The emperor's decree to send His Royal Highness the King of Chu as the general to recover Shu was like a blow to the head for His Highness the Crown Prince and His Highness King Dai. The blow was so hard that they were stunned and caught off guard.
Before this incident, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and His Highness King Dai thought that His Royal Highness King Chu was just a pawn to check and balance them and would not pose a fatal threat to them. Besides, the ministers in the court who support His Royal Highness the King of Chu are basically civil servants. Although the emperor married General Lu's daughter to His Royal Highness the King of Chu, General Lu did not have much military power. The most important thing is that His Highness the King of Chu has not made any great contributions to the Zhou Dynasty so far.
However, things are different now. If His Highness the King of Chu succeeds in regaining Shu, this will be a huge achievement. It will not be inferior to His Highness the King's achievement in regaining Liangzhou, and may even exceed it.
Although Liangzhou is larger than Shu, in terms of geographical location and materials, Liangzhou cannot compare with Shu. The most important thing is that the land of Shu has been occupied by the rebellious traitor Han Zhong for decades. The biggest role of regaining the land of Shu is to display the national prestige of the Zhou Dynasty and to deter the rebels who are not willing to die.
Also, both the late emperor and the emperor have always wanted to recover the Shu land, but due to various reasons, they are temporarily unable to recover the Shu land. Now the opportunity has come to finally regain the land of Shu.
The recapture of Shu this time must be successful, which means that the court is fully prepared and will not fail. Besides, Zhang Gong, as the deputy general, would not be able to defeat Shu. In other words, no matter who is the commander-in-chief, he can successfully take back Shu. In other words, this time the emperor sent His Royal Highness the King of Chu to regain Shu, which was equivalent to feeding his military exploits into the mouth of His Highness the King of Chu.
The emperor chases after him for his military exploits, no one would be jealous of him, no one would be envious of him. It is normal for His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and His Highness the Dai Wang to be angry and aggrieved, especially His Highness the Dai Wang.
His Highness Daiwang joined the army at the age of twelve. He fought in countless battles, large and small, and made many military exploits, large and small. Of course, when he first led his troops to fight, the deputy general who assisted him was also experienced in combat and helped him win some battles, but the deputy general who assisted him could not compare with Zhang Gong.
Who is Zhang Gong, one of the four generals? He has been fighting beside the emperor since he was a child. He fought countless battles with the emperor and made countless military exploits. It is no exaggeration to say that the military achievements of the ten kings are not as good as Zhang Gong.
His Highness Dai Wang has always felt that he achieved so many military exploits by himself. The emperor had never favored him in leading troops in war. But now His Royal Highness the King of Chu is going to fight, and the emperor actually sends Zhang Gong to assist him. Why doesn't this make the king jealous?
Through this incident, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and His Highness King Dai finally realized that His Royal Highness the King of Chu was not a pawn to check and balance them, but a wolf who wanted to compete with them for that position.
Because of this incident, the situation in the court changed dramatically.
Originally, there were many ministers supporting His Royal Highness King Chu in the court, but compared with those who supported His Highness the Crown Prince and His Highness the King of Dai, they were still far behind. But now, because of this incident, some ministers in the court who were on the sidelines have defected to His Highness the King of Chu, slowly forming a three-legged situation.
Those who serve as officials in the court are all smart people, especially those who can go to the early court. Each one is smarter than the last. When they saw the emperor's arrangement, they knew that the emperor was more interested in His Royal Highness the King of Chu than they thought. Some ministers speculated that the emperor's real favorite candidate was not His Highness the King of Dai, but His Highness the King of Chu.
Although His Highness the King of Chu has a cold temper and gives people the impression that "no strangers should be allowed in", many ministers in the court still have a good impression of His Highness the King of Chu. Also, before leaving the capital, His Royal Highness the King of Chu never formed any party for personal gain, nor did he win over ministers. He acted very low-key and never made any publicity. This also gave the ministers a very good impression.
