Chapter 3081: Ascending the throne should be after sending troops
Zhu Chengjin was clearly angered by his words and sneered, "Military Advisor, are you trying to say that if I ascend the throne, I'll be risking the wrath of the world?"
Although Xu Shizong was a man of his word, he also had the usual tact of a Confucian scholar and spoke very skillfully.
But at this time, he seemed to have completely forgotten about it.
His pale face seemed frozen with frost as he spoke in a deep voice, "If I had been able to successfully pursue and capture Xu Shifeng alive last night, the threat from Jiangbei to us would have been greatly reduced, and it would have been no problem for you to ascend the throne."
“…”
"But now, he is still in Jiangbei, and the situation in Jiangbei is completely out of control."
“…”
"They could counterattack at any moment. Under such circumstances, how can you still rest easy and even think about ascending the throne?"
When Zhu Chengjin heard this, his face darkened.
He said coldly, "After all this talk, the military advisor is still thinking about not being able to capture your brother alive last night."
“…”
"He has now been defeated by you, Military Advisor. He is essentially a defeated general. Even if he is still in Jiangbei, what use is he? And what impact can he have on my ascension to the throne?"
Having said that, he deliberately glanced at Xu Shizong.
He said with a half-smile, "Military Advisor, you want to capture your brother alive so badly. Is it for me or for yourself?"
Upon hearing this, Xu Shizong started coughing again.
He coughed and said, "Sir, I want to capture Shifeng alive, and it is also for your great cause."
“…”
"If we capture him alive, even if he doesn't serve you, Jiangbei will be leaderless. He's my younger brother and Zhu Feng's confidant. He's been guarding Beiping for over a decade. I know too well his prestige in the court and his influence in the army."
“…”
"As long as he's here, he can raise his voice and people will respond. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to gather such a large navy in such a short time."
“…”
"But now, he is still in Jiangbei. He will definitely make a comeback one day. Even if you really want to march north, he will be a formidable obstacle."
Hearing this, Zhu Chengjin frowned.
Xu Shizong continued, "Although we have occupied Jinling City and appear to be enjoying great success, we are actually facing numerous crises. The entire Jiangnan region is also experiencing turbulent times. We must have a long-term plan, otherwise this victory will only be a flash in the pan."
Zhu Chengjin narrowed his eyes slightly and looked at him: "What do you mean?"
Xu Shizong said, "Although Jinling City has been captured and appears to be strong, in reality, if we don't take long-term measures, Jinling City will be just an isolated island and will be breached sooner or later."
"Jinling City is an isolated island? Military Advisor, aren't you exaggerating?"
“…”
"Everyone knows that Jinling City is the capital of Jiangnan. It has abundant grain reserves, enough to supply our army for at least ten years. With this batch of food, defending Jinling City will not be a problem at all. Moreover, the three armies sent by several other prefectures to provide assistance have been defeated by Lu Guangwei. This is also due to your advice, Military Advisor."
“…”
"Under such circumstances, who in Jiangnan would dare to challenge their power? Now, everyone is hiding in their own cities and not daring to come out."
“…”
"At a time like this, if I don't inherit the throne and speak out, how can I be legitimate?"
Xu Shizong gritted his teeth, suppressing the dull pain in his chest, and said, "Sir, what you said makes sense, but the order is wrong."
"What?"
"The ascension to the throne should be after the troops are dispatched."
“…”
Zhu Chengjin's eyes grew colder and colder. Seeing Xu Shizong gritting his teeth and refusing to give in, he said coldly, "In the final analysis, the military advisor simply doesn't want to see me ascend the throne."
“…”
"Or, who does the military advisor want to reserve the coronation ceremony for?"
"you--"
When Xu Shizong heard this, he finally couldn't control himself and spat out a mouthful of blood with a "wow".
Everyone in the hall was stunned.
Even Zhu Chengjin was startled. Seeing Xu Shizong's entire body fall down like a puppet without support, Xiaoman was so anxious that her eyes turned red. She hugged him and knelt on the ground: "Master! Master!"
Xu Shizong closed his eyes.
Zhu Chengjin was also terrified. He hurried forward and saw Xu Shizong's pale face and the way he looked like he was dying. He hurriedly said, "Someone, come quickly!"
Ge Long hurried out to call for help.
Soon, several doctors from the army hurried over, and a group of people carried the unconscious Xu Shizong back to his small house behind the Wuying Palace.
Zhu Chengjin stayed in Wuying Hall, looking at the pool of blood on the ground, feeling upset.
He roared, "Come in and clean it up!"
Several young eunuchs outside immediately came in trembling. They had just wiped the blood off the ground and were about to leave when Zhu Chengjin said coldly, "Stop."
Several young eunuchs stopped and looked back at him.
Zhu Chengjin asked, "Who just now told the military advisor about the discussion I had with them about the coronation ceremony?"
Several young eunuchs looked at each other in panic and shook their heads: "I, we don't know."
"You don't know anything?"
Zhu Chengjin grinned and said, "That's fine. I didn't want to find out who spread the rumor anyway. That would be too much trouble."
After saying that, he waved his hand and said, "Drag them all away and chop them off!"
When the young eunuchs heard this, they were so scared that they all knelt on the ground, crying and begging for mercy, but Zhu Chengjin didn't even look at them. Ge Long then asked the guards outside to come in and drag a few people away.
After a while, shrill screams were heard from outside.
Everyone in the hall suddenly felt a chill.
Ye Zheng's face was still frozen with frost, as if he felt nothing. He turned to look at Zhu Chengjin and said, "Sir, do you still need to prepare for the coronation ceremony? If so, I will go down and prepare."
“…”
Zhu Chengjin gritted his teeth, and finally waved his hand in frustration: "Let's not talk about this for now, get out!"
Ye Zheng said, "Yes."
After saying that, he glanced at him and turned and walked out.
Lu Guangwei and Guo Mi looked at each other. Guo Mi stepped forward and whispered, "Sir, are you really threatened by the military advisor?"
Zhu Chengjin said in a deep voice: "What threat is there? Who would threaten me?"
“…”
"However, over the years, it was all thanks to him that we were able to gain a firm foothold step by step, and now we are able to retake Jinling City. This is indeed all due to the advice of the military advisor."
Guo Mi turned around and looked at Lu Guangwei.
There was a glint of jealousy in the eyes of the two men, but they didn't say much.
Zhu Chengjin said: "He never said what to do next."
“…”
"At this time, we still can't abandon him completely."
Guo Mi asked tentatively, "If he still disagrees with you ascending the throne, what should you do?"
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