Chapter 350 Prepare for the worst
Wei Jiansu and Feng Changqing both stated their suggestions, and the final decision was in the hands of Li Heng.

Li Heng pondered for a while and said, "We can persuade him to surrender, but Shi Siming must come to the capital to apologize."

Wei Jiansu was slightly stunned when he heard this.

Wei Jiansu knew that given Shi Siming's character, he would never come to Beijing to apologize, so Li Heng had no intention of persuading him to surrender. The reason why he said he could surrender was just to save his face.

Wei Jiansu said no more, "I understand. I will draft the imperial edict right away."

Li Heng nodded and watched Wei Jiansu leave.

Feng Changqing said: "The rebels are weak now, Your Majesty should not show weakness."

Li Heng shook his head and smiled, saying, "The situation on the battlefield changes rapidly, and there is no guarantee that there will not be failures. I said this just to shut them up."

Feng Changqing seemed to understand something, thought for a moment, and said, "Your Majesty, you should call yourself "Zhen"."

Li Heng said, "I'm used to it. Besides, we brothers don't need to care about these things."

"Yes." Feng Changqing smiled and said, "Should we make some preparations in Jiangling?"

Li Heng said, "We should make some preparations, but it is not that easy for Prince Ying to control the four southern towns. If he does not break up with us, we do not need to take the initiative. We can just defend militarily and disintegrate politically and send a few officials over."

Feng Changqing asked: "Who should we send?"

Li Heng said: "Appoint the Jiedushi of Huainan West Road to govern the five counties of Runan, let Lai Zhen be the Jiedushi, set up the Jiedushi of Huainan East Road to govern the six counties including Guangling, and transfer Gao Shi to be the Jiedushi. Transfer Wei Zhi to be the Jiedushi of Jiangdong, promote Li Xian to be the Chief of Jiangling, and appoint the family of Li Xiyan, the prefect of Wujun, as the Interview Envoy of Jiangnan East Road."

"Yes." Feng Changqing took the order and went to do it.

Li Heng discussed matters with others and did not return to the inner hall until the afternoon.

There is a Taiye Pond in the inner hall. In the middle of the Taiye Pond is a small hill called Penglai Mountain. Under the hill is a pavilion called Taiye Pavilion.

At this time, Yang Yuhuan, Zhang Mujin and others were sitting in the Taiye Pavilion, feeding the fish in the Taiye Pond.

Li Heng walked to the middle of the group and sat down, saying, "In a few days, your titles will be announced."

Aqisi seemed uninterested in the title. She sighed and said, "Actually, I'd rather go out and fight on the battlefield."

Li Heng said, "I don't think you have much chance in the war, but if you want to go out for fun, I can allow you to go out."

"Really?" Ayis was very surprised.

Li Ying said, "You are not joking."

He Jin quickly asked, "Can I do it too?"

"That's fine." Li Heng nodded. "The Qilin Hall is spacious. Three thousand people can sit in front of the hall and in the corridors. You can also play polo. If you like, you can also organize entertainment in front of the Qilin Hall."

Zhang Mujin worriedly asked, "Will we be impeached by the court officials?"

Li Heng said, "At least some entertainment is fine, as long as it's not too extravagant. I'm not bringing you into the palace and locking you all up."

Wei Xianyi said: "This palace is too big. I just hope that we can all dine together in the future."

Li Ying smiled slightly, glanced at Yang Yuhuan, and said, "You'll have to ask the Queen about this."

"I will listen to everyone's opinions." Yang Yuhuan smiled sweetly, "I have never thought of becoming a queen. With my husband... Your Majesty, there is no difference between Daming Palace and Shouwang Mansion in Qiuci."

Li Ying smiled and said, "Since there is no difference, there is no need to change the name."

"Yes." Yang Yuhuan handed the fish food to Li Heng. Li Heng took it and sprinkled a handful into the Taiye Lake.

