"Oh? But there's no accurate news from the valley yet?"
Song Chengze shook his head. "No, there are already some clues over there. There are three places that can be confirmed."
"so much?"
"Yes, except for the east side of the city, he has arrangements for the other three areas."
Meng Qi took a deep breath. King Jing's skills were indeed superior to those two. He had not only deployed troops, but also set up three locations. This allowed him to form an outflanking force and also allow him to have three burrows in case of an emergency.
"However, there aren't many people in those three places, which doesn't match the weapons we found he privately forged." Song Chengze continued, "So, we guess he must have another large one. It's just strange that no one who followed the Hong family, the Li family (Xianfei's family), or even the people from Fourth Brother's mansion, except for those three places, went outside the city."
Meng Qi sat down and poured a cup of tea for Song Chengze. "Could it be that the place is not outside the city at all?"
Song Chengze took the tea and just took a sip when he heard this. He was surprised at first, then he put down the teacup with an expression of sudden enlightenment. "Yes, we have always thought that if there really are so many troops, they must be stationed outside the city. Maybe he has already brought his troops into the city?"
The more Song Chengze thought about it, the more this possibility seemed to him. He tapped the table lightly, "But where could it be?"
Meng Qi suddenly remembered that after the incident with King Jing in her previous life, the emperor actually searched and arrested people in every alley.
"Your Majesty, could it be that those people are not gathered in one place at all?"
Song Chengze looked at Meng Qi, thought for a moment, and said, "You mean, they have already entered the city and were arranged by Fourth Brother to stay in different places, and then sneaked into the capital."
Meng Qi nodded excitedly. "Yes, just like ordinary people, there might be firewood sellers, shop owners, blacksmiths, or rickshaw drivers... As long as they are always prepared, it will be fine. And the weapons are also kept at the Hong, Li, and Hu families. They are scattered around, so it's easy to take them."
Song Chengze hummed a sound. Yes, that must be the case. He was about to shout for help when he looked up and remembered that he was in Jing'an Garden. He couldn't help but smile bitterly. It seemed that moving in under this pretext was really a bit inconvenient.
"If this is an opportunity, what is the other one that the prince mentioned?"
Song Chengze thought for a moment and said, "The Autumn Examination will be held soon."
What does King Jing's affair have to do with the Autumn Examination?
"This is all thanks to Zhou Yu."
"Second brother-in-law?" Meng Qi was surprised. "What did he do?"
"His cousin, the Imperial College's chief academic officer, discovered that the fourth son was suspected of selling exam questions, especially during this year's Spring Examination. He was anxious to make a killing. He'd already gotten the details, and he'd already extended his hand to the Autumn Examination."
"What? How can he be so bold? What if people without real talents and skills are selected for the court because of this?" Meng Qi said in surprise.
Song Chengze snorted coldly, "He is preparing for something for himself."
"What's the meaning?"
"Think about it, why did Fourth Brother try to win over Meng Hai?"
"For the soldiers."
"That's right. He had everything except soldiers, and that was his lifeline. That's why he didn't doubt Meng Hai when he approached him. After being tricked by Meng Hai, he had no choice but to take action on his own. However, most of the people he recruited had never been on the battlefield, so this required him to invest more financial resources."
Meng Qi was surprised and said, "So, King Jing is after money."
"That's right. Whether it's privately forging weapons or supporting those people, it's a huge expense. Although Fourth Brother has many ways to make money, who would complain about a small amount of money?"
Meng Qi understood. "So it seems that the Ministry of Revenue, which the Crown Prince didn't get his hands on, has been seized by King Jing."
Song Zecheng sneered, "After so many years of management, there must be results. Also, I suspect that Fourth Brother's blatant interference in the Spring and Autumn Examinations is also to build up his own strength."
Meng Qi understood that if King Jing really took that position, he would still use his old friends and ministers in the first few years, but that time would not be too long. He would only feel at ease if he used those he had trained and promoted himself, just like the prince in his previous life raised a knife against Song Chengze two years after taking that position.
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