Li Jinglong thought, I have lost my title of Duke, and the emperor is sparing my life because of my contribution in reducing the power of the feudal lords.
Anyway, everyone in the court is mocking me as being the spy of the Prince of Yan, otherwise how could I have lost 600,000 troops without a single blow? I might as well just make it a fact that I'm a spy, why should I bear a false reputation
Li Jinglong said, "Okay, I promise you. If the Prince of Yan attacks Beiping, I will open the city gates to welcome him. If he is not destined to be the emperor, then I will pretend that I said nothing."
Li Jinglong had a trick up his sleeve and became a fence-sitter. Ji Gang did not force him to express his position immediately. The fact that they could negotiate meant that Li Jinglong could be won over. Currently, Prince of Yan needed to unite all the forces that could be united to fight against Emperor Jianwen.
Ji Gang applauded: "Duke Cao is such a straightforward person. I will pass your words on to His Royal Highness the Prince of Yan."
Li Jinglong asked: "This is my house, how did you get in?"
Ji Gang chuckled, "Duke Cao is so forgetful that he forgot what I did before. As long as I want, I can enter the palace. So Duke Cao must keep today's events secret. I have spies all over the capital."
Li Jinglong felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up, and asked, "Since Lord Ji can enter and leave the palace as if no one is around, why not—"
Li Jinglong made a gesture of wiping his neck, meaning why not assassinate Emperor Jianwen directly.
Ji Gang said, "There is a two-year-old prince in the palace, and the emperor's two younger brothers outside the palace. Because they wanted to fulfill their filial duties to Empress Dowager Lu, they have never gone to the vassal state. Moreover, there are many vassal kings who have fled here from the capital. They are all old foxes. No matter who comes to power, it will be easier to deal with than the current emperor. A soft persimmon is easier to deal with."
Simply put, no other emperor could have ruined his family as quickly as Emperor Jianwen...
Li Jinglong thought about it and thought, hey, it really makes sense!
Cining Palace.
Hu Shanwei played chess with Empress Dowager Lu.
Empress Dowager Lu planned to wait until Emperor Jianwen put down the rebellion of Prince of Yan before forcing Prince Heng to abdicate. She thought that she would see Prince of Yan's head in three months at most. However, three months passed, and then another three months. From August of the first year of Jianwen to August of the second year of Jianwen, a whole year had passed, and not only did Prince of Yan not die, but he became more and more powerful.
Empress Dowager Lu could no longer sit still. She had originally planned to take advantage of the situation, but now it seemed that her eldest son was too incompetent and might even lose the country. When the Prince of Yan invaded, Prince Heng would have no chance to ascend the throne.
Bang!
A black piece landed on the chessboard, and Empress Dowager Lu said, "We can't wait any longer. If we wait any longer, the emperor will have already taken over the kingdom. What's the point of Prince Heng getting an empty throne? Why not try our best and change the emperor? With me behind the scenes, I will definitely turn the tide and save the Ming Dynasty from the brink of crisis."
Empress Dowager Lu despaired of Emperor Jianwen because she had sent out 600,000 soldiers but failed to destroy a single vassal king.
Empress Dowager Lu felt that even if a woman like her were in charge, the family would not end in complete failure.
Empress Dowager Lu was bold and ruthless, so Hu Shanwei was not surprised that she took the risk today. The empress dowager was able to have her concubine enter the Cining Palace because of her courage to think and act, as well as her formidable ability to act when she said "let's go".
Bang!
Hu Shanwei put down a white piece. Looking at the chessboard, the white pieces were already forming a siege. He said calmly, "No regrets after making this move. Has the Queen Mother thought it through?"
Empress Dowager Lu's eyes turned cold, "Get ready, and start at the family dinner on August 15th for the Mid-Autumn Festival."
A stone finally fell to the ground, Hu Shanwei said: "Okay, I will arrange it right away."
Hu Shanwei had just agreed when Princess Huaiqing entered the palace under the pretext of visiting Empress Ma, who was already seven months pregnant.
Princess Huaiqing gave birth to two sons and is already a grandmother. Her eldest daughter-in-law gave birth to a big fat grandson for her last year, so she is very knowledgeable about parenting.
Because of the successive failures in the Northern Expedition, Empress Ma was worried day and night. She thought that this pregnancy was not going well, so she just responded with a few words and then said she was tired.
