The First Lackey Under The Empress

"Boom!"

In the southern outskirts of the capital, as the 'Experiment No. 1' cannon spat out a cloud of green smoke from its barrel, a thunderous explosion echoed through the mountains and forests. Zhao Du'an stood in the crowd, looking up at a plume of yellow smoke rising in the clear blue sky.

Immediately afterward, deafening shouts erupted from tens of thousands of soldiers in all directions, shaking the earth.

Zhao Du'an picked at his ears with his fingers, turned his head, and smiled at Chen Huoshen, the director of the Divine Mechanism Camp's ordnance bureau, who was beside him:

"Progress is good."

Old acquaintance Chen Huoshen stroked his beard smugly and laughed, "It's all thanks to your guidance, sir."

Zhao Du'an clicked his tongue, finding fault:

"Next time, you can add more pigment to the gunpowder, so it will be more vivid and beautiful in the air, like daytime fireworks."

Around them, the military officers, led by Shi Meng, the commander of the Divine Mechanism Camp, looked at each other, wondering where such loud fireworks could be found.

At this moment, everyone was clad in bright armor, having completed the final step of the Frostfall Day military exercise. Looking out, the troops of the three major Jingying camps covered the plains, with banners fluttering, creating an imposing sight.

And on the highest hill stood the military officials of the樞密院 Privy Council, led by Xue Shence.

With the end of "Fighting Frostfall," the mid- and low-level officers directed the soldiers of the various camps to return to their camps in an orderly manner.

In the localities, because only a portion were "professional soldiers," those farmers who usually farmed and drilled for a while in the spring and autumn would return home after the exercise to prepare for harvesting crops.

However, the Imperial Army's Jingying camps were elite forces that drilled year-round, so this autumn custom had become an occasion for a full-scale military exercise.

Next time would be in early spring next year.

"Qianshi Zhao, don't rush back. Grand Councilor is hosting a banquet for the generals at noon, and you must come," Shi Meng said with a hearty laugh, adding, "It's a tradition."

Well, it was also a tradition for the military officers to have a meal together after the annual Frostfall military exercise. Other miscellaneous invitations could be declined, but Zhao Du'an would not refuse this level of invitation.

Thus, after the exercise, the military officers from each camp gathered around Xue Shence. A mass of officers, each with a warhorse, did not rush back to the city but slowly trailed behind the returning army.

Xue Shence saw Zhao Du'an approaching, suddenly smiled, and called out, "General Zhao, long time no see. Shall we chat alone?"

Huh… what's with your enthusiastic tone… Zhao Du'an was surprised. His relationship with this "Military God" was ordinary, but now he nodded with a smile, "I couldn't ask for more."

So, Xue Shence spurred his horse away from the group and moved forward a distance, and Zhao Du'an hurriedly followed suit.

In this way, the two riders left the other dozens of generals behind. The generals looked at each other, their eyes filled with envy:

How could a mere fourth-rank Qianshi be able to accompany the Grand Councilor alone on this occasion?

This was extremely rare in the past, but if that "fourth-rank" official was Zhao Du'an, nothing would be surprising.

...

In late autumn, the mountain forests outside the city were a mix of yellow and green, and the mountain breeze was refreshing.

"Da da da…"

Zhao Du'an and Xue Shence distanced themselves from the generals behind them, slowed their horses, and rode side by side.

"What instructions do you have, Lord Xue?" Zhao Du'an asked, holding the reins and turning his head to look at the Great Yu Military God, getting straight to the point.

Xue Shence was not wearing the scarlet robe with the lion embroidered on the chest today but was dressed in a full set of Qilin armor. A black gold long spear hung on one side of his warhorse.

His complexion was still fair, and the short beard under his jaw was obviously carefully trimmed. Hearing his question, he was also stunned, seeming to smile, "Lord Zhao speaks very directly."

He did not use the title "Qianshi" but used the word "Lord," 刺史 or 州牧 which meant governor.

This clearly indicated that the following conversation was not from the perspective of a "superior" to a "subordinate" but from the perspective of officials from different departments, serving the same court.

"Although Zhao is not very familiar with military affairs, he still considers himself a military officer, thinking it's better to speak directly," Zhao Du'an said with a smile.

