131 Hidden Military Power Struggles

aid farewell to Ye Li before leaving with the items.Ye Li turned around and said, "Let’s go, we’re going to see Grandma."Since there were no elders in Dingwang Mansion that could be considered as rela...131. Hidden Military Strategy

131。Hidden Military Strategy

Mojingqi looked at the flattering ministers below and nodded with satisfaction. Then he turned to Ye Li who was standing on one side, hesitated for a moment, frowned slightly, and said: "Cold Commander and Southern Marquis Heir are commendable for their bravery in leading from the front, which fills me with great joy. However, since Prince Ding is not currently in the capital, he cannot lead an army to suppress this emergency. His forces under King's Mansion amount to hundreds of thousands and they cannot be mobilized. What do you think about it, Lady Wang"

Ye Li raised her eyebrows slightly, looked up at Mojingqi indifferently, and said: "Please forgive me, Your Majesty. As a woman, how can I have any opinions"

"Lady Dingwang is being too modest," the young man standing behind Mojingqi glared at Ye Li with malice and said, "who doesn't know that the matriarch of King's Mansion has control over the command and mobilization rights of the Mo Army and Black Cloud Cavalry With the Western Ling army invading our territory now, are Lady Wang and King's Mansion going to sit idle"

Ye Li scoffed inwardly at his arrogance. She glanced at him coldly and was about to speak when Duke Huaguo suddenly stepped forward and glared fiercely at the young man: "How dare you! Who do you think you are, stirring up trouble between our emperor and Prince Ding's officials"

Old Duke Huaguo had been a veteran on battlefields for decades, even though he was now old, his aura remained powerful. It wasn't something a young man could easily match. The young man was stunned for a moment before bowing to Duke Huaguo: "Student Tan Jizhi greets Duke Huaguo."

Duke Huaguo snorted in dissatisfaction and looked at Mojingqi, who smiled: "Old Duke, please don't get angry. Jizhi is an exceptionally talented young man whom I intend to appoint as a minor official in the Imperial Study so that he can serve our country." Duke Huaguo bowed to Mojingqi, stroked his white beard and said loudly: "Your Majesty's words are beyond my comprehension. If this Tan Jun has talent, why not participate in the imperial examinations If he becomes狀元探花 (a top scholar), then Your Majesty could use him well without opposition. A position like Imperial Study is a high-ranking post that needs to be filled by someone with credentials."

Mojingqi and the young man were slightly embarrassed. They didn't want to take the normal route, but it wasn't easy either. Especially this year's imperial examinations, not only the main examiner was Mr. Su, a renowned upright and clean official of the Chu Kingdom, there were five members of the Xu family who had signed up for the exams in recent years. Tan Jizhi was skilled at intrigue and scheming but lacked confidence in passing the examination. Even if he passed, unless he became狀元探花 (a top scholar), it was very likely that he would be stationed outside the capital, or at most a low-ranking official of sixth or seventh rank who couldn't possibly hold such an important position as Imperial Study.

Originally, no one would mind if the emperor promoted his own trusted person. However, Tan Jizhi made a mistake by stirring up trouble between the emperor and Prince Ding's officials in front of all the courtiers at this time, which naturally displeased Old Duke Huaguo who was devoted to the country.

Mojingqi coughed lightly and said: "Old Duke, let us discuss these matters later. For now, we need to mobilize troops since Prince Ding is not in the city and hundreds of thousands of soldiers under King's Mansion cannot be moved."

Duke Huaguo did not want to put Mojingqi in a difficult situation so he said: "Prince Ding will certainly return as soon as possible after receiving the news. Before that, why don't we first mobilize troops from other regions for support"

Mojingqi shook his head and sighed: "Old Duke knows well, our southern border is currently in confrontation with Li Prince, and Nan Zhao people are eyeing Fuxue Pass greedily. How can we spare soldiers at this time"

The Marquis of Hu’s expression changed slightly as he furrowed his fair eyebrows and remained silent. He wasn’t unaware of the Emperor’s intentions, but it was really not something a competent ruler should do to take advantage of Prince Ding’s absence to attack Princess Consort Ding and even disregard the safety of the borderlands. Mu Yang Hou stepped forward and said, “Princess Consort Ding, since you can mobilize the Black Ink Army and the Dark Cloud Cavalry, please put aside your personal grievances for the greater good and order the immediate dispatch of the Black Ink Army to reinforce the border.”

Ye Li raised her head and swept a cool gaze over Mu Yang Hou before saying softly, "Does Lord Marquis want this Consort to lead the troops instead of Prince Ding"

Mu Yang Hou choked up. Throughout history there may have been one or two female generals but no woman had ever led an army as the commanding officer in battle. Moreover, Princess Consort Ding was barely a teenager and even if she did nothing anyone would still not blame her. If they really let Princess Consort Ding lead the troops to war, it would be the face of Chu that would suffer. Mu Yang Hou chuckled dryly and avoided Ye Li’s eyes as he said, "I didn’t mean that but please consider the affairs of state."

