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Chapter 170: Forced Coup
Among the crowd.

Someone immediately recognized the identity of King Tang.

Li Gong?

Chen Sanshi had never seen this person.

After the fall of Yongle City, Li Gong disappeared.

I didn't expect it to appear here.

The person in charge of the siege at that time was Meng Quji.

As far as Chen Sanshi knows.

Meng Quji is the emperor's only confidant left in the eastern border.

The emperor wouldn't arrest someone to assassinate himself, would he?

Otherwise...

Prince?

But the problem is.

The prince's behavior did him no good at all.

Three Xuan Xiangs and one Martial Saint.

After removing the four high-level warriors, more than a dozen masked assassins with Hua Jin and Tong Mai abilities emerged from all directions and also launched direct and indiscriminate attacks.

"boom--"

Just after a few short encounters.

The Jinyiwei, Huben Army, Western Factory and other troops arrived one after another.

Li Gong didn't give up yet.

He actually managed to retreat while fighting against the two Martial Saints, and with his last leap he jumped off the cliff, followed the steep rock wall into the valley, and soon disappeared.

Huang Hong and Fan Tianfa looked at each other and chased after him together.

The rest of the people surrounded the remaining three assassins.

"Protect Your Majesty!"

Chen Sanshi, who was wearing a scarlet official robe, had no weapons on him. He stood in front of the emperor with his bare hands, his face pale and blood oozing from the corners of his mouth.

"Father!"

At this moment.

The King of Qin and the King of Qi finally reacted. They snatched a knife from the Jinyiwei and rushed over to block the emperor. "Don't be afraid, father. With your sons and ministers here, the assassin will never be able to hurt you!"

"Father!"

The twelfth prince Cao Zhi, commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, also hurried over with an Embroidered Spring Sword in hand. He glanced at Chen Sanshi, showing his concern, and then went to fight with the assassin with the sword in hand.

"Clang clang clang!"

The sounds of weapons colliding and armor tearing could be heard.

The three assassins were quickly and completely engulfed.

Finally, two people were left alive.

A melee came to an end.

"His Majesty!"

The panicked ministers asked one after another: "Is your majesty injured?"

"I am waiting for the death penalty!"

"Death penalty!"

"The imperial doctor, the imperial doctor!"

"..."

"boom!"

There were sounds of fighting in the woods.

Several imperial doctors, one of them carrying the assassin's body, came before the emperor and asked, "Is your majesty safe and sound?"

From start to finish.

Emperor Longqing stood there without moving, watching everything in front of him calmly, as if it had nothing to do with him. Only after the incident was settled did he slowly walk towards the crowd.

He looked at the body of the Seventh Prince on the ground, his eyes were calm and no emotion could be seen.

"quick!"

Several eunuchs called out, "Escort His Majesty back to the palace!"

"Bedroom?"

Finally, Emperor Longqing spoke in a deep voice, like a dark dragon: "Yangxin Palace, court meeting."

"Court meeting!"

"What are you still standing there for? All officials, please come to court!"

"..."

The Jinyiwei and others were left behind to handle the follow-up matters.

Officials came into the Hall of Mental Cultivation one after another.

"Junior brother, are you okay?"

Fang Qingyun pushed the wheelchair closer: "How serious is the injury?"

"good."

Chen Sanshi's control was pretty good and it wouldn't affect his subsequent work, but he was indeed injured.

He really doesn't want to get involved in this shit.

But the problem is...

The assassin attacked him when he was walking with the emperor.

In this situation, he had no choice.

Failure to protect the emperor would be a capital crime.

I have to give it a try anyway.

"What a bastard."

Wang Zhi took advantage of the fact that no one was around and lowered his voice and said, "Who do you think did it? The prince wouldn't be so stupid. If it was a frame-up, the means were also somewhat despicable."

"Just watch."

Fang Qingyun said calmly: "It has nothing to do with us."

Wait until everyone arrives at the Hall of Mental Cultivation.

Emperor Longqing had already sat on the brand new dragon throne.

This dragon throne was built half a year ago and was transported from the capital at the expense of enormous resources.

At the eunuch's signal.

The ministers saluted.

"Long live my emperor! Long live!"

However, when shouting "Long live the emperor", most people were still frightened. After all, many of their colleagues were talking to them the moment before and fell in a pool of blood the next moment, so their voices were trembling.

Emperor Longqing did not say anything, but just raised his hand to signal for him to stand up.

