The First Lackey Under The Empress

Zhao Du'an wore a smile, seemingly not surprised by her choice.

He had made similar choices twice before. Once in the capital, he had given the concubine of the Junior Grand Secretary Li Yinglong, whom he had plundered, a chance to decide her fate.

The second time was with Yunxi, allowing her to decide whether or not to work for him.

Now was the third time, and his purpose in doing so was very simple.

As a member of the Embroidered Uniform Direct Guard, Nie Yurong, if she could be used by him, might play a crucial role in dealing with Prince Mu next.

As a chess player, to defeat a strong enemy, one needs to bury "idle pieces" inadvertently, such as Consort Lu Yan'er beside Prince Jing, Xu Wen.

"Lord Zhao, this humble Taoist can work for you, no need for my younger sister." Yu Xiu's expression changed slightly, and she stepped forward, trying to stop him.

Zhao Du'an smiled like a fox:

"Divine Officer should think it over carefully. What I want you to do will inevitably be related to this imperial civil war, and this will violate the principles of the Celestial Master's Mansion."

Yu Xiu was stunned. She took a deep breath and said seriously, "I know."

These words meant that she would rather break some taboos for Nie Yurong, and even though she was a disciple of the Celestial Master, she would inevitably pay a huge price for it.

Nie Yurong shook her head and smiled:

"Sister, I have made up my mind. Even if you stop me, I will return to the Embroidered Uniform Direct Guard. Not only for you, but also for my friends there. Now that I know you are living well, that is enough, but I still have other things to do."

Obviously, a female assassin who could become an Embroidered Uniform Envoy was not a hesitant person, even more decisive than Yu Xiu.

She stared at Zhao Du'an and said seriously: "Can I bring a few trusted friends to surrender to the imperial court together?"

Zhao Du'an looked at her strangely:

"Do you think Prince Mu will lose? Want to take others out of the fire pit together?"

Nie Yurong said: "I don't know who will win, but I don't think Xu Jingtao has the appearance of a monarch."

Hiss... What is the private face of this Prince Mu, that even his subordinates have no confidence in him? Zhao Du'an curiously asked:

"Why do you say that?"

Nie Yurong said:

"Prince Mu has always been eager for talents on the outside, but he is not like that in private. Moreover, the most important thing is that he is very suspicious. He is always worried about Zhao Shixiong. I don't understand so many great principles, but at least I know that if the subordinates are not of one mind, it is difficult to win the world."

Zhao Du'an's eyes lit up slightly, he noted this information, and nodded:

"Okay, in that case, I will arrange for Song Jinxi to help you create a false image of escape and disappearance, so that you can lurk back. After that, you will contact Song Jinxi and communicate."

The life and death of a female assassin leader were decided so lightly.

Now it was Nie Yurong's turn to look at him strangely:

"Just like that? Aren't you afraid that I will betray you after I leave? Is it just acting now? Deceiving you? After all, sisters who haven't seen each other for decades, in the eyes of others, can't compare to my decades of growth in the Embroidered Uniform Direct Guard, which is very normal."

Zhao Du'an laughed loudly, waved his hand, and said with strong confidence:

"I am not Prince Mu, I use people without suspicion, and I don't use suspicious people. If I promise to let you go, I will do so. If you betray me, I can catch you once, and I can catch you a second time."

Nie Yurong was stunned. At this moment, she realized that the Emperor's favorite minister in front of her was completely different from the image in the information.

Even though the two had only been in contact for a short time, she was still conquered by the aura and unrestrainedness between Zhao Du'an's gestures.

"I understand a little why His Majesty values you."

Nie Yurong suddenly sighed, looked at Yu Xiu deeply, cupped her hands, and walked out of the room.

Yu Xiu opened her mouth, sighed, and said goodbye to return to her room, somewhat dejectedly.

She didn't blame Zhao Du'an, but realized that the crying sister in her memory had already grown up and was more independent than herself.

… …

After sending a few people away, Zhao Du'an silently gnawed on the apple, and a familiar footstep came from outside.

Mo Chou rushed in quickly, her face full of joy:

"Xue Shence is back! Su Dan has been captured, a great victory!"