Princess Huaiqing hurriedly took her leave. Anyway, she didn't enter the palace for this. When Hu Shanwei heard that Huaiqing had entered the palace, he knew her purpose very well and volunteered to see the princess off.
Princess Huaiqing said to Hu Shanwei: "Prince Yan said that the emperor must be kept alive and the palace must not be in chaos."
Hu Shanwei was speechless. "Didn't we agree before that we would let them commit suicide, killing two birds with one stone?"
Princess Huaiqing said, "No matter who comes to power, it will not be as advantageous as the current emperor. Now the princes from all over the capital have gathered. If the palace gets in chaos, the princes will reap the benefits. But the Prince of Yan is thousands of miles away. Isn't he just making wedding clothes for others?"
Hu Shanwei thought about it and realized that the current chaotic situation in the capital was beyond anyone's expectations. Maintaining the status quo was indeed the safest and most beneficial way for the King of Yan.
Hu Shanwei said, "Okay, but you can't touch the Crown Prince and Empress Ma. Leave them alive. The child is innocent, and Empress Ma is a decent person. She is pregnant, so nothing can happen to her."
Emperor Jianwen could never have expected that Prince of Yan was his guardian angel!
His closest relatives want to kill him, but his biggest enemy wants to protect him. What a magical reality!
Princess Huaiqing said, "Of course, the King of Yan is not a devil. He will definitely do what he promised. Besides, if the King of Yan is as unscrupulous as the little emperor now, then we are following the wrong person. We will not hurt children and pregnant women."
Hu Shanwei felt relieved after receiving the confirmed news, and asked about Mu Chun and A Lei's recent situation.
Princess Huaiqing secretly slipped her a letter through the cover of her sleeve.
In the letter, Mu Chun said that he took Zhu Zhanji, the eldest grandson of the Prince of Yan's Mansion, to Yunnan and finally saw his daughter. Mu Chun used nearly 500 words to write about how cute his daughter was and how much she looked like him, and he lavished words of praise on his daughter like crazy.
The only shortcoming is that his daughter calls her father-in-law "Dad" and him "brother-in-law", and he did not correct her. He said that in these turbulent times, his daughter would be safer this way.
Hu Shanwei was very happy. She couldn't accompany her daughter, so it was good to have Mu Chun around. A Lei was really pitiful. He had both parents, but he acted as if both of them were dead.
Hu Shanwei burned the letter reluctantly. Fortunately, she had a good memory. Before burning it, she memorized every word written by Muchun. She chewed it up in her mouth and savored it slowly, hoping to dream about her daughter in the middle of the night.
Just as Empress Dowager Lu and Prince Heng were sharpening their knives to attack the emperor, Emperor Jianwen's third change of commander finally produced results:
In July, the Southern Army led by Sheng Yong defeated the Yan Army in Jinan, not only protecting Jinan, but also recovering important military locations such as Dezhou. The King of Yan withdrew his troops and returned to Beiping.
How did Sheng Yong defeat the Prince of Yan, protect Jinan, and turn defeat into victory
It's quite magical to say, Sheng Yong did something extremely cool: facing the artillery fire and rounds of attacks from the Yan army, Sheng Yong hung a huge wooden plaque on the city gate with five big characters on it: "The Divine Plaque of Emperor Gao".
The Gaohuangdi is Emperor Gaozu Zhu Yuanzhang.
Prince of Yan Zhu Di would never dare to shout at his father's tablet, "Take out my Portuguese cannon" and fire at his father.
The King of Yan did not expect that he had played tricks for a year and played Li Jinglong in his hands, but retribution came so quickly.
Shuai Shengyong is even more slutty than him. Fight poison with poison, and defeat slut with slut.
The real test for King Yan has just begun as he has met his match.
There was no other way, the King of Yan had to stop firing and withdraw his artillery, making the city of Jinan even more difficult to attack. Sheng Yong also sent General Ping An to cut off the food supply of the Yan army. The Yan army could not fight on an empty stomach, so they had to completely withdraw from Jinan and retreat to Beiping.
When the news came, the court cheered. Emperor Jianwen immediately appointed Sheng Yong as Marquis of Licheng, a hereditary title, and gave him a golden book and iron scroll, asking him to continue his efforts to pacify Yan.
At this time, Hu Shanwei had almost prepared the Hongmen Banquet on August 15th, and asked Empress Dowager Lu, "We have finally won the Northern Expedition. Do you want to cancel the plan?"