Then, just leave them hanging.

It takes one hour to dry it out.

The old emperor himself leaned back on the dragon throne with his eyes closed, not saying a word.

Until dusk, the light of the setting sun slanted into the hall.

Huang Hong, the eunuch in charge of the Imperial Household Department, Fan Tianfa, the commander of the Huben Army, and Meng Quji and others rushed back to report the situation.

"What happened?!"

Yan Maoxing asked sternly, "Has the assassin been caught?"

"Your Majesty, I am guilty of death!"

Meng Quji fell to his knees and kowtowed heavily: "The assassin ran away!"

"Ran?!"

The whole place was in an uproar.

"What nonsense are you talking about? How can you run away?"

The King of Qin stepped forward and asked, "There are more than 20,000 soldiers and horses on the mountain. You three martial saints, can you let Li Gong escape alone?"

"Your Majesty, I am incompetent!"

Fan Tianfa said guiltily: "After chasing him to the bottom of the cliff, I don't know what kind of magic Li Gong used, and he suddenly disappeared."

"Eunuch Huang?"

The white-haired cabinet chief Yan Liang slowly raised his head and cast a glance.

Huang Hong, the eunuch who held the seal of the Imperial Household Department and grew up with the emperor, said, "Your Majesty, General Fan and General Meng are telling the truth. Li Gong has indeed disappeared."

"absurd!"

Yan Maoxing angrily accused: "An assassin from an enemy country assassinated many officials in the midst of thousands of troops, including a prince, and then... just left like that? There must be a traitor, there must be a traitor!"

"Yes, yes."

"There must be an insider."

"Otherwise, he wouldn't even be able to climb the mountain."

"Catch the traitor!"

"Death by a thousand cuts!"

"We must catch this damned traitor!"

"..."

Civil and military officials were talking at once. They were all angry, frightened and humiliated.

The eunuch Huang Hong, who held the seal, slowly stood up and stood beside the emperor.

He looked at the emperor who had his eyes closed, and after receiving a slight nod of affirmation, he began to ask questions: "General Meng, you were the one who attacked Yongle Prefecture, and you also led people to hunt down Li Gong. Tell me why he is here."

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty, I don't know!"

Meng Quji's face was grim. "After annihilating the Qing army in Yongle Prefecture, I led 3,000 light cavalry to chase them westwards, forcing them to abandon their horses and run. But when we reached Wuzhai Mountain, they suddenly disappeared. I don't know how they appeared on Ziwei Mountain."

"I have something to say!"

Junior Minister Yan Maoxing interrupted, “Since April, the cleaning and security of Ziwei Mountain has been handled by the Black Armor Army and the Huben Army, until ten days ago when the Jinwu Guards from the capital came to take over the core area.

“However, the outer areas are still under the charge of the Tiger Guards and the three thousand Black Armored Soldiers.

"So, the most likely ones to let them in are none other than Lord Chen's Black Armor Army and Huben Army!"

The Black Armor Army and the Huben Army.

As we all know, the Black Armor Army is one of the two major Beijing armies trained by the emperor himself.

Even if Chen Sanshi wanted to assassinate the king, the Xuanjia Army might not obey his orders.

Not to mention, this General Chen had no deep ties with the various forces in the court, so he had no reason to do so.

So……

The meaning of the young minister's words is very clear.

Tiger Guards!
"Boom!"

"His Majesty!"

Fan Tianfa prostrated himself on the ground, and said in great fear, "I was negligent, and I am willing to take the blame, but, but I definitely did not let that person in on purpose, Your Majesty, please understand!"

"Okay, you admit it now?"

Yan Maoxing attacked, "Fan Tianfa! You colluded with the enemy to assassinate His Majesty. What do you want to do?"

"Recruit? What did I recruit?!"

Fan Tianfa said hurriedly: "Master Yan, please don't talk nonsense! When the Yongle Mansion was attacked, I was still fighting a bloody battle with the Qing army in Luling Mountain! I had no chance to contact Li Gong at all! Who was in Yongle Mansion at that time and is most likely to save Li Gong's life? Think about it carefully!"

Meng Quji.

A disciple of the Yan Party, he was promoted personally by Your Majesty.

This is something that everyone knows.

Fan Tianfa was obviously fighting back.

"Nonsense!"

Yan Maoxing refuted: "General Fan, you were not in Yongle Mansion at that time, but someone was there!"

