The news of King Yi's entry into the capital was like a gust of wind, blowing through all the prefectures and counties he passed through, and reached the capital unimpeded. None of the forces in the court expected that a commoner vassal king who usually only knew how to enjoy himself would resolutely participate in the competition for the reserve position at this moment, disrupting the already laid out chessboard. Like a hidden arrow flying out of the dark trees.
In the entire capital, only the emperor lived deep within the Nine Layers and was completely unaware of the rumors from the outside world. And none of the courtiers dared to report it, mainly because of the face of one person - that is, the then King Xu and the current Crown Prince.
"Lan Shidu, do you want to hand over this memorial written by Ye Yongjia, or not?"
The prince sat under the flickering candle and pushed the memorial to Lan Yuan opposite.
Lan Yuan took a long breath: "Looking at it now, it's better to hand it over first. Although we can delay it for a few days and take the initiative, once King Yi enters the capital, the situation will definitely change. If we leave one or two clues, it will be more gain than loss. It’s better to inform the emperor as early as possible, so as not to arouse suspicion, let the foreign ministers of the Chen party fight over this matter. They are not afraid, so don’t get involved. By the way, let’s also report the matter of King Yi.”
The prince grimaced, pondered for a while, and stood up holding the chair: "The emperor doesn't like my son at all. He would rather listen to Ye Yongjia, who is neither a relative nor an acquaintance, than believe what I say from the bottom of my heart... not to mention this King Yi. Or is it his biological son who, after seeing that guy, is not allowed to chop off my head and feed it to the fish?"
"It's hateful for King Yi to say that he usually pretends to be open-minded and heroic. Isn't he just greedy and only looking at my position? I can see it really clearly. How come the people in the world can't notice it! For this trivial matter, all places The officials are like meeting a saint, and they take this as good news and send it to the capital every day!" After that, he threw the memorial angrily.
"There are too many shameless scholars nowadays. If King Yi can win over them, won't he be able to deceive the world? Because of his great power, we cannot confront each other head-on and must avoid their sharp edges." Lan Yuan hurriedly admonished.
"No!" The prince, who had always obeyed Lan Yuan's words, actually had his own opinion, "Father has always wanted to find an opportunity to destroy me. If I just let him do it honestly, wouldn't it be luring the wolf into the house? I have made up my mind and must stop him. Outside the city gate! Lan Shidu, please think of another perfect strategy!"
Lan Yuan became nervous: "Your Highness, this time King Yi and Ye Thief are working together inside and outside, and they are even more powerful than before. It is very different from the past. If you hide it from the king and block it privately, I am afraid it will shake your position as the crown prince! Let Chen Tong It’s safest for them to take care of the overall situation!”
The prince suddenly became angry and said: "There is Chen Tongpao on the left and Chen Tongpao on the right. Everything is thrown to Chen Dang. Why, I am the prince of the supervisory country, and I still rely on my ministers to support us. How unbecoming is this! The king will make a desperate move and fight to the death with him. If he retreats, I will just give up the throne. What is there to be afraid of? Lan Shidu, please think of an idea quickly!"
Lan Yuan knew how to persuade him not to move, so he said "yes" repeatedly. After calming down his anger, he racked his brains to think of countermeasures. He tilted his head and held his forehead for a while, clenched his chin for a while, and knocked on the table for a while, his posture never settling down. Suddenly at a certain moment, he had a flash of inspiration and looked at the prince: "The villain has come up with a plan. When King Yi comes here, he must stop at the North Post of the capital. If he can take advantage of this opportunity to make a secret trip, he may get it. It works.”
"What kind of stumbling blocks can be put in place for him?" The prince was quite curious, and put his ear close to him. After hearing his secret words, he suddenly became enlightened and laughed: "Lan Shidu is indeed worthy of being the mastermind! If you need to adjust When dispatching generals, there is only one person you can trust, Cun Zhao, so you first send someone secretly to tell him."
Lan Yuan shook his head repeatedly and said: "It's inappropriate. Cun Zhao is still guilty. If he is allowed to lead troops out of Beijing alone, no one will agree, not to mention the emperor's suspicious character. Let Shi Xiu Shen be your companion. It just makes sense to go together.”
"Shi Xiushen?" The prince frowned, "Although this person is independent of the court and has never participated in party struggles, after all, he was friendly with Ye Yongjia and went there together, so there will be no inconvenience."
Lan Yuan smiled and said: "Your Highness, you may be worried, but this person is very honest and loyal to the country. Why should he deliberately mess up your plan? Except for those traitorous ministers with evil intentions, no one wants to make the imperial court uneasy and make themselves miserable." I am in constant panic all day long.”
The prince reluctantly accepted his persuasion, and the two made careful plans before leaving.
The prince held the stack of memorials and entered the palace to meet the emperor. He said nothing about King Yi's future affairs. He only praised Ye Yongjia with a few good words against his will, and then said, "If you want to restart the New Deal and regain Xuanhua in one fell swoop, you must first Tempering the army and horses; the forbidden army has not fought for many days, and its force has been weakened. Please order Cun Zhao and Shi Xiushen to lead the troops north to inspect the border mountains and rivers to find out the true situation of the captives, so as to increase the power of the army. '
The emperor did not smell the conspiracy this time and just regarded it as a normal arrangement. He readily agreed to the prince's proposal and immediately ordered his eunuchs to draft an imperial edict and deliver it to the two eunuchs.
How dare the Second Sijun dare to neglect, he hurriedly ordered his troops and horses, received the imperial edict and set off. Cunzhao also took the opportunity to meet with the prince. The prince invited him to have a confidential talk and told him the whole story of the plan. He also warned him, "When you treat King Yi, you must follow his temperament and not be negligent in the slightest." Pat him on the shoulder and let him go.
When King Yi arrived at Jingbei Station, it was already the evening of the next day. There is an open and flat road in front of the post station. When the postman opens the door, he can see King Yi's huge team from a distance. Each soldier holds a torch, shining brightly on all sides, like daylight, reflecting the A big red flag from the palace, with a big word '濇' written on it, was flying in the air.
"Xu..."
Many tall horses stopped not far in front of the inn. A dozen guards jumped off their horses and made a "please" gesture behind them; the team spread out to both sides, and a man riding a black horse walked out of the middle. The general came - it was King Yi.
King Yi slowly pulled the horse, smiled and touched its dark neck, then got off the horse and bowed to the postman: "I am King Yi. Please take us in and feed the horse." Loading fodder, the soldiers have been traveling all day and need to take a rest."
"Hey, Prince Yi is finally here!"
The veteran at the inn was about to reply when he suddenly heard a hearty laugh behind him, and Shi Xiushen and Cun Zhao came out to greet him.
"Who are you two?"
"This is Mr. Xiu Shen, Si Jin Shi," Cun Zhao introduced. "I am Cun Zhao, the nephew of the emperor, and my official position is the same as his. We are here to receive the prince on the order of the emperor!"
