r18novel Page 306
Page 306
Li Chang'an also knew that the empress was Hongshu's aunt.
Sweet Potato is still the only one qualified to inherit the title of Lord of Dunhuang.
Gu Dazu said worriedly, "That is one of the two prefectures that were taken by the Northern Barbarians, and it has been under their control for a long time."
Unlike Gu Dazu's anger, Li Chang'an was very fond of this piece of land.
The exclave of Shazhou later became the fourth prefecture of Northern Liang, Liuzhou!
The 200,000 refugees there now harbor great hatred towards Northern Liang.
The Northern Liang used them to raise and train troops, and frequently launched unwarranted attacks.
Of the 200,000 refugees, half were young and able-bodied men, which is equivalent to 100,000 soldiers.
Li Chang'an didn't want to leave this lucrative opportunity to Xu Fengnian in the future.
If Li Chang'an could absorb these 100,000 refugees into his army, he wouldn't even be afraid of the 350,000 troops of Beiliang!
In this world, without the strength to contend with Northern Liang, how can we talk about vying for the Central Plains!
Most importantly, Shazhou is far from the reach of the central government and can be completely controlled.
Such places have always been ideal for establishing their own independent regimes!
What Li Chang'an needed was just this piece of land!
At this moment, Xu Weixiong, with a strange expression, delivered the next piece of news.
"Your Highness, the imperial court also intends to bestow Princess Xu Zhihu of Beiliang upon you in marriage..."
Li Chang'an couldn't help but laugh. This Yuan Benxi was truly wicked to the core, able to come up with such a despicable trick.
"Very well, very well, I've taken one of Xu Xiao's daughters!"
"The imperial court will send another one, so that Xu Rentu's two daughters can serve me alone!"
"Why doesn't Yuan Benxi just piss right in Xu Xiao's face?!"
Xu Zhihu's identity is not only that of a princess of Beiliang.
She was also the dream lover of Lu Dongxuan, the patriarch of the Taoist sect, whom he had sought for three lifetimes without ever finding her!
This woman is not only exceptionally beautiful, but also blessed with great fortune!
When Li Chang'an came to this world, he wanted to gain power and influence, so he had to collect this fortune.
Moreover, the nameless golden lotus in the main world also clearly indicates that the snow world is about collecting fortune.
Li Chang'an could guess that Xu Xiao would definitely make his daughter disappear or fake becoming a nun.
In short, it was impossible for Xu Zhihu to marry Li Chang'an so easily.
Xu Weixiong continued, "Your Highness, there are still some dissenting voices in the court regarding the decision to enfeoff Your Highness in Shazhou."
Li Chang'an said, "There's no need to discuss the matter of fiefdoms anymore."
"Wei Xiong will leverage the connections left by Wu Lingsu to ensure that the imperial court grants Shazhou to me!"
Now, the Embroidered Uniform Guard's secret intelligence division has been fully deployed under Xu Weixiong's planning.
Li Chang'an was also able to influence some of the debates and disagreements in the imperial court.
If we mobilize some more court officials, the matter of bestowing fiefs will surely develop according to Li Chang'an's wishes!
Xu Weixiong then said, "Your Highness, the Northern Liang has sent Qi Dangguo to discuss Xu Fengnian's matter with you."
Li Chang'an said calmly, "Wei Xiong and Elder Gu can handle this matter. Xu Fengnian won't return it to Xu Xiao so easily."
"Once we have the strength to confront Beiliang, we will either kill Xu Fengnian or make trouble for him again."
"Xu Xiao wants a son, and our offer is much higher than Wang Ying's."
"Ten million taels of silver and a million bushels of grain, that's not much, is it?"
After that, Qi Dangguo, with a forced smile, stayed in Jincheng for a long time.
However, both Xu Weixiong and Gu Dazu insisted on Li Chang'an's idea and would not return Xu Fengnian in the short term.
The Fushuifang and the Jinyiwei, two intelligence forces, engaged in a protracted struggle both inside and outside Jincheng.
However, Fushuifang was never able to place a spy by Li Chang'an's side.
