As the commander of the garrison, Zhu Lanting was in charge of all the troops inside and outside the Forbidden City. If they could capture this man, they could win the battle. Otherwise, they would need at least twice as many troops to force their way into the city within three days before the Royalist Army arrived.

Yan Sikong knew Zhu Lanting. He was born into a powerful and noble family. The Zhu family had always been a prominent family in Dasheng. After a woman from this family gave birth to the current emperor, their power reached its peak.

Empress Dowager Zhu and her brother, Grand Tutor Zhu, were both very clear-headed. They were royal relatives and never got involved in the factional struggles of the eunuchs and the gentry. Except for forcing Emperor Zhaowu on the issue of establishing a crown prince, they had always been Emperor Zhaowu's greatest support.

Zhu Lanting has been living a life of luxury since childhood. After Grand Tutor Zhu's death, he became the head of the Zhu family. Throughout his life, he has never lacked wealth, honor and recognition. Nothing can tempt such a person except greater power. However, he has a good character and values ​​reputation. He will only let Chen Yi, the prince recognized by the Zhu family, inherit the throne. He will never allow Feng Ye to usurp the throne for his own selfish reasons.

Even though his cousin gave birth to a prince who was half Zhu family blood.

Yan Sikong knew that it was impossible to convince him to rebel, and Feng Ye knew it too, so he had to alienate Zhu Lanting and Chen Yi so that they had no chance to join forces.

The first thing they had to do was to make Zhu Lanting feel the crisis.

So that night, Feng Ye sent troops to the border forts to further besiege the Forbidden City.

Although the border forts and moats also have city walls, they are not real cities. They are equivalent to the sentries of the city. The only difference is that the sentries of ordinary cities are on the city walls, but the sentries of the Forbidden City are far away and have city walls to prevent the possibility of a sneak attack on the city.

But the border forts did not have much defense. When the army arrived, smoke rose and the guards retreated one after another. Before dawn, Feng's army arrived at the outer city wall of the Forbidden City and set up camp on the spot. At the same time, he ordered his generals to lead tens of thousands of infantrymen to form a line outside the city and challenge the enemy to fight, making a deafening noise. When one wave was tired, another wave would take its place.

From the moment the Forbidden City rose from the ground, it had withstood hundreds of years of wind and rain, and was attacked by rebels only a few times. Each time, it was a significant event in history. Most of the soldiers who defended the city had never seen a large army in their lives.

Yan Sikong looked at the majestic city in the distance. It was like a luxurious and huge monster, lying between the endless mountains and rivers. It used its magnificent appearance to lure the knowledgeable people in the world into it, and then used fragrant wine and intoxicating power to kill them unknowingly. Some people lost their lives, and some lost their souls.

In this city, countless conspiracies, life and death, blood and tears, joys and sorrows have been played out, but everyone wants to go in, and everyone who goes in wants to climb up, to the peak above the supreme peak, and step on everyone else under their feet.

Hearing steady footsteps behind him, Yan Sikong knew without turning around that the person coming was Feng Ye.

"You can't get out of bed yet." Feng Ye said.

"I was only whipped, not broken." Yan Sikong still stared at the Forbidden City in the distance, and said with emotion, "When I left, I didn't expect to be able to come back so soon."

Three years, just three years, he helped Feng Ye kill it back.

"I never thought that my father, mother, and elder brother must be protecting me in heaven."

Yan Sikong recalled the day he left Beijing. With great ambition in his heart, he rode out of Yongding Gate on horseback. Looking back, he thought of Huang Chao's poem. The line "When my flower blooms, all other flowers die" concealed his anger for having failed the imperial examinations many times and feeling that his talent was not appreciated, as well as his surging ambition and passion. Later, he started an uprising and marched into Chang'an.

Hundreds of years later, Emperor Taizu also rose up in rebellion and ruled the world. He used history to illustrate present times and left behind the saying "When all flowers bloom, I do not. If I did, everyone would be frightened to death."

Now, he and Feng Ye stood here.

Will they become the writers of history books, or just a minor chapter?

A hundred years from now, how will the world write about them, talk about them, and view them?

Feng Ye seemed to see through Yan Sikong's thoughts. He focused on the territory he was determined to obtain and whispered, "Are you wondering what kind of record will be left for us in the history books?"

Yan Sikong murmured, "The pen of the historian, the sword of the heart, let's see how they will slash me one stroke at a time."

"You have won many battles, but your life has yet to be concluded."

Yan Sikong shook his head: "I don't have any extravagant expectations."

Feng Ye looked at Yan Sikong's dejected expression and suddenly felt uncomfortable.

"This is for Zhu Lanting." Yan Sikong suddenly took out a letter from his sleeve and said, "Send someone to deliver it."

Feng Ye took the letter, unfolded it, scanned it, and put it away again: "Do you really still have the letters you exchanged with Zhu Lanting?"

"It was burned a long time ago." Yan Sikong said, "But if necessary, I can always forge it by imitating his notes. I remember all the contents. Let's scare him first."