When His Royal Highness the King of Chu came of age and was granted the title of Queen, he did not choose to stay in the capital and develop his power, but went to his fiefdom of Liangzhou without any hesitation. After he went to Liangzhou, he devoted himself to building and developing Liangzhou so that the people of Liangzhou could live a good life. As for the ministers in the capital, he still never bribed them as before. He also never cared about the officials who supported him.
To His Highness the King of Chu, it doesn't matter whether the ministers in the capital support him or not, he doesn't care at all. It stands to reason that, like him, the ministers who support him will be disappointed with him and no longer support him. But on the contrary, these ministers were very devoted to him. Even if His Highness King Chu ignores them, they will never leave. Of course, these ministers were all students of Taixue. No matter what their purpose is, it is undeniable that they are loyal to His Highness the King of Chu.
Although His Highness King Dai and his ministers always mocked His Highness King Chu because of this matter, in fact, they were envious and very jealous. Of course, His Highness the Crown Prince is also very jealous.
Some ministers guessed that the person the emperor was interested in was His Highness the King of Chu when the emperor gave Liangzhou as a fiefdom. At that time, they began to fight against His Highness the King of Chu. Sure enough, as they expected, the emperor was going to pave the way for His Royal Highness the King of Chu. The road paved by the Emperor for His Royal Highness the King of Chu this time is really big and wide, and it does not require His Highness the King of Chu to bother.
There were some military attachés in the court who were holding a wait-and-see attitude. When they saw that the emperor had sent His Highness the King of Chu to recover Shu, they no longer hesitated and immediately decided to join His Highness the King of Chu.
Although the situation in the court has initially formed a tripartite confrontation, the power of His Royal Highness King Chu is still lagging behind that of His Highness the Crown Prince and His Highness Dai Wang. However, when His Highness the King of Chu conquers Shu, his power will be able to compete with His Highness the Crown Prince and His Highness King Dai. At that time, the court will become a real three-legged situation.
Because of this incident, the ministers and noble families in the court no longer cared about the death of the two legitimate sons of the Yuan family. This is a good thing for the Jingyang Hou Mansion. If they were kept in the spotlight, they wouldn't be able to avenge the two legitimate sons who lost their lives innocently.
How could the Marquis of Jingyang swallow such a sigh of relief because the hatred of killing his son was irreconcilable. Marquis Jingyang knew that the death of his two legitimate sons was related to King Youxian, but he could not take revenge blatantly because he could not let others know that the Yuan family had colluded with the Huns.
The people in the Jingyang Marquis Mansion had no intention of paying attention to the fact that His Royal Highness the King of Chu was sent by the emperor to recover Shu. They were now thinking about how to avenge the two legitimate sons.
Marquis Jingyang, who fell ill, finally regained some energy in the past two days. He learned that the murderers of his two legitimate sons were all pointed at King Youxian, which was not without suspicion. His first reaction was that someone was framing King Youxian and sowing discord between him and King Youxian. However, these evidences did not directly point to King Youxian, but through layer-by-layer investigation, it was discovered that the culprit was King Youxian's people. The most important thing is that the evidence is not deliberate, and there is a convincing motive behind each clue.
Marquis Jingyang intuitively felt that this matter was not as simple as it seemed, and there must be a bigger conspiracy behind it. One of his retainers directly pointed out that the culprit in this matter was directed at the Jingyang Hou Mansion and King Youxian, and that this person must have a very big grudge against the Jingyang Hou Mansion.
As one of the four major aristocratic families in the capital, it is impossible for the Jingyang Hou Mansion to have no enemies, but these enemies would not dare to kill the two legitimate sons of the Jingyang Hou Mansion. First of all, exclude the other three major aristocratic families. As for some other mid-level aristocratic families, they dare not do this.
