Jiuxi

Chapter 770: 768 [The Emperor is Ruthless]

In the court of Dajing, civil officials were always just supporting roles, something even Shangshu Ling Zhao Siwen had to admit.

Even though Emperor Jingdi had been continuously elevating the voice of civil officials over the years, and the Tongwenguan that had sprung up like mushrooms in various places in Dadu were also confirming the status of scholars, the foundation of this huge dynasty was still the six surnames of Jing, Lian, and others.

Except for the royal family Alihe, the members of the other five major surnames constitute the backbone of the Jing army's cavalry.

This is the source of the extraordinary status of Qing Yugong, Sagai, Jiaguyong, Abuhan and Wengusun, because they are not just alone, but the representatives of the Qingyu, Huiluo, Jiagu, Juntugu and Huite clans in the court.

Under normal circumstances, even a noble prince would have to remain humble in front of these five people.

But right now the Fourth Prince was looking down on others only because at this special time and occasion, he was at the mercy of others and his words could decide their life or death.

Relying on the experts who had ambushed in advance, as well as the strange poison that blocked the internal energy of those people, the Fourth Prince seemed to have completely controlled the situation.

Even so, he would not easily take action against those five people. This was for the sake of whether the throne would be stable in the future. So when Sagai jumped out and then retreated, the Fourth Prince did not get angry.

At a time when the father and son are at odds, the attitudes of these five people may directly determine the direction of events.

They could have remained silent, but Jia Guyong stood up, and his words instantly made many people tremble involuntarily.

The emperor was the emperor emeritus, so he passed the throne directly to the fourth prince. This was the only way to solve the problem smoothly without bloodshed.

As for how the Fourth Prince would imprison the Emperor and launch a purge in the court to consolidate the throne, these are all stories for later.

Emperor Jing slowly stood up from the throne, his eyes passed over the loyal Hezha warriors in front of him, and fell on Jiagu Yong's calm face, and slowly said: "I have always been curious about where the fourth brother got the confidence to do this. Although he has been deliberately cultivating his followers over the years, such as making friends with young generals in the army and connecting with some civil officials in the court, these people can only add icing on the cake, but cannot provide timely assistance. If the fourth brother succeeds in the end, they can become his arms, and if he wants to rely on them to rebel, it is undoubtedly wishful thinking."

Jiagu always lowered his head and eyebrows, seeming to be respectful.

Emperor Jing continued, "So you're standing behind him, that's not surprising. Although there are only 4,000 emperor's personal troops outside the hunting ground, the power in the hands of the fourth brother is not enough to form an overwhelming advantage. I think you Jiagu clan has made a lot of efforts, and only if you help him cover up some traces, can it have the current effect. I ask myself, I have treated you well over the years, why do you do this?"

"Your Majesty's kindness to me is as great as a mountain."

Jia Guyong responded calmly, then slowly raised his head, looked directly into the emperor's eyes, and said with a hint of regret: "It's just that Your Majesty may have long forgotten the blood oath that the late emperor swore on the top of Xiayou Mountain."

The so-called blood oath means that the six Jinglian clans work together, with the Alihe clan as the most respected, and the other five clans share the glory and wealth.

Emperor Jing narrowed his eyes slightly and said calmly: "I have never forgotten."

Jia Guyong raised his voice and immediately asked, "Since Your Majesty has not forgotten, why did you set up a Metropolitan Government Office and why did you deprive us of our military power?"

"You do not understand."

"I really don't understand."

Jia Guyong had a hint of sarcasm on his face, and said in a cold voice: "Your Majesty is simply worried that someone will threaten the royal power a hundred years later, so he is preparing to take away the foundation of our five surnames in advance. Your Majesty, you are already the rich and powerful Emperor Jing, you can't not even let us drink a sip of soup. Since the Prince of Changshan dares not resist and allows you to tighten the rope around our necks bit by bit, then I can only choose another way."

Emperor Jing turned his head to the left and scanned the faces of Sagai, Qing Yugong, Abuhan, and Wen Gusun in turn, and then said indifferently: "At this time, you still refuse to tell the truth? You should not only oppose me, but the Jiagu clan has been suppressed by the Qingyu clan and the Huiluo clan for so many years. I believe you have accumulated countless hatred in your heart, right?"

