Ji Haodian's trap was not only targeted at the princes of the Zhou Kingdom. It was also a warning to the sects of the Jianghu, telling them not to stretch their hands too far.
The faces of the people from the sects of the Jianghu also darkened. This time, they had also been played.
Some of the princes had been in contact with them for years. Up until now, they had invested a lot of resources, manpower, and material resources.
However, it turned out that everything was just a trap. Ji Haodian had no intention of handing over the position of Crown Prince. This made their plan suddenly come to nothing, and they had lost a lot of things.
The people from the sects of the Jianghu looked at each other, then turned around and left angrily. There was no need to listen anymore.
Fortunately, the people from the Shaolin Temple left early. Otherwise, the monks from the Shaolin Temple would have been furious if they had heard all this.
After the people from the sects of the Jianghu left, Ji Haodian looked at the five princes coldly. His expression was cold, which made them feel as if they had fallen into an ice cave.
Ji Haodian said in a deep voice, "Summon the Prince of Qi, the Prince of Shu, the Prince of Wu, and the other princes to the capital to accompany me."
Everyone present suddenly sucked in a breath of cold air. Ji Yancheng and the other princes almost fainted on the ground.
Ji Haodian did not intend to let them fight for the position of Crown Prince, but at the same time, Ji Haodian did not intend to give it to them directly.
There were more than ten princes in the Zhou Kingdom, and the five of them were the strongest.
The other princes were not strong enough, so they had long been kicked to their own fiefs to become idle Master. There were only two or three warriors in the Divine Transformation Realm under them.
Ji Yanxiu was even worse off. Before Su Xin helped him, the only warrior in the Divine Transformation Realm under him was his personal eunuch, Wen Yu.
However, now that they had been tricked by Ji Haodian, their subordinates were either dead or scattered, especially people like Ji Yancheng who had the support of the Duke and Marquis of the Zhou Kingdom. After this incident, even his grandfather, Lord Zheng, did not dare to support him because it was a taboo!
In this way, their power was almost completely destroyed. They were even weaker than the princes who were Master Princes in various places in the Zhou Kingdom.
At the very least, they were able to recruit some local martial artists or get the support of some small sects. It was normal for them to have one or two martial artists in the Divine Transformation Realm around them. At the very least, they were stronger than they were at the moment.
The Battle of the Princes had evolved from the five of them to everyone. The five people who originally had the greatest chance had become the five people with the weakest strength. This could be said to be a kind of irony.
Ignoring Ji Yancheng and the others who were still kneeling there, Ji Haodian ordered Tang Xian to return to the palace.
The others also dispersed. However, what happened today was too shocking. They all needed time to digest it and rediscuss what role they should play in the upcoming battle for the throne. At the very least, it was impossible for them to support the princes so blatantly.
Su Xin was right. He was a subject of the Zhou Kingdom and was only loyal to His Majesty.
They were now taking the salary of the Zhou Kingdom, but in the end, they were supporting the princes. Even if they were the emperor's own sons, it was still not okay.
Doing this was obviously a taboo. Therefore, even if these princes tried to rope them in again in the future, they would not agree.
In this trap, because it was too shocking, very few people noticed the role that Su Xin played in it.
Why did Su Xin take the Renhuang Sword in the end? Was it really a coincidence that he directly gave the Renhuang Sword to Ji Haodian?
At the very least, some people did not believe it. The higher-ups of the Zhou Kingdom could see that something was wrong, but they did not say anything.
If this matter was arranged by Ji Haodian, then Su Xin would not be able to refuse, and they would not inquire about it, including Tie Zhan.
After everyone left, Su Xin waited for a while. When almost everyone had left, he was about to leave. At this time, a young eunuch came to Su Xin's side and said softly, "Lord Su, His Majesty invites you over."
Su Xin nodded and said, "Please lead the way, eunuch."
The young eunuch hurriedly said, "Lord Su, you are too polite. Please follow me."
With that, the young eunuch led Su Xin to the depths of the palace.
In a side hall, Su Xin once again saw Ji Haodian. Tang Xian was the only one beside Ji Haodian, but there would definitely be other experts from the royal family guarding him in secret.
At this time, Ji Haodian was no longer as decisive and domineering as when he had berated the princes in the square. Instead, he revealed a hint of exhaustion.
It seemed that this Zhou Kingdom's Human Emperor really could not hold on for much longer.
To be honest, Su Xin was rather impressed by Ji Haodian, the Human Emperor of the Zhou Kingdom, who had relied on his own power to dominate the Central Plains in just over ten years.
Before Ji Haodian, the Zhou Kingdom was just a small country in the south. To put it bluntly, the Emperor of the Zhou Kingdom did not even dare to address himself as' Emperor '. He only dared to address himself as' King '.
At that time, Xiangnan and other places were also desolate. There were only some aborigines, let alone cities.
