In the underground prison of Zongfu, several figures walked towards the end of the corridor.
Although this is an underground prison, it is not as filthy as the prisons in Dali Temple or the Ministry of Punishment, nor does it have the slightest rancid smell. Except for the iron fences that are not suitable for the scene, this place is more like a private room of a wealthy family.
For example, the cell at the end of the corridor where Nanliang King Zhao Yuanzuo is imprisoned has bookcases, desks, incense burners, candlesticks, tea utensils, pens, inks, paper and inkstones. Even the place where Nanliang King Zhao Yuanzuo sits is covered with paving.
A sheepskin blanket.
This is the prison where the Zongfu specially detains the children of the Zhao family surnamed Ji.
"..."
Hearing the footsteps, Nanliang King Zhao Yuanzuo, who was sitting in the prison reading a book, turned his head slightly and secretly guessed: Is it Yuan Yan?
Yuanyan is Zongfu Zongzheng Zhao Yuanyan, who is also his second brother.
I remember a few days ago, not long after Zhao Yuanzuo, the king of Nanliang, ordered the rebel army to surrender, he was imprisoned here by Yu Linlang of the clan.
On the day after the incident, Zongzheng Zhao Yuanyan of the Zongfu came to visit him and sat across from him and drank for a while.
Neither of the two brothers said much, but Zhao Yuanzuo, the king of Nanliang, could understand the meaning of Zhao Yuanyan, the second brother of the princes: the latter was seeing him off in advance.
To be fair, Zhao Yuanzuo, the king of Nanliang, never expected that Zhao Yuanyan would find a way to save him, because he knew that this brother was a very orthodox, stubborn, and pedantic person who would not break the rules and come forward to rescue him who was involved in rebellion.
The most that can be done to a rebellious minister is to provide him with some care in life during his imprisonment until he accepts the judgment of the current Majesty.
Zhao Yuanzuo, the king of Nanliang, was thinking wildly when those figures walked outside the prison, stopped and turned to look at him.
"Huh?"
After taking a look at the people outside the prison, Nanliang King Zhao Yuanzuo felt a little surprised in his heart.
He originally thought that it would be the current His Majesty who was pretending to be ill in the Manlu Palace, sending someone to summon him, or to accuse him, but to his surprise, he did not see Wei Wang Zhao Yuansi's confidant eunuch among the people outside the prison.
Tong Xian only saw a young eunuch who was estimated to be about twenty years old.
"...Zhao Hongmin personally led him here, which shows that this little eunuch has an unusual identity."
Zhao Yuanzuo, the king of Nanliang, glanced at his nephew, Zhao Hongmin, the eldest son of Zhao Yuanyan, who was standing outside the prison.
At this time, outside the prison, Zhao Hongmin cupped his hands towards Zhao Yuanzuo, the king of Nanliang, and introduced: "Third uncle, this is Eunuch Gao." After that, he turned to the young eunuch and said: "Eunuch Gao, please.
"
Under the puzzled gaze of King Zhao Yuanzuo of Nanliang, the young eunuch stepped forward and said seriously in a slightly high-pitched voice: "King of Nanliang, His Royal Highness has summoned you."
"Prince?"
When Zhao Yuanzuo, the king of Nanliang, heard this, a flash of surprise flashed in his eyes.
Even though he was imprisoned here by the clan a few days ago, he was also paying attention to the situation in the court. Naturally, he also knew the news that "King Su Zhao Run was appointed as the crown prince." After all, this was not urgent news. The prison guard
Souei Habayashi would not hide it from him.
Because of this, he was very surprised at the moment. Prince Zhao Run wanted to summon him for some purpose.
Seeing that the Nanliang King Zhao Yuanzuo had not taken any action, the young eunuch, Gao Li, scolded with a bit of annoyance: "Nanliang King, are you going to disobey His Highness the Crown Prince's order?!"
"...I didn't mean that."
Zhao Yuanzuo, the king of Nanliang, said calmly, then put down the book in his hand and stood up slowly.
Seeing this, the young eunuch Gao Li's face brightened slightly, his expression improved and he said to Zhao Hongmin: "Your Majesty?"
