The Imperial Palace of the Great Ning Dynasty!
Li Anlan's series of actions, from the initial quietness to the final earth-shattering revelation, shocked the entire capital, and everyone was taken aback by the Emperor's grand gesture.
Some people who had previously thought Li Anlan was old were now so frightened that they became cowards.
With both major vassal states destroyed, their subjects were even less of a threat. They dared not cause any trouble and were as obedient as tamed babies.
Seeing the shocked expressions on the faces of his ministers below, Li Anlan felt a surge of pride, but his face was filled with anger. He said in a deep voice, "You scoundrels! For their own selfish desires, they actually assassinated a regional lord! These people have absolutely no respect for the law!"
Forehead!
The bigwigs exchanged glances and remained silent.
Such a grand spectacle could hardly have been accomplished by a single powerful figure from the Min River. Everyone has a pretty good idea of who orchestrated it, but ultimately, it's a matter of the victor taking all and the loser being the one to decide.
But now it seems the Emperor intends to settle scores later, so Jiang Dabiao is probably finished!
Wow, that's amazing!
He used it no sooner, and then trampled it to death. No wonder he's the emperor.
Cough cough!
Seeing that no one echoed his sentiments, a glint of light flashed in Li Anlan's eyes, and he said in a deep voice, "This Jiang Dabiao must be brought to justice. Uncle Wang has been loyal to the country all his life, and I must give him an explanation!"
" Zhan Shunyu!"
"I hereby appoint you as the Prefect of the Min River, and order you to lead the navy to personally eliminate this traitor. Do you have the confidence?"
Zhan Shunyu?
Upon hearing the appointment, the officials instinctively wanted to object, but they swallowed their words back. It was that old fellow Zhan Shunyu.
This guy is now in charge of overseas fishing, and we all need his navy to make a living, so we can't afford to offend him; that would be a thankless and exhausting task.
The Emperor has certainly played a brilliant move!
However, the Min River is currently in a mess, and if things go wrong, it could lead to its demise, following in the footsteps of Jiang Dabiao.
Faced with this situation, Zhan Shunyu stepped forward without hesitation and solemnly said, "Your Majesty, rest assured, I will definitely arrest Jiang Dabiao and bring him to justice! However, Your Majesty, please forgive me, this old minister is not good at managing local affairs, which is a big problem."
To avoid delaying Your Majesty's important affairs, Your Majesty must send a capable person; otherwise, this old minister fears he might ruin it!
Holy crap!
That was a brilliant move!
Upon hearing this, Li Ruyu and the others wanted to applaud Zhan Shunyu. This guy was indeed a cunning old fox. With just one sentence, he directly returned the initiative to the emperor and even provided him with a ladder. This old fellow was truly shrewd.
"Hahaha!"
Li Anlan couldn't help but burst into laughter, a smile appearing on his murderous face. What does it mean to be a pillar of the state? This is a pillar of the state!
He nodded slightly and said, "The fact that a powerful figure like Jiang Dabiao emerged from the Min River area is due to a lack of management. I have decided to divide the Min River into three parts, which will make management easier and allow for better development."
Divided into three?
Everyone's pupils constricted. The Emperor wasn't happy with just taking over Min River; he wanted to dismember Min River!
After dividing them into three groups, these people will likely lose their cohesion instantly and become competitors. This move is undeniably brilliant.
"Your Majesty is wise!" The crowd took a deep breath and shouted in unison.
Li Anlan glanced at everyone and said in a deep voice, "Minister Zhan, from now on your navy will be responsible for guarding the Min River area, which will also facilitate future ocean fishing and the training of the Great Ning Navy!"
"Your subject obeys!" Zhan Shunyu nodded and said in a deep voice.
Everyone's eyes sharpened as they recalled how the Emperor had previously hidden 300,000 troops in Jiangling, but now he had Zhan Shunyu stationed in the Min River to train troops—it was a strikingly similar situation.
The Emperor is training a navy!
The target is self-evident.
The group of people exchanged somewhat subtle glances. It seemed that the Emperor could no longer tolerate the existence of Xiliang and Northern Liang, which was why he was so eager to deal with the Prince of Min. It was likely that the Prince of Shu would be next.
Just as I was about to speak, someone outside shouted, "An urgent message from Xining Commandery! His Highness the Prince of Shu was attacked by bandits from the Western Regions while inspecting Xining Commandery, and he remains unconscious. The Northwest is in chaos!"
Holy crap!
Here they come, another bandit from the Western Regions!
Ran Xianhua, the Prefect of Grain Supply, couldn't help but twitch his lips and curse inwardly. These people were utterly shameless.
Previously, their own Ran Zijin died in Xiliang. It was clearly Lin Yi who sent people to kill him, but in the end, the blame was placed on some unknown assassin.
Furthermore, in the Battle of Xining, Lin Yi also blamed it on the bandits of the Western Regions. Now, the Emperor has actually turned the tables on him. These two are truly worthy opponents.
Why!
The ministers exchanged glances and couldn't help but sigh. They had been too late. Now that both princes were dead, it would be unwise to anger the emperor over this matter.
In an instant, they had made their decision.
Although the emperor can obtain a large share in both places, we officials and families should at least get a piece of the pie, so we won't lose out.
"Your Majesty, these bandits are wreaking havoc in the Western Regions. First, they assassinated General Cai Yu of the Xining Army, and now they have assassinated His Highness the Prince of Shu. This bandit has already gained considerable power, and Your Majesty cannot ignore it!"
" The Privy Treasury Department is right. Now that the Prince of Shu is in trouble, the Shu Region and the Northwest need to be guarded. I urge Your Majesty to send a capable person there."
"I thought I should dispatch..."
Hahaha!
Li Anlan laughed inwardly. These people were so sensible, which saved him a lot of trouble.
He nodded and said in a deep voice, "Your words are reasonable. I have my own arrangements for this matter. It is time to deal with these bandits in the Western Regions. They are simply lawless."
" Geng Jinzhong, Zhang Sixi, Wang Youli!"
"Your subordinate is here!"
"The three of you will be stationed in Shu Region, and at the same time, guard Xining Commandery to prevent the enemy from launching a surprise attack on Great Ning."
"Your humble servant obeys!"
Li Anlan selected three veteran generals in one go. These were all loyal to him, and they were all capable military generals who would not affect his rule.
Then, just send a few more officials to manage the affairs of Shu Region. This separation of military and political power will maintain maximum security and prevent the problem of one person becoming too powerful.
Strictly speaking, the Shu Region is more important than the Min River!
Because the Shu Region not only needs to defend against the southern chieftains, but also needs to keep an eye on the Western Regions, and even needs to resist the invasion of the Northern Liang and Xiliang at critical moments, it must be under our control.
The position of Northwest Inspector needs to be abolished and its functions reorganized into smaller, independent units to prevent it from becoming too powerful again.
These three veteran generals have followed me on campaigns to the east and west, and they are still in their prime fighting years. They are perfect for suppressing the Shu Region and Northwest regions, so that the All Under Heaven will fall into my hands.
Even if Lin Yi and his son joined forces, I could easily suppress them!