Chapter 133

Chapter 133

Wu Lao entered the hall, and Ying Fusheng had already dismissed the other attendants, leaving only the two of them in the bedchamber. As soon as Wu Lao stepped inside, he could see the sand table of the Western Shu battlefield. Though the Crown Prince was not on the Youzhou battlefield, Lord Shen's Ministry of War sent daily battle reports from the front lines, and the fighting at Youzhou had fully erupted.

In recent days, Ying Fusheng had not rested well.

"Your Highness, are you feeling unwell?" Wu Lao asked.

Ying Fusheng looked up from the documents and turned to look at him. "I didn't call for you—you came to see me about something."

Wu Lao was taken aback. Ying Fusheng didn't push the matter, merely gesturing for him to sit.

The political situation in the court was ever-changing, and the Eastern Palace had been bustling with visitors in recent days. In the capital, news of the war in Western Shu was spreading daily. During this time, Wu Lao had been going in and out of the capital, hearing reports from all regions, which was why he had been hanging around the Eastern Palace for several days. Yet he had not expected the Crown Prince to take notice of him.

"Your Highness has long been aware," Wu Lao realized.

Ying Fusheng nodded. "Elder Wu, you knew as well, which is why you sent word to Qi Hanzhou back then."

As early as in Jiangling, Qi Hanzhou and the Light Garment Guard had already investigated Wu Lao, learning that he was a native of Western Shu who had fled to Jiangling. When Qi Hanzhou was looking into matters in Western Shu, a key clue had come from Wu Lao—one involving the native medicinal herbs commonly used by Western Shu soldiers.

Wu Lao was a physician, so it made sense that he knew a thing or two about Western Shu medicinal herbs.

But deliberately passing that information through Chen Xuqiu to Qi Hanzhou was no simple act. Everyone has their way of surviving. Wu Lao had lived in seclusion for many years but chose to step back into the world to save Ying Fusheng. Ying Fusheng couldn't bring himself to ask about that life-saving favor; if possible, he hoped Wu Lao would tell him himself.

The room went quiet. After a long hesitation, Wu Lao spoke. "Your Highness, there is more to the matter of Liangzhou than meets the eye."

Supporting himself on his cane, Wu Lao approached the massive sand table and pointed to the Western Shu heartland south of the Youzhou battlefield. "In the previous dynasty, there were barbarian tribes in Western Shu. At that time, the Northern Barbarians invaded from the northern border, infiltrating through the northwestern region all the way into Western Shu. The battlefield once reached deep into Western Shu. It was only later that the late emperor overthrew the previous dynasty, and the generals who fought alongside him fought their way back from Western Shu to the northern border, establishing what is now Dayuan."

The late emperor overthrew the previous dynasty, driving the barbarians into the northern lands, after which they were called the Northern Barbarians.

Later, it was the then Crown Prince—the current emperor—who recovered the northern border, establishing the dozen or so cities there and leaving the Qi family to guard them.

Ying Fusheng knew this history. "What does this have to do with Liangzhou?"

Wu Lao looked toward the direction of Liangzhou. "Because the people who followed the late emperor to conquer the realm were in Liangzhou. They were once called the Liangzhou Army."

"At that time, they were already called the Liangzhou Army. Most of its soldiers were ordinary folk from Western Shu who had long been oppressed by the barbarians. They followed the late emperor into battle, driving the barbarians out of Western Shu and all the way to the northern deserts, eventually laying down their arms and settling in Liangzhou."

Wu Lao gazed at the cities on the sand table and sighed softly. The Liangzhou Army had once held prestige, but as Dayuan pushed its front lines northward, the current defense line was fixed in the far north. Moreover, because the Prince of Qin's fiefdom lay south of the Western Shu hinterlands, for multiple reasons, the Liangzhou Army had become a mere formality. "In the end, the Liangzhou Army ceased to exist."

Ying Fusheng frowned. "Dayuan treats its generals well. The Liangzhou Army were brave troops under the late emperor. Even if the front lines moved north, they should have been properly resettled. My father issued an edict ordering all prefectures to treat the Liangzhou Army well."

