Chapter 833: Taking a Risk
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
She remembered that she had heard from her grandmother earlier that not long after the previous emperor ascended the throne, her relative had been sent to Shanxi to suppress bandits.
There were hundreds of thousands of mountain bandits in the 100,000-mile mountain area of Shanxi. At that time, the relative who had been ordered to eliminate the bandits had returned to the capital. Then, a court official had reported that he had risked killing the commoners.
Later on, it was confirmed that he had not killed those commoners. Instead, it was done by the sharp weapons used by mountain bandits to restrain the government.
The relative was unmoved, disregarding the lives of innocent people. Although he had successfully eliminated the bandits, he had also been exposed, giving the previous emperor an excuse to suppress the imperial clan.
Huang Wenxian nodded. “I’m afraid so.”
This was difficult. Yu Youyao took a deep breath. “The mountain bandits must have taken many hostages. Once they attack forcefully, those hostages will first be pulled out to be sacrificed. In that case, we can only use our wits. We can’t attack head-on.”
General An Yuan also nodded.
Yu Youyao pondered for a moment. “I originally planned to let Lord Li cooperate with the You army to send out troops and attack forcefully to end the battle quickly. After that, I’ll announce to the public that the government has borrowed dozens or hundreds of people from King Yue Fei because they don’t have enough manpower to arrange the refugees. The You army will fight ten alone, and no one will suspect anything. If Lord Li is implicated, Lord Li will naturally deal with the Imperial Court and won’t implicate King Yue Fei.”
Huang Wenxian and General An Yuan felt that this plan was very safe if there were no hostages.
Yu Youyao sighed slightly. “However, the plan is about to change now. There are hostages in the stronghold, and the situation has become very complicated. We can’t end it quickly. If we rashly send troops with the government, it’s easy to complicate matters. It’s best if we can enter the stronghold to investigate and cooperate from the inside.”
If the situation was unknown, it would be very disadvantageous to the You army. If the news that King Yue Fei had sent troops to suppress the bandits was accidentally spread, good things would become bad.
The best way was not to get involved.
Of course, Yu Youyao did not have to get involved. In the future, when Lord Li could no longer stand the rampant bandits, he would borrow troops from the state government office to suppress them.
The Yue Fei King’s Residence only needed to exert pressure on the state government office and get them to send people over. It would probably be resolved.
But!
However, she knew that mountain bandits had lost their morals and had already lost their humanity. As time passed, who knew how many innocent people would be harmed?
Just thinking about it made her feel like a fishbone was stuck in her throat.
Thinking about it carefully, if this matter was planned, there was still a way to resolve it. Having the ability but looking on without lifting a finger was different from wanting to do it but not having the resources.
At the very least, she couldn’t stand by and watch coldly now.
Huang Wenxian’s eyelids twitched. He had a bad feeling.
Indeed!
Yu Youyao continued, “I’ll pretend to be a young miss from a wealthy family who went to Xiuyan to seek refuge with her relatives. Yin Shi and Chun Xiao will pretend to be maidservants. Pick ten to twenty people to pretend to be servants or escorts to escort me past the foot of the mountain. Then, the bandits will kidnap me.”
“Yin Shi is skilled in disguise and scouting. At that time, she can announce to the public that I was attacked by bandits on the way back to Xiangping. The You army can legitimately suppress the bandits.”
Huang Wenxian’s expression changed drastically as he objected, “No, this is too risky. Before we came to Liancheng, His Highness had written to us that we had to protect your safety.”
General An Yuan also objected. “The plan is feasible, but we can change the candidate for the young miss of a wealthy family. There’s no need for the Princess to take the risk personally. Otherwise, we won’t be able to answer to His Highness.”
Yu Youyao shook her head. “After the Imperial Court issued the national policy, King Yue Fei wasn’t restricted like before. However, at the same time, the Imperial Court monitored him more strictly.”
The vassal lords had a large number of troops in their hands. The Imperial Court had to prevent them from leading their troops and shocking their masters.
Huang Wenxian did not look too good. Everyone said that one should not tolerate others snoring by one’s side. A group of mountain bandits were brazenly running wild under the nose of the You army. Wasn’t it because the vassal lords were controlled by the Imperial Court that the bandits had nothing to fear?
“The matter of national policy has already seriously threatened the interests of the nobles. The power of the nobles is very huge, so it’s impossible for them to sit back and do nothing. They must be keeping an eye on King Yue Fei and have something on him.”
“The national policy is a double-edged knife, a sharp weapon to deal with the nobles. However, if this double-edged knife is even a little biased, it will become the sharp blade of the nobles to attack King Yue Fei. I’ve never liked to be used against others. I have to put on a show. I’m the one who wants to suppress the bandits. I can’t let King Yue Fei take the risk.”
Huang Wenxian did not look too good. “If His Highness finds out…” He might go crazy.
General An Yuan also looked pale. He thought of the fear of being supported by all kinds of “additional training.” “Then, then why don’t we think about it at length and think of other ways?”
Yu Youyao said, “Even if he was here, I would say the same.”
At this moment, the nobles had something on Yin Huaixi and were waiting. Even a small mistake could cause a huge disaster. If it were someone else pretending to be a young miss of a wealthy family, they might not be discovered.
But what if?
She couldn’t take any chances in anything. She would do what she had to do. King Yue Fei wanted to use her name to eliminate the bandits. This “name” had to be real. Only then could it be legitimate.
Huang Wenxian and General An Yuan tried their best to persuade her.
Yu Youyao had made up her mind and did not waver.
General An Yuan was still making a “death struggle”. He braced himself and said, “I’ve thought about it carefully. This plan isn’t a complete failure. However, what if the bandits don’t fall for it?”
This plan could only succeed if the bandits wanted to rob Princess Shaoyi.
If they didn’t rob her, wouldn’t it be for nothing?
However, Yu Youyao said, “Money moves people’s hearts. In that case, prepare more supplies!”
Huang Wenxian did not give up. “If word gets out that you were kidnapped by mountain bandits, it will damage your reputation.”
Yu Youyao smiled. “The person who was kidnapped was a young miss from a wealthy family. What has that got to do with me? We were the ones who set the plan, and the people who participated were all our own people. Why will there be such rumors?”
Huang Wenxian was suffocated. In that case, why did the Little Princess Consort have to take the risk herself?
It was actually very simple!
She knew that she was taking a risk. Yu Youyao couldn’t push others into danger, while she hid behind others and enjoyed the results of them taking a risk.
She was the one who insisted on suppressing the bandits.
No matter who she pushed, she couldn’t feel at ease.
Of course, the main reason was still to put on a show to avoid being used against.
Yu Youyao continued, “If someone wants to use this matter to cause trouble, so what if they find out that I’ve been kidnapped by bandits? Shouldn’t King Yue Fei eliminate the bandits?”
No one would say that King Yue Fei was inappropriate.
General An Yuan was also speechless. The nobles of the North were too powerful and had powerful methods. Previously, when the nobles persecuted King Li of Zhou, the Little Princess Consort was very vigilant against them and did not dare to leave any evidence behind.
On the surface, this plan was because she had been attacked by bandits, so it was only logical for the You army to suppress the bandits.
If someone refused to give up and wanted to investigate this matter, finding out that she had been kidnapped by mountain bandits, it would be even more natural to suppress the bandits.
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