Please call me Your Majesty!

Chapter 229 Dragon Ridge Gorge

Minister Li has always liked these things, and his eyes lit up immediately.

Concubine Xiao's move was really to please the emperor.

"Don't worry, Madam. I will definitely help you."

In the next few days, Concubine Xiao summoned several important officials one after another and bribed them.

For those who are timid, we will suppress them by force.

In short, the situation in the court gradually turned unfavorable to Chu Shizhao.

"My lady, the letter has been delivered to the Xiao family."

A maid reported quietly.

"it is good."

Concubine Xiao nodded with satisfaction, "Tell them to act according to the plan."

"Chu Shizhao, let's see how you handle this time. Even if you have great abilities, don't even think about getting any benefit in the court!"

Just then, a young eunuch ran in in a panic.

"Your Majesty! This is bad! I just got the news that Chu Shizhao sent people to secretly interrogate those assassins, and it seems...it seems that they found out something important!"

Concubine Xiao's expression suddenly changed: "What?!"

"Tell me! What did they ask?"

Concubine Xiao asked sternly.

The young eunuch was trembling with fear.

He stammered, "I heard that the assassins... confessed that they were... instructed by the Majesty..."

"impossible!"

Concubine Xiao stood up suddenly, "It's impossible for them to confess! I have given them so many benefits, how dare they..."

"My lady, it's absolutely true!"

The young eunuch had a sad face, "I heard...I heard that Chu Shizhao used...used some extraordinary means..."

He didn't dare say any more.

He just gestured to his neck with his hand.

Concubine Xiao's face turned pale.

She held onto the corner of the table and managed to keep herself steady.

She gnashed her teeth and said, "He must have confessed under torture and deliberately framed me!"

The assassins of Shadow Pavilion are all specially trained, and it is impossible to make them speak with ordinary means.

What method did Chu Shizhao use to make them confess?
"My lady, what should we do now?"

The young eunuch asked tremblingly.

Concubine Xiao took a deep breath. There was no point in panicking at this moment.

"Pass the order down, saying that Chu Shizhao, in order to fight for the throne, did not hesitate to torture and frame loyal officials! Let those ministers stand up and speak for me!"

"Yes!"

The young eunuch quickly took the order and left.

Concubine Xiao knew that Chu Shizhao was determined to kill her this time.

But she still has one last trump card - her mother's family, the powerful Xiao family!

"Somebody come!"

She shouted again.

A maid came in hurriedly: "What do you want, Madam?"

"Write a letter immediately and send it to the Xiao family! Tell father...say that the situation is urgent and ask him to lead his troops to the capital as soon as possible!"

"Yes!"

The maid took the order and left.

"Chu Shizhao, do you think you can defeat me like this?"

“It’s still unclear who will win!”

……

The Xiao family mansion was brightly lit, but the atmosphere was tense.

The guards patrolled back and forth.

In the lobby, Prime Minister Xiao was holding a letter with a sullen face.

"How dare you do that, you little brat!"

Prime Minister Xiao slammed the letter in his hand onto the table.

"How dare he... How dare he bully my Xiao family like this!"

He stood up abruptly.

"Send me the military order!"

"Immediately mobilize 100,000 troops! In the name of clearing the emperor's court, we will attack the capital!"

"Your Majesty, Prime Minister,"

The butler knelt on the ground tremblingly, "One hundred thousand troops, this matter is of great importance..."

"At this point, there is nothing to hesitate about!"

Prime Minister Xiao’s eyes widened with anger.

"Chu Shizhao is a wicked and ambitious kid. He will attack our Xiao family sooner or later!"

"Instead of waiting for death, it is better to strike first!"

"Yes!"

The butler didn't dare to persuade him any further, and immediately kowtowed and left.

"Chu Shizhao, you are just a bastard without a father or a mother, and you dare to be an enemy of my Xiao family!"

He sneered, "Today I will let you know who is the master of this world!"

Three days later.

On the plain outside the city, an army of one hundred thousand gathered.

Prime Minister Xiao was wearing armor and slowly inspected the army formation.

"Soldiers!"

"Chu Shizhao has brought chaos to the government and murdered loyal officials. Today, we will enforce justice on behalf of heaven, clear the court of corrupt officials, and punish the treacherous officials!"

"Purge the emperor's entourage! Punish the treacherous officials!"

The soldiers shouted in unison.

"Pass the order,"

Prime Minister Xiao pointed his sword towards the capital, "Travel day and night, and make sure you reach the capital within seven days!"

"promise!"

When the news reached the capital, the whole government was shocked.

The people were in a panic and stayed indoors.

The four gates of the capital were closed and the city walls were covered with archers.

The atmosphere was extremely tense.

Inside the palace, Concubine Xiao was leaning against Emperor Yongjin, whispering.

