Wang Junzhuo was actually under house arrest. He never expected that someone close to him would be bribed by the direct descendants of the Wang family. When he was locked up in a side courtyard of his mansion, he suddenly realized that all the efforts he and his nephew, the eldest prince, had made over the years had actually benefited the sixth prince, Wang Xiuyuan, and her son.
Wang Junzhuo's biggest worry right now is the eldest prince, who is under house arrest in the capital, and Consort Wang. Over the years, Wang Junzhuo has devoted himself to the eldest prince, but who knew that in the end the beneficiaries would be the direct descendants of the royal family.
Wang Junzhuo knew very well that if the southwestern army marched towards the capital, not only his own family, but also his sister and nephew who were still under house arrest, would be doomed. The direct descendants had everything planned out, and even if Wang Junzhuo had any good strategies, he would be unable to implement them. Wang Junzhuo paced around the room a few times, thinking back and forth, and finally could only let out a long sigh. He had been brave all his life, but who knew that he would end up like this.
Wang Junzhuo, who had already resigned himself to death, was astonished when he saw Xu Di enter with a smile. He had naturally met Xu Di before. Every two years, Wang Junzhuo had to go to the capital to report to Emperor Liang Cheng. That was a few years ago when Xu Di was working in the Hanlin Academy. Wang Junzhuo met this famous scholar in the imperial study. At that time, he never expected that this scholar was no less capable in military campaigns than himself, a veteran who had been fighting on the battlefield since he was a teenager. It was at that time that Wang Junzhuo began to feel a bit of apprehension towards Xu Di.
Xu Di smiled and said to Wang Junzhuo, "General Wang, I apologize for my intrusion. Please forgive me."
Wang Junzhuo sighed, seemingly lost in thought, and said, "I have no regrets about losing to you. I think my nephew probably has no regrets either."
Xu Di shook his head and said, "General, you didn't come here to argue with me about this. You are probably aware of the plans of your Wang family. Now I want to ask you, what are your plans?"
Wang Junzhuo said with some shame, "What plans can I have? I am a defeated general, how can I talk about bravery? But I have a letter here, and I need to trouble Lord Xu to deliver it to His Majesty for me. I, Wang Junzhuo, have always been loyal to His Majesty."
Xu Di smiled and said, "General Wang, it would be better if you delivered your letter yourself. Such loyalty can only be truly believed if you demonstrate it yourself."
Upon hearing this, Wang Junzhuo looked at Xu Di with surprise and suspicion. Xu Di smiled and said, "I don't believe that the tens of thousands of soldiers in the Southwest Army are already the lackeys of the Wang family. General Wang, I brought men here overnight to rescue you, so that you can gather your old troops, wipe out the Southwest Army, and then lead your men back to the capital to defend the emperor."
Upon hearing this, Wang Junzhuo's eyes lit up. He looked outside, and Xu Di smiled and said, "This courtyard is already surrounded by my people, so you can rest assured. However, I don't know who else in this house you can trust. I'll have to ask them to come over personally so we can discuss the rest later."
Xu Di's plan was actually quite simple: rescue Wang Junzhuo, then purge the Wang family's direct descendants from the Southwest Army, and finally have Wang Junzhuo secretly lead the Southwest Army to the capital. He felt that since the game had already begun, they might as well make it exciting from now on, otherwise how could they do justice to the Wang family's decades of planning?
After Xu Di explained his plan, Wang Junzhuo's eyes lit up as he listened, and he finally exclaimed, "Truly, the younger generation surpasses the older one!"
Xu Di cupped his hands in greeting and said, "How can I compare to General Wang? Whether this matter can be accomplished depends on General Wang."
Wang Junzhuo, as expected of a veteran general who had guarded the southwest for many years, quickly gathered his confidants and pulled out the members of the Wang family's direct lineage one by one, thanks to the opportunity given by Xu Di. It was at this time that Wang Junzhuo and Xu Di learned that a secret letter had arrived from the capital the previous evening, instructing the members of the Wang family's direct lineage to lead their troops to the capital the next day and sneak there overnight, making sure that the capital would not notice.
Xu Di had an unexpected surprise on his trip: he found Chen Zhaocheng in the southwest.
Xu Di knew that the Chen family owned a medicinal herb shop in the southwest. After Xu Di and Wang Junzhuo settled the matter, Xu Di took his men to the Chen family's medicinal herb shop. He originally thought that he could find out about his uncle through this place, but he was surprised to learn that Chen Zhaocheng had secretly contacted the shopkeeper and was preparing to refine medicine in a Taoist temple on a mountain.
The poison that Emperor Liang Cheng was poisoned with was discovered by an alchemist in the southwest by chance. By sheer coincidence, he also found the antidote near the poison and left behind a detailed note. Because Chen Zhaocheng was skilled in making poisons, the Chen family's shops in various places would help them collect poisons from all over the country. However, the poison that Emperor Liang Cheng was poisoned with this time was extremely rare. It is unknown how the Wang family found this kind of poison. Fortunately, the manager of the Chen family's medicine shop had found a handwritten copy of the note left by the alchemist and sent it to Chen Zhaocheng in advance. It was because of this that Chen Zhaocheng had this trip to the southwest.
Xu Di led his men to the Taoist temple in the mountains. Chen Zhaocheng had been traveling for more than ten days, gathering herbs and making medicine. He had become so thin that he was almost unrecognizable. Xu Di felt sad when he saw this. Chen Zhaocheng knew Xu Di's purpose. After they met and exchanged greetings, Chen Zhaocheng began to tell him about his experiences along the way.
Chen Zhaocheng's journey started smoothly, but after entering the southwest, he was discovered. Moreover, Chen Zhaocheng discovered that the kind of herb that was originally found everywhere in the southwest could only be found on one mountain, and that mountain was heavily guarded. Chen Zhaocheng knew perfectly well that this was all the work of the Wang family, because someone in the capital could recognize the poison that Emperor Liang Cheng had been poisoned and wanted to come to find the antidote.
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