The Ming Dynasty's Five Hundred Years

Chapter 242 The Two Kings

Two flowers bloom, one branch each.

Yang Rong returned to the capital with the imperial edict, while Li Xianmu and two others in the army tried to cover up the emperor's death as much as possible.

Only when Duke Zhang Fu of Ying joins the army can we ensure that the Han king's rebellious intentions are suppressed.

Historically, there are few instances of emperors suddenly dying while away from home. The most famous one is Qin Shi Huang, who suddenly died in Shaqiu. Zhao Gao and Li Si then altered his will. In order to prevent people from discovering that Qin Shi Huang was dead, they ordered that salted fish be mixed together with his body to cover up the rotting corpse.

This tactic might have worked in the past, but it won't work now. A thousand or two thousand years have passed, and people nowadays have seen all sorts of tricks. I'm afraid that as soon as they manage to get the salted fish, the King of Han will immediately realize something is wrong.

It is now midsummer, and the corpse will soon start to stink and attract mosquitoes and flies, making it difficult to cover up.

“There is only one way to prevent the King of Han from finding out, and that is to prevent any stench from spreading.” Li Xianmu said in a deep voice, “Wrap His Majesty in metal that can block odors.”

Then, he claimed to be ill. During this time of His Majesty's illness, Japanese generals were rarely seen outside the capital; only I frequently entered and exited the tent to relay messages between the inside and outside.

As one of the emperor's most trusted ministers, Li Xianmu's special position in the army was key to the success of this plan.

Zhu Zhanji asked anxiously, "What if the Prince of Han realizes something is wrong and takes a desperate gamble?"

Li Xianmu sneered, "I know the temperament of the Prince of Han very well. He is afraid of losing his life when he does great things, he is fierce in appearance but cowardly in reality, and he is indecisive. He knows that the late emperor will not pass the throne to him, and he only has one chance. So even if he does something, he will definitely make sure that something has happened to the late emperor before he takes action."

He was filled with immense fear; if the late emperor were still alive when he rebelled, all his power would be lost!

These words instilled strength in Jian Yi and Zhu Zhanji, making them feel somewhat at ease.

"However, we must prepare for the worst-case scenario. I have had people keeping a close eye on the King of Han and the King of Zhao, especially the King of Han. If things really don't go well, we will have no choice but to take him down directly. If necessary, the Grandson will have to make the final decision!"

Zhu Zhanji's expression hardened. There was only one thing that required his decision. He looked up and met Li Xianmu's gaze. He saw that Li Xianmu's expression was not cold, but rather helpless and bewildered.

"If things truly come to a point where all hope seems lost, I will make a decision. I am ordained by Heaven, and no one can disobey me."

Zhu Zhanji's voice was low and trembling with excitement, for the lives of his father, son, and the entire family were all tied to him!
……

Just as Li Xianmu had said, the army had no doubts about the emperor's order to not see outsiders while he was ill, because the emperor had been sick for a long time, not just for a day.

In order not to arouse suspicion or arouse any suspicion, Li Xianmu even followed the planned marching speed without any intention of speeding up.

Inside the Han King's tent, the brothers Zhu Gaoxu and Zhu Gaosui were angrily cursing Li Xianmu and Zhu Zhanji.

Ignoring the rule against drinking in the military camp, Zhu Gaoxu downed his drink in one gulp and angrily exclaimed, "I don't know what kind of bewitching potion Li Xianmu gave the old man. He's sick and won't let us sons take care of him. He actually sent Li Xianmu, a nephew, to relay messages. I'm so angry!"

Zhu Gaosui's eyes darted around, and he chimed in, "Second brother, haven't you figured it out yet? The old man is keeping an eye on us. He's afraid that if we two brothers find out about his health condition, something might happen, or even that we two brothers might do something outrageous that would anger heaven and man. That's why he won't let us get close, or even see him."

These words struck a nerve with Zhu Gaoxu, making him even more resentful. He downed another cup of wine heavily, saying, "We brothers have followed the old man through thick and thin, and we're not even as good as our eldest brother, let alone Li Xianmu. It's really unfair!"

"The old man is getting older and his health is deteriorating. After this illness, I'm afraid his body will suffer a great loss."

Zhu Gaoxu paused upon hearing this, then asked thoughtfully, "Third brother, what do you mean by that?"

"Second Brother, are you really going to give up that position? You have been ordained by Heaven, and may your life be long and prosperous!"
Now that my family owns the world, my second brother, your contribution is the greatest. Can you really let it go?

If it were me, I absolutely couldn't tolerate it.

Zhu Gaosui became increasingly outspoken, "I don't care. No matter whether my eldest brother or second brother becomes emperor, I will still be a prince. I'm just speaking up for you, my second brother."

If Zhu Gaoxu had ever been online, he would have immediately recognized Zhu Gaosui's classic provocative statement: "Anyway, I absolutely cannot tolerate it."

Zhu Gaoxu slammed his wine glass down on the table. "Stop talking! With the old man here, what would I dare to do?"

These words laid bare his true intentions. A smile flashed in Zhu Gaosui's eyes. As long as his second brother still had something on his mind, that was good. When the snipe and the clam fight, the fisherman benefits.

Thinking of the pleasant moment, Zhu Gaosui took a sip of wine. The two drank some and became slightly drunk. Then they both fell down and fell into a deep sleep.

……

"Did the King of Han really say that?"