Jiagu Yong said frankly, "Your Majesty, I have never thought of targeting the Prince of Changshan, but why should a talentless and immoral waste like Sagai be ranked ahead of me? The Huiluo clan has made few contributions over the years, so why do they occupy more fertile pastures, have more slaves, and enjoy a better life than the Jiagu clan? Why can't the Jiagu clan trample the Huiluo clan under their feet?"

Sagai was naturally very angry, but at this time he could only force himself to shut up.

Emperor Jing smiled, his eyes suddenly showed sharpness, and he said word by word: "You just said that I should abdicate and pass the throne to the fourth brother. Is that right or not?"

Jia Guyong said without hesitation: "Yes."

Under the tense gazes of the civil and military officials and other Jinglian nobles, Emperor Jing calmly shook his head and said, "I don't agree."

Jiagu Yong immediately frowned.

The fourth prince's heart trembled, and the next moment a middle-aged scholar appeared beside him and whispered: "Your Highness, do not hesitate, let someone capture the emperor, and capture the king first!"

This scene naturally fell into the eyes of Emperor Jing, and he looked at the middle-aged man next to the Fourth Prince with interest.

The Fourth Prince was torn between his conscience and his desires in his mind, and after a brief hesitation, he made up his mind.

Since words are useless, we can only resort to swords.

At his command, the four masters advanced forward with dozens of knife-wielding warriors.

Although the Heza warriors were brave and loyal, due to the influence of the hook-sinking poison, it was difficult for them to stop these people relying only on their flesh and blood.

Sagai and other bigwigs watched this scene helplessly. Even if they wanted to stop it, they were powerless. At such a critical moment, their silence was already a sign of leaning towards the emperor. Otherwise, if one or two more people stood up and forced the emperor to abdicate together with Jiagu Yong, the consequences would be incomparable.

Just at this moment, a figure suddenly appeared and blocked the way of the Fourth Prince's subordinates.

"Yongping?"

The Fourth Prince looked at her cold face in disbelief.

Just now, Qing Yugong took the initiative to reveal the secret of the poison, which greatly boosted the confidence of the Fourth Prince, because this in itself was a statement.

The Fourth Prince has already made up his mind that after ascending the throne, he will immediately marry Qing Yu Huai Jin and enthrone her as queen.

Qing Yu Huaijin's voice sounded in the distance, rushing towards the Fourth Prince like a knife.

"I did use the poison to deal with the enemy. I don't know where the poison you used came from, but it definitely has nothing to do with the Qing Yu clan. Your Highness, the Qing Yu clan has its own principles. Since you did not discuss it with us beforehand, you used this method to coerce the Qing Yu clan into submission and make my father an accomplice in your regicide and treason. This is a wrong idea!"

"If you want to hurt His Majesty today, you will have to step over Qing Yu's corpse!"

Hearing these words, the Fourth Prince was struck by lightning, and his face became extremely ugly at this moment.

Her face seemed clear in the distance, but suddenly became blurry. Qing Yu Huaijin was unarmed, but facing the dozens of murderous people in front of him, he showed no fear.

The fourth prince's face turned livid, and he gritted his teeth and said, "Yongping, get out of the way!"

Qing Yu Huaijin said coldly and firmly: "You have never thought of being honest with me. From the very beginning, you just wanted to use my father and the power of Qing Yu so that you can go with the flow and achieve your ambitions step by step. People like you are not worthy of being my husband, and I will never accept Qing Yu being dragged down by you. My life is here, come and take it if you want it!"

The fourth prince was so angry that his hands were shaking. The middle-aged scholar sighed inwardly and said sternly, "Your Highness, you can't hesitate any longer!"

The fourth prince's eyes turned red as he stared at the figure in the distance and shouted sternly, "Kill!"

The sword light lit up.

The weak civil officials were filled with horror.

The next moment, the Fourth Prince's subordinates rushed to Qing Yu Huaijin, and they only felt a flash before their eyes.

A pair of big hands appeared in their sight.

