The Second Master of the Red Chamber

The prince came before the retired emperor and bowed respectfully to greet him.

The emperor praised: "Well done."

The prince did not dare to take any credit: "It's all thanks to Grandpa Huang's good teaching."

The Emperor nodded and looked at the Crown Prince with a smile. The Crown Prince couldn't help but feel a little anxious, and said quietly: "Grandpa Emperor, when should we start?"

The prince had already seen that the guard camp on the opposite side had already retreated and was stepping up efforts to build a defense line and set up imperial horse stakes. If they waited until they were fully prepared, it would be difficult to break through.

This betrayal to Emperor Ningkang was very psychologically stressful for the prince, who had been under the control of Emperor Ningkang for so many years.

If Emperor Ning Kang cannot be deposed as soon as possible, I will always feel worried.

The Emperor said quietly, "Why, are you also so impatient to fight against your own father?"

"My grandson doesn't dare!"

The prince was startled and quickly knelt down and said, "Grandpa Emperor, please understand. I just don't want to see my father getting deeper and deeper into trouble. I want to make him return to the right path as soon as possible. I have no intention of murdering him."

"Get up."

The Emperor said: "Don't underestimate your father."

"He dared to attack me this time, obviously he had made a lot of preparations.

Apart from these people on the mountain, who knows how many hidden tricks he has left outside the mountain.

If you want to make him return to the right path, you can't do it with the 100,000 or 20,000 men in your hands who you haven't fully controlled.

Just wait, I have already sent out more than ten imperial edicts, and the fastest troops should arrive within a day."

Not to mention that the emperor had been on the throne for fifty years, even when he ascended the throne, the dynasty had just been established and was plagued by internal and external troubles. The bloody storm he experienced at that time is not comparable to the peaceful world today.

He was confident that in terms of imperial skills and political tactics, Emperor Ning Kang could not match him even with his flattery, and this time he was just relying on his deliberate calculations to gain the upper hand.

However, he also knew that since Emperor Ning Kang dared to take action, it was impossible that the people in the capital did not take action.

There are also two large camps outside the city, and no one knows what the situation is at this time.

Therefore, although the emperor tried to send imperial edicts to the capital and the northern and southern camps, he did not have high expectations for these places.

His main hope was still outside the capital.

Juyongguan in the west, Shanhaiguan in the northeast, and even the places beyond these passes...

In the years since he abdicated, although he gradually handed over political power to Emperor Ning Kang, he still kept his eyes on military power.

This can be seen from the fact that seven years later, among the six old camps of the Imperial Guard, only one of their commanders was promoted by Emperor Ning Kang.

Normally, Emperor Ning Kang did not dare to interfere in military power because he knew that would lead to his dissatisfaction and control.

However, the retired emperor still did not expect that Emperor Ningkang already had such a foundation in secret.

Just now, he personally came forward and exposed Emperor Ning Kang's conspiracy in order to deter Emperor Ning Kang and make him collapse on his own.

However, no one expected that Emperor Ning Kang's control over the Guard Camp and the Imperial Guard Camp had reached such an extent that his appearance hardly caused any disturbance in these two major guard camps.

This is also one of the reasons why he said, "Don't underestimate your father."

The majesty of the retired emperor had long been a part of everyone's mind, so the prince had no objection to the retired emperor's arrangement and obediently followed the retired emperor's instructions to surround Emperor Ning Kang's palace.

"Oh, right. This is your first time leading an army, so it's not advisable to be in charge of too many troops.

You can keep the troops of the Beijing Camp as a training for you. Let someone else lead the several thousand soldiers of the Infantry Camp."

"Shi Ding..."

"The end will be here."

The words of the retired emperor seemed to be a discussion, but in fact they were orders that could not be questioned.

The prince's heart skipped a beat and he looked at the majestic generals who came out from behind the retired emperor with an unpleasant expression.

"Why, you don't want to?" The retired emperor looked dangerous.

The prince was slightly startled and suddenly became alert.

Yes, at this time, all the soldiers and horses on and off the mountain added up to only 30,000 to 40,000, but he had more than half of them in his hands.

If he were the emperor emeritus, he would probably be worried, just like his father...