The meaning behind the words.

Directly pointing at the prince!

Hear this.

The expression of the old Yan Liang changed obviously, and he glanced at his son with his eyes slanted.

This scene.

Chen Sanshi caught his eye.

It seems...

Yan Maoxing really did participate in the fight for the crown prince position behind his father's back.

"Father!"

The King of Qin knelt on the ground and climbed forward a few steps: "Father, today the assassin failed to kill you and obviously came for me and my eighth brother. I almost... almost could not be filial to you anymore!"

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

Yan Maoxing added: "From what I have seen, Li Gong's original intention was not to kill your majesty, but the King of Qin and the King of Qi. Who is it that wants to kill the King of Qin and the King of Qi?"

The King of Qin and the King of Qi died.

Apart from Prince Zhennan, no one else could compete for the position of crown prince.

Whoever benefits the most will naturally be the one.

For a while.

All the ministers turned their eyes to the prince who was kneeling on the ground in silence, and began to discuss.

"Prince~"

Sitting on the dragon throne, Emperor Longqing closed his eyes and deliberately emphasized the last word "ye": "Do you have anything to say?"

"Cough cough cough..."

The prince had been hit by the aftermath of the battle, and his frail body had become even weaker. After coughing for a while, he said breathlessly, "Your son has nothing to say! I am in charge of the Tiger Guards. If there is any mistake, it is naturally my son's responsibility!"

"Your Majesty, something is strange!"

Minister of War Gao Bo chimed in, "From the beginning to the end, it looks like someone is deliberately framing us. Your Majesty is very observant and will not be fooled by such a despicable trick!"

"Framing?"

Yan Maoxing stared, "Master Gao, please tell me, among all of you present, is there anyone who can control Li Gong and make him work obediently? Who has this ability?"

"Master Yan!"

Gao Bo asked back: "Why don't you just tell me what you mean?!"

"Your Majesty, I have something to report!"

Yan Maoxing took out the memorial he had prepared long ago from his bosom: "These are all the correspondence between Lord Gao Bo and officials from all over Dasheng over the years. In the letters, Lord Gao promised various official titles to win over the hearts of the people, from the first-rank officials to the seventh-rank county magistrates. The connections are so wide and simple that it is simply shocking, and even many military and political leaders are included!
"Right after the war in the East Territory broke out, Lord Gao wrote a letter to General Meng Quji, saying that as long as he nodded, he would be granted the title of Duke in the future.

“That’s the Duke!

"Mr. Gao is a Minister of War. What qualifications does he have to confer the title of Duke on a provincial governor? What does he mean by saying this? Is he trying to act on behalf of His Majesty?

"His heart is worthy of death, His heart is worthy of death, Your Majesty!"

In conversation.

Not a single sentence mentions the prince, yet every sentence is about the prince.

"His Majesty……"

Meng Quji, who was bitten earlier and was in a state of anger, echoed: "What Lord Yan said is true. I did receive a letter not long ago, but I absolutely ignored it!"

"Master Gao."

Emperor Longqing first called for help, and after a few breaths, he said with a smile: "Do you want to see what kind of official position you can give me?"

"Your Majesty, I, your servant, never said that!"

Gao Bo quickly explained: "Even if I have the courage of heaven, I dare not say such words. Lord Yan is crazy. He wants to use this method of framing to cover up the fact that he is corrupt and perverts the law!

"Last year, their Ministry of Works spent tens of millions of taels of silver just to repair warships, but in the end they only built four ships, and the excuse they gave was that they sank while out to sea!
"Ten ships are sunk this time, isn't this just a lie for fools?
“They were also responsible for the construction of the Hezhou Canal two years ago, but it was destroyed by a flood less than half a year after it was built!
"And the Silk Case in the South...

“So many things!
"I dare to bet! The silver in Lord Yan's house is probably more than the treasury of our Great Sheng Dynasty!"

"You fart!"

Yan Maoxing didn't care about being polite at all, and he yelled in the court: "Every loss you mentioned is clearly written down, and it matches the account!"

"Yeah, that's right."

Gao Bo snorted coldly: "When we check the granary, there will be a fire. When we check the land, people will die. How can it not match?"

"Master Gao, please stop slandering me and talk about something else!"

Yan Maoxing realized that the topic had shifted and said hurriedly, "Today we will discuss who is the assassin and treasoner!"

"Father!"

