#258 - Military Token
By the time Wei Changtian arrived at the General Military Governor's mansion, Xu Qingwan and the other two were already waiting at the entrance, obviously having been informed by Yuan'er.
It had been over half a month since he had seen the three women, and they looked the same as before, but their first words upon seeing him were all different.
Liang Qin: "Brother Changtian, where is Miss You?"
Yang Liushi: "Young Master, was the trip successful? Has everything been taken care of?"
Xu Qingwan: "Changtian, are you all alright?"
"We're fine."
After answering the three women one by one, Wei Changtian turned his gaze to Liang Qin and asked with a smile:
"What? I heard you also want to go to Yuanzhou?"
"Yes!"
Liang Qin was a little excited: "That's right! Brother Changtian, you support me, right!"
"Whether I support you or not, we'll talk about it later."
Wei Changtian glanced at Xu Qingwan and Yang Liushi, who looked worried, and asked, "Where's Uncle Liang?"
"My father is discussing matters with several deputy generals."
Liang Qin explained, "We will set off for Yuanzhou the day after tomorrow."
"Leaving the day after tomorrow?"
Wei Changtian thought for a moment and nodded.
"I have something to discuss with Uncle Liang. Wan'er, Liushi, you go back first."
"Okay."
Xu Qingwan and Yang Liushi exchanged glances, seeming to have something to say, but they both held back for the time being.
The two women quickly turned and left, while Wei Changtian followed Liang Qin through the General Military Governor's mansion to Liang Zhen's study.
The door was tightly closed, and several soldiers in green armor stood outside the door.
"Miss, Young Master Wei, the General Military Governor is discussing matters inside."
"Yes, please go in and report that I have returned."
Wei Changtian gave the order, and while waiting for the soldier to go inside and report, he looked up at the night sky.
Dark clouds filled the sky, and a heavy rain was about to fall.
Suddenly, he casually asked:
"Qin'er, why do you insist on going to Yuanzhou?"
"Hmm? As a cultivator, it is natural to defend our country and drive away foreign enemies at this time."
"Then do you know that I am actually at odds with the imperial court?"
"Father mentioned it a little before..."
Liang Qin looked at Wei Changtian with a serious expression: "Brother Changtian, but I think these are two different things."
"Two different things?"
Wei Changtian looked away and asked curiously, "What do you mean?"
"Hmm... This time, my father and I are going to Yuanzhou to defend the territory of Da Ning and protect the people of Da Ning, not for the imperial court and the emperor."
Liang Qin explained seriously, "If the imperial court and the Wei family fight in the future, my father and I will definitely stand on your side, Brother Changtian."
"Hahaha, you are quite clear-headed."
Wei Changtian laughed twice and said nothing more.
In the eyes of the common people in this feudal society, the emperor is the supreme ruler, the Son of Heaven, the true "spokesperson" of the Heavenly Dao.
Therefore, unless they are forced to the point of being like the Xu family, few people would openly oppose the imperial family.
This is why rebellions in ancient times often used the reason of "clearing the emperor's side."
The purpose was to avoid direct conflict with the imperial family, at least in name.
And Liang Qin also said that they were only for the territory and people of Da Ning.
However...
Da Ning, Da Ning.
In the end, it still belongs to the Ning family.
Inside the study.
Several deputy generals of the Shu Prefecture army had already excused themselves, and although Liang Zhen still looked as forthright as ever, the fatigue between his brows was difficult to hide.
"Hahaha, Changtian, when did you return?"
"Was the trip to Jizhou successful?"
Liang Zhen accidentally let slip, and Liang Qin immediately caught the key point in his words.
"Brother Changtian! You went to Jizhou before?!"
"Cough, yes."
Wei Changtian coughed and skipped the topic.
"Uncle Liang, I just returned at noon, and then I heard the news that the imperial court was going to send troops to Yuanzhou."
