu, King Chu will definitely agree."

Li Mujun sat down a little confused. After hearing Shangguan Wan'er's last words, he nodded with certainty and said: "That's natural. If Lao Wu doesn't agree, he will die."

"But what good will we gain by cooperating with King Chu? When he kills King Yu, wouldn't we be doomed too?"

"It's impossible. We don't send troops to help the King of Chu. We can only provide intelligence. King Yu and the imperial army are powerful. Even if the King of Chu secretly cooperates with us and sets up an ambush, even if the victory is just a tragic victory, it will only be a hard fight. Both sides suffer!" Shangguan Wan'er said confidently.

"Let them both lose?" Li Mujun was a little hesitant. She didn't quite understand what Shangguan Wan'er was thinking, or what benefit that sentence would have to her.

"Your Highness, think about it, if King Chu defeats King Yu, and you rescue the imperial army from an ambush at a critical moment, your prestige will be increased, and King Heng's prestige will be reduced."

"Let's take advantage of the disastrous defeat of the imperial army to attack King Heng and gain control of the imperial court's sovereignty."

"Moreover, in addition to the tragic defeat of King Yu, the troops in Yangzhou and Liangzhou are empty, and Lianzhou is blocking King Chu. When the time comes, we will directly raid Yangzhou and Liangzhou and counterattack King Yu." Shangguan Wan'er's eyes became brighter and brighter as she spoke. Be more and more confident.

"Counterattack King Yu?" Li Mujun's shocked expression never disappeared, and he murmured: "What should King Chu do?"

"King Chu defeated King Yu and suffered heavy losses in his own strength. He will not have the strength to attack Lianzhou again in a short period of time. He can only stabilize the four states and recuperate."

"Your Highness, think about it. Once you deal with King Yu, your prestige in the court will reach its peak. You can easily overwhelm King Heng and take control of the court. Then, before Emperor Yao wakes up, you can ask Lin Xiang and Lu Shangshu to retire and return home.

The official positions of Prime Minister and Minister of Rites are coveted by many people. Taking these two official positions as a temptation, many people will be willing to be loyal to us. It will not be difficult to bring them down.

Then demote those officials who are die-hard loyal to Emperor Yao from Kyoto, and the entire court will be your Highness's voice. Even if Emperor Yao wakes up, there will be nothing he can do to you. "

Li Mujun's expression became more and more excited after hearing this. Shangguan Wan'er's words seemed to make sense and seemed to be successful.

"When the time comes, His Highness will be sitting in Zhongzhou, Lianzhou, Yangzhou, and Liangzhou, and he will not be afraid of the King of Chu at all!"

Shangguan Wan'er's last words made Li Mujun finally make up his mind. He stood up suddenly and held Shangguan Wan'er's hand with great excitement:

"Okay, okay, let's do it!"

"Your Highness, don't get excited. This is just our rough plan. If we want to complete it, we still need a lot of details and a lot of things to do." Shangguan Wan'er did not show any pride, but said very cautiously.

"Yes, the plan must be carried out step by step. As long as we are willing to work hard, we will definitely be able to complete our plan!" Li Mujun looked at Shangguan Waner's trust and couldn't wait to say:

"I believe Wan'er, what should we do as the first step now?"

"Our first step is to gather together Prime Minister Lin, King Heng, Shangshu Lu, Shangshu Jiang, and Shangshu Tang to discuss how to cooperate with King Yu to deal with King Chu!"

Shangguan Wan'er showed a charming smile and her eyes were particularly bright.

"Then let us see how many people are loyal to us!" (End of Chapter)