Finally back!

Zhao Du'an's spirit was shaken, and he immediately got up and left the county office with Mo Chou. He saw Xue Shence and a group of generals triumphantly returning.

In the team, there were also many rebel generals being escorted. The "Juren General" Su Dan was bound, closed his eyes, said nothing, and looked indifferent to life and death.

"Director Zhao! Xue has lived up to his trust and defeated the bandit army! The prisoners are in the back!"

Xue Shence threw away the Fangtian Halberd, jumped off his horse, and the brows that had been depressed for many days cleared up.

The faces of the generals were full of triumphant smiles.

Zhao Du'an felt a stone fall in his heart, and immediately led everyone into the county office to inquire about the situation.

The process was very simple. The plan failed, and Su Dan, who had lost the protection of experts, was attacked by Xue Shence, Shi Meng, and Yuan Feng from three routes of the Jing Camp.

Unexpectedly, he was defeated, and the retreat route was also cut off.

Mo Chou also told the current situation in the city, stating that the city was not badly damaged. As long as the driven refugees returned, this territory that had been taken away would be restored to order in at most two or three days.

A great victory filled the entire army with joy.

At this moment, Xue Shence, Shi Meng, Yuan Feng, Chen Gui, Tang Jinzhong, Ji Yue, Lang Shiba and others gathered together.

In a very relaxed atmosphere, they exchanged the results of the battle.

Xue Shence, as the main general, looked at Zhao Du'an solemnly, stood up and said solemnly:

"In this battle, Director Zhao has made great contributions to this great victory. Without the Director's move at a critical moment, Xue would be responsible for it, but if the two counties were reduced to scorched earth, it would be a historical sinner."

As soon as these words came out, dozens of generals in the hall cast grateful, admiring, and convinced eyes on Zhao Du'an.

Everyone understood that without Zhao Du'an's cloud-moving and rain-making, the result would be reversed.

"No wonder you ordered the collection of so many strange objects in the Lu Mansion. Is it for today? You were worried that the worst would happen, so you prepared?"

Mo Chou was not stupid, and realized the truth when she thought of Zhao Du'an's actions to supervise grain these two days.

Zhao Du'an did not take credit, and said with a faint smile:

"It's just being prepared for a rainy day. I myself am not sure whether it will succeed. Fortunately, the worst did not happen. The first credit for this great victory should go to His Majesty as the king's army, the second is the concerted efforts of everyone, and the third is the unity of the Jing Camp officers and soldiers..."

After saying half of it, Zhao Du'an, who realized that the taste of the speech was too strong, coughed lightly and said:

"In short, the victory should be celebrated, but everyone must not relax. You must know that only a small part of the Linfeng West Line has been recovered, and the road to suppressing the rebellion is still long. And next, we must be careful of the counterattack of the vassal kings."

Xue Shence nodded, put away his joy, and said seriously:

"Taking back Linfeng was already within our expectations. And when the news here spreads, I can be sure that Xu Wen, Prince Jing of the East Line, will definitely take action and attack the East Line, forming an alliance with Xu Jingtao, Prince Mu, to confront us."

Mo Chou looked at him: "Are you going back to the East Line?"

Xue Shence nodded:

"Once Prince Jing takes action, someone must be in charge of the East Line, and I don't have much time left. I want to rest for a while, and then take a part of the troops back to the East Line to resist Prince Jing. As for here..."

Shi Meng, the commander of the Divine Machine Camp, said:

"Prince Jing stole the drawings of firearms. I heard that there are firearms in the army. It's too passive for you to fight. Why not let Chen Gui take the new firearms and go with the Privy Councilor, so as to restrain the construction of Prince Jing."

Yuan Feng, the commander of the Five Army Camp, said:

"Why not let the entire Divine Machine Camp go to the East Line, and leave the West Line to the Five Army Camp to guard. I also want to compete with Zhao Shixiong!"

Su Dan's "bridgehead" was abolished, and the West Line continued south, entering the Huai River, and would directly face Zhao Shixiong, the commander of the Southwest Border Army.

That was a hard bone to chew much harder than Su Dan.