Zhao Hongmin understood, pointed to the iron fence of the prison, and said: "Open it."
As soon as he finished speaking, a Zongwei Yu Linlang walked out from behind him and opened the cell door with a key.
Seeing this, Zhao Yuanzuo, the king of Nanliang, walked out slowly and glanced thoughtfully at the young eunuch named Gao Li.
Under the supervision of ten clan guards, Yu Linlang, Nanliang King Zhao Yuanzuo followed the young eunuch Gao Li out of the clan mansion and boarded a carriage to the palace.
Sitting on the slightly bumpy carriage, Nanliang King Zhao Yuanzuo still couldn't figure out the purpose of Prince Zhao Run summoning him at this time.
About half an hour later, Zhao Yuanzuo, the king of Nanliang, was taken to Wenzhao Pavilion in the palace, which was Zhao Hongrun's former sleeping pavilion.
When he approached the gate of Wenzhao Pavilion, he saw Lu Mu, Zhou Pu, Mu Qing and other Zhao Hongrun's clan guards standing at the gate looking at him coldly, with a bit of hostility in their eyes.
It's no wonder, after all, the relationship between Zhao Yuanzuo and Zhao Hongrun, the king of Nanliang, has not been harmonious over the years. The two sides have clashed several times. It can be said that there are many conflicts and long-standing grievances.
"You never thought of it, did you, King of Nanliang?" Lu Mu said with a sneer while looking at the King of Nanliang, Zhao Yuanzuo.
"...Does it mean Zhao Run becomes the crown prince?"
The King of Nanliang chuckled secretly.
To be honest, he really hadn't thought about this matter.
After letting out a breath, Nanliang King Zhao Yuanzuo said calmly: "Is it possible that His Highness the Crown Prince summoned me just to ridicule me?"
"..."
Lu Mu was slightly dumbfounded. After looking at each other with Zhou Pu, Mu Qing and others, he let the door open and said coldly: "Please."
After glancing at these clan guards, Nanliang King Zhao Yuanzuo didn't say much, stepped through the ragged door of the palace gate, and walked into the palace.
After entering the palace, he saw a young man wearing dark brocade clothes, standing by the wall about ten feet away from the palace door, with his hands behind his back, looking at several calligraphy and paintings hanging on the wall.
"...Zhao Run."
A complicated expression flashed through the heart of Nanliang King Zhao Yuanzuo.
For some reasons, he still has no heirs and only has one daughter. However, King Zhao Si of Wei has nine sons. Not only is none of them a complete idiot, but there are also many talented and amazing ones, such as King Yong Zhao Yu and Qilin'er Zhao.
Zhao, and Su Wang Zhao Run, these three are the most outstanding.
"...After nine years, this palace has still hardly changed."
Just when Zhao Yuanzuo, the king of Nanliang, was secretly sizing up the nephew in front of him, the young man in front of him had turned around, looked directly at the former, and said with a chuckle: "It's not enough to be a human being. The situation in 1989 is enough."
It makes people... change a lot... Do you think so, King Nanliang?"
"..."
Looking at the heroic and imposing Crown Prince Zhao Run in front of him, Zhao Yuanzuo, the King of Nanliang, couldn't help but feel a little dazed in his eyes.
He still remembered that eight years ago, when he was summoned by King Zhao Yuancai of Wei and returned to Daliang from Nanliang, King Yi Zhao Yuanli led his nephew to greet him at Shiliting Pavilion outside Daliang City.
At that time, Zhao Run was only a fifteen-year-old boy. He was not as powerful as he is now. He respectfully called him "San Bo" when facing him. Eight years later, that boy had become Wei Wei.
The prince in charge of the country - even Zhao Yuanzuo, the king of Nanliang, had never expected this.
His eyes flashed a few times, and Nanliang King Zhao Yuanzuo said in a neither arrogant nor humble voice: "The prince summoned the guilty minister, but I don't know why?... If His Highness the Crown Prince just wanted to tease and ridicule the guilty minister, the guilty minister would have resigned."
