Neptune Mansion.
"Father, Jiang Muchen has declared himself emperor in the capital. Should we act preemptively? This will put us at a disadvantage if he truly ascends the throne." Upon receiving the news of Prince Chen's enthronement, Hai Quan summoned his trusted aides and several of his sons to his study to discuss the matter. Hai Yue was the first to lose his composure. With Prince Chen and Prince Chu blocking Hai Yue's path to the throne, and Hai Chenxi obstructing his claim to the crown prince, Hai Yue was deeply concerned. He feared that after all his hard work, he would achieve nothing.
There was another thing that Hai Yue cared about extremely, and that was the death of Hai Rui. He already had a son named Hai Rui. If he could get Hai Quan's favor, it would not be impossible for him to pass the throne to him for the sake of his grandson in the future.
But now, no matter whether Hai Rui was really dead or faking his death, the fact that the prince of the Sea Palace had lost his son had become a fact in front of the world, and he had lost a chess piece in his hand that could compete with Hai Chenxi.
Whenever he thought of this incident, Hai Yue couldn't help feeling heartache and regret, but now that things had come to this point, he couldn't regret it or cry out for justice, otherwise he would not have a good ending in front of the Sea King.
As soon as Hai Yue finished speaking, several generals and advisers in the study who were on good terms with Hai Yue also spoke up to agree, hoping that Hai Quan could consider the overall situation.
"Chenxi, what do you think about this?" Hai Quan knew the direction of events in all parts of Western Chu. He even had a clear understanding of the thoughts of his confidants in the study. However, he calmly posed the question to Hai Chenxi, awaiting his response.
"Father, I think the capital can be put aside for the time being. With Chu Feiyang's 250,000 troops pressing outside the city, Prince Chen will feel the pressure sooner or later. If we capture the imperial palace in the capital too early, we will be attacked by both sides. It is better to wait for Prince Chu and Prince Chen to fight each other, and then pursue them after both are seriously injured. What's more, our army is now winning victory after victory. By then, the whole world of Western Chu will be in our hands. Are you afraid that Jiang Muchen will not be besieged and killed?" Hai Chenxi talked freely and expressed his opinions. He shot a sarcastic smile at Hai Yue with his narrow eyes, and with a smile on his face, he had already trampled on Hai Yue's tension and anger.
Hai Yue was furious when he saw Hai Chenxi becoming more and more arrogant. He was about to open his mouth to refute, but Neptune spoke before him.
"Chenxi is still the one who wins my heart. In this case, let's proceed according to what Chenxi said." Hai Quan looked at Hai Chenxi with admiration in his eyes, and he liked this youngest son even more.
However, this love made Hai Yue's eyes red. His face darkened slightly, and he said sarcastically, "Father, Prince Chen forged Emperor Yugan's writings and announced it to the world. Although we know the imperial edict is fake, the ignorant people don't know it. I'm afraid there will be more trouble in the future."
"What unexpected event has happened? As long as the prince gives up the idea of ​​violating the female guests, we have all the young ladies and gentlemen from the aristocratic families in our hands. Are you still afraid that the ministers in the court will not submit a petition to persuade him to ascend the throne?" Hai Chenxi also approached step by step, not giving Hai Yue any face at all, and directly pointed out the stupid things Hai Yue had done.
Hai Yue didn't expect that Hai Chenxi would expose the matter in public. He was embarrassed for a moment, and the anger in his eyes wanted to melt Hai Chenxi in front of him. But after all, Neptune was standing in the study. Even if he wanted to tear Hai Chenxi into pieces, he didn't dare to act rashly at this time.
Hai Quan was well aware of what had transpired within the Sea Prince's mansion over the past few days, and he was well aware of Hai Yue's actions. This legitimate son, desperate to defeat Chen Xi, was constantly being suppressed by her. It was no wonder he set his sights on Xia Hou An'er. However, Xia Hou An'er was easily dealt with, while her cousin Chu Feiyang was a cunning figure. Furthermore, he and Jiang Muchen had already begun seizing the land of Western Chu, yet Chu Feiyang remained on the sidelines. His thoughts were truly puzzling.
However, Hai Quan disagreed with Hai Chenxi's public exposure of Hai Yue. He looked at Hai Chenxi with a serious face and said in a low voice, "Chenxi, how can you speak to your elder brother like this? The entire Sea Palace is now united and working together. How can we start an internal conflict at this time and make a fool of ourselves by letting Jiang Muchen, Chu Feiyang and others see us. Now the whereabouts of Emperor Yugan are unknown, and a group of ministers in the court have also disappeared. Their bodies have not been found in the palace, which means they must have escaped from the palace or even the capital. Now the only person Emperor Yugan can rely on is Chu Feiyang. You must keep a close eye on the movements of the two camps on the east and west sides of the city and make sure to find out the whereabouts of Emperor Yugan and others."
Hai Chenxi looked directly at Hai Yue with a contemptuous smile, then lowered his eyes and replied calmly, "Yes."
"Father, we are about to set off for the battlefield tomorrow. I am afraid that the enemy will take advantage of the situation to launch a surprise attack." Hai Yue became alert when he remembered the last time someone sneaked into the Sea Palace at night. If all the men in the palace went out to fight, the enemy would become even more unscrupulous.
"Your Highness, there are so many young men and young ladies detained in the palace. It would be impractical to take them all with us." General Yuan echoed Hai Yue's words, "Besides, those young men and young ladies are so delicate and frail that they can't lift anything with their hands or shoulders. Taking them with them would only make them a burden."
