Chapter 19 Chapter 19 Trouble comes from the mouth
"Could it be that His Royal Highness Prince Huai has already attacked the capital, and Uncle Li is serving on the side?" Zheng Zhong's tone was a little excited.
Zheng Xiuyuan, who had his eyes closed at the top, opened them after hearing this. His eyes swept across the entire study room sharply, then stopped at Zheng Zhong.
Zheng Zhong felt uneasy under his gaze. He had been afraid of his father's authority since he was a child. He looked around, not daring to meet Zheng Xiuyuan's gaze.
Zheng Xiuyuan was furious at his youngest son's failure. He suppressed his anger and said earnestly to Zheng Zhong, "When the new emperor ascends the throne, our Zheng family will be at the peak of their power. You should be more careful with your words and actions. Don't let your words lead to disaster and bring your family into ruin."
Zheng Zhong nodded in agreement to his father's teachings, but to his surprise, his father did not scold him this time.
Zheng Xiuyuan stood up and walked out of the study. The moon was high in the sky outside, and the cool breeze was blowing the leaves, adding a touch of tension to the originally peaceful night.
The Zheng Qing brothers also followed their father out of the study, only to see Zheng Xiuyuan with his hands behind his back, looking up at the sky.
After a while, Zheng Xiuyuan suddenly said, "Let's go, we should go see what's going on outside."
Suddenly, a voice came from the roof: "Where are you going, Duke Hanguo, so late at night? Why don't you come with me to the Shadow Dragon Guard's prison." The person who spoke was definitely Mo Yu, who had been eavesdropping on the roof for a long time.
Seeing Mo Yu suddenly appear, the Zheng Qing brothers were both shocked. Zheng Xiuyuan, however, reacted instantly: "I am a first-rank duke personally appointed by the late emperor. If I am guilty, it should be judged by the Dali Temple, the Ministry of Justice, and the Censorate. It is not your turn to interfere in this matter."
He is indeed an old fox. Mo Yu originally wanted to surprise him, but he didn't expect that the other party could still be so calm at this point.
"Your Excellency the Duke is so majestic. I was just joking." Mo Yu apologized, but there was no respect in his tone, and it was even a bit sarcastic.
"I can't stand the joke of the dignified commander of the Shadow Dragon Guards on me. I haven't even asked you why Commander Mo came to my Duke Han's Mansion so late at night." Zheng Xiuyuan snorted coldly and took the lead in attacking Mo Yu.
He wasn't sure how long the other party had been there, how much he had heard, or how much the other party knew about his plan, so he tried to test the waters.
But Mo Yu was also a scheming fox, so how could he let him have his way? "My Lord, the Duke, what are you thinking about so deeply at night? This commander is here for that very reason."
Zheng Xiuyuan realized that the other party must have known something, but since the other party did not say it clearly, he would not panic.
"I was just lamenting that my two sons were useless. I didn't expect that such a small matter would alarm Commander Mo." Zheng Xiuyuan said perfunctorily, without feeling guilty at all.
Mo Yu lost the mood to continue playing Tai Chi with the other party; it was truly boring. He suddenly spoke, like a bolt from the blue, shattering the remaining hope in the three people's hearts: "The Duke should properly discipline your second son. Otherwise, when the new emperor ascends the throne, he will cause trouble through his words, and it will bring disaster to the entire Zheng family in Xingyang."
The brothers Zheng Qing and Zheng Zhong were so frightened that their faces turned pale in an instant. Zheng Zhong even lost all his strength and fell heavily to the ground.
Zheng Xiuyuan was still wondering how the other party had suspected him. He had been very cautious over the years and had not even had any contact with Prince Huai.
Before he could figure it out, he was shocked by Mo Yu's words. The other party had indeed heard it. It seemed that he had come with bad intentions.
Since the other party had already torn his face, he didn't need to continue to play dumb. Although he was wary of the other party's strength, it didn't mean that he was afraid of the other party. Over the years, his Zheng family had trained many masters.
Besides, Mu Congmo had already died in Jiangnan. How could he, the commander of the Shadow Dragon Guard, turn the tide?
"Commander Mo, now that His Majesty has passed away, please understand the current situation and join a wise leader as soon as possible." Zheng Xiuyuan began to persuade. In his eyes, everyone in the world is pursuing profit.
Now that Mu Congmo is dead, if Mo Yu is a smart person, he will naturally choose to join King Huai.
After hearing this, Mo Yu was puzzled. His Majesty was already dead? Where did this news come from? If so, who gave him the order? He immediately realized that this was part of His Majesty's plan.
He scoffed inwardly. This old fox had been clever his whole life, yet he had been deceived by His Majesty. It seemed he had great confidence in the assassin he had sent out. Who could have given him such assurance?
Seeing this, he decided to play along. With a fake smile on his face, he spoke in a very hypocritical tone, "I came here today for this very matter. It's very rude of you to disturb me so late at night. Please, Lord Duke, put in a few good words for me in front of His Royal Highness the Prince of Huai."
Huichun, who was standing by, saw his attitude change so quickly and his eyes widened. He was very impressed that such a flexible person could be the leader of the Shadow Dragon Guard.
Zheng Xiuyuan was very pleased to see that the other party was very tactful. He walked quickly towards the gate of the mansion. As he passed Zheng Zhong, who was slumped on the ground, he cursed him, "You useless thing."
Seeing this, Mo Yu hurriedly followed, and did not forget to gesture to Huichun, who was standing beside him with a look of contempt, to ask him to follow as well.
