Magistrate Qin was truly anxious.
Grand Secretary Gu, do you even know what you're doing? Prince Rong has already rebelled. If you go there, will you even survive?
Seeing that he was so anxious he was about to have a heart attack, Gu Shaoyu frowned and said, "Magistrate Qin, you have been an official for quite some time now. You need to be more composed."
Magistrate Qin said anxiously, "I'm afraid something might happen to Your Excellency!"
“What could possibly happen? Prince Rong has been raising an army for a month now, hasn’t he? He hasn’t even crossed the river yet, but the imperial army has already crossed the great river. It looks like a fierce battle is imminent. If we can persuade him to surrender at this time, it will be a loss for the imperial court and the people to avoid fighting a single battle.”
"Sir, but he clearly wants to take you hostage!"
"Do you think I'm so easy to catch?"
Gu Shaoyu said this in a nonchalant tone, leaving Magistrate Qin speechless.
After nearly a month of getting to know this person, Magistrate Qin felt that he was aloof and quiet, and his calm demeanor gave him the illusion that life was peaceful and serene!
Gu Shaoyu asked Nanxing to deliver a letter to Prince Rong. Nanxing returned quickly with Prince Rong's reply: Go to the border of the fiefdom for talks, preferably alone.
Magistrate Qin immediately said, "See, he just wants to take the Grand Secretary hostage, doesn't he?"
Gu Shaoyu naturally knew this, and said to Magistrate Qin, "I will depart today. There is no need to see me off, nor to notify the Grand Commander to mobilize troops."
He then took Nanxing, Hongying, and a group of thirty people with him.
How could anyone feel comfortable letting him go alone! Even Xie Yu and Ling Xun firmly disagreed. "You have a family. Even if not for yourself, you should think of your wife!"
The governor of Zizhou personally escorted them, gathering all 20,000 troops stationed there, and they went with Gu Shaoyu to the fiefdom of Prince Rong.
Prince Rong sent his personal guards to inform Gu Shaoyu: "His Highness requests that Grand Secretary Gu go alone, and that the garrison in Zizhou retreat three miles, otherwise there is no point in talking."
Grand Secretary Gu said to the Chief Administrator of Zizhou, "You will lead the troops to the rear."
"Your Excellency, he is clearly trying to do something bad."
"It's alright, he still lacks the confidence to arrest me."
The steward had no choice but to step back.
Both sides stationed their troops at the rear, and the two men only brought their personal guards.
Prince Rong brought his son, three military officers, and fifty highly skilled personal guards.
Gu Shaoyu led Nanxing, Hongying, and thirty female soldiers.
The two sides were fairly polite when they met.
Prince Rong was a few years older than Emperor Hui, but he was very well-preserved and looked much younger than Emperor Hui.
He was refined and gentle, with kind eyes and brows; by all accounts, he did not seem like a villain.
Prince Rong looked at Gu Shaoyu and smiled, "Grand Secretary Gu is young and promising, a role model for young people."
"Your Highness is too kind. It is all thanks to His Majesty's excellent teaching."
"Your Majesty, are you alright?"
"What does Your Highness wish to ask?"
"I've heard that His Majesty will not live long, is licentious and immoral, disrespectful to his stepmother, and cruel to the Crown Prince?"
Gu Shaoyu smiled: "Oh, it's also widely rumored in the capital that the prince is terminally ill. He seems gentle and refined, but in reality, he's a degenerate scoundrel. He not only ruined his concubine's family, but also had affairs everywhere, even taking his affections from the wives and concubines of his ministers."
Prince Rong's heir, Zhou Fengzhi, roared in fury: "I'll fuck your grandma!"
"Slap!" Nanxing slapped Zhou Fengzhi hard across the face, and Zhou Fengzhi lost her footing and fell to the ground with a thud.
Prince Rong was furious and slammed his hand on the table: "You brat, you came to Zizhou and raised the price of grain, plundering all the grain in the prefectures of Jiangnan, causing me to suffer from insufficient food supplies and delaying the advance of the front line."
"I've long heard of your treacherous and cunning nature, and seeing you today, I can see you're indeed ruthless; even your lips are coated with poison! Guards, kill him!"
The three generals and guards behind Prince Rong immediately rushed forward.
Hongying and her female soldiers immediately stood in front of Gu Shaoyu. A gust of wind blew by, and Nanxing's sword was already at Rong Wang's neck.
Gu Shaoyu remained seated, neither moving nor showing anger, and calmly asked, "Does Your Highness no longer wish to negotiate? Are you going to take action directly?"
Prince Rong looked at the sword at his neck, showing no fear. He smiled disdainfully and said, "I summoned you here to capture you alive. Talk? What's there to talk about? If I surrender now, will it all be as if nothing happened?"
"Whether you admit defeat or not is irrelevant; you lost the moment you raised your army. You know best what the fate of the nation is like, so why oppose His Majesty? Even if His Majesty were willing to relinquish the throne, do you think it would be your turn?"
"The Prince of Ning and his allies are no match for me. If it's not me who should ascend to the throne, then who is it?"
What does Your Highness think?
Prince Rong was speechless. Even if the Crown Prince couldn't ascend the throne, it probably wouldn't be his turn either!
Prince Rong said, "Tell your men to take the sword away."
Gu Shaoyu waved to Nanxing, and Nanxing returned to Gu Shaoyu's side.
"Your Highness, should we tell them to withdraw? Let's have a proper talk."
Prince Rong gestured for those people to leave.
Zhou Fengzhi refused to leave, and said violently, "What will you do if you kidnap my father?"
"I will discuss this with Your Highness, and everyone else should leave. Is that acceptable?"
Zhou Fengzhi resolutely refused.
Prince Rong said to him, "Go out. I believe that Grand Secretary Gu will not go back on his word."
“Father, what is there to talk about? Don’t have unrealistic hopes. He’s no good. He’s His Majesty’s loyal dog, full of evil intentions.”
Instead of retreating, Zhou Fengzhi called out to the others, "Today we will definitely capture him alive and force His Majesty to abdicate."
Gu Shaoyu suddenly stood up, grabbed Rong Wang, held a dagger to Rong Wang's neck, and said coldly, "Get out! Otherwise, I will kill the prince."
Prince Rong coughed repeatedly and said to Zhou Fengzhi, "You, step back..."
What bad luck! In no time at all, I had either a sword or a dagger at my neck.
Instead of retreating, Zhou Fengzhi advanced and ordered the other three generals and fifty guards: "Kill them."
This chapter is not finished yet. Please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com