Chapter 19: Scheming (Part 2)

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  In the Imperial Study of the Forbidden City.

  "Haha......" Xiang Guang held two letters in his hand and couldn't help but burst out laughing.

  "Zhen Xu indeed lived up to expectations, hiding twenty million troops. With such a large army, the expenses alone are a staggering amount. If Qin De wasn't planning to rebel, why would he gather so many troops? Is he tired of having too much money?" Xiang Guang sneered.

  Zhen Xu was in charge of intelligence gathering work for the three counties in the eastern region. In just half a year, many things had taken shape.

  "Your Majesty, at present Qin De has secretly recruited 200,000 troops, but with the Black Water Mountain bandits holding him back, he dare not mobilize his entire army. Otherwise, the Black Water Mountain bandits would be disturbing their own nest, and it's nothing to worry about." The man with the eagle nose said from the dark corner behind him.

  Xiang Guang put down the letter in his hand and said, "What else do you know? Although the Black Water Mountain bandits are powerful, they are just bandits after all. As long as we give them some benefits, they won't cause any trouble. Qin De can still lead an army of 800,000 to attack me."

  "His Majesty is wise." The hawk-nosed man bowed and said.

  "Zhen Xu investigated and found that within the three counties of the Eastern Territory, there were some signs of preparation for grain and material supplies. Moreover, secretly mobilizing an army of 200,000, which had been assembled for more than five years, had already become a crack troop. All this indicates that Qin De is indeed going to rebel!" A cold light suddenly flashed in Xiang Guang's eyes.

  The man with the hawk nose did not dare to make a sound.

  "Alright, let's rebel then." Xiang Guang's face showed a hint of satisfaction. "Take note, immediately send someone to negotiate with the Black Water Mountain bandits, offering them gold, silver, jewels and other goods, so that when the great war begins, they will attack Ruan De's lair!"

  The man with the eagle nose thought for a moment and said: "What if those mountain bandits have too big an appetite?"

  "Idiot!" Xiang Guang suddenly turned around and stared at the eagle-nosed man, "At all costs, I must make them agree, even if it means promising to give them a county after winning the war."

  "Give one county?" The man with the eagle nose was taken aback, but then he understood too. "I understand, even if we give it to them, it depends on whether they have the fortune to enjoy it." Having followed Xiang Guang for so many years, he was very clear about Xiang Guang's temperament.

  Item Guang nodded in satisfaction: "Clever, once Qin De is eliminated, they are just a small group of bandits from Heishan. With just one order from me, they will be annihilated. For now, it's just that we need them."

  "The Emperor is wise and his subjects know what to do." The man with the eagle nose replied.

  Xiang Guang looked at another letter and said: "The letter from Uncle Shangguan also confirms everything that Zhen Xu investigated."

  The man with the eagle nose turned his eyes around in a circle, and suddenly said: "Your Majesty, why not capture the thief first? We can secretly send someone to assassinate Qin De. In this way, the dragon will be headless, and if we send troops again, we can easily destroy the Qin family."

  "Fool!" Xiang Guang sneered.

  The man with the hawk-like nose suddenly trembled all over his body.

  "If I were to send someone to assassinate him now, it's not a question of whether it would be successful or not, but even if it was, the Qin family could immediately replace their master. As far as I know, his three sons, except for the third son who is not that great, the other two are exceptional talents, and when the time comes, the Qin family will launch a frenzied attack. The 800,000-strong army of the Qin family is not something to be taken lightly." Xiang Guang said with a cold smile.

  "Moreover, once we make our move, the Qin family will surely guess that it was Shangguan Hong who betrayed them. This would be a loss for us. Do you understand?" Xiang Guang stared at the man with the eagle nose and said.

  "How stupid!" exclaimed the hawk-nosed man.

  A hint of complacency appeared on Xiang Guang's face: "We won't assassinate now, let the Qin family rebel, and let the Shangguan family help them. When the Qin family is completely unguarded, at the critical moment of the great war, the Shangguan family will suddenly turn traitor and give the Qin family a ruthless blow from behind. Hmph, I think the Qin family will be finished!"

  The man with the eagle nose suddenly lit up his eyes and said, "Your Majesty is wise, at the critical moment of the great war, a knife came from behind, our iron cavalry attacked again, and we can easily destroy the Qin family."

  Xiang Guang was very satisfied with his plan, nodded and said calmly: "Alright, you can go now. Try every means to win over the mountain bandits of Heishui Mountain Range, gold, silver, jewels, beauties, material goods and so on, everything is possible, just make sure they cause chaos in Qin family's old nest during the great war. As for Qin family and Shangguan family, we will pretend not to know."

