With the war intensifying on all sides, Wei Caitao knew he couldn't get out. The Bei Zhong family was finished, the old party was finished, everything was finished. At this moment, he wished he had never given birth to Wei Tingsi.
But there is everything in this world except a way to undo mistakes. His initial anger turned into worry, and he hoped that Wei Tingsi would be lenient with his other sons.
Meanwhile, Emperor Mingde received another urgent message in the capital: "Your Majesty, Prince Jing has declared himself emperor in Xiliang!"
"Insolence!" Emperor Mingde roared in fury, slamming the memorial in his hand down from the platform. His face was as cold as ice, and his whole body exuded murderous intent. "What is the Ministry of Justice doing? How dare they allow that traitor to declare himself emperor!"
"Your Majesty, please calm your anger." The court officials knelt down. This time, neither the new party nor the old party stood up to speak, but only shouted in unison, "Your Majesty, please calm your anger."
Wei Tingsi, who was named by Emperor Mingde, learned of Prince Jing's ascension to the throne before the emperor did. He handed the document announcing Prince Jing's ascension to the throne to Zhao Shu. Zhao Shu was shocked. In her previous life, Prince Jing had not become emperor. She never expected that he would become emperor in this life.
Has it really changed the course of history? She remained silent for a long time.
“If Prince Jing declares himself emperor, the other vassal kings will certainly not sit idly by. You’ll see, some of them will definitely follow suit and declare themselves emperors. They all want to be emperors, but they don’t know that being an emperor is not so easy,” Zhao Shu said.
Wei Tingsi chuckled and put his arm around her waist. "A bunch of fools, don't take them to heart. When Zhang Chang comes back, I'll give you the Shu region."
"What would I do with Sichuan? I don't want to be an empress. But I've heard that Sichuan has a lot of delicious food. I'll have to eat my fill for a few days when I get there." Zhao Shu couldn't help but drool at the thought of the delicious Sichuan cuisine. She should have brought Xing'er with her so that Xing'er could learn a few dishes and eat all the delicacies in the world at the Yongwang Mansion in the future.
Wei Tingsi felt that Zhao Shu was so kind and warm-hearted. She was capable but not ambitious, a foodie, and not good at cooking. She was perfect for him. "Okay, eat whatever you want. There is a Yipinju restaurant in Shu."
Zhao Shu was surprised, not expecting that this young man's influence extended throughout the country.
Three more days passed, and Zhang Chang still hadn't arrived. But then came the news that the King of Shu had declared himself emperor. When Zhao Shu heard this news, she laughed so hard she almost fell over. She remembered that Huo Baichuan had once said that the vassal kings of Dayong did not have the wisdom of the Warring States hegemons, and that Dayong could not become a second Zhou Dynasty.
Now it seems that this is indeed the case.
On the fourth day after the King of Shu declared himself emperor, news came again that the King of Shu had died.
Upon hearing this news, Zhao Shu looked at Wei Tingsi questioningly, but Wei Tingsi shook his head, "I didn't do it."
If he didn't do it, then who did? Was it due to internal strife among the Princes of Shu? Or Emperor Mingde?
"It might be Lord Huo." Although he was reluctant to mention Huo Baichuan in front of Zhao Shu, after much thought, this was the only possibility. Emperor Mingde had few people he could use now. Those he could send were fighting abroad, and those he couldn't send had to stay in the capital to protect the city.
Zhao Shu nodded in agreement. "He's in the shadows. If he wanted to get rid of the Prince of Shu, the Huo family could do it with ease. But why the Prince of Shu?"
Assassination is far less prestigious than a fair and square execution, and it is generally not done unless absolutely necessary.
Wei Tingsi did not answer. He thought that Huo Baichuan must know that Zhao Shu had gone to Zhuzhou with him and then to Shu, and that Huo Baichuan was unhappy about it, so he sent someone to assassinate the King of Shu.
However, Zhao Shu didn't care about all that. As long as these vassal kings, whose ambitions far outweighed their talents, were eliminated as soon as possible and the war was quelled, it didn't matter who did it or what methods were used.
"Since the King of Shu is dead, why don't we go and take a look? Let's add fuel to the fire and make the King of Shu's direct descendants fight amongst themselves. Wouldn't that be better? We won't lose a single soldier."
Although Wei Tingsi felt that he would definitely encounter Huo Baichuan on his way to the Shu Prince's Mansion, it was worth the trip if he could save his subordinates' lives and win this victory. After hesitating for a long time, he found a few trusted confidants and instructed them to hide themselves and wait for orders. Then, he disguised himself and took Zhao Shu and a few skilled soldiers and headed towards the Shu Prince's Mansion.
The Shu King's Mansion was located in Yizhou, a place that was easy to defend and difficult to attack. Fortunately, the group was skilled and, after disguising themselves, they sneaked into Yizhou City. That night, Wei Tingsi sent his subordinates to gather intelligence, while he alone obtained a map of the Shu King's Mansion from Yipinju in Yizhou City and led Zhao Shu into the Shu King's Mansion under the starry night.
The Shu King's Palace was extremely simple, with no luxurious furnishings or buildings. After avoiding several patrols of Shu soldiers, the two arrived at a pavilion and hid in the artificial hill.
Then someone above said, "Your Majesty, what are you thinking about?" It was a woman's voice, and judging from the voice, the person asking the question was not very old.
The only emperor in the world who could be asked such a question is probably the new emperor of Shu.
To try to understand the emperor's mind is a grave crime.
At night, rows of hanging lamps along the roadside shine brightly, illuminating the pavilion like the sunset or the rising sun. It also resembles the Shu region today, young yet waning in the west. The not-so-grand palace, with its pavilions and towers in the style of Jiangnan, suggests that the King of Shu still had a fondness for Jiangnan.
Zhao Shu peeked out and saw a small figure wrapped in a dragon robe, with a thin maid standing beside him. She wondered what Huo Baichuan had done, or if the Shu Prince's mansion was already rife with infighting, so that after the Shu Prince's death, this young boy had succeeded to the throne.
"I'm thinking about my posthumous title." Zhao Zhang looked up at the sky. Shu was about to fall, and he, the ruler of the country, would become a ruler of a fallen kingdom. After the country was destroyed, he wondered how he would die.
To be honest, he didn't want to die at all, but who could he turn to save the country? He couldn't think of anyone who could save Shu from its impending collapse.
What I can't understand is who he offended, and why he had to be chosen to die young.
What does the Shu Kingdom have now? Nothing. Although they only made him emperor and didn't let him know anything else, he knew clearly that Shu's soldiers were not as numerous as the royal army's, and Shu's generals were not as brave as the royal army's.
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