The ministers begged me to ascend the throne

That night.

The king of Chu and his party did not continue on their journey because it was not safe to travel at night.They rested beside a river in a forest.

Wei Mian asked the attendant to start a fire, and he went to the river to fill some water and prepare to boil it.

His Highness the Tenth Prince once told them that if they were in the wild, they must boil the river water to drink, and never drink cold water.His Highness Tenth said there were some parasites in the raw water and drinking too much would make people sick.

King Chu sat by the fire and looked at the geographical map in his hand.He calculated the distance and found that he would reach Pengcheng in about seven or eight days.

Wei Mian paid attention to the water in the pot and the grilled fish by the fire.When the water boiled, he hurriedly poured a bowl and then fanned it vigorously.After fanning for a while, he brought it to King Chu.

"Your Highness, the water is still a little hot. Please drink it slowly."

King Chu took the bowl, lowered his head and blew on it, then slowly drank one mouth after another.

Wei Mian was afraid that King Chu would be burned, so he squatted beside King Chu and kept fanning him.

"Your Highness, please drink slowly."

King Chu was a little thirsty and drank a little urgently. Fortunately, the water was not very hot or scalding.

After drinking two large bowls of water, King Chu stopped.

Seeing that King Chu was sweating profusely after drinking, Wei Mian quickly took out a handkerchief from his arms and wiped King Chu's sweat.

"Look, are they drinking cold water or hot water?" Although King Chu found it troublesome to drink boiled water, his tenth brother had repeatedly told him not to drink cold water when he was outside.

"Yes, Your Highness." Wei Mian asked again and found out that the guards all drank boiled water and did not drink raw water directly from the river. He felt relieved and hurried back to tell the King of Chu.

"Boil more water and drink it on the road tomorrow."

"Yes, Your Highness." Seeing that the fish was cooked, Wei Mian quickly took out two small bottles from his sleeves. These two bottles contained salt and pepper.He hurriedly sprinkled it on the fish. "Your Highness, please use it."

When the King of Chu saw that Wei Mian was bringing condiments, he couldn't help laughing: "Why do you bring these when you go out?"

Wei Mian replied respectfully: "His Royal Highness the Tenth Prince ordered it."

King Chu looked surprised and said, "When did my tenth brother tell you?"

"As I said before, His Highness the Tenth Prince said that if your servant follows you on a long journey, he should bring some salt and pepper. He said that we may not always be able to live in a post house or a guest house. Sometimes we will definitely live in the wild. At that time, you may catch fish or hunt rabbits to eat, so bringing salt and pepper will make the food taste better.”

The King of Chu felt that this was what Zhao Yao could say.In the heart of the tenth brother, nothing is more important than eating. Even if he is away from home, he must find a way to make the food taste better.

"His Royal Highness Ten also said that salt is very important. If we are injured in an accident, salt can eliminate..." Wei Mian forgot the words Zhao Yao said for a while, and then thought about it for a while, "Yes, salt can reduce inflammation and sterilize. On wounds, although it hurts, it can prevent the injury from becoming serious or ulcerated. It is also said that when a person is weak or injured, eating salt will make him stronger."

King Chu said sternly: "What the tenth brother said is right."

"So, I always carry salt on my body." Wei Mian said with a smile, "But fortunately, the salt I brought was only used on the grilled fish and not on the wounds." The most fortunate thing is that His Highness was not injured.

The King of Chu did not speak, and ate the grilled fish with his head down.Grilled fish sprinkled with salt and Sichuan peppercorns does taste much better.

Wei Mian made fish soup and tore the cooking cakes into small pieces and put them in the fish soup.

During this period of time, the King of Chu and his entourage took small roads instead of official roads, and they did not rest in the post house.However, there were a few groups of people pretending to be the King of Chu and his party, and they were living in the hospital openly and openly.

Several waves of people pretending to be the king of Chu were assassinated, and one wave after another, each wave was more cruel than the last.The first wave of people who set off were all killed by the assassins, leaving no one alive.Although the other waves of people were not completely wiped out by the assassins, they were also seriously injured by the assassins.At this moment, a homing pigeon flew towards King Chu and the others.

The guard stopped the carrier pigeon, took out the letter and handed it to Wei Mian.

After Wei Mian accepted it, he hurriedly handed it to King Chu.

King Chu opened the letter and immediately frowned and his face became heavy.

When Wei Mian saw something was wrong with King Chu's expression, his heart sank suddenly, and he asked with concern: "Your Highness, what's wrong? What happened?"

