The Ming Dynasty began from Sarhu

Chapter 291: Game of Thrones (I)

"Who told you to arrange for the ministers to persuade me to take the throne and let me serve as regent?!"

"Who told you to mobilize the Central Army Guard without my permission? You went to Shuntian Prefecture to intercept Prince Xin, threatened him, and even killed a guard at Prince Xin's mansion. Who gave you the courage?!"

On October 21, the second year of Chongzhen, the Zuoanmen barbican was attacked and the tent of Marquis Liao was pacified.

Liu Zhaosun pointed at the group of Kaiyuan generals in front of him and roared angrily.

Kang Yingqian, Qiao Yiqi, Qi Jin, Sun Chuanting, Ma Shiying, Pei Dahu, Deng Changxiong, Wang Erhu, Lin Yu...

Except for Yuan Chonghuan and Wu Aheng, almost all the veterans of the Kaiyuan system stood against Ping Liaohou.

They lowered their heads and silently welcomed the baptism of the wind and rain.

Liu Zhaosun was fully armored, veins bulged on his cheeks, and his hands were clenched into fists, leaning on the table.

Wu Xiao and Shen Lian stood on both sides of Ping Liaohou, one on the left and one on the right.

Yang Hao stood by, glancing at his son-in-law from time to time, his old face, as dry as tree bark, expressionless.

"Prince Xin is but a child, an ordinary prince with no roots in the capital. What threat does he pose to Kaiyuan? Why are you so impatient? You must embarrass the emperor in front of so many people. How will the world view me in the future? How will they view us? Do you know what the people of Tongzhou and Tianjin are saying about me now?"

Liu Zhaosun became angrier and angrier as he spoke, and suddenly he slammed the table and stood up, shaking the teacup on the table.

Shen Lian kept winking at the side, but Yang Hao, who was standing next to him, acted as if he saw nothing. He stood with his hands behind his back, looking like he was watching a big show.

Shen Lian was about to step forward to offer comfort when he heard two light coughs from the other side. A civil servant walked forward and gave Ping Liao Hou an awkward smile:
"Ping Liao Hou, calm down, calm down. I told them to do this. If you want to punish me, then punish me!"

Wu Xiao and Shen Lian looked at each other, and Yang Hao's eyes changed slightly.

Liu Zhaosun breathed rapidly and looked up at the man. He tried hard to control his rage and said after a while:
"Why is Inspector Kang doing this? Didn't we agree to take things step by step and use the emperor to control the world? Didn't I ask you to put him under house arrest? Do you want me to be like Cao Cao or Sima Zhao?"

Liu Zhaosun had long anticipated that Kang Yinggan was behind yesterday's palace coup - no one else had the courage to do that - and he was no longer surprised by Kang Yinggan's passion for power.

But I didn’t expect that Lao Kang had such great power.

In just a few days, he was able to encourage a small number of officials in the capital to serve Kaiyuan wholeheartedly and let himself become regent.

"Marquis Ping Liao."

Kang Yingqian's eyes were steady and his face was full of confidence.

"Prince Xin is young and frivolous, and difficult to control. A while ago, Marquis Ping Liao mentioned Concubine Zhuang, Prince Xin's adoptive mother. I sent Eunuch Du to Kunning Palace with gold, jade, and jewelry to look for her, but she's adamant and won't respond to us. You saw yesterday that many officials in the capital support Prince Xin and want to oppose us, such as Li Banghua, the head of the Ministry of War."

Kang Yingqian paused at this point, and said with a murderous look on his face:

"So what if I threatened the officials? It's good that they weren't killed! Marquis Ping Liao, speaking of rumors, do you know what rumors are circulating in the capital lately?"

"Boy Wendao, on June 6, I hold the killing knife in my hand and kill the monkey."

"These few sentences, taken apart, mean that we are setting a date to execute Ping Liao Hou."

"Who's spreading these rumors? It's these officials in Beijing, or Li Banghua and the others! Yesterday, I took the initiative and took control of the situation. What's wrong with that?"

Liu Zhaosun was still angry. He had heard all the rumors circulating in the capital, but he just treated them as a joke.

"It's just a few rumors. Donglin's house was raided by you, and he has nowhere to vent his resentment. What's wrong with letting him sing a few lines? As long as it doesn't violate the law, why bother implicating Prince Xin? And you even killed his guards. What are you doing?"

Kang Yingqian still argued:

"Doesn't the Marquis of Ping Liao know this? How can we hand over power to others? This Zhu Youjian is young and frivolous, and he doesn't know when to advance or retreat. His chief secretary is even more unruly. Before he even entered the capital, he was already colluding with officials everywhere, cultivating his own faction to deal with us! This old man's move is just to give them a warning, to let the young emperor know who is the master of the capital. In the future, do not collude with foreign ministers and do anything that is detrimental to the Marquis of Ping Liao. What have I done wrong?"

"Killing a guard at Prince Xin's palace and persuading the Marquis of Ping Liao to become regent are all murderous and heartbreaking attempts to scare Zhu Youjian. If he's respectable, then he'll be easy to talk to. If he's not respectable, then I'll help him look respectable!"