"Okay, I have already ordered people to spread the rumor, and the generous gifts to the Zhu family's hometown in Xichuan have already been sent out."

"Chen Yi is suspicious by nature. Even if he thinks this might be a plot to alienate us, he won't trust Zhu Lanting. After all, when we were in Yunnan, I said that Zhu Lanting was my spy in the court." Yan Sikong said expressionlessly, "Even if Zhu Lanting doesn't take the bait, he will take it."

"But these may not be enough to pry open the door of the Forbidden City."

"By preventing Chen Yu and Zhu Lanting from joining forces, you have already bought yourself a lot of time." Yan Sikong suddenly thought of something, "When General Feng conquered Shuntianwei, where was Shuntian Prefecture Governor Zhou Yudao?"

"He's locked up." Feng Ye seemed to have remembered something, "What's his son's name?"

"Zhou Mixing." Yan Sikong said this name and suddenly felt that he was a little distant. "I have a good relationship with him."

"I don't know whether this person is in Shuntian or in the capital. I'll order someone to check it out." Feng Ye said as he called the guards and gave them the order.

"He is probably in the capital. He loves the hustle and bustle of the capital." Yan Sikong thought, "Although Zhou Mixing has a wide range of friends, he does not hold any official position."

Feng Ye sneered: "What if I allow him?"

"He is just a playboy, Zhu Lanting doesn't like him, and he has no say in front of Zhu Lanting." Yan Sikong narrowed his eyes, "However, if he can convince his father, his father may help us to win over some officials." He thought for a moment and shook his head again, "But if he and Zhou Yudao are not in the same place, it will be useless. We don't have time to contact him."

"I will send someone to investigate first. Even if it is useless now, when I enter the capital someday, I will need an important official to stand by my side."

"Feng Ye." Yan Sikong said in a deep voice, "If you really enter the capital, what will you do?"

"Why, are you worried that I will become emperor right away? I'm not that stupid." Feng Ye had a smile on his lips, but there was no smile in his eyes. "Just as you and I said at the beginning, I will support a little prince. Unfortunately, my aunt has no son. If Zhu Lanting knows the appearance, then he will be the thirteenth prince."

Yan Sikong guessed it in his heart, but he was still worried that Feng Ye would... After all, with Feng Ye's audacity, there was nothing he couldn't do.

"Don't worry, I didn't lie to you. I also want to stabilize the prince."

Yan Sikong nodded: "Okay, what about Quewang? Quewang is still in Chen Yi's hands. What if he uses Quewang to threaten you?"

"If he was smart, he would have traded Quewang's life for his own."

Yan Sikong glanced at Feng Ye and said, "It is also possible that he killed Que Wang to avenge you and show his determination to never coexist with you."

Feng Ye said coldly: "He dares."

Yan Sikong sneered: "In your heart, the country is far more important than a person. How can I expect you to rescue Que Wang?"

Feng Ye stared at Yan Sikong and gritted his teeth and said, "I regard Que Wang as a brother, and I will do my best. But since the day Que Wang followed me to rebel, he has been ready to fight for me. You want me to exchange my kingdom for him, how can he live with dignity?"

"I'm not asking you to trade your kingdom for him. I'm not that naive." Yan Sikong gritted his teeth and said, "I want you to trade me for him when you have no other options."

"Impossible!" Feng Ye rejected it flatly. He stared at Yan Sikong with red eyes. "Don't ever say such things to me again!" After he said that, he turned around and was about to leave.

"Feng Ye!" Yan Sikong said in a stern voice, "If Que Wang dies, I will hate you for the rest of my life."

Feng Ye paused and glanced at Yan Sikong. His lips moved slightly. Although he could not suppress the pain in his heart, he still answered calmly: "What's the difference between that and now?"

Yan Sikong stared at Feng Ye's back in a daze until he disappeared.

——

As soon as Yan Sikong's letter persuading Zhu Lanting to surrender arrived in the capital, all kinds of rumors spread rapidly, saying that Feng Ye had secretly conspired with the Zhu family to abandon the King of Chu and support the Thirteenth Prince instead. In a few days, the news that Feng Ye sent a generous gift to the Zhu family's ancestral home in Xichuan will spread throughout the world.

Rumors have short arms, but they can kill.

The military situation was critical at that time, and the court would not fall for this sowing discord so easily. After all, the Zhu family was the in-laws of Emperor Zhaowu and had always been loyal to him. However, Chen Yi knew that he and Zhu Lanting were secretly communicating. Even if the court did not believe it, it was enough for Chen Yi to believe it. If Chen Yi believed it, the other loyal troops would believe it too.

After the letter was sent, it fell into oblivion. It was natural that Zhu Lanting would not reply to his letter, especially when rumors were spreading.

But it doesn't matter. Once Zhu Lanting and Chen Yi are unable to form an alliance and are threatened with the city being broken, they will probably surrender after weighing the pros and cons, so they must be forced into a desperate situation.

Feng Ye was making final preparations for the siege. He wanted to race against time with the reinforcements and at least capture the outer city walls before the reinforcements arrived.

The war is about to break out, and it will surely set off a huge wave that will shake the world.