Lian Erye in the Red Mansion

Ningkang Emperor's temporary palace.

This area is already under complete martial law.

At Emperor Ningkang's temporary residence, several confidants surrounded him.

"Everything is going according to plan and progressing smoothly."

The Imperial Guard opened up all the defenses and passes, and the infantry battalion under the Crown Prince and the capital garrison under Chen Jiedu cooperated to form a complete encirclement from the beginning. Now they have even pushed up the mountain, less than a few miles away from the Emperor Emeritus's palace.

At the same time, Chen Jiedu also sent word that the situation in both the northern and southern camps was settled, and all troops had fallen into my hands.

"Although the capital is far away and we can't receive news there yet, the Emperor Emeritus is not in the capital. We have the Imperial Guard, the Vanguard, and the Personal Guard under our control, and the Embroidered Uniform Guard is also outside. As long as they follow the plan and take the initiative to eliminate a few commanders, nothing unexpected will happen."

"It doesn't matter if we can't eliminate them; it'll only cause chaos for a couple of days. Once His Majesty returns to the capital with a great victory, everything will be settled."

"Everything is ready; we await only Your Majesty's command!"

Those who could sit here at this time were either those who held military power or those who were absolutely trusted confidants and officials of Emperor Ningkang.

Their eyes blazed with fury.

If this coup succeeds, everyone here will surely rise to prominence and achieve great success.

Their future was in this moment, and they couldn't help but be excited.

In comparison, Emperor Ningkang above appeared relatively calm at this moment.

He tapped the table lightly to quiet the noise and asked, "How is the Emperor Emeritus doing?"

"No abnormalities have been found so far. The elite cavalry has withdrawn its forces and constructed four defensive rings outside the Emperor Emeritus's palace, showing no signs of withdrawal."

It seems they intend to maintain a stalemate while waiting for reinforcements.

"Hehe, how do they fight each other, how do they reach a stalemate?"

Now that we have control of all the troops on and around the mountain, how can those few thousand elite cavalry soldiers possibly withstand the charge of our tens of thousands of troops?

As for waiting for reinforcements?

With tens of thousands of troops, we can cause the elite cavalry to collapse in an instant. Even if reinforcements arrive, what can they do then?

"Your Majesty, there is no time to lose! Please order the attack immediately!"

Emperor Ningkang nodded.

This operation went relatively smoothly.

By removing the retired emperor from Chonghua Palace and severing his connection with the lower classes, he could then easily eliminate some powerful and stubborn individuals.

According to his plan, the operations inside and outside the palace and the imperial city should have started last night.

He didn't expect his subordinates to accomplish much; he just wanted them to clear away the main obstacles, or even just muddy the waters.

As long as he stirs up trouble, he will be able to easily control the situation once he has dealt with the retired emperor and returned to the capital.

At that time, those who should be seized power will be seized, and those who should be killed will be killed.

In this way, the power of the entire world will be transferred to his hands relatively smoothly.

Therefore, the only thing to do right now is to get rid of the henchmen that the retired emperor brought to Iron Net Mountain.

With the overall situation largely settled, he naturally no longer felt the tension he had been feeling in the past few days.

but……

The Emperor Emeritus's reaction was somewhat unexpected.

But it doesn't matter.

Whether it's a desperate struggle, a feigned gesture, or even if they've genuinely sent out a message and are now waiting for reinforcements...

All of this was within his expectations.

Given the sheer size of Iron Net Mountain and the meticulousness of its previous actions, it's quite normal for the retired emperor to send out some simple messages.

As a mature emperor, he certainly wouldn't impulsively decide to force the emperor to abdicate, then fail to resolve the subsequent troubles and become a sinner who wreaks havoc on his ancestral land!

He was confident that he could handle everything before the Emperor Emeritus's reinforcements arrived, and also deal with any reinforcements that followed.

Now, he is eager to stand before the retired emperor and have him admit that he was wrong.

"Notify Chen Zhao and Feng Sheng to begin."

As soon as Emperor Ningkang spoke, several people below immediately stood up, clasped their hands in salute, and left, preparing for the final blow.

"His Majesty……"

"His Majesty."

The remaining officials were about to say something when Dai Quanxing interrupted them.

"What is it?"

