In the dazzling Crown Prince Palace, more than a dozen people wearing splendid court robes were sitting on two rows of armchairs, whispering to each other about something.
As the minister wearing a qilin court robe walked into the hall, the dozen people immediately stopped talking, stood up, and saluted.
"Greetings, Lord Li." Everyone saluted.
"No need to be so courteous." The minister called Lord Li said as he waved his hand.
"Thank you, Lord." Everyone stood up.
"Where is the Crown Prince?" The minister surnamed Li looked at the empty golden throne and asked.
"Lord Li, we have already gone to inform him." One of the ministers respectfully said.
"Good." The minister surnamed Li nodded slightly and sat on the armchair at the head of the table.
Seeing him sit down, the other ministers returned to their seats.
"Lord Li, in today's court, Zhou Dao seems to have already won this battle." A minister wearing a bull-fighting robe said.
"This is also what I am worried about." The minister surnamed Li nodded with a dignified expression. "This time, the four countries are heavily pressuring the border. That Zhou Dao actually took the initiative to ask for battle, it is indeed unexpected."
Once these words were spoken, Ye Fan, who was seated in the main hall, was shocked.
Heavily pressuring the border? And it is the four countries? Ye Fan frowned.
The seriousness of the matter was far beyond his imagination.
"It seems that the fish has had enough." Along with a clear voice, a young man wearing a golden robe with five dragons on it and a jade belt around his waist slowly walked in from the side door. Behind him were two maidservants.
"This subordinate greets Your Highness the Crown Prince. Long live Your Highness the Crown Prince! " As soon as this person came out, all the ministers immediately stood up and knelt on the ground, shouting "Long live Your Highness".
It seems that the current Crown Prince has come out.
Ye Fan in the hall thought as he gently lifted a glazed tile under his feet. Then he drew heat from the Fire Snake Dragon Pearl in his body, condensed it in the palm of his hand, and hit the solid wooden roof under the glazed tile with his palm.
Whoosh … A five-inch-long pillar of flame instantly spun out from Ye Fan's palm and shot directly into the solid wooden roof.
The Crown Prince's Palace was built with precious wood and the thing that wood was most afraid of was fire. Ye Fan's move could easily break through the roof and it wouldn't make any noise.
Hiss … As a thin wisp of green smoke rose into the air, Ye Fan's pillar of flame directly burned a palm-sized hole through the thick wooden roof.
Once the roof was open, Ye Fan immediately looked into the hall through the hole.
The Crown Prince had a delicate complexion, red lips, white teeth, a pair of eagle eyes, two dashing eyebrows, and extremely valiant. He walked with a majestic gait, exuding a noble aura.
The others were dressed in court robes and were dressed as ministers.
"Rise, all of you." The Crown Prince, who was wearing a golden robe with five dragons, shook his golden robe as he spoke. He sat down on the golden dragon throne in the main seat. His temperament was dignified without being angry. He had the aura of a Son of Heaven.
"Thank you, Crown Prince!" All the ministers rose.
"Bestow a seat." As the golden-robed Crown Prince spoke, he picked up an exquisite porcelain cup with dragon patterns from the tea tray in the hands of a servant girl beside him and gently took a sip.
"Thank you, Your Highness!" All the ministers clasped their hands and bowed to the high and mighty Crown Prince, then retreated to sit on the wooden armchairs.
"Then Zhou Dao has agreed to go to war?" The golden-robed Crown Prince placed the teacup in his hand back onto the tray in the hands of the servant girl and calmly asked.
"Not only has he agreed," the minister wearing the qilin court robes said to the Crown Prince. "In court today, Zhou Dao actually volunteered to go to war."
"Volunteered?" The Crown Prince narrowed his eyes and frowned slightly.
"Yes," the minister wearing the qilin court robes replied. "It seems that victory is already in his grasp."
"How many soldiers does he have?" the Crown Prince asked.
"Right now, he has 300,000 soldiers in his hands. His Majesty has also given him 100,000 palace guards. Adding on the local garrisons from various places, he has about 700,000 to 800,000," the minister replied.
"How many soldiers do the four countries have stationed at the border?" the Crown Prince continued to ask.
"300,000 Mongolian cavalry, 300,000 Russian heavy soldiers, 50,000 Goryeo and Tibet each sent 50,000 soldiers, a total of 700,000 soldiers," the minister wearing the qilin court robes replied.
"The two sides have equal numbers of soldiers, but the difference in battle power is like heaven and earth," the Crown Prince said with a frown. "It's not the first time that Zhou Dao has led an army. Does he not understand this?"
"In my humble opinion, there is something strange about this matter," the minister wearing the qilin court robes said to the Crown Prince with a serious expression.
"Regardless of this, as long as we move him away from the capital, we can save Imperial Father from that dog Xuanji," the Crown Prince said with narrowed eyes.
"Yes," the minister wearing the qilin court robes nodded and said.
"How does Imperial Father look today?" the Crown Prince continued to ask.
"He's still the same, a man of few words," the minister replied.
"When will Zhou Dao lead the army to war this time?" the Crown Prince asked.
"Tomorrow," the minister replied.
"Very good," the Crown Prince said with a smile. "This time, I'll make sure he doesn't return."