His father had always treated military commanders generously; he could not have been negligent on this matter... That could only mean that the so-called court decree had likely been doctored.

At this, Wu Lao's expression shifted. "Your Highness, edicts and reality are two different things."

Ying Fusheng saw the problem. If the Liangzhou Army had been divided and assigned to other cities with proper procedures, then where those soldiers were sent would have been entirely up to the Western Shu prefectural authorities at the time. The emperor had ordered the resettlement of the Liangzhou Army, but when it reached the Western Shu authorities, it became a matter of marginalization and stripping of power.

And in Western Shu, only the Prince of Qin could have done such a thing.

The reason was not hard to guess. The Prince of Qin wanted power. He had been enfeoffed with several important cities in Western Shu and held some military authority, but he would never tolerate any court-appointed spies or informants within his own fiefdom. To eliminate dissidents and dismantle the Liangzhou Army, the Prince of Qin used many dirty tricks, including forging court military orders to break up the Liangzhou Army and assign them to other cities in Western Shu, thereby dissolving their military power and turning it into his own.

"Did no one from the Liangzhou Army send word to the court?" Ying Fusheng asked.

Wu Lao shook his head. "They tried, Your Highness, but there was no follow-up... Word of the Liangzhou Army never made it to the court."

It was the Secret Faction. Over a decade ago, fighting in the northern border had flared up again, and the emperor had gone on campaign, leaving court affairs to the Xu Faction. At that time, the Secret Faction had already infiltrated the Xu family. It was child's play to suppress news from Western Shu while the north was in chaos. If the court took no action, to the old generals of the Liangzhou Army in Western Shu, it looked like the court was giving the green light.

The court ordered the disbandment and disarmament of the Liangzhou Army; the court quietly let the Western Shu authorities do whatever they wanted.

That's why, around the time of the Grand Sacrifice Ceremony, when the news of the reclaiming of military authority spread, the Prince of Qin was the first to ask for leave and not attend.

The Prince of Qin was suspicious then, suspecting that the Emperor had noticed his concealed military power. With so many prefectures secretly defecting during this rebellion in Western Shu, the Prince of Qin's years of influence there were substantial. If what Elder Wu said is true, then the riot in Liangzhou City might be more than just a simple drought disaster.

"You mentioned Liangzhou to me not just to reminisce about old times," Ying Fusheng looked at him. "You saved my life; feel free to speak your mind."

"I was once a military medic under the Liangzhou Army," Elder Wu struggled to speak. The rebellion was hard to quell, but even now, his thoughts were with the veterans and old generals of the Liangzhou Army. "In this Liangzhou rebellion, the city holds the families of those old soldiers and generals. They were once loyal to Dayuan. I, a humble commoner, wish to beg a favor for them."

The Youzhou battlefield now reports victories. If the Lu Family Army proceeds smoothly, they will surely march straight on Liangzhou.

By then, these Liangzhou rebels will all be labeled traitors, facing execution. But these actions were orchestrated by the Western Shu prefectures and the Prince of Qin. The Liangzhou Army was merely used; he didn't want these former comrades to become victims of power struggles.

"If they're dead set on rebelling, then they deserve to die," Elder Wu said with a heavy heart. He suddenly knelt before Ying Fusheng and kowtowed several times. "But if they are innocently exploited, I beg Your Highness to save their lives, out of regard for their service in founding Dayuan."

He had seen firsthand how Ying Fusheng saved the people of Jiangnan. But Western Shu remained in chaos, with several prefectures infiltrated by the Prince of Qin's influence. The people suffered, and the soldiers who once fought for the realm met with an unjust fate... If possible, these lives should be saved.

Ying Fusheng was silent for a moment, then stepped forward to support him. "Was your leg also the work of the Western Shu prefectures?"

Elder Wu's body stiffened for a moment, then he said softly, "In my early years, I treated a powerful official and offended them; it was just a taboo."

"What kind of powerful official would treat you so harshly?" Ying Fusheng looked at him, steadying him. "Were you hunted?"

Elder Wu's medical skills rivaled those of imperial physicians.

In a military setting, such skills would have earned him great respect, even from the Prince of Qin. Yet he ended up crippled and fleeing, not even daring to return to Western Shu, only finding refuge in a small pharmacy in Jiangling.