The eighth prince, the Prince of Qi, spoke up, "I suddenly thought of a terrible thing! Right now, my father and a group of civil and military ministers are in Ziwei Mountain. There are three main forces responsible for garrisoning, General Meng's Zhendong Army, the Huben Army, and the Jinwu Guard! In this case, what is Lord Gao trying to do by winning over General Meng's Zhendong Army! If Lord Gao succeeds, with just one order from him, wouldn't it be possible for a 100,000-strong army to surround Ziwei Mountain!"

"I understand."

Emperor Longqing opened his eyes and leaned forward slightly: "Are you trying to say that my son wants to kill me?"

The moment these words came out.

The Yangxin Palace, which was bustling just now, suddenly became so quiet that you could hear a pin drop.

These words.

A group of ministers dared not say it.

"Father."

At this time, the King of Qi said, "In fact, this matter may not be directly related to Big Brother. I and Fourth Brother both believe that Big Brother has absolutely no intention of rebellion!"

"Yeah."

The King of Qin echoed, "Master Yan, don't be too radical. His Royal Highness the Crown Prince governs the country with benevolence and filial piety. It is absolutely impossible for him to do something so against the laws of nature! It's just..."

He paused, "But my brother is in charge of too many people. Even if His Royal Highness the Crown Prince doesn't have this intention, his subordinates may have this intention!"

"Fourth brother said it well!"

The King of Qi echoed him: "These people have ulterior motives. They want to make further progress in the court, so they are doing evil things without telling the Crown Prince!"

"I'm talking about you, Gao Bo!"

Yan Maoxing said without beating around the bush: "Mr. Gao not only wants to be the Prime Minister of the Cabinet, he even said after getting drunk that he wanted to restore the prime minister system in our Great Sheng Dynasty. He wants to be the prime minister!

“I just can’t imagine…

"He is so ambitious that he even resorted to such means!

"This is not only treason, but also framing His Royal Highness as unkind, unjust, disloyal and unfilial. He really deserves to be cut into pieces and then torn into pieces by five horses!"

Emperor Longqing listened to the endless complaints while slowly flipping through the memorials impeaching the Minister of War Gao Bo. Finally, he threw them all forward, scattering them all over the floor.

"His Majesty!"

"Your Majesty, calm down!"

All the ministers kowtowed again, with their foreheads pressed tightly against the ground. All they could hear was a long, powerful voice that sounded intimidating without even being angry.

"Ziwei Fengshan was supposed to be the most important happy event in the past hundred years of our Great Sheng Dynasty. How did you mess it up like this?"

"One moment it's my son who wants to kill me, the next moment it's my beloved minister who wants to kill me. Where in the world are there so many people who want to kill me? Or am I really that incompetent?"

"Your Majesty, please calm down. We definitely did not mean that!"

Yan Maoxing explained: "I just want to eradicate the treacherous officials and restore peace and order to the imperial court of Dasheng!"

"His Majesty."

Gao Bo said unwillingly: "To find out who the treacherous person is, we just need to go to his house and check..."

The two were still arguing.

But as the emperor spoke, the voices became smaller and smaller, and no one dared to make any louder noises.

"My Lords, please stop arguing."

Huang Hong, the eunuch in charge of the seal, spoke with a warning tone: "As for what happened today, His Majesty will make his own decision. It is not up to you to decide."

Yan Maoxing and Gao Bo shut up immediately.

Emperor Longqing, dressed in a Taoist robe, slowly stood up from the dragon throne. A breeze blew into the hall, blowing his robe and beard. He did not rush to give the result, but recited a poem: "I have trained my body to be like a crane, and I have two boxes of scriptures under a thousand pine trees. I came to ask Dao Wuyu, who said, the clouds are in the blue sky and the water is in the bottle.

"The clouds are in the sky and the water is in the bottle!

“Some of you are water and some are clouds.

"Treacherous?"

He waved his whisk, his eyes swept over all the officials one by one, and continued:
"Where did this traitor come from?
"In my eyes, none of you are treacherous, you are all loyal ministers, the only difference is what you do. What kind of person are you fighting over in the court?
"My son wants to kill me, but I won't believe it even if I kill myself.

"Gao Bo wants to kill me, but I don't believe it."

"Your Majesty, please understand!"

Gao Bo threw himself into the air.

"But you are right about one thing."