"Don't worry, Your Highness the Crown Prince. The special envoys from the four countries have already sent a secret report. As long as Zhou Dao appears at the border, the four countries will send elite assassins to kill him!" The minister wearing the bullfighting robes said to the Crown Prince. "As long as Zhou Dao dies, the four countries will follow the previous agreement and immediately withdraw their troops!"
This person's words caused Ye Fan, who was sitting in the main hall, to narrow his eyes!
He never would have thought that the four countries pressuring the border was a fake show that the Crown Prince of the Great Ming Dynasty had arranged!
First, they sent people to join forces with the four countries to pretend to attack the Great Ming Dynasty. As an important minister of the Ministry of War and a general, Zhou Dao naturally wouldn't easily hand over military power to others. This way, he could only personally lead the troops to war.
However, the mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind. After the oriole, there was the slingshot.
Zhou Dao never would have thought that the heavy military pressure this time was just to take his head!
What a good move to lure the snake out of its hole! What a good move to lure the tiger away from its mountain!
Ye Fan was secretly amazed!
This Crown Prince was indeed not simple!
Ye Fan was secretly amazed at the Crown Prince's methods and schemes.
"Inform the envoys from the four countries that this time, regardless of the price, they must kill Zhou Dao. Otherwise, once they fail on the verge of success, Zhou Dao will definitely turn the spearhead and rebel," the Crown Prince said to the minister wearing the bullfighting robes. "When that time comes, the Great Ming Dynasty will truly be finished."
"Don't worry, Your Highness the Crown Prince. This time, the four countries have deployed a total of 3,000 assassins. Each of them has unique skills," the minister wearing the bullfighting robes cupped his hands and said to the Crown Prince. "The Mongolian archers, the Russian strongmen, the Tibetan shamans, and the Korean axemen. As long as Zhou Dao appears, he will definitely die."
"How many men do we have now?" the Crown Prince asked.
"The assassins and the assassins we have recruited add up to a total of 30,000," the minister wearing the bullfighting robes replied.
"As soon as Zhou Dao leaves the capital, immediately mobilize 20,000 men to guard the important roads in the capital. The remaining 10,000 men will follow me into the palace to kill Xuanji and save Imperial Father," the Crown Prince said with narrowed eyes.
"Your Highness the Crown Prince, in my opinion, we cannot kill Xuanji for the time being." Among the ministers, a minister wearing a dark green robe stood up from the armchair and cupped his hands as he spoke to the Crown Prince.
"Why?" the Crown Prince asked with a frown.
"Your Highness, think about it. Xuanji is only a Taoist priest. How could he have the guts to hold His Majesty hostage?" The person said. "He is now the state preceptor. His status is respected and he has both fame and fortune. Why would he collude with Zhou Dao? He has no real power. How could he be so daring? "
"You mean …" the Crown Prince asked.
"I suspect that the mastermind behind Xuanji is not Zhou Dao. Or rather, there is another mastermind behind Zhou Dao," the minister in the green robe said.
"There is another mastermind behind Zhou Dao?" the Crown Prince asked with a frown. "What do you mean?"
"Your Highness, think about it. With Zhou Dao's current military power and His Majesty under house arrest, it would be easy for him to force an abdication, revolt, and usurp the throne. But why didn't he do so?" the minister asked.
The Crown Prince frowned and did not answer.
The minister was right. With Zhou Dao's military power and Xuanji's cooperation, it would be effortless for him to force His Majesty to abdicate and seize the Great Ming Dynasty. There was no need for him to pretend at all.
If he did not even want the Great Ming Dynasty, what else did he want?
The Crown Prince frowned, unable to understand.
"Your Highness, there is no need to worry. As long as Xuanji is captured alive, the truth will naturally come to light," the minister in the green robe said.
"I heard that this Taoist knows some Taoist techniques. It won't be easy to capture him alive," the Crown Prince said with a frown.
Since Xuanji was able to become the state teacher of a country, he naturally had some ability.
"Hahaha … Your Highness, don't worry. This Taoist does know some Taoist techniques as Your Highness said. However, Your Highness may not know that although the incantation is powerful, it is not invincible," the minister in the green robe said. "As long as we prepare some filthy things, we can make the Taoist unable to do anything."
"Filthy things?" the Crown Prince asked in confusion.
"Cow dung, horse urine, menstrual blood," the minister in the green robe explained. "Taoist techniques emphasize purity. If one is contaminated by these things, not to mention a mere Taoist priest, even a True Immortal of the Great All-Embracing Heaven will be unable to do anything."
"Okay, I will leave this matter to you," the Crown Prince said to the minister in the green robe. The Crown Prince said to the green-robed official, "Let's leave him with his dog life first. Wait until we find out who's behind the scenes, then we'll execute him."
"Your Highness is wise," the minister in the green robe cupped his hands and said.
After Ye Fan heard this, he gently covered the hole with the glazed tile in his hand. Then, he used his movement technique and turned into a white light that shot into the sky.
He already knew everything that he needed to know.
Compared to before, his current mood was much better.
Since the Mongol Empire was only pretending to attack the Great Ming Dynasty, he did not need to worry about the safety of his father and the others.
As for whether or not he could save the Emperor, he did not care. However, getting rid of Zhou Dao was a good thing for him.
This kind of person deserved to die.
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
