Chang'an, a distant eastern power---- the capital of the Silk Country. This city, more than ten miles from east to west, nearly ten miles from north to south, is divided into three layers: the outer city, the inner city, and the imperial city. The smooth and wide road leads to the four directions, and supplies from all over the Silk Country are continuously sent to this place. Merchants from all over the world gathered in the city to transport tea and silk unique to the country of silk to Western countries. The residents of Chang'an have also become rich, and as far as the eye can see, it is a scene of peace and prosperity.

On the walls of the imperial city, a tall and extraordinary young man was pacing slowly, looking thoughtful. He is His Royal Highness the Crown Prince of the current dynasty, Liu Yan. Since leaving the palace six years ago without permission, and only returning to the imperial city half a year later, of course, he was severely reprimanded and strictly guarded by His Majesty the Emperor, and has not been able to step out of the imperial city again. In this regard, of course, Liu Yan, who is active by nature, is very dissatisfied, but he himself understands that as the only son of the emperor, he must ensure safety, and the emperor is also thinking about the future of the dynasty. After all, once something happens to him, his brothers will definitely make trouble over the issue of competing for the prince, and it will also involve the support of the court officials, so there will be a big mess. In the face of this seemingly endless grounding career, Liu Yan not only practiced martial arts every day and learned to deal with government affairs to kill time, but also looked at the scenery of Chang'an City on the city wall to comfort himself.

When Liu Yan was looking blankly at the sky, a person hurriedly ran up from the city. Liu Yan heard the footsteps, came back to his senses and looked in the direction of the sound, only to see that he was not tall, but he was very capable, and his small eyes were shrewd and capable. The name of the person who came is Wu Sicheng, and he is currently the crown prince's companion. Six years ago, this person was still a small catcher in Quanzhou Port, and when he found the prince, his intelligence was appreciated by the prince, so he brought him back to the capital, promoted him to the prince's companion, and became his confidant. Originally, the emperor and his ministers were not satisfied with this unusual appointment. As a result, everyone found that this Wu Sicheng was not only smart and clever, but also decent, and often persuaded the prince to study, what is even more strange is that the prince Liu Yan has always been conceited, and he can't listen to anyone's words, but Wu Sicheng listens to what he says, plus Wu Sicheng is a little person with no background, and he has no impact on the forces of all factions, which is recognized by everyone. However, so far, the reputation of him is only the prince's confidant, and it will be a few years before this reputation is changed.

Liu Yan saw that it was Wu Sicheng and said with a smile: "In such a hurry, is there any big news?" ”

Wu Sicheng saw that the guards on the city wall were far away, so he lowered his voice and said: "Your Highness, the villain just heard that Sima Chengyun of the Liaodong Metropolitan Protectorate made a rebellion and killed Mu Cheng, the Protector of the Metropolitan Mansion. ”

"What, there's such a thing?" Liu Yan couldn't help but be taken aback when he heard this, but then his complexion returned to calm.

Wu Sicheng said: "At present, this matter has only been reported to the Ministry of War, and Lord Shangshu has already entered the palace to face the saint." ”

Liu Yan pursed the corners of his lips: "Since it's a secret report, how do you know?" ”

Wu Sicheng arched his hand and said: "Your Highness has forgotten that the villain is from a fast catcher?" The villain has not been in vain in the past few years when he came to the capital. ”

"Hmph, catch fast, like your martial arts, if I don't keep you by my side, I'm afraid you would have died in the line of duty, look at how clever you are."

Wu Sicheng said with a bitter face when he heard this: "Your Highness, it hurts the villain's heart too much." ”

Liu Yan smiled: "What I said is the truth." Since such a big thing happened, my father will definitely summon me, so I'd better go back to the palace and wait. ”

Wu Sicheng gave a deep salute: "Yes." With that, the two of them walked back.

While walking, Wu Sicheng asked: "If the emperor asks about His Royal Highness, how does His Highness think he should deal with it?" ”

Liu Yan thought for a moment and replied: "Cheng Yun started in the army, and he rose all the way to Sima in the capital protection mansion by quelling the rebellion of various tribes in Liaodong, and he has not been promoted again for nearly ten years, so he is already resentful. In addition, his connections in Liaodong are quite deep, and it was not impossible for him to take up the position of capital protector, but the imperial court appointed Mu to become the capital protector. Although Mu Cheng is a civilian official, he also knows the way to govern the army, if Cheng Yun wants to secretly control the real power, Mu Cheng will definitely not agree, and it is inevitable that there will be many contradictions between the two. Mu Cheng is an honest and honest person, if Cheng Yun has anything to do with corruption and perverting the law, it is inevitable that Mu Cheng will not be exposed, it can be said that this mutiny is a matter of time. However, the country has been at peace for a long time, and there has been no major war in the past few decades, and the Liaodong Army is one of the few units with actual combat experience, and it may not be so easy to really send troops to quell the rebellion. ”

"Your Highness's analysis is correct, and the villain is worried that there is Goryeo's impetus behind this matter."

"Goryeo?" Liu Yan stopped, "Why did Gao Li get involved in this?" ”

"Your Highness, please think about it, although Goryeo submitted to our dynasty, it was the result of Emperor Shengzu sending troops to defeat Goryeo. The area around Liaoyang City was originally the territory of Goryeo, when the Goryeo army was defeated and sued for peace, ceded the land, and became a vassal, on the one hand, the army of Emperor Shengzu pressed the border, and on the other hand, it was caused by the civil uprising in the south of Goryeo, and he was too busy to take care of himself. For more than a decade after that, the Goryeo royal family fought endlessly. When the struggle for the throne is over, the national strength has been developed, and then he has fought with the southern Japanese state for so many years, and now he has finally defeated the Japanese state, the military is prosperous, and the people are still martial, will he not want to restore his homeland? So I think it is very likely that Chengyun was bewitched by Goryeo and rebelled. Even if Sungyun's army was just an emergency, then in order to protect himself, he would take the initiative to unite with Goryeo in order to strengthen his military power. ”

Liu Yan frowned when he heard this, and continued to walk forward: "What you said is also reasonable, if this is the case, things will be even more troublesome." ”

Wu Sicheng smiled slightly: "Actually, it's not difficult, as long as you put down the rebellion before Goryeo makes a stand." ”

"Oh? What do you mean by that? ”

"Your Highness, no matter whether Goryeo is just secretly encouraging Chengyun to raise troops, or Chengyun asking Goryeo to help, it is impossible for Goryeo to immediately express his attitude. The villain speculated that Goryeo's move was to throw stones to ask for directions, and wanted to use Chengyun's incident to test the attitude of our dynasty, if the imperial court was unfavorable to quell the rebellion, he would unite with Chengyun to divide Liaodong; If Cheng Yun is unfavorable, he is afraid that he will help the imperial court to quell the rebellion in order to obtain a reward from the imperial court. So that he does not suffer on either side. And we have to do the opposite, and solve this rebellion as quickly as possible, so that Goryeo has no time to act. At this time, Goryeo declared that he would help exterminate Chengyun, so he had no actual merit and did not need to be rewarded; If he dares to help Chengyun to make trouble, then Liaodong is already in our hands, and he will not get any real benefits, and he will openly become an enemy of our dynasty, although he may gain a small profit for a while, he will definitely be defeated by the lack of national strength. ”

Liu Yan couldn't help but nod and smile when he heard this: "So, you can talk about how to quickly quell the rebellion?" ”