Chapter 268: Taking Off Armor

"Your Highness, Lord Su requests an audience." A guard came tremblingly to report.

He Jun was shooting arrows in the training ground. When he heard this, anger rose between his brows. He was not a good-tempered person to begin with. He seemed to be a little kinder in recent years because he had matured after getting married and having children.

Hearing this, he immediately shouted angrily: "No! Get him out!"

The furious voice frightened the guard so much that he didn't even dare to raise his head. You know, Prince Xi has been in the army for many years, and his prestige has become even greater over the years.

But he still continued, "Your Highness, Lord Su said that if you don't want to see him, he will wait at the door until you are willing to see him."

If it was someone else, if Prince Xi had said he didn't want to see him, the guards would have gone out and sent him away long ago. Those who refused to leave would have been beaten away with sticks. But who could blame the person for being Su Fengzhang!

If their Prince Xi is the king of military generals, then it is not an exaggeration to call Su Fengzhang the uncrowned king. In recent years, His Majesty has wanted to reward and promote him many times, but Su Fengzhang has declined time and time again, so he has always been called Lord Su, not Duke Su.

Prince Xi sneered and cursed, "If he wants to wait, then let him wait. Am I afraid of him?"

"This tactic of retreating to advance was something I saw through decades ago."

The guard was so frightened that he was sweating profusely. He caught a glimpse of a red figure from the corner of his eye and immediately looked like he had been saved.

The visitors were actually the Princess of the County and Princess Jing. She slowly walked into the training grounds, looked around for a moment, and then asked, "What are you crazy about? How could you let Lord Su wait at the gate? If this gets out, what will happen?"

Prince Xi became even more angry and turned around and shouted, "Don't you know what he's doing here?"

He Jing was not angry. Over the years, she had long known the benefits of petting someone in the right direction. "Ah Jun, that's why I advise you not to get angry. The angrier you get, the more you fall into his trap."

"What kind of person is Lord Su? Haven't you seen through him after all these years?"

Upon hearing this, Prince Xi calmed down a little, but he still said with a cold face: "I don't want to see him because I know it. Believe it or not, if he can step through this door today, I won't leave until I convince him."

"There's nothing wrong with that." He Jing said with a smile.

Prince Xi's face was gloomy, and he sneered, "What good is that? I built this army of hundreds of thousands with my own hands. Why should I give it away to someone else, especially to a few ignorant brats?"

"Besides, if I hand over this military power, who knows if the He family will repeat the same mistakes?"

Princess Hejing smiled slightly, walked over, shook his hand, and said, "Ah Jun, His Majesty is not the late emperor, and Lord Su is not the Xu family of the past. He must have his own ideas when he proposed this method."

"Ah Jun, you can argue with Lord Su all you want on weekdays, but Lord Su's every move over the years has been for the long-term peace and stability of the Great Zhou. Everything he does has a reason, and he never does it without a purpose. Why don't you listen first?"

He Jun had calmed down. He sighed when he heard this and said, "Huan'er, I'm scared."

He Jing, however, was more confident than him: "Ah Jun, even if you don't believe Lord Su, don't you believe Prince Cheng and my father?"

"My father chose him before he died. He must have had his reasons. Facts have proven that Lord Su has never disappointed us over the years."

He Jun's face showed some emotion, and he said helplessly: "Yes, compared to me, he did a good job."

Finally, he added, "Twenty years ago, I would have believed in Ah Le, but now I'm not so sure. You know, I don't know what kind of magic potion Su Fengzhang has poured into Ah Le. Ah Le will admit whatever he says."

"Prince Cheng is a smart man." Princess Hejing said so.

He Jun sighed and finally agreed: "Forget it, go and invite Master Su in."

His anger had been suppressed, but the moment he saw Su Fengzhang, He Jun still felt his blood boiling. This time it was not entirely because of the military power.

Although he is almost fifty years old, Su Fengzhang has grown tall and graceful. Apart from a few wrinkles at the corners of his eyes, his skin is still relatively smooth and he doesn't look like an old man at all.

In comparison, they seem like two generations. He Jun usually doesn't care much about appearance, but every time he sees Mr. Su, he wants to ask him about his maintenance and health regimen and how he has managed to stay so young over the years.

At this, Prince Xi snorted coldly and continued shooting arrows on his own.

Su Fengzhang was not in a hurry either. He just watched from the side and even cheered.

When it comes to patience, He Jun will never be able to beat Su Fengzhang, so he quickly stopped competing with himself and said directly: "Tell me, let's see what words you can use to convince me this time."

Su Fengzhang laughed, shook his head, and said, "I don't have much to say. I came here today to ask Prince Cheng to hand over his military power and stop controlling the Ministry of War."

He Jun exploded like a dynamite that had been lit: "Bullshit! Why don't you just write a petition to retire and return home, away from the Great Zhou court? If you can do something, why can't I?"

Su Fengzhang was not angry either, and continued: "Although I am still in the court, the power of the six ministries has been decentralized, and there is no such thing as controlling the court. But it is different for you, Your Highness. You have been in the Ministry of War for too long."

