The destiny of all heavens begins in the Red Chamber

Although the Prince of Nan'an was defeated and captured, no one believed that his life was in danger.

Just kidding. There's no deep-seated hatred between Daqian and Qianxiang Kingdom, so there's no need to kill a big shot like the Prince of Nan'an.

On the contrary, if handled properly, the potential profits can be enormous.

In fact, that's exactly what Akaneko did!

They sent envoys to conduct secret negotiations with the Great Qian Dynasty.

The so-called secret was only known to ordinary people; officials in the capital city basically knew about it.

Originally, the negotiations had already reached a conclusion, but who knew that Jia Huan would win a battle in the southwest.

This renders the previous peace talks invalid.

It was thought that there would be another peace talk, but no one expected that not long after, news came from the Prince of Nan'an's mansion that the prince had died.

While the officials were surprised, they couldn't help but sigh that barbarians were indeed barbarians, completely inflexible.

Of course, while outwardly praising Jia Huan for causing this outcome, one can only imagine what he was thinking inside. After all, his actions led to the death of a powerful prince of a different surname.

Didn't they say that the Rong family and the Prince of Nan'an's mansion had a good relationship? How could such a farcical thing have happened?

If Jia Huan had heard such words while he was not in the capital, he would probably have angrily denounced them as "absurd"!

Is a conflict between two nations a child's play?

The mobilization of 100,000 troops almost completely depleted the mobile forces in the southwest region!

In a battle of this scale, is it really that hard to accept the death of one or two alien kings?

The most surprised person must be the current emperor.

When the emperor saw the memorial from the Prince of Nan'an's residence requesting that the prince's heir be appointed as the new Prince of Nan'an, a rare look of bewilderment appeared on his face: "What's going on?"

Dai Quan, who was standing by and serving, hurriedly said, "Your Majesty, not long ago, the Prince of Nan'an's residence announced the death of the previous Prince of Nan'an!"

"What? The Prince of Nan'an's residence actually did this?"

The Emperor was somewhat surprised: "Then what about paying such a high price to save the Prince of Nan'an? Wasn't that a joke?"

Dai Quan naturally did not answer this question, nor did he know how to answer it.

There's clearly no need for answers now. He frowned and muttered to himself, "It should have been done a long time ago!"

"Isn't it a bit too late to announce the death of the Prince of Nan'an now?"

As he said this, his face was full of undisguised sneers, and his eyes flashed with disdain.

Previously, in order to persuade him, the Dowager Princess of Nan'an had offered considerable benefits.

Even if the peace talks and the marriage alliance ultimately fail, the benefits that should be given must not be reduced by a single cent.

The emperor's face is not something to be trifled with!

"Tell me, what exactly happened at the Prince of Nan'an's residence? It's impossible that there were no warning signs at all!"

The Emperor quickly realized what was happening and asked directly, "Has there been any news from the Embroidered Uniform Guard?"

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

Dai Quan hurriedly replied, "Just yesterday, the heads of the eight founding ducal families, except for the Ning and Rong families, all gathered at the Nan'an Prince's Mansion!"

"They're losing their composure!"

He coldly replied, "Trying to gain an advantage isn't that simple!"

As he spoke, he put the document aside for the time being.

He didn't intend to be the bad guy, but if the Prince of Nan'an's mansion didn't offer him enough extra benefits, it would be impossible for him to easily agree. Rules are rules.

"Have the Embroidered Uniform Guard keep an eye on things!"

He instructed, "If anything like this happens again, report it immediately!"

After speaking, he began to peruse the memorials.

That afternoon, the Dowager Princess of Nan'an entered the palace.

No one knows what deal she made with the current emperor, but when she left the palace, the Dowager Consort looked extremely unpleasant, her face as cold and displeased as if covered in frost.

The very next day, the emperor approved the selection of the new Prince of Nan'an, which was quite fast!

The emergence of a new Prince of Nan'an naturally caused a stir in the officialdom of the capital!

Unfortunately, the civil service made no comment on this, as if nothing had happened.

until……

"A great victory! A great victory in the Southwest!"

"The First-Class Marquis of Dingyuan led his army to a great victory over the invading army of Qianxiang Kingdom, and has driven them all out of the southwestern border!"