On the other hand, the pitch-black night was the best protection. Prince Huai led his army and rode towards the capital.
The sound of horses' hooves of the marching army broke the silence of the night. Everyone came to a forest. After passing through the forest and walking for nearly fifty miles, they would reach the capital.
Prince Huai, Mu Conghao, rode at the front of the army, his dark golden armor revealing his royal demeanor. Unfortunately, he usually traveled in a sedan chair and was not good at riding or shooting. Now, he was teetering on his horse, looking extremely funny.
The army had been on the march with little time to rest, and he had always been accustomed to a life of luxury and comfort, so he had never experienced such hardship. However, he insisted on riding his own horse, hoping to establish the majesty of a future emperor in front of these soldiers.
But he overestimated himself. Instead of establishing his authority, he made a lot of jokes.
When everyone saw the woods ahead, they all pulled the reins and stopped their horses.
A middle-aged general in silver armor jumped off his horse and quickly ran to Mu Conghao's side, reporting in his ear: "Your Highness, do you want to send someone to explore this forest first?"
This man's name was Lin Guan. He was a general of the Xingding County garrison and one of the late emperor's confidants left in Jiangnan. He was also the one who secretly trained private soldiers for Mu Conghao.
Lin Guan had been well-versed in military manuals since childhood and was later recognized by the late emperor in his youth. He had once believed he could achieve great success. However, the late emperor grew increasingly incompetent and no longer possessed the ambition he had when he first ascended the throne.
He was also sent to guard Jiangnan, a good place to go. Lin Guan was grateful for the late emperor's grace and had been loyal to Mu Conghao all these years. Mu Conghao, in turn, respected him because he held military power, and they could be considered harmonious rulers and ministers.
Although there has been no war in Jiangnan in recent years, his intuition still believes that this kind of terrain can provide a hiding place for the enemy, so he should send people to investigate first.
But Mu Conghao did not have such an idea. At this moment, he only wanted to rush into the capital as soon as possible to realize his dream of becoming the common ruler of the world.
"No need, just rush in directly. No one knows our whereabouts, not to mention that even if there is an ambush here, do you think my 40,000-strong army would be afraid of just a few thousand imperial guards?" Mu Conghao's tone was full of indifference, and also contained some dissatisfaction with Lin Guan.
Seeing this, Lin Guan wanted to give another word of persuasion, but just as he was about to speak, he was stopped by the deputy general Lin Ye who came over. Lin Guan did not speak again when he saw that it was him, but ordered the army to continue marching.
The soldiers rode forward upon hearing the order, and Lin Guan rode alongside Lin Ye. Lin Ye was not only Lin Guan's lieutenant, but also his younger brother, so he followed his advice.
But Lin Guan was still puzzled, so he asked, "Why did you stop me from continuing?"
"His Royal Highness Prince Huai is anxious. If you don't obey his order, you will be offending him in front of tens of thousands of soldiers. He is narrow-minded and must be dissatisfied. Brother, you should be careful." Lin Ye explained to him patiently.
Although Lin Guan was well versed in military tactics, he was completely clueless about the intricacies of political strategy. Fortunately, Lin Ye had been there to remind him over the years, helping him avoid making mistakes and offending others.
"But what if there really is an ambush in this forest?" Lin Guan's intuition from years of military service made him feel uneasy.
"Then this matter has nothing to do with you. After all, you have already warned him in advance, but it was Prince Huai who didn't listen." Lin Ye said in a cold tone, as if the lives of the soldiers were not worth mentioning.
Lin Guan naturally couldn't bear it. He treated every soldier as his own brother. Knowing that the road ahead was fraught with danger, how could he bear to watch his brothers, whom he had been with day and night, die in vain?
On the other side, in the woods.
A young general was holding a piece of wild grass in his mouth, his black and red cloak fluttering in the wind, and his silver armor looking very cold in the moonlight. What a spirited young man he was.
In one hand, the young man held a spear. The tip of the spear was shaped like a willow leaf, with a red tassel hanging from it. The spear shaft flashed with a cold light. The young man stared at the entrance of the forest with a stern gaze, as if no movement could escape his eyes.
If you look closely, you'll find that besides the young man, there are many others hiding in the woods, some with bows and arrows, others holding spears.
The next second, the sound of horse hooves reverberated through the ground like thunder from the blue sky. The branches shook, and the silence of the forest was shattered by the sudden arrival of this "guest."
Seeing this, the young general smiled, spat the grass in his mouth onto the ground, and gestured to the archers hidden among them.
The next moment, countless arrows poured down like a torrential rain. Under the cover of night, the arrows' tracks were completely undetectable, and only the sharp sound of them piercing the air warned of the approaching danger.
By the time the soldiers who had stepped into the forest noticed it, the arrows had already pierced their bodies, and blood had dyed their silver armor red, looking particularly heroic under the cold moonlight.
Someone reacted and shouted, "There's an ambush!" The next second, he was pierced through the heart by an arrow, fell heavily off his horse, and his body lay on the ground.
The Lin Guan brothers also heard the noise, and Lin Guan shouted an order: "There's an ambush, retreat quickly."
Mu Conghao was very dissatisfied when he heard his order and immediately shouted, "No retreat, everyone charge forward!"
Lin Guan looked at Mu Conghao with anger. He hadn't expected him to care so little about the lives of his soldiers. Veins bulged in his hand as he gripped his sword tightly, as if it would pierce Mu Conghao's chest in the next second.
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