"Your Highness, those are all in the past..." Elder Wu gave a bitter smile. "Back then, I offended the Prince of Qin's mansion while treating a powerful official. There was no place for me in Western Shu, so I fled all the way to Jiangling."

Ying Fusheng didn't press further; he had someone escort Elder Wu to get some rest.

When Ye Xuanqi entered, he saw the troubled look on Ying Fusheng's face. Immediately alert, he recalled the Junior General's orders before leaving the capital: keep an eye on the Crown Prince's mood. He was about to turn back and summon Elder Wu again when Ying Fusheng looked up at him. "Don't bother him. Elder Wu has something on his mind."

What Elder Wu said about Liangzhou City was likely true, including the mistreatment of the disarmed veterans... But when Ying Fusheng asked about his leg, his evasive response suggested that the injury and burn scars weren't entirely due to the Western Shu prefectures. Offending a powerful official and being hunted down, not returning to Liangzhou but fleeing to Jiangling, likely to avoid bringing trouble back.

"Need me to look into it?" Ye Xuanqi asked.

Ying Fusheng shook his head, instead asking, "What do you know about the Liangzhou Army from those years in Western Shu?"

Ye Xuanqi, of the Qi Family's Light Garment Guard, though young, had become the leader of this unit under Qi Hanzhou. He was deeply knowledgeable about the Qi Family Army's affairs. Normally, such insider matters shouldn't be disclosed, but the Crown Prince had privileges granted by the Junior General. In a critical moment, some things could be said: "The Qi family did have contact with the Liangzhou Army back then. Although the Qi family had the authority to command troops, the Liangzhou Army was led by someone else at that time."

Ying Fusheng asked, "Who?"

Ye Xuanqi thought carefully. "The current Prince of Pingnan."

The Prince of Pingnan once governed the southern border, held in high regard by the late Emperor. At that time, Western Shu was within the southern border's scope, and the Liangzhou Army was under his command. But that was in the past; now the military power in the south was fragmented. He continued, "After the Prince of Pingnan fell gravely ill, his household grew slack. That was why His Majesty specially transferred Old General Chen to Jiangnan to take over the Jiangnan garrison."

Hearing the Prince of Pingnan's name, Ying Fusheng's eyes moved slightly. The chess piece he held paused mid-air.

Their conversation with Qi Hanzhou echoed in his mind, including their discussions about the true mastermind behind the secret faction. They had already concluded that the Prince of Qin probably wasn't the mastermind, and had listed the Prince of Pingnan as a possibility. But the Prince of Pingnan had fought alongside the founding Emperor and governed the southern border for years. Even now, bedridden with illness, he was the first among the southern lords to offer his military power back to the Emperor.

The Prince of Pingnan had no motive. If he had wanted to rebel, Dayuan never would have been established back then; there was no need to scheme for so long.

But when he and Qi Hanzhou discussed this, they didn't have this hidden information about the Liangzhou Army.

"Who holds the military power of the southern garrisons?!" Ying Fusheng demanded.

Ye Xuanqi hesitated. "The Jiangnan garrison is entirely in Old General Chen's hands, but the Prince of Pingnan retains the military power over the Western Shu garrison." After all, the Prince of Pingnan was a founding hero; unless the Emperor reclaimed power across the whole realm, he wouldn't touch the Prince of Pingnan's merits.

The jumbled memories from before he passed out surged back. Ying Fusheng's fingernails dug into his palm. He felt he was about to piece the key points together. Prince of Qin, Prince Jin, the southern military authority, the Prince of Pingnan's divided authority, the Liangzhou Army... Old General Chen had confirmed that the Prince of Pingnan was definitely bedridden...

"Your Highness?!" Ye Xuanqi stepped forward to support him.

Ying Fusheng waved him off and stood steady, continuing to study the vast map of the Southern Frontier, ultimately fixing his gaze on the fief of the Prince of Pingnan. The Prince of Pingnan's fief was not large, positioned right in the center of the Southern Frontier, leaning toward Western Shu. After all, as a prince of a different surname, the court granted him military authority and territory higher than a Marquis, yet still beneath the Prince of Qin and Prince Jin.