"I also heard Qin'er say that you are leaving the day after tomorrow, so I assume all the arrangements have been made?"
"Yes, almost."
Liang Zhen rubbed his forehead and said casually, "The time is a bit tight, but the war in Yuanzhou cannot wait, so we can only keep everything simple."
"Uncle Liang, how many people from the Shu Prefecture army will be going this time?"
Wei Changtian asked directly, getting straight to the point: "I heard before that the vanguard of Da Feng only has 100,000, I wonder if this number is true?"
"Haha, Changtian, you are well-informed."
Liang Zhen replied with a smile: "Da Feng's vanguard does only have 100,000, but once the fighting starts, they will definitely send more troops."
"As for the Shu Prefecture army, 30,000 soldiers will be going this time."
Thirty thousand.
Compared to other border prefectures, Shu Prefecture does not have many stationed troops, but it still has as many as seventy or eighty thousand.
And this time, they are only preparing to reinforce Yuanzhou with 30,000, less than half, which undoubtedly shows that Liang Zhen is also intentionally preserving his strength.
"..."
"Uncle Liang, now that things have come to this, I won't hide anything and will say whatever I have to say."
After thinking for a moment, Wei Changtian simply stated his point: "If nothing unexpected happens, the Liu family should also be labeled as rebels within five days."
"And once the Liu family is destroyed, then of the Liu, Wei, and Xu families, only my Wei family will remain."
"Once the situation of three families standing together and restraining each other is broken, the imperial court will turn against my Wei family sooner or later."
"Of course, Ning Yongnian will be busy dealing with Da Feng for the time being, so he definitely won't come out in the open for now."
"But it is very likely that he will do some small tricks in secret..."
"..."
The doors and windows of the study were tightly closed, the cold wind was raging outside, and raindrops were already falling, "patta patta".
Liang Qin sat on the side, watching Wei Changtian's serious expression, her mouth widening involuntarily.
She didn't know about these secrets before, she only knew that Wei Changtian was very busy all day, but she didn't know what he was busy with.
But now, upon hearing this...
It turned out that unknowingly, Brother Changtian was already able to control the life and death of a huge family like the Liu family!
He even directly called the emperor by his real name every time he mentioned him!
This, this...
Liang Qin suddenly felt that Wei Changtian was like a chess player using the world as a chessboard. In addition to being surprised, she couldn't help but feel a little throbbing in her heart, and her admiration for the latter rose from "good swordsmanship, handsome" to the level of "talented and ambitious, commanding the world."
However, Liang Zhen didn't have time to think about these things. The more he listened, the deeper his frown became.
"Changtian, do you mean that the emperor will target my Shu Prefecture army?"
"Uncle Liang, this is just my guess."
Wei Changtian shook his head: "After all, the Liang and Wei families are too close, and Ning Yongnian may take the opportunity to set up some conspiracies and tricks."
"So you must be more careful this time."
"... Okay, I understand."
Liang Zhen took a deep breath, then suddenly got up and walked to a bookshelf attached to the wall. After fiddling with it for a while, he took out a small wooden box from a hidden compartment.
"Changtian, keep this thing safe."
"This is..."
Wei Changtian opened the wooden box and was stunned for a moment when he saw the golden Crouching Tiger inside.
"Military Tally?"
"Yes, it is indeed the military tally of the Shu Prefecture army."
Liang Zhen nodded: "Changtian, I originally planned to give this military tally to the deputy general who stayed in Shu Prefecture."
"But after listening to you just now, I am a little worried, so it is better to put it directly with you, so it will be safer."
"Uh, okay."
Wei Changtian didn't know much about the role of ancient military tallies, touched his nose and asked: "But what is the use of this thing? To mobilize the army?"
"Yes."
Liang Zhen's expression was a little serious.
"With this military tally, you can freely mobilize all the soldiers left in Shu Prefecture."
"All of them? How many are there?"
"Fifty thousand."
