side hall
The prince was giving instructions on official documents. The emperor fell ill and fainted yesterday. The feeling of being precarious continued to spread. No one knew how long the emperor could last.
"Hey!" The prince was upset. For some reason, there was a danger that always made him upset. He put down the brush and was about to get up and walk around. A eunuch came in with an urgent military message and kowtowed: "Prince, there is an urgent military message." , King Lu’s rebels were victorious, and Chenzhou was in danger.”
"What?" The prince was shocked and his face turned pale. He did not expect that King Lu would be so fierce and win another state. He held his hands tightly and turned white.
"Quick, get it and show it to me. Chen Zhou gathered the remnants of Uncle Zhongqin's army. How could he be defeated so easily?" The prince showed a hint of ferocity.
"Yes, Prince." The eunuch handed it over in a hurry. The prince only glanced at it briefly and felt a coldness soaking into his skin, and his heart tightened. At this moment, the eunuch hurriedly came over: "Prince, Your Majesty has summoned you." you."
The prince immediately knew that because of Chen Zhou's affairs, he had to get up and go to the palace. After walking a few steps, he suddenly asked: "Where is Pei Ziyun?"
"Last news, the true king is still a hundred miles away from the capital."
"If Pei Ziyun arrives in the capital, report it to Yu Gu immediately."
"Yes!" The prince walked in a hurry along the corridor. The rain was pouring down, hitting the eaves, and he could only hear the "tick-tock" sound.
When he arrived at the palace, the prince slowed down his pace, and a few candles burned brightly.
The emperor lay motionless, listening to the sound of raindrops, panting and coughing from time to time, and his skin became more and more dry. Seeing the prince coming, he waved his hand: "You are here, the unfilial son has won again, right? Which one won this time?" state?"
"Your Majesty, this is Chenzhou. Although the city of Chenzhou has not yet fallen, it has no soldiers or generals. It cannot hold on for long. Several nearby counties have surrendered." The prince blushed and knelt down to complain: "Incompetent, 50,000 soldiers To be defeated in one battle is really incompetent.”
The emperor's eyelids remained motionless, staring blankly at the golden dragon tent without saying a word. He suddenly asked the eunuch: "By the way, I asked Duke Jin, what did he say in reply?"
The emperor asked, his voice was calm, and the calmer it was, the more awe-inspiring the red-dressed eunuch became. The emperor had murderous intentions, and he suddenly broke into a cold sweat. He did not dare to hide it, and said hurriedly: "Your Majesty, I have announced that I am ill and cannot go to war. "
After hesitating for a moment, he continued: "There was a tip just now that Uncle Tai Yuan went to Duke Jin's Mansion. The specific situation has not been reported yet."
There was silence in the room, and the emperor coughed twice.
"Another complaint of illness!" The emperor laughed and looked lifeless. He seemed to have forgotten the matter. He looked at the prince and said, "The eldest princess's little princess is sick. You should go and visit her!"
"Also, Pei Ziyun has just arrived in the capital. I intend to make your brother the commander-in-chief just like last time, and Pei Ziyun will actually be the general. What do you think?"
The prince finally breathed a secret sigh of relief, bowed and replied: "My father's policy is very wise, and I agree with it."
Seeing that the prince was speechless, the prince and a eunuch left. The emperor suddenly turned pale and coughed, feeling very painful. Seeing the emperor in pain, the eunuch quickly took out a crystal bottle from the medicine box.
There was some bright red liquid in the crystal bottle. The eunuch in red helped the emperor up and fed the liquid to the emperor before taking the medicine. The emperor felt more comfortable and gasped softly. He stopped after a while.
The emperor's face turned red. He didn't know whether he was angry or caused by the pain just now. He finally recovered and showed his murderous intent.
"Huang Wuyong!"
"My slave is here."
Listening to the emperor's call, Eunuch Huang responded.