Thinking of this, a thought that shouldn't have occurred to him suddenly flashed through his mind... But he was not stupid at all, and he immediately concluded that there was basically no possibility of success, so he immediately said: "Grandson dare not, Grandpa Huang is right, grandson is still young, lacks experience, and really does not have the ability to command too many troops.

However, as for the Beijing Camp, although the traitor Chen Zhao and his deputy general were eliminated, Sun'er was still not sure of completely controlling the Beijing Camp.

Why don't you let Lord Shi lead the troops of the Beijing Camp... Lord Shi is extremely capable and has made outstanding military achievements. I believe he will be able to reorganize the troops of the Beijing Camp as quickly as possible."

Although the Infantry Battalion had only seven or eight thousand soldiers, the Beijing Camp and the North Daying Camp had more than ten thousand soldiers.

But on the one hand, he had many of his men in the Infantry Camp, and he had a high degree of control over the Infantry Camp. On the other hand, in terms of combat effectiveness, he did not think that the more than 10,000 troops in the Beijing Camp could match the thousands of well-equipped Imperial Guards.

The emperor did not discuss this with him: "Since it is a training, it must be somewhat difficult. Don't you even have the confidence to lead and integrate such a small number of troops?"

"Of course my grandson has it! I will obey Grandpa Emperor's orders."

The prince smiled bitterly. How could he admit his incompetence in front of the emperor? Not to mention admitting it, he couldn't even let the emperor doubt it.

The Emperor nodded in satisfaction, beckoned the Crown Prince over, patted his grandson's hand and said, "Don't worry, your father hurt me so much this time, I will not forgive him easily.

Among all my children and grandchildren, you are the most well-behaved and sensible one. I have no other choice but you. Do you understand?"

The prince was overjoyed when he heard this, and immediately knelt down and kowtowed solemnly: "Grandson understands. Grandpa, don't worry, I will not let you down!"

The emperor took the opportunity to touch the prince's head.

He didn't lie to the prince.

I dare not say about his many children and grandchildren, but at least among Emperor Ning Kang’s sons, the Crown Prince is the closest to him.

Over the years, he was the most frequent visitor to Chonghua Palace. Although he seldom had the time to see him, it gave him a more accurate understanding of the prince's character and scheming.

This is also the reason why he thought of starting with the prince so quickly in this incident.

Moreover, not to mention that the crown prince had made great contributions this time, if he really wanted to depose Emperor Ning Kang, then the crown prince would undoubtedly be the only and correct choice.

  No?

If he deposed Emperor Ningkang and enthroned another bloodline, it would be criticized for whatever reason. Enthroning a prince would be a natural thing to do.

……

Emperor Ning Kang walked into the residence without saying a word.

All the confidants and attendants who were accompanying him were terrified. Except for Dai Quan, no one dared to follow in without instructions.

It was a long time before Dai Quan came out.

"Your Majesty, please call in all the generals and gentlemen."

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief and entered in an orderly manner according to their status. Finally, they saw Emperor Ning Kang sitting behind the desk again.

For some reason, even though they had only just seen him for a moment, everyone felt that Emperor Ning Kang seemed to have aged a little.

After paying respectful tribute, Emperor Ning Kang also called out gently, and then spoke first: "Chen Aiqing is a rare loyal and good general. This time, it was because of my negligence that he suffered disaster. It is my fault."

Everyone heard this and tried to comfort him, "Your Majesty, please do not blame yourself. The death of Chen Jiedu is not your fault, it is the will of heaven.

Besides, Lord Chen is a loyal and brave man. If he knew that Your Majesty was so worried about him, Lord Chen's spirit in heaven would also be disturbed."

Emperor Ning Kang listened to the consolation of his ministers in silence.

But he was not too sad about Chen Zhao's death. On the contrary, he was very dissatisfied with Chen Zhao.

Chen Zhao was a person he relied on very much, and although he asked him to assist the crown prince and pretend to rebel, Chen Zhao should be clear that his master could only be him, the emperor!

He had military power in his hands, and at such a critical juncture where he needed to be careful in everything, he was still able to fall into the trap of the prince, resulting in the loss of his troops.

