The Wife is First - 105 Chapter 104 Edict

Jingchen rarely reprimanded Jing Shao for his reckless words, but remained silent for a long time. If the imperial edict was not issued by Emperor Hongzheng, then the four princes usurped the throne, and their princes who were away from home should return to Qingjun’s side; if the imperial edict was true, and if Emperor Hongzheng was really suspicious of him this time, then returning to the capital alone would be a dead end.

Mu Hanzhang looked at Jing Shao and sighed softly: “The matter has come to this, and the only way to find a chance of survival is to give it a try.”

With Prince Rui’s qualifications, he was naturally the best choice for the crown prince. I originally thought that as long as they acted cautiously and kept a low profile, Emperor Hongzheng would naturally ascend the throne in a hundred years. However, they did not expect that such a misfortune would occur. However, since ancient times, the royal succession has rarely been smooth sailing. Aren’t all the preparations they had made to prepare for this day?

Jing Shao understood the meaning in his eyes, held the slender hand, and looked at his brother who was as calm as a mountain again. This time, he had the military power and could protect these two people.

“Go back,” Jingchen finally spoke, his voice calm and reassuring to hear, “I’d rather be broken than broken!”

Without further ado, Jing Shao left 30,000 of the 80,000 troops south of the Yangtze River, and the remaining 50,000 plus his own 5,000 personal soldiers to personally escort his brother back to Beijing. Gu Huaiqing also wanted to follow, but was unanimously rejected by the other three. Emperor Hongzheng was now very suspicious. If he saw King Huainan, Jingchen would have no choice but to force the palace to seize the throne.

The Huainan fiefdom has a unique location. Taking it as a starting point, one can directly attack Huanglong. There is basically no natural danger for the army to capture the capital.

Jing Shao never understood why Taizu would hand over such a dangerous fiefdom to the ancestor of the King of Huainan, but no matter why, the “flaw” left by Taizu now greatly benefited him.

As they expected, people kept intercepting and killing people along the way, but that small group of soldiers was not worth mentioning in front of the large army. For eight hundred miles, there was a flat plain, and the king became as powerful as a broken bamboo. When the people in the capital heard this, their expressions changed, and the eldest prince led his troops to stop King Cheng’s army.

“How many troops does the eldest prince have?” Jingchen sat on the carriage and asked Mu Hanzhang who had just entered.

“Less than thirty thousand.” Mu Hanzhang, who was used to seeing Jing Shao fight, was not too worried.

Jingchen put down the book in his hand, pondered for a moment, and nodded slightly.

“Brother, what did you see?” Mu Hanzhang couldn’t help but ask when he saw him thinking deeply.

“If the army in the Central Plains is mobilized by the emperor, it can mobilize at least 80,000 troops.” Jingchen understood instantly when he saw him, with a look of satisfaction in his eyes, and said a few more words about Dachen’s troop distribution and deployment.

On the road these days, Mu Hanzhang spent most of the time riding in a carriage with Jingchen. Both of them were people of few words, but their occasional conversations could benefit each other a lot, especially Mu Hanzhang, who had a lot of knowledge about the emperor’s mind. Only after gaining a deeper understanding did he realize that what Jingchen had learned since he was a child was really the way to be a king.

“Jing Shao is good at fighting, but he never knows how to deal with other things. Since you have decided to spend this life with him, you should always be more considerate.” Jing Chen looked at his brother’s figure in the distance and said reproachful words in a tone of voice. It is full of protection.

“Brother, don’t worry, my brother will not bully him.” He has become very close to this brother these days, and Mu Hanzhang couldn’t help but make fun of him.

Jingchen glanced at him and slowly showed a faint smile.

“Hey~” A horse neighed, and Jing Shao shouted noisily outside the carriage: “Brother, Jun Qing, come and see what I caught!”

When the two people heard the sound and stepped out of the carriage, they saw Jing Shao standing outside the carriage. At his feet was a man tied into a rice dumpling with hemp rope. He was glaring at them with sinister eyes. He was not the eldest prince Jing Rong!

“Brother Imperial, is your father poisoned?” Jingchen said quietly, looking at the people on the ground quietly.