“That’s right, Patriarch, not a single word is wrong.”

Li Xianmu pondered for a moment. From their conversation, he could tell that neither the Prince of Han nor the Prince of Zhao had suspected anything. "Continue to put a small amount of sleeping potion in their wine every day. Remember, don't put too much. Just a little bit, so that they think they are drunk."

"Yes!"

Li Xianmu certainly wouldn't rely entirely on the Han King's carelessness. So much tin was transported into the emperor's tent; anyone with a keen eye would have noticed something was wrong long ago.

In recent days, Li Xianmu had been administering small doses of sedatives to the Prince of Han and the Prince of Zhao, without even informing the Crown Prince. He would not openly take any action against the princes, lest he incur their suspicion.

Therefore, he has always said that the decision needs to be made by the Crown Prince, which is called not being too distant from relatives, and also a kind of instinctive reverence for the royal bloodline.

Throughout history, very few people who have been tainted with the blood of an emperor's own brother have had a good ending.

Therefore, Li Xianmu did not want to take action against the Prince of Han unless absolutely necessary.

Fortunately, the Prince of Han cooperated. His foolish mind could not have imagined that Li Xianmu was so skilled and daring, managing to keep the emperor's death a secret so perfectly.

From the day the emperor died, there were no changes in the army. They set off from Yumu River as usual and headed towards the interior of the Great Wall.

Li Xianmu kept a close eye on the Prince of Han, obtaining firsthand information about him. He confirmed that the Prince of Han had never suspected anything. After the initial tension, Zhu Zhanji and Jian Yi gradually relaxed as everything went smoothly.

The army marched for another five days before a sudden change occurred!

……

"An army carrying the Emperor's banners is approaching from the direction of the capital!"

The news reported by the scouts shocked the entire army. Almost everyone was stunned. How could the emperor's banners have come from the capital?
However, neither the tiger tally nor the imperial edict was wrong in the slightest, and the Crown Prince Zhu Zhanji and the Minister of War Li Xianmu directly allowed the army to enter the camp.

He also instructed the entire army to set up camp and not to move rashly.

Three thousand fully armed cavalry and five thousand fully armed infantrymen almost instantly took control of the army. Although the northern expeditionary army was large in number, it was not armored and lined up, and was just a bunch of pigs and sheep waiting to be slaughtered!

In fact, most people have already sensed that something is wrong.

The emperor's banners came from the capital, and eight thousand fully armed cavalry and infantrymen took control of the northern expeditionary army's camp. But until now, His Majesty the Emperor has not appeared.

"The British Duke!"

The bewildered military officers and nobles in the army were even more shocked to discover that someone who should never have been there had appeared.

Seeing that his men had completely taken control of the situation, and that the King of Han and the King of Zhao had no chance to collude with others, Zhang Fu finally relaxed.

Zhu Zhanji, Li Xianmu, and Jian Yi finally breathed a sigh of relief, their tense nerves finally relaxing.

"Duke of England, what is the meaning of this? You have brought a large army here. Do you intend to rebel?"

Zhu Gaoxu had a very bad feeling and immediately stepped forward to question him.

“Your Highness, you are truly slandering me. I have come here on His Majesty’s orders to command the northern expeditionary army and return to the capital in order. This has nothing to do with rebellion. This is an imperial decree.”

"What Your Majesty? His Majesty is in the army, where is he? And whose orders are you on?"

Even if Zhu Gaoxu was stupid, he vaguely guessed some things. Zhu Gaosui was even smarter and guessed the truth directly. His face turned ashen, and he slowly retreated, protecting Zhu Gaoxu in front of him. With the matter settled, he was unwilling to get involved anymore.

"Let me tell you all."

Zhu Zhanji stepped forward and said loudly, "The late Emperor passed away in Yumu River. Before his death, he left a will bequeathing the throne to the Crown Prince. Grand Secretary Yang Rong brought the will back to the capital with the will. The Crown Prince has already ascended the throne in the capital. Now, the Duke of Yingguo has come with His Majesty's imperial edict. Who dares to disobey?"

boom!
boom!
Almost everyone was stunned into silence, their mouths dry and their eyes wide with disbelief. His Majesty had actually passed away in Yumu River, and for so many days, no one had known!
"His Majesty has passed away, yet you dare to falsely convey imperial edicts and deceive us?"

How could Zhu Gaochi not know that he had been deceived? The emperor had long since died, but Li Xianmu claimed that the emperor was merely ill and was not seeing outsiders.

Li Xianmu rebuked sharply: "Does the Prince of Han truly not understand?"

If the army were to suddenly announce the Emperor's death on its way back to the capital, wouldn't that throw the army into chaos? And if they were to inadvertently attract foreign enemies, how would they explain it?

"The King of Han is a renowned general in the army; surely he understands such a simple principle?"

"You..." Zhu Gaoxu wanted to say more, but he was filled with endless regret. Such a good opportunity had slipped through his fingers.

Overwhelmed by remorse, he nearly lost his mind.

Looking at the fully armed soldiers and the Duke of England around him, he finally shut his mouth in despair. From the moment the Duke of England took control of the military camp, he was utterly defeated.

"His Majesty has decreed that I be appointed as the General Who Conquers the North, to lead the northern expeditionary army back to the capital. All officers of the rank of deputy general and above shall come before me to receive orders!"

The British Prime Minister needs to thoroughly examine the military's positions and completely eliminate any threats.

(End of this chapter)