The emperor was not unaware of these things, but Prince Jingnan dared to criticize his mistakes in public, which made him lose all dignity and face. He wanted to deal with Prince Jingnan so much that he deliberately ignored the potential risks and was only focused on eradicating Prince Jingnan's foundation in the capital.
Now that Prime Minister Lin had pointed this out, the emperor could no longer deceive himself. Prince Jingnan must be eliminated, but his removal could not put Donglin in jeopardy and make his throne unsettled.
"In your opinion, what should we do about this matter?"
Lin Jingshan naturally came here after thinking of a plan.
"Continue to suppress the news. Send people to Bugui Mountain to reward the three armies. At the same time, send troops to Bugui Mountain to prevent any changes in the Jingnan Army. The people from the Jingnan Palace will continue to detain and interrogate them. If we can get them to spit out some useful information, that would be the best."
The emperor nodded in agreement and discussed some details with Prime Minister Lin. After coming out of the imperial study, he went straight to Imperial Concubine Lin Wanrou.
Time was running out, so the emperor appointed Lin Xiang as his representative to go to the Bugui Mountain to reward the Jingnan Army. He also sent Xiao Ce with the Jingji Defense Battalion to accompany him, intending to take control of the Jingnan Army in the Bugui Mountain.
After the dragon's rebellion incident in Bugui Mountain, the Jingnan Army still chose to go to Bugui Mountain for training. Firstly, it was because Bugui Mountain was rich in resources. Secondly, it was because the mountains outside the capital were closer to Bugui Mountain. Thirdly, Sikong Zhan always felt that although their gunpowder was extremely powerful, the iron mines in Bugui Mountain were not necessarily all destroyed. The Jingnan Army trained in Bugui Mountain to make it easier for them to continue exploring the iron mines.
The Prince of Jingnan's Palace and the Jingnan Army were in contact every day, so that they could keep track of each other's movements at any time. After Prince Jingnan left the capital, the contact between them became even closer, and the two sides almost communicated with each other three times a day.
But a whole day had passed, and Mu Wenyao still hadn't received any news from the Jingnan Palace. He felt vaguely uneasy, as if something had happened.
Early the next morning, he could no longer sit still and immediately sent people to the capital to inquire about the news of Prince Jingnan's Mansion. However, before the people who inquired about the news came back, their scouts had already discovered that Lin Xiang and his party had entered the Bugui Mountain.
The scout immediately reported back, "Prince, Minister Lin and the people from the Jingji Defense Battalion are coming together. They are fully armed and have more than a dozen carts of supplies behind them."
Mu Wenyao immediately realized that something was wrong, quickly stood up, and said to the captain of the Jingnan Army beside him:
"Give orders. The Jingnan troops on the periphery will conduct normal drills. The others will hide and encircle the periphery. Keep vigilant at all times. Follow my signals and be ready to engage in battle at any time."
Minister Lin brought the imperial edict and rewarded the Jingnan Army with a smile.
After so many years, this was the first time that the Jingnan Army received the emperor's reward. The soldiers were all excited. Mu Wenyao didn't understand what the emperor was up to, so he smiled and invited Lin Xiang and Xiao Ce to have lunch.
After drinking and eating to his heart's content, Mu Wenyao shook his head, looking a little tipsy. He patted Xiao Ce's shoulder and said,
"Commander Xiao, Prime Minister Lin has been ordered to reward us. Logically, the Imperial Guards should be providing escort. Why are you, the Beijing Defense Battalion, here?"
Xiao Ce's face was red, his eyes were blurry, and he looked quite drunk. He smiled and put his arm around Mu Wenyao's shoulders, acting like a good buddy.
"Sir, isn't this because in our last competition, our Jingji Defense Battalion lost to your Jingnan Army? The Emperor said that he wanted us to come here to train with you, and after that, we'll have another competition with you. If I lose to you again, I won't have to be the commander anymore.
We must compete. Although your kind reminder saved the lives of our Beijing Defense Battalion last time, I absolutely will not let you down!"
As he spoke, Xiao Ce threw his head on Mu Wenyao's shoulder and fell asleep.
"Haha, Commander Xiao, you are drunk!" Mu Wenyao smiled foolishly and pushed Xiao Ce to the person beside him.
"Come, take Commander Xiao down to rest, we'll continue drinking!"
"Prince, you are drunk too." The people beside him quickly took Mu Wenyao away.
There was a lively atmosphere of drinking and chatting in the Jingnan Army’s headquarters, and it looked very harmonious.
In the afternoon, Prime Minister Lin sobered up and left with his team, but the Beijing Machinery Defense Battalion stayed.
However, the two people who pretended to be drunk, Xiao Ce and Mu Wenyao, "slept" until the evening.
Xiao Ce successfully found a reason to stay, and the people from the Beijing Aircraft Defense Battalion set up camp next to the Jingnan Army’s base.
The people Mu Wenyao sent to gather information have returned, but they only received news that the capital was under martial law and the city gates were closed. They still could not contact the Jingnan Palace.
Mu Wenyao was very worried, but he had no idea what to do. He could only try to pry open Xiao Ce's mouth. But since Xiao Ce was able to sit in the position of commander of the Beijing Machinery Defense Battalion, how could his mouth be pried open so easily?
Mu Wenyao took the initiative to send the Jingnan Army to help the Jingji Defense Battalion set up camp. That night, several Jingnan Army soldiers came together and got Xiao Ce and the Jingji Defense Battalion members drunk, but they couldn't get any news about the Jingnan Palace from them, which made Mu Wenyao very anxious.
There is a mass grave on the outskirts of the capital.
More than a dozen bodies were brought in from the city, all of them from the Jingnan Palace who had died that day. Because all the surviving members of the Jingnan Palace had been arrested and convicted, there was no one to bury them, and no charity cemetery dared to accept their bodies, so their bodies were thrown into this mass grave.
"Oh, who could have thought that the magnificent Prince Jingnan's Mansion would become like this overnight. Some died, some were arrested. It was so prosperous yesterday, but today it has no place to be buried." The soldier who was transporting the corpses sighed.
"The superiors have issued a death order not to mention this matter. Do you want to live?" Another soldier quickly covered his mouth.
Several people threw the body on the ground and left quickly.
Suddenly, one of the corpses moved his fingers.
After a while, a female corpse suddenly opened her eyes.
She glanced around and found herself in a chaotic battle area, surrounded by her comrades, who seemed to have been sent here not long ago.
The people of the Jingnan Palace have always valued friendship and loyalty. She was shocked when she thought she was poisoned by her own people. Now, seeing the bodies of her compatriots thrown in a mass grave, she knew that if there were anyone alive in the Jingnan Palace, they would never let them end up like this.
Therefore, something must have happened in Prince Jingnan’s Mansion!
She carefully reviewed what happened before her "death": the housekeeper poisoned her, but she did not die, which meant that the housekeeper gave her a fake death drug!
This realization was a huge relief for her—they hadn’t abandoned her!
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