Lian Erye in the Red Mansion

A moment later, the Crown Prince rode up and bowed to Emperor Ningkang from afar.

"Father..."

Emperor Ningkang stared coldly at him. Seeing that the Crown Prince initially avoided his gaze but eventually dared to look him directly in the eye, he couldn't help but shout coldly, "You rebellious son, why are you plotting rebellion!"

The Crown Prince was initially somewhat ashamed to face Emperor Ningkang, but for some reason, upon seeing Emperor Ningkang's cold and hostile demeanor and hearing him utter the words "treason," a long-suppressed resentment and anger erupted from his heart.

He chuckled, touched the sword at his waist, and said, "Why does Father ask such a question when he already knows the answer? Isn't all of this today because of Father?"

The crown prince's words were ambiguous.

Emperor Ningkang narrowed his eyes and suddenly asked, "Where is Chen Zhao?"

The Crown Prince's smile widened: "Chen Zhao, that traitor, dared to rebel in the face of battle, trying to instigate me to aid and abet evil. He and his cronies have been brought to justice by me."

"Father!"

The Crown Prince shouted, "Even though your grandfather owes you something, this empire was ultimately handed over to you by your grandfather himself."

How could Father Emperor, as a son, intend to rebel and murder Grandfather Emperor out of momentary indignation?

Now, your son has been ordered by Your Majesty to raise troops to protect you.

Father, my army has now surrounded Iron Net Mountain. I believe that before long, troops from all directions will follow to come to the aid of the emperor.

Now that things have come to this, Father Emperor, it would be best not to make any futile resistance.

Lay down your weapons and apologize to Your Majesty! Your son will also plead for Father's life before Your Majesty. I believe Your Majesty will forgive Father out of consideration for our father-son relationship.

The Crown Prince's words made the confidants around Emperor Ningkang uneasy.

Chen Zhao is dead?

Moreover, it seems the Crown Prince has switched sides at the last minute, siding with the Retired Emperor?

Emperor Ningkang's heart sank slightly, and he said coldly, "You unfilial son, do you know what you are doing?"

"Your subject naturally knows."

Father, please don't blame me. I was only trying to prevent you from going further astray, to stop you from continuing your rebellious and disastrous actions that would disrupt the court..."

The Crown Prince's words gradually fueled Emperor Ningkang's anger.

This anger contains resentment at being betrayed, but more than that, it is a sense of helplessness at the inability to make a difference!

How perfect was his plan?

Since ancient times, the stigma of a son plotting against his father has been an indelible stain.

If he were just a power-hungry emperor, so be it; let him be stigmatized. As long as he remains in that position, no one can do anything to him.

But he was an emperor with great ambition, or rather, ideals and aspirations.

The reason he decided to seize power by force this time was not only because of the oppression of the retired emperor over the years, and because of his mother... but more importantly, because he wanted to get rid of his shackles as soon as possible so that he could accomplish something great in his lifetime.

He had already thought it through. The first step after seizing power was to thoroughly eliminate the many ills left behind by the retired emperor in his later years!

This includes governance, finance, military system, and so on.

The second step, which was his greatest wish when he was Prince Chang and Crown Prince:

To govern the Great Wei into a powerful nation like the mighty Han and the prosperous Tang, and to eliminate all the neighboring regimes that dare to provoke us.

The main threats were the fickle tribes to the west and south, and the powerful Eastern and Western Mongols to the north.

But later, he took a third step.

Although he knew that there were many countries and regimes beyond the ocean, he didn't pay much attention to them.

After all, they were too far away, and they had never heard of any place with a larger territory, a larger population, or a more prosperous society than the Great Wei.

It wasn't until a young minister told him that he learned from some Western devils that there were many small states in the distant western continent.

Although these countries are small, they have made their military strength powerful due to many reforms.

They built powerful ships and cannons, sailing the oceans, plundering and conquering weaker nations.

Sooner or later, these foreign devils will set their sights on the rich East.

This was because some foreigners had already arrived in the territory of the Great Wei, and some of them, like the Japanese pirates, were using various methods to invade and occupy areas along the southeast coast that the Great Wei court looked down upon or was powerless to control, so he did not have too much suspicion.

So, at the urging of that young minister, he also had another idea.

Rather than waiting for these bandits to come and harass us, we should build a powerful naval force ahead of time to patrol the oceans and deter the world.

As for learning from those Western devils to plunder and occupy territories on the outer continent, Emperor Ningkang had never considered it.

Firstly, it would require too much time, manpower, and resources. Secondly, China is a great and prosperous country with abundant resources. Why would it need to resort to such banditry?

Because of these considerations, he did not want to be associated with the crime of plotting against his father, or being disloyal and unfilial.

That's why he came up with the idea of ​​having the crown prince temporarily take the blame for him.

The crown prince is, after all, just the crown prince; he can make his own decisions.

After this, all that's needed is to ignore the Crown Prince for a few years, wait for everything to settle down, and then have the Crown Prince come out and apologize to him, staging a scene of father and son reconciling. The Crown Prince will naturally still be the same Crown Prince, and for him, there will be no major harm.

As for why the Emperor Emeritus's voice completely disappeared after the Crown Prince's rebellion, the people of the world would not care.

All the retired emperors who died during the Crown Prince's rebellion were either labeled as traitors or "heroically sacrificed" to suppress the rebellion.

