While the adults went out to confront his guards, he arranged for ten men to secretly take away the children they had left at home.
If a fight breaks out in the end, he plans to use the children to threaten the adults into leaving.
Zhuang Xin couldn't help but say, "Although the method is useful, if someone uses this to make a fuss afterward, it may be very detrimental to Your Highness."
Yun Zhuo glanced at Chu Xianyun beside him.
Chu Xianyun remained silent.
Yun Zhuo said, "Extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures. Fame and everything else are meaningless; only living is real."
Chu Xianyun glanced at Yun Zhuo again, silently admiring him. No wonder Qin Tianrui still asked him to assist Yun Zhuo when he was in danger.
In the process of persuading the old man, Chu Xianyun used his silver tongue, and it worked very well.
Zhuang Xin immediately arranged for men to escort the seven or eight elderly people to the village entrance, together with Yun Zhuo and Chu Xianyun, so that they could persuade the young people who refused to leave.
As soon as they reached the village entrance, they saw a large number of soldiers approaching from afar. Upon closer inspection, they realized it was Prime Minister Ning Hongxi leading his men.
Yun Zhuo's path was blocked, and Ning Hongxi stepped forward to bow to him.
Then he asked, "Aren't the people following behind the prince all respected elders in this village?"
"The villagers were unwilling to evacuate, so Prince Jing coerced and bribed these elderly people to pressure them into leaving their hometown overnight? Why is Prince Jing so cruel!"
Zhuang Xin immediately drew his sword at him and angrily said, "When my prince was wronged, Lord Ning was the first person to call for my prince's execution."
"Now that my prince has been exonerated, as his maternal uncle, Lord Ning not only fails to reflect on his own actions but also fails to apologize. My prince does not blame you, but why does Lord Ning repeatedly make things difficult for my prince?"
"Does Lord Ning only realize his mistakes and become a good person after all the villages downstream of this river have been destroyed and all the people have died in the flood?"
"But what good would it have done if you had suddenly realized your mistake then? Many innocent people died because of your stubbornness. Could you bear that responsibility?"
Ning Hongxi glanced at Zhuang Xin, ignoring him, then looked at Yun Zhuo, and then at all the villagers.
He said, "All I know is that the Imperial Astronomical Observatory has calculated that there will be no floods in the sixth month of the Great Sixth Month. This statement has been approved by the Emperor and Prince Ding, so we have no reason not to believe it!"
"And this downpour has only lasted for an hour or two, and the flooding has already started? In previous years, the downpours lasted much longer than tonight, and there was no flooding!"
"Besides, when I arrived just now, I noticed that someone deliberately damaged the dam! If there really is a flood, is it a natural disaster or a man-made one?!"
The villagers cried out "Ah!" in unison, their voices drowning out the sound of the rain around them.
Ning Hongxi said to Yun Zhuo: "Prince Jing arranged for people to destroy the dikes while leading people to evacuate the villagers. He wanted to make a great contribution by creating a flood, and then jump from the position of Prince Jing to the position of Crown Prince. He is really not worthy of being a human being!"
"Whether I am your maternal uncle or the Prime Minister of the Great Zhou Dynasty, I must stop your evil deeds!"
"If you intend to waste resources and manpower by leading all the villagers away to gain great merit and seize the position of crown prince, you will have to step over my dead body first!"
The rain was still falling, and the water couldn't keep up, forming streams on the road that flowed forward continuously, even the small streams had their own swiftness.
Thousands of officers and soldiers stood in the wind and rain, wearing raincoats and straw hats, but they could not stop the murderous aura emanating from them.
Chu Xianyun held an umbrella for Yun Zhuo. He stood under the umbrella, dressed in a black robe, with an arrogant posture.
"Indeed, someone is deliberately sabotaging the dike, but I have already sent people to stop them. I have observed that the river is rising rapidly, and the dike has not been repaired for many years. At the current rate of rainfall, it is only a matter of time before the dike is washed away!"
"Now is not the time to investigate the truth. The most important thing is to evacuate quickly. I can assure you that once the rain stops and the floodwaters recede, I will give you the truth!"
Ning Hongxi still stood in his way: "By then, Prince Jing will have already 'made a great contribution.' Even if it was your people who deliberately sabotaged the dam, they will only be able to shift the blame onto others under your threats!"
Yun Zhuo narrowed his eyes, a murderous aura rising within him. He approached Ning Hongxi and said, "So, this king doesn't mind using the Prime Minister's blood to sacrifice for this dam!"
He grabbed Ning Hongxi by the throat, his five fingers tightening suddenly!
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