Chapter 273 Give Up

The New Year comes in the twelfth lunar month, but this year there was no festive atmosphere in the capital, and people spent the twelfth lunar month in panic.

Northern Qi, Yu Liu, and Emperor Ping Le—even one of these three factions stirring up trouble wouldn't be cause for concern, let alone a three-pronged attack. The court shifted most of its forces north, temporarily stalemating the situation. Yu Liu and Emperor Ping Le, one in the east and one in the south, kept the bad news coming one after another, sending urgent reports flying to Emperor Tai'an's desk like snowflakes.

The lights in the Yangxin Palace were always on until late at night, and meetings of all sizes were held one after another. What Emperor Tai'an was most looking forward to at the moment was news from the envoys heading south for negotiations.

The former crown prince Qi Ming is in their hands, which is a very heavy bargaining chip.

The person who shouldered this important task was a doctor named Yang from the Ministry of Rites.

The further south they went, the warmer the weather became. However, when Doctor Yang was brought before the commander of Emperor Pingle's side, his heart was trembling violently.

His own envoys only allowed him to bring one subordinate in. He met the enemy commander instead of the old emperor, so the negotiation was probably not optimistic.

"Greetings, General Wang." Doctor Yang bowed with neither arrogance nor servility.

General Wang Minghai, the most important hero who protected Emperor Pingle from escaping during the chaos, was also a renowned general. Now approaching fifty, this renowned general looked older than his years, despite years of stoicism and forbearance. His eyes remained sharp.

Doctor Yang straightened his back and tried his best to withstand the huge invisible pressure.

Wang Minghai looked at Doctor Yang and said with a sigh, "I've been away from the capital for more than ten years. These are all unfamiliar faces."

"Yang was a relatively new official at that time, a nobody."

Wang Minghai's face darkened, and he glared at Doctor Yang like a knife: "So, you are also a disciple of my master. Since you have received the master's grace, why do you work for that traitor who rebelled against the emperor?"

Emperor Tai'an's accession to the throne was indeed not entirely glorious, a difficult problem that all those compiling the national history had to gloss over. Doctor Yang would not be foolish enough to argue in such an occasion, and simply stated his purpose: "I have come here by imperial order to discuss a truce—"

"Truce?" Wang Minghai didn't even give Doctor Yang a chance to finish before bursting into laughter. "What a joke! The rebels have been occupying our home for over a decade. We've endured hardships and hardships to finally get this day. Why should we call for a truce?"

"We have found out that Yang Zhe, the new top scholar in the eighth year of Tai'an, is the former crown prince Qi Ming." Doctor Yang said word by word, his eyes fixed on Wang Minghai.

This is the biggest bargaining chip in this negotiation, and the other party's reaction after hearing it is very important.

Wang Minghai put away his smile and his expression turned cold: "What have you done to the prince?"

Doctor Yang smiled and said, "Don't worry, General. The former Crown Prince is your Majesty's nephew, so he will naturally be treated well."

"Master Yang has come a long way and must have worked hard. We'll talk again after you've rested up enough."

Yang Lang knew that this was a request for instructions from his superiors, so he nodded in agreement.

A secret letter was delivered to Emperor Pingle's hiding place as quickly as possible.

Emperor Pingle read the secret letter again and again, until the paper was wrinkled into countless wrinkles. Finally, he wrote a secret order and gave it to the messenger to take back.

Wang Minghai opened it immediately after receiving the secret order, remained silent for a long time after reading it, and then met with the envoy from Emperor Tai'an.

Standing in front of Wang Minghai were Doctor Yang and one of his subordinates.

Seeing Wang Minghai's gloomy face, Doctor Yang secretly thought that something was wrong. He tried to calm himself down and asked, "What do you think?"

"How dare you! Our prince is right beside the Lord, yet you fabricated the lie that the newly crowned number one scholar is our prince just to stop the fighting!"