Li Chiangxiang also stroked his white beard and laughed, “Your Excellency is quite right. For the sake of the people and soldiers defending our borders, we ask Princess Consort Ding to temporarily hand over command of the Black Ink Army to the officer in charge.”

The ridicule in Ye Li’s eyes could not be concealed as she thought: "When Prince Ding returns everything will be back in place Is he treating me like an idiot" With a slight frown, Ye Li raised her head and smiled, “If Minister Li speaks this way it would make this Consort feel quite guilty. To start with, I don’t know if I can mobilize the Black Ink Army. Even if I could… do you really think that as long as I say so the army will transfer command to anyone Perhaps even Prince Ding wouldn’t be able to accomplish such a thing.”

Ming Jingqi’s expression darkened and he frowned, “Then does Princess Consort have any good suggestions Do we just let the Western Capital Imperial Army ravage our borderlands”

Ye Li wanted nothing more than to slap that man sitting on the Dragon Throne who was looking at her with such pretentious righteousness. She wasn’t going along with his plan, so he thought she would allow the Western Capital Imperial Army to run rampant in Chu Ye Li finally understood why Ming Jingqi had been acting so nonchalant these past few days—he was trying to take advantage of Mo Xiyao’s absence to lay claim to the Black Ink Army. He wasn’t unbothered, but he believed that gaining control of Prince Ding’s army would be more urgent than dealing with a Western Capital Imperial Army that was still on the borderlands.

However, Ye Li couldn’t understand where Ming Jingqi got his confidence from to believe that as soon as he gained control of Prince Ding’s army he could manipulate it and use it to expel the Western Capital Imperial Army. Hadn’t he considered what would happen if the soldiers refused

Ye Li bowed her head and said, "This Consort is just a woman with nothing useful for His Majesty to consider."

The Marquis of Hu frowned deeply as he said anxiously, “Your Majesty, since there’s no way to determine who has control over Prince Ding’s army at the moment, please immediately summon Prince Ding back to the capital… I mean directly to the borderlands to lead the troops. Furthermore, this old minister remembers that Chu has more than a million soldiers—besides the Black Ink Army and those stationed in the south opposite King Li of Nanhai, we could still mobilize at least 100,000 troops to reinforce the borders. Please Your Majesty order an advance group of troops to go first.”

Ming Jingqi was reluctant but he couldn’t argue with the Marquis’s words. As he hesitated, Nangong Hou spoke up for the first time and said, “Your Majesty, what the old marquis says makes sense. Please send reinforcements immediately to the borderlands. The Western Capital Imperial Army has already taken two cities within a day and will be able to reach Xinyang in the northwest in as little as ten days’ time. Xinyang is Chu’s granary for its western and northern regions, if it falls…”

Ming Jingqi’s expression changed as he looked at Ye Li and ground his teeth before saying, “Send my command to Cold Qingyu to be the main general with Nangong Hou’s heir apparent as a secondary commander, mobilize 150,000 troops and set out immediately!”

"This subordinate accepts your order!" Cold Qingyu and Nangong Hou’s heir apparent both knelt.

Mojingqi was clearly in a bad mood and waved his hand to dismiss everyone as he frowned.

After leaving the Imperial Study, Ye Li accompanied the Old Marquis of Huo out of the palace. The old marquis did not say anything all along but only sighed heavily. It wasn’t until they reached the palace gates that he stopped and looked at Ye Li. "It’s unfortunate that Prince Ding is not in the capital right now. I’m sorry for your trouble, Madam."

Ye Li pressed her lips together and smiled faintly. "I’ve caused Old Marquis some worry. These are all matters within my duties."

The old marquis shook his head and said, "The Emperor is being too frivolous this time. He’s still inexperienced compared to the late emperor." Ye Li understood what the old marquis meant. When the late emperor ascended the throne, Xiling and Dacu were at war for several consecutive years. Prince Ding Mo Liufang was not only outstanding in literary achievements but also renowned for his military exploits. It could be said that he was the first person after Mo Lanyun in the Prince Ding’s manor. Under such a reputation, however, the late emperor had always endured and treated Mo Lanyun with respect until the late emperor was well-established and Mo Liufang handed over power to him. Only then did the late emperor start his own rule, although he could not be considered a wise ruler or sage king, but he was still a capable one who maintained the dynasty. He also had a fine story of camaraderie with the Regent Prince. However, when it came to the current Mojingqi, he revealed his hostility towards the Prince Ding’s manor too early and continued to suppress the Mo Family Army even though Prince Ding had become an invalid living in seclusion at his own residence. If he truly possessed great talent and strategic vision, that would be another matter. However, his strength was far from enough to control the Mo Family Army. Even if Moxiuyao willingly handed over the army to him, could he really command them Could his heart tolerate the Mo Family Army

"Marquis, please be cautious with your words," Ye Li said softly.

The Marquis of Huo waved his hand and gestured for Ye Li not to see him off any further as he turned towards his carriage. After watching the marquis get into his carriage, Ye Li turned around to find that the Prince Hereditary of Nanhou was standing不遠處含笑看著她。葉璃無奈地在心裡歎了口氣，對於這位大姐夫，隻有幾麵之緣，在葉府吃過一頓飯而已，可以說是完全不熟悉。現在葉家冇落了，而葉珍在南侯府的日子卻還算過得不錯，可見南侯府的人做事十分圓滑。考慮到這一點，葉璃對他客氣三分。

"Greetings, Madam," the Prince Hereditary of Nanhou said.