"Marquis Ping Liao just mentioned Sima's usurpation of the Wei Dynasty. Did you know that the Sima family went on a killing spree back then, slaughtering most of the famous scholars of the Wei and Jin dynasties? Compared to them, Marquis Ping Liao was practically a living bodhisattva. During the Jingnan Campaign, only a few dozen people were killed. Marquis Ping Liao, could it be that Madam Jin has returned and you've become soft-hearted again?"

Liu Zhaosun was so angry at the self-righteous old man in front of him that his teeth were itching. Yang Hao looked at Kang Yinggan, his lips moving slightly, but it was unclear what he was saying.

Liu Zhaosun suddenly kicked away a small stool next to him and reached out, wishing he could slap the old man to death.

He finally held back.

Finally, he just pointed at Kang Yingqian's nose and said:

"Killing people and destroying their hearts? Then, was he frightened by you?" Kang Yingqian shook his head and continued to argue:
"Prince Xin wasn't frightened, but his subordinates were, as were all the officials in the capital. You also saw what happened to Marquis Ping Liao yesterday..."

"enough!"

Liu Zhaosun shouted, interrupting Kang Yingqian.

"lets change a topic!"

Liu Zhaosun pushed Kang Yingqian away and looked up at the others. General Kang staggered and almost fell.

"I'm asking you, I'm the only one who can mobilize the Central Army Guards. Who ordered Lin Yu yesterday? Why did he go to Shuntian Prefecture to intercept Prince Xin?"

After Ping Liaohou finished speaking, he looked angrily at Lin Yu, who was like a black tower.

This guard, who was over nine feet tall, stood out among the crowd like a crane among chickens. At this moment, he realized that he was wrong and lowered his head, not daring to speak.

The tent was completely silent.

As the absolute confidant of Ping Liaohou, the Central Army Guard usually only obeys Liu Zhaosun himself.

Ping Liaohou was about to ask again when he heard a familiar voice say:

"My Lord, it was I who ordered him to go. I am ashamed and willing to accept the punishment."

Liu Zhaosun's eyes widened, an incredible expression on his face. He stared at Pei Dahu for a long time, puzzled and puzzled:
"Old Pei, my adoptive father entrusted me to you, and I've always treated you like a family member. When the new emperor ascended the throne, I asked His Majesty to grant you the position of deputy commander-in-chief. And yet you've been hiding this from me, hanging around with Inspector Kang?"

Pei Dahu looked ashamed and his face turned red.

Kang Yingqian quickly said, "This matter has nothing to do with Pei Dahu."

Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, the loyal head servant whispered:
"Marquis Ping Liao, I made a mistake and am willing to accept the punishment!"

After being asked twice more, Lao Pei said nothing more except admitting his mistake.

Liu Zhaosun was angry. He thought for a while, took a deep breath and said:
"Okay, Old Pei, you've been with me the longest, and you know how hard it has been for Kaiyuan to get to where it is today. Since you've partnered with Kang Yingqian and acted recklessly, if I don't punish you today, I won't have to be the Marquis of Ping Liao anymore."

Liu Zhaosun didn't ask any more questions, sighed, and waved his hand to let Wu Xiao and Shen Lian take Pei Dahu away and beat him with a military stick.

At this time, someone finally spoke from behind.

There was a series of muffled sounds coming from all around.

Everyone was shocked.

It turned out that the person who spoke was the giant Lin Yu.

You must know that this giant has not spoken for a long time.

"Marquis Ping Liao, I went there on my own. I was the one who monitored Prince Xin, and I was the one who killed the guards in Prince Xin's palace."

Liu Zhaosun looked shocked.

Everyone looked at Lin Yu, and the giant continued:
"I don't want any more of my brothers to die. I want to keep an eye on the new emperor and make sure he doesn't kill people again."

He looked at Wu Xiao and Shen Lian who were standing behind Liu Zhaosun.

"All twenty-two of Wu Xiao's brothers who were brought to the capital were killed by the emperor. Brother Shen Lian and his family were also killed. The emperor sent people to kill even a three-year-old child."

"Mr. Yuan was killed by them, and Madam Jin was nearly tortured to death in Shandong. I don't want the dog emperor to harm anyone again."

Wu Xiao and Shen Lian remained silent, their eyes slightly flushed.

Liu Zhaosun said nothing. He stood there for a while and finally signaled everyone to leave. Everyone left in a bad mood.

Only Shen Lian and Yang Hao were left in the big tent.

Yang Hao slowly walked up to Ping Liaohou, looked at the backs of the people leaving, handed his son-in-law a cup of hot tea, and said thoughtfully:

"My dear son-in-law, I haven't seen you for four years. You already have many talented people under your command. However, some people need to be disciplined, especially this Supervisor Kang. He keeps saying that he cares about Kaiyuan, but he's actually anxious to take the top spot. Sooner or later, he'll harm you!"

(End of this chapter)