"Your Majesty, my father had no choice but to do this!"

She had tears in her eyes. "Chu Shizhao has a lot of troops at the border and his prestige is growing. I'm worried that he will..."

"What will happen?"

Emperor Yongjin frowned.

"He will imitate Zhao Kuangyin, put on the yellow robe and usurp the throne!"

Concubine Xiao cried, "Father is very clear about justice, so he had to lead the troops to defend the king, to protect His Majesty, and to protect the country!"

Emperor Yongjin's expression was uncertain.

"His Majesty!"

A eunuch ran in in a panic, "Something bad is happening! Princes from all over the country have responded to Prime Minister Xiao and declared that they want to attack Chu Shizhao!"

"what?!"

Emperor Yongjin's face changed drastically.

At the same time, Chu Shizhao, who was far away at the border, also received news from the capital.

"The Xiao family raised an army?"

His eyes were stern, "It seems that this old fox can no longer hold back!"

"Your Highness!"

A personal soldier said worriedly: "The Xiao family has an army of 100,000!"

"So what if one hundred thousand?"

Chu Shizhao sneered, "The three thousand cavalrymen under my command are all elite warriors who have fought in hundreds of battles. It is no problem for them to defeat a hundred with one!"

He jumped on his horse, his eyes determined, "Pass the order down, the whole army will march day and night, and travel 300 miles a day!"

"in addition……"

He paused for a moment before continuing, "Let the people of the capital prepare themselves. This time, I will wipe out this old fox in his lair!"

Just as Chu Shizhao was about to lead his troops directly north, Hengyi suddenly spoke.

"Your Highness, this is not appropriate!" "You are in command of a large army now. If you return to the court without following the imperial edict, wouldn't that confirm the charge of treason?"

"If you ask me, it's better to wait and see what happens rather than give them an advantage. If the situation really gets out of control, it won't be too late for you to send troops to the king's aid!"

……

Capital City, Imperial Palace.

Emperor Yongjin paced back and forth in the imperial study.

The news that princes from all over the country responded to Prime Minister Xiao shocked him.

"Your Majesty, what should we do now?"

An old minister asked in a trembling voice.

Emperor Yongjin turned pale and for a moment he didn't know how to answer.

Upon seeing this, Concubine Xiao walked to the side of Emperor Yongjin and said softly, "Your Majesty, now that things have come to this, why not issue an order to have Chu Shizhao return to the capital and await his fate."

"In this way, we can appease Prime Minister Xiao and the local princes, and save Chu Shizhao's life. Isn't this the best of both worlds?"

Upon hearing this, Emperor Yongjin nodded.

"My beloved concubine is absolutely right!"

He hurriedly said, "Come here, draft an order!"

At night, in the scripture library of the royal temple.

Concubine Xiao gnashed her teeth and said, "Father, that bastard actually dared to use this shabby trick to trick me into confessing! How can I swallow this!"

Prime Minister Xiao sneered, "Those useless people from Shadow Pavilion should have been killed long ago. It's a waste of food to keep them alive!"

As he spoke, his eyes widened, "This time, I will make sure that kid dies on the way home! You dare to go against me, humph!"

When Concubine Xiao heard this, her heart skipped a beat.

"Father is going to use that private army?"

Prime Minister Xiao unfolded a sheepskin topographic map.

The finger is in Longji Gorge.

"This section of the official road is surrounded by cliffs on three sides. When the garrison changes guard, there is a half-minute gap."

He sneered, "Even if that little bastard has three heads and six arms, he will never escape the deadly trap I set!"

Concubine Xiao opened her mouth, but swallowed the words back.

I couldn't help but mutter: "Qiao Mingyuan...can this thing work?"

"Don't worry, everything has been arranged properly. Nothing will go wrong."

Prime Minister Xiao pulled out a wax seal from his sleeve and shook it. "I spent a lot of money to get this thing!"

Concubine Xiao took the wax seal and looked at it over and over again, "Isn't this..."

"Yes, it is the private seal of the imperial guard Qiao Mingyuan. Now we are going to have something interesting to watch."

Prime Minister Xiao said slowly, "The real team that was supposed to deliver the imperial edict had already been replaced by my people."

"Those assassins grew up in my house since they were young. They are all dumb. Even if they are caught, they can't say a word. Haha!"

"Father, your plan is really amazing. I am really impressed."

Concubine Xiao was worried, "But that little bastard is always very careful. If he gets suspicious... this matter will be a bit risky."

"Oh, with his little tricks, what kind of waves can he make?"

Prime Minister Xiao took out another roll of bright yellow silk from his arms.

"This is a fake imperial edict with your private seal. When that kid sees this imperial edict, even if he has doubts in his heart, he will have no choice but to act according to the plan!"

