When Han Qian proposed his deceptive stratagem, Shen He was also startled, but upon careful consideration, found it quite ingenious.

His Majesty had already decreed that Feng Wenlan and Kong Zhou drink poisoned wine to commit suicide, and clearly stated that the Feng clan members would be demoted to commoner status without further prosecution. However, this didn’t mean the Feng clan would be allowed to settle peacefully in Jinling as ordinary citizens from now on.

As the Third Prince had just mentioned, Feng Liao and the other Feng brothers still hoped to relocate the clan back to Xuanzhou. But if the Feng clan, fearing continued persecution, petitioned old friends to request His Majesty’s permission to move to Xuzhou instead, anyone would see this merely as seeking refuge with the Han father and son to obtain better settlement.

If His Majesty granted this favor, it could naturally be viewed as him being “out of sight, out of mind” regarding the Feng clan. Tanzhou would absolutely not become suspicious.

Counting from old Minister Feng Yue’s generation, the Feng clan had only sixty or seventy people including men, women, old and young. Even counting from Feng Liao’s great-grandfather’s generation, including all branches and every single wife and concubine, there were only three to four hundred people—nowhere near the scale of five to six thousand households or thirty to forty thousand people.

However, if one included the Feng family’s most numerous servants and household troops, the numbers became massive—nearly a thousand households totaling seven to eight thousand people.

At present, this still seemed far from the goal of five thousand military households. But if Han Qian could use these people well and establish a firm foothold in Xuzhou, there would be no problem. Afterward, by dispersing another thousand or so military households into the region, the Han father and son might completely control Xuzhou, thereby becoming a nail the court had driven into Tanzhou’s head—one that would make Tanzhou unable to sleep or eat in peace.

Having just executed Feng Wenlan and Kong Zhou and confiscated the Feng family’s clan property, no one would ever imagine that the Feng clan’s relocation to Xuzhou would help the court deal with Tanzhou.

By bestowing the Feng family’s hundred-plus ships to Han Qian and incorporating them into the Xuzhou shipping guild, Han Qian could rush to stockpile massive amounts of supplies in Xuzhou before Tanzhou had any defenses prepared.

Such a deceptive stratagem left Tanzhou unable to guard against it.

While pondering the strategy Han Qian had献offered, Shen He simultaneously detected a hint of something amiss. The Feng clan had just been raided by His Majesty, and their resentment ran extremely deep. What made Han Qian confident he could persuade them to help the court deal with Tanzhou?

Moreover, if the Han father and son harbored ambitions to establish themselves independently based in Xuzhou, wouldn’t sending so many people who resented the court to Xuzhou be like giving them wings? When the time came, wouldn’t whether or not to declare independence simply become a matter of the Han father and son’s whim?

Thinking this, Shen He couldn’t help but scrutinize Han Qian.

Han Qian calmly accepted Shen He’s scrutiny, even raising his head to observe Emperor Tianyou’s inscrutable expression.

The strategy he offered merely followed Emperor Tianyou’s own thinking, and it was Emperor Tianyou himself who had said he didn’t mind letting the Han family rule Xuzhou in perpetual hereditary succession.

The ambition of him and his father to establish independent control of Xuzhou was precisely the most important layer of fog to deceive Tanzhou. He believed Emperor Tianyou understood this point as well.

Although Ma Xun’s disastrous defeat at Mount Dahong hadn’t significantly damaged Tanzhou’s actual strength, it had dealt an extreme blow to Tanzhou’s confidence.

Previously, Tanzhou had regarded Chenzhou, Xuzhou and other regions as their own backyard, absolutely not allowing others to interfere. But now, if he and his father displayed ambitions to establish independent control of Xuzhou, Tanzhou—whose confidence had been shattered—would view the father and son as potential allies to jointly resist Jinling.

In the entire plan, Emperor Tianyou would have to agree to let him send people, grain, and money to Xuzhou on a larger scale and more openly over the next six months. Before truly moving against Tanzhou, he needed many people to believe—even needed those around him to believe—that he harbored ambitions to establish independent control of Xuzhou.

Now it just depended on whether that old bastard Tianyou dared take this risk, whether he feared the father and son would seize the opportunity to carve out Xuzhou, and whether he truly meant what he said about Xuzhou being inconsequential!

