Eunuch Yuan almost collapsed.

Then the emperor said, "Old Nine is the heir of Prajna Hall, and you and Eunuch Qian are also responsible for guiding Ruyi. They will not let you guard the mausoleum for me."

"No, I am willing!"

Eunuch Yuan knelt directly on the snow.

The emperor turned his head to look at him, and after a moment he sighed, "When a person dies, it's like a light going out. This world is just a dream. When I die, there is no need for anyone to guard me, and you don't have to imprison me on the ground."

“Woo——”

Eunuch Yuan couldn't stop crying anymore.

He got up and followed, crying, "Your Majesty, I hope you are well and live a long life!"

"Just a rainy day."

The emperor glanced at him and said, "You are still the same as when you were young, you just tend to think too much."

Afraid that Eunuch Yuan would cry endlessly, the emperor simply stopped talking and said, "Get ready and go to the Xiao family."

Eunuch Yuan wiped his tears and went to arrange the dragon chariot.

It’s not good to cry in front of others, so I can only hold it in.

The emperor stood alone at the edge of the imperial garden, looking at the clear sky in the distance, and his eyes gradually became clear.

Just like when I was young.

…

Ruyi was practicing sword skills at the time.

Xiao Pingyue rode back and ran straight into the house to say goodbye to Sun Yixiang, Madam Xiao, and Minister Xiao.

Ruyi also followed in.

"how?"

Minister Xiao frowned, "I just came out and heard that you were in. The emperor didn't say anything in the court, but summoned you secretly. It really makes people uneasy."

"We are going to Yancheng."

Xiao Pingyue said succinctly, "Someone is planning a rebellion. The Third Prince is heading towards Yancheng. The Emperor asked me to go there and arrest him if I see him."

"The capital may be in turmoil these days, so you must be extremely careful..."

Then he looked at Sun Yixiang and said, "No matter how hungry you are, don't go out to eat out. Ask someone to cook in the kitchen."

Sun Yixiang was worried about his safety. "What about you? Are you in danger? I want to go with you!"

Apparently, she had no fear of danger at all.

What I fear is that my loved ones will be in danger.

"Just wait at home. Even if I encounter danger, I can still have a thought. Even if it's just to come back to see you, I will live well."

Xiao Pingyue reached out and tapped her on the forehead.

He was very straightforward and made Sun Yixiang blush.

After a brief farewell, Xiao Pingyue looked at Ruyi and said, "I came back mainly to see you again and to hear your thoughts on this matter."

He has a strong intuition.

He always felt that Ruyi would say something that would inspire him.

Because before entering the palace, Ruyi was the first one to remind him.

This means that either she is extremely well-informed or her intuition and judgment are amazing.

Either way, it's good for him.

Ruyi nodded.

Time was running out, and she said directly without any modesty: "Let's assume that the Third Prince wants to rebel before the Fourth Prince returns. He has already bribed the city defense army, so he doesn't need to consider entering the city. The only thing he has to deal with is two things."

"First, break through the palace defenses."

"Second, be prepared for support from the Qianlong Army and the Yancheng Army."

Minister Xiao and the two brothers of the Xiao family nodded repeatedly after hearing this.

Minister Xiao said, "That's the truth."

He added some information.

"Right now, there are 30,000 city defense troops, but only 5,000 imperial guards. There are 50,000 Hidden Dragon Guards, but only 8,000 of them are in the capital."

"In addition, there are 20,000 Yulin Guards stationed outside the city, and Yancheng can use 80,000 garrisons."

After saying that, he looked at Ruyi and said, "Under such circumstances, how many people do you think the Third Prince has?"

Ruyi thought about this problem carefully last night.

She said, "Three situations."

"Let's assume that the Third Prince intends to kill the Emperor at the banquet today and get rid of the Second Prince at the Imperial Mausoleum at the same time. Then, when the Emperor dies, the whole country will be in chaos."

"At this time, the Fourth Prince has not returned yet, and the Third Prince's crimes have not yet been made public. As the heir apparent, he can ascend the throne directly."

"In this case, no effort is needed."

"At most, we can use 10,000 or 20,000 people to put pressure on other parties and help him ascend the throne smoothly."

"Assuming that the Third Prince did not arrange to assassinate the Emperor today, or that the assassination was not successful today, then his own situation would be even more dangerous."

"At this time, if he wants to usurp the throne faster, he can only start from the palace."

"Right now, Concubine Duan has been imprisoned in the Buddhist temple, but her minions are still there. If they can lure assassins into the palace or use other means to kill the emperor, then the Third Prince will only need 20,000 people to stabilize the situation."

"If assassination, poisoning and other methods all fail, then he needs to quickly and accurately defeat the palace guards in the shortest possible time, kill the emperor and his father, and ascend the throne."

"At this time, twenty thousand is not enough."

"Because at this moment, he is not in a legitimate position, and needs to use his strength to intimidate all parties. He must at least have enough troops to fight against the Qianlong Guards, the Yancheng Army, and the Imperial Guards outside the city."

"Then he needs at least 100,000 people, and he needs to contact foreign aid at the same time."

"However, judging from the fact that he rushed to Yancheng in a hurry, his troops should be less than 50,000, so he needs to control the Yancheng army in advance, or at least stabilize the Yancheng army."

"In this way, the threat of the 80,000 troops in Yancheng will be eliminated."

"So, if a mutiny really happened this time, the number of private soldiers that the Third Prince has stockpiled nearby should be between 30,000 and 50,000."

Ruyi expressed her judgment in one breath.

The logic is very clear.

Although her face still looked a little chubby, she spoke with a firm and decisive voice as if she was giving orders about the country. The Xiao father and son nodded repeatedly, while Mrs. Xiao and Sun Yixiang were stunned.

She is obviously a soft little girl, but when she shows her edge, she is like a sword, sharp and powerful.

"So."

Xiao Pingyue couldn't help but continue to ask: "What do you think the Third Prince will do when he goes to Yancheng?"

Ruyi has also thought about this.

She expressed her guess, "First of all, he went to Yancheng in person at this time, which proves that there is no senior official in Yancheng that he can trust."

"Otherwise he would only need to send a letter and there would be no need to go in person."

"Right now, my eldest brother, who is the defender of Yancheng, is in the capital, so his first goal is to target the deputy general."

"There are several scenarios."

"First, use drugs to control the deputy general for your own use, and use the deputy general as a puppet to ensure that the Yancheng army does not move when the emperor issues an order for help."

"Second, bribe the deputy general of Yancheng and let him lead the Yancheng army to serve us. In this way, the third prince will have hundreds of thousands of troops, which will be extremely disadvantageous to us."

"Third, forge an imperial edict and make up a lie, saying that the emperor is being sidelined and controlled, and he needs to bring people to clean up the emperor's side. Then lead the Yancheng army to help, and then frame the second prince."

"After the plot is accomplished, he will assassinate the emperor and ascend the throne openly."

Ruyi said, looking at Xiao Pingyue, "So, to be on the safe side, I suggest you go find my master and ask him to go with you to prevent the Third Prince from using poison."

"He is colluding with Nan Chu, and there are bad guys behind him."

"Secondly, don't make a big fuss when you go there. First determine the location of the Third Prince. Catch the leader first and then talk about it."

Xiao Pingxin nodded, "Ruyi is right. Since the Third Prince is going after the deputy general, he only needs to stay where the deputy general is. There is no need to go back to the barracks first."

"If we return to the barracks first, the enemy will be in the dark while we are in the light, which will be difficult to deal with."