The implied meaning of this was:

Although I am favored, I still consider myself a military officer, under your jurisdiction.

Xue Shence felt satisfied, and the wrinkles on his usually stern face increased slightly:

"It was I who was beating around the bush. Good. Has the Lord been paying attention to the movements of Mr. Zhengyang and the two people from Qingzhou Dao these days?"

Zhao Du'an said with a wry smile:

"Naturally, I have heard something about it, but I am not afraid of Lord Xue's ridicule. I have only been an official for a short time. In the past six months, I have barely recognized most of the officials in this acre of land in the capital. I am mostly ignorant of the people outside the capital.

For example, this Mr. Zhengyang, I only knew about him when I went to Taicang Prefecture to handle affairs last time. It is said that when the Xiūwénguǎn Institute was being prepared, His Majesty considered inviting him to come out of seclusion, but it didn't happen. I didn't expect that after a few months, he would come again and cause such a big commotion."

Xue Shence said suddenly while riding his horse, "It is said that King Mu of Yunfu invited him down the mountain."

King Mu… the "One of the Eight Kings" rooted in Yunfu Dao, adjacent to the southwestern foreign tribes, ranking in the top three in strength among the Eight Kings.

Corresponding information flashed through Zhao Du'an's mind, unable to hide his surprise: "Is there such a thing?"

Xue Shence laughed:

"Although I am in the capital, I am still in charge of some soldiers. Through the transmission of military affairs, I can also learn some news from other places. In particular, Zhao Shixiong leads the southwestern border army to be stationed in Yunfu, guarding the border. He usually deals with the 獠人 Liao people and local mountain bandits the most, so there are more official documents coming and going."

Zhao Shixiong… Zhao Du'an was no stranger to the name of this member of his clan. He had heard it several times and knew that he was a great general guarding one side.

The retired veterans in the Shantang Charity Hall in the east of the city had served under Zhao Shixiong.

Xue Shence suddenly blurted out, "It is said that Zhao Shixiong and King Mu are also very close."

Zhao Du'an's expression changed slightly.

These words were devastating.

It was too easy for a great general guarding the border to get involved with restless royalty, which could easily touch sensitive nerves.

"Didn't Lord Xue tell His Majesty?" Zhao Du'an asked.

Xue Shence sighed, "These are just rumors of unknown truth, so how can I mention them to His Majesty?"

Heh heh, is it inconvenient for you to say it given your position? The Censorate had an internal spy colluding with Prince Jing before, and you, as the Grand Censor, are partly to blame. If you speak ill of Zhao Shixiong at this time, you'll inevitably be accused of 'sowing discord between ruler and subject'… …

Zhao Dou'an sneered, finally understanding the purpose of Xue Shence's private chat.

Undoubtedly, he wanted to use Zhao Dou'an to pass this information to the Empress. This way, with a layer in between, Xue Shence would neither be accused of 'concealing information' nor would he be seen as 'sowing discord' to her face.

However… … this matter is indeed a bit tricky.

Mr. Zhengyang leading his students into the capital is a fierce move. Although there haven't been any excessive actions so far, discerning people realize that this is not a good thing.

Now that it's known he was invited down the mountain by Prince Mu, the implication of targeting becomes even stronger. Thinking deeper, Zhengyang initially refused the court's invitation, but now he accepted Prince Mu's… …

Heh heh, this implication of taking sides is too obvious.

“Is that so.” Zhao Dou'an said, pausing.

Xue Shence didn't say much more on the issue. They were both smart people; he had delivered the message, and he believed Zhao Dou'an would pass the information on.

In the late autumn mountains, two horses rode side by side, silent for a moment, with only the sound of hooves and the birds startled from the distant woods.

“Regarding the two from Qingzhou, can Master Xue enlighten me?” Zhao Dou'an remembered that the other party had also mentioned this earlier, and might have something to say.

Xue Shence smiled and said, “Haven’t you investigated?”

Zhao Dou'an wasn't embarrassed and said frankly:

“The son of Prince Heng of Qingzhou, the esteemed Heir Apparent, Xu Zudi… … Heh, a good name indeed. He claims to be visiting the capital for leisure and to see relatives?