“The Feng clan’s relocation to Xuzhou may deceive the heavens and cross the sea, but why should I agree to let the Feng family’s servants and household troops also relocate to Xuzhou?” After a long while, Yang Mi stared at Han Qian and asked.

“The Feng brothers are currently confined in the Prince’s Manor. We need only arrange for two Feng household troops to break into the Prince’s Manor at night!” Han Qian said.

Feng household troops breaking into the Prince’s Manor at night could be interpreted as attempting to rescue the Feng brothers, or as attempting to assassinate the Third Prince. This would make the Feng household troops and servants appear unreliable. If Emperor Tianyou didn’t want the world to say his methods were too unsightly, and couldn’t execute them all, he would have no choice but to expel them from Jinling.

Yang Mi pondered for a long time before saying, “The Feng clan members can first be arranged to relocate to Xuzhou, but before you receive my decree, you may not leave Jinling, nor may you leak even half of today’s discussion!”

Han Qian knew that until the old bastard Tianyou made his final decision, he wouldn’t allow him to go to Xuzhou. He immediately replied, “This subject respectfully remembers Your Majesty’s command.”

“Very well, it’s getting late. You and Pu’er may leave the palace,” Yang Mi waved his hand.

“Yes!” Only then did Han Qian press his aching knees and stand up to leave the palace with the Third Prince.

……

……

After leaving the palace, though the Prince’s Manor was only four or five hundred paces away, Han Qian still accompanied the Third Prince in traveling by carriage.

Gao Chengyuan, Commander and Chief Supervisor of the Personal Guard Bureau, along with Zhang Ping and others, led several dozen cavalry guards of the personal escort squadron, surrounding the bronze carriage with its four protected sides as it moved slowly along Fengxiang Boulevard in the deep silent night.

“Teacher Han, how should we arrange for the Feng clan to relocate to Xuzhou? Feng Liao and Feng Yi might not be willing to go, right?” Yang Yuanpu couldn’t help but ask.

The entire plan hadn’t yet received Father Emperor’s approval, so not a bit could be leaked. Moreover, they absolutely couldn’t reveal this to the Feng family right now, so arranging everything without exposing any flaws would be no simple matter.

In fact, even if they could reveal this, with the Feng family harboring such deep resentment toward Emperor Tianyou, who knew how many would secretly report to Tanzhou?

“I’ve already told His Majesty the useful strategy. Your Highness should think more deeply about it,” Han Qian said.

“Oh,” Yang Yuanpu slapped his forehead, saying, “Teacher Han will arrange for people to infiltrate the Prince’s Manor, publicly claiming someone wanted to rescue Feng Liao and Feng Yi or assassinate me. But Feng Liao is extremely suspicious by nature—when this happens, he’ll most likely suspect Father Emperor is using this as an excuse to eliminate them root and branch, and will feel that even returning to Xuanzhou isn’t safe. Is that Teacher Han’s meaning?”

“Your Highness is brilliant. Han Qian’s intention is precisely to startle the snake and frighten them into going to Xuzhou first, then bring them under control later,” Han Qian smiled.

Yang Yuanpu smiled, but then said, “If I ascend the throne, I will certainly have Teacher Han eternally guard Xuzhou to keep our Great Chu’s southwestern frontier permanently stable!”

Han Qian glanced at Yang Yuanpu. Though the carriage curtain was raised, the night lanterns carried by the personal escorts were too dim to clearly see Yang Yuanpu’s facial expression changes in the darkness, but he could sense Yang Yuanpu’s breathing quickened slightly when saying this.

“Since Your Highness says this, Han Qian will certainly remember it!” Han Qian joked in an even more relaxed tone, yet sighed inwardly. The Third Prince had actually thought to use scheming to stabilize him—ultimately he still didn’t trust him, still feared he would seize the opportunity to carve out Xuzhou and stand aside from Jinling’s affairs.

……

……

When the guard convoy reached the Prince’s Manor gates, Han Qian watched the Third Prince enter the manor, then under the escort of Zhao Wuji, Xi Fa’er and others who had been waiting, proceeded along Fengxiang Boulevard in a large circle to ensure no one was following. He ordered Xi Fa’er to take his command token out of the city to return to Yandang Promontory, while he brought Zhao Wuji through streets and alleys, silently entering the rear residence of Ningxiang Pavilion.