He Jun sneered and said, "Why, are you worried about me, or is it Qin Fang who is worried about me, or is it the emperor in the palace?"

Su Fengzhang said without hesitation: "I'm not at ease."

Without waiting for He Jun's expression to change, he continued, "Whether it's political power or military power, it shouldn't remain in the hands of one person for too long, not to mention that Prince Xi has two sons, both of whom are capable and skilled military commanders."

"I know that you, Prince Xi, have no intention of rebelling, but who knows what will happen in the future?"

"If that's the case, why can't we implement the military reforms from that year? While you're still here, everything can go smoothly. Once you're gone, I'm afraid we'll have to purge a bunch of people."

He Jun's face turned cold: "Su Ziqing, are you threatening me?"

Su Fengzhang shook his head and said, "I am just speaking the truth, Your Majesty, perhaps you should take a look at this."

He Jun took the letter he handed over, and his face changed drastically after taking a look at it.

Su Fengzhang continued, "I know that Your Highness believes that you are wholeheartedly serving the country and have no selfish motives. You have worked diligently over the years and have never made any mistakes. However, no matter how well you do, if you stay in one place for too long, the minds of your subordinates will change."

"If Your Highness doesn't agree, I can't actually mobilize the military. It's because Prince Cheng and I were overly dependent on Your Highness that we are in this situation today."

"But Your Highness, have you ever thought about this? I can suppress you for one day while you are still alive, but you are already fifty years old, and I don't know how many more years you can live."

"Bullshit, I'm in good health." He Jun said angrily.

Su Fengzhang laughed, nodded, and said, "No matter how good it is, it won't last for thousands of years."

First, he saw that the people below were restless, at least not as peaceful as he thought. Then, Su Fengzhang pointed at his nose and scolded him for being old. He Jun was angry and helpless. In the end, he just asked: "Even if the king is willing to give in, will the next one be better?"

Su Fengzhang smiled and said, "That's not necessarily true, but apart from you, Your Highness, it would be extremely difficult for anyone else to completely control the Ministry of War and the army. I will not give them another chance."

He Jun stared at him and pressed him, "If I hand it over, will the Xijun Prince's Mansion still be the Xijun Prince's Mansion?"

Su Fengzhang smiled and said, "Of course, who dares to move, who can move?"

He Jun looked at him thoughtfully, then suddenly smiled and said, "That's right, except for you and Lao Wu, who dares to touch me?"

If both of them were willing to do so, it wouldn't be difficult for them to join forces to deal with him. He had seen Su Fengzhang tripping others up many times over the years.

Thinking of this, He Jun felt a little relieved. Although Su Fengzhang looked like he would kill any god or Buddha he met, he rarely killed any of his political enemies.

Or perhaps it was that Lord Su did not like killing people, and exile was considered a severe punishment.

He Jun was still conflicted. How could he bear to give up something he had held onto for his entire life? But now it was not a question of whether he was reluctant or not, but Su Fengzhang was forcing him to hand it over.

Don't look at what he just said. If he insists on not giving it, this person will definitely use various means to force him to hand it over, and he might even lose face.

He glanced at Su Fengzhang and suddenly smiled, "Come to think of it, we've been friends for many years. Although our friendship isn't as close as yours and A Fang's, there's still some genuine affection between us, right?"

Su Fengzhang nodded and said, "Back then, I went to the border with the prince. This friendship was a life-and-death relationship."

He Jun laughed heartily, looked at him and said, "Yes, so many years have passed. Lord Su has been busy with government affairs these years, and I believe he has neglected his martial arts. Why don't you compete with me today?"

Su Fengzhang smiled and asked, "If Su wins, will you follow the trend?"

He Jun shook his head and said, "You said you were going with the flow, so we have to do it regardless of who wins or loses."

"Let's just treat it as a competition between friends."

He Jing, who was standing nearby, was a little worried after hearing this and said, "Ah Jun, don't do anything rash. Lord Su hasn't practiced martial arts for many years, so how could he be your opponent?"

He Jun just stared at him and asked, "How about a competition?"

Su Fengzhang had already taken off the jade pendant and the clothes that restricted his hands and feet: "The prince invited me so kindly that I dare not refuse."

"Come on, what are you afraid of? You have already broken the rules of the Great Zhou Dynasty many times."

Su Fengzhang quickly changed his clothes. He always dressed like a scholar, but now he looked even more handsome in his tight clothes. He Jun even felt a little regretful when he saw him.

Su Fengzhang smiled at him and said, "Your Highness, thank you for your modesty!"

Outsiders had no way of knowing what happened in Prince Xi's mansion that day. All they knew was that Prince Xi voluntarily handed over his military power, allowing Prince Cheng and Su Fengzhang to beat them to pieces and implement a new military system.

However, some sharp-eyed people noticed that after this day, Prince Xi actually showed a lot of humility and admiration towards Su Fengzhang. You know, this prince has always been fearless, and it is really strange that he is not convinced when he sees Prince Cheng.