This matter was of utmost urgency, so Zhu Lin immediately summoned the head of the secret guards, explained the implications to him, and urged him to take immediate action to resolve the issue.
The head of the secret guards looked serious after hearing this, and felt a little uncomfortable. This person was neither the emperor nor the princess, so why did he always treat him like his subordinate?
Well, this person is someone the princess trusts, and besides, he is also working for the emperor and the princess. Since everyone is working for the emperor and the princess, there is no need to worry too much about who is in charge of whom.
Inside a gambling den, gamblers were having a great time, with excited shouts and disappointed cries mixed together. Inside the den, in a dark room, sat several old men dressed in official robes.
"My lord, what should we do now? The imperial envoy has already been rescued, and news of our situation has probably reached the capital. The emperor will certainly not let us off the hook. We can't wait any longer. I think we should move the plan forward and get them to send troops as soon as possible. Otherwise, we're in a very awkward and passive position right now."
The person speaking at this moment was Mo Chunshan, the junior magistrate of Xiyan City. He was over forty years old, hunched over, and spoke in a hoarse voice, as if he had phlegm stuck in his throat that he couldn't spit out.
"I sent a letter to the other side, but there has been no reply yet. That Wanyan Xiong is very cunning. No one knows if he will shoot us in the back at a crucial moment. This matter is of great importance and we must be extremely cautious." Zhuge Zhongshen sat there calmly and steadily, showing no signs of anxiety.
The other minor officials, however, were filled with apprehension. They had been blinded by greed and had succumbed to temptation to board the prefect's rebellious ship.
Zhuge Zhongshen's family had a large number of beautiful concubines, comparable to the emperor's harem, and even more women than the emperor. The Zhuge family was a powerful clan in Xiyancheng, and their influence should not be underestimated.
Zhuge Zhongshen somehow got in touch with the officials of the Great Silver Kingdom. He had been in contact with the people of the Great Silver Kingdom for ten years. He gave the officials of the Great Silver Kingdom beautiful women and silver, and the officials of the Great Silver Kingdom gave him a few sheep or a few taels of cattle.
In short, they had been exchanging gifts and favors. About five years ago, Zhuge Zhongshen discovered that one of his concubine's daughters was incredibly beautiful. He originally wanted to offer this daughter to the emperor, but the emperor was oblivious to romance and focused only on state affairs, no longer taking in new concubines.
Zhuge Zhongshen had no hope of offering his daughter, but he was unwilling to waste such a good bargaining chip. Just then, Wanyan Xiong, the Khan of the Great Yin Kingdom, secretly came to Xiyan City. Zhuge Zhongshen received him and his entourage.
At the banquet, Wanyan Xiong somehow got drunk and caused a scene, barging into the backyard of the Zhuge family and forcibly taking one of Zhuge Zhongshen's beautiful concubines. When he woke up the next day, he found that the concubine's daughter was even more beautiful, so he proposed to take away Zhuge Zhongshen's stunningly beautiful illegitimate daughter.
Zhuge Zhongshen didn't care about the women in his harem at all. He didn't care whether there were more or less women in his harem, so he simply packed up his beautiful concubine and illegitimate daughter and gave them to Wanyan Xiong.
Wanyan Xiong was very pleased with his understanding, and the two men, who were about the same age, addressed each other as father-in-law and son-in-law to show their close relationship.
After that, Zhuge Zhongshen attached even more importance to the relationship with the Great Silver Kingdom. He would often secretly slip away from the border soldiers and go to the Great Silver Kingdom to drink and deepen his relationship with Wanyan Xiong as father-in-law and son-in-law.
In the past, it was Zhuge Zhongshen who tried to curry favor with the Great Silver Kingdom. Later, after Wanyan Xiong received two beauties from him, he would occasionally send him cattle, sheep and horses, and even gold and silver jewelry. In short, Zhuge Zhongshen was completely brainwashed by Wanyan Xiong and felt that he should not just be a local prefect, but that he had greater abilities.
