Unlike Zhang Xingteng, Emperor Liang Sheng was now full of vigor.
After receiving the order to dispatch troops to conquer the Xiyang Kingdom, the entire court of the Great Liang Empire fell into chaos.
These court officials had not experienced such a major war in many years.
Before the morning court, they even formed groups to conspire, hoping to dissuade Emperor Liang Sheng.
They even disregarded General Zhang Tianbao, who was imprisoned.
"Your Majesty, our Great Liang Empire has been at peace for a long time; apart from the elite troops of the Northern Frontier, the armies in other regions are probably not up to the task."
Prime Minister Liu Kuangyin did not command his faction's subordinates this time.
He personally took the field.
As Prime Minister, he did not want any trouble to arise.
As the saying goes, if you do well, there's no credit; if you do poorly, you'll be blamed.
It would be best to endure until Emperor Liang Sheng's natural death, and then, supporting a young emperor as a puppet would be easy.
"Yes, Your Majesty, and the elite troops of the Northern Frontier, after the rebellion of that traitor Zhang Tianbao, are probably difficult to command now."
Minister of the Inner Cabinet Qi Liancheng was also excited for a while after returning home.
But then he thought that Emperor Liang Sheng's current state might be a final surge of energy before death.
Therefore, the interests of their Qi Family still took precedence.
These two almost represented the opinions of all officials in the Great Liang court.
For a time, there was a sense of uniformity, as if they had no choice but to comply.
Emperor Liang Sheng, however, paid no attention; he had already decided to personally lead the expedition.
For no other reason than to gain a bit more of the Son of Heaven's Mandate.
He had to go personally.
However, he still needed to find a plausible reason to present to the public.
Two flowers bloom, each telling its own story.
As the sun rose and all things revived, several hours earlier, before the Great Liang Empire's court assembly began, Zhang Xingteng of Qin Province Dao was a little despairing.
All the aristocratic families that the Zhang Family had contacted, without exception, accepted the gifts and spoke nicely, but in reality, took no action.
It seemed they intended to use the Zhang Family as a stepping stone to test Emperor Liang Sheng.
"These bastards, don't they understand the principle of 'when the lips are gone, the teeth are cold'?" Zhang Xingteng cursed angrily.
But the next instant, he had to stop and put on a calm expression, as if he had everything under control.
Zhang Xingteng calmly looked at the person who burst in, his eyes so cold they seemed to kill.
But Zhang Xingrang didn't care at all. "What? Big Brother? Why are you looking at me like that? If you ask me, our family is also an aristocratic family; if we want to have some aristocratic family wisdom, we should quickly abandon the chariot to protect the general!"
As Zhang Xingteng's half-brother, Zhang Xingrang naturally had some influence in the Zhang Family.
Coupled with Zhang Xingteng's fluctuating status in the Zhang Family at this moment, naturally, more people conveyed messages to Zhang Xingrang.
Therefore, Zhang Xingrang learned the news almost immediately after Zhang Xingteng.
Subsequently, Zhang Xingrang quickly contacted those who had opposed Zhang Xingteng the day before, planning to use this opportunity to stage another forced abdication.
"Oh? Second Brother, is that so? Abandon whom?" Zhang Xingteng was furious inside, yet he still stated firmly, "It can't be that you want to leave and cut ties with the Zhang Family, can it?"
"You~" Zhang Xingrang's cultivated composure was, after all, a bit lacking.
As a concubine's son, the most taboo thing was to be kicked out to live independently!
Now that Zhang Xingteng had exposed him so directly, Zhang Xingrang almost lost his temper.
However, fortunately, Zhang Xingrang was young and had keen ears, hearing footsteps behind him, and realizing that the people he had arranged must have already brought the Old Patriarch and others.
So Zhang Xingrang immediately held back, changed to a fawning expression, and turned to the people behind him. "Father, Big Brother wants to split the family; he's hoping you'll pass away soon~"
Zhang Xingrang's words were full of sinister innuendo and speculation, the true meaning self-evident.
According to the rules of the Tianlong Continent, if parents were still alive, brothers were not allowed to split the family.
The Old Patriarch, who was the biological father of the two brothers, though he understood perfectly well, still couldn't help but feel a surge of anger.
"Hmph~" He snorted coldly.
He turned and walked directly to the center of the main hall and sat down. "I already know all the news. Now is the time for our Zhang Family to work together to overcome difficulties, Xingrang, you behave yourself."
After scolding him, the Old Patriarch looked at Zhang Xingteng with a rather kindly expression.
This glance immediately made Zhang Xingteng inwardly feel something was amiss; just as he was about to speak, the Old Patriarch waved his hand to interrupt him.
"Xingteng, don't blame Father for being cruel; as a member of an aristocratic family, if you enjoy the benefits, you must also bear the responsibilities!"
"Father~" Zhang Xingteng's cry instantly turned his face ashen, and he knelt on the ground.
Zhang Xingrang, on the other hand, was extremely smug; after enduring for so many years, he had finally won.