“Hmph, if you commit trouble, you will die a good death!” The eldest prince sneered, without denying it, his eyes full of resentment and madness.

Jingchen closed his eyes and took a deep breath: “Killing the king and killing the father, you are so crazy!”

“You are really good at throwing dirty water. Everyone knows that you can’t wait to ascend the throne. Besides killing your father, do you also want to kill your brother?” The eldest prince struggled and was about to rush towards Jingchen, but was stopped by Jing Shao. Kicked down.

“It just so happened that Jing Yu gave me a prison car. Please give it to the emperor brother now.” Jing Shao picked up the people on the ground and threw them to Zhao Meng. He pointed to the prison car not far away. It was the person who had announced the decree. The one that came.

Zhao Meng was unequivocal. He lifted Jing Rong onto his shoulder with one hand and strode towards the prison car.

“There are only these two carriages in the army. Prince Rui and the Marquis want to share one, and give one to His Highness. Our prince is really kind-hearted.” The right guard followed and joined in the fun, looking at the eldest prince’s gesture. I couldn’t help but add a few words to my face, as if I was about to pounce and bite someone.

“Hao Dadao isn’t here, so you’ve been rude again.” Zhao Meng threw the person into the prison car and closed the door with a clang. Among them, Hao Dadao was the most upright. Usually when the right guard was talking, he would inevitably be lectured.

Zuo Hujun stood silently watching the two bickering, then stepped forward to lock the big lock of the prison car.

If Jing Shao and the others make a mistake in their bet this time, they will commit rebellion and the generals following him will have no chance of survival. Therefore, even though Hao Dadao is a hundred times unwilling, Jing Shao will still stay in Jiangnan to guard it. If they fail then, It won’t be too deeply implicated. But Zhao Meng and the left and right guards will follow him no matter what. After all, they are the king’s personal soldiers from beginning to end, and they are inseparable after all, and they must be loyal to the end.

Jingchen glanced at the noisy generals, turned around and got on the carriage again. The journey was long, the situation was critical, and there was not much time for them to waste.

“How dare you become a king and lead an army back to the capital!” A hundred miles outside the capital, Duke Mao’s military power lies.

Jing Shao glanced at Mao Guo Gong. He had the highest title among the princes, so his military power was closest to the imperial city. It was indeed a wise move to choose to marry his family, but… look at Mao Guo Gong’s shortcomings. Thousands of soldiers and horses are really not enough to see.

“When I heard that someone was causing trouble, I should return to the capital to clear out the traitors for my father.” Jing Shao pointed his silver gun at Duke Mao’s nose and said confidently.

“Hmph, you two brothers are seeking power and usurping the throne. The Emperor already knows about it. I advise you to abandon your armor and surrender immediately, and return to the palace with the old minister to apologize. Your Majesty is so benevolent that I may even spare your lives.” Duke Mao Guo looked confident. .

“When the army returns to the capital, my father must know something about it. Duke Mao Guo might as well take out my father’s handwriting, and my two brothers will be captured without any help.” Jingchen stood on the carriage and looked at Duke Mao coldly.

“Be careful!” Mu Hanzhang heard the sound of breaking wind and pushed Jingchen away. Jingchen reacted immediately and grabbed Mu Hanzhang who had not hurriedly avoided. The two of them rolled to the ground. The arrow hit the spot where he was just standing.

“Well…” Mu Hanzhang got up. His shiny palm was scratched by a stone on the ground, and blood overflowed, quickly dyeing his snow-colored sleeves red.

“Jun Qing!” Jing Shao turned around and saw that his princess was injured, and was immediately furious. When he turned back, Mao Guogong had already led his troops to kill her.

Jing Shao leaned up to avoid Mao Guogong’s chop, turned around and threw the spear at him fiercely. Mao Guogong immediately hit back and blocked the silver spear with the back of his sword. The cavalry behind him also rushed forward, and the sound of slashing was loud. ring.

The guards on the left and right did not step forward to fight, but stood firmly on both sides of the carriage, killing all the cavalry that rushed over.

Jingchen pulled his brother-in-law to get up, and Mo Yun’s Eighteen Cavalry quickly stepped forward to surround the two of them. Together with the cavalry guarding the army on the left and right, they formed an impenetrable barrier. 6̳̳

Duke Mao Guo also fought for many years when he was young, and his martial arts skills were not comparable to those of the eldest prince who neglected to practice. It was not easy for Jing Shao to accept the offer.