Hearing this, Zhao Hongrun chuckled and said casually: "The King of Nanliang does not need to test me with words. Since you have come to see me, you should have guessed that I might forgive you lightly... If you only want to die, why bother to come?
See me? Huh?" After saying that, he pointed to the table in the center of the hall and said, "Sit down and let's talk."
After saying that, he walked towards the table on his own.
Behind him, a strange color flashed in the eyes of Nanliang King Zhao Yuanzuo.
Zhao Hongrun was right. The reason why he came here with a low profile was because he guessed that the former was likely to reduce his crime. If not, why did Zhao Hongrun summon him? Is it just to mock him? This is not a superior person.
Things will be done.
Therefore, just now, he deliberately used words to test Zhao Hongrun, but unfortunately the latter saw it. While admitting the matter frankly, he also made a slight mockery, which made Zhao Yuanzuo, the king of Nanliang, a little embarrassed.
After thinking for a while, Zhao Yuanzuo, the king of Nanliang, sat down on the other side of the table. But at this time, he was in a situation where "I am a swordsman and I am a fish." He didn't know what to say, so he simply kept his mouth shut.
Waiting for Zhao Hongrun to speak.
Zhao Hongrun didn't hold anything in mind and said straight to the point: "King Nanliang, I won't hide it from you. If I were not the prince, I would definitely add insult to injury to get rid of you this time. At the very least, I would cut off your military power and leave you empty.
There is a prince, but it is a pity that I am the prince now... For the benefit of my great Wei, I want to save your life."
Listening to Zhao Hongrun's straightforward words, even a scheming person like Zhao Yuanzuo, the King of Southern Liang, felt the urge to laugh.
Of course he understood what Zhao Hongrun meant.
Now in his Wei State, the only commanders who have the ability to lead a protracted battle and have a great chance of winning, except Zhao Yuandai, the King of Yu, who cannot command the army for a long time due to his physical condition, are Zhao Yuanzuo, the King of Southern Liang, and
In front of me is His Royal Highness Prince Yuan Su.
If Zhao Hongrun was not the prince, there would be no need to keep him, at least it would not be so urgent.
But it is a pity that the victorious His Royal Highness King Yuan Su has now become the Prince of the Supervisory State. Of course, if war breaks out with other countries in the future, the Wei State will no longer be able to lead troops at will as in the past. In this
When the time comes, you need to use Zhao Yuanzuo, the king of Southern Liang.
"...actually I lost a life because of it."
Zhao Yuanzuo, the king of Nanliang, laughed at himself and shook his head slightly.
Because in the past two days, when I heard from a certain Zongwei Yu Linlang that "King Su Zhao Run became the crown prince," in fact, the king of Nanliang Zhao Yuanzuo was very desperate at that time - if under other circumstances he still had a glimmer of survival
If there is a chance, then if King Su Zhao Run, with whom he has had a long-standing grudge, becomes the crown prince, then he will have no hope at all.
Unexpectedly, the situation was just the opposite. King Su Zhao Run wanted to spare his life just because he became the prince.
"How dare you use me?"
Zhao Yuanzuo, the king of Nanliang, looked at Zhao Hongrun with somewhat incredulous eyes.
Hearing this, Zhao Hongrun sneered and said: "My father may be afraid of you, but I am not... If the two armies confront each other, you will definitely not be my opponent! Especially when I have the entire Wei Dynasty as my backing."
"..." Zhao Yuanzuo, the king of Nanliang, was speechless.
Indeed, the prince in front of him is not the old prince Zhao Yu. Even Zhao Yuanzuo, the king of Nanliang, encountered the 50,000 Yanling army or 50,000 merchants commanded by his prince himself while holding 50,000 troops to suppress the rebels.
The naval army was not sure of victory. After all, the prince had never suffered a defeat in his journey.
Not to mention that His Highness the Crown Prince is also in charge of the Smelting Bureau and the Weaponry Bureau, and possesses repeating crossbows, sniper crossbows and other war weapons that are enough to dominate the war.
Thinking of this, Zhao Yuanzuo, the king of Nanliang, could only say dryly: "You are more courageous than your father."
