Yan Lan was led into the army, and he was extremely shocked along the way. Originally, he only heard that Qi Yue was extremely strict, and his army was different from ordinary. Still, now that he really saw it, he realized that these rumors were far more true than the rumors.
Even in such a difficult environment as the border, where food and drinks are incomparably crude, these soldiers standing or training have a distinctive spirit. This aura of seriousness, honed amid life and death, shocked Yan Lan’s mind.
The Imperial Guard of Great Yan could not catch up with the Northern Army even by half. This was the praise Emperor Hongming gave to Qi Yue, and Yan Lan finally felt it.
While he was wise, he was not as cheerful as he seemed on the surface. Although he had already placed great value on Qi Yue, who was trusted by the Emperor, he still had a hidden pride in his heart. Now that he had come all this way, the pride in Yan Lan’s heart had received a great shock.
Every soldier in the Northern army did not show any fawning over his status as an Imperial Prince, but instead, they looked at the central military tent with a faint look of fanaticism in their eyes.
And from time to time, there are people around the army sending food and livestock to offer their condolences. Once he saw this scene, Yan Lan knew how influential the Northern General was in the military camp and even in the entire border. It was not an exaggeration to say that he was the Emperor of the land.
What rose in Yan Lan’s heart was not the joy of finding a powerful helper but some doubts. Emperor Hongming trusted Qi Yue, but Yan Lan did not. What he began to think about in his mind was the influence of Qi Yue now and in the future.
Because Qi Yue’s identity is extremely special, there is nothing wrong with saying that he is the adopted son of Emperor Hongming.
It was not difficult to see the depth of the Third Prince Yan Lan’s mind. The fact that he was able to defeat the First Prince Yan Sa in the struggle for the throne and discredit his image in Emperor Hongming’s mind, while at the same time disguising himself as a well-behaved son who could put the Emperor at ease, was enough to show that his mind was not inferior. To talk about scheming, perhaps Yan Sa is simply no match for him.
In fact, Qing Yun had expected Yan Lan’s reaction, so he did not intercept Yan Lan on the way back to the capital as Yan Sa did. However, after Yan Lan got the decree from Emperor Hongming, he knew after a little thought that the situation in the palace must be very serious if Emperor Hongming could think of sending the decree out. Maybe Yan Sa had already set up a trap waiting for him to return to the capital.
So, he didn’t wait for Qi Yue to come to his aid. He directly steered his horse to the Northern border, wanting to borrow Qi Yue’s manpower to protect himself.
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When he saw Qi Yue standing in front of the military tent, Yan Lan had already put away all his thoughts and put on his usual bright smile, saying aloud, “Greetings to General Qi!”
Although he was full of smiles, there was a flash of shock in his eyes. The intimidating power of this man is too strong. Qi Yue gives Yan Lan a feeling different from other military generals. The calmness and wisdom in his eyes are by no means something that a reckless man can present.
Qi Yue’s gaze vaguely swept over the holy decree in Yan Lan’s hand, and he immediately made up his mind. He clasped his fist and knelt towards the Third Prince: “Greetings to the Third Prince. I was unable to go out to greet the Third Prince due to busy military affairs, so I ask for your forgiveness!”
“Greetings to the Third Prince, requesting forgiveness from the Third Prince!”
As Qi Yue knelt down, all the soldiers in the entire barracks knelt in a neat and unified manner. It was as if Qi Yue was the benchmark in their hearts, and Qi Yue himself was their military order.
Thousands of people kneeled down at the same time while pleading guilty. A tremendous aura rose, and Yan Lan almost could not control the curvature of his mouth.
Could this Qi Yue be giving him a warning?
In fact, Yan Lan is thinking too much. If this scene of the Northern army kneeling with Qi Yue is seen by Emperor Hongming, he will praise “good!” on the spot. But the seeds of suspicion have been planted in Yan Lan’s heart, and Qi Yue’s every move has deep meaning in his eyes.
If Qi Yue does not kneel, perhaps Yan Lan would think that he has committed an offense.
“General Qi, please get up. I believe the General already knows why this Prince is here. You and I should quickly enter the tent to discuss properly.” Yan Lan pretended to panic and hurriedly helped Qi Yue up. The two of them entered the military tent together.
Once Qi Yue saw Yan Lan’s expression, he knew what the Third Prince was thinking, but Qi Yue did not care. The imperial people always think more than others, especially when Emperor Hongming was in confinement and the court was in turmoil.
For the battle for the throne, Qi Yue does not have any plans. He is the Northern General and will have his roots at the border later in life. He has no contact with the princes, so whoever becomes the Emperor is irrelevant to him.
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However, he had always repaid the kindness of a drop of water with a spring. Emperor Hongming had helped him a lot when he was young, so Qi Yue would listen to Emperor Hongming’s orders at this time. He would support whoever Emperor Hongming wanted to establish as the crown prince.