After arriving at Ningxiang Pavilion, Han Qian arranged for someone to summon Tian Cheng, Gao Shao, and Lin Haizheng.

Tian Cheng was on duty at Jinyun Pavilion tonight, while Gao Shao and Lin Haizheng both had residences in Lanting Lane. When they rushed to the rear residence of Ningxiang Pavilion, they were puzzled, unclear why Han Qian had something that couldn’t be discussed at the Han family mansion in Lanting Lane, instead gathering everyone at Ningxiang Pavilion beside the Prince’s Manor.

When they arrived, they saw that the rear residence of Ningxiang Pavilion had a spread of food and wine set out, not knowing which restaurant Han Qian had it delivered from at this late hour.

Han Qian had accompanied the Third Prince into the palace at dusk and left after midnight, not drinking even a mouthful of water the whole time, and had even kowtowed until his head rang—his heart full of frustration and his stomach rumbling with hunger.

He pulled Gao Shao, Lin Haizheng, and Tian Cheng to leisurely drink wine with him in the rear residence of Ningxiang Pavilion.

Han Qian didn’t explain what this was about, and the three—Tian Cheng, Gao Shao, and Lin Haizheng—felt depressed but could only patiently accompany Han Qian in drinking.

Around midnight, two horse carriages silently stopped in the alley behind Ningxiang Pavilion. Then they saw Lin Zongjing, Guo Nu’er, Xi Fa’er, Zhao Wuji, Xi Ren, Guo Que’er, Zhao Qi, Du Yijun, Du Yiming and others escorting Li Qilü, the Feng household soldier who had originally run to Yandang Promontory Manor to report, into the rear courtyard.

Seeing this scene, Tian Cheng, Gao Shao, and Lin Haizheng grew even more confused.

Since the Prince’s Manor obtaining the Feng family’s secret cache absolutely could not be leaked, they couldn’t possibly send Li Qilü to the Court of Judicial Review for trial. They could only act as if this person didn’t exist—telling no one and keeping him imprisoned in Yandang Promontory’s cellar all along.

They didn’t understand why Han Qian had suddenly had Li Qilü brought to the Prince’s Manor.

Han Qian glanced at Li Qilü in the courtyard and said to Tian Cheng, “Tian Cheng, you’re on duty at Jinyun Pavilion tonight. In a while, return to Jinyun Pavilion and find an excuse to dismiss the courtyard guards. After you send word, I’ll have Gao Shao bring Li Qilü inside…”

“What does Your Lordship want Gao Shao to avoid notice and bring Li Qilü into the Prince’s Manor for?” Gao Shao couldn’t help but ask.

“This man betrayed his master for profit—naturally we can’t spare his life. However, even if we must kill him, we need to find an appropriate excuse to kill him,” Han Qian smiled. “What do you all say—if he dies because of infiltrating Jinyun Pavilion to rescue the Feng brothers, won’t he leave behind a good reputation in the martial world?”

Tian Cheng and Gao Shao exchanged glances, truly not knowing what medicine Han Qian was selling in his gourd. What kind of damn reason was this?

Lin Haizheng asked in confusion, “Others may not know this bastard’s background, but the Feng brothers know this bastard betrayed his master for profit and nearly got them killed. They also know this bastard is actually being held by us at Yandang Promontory Manor!”

“Everyone who knows Li Qilü is detained by us is here. From this moment on, we must unify our story and say this bastard was already taken away by people from the Inner Palace Bureau two days ago! Are there any other questions?” Han Qian stared at everyone in the room.

None of them were stupid. They realized Your Lordship clearly intended to frighten the Feng brothers into thinking the Third Prince had no intention of letting the Feng family go.

Tian Cheng and the others hadn’t yet thought further, only wondering whether Your Lordship believed the Feng brothers hadn’t revealed all of the Feng family’s hidden treasure cache.

At this moment, Tian Cheng and the others also understood why Zhao Qi, Du Yijun, and Du Yiming had been summoned so late—because all three knew Li Qilü was imprisoned at the manor. Han Qian had called them over to unify their story face-to-face.