The broadsword with Qinglongwen coiled around it is as flexible as a right arm, and it seems to have a huge force between slashing and slashing. Jing Shao used the barrel of his gun to execute several moves, and was shocked to the point where his jaw went numb. The gleaming blade scraped across the silver gun, making a harsh sound. Jing Shao immediately turned the silver gun over and jammed the blade with the tip of the gun, allowing him to breathe for a moment.

“Does the prince really think that he is the number one general in Dachen?” Mao Guogong looked at Jing Shao with disdain. In the eyes of these veterans, King Cheng repeatedly led troops just because his ministers did not dare to take credit, so they all blamed him. Only one person can appear to be so powerful, but in fact, when he meets a real master, he will only get beaten.

Jing Shao looked at Duke Mao coldly, seemingly exhausted, and the hand holding the silver spear was trembling slightly. Duke Mao Guo’s eyes became more lustful, and he became more and more oppressed. As he watched the silver gun being bent, the blade was about to touch Jing Shao’s neck, when he suddenly heard a “swipe” sound, followed by the sound of blood spurting out.

Duke Mao Guo was stunned for a moment, then slowly lowered his head and looked at his waist and abdomen that had been cut open by a sharp sword. He was unable to react for a moment.

Jing Shao held the gun with one hand and slapped it sideways. Duke Mao fell off his horse and his sword fell to the ground, which was completely covered up by the sounds of fighting around him. With his left hand, he shook off the blood beads on the long sword and put it into the scabbard. The old man wore armor from head to toe, even protecting his neck. It took him a long time to see that there was a piece of cloth connected to the waist. gap.

“Duke Mao has been executed. You must put down your weapons as soon as possible, otherwise you will be punished for treason!” Jing Shao’s voice with inner strength spread in all directions. Duke Mao’s soldiers were in disarray, while King Cheng’s side had great morale. Vibrate.

The war stopped after a short time. Jing Shao quickly rushed to the carriage, squeezed out Mo Yun’s eighteen riders, and hugged his princess over: “Where is the injury? Let me see.”

“It doesn’t matter, it’s just a scratch.” Mu Hanzhang raised his wrapped left hand to show him, “The purpose of Mao Guogong is to kill my brother, which is definitely not what my father meant.”

“The injury is so deep, no, you have to use that medicine, otherwise it will leave a scar.” Jing Shao didn’t listen at all, and skillfully removed the bandage and applied the medicine again.

Jingchen silently glanced at his younger brother who “forgot his brother after having a wife”, then turned to Mo Yun and asked Mo Yun: “What did your father give you before leaving the imperial city?”

Eighteen big men in black looked at each other, and one of them replied: “Back to King Rui, the emperor only said that we should protect His Highness, and nothing else.”

“The imperial decree says that this king is plotting rebellion, do you still want to protect me?” Jingchen looked at the speaker seriously. He had never questioned these eighteen people along the way. They had been following him, and they were also Because of the eighteen of them, he was sure that his father did not really want to kill him. Now that he was about to enter the capital, the capital must be extremely dangerous, and he had to confirm the position of these eighteen people again.

Jing Shao quietly winked at the Zuo Guards on the periphery, and if there was any question about the loyalty of the Eighteen Cavalry, he would immediately kill them with the sword.

“We have never received any other orders, and the eighteen of my subordinates will risk their lives to protect His Highness.” The man responded without hesitation.

Mo Yun’s Eighteen Riders said in unison: “Swear to the death to protect His Highness Prince Rui!”

Jingchen nodded slightly. These people did not change their loyalty to Jing Shao at all in front of Jing Shao’s army and insisted that they only obeyed the emperor’s orders. Then the emperor’s father’s meaning was very clear.

“The army can’t come within a hundred miles of the capital. You let them station here.” Jing Chen raised his head and said to Jing Shao.

Jing Shao frowned. Duke Mao Guo was dead and there were no more troops around the capital. However, there were still 10,000 imperial troops in the capital: “Zhao Meng and the army will stay here. The troops will follow the king for another fifty miles to the camp.” Fifty miles south of the city is where Jing Shao reorganizes his troops before each expedition.