In addition, he already knew from the news sent by Emperor Hongming that the Eldest Prince Yan Sa had even placed Emperor Hongming under check and took control of the Imperial Guard. Thinking of this, Qi Yue could not help but frown.
This time, I’m afraid he needs to make a trip back to the capital personally.
“General Qi, you do not know, my elder brother, he actually……” Yan Lan sat at the table and confided in Qi Yue. He sighed as he said, “I also did not expect my elder brother to actually do such an unfilial thing. ”
“The Third Prince does not need to worry. Those who violate the law will be punished. I will deploy three squads and horses to quickly send you back to the capital.” Qi Yue did not care to listen to the Third Prince’s ramblings. He acted promptly and immediately sent a military officer to issue the general order and arrange for the follow-up.
“Only three teams?” Yan Lan faintly frowned, “My elder brother is in control of the entire Imperial Guard, as well as the City Guards……”
Hearing Yan Lan’s words, Qi Yue didn’t do too much explaining and only said, “Three teams are enough. Besides, we have to hurry, and it is not good to alert and provoke the attention of the Grand Prince.”
Qi Yue has already started to reorganize his team and will bring Yan Lan back to the capital the next day.
Even at such a moment when the Emperor was captured, and he had to go to escort him, this man remained calm. It was as if various matters were now just going through their routine work and could not disturb his mind at all.
Qing Yun is also quite busy in the palace these days. Although he did not intercept Yan Lan midway, he was definitely not about to let him return to the capital smoothly.
After reading today’s memo, Qing Yun leaned back in his chair and rubbed his brow. The court lady behind him wanted to help him rub his shoulders, but he waved his hand and refused.
After counting the days since he came here, Qing Yun half-closed his eyes and said to Chen Bing, who was waiting at the side, “Send the news to the Second Prince that the Emperor is imprisoned and the Third Prince has the holy decree in his hands.”
Chen Bing immediately answered and went to work.
He had been following Qing Yun for the past few days, and the shock in his heart came over and over again. His initial suspicion of the First Prince’s decision had faded without a trace.
Chen Bing set out to arrange for someone to release this information to the Second Prince unnoticed and to make him think that it came from his own men who had taken the trouble to pry for it.
But Chen Bing was a bit puzzled. Why should the news of the Emperor’s imprisonment be released to the Second Prince, who is far away? Is this not finding trouble for himself? This kind of puzzlement has been haunting Chen Bing’s mind from time to time recently, but he no longer feels that it is the Grand Prince’s decision that is wrong, but rather that his own mind is not wise enough.
After Chen Bing left the Grand Prince’s chamber, he repeatedly pondered until he finally got things done. It was only then that he thought of the Grand Prince’s intentions and immediately praised him for his brilliance.
If the second prince knows that the Emperor is imprisoned, he will certainly come to win merits. After all, although he left the palace to build his residence, it can not be said to be utterly unrelated to the throne. The achievements of this time may be able to change his impression in the Emperor’s mind and defeat the First and Third prince in one go. However, he also knew that the Third Prince had gotten the decree to establish the Crown Prince in his hands.
The Second Prince, who wants to sit on the throne, will never let the Third Prince return to the court before him and will undoubtedly block the Third Prince in every way. Therefore, there is no need for the First Prince to make a move. The Third Prince and the Second Prince themselves will have to fight a bloody one.
During this time, with the ability of the First Prince, he must have already rectified the entire capital like a barrel of iron.
After finally figuring it out, Chen Bing went back to his orders, feeling that after following the Grand Prince, the scheming has improved by more than one level.
After arranging Chen Bing’s work, Qing Yun went to supervise the training of the Imperial Guard. He knew that Yan Lan had the help of Northern General Qi Yue. In the original direction of this world, the entire Imperial Army was like a paper mache tiger under the attack of the Northern Army and was beaten to death in one shot.
This time Qing Yun does not want to repeat the same mistake. The imperial army, which has been stationed in the Imperial city for a long time, has been comfortable for too long. Even the training was just a routine to kill time.
But Qing Yun wants to break up their inertia ruthlessly.
Sitting in his wheelchair, he toured the entire training grounds. He watched the eyes of the Imperial Guard slowly become firm before Qing Yun slowly nodded his head.
Behind him, Fang Rui, the head of the Imperial Guard, stood respectfully, and his eyes were gradually filled with admiration. The reason he was taken in by the Grand Prince back then was simply because the Grand Prince Yan Sa had caught his weaknesses and forced him to submit.
In fact, Fang Rui has always had a negative impression in his heart because of the early events and was not that convinced. Moreover, because of the body of the First Prince, Fang Rui does not actually think he is a good candidate to ascend to the throne as Emperor.