Aqisi likes riding horses. When she heard that she could play polo in the palace, she immediately wanted to go and watch. She stood up and said to Zhang Mujin and the others, "Shall we go and take a look?"

Zhang Mujin, He Jin, and Wei Xianyi nodded in unison and followed them.

Li Heng watched them walk away and asked Yang Yuhuan, "Where are the children?"

"I'm studying. Today I learned mathematics." Yang Yuhuan replied to Li Heng. After a moment's silence, she asked, "Will you let them live in the Ten Kings' Residence in the future?"

Li Heng said: "Starting from me, my children and grandchildren will no longer have to live in the Ten Kings' House. Children raised in captivity are not aware of the suffering of the people, nor do they have a firm will and good ability to withstand pressure."

Yang Yuhuan knew about the sufferings of the people, but she did not understand their firm will and ability to withstand pressure.

Li Heng noticed Yang Yuhuan's expression and knew what she was thinking. He smiled and said, "The rebellion was put down smoothly before, but it may not be the same in the future. I hope the children can withstand the same thing in the future."

Yang Yuhuan asked in confusion, "My dear, do you think that suppressing the rebellion will lead to failure?"

Li Heng said: "Hold the best hope and prepare for the worst. The rebels are now on the defensive. The difficulty of defense and attack is very different. Moreover, the rebels are not without capable people. Fighting on multiple fronts will always lead to failure."

Yang Yuhuan said: "In this case, why don't you make a plan for them, my lord?"

Li Heng said: "The situation of marching and fighting is changeable, and remote command will only lead to failure. What I can do is to plan the strategy, and the specific tactical execution requires the flexible use of the generals in the front."

Yang Yuhuan understood what Li Heng meant, nodded, and said, "No matter how big the difficulties are, we have survived. I believe that you can handle it."

Li Heng said: "At this point, the will of a certain person can no longer do anything to us. But although we don't have to worry about a certain person, we have to deal with tens of millions of people. If we are not careful, not only us, but countless others will suffer."

Hearing this, Yang Yuhuan recalled her previous trip to Tianchi Lake with Li Heng, and could not help but smile, saying, "My dear, you are really like Emperor Mu, the son of the people. As the heaven wishes, Queen Mother of the West did not wait for Emperor Mu, but I waited for my dear. This Taiye Lake is as beautiful as Tianchi Lake."

Li Ying smiled and said, "Then change Taiye Lake to Tianchi Lake and Penglai Mountain to Tianshan Mountain."

Yang Yuhuan looked at the Penglai Mountain in front of her and said, "It is said that there are immortals in Penglai, so it is called Penglai Mountain."

Li Ying said: "I only envy the mandarin ducks, not the immortals. I don't want to become an immortal. I just want to roam freely in Tianshan and Tianchi with you."

"I will listen to you, my dear." Yang Yuhuan smiled even more and said, "Mu Jin and the others are going to play polo. Should we go and watch as well?"

"Okay, let's go relax first and then deal with government affairs." Li Heng agreed and went side by side with Yang Yuhuan.

……

Hebei.

Guo Ziyi was originally stationed at Changshan. Upon learning that Raoyang had been captured by Shi Siming, he was horrified and immediately led his troops to rescue it.

Guo Ziyi led 20,000 troops and joined Yan Zhenqing's 30,000 troops, totaling 50,000, and marched to Raoyang together.

There is a river in front of Raoyang City, named Fuyang River.

The government troops set up camp on the south bank of the Fuyang River, stretching for ten miles, preparing to attack Raoyang.

Guo Ziyi looked at the Fuyang River and said to Yan Zhenqing, "General Yan, do you still remember Li Shentong, the Duke of Zheng?"

Yan Zhenqing nodded and said, "In the fourth year of Wude, Liu Heita rebelled. The court ordered Duke of Zheng Li Shentong and Luo Yi to lead an army to suppress the rebellion, with a total of 50,000 troops. It was also in Raoyang City that Duke of Zheng defeated Liu Heita."

(End of this chapter)