The sun was shining brightly, and the entire imperial mausoleum was bathed in the baptism of sunlight. The sacrificial platform was even more scorching, and the blood flowing on the sacrificial platform was even more red under the sun.
All the ministers knew that King Huainan was in dire straits, and the silent Black Knife Camp under the sacrificial stage brought a burst of invisible terror to everyone. Everyone knew that now, the Sima family would never let King Huainan go easily.
The battle between the Sima family and the King of Huainan was well known throughout the court. Although many people guessed that the two sides would one day face off to the death, they did not expect that it would happen so suddenly.
Today the King of Huainan suddenly launched an attack. If he succeeds, he will naturally become a powerful minister of the Chu Kingdom. However, the current situation has obviously given the Sima family the biggest excuse.
Ambush an assassin at a sacrificial ceremony, and secretly collude with the military to kill courtiers without the emperor's permission. These are all serious crimes of treason, and they happened in front of hundreds of officials. Even if the King of Huainan speaks like a lotus, he can't reverse it. Qiankun.
Many people even felt that the King of Huainan was too reckless this time. They secretly thought that even if they really wanted to get rid of the Sima clan, they should not be so hasty. Even if they really wanted to take action, they should have a good plan to avoid ending up with all the tricks today. Sima Lan's plan was completely defeated.
Sima Lan was still calm at this time. The thrilling fight that had just occurred on the sacrificial platform did not seem to affect his state of mind at all. He stared at King Huainan and asked, "I don't understand what the prince means."
"You don't understand?" King Huainan smiled disdainfully: "Sima Lan, now that things have happened, I have nothing to say. Yes, I wanted to win over Yulinying to get rid of you, an old thief. You deliberately let me I easily transferred Wu Dalin, isn’t it because I hope that I can take action?”
"Your Highness is saying that I knew you were going to harm me, yet I still helped you?" Sima Lan said lightly, "Is Your Highness confused?"
The King of Huainan smiled and said: "I was really confused before, but now I am very clear-headed. Sima Lan, you want to control the government, but with my presence, you are hindered by everything, so you can't get what you want, so you have been thinking about getting rid of me." Lost. But I am also the flesh and blood of Emperor Taizu, and I am the uncle of the current Great Chu King. Although you want to get rid of me quickly, you can never find a good opportunity. "
Sima Lan sighed lightly and said nothing.
"It's ridiculous that I thought I could eliminate traitors for the country, but all this was planned by you." King Huainan smiled bitterly and said: "Today's situation is all part of your Sima Lan's premeditation. Sima Lan, in the conspiracy Come on Duduan, I admire you very much today." His eyes turned cold and he sneered: "Ajiu, the commander of the guards of my palace, died in the hands of a powerful man from the Mo family. You naturally had a premeditated plan."
Sima Lan said calmly: "Ajiu is a traitor to the Mo family, and the great son of the Mo family is cleaning up the family. The prince should not settle this debt on the head of the old minister."
"Cleaning the house?" King Huainan laughed loudly: "Sima Lan, you were afraid that I would not take action, so you held a banquet that night. The name was to invite the Crown Prince of Dong Qi to the banquet, but the real purpose was to set up a banquet. Trap, kill Ajiu. You know that if you get rid of my king's capable men, you can not only break my arm, but also provoke me to take action as soon as possible, right?"
Qi Ning could clearly hear it from the side, and at this moment, he thought to himself, no wonder Sima Lan, such a scheming person, did not hesitate to openly confront the King of Huainan that night and set up a trap to kill the ghost Ajiu. It turned out that it was just to force him to The King of Huainan took action.
What the King of Huainan said was true. He was a direct descendant of Taizu, and now he was the uncle of the Great King of Chu. Even the former emperor had scruples and did not dare to get rid of the King of Huainan. If the Sima family had not caught the fatal plot against the King of Huainan, they would naturally not be able to do so. Dare to touch Huainan King easily.
But Sima Lan just took advantage of King Huainan's desire to get rid of the Sima family and lured King Huainan into taking the bait. As long as King Huainan took action, he would be in the situation of today's rebellion. He arranged assassins to hook up with the military. King Huainan made a desperate move. Everything is exposed in front of the ministers, and it can be said that success or failure depends on this.
Qi Ning felt a chill running down his spine, secretly thinking that Sima Lan had guessed the Huainan King's thoughts without making a move, and led the Huainan King into the trap step by step. However, the Huainan King didn't wake up until now. The depth of Sima Lan's scheming. , but it makes people feel cold.
Sima Lan sighed softly: "The prince deliberately set a trap to murder the old minister. The old minister was only slightly prepared, but he was treated so badly by the prince. What can the old minister say?"
"Sima Lan, are you on guard?" King Huainan took two steps forward, raised his finger to point to the Black Knife Camp under the sacrificial platform, and said sternly: "In the important place of the imperial mausoleum, without the emperor's will, you actually mobilized troops and horses privately without permission. , and what’s the intention?” Xiang Longtai said: “Your Majesty, don’t you understand the old thief’s heart?”
Longtai just watched everything in front of him quietly without saying a word.