It was early morning the next day when we reached the fifty-mile camp. Jing Shao was actually not willing to let Da Jun stay. After all, he didn’t know what the situation was in Beijing. He patted the sleeping soundly man in his arms and wanted to discuss with him how to persuade his brother.

His long eyelashes trembled, and Mu Hanzhang slowly opened his eyes. Before he could say anything, the sound of horse hooves could be heard not far away. Looking carefully, he saw that the Minister of War was rushing over with a group of forbidden troops.

“I have seen King Rui, King Cheng, and Marquis Wenyuan!” Sun Shangshu dismounted and saluted.

“Sun Shangshu, what is going on?” Jing Shao asked. After so many days, he finally saw someone on his side. The Minister of War signaled the imperial troops behind him to wait a moment and walked to Jingchen’s carriage. Jing Shao immediately drove his horse towards it, but did not dismount and stood behind him.

“The ministers don’t know,” Sun Shangshu said in a low voice, “The emperor has not been in court for several days and has blocked all news. A few days ago, the fourth prince suddenly announced that he would take over the duties of supervising the country on his behalf.”

“Then, my lord is here today…” Mu Hanzhang frowned, because he didn’t know who gave the order for Sun Shangshu to come.

“It’s the emperor’s will.” Sun Shangshu replied immediately, took out an edict from his sleeve and handed it to Jingchen with both hands.

Jingchen unfolded it and looked at it carefully. It was indeed Emperor Hongzheng’s handwriting, asking the two brothers to place their soldiers at the fifty-mile camp and enter the palace alone.

Jing Shao frowned, secretly stuffed a military talisman into the hand of the person in his arms, and whispered in his ear: “You will take the left and right guards to the forest in a while. Once I set off the fireworks, you will lead the troops to rush in.” In the palace.”

Mu Hanzhang’s eyes widened, he quietly hid his hands in his sleeves, nodded slowly, and squeezed Jing Shao’s palm lightly: “Be careful in everything.”

Since it was Emperor Hongzheng’s order, they could not disobey it. Jing Shao left Xiao Hei with his princess, got into his brother’s carriage, and headed towards the imperial city with only Mo Yun Shiba.

The entire palace was silent, and the guards’ faces were very serious. When they got off the carriage, they saw An Xian, the eunuch chief beside Emperor Hongzheng, standing quietly outside the carriage.

“Your Highnesses, please come with me.” An Xian’s face rarely lost the smile, and without saying much, he led the two of them directly to the palace of Emperor Hongzheng. Mo Yun’s Eighteen Cavalrymen were originally the emperor’s bodyguards, but now No one stopped me when I followed him.

When they reached the jade steps, An Xian did not lead the two people up. Instead, he left the Eighteen Cavalry at the bottom of the steps and led the two people in through the side door behind the main hall. There were eight tall guards guarding the door. Then let the two of them remove all their weapons.

Jing Shao frowned and was about to lose his temper when his brother held down his arm and signaled him not to act rashly. He then handed the small porcelain vase in his arms to An Xian: “This is what my father told me to look for. Please give it to me, father-in-law.” Father.”

The two of them took off all their weapons and were not even allowed to keep their jade belts, so they walked in wearing baggy clothes.

“Bang!” The door behind him suddenly closed. Jing Shao saw the scene in front of him clearly, and the hairs all over his body suddenly stood up.

In front of them is a long corridor, with candles on both sides and it is not dim. But without weapons, on this narrow road, if there is any mechanism inside, the two of them will die without a burial place.

Jingchen also raised his heart and got closer to his brother: “Don’t panic, let’s get out quickly.”

Jing Shao nodded: “I’m going in front, brother must follow me!” With a click, he broke off a candlestick embedded in the wall. The hollow brass candlestick was about a foot long. It was not a good weapon, but it was better than nothing. .

Jingchen nodded, and as expected he got close to his brother and rushed towards the end of the corridor.