The Zhou Kingdom had been founded at that time. After over two hundred years of development, it had at most made Xiangnan suitable for ordinary people to live in. At that time, all the powers of the Zhou Kingdom added up were not much stronger than a first-rate force.
It could be said that the previous Emperors of the Zhou Kingdom had basically not left any resources for Ji Haodian. However, he had held a bad hand and suddenly emerged as a new force in the turbulent era of the late years of the State of Jin. He destroyed the State of Jin and created the current Zhou Kingdom that dominated the Central Plains. It was not a loss to say that he was a mighty ruler.
However, it was a pity that no matter how great the power was, one had to have a lifespan to enjoy it.
Although Ji Haodian did not know martial arts, the Zhou Kingdom had so many elixirs and various cultivation techniques. Even if he only spent a little time cultivating, it would be enough for him to reach the Connate Realm. By then, having a lifespan of nearly two hundred years would be enough for him.
However, looking at the state of the Emperor of the Zhou Kingdom, the assassination that year had hurt his vitality. Now, the Emperor of the Zhou Kingdom could not even take elixirs to prolong his life.
These thoughts only flashed in Su Xin's mind. Su Xin bowed respectfully to Ji Haodian and said, "Your Majesty."
Ji Haodian looked at Su Xin and a glimmer of light flashed in his eyes. He said lightly, "Su Xin, you have completed this task well. The Tie family did not choose the wrong person this time.
Your strength and skills are considered outstanding among the younger generation of the Six Fan School. Even the few people carefully cultivated by the Tie family are inferior to you. "
Su Xin hurriedly said, "Thank you for your praise, Your Majesty."
Others might not understand what Ji Haodian was talking about, but the three people present knew.
Last time, when Ji Haodian announced that he wanted to fight for the position of crown prince in the Kunlun Mystery Land, Su Xin followed Tie Zhan to the court. After they left the court, Ji Haodian sent someone to give him a note. On the note, it was written that Su Xin should snatch the Emperor's Sword at the critical moment and hand it over to him.
Although there was only this instruction, Su Xin thought about Ji Haodian's character and the cause and effect of the matter and could almost guess the truth of the matter.
The Emperor of the Zhou Kingdom was definitely more decisive and ruthless than many people imagined.
However, this had nothing to do with Su Xin. The task that Ji Haodian gave him was just enough to give Su Xin an excuse to snatch the Emperor's Sword.
After all, if the Emperor's Sword had not fallen into the hands of Shaolin Temple at that time, it would have been difficult for Su Xin to find an excuse.
After all, Su Xin had said that he would stay neutral and not participate in the battle for the position of crown prince. In the end, he went to snatch the Emperor's Sword, which could easily arouse suspicion.
Now, in the eyes of ordinary warriors, Su Xin snatched the Emperor's Sword to take revenge on Shaolin Temple.
In the eyes of some high-level officials of the imperial court, such as Tie Zhan, Su Xin must have been ordered by Ji Haodian to do so. Therefore, it could be said that there was nothing suspicious about Su Xin snatching the Emperor's Sword.
Moreover, Su Xin also suspected that there were definitely people planted by Ji Haodian among these princes.
Su Xin was indeed the strongest warrior in the Divine Transformation Realm in the Six Gates of Fans, but Ji Haodian could not put all his confidence in Su Xin.
Therefore, there might be more than one of Ji Haodian's people around these princes. If Su Xin did not snatch the Emperor's Sword, they would directly take action to snatch it.
Ji Haodian coughed and said, "Help me do things, and I will not treat you badly. Tell me, what do you want?"
Su Xin cupped his hands and said respectfully, "I want whatever Your Majesty gives me."
As soon as this was said, Ji Haodian and Tang Xian were stunned.
There was a smile in Ji Haodian's eyes, and Tang Xian also admired Su Xin very much.
He had served Ji Haodian for a lifetime, and only then did he understand his character. He could not make the slightest mistake in front of Ji Haodian.
This was Su Xin's third meeting with Ji Haodian, but he was able to firmly grasp Ji Haodian's heart and say such words. It was quite difficult.
Ji Haodian was quite a domineering person. For such a person, he could give you anything, but you could not ask him for it.
A reward was a reward, and a request was a request. Although the results of the two were the same, the nature was completely different.
It was just like his throne. Although he clearly knew that the throne would definitely be handed over to Ji Yancheng and the others in the near future, and the stronger and more skilled these princes were, it proved that they would definitely be able to govern the Great Zhou Dynasty better in the future. However, Ji Haodian did not tolerate them challenging his dignity.
He would rather have the other ten or so princes with mediocre aptitudes and weaker strength participate in the fight for the position of crown prince than have Ji Yancheng and the others fight for the position of crown prince from his hands.
Because of this, Su Xin, who had a good understanding of Ji Haodian's character, said such words to Ji Haodian.
As a subject, as long as it was something given by His Majesty, no matter how little it was, the subject had to be grateful.
Regardless of whether Su Xin's words were true or false, at least his attitude was sincere enough to immediately make Ji Haodian happy.
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