Chapter 3035 Prince, you take the blame
The emperor reluctantly listened, but he was still unhappy. He sighed and said, "Alas, if I had known earlier, I would not have let Mingda go out. It would be much better for him to be like Changyu. He is right under my nose and will not be bullied."
The Queen laughed and said, "With the Prince Consort here, who would dare to bully her? Besides, Zhou Man is in Qingzhou, so she'll be safe there."
The emperor has been convincing himself in this way recently to avoid being so upset, but only he himself knows what he feels deep in his heart.
Among so many children, his three favorites were all legitimate children, and Mingda was the most lovable among them. He was so fond of Prince Gong, but in fact, Prince Gong had to take a step back in front of Mingda.
The Queen also knew that he had always loved Mingda, so she did not bother him by mentioning the matter, but instead asked, "When will the Crown Prince return?"
The emperor said, "A secret letter has been sent back. He is already on his way back and should arrive in the capital soon."
But the prince's return journey was not peaceful at this time. Although they did not go deep into Jiangnan this time, they boldly wandered around several states and counties on the border of Jiangnan.
Although the two censors who followed him were steady, they were people who hated evil, not to mention that there was Tang He, who was not afraid of trouble. The prince himself was even more daring, so he rectified the bureaucracy along the way and cut off the route of transporting official salt from Jiangnan to the north. He had already sent letters to Qingzhou and the capital to return to the capital, but when he passed by Haizhou, he could not help but sneak into Jiangnan for inspection.
Although he was only in a few counties near Haizhou, he went there for the salt tax and caught the other party off guard.
He found out a lot of things.
Hearing that Yang Heshu encountered many obstacles in his actions in Jiangnan, the prince used the things he had found out to kill a few people for him.
Well, as the crown prince, and inspecting on behalf of the emperor, he still has this right.
But when he searched the house, he found some incredible things, and the prince and his entourage immediately prepared to return to the capital.
Seeing that they had lost eight guards, Censor Xia advised the Crown Prince, "Your Highness, we should change our route to the capital. Why not split our forces into two groups? I will lead the pursuers away, and Your Highness will ride back to the capital as fast as possible."
The Crown Prince had just watched his personal guards dig a pit to bury the three recently deceased guards. Upon hearing this, he snorted coldly, "The world belongs to the king. Why would I hide from them? A bunch of demons and monsters, are you worthy enough to abandon my loyal ministers and escape?"
He said, "We will travel to Bianzhou overnight and have the garrison escort me back to the capital."
Although Xia Yushi was touched that the Crown Prince had not abandoned them and had designated them as loyal ministers, he still said, "How do we know that those pursuing us aren't colluding with the noble families in the Central Plains? If they do, it will only make our entry into the city more dangerous."
The prince looked directly at Tang He, "What do you think?"
Tang He had just been fighting to protect the two censors, and his arm had been cut by a sword. It wasn't a serious problem, and he was bandaging it. After thinking for a moment, he said, "Censor Xia's concerns are not unreasonable."
The prince sneered, "How could such a ridiculous thing happen in the world? I am the crown prince!"
Tang He said nonchalantly, "There are so many absurd things happening in this world. There are even cases of fathers killing their sons and sons killing their fathers. What's more, there's the plot to assassinate the crown prince? Aren't they plotting that now?"
He said, "Your Highness now has something in his hands that could kill many people, and no one knows how many other forces are involved besides the people written in the book."
"It's a life-and-death situation. What are they afraid of?" Tang He said, "If we're lucky and there aren't any of their accomplices in the city we enter, we can naturally summon the garrison to escort the Crown Prince to the capital. But what if we happen to run into their accomplices?"
The two imperial censors also agreed and advised: "Your Highness's safety is the most important thing."
The prince pursed his lips tightly, and after a long pause he asked, "Then how can we have both?"
"There are two ways. We can go to Yanzhou instead." The prince had cleared the areas south of Qingzhou and north of Haizhou, and had control over land transportation. Yanzhou was among them, and it was not very far away from them, so it was actually trustworthy.
"The garrison at Yanzhou is available, but..."
"Too weak," the prince said expressionlessly.
"Yes, they may not be able to withstand the increasing number of assassins, but they can definitely delay time. We will send someone to the capital to send a message. If Jiangnan does not want to rebel, they will have no choice but to stop."
Tang He actually didn't want things to get to this point. Once Jiangnan rebelled, not only would war break out again in Jiangnan, causing great suffering to the people, but even Yang Heshu would have no chance of survival.
Before they fled, they sent someone to deliver a letter to Yang Heshu. They wondered if he received it, or if he could escape in time...
"There is another way. Your Highness, please hand the things over to me, and I will take my men back to the capital first," Tang He said. "The one who is in danger is the one who brings the things, not Your Highness."
The prince lowered his eyes in thought, then raised them to look at him. "Which one do you lean towards?"
"The first rule," Tang He said, his expression gradually becoming serious, "Your Highness can recruit garrison troops to escort you into Yanzhou, and then continue to recruit garrison troops to escort you to the next prefecture or county..."
Xia Yushi felt bad after hearing this and immediately asked, "What if there are assassins among them?"
Tang He: "Your Highness has our personal protection. Even if there are assassins among them, I don't believe their number can be greater than the soldiers loyal to the country."
Ning Yushi, who had been silent the whole time, suddenly said, "Every time you pass through a state, you summon a garrison from a prefecture. Not to mention that Your Highness doesn't have military tokens and the power to mobilize troops, even if you could, there would definitely be a lot of soldiers following him. If word gets to the capital, I'm afraid it would be seen as an attempt to force the emperor to abdicate."
The prince's eyes widened. "I'm so bored, why would I force the emperor to abdicate now?"
Censor Ning choked and said, "Your Highness, this is a hypothesis."
Who can tell what is happening in this world?
He hinted, "Prince Li and Emperor Wu of Han were a loving and filial relationship during their lifetime. But Jiang Chong's slander made the emperor suspect him of witchcraft. Otherwise, why would Prince Li rebel and commit suicide?"
Prince: ...The prince, who had once planned to rebel, thought what he said made a lot of sense.
However, he now had a little more trust in his father. After a moment's thought, he said, "I trust my father, and he will certainly trust me as well."
His wife and children are still in the palace. Even if he wants to rebel, he has to bring his wife and children out first, right?
He is no longer alone like before.
And there is also the Queen Mother, and the Prince trusts the Queen very much.
The first method was indeed the safest at the moment, but... He glanced at Tang He and asked, "What is your plan for suggesting this?"
Tang He took a deep breath and said, "Your Highness, I am trying to spread rumors that you are planning a rebellion."
The two imperial censors glared at Tang He. Isn't this going to alienate the father and son of the royal family?
Tang He quickly said, "We had no choice. We were wrong from the start. We shouldn't have gone to Haizhou, and certainly shouldn't have killed the governor. Although it's done, we shouldn't regret it, but rather think of ways to remedy it. However, we also know that if we don't handle it properly, war will reignite in Jiangnan. I don't want the people to suffer, so I can only ask Your Highness to take the risk."
See you at 9pm
(End of this chapter)
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