In the secret tea room of "Wang Jiangnan" teahouse, the eighth prince was playing chess with Kong Yuan.
In the past two years, the Eighth Prince has not only grown a lot taller, but his facial features have also grown a lot, and his appearance has become more and more beautiful. However, his brows were full of heroic spirit and no longer as feminine as before. At least he won't be mistaken for a girl now.
"Your Highness, now that Concubine Ying has been promoted to Concubine Ying, why don't you get rid of Concubine Rong?" Kong Yuan has always hated His Highness the King for killing his sister, and has always wanted to avenge his sister.
"Concubine Rong cannot die now. Once she dies, the acting king will not be able to do anything." The eighth prince said, dropping the black piece in his hand, "Nothing can happen to the acting king now." Before he comes of age, the acting king must be well.
Kong Yuan remained silent.
The Eighth Prince raised his eyes to look at the silent Kong Yuan, and comforted him gently: "I know you want to avenge your sister, but now is not the time."
He added: "A little impatience will ruin your big plans. You have to be patient."
"Your Highness, how long do you have to wait?" Kong Yuan was filled with anger when he thought of his beloved sister being forced to commit suicide.
"We can't wait a few years." The Eighth Prince played with the chess pieces in his hands and said in a meaningful tone, "When Zhao Yun is crowned king, this chess game will be fun."
"Then I'll wait a few more years." Although Kong Yuan was eager to avenge his sister, he also knew that this matter could not be rushed.
"By the way, the birthday of your ancestor of the Kong family is just over a month away. If I remember correctly, it will be his 100th birthday."
"Your Highness, you remember correctly, it is our ancestor's 100th birthday." Kong Yuan knew the eighth prince's temperament to some extent, and knew that he would not mention the birthday of their ancestor of the Kong family for no reason, "Your Highness, you Why are you bringing this up?"
The Eighth Prince did not answer Kong Yuan's question, but asked: "How do you plan to pay tribute? Is it the same as usual?"
"Yes, Your Highness, you are..."
The Eighth Prince did not show off and let Kong Yuan guess his thoughts. Sometimes, the subordinates need to guess their thoughts. Sometimes, there is no need to let your subordinates guess their thoughts.
"This ancestor of yours sacrificed himself in order to protect the hopes and seeds of scholars. He is deeply respected by scholars all over the world. On his 100th birthday, won't you make a big deal for him?" The Eighth Prince took a deep look. Kong Yuan.
Kong Yuan instantly understood what the eighth prince meant: "Your Highness, do you want us, the Kong family, to celebrate the birthday of our ancestors in a lively manner?"
"right."
"Your Highness, we do this every year." Kong Yuan asked with some confusion, "What else should we do?"
"I will report to my father and ask him to issue an edict that His Highness the Crown Prince will pay my respects."
"Your Highness the Crown Prince is paying homage?" Kong Yuan was shocked, "How can this be done?"
"There is nothing that cannot be done..." the eighth prince whispered to Kong Yuan.
After Kong Yuan heard this, he looked at the eighth prince with admiration in his eyes.
"Your Highness is wise."
"By the way, how is Li Chuan?" Li Chuan was once the right-hand man around Dai Wang. He was reported for going to a brothel to have fun during the death anniversary of the late empress, and was later demoted. King Dai allowed Li Chuan to return to his fief.
"Li Chuan said there is nothing abnormal in Jizhou."
The Eighth Prince nodded lightly and said nothing more about Li Chuan.
After Li Chuan returned to Jizhou, he was ridiculed, made things difficult, and ostracized by the soldiers. He broke bottles, drank and made trouble all day long, and was finally kicked out of the military camp and became a commoner.
When he was a general, he was very arrogant. Also, he has an old habit. After drinking too much, he likes to insult and whip the soldiers, which makes the soldiers hate him very much.
Seeing him in trouble, how could the soldiers not take revenge.
He was beaten until he could breathe, and it was the Eighth Prince who sent someone to rescue him.
Li Chuan took a trip to the Gate of Hell and deeply realized the harshness of the world. He decided to survive at all costs and avenge himself.