As for the one named Xiao Dong'er, she actually manages a large clan in Qingzhou, with merchant fleets everywhere. She is the current head of the Xiao family, said to be a remarkable woman. This time, entering the capital, it seems she's aiming for the Lake Pavilion trade fair.”

Compared to Mr. Zhengyang's overt and powerful momentum.

These two from Qingzhou, on the other hand, drew more attention from Zhao Dou'an.

Of course, he wouldn't be foolish enough to believe that the dignified Heir Apparent of Prince Heng was really here for leisure and sightseeing. After thinking it over, one of the purposes must be to probe the capital's secrets, just like Xu Junling.

However, Prince Huai'an only sent a daughter to probe, while Prince Heng was bold enough to directly send his Heir Apparent.

As for the "East Lake Xiao Family," the female head of this large Qingzhou clan is even more legendary. It is said that she was initially unknown, just the wife of the Xiao family's new head.

Later, the family head died unexpectedly, leaving behind only a two-year-old child. Seeing that the Xiao family's main line was difficult to maintain and power was about to fall into other hands, this widowed woman suddenly defeated the second and third branches who wanted to seize power with clever tactics… …

At the same time, people realized that before her husband's death, she had already been managing the clan's merchant fleet business and holding real power… …

After that, as a woman, she took on the position of family leader, becoming an extremely rare "female head," and also earned the "reputation" of being the wealthiest "widow" in the Great Yu Dynasty.

However, these two haven't made any moves since entering the capital, and Zhao Dou'an couldn't figure out their full intentions.

“The East Lake Xiao Family is also a century-old clan with a rich foundation,” Xue Shence said with emotion before continuing:

“However, two tigers cannot share a mountain. In the Great Yu Dynasty, except for the relatively special Huai River area, the greater the power of the imperial family, the smaller the local clans will naturally become. That Madam Xiao, as a woman, can maintain the family's prosperity, indeed, she is not a simple person.”

Zhao Dou'an looked at him in surprise. There was a lot of information in those words.

It seemed like he hadn't said anything, but it also seemed like he had said a lot.

Zhao Dou'an thought for a moment, took out two still-warm sweet potatoes from his bosom, handed one to Xue Shence, and smiled:

“My younger sister baked these this morning, would you like to taste them?”

First show goodwill, then extract information.

Xue Shence was stunned, looking at Zhao with a strange expression. He reached out, grabbed a sweet potato, and together with Zhao Dou'an, peeled off the skin, revealing the warm, slightly steaming golden "sweet potato flesh." He took a bite, feeling sweetness filling his mouth.

Eating sweet potatoes in the cold air of the late autumn countryside has a special flavor.

The two ate the sweet potatoes in silence. Xue Shence swallowed the food and continued, “As for that Xu Zudi, do you know who he's visiting?”

“Isn’t it His Majesty?” Zhao Dou'an asked, blowing on the heat.

Xue Shence said lightly, “Prince Heng and the Grand Princess are born of the same mother. Therefore, Xu Zudi was closest to the Grand Princess when he was young.”

Huh? This kid and Yunyang, that bitch, are related?

Zhao Dou'an was stunned. He didn't know this.

Xue Shence held the sweet potato, looking at him with a smile that was not a smile, and said:

“Xu Zudi has been holding back since entering the capital, not moving much. But last night, he went to the Consort's mansion and met Li Lang, the son of Princess Yunyang. Master Zhao, you need to be careful recently.”

Zhao Dou'an had personally sent Princess Yunyang to Jizhao Nunnery for confinement, and had beaten Li Lang in the Pear Blossom Hall and thrown him into the Imperial Prison.

Xu Zhenguan suppressed this hatred back then, but now that Xu Zudi has entered the capital and learned that his aunt and cousin have been dealt with by Zhao Dou'an, can he endure it?

Zhao Dou'an stuffed the last bite of sweet potato into his mouth, silent.

Just then.

Suddenly, a rider galloped from the distance ahead, hooves pounding on the ground, raising a trail of dust.

The rider was wearing brocade clothes, one of the “Four Pear Blossoms” of Pear Blossom Hall, Hou Renmeng.

Old Hou spurred his horse, reining in sharply, dismounting, and rushing forward, his face anxious:

“Sir, something bad has happened, our people have been caught!”