Just then, a servant burst in, and seeing this scene, his legs instantly went weak.
"Ma, Master, news, news about the Young Miss!"
"Who the hell let you in? Do you want to die?" Zhang Xingrang was about to continue cursing when he suddenly noticed his elder brother's expression was off.
A flush of excitement, while his father, the Old Patriarch, did not continue speaking.
"Hurry up and bring it over." Zhang Xingteng immediately stood up and snatched the message from the servant's hand.
Unfolding the letter, his eyes quickly scanned it, and he immediately understood its meaning; then, a thousand thoughts spun in his mind, a flash of inspiration, and he immediately read it aloud.
"Father, it's news from Chunhua. That Old Emperor summoned Wu Liniang last night, the woman General Zhang Tianbao sent to the palace previously."
"And he made Chunhua attend to him," Zhang Xingteng said, glancing at his father, the Old Patriarch's, face as he spoke.
Sure enough, he saw a hint of hesitation flash across the Old Patriarch's face.
But Zhang Xingrang grew anxious. "Big Brother, what's so special about that? That Old Emperor captured General Zhang Tianbao, and as a normal man, of course he would take the other party's beloved~"
"Second Brother, why are you so anxious? There's more important news! Father isn't anxious, but you are!" Zhang Xingteng wanted precisely this result, and immediately used the opportunity to turn the tables.
Then he read out the news that Emperor Liang Sheng was going to send troops to conquer the Xiyang Kingdom.
"Heh, just fighting? What's so important about that?"
Zhang Xingrang's chance to gain power was about to disappear, so without much thought, he immediately began to refute.
However, before he could finish his rebuttal, the Old Patriarch interrupted him. "Silence!"
"What do you know? The Xiyang Kingdom, doesn't it border our Qin Province Dao?"
"It seems the Old Emperor wants our Zhang Family to atone for our sins with meritorious deeds, eh?"
Old people are cunning, like old horses; the Old Patriarch of the Zhang Family, in his self-proclaimed wisdom, deduced the truth!
This was what Zhang Xingteng wanted, and he immediately flattered him from the side.
Zhang Xingrang had no opportunity to find fault from the side.
"Indeed, Xingteng, you've raised a good daughter, one who knows to prioritize the family."
After praising him, the Old Patriarch then made arrangements.
He instructed Zhang Xingteng to send a message to their Zhang Family officials in the capital, asking them to express the Zhang Family's stance at the court assembly.
At the same time, he also had Zhang Xingteng write another letter back to the capital, telling Zhang Chunhua to curry favor with Emperor Liang Sheng!
"Hmph! Curry favor? He's just an old man, isn't he? Who knows if he can even perform? What else can he use? It can't be just 10 fingers, can it?"
After the Old Patriarch left, Zhang Xingrang, furious, no longer cared about his last shred of dignity and directly launched a major attack!
The moment Zhang Xingteng heard these words, he almost broke his cultivated composure.
However, a thought suddenly popped into his mind.
That's right?
That was an Old Emperor, and according to the usual news, he hadn't... for many years.
How could he now?
Zhang Xingteng couldn't help but look at the message on the letter again, confirming the grievances that Zhang Chunhua, despite her best efforts to conceal them, still revealed between the lines.
This made Zhang Xingteng increasingly confirm the doubts in his mind.
"Heh? So you're proud now?" Zhang Xingrang saw his elder brother endure the insult without reacting, and could only sneer one last time before leaving.
Zhang Xingteng no longer paid attention to his useless second brother at this moment.
To confirm his doubts, he immediately sent people to search for beautiful women in Qin Province Dao, intending to send them to the capital later.
Meanwhile, at the court assembly in the capital, the Zhang Family's representative official.
Zhang Xingyao saw the situation, knew his opportunity had arrived, and immediately stepped forward.
"All the ministers are mistaken! Your Majesty is brave and invincible, and there are the Imperial Guards of the capital to suppress the world. Furthermore, our Zhang Family is willing to provide grain and fodder for the army's vanguard, and even more willing to let the Zhang Family's children join the army as the first wave of attacking vanguards."
After Zhang Xingyao finished speaking, he knelt down and kowtowed repeatedly.
"Your Majesty, our Zhang Family is willing to be utterly devoted to the Great Liang Empire."
"Hiss!"
For a moment, all the officials gasped as they watched this scene.
And the Prime Minister and Minister of the Inner Cabinet, and the few others who had received the Zhang Family's plea for help last night, suddenly regretted not agreeing.
To the point where it forced the Zhang Family to now side with Emperor Liang Sheng!
Emperor Liang Sheng was thinking about how to personally lead the expedition, and now the Zhang Family had stepped forward.
"Hmm, good, I heard that your Zhang Family in Qin Province is like the Jiangnan region beyond the Great Wall, and Zhang Garden is in no way inferior to the gardens of Suzhou and Hangzhou?"
Zhang Garden, a landmark building created by the Zhang Family!
Aristocratic families in various regions all had similar family buildings!
Firstly, they could be passed down through generations, and secondly, they were to show off their status!