Emperor Longqing looked at the coughing prince and said, "Your Highness has been regent for many years and has worn out his health. I heard that he now drinks more medicine than he eats every day. This cannot continue.

"From today on, Crown Prince, please put aside the burden of being the regent.

"My Lord, what do you think?"

"It's all up to Father's orders!"

The prince did not utter a word of rebuttal.

A court battle.

At this point, the matter is basically settled.

On the surface
The emperor did not directly convict the crown prince, who was the most suspected of the assassination, but he still removed him from his position as regent. For the King of Qin and the King of Qi, this was a great success.

Chen Sanshi, who was watching the show quietly, noticed a problem. The conflict between the crown prince and several other princes was not a one-day thing. Two princes were even permanently imprisoned. The King of Qin and the King of Qi also kept their heads down and hid in their fiefdoms for many years and dared not return to the capital.

Until the last two years.

That is, ten days later in Yunzhou.

The power of the King of Qin and the King of Qi grew overnight, and they were able to have a say in the court. It was obvious that someone was fanning the flames behind the scenes.

I'm afraid the only one who has this ability is the old emperor.

Forty years ago, Longqing practiced Taoism and only held small meetings in the cabinet and rarely attended court.

Forty years later, Longqing came out of the pass.

However, the prince's followers have spread throughout the court, from high-ranking officials to small officials in the county.

For example, Xiang Tingchun at the time was at the very bottom of the prince's lineage.

The prince's control has reached this level.

If the rebellion is successful, there will be no turmoil in the country and the transition will be completed extremely smoothly.

Could Emperor Longqing endure this?
The best way for him to take back power was naturally to simply replace the crown prince.

To put it bluntly, it's like killing the donkey after it has done its job.

But he naturally wouldn't do this kind of thing himself.

Therefore, the King of Qin and the King of Qi naturally became the best tools to achieve the goal.

but……

There are still many things that don’t make sense about today’s assassination.

It doesn't seem like Li Gong was sent by the emperor.

The situation at that time was just a little bit away from forcing the emperor to take action. It was obvious that he was serious about it, not to mention that several old ministers and the seventh prince were killed. The old emperor was really angry.

He didn't yell, but everyone could hear the emperor's anger in his tone.

That's why.

It doesn't look like they were sent by the King of Qin or the King of Qi.

If they really dared to use such crude means, it would only leave a bad impression on the emperor. Even if there was no evidence, it would not be their turn after the prince fell.

In fact, this bad impression has most likely already been left in the emperor's mind.

Prince...

Even more impossible.

What was he trying to achieve? He knew that a mere Martial Saint could not kill the emperor, but he still did this and lost the position of Regent right away. What was he trying to achieve?
There are also third parties...

Whoever profits is suspicious!
A person's name gradually emerged in Chen Sanshi's mind.

What a trick to muddy the waters!

"Report——"

"Urgent report——"

A battle report from the border was passed down layer by layer and finally presented to the dragon throne by the eunuch guarding outside the Hall of Mental Cultivation.

"Tell them."

Emperor Longqing glanced at it lightly and handed it to the eunuch beside him.

"Report from the East."

Huang Hongnian said, "Zhan Taiming, who was in charge of guarding the border of Yaozhou, Yushan Prefecture, started a rebellion and joined forces with the border troops of Qing State. He gathered 80,000 troops and prepared to counterattack Lingzhou and attack Ziwei Mountain!"

"Boom!"

This battle report was like a bolt from the blue hitting everyone.

Zhan Taiming!
This person was originally a main general in the Jinwu Guard.

After the war broke out in Lingzhou, he was sent to the east to serve as Meng Quji's deputy general, so that the two could complement each other's strengths and weaknesses.

After the war.

Zhan Taiming is responsible for guarding the border.

he……

How could there be rebellion?
"What should I do?"

The crowd fell into panic again.

"Once we let them in, there will be no more defenses in Lingzhou. All the way will be unobstructed. Ziwei Mountain will be in danger!"

"how so!"

"General Zhan Taiming is from the Jinwu Guard!"

"He has made great contributions in this war and is about to receive a reward. How could he betray his country at this time? It doesn't make sense at all!"

"..."

"Now~"

Huang Hong continued, "The people from the other two prefectures have stopped them, but they don't have enough troops. I hope the court can dispatch at least 20,000 people to the border to provide assistance."

Thirty thousand!

In the East, Dasheng now has an army of more than 100,000...

