Chapter 157 Break First and Then Rebound
Zhong Min knew Xiao Mingzheng must have faced some life-threatening situation; otherwise, she wouldn't have been so eager to ask Luo Jiaxing to escort her away. While leaving Prince Mu's mansion and gaining freedom had always been her dream, she wasn't one to be afraid of death. Leaving at this moment wouldn't be easy for her. Therefore, she had to clarify the situation; she couldn't leave without a clear explanation.
"Min'er, the prince has his reasons for making this arrangement, so don't ask any more questions." Luo Jiaxing said, "The prince has already told me where to send you, so you don't have to worry."
"Of course I'm worried. If nothing else, I'd be happy to leave here and travel the world freely, living the life I want. But now, it's clear that you're in serious trouble. Although Zhong Min is a woman, she's definitely not the kind of person who only cares about herself and is afraid of death. If you don't explain what happened, I won't leave."
Zhong Min's attitude was quite clear. Although there were grievances between her and Xiao Mingzheng, and it was hard to figure out who owed whom more, she had been taken care of by others for so long and had been able to gain a foothold here. Now that a disaster was imminent, how could she have the nerve to pretend to be ignorant and walk away?
She might not be able to help much, but at least she had to understand clearly that it would be great if she could do her bit to help. If not, she could leave with peace of mind and not be a burden, so as not to blame herself for what happened today in the future.
Seeing that Zhong Min was determined to achieve her goal, Luo Jiaxing suddenly became anxious. He was about to persuade her, but Xiao Mingzheng waved his hand and said, "Forget it, Jiaxing. She has always been like this. You know that."
Xiao Mingzheng then briefly explained to Zhong Min, "We just received an urgent report this morning. A few days ago, the King of Liang secretly sent his men to deliberately clash with our Mu family army, provoking trouble. He then used the excuse of revenge for a certain general to stir up trouble. Spies report that the King of Liang's army is approaching the border between Muzhou and Liangdi. The King of Liang always obeys the court. Without the court's secret instructions, he would certainly not dare to attack our soldiers guarding the northwest border. Our intelligence agency in the capital was almost completely uprooted in the court purge not long ago, so they are completely unaware of the King of Liang's actions and bargaining chips."
He paused, his expression softening as he looked at Zhong Min. "This place is no longer safe. Qingzhou, the border, Prince Liang, and the imperial court are all in trouble almost simultaneously. Even though I have a hundred thousand troops, they've been greatly weakened by the division. Prince Liang is approaching Muzhou, threatening to take it all. This is why it's extremely unsafe here. I can't spare any time to spare. It's too dangerous for you to stay here."
This time, he had it all figured out: only a desperate fight could break the deadlock, so he could imagine how difficult the future would be. That was why he wanted to send Zhong Min away immediately, to a safe place. That way, he wouldn't have to worry about anything.
After hearing this, Zhong Min's expression grew grave. She hadn't expected Xiao Mingzheng's situation to become so dire in such a short period of time. While all this seemed accidental, it was inextricably linked. The court, after their failed pursuit in the capital, had likely invested considerable thought and effort in setting up this series of events, forcing Xiao Mingzheng to rebel. If he were to openly rebel, he would likely be met with more than the mere tens of thousands of troops of the King of Liang.
After thinking for a moment, she looked at Xiao Mingzheng and asked in a deep voice, "This time, is the prince going to rebel or break it?"
When these words came out, Xiao Mingzheng and Luo Xing were both surprised, but Xiao Mingzheng quickly calmed down. After a little consideration, he asked: "Min'er, do you think it's a rebellion or a destruction?"
"It's not the right time to rebel yet, and defeating the enemy would be extremely difficult." Zhong Min said bluntly, "The prince's achievements surpass his master's, and the emperor will naturally be wary of him. The emperor's intention to eliminate the prince is well known to everyone, but firstly, the court has never made it clear. Although the prince has been forced to rebel this time, he still has no advantage in terms of logic, let alone the people's support. Secondly, although the prince has always been prepared to rebel to save himself, all aspects are not fully in place. If he rebels immediately, he will not be able to gain any advantage in terms of financial resources or military strength, and will soon be in dire straits."
"Great, Min'er! I didn't expect you to be such a talented general!" Luo Jiaxing couldn't help but stand up, his face full of excitement. "Then tell me what we should do now?"
Zhong Min smiled slightly, pondered for a moment, and then replied, "Break it first and then fight back. This way, we can be legitimate and have enough time to prepare."
"The question is how to break it first?" Luo Jiaxing asked again. Zhong Min's thinking was obviously consistent with theirs. He never expected that this little girl had so many powerful things in her head.