Hai Quan walked to the window, staring at the azure sky outside in a daze. After a while, he slowly spoke, "Take the people from the Yuan Mansion, the Prince of Fuguo, and the Prime Minister of Chu Mansion and send them on their way. Imprison all the others in the dungeon."
"Yes. I understand." Seeing Hai Quan give the order, General Yuan immediately clasped his fists in response.
"The current situation in the world is extremely favorable to the Palace of the Sea King. With the addition of Qi Jingyuan's 100,000 cavalry, our offensive in the north is unstoppable, and we have already captured seven or eight cities in succession. All this is thanks to the wise command of my father." Hai Yue walked to Hai Quan's side and flattered him with a smile on his face.
"Hmph, Prince, don't forget that Chu Feiyang's 500,000-strong army is approaching the northern border. He didn't take action because he just wanted to watch us fight with King Chen, and then he would reap the benefits. And Qi Jingyuan originally wanted to annex Western Chu. He is willing to send troops to assist us now, but who knows if he won't turn against us in the future?" Hai Chenxi saw deeper and farther, analyzing the entire situation in a low voice, every sentence clear and every word reasonable.
Even Hai Quan nodded in response after hearing this, "What Chen Xi said is extremely reasonable. Don't underestimate Chu Feiyang. Now that Lu Xin is no longer causing trouble on the northern border, the 500,000-strong army is completely under Chu Feiyang's control. If he takes action, it's hard to say who will win or lose. As for Qi Jingyuan, I have seen through his intentions. Emperor Yu Gan killed his most beloved woman, and he is willing to send troops to help, probably to seek revenge on Emperor Yu Gan. So the most important thing now is to force Chu Feiyang to take action. As long as the forces in his hands are weakened, we have a chance of victory."
Seeing that Neptune thought so highly of Chu Feiyang, everyone became alert and immediately understood why Neptune specifically asked to take away the young ladies from the two mansions in order to threaten Chu Feiyang. For Chu Feiyang, who valued friendship and loyalty, this was indeed a clever trick.
West Camp on the outskirts of the city.
Emperor Yugan and the Queen Mother, escorted by Chu Feiyang and other generals, rode non-stop to the western camp on the outskirts of the city.
Chu Nanshan had been waiting in front of the tent with his men for a long time. When they saw Emperor Yugan and his men get off the carriage, they all bowed and said, "Your Majesty, Your Majesty, Your Majesty the Queen Mother! Long live the Emperor."
"Old prince, please stand up quickly. The world is in chaos now. I still hope that the Chu family can avenge my anger." Seeing that Chu Nanshan was about to kneel down, Emperor Yu Gan quickly brushed away Eunuch Yu's supporting hand and walked to Chu Nanshan, and helped Chu Nanshan up with his own hands.
Chu Nanshan insisted on kneeling down. Now that the two kings had rebelled, how could he allow outsiders to find fault with him over such a small matter and take the opportunity to spread rumors and cause trouble?
Seeing Chu Nanshan's sinking body, the Queen Mother smiled and walked forward, saying gently: "Your Highness, why should you be so humble? You are the elder of my mother and me. How can you ask an elder to perform a ceremony?"
In a word, the relationship between the monarch and his subjects was categorized as that of relatives. With Yun Qianmeng as the link, Emperor Yugan and the Chu family were indeed related.
"Thank you, Your Majesty, and Your Majesty, for your consideration." Chu Nanshan replied loudly, but treated them with the courtesy of a monarch and his subject.
Emperor Yugan and the Queen Mother were both displeased to see Chu Nanshan like this, but now they really had to rely on the Chu family, so naturally they couldn't be too serious about such a small matter.
After a few brief greetings, they followed Chu Nanshan into the commander's tent.
"Your Highness." Just as Chu Feiyang was about to step into the tent, Jiao Da appeared beside Chu Feiyang and called out softly.
Seeing Jiao Da's solemn expression, Chu Feiyang lowered the tent's door curtain and took Jiao Da to Qu Changqing's tent and asked, "What's the matter?"
"Your humble servant greets His Majesty." At this time, Qiao Ying opened the curtain and walked to Chu Feiyang and knelt down.
"Why are you here? Didn't I tell you to take good care of the princess?" Seeing Qiao Ying leave Yun Qianmeng without his permission, Chu Feiyang frowned, clearly worried about Yun Qianmeng's situation. But then he calmed himself down. Meng'er was surrounded by secret guards, so he figured she must have sent Qiao Ying to find him for some reason.
"I went to the East Camp, but Xi Lin told me that the prince had arrived at the West Camp, so I rushed here immediately. Please take a look, Your Highness. This is a handwritten letter from the princess, instructing me to hand it to Your Highness personally." Qiao Ying took out a bamboo tube from his arms, raised it above his head and handed it to Chu Feiyang.
Taking the bamboo tube, Chu Feiyang took out the letter inside, unfolded it and read the contents carefully, but his expression suddenly became solemn and serious.
"Go back and tell the princess that I already know about this matter, so that she can rest assured. You should also protect the princess well and don't let her be in danger." After saying this, Chu Feiyang stepped out of the tent and walked towards the commander's tent.
Chu Feiyang walked into the tent, but found it silent. Emperor Yugan and the others had solemn expressions on their faces, and even Chu Nanshan had a calm look in his eyes.
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