"The Second Princess has come, saying she has important business to discuss and insists on seeing His Majesty. She has also injured the soldiers of the Imperial Guard who tried to stop her."

"presumptuous!"

Emperor Ningkang was somewhat angry.

The second princess was Princess Zhaoyang, whose title of eldest princess was bestowed by Emperor Ningkang.

Although those below still address her as the Eldest Princess, as someone within the palace, Dai Quan naturally had to change his address after Princess Zhaoyang was stripped of her title by the Emperor Emeritus.

As the emperor's personal guard, the Imperial Guard could fully represent Emperor Ningkang's face. How dare Princess Zhaoyang take action against them?

However, after his initial anger subsided, Emperor Ningkang also felt that his princess was always very principled, and she would not cause him trouble at this critical juncture without a reason.

Suppressing his anger, he coldly said, "Let her in."

Princess Zhaoyang arrived under the stars and moon.

"Your subject pays respects to Your Majesty."

What do you want?

Emperor Ningkang's directness caused Princess Zhaoyang to also stop bowing.

She first glanced at the swaying figures behind the screen, and then asked directly, "Your Majesty, I have come here to ask you, has my eldest brother really plotted a rebellion?"

Why would he plot a rebellion?

Princess Zhaoyang's questioning tone displeased Emperor Ningkang, who coldly replied, "Why is he asking me why he plotted rebellion?"

Princess Zhaoyang continued, "Father, can you really bear to watch fathers and sons kill each other, to see so many innocent people, even loyal ministers and generals, die tragically?"

Emperor Ningkang's breathing suddenly became rapid, and his face turned pale.

He could certainly understand what Princess Zhaoyang was saying.

From the moment he decided to force his way out of power, he knew that his decision would result in the sacrifice of some innocent people.

He also knew that among those loyal to the retired emperor, there were many loyal ministers and good generals.

But so what? The more loyal those people are to the retired emperor, the harder they are to use them!

Therefore, his gaze suddenly turned cold as he looked indifferently at his daughter. "So, you've come here to accuse me?"

When he decided to embark on this path that was destined to be criticized and attacked, he also hoped to gain the understanding of those around him, especially his closest relatives.

Although Emperor Ningkang did not give a direct answer, Princess Zhaoyang could still tell his determination from his expression and tone.

After a moment of silence, Princess Zhaoyang's tone softened, and she said, "Your subject is naturally not here to interrogate me."

Father's predicament is unknown to others, but your son understands it perfectly.

"Your Majesty, I have come only to ask you one question."

Emperor Ningkang did not reply, but only looked at Princess Zhaoyang.

Princess Zhaoyang looked at him hopefully and asked, "Father, what do you plan to do about Grandfather?"

Emperor Ningkang suddenly fell silent.

This was the first time he had ever heard such a pointed question.

No one else, including his most trusted confidants, dared to ask him.

He didn't want to answer.

But looking into Princess Zhaoyang's expectant eyes, and thinking about how her daughter had grown from such a tiny little thing to such a grown-up and mature woman, she realized that her mind had matured.

In particular, he reluctantly thought that perhaps sending her to a political marriage had already disappointed her bright eyes once.

My heart suddenly softened.

He lowered his head and slowly replied, "Although I am not a wise ruler, how could I dare to do what Emperor Tang would not dare to do?"

"Alright, I'm tired. We can talk about it later. You may leave."

Emperor Ningkang picked up a booklet, felt a slight throbbing pain between his eyebrows, put the booklet down, and rubbed it with his hand.

When he opened his eyes again, he found that Princess Zhaoyang had not left, but had come up and was very close to him, so Dai Quan silently blocked her way.

Emperor Ningkang, unprepared for any potential harm from Princess Zhaoyang, simply looked at her and asked somewhat impatiently, "What else do you want?"

Emperor Ningkang felt he had been lenient enough with his daughter. If it were the Fourth Prince who dared to bother him like this at this time, he would have kicked him long ago.

To everyone's surprise, Princess Zhaoyang completely changed her tone and said, "Your subject just visited the Empress Dowager."

Emperor Ningkang frowned, not understanding why Princess Zhaoyang would say such trivial things.

"Your Majesty, I want to tell you that what Your Majesty is about to do is of great importance, and you can never be too careful."

