Wen Chenghuan glanced at Zhou Ruiyuan, knowing he was about to play another trick. "I would be glad to hear your wise counsel, Lord Zhou!"
Zhou Ruiyuan said, "Hu Xiaotian is certainly brazen. Without any conclusive evidence, he dared to execute the governor of the Yong River Navy. This fellow is cunning and treacherous. He defeated Tang Boxi's thirty thousand elite naval troops with only three thousand men, then ventured alone deep into Wuxing Commandery, killed Zhao Dengyun, and escaped unscathed. I truly cannot understand it. Did Zhao Dengyun not have a single follower in the Yong River Navy? Did his thirty-odd thousand officers and soldiers simply watch their commander being killed without lifting a finger?"
Wen Chenghuan said, "It was all because Hu Xiaotian used provisions and military pay to lure those soldiers over. Moreover, he must have been planning Zhao Dengyun's murder for a long time. He had no shortage of insiders in the Yong River Navy. They say the man who personally struck the blow was Zhao Dengyun's own nephew, Zhao Wusheng."
Zhou Ruiyuan deliberately drew a sharp breath. "Then we are in trouble. Does that not mean Hu Xiaotian already controls Wuxing Commandery? Wuxing Commandery is Great Kang's northern gateway. If it falls into a villain's hands, would that not spell grave trouble? Your Majesty must dispatch troops immediately to recover it."
Long Xuan'en could tell that Zhou Ruiyuan meant the opposite of what he said. Send troops to suppress him? Would that not force Hu Xiaotian into rebellion? If Hu Xiaotian already controlled Wuxing Commandery, then he effectively possessed more than thirty thousand elite Yong River naval troops. A campaign against him would likely exact a heavy toll. Long Xuan'en said, "Hu Xiaotian has not rebelled, and the circumstances have not yet been fully investigated.