He obeyed the arrangements of the Eighth Prince, and ostensibly took refuge in His Highness the Crown Prince, gaining His Highness's trust. In fact, he was the Eighth Prince's man.
After Li Chuan recovered, he changed his mind and went to find Qian Songtao and others.
When Qian Songtao and the others saw that Li Chuan's prodigal son had turned back, they were naturally willing to help him. After all, they were once good brothers and close friends of life and death.
With the help of Qian Songtao and others, Li Chuan returned to the military camp. He changed his previous temper and did not care about the soldiers who sought revenge from him before.
Li Chuan himself was very capable, but this time he changed his ways and quickly regained his previous prestige in the army. Although he is only a sixth-grade general now.
In the past two years, Li Chuan has been secretly communicating with the Eighth Prince and the others, reporting to him the situation in Jizhou. Also, he followed the orders of the Eighth Prince and made good friends with the soldiers in Jizhou, often inviting them to drinks and meals.
The king was very happy that Li Chuan had changed his mind and became his confidant again. However, he didn't know that Li Chuan had already told the Eighth Prince about the situation in Jizhou, including Jizhou's defense plan.
His fiefdom of Jizhou has long been under the control of the Eighth Prince.
"Your Highness, with all due respect, King Dai and Marquis Xuanping are no match for the Crown Prince and Duke Zhen." Kong Yuan said.
"The Duke of Zhenguo is cunning and cunning, and few people are his opponents." The Eighth Prince sneered, "Not even ten Xuanping Hous are his opponents."
"Your Highness, did the Emperor realize that Marquis Xuanping and King Dai were no match for Duke Zhen Guo, so he arranged for the fourth prince to come forward?"
"That's right." The Eighth Prince frowned slightly, his face a little cold, "The Duke of Zhen is not that easy to deal with."
"Your Highness, will the fourth prince and the Li family be the opponents of Duke Zhen again?"
"Li Pushe is no match for Duke Zhen." The Eighth Prince said with a profound look on his face, "It's hard to say about Zhao Yun."
"I see that the emperor has no intention of touching the Zhenguo Palace for the time being, but he has begun to deal with the Wang family."
"The Duke's Mansion cannot be easily moved. Father should be the last to take action." The Eighth Prince squinted at the chess game in front of him, raised his lips and said with a faint smile, "Father has started to attack the Wang family, but it is only a small fight. Noisy."
Kong Yuan looked shocked: "Why don't you make a big fuss?"
He asked again: "Why not do it like those aristocratic families in Yangzhou?"
"Because I'm afraid of alerting the enemy." The eighth prince said in a deep tone, "The people in Yangzhou are not as good as the wealthy families in the capital. Although the Xie family, Wang family, Xun family, and Yuan family are at odds with each other because of their own interests, once the Wang family If something goes wrong, the Xun family and the Yuan family will unite."
He continued: "The combined power of these powerful families cannot be underestimated, so we can only eliminate them one by one to prevent them from uniting."
"I see." Kong Yuan said, "Thank you for your teaching, Your Highness. I have learned from it."
"Father seems to have other plans."
"What are the emperor's plans?"
"My father knew in his heart that we couldn't get rid of the powerful families in the capital just like we did with the families in Yangzhou. Furthermore, the fate of the wealthy families in Yangzhou also made the wealthy families in the capital vigilant." The eighth prince tapped his fingers on the chessboard. , "What do you think my father is planning?"
Kong Yuan thought for a while and said, "I can't think of it."
"I always feel that my father is holding back his ultimate move." The eighth prince learned the term "holding back his ultimate move" from Zhao Yao. "Besides, I feel that Father is about to take action."
"Your Highness, no matter what the emperor does, it has nothing to do with us." Kong Yuan also couldn't stand those aristocratic families.
"We can make this water more muddy." The Eighth Prince sounded very concerned that the world would not be in chaos. "However, for now we can only wait and see what happens."
"Your Highness, when will the report of the prince's men accepting bribes, seizing fields, and robbing civilian girls be reported?"
The Eighth Prince thought for a moment and said, "I will reveal it to the people who act for the king tomorrow."
"Yes, Your Highness."
