Shaking her head weakly, Situ Yushuang's face was a little lonely and desolate, but her eyes revealed her persistence, which seemed more like a belief supporting her.
"Sister, the situation has come to this point, why are you bothering? You have done everything you can, no matter what the outcome is, you can proudly stand up and say that you have a clear conscience. You are planning something. Everything is determined by God, and some things cannot be undone by hard work alone. Just like when the Kingdom of Jemelo was destroyed by the Machikhans, not one person can turn things around. It may be much better to let nature take its course for many things. ." Sofia didn't want her sister, who seemed to her to be a bit paranoid, to embark on a path of no return. She was worried that the other party's wishes and ideas would not be able to accept the blow if they failed in the end. As a close sister, she could not Watching the other party come to this point.
"Sister, how can you know the success or failure of some things if you don't do them? If I do it and fail, then I will have no regrets, and I will feel much more at peace in my heart. You don't have to persuade me anymore, I know that I am What to do." Situ Yushuang's eyes looked so calm and clear at this moment, without any anger or impulsiveness. Apart from being a little more worried in Sophia's eyes, she really couldn't do anything more.
"Sister, what are you going to do now? Li Wufeng has now taken control of Jinzhong and has no worries anymore. With the military strength he possesses, the empire can no longer compete with his power alone. Will this meeting of kings continue? What’s the point of driving on?”
"Of course we have to do it. Military means cannot solve him, and we have other means. Now that he has come to the imperial capital, how can we let him slip away so easily? Doesn't he also want to take this opportunity to win over the forces that divide the empire? I will do as he wishes and let him perform all kinds of conspiracies in this imperial capital." Situ Yushuang gritted her teeth when she mentioned the word conspiracy. Obviously, Li Wufeng's beautiful hand in the Jinzhong Incident gave her an unforgettable impression. a lesson.
Sofia could hear the unwillingness in the other party's words, but she could not imagine what other means in the other party's words meant. Although she has followed Situ Yushuang on the fringes of the political life of the imperial capital for several years, she does not know much about those dark methods, but she can vaguely feel the frightening murderous intention in the other party's words.
Faced with the aggressive offensive in Western Xinjiang, Situ Yushuang, He Lu and others did not respond passively and quickly launched a counterattack.
The attitude of "Daily Express" reversed on the third day after the Jinzhong Incident. It published an article "Where does the name Xijiang come from?" 》In detail, Li Wufeng's ambitions were revealed after he took office as the military and political envoy to Guanxi and Northwest China, from the fall of Tiannan County and Burma, to the de facto takeover of Beiyuan and Heshuo counties, and to various other matters outside the empire. The article is an act of expansion, with a sharp style of writing and fierce rhetoric, pointing out that Xijiang, as an external vassal of the empire, controls half of the empire's territory. Now that the foreign troubles have been eliminated, it still controls Tiannan and Burma, which should be directly controlled by the central empire. The four counties of Beiyuan, Beiyuan and Heshuo, especially the two counties of Beiyuan and Heshuo, are originally the hinterland of the Central Plains and have nothing to do with Western Xinjiang. Western Xinjiang took advantage of the opportunity of annihilating the Taiping Army and resisting the invasion of the Kamans to regain the lands. It should have been handed over to the unified management of the empire in time, but Western Xinjiang used various excuses to delay or even refuse to hand it over. Now it has directly extended its sphere of influence to the important areas of the capital. , this kind of behavior is even worse than when the previous vassal towns were separatist. This situation is undoubtedly contempt for the empire, and the word "big tail" is the best portrayal.
The eloquent comments with thousands of words immediately caused an uproar in the imperial capital. There were many people who agreed with it, and many media took the opportunity to attack it, demanding that Xijiang take the initiative to hand over the land of the four counties, and asked the empire to take back the four counties. There are various administrative jurisdictions, and there are also various proposals that require Western Xinjiang to return the land of Beiyuan and Heshuo counties under the guise of reasonable adjustments based on the actual situation, while Tiannan and Burma counties should be managed by the Western Xinjiang Metropolitan Protectorate. There are various suggestions. And finally. Many conservative forces in the imperial capital became even more fierce in their rhetoric, accusing Li Wufeng of being ambitious and wanting to do what the new dynasty did to the Han Dynasty in the past, and demanding a tough response from the imperial center to resolutely take back the administrative jurisdiction of the four counties.
At the same time, the largest newspaper in the north, "Beiping Morning Post", also published a signed article "On the Legality and Rationality of the Protectorate", which elaborated on the harm of the Protectorate system to the empire in peacetime from a legal perspective. At the end of the article, it proposed to cancel The Imperial Protectorate will restore the county guard system in the interior, and the Jiedushi system can be adopted at the border according to the situation. One person cannot hold two positions at the same time. Under the current situation that the empire is at peace, a large-scale disarmament will be achieved. The military and political Jiedushi can not exceed the The regular army of the two legions worked hard to develop the economy.