Ye Li nodded and smiled faintly. "Your Highness is too polite. Is there anything you need"

The Prince Hereditary of Nanhou smiled and replied, "There’s nothing much. Zhen'er misses Madam very much. If Madam has some spare time, feel free to visit our residence."

Hearing this, Ye Li raised her eyebrows in surprise. Now that the emperor had taken a hostile stance towards Prince Ding's manor, it was clear to any observant person what his intentions were. Yet at such a critical moment, he still invited her to his residence as the prince hereditary... Ye Li’s eyes flickered with thoughts before she smiled and said, "My elder sister is fortunate to meet Your Highness. I hope Your Highness will take good care of her." The Prince Hereditary of Nanhou laughed generously and replied, "Since Zhen'er has joined our household in Nanhou, I naturally regard her as family. Madam can rest assured."

Ye Li nodded and said, "Tomorrow Your Highness is about to set off for the borderlands. May your journey be smooth."

"Thank you, Madam," replied the Prince Hereditary of Nanhou. "I’ll bid farewell now."

"No need to see me off," Ye Li said.

Watching him walk away, Ye Li turned around and looked back at the towering palace gates before frowning and turning away.

The next day, Leng Qingyu and the Prince Hereditary of Nanhou set out hastily with their troops. Standing on top of the city gate to see them off, Ye Li watched as the army departed but her furrowed brows did not relax. The West Mountain King in Xiling was known as the War God of Xiling and had been ruling for several decades; even Moxiuyao might not dare say he couldn’t win. Could Leng Qingyu and the Prince Hereditary of Nanhou really succeed with just ten thousand troops

"What's wrong with the Duchess" Zhuo Jing followed behind Ye Li and asked, looking at her expression.

Ye Li shook her head. The Great Chu Empire wasn't just relying on Mo Xiuyao for everything. If they did that, there would be nothing else to do.

"Third sister... Duchess..." Ye Zhen's voice came from behind. Ye Li turned around and saw Ye Zhen standing beside the Viscountess of Southern Duke, looking at her with surprise and delight. After a long time without seeing each other, compared to the last time they met when she looked radiant, Ye Zhen appeared paler and more haggard. Her eyes were still red, no doubt because she was worried about her husband who had gone to war.

The Viscountess of Southern Duke came from a family of scholars and seemed very gentle and virtuous. When she saw Ye Li, she approached with courtesy and politely left Ye Zhen alone to talk to Ye Li.

The two sisters originally weren't very familiar with each other, and they rarely met in person throughout the year, so there was a moment of awkward silence between them.

After a short while of silence, Ye Zhen softly asked, "Has Duchess returned home to visit"

Ye Li shook her head. Nowadays, with the decline of the Ye family, Elder Lady Ye clearly held it all against Ye Li and would use every opportunity to criticize her when they met. Ye Li had never before realized how unafraid Elder Lady Ye was of authority, despite years of experience. Even though Secretary of State Ye didn't say anything explicitly, his facial expressions subtly showed his dissatisfaction with this daughter who became a duchess. Since Ye Li wasn't someone who liked to seek trouble for herself unnecessarily, she had no intention of returning home unless absolutely necessary.

Ye Zhen whispered, "Father plans to return to our hometown in a few days."

Ye Li nodded and said, "It's good that he will go back. If he properly educates Rong'er, there are still some family assets at home that can ensure Father and Grandmother enjoy their twilight years." In the current situation, with the Ye family having already withdrawn from officialdom, moving away from the capital was the most correct decision. Otherwise, if they were to be drawn into political intrigues once again, it might not be as simple to resolve by merely resigning.

Ye Zhen's finely groomed eyebrows slightly furrowed as she looked at Ye Li and said, "Third sister, do you really hate Father so much that you can't help him"

Ye Li shook her head and softly replied, "Elder Sister, precisely because I don't hate Father is why I say it's right for him to go back. Nothing is more important than one’s life."

A look of confusion and disbelief appeared in Ye Li's eyes, but she was mostly unconvinced. She looked at Ye Zhen sadly and sighed, "Second Sister is dead, Fourth Sister's fate uncertain now... Fifth Sister and Sixth Sister... it doesn't need to be mentioned. How could we sisters end up this way..."

"Elder Sister, the Southern Duke’s mansion still treats people fairly; the Viscountess is also a smart person who won’t overly trouble you. Just focus on living your own life," Ye Li said solemnly.

Ye Zhen was taken aback and when she recovered her senses, she found that Ye Li had already left far away. A trace of sorrow and resentment appeared in her eyes as she muttered softly, "Without children or family background, how am I supposed to live well Third sister, not everyone has your good fortune."y in achieving our goals without proper preparation. I urge Your Majesty to think carefully!" The number of Mohist troops stationed in the northwest was at least forty thousand or more. Although Great...