Recruiting the Xunnan Zhao Clan?
Zhai Huan naturally understood what those words meant.
He said, "I'd been thinking of arranging a match between you and Zhao Clan Third Daughter. She admires you, and with your temperament, you wouldn't let her down. It would have been a win for both sides. But after what happened with A Jing, I realized some things can't be forced... Compared to the Xunnan Zhao Clan's help, A Le, your big brother would rather see you get what you want."
"Life is short. Don't leave yourself with regrets."
Zhai Le furrowed his brow and fell into thought.
He didn't give an answer right away.
But they did need powerful allies now.
The former Sovereign's maternal uncle had handed over military authority, but the soldiers under him came from all sorts of places, factions, and backgrounds. They were a motley crew. Before, he'd only managed to keep them under control through his status as the Sovereign's maternal uncle and a group of trusted followers.
Now that the holder of the National Seal had changed, the core force that had kept those soldiers in check was gone.
They were all beginning to stir, and weren't particularly cooperative.
If things went wrong, they might even join forces in rebellion and turn against his big brother... The chances of success were slim, but it would throw the situation into further chaos, and that was the last thing Zhai Le wanted to see.
Over the past few days, he'd placed and promoted a number of his own trusted troops. Their positions weren't prominent, but they could get the first word of any trouble. He'd also used the former Sovereign's maternal uncle's authority to reshuffle the existing ranks, preventing the soldiers from banding together.
But that wasn't a long-term solution. It still