"Hmph!" Zhao Hongrun ignored the praise of Nanliang King Zhao Yuanzuo and said calmly: "Don't be too happy too early. I just said that I want to save your life, but that doesn't mean that I won't change my mind..."
Zhao Yuanzuo, the king of Nanliang, was not in a hurry after hearing this, and asked with a slight smile: "Does His Highness the Crown Prince want the guilty minister to perform the courtesy of a king and minister here and be loyal to His Highness the Crown Prince?"
"No need." Zhao Hongrun said calmly: "I will keep you alive just so that you can win the war for me, the Wei Dynasty, when I am unable to go to war. Based on this, as long as you don't do anything I can't tolerate,
I will turn a blind eye to anything. Even if I know you have no respect for me, as long as you salute me, I will still return the favor..."
"..." Upon hearing such strong words, Nanliang King Zhao Yuanzuo could only respond with a silent nod.
After a while, he asked: "So, how does His Royal Highness plan to deal with the guilty minister?"
"It depends on your attitude." Zhao Hongrun replied indifferently, and then he asked seriously: "Let me ask you first, it was you who killed Sun Mou, the Marquis of Huyou, Uncle Feng, the Marquis of Yuanling, Zhao Jian, the Marquis of Wanlong, Jiang Dan, the Marquis of Gaoyang, and Li Yang, the Marquis of Pingcheng.
, how many people are there from Kuangcheng Hou Jiyan?"
"..."
After hearing this, a strange color flashed in the eyes of Southern Liang King Zhao Yuanzuo.
Just when he had a slight smile on his face and was about to deny it, he saw Zhao Hongrun squinting his eyes and said in a nonchalant manner: "Think it over before you reply. I will only give you one chance."
"..." Zhao Yuanzuo, the King of Nanliang, immediately put away his smile and looked deeply at Zhao Hongrun. After thinking about it for more than ten breaths, he frowned and nodded and said, "Yes, I gave the order."
After hearing this, Zhao Hongrun changed his sitting position, rested his elbows on the desk, crossed his fingers with his hands, looked at Nanliang King Zhao Yuanzuo and asked again: "Why?"
"..." Zhao Yuanzuo, the king of Nanliang, fell silent.
This time, he thought for dozens of breaths before whispering: "Zhao Hongyin."
"Zhao Hongyin? Lao Qi?"
Zhao Hongrun frowned slightly and asked in confusion: "What do you mean?"
Zhao Yuanzuo, the king of Nanliang, took a deep look at Zhao Hongrun and said in a deep voice: "Prince Zhao Hongyin is the brother of Princess Yulong..."
Even Zhao Hongrun opened his eyes in disbelief after hearing these words, and then frowned and asked: "How is this possible?"
As far as he knew, his father, Zhao Yuanxi, with the help of King Yu Zhao Yuanke, defeated the previous crown prince Zhao Yuanyou and Zhao Yuanzuo, who was still King Jing at that time, and successfully seized the throne.
Afterwards, the daughter of the Xiao family, who was the concubine of the former crown prince Zhao Yuanqi, was welcomed by his father as a concubine and named Shu'ai.
A few months later, Xiao Shuai gave birth to a pair of twins, a boy and a girl. However, it was impossible to tell whether the biological father of the twins was the former prince Zhao Yuanni or Zhao Yuancai, who had seized the throne at that time. Therefore, Emperor Wei Zhao Yuancai once thought of giving birth to the twins.
One of the baby boys was executed together with the former crown prince Zhao Yuanli, which led to the story of Xiao Shuai crying for Zhao Yuanli, the king of Yi.
After that, Xiao Shuai stole the royal order from Wei Emperor Zhao Yuancai. King Yi Zhao Yuanli sent people to sneak into the palace along the secret passage leading directly to the palace. With the royal order, they successfully rescued the former prince Zhao Yuanli and the baby boy, while Xiao Shuai
After this incident, Emperor Wei was furious and killed him by mistake.