It was Qing Yugong, Prince of Changshan.

The so-called masters were simply unable to get past those hands, and in the blink of an eye, several of them were knocked away by Qing Yugong.

However, Qing Yugong was only protecting his daughter and ignored the other swordsmen on both sides.

Dozens of steel knives chopped towards the heads of the Hezha warriors.

What greeted these knifemen was an extremely fierce counterattack.

The Heza warriors are the most elite force around the emperor. Under normal circumstances, ten of them can hold off five or six times more elite enemies. The subordinates of the Fourth Prince thought that they had all been poisoned by the hook, so they attacked boldly without any hesitation.

but--

The Fourth Prince stared blankly ahead. With his eyes, he could naturally see that there was nothing abnormal about those Heza warriors.

Qing Yugong was also not affected by the poison, which was actually within the acceptable range for the Fourth Prince, because the other party was the number one master in Dajing after all, and perhaps he was not afraid of any poison at all.

The problem is that the previous behavior of Sagai and the princes showed that they were indeed poisoned.

At this moment, Emperor Jing's voice reached his ears.

"I am very disappointed in you."

The Fourth Prince suddenly raised his head, his face full of fear.

The emperor's voice was full of energy, and it was obvious that he was using his internal energy. How could there be any sign of poisoning?
Emperor Jing didn't seem to care about the fight in front of him. He just looked at the Fourth Prince in the distance and said expressionlessly, "Since Tian Jue has already found clues that you poisoned Nalan and framed Wu Yan, and even found out about the scholar next to you, why do you still dare to take the risk? Do you think that even if I know that you killed Nalan, I will still not be on guard against you?"

"me……"

"You are so stupid that you don't even know it."

Emperor Jing shook his head and said coldly, "Do you think you can snatch the throne from me by relying on such a shameless trick as poisoning, hiding hundreds of skilled fighters nearby, and relying on the support of Jiagu Yong and Jiagu clan? As for those soldiers outside, don't you feel strange that you and Jiagu Yong's men can't take down my 4,000 elite soldiers even though you have been stalling here for so long? They don't even need to ask me for help?"

The fourth prince looked pale and said with great difficulty: "But Sagai just now..."

Emperor Jing glanced at Jia Guyong on the other side and continued to say to the Fourth Prince: "I only need to take care of these Hezha warriors. As for the others, if I don't let you have the upper hand, how dare some people stand in front of me and expose their ambitions hidden deep in their hearts?"

Jiagu Yong's legs went weak. He knew what a big mistake he had made, so he looked at Emperor Jing almost pleadingly. However, he could only see the emperor's indifferent face.

Qing Yugong had his back to the emperor, his eyes were calm, as if he didn't understand the meaning of Emperor Jing's words at all.

Just at this moment, a large flag was erected on the eastern hillside.

The horn sounded, and hundreds of Tiger Guards appeared from the mountains and forests, galloping towards the platform, with a murderous aura rising to the sky.

These were obviously the people arranged by Emperor Jing in advance.

The situation was reversed in an instant, and the rebellious troops that were supposed to defeat the emperor's personal troops outside and then complete the encirclement were nowhere to be seen.

Now, as long as those brave warriors arrive, the Fourth Prince will have no chance of recovery.

Time passed bit by bit, and the Fourth Prince's men were still unable to break through the obstruction of the Heza warriors.

Qing Yu Huaijin stood behind Qing Yugong, looking at her father's back. She was filled with mixed emotions at this moment.

And Qing Yugong just stood there quietly.

He looked at the desperate face of the Fourth Prince in the distance, and turned back as if he had sensed something, and his eyes met those of Emperor Jing.

The king and his minister looked at each other for a moment, as if they were trying to find out each other's truest thoughts.

Finally speechless.

The Fourth Prince's body trembled violently. He suddenly glanced at the dozen or so princes who were being controlled nearby and shouted sternly, "Tell the Hezha warriors to give up resistance, or I will kill them all!"

Emperor Jingdi shifted his gaze away from Qing Yugong's face and looked at the Fourth Prince who was gradually falling into madness. After a brief silence, he uttered two words indifferently.

"random."

(End of this chapter)