The Jin Dynasty has been plagued by natural disasters in recent years, and there have long been rumors among the people that the emperor is an unlucky man and should not be emperor. They believe that if he abdicates, the world will be at peace immediately.
Wanyan Xiong said, "Father-in-law, you are born with a blessed appearance. Under your rule, Xiyan City is peaceful, prosperous, and the people live and work in peace. All these signs prove that you are a man of great talent. If you were to sit on the dragon throne, the Great Jin Dynasty would surely be peaceful and prosperous under your rule. You are the true dragon, the emperor."
At first, Zhuge Zhongshen wasn't delusional and genuinely believed he was the chosen one. But people are afraid of having desires and greed in their hearts. After being praised and hearing so much brainwashing, he slowly started to believe it.
He really thought he was some kind of emperor, that the world should rightfully belong to him. Moreover, Wanyan Xiong repeatedly assured him that he would help Zhuge Zhongshen as long as he had any ideas.
"The treasury of the Great Jin Dynasty is already empty, and natural disasters are still occurring in various places. People are resorting to cannibalism, and the emperor's army does not have enough food. They are starving and unable to train, let alone fight. Think carefully about what progress the Great Jin Dynasty has made in recent years. Nothing. The emperor has accomplished nothing, only focusing on disaster relief."
Once an army is dispatched from the border, the Great Jin army will be utterly unable to resist and will only be sent to their deaths. In that case, the world will descend into chaos, and whoever seizes the throne first will become emperor.
Zhuge Zhongshen thought this was indeed the case. If they couldn't survive the natural disaster, then the dynasty would change, and the feudal lords would each display their abilities. Whoever had the strongest army would become emperor, and he also had a chance.
However, he wasn't stupid. He knew that Wanyan Xiong wouldn't help him like this just because of two women; he must have something to gain.
"What is your purpose? After you conquer the Great Jin Dynasty, won't you care about the dragon throne?"
It would be strange if he didn't care. He only wanted to take the Great Jin Dynasty into his own hands, which is why he instigated that fool Zhuge Zhongshen to work for him. Originally, he planned to wait for the Great Jin Dynasty to perish due to natural disasters, and then launch an attack when the soldiers guarding the border of the Great Jin Dynasty had no food to eat and were too hungry to fight.
But after waiting and waiting for almost ten years, the Great Jin Dynasty still did not fall. The soldiers of the Great Jin on the border always had food to eat, and it was said that the food was sent from the south, and the south had received new food.
High yield, drought-resistant and enough to fill an empty stomach, and can be grown from vine seedlings, the Great Jin Dynasty not only did not perish, but also had a lot more grain, and the disaster situation showed a slow trend of recovery.
Wanyan Xiong lost his patience and didn't want to wait any longer, so he set his sights on Zhuge Zhongshen. The border general was a tough nut to crack, and Wanyan Xiong had suffered several defeats at his hands. He was very difficult to deal with, and he didn't want to confront him head-on.
If a battle breaks out, and Zhuge Zhongshen can launch a sneak attack from behind, everything will be much simpler. As long as Zhuge Zhongshen takes advantage of the general's unpreparedness to assassinate him, the loss of a general will throw the army into chaos, and the Great Silver Kingdom will win the battle.
However, the truth could not be told to Zhuge Zhongshen. Wanyan Xiong then seriously deceived him, saying, "When the Great Jin conquers the country, it will be divided in two. You can become emperor in the south, and the north will belong to my Great Yin Kingdom. How about that? The south has many rivers, and my people do not like places with too much water. I only want the northern half of the country."
After Wanyan Xiong said this, Zhuge Zhongshen's initial doubts were completely dispelled, and he believed his lies. He then focused on becoming emperor and secretly began recruiting soldiers and stockpiling grain in preparation for rebellion.
Whether they liked it or not, all the minor officials in Xiyancheng were dragged onto his boat and had to listen to him, or their entire families would be wiped out.
There was a minor county magistrate who refused to participate and even threatened to expose him. A few days later, that magistrate's entire family was wiped out by so-called bandits.
From then on, no one dared to disagree with Zhuge Zhongshen.
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