After making a big mistake, the Emperor of Wei was worried that the Xiao family of Nan Yan would cause chaos, so he simply took the initiative to take advantage of it and designed a plan for Xiao Boyuan, the Marquis of Nan Yan, and Xiao Luan, the Crown Prince of Nan Yan Marquis. Unfortunately, they were separated by a hundred meters, and Xiao Luan finally escaped.
Tribulation.
During this period, Sima An and Wei Mu led their troops to massacre Nanyan and wiped out the Xiao family of Nanyan and the families related to them. The baby boy eventually fell into the hands of Sima An and Wei Mu.
in hand.
"I thought the baby boy had died a long time ago..." Zhao Hongrun said with a frown.
After hearing this, Zhao Yuanzuo, the king of Nanliang, said calmly: "I originally thought so too. With your father's ruthlessness, how could you leave this hidden danger? Until one day, Zhao Hongyin took the initiative to find me..."
Zhao Hongrun frowned and said: "How does he know he is..." At this point, his voice stopped suddenly, and then a name burst out of his mouth: "Xiao Luan?"
Zhao Yuanzuo, the king of Nanliang, nodded and said: "He said that day that Xiao Luan had met him and told him everything."
"When?" Zhao Hongrun asked.
Zhao Yuanzuo thought for a while and replied: "Zhongyang Huangshou... No, it should be after the civil strife in Daliang."
"The time when the rumor that "Father was killed" spread?" Zhao Hongrun frowned, looking a little ugly.
You must know that it was precisely because of the civil strife that occurred in Daliang that Han, Chu, and Qin, who had tense relations with Wei at the time, mistakenly believed that civil strife broke out in Wei, and sent troops to attack Wei with the intention of taking advantage of the situation. The fundamental purpose was to deter
The increasingly powerful Wei State encroached on its position as the hegemon of the Central Plains, so the "Five-Party Campaign to Defeat Wei" broke out.
It was also during that period that Zhao Yuanli, the Sixth Prince Shuyi and Wang Shuyi whom Zhao Hongrun regarded as a father, took the blame and drank poisoned wine and committed suicide to apologize.
Looking at Prince Zhao Run with a murderous look on his face, Zhao Yuanzuo, the King of Southern Liang, said in a deep voice: "When there was civil strife in Daliang, I thought it was just Xiao Luan who wanted to create a weak situation for our Wei Dynasty and seduce Han, Chu, Qin and other powerful countries.
After leading the army to attack, I finally thought about it after meeting Zhao Hongyin. Xiao Luan’s other purpose in triggering civil strife during the chaos that day was probably to take the opportunity to meet Zhao Hongyin..."
"..." Zhao Hongrun glanced at Zhao Yuanzuo, the King of Southern Liang.
Seeing some doubts in Zhao Hongrun's eyes, Zhao Yuanzuo, the king of Nanliang, explained: "Prince, do you still remember? When the emperor of Zhongyang hunted, Zhao Hongyin originally participated in it, but during the test drive, he accidentally fell off the horse and broke his leg.
, I believe this matter must be Xiao Luan's fault... Besides, on the day of the civil strife in Daliang, the thieves who caused the rebellion also
When they arrived at Prince Yi's Mansion, almost all the guards in the mansion were killed. Even Zhao Hongyin's Zongwei had two or three dead. However, Zhao Hongyin himself was lucky enough to escape... I think it was at this time that Xiao
Luan took the opportunity to recognize Zhao Hongyin, or in other words, he took the opportunity to confirm whether Zhao Hongyin was the baby boy from back then."
"..." Zhao Hongrun remained silent.
Just as Zhao Yuanzuo, the king of Nanliang, said, even Zhao Hongrun felt a little strange about these two things.
But as Zhao Yuanzuo, the king of Nanliang, said just now, with his father's ruthlessness, how could he still keep the baby boy?
"Could it be that because I killed Xiao Shuai by mistake, my father couldn't bear to do anything to the baby boy again?"
Holding his head in his hands, Zhao Hongrun closed his eyes and meditated.
Thinking about it carefully, he suddenly felt that the situation of the seventh Zhao Hongyin in recent years was indeed quite similar to that of Princess Yulong - before Princess Yulong met Zhao Hongrun, almost no one cared about her in the palace, and the seventh Zhao Hongyin seemed to be the same.