"Help me up." Eunuch Huang helped the emperor up. Although it was difficult, the emperor still said with difficulty: "Immediately convey my decree and send Uncle Taiyuan and Duke Jin to death!"
"emperor?"
Eunuch Huang asked again, this was just Uncle Taiyuan, but Duke Jin was the emperor's cousin. He had grown up with the emperor, and the relationship between emperor and minister had lasted for decades.
The emperor waved his hand feebly: "I have made up my mind to send Uncle Tai Yuan and Duke Jin to death. Go ahead. No need to ask any more questions. I will execute it immediately."
"Yes, Your Majesty." Eunuch Huang turned around and went out without any hesitation this time.
Seeing the eunuch in red go out, the emperor burst into tears and refused to fight. His heart was revealed. For the sake of the imperial court and the country, even his cousin had to be dealt with.
"Li Jin, the prince can't control you. I don't have much time. Let's meet underground." The emperor murmured in a low voice. Time seemed to be in front of his eyes, with children accompanying him, playing playfully, teenagers struggling and fighting side by side. The old king and his ministers were preparing troops on the battlefield, and all the past seemed to be flashing before their eyes.
After thinking about it, the emperor leaned on the bed and gradually fell asleep.
Beijing · half an hour ago
The streets were a little more lively. The news of Chenzhou's defeat had spread. People were rushing to buy firewood, rice, oil and salt on the streets. The price of rice was 50% more expensive. Who would have thought that the imperial army was defeated like a mountain and Jinzhou was lost. Who would have thought that Chenzhou would be lost? It is also at stake.
"Have you heard that King Lu is said to be going straight to the capital to seize the crown prince's position?"
At a tofu nao stall, a vendor lowered his voice and followed several vendors. Hearing this, several people had frightened expressions on their faces.
"I've also heard that some people say that King Lu's army has divine blessing, so it is invincible."
"I've heard about it too." Another vendor whispered, looking around and saying, "Could it be that Prince Lu is the real prince? God won't allow the prince to get the throne."
"Be careful what you say, be careful what you say."
At this time, several riders were running by, and the noise in the originally noisy streets was lowered a lot. One of the riders in the middle looked like a middle-aged man, frowning in thought.
"Uncle Taiyuan, we're here." In front of him was a mansion with the name Duke Jin's Mansion written on it. The middle-aged man dismounted and was immediately invited in to the study.
It was now cold, and all I could hear was the whistling of the wind. When Uncle Taiyuan saw someone, he knelt down and said, "I have seen Duke Jin at last."
"You have already granted the title of Uncle Taiyuan, so you don't need to pay me this courtesy." Duke Jin said.
"The last general is the soldier led by the Duke, how can he forget his origins?" Uncle Tai Yuan said with a smile, then added after hesitating: "My Lord, now King Lu has captured Chenzhou with his own eyes, the sharpness is terrifying. , if it becomes a thing, the imperial court will send generals away, this is my detailed report."
With that said, he handed over the battle report.
Duke Jin reached out to take the battle report, glanced at it, lost consciousness, and sighed: "How many peaceful days have passed, but I didn't expect that the world would be in chaos again."
After the sighs stopped, Duke Jin threw the battle report on the table: "How do you think we should deal with it?"
Uncle Tai Yuan seemed to have expected Duke Jin to ask this question, and said, "Duke, how about you and I each write a word?"
After that, I lit it with tea on the table without using ink: "Heaven"
And when Duke Jin smiled, he also wrote "Emperor"
There are secret rumors in the world that King Lu has been blessed by God and deserves the throne. I don’t know if the rumors are arranged by King Lu secretly. However, with King Lu’s several great victories and the imperial court losing ground, the rumors have a foundation. The two looked at each other, While they were laughing at each other, they saw Duke Jin's expression was calm and he said: "Actually, the emperor just sent someone to ask me if I should be the general. I said I was sick and I was embarrassed by the big task, so I resigned."