"These people are not a pain in the ass to the Crown Prince and Duke Zhen." The Eighth Prince added, "In two days, we will reveal to the Crown Prince's people the fact that the people acting for the King have committed corruption and violated the law, and let them know that dog eats dog."
"Your Highness is wise." Kong Yuan thought of the fourth prince and hesitated before speaking, "Your Highness, where is the fourth prince?"
"Don't worry about the Fourth Brother for the time being." The Eighth Prince said, and suddenly chuckled, "I hope that the Fourth Brother will develop his power as soon as possible. Unfortunately, with the temperament of the Fourth Brother, he will not be so anxious to expand his power."
"Your Highness, please tell me frankly, the Fourth Prince will be your biggest enemy in the future." Kong Yuan advised, "If you can't get rid of the Fourth Prince before he matures, it will not be so easy for you to get rid of him in the future. "
"I know, but the fourth child can't move now." The eighth prince's eyes flashed with a hint of darkness, "I can't be exposed until I become an adult and become a king and go to the fiefdom."
"Your Highness is thinking about this."
"However, with a strong enemy like the Fourth, the days in the future will not be so boring." The Eighth Prince smiled vaguely, "If I am the only one left in the future, it will be too boring."
"With His Highness's wisdom, the Fourth Prince will not be your opponent."
The eighth prince smiled meaningfully, and immediately stopped talking about the fourth prince and talked about Annan Kingdom.
Because Yan Huarong was stationed in southern Xinjiang, their actions in Annan Kingdom should not be too big. Of course, in addition to the Eighth Prince and his people, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and His Royal Highness the King were also cautious.
At this time, Yu Hai walked in. He bowed to the eighth prince first, and then handed the letter in his hand to the eighth prince.
The eighth prince dropped the chess piece in his hand and took the letter from Yu Hai. After reading the letter, a pleasant smile appeared on his face.
"As expected."
Seeing the smile on the Eighth Prince's face, Kong Yuan asked curiously: "Your Highness, what good thing happened?"
The Eighth Prince handed the letter in his hand to Kong Yuan and said with a smile: "Take a look."
Kong Yuan took the letter and read it carefully, and immediately his face showed joy.
"Your Highness, you are indeed right. This Xie Zhenxi General is indeed worthy of his name."
"What's funny is that Lord Zhenguo and the others don't know about it and are still proud of it." The Eighth Prince laughed, "My father's move is really powerful."
"The Duke of Zhenguo wanted military power, and the emperor granted it to them." Kong Yuan said, "I'm afraid that Duke Zhenguo thought that the Xie family had completely controlled the 100,000 soldiers in the northwest."
"The Duke of Zhen Guo knew that his father had bad intentions, but he was willing to be fooled." The eighth prince said with a mocking smile, "The Duke of Zhen Guo thought he was smarter than his father, but it's a pity that he was misled by his cleverness."
Kong Yuan suddenly remembered something and forgot to tell the eighth prince: "Your Highness, in the past two days, I have inquired about some things about the Southern Wei Dynasty."
When the Eighth Prince heard the word "Southern Wei", his eyes suddenly lit up. There was a hint of excitement on his face: "What did you find out?"
Kong Yuan said: "There are still people alive in Southern Wei."
"Really?" The Eighth Prince's reaction suddenly became very violent, "Where are they now?"
"I heard that he fled to Piao State and Funan."
"Do you know who he is?" After so many years, there is finally news about Southern Wei.
Kong Yuan shook his head slightly and said, "I don't know."
"Go and check, send someone to check." Before her death, his mother-in-law once told him something, asking him to find the people from the Southern Wei Dynasty.
Kong Yuan frowned slightly and said with disapproval: "Your Highness, I advise you not to investigate the Southern Wei Dynasty anymore. Once the emperor knows that you are secretly investigating the Southern Wei Dynasty, you will be finished."
"There are some things that need to be clarified, so we must find people from the Southern Wei Dynasty." Before his death, his mother-in-law told him that the Southern Wei Dynasty had a batch of secret treasures, and among these secret treasures was the long-lost jade seal.
I'm stuck. It took me a whole day to write this chapter.
(End of chapter)