Doctor Yang's face changed drastically: "You guys are refusing to acknowledge me—"

Without giving him a chance to finish his words, Wang Minghai swung his knife and chopped off Doctor Yang's head.

The head with wide-open eyes flew up high and then fell down, landing near the subordinates who came with Doctor Yang.

The man's surname was Zhao and he was a deputy envoy.

Deputy Envoy Zhao screamed and subconsciously turned to run out, but his legs gave out and he fell to the ground. Looking at the God of Killer approaching step by step, his face turned pale: "You... How could you kill the envoy..."

He asked the question tremblingly, using all his courage to restrain himself from begging for mercy.

Wang Minghai stopped in front of Deputy Envoy Zhao, holding the blood-drenched knife and sneered, "You're still alive, aren't you? So, you want to die too?"

"I--" Deputy Envoy Zhao wanted to say that he was not afraid of death, but Doctor Yang's head was right in front of him. His face was filled with shock and anger, and he didn't even have time to show his pain.

Therefore, it made him even more frightened.

A living person can die in an instant, as easy as cutting melons and vegetables.

Wang Minghai pointed the tip of his knife at the head on the ground and said, "Take it back. This is your answer to your fabricated accusations against our prince!"

Deputy Envoy Zhao picked up Doctor Yang's head with trembling hands and ran out with one foot deep and one foot shallow, hearing Wang Minghai's loud laughter in his ears.

What he didn't know was that after he was sure that he had run away, Wang Minghai stopped smiling and looked at the headless corpse left on the ground with a complicated expression.

That is Prince Ming, their extraordinarily intelligent Prince.

Your Majesty...are you completely giving up on the Crown Prince?

Thinking about the little princes under Emperor Chenghuan Pingle, Wang Minghai suddenly felt like a stone was pressing on his heart, making it heavy and hard to breathe.

Deputy Envoy Zhao's team returned to the capital at a faster speed than when they came, carrying Doctor Yang's head.

Before this team returned, Emperor Tai'an learned the result of this southward expedition from an urgent report. He wanted to see Qi Ming as soon as possible, but he finally held back.

He would wait until the envoys from the south returned.

"Your Majesty, Lord Yang died tragically—" Deputy Envoy Zhao knelt in the hall, holding a square box and crying bitterly.

Emperor Tai'an's gaze fell on the square box in Deputy Envoy Zhao's arms, his expression colder than the snow outside. "Is Yang Qing's head in this box?"

Deputy Envoy Zhao prostrated himself on the ground: "That's exactly—"

"Open it and let me see."

The other officials in the palace all looked terrified: "Your Majesty, this cannot happen—"

Emperor Tai'an sneered, "Yang Qing sacrificed his life for his country. Why should I be afraid? Open it!"

Deputy Envoy Zhao slowly opened the box.

Emperor Tai'an glanced away and cursed angrily. Soon the voices of ministers condemning Emperor Pingle's side were heard in the hall.

Afterwards, Qi Ming was brought to the palace, and the uncle and nephew met again.

This period of imprisonment did not diminish the young man's charm. He seemed to be particularly favored by the Creator, not only in appearance, but also in his indescribable temperament.

The temperament of the former crown prince Qi Ming.

Emperor Tai'an looked at the boy's face, which was completely different from the one he remembered, and couldn't help but think about what the child should look like when he grew up.

He should also be handsome and extraordinary, like his romantic and weak brother.

"Not long ago, your father's people rose up in rebellion." Emperor Tai'an spoke.

Qi Ming half-closed his eyes, not looking surprised at all: "So, the north is in chaos too, right?"

"good."

"What about Yu Liu?"

"There was a war."

Qi Ming smiled and stopped talking.

Emperor Tai'an sighed in his heart.

Qi Ming, who was imprisoned in an airtight prison, revealed the current situation because of his words, and Qi Shuo, who volunteered to accompany his father to the battle...

Why are other people’s sons better than his living son!