The Rebellious Officials and Traitors of the Late Han Dynasty

Chapter 541 Purpose
Chang'an City had been shrouded in continuous rain for seven days. Water droplets continued to drip from the eaves of the Taiji Hall, carving small pits of varying depths on the bluestone slabs.

Qin Chengqian stood in front of the window of the East Palace study, his eyes occasionally falling on the imperial edict on the table, his eyes becoming more gloomy. In the rain outside the window, several eunuchs were frantically rescuing the wintersweets that were blown down by the strong wind, and the bright red color was particularly dazzling in the muddy water.

"Your Highness, it's time to eat." The personal eunuch Wang De reminded softly outside the door.

"Bring it in!" Qin Chengqian took a deep breath.

He turned and looked at the "Map of Nine Provinces" hanging on the wall, his eyes fixed on the mountains in southern Xinjiang. A hundred thousand troops were handed over to the second brother who had never touched a military token? And that Zhuge Liang, the powerful enemy of the Tang Dynasty before the unification of the world, his father actually let such a person be the military advisor, which made Qin Chengqian feel unreal.

"Gan'er."

A gentle voice came from behind. Qin Chengqian was shocked and turned around to salute: "Your son pays respect to your mother."

Empress Du Shiniang was wearing a plain palace dress, with only a white jade phoenix hairpin in her hair. She waved away her followers, gently stroked her son's tense shoulders, and looked at the imperial edict, asking softly, "You haven't come to pay your respects to me in three days, is it because of this?"

Qin Chengqian's Adam's apple rolled, and he couldn't help but say, "Mother, I don't understand! The second son has never led an army, and Zhuge Liang is a remnant of the previous dynasty and an enemy of my Qin family. Why did my father..."

"Your father is a far-sighted person, and he naturally has his considerations when doing things. Although Chengji does not lead the army, with the assistance of Zhang He and others, there will definitely be no problem. As for Zhuge Liang, he is just a weak scholar. Even if he has some wisdom, what can he do? Can he change the overall situation?" Du Shiniang asked with some confusion.

Qin Chengqian didn't know how to respond for a moment. He couldn't tell Du Shiniang that he was worried that the military power would fall into the hands of others and pose a threat to him as the crown prince!

"Your son has heard that Zhuge Liang is a scheming, sinister and cunning man." Qin Chengqian quickly explained.

Du Shiniang took a deep look at her son, and then said solemnly: "Your father is very clear-sighted. As long as you do your job well, no matter how the outside world changes, it will not affect your status."

Only at this moment did she understand what her son was worried about. He was not worried about the safety of the 100,000-strong army, but about his own position.

Qin Chengqian immediately said, "Your Majesty is right, so I will do whatever you ask of me. I have already arranged for food, fodder, equipment, etc., and I will make sure that no one can say anything."

Du Shiniang nodded immediately and suggested, "If there is anything you can't solve, you can go find Jia Wenhe. He is a cunning man and the smartest man in this dynasty. If you don't know anything, go find him and he will definitely help you solve it."

Du Shiniang still admired Jia Xu very much. This old guy usually didn't show off his talents, but it was undeniable that he was smart.

"My son understands."

Qin Chengqian's eyes lit up, and he decided to go see Jia Xu later to listen to his advice.

On a rainy night in Chang'an, the night watch drums were swallowed up by the rain. Qin Chengqian, wearing a straw raincoat, followed a young eunuch holding a lantern through the winding palace alleys. Outside the west gate was an inconspicuous green-covered carriage, with an old servant wearing a bamboo hat sitting on the shaft.

"Your Highness," the old servant said in a hoarse voice, and the lantern revealed a hideous scar on his left cheek.

The carriage traveled for about half an hour and stopped in front of a secluded house. The courtyard wall was covered with vines, and the three characters "Jingguanzhai" on the lintel were already mottled. As soon as Qin Chengqian stepped into the courtyard, he smelled a scent of sandalwood.

"I am an old minister with a disability and was unable to come to meet you. Please forgive me, Your Highness."

Jia Xu stood under the eaves and looked at the other party with humility.

There was only one oil lamp lit in the study, and a map of Bashu hung on the wall. After listening to Qin Chengqian's narration, Jia Xu tapped a strange rhythm on the table with his skinny fingers.

"What Cui Yan said is not bad, but also wrong." Jia Xu suddenly spoke, his voice like a blunt knife scraping bone, shaking his head and said: "Cutting off the food supply is too conspicuous, and Your Highness can't get over this hurdle. You and the Second Prince are just brothers fighting, and whoever dares to make a move in this regard, His Majesty will not let you go." "This truth is very simple, Your Highness has a sharp eye, and you can see it without the reminder of this old minister." Jia Xu said and glanced at the other party.

"Cui Yan!"

Qin Chengqian immediately understood what Jia Xu meant.

Cui Yan’s suggestion was indeed inappropriate, but Cui Yan himself is worth pondering.

Qin Chengqian frowned slightly and whispered, "Mr. Jia means... there is something wrong with Cui Yan?"

Jia Xu smiled slightly, his old fingers gently stroking the teacup, and said lightly: "Cui Yan is a man from the Qinghe Cui family, a noble family, and has always been known for his integrity. But Your Highness, have you ever thought about why he is advising you to cut off the Second Prince's food supply at this time?"

Qin Chengqian's eyes narrowed, and he said slowly, "Mr. Jia is saying that he is testing me?"

Jia Xu shook his head: "It may not be a test, but at least, he is not really planning for you."

Qin Chengqian was silent for a moment, then suddenly sneered: "It seems that there is more than one person eyeing the position of the Eastern Palace in this court."

After hearing this, Jia Xu immediately smiled and stopped talking.

"Before I came, my mother suggested that I just need to do my own thing. What do you think, sir?" Qin Chengqian asked immediately.

"The Queen is very talented." Jia Xu's eyes lit up and he immediately applauded.

"I think so too." Qin Chengqian felt relieved when he saw that Jia Xu agreed with this point of view.

In Zhuo County, Youzhou, the rain was drizzling. Qin Shou stood on the city wall with his hands behind his back, looking at the vast mountains in the distance, holding a secret letter tightly in his hand, his knuckles slightly white.

"Gongda, look at this Cui Yan." Qin Shou handed the letter to Xun You beside him, and with anger in his voice, he snorted coldly: "The Qinghe Cui family has been a family of nobles for generations, and they dare to gossip in front of the prince!"

Xun You took the letter and let his eyes wander between the lines. Raindrops drifted into the arrow tower, soaking his light blue sleeves.

"My Lord, please calm down." He gently shook off the water drops on the letter and said hesitantly, "Cui Jigui's action reminds me of Xu You before the Battle of Guandu."

Qin Shou turned around abruptly, and the armor collided with each other with a crisp sound: "You mean-"

"Xu You proposed to burn Wuchao. On the surface, it was for Yuan Shao, but in fact..." Xun You paused meaningfully and smiled bitterly, "Now that the second son is leading an army of 100,000 to the south, some people in the court can't sit still."

A burst of thunder rolled across the sky, and Qin Shou's face was darker than the dark clouds. He suddenly grabbed the teacup on the table and smashed it hard on the ground. The porcelain pieces shattered into pieces on the blue bricks. He only heard the other party angrily cursed: "What a Qinghe Cui family! I'm not dead yet, and you're in a hurry to take sides?"

"What I am worried about is that this is not Cui Yan's real purpose."

Xun You said uncertainly.

(End of this chapter)