But, that’s scattered across the three states!

The three states have just been recovered, and each important city needs a large number of troops to maintain stability. There is no way to withdraw them in a short period of time. The fastest way is still in Lingzhou.

Meng Quji still had 20,000 Zhendong Army and 20,000 Huben Army, plus 5,000 Jinwu Guards and 3,000 Xuanjia Army.

This is Meng Quji's territory.

Normally, he would need to lead his troops to suppress it immediately.

No matter what means and conditions the Qing Kingdom used to induce the defenders of Yushan Prefecture to rebel, there were Meng Quji's old subordinates among them after all, including the other two prefectures that resisted, who were also his subordinates.

The best solution is to send Meng Quji there immediately.

But if this is the case...

It will create a situation.

Ziwei Mountain.

Only the prince’s Tiger Guards are left!
In this way, the world truly belongs to the prince!

If some officials previously thought that the prince's rebellion was nonsense, then at this moment, more and more people began to believe it.

Zhan Taiming was born in the capital's Jinwu Guard!

In other words, the prince had the opportunity to bribe him and then personally fabricate the current drama.

purpose.

Just transfer all the Zhendong troops away!

"What should I do?"

"Who should be sent?"

"..."

Gao Bo, the Minister of War, suggested: "Of course it would be most appropriate to send General Meng."

"Your Majesty, I am willing to go!"

Meng Quji clasped his fists and said, "I don't know why General Zhan is like this, but there must be something strange about it. Besides, he uses my people. If I go over there, I should be able to quell this war quickly."

"Absolutely not!"

Yan Maoxing quickly rejected the idea: "Your Majesty, I think it would be more appropriate to send General Fan Tianfa to lead the Tiger Guards!"

"I second the proposal!"

The military attachés all agreed.

Anyone can see that after what happened today, the Tiger Guards cannot simply be left on Ziwei Mountain.

"Fan Tianfa."

Emperor Longqing asked in a deep voice: "Are you willing to go?"

"I am willing to go!"

Fan Tianfa clasped his fists and said, "Your Majesty, rest assured. I will quell the rebellion as quickly as possible and live up to your trust!"

"Your Majesty~"

Yan Liang, the chief minister of the cabinet, said his first words at the court meeting: "I think that Your Majesty should return to the capital and postpone the date of the Fengshan ceremony at Ziwei Mountain. It will not be too late to wait until the situation in the East Territory is completely stabilized in a year."

"Yeah yeah."

The ministers seconded the proposal.

"Your Majesty, you are worth a ton of gold, so you must not stay here and take risks."

"..."

"I am not going anywhere. I will wait in this Ziwei Palace. The Fengshan Palace will not be allowed to be postponed for even half a day."

Emperor Longqing stood up and left.

After a while.

Huang Hong returned and delivered the emperor's oral instructions.

"All the Black Armor Army and Huben Army guarding the mountain gate today will be beheaded as a warning to the public."

"Order General Chen Sanshi of Huaiyuan to lead the Black Armor Army to take charge of the subsequent garrison work of Ziwei Mountain. In addition, cooperate with Andong Marquis Meng Quji to continue the search and make sure to find the hiding place of Tang Wang Li Gong. No more accidents can happen."

"Retreat—"

"My lord, take your orders!"

Chen Sanshi clasped his fists.

The meeting is over.

The ministers left one after another amid whispers.

Today was extremely lively.

First, someone tried to assassinate the king, and then Zhan Taiming rebelled. It was only one day, but to the ministers it seemed as long as a year.

On the surface, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince was not punished.

But in reality, if he loses his position as regent and is no longer allowed to participate in political affairs, within two years, the power he has accumulated over the years will be divided up by the other princes.

The position of the crown prince will also become shaky.

"Will the prince still rebel against this?"

Chen Sanshi muttered to himself.

He was still waiting for the world to fall into chaos before trying to find a way to take away the treasures in the deep pool.

"Big brother!"

The twelfth prince Cao Zhi, dressed in a flying fish suit and carrying an embroidered spring sword on his waist, trotted over. He took out a porcelain bottle filled with healing medicine and said, "Brother, I saw you injured while protecting you today. How are you? Is everything okay?"

"Your Highness, I am not worried."

Chen Sanshi bowed.

"Brother, look, here we go again."

Cao Zhi put her arm around his shoulders and said, "I've already told you that we're family, no need to be so polite."