"My lord, please don't forget that before the late emperor passed away, he repeatedly asked the old minister to protect the emperor and assist in the affairs of the court." Sima Lan said slowly: "As the minister of auxiliary affairs, it is the duty of the old minister to assist in the affairs of the court, and it is also his duty to protect the emperor. The duty of a minister. The veteran heard in advance that the prince might plot to usurp the throne during the sacrificial ceremony. Although he did not believe it, he still considered the safety of the emperor and mobilized the Black Knife Battalion, just like before the emperor ascended the throne, in order to ensure peace in the capital. The old minister mobilized the Black Sword Battalion to enter the imperial city according to the late emperor's order." Turning to Longtai, he said respectfully: "My veteran mobilized the Black Sword Battalion to prevent unexpected events, and I also ask the emperor to punish me!"
Longtai's lips moved slightly and finally said: "The old prince is worried about my safety, so naturally I will not blame him."
"Thank you for your consideration, Your Majesty." Sima Lan said gratefully.
After hearing Longtai's words, King Huainan sighed, looked up at the sky, then looked at Longtai coldly, and sneered: "The empire of our ancestors will eventually be destroyed in your hands."
Everyone did not expect that King Huainan would dare to rebuke the emperor, and they were all shocked. However, some people understood that King Huainan obviously knew that there was no chance of survival, so he dared to be so presumptuous.
Sima Lan shook his head and said: "Although the prince is the bloodline of Emperor Taizu, he should not be so rude to the emperor. There are no two days in the sky, and no two masters in man. The emperor is the son of the emperor, and no one can desecrate the majesty of the emperor."
"Majesty?" King Huainan sneered: "A young boy with unclear loyalties and treachery, no distinction between good and evil, what kind of majesty can he have? I can only lament that this king is bent on preserving the country of his ancestors, and he is willing to risk everything, but this yellow-haired boy is afraid The power of your Sima family, the Black Blade Battalion, broke the national law by entering the imperial mausoleum, but they dare not punish you for offending, hahahaha...!"
Longtai remained calm and composed. Although King Huainan rebuked him in public, Longtai's expression did not change and he just said calmly: "Chi Fengdian, please come down, Uncle King Huainan."
Chi Fengdian immediately ordered: "Here comes...!" Before he could finish his words, King Huainan took two steps back and said sternly: "I am a bloodline of Emperor Taizu, who dares to touch me?" His eyes were at this time. Extremely sharp, he glanced around, put his hands behind his back and said proudly: "The winner is the king and the loser is the bandit. This king failed in his attempt to hoe the traitor. This is God's will. But I have the blood of Emperor Taizu flowing in my body. How can I allow you people to be here?" This king is unruly." He glanced out of the corner of his eye, suddenly moved around, and with one step, he picked up a large knife scattered on the ground, reached out to grab it, and put it on his neck with his backhand.
Everyone's expression changed. Longtai couldn't help but take a step forward and said in a voiceless voice: "Uncle Wang...!"
King Huainan stared at Longtai, sighed, and said: "Your Majesty, no one in the world can execute me. My life and death can only be in my own hands."
"Uncle Wang...!" Longtai shouted again.
King Huainan said: "This rape was planned by me alone and has nothing to do with Shaozong. If you think about the blood relationship, don't make things difficult for him." He smiled desolately: "He won't live long, it won't be long. I will also go underground to accompany this king, so as not to make him suffer too much during his lifetime."
The corners of Longtai's eyes flashed, and he finally said: "Uncle Wang, don't worry, I know that this matter has nothing to do with Prince Huainan, and I will not punish him for offending him."
The King of Huainan nodded slightly and said with a smile: "If you can do this, it will not be in vain that I died to protect the Xiao family." With a strong force on his hand, a cold light flashed, blood spattered out, and the sharp blade in his hand was cut off. neck.
Longtai exclaimed in shock: "Uncle Wang...!" He rushed forward a few steps, but still stopped suddenly. The big knife in King Huainan's hand fell to the ground, blood spattered, his hands spread out, and his body fell straight backwards.
King Huainan committed suicide in public, and the officials were shocked.
Sima Lan watched King Huainan fall to the ground, still expressionless, and then sighed and said: "Although the prince has rebelled and rebelled, he is of Taizu's blood after all. I wanted to beg the emperor to spare his life, but I didn't want to...!" "He let out a long sigh, looking extremely emotional.
Longtai quietly looked at the body of King Huainan lying on the ground. After a long time, he finally said: "Chi Fengdian!"
"I'm here!"
"Take Uncle Wang down and make proper arrangements." Long Tai said slowly: "Although he has made a big mistake, he is still of royal blood and no one should be disrespected."
Chi Fengdian bowed and said yes, and immediately had King Huainan's body carefully carried down.
Qi Ning watched the body of King Huainan being carried down with a solemn expression. Qi Ning did not comment on how King Huainan had been in the past, but before he died, he still maintained the pride of his royal bloodline.
However, Su Zhen, Dou Kui and others were already pale and ashen. Among the ministers, the officials who were usually close to the King of Huainan also had cold sweat on their foreheads.
The big tree collapsed, and everyone knew that King Huainan's death was just the beginning. Without King Huainan's restraint, the Sima family would surely lose power from now on, and the next thing the Sima family must do is to clean up the remaining members of King Huainan's party. After all, Su Zhen is one of the four hereditary princes, and he does not have much influence in the court. The Sima family may not move Su Zhen for a while, but Dou Kui, the Minister of Household Affairs, is a die-hard member of the Huainan King. Dou Kui must be the first target to clean up the Wang Yu Party in Huainan.