Many years later, all the people will remember is that the Crown Prince, due to his youth and ignorance, once raised an army in rebellion, which was only suppressed by His Majesty. His Majesty was benevolent and chose to forgive the Crown Prince, who eventually realized his mistake and returned to the right path.

In a few years, the crown prince will inherit a complete and powerful empire from him.

But all of this planning was abruptly thwarted by this rebellious son at the very first step!

Therefore, he looked at the crown prince with eyes full of disappointment: "You unfilial son, I have asked myself if I have done anything to wrong you, so why is this happening to you?"

"I will tell you why!"

An old voice came from outside.

The infantrymen made way for the retired emperor's throne, which was then pushed out.

Upon seeing the retired emperor, Emperor Ningkang did not react much, but simply bowed slightly to him from his horse.

The Emperor Emeritus looked straight at him and said in his usual admonitory tone, "This morning I told you, what would you do if your own son treated you the way you treat me?"

How does it feel to be betrayed by someone you love most?

Seeing that Emperor Ningkang did not reply, the retired emperor continued, "Now I will answer your previous question."

You harbor disloyal and unfilial intentions, yet you fear being condemned by the world, so you choose to let the Crown Prince bear this infamy.

But have you ever considered that he is the crown prince, and he too is afraid of bearing this infamy?

Or rather, he was afraid that after taking the blame for you, you would discard him like trash!

After all, you, my son, who is strict by nature, have rarely shown much kindness to him, but you are much more affectionate towards your other son.

At that time, how can you, a person who has betrayed his sovereign and father, convince him that you will keep your promise, abandon your other sons, and firmly support a person with a tarnished reputation?

In this situation, if I were to order him to lead troops to protect me and offer him the position he deserves, what would he choose?

The retired emperor spoke with a hint of pride on his face.

In fact, he could see that the Third Prince was just a tool used by Emperor Ningkang to test the Crown Prince.

This is probably something she learned from him.

In fact, it wasn't just these two fathers and sons; throughout history, many emperors have done this to varying degrees after selecting their heirs.

This serves two purposes: firstly, it checks and balances the crown prince, and secondly, it acts as a spur to prevent him from becoming complacent.

However, he could tell that the Crown Prince might not be so sure.

And even if you can tell, so what?

Since ancient times, whetstones have been used to sharpen blades, and how many times have they been used to turn them into sharp blades?

For example, wasn't he using Emperor Ningkang to hone the former crown prince?

Thinking of the deceased former crown prince, and looking at the son he had personally chosen who was now about to turn against him, the retired emperor's pride diminished considerably.

Upon hearing the retired emperor's explanation, Emperor Ningkang outwardly understood, but inwardly he was even more disappointed.

He looked at the Crown Prince and said blankly, "Is this why you betrayed me? You think I prefer your third brother, that I am fickle and will abandon you in the future?"

Now that the retired emperor has already laid everything bare, it's all about ability, and Emperor Ningkang has no intention of making any further attempt to cover things up.

Faced with Emperor Ningkang's questioning, the Crown Prince showed a hint of guilt and hesitation.

As the retired emperor said, he was actually unwilling when he received this earth-shattering order from Emperor Ningkang.

He is the crown prince, the heir apparent of the country. How could he be accused of treason?

Although Emperor Ningkang told him that this was only a temporary measure and that he would be exonerated in the future, he still had doubts.

Since Emperor Ningkang had given him this order, he had no other choice.

Later, the Emperor Emeritus's men contacted him.

Not only did they appeal to his emotions and reason, but they even promised that if he could achieve great things, they would immediately make him emperor!

This is much more sincere than Emperor Ningkang's promise!

The retired emperor ruled the world for fifty years, always considering himself the only one worthy of respect.

Since Emperor Ningkang chose to betray him and even wanted to force his way out of the palace, the retired emperor naturally could not tolerate him.

Apart from Emperor Ningkang, no one in the royal family was more legitimate than him.

Moreover, if he were to help the Emperor Emeritus subdue Emperor Ningkang, it would naturally be a great achievement for the Emperor Emeritus. Furthermore, he was the Emperor Emeritus's own grandson, so the Emperor Emeritus had no reason not to choose him.

Faced with such a great temptation, and thinking about the dark days after taking the blame for Emperor Ningkang, especially with the Third Prince watching him with predatory eyes.

Thinking back on all these years, under Emperor Ningkang's indulgence, the Third Prince's actions towards him naturally fueled his resentment.

Therefore, it would be perfectly logical for him to choose to side with the retired emperor.

With his resolve strengthened, the Crown Prince replied, "Father, let's stop. Apologize to Grandfather, beg for his forgiveness, and stop the soldiers from shedding blood needlessly..."

"Rotten wood cannot be carved!"

Emperor Ningkang, too lazy to listen to the Crown Prince's nonsense any longer, bowed to the Emperor Emeritus and rode away.

His indifference filled the crown prince, who hadn't finished speaking, with immense humiliation. He suddenly mustered his courage and shouted at his father, whom he had never dared to defy: "Father, you dare say you don't favor my third brother? Then why don't you let him bear this eternal infamy for you?!"

In the distance, Emperor Ningkang paused on his horse, but did not turn back. Instead, he spurred his horse and rode away at full speed.

The remaining soldiers of the Imperial Guard and Personal Guard battalions warily watched the opposing infantry and cavalry battalions, quietly retreating into their formation.