Chapter 155: Aren’t we just letting him do whatever he wants?

Two days after He'an and Ji Lingchuan arrived in Qizhou, 20,000 troops transferred from the Jiangnan garrison also arrived. The reason for mobilizing the troops was to find King Chen.

Before arriving in Qizhou, the news of Prince Chen's disappearance could not be made public. Now that we have arrived in Qizhou, and the person has not been found yet, we must search for him in a big way.

This concerns the safety of the prince, so we must not be careless.

In a mountain villa outside Qizhou City, Pei Chong knelt in the hall and said, "I have done a bad job, please forgive me, Your Majesty."

Prince Chen gently rubbed his temples and asked, "How have your plans been going these days since you came to Qizhou?"

"After receiving the secret order from the prince, we are no longer in a hurry to sell the stored food. Now the food is hidden in a safe place."

"Well, what about Suzhou?"

"After the death of the governor of Suzhou, the court has not yet decided on a replacement, and a local county magistrate is now temporarily in charge."

Prince Chen frowned and said, "Send a reliable person to Suzhou."

"Yes." Pei Chong accepted the order.

This time, Prince Chen came to Qizhou and changed all the original deployments. Pei Chong guessed that he should want to take the opportunity to gain power. In this way, he could regain the military power. If he could make military achievements this time and Prince Chen gained power, then the Pei family could regain its former glory.

King Chen thought a lot along the way.

Now is indeed the right time. Although occupying Jiangnan is not as good as taking over the entire Dongzhao, it is better than staying in the capital and being constrained everywhere.

But the reputation of treason is not good. If you really do it, you will be known as disloyal, unjust and unfilial for thousands of years.

But what can we do?

Those who achieve great things do not pay attention to details.

Now the emperor's suspicion of him is growing more and more serious. If he returns to the capital, he will be on guard against him at every turn, and any further plans will only become more difficult.

But he was still a little hesitant about the final decision. Once the arrow is shot, there is no turning back.

"Your Highness, it's bad. The Prime Minister and General He have dispatched 5,000 Jiangnan garrison troops to Qizhou, saying that Your Highness is missing and they are searching for him with all their might."

Prince Chen was so angry that he threw the teacup in his hand. No wonder He An was not in a hurry to find someone when he left the inn first. It turned out that she was waiting for him here.

In the past, transferring some garrison troops from the south of the Yangtze River would not have been a big deal.

But this year, my father replaced two garrison generals in succession, showing his desire to consolidate his power and disrupting his deployment over the years.

It seems that he still has to go to Qizhou and coax these soldiers back first.

**

After Prince Chen entered the city, he was furious when he received the news that He'an had secretly ordered the transfer of Qizhou's stored grain to the Jiangnan garrison camp.

A thousand loads of grain were transported away right under his nose?

Prince Chen yelled in the government office: "Where are the people? Where is He'an?"

"Your Highness, the Prime Minister has led five thousand elite troops to transport grain."

"In other words, all the Jiangnan garrison troops have gone back?"

"That's not the case. The Prime Minister took away the Qizhou garrison, a total of 5,000 people, all of them."

King Chen: “…”

He'an, nai He'an, I really underestimated you.

Pei Chong: "Why don't you report this to him, Your Majesty? Privately mobilizing troops from various places is a serious crime. If the Emperor knew about it..."

"You know nothing. Do you think He An would do such a rash thing given his style of doing things?" Although Prince Chen was angry, he did not lose his mind: "I'm afraid this is a secret conspiracy between him and my father."

Speaking of this, King Chen felt even more disappointed.

He is obviously the prince, why would his father prefer to trust an outsider rather than him?

**

On the way to Jiangnan, Ji Lingchuan's face was full of joy: "Now, if King Chen knew that you secretly transferred Qizhou's grain to other places, would he be so angry that his eyebrows would stand up?"

"Qizhou has stored much more food than this, but he never expected that we would mobilize troops and transport food as soon as we entered the city, which caught him off guard."

Ji Lingchuan was in a very happy mood: "I'm afraid that Prince Chen is sulking in Qizhou right now."

He An was never blindly optimistic: "King Chen is not a stupid person. He can't rely on these defenders alone. I think he must have hesitated at the time. After all, if he launched a coup, it would be a crime of treason."

The emperor may not tolerate him.

Ji Lingchuan: "When it comes to fighting, I've never been afraid of anyone. If King Chen really dares to rebel, in addition to Jiangnan, there are still 50,000 garrison troops in Longxi Town that can be mobilized."

"Longxi is an important border area. We cannot move unless we have no other choice." He An pondered, "We must not let foreign countries know about the chaos in our country. If someone takes advantage of the opportunity to fish in troubled waters, Dongzhao will be in a situation where we will be attacked from all sides."

As a general, Ji Lingchuan naturally knew this: "If we want to thwart King Chen's plan, we can only control Jiangnan first."

He An nodded: "Send someone to Lucheng, just in case."

Although the private soldiers at that time were incorporated into the army or punished, we still had to prevent them from resurfacing.

**

The next night, He Hongzhi came to see Ruan Qinghuan again with two followers.

At this moment, her emotions calmed down a lot: "Did Lord He bring me good news?"

"I have already sent someone to deliver the message you want to know. You should also fulfill your promise and hand over the silver."

"Don't worry, sir. When I see my husband, the silver will be yours."

"Ruan Xiaoyue, you may have some misunderstandings. Do you really think you are the wife of the city defense commander?" He Hongzhi has been upset about the Zhou family's affairs in recent days. He is angry and has lost his patience. "You are just the woman of a traitor. Even if I kill you, no one will pursue it."

"Really? If that's the case, why didn't Lord He take action?" Ruan Xiaoyue was fearless: "I believe that it won't be long before what happened to you will be heard by the Minister of Justice Jiang Jie. Do you think he will come to ask for me?"

He Hongzhi took a deep breath and said, "If you don't accept my toast, you will be punished."

Seeing He Hongzhi stand up, Ruan Xiaoyue breathed a sigh of relief, but before she could catch her breath, she had a bad feeling.

He Hongzhi left, but the follower who searched her last night stayed behind and asked warily, "What do you want to do?"

"What?"

The man pulled the whip from his waist, took out a porcelain bottle from his arms and put it heavily on the table: "Of course I helped you get the answer you wanted."

As he spoke, the man approached, raised his hand and grasped Ruan Xiaoyue's chin, forcing her to raise her head: "Miss, if you know what's best for you, hand over the two million taels of silver, and you won't have to suffer. Otherwise..."

Ruan Xiaoyue used all her strength and finally shook his hand off, falling to the ground herself: "Don't dream on, I will never hand over the silver unless I see my husband...ah..."

Before he could finish his words, he was thrown onto the bed. "If that's the case, then you can't blame me."

Screams and the sound of whipping were heard frequently from the room. He Hongzhi, who was outside the courtyard, glared and said, "This kid is cruel enough, but he is too lustful. Don't ruin my job. It would be bad if he beat someone to death."

"Don't worry, sir. The medicine in his hand is very powerful. No matter how tight the woman's mouth is, he can still pry open a crack."

"That's good."

What can the Ruan family do?

So what if he has the Prime Minister's support? Can't he still do whatever he wants?