"Your Highness, I have something else to do, so I'll take my leave now!"

Chen Sanshi didn't say much and found an excuse to leave.

"Brother, take the medicine!"

Cao Zhi was not angry because he failed to stop the other party. He just smiled and put the medicine back into his arms, then took out a handful of peanuts and slowly put them into his mouth.

"Your Highness!"

Jinyiwei Zhang Zhao came and said: "Those few thorns in the Southern Pacification Office are all dead. Half of the dead old guys should be able to be replaced by our people, but it's a pity that the rest are too difficult to deal with."

"Seventh Brother, Seventh Brother."

Cao Zhi chewed peanuts and looked at the eunuchs cleaning up the bloodstains in the distance: "Look at you, this is the only job I have to save my life, and you are still thinking of snatching it away. Why bother?"

……

What will the prince do next?
Even the Tiger Guards have been transferred away. After this battle, I am afraid that all the generals, big and small, will be purged. By then, the prince will never have a chance to turn things around.

Is he really prepared to wait for death?
Chen Sanshi didn't believe it.

A plan that has been planned and prepared for many years was ruined just because of an accident?

He wasn't idle either.

That night, he transformed himself into Zhang Laizi and came to the mountain god temple.

Not long after.

"Hero Zhang!"

Cao Fan's figure appeared, and he hurried forward: "Master Zhang, you came at the right time. The plan has changed. We are going to take action before the Fengshan ceremony at Ziwei Mountain. We have to discuss important matters tonight. Master Zhang, please come with us!"

"This hero said~"

Chen Sanshi dragged his tone: "Am I going to help you?"

"Master Zhang, you..."

Cao Fan was speechless for a moment.

Behind him, Yun Xiaozi and Ling Xuzi had murderous intent on their faces.

"Haha~"

Chen Sanshi smiled coldly: "Just kidding, lead the way!"

He had no choice but to accept so many things from the other party. It would be unreasonable for him to refuse. Besides, this also affected whether he could get the treasure from the deep pool in the future. Naturally, he had to go and take a look.

"I knew that Master Zhang is a man of his word!"

Cao Fan was so delighted that he actually put aside his pride and respectfully asked the other party to go first.

They moved forward quietly in the night, and finally left Taihu Prefecture and came to a deserted temple outside the city.

In the dim hall, before the dilapidated statue, a few candles flickered constantly, emitting a faint flame.

Here, Chen Sanshi met several acquaintances.

Fan Tianfa, Cui Congyi, four eunuchs, several Jinyiwei, and several generals of Jinwuwei, etc.

All together, there are more than twenty people!
Basically, the prince's people are in every institution, and there are really thorns all over the court.

"Damn it!"

Fan Tianfa could not help but curse, "Our plan was originally foolproof, but who would have thought that Li Gong would show up and completely disrupt our plan!"

"Fourth Uncle and Eighth Uncle are completely crazy. They actually did such a cruel thing!"

Cao Fan frowned: "Once they are exposed, they will be doomed too!"

"Yes."

Cui Congyi followed up by saying, “Even if the truth is not revealed, I’m afraid His Majesty will still have doubts in his heart, which will not be good for their future.”

"I just don't know..."

Cao Fan said, "Where did they get Li Gong? I was chasing him with Marshal Meng, but he just disappeared while we were walking. It's like he evaporated from the face of the earth!"

"Isn't it the same today?"

Fan Tianfa narrowed his eyes and said, "Two Martial Saints went after him but failed to catch up. That's all. The time for a decisive victory has come."

Victory...

Chen Sanshi heard it.

The prince is going to give it a try.

But Fan Tianfa is going to go to war tomorrow. It would be too hasty to start tonight.

And there aren't enough people, right?
Not to mention the emperor himself, there is also a eunuch martial saint by his side. The commander of the Jinwu Guard, Jiang Yuanbo, is also a martial saint. There is also a martial saint among the Jinyi Guard, who is said to be the uncle of the twelfth prince.

Just these add up to three Martial Saints.

There seemed to be only one person named Fan Tianfa in the dilapidated temple.

To die?

"Is there anyone who hasn't arrived yet?"

Chen Sanshi asked: "Don't waste my time!"

"Nothing can be hidden from Hero Zhang."

In just a few days, Cao Fan learned to put down his airs and bow his head. He said in a very humble manner: "Please wait for a moment, Master Zhang. We have two more martial saints who will join the uprising and will be here soon!"

