Chapter 1345 - 1280: Cooperation
The Royal Palace of Dai Country underwent a massive upheaval, which was quickly noticed by the spies stationed in Ping City, but they could not initially uncover more details, only that many corpses were carried out from the palace.
Furthermore, it appeared that the troops guarding Ping City were being mobilized.
At this moment, the contact responsible for Ji Dan sent a message, stating that Ji Dan wanted to meet the top spy of Ping City.
Hiding in Dai Country is not difficult; one can simply find a secluded mountain forest or an open field to squat in. However, conducting espionage activities in Dai Country is more challenging than anywhere else.
This is because Tuoba Yilu was very strict with the law, and ruled tightly, generally punishing one person’s crime across the entire family, even implicating nearby neighbors.
Therefore, conducting espionage activities here is extremely difficult. For one person to infiltrate, they need the cover of many people.
The leader of the spy team here held all personnel information and had to be extra careful and vigilant.
Ji Dan was Tuoba Yilu’s trusted general. If he intended to purposely lure someone, then the spy team leader would be in great danger.
The spy team leader did not immediately agree but ordered all the gathered information from various places to be compiled. After carefully filtering through it, he decided, "I will go meet him."
"We witnessed firsthand Tuoba Biyan humiliating Tuoba Liuxiu on the street, and the King of Dai deposed Tuoba Liuxiu’s mother and sent troops to pursue him. The father and son are already estranged. With such significant disturbance at the court today, something surely happened. Ji Dan, being a Jin person, might have different thoughts amidst great changes."
Thus, the spy team leader decided to personally go meet Ji Dan.
Of course, before leaving, he handed over the affairs within Ping City to the deputy team leader, saying, "If I cannot return safely, immediately abandon this place. You need not tell me what to do next, go straight to contact General Yuan."
The deputy team leader agreed.
Only then did the spy team leader set out, climbing over walls under cover of night to meet Ji Dan.
The curfew in Ping City began much earlier than in Luoyang. As soon as night fell, people were forbidden from walking around. Recently, the atmosphere had been strange; although commoners were unaware of the upper echelons’ affairs, they could vaguely sense something was amiss. So, as soon as the sun set, everyone hurried back home, not daring to linger outside.
The spy team leader scaled the wall into Ji Dan’s house. There, he also encountered Wei Xiong, which startled him momentarily. But soon, this surprise was overshadowed as he experienced another shock.
The three of them conducted a secret discussion in the house, continuing until it was very late at night. Only then did the spy team leader quietly leave by climbing over the wall.
He knew how to avoid the patrolling soldiers and returned to his residence without incident. He said to his trusted confidant who came forward to meet him, "I need to contact General Yuan immediately."
"It’s so late..."
"Better early than late." The spy team leader retrieved the codebook he had kept, closed the door, and left only the telegraph operator behind.
Yuan Li was awakened from his sleep and spent half an hour in the telegraph room. After some hesitation, he still decided to ride to the General’s Mansion.
The Prince An Mansion of the Little Emperor was under renovation, but he tactfully moved from the main hall and found a random side hall to reside in.
The Ministry of Industry and the Ministry of Rites were assisting Ting He in changing and adding things to the main hall. Since the renovation required time, Zhao Hanzhang did not move into the Imperial Palace but remained in the General’s Mansion.
Yuan Li arrived in the deep night, and Ting He had no choice but to gently knock on her door.
Zhao Hanzhang was a light sleeper; as soon as Ting He knocked once, she opened the door. Ting He was slightly surprised and lowered her head to report, "My lady, Yuan Li has arrived."
Zhao Hanzhang frowned, "What hour is it?"
"Just after the second hour of the Ox," Ting He replied.
Zhao Hanzhang then knew something major had happened and said, "Let Yuan Li wait for me in the study."
Ting He complied.
Zhao Hanzhang returned to her room, put on her outer robe, and Fu Tinghan, having heard the commotion, got up, "What happened?"
"You should continue to sleep. At this hour, it might be a change with the vassal king elsewhere," Zhao Hanzhang reassured him. "It’s nothing major."
At one in the morning, during the deepest sleep, Fu Tinghan only briefly woke up and soon fell back to sleep.
Zhao Hanzhang dressed and went to meet Yuan Li.
As soon as Yuan Li saw her enter, he immediately stood up and reported, "Your Majesty, there is a change in Dai Country."
He handed over the freshly received report for her to see.
There was an abundance of information, and each piece challenged her nerves.
Zhao Hanzhang went through them one by one, truly unexpecting that so many things could happen in Dai Country in just a few days.
She slammed the secret report on the table with a snap, looking very displeased, "Did he have to make his two sons vie for the Princely Heir position at this moment?"
Could it not wait until after she ascended the throne?
Yuan Li also felt Tuoba Yilu was being unreasonable.
Zhao Hanzhang took a deep breath, pushing a string of curses out of her mind before musing, "If I send troops to attack Dai Country now, would it make me seem hard to get along with, making people think I’m seeking to subdue vassal kings before even ascending the throne?"
Yuan Li asked, "Your Majesty is concerned about Xiliang and the Shu region?"
Zhao Hanzhang replied, "And the Duan Xianbei. But compared to these three places, I am more worried about Shi Le overthinking."
Yuan Li suggested, "Then have Shi Le dispatch troops. The Dai King holds Dai Country, which originally belongs under Youzhou’s jurisdiction, or support Tuoba Liuxiu and have him inherit the kingship of Dai Country. If the father dies and the son succeeds, it would also appease the Tuoba Xianbei."
Zhao Hanzhang considered, "That is indeed a moderate approach."
A gradual transition is not unthinkable, but she did not wish for the governance of Dai Country to remain in others’ hands for long. If she needed to send troops, she might as well take it in one swift move, thus avoiding the trouble of figuring out how to weaken vassals and seize power in the future.
Instantly, Zhao Hanzhang made her decision, "Enough, I won’t be angry. Perhaps this is a twist of fate. No need to mind outsiders’ opinions. Instruct someone to closely monitor Tuoba Yilu’s movements. The moment he dispatches troops, have Beigong Chun coordinate with Ji Dan and Wei Xiong to relocate all thirty thousand households to Bingzhou."
"Have our people contact Tuoba Liuxiu. As long as he requests assistance from the court, immediately order Shi Le to dispatch troops to reclaim Dai Country." Zhao Hanzhang lowered her head and added, "You should personally make the trip. Tuoba Yilu cannot die, especially not at Tuoba Liuxiu’s hands."
Yuan Li inquired, "Your Majesty believes Tuoba Liuxiu can defeat Tuoba Yilu?"
Zhao Hanzhang sneered, "Tuoba Yilu is too arrogant. He may be a prodigy, but his son is no less remarkable. The key point is that Tuoba Liuxiu is younger and more favored by the common tribespeople."
Yuan Li took his orders, asking, "Regarding the Central Secretariat and the Ministry of Supervision..."
"They are busy with the enthronement ceremony. Once Tuoba Liuxiu’s plea for assistance arrives, they will naturally know."
In other words, she had decided on this matter herself, without needing to discuss it in court.
Yuan Li understood that bringing this matter to the court would result in arguments and also affect the enthronement ceremony.
At the time of the enthronement, everything should ideally be auspicious, but such an incident isn’t a good omen.
Of course, when Dai County is truly reclaimed, the narrative will shift to a different discourse.
Therefore, Yuan Li understood that this battle was crucial and must not be lost.
He took his leave.
Once he left, Zhao Hanzhang locked the information inside the hidden box, snorted towards the north, and returned to her room.