After being shocked, Prince Duan was still confused. Was Lao Jiu's brain filled with water? Or did he become a fool after some accident? Otherwise, how could he do such a brainless thing
It can be said that the sons' reverence for Emperor Xuanren is deeply rooted. Yes, this includes Prince Duan.
Emperor Xuanren was wise and powerful, and he controlled the world. The princes dared to form cliques and the ministers dared to choose the princes to support. However, they never dared to go too far. Even when Prince Heng was the most proud and complacent, he was very restrained and did not dare to kill his brothers even if he framed them.
The most daring moment was probably when Emperor Xuanren was critically ill. He sent people to kill Xiaocao on the way. At that time, it was also to gamble that if Emperor Xuanren died, he would be fine. As a result, his strongest helper completely fell, and other ministers who supported him quickly distanced themselves from him. He was reduced in salary, and the entire palace almost became an empty shell. I don't know how much he restrained himself in his daily behavior. Even though he was unwilling in his heart and still wanted to get up and fight, in fact, he didn't really do anything.
Except for a few who were "natural allies" of the prince, those high-ranking officials who held great power basically did not take sides, because they knew very well that who would inherit the throne was up to Emperor Xuanren and they had no influence. They had already sat in this position and would not seek the merit of following the dragon. What's more, Prince Duan's eyes had recovered now, and if nothing unexpected happened, it was basically a foregone conclusion. Doing anything at this time might be superfluous.
Prince Cheng was jumping up and down, but he kept his tail between his legs because of Ming Zhixin's matter, so, was everything just a disguise
Is that so? How dare he force the emperor to abdicate? Where does he get the courage from
It would be fine if it was just him? But there are two other people involved, this...
There was no specific information in the news received by Prince Duan. After calming down, he thought about it carefully. Sometimes, ambition can probably overcome fear. However, even if one musters up the courage to go all out, some external conditions are definitely needed. Given that his father was under the control of the court, how could he give others the opportunity to abdicate
unless…
What happened during this period of time that pushed them into a desperate situation? They had no choice but to go this far; or some loophole appeared, making them feel they had an opportunity to take advantage of; or else... their father knew something? He set up a trap to lure them in.
The first possibility is relatively small. As for the second possibility... The Imperial City Guard has more than 400,000 soldiers, and half of them are sent to reinforce the Northern Frontier. Xichi is biting like a mad dog. They will definitely send more soldiers. It is impossible that the reinforcements will still be the Imperial City Guard. But even so? There are also the Nine City Military Divisions in the Imperial City? There are also the Imperial Guards? There are also the private guards of the emperor. Is it easy to transfer all of them or overthrow them and force them to the front of Emperor Xuanren? It is definitely not easy.
In Prince Duan's opinion, they brothers definitely don't have this ability.
So the last possibility is that Emperor Xuanren set up a trap...
Prince Duan's heart trembled. When the fifth son (Prince Heng) killed An Guo, it was already a heinous crime. Even so, Emperor Xuanren did not punish him completely. He even retained his dignity as a prince because of "no evidence". Therefore, Emperor Xuanren might have a laissez-faire attitude towards his sons, but he was also very tolerant of them. It was unlikely that he set up a trap to punish his son, unless his son touched his reverse scale and really angered him.
Did his father plan to not let him go back long ago? Or even earlier, before he was sent to the Northern Frontier
Prince Duan lowered his eyebrows and eyes. As a son, what could possibly anger their father? Collaboration with the enemy, treason!
Thinking back to some of the puzzles before, was Lao Jiu related to Xi Chi? Was Xi Chi's madness creating conditions for him? If the speculation was true, when was the relationship established? Undoubtedly, it was when Emperor Xuanren celebrated his 50th birthday.
As for who knows the most about these secret things, it is naturally Wei Tingyu, the commander of Kaiping Guard.
Prince Duan unexpectedly thought of the secret conversation that no one else knew about except his father and Wei Tingyu... Wei Tingyu's attitude towards his not returning to Kaiping was also a matter of course, and also a little unpredictable.
The more he thought about it, the more Prince Duan felt that he had guessed the truth. Even though the incident of forcing the emperor to abdicate had subsided, he still couldn't sit still and wanted to confirm his guess with Wei Tingyu.
Prince Duan came over and told Wei Tingyu the latest news from the imperial city. Wei Tingyu raised an eyebrow, as if a little surprised, but not shocked. It was obvious that he knew what was going on.
"Commander Wei really knows it." Although he had been kept in the dark, Prince Duan did not seem angry when he said this.
Just this title has already mentioned something, after all, Prince Duan used to call him Wei Jianjun.
"I only have some suspicions and guesses. The rest is all due to the emperor's wisdom. I had no prior knowledge of it."
This was acknowledged but not stated explicitly, so whether it was consistent with what Prince Duan was thinking or not, that would depend on Prince Duan himself to judge. After arriving in Northern Frontier, Prince Duan had more contact with Wei Tingyu and knew his character. There were many things he would not easily reveal, so it was not easy to get these words from him.
Therefore, Prince Duan stopped asking questions to avoid annoying others. If he was right, an imperial edict would be sent to him soon to let him return to the imperial city. He just didn't know how much damage this forced abdication would cause. Prince Duan was still a little worried about his wife and children. After all, for other brothers, he was a real stumbling block. If there was a chance, they would definitely want to get rid of him as soon as possible.
Therefore, Prince Duan had a little complaint. Why couldn't the message he sent have a few more words
"Father may let An Guo go back with him."
"No." Wei Tingyu said firmly. The situation is very good for Liucao now. Liucao has no ability to cause trouble in Qichao again. Therefore, Emperor Xuanren will not do anything unnecessary when he knows that Xiaocao will "disobey the order".
Prince Duan nodded and said nothing more. Wei Tingyu's contribution this time was not small, and he would definitely be rewarded after returning.
More than 20 days later, Prince Duan received the imperial edict summoning him back to the imperial city, and he finally knew what the abdication was all about. As expected, he had guessed some of it, and now that the details had been filled in, there was still something he had not guessed at all.
If I really have to sum it up, it's probably dangerous, but the ending is a bit bloody and dramatic.