"It seems that the Duke of Guo has a plan in mind." Tai Yuanbo's expression relaxed, and he put on a sinister smile and said, "I heard that Pei Ziyun has come to Beijing. There are big changes in this boy. Do you want to take it?"
As he spoke, his words were filled with coldness. If possible, kill Pei Ziyun. Duke Jin listened, hesitated for a moment, and then said: "No need!"
"This man is a Taoist, so let's call him a true king. Not only is he highly skilled in martial arts, but he also has supernatural powers. It's okay if we can really kill him. But if we fail, he will be in serious trouble. Who can help me then?"
"As long as we don't go to war, we can just wait and see. No matter who takes over the world, he will eventually comfort us. If we take refuge now, the risk is too great and the benefit is too small."
When Uncle Tai Yuan heard this, he was startled for a moment, then he smiled after savoring it for a moment: "The Duke is really far-sighted, and the general will be far behind in the end."
At this moment, someone suddenly reported: "Someone from the palace came, and it was Manager Huang, saying he wanted to deliver the order!"
Duke Jin was startled and felt an ominous feeling. He forced a smile and said, "Then set up the incense table immediately."
As soon as they arrived at the courtyard, armored soldiers strode in, their spurs and swords clanging. Uncle Tai Yuan and Lord Jin suddenly turned pale when they saw this formation.
Eunuch Huang came in, his face was livid, there was no smile at all, and his tone was as cold as ice: "The emperor has a decree!"
Duke Jin and Uncle Taiyuan knew something was wrong, so they had to kneel down in the south of the incense table, listening to Eunuch Huang's edict: "Zhi said: Duke Jin and Uncle Taiyuan colluded in despicable ways, greedily soliciting bribes, and all kinds of ugliness are indescribable. I should have clearly stated the official punishment, but as I thought it was still a small amount of merit, I will grant you two to commit suicide. You will be reinstated in the afternoon, and do not wait for the imperial edict. Thank you for this!"
Eunuch Huang read it, and Duke Jin and Duke Jin's eyes went dark for a while. Then someone presented a black wooden plate with two cups filled with wine.
At this time, there were still people in the courtyard, all of whom were scared and pale. When Duke Jin touched his eyes and pricked him with a needle, he woke up. He immediately exchanged expressions with Uncle Tai Yuan and his eyes became fierce.
"You are unwilling to obey the imperial edict?" Eunuch Huang glanced at him, his tone was cold, and he snorted, "Thunder, rain, and dew are all my kindness. As ministers, don't you understand this?"
"Or do you still want to resist?"
"You must know that the emperor's only decree is to kill you. If you resist, you will rebel against the decree. Not only will you commit suicide, but you will also have your family confiscated and exterminated."
"Even if we resist, our family has brought five hundred soldiers. How many soldiers do you have in your family? Can you resist?" When Eunuch Huang said this, his words softened: "You can choose the outcome!"
Duke Jin's face turned pale and he said, "I want to see the emperor!"
"Your Majesty has already made a decree. Don't wait for the imperial edict. There is no need to see you again." Eunuch Huang said coldly.
"Really, this is what happened to me?" Duke Jin glanced at the courtyard, smiled suddenly, took a cup and drank it in one gulp.
Seeing that Duke Jin was drinking but Uncle Taiyuan still refused to commit suicide, Eunuch Huang changed his color, pointed and shouted: "Give him the wine!"
Five or six armored soldiers immediately pounced on him fiercely. Although Tai Yuanbo was a military commander, he faced everyone and within a few strokes, he was pinned down and tied up.
Another person put a wine glass into Uncle Tai Yuan's hand, and couldn't let go. He poured the poisoned wine in. Uncle Tai Yuan struggled desperately, and his whole body was covered with wine juice, so he drank another glass.
The poisoned wine was very powerful, and the two of them rolled on the ground, moaning and struggling at first, but gradually there was no movement. Eunuch Huang looked at the two corpses and said in a loud voice: "Let's do the autopsy!"
(End of chapter)