The retainer asked Marquis Jingyang to think carefully about who hated their Jingyang Marquis Mansion and were not afraid of their revenge.
Marquis Jingyang didn't think about it at first, but after a while, he thought of a possibility, but he thought it was unlikely.
The guest asked him who he was thinking of, and he hesitated and said, thinking of the Pei family.
If there is one family that hates the Yuan family to the core, it is the Pei family. After all, the Yuan family caused everyone in the Pei family to be executed, but everyone in the Pei family was dead, so there was no way anyone would be alive.
"Master Marquis, maybe not all of the Pei family is dead." The retainer guessed, "Maybe back then, someone in the Pei family slipped through the net. Throughout the ages, in every family that was exterminated or had their entire family executed, there would always be one or two people who were lucky enough to escape. This calamity. And these two people are not important and inconspicuous." In a big family, it is impossible for everyone to be outstanding and attract attention. There will always be a few people who are not only not outstanding, but also have no sense of existence in the family. Only such people can possibly escape the tragic fate of having their entire family executed.
Marquis Jingyang felt that what the retainer said was somewhat reasonable. His face changed drastically and he said: "You mean that someone from the Pei family was lucky enough to escape back then and has been hiding incognito in order to one day take revenge on our Yuan family?"
The doorman nodded and said, "It's very possible."
The Marquis of Jingyang took a breath of air, and then said with a sinister expression: "Yes, only the Pei family has the courage."
The retainer comforted Marquis Jingyang and said, "Master Marquis, what we have to do now is to find the Pei family."
"How to find it in the huge crowd of people?"
The retainer said: "I suspect that Pei's family is in the Huns."
"Hongnu?" Marquis Jingyang was startled at first, but then he thought about it carefully and understood what the retainer meant. He felt that the doorman's guess was correct, "You are right."
"If I guess correctly, the Pei family still has some status in the Xiongnu, and they may have enmity with King You Xian." The retainer said thoughtfully, "The Pei family may be members of King Zuo Xian, or others. A member of the tribe, or a member of King Youxian, he may be deliberately trying to sow discord between King Youxian and the Hou Mansion."
Marquis Jingyang frowned and said, "If this is the case, it will be difficult to find the culprit."
"In fact, it's not difficult to find. As long as you find someone like Zhongyuan, he might be the culprit."
When the Marquis of Jingyang heard this, he smiled bitterly and said: "You don't understand the Xiongnu. In fact, there are many Central Plains people in various tribes of the Xiongnu, and there are also many descendants of the Central Plains and Huns. If the Pei family is really as we guessed, they fled back then. Huns, then it is very likely that they will marry the Huns, and the children they give birth to will not necessarily look like Central Plains people."
The doorman didn't think of this, "I didn't think carefully."
Marquis Jingyang's eyes were stern and his tone was cold: "Even if I have to find a needle in a haystack, I will still find the murderer of Dalang and Erlang."
"Master Hou, where is King Youxian..."
"King Youxian, please don't alert the enemy for the time being..." Marquis Jingyang said this and did not continue, but you could tell what he was planning from his gloomy face.
While he was talking, the butler's panicked voice sounded at the door: "Master Marquis, it's bad, something happened."
Marquis Jingyang is most afraid of hearing the words "something happened". During this period, "these three words" caused him to lose two legitimate sons. His heart suddenly sank, and a flash of panic appeared in his eyes.
"Come in."
The doorman also had an ominous premonition in his heart.
The butler walked in with a horrified look on his face. He didn't even bother to be polite, so he stammered and said: "House, Lord Marquis...Prince Chen, His Highness Prince Chen, he...he..."
Upon hearing that it was His Highness Prince Chen, the panic in Marquis Jingyang's heart instantly amplified. He sat up suddenly, his eyes turning scarlet at some point. He stared at the housekeeper and asked, "What's wrong with His Highness King Chen?"
"His Royal Highness King Chen was assassinated..."