The dilapidated temple suddenly fell into silence.

At the door, two members of the Xianghuo Shen sect were responsible for keeping watch.

It was not until half an hour later that footsteps were finally heard.

Then, two figures walked into the hall.

The leader was a monk wearing a black cassock and holding a string of Buddhist beads in his hand. In his body, there was a rich, unfathomable aura of purple incense.

Another person...

He was wearing a coarse linen shirt and because he was too tall, he even had to lower his head slightly when entering the door. As he walked, he gave people an inexplicable sense of intimidation.

Big brother!
Lu Ji!

yesterday.

Fourth senior brother Fang Qingyun also told Chen Sanshi that the eldest senior brother would also come to participate in the Fengshan ceremony in the near future and then accept the reward.

I didn't expect it to appear here!

His face remained expressionless, but his heart was in turmoil.

But think about it.

This was completely unexpected, but reasonable.

I still remember the selection of strikers.

Cao Fan cracked his own shooting skills!

Who was there at the time who could have taught him? !

I'm afraid that the eldest senior brother has become a member of the princelings a long time ago.

This……

Does Master know?

You just don't care?
Normally, it would be fine if she had a relationship with the prince, but now...

But it is a crime of treason which carries the punishment of extermination of nine generations of the clan!
He wants to participate too?
If something goes wrong, I'm afraid the entire Eight Camps will be implicated.

"Brother Lu!"

Cao Fan excitedly stepped forward and addressed him affectionately: "Brother, you are finally here."

"Ah."

Lu Ji nodded slightly: "A few days ago, I led a group of people to the grassland to kill two enemies. I came a little late."

"Big brother."

Cao Fan introduced: "This is Zhang Laizi, the hero Zhang, whom I mentioned in the secret letter."

Lu Ji glanced at the bald-headed man and nodded slightly.

Chen Sanshi squinted his eyes and ignored it.

"Don't mind it, bro."

Cao Fan quickly tried to smooth things over, saying, "Hero Zhang may be a bit aloof, but he's very reliable."

"It doesn't matter."

Lu Ji said in a deep voice: "Those who came here are allies of life and death. How could Lu Ji worry about such a small matter?"

Chen Sanshi pondered secretly.

There is still one Martial Saint who has not come...

Looking around Lingzhou, he couldn't think of anyone.

Could it be that he was transferred from somewhere else?
I heard that Prince Zhennan has a good relationship with the Crown Prince. Could it be Prince Zhennan?
"Amitabha!"

The black-robed monk fiddled with his Buddhist beads and said quietly, "The last donor has arrived."

The last person.

With steady steps, an upright figure and a long breath, he arrived at the door of the dilapidated temple. He seemed to hesitate and paused for a moment, but finally made up his mind and stepped over the threshold.

"General Meng!"

Cao Fan went up to greet him: "This time, it all depends on you!"

"Yes, Lao Meng."

Fan Tianfa said with emotion: "I didn't expect that at the critical moment, you would still agree to come with us."

"Meng has never taken risks in his life."

Meng Quji had a bitter smile on his face: "The only two times I took risks, the first was to fight with Chen Sanshi, and the second was to agree to join you in this treasonous act."

Meng Quji!
Chen Sanshi was still thinking about it.

Even if they can gather three Martial Saints.

But what next?
There are also 20,000 Zhendong troops.

After the only remaining Hu Ben Army in Lingzhou ran away, it was impossible for them to muster another 20,000 troops to fight against the Zhendong Army.

Unexpectedly...

Meng Quji actually also surrendered to the prince!
"General Meng."

Cao Fan promised: "After this, you will at least be a Duke."

"no."

Meng Quji's eyes were deep: "I finally agreed, not for the title, but because I felt that I couldn't let that person continue to sit in this position. In the ten days in Yunzhou, how many of our border soldiers suffered unprovoked disasters!
“Everyone says Meng is a retreating general.

"But this time, Meng doesn't plan to hide anymore!"

"General Meng is righteous!"

Fan Tianfa said: "At the beginning, everything in the entire Yunzhou was too weird. The people guarding Anding Prefecture and Hengkang Prefecture suddenly surrendered. It was all directed by someone behind the scenes! At the beginning, Your Highness wanted to investigate thoroughly, but in the end..."

"Amitabha."

The black-robed monk said, "Everyone is here. Now it's time to get down to business."

(End of this chapter)