Chapter 99 The Heir Apparent of Prince Sheng
Wearing a crimson robe with a round collar and narrow sleeves, and with five-clawed dragons woven on the shoulders, Prince Li Mingde of the Sheng Kingdom stood in front of the map, studying it carefully. Several generals of the Chongshan Guard beside him kept giving their opinions, while Prince Sheng, in the main seat, leaned back in his chair and dozed off.
"Your Highness, please make a decision. With 30,000 soldiers, even the daily provisions are a problem. The Prince's granary can't last much longer. Moreover, I recently heard that the imperial court has sent General Jiang Zhou and Duke Qi to mobilize troops to attack us. The war hasn't even started yet, but if it does, the provisions will be consumed even faster."
Prince Sheng nodded repeatedly, and several generals glanced at their prince and couldn't help but sigh.
Li Mingde had just come of age this year. Originally, his family was living a good life in Ningzhou. His father would spend his days playing with birds and crickets, and at most, he would visit brothels. When he came back, he would be beaten by his mother. His father was honest and dutiful, and Li Mingde did not cause any trouble. He led the Chongshan Guard to fight the Tartars and defend the border.
His father was an unambitious man who only knew how to indulge in refined pursuits. A few months ago, a woman suddenly came and accused him of insulting her reputation. She turned around and smashed her head against the door of the court. Before the investigation could even begin, an imperial envoy from the prefecture came to take his father to the capital to be punished.
What a joke! Does he think he can't see who instructed him? If he wants to reduce power, he should just say so. Instead, he resorts to underhanded tactics. Not to mention that his father is a border prince in charge of a state's tax revenue, he has neither power nor wealth. To put it bluntly, in the prince's territory, what woman couldn't his father have? Why would he sleep with a woman of average appearance? Ridiculous! Even if he did sleep with her, at worst he could just take her back to the manor as a concubine. There's no time to investigate, and a bucket of dirty water has already been thrown on the Sheng Prince's manor.
Li Mingde sneered, thinking that perhaps he just thought his father was an easy target and wanted to bully him, and that by stripping his family of their power, he could set a good precedent.
And that damned Chen Jing, before he even rebelled, he cut off Chongshan Guard's food and military pay. He truly deserves to die.
"Your Highness! Something terrible has happened! Minister Huang has been assassinated in Guangning!!"
Prince Sheng, who was leaning back in his chair, stumbled and was instantly jolted awake. Wiping his mouth, he groggily asked, "Who? Who died??"
A group of generals looked at the Prince Sheng, who had been woken up. Under the subtle gazes of the crowd, the Prince Sheng was unusually embarrassed. He stood up, patted his crimson robe, and looked at the group of generals: "Ah, well, I have something to attend to, so I will take my leave first. You can discuss it with the Crown Prince yourselves."
Li Mingde sighed, looked at his good-for-nothing father, and bowed, saying, "Respectfully seeing off Father!"
The generals followed suit, clasping their hands in farewell: "Respectfully seeing off Your Highness."
Li Mingde watched his father leave and then looked at the soldier who had come to report: "Who did you say died?"
The soldier knelt down and raised his head solemnly: "Your Highness, Vice Minister Huang was assassinated in Guangning Prefecture on his way back from delivering grain to Daxing. All his entourage were killed, with no survivors. Moreover..."
The soldier looked at Li Mingde tentatively and asked hesitantly.
Li Mingde's face darkened: "Speak!"
The soldier lowered his head and said in a slightly softer voice, "The surrounding government offices say that we killed Vice Minister Huang."
Li Mingde sneered: "Fine, fine, have you found out who did it?"
The soldier shook his head: "No, when the news came back, everyone said that we killed people because we wanted to seize Daxing's flock of sheep."
"A flock of sheep?"
The soldier nodded: "They said that Vice Minister Huang brought several thousand sheep from Daxing Guard to distribute to various guard posts. He happened to pass by here, so he robbed the sheep from Daxing and killed Vice Minister Huang to silence him!"
Li Mingde laughed in anger: "What a Chu King, what a Qi Rong! This framing trick is simply masterful."
If he still can't figure out who did it, then he's a fool. Daxing is located directly west of Daning. When the imperial court sends troops to attack them, they will inevitably pass through here. And when they fight the imperial court, Daxing is also an important gateway.
If they don't get their hands on it, Daxing will be like a thorn stuck in their throat, and it might even block their supply and food delivery. So Daxing must be dealt with, and it must be dealt with before the imperial army assembles.
Of course, it would be even better if Daxing could be taken without bloodshed. It's just a pity that Qi Rong is the nephew of the King of Chu, who was raised by him personally. He is almost like a son to him and is a staunch supporter of the King of Chu.
He wrote eight letters in a row to persuade Qi Rong to submit to him, even promising to make him a king in the future, but Qi Rong never responded. However, because nearly half of the generals in Daxing came from the Chu Prince's Mansion, the court was always quite wary of them. The grain supply was instructed by the person above to ensure that Daxing would not starve but also not become rich. The grain supply was delayed indefinitely. Unfortunately, they encountered a fool like Chen Jing, who not only embezzled in private but also delayed the grain supply many times. This year, he drove people to desperation and they even went to the grasslands to plunder the Tartars.
It has also damaged the reputation of the imperial court. Now several vassal kings are watching the situation closely. If the grain supplies are delayed again, and the delay is severe, even without a major rebellion, the other vassal kings will probably rise up in revolt just like them.
The dog emperor, after these royal children were enfeoffed, they were stationed on the frontier. Those whose fathers were capable would hold off the various foreign tribes, while those who were less capable, like his father, would be sent to the battlefield to hone their skills and carry on their fathers' work.
They were a group of people guarding the frontier. Putting aside their great achievements, just considering their hard work, the emperor shouldn't treat them like this. He chose to weaken their power by targeting those who were easy to bully. Doesn't he realize that the Great Xuan Dynasty is so peaceful now because of these people guarding the frontier?
Li Mingde grew angrier the more he thought about it. After calming down for a while, he pointed to the map and said, "Our current food supply is enough to sustain us for a while. Before the imperial court sends troops, we need to take Daxing first."
The generals looked at Li Mingde with some hesitation. Commander Sun touched the sword at his waist and said, "This, Prince Qi is quite good at leading troops. If we want to take Daxing by force, it will not be easy. The ferocity of Daxing Guard is well-known among the border troops."
Li Mingde nodded in agreement: "I understand what Commander Sun said, but we must take Daxing, otherwise not only will our grain and fodder transportation be restricted in the future, but we might also be betrayed by Daxing one day."
Commander Meng pointed to Yongping and said, "If we're going to fight, Yongping Prefecture is a good place. Why don't we take Yongping Prefecture first and then besiege Daxing?"
Commander Sun shook his head: "It's not a good idea. If it were half a month ago, it might have been feasible. Daxing didn't have enough food and fodder, and we couldn't hold out for more than two months if we besieged them. But Vice Minister Huang just sent enough food and fodder over there, and Daxing also looted several thousand sheep. Even if we take Yongping, we still can't outlast them. At worst, they won't leave the city. They can wear us down by defending the city. Besides, the imperial court isn't stupid. They will definitely send troops to support Daxing."
Li Mingde's eyes flickered: "What if the imperial court doesn't send reinforcements?"
Commander Sun glanced at the Crown Prince with surprise and confusion. Li Mingde raised an eyebrow and said, "I think Daxing can be besieged."
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