Because Li Chang'an would regularly check on the newly recruited Imperial Guards, and those with low emotional value would be directly dismissed.
If the emotional value is negative, they will be immediately imprisoned and interrogated; they are almost always spies of Beiliang.
Therefore, it was simply impossible for Fushuifang to find Xu Fengnian's hiding place.
Xu Fengnian is no longer in Yongzhou. With Ba Linglong by his side, they are truly traveling the world.
He stayed in Yongzhou for a month, and then moved to Qingzhou. Even Li Chang'an himself didn't know the exact location.
Three months later.
Qi Dangguo returned to Beiliang, bringing with him Xu Fengnian's blood-written letter.
"Your Highness, Mr. Li. After they knocked me unconscious, they took me to see the Crown Prince."
"The prince is still alive, but he has suffered severe torture and is covered in blood."
"Li Chang'an's men sent people to treat his injuries, and once he was healed, they continued to torture him."
Upon hearing Qi Dangguo's words, Xu Xiao trembled all over, his face turning red with anger!
Even when the imperial court wanted to deal with him, it never used such methods.
His own son, whom he wouldn't even touch, was actually locked up and abused by Li Chang'an!
Qi Dangguo tremblingly handed over Xu Fengnian's blood-written letter, on which were written...
"Father, I don't want to die!"
Xu Xiao, who had spent his life in battle, couldn't help but shed tears!
This brat hasn't called me "Dad" in years!
For Xu Fengnian to call him "father," he must have suffered immensely!
"Son! Where is my son?!"
"Yishan! What exactly happened at Fushuifang?"
"They can even remove the jewelry from Empress Murong's head, so how come they still can't find Feng Nian's whereabouts!"
Li Yishan also frowned deeply, "Your Highness, we have all underestimated Li Chang'an."
"More than ten of the elite spies who made great contributions in Northern Mang have already been lost in Yongzhou!"
"I don't know why, but even if they infiltrate the Embroidered Uniform Guard, they will be discovered inexplicably."
"Moreover... the more experienced and capable a spy is, the easier it is to be discovered!"
Xu Xiao said angrily, "What exactly does Li Chang'an want to do? Does he intend to imprison Feng Nian for the rest of his life?"
"He's really not afraid. I'll send troops to wipe him out!"
At this moment, Qi Dangguo said, "Three years. Li Chang'an said that the Crown Prince can be released after three years."
"Moreover, Beiliang needs to pay ten million taels of silver and one million shi of grain!"
Upon hearing these words, Xu Xiao instantly flew into a rage and smashed the chessboard to pieces!
"Bastard!"
"One million shi of grain is enough to feed an army of 200,000 for a year! Enough to feed Li Chang'an's 4,000 soldiers for 50 years!"
"Three years? Are we really going to wait for Feng Nian to be tortured for three years?!"
For the sake of the greater good of Beiliang, it is time to abandon Xu Fengnian.
However, how could Xu Xiao bear to give up his eldest son, the only one who might inherit the Xu family business?
Xu Xiao is a man with almost no weaknesses.
However, ever since Xu Fengnian came along, Xu Xiao has developed a weakness.
Li Chang'an seized upon this point and firmly controlled Xu Xiao.
In addition, Li Chang'an's ability to see clearly made it impossible for Xu Xiao to send anyone to infiltrate Li Chang'an's circle.
The most sensible thing for Xu Xiao to do is to send troops to conquer Yongzhou and abandon Xu Fengnian.
But he couldn't do it.
"Yishan, what if Li Chang'an breaks his promise!"
Three years later, then another three years! What should we do then?
Li Yishan frowned, at a loss for what to do for a moment.
Xu Xiao was invincible before because he had no weaknesses.
"If Li Chang'an doesn't return Feng Nian... then we'll have no choice but to give up on the heir."
Xu Xiao gritted his teeth and said, "If you push me to that point, I will not hesitate to tear the sky apart to shreds and make sure Li Chang'an is torn to pieces!"
"Qi Dangguo, agree to Li Chang'an's conditions! However, you can only pay half of the gold, silver, and provisions now!"