After finishing with the specific content of the inquiry, Ding Yun dismissed the Grand Eunuch. At the same time, she had already formed a plan in her mind.
The situation was now very clear.
The core issue lay with military power.
She had to do her best to consolidate military power to ensure her own peace of mind and protect her and her son's positions. This would also serve to deter those military officials and noble families, keeping them in line.
On this point, her needs should overlap with those of the civil officials. Therefore, to a certain extent, she might be able to cooperate with the civil officials. Although she might face the influence of powerful civil factions later on, there was no future if she couldn't secure the present.
Moreover, no matter how powerful the civil factions became, they ultimately lacked military power. As the saying goes, scholars rebelling would never succeed in three years. The harm posed by civil officials to imperial power was far less than that of military officials. Their harm was deep-seated and insidious. As long as they could be controlled, there would be no major issues. Problems only arose when they couldn't be controlled.
Thinking this, Ding Yun couldn't help but let out a bitter laugh and complain:
"No wonder many emperors have to consider the balance between civil and military forces, the issue of mutual checks and balances. This is not some petty power play, it's something that must be done! If managed well, imperial power is stable and the world is peaceful. If not managed well, it leads to infighting and factionalism. And even if it's not managed well, it's more likely to lean towards supporting the civil officials, because they pose less of a threat to imperial power. Emperors are not always wise, nor do they always have strong hands. If an incompetent emperor encounters a situation he can't control, he can only elevate eunuchs and imperial relatives to counter them, and then the world will naturally become more chaotic."
Ding Yun's complaint was precise and realistic. Even though she understood this, she was powerless to do otherwise and had to follow the established order. She would first consider how to control military power, and then contact the civil officials for cooperation. Without military power, not only would it be uncertain if contacting the civil officials could deal with those military officials and noble families, but relying solely on the civil officials without any power would easily lead to her being manipulated by them. It was only when both sides had their own means that it could be called cooperation. Mere appeals were called pleas for help.
Following this, Ding Yun summoned her elder and younger brothers.
She had no choice. Apart from her own relatives, she couldn't find many people she truly trusted. Among the few non-relatives she genuinely trusted, they were mainly female officials and eunuchs. She couldn't possibly send them out to help her consolidate military power. Even if she dared to delegate authority, they lacked the capability. Therefore, she could only start with her family.
No matter what problems might arise in the future, she had to stabilize the current situation first.
As her relatives entered the palace, Ding Yun immediately dismissed the palace maids and eunuchs. She pulled her elder and younger brothers into a private consultation for a long time, reaching numerous cooperative agreements and plans. She also granted them many secret edicts and privileges, as well as gold, silver, jewels, antiques, and rare treasures from her private treasury.
She had no choice. To consolidate military power or build her own forces, without money or supplies, edicts were useless. Ding Yun certainly couldn't mobilize the Ministry of Revenue at this time, so she could only resort to the late emperor's private treasury. After all, the late emperor was dead, she had no in-laws above or siblings below, and her only descendant was her son. Who else would inherit those possessions if not her? If she didn't use them quickly and try to save herself, would she leave them for others to squander?
Of course, besides discussing these matters with her brothers, Ding Yun also gave them another instruction: consolidating military power and building her own forces was not urgent and could be dealt with in a few days. What needed to be done immediately was to find a way out. A discreet escape route from the palace and the capital, a way to disappear and hide. This was because the specific reaction of Duke An Guo was still unknown. If he didn't directly rebel but instead compromised and surrendered, then other plans could proceed smoothly. But if he rebelled directly, there would be no time to do anything. For the sake of caution, having a fallback plan in advance was quite necessary. After all, as long as the green hills remained, there would be no lack of firewood. The most important thing was to survive first.
Furthermore, the original host's request did not stipulate that her son *had* to be emperor. It only required that their lives be preserved. If she could have a wife and children, and a multitude of descendants, that would be even better. Therefore, if the situation became truly impossible, escaping, or even fleeing overseas to settle down, would still count as fulfilling the request.
After the discussion, Ding Yun quickly had her brothers move the entire private treasury out. If Duke An Guo didn't rebel, they could simply move it back later. If Duke An Guo did rebel, moving it out would serve as a hidden asset, preventing it from falling into others' hands for free.
While Ding Yun and her brothers were busy stealthily moving items from the inner court of the private treasury outwards, the Ministry of Personnel and the Ministry of Revenue were also busy. One was calculating how much money to use as rewards for the army, while the other was calculating which positions had vacancies and assigning those soldiers and colonels.
Because they genuinely did not want a change of dynasty, and they indeed felt that the young emperor was more advantageous to them, the Ministry of Personnel and the Ministry of Revenue, despite their less-than-harmonious relationship, worked together unusually well on this matter. They worked overtime late into the night to complete the relevant tasks. Then, they also dispatched people by fast horse late at night, carrying the silver to reward the army and a large number of blank appointment letters, to leave the capital and intercept Duke An Guo. However, because the items were quite numerous, they couldn't achieve speeds of a thousand li a day. If Duke An Guo was three days' journey away, it would take them about one day to catch up with Duke An Guo's army. Overall, they would definitely make it in time, but the specific outcome was hard to say.
…
Late at night, unable to sleep, Ding Yun reopened the "Peerless Enchantress Red Envelope Group" and secretly lurked to observe. She had to admit, most of the group members were quite idle. In just over ten hours, the group had accumulated a total of 3,700 new messages. Since she had nothing else to do and couldn't sleep, Ding Yun decided to read from the beginning.
Earlier messages included complaints, dissatisfaction, and mentions of her. Later, some people shared their daily meals and their makeup and jewelry for the day. Then, the Empress in the Cold Palace shared her meager leftovers for the day and got into a dispute with Huo Xin Mei Niang, exchanging over 300 messages. Following that, the Nine-Tailed Demon Empress asked if there were any new storybooks. The Empress Ci An daily sought methods for beauty and longevity. The Human Realm's Qing Shu Ke complained that the emperor was difficult to deal with, clearly desiring her cool body in winter and warm body in summer for a more comfortable sleep, yet pretending to be deeply in love with her. It was disgusting. Quite a few group members joined in cursing the "dog emperor" and similar sentiments for over 600 messages. Only then did some group members begin to discuss her due to Ding Yun's prolonged absence.
This was why, when gatherings were held, one should attend if possible! If you don't go, those who gather together will inevitably discuss those who are absent. They discussed Ding Yun's revealed situation for over a thousand related messages. Most felt it was a difficult situation. Even Empress Ci An felt it was difficult.