Empress Dowager Lu was also a little confused at this time. She felt that God was always against her. Every time she made up her mind, something happened that made her change her plans and delay it again and again.
For example, this time, she was extremely desperate about Emperor Jianwen's ability to govern, but the Northern Expedition Army won a great victory, making it seem that Emperor Jianwen was about to make a comeback.
Empress Dowager Lu held the white pieces and was undecided. Finally, she asked Hu Shanwei, "Hu Shanggong, what do you think?"
The Yan army was defeated, and it was a warm autumn, so the timing and location were not favorable. If the Southern Army attacked Peking at this time, the King of Yan might be defeated.
If there is unrest in the palace during this critical period, the Jianwen Emperor will be distracted and focus on internal affairs, and the pressure on Prince of Yan will be less.
If it were in the past, Hu Shanwei felt that it didn't matter who became the emperor, but now, the eldest grandson of the Prince of Yan, Zhu Zhanji, was in Yunnan and was a playmate of his daughter A Lei. Mu Chun and she were already on the side of the Prince of Yan and it was impossible for them to sit on the fence anymore.
Alas, the rice has been cooked and you have to eat it whether you want to or not.
Hu Shanwei made up his mind and said, "My intention has not changed. Whoever kills Consort Fan will be retaliated with blood."
Hu Shanwei's eyes were firm, which made the wavering Empress Dowager Lu make up her mind. She dropped the chess piece with a snap, "Okay! I believe in Concubine Hu. The plan for August 15th will proceed as usual. Victory or defeat depends on this one move."
Hu Shanwei clapped his hands and praised: "The Queen Mother is decisive in killing and fighting. She is truly a heroine."
Empress Dowager Lu was very pleased to hear this. "I am in the position I am today because of my courage and bravery. I have always believed in my own judgment and have never failed."
What Empress Dowager Lu said was correct, but she did not expect that this time she originally wanted to continue to wait and see, but Hu Shanwei's statement affected her real judgment.
Because the Southern Army had won its first great victory, there was jubilation both inside and outside the court. Emperor Jianwen was in a very good mood, and even Empress Ma was in high spirits. She worked hard to prepare a Mid-Autumn Festival family dinner with a bulging belly. Of course, it was all Hu Shanwei who was in charge, and Empress Ma just asked and decided on the various dishes, songs and dances for the family dinner.
Hu Shanwei looked at Empress Ma's belly and felt a little worried. "The family banquet is outside. It's late at night and the dew is heavy. Your Majesty, please take care of yourself."
Empress Ma touched her big belly and said indifferently, "My belly has been much flatter recently. I haven't been practicing boxing and kicking in it all the time, disturbing me and making me sleep poorly. I feel much better recently and can hold on until the family dinner is over. Besides, I also want to take this opportunity to accompany the Emperor and the Empress Dowager to appreciate the moon. It will be inconvenient for me to go out when I am heavier in the future."
When Empress Ma mentioned fetal movements, it instantly evoked Hu Shanwei's memories. She remembered that when she was pregnant with A'lei, the frequent fetal movements were like thousands of troops and horses, which made her unable to sleep all night, and only stopped when she was about to give birth two months later.
Hu Shanwei couldn't help but say, "At this month, the fetus has grown bigger and stretched the uterus to its limit. There is no room for her to move her fists and feet, so the fetal movements will become less, and the belly will naturally become balanced."
Empress Ma laughed and said, "I didn't expect that Consort Hu actually knows a lot about women's pregnancy."
Hu Shanwei quickly covered it up with a smile, "I have served in the palace for many years and witnessed the birth of many princes and princesses. I have learned a lot from them, so I naturally understand a little bit."
Empress Ma was kind-hearted and quite dependent on Hu Shanwei, so she didn't think too much about it and just laughed it off.
However, Hu Shanwei was secretly worried about Empress Ma as she walked cautiously with her belly in her hands. Tonight's Mid-Autumn Festival banquet was thrilling. Although Empress Ma and the Crown Prince would not be harmed, in Empress Ma's current state, if she was frightened, there was a risk of both deaths.
How to kill the mouse without damaging the jade bottle? Hu Shanwei pondered and came up with a plan.
The author has something to say: All kinds of magical twists, hahaha, I will give out 100 red envelopes tonight, everyone have a happy weekend~
I will be a little fatter tomorrow. Please comment and give me some flowers~