They are also not valued by their father. Over the years, whether they were living in the palace or after leaving the palace, they had no sense of existence.
If you think about it more carefully, Lao Qi's royal nickname "Yi" is also a bit strange. In the book "Yi", this hexagram has the extended meaning of "thinking about the difficulty of raising children, so you should be careful in your words and deeds to avoid disasters".
"...Maybe Lao Qi is really Yulong's brother."
Zhao Hongrun's eyelids twitched slightly.
Seeing that Zhao Hongrun's face was gloomy and uncertain, Zhao Yuanzuo, the king of Nanliang, said with an elusive expression: "What is the truth, I am not in a position to ask, but His Highness the Crown Prince can ask His Majesty himself. If it is you, the Crown Prince, perhaps Your Majesty will tell the truth."
Zhao Hongrun glanced at Zhao Yuanzuo, the king of Nanliang, and said with a strange expression: "These words don't sound like you said it to cover up his crimes... Are you and Xiao Luan teaming up again?"
By now, he had vaguely guessed why Nanliang King Zhao Yuanzuo ordered the killing of several nobles such as Sun Mou, the Marquis of Huyou, Uncle Feng, the Marquis of Yuanling, Zhao Jian, the Marquis of Wanlong, Jiang Dan, the Marquis of Gaoyang, Li Yang, the Marquis of Pingcheng, Ji Yan, the Marquis of Kuangcheng, and many other nobles.
At that time, Yi Wang Zhao Hongyin saw that the rebels had
After entering Daliang, he was about to take Qing Wang Zhao Hongxin and take his place. He jumped out in a hurry. Unexpectedly, Zhao Run suddenly led his troops to kill him. So Zhao Hongyin, the king of Yi, had no choice but to kill Humohou Sun Mou and others.
Several insiders whom he did not trust wanted to hide again.
And this is probably the real reason why Xiao Ni ambushed him in Xiangfu Port that day - Xiao Luan wanted to support Yi Wang Zhao Hongyin to seize the throne!
No matter who the biological father of King Yi Zhao Hongyin is, as long as the former recognizes Xiao Luan as his uncle, then if this person seizes the throne, it will be equivalent to Xiao Luan stealing the entire Wei Kingdom and repaying the Xiao family who massacred Nanyan.
Zhao Yuanxi, the emperor of Wei, completed the most perfect revenge.
"No." Zhao Yuanzuo, the king of Nanliang, shook his head and said seriously: "It's just that I owe "East Palace"... an expectation. If the person who comes to me is Xiao Luan, I will refuse, but if... I think of him maybe
He is really his last son, I can’t refuse..."
Having said this, he took a long breath and said in a deep voice: "No matter what, I have repaid the favor I owed back then. No matter what His Highness the Crown Prince wants to do in the future, it has nothing to do with me."
"..." After taking a deep look at Nanliang King Zhao Yuanzuo, Zhao Hongrun suddenly changed the topic and asked: "Speaking of which, why didn't you kill Zhao Wu? Since Lao Qi wants to dive back again, logically speaking, he cannot let Zhao Wucai go.
right."
The look in his mind that gradually turned from disbelief to despair when King Hongxin of Qing Dynasty looked at him appeared in his mind, and King Zhao Yuanzuo of Nanliang remained silent.
Seeing his expression, Zhao Hongrun vaguely guessed something and said calmly: "Forget it if you don't want to say it. Okay, I have finished asking all the questions I want to ask. Prince Nanliang... No, Marquis Nanliang, please come back."
Zhao Yuanzuo, the king of Nanliang, was slightly stunned when he heard this, and then he understood immediately, nodded and stood up: "The guilty minister, please retire."
Looking at the leaving figure of Nanliang King Zhao Yuanzuo, Zhao Hongrun frowned deeply.
"Yi Wang Zhao Hongyin... How should we arrange this brother? Should he keep it to catch Xiao Luan? Or should he kill a hundred people? How about... confirm it with the old man?"
After scratching his forehead, Zhao Hongrun felt a slight headache.