Fourteen led ten thousand elite soldiers on a day-and-night journey back, but when they had only reached Zhangjiakou, news of Kangxi's death had already reached his doorstep.
Upon hearing the news, the Fourteenth Prince nearly fell off his horse. He immediately ordered the army to set up camp in the open field. He was exhausted from many days of labor, and upon hearing the news of Kangxi's death, he could no longer hold on.
"Madam, several generals outside request to see the Prince," Qiaorui said to Wanyan.
"The Emperor is so haggard, can't they let him rest?" Wanyan frowned and said. Although she knew that Kangxi had passed the throne to the Fourth Prince, she was more concerned about the Fourteenth Prince's health at the moment.
"Let them in!" Fourteen suddenly opened his eyes and said, "You should also rest. You've been traveling for days and you must be very tired."
"I'm fine, then I'll go get some porridge for you, Master." Wanyan glanced at Fourteenth Prince and gestured to the servant to make his cushions thicker before leaving.
"This humble general, the adjutant general, the great general~" As soon as several burly men entered, they brought with them a chilly wind that was still not very warm outside, making Fourteen feel a chill.
"Sit down, all of you!" Fourteenth Brother waved his hand. These men were all generals who had followed Fourteenth Brother for many years, and were his trusted confidants who had sworn to follow him to the death.
"General, the Emperor has already passed away and has abdicated in favor of Prince Yong. What should we do now?" asked Ma'ertai, the fourteenth prince's vanguard.
"Father Emperor has actually passed away, and actually passed the throne to him?" Fourteenth Prince seemed not to have recovered from his grief and anger, staring blankly at the sky as he spoke.
“General, now is not the time for us to grieve. We need to think about what to do next,” said Liu Qianhu, the vanguard on the right flank.
"Yes, what about our previous deployments, and how we've already marched here?" The crowd began to discuss among themselves.
"General, why don't we go back now and immediately assemble our troops!" Ma'ertai suddenly shouted when he saw that the Fourteenth Prince remained silent. "With two hundred thousand troops under your command, I'm afraid that person in the Forbidden City will still have to be wary!"
“Yes, how can we go back like this? I’m afraid he will settle scores with the General!” Liu Qianhu also said.
"Yes, yes!" Everyone chimed in, agreeing.
"Alright, I've already made up my mind. Listen to me!" Fourteen said with a frown, and everyone immediately shut up.
"Now, Father's will says that the throne will be passed to him. If we rashly send troops, our cause will be illegitimate and our words will lack legitimacy!" Fourteenth said. "First, we need to come up with a pretext so that we can gather more people to oppose him!"
After hearing this, everyone nodded, whispered among themselves, and continued to look at Fourteen, listening to him continue.
“I have a mother and child in my hands. They are the deposed crown prince’s people. That child is his son. What do you think we should do with this child?” Fourteenth Prince suppressed the sorrow on his face and put on a cold expression.
“Since he has a portrait, we can say that the portrait is fake! That way, his name will be illegitimate!” Maltai suddenly said.
"Yes, yes, that's a great idea!" The crowd immediately began to whisper excitedly to each other.
“Since the deposed crown prince is already gone, the general should support his son and make him a regent!” Ma'ertai immediately said.
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