#238 - An important piece of information
Chapter 235: An Important Piece of Information
Half an hour later.
Wei Changtian walked out of the tea room with a smile, then walked out of the Xu family's residence with Qin Zhengqiu, got into the carriage and prepared to return home.
“Changtian, how did the talk go?”
As soon as he sat down, Qin Zhengqiu eagerly asked, “Did Madam Wei agree?”
“...”
The smile on Wei Changtian's face gradually faded, and he shook his head gently without speaking.
It was within expectations that the first round of negotiations did not succeed.
The main reason was that the core interests of both parties conflicted.
For the Xu family, they were actually unwilling to see the Liu-Wei conflict end too quickly.
After all, the longer the Liu family and the Wei family fought, the more energy Ning Yongnian would have to spend on it, thus preventing him from fully dealing with the Xu family and the Great Feng.
As for the Wei family, it was impossible for them to openly stand with the Xu family in order to defeat the Liu family.
What Wei Changtian wanted was for the Xu family to help the Liu family "rebel."
What Wei Yanyu wanted was for the Wei family to really rebel.
Thus, the negotiations fell into a stalemate.
Wei Changtian hadn't figured out a way to break the deadlock yet, so he could only go back and discuss it with Chu Xianping before making a decision.
At this moment, in the imperial palace of the capital, thousands of miles away, another conspiracy was quietly taking place.
Dozens of fist-sized night-shining pearls, thousands of bright lanterns, and a huge map covering the entire wall...
Ning Yongnian stood in front of the map with his hands behind his back, followed by five figures standing with their heads lowered.
“Your Majesty, the scouts sent back news today that the Great Feng has begun to assemble troops to the border, and they will arrive at the city of Yuanzhou in less than ten days.”
“Judging from the current scale, there are about 100,000 people.”
“One hundred thousand...”
Ning Yongnian's gaze stayed on the Jizhou area on the map, with a playful look in his eyes.
“If Jizhou were really so vulnerable, how could We have waited until now.”
“But now it is indeed time...”
“...”
The five people behind him looked at each other with some doubts, all wondering what this meant.
They had actually been wondering for a long time why Ning Yongnian had not ordered the attack on Jizhou even though the army was already in place.
It was as if he was waiting for something.
So, has he finally waited?
“Two days later, at midnight, send troops to Jizhou.”
Ning Yongnian slowly turned around, his eyes sweeping over the five people one by one: “There is no need to pay attention to the three counties along the way, just take Jizhou City directly.”
“The war drums will sound for a quarter of an hour, and the south gate will open.”
“We will personally supervise the battle and must take the entire city before sunrise.”
“Have you all understood?”
“...”
The huge secret room was so quiet that a pin could be heard, and the pupils of the five people shrank slightly, their eyes full of shock.
They were not surprised by the practice of "attacking the city at night," which violated military tactics, nor were they surprised by the seemingly impossible task of "taking Jizhou City overnight."
At this moment, the only sentence in the minds of the five people was—
The war drums will sound for a quarter of an hour, and the south gate will open.
This "open" certainly does not mean that the city gate was opened by the imperial army.
If that's the case, then it means one thing.
There is an internal response in Jizhou City.
An internal response that is very important and powerful within the Xu family.
So, that's why the army has been standing still!
The five people who suddenly understood immediately clasped their fists and bowed to Ning Yongnian, shouting in unison:
“Please rest assured, Your Majesty!”
“We understand!”
An hour later, in the Chengqian Palace.
“Your Highness, it's getting late...”
The old eunuch with a hunched body looked at the thoughtful man in front of him and whispered, “You should rest earlier.”
“Yes, I know.”
The man was the Second Prince Ning Wenyu. He turned his head and glanced at the old eunuch, then suddenly said: “Bring Dongxiu here.”
“Uh...”
The old eunuch was stunned for a moment, but he didn't say much. After walking out of the room in small steps, a palace maid dressed woman knocked on the door and walked in shortly after.
Everyone working in the Chengqian Palace knew that Dongxiu was a palace maid who had just entered the palace a month ago.
Although her appearance was not outstanding, she was extremely lucky. As soon as she entered the palace, Ning Wenyu took a fancy to her. It would not be an exaggeration to say that she had become a phoenix on a branch in one fell swoop.
“Your Highness...”
Turning around and closing the door, Dongxiu asked softly and obediently: “Did you call me?”
“Yes.”
Ning Wenyu nodded: “Help me undress.”
“Yes.”
Dongxiu walked to Ning Wenyu's side and gently took off the latter's outer robe, followed by the inner robe...
Moreover, as the clothes on Ning Wenyu's body decreased one by one, the clothes on her own body also slowly slipped to the ground.
“Your Highness, gently, gently...”
The suggestive gasps continued from the outer hall to the inner room, and then into the bed curtain.
“Whoosh!”
The thick bed curtain spread out, completely blocking the spring scene inside, and at the same time blocking several lines of sight outside.
Listening to the continuous sounds of spring in his ears, the expressions of the several experts responsible for monitoring Ning Wenyu remained unchanged, as if they were not surprised by this.
After all, this kind of thing happens almost every day.
However, if their eyes could penetrate the bed curtain, they probably wouldn't be so calm at the moment.
“Your, Your Highness, ah...”
“Miss Dongxiu, I have an important piece of information here to notify Young Master Wei!”
“...”
At the same time, Jizhou, Ruyi Inn.
“...Young Master, now we can only try this first.”
“With such conditions, the Xu family will probably consider it.”
After listening to Wei Changtian's account of the situation of tonight's negotiations, Chu Xianping had already given his own suggestion—
Although the Wei family cannot openly rebel with the Xu family, they can reserve a retreat for the Xu family after the rebellion fails.
If Jizhou cannot be defended, whether the Xu family prepares to escape to Great Feng or Great Li to take refuge, the Wei family will provide all necessary assistance in this process.
Although this will undoubtedly intensify the conflict between the Wei family and Ning Yongnian, it is worth it as long as the Liu family can be eliminated.
“Yes, I will talk to Wei Yanyu again tomorrow, but...”
Wei Changtian nodded, just about to ask something else.
But at this moment, Chu Xianping's face suddenly changed.
He quickly took out a mother-child jade pendant from his waist, and without explaining much, he took out a small booklet from his sleeve and kept flipping through it, while using his internal strength to engrave small characters on the table with a serious expression.
Wei Changtian shut his mouth instantly, knowing what Chu Xianping was doing now.
He had previously pondered for a while and roughly researched the "Chinese Telegraph Code."
However, this technology is currently only mastered by Chu Xianping and a few people in the Tongzhou Society.
So, someone from the Tongzhou Society is transmitting information!
Unable to restrain the curiosity in his heart, Wei Changtian simply got up and stood behind Chu Xianping. He looked at each character as the latter engraved it.
Amidst the light flying of wood chips, words jumped into view, and finally pieced together a complete piece of information.
“Two days later, at midnight, the army will attack the city. The war drums will sound for a quarter of an hour, and the south gate will open. There is a court spy in the Xu family.”