"A great victory! A great victory in the southwest! Countless prisoners have been captured!"

The messenger, whose mission was to deliver a message at an urgent pace, galloped through the city gates of the capital, shouting as he went.

The entire capital city was in an uproar.

No one expected that Jia Huan and his troops would be so powerful!

Last time, they were only facing off against the invading army of Qianxiang Kingdom at the border. Now, they have successfully defeated the enemy and driven them all away.

Such a record is a resounding victory!

The news reached the palace immediately and reached the ears of the current emperor!

"Excellent! The Earl of Dingyuan has indeed not disappointed me. He is truly a tiger general!"

The emperor was overjoyed, his face beaming with happiness, feeling more delighted than ever before.

Jia Huan's victory completely erased the stain on his reputation for martial arts.

This is absolutely a very happy thing for us today.

"Your Majesty, the Prince of Nan'an and six other heads of the founding dukes request an audience!"

At this moment, Dai Quan hurried over and reported in a low voice.

"Hmm, what a coincidence?"

At first, he was taken aback, then immediately realized what was happening, and his expression suddenly turned serious: "Is this... something they did on purpose?"

If that's the case, then Jia Huan, who is far away in the southwest, has also gotten involved.

Thinking of this, my mood immediately sank, and I felt indescribably unhappy.

"Let them come!"

The Emperor coldly replied, "I'd like to see what they're really up to."

Soon after, the newly appointed Prince of Nan'an, who was only fourteen or fifteen years old, and the heads of the other six of the eight founding dukes, excluding the Ning and Rong families, all arrived.

After exchanging greetings, let's get straight to the point!

First was the young prince, who directly petitioned the current emperor to go to the southwestern territory to take charge.

The Emperor was displeased and directly stated that the war in the southwest had just ended, and the new Prince of Nan'an was too young to go there at this time, so it would be dangerous. He suggested waiting and making a decision later.

Immediately, the head of the founding duke's family stated that they could send elite troops to assist the Prince of Nan'an in taking control of the chaotic situation in the southwest and quickly restoring peace there.

The Emperor spoke frankly and lightly, saying that the imperial court had already made plans and was preparing to send officials and troops into the southwest region.

There is no doubt that some southwestern regions are already capable of being directly governed by the imperial court.

A nobleman spoke slowly: "It is only right for the court to send officials and troops to the regions that His Majesty values, but we don't know how many prefectures and counties are involved?"

"Furthermore, the southwest region is far from the center of the imperial court, and the Han Chinese population there is not the absolute majority. Moreover, most of the southwest region is mountainous and densely forested with a harsh environment, which the officials sent by the imperial court cannot govern well. The cooperation of the Prince of Nan'an's mansion is still needed!"

The Emperor nodded in agreement and stated that the court would only take control of one or two prefectures near the southern hinterland, while the rest would remain under the jurisdiction of the Prince of Nan'an.

Unfortunately, the southern part of the country is an extremely poor and remote area, and there are very few officials willing to go there.

It wasn't that I didn't want to be an official, but I was worried that if I went there, the court would forget about me and I would be stuck in the southwest, which would be really terrible.

Similarly, the same principle applies to the troops sent there!

In the eyes of the officials and people of the Great Qian Dynasty, the southern part of the country was definitely a desolate borderland, and it was absolutely not a place to stay for long.

Under such circumstances, it is impossible to forcibly send people there now.

They were quite satisfied with occupying several prime prefectures.

The new Prince of Nan'an, along with the heads of other noble families, are surprisingly easy to talk to.

Now that their goal has been achieved, they have no intention or desire to compete with the current regime.

As for the division of territories and interests in the remaining areas of the southwest, that was a matter within the power structure of the founding nobles.

Let alone outsiders, even those who want to get involved nowadays would find it quite difficult.

They hurriedly rose to thank the emperor for his generosity, and then left the palace with beaming faces.

"Hmph, they really did have prior arrangements!"

As the emperor watched the departing figures of the nobles and dignitaries, his face turned extremely grim. He muttered to himself, "Jia Huan, Jia Huan, don't disappoint me!"

The behavior of the nobles and bigwigs just now has already explained a lot of things.