Zhu Yunwen had never doubted Zhao Qingzhu's abilities, and with ten Imperial Guards accompanying him, he was even less worried.
Since these people wanted to send someone to kill me, I might as well let them see the strength of my guards and understand how easy or difficult it is to kill me. Perhaps this will make them give up the idea of sending someone to kill me in the future.
Back at the inn, the three Yangs had already returned.
They didn't buy anything at all; instead, they were drinking, chatting, and discussing national affairs.
Zhu Yunwen found it somewhat amusing. These three fellows were extremely learned and had very broad minds, possessing rather avant-garde insights into national affairs.
So the three of them could talk for three days and three nights straight, which means they found kindred spirits.
Back at the inn, Zhu Yunwen told the three Yangs that he had been assassinated. Yang Shiqi frowned.
"If I'm not mistaken, it's probably the three princes of Sai and the Prince of Jianwen who sent them."
Zhu Yunwen was somewhat surprised. He hadn't expected that Yang Shiqi, who didn't hold a position in the imperial court, would have such a clear understanding of this matter.
Yang Rong then spoke up, saying, "Besides them, I'm afraid there's no one else so eager to prevent His Highness the Crown Prince from returning to Nanjing."
Yang Pu also said: "The most suspicious person is Prince Jianwen, Zhu Yunwen, followed by the three princes of the border regions. In my opinion, the current Prince Jianwen poses no threat to His Highness the Crown Prince."
The three kings of the frontier still pose a significant threat. They not only guard their respective regions but also command varying degrees of military force. Most importantly, they are princes of the current emperor.
From any perspective, the threat posed by the Crown Prince cannot be ignored and must be guarded against.
Seeing that the three of them had pointed out the problem so accurately, Zhu Yunwen knew that the three Yangs were indeed worthy of their reputation.
Bringing them together is the most correct thing I've ever done so far.
So Zhu Yunwen smiled and said, "In the opinion of the three gentlemen... how should Yunwen conduct himself?"
Yang Shiqi smiled and said:
"Is Tyson testing us? How to be independent? Grandson, you should already have a conclusion in your mind. Very well, I will analyze it again."
First of all, in name you are already the Crown Prince. Even though these three princes are princes, they were not ultimately made crown princes.
You are the nominal crown prince, so in terms of legitimacy, you are definitely superior to them.
As for the army, with the emperor still alive, even if these three princes have a large army, they cannot cause any trouble.
"A single high-ranking general from the court could easily suppress them, so this isn't a problem to consider at the moment."
Yang Rong nodded and said, "That's right, but I think the real problem lies in the current emperor's thoughts. Does he absolutely want to support the Third Prince as the crown prince? Is there a possibility that he might change his mind? That's the important thing."
Yang Pu added, "Not only that, although we don't need to worry about military strength for the time being, if it were His Majesty now, once..."
At that time, these border kings will lose their deterrent power, but they will still have troops at their disposal, making them somewhat difficult to intimidate.
I believe that the most urgent task is to assist His Highness the Crown Prince in finding a way to weaken, or even seize, the military power held by the Sai Kings.
Zhu Yunwen smiled and nodded, saying, "The three of you have all hit the nail on the head. The issues you mentioned are indeed what I need to consider right now. Once these issues are resolved, my position will be incredibly secure."
At the same time, Zhu Yunwen used the opportunity of Fu Youde's punishment and his recruitment and training of new soldiers in the north to allow Fu Youde to suppress Zhu Di.
Upon hearing Zhu Yunwen's actions, the three Yangs all gave him a thumbs up and expressed their deep admiration for him.
Yang Shiqi said, "In this way, among the three border princes, the most promising one, Prince Yan, Zhu Di, will have his throat held by General Fu Youde in the north. If this continues, he will naturally be no threat."
Yang Pu said, "Prince Qin, Zhu Shuang, and Prince Jin, Zhu Gang, are not to be underestimated either. I wonder what methods Your Highness has to deal with them?"
Zhu Yunwen smiled confidently and said, "Then there's no need to worry about Prince Qin, Zhu Shuang, and Prince Jin, Zhu Gang."
Yang Rong asked doubtfully, "Could it be that Your Highness already has a way to deal with the two of them?"
Zhu Yunwen smiled and shook his head, saying, "It's not possible to say for now, but you three can rest assured that these two will not pose any threat to me."
Of course, he couldn't just tell the three Yangs directly, like he did with Lan Yu and the Chang brothers, that these two Sai Kings wouldn't live for more than a few years.
After all, although the three Yangs were very capable, they were not like Lan Yu and the Chang brothers, who were purely family with Zhu Yunwen.
Therefore, Zhu Yunwen could not reveal too much to them.
Seeing Zhu Yuntong's confidence, the three believed that he definitely had a solution.
The Crown Prince standing before them possessed abilities in certain areas that absolutely did not allow them to have any doubts.
They were all very clear that they had neither the right nor the ability to question Zhu Yunwen.
This grandson of the crown prince was someone they couldn't see through, even though all three of them were extremely talented.
So they stopped worrying about the other two kings.
Yang Shiqi then said, "In that case, we no longer need to consider the three princes of the border regions, nor are they within our scope of concern. Only Zhu Yunwen remains, and he is even less of a threat."
Yang Rong nodded and said, "Indeed, compared with those border kings, Zhu Yunwen is nothing and poses no threat whatsoever."
Hearing their words, Zhu Yunwen couldn't help but laugh.
He thought to himself, "If Zhu Yunwen heard this, wouldn't he be so angry he'd vomit blood?"
Zhu Yunwen, who was always self-righteous, always regarded himself as the smartest and most capable person in the royal family.
Even now, having failed to this extent, they still refuse to admit their ordinariness.
Naturally, they would find it even more unacceptable that the three Yangs gave him this evaluation.
After resting for a night at the inn, the three Yangs all suggested that Zhu Yunwen return to Nanjing as soon as possible.
They were still a little worried that if some powerful expert were to actually harm Zhu Yunwen, that would be terrible.
Although Zhu Yunwen knew he would not be harmed, he could not refuse their good intentions.
So I agreed.
Then the group set off again, heading towards Nanjing.
When they reached a secluded spot on the road, a group of thirty or forty assassins with swords and knives suddenly rushed out and surrounded Zhu Yuntong and his party.
Upon seeing this, the three Yangs immediately turned pale, with Yang Shiqi shouting:
"Protect the Crown Prince and go first. We'll find a way to hold off these assassins."
Although he was a scholar, since he had chosen to follow Zhu Yunwen, he wanted to do his best and even wanted to stay behind to hold off the assassins.
This touched Zhu Yunwen somewhat, and he said with a smile:
"There's no need for that. Gentlemen, please take note: my ten guards and fiancée are no ordinary people."
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