For a time, peace, disarmament, and economic development became the most popular words in the empire. The imperial media even published long pages every day explaining the importance of achieving peaceful economic development in the empire, pointing the finger at those who had come to Beijing to attend the meeting of kings. A prince.
"Mr. Hu, it seems that Li Wufeng's life is not easy. In the past few days, newspapers have been attacking him one after another, saying that he has the intention to usurp the throne. I'm afraid he is also burning with pain now." He rode his horse and walked, While leisurely looking at the vaguely visible city wall in the distance, the handsome young man's eyes were a little uncertain.
"Well, that's what's good. It makes him unable to sit still, neither to advance nor to retreat. It is exactly in line with our intention. We can delay it as long as we can, and we can rely on it. The longer it is delayed, the better it is for us. Your Majesty Her health is no longer good. Her Royal Highness the Thirteenth Princess seems to be willing to betray us and let Her Highness take the helm. Intelligence shows that there are no troops stationed in the north and east of the Imperial Capital. In other words, the Imperial Capital has been completely opened to His Highness. His Highness's It is only a matter of time before the army enters the Imperial Capital. Our strength in the Imperial Capital is already a bit weak and we rely entirely on horses to get there. Now it seems that the Thirteenth Princess is planning to bypass the Imperial Guards and directly let the Highness come to take charge of the Imperial Capital. This time it seems Your Highness should take this opportunity to get more."
He sighed with some emotion. Choosing the most suitable response strategy for his lord has been Hu Tingzhi's goal these days, which he has been thinking hard about from all sources of information. However, the trend in the imperial capital seems to have changed in a few days, which makes him quite nervous. I originally thought that Li Wufeng had already gained all the advantages in seizing Jinzhong, but the article on the legality and rationality of the Western Xinjiang Protectorate suddenly ignited the fire of a prairie fire. For a while, there was a storm, and almost everyone jumped out to accuse openly or covertly. Li Wufeng's disobedience and public opinion guidance have almost become the vane guiding the political struggle in the imperial capital. Originally there was some inclination to join forces with Situ Tai and Situ Yushuang, but now it seems inappropriate. Once Situ Tai's army enters the imperial capital, both political resources and economic support will be greatly improved. As long as he shows a little strength, I'm afraid those nobles and gentry are worshiping them as the masters of ZTE, but what good will this do to themselves? I'm afraid that if he doesn't dare to provoke Li Wufeng, he will turn his ideas on himself. If he continues to regard it as orthodox, it will be a matter of course for him to be integrated.
"Then what does Mr. Hu think we should do now?" Situ Biao is obviously aware of the current situation. Whether it is Li Wufeng's eye-catching performance or his brother's limelight, it is actually not good for him. He hopes that the two sides can directly A conflict occurs, and it is better if the conflict continues or even develops into a war. But this idea is obviously unrealistic. Both the eldest brother and Li Wufeng are now a little bit wary. The anti-civil war sentiment in the imperial capital seems to be on the rise. Whoever initiates a war will lose points in future political struggles, not to mention whether the war should be How to fight? It seems that both sides have not yet figured out how to fight. They are still looking forward to determining their respective policies after this gathering, but what strategy should they adopt
"Your Highness, to be honest, I don't have any confidence in my heart right now. It seems difficult to determine what strategy we should adopt. But one thing is for sure. It will definitely be more beneficial for us if they continue to confront each other like this. If they can keep doing this It would be great to restrict each other, but unfortunately this situation will not last long. We need to seize this period of time." The words of the scribe surnamed Hu were full of uncertainty, "Everything needs to be truly determined after this party. , this is just a rough principle and framework.”
"You mean Cheng Dayou in the east?" Situ Biao's eyes lit up and he couldn't help but squeeze the horse's belly with his legs. The horse's galloping speed gradually became faster. Maybe what he should do now is to increase his strength as much as possible. Well, taking back Jiujiang may be a good choice.
"Look, Your Highness, there are still many variables in this gathering. I always feel that Princess Thirteen is not someone who gives up easily. Maybe she has more tricks that she has not used yet. We might as well make various preparations at the same time. Just wait and see what happens." The scribe named Hu replied with a wry smile. There is no more way now. Almost everyone is watching this gathering. Situ Lang is almost certainly no longer suitable to assume the status of emperor. Almost none of the nobles in the imperial capital are Exceptions will support Situ Tai's ascension to the throne. The only obstacle is from Western Xinjiang. If Li Wufeng firmly opposes the change of throne, I am afraid that all the ministers in the court will reconsider. It would be extremely difficult for Situ Tai to sit on this throne. Of course, his hope as a master is also very slim. Maybe Li Wufeng would support him, but without the corresponding strength, sitting in this position would be the same as Situ Lang at most. So what? What's the point? I believe my master is also considering this issue.