AWB Chapter 494: The 4th Imperial Concubine, a huge local family!
Chapter 494: The 4th Imperial Concubine, a huge local family!
The sun slowly sank towards the western horizon.
The afterglow was like golden gauze, gently sprinkling on every inch of the imperial palace, covering the towering palaces and exquisite pavilions with a layer of brilliant colors.
Ye Chen and Direza rode on the same horse and came to the place where the Dayuan delegation was staying.
At this moment, Direza's clothes were a little messy, but she was nestled in Ye Chen's arms.
There was obvious love in her eyes as she looked at Ye Chen.
This wild horse has been completely tamed by Ye Chen.
When Maimaiti and the envoys came out to greet them, Ye Chen said, "Today I will take Direza into the harem and make her Noble Consort Xiang."
His voice echoed in the palace like a huge bell.
"Thank you, Your Majesty! Long live Your Majesty!"
Maimaiti kowtowed excitedly.
Direza also knelt on one knee obediently.
"I obey the decree!"
Ye Chen turned to Cheng En and said, "Cheng En, go get the palace map."
Cheng'en bowed respectfully and said repeatedly, "I will do it right away."
Cheng'en's figure quickly disappeared, and after a while, he hurried over with a palace map.
Ye Chen took the palace map, looked at it carefully for a while, and finally his finger stopped at a place on the map.
"Direza, I have chosen this palace for you. Are you satisfied?"
Hearing this, Direza took a look and then lowered her head and said, "Your Majesty, I have no objection to your choice."
Then, Ye Chen looked at Mai Maiti again.
"Maimaiti, don't forget your promise to Dayuan."
Maimaiti quickly replied, "Your Majesty, rest assured. I have already sent a pigeon back. The news should have reached Dayuan soon. Moreover, the Dongqiang have already deployed troops on the border. As long as Dayuan promises not to hinder the Dongqiang, the Dongqiang will immediately send troops."
After hearing this, Ye Chen nodded with satisfaction.
Then, he asked Cheng'en to take Direza to the palace and let her enter the palace as a noble concubine.
He sat in the emperor's ceremonial procession and headed towards the Yangxin Palace.
When he returned to the Yangxin Palace, he had just sat down on the dragon throne and was about to deal with government affairs when Cheng'en hurried over with a letter in his hand.
"Your Majesty, this letter is from Jiangxia."
Hearing this, Ye Chen frowned slightly, took the letter, opened the envelope, and read the contents of the letter.
Ye Chen's expression became serious.
"Although Jiangdong doesn't appear to be vast and has a small population, it's definitely not prosperous. Yet, there are actually five aristocratic families, each controlling five counties?"
"Each of these prefects has a family supporting them, and they all maintain private armies. The total number of these private armies is nearly 10,000, while the imperial court only has 3,000 troops stationed in the five prefectures?"
Ye Chen shook his head.
The power of these local noble families is indeed very strong. Moreover, Ye Chen speculates that these aristocratic families will definitely intermarry with each other and build a huge network of relationships.
The governor of Jiangdong seemed to be in a high position and had great power, but in fact he could only control one county.
Dayu's control over Jiangdong was undoubtedly very weak.
The only thing that made Ye Chen feel a little relieved was that although the aristocratic families were powerful, they were decentralized and autonomous. As long as the relationship between them was clarified, they should be able to divide and rule.
In addition to the news from Jiangdong, Ye Chen also read a piece of news at the end of the letter.
"The situation in Jiangnan is roughly the same as in Jiangdong. This refers to Jingzhou, right?"
Ye Chen suddenly guessed that the Jingzhou soldiers might be weaker than he imagined.
Because if the situation in Jingzhou is the same as that in Jiangdong, then these Jingzhou soldiers outside Wuguan must be private soldiers of different powerful families.
This is a loose alliance.
The combat effectiveness and discipline of this kind of army must be very poor.
Perhaps he could take the initiative to send troops to fight. If he could easily defeat the Jingzhou soldiers, then Yang Dechang would have no one to rely on.
But before that, he had to leave the palace to investigate Di Gui's military camp to see if the current Di Gui army still had the ability to take the initiative to attack.
Ye Chen thought for a while, then picked up the pen and quickly wrote a letter.
He wanted Cai Chong to continue observing the situation in Jiangdong, and from Cai Chong's letter, he could feel Cai Chong's loyalty to him.
Although it was not stated explicitly, the final report deliberately exposed the current situation of the Jingzhou army.
It's just that this guy is a member of the Cai family and a descendant of a noble family, so some things are hard to say openly.
As for those who have expressed their loyalty, Ye Chen will entrust them with important tasks. He also praised Cai Chong in a friendly manner in the letter and encouraged him to continue working hard.
Just as he finished writing the letter, Cheng'en brought another letter.
"Your Majesty, a letter has arrived from outside the capital."
When Ye Chen heard this, he immediately knew that it was a letter from Murong Yan.
He took the letter and read it quickly.
Then he snorted softly.
"After returning home, Yang Dechang sent out dozens of letters. He wasn't just contacting the powerful nobles in the capital, but also sending some to those outside the city, right?"
Ye Chen felt that Yang Dechang was up to something big.
What bothered him was that he didn't know to whom the letter that Edward Yang sent out of the capital was written.
Does Yang Dechang have any hidden cards outside the capital that he hasn't revealed?