At the end of last year, Duke Tang and others returned to Beijing to report on their duties, but only Zhao Shixiong refused to enter Beijing.

Zhao Shixiong has a very high position in the border army, and is considered by many to be no less than the "Military God" Xue Shence.

Everyone began to discuss how to divide the troops, who would stay on the West Line, and who would go to the East Line.

Zhao Du'an didn't allow outsiders to instruct experts and fully respected the opinions of these generals.

In the end, after discussion, they reached a consensus:

Xue Shence would lead the Divine Machine Camp to the eastern front, where they would be the main force attacking the Jiancheng Dao rebels on behalf of the imperial court.

The Five Armies Camp would remain on the western front, cooperating with Prefect Sun Xiaozhun to advance slowly and steadily.

They would avoid direct confrontation with Zhao Shixiong as much as possible, focusing on holding the western front and strategically assisting Xue Shence.

In other words, it was unrealistic to fight on both the eastern and western fronts simultaneously; it was better to choose one to attack first.

"Since that's the case, let's do it this way," Zhao Du'an, as the supervisor, nodded and finalized the decision. He said,

"As the supervisor, I will personally write a memorial to report the news here to His Majesty."

Well... in fact, the memorial had already been sent, but a formality was still needed...

Xue Shence suddenly looked at him and said seriously:

"When the Supervisor submits the memorial, please also report to His Majesty about the matter of grain and other supplies. I am very worried that the rebellious princes, such as Prince Jing and Prince Mu, will not fight us head-on, but instead adopt a scorched-earth policy, hiding like cowards to delay time."

Zhao Du'an's heart stirred: "You mean..."

Xue Shence sighed and said:

"Autumn is approaching, and now many places in the eighteen prefectures of the nine provinces of the dynasty have fallen into the hands of the rebel kings. I'm afraid that the grain and other supplies will soon be in short supply, relying only on the territories that the imperial court can still fully control."

What is war fought with? Logistics.

The capital does not produce grain, and neither Linfeng nor Qingzhou are major production areas of the Yu Kingdom.

This means that if the war cannot be won quickly and cannot be ended this year, it will be even more difficult to quell the rebellion once winter arrives.

And when spring arrives next year, it will be the planting season again... and once the feudal lords join forces to block supplies, the imperial court will immediately face a "resource shortage."

At that time, I'm afraid it will collapse without a fight...

"Three months."

Xue Shence gave a time frame with a solemn expression:

"At most, after this period of time, the weather will enter the depths of winter, making it even more difficult to fight. Therefore, if we cannot take Huaishui within three months and obtain sufficient supplies from the extremely wealthy Huaishui Dao, then... the imperial court will be in great trouble!"

Take Huaishui within three months?

Or at least take half of Huaishui?

Hearing this goal, the joy of the great victory dissipated by more than half, but they had to admit that Xue Shence's judgment was correct.

"Jointly blockade and cut off supplies... this is indeed a strategy that the rebel kings are likely to choose," Zhao Du'an also became solemn.

He remembered the burning of the fields around Songjia Village by the rebels when he first arrived in Taicang, and the attempt to blow up the Taicang silver mine—

Obviously, the purpose was also for this.

Since attacking the capital is no longer realistic, then switching to a collective defense strategy to drag down the imperial court is the most reasonable and wisest choice.

"Everyone, don't worry too much. If Duke Tang of Xiping Dao defeats Prince Hejian, with the replenishment from Xiping Dao, life won't be too difficult," Mo Chou said quickly, seeing the atmosphere was dull and worried about affecting morale.

As for the more northern Tieguan Dao... she didn't mention it, because supplies there were already scarce.

Xiping Dao... Zhao Du'an's heart stirred. According to the information, Prince Hejian's forces there were not strong, and Duke Tang had clearly stood on the Empress's side last year...

With the strength of the border troops led by Duke Tang, it would not be difficult to defeat Prince Hejian within a few months.

But the problem is... the Western Regions...

The Western Regions would probably be very happy to weaken the imperial court's blockade of the border and might cause trouble.

Even if the Western Regions have Princess Wenzhu, the actual person in power there is the Dharma King of Buddhism. If the Dharma King orders to contain the border troops, Princess Wenzhu can't stop it...