In the beginning, when the First Prince wanted to intervene in the training of the Imperial Guard, he was also discontented, not to mention the Imperial Guard, who scoffed at the Prince that had grown up on his death bed.
Training? Perhaps it’s just all empty talk!
But according to the set of rules and regulations implemented by the Grand Prince, Fang Rui was surprised to find that the Imperial Guard would present a new look almost every day. Fang Rui knew that the Imperial Guard was often jokingly called the cats, who could only show their claws, raised in the Imperial City by the border guards. However, day by day, the Imperial Guard was transformed. Although they still lacked that bloody temperament, their aura was gradually sharpened.
These alone were not enough to make Fang Rui sigh with admiration for the Grand Prince. The reason why the entire Imperial Guard was now looking at Qing Yun with such eyes was, of course, because of that man himself.
They truly saw what kind of power the Grand Prince’s seemingly frail body contained, and the strong were worthy of everyone’s following.
Qing Yun lowered his eyes. In fact, his body has not been completely mended, and walking for a long time still makes him tired, so Qing Yun simply remained in his wheelchair.
The other day, it took him a lot of effort to completely subdue these Imperial Guards.
Qing Yun was thinking about this when he saw Chen Bing hurrying forward and running to whisper a few words in his ear.
When he heard what Chen Bing said, Qing Yun couldn’t help but laugh out loud. He shook his head and said, “It’s hard to believe that everyone treats me like a beast. He’s so guarded against me, and I’d be sorry if I didn’t go. Let’s go out of the palace and take a look.”
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Inside the Jing Yang Palace, Emperor Hong Ming, who was completely unaware that the Grand Prince had already left the palace, smashed yet another teacup.
Eunuch Su was busy persuading him to calm down while secretly saying in his heart, His Majesty has become more and more energetic after taking medicine in recent days, and his scolding of the eldest Prince has also become increasingly vigorous.
“This sinful son! How could he let Yang Hui go? How could he let Yang Hui go and promote Wei Lin up?” Emperor Hongming was so angry that he spun around the chamber, “Call that sinful son over to me!”
Although Emperor Hongming said so, in his heart, he also knew that it was impossible for Yan Sa to come over. This is because he has been screaming for several days, but Yan Sa has never come over to see him. Instead, a bowl of medicinal juice is sent over every day.
These days, Emperor Hongming is also a little confused about what his eldest son had in mind. If he really wanted to ascend to the throne and plot rebellion, why not just let him die of illness? Why did he send medicine every day?
If it was for his own good, why was he imprisoned then?
Thinking about it, Emperor Hongming was angry. That sinful son said before that he would hand over the political affairs to him, but only for him to look over it. He was not allowed to interfere at all.
Although angry, Emperor Hongming, who was aware of the court’s political affairs every day, also had some other feelings in his heart.
In the beginning, when Chen Bing sent the political affairs handled by the Eldest Prince, Emperor Hongming could not wait to look into the court affairs. At the same time, he wanted to find fault with the Eldest Prince.
However, day by day, he found that Yan Sa is incredibly proficient in political affairs. He is not only extremely organized but he is also focused that as long as he starts to do things, there will be excellent results.
There are even some matters that, at first glance, Emperor Hongming felt that Yan Sa did not deal with properly. However, after a bit of reflection, he felt that this son was even more thoughtful than him, and with that came a heartfelt admiration. After all, to have this kind of vision, this strategy can be considered a rare talent in a hundred years!
This kind of praise from Emperor Hongming was extremely common when Yan Sa was a child. But at some point, it seems that in the year of the Empress’ death, he gradually lost appreciation for this son and somehow always wanted to pick his mistakes.
After all, in the early years, Emperor Hongming had made a plan to make the Eldest Prince the crown prince even if he was weak.
Emperor Hongming is full of emotions and feelings when he remembers his late wife and the past. If he had not been in this situation of being imprisoned and usurped, he would have been pleased to see his son, whom he was so proud of in his early years, showing such talent again.
But now……Emperor Hongming simply does not know what he should be thinking. He did not notice that now his daily thoughts are not about when the Third Prince would return to the capital, or whether Qi Yue has already met with the Third Prince, but about the unpredictable Grand Prince.
When the medicine was brought up again, Emperor Hongming slapped the table and said, “Call that sinful son to me! If he doesn’t come, I won’t drink it!”
Qing Yun, who didn’t know that Emperor Hong Ming was looking for trouble again in Jing Yang Palace and didn’t intend to care even if he did, was currently on the official road outside the capital.
As he sat in the carriage, he merely lifted the curtain and smirked as he looked from a distance at the two people who were parting on the official road.
These two people were none other than Wei Lin, whom Qing Yun had just appointed as the First Minister a few days ago, and his only wife, who was hanging on to him.