"What, His Royal Highness Prince Chen was assassinated?" Marquis Jingyang almost fell on the bed. Fortunately, he put his hands on the bed in time and stabilized his body. He asked anxiously, "How is His Highness Prince Chen? Is everything okay?"
When the doorman saw the butler's expression of grief and confusion, he knew that His Highness Prince Chen was probably... This made his heart instantly fall into an ice cellar.
"His Royal Highness Chen, he, he...he..."
Seeing the housekeeper stammering for a long time, Marquis Jingyang couldn't help but become anxious. He roared at the butler: "What happened to Your Highness?"
The butler was so yelled that he was shaking all over, and he said tremblingly: "His Royal Highness was assassinated."
Marquis Jingyang suddenly felt his eyes go dark, and then he fell onto the bed, and then lost consciousness.
Before he passed out, he heard the diners shouting "Master Hou!".
The Marquis of Jingyang was not the quickest to receive the news of the assassination of His Royal Highness Prince Chen, but the emperor was the first to receive it. Then, after a while, all the civil and military officials in the dynasty knew about King Chen, and a storm suddenly arose.
Zhao Yao in Xingde Palace also received the news, and he was not surprised at all.
Tongxi looked horrified: "Your Highness, His Highness King Chen is really dead..." His Highness the Eighth Prince actually killed His Highness King Chen!
Zhao Yao sighed softly and said: "It's something that was expected."
"But..." Although he had known that His Highness the Eighth Prince would kill His Highness King Chen, he did not expect that His Highness would actually kill His Highness King Chen, and be very cruel. This... to be honest, he couldn't accept it.
"Your Highness, I heard that His Highness King Chen died tragically..." His Highness the Eighth Prince killed His Highness King Chen. There was no need to be so ruthless.
"Not surprisingly, it was as miserable as the two legitimate sons of the Jingyang Marquis Mansion." He was wrong. Sixth Brother's death was more miserable than the two legitimate sons of the Jingyang Marquis Mansion.
"Why is this happening?" Tongxi didn't understand. His Highness the Eighth Prince wanted to kill someone for revenge, but there was no need to do so cruelly, leaving people dead without leaving their bodies intact. "Your Highness, I think His Highness the Eighth Prince is a little..." He said in a very low voice with fear on his face, "Too cruel."
To be honest, His Highness the Eighth Prince has always been gentle and kind in front of them. Now that he learned that His Highness the Eighth Prince brutally killed His Highness Prince Chen, it was... it was really hard for him to accept that this was the same person.
Zhao Yao sighed softly: "Maybe this is the true face of Bago."
Tong Xi didn't hear Zhao Yao's words clearly and asked hurriedly: "Your Highness, what did you say?"
Zhao Yao raised his eyes to look at Tong Xi and said: "You are wrong, this was not ordered by Bage. Bage is not so vicious. The people under Bage are all from the Southern Wei Dynasty. They hate the Yuan family deeply. They use cruel methods to It’s not surprising that he used such methods to kill Yuan’s family.”
Hearing what Zhao Yao said, Tong Xi had a look of shame on his face.
"Your Highness, this slave is wrong. This slave actually thinks of His Highness the Eighth."
Zhao Yao warned Tong Xi: "You can see how Bago treats me, so don't misunderstand Bago, do you understand?"
Tongxi said obediently: "I understand, I will never dare to do it again."
"And in front of Brother Ba, don't reveal that we know the truth about Brother Six's assassination, do you understand?"
"Your Highness, don't worry. Please don't worry, I will never show my fault." After hearing Zhao Yao's words, Tong Xi's fear of the Eighth Prince immediately dissipated in his heart.
Seeing that there was no fear in Tong Xi's eyes, Zhao Yao felt relieved.
Bago is so smart that if he sees Tongxi being afraid when facing him, he will definitely notice it.
One more update.
Finally, I still ask for a monthly ticket!
(End of chapter)