Still can't rely on others... Zhao Du'an sighed softly in his heart and said:

"I will report the truth to His Majesty."

The meeting ended here, and the generals got up and left to carry out the aftermath work.

It's just that compared to the joy after the great victory, everyone felt a sense of urgency in their hearts.

Three months... can they take Huaishui?

Even with Xue Shence in command, the three major capital camps dispatched together, and the two victories of successively destroying the Qingzhou army and capturing Su Dan alive, still could not give people confidence.

Zhao Du'an also returned to his room in the county government, ate a simple meal, slept for a while, and when the sun went out, the sky turned dark, and the world darkened, he woke up again.

Finally feeling his energy replenished, he tried to visualize "The Human World" again.

...

In a trance, Zhao Du'an entered the world in the painting again.

However, this time, as soon as he entered the painting, he clearly felt the existence of the "stone tablet."

"Eh, is it because I left some traces after passing through the painting before?"

Zhao Du'an didn't know the principle, but his consciousness instinctively adjusted its direction. Instead of falling towards the metropolis below, it floated in mid-air, following that strange traction, and found a gap in the darkness.

"Could it be that these gaps have always existed? That's right, if there were no gaps, how would my consciousness enter here? So, I just couldn't perceive the cracks in and out of the painting before."

"Or, Zhenbao left a gap unique to her on the painting when she first entered here, and I remembered this coordinate last time?"

"It's interesting to say that I only exist as my previous life's identity in the painting. Once I leave the painting, I revert to the 'Zhao Du'an' identity."

Zhao Du'an thought wildly, trying to actively drill into the crack.

...

Inside the Imperial Palace, in the old fourth-story pavilion.

Zhao Du'an suddenly drilled out of the mural, and what came into view was a piece of darkness.

The Imperial Palace had already entered the night, but in the dark room, a palace lantern was lit, and the exquisite palace lantern burned quietly.

Dispelling a piece of darkness.

Xu Zhenguan sat quietly on the futon, actually eating dinner!

A small table was placed on the ground, with plates of food and a pot of wine.

Seeing Zhao Du'an "returning again," Xu Zhenguan, who was holding chopsticks to pick up food, was stunned, a smile appeared on her face, and she said with a smile:

"It seems you succeeded."

Zhao Du'an was also stunned, his expression changed:

"Your Majesty wouldn't have been waiting for me here all the time, right?"

Xu Zhenguan nodded as a matter of course: "Of course I have been waiting."

She explained very seriously: "This matter is worth waiting for."

From the time Zhao Du'an returned to Linfeng last time until now, a full few hours have passed.

She waited from the afternoon until it got dark.

Zhao Du'an was silent for a while, exhaled, and explained:

"After I went back, I found that my soul was abnormally exhausted. I rested for a while and dealt with some aftermath before trying to come back again. It seems that I can often travel back and forth in this state, but the price is that each time will consume energy and require rest."

There was some surprise in Xu Zhenguan's eyes. Although only the "soul" could float over, not the complete person, it was a good thing no matter how you looked at it.

"Sit down and talk? It's a pity you can't eat in this state," Xu Zhenguan joked.

Zhao Du'an smiled wryly, not looking at the delicacies on the table. Without wasting any words, he told about some of the aftermath of the battle, including Wei Xianzong's atonement.

"In that case, you did make the right bet on this person. The person recommended by Yuan Gong indeed has talent."

Xu Zhenguan nodded and said:

"It's a special time of war. Since he is willing to atone for his sins, he can be given a chance."

Zhao Du'an nodded and mentioned the reunion of the Yu Xiu sisters.

"There is such a thing? Well, as for how to use this person, you are at the front, so act accordingly," Xu Zhenguan nodded, expressing surprise, but these were not major matters after all.

It wasn't until Zhao Du'an finished talking about the content of the post-war generals' meeting and Xue Shence's concerns that Xu Zhenguan finally became serious.

"Blockading supplies and trapping the imperial court to death... this matter is indeed difficult to solve, but it is also a fantasy to want to recapture Huaishui within three months. What do you think?"

Xu Zhenguan asked, her eyes shining in the darkness.