If he had not been loyal to the emperor, Emperor Ning Kang would have certainly punished him severely.

What really upset Emperor Ning Kang was, of course, the prince's betrayal...

Raising his hand to stop everyone from talking, Emperor Ning Kang asked sternly, "Do you have any good ideas for the current situation?"

"Your Majesty, although the Crown Prince has rebelled, you still have the Personal Army and the Guard Army under your command. Together, they number far more than 10,000, which is enough to resist the Cavalry Battalion and the Crown Prince's troops. Therefore, your Majesty does not need to worry too much. The situation is not too unfavorable for us."

It is not too unfavorable, that is to say, the tailwind is downgraded to a headwind!

"Your Majesty, although we still have the Royal Army Camp and the Guard Army Camp, with the Crown Prince's rebellion, your Majesty's previous plans have almost become useless.

Although they haven't attacked us yet, they are stepping up the construction and setting of a circle outside the palace. It is obvious that they want to trap Your Majesty in the palace, cut off contact with the outside world, and then wait for reinforcements.

Your Majesty, I feel that if we remain on the mountain at this time, it will be extremely disadvantageous to us.

I think that before the situation gets too bad, I and others should escort Your Majesty out of the mountain.

As long as we get down from the mountain, Your Majesty can calmly mobilize troops from all over to turn the situation around."

Emperor Ning Kang did not comment and looked at the others.

Although others also thought that breaking out and going down the mountain was a good strategy, after all, no matter what, this incident was initiated by them.

They all knew that in addition to deploying heavy troops in Tiewang Mountain, Emperor Ning Kang also had many ambushes outside the mountain to guard against possible reinforcements that the retired emperor might bring in.

Because the crown prince betrayed them, the encirclement set up for the emperor turned out to be their own encirclement, which put the situation in an unfavorable position.

But as long as they can get down the mountain, the advantage will naturally be on their side.

only……

As the emperor's close ministers, they all knew that it was not an easy task to make the emperor "escape".

On the battlefield, running away is a shameful thing for a general, let alone an emperor.

Moreover, evacuating Tiewang Mountain at this time would undoubtedly be a sign of weakness and surrender to the retired emperor, and Emperor Ning Kang would probably not be willing to accept it.

As close ministers of Emperor Ning Kang, they more or less knew the reason why Emperor Ning Kang forced the emperor to abdicate by force.

Sure enough, after they had each given their advice, Emperor Ning Kang shook his head and asked, "Where is Feng Sheng?"

"Commander Feng is leading the Guard Battalion to build a defense line to prevent any unexpected events."

"Well... the situation hasn't gotten that bad yet, so we can discuss evacuation later.

All the generals leading the troops, go and help Feng Aiqing arrange the defenses, the others stay behind."

"Yes."

The military generals stood up to say goodbye, while the civil officials and think tanks stayed.

"Your Majesty, the longer the current situation drags on, the more disadvantageous it will be for us.

After all, they have ruled the world for too long, and most of the generals in power will probably obey their orders.

Now that the rebellion has begun, if we cannot quell the conflict as soon as possible, I am afraid that when the time comes, troops from all over the country will come to the capital to defend the king, which will be very disadvantageous to Your Majesty.

Moreover, our external contacts have been cut off by the Crown Prince..."

There is no alternative.

Emperor Ningkang was in a naturally unfavorable position, like a son to the emperor emeritus and a son to his father.

They thought to themselves that if they were the ones in charge of the military, it would be difficult for them to say it behind their backs, but if they were to do it in front of the two saints, most of them would probably choose to stand on the side of the retired emperor.

Emperor Ning Kang naturally understood this truth.

But he wasn't too worried about that.

All the troops in the country are marching to Beijing to defend the emperor? It sounds impressive, but it is extremely difficult to implement.

Given the current situation, even if the retired emperor could successfully mobilize the garrisons across the country, he, as the legitimate emperor, would have plenty of ways to trip him up.

But since he was planning something big, he naturally wouldn't be careless.

As for the interrupted communication...

If the rebellious son really thought that his father could be so easily controlled, he was greatly mistaken.

  And father, please wait, I will learn from you!

...(End of chapter)