  "Understood, I'll withdraw." The hawk-nosed man bowed and then his figure flashed and disappeared.

  A moment later, the eagle-nosed man appeared in a courtyard.

  "Hubby, you're back." A beautiful woman walked over.

  "Father." A lovely little boy also ran over, the hawk-nosed man picked up his son and hugged the beautiful woman, saying: "Madam, go back to your room, don't catch a chill here." The servants in the mansion were all very respectful.

  After entering the room, the beautiful woman quietly asked: "Husband, has the emperor assigned you a task? When can you stop doing this? It's always like this, I always feel unsteady."

  The man with the eagle nose lovingly held the beautiful woman in his arms and said, "Madam, don't worry. Although Mr. Xiang knows the danger of doing this, I know that His Majesty has too many secrets, and there is absolutely no chance of washing his hands of it. Don't worry, with just a little bit of cleverness from you, Mr. Xiang can still be handled."

  The man with the eagle nose suddenly furrowed his brow, thinking to himself: "Xiang Guang's temperament, if he knew Qin De was really rebelling, would have sent someone to assassinate him long ago. How did he remain calm this time and pretend not to know, letting the Uppercourt family make a final counterattack?"

  The eagle-nosed man, as the leader of Xiang Guang's secret investigation team, couldn't be that stupid.

  In the imperial study, everything is just a pretence. To make Xiang Guang feel at ease with him, he must let Xiang Guang perceive his weaknesses. However, how can he really let the Emperor perceive his weaknesses? So, it's best to pretend some weaknesses on purpose.

  The man with the eagle nose guessed correctly. There was indeed someone behind Xiang Guang. If Xiang Guang were really that wise, he wouldn't have made such a stupid mistake back then.

  ……

  In the courtyard, Qin De stood with his hands behind his back, gazing up at the vast sky.

  "With Xiang Guang's temperament, I'm guessing he'll take direct action against me." Qin De smiled. In his heart, Qin De didn't have a very high opinion of Xiang Guang. Although Xiang Guang wasn't a fool, when it came to strategy, he was far from being a mastermind.

  Xu Yuan said, "Your Highness, even if Xiang Guang sends someone to assassinate you, it doesn't necessarily mean that the Shangguan family is unreliable. It's possible that Zhen Xu will investigate and find something out, and Xiang Guang may decide that we are planning a rebellion because of what Zhen Xu discovers, and send someone to kill you."

  Indeed.

  Even if someone is stabbed to death, it cannot be explained that the superior officer sold them out.

  "Do we need to figure out whether Officer Guo has sold us out?" Qin De asked with a smile.

  Xu Yuan also burst out laughing.

  Right, do they need to figure it out?

  The purpose of this business talk is not to win over the official's family, but just to throw some smoke bombs and achieve the effect required by the Qin family.

  Xu Yuannodded and said, "Indeed, this time we came, it's just to release some fog bombs, no matter whether the official family betrays us or not, the outcome of the official family has already been decided. We will not let the official family have the opportunity to stab us in the back during the war."

  No matter what, the Qin family would not tolerate any mistakes and would not give the Shangguan family any opportunities.

  "I reckon they're going to send some supplies and whatnot to the Blackwater Bandits." Qin De said with a smile.

  Xu Yuan also burst out laughing.

  "A report has come from the Wang Manor, there is a secret letter." A man walked into the courtyard and handed over a secret letter. Xu Yuan immediately took it and then passed it to Qin De.

  "What else is going on in the palace?" Qin De opened the secret letter and took a look, his eyes suddenly lit up, "Haha, heaven is helping me too! Yu'er has made a great contribution this time. I've been worried about those two immortals from the Xiang family for a long time, but now that we have such a precious treasure, I'm confident too. Haha, it's really too good!"

  Qin De's excitement at this moment is beyond words.

  "What's the big joy?" Xu Yuan asked curiously beside him, Qin De immediately handed over the secret letter for him to see. Xu Yuan took a look and was also overjoyed, saying "Congratulations, Your Highness, felicitations to you!"

  Qin De laughed and said, "This time Yu'er has made such a great contribution. When we return, I must reward him handsomely. Ah, Xu Yuan, quickly dispatch someone, we will set off for the Wang Manor immediately!"

  "Yes!" Xu Yuan immediately bowed and said, while Qin De couldn't help but laugh again. He never thought that his third son, Qin Yu, would give him such a big surprise. Originally, he thought it was just a high-grade spiritual stone, but now it seems to be a treasure that can refine spiritual instruments.

  What a wonderful device!

  Xu Yuan on the side completely understood the importance of this piece of iron to Qin De, and its importance was no less than that of 200,000 troops. How could it not make Qin De so excited?

  Vote-rigging and chart-storming!!!