On horseback, Zhao Gan looked Chen Huai'an up and down, whom he hadn't seen for three years.
Similarly, Chen Huai'an was also sizing up the former crown prince, now the emperor Zhao Gan.
For Zhao Gan, after three years of not seeing him, Chen Huai'an, the once useless heir apparent whom all the military generals and nobles in the Great Xin court had called a tiger father and a dog son, was now a completely different person.
Once upon a time, he was a scholar who was weak and powerless, exuded an air of refinement, and was the heir of the Prince of Jin, yet he was always polite to everyone and had no arrogance whatsoever.
At this moment, he had transformed into a military general who could wield a halberd with one arm, ride his horse across the battlefield, and whose murderous aura and courage were undisguised.
If it weren't for that still handsome face with red lips and white teeth, resembling a dashing actor, Zhao Gan would have doubted whether the person before him was truly Chen Huai'an, the heir apparent to the Prince of Jin.
As far as Chen Huai'an was concerned, the person in front of him, whether it was the former Crown Prince Zhao Gan or the current Emperor Zhao Gan of the newly established Xin'an Dynasty, was as arrogant and tyrannical as ever, looking down on everyone.
Now, however, Zhao Gan is also known as Chen Huai'an's father's killer.
The two men sized each other up from their horseback riding, while their warhorses leisurely circled around each other, occasionally snorting.
Compared to the already tense atmosphere inside and outside Tumu Fortress, where the imperial army suppressing the rebellion and the troops stationed in Longcheng were on high alert, this was a stark contrast.
The scene where Chen Huai'an and Zhao Gan, the two main characters in this "Jingnan" drama, first met on the battlefield was much more harmonious.
Finally, Zhao Gan couldn't help but speak first, saying:
"Chen Huai'an, it's just the two of us here. No matter how things develop, I want to ask you one question: can you be completely honest with me now?"
"To be fair, whatever questions you ask me, I will answer truthfully!"
"Similarly, whatever I ask you, you must answer truthfully, shall I?"
Chen Huai'an laughed heartily and said, "Alright, I agree. You can ask first."
Zhao Gan didn't mince words and asked directly, "I ask you, where is my beloved concubine, Consort Wen, right now? Is she suffering?"
"Zhao Gan, this involves two separate issues!"
Chen Huai'an held up two fingers and waved them in front of Zhao Gan, saying, "I'll answer your first question: the vixen Wenren Yu has been imprisoned by my Imperial Guards and is currently in the Dragon City Pacification Army formation behind me!"
Then, Chen Huai'an changed the subject and asked, "Now it's my turn to ask you, how did my father, Prince Jin Chen Polu, die? Did you poison him with poisoned wine?"
"Chen Huai'an, you have two problems here too!"
Zhao Gan, with a sly look on his face, said, "I will answer your first question. Your father, Chen Polu, died after eating roast goose and drinking fine wine, which caused a sudden outbreak of the carbuncle on his back!"
"It's my turn to ask you!"
Zhao Gan asked, "You clearly only have a mere eight thousand Longcheng Polu Army soldiers under your command. I have issued an edict to strip you of your military power, and there are still one hundred thousand Yunhui Army soldiers pressing on the border. Why do you dare not hand over your military power?"
Instead, he raised an army of 8,000 to annihilate my 300,000-strong Yunhui Army, and even launched a distant expedition to the northern deserts, destroying the Turkic Khaganate?
Upon hearing this, Chen Huai'an smiled smugly and said, "Zhao Gan, you asked two questions again this time, but these two questions are exactly what I intend to tell you."
"Therefore, I will give away one for every answer I give!"
Then, Chen Huai'an couldn't help but curl his lips into a smile as he said to Zhao Gan, "Zhao Gan, first question, do you really naively believe that I only have a mere eight thousand Po Lu soldiers under my command?"
"To tell you the truth, if I really only have eight thousand Polu soldiers under my command, I will hand over this military power. Consider it as finding even the slightest chance of survival for the royal family and the soldiers of the Polu army."
