Time passed by, it was the twelfth lunar month, and the weather was extremely cold.
Two months ago, the emperor sent an imperial physician to the vassal territory of King Yingchuan, King Hejing, and King Zhangde to treat these three seriously ill vassal princes.
The three vassal princes each presented memorials and thanked the emperor for his kindness with tears of gratitude.
The emperor soon issued another imperial edict.
The three elderly feudal princes stayed in the feudal territory to recuperate from illness, and there was no harm in returning to the capital when they recovered. With the imperial physician personally taking care of them, the princes' children and grandchildren no longer had to stay to take care of their illnesses. They immediately packed their bags and returned to the capital on the day they received the imperial edict.
Otherwise, it will be punished as a serious crime of treason.
This imperial edict immediately caused strong turmoil among the vassal kings.
The young emperor is so tough that he can't even hold a grain of sand in his eyes! It's absolutely impossible for the three kings of Yingchuan to delay the situation indefinitely.
Next, how will King Yingchuan and the others respond? Should they hand over the vassal soldiers and let their children and grandchildren return to the capital? Or directly raise troops and declare war with the imperial court?
After thinking about it for a moment, all the vassal kings felt uneasy and uneasy.
It was King Chenliu's birthday, and a group of feudal lords visited the gate of King Chenliu's palace in the name of congratulating him on his birthday.
…
King Chenliu, who is the oldest, the earliest to return to the capital and the one who receives the most courtesy from the emperor, is seventy this year. Seventy years are rare in life, and at this age, there is no doubt that he will live a long life.
King Chenliu was not confused, so he accepted the birthday gifts from the vassal kings, and happily chatted and drank with them. Once anyone asked about the affairs of King Yingchuan and others, King Chenliu would remain silent or make a fuss.
he.
"Uncle Chen Liu, the emperor's decree has been issued. In less than half a month, it will be in the hands of King Yingchuan and King Zhangde of Hejing. I don't know how the three of them will deal with it..."
"Haha! Drink, drink!"
"Uncle Wang Chenliu, we can't just sit idly by and watch this happen. If the emperor really makes up his mind to be punished for treason, Prince Yingchuan and the others will have to rebel if they don't..."
"The fine wine today was brewed by myself when I was fifty years old. It has been stored in the cellar for twenty years. I only opened it this year. Isn't it extra fragrant?"
"Uncle Chenliu Wang, don't worry about drinking for now. For such a big matter, we have to discuss a charter and countermeasures today. We are both vassal kings, so we should work together, otherwise, we will become fish on the chopping board, and we will be left to our own devices.
Slaughtered. Even that bastard with not even hair yet dares to show off his power in front of us..."
"If you don't drink such good wine, I will put it away and save it for when I am eighty years old."
The vassal kings: "..."
Anyway, no matter what the vassal princes said, King Chenliu would not answer the question. He just smiled and urged everyone to drink.
The impatient King Jiangxia finally got angry, slammed the table, and asked through gritted teeth: "Uncle Chenliu, you are the oldest and oldest among our vassal kings. All the big guys are here today,
I just want you to have an explanation and give us an idea. What's going on if you just shirk drinking?"
King Chenliu, who had white hair and beard, did not get angry and drank the wine in his glass. Then he slowly put down the glass and said slowly: "What you are thinking about is your business."
"I'm old, I don't have the ability to think wildly, and I can't withstand the storm."
"You have great ambitions, but I don't. I just want to see my children and grandchildren live well and live in peace until the day they die of old age."
"I was the first vassal king to return to Beijing. The emperor treated me very kindly. He rewarded me with the most gold, silver and land, and also arranged places for my children and grandchildren. My eldest grandson joined the clan as an errand, and the other grandsons
If you don’t feel confident, just go to school. Once you are successful in your studies, the clan will make its own arrangements."
"I live a good life like this and am very contented."
"You are not satisfied and want to make troubles. Let you go. But don't ask me, otherwise I will bring trouble to the entire palace of Prince Chenliu."
After a few words, all the vassal kings changed their expressions.
King Chenliu had made up his mind to surrender to the emperor and stay in the capital to retire.
King Jiang Xia wanted to bang the table again and question him, but King Chen Liu suddenly darkened his face: "According to seniority, I am the elder. You, a junior, slap the table in front of me and stare. How unbecoming is it? Come on, King Jiang Xia is drunk.
, send him back home to have a good rest."
After giving the order, several tall and strong guards rushed in and "invited" King Jiang Xia out unceremoniously. King Jiang Xia cursed angrily. I don't know which guard "accidentally" bumped King Jiang Xia's chest with his elbow.
King Jiang Xia's lower abdomen was so painful that he almost lost his breath, so naturally he couldn't curse.
The room suddenly became much quieter.
King Chenliu raised his glass again and smiled at the vassal kings: "Haha! Drink, drink!"
The vassal kings: "..."
…
That night, King An entered the Yiqing Palace and reported everything that happened in Prince Chenliu's palace to Sheng Hong: "...This Prince Chenliu is really well-informed and knowledgeable. The emperor treated him favorably, and he knew in his heart that today's birthday banquet,
It doesn’t give the feudal princes any good face at all.”
"The King of Jiangxia was driven back directly and was completely humiliated."
After all, Prince An was still young and his palace was not deep. When he mentioned this matter, he was very happy and said with a happy face: "I have placed an informant in Prince Chenliu's palace. I received the news about this matter very soon."
"King Chen Liu took the initiative to send someone to the clan's mansion to tell me the matter quietly."
Sheng Hong's eyes flashed and he twitched his lips: "King Chen Liu is using your words to express his loyalty to me, the emperor."
King An nodded and said in a low voice: "Brother, don't worry, I know the severity. Whether you are loyal or traitorous depends on your actions. A few frivolous words cannot be taken seriously."
Just listening to these few words, one can tell that King An has matured and grown up a lot in these few months.
Sheng Hong felt quite relieved and nodded with a smile: "You are right. You can't just look at people by their appearance. You should be more careful in everything."
"King Chenliu is a scheming old fox. It is not easy to conquer him completely. All the vassal kings have different ideas. They are all waiting to see how I will deal with King Yingchuan and King Zhangde of Hejing."
"Let them see what I, the emperor, am capable of and do."
The last sentence is full of coldness and murderous intent.
King An's heart skipped a beat when he heard this, and he couldn't help lowering his voice and asked: "Is Brother Huang really going to attack them?"
A cold look flashed in Sheng Hong's eyes: "I gave them a chance. If they let their children and grandchildren return to the capital in time, it shows that they still have a sincere heart. If they continue to delay their return, I will send troops to completely regain the vassal territory."
Just a few words made Wang An's heart beat faster and his blood boil.
The royal brother is indeed mighty and domineering!
King An impassionedly blurted out: "I am willing to serve as a pawn for the emperor!"
Sheng Honglue was a little surprised, and reached out to pat Prince An on the shoulder: "Just do your job well and do the things in the clan's house well. You don't need to worry about things like cutting down vassals and fighting wars. You
That kind of skill is not worthy of being a pawn!"