"I believe Your Highness already has an idea of how to break it first. Although it is extremely dangerous, once it is broken, it will be easy to reverse the situation!" Zhong Min shifted her gaze to Xiao Mingzheng who was watching her quietly. Ever since he arranged a safe place for her, Zhong Min knew that he must have a plan in mind.
Seeing this, Xiao Mingzheng finally nodded and said with admiration: "Min'er is indeed smart. If she were a man, she would have a chance to become a noble and hold the highest rank!"
Zhong Min clearly disagreed with Xiao Mingzheng's words. She spread her hands nonchalantly and said calmly, "Although I'm not interested in being a minister or a first-rank official, I don't agree with what Your Highness said. So what if I'm a woman? If you give women a chance, half the world can be supported by women."
"Well, I understand. Is this what you call gender equality?" Xiao Mingzheng laughed and immediately remembered the bold words Zhong Min said when he was drunk last night.
"Gender equality? How do you know that?" Zhong Min was stunned for a moment, and quickly recalled when she had mentioned such a modern term in front of Xiao Mingzheng: "When have I ever mentioned this to you?"
"Forget it, it doesn't matter. Let's talk about business." Xiao Mingzheng naturally didn't point it out when he saw this, so as to avoid the girl chasing him and asking what he had said last night.
Luo Jiaxing, standing by, clearly had no idea what Zhong Min and Xiao Mingzheng were talking about, but anyone could tell there was something special going on between them. He felt a little uncomfortable, took a deep breath, and tried not to dwell on anything else.
"Okay, now you know clearly what happened. It's getting late, so you should go back and pack your things. Jiaxing will personally take you to Hengling in the south. There is a Yujiazhuang there, and there will naturally be someone to take care of everything once you get there." Xiao Mingzheng said quietly, but he was naturally reluctant to leave.
If this weren't such a risk, he wouldn't have wanted to let Zhong Min leave. If war broke out, he didn't know if he'd ever see her again. But no matter what, as long as she was alive and well, he'd be at peace.
"Okay, I'm leaving!" Zhong Min nodded readily, and then continued, "But I'm not going to Yujiazhuang, I'm going to the capital!"
"Go to the capital?" Xiao Mingzheng said as he quickly looked at Luo Jiaxing standing beside him, wondering if Zhong Min had already learned from Luo Jiaxing that the capital's intelligence system had been completely destroyed.
Seeing Xiao Mingzheng looking at him like this, Luo Jiaxing immediately understood. As expected, they were all smart people. He didn't need to say anything, but just nodded slightly, which was regarded as a response to Xiao Mingzheng's doubts and guesses.
"Your Highness, there's no need to look at Brother Luo. I only just learned about what happened in the capital today. Don't worry, I'm not going there for fun or to die, but to make money." Zhong Min explained with a smile, "Your Highness, I have a business deal. Do you want to do it with me?"
"Just tell me what you want to do. I'll listen to you first and then I'll see if I want to do this business with you." Xiao Mingzheng probably guessed Zhong Min's intention. Although he would not agree to let her go to the capital and take risks for his things, he knew her personality well. She would not be willing to give up unless she finished speaking.
Seeing this, Zhong Min quickly said, "Look, I'll do you two favors, and after I'm done, you'll pay me a thousand taels of silver. How about that?"
Although it's true that people shouldn't just talk about money, it's also not okay not to talk about anything at all. Wouldn't that be too unfair to yourself? Zhong Min thought, this time Xiao Mingzheng was in such trouble, naturally he couldn't just stand by and watch. He had to help him, and of course, if he could earn some money for self-defense at the same time, that would be the best.
"Which two favors?" Xiao Mingzheng naturally didn't care about the one thousand taels of silver, but he was curious about the two things Zhong Min wanted to do for him. He could guess one of them, but he really couldn't figure out the other one.
"First, I can help His Majesty go to the capital and rebuild its intelligence system in the shortest possible time," Zhong Min said. "Second, I know His Majesty has been wanting Jiang Xiyan to help you accomplish something extremely important. I have a way to make her trust His Majesty and act immediately. I believe both of these things will be extremely important in helping His Majesty resolve this crisis, so I think one thousand taels of silver is a good deal."
Zhong Min added in her mind that this was a friendship price. If someone else had offered twice as much, she wouldn't necessarily risk her life to help. However, Xiao Mingzheng clearly wasn't willing to accept her favor.
"No, I don't agree." He said without any negotiation.
"Why? One thousand taels isn't expensive at all. It's a friendly price. If it were someone else, the minimum would be ten thousand taels!" Zhong Min said quickly, "Besides, these two things are very important to you. I'm really confident I can do it for you."
Xiao Mingzheng sighed slightly, stared at Zhong Min and said softly, "Min'er, you know, this is not a question of money, nor is it a question of whether you can do it."
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