"Even if I still have 80,000 Polu troops under my command, once your decree to seize power arrives, I may be grateful for the late emperor's great grace and take these 80,000 Polu troops to flee to the Western Regions, rather than engaging in warfare with you."
"However, I have an army of 800,000 men at my disposal. You heard me right, don't be surprised, it's 800,000!"
As Chen Huai'an spoke, he didn't forget to strike at Zhao Gan's spirit, gesturing an "eight" in front of him and waving it several times before continuing:
"Zhao Gan, this is an army of 800,000! What am I supposed to do? Hahaha!"
Amidst Chen Huai'an's domineering and arrogant laughter, Emperor Zhao Gan's face turned a deep purplish-red.
The traitorous minister Chen Huai'an has actually dared to refer to himself as "I" in front of me, the legitimate emperor. Isn't this treason?
At that moment, Zhao Gan inexplicably recalled the words of Sun Heling, the Vice Minister of Rites who had always been willing to die to remonstrate with the emperor and whose name would be remembered in history—
"The Crown Prince of Jin has absolutely no intention of rebelling, nor does he have any desire to claim the throne or become the sole ruler!"
Sun Heling, you old scoundrel, open your dog eyes and listen carefully. Does Chen Huai'an still claim to have no intention of rebellion?
They even dare to call themselves "I" in front of me!
Zhao Gan, his face grim, barely suppressed the urge to erupt in anger. He disregarded the fairness of asking each person one question and roared furiously:
"Chen Huai'an, do you know that what you're doing is treason!"
Chen Huai'an burst into loud laughter: "Of course!"
"With an army of 800,000 at my command, I also aspire to be on par with Qin Shi Huang and Emperor Wu of Han, to become a legendary emperor whose name will be etched in history. What, do you have a problem with that?"
"good!"
"good!"
"good!"
Enraged, Zhao Gan shouted "Good!" three times.
In the blink of an eye, Zhao Gan launched an attack without warning, lifting the Overlord Spear that was dragging on the ground with one hand and sweeping it powerfully across Chen Huai'an's head.
Whoosh!
The tip of the gun sliced through the air, creating a whistling sound.
Immediately following was Emperor Zhao Gan's impotent rage: "Chen Huai'an, you dog of a traitor! Since you already have the intention to rebel, why bother using the banner of 'Supporting Heaven and Pacifying the Rebellion'!"
"That lecherous scoundrel is utterly hypocritical and deserves to be executed!"
On the other side, Chen Huai'an, who was observant and attentive to all directions, had already noticed Zhao Gan's sneak attack immediately.
On his yellow horse, he deftly bent over, easily dodging Zhao Gan's deadly spear sweep.
After Zhao Gan's Overlord Spear swept across the ground, he stood up again and proudly on his horse.
He didn't forget to mock, "Zhao Gan, under the guise of pacifying the rebellion, is merely trying to silence public opinion!"
"However, after today, I no longer intend to use this reason for raising an army, because—"
Chen Huai'an roared with unparalleled arrogance, "You will die today, hahaha!"
"Traitor, you're asking for death!"
Enraged, Zhao Gan swung his Overlord Spear in a backhand motion, unleashing another "Autumn Wind Sweeps Away Fallen Leaves" move. The sharp tip of the spear almost grazed Chen Huai'an's nose.
This time, Chen Huai'an didn't even bend over; he simply turned slightly to the side to create an opening, thus neutralizing Zhao Gan's full-force attack.
This almost made Zhao Gan so angry that his nose almost twisted out of shape. He roared, "Chen Huai'an, you've made your move! Do you look down on me?"
After saying that, Zhao Gan gripped his spear tightly again and thrust it forward with all his might.
Clang!
This time, Chen Huai'an finally made his move.
Zhao Gan didn't even see how Chen Huai'an made his move before he felt a flash of white light and was sent flying like a kite with a broken string.
"Imperial Guards, protect the Emperor!"
"Kill them!"
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