The King of Chu has been reflecting on his life over the past few decades and increasingly feels that he has been too patient and too cautious.
He should have raised an army as soon as his father passed away, instead of trying to find a legitimate reason to do so!
The King of Chu looked at his kneeling advisors, his eyes red with tears: "The people don't care who the emperor is, let alone how he came to be on the throne."
As for those ministers, once he becomes emperor, who would dare to disobey? He'll just kill a few more families as a warning to others, and the rest of them will naturally not dare to say anything more.
He scoffed, then burst into laughter, pointing at the kneeling staff: "Do you regret it now? Regret is useless now! You haven't forgotten how the Huo family's military was destroyed, have you?"
When the late emperor was alive, he feared that the Huo family's military achievements would overshadow his own, and he had long wanted to exterminate the entire Huo family.
However, the late emperor and the King of Chu had the same flaw: they both wanted a good reputation. Therefore, he was afraid that others would think he was ruthless and cruel, and that he had harmed meritorious officials.
The late emperor deliberately revealed this matter to the Prince of Chu, and sure enough, the Prince of Chu immediately summoned his advisors, not only finding a way to unite Bai Jiwu and others, but also dragging Huo Qiyuan's family into the mess.
Huo Qiyuan's case was authorized by the late emperor, and he was sentenced to be executed in the autumn without much trial.
If the late emperor hadn't suddenly passed away, the Huo family would have been wiped out long ago, and he would have already brought the Northern Desert Army under his control. Why would he be in such a passive position now?
"Tell me, if the Huo family knew that you were the ones who killed them, wouldn't the Huo family members who fled take revenge on you? Would Gu Yuchen exterminate your entire clan?"
Rebellion also means the extermination of nine generations of one's family. If they don't rebel but the emperor finds out about their past deeds, they will also be exterminated. It's better to rebel. If they plan carefully, they might still have a chance to succeed.
After some deliberation, the advisors naturally knew what would be in their best interest.
"Your Highness, we will follow closely in your footsteps!"
Having made up their minds, and with the precedent of Chief Secretary Ling as a cautionary tale, these people had no reason to hesitate and expressed their opinions in unison.
King Chu looked down at his advisors and burst into laughter again. This time, however, his laughter was no longer suppressed; it was filled with a sense of exhilaration and a determination to seize the throne!
After a long while, the King of Chu finally stopped laughing, his eyes filled with murderous intent: "You must carry out the things I have instructed you to do as soon as possible. I want to see the results within a month at most!"
Only after they left the gates of the Chu King's residence did the advisors finally breathe a sigh of relief.
Everyone's clothes were soaked with cold sweat. Turning to look at the gate of the Chu Prince's mansion, they felt that the gate was like the mouth of a monster, and anyone who went in would be devoured without leaving even a bone fragment.
One of them sighed deeply: "Alright, go and inform Chief Secretary Ling's family."
No one can be told that Chief Secretary Ling was actually beaten to death by the King of Chu.
Therefore, in order to cover up this matter, the King of Chu could not inform Ling Changshi's family and could only let them handle it and try to appease Ling Changshi's family.
The other person gave a mocking smile: "Let's talk as we go. The most important thing is how to smooth things over."
While the advisors discussed how to justify Ling Changshi's death, King Chu was also busy.
After his advisors left, the King of Chu gave a few brief instructions and returned to his study, where he summoned his last trump card: his secret guards.
Gu Yuchen only knew that each emperor of the Sang Dynasty would inherit a secret guard, but he did not know that when the Prince of Chu was very young, the late emperor had trained a secret guard for him separately, whose abilities were no less than those of the imperial secret guard.
If he had activated his secret guards to ambush and kill Qi Chenglang and the others earlier, Qi Chenglang and the others might not have been able to escape back to Mobei.
He can only blame himself for underestimating his opponent.
The commander of the secret guards appeared silently in front of Gu Yuchen and knelt on one knee: "Greetings, Your Highness Prince Chu."
The King of Chu lowered his eyes and looked at the guard dressed in black, wearing a black mask that only revealed his eyes, and fell into deep thought.
My father once said that this group of secret guards are extremely bloodthirsty, and once they are activated, bloodshed is inevitable.
However, he originally wanted someone's life too.
He slowly curled his lips into a smile: "Qi Chengjun, the prefect of Huizhou, I want this man's life."
"yes!"
The guards would not ask any questions about the reasons for their master's orders; they would simply agree and disappear from the Chu King's study.
When the bodyguard reappeared, he had already arrived in Huizhou. By this time, he had changed into ordinary clothes and was traveling around the streets and alleys of Huizhou as a merchant.
In just two days, the secret guards had already figured out Qi Chengjun's living habits.
On the third day, the secret guards organized a group of people and ambushed Qi Chengjun on his way back from the yamen.
Qi Chengjun left the government office very late each day, usually after dark, and there was a sparsely populated path between the government office and his prefecture.
To prevent anyone from sabotaging their plans, the secret guards even massacred the few remaining households before Qi Chengjun arrived.
As Qi Chengjun stepped into the alley, a gentle breeze blew by, carrying a faint smell of blood. He paused, then said softly, "Have you noticed anything amiss?"
As soon as he finished speaking, the guards around him drew their swords and protected him in the center.
When Qi Chengjun arrived in Jiangnan, he already knew that he had one foot in the grave.
That's why he carried a coffin every day while dealing with the plague, just to tell the King of Chu that he was not afraid of death.
Under the protection of numerous guards, Qi Chengjun walked slowly forward. Looking at the dark alley, Qi Chengjun suddenly curled the corners of his lips.
He survived the plague outbreak in Jiangnan; he's already lucky to be alive today.
But who wants to die when they can live?
Qi Chengjun clutched the medicinal powder hidden in his sleeve tightly.
He had specifically requested this powder from the Imperial Medical Academy before coming to Jiangnan, specifically for self-defense.
"Your Excellency, please be careful."
The further they went in, the stronger the stench of blood became, and Qi Chengjun's expression grew increasingly serious.
He closed his eyes briefly, already having a guess in his mind: "The people in this alley have probably already been murdered."
The guards following Qi Chengjun had obviously thought of this as well, and their expressions were all solemn. After a while, one of them said in a deep voice, "Prefect Qi, I'm afraid today's matter cannot be resolved peacefully. We will definitely hold them off at all costs. You must take this opportunity to return to your residence as soon as possible."
Qi Chengjun's current residence not only has secret guards, but the entire mansion has also been renovated by them. As long as Qi Chengjun goes back and activates the mechanisms, these assassins will have absolutely no chance of breaking in without someone leading the way.
These guards shared the same thought as Qi Chengjun; from the moment they received the emperor's order to protect Qi Chengjun, they had already disregarded their own lives.
So even knowing that danger lay ahead, none of them were afraid or tried to run away.
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