Concubine Xiao took the silk and frowned: "Father, I heard that the little beast has a confidant named Hengyi, this kid is very smart..."

"It doesn't matter, I have my own arrangements."

"I have arranged 300 death warriors at Dragon Ridge Gorge. The rockfall traps, poisonous miasma traps, and the crossbow arrows tempered with deadly poison on both sides of the gorge, humph, even if they have great abilities, they can't expect to come out alive!"

As he was speaking, there was a loud bang from outside.

Concubine Xiao's whole body trembled violently.

"Oh, it's getting late. I have to go back to the palace quickly, or else something bad will happen."

"Go ahead, but don't show off."

Prime Minister Xiao waved his hand and said, "Remember, you have to speak ill of that little bastard in front of His Majesty these days. That way, even if he dies on the way back to the capital, I will definitely find a way to make His Majesty believe that this is a warning from God, hehe."

Concubine Xiao nodded, turned and left.

Prime Minister Xiao laughed and said, "Chu Shizhao, I want to see if you can escape the deadly trap I set for you this time! I don't believe I can't punish you!"

at the same time.

In the Xiao family’s secret base, flames were roaring upwards.

Three hundred shirtless mute slaves are undergoing brutal training.

They had their tongues cut off when they were young and can only communicate using sign language, which is so pitiful.

At this moment, they were lined up in neat rows, practicing crossbow shooting over and over again.

Prime Minister Xiao's confidant patrolled back and forth with a whip.

He gestured with his hands, "Remember, just shoot the horse. The poison needs to take its toll slowly!"

There was a mute slave who pulled the bowstring to its full extent. A poisoned crossbow arrow flew out and hit the straw target a hundred meters away.

The military advisor held a rather exquisite jade box in his hand, walked up to Prime Minister Xiao, and respectfully opened the box.

The box contained a black powder.

There is a faint fishy smell.

"The Prime Minister specially made a traction machine. The poisoned people will be no different from normal people within three days. They will die suddenly after entering the capital. We can just put the blame on the emperor, hehe."

The military advisor said with a smile.

Prime Minister Xiao nodded with satisfaction.

"Well done! Remember, this matter must not be leaked, otherwise..."

As he said this, he made a gesture of wiping his neck.

In the imperial palace, Concubine Xiao was having a secret conversation with the director of the Imperial Observatory.

"There will definitely be heavy rain in half a month. The astrological documents will say 'White Tiger is coming, evil star is moving eastward'. That's it."

Concubine Xiao handed the supervisor a gold ingot and asked, "Do you understand?"

The warden nodded quickly.

"Don't worry, Madam. I will definitely do as you say. There will be no ambiguity."

Those officials of the Xiao Party were having a secret meeting in Zuixian Tower.

Everyone was drinking happily.

The assistant minister of the Ministry of War secretly gave a border defense map to Gui Gong.

"Tell the Prime Minister that the Zhenbei Army will be transferred to Qingzhou in three days."

The imperial concubine's maid falsely conveyed the imperial edict and ran to the Imperial Stables.

"Your Majesty, remember to feed the thousand-mile horse you want to prepare for the Fourth Prince more croton seeds."

Prime Minister Xiao burned a secret letter in his study.

It is about "the Cao Gang has dredged the river."

The housekeeper knelt down and reported: "Prime Minister, thirty ships of tung oil have been transported to Broken Dragon Cliff."

In the tea shed at the foot of Longji Gorge.

A fat girl, dressed like an ordinary peasant woman.

In fact, he was a secret agent planted by the Xiao family.

Another spy dressed as a woodcutter walked into the tea stall.

Lower your voice and exchange information with her.

"We three brothers are in Chu Shizhao's personal guard. If we work together inside and outside, it will be foolproof."

Above the canyon, the mute slaves were busy installing mechanisms on the cliff.

The military advisor sneered: "The rockfall trap must be connected to the hunter trap. I want them to be trapped in the poisonous miasma by the wild bees. Humph!"

At the canyon exit.

Several masked craftsmen were setting up tripwires.

It's stained with corpse poison, it'll kill you instantly when it comes in contact with blood, it's very toxic.

In the capital city, the imperial guard Qiao Mingyuan led twelve light cavalrymen and rushed out of the Xuanwu Gate.

Suddenly, three poisoned crossbow arrows flew over from the dense forest on the outskirts of the city.

Shoot directly at Qiao Mingyuan in the middle of the team...

The imperial guard Qiao Mingyuan reacted very quickly and leaned back suddenly.

Three crossbow arrows flew past his clothes.

With a "pop", it was nailed into the tree trunk behind him.

"There are assassins!"

Qiao Mingyuan roared and quickly drew the sword from his waist.

The twelve light cavalry immediately formed a defensive formation.