With the current capacity of the Prince of Pingnan's mansion, it likely couldn't even match the Lu Family Army of twenty thousand.

This very fact made it easy to lower one's guard against the Prince of Pingnan's residence. The Prince of Pingnan was old, nearing the end of his natural life, and his severe illness was expected. But what if it wasn't what they expected?

"Someone deliberately framed Wu Lao and had him assassinated," Ying Fusheng said.

Ye Xuanqi was stunned. "What do you mean?"

"Wu Lao's connection with the Liangzhou Army is uncommon. Do you think he truly offended a powerful figure, or someone plotted to kill him?" Ying Fusheng countered.

Ye Xuanqi paused, barely able to keep up with the Crown Prince's train of thought. "You mean someone had already set their sights on Wu Lao."

"Someone had already set their sights on the Liangzhou Army."

Wu Lao's greatest expertise was in health preservation. Though his medical skills were inferior to Chen Xuqiu in other areas, his skill in health regulation was crucial to many nobles. If Wu Lao had once been part of the Liangzhou Army, he must have served under the Prince of Pingnan. The Prince of Pingnan's confidants would understand that once someone like Wu Lao reached the Prince's side, it would be impossible to fool him about the Prince's true condition.

"So Wu Lao must not be allowed to go to the Prince of Pingnan's mansion… they had to strike first and make him disappear completely." Ying Fusheng mused. Since arriving in the capital, Wu Lao had rarely appeared in public. His face was scarred by burns, he had difficulty moving, and no one yet knew his true name. It was highly likely that those still hunting him hadn't realized he was still alive.

There was still time!

The more he thought about it, the more terrified Ying Fusheng became, leaving him with only one possibility.

He still had time to lay out his plan.

"Summon Hu Buyu and Shen Changcun, and bring Meng Jinyuan as well!" Ying Fusheng turned and immediately instructed Ye Xuanqi: "Notify Shen Changcun that I need all the Ministry of War's archives concerning the Prince of Pingnan..."

No, they're gone.

The news of the former Minister of War's severe illness came to Ying Fusheng. The archives on the Prince of Pingnan and the Liangzhou Army dated from long before Hu Buyu and Shen Changcun took office! So they had been trying to infiltrate the Ministry of War from the very beginning, because some traces had to be eliminated by someone within the court on their behalf.

Even if any remained, they would be impeccably forged archives.

Ye Xuanqi moved quickly. Once the order came, Hu Buyu and the others immediately rushed to the Eastern Palace.

None of them had ever received such an urgent summons before. Not even during the disaster relief was Ying Fusheng this anxious. As soon as they entered the Eastern Palace, they sensed that something was off.

Song An rushed in from outside. "Your Highness! Urgent report from Jiangnan—Marquis Cen'an has rebelled!"

Marquis Cen'an's rebellion had long been anticipated. He had formed an alliance with the Prince of Qin. Once the Prince of Qin fell into a disadvantage, Marquis Cen'an would have no choice but to move to support him. It was precisely for this reason that the Emperor and the Crown Prince had been reluctant to mobilize the Jiangnan garrison troops under Old General Chen's command—those troops were there to suppress these restless Jiangnan marquises.

"Old General Chen should be prepared," Meng Jinyuan said. "With Prince Jin's help, they should be able to suppress Marquis Cen'an."

Ying Fusheng swayed slightly. He steadied himself by holding onto the sand table. "How many of Old General Chen's troops are his own confidants?"

"Old General Chen is trustworthy," Meng Jinyuan reminded him.

Old General Chen had been a general from the Northern Frontier and a brave commander under the Qi family.

The officers around him were his comrades who had faced life and death together. Ying Fusheng's question struck them as odd.

Ying Fusheng's gaze sharpened as he looked at the vast Southern Frontier. "But half of the Jiangnan garrison troops were once soldiers of the Prince of Pingnan's mansion."

He now understood why the Prince of Pingnan's mansion had been so eager to hand over military power.

It was not a surrender of power, but a means to spread the secret faction's spies throughout the Southern Frontier garrisons!

This was the real scheme in the Southern Frontier.