Now my father's army is already pointing its spearhead directly at my grandfather, but from what I've observed, my grandfather doesn't seem to be in much panic.

There was no panic from top to bottom.

My grandfather didn't even forbid us from entering or leaving the palace.

Although I do not know what other support my grandfather has, Father, he has ruled the world for far too long. If you want to defeat him, you cannot be careless in the slightest.

Your Majesty, I only wish for your safety and good health, and I humbly request that you consider this wish.

After Princess Zhaoyang finished speaking these words with great sincerity, she bowed deeply and then turned to leave.

Behind the desk, Emperor Ningkang's brows were already furrowed.

Several officials emerged from behind the screen; they had all overheard Princess Zhaoyang and Emperor Ningkang's conversation.

"Your Majesty need not worry. The Second Princess is just a woman. Your Majesty need not take her words too seriously."

Perhaps the Second Princess simply didn't want to see war, or perhaps she was just concerned about His Majesty's safety.

But regardless, the arrow is on the bowstring and must be released; Your Majesty must not hesitate.

When one person says this, everyone else agrees.

They controlled the vast majority of the troops on and around the mountain. Under such circumstances, they couldn't imagine how the retired emperor could possibly turn the tide.

Emperor Ningkang didn't say much, waiting for news while discussing with his officials how to handle the aftermath.

……

Time passed by, and soon the prince's "rebel army" had completely reached the mountain.

However, these rebels did not rush straight to the retired emperor's palace to wipe out the elite cavalry, as Emperor Ningkang and others had imagined.

Instead, just as their initial slogan had suggested, they raised the banner of protecting the emperor and charged towards the guards who had given them the green light all the way, surrounding Emperor Ningkang's palace.

In this hunt at Iron Net Mountain, besides the elite cavalry and personal guards around the two emperors, the main forces were the guards stationed on the mountain, the imperial infantry stationed in the mountains, and the capital garrison stationed at the foot of the mountain.

The Imperial Guard Battalion, the Imperial Infantry Battalion, and the Elite Cavalry Battalion are three main forces within the Imperial Guard system, with the Imperial Guard Battalion being the largest in terms of personnel.

The main duties of the Imperial Guard were to safeguard the security of the imperial city and to escort the emperor during his travels.

This hunt at Tiewang Mountain, seemingly arranged by the Crown Prince, was actually all Emperor Ningkang's doing. Therefore, the soldiers of the Imperial Guard who were transferred here were naturally loyal to Emperor Ningkang.

However, most of the generals in the Imperial Guard Infantry Camp were left over from the time of the retired emperor.

However, Emperor Ningkang knew that the Crown Prince had cultivated quite a bit of power in the Infantry Camp over the years. In order to make the pretext of "the Crown Prince's rebellion" seem more reasonable, and to make everything more natural so as not to arouse suspicion from the Emperor Emeritus, Emperor Ningkang tacitly approved the Crown Prince's act of transferring the Infantry Camp to Tiewang Mountain for garrison, which was a sham.

As for the Beijing Garrison, the biggest interference Emperor Ningkang has made in the garrison over the years is replacing the military governor.

There was no need to hide it; everyone knew Chen Zhao was one of his men. The soldiers from the Northern Camp that Chen Zhao brought with him were naturally also loyal to Chen Zhao and Emperor Ningkang.

Therefore, of the five main forces in the entire Iron Net Mountain, apart from the mere few thousand elite cavalrymen under the command of the retired emperor, the rest were all under the control of Emperor Ningkang.

Under such circumstances, it's no wonder that Emperor Ningkang and his trusted officials felt that the overall situation was settled and everything was under control.

However, this was the outermost perimeter of the military camp's defenses at that time.

Emperor Ningkang rode up on horseback.

The soldiers of the two armies who were originally facing off unconsciously stepped back when they saw Emperor Ningkang.

If those nobles on Iron Net Mountain are still completely clueless, then these ordinary soldiers at the bottom are even more baffled.

Because the leaders all had conflicting accounts, they were unable to determine the truth.

Therefore, we can only act according to the commands from above.

But as members of the Imperial Guard, they couldn't possibly be unaware of Emperor Ningkang.

Emperor Ningkang ignored the infantry soldiers whose expressions were strange and coldly shouted towards the distance:

"You unfilial son, get out here and see me!"