In fact, the corridor is not long, but under such circumstances, it felt extremely long. Just as he reached the end, the wooden door opened by itself. Jing Shao blocked the candlestick in front of him in an instant, and the light from outside the door shone in, exciting both of them. The man squinted his eyes, and when he saw the situation in the room clearly, he immediately threw the candlestick to his feet.

At the end of the corridor was the inner room of Emperor Hongzheng’s chamber. The two of them walked in and faced Emperor Hongzheng’s bed.

“Not yet.” Emperor Hongzheng leaned on the bedside and glared at Jing Shao.

The brothers quickly walked over and knelt down in front of the bed to salute.

An Xian was already standing steadily at the head of the bed, and there was also an imperial doctor who was holding the small porcelain bottle to examine it.

“Jing Shao, did you kill Duke Mao yesterday?” Emperor Hongzheng did not look at the movements of the imperial doctor. He leaned on the big pillow at the head of the bed and closed his eyes to rest.

“Yes,” Jing Shao lowered his head, “Mr. Mao led his troops to prevent his son from entering the capital with the intention of assassinating his brother. The son had no choice but to kill him.” He said this without any intention of admitting his mistake.

Emperor Hongzheng didn’t say anything more and only asked: “Where is Jingrong?”

“Back to my father, the eldest prince and the army are parked a hundred miles outside the capital.” Jing Shao replied honestly, of course he did not say that the eldest prince was in a prison car.

“Your Majesty,” the imperial doctor over there suddenly said, “This medicine is a folk remedy. A small amount of it can stop high fever. However, the medicine is ferocious. Taking too much is like poison. There is no medicine to cure it… I am incompetent… !” As he spoke, he knelt down with a pop and cried in sorrow.

Emperor Hongzheng opened his eyes and looked quietly at the two brothers kneeling in front of the bed.

Jingchen raised his head and looked at the imperial doctor in shock, and then at Emperor Hongzheng.

Jing Shao was also a little confused.

“Your mother was poisoned by this kind of poison back then,” Emperor Hongzheng took the small porcelain bottle and looked at it carefully. He ignored the two brothers who were struck by lightning and said in a calm voice, “Now, I can’t escape either.”

“Father!” Jing Shao cried out. Emperor Hongzheng in his previous life clearly lived longer than his son, so what’s going on now?

“Jing Shao, you have been fighting for the royal family for many years. Throughout Dachen, no one is your opponent.” Emperor Hongzheng’s face was rosy and he spoke in a leisurely manner. He did not look like a poisoned person at all. “I want to pass on the throne to you.” Give it to you, are you willing?”

Click, click, click! It was like a thunderbolt struck Tianling Gai, Jing Shao was really stunned now!

In the previous life, I worked hard for Dachen, but in the end I ended up with nothing! In this life, he was cheating, being selfish, and now his father actually said that he would give him the throne. It was really a big joke.

Jing Shao was silent for a long time, without looking at the expression on his brother’s side, he said word by word: “Father, son, minister, I don’t want to!”

“Why?” Emperor Hongzheng stared into Jing Shao’s eyes.

Jing Shao raised his head and looked directly at his father: “My son is just a military general and knows nothing about running a country. Moreover, my son loves Mu Hanzhang and only wants to stay with him for the rest of his life. If my father can hand over these thousands of miles of rivers and mountains, I am afraid that I, my son, will be destroyed by my son overnight!”

Emperor Hongzheng looked at him quietly for a while, then leaned back slowly, with a hint of fatigue in his voice: “Declarate the decree.”

As soon as he finished speaking, he saw two people slowly walking out from behind the screen. It was the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel and Xiao Yuan, the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel.

Xiao Yuan held a long wooden box and followed Shangshu intently.

The Minister of the Ministry of Personnel took out a decree and loudly said: “King Jingshao has committed treason and will be imprisoned in the heavenly prison. He will never be released in this life!”

Jingchen’s eyes widened and he said sadly: “Father!”

Emperor Hongzheng waved his hand to stop him from speaking. The Minister of Civil Affairs put away the first edict and took out another one: “King Jingshao is a man of extraordinary bravery. Before the new emperor ascends the throne, all imperial guards and imperial guards are under his jurisdiction. Give Shang Fang a sword that can kill all princes, emperors and grandsons! On the day when the new emperor ascends the throne, he will be granted the title of hereditary prince.