"All the people we sent were assassinated." The King of Chu threw the letter in his hand into the fire, and it was quickly burned completely.

After Wei Mian heard this, he couldn't help but exclaimed: "What, they were all assassinated, no one was left alive?"

King Chu said with a cold face: "No one will be left alive."

Wei Mian gasped, and his face immediately became very solemn.

"The whole army was wiped out. The prince and the king were too cruel." Although they had expected that His Highness would go to Pengcheng this time, the prince and the king would never let him go, but they did not expect that they would be so cruel. "Your Highness, the prince and the others will definitely put you to death."

King Chu sneered: "They don't want me to return to the capital alive." He had expected all this.

Wei Mian was a little panicked, and he asked with an uneasy look on his face: "Your Highness, the people we sent as a cover have been assassinated. If the prince and the king find out that the person they assassinated is not you, then they will definitely send intensified attacks. More assassins are coming to kill you. Next, we will be in danger." Maybe the Crown Prince and the King's people will be able to find their traces soon.

"Tomorrow we will take the water route instead." King Chu already knew that the person he sent as a disguise would not last long. "There will still be a few waves of people who will continue to pretend to be me, but they will no longer take the official route."

"Your Highness, you had already expected that it would turn out like this, so you held back?"

The King of Chu nodded slightly: "Well, the king doesn't want me to live in the capital, and the prince doesn't want me to reach Pengcheng alive. Before I arrive in Pengcheng, the prince will keep sending people to assassinate me."

"Your Highness, can the people you arranged last until you arrive in Pengcheng?"

"Okay." King Chu was very thoughtful and had arranged everything before departure. "The journey to Pengcheng is not the most dangerous. It will be the most dangerous when we arrive in Pengcheng." What King Chu is most worried about now is that Pengcheng will completely fall into the hands of the prince.

"Your Highness, the prince's men dare to openly assassinate you in Pengcheng?" Wei Mian looked horrified. "You went to Pengcheng to investigate the matter under the emperor's order. It would be too bold for the prince to openly assassinate you in Pengcheng." Didn’t the prince take the emperor seriously?

"He dares to steal copper, train weapons privately, and dare not do anything else." Although King Chu still doesn't know what is going on in Pengcheng, he can make some guesses. "After killing me, he can blame my death on the officials in Pengcheng, or on behalf of the king." When he arrives in Pengcheng, the prince's people will kill him at all costs.

"Your Highness, do His Highness the Crown Prince and Lord Zhen Guo want to rebel?" Wei Mian did not expect that the Crown Prince and the others were so bold as to steal copper and forge weapons.Their purpose for doing this is not to rebel.

The King of Chu guessed: "I won't rebel at the moment, but I might force him into the palace in the future." In history, there were many examples of princes rebelling and forcing the palace into the palace.At present, the prince and the Duke of Zhen are not rebellious, but they already have the intention to do so.If the father deposes the prince in the future, the prince and the Duke of Zhen will inevitably rebel.

"Prince and the others..." Wei Mian's face was filled with horror.He immediately thought of something, and a look of surprise appeared on his face, "That's why the Emperor sent you to Pengcheng to investigate this matter." The Emperor knew that His Highness would be assassinated by the Crown Prince and the King's men when he went to Pengcheng. Pengcheng narrowly escaped death, but the emperor still sent his highness. The emperor was testing his highness.If His Highness succeeds in surviving the swords of the Crown Prince and King Dai, and investigates the truth about Pengcheng's stealing of copper, then when His Highness returns to the capital, His Highness will...

When he thought of that possibility, Wei Mian's heart suddenly beat rapidly and violently.The fear in his heart was replaced by excitement.

"Your Highness, if you perform meritorious service and return to the capital this time, will the Emperor want to make you..." Even though the Emperor will not make His Highness the Crown Prince immediately, His Highness is the crown prince on the iron plate.

"This is why the prince and the king insisted on my death." King Chu also guessed the emperor's true purpose of sending him to Pengcheng.

"Your Highness, then..." Wei Mian stuttered because he was so excited. He wanted to say something, but he couldn't say it directly.

"Things in Pengcheng will not be so easy to investigate." King Chu said, and suddenly sighed, "What I am most worried about now is my tenth brother." King Chu was not very worried about his own safety.What he is most worried about now is Zhao Yao's safety, and he doesn't know whether Lao Ba has rescued his tenth brother.