mtlumby2d Chapter 293 Everything is under control
Chapter 293 Everything is under control
The emperor issued a gag order regarding the beating of the prince, and no one knew about it except those who were present at the scene that night.
To the outside world, the emperor announced that the prince was ill and would be unable to handle state affairs for the next two months.
But even so, the emperor was still not at ease with the Prince of Chu's Palace and kept sending shadow guards to keep an eye on it.
The next morning, inside the Yingwu Palace.
The emperor was reviewing memorials at his desk when suddenly a shadow guard came to report:
"Your Majesty, the Princess of Chu wrote a letter last night and sent someone to deliver it out of the city. Based on the direction the messenger left, the shadow guards chased for a distance and concluded that the letter should be sent to the King of Chu."
The emperor raised his eyebrows upon hearing this, but then shook his head: "It's only right for her to tell Chu Ning about this."
After a pause, the emperor asked, "Is there anything else?"
The shadow guard nodded and said in a deep voice: "The Tang Dynasty's imperial master left the city and returned home last night."
The emperor put down the memorial in his hand and frowned, "He left last night? In such a hurry?"
For some reason, the emperor always felt that there was something strange about what happened last night.
He squinted his eyes and stood up, pacing back and forth in the hall several times, then he asked with a puzzled look on his face:
"It's strange. Last night, Yuan Tian invited me to the Prince Chu's Mansion, saying that he wanted to discuss leaving Kyoto City. I felt that since Chu Ning was not in Kyoto City, it was indeed a good time to let him leave, so I took the initiative to go to the Prince Chu's Mansion.
But now I think about it, this might be a trick of that kid Chu Ning, who wanted to take the opportunity to let me discover what the prince has done.
But I am very curious about how he persuaded Yuan Tian to cooperate! "
The emperor reacted and realized that all this was Chu Ning's plan.
Why couldn’t Yuan Tian wait a few days before inviting him over, but had to invite him last night?
Isn't it just so that you can run into the prince?
It must be that Chu Ning was worried about Shen Wanying being alone at home, so he deliberately staged this drama.
You want to use my hand to temporarily suppress the prince!
This brat has plotted against me again.
Thinking of this, the emperor snorted coldly: "It would be best if this kid could come back alive from the front line. I will settle this account with him."
The shadow guard didn't dare to say anything. He lowered his head and looked as if it had nothing to do with him.
The emperor was very bored when he saw this, so he could only wave his hand and said, "Okay, you can leave now and pay close attention to the actions of all parties."
"Yes!" The shadow guard felt relieved and went downstairs to make arrangements immediately.
The emperor looked at the shadow guard's departing back, a solemn look on his face.
Although on the surface the Zhou Dynasty's 50,000-strong army seemed less dangerous than the last time when Zhao had 300,000 troops, it was actually quite oppressive.
These 50,000 soldiers of the Great Zhou are just the vanguard. If they cannot satisfy the other side, the Queen of the Great Zhou will definitely mobilize other troops.
By then, the Chu Dynasty would have to face more troops.
The reason for sending Chu Ning to Dunhuang County this time was, on the one hand, to use Chu Ning's power to calm the matter down.
On the other hand, there is a plan to sacrifice Chu Ning.
If Chu Ning cannot resolve the matter, then he can only be handed over to the Empress of the Great Zhou to calm the matter of Princess Gaoping's murder.
No matter which one was taken, the emperor would accept it.
As long as it does not affect the safety of the Chu Dynasty and does not endanger the emperor's throne, everything is under control.
As for how Chu Ning will choose to deal with this matter, that is not something the emperor can control.
As long as the general direction is controlled, the emperor will not care about the small details.
……
That afternoon, the messenger sent by Shen Wanying finally caught up with Chu Ning and others.
"Your Highness, this is a letter from the princess!" The messenger bowed to Chu Ning and then handed the letter over.
Chu Ning took the letter and took a look at it, with an amused look on his face.
"As expected, the prince really took action. Fortunately, I had something to hold back!"
Chu Ning grinned: "Father is really good at planning. He has prevented the Crown Prince from handling government affairs for two months. He is waiting for the results of my handling of the front line."
Zhao Yu's face changed slightly when he heard this: "Your Majesty, does His Majesty not want to really punish the Crown Prince?"
Chu Ning sneered: "If I handle this matter well at the front line, my father will give me an explanation after returning to the court.
If I am unable to handle this matter at the front, my father will definitely hand me over to the Queen of Great Zhou, but then, my father won’t have to deal with the Crown Prince.”
This is the calculation in the court.
Zhao Yu has been in Kyoto for so long and has heard about these things. Although he feels helpless about this, he can only accept it.
"My Lord, what shall we do next?"
"Of course we are going to rush to Dunhuang County with all our strength. According to the time, by the time we get there, Ran Ming should have arrived with 10,000 soldiers and horses."
Chu Ning put away the letter, turned his head and looked towards the direction of Dunhuang County, and said in a deep voice: "Pass the order down, move forward at full speed!"
At the command, the cavalry immediately set off at full speed.
Last night, in order to wait for news from Shen Wanying, Chu Ning ordered to advance at half speed after leaving the city. Now that he has received the news and has no worries, he is advancing at full speed.
It takes some time to get from Kyoto City to Dunhuang County, but fortunately, everyone is a cavalryman, and they can travel day and night to reach Dunhuang County as quickly as possible.
The White Horse Cavalry's war horses were all good horses. They marched 150 miles a day for three consecutive days and finally arrived at Dunhuang County.
Dunhuang County is located to the west of the Great Chu Dynasty. It is on the border between the Great Zhou and the Great Chu. It has high temperatures all year round. Even though it is spring now, the temperature here is much higher than that of Kyoto City.
Compared with the yellow sand in Dingxiang County, this person gives people the feeling of just one word: hot!
Chu Ning took a big sip from the canteen, wiped the water from the corners of his mouth, and then said in a deep voice:
"Fortunately, we rushed here at full speed, otherwise there wouldn't be enough water."
As they were talking, there were bursts of rumbling sounds coming from the distance.
Everyone turned around and saw a troop of soldiers heading this way.
The leader was wearing a loose robe, holding a spear, riding a warhorse and shouting strangely. Who else could it be but Ran Ming.
When he got closer, Chu Ning heard Ran Ming's words: "Hurry up, the prince is in front. If anyone runs slower, I will break his dog legs!"
Chu Ning's face was full of black lines.
Ran Ming is good in every way except that he has a low level of education and likes to swear.
While he was deep in thought, Ran Ming came with his troops.
"Your humble servant greets His Majesty the King of Chu!" Ran Ming dismounted and bowed.
Chu Ning nodded slightly: "No need to be polite, how is the matter that the king asked you to arrange going?"
Ran Ming chuckled and pointed at the soldiers behind him and said, "According to your order, I brought a thousand Modao troops, four thousand crossbowmen, and five thousand infantry."
Chu Ning glanced at the soldiers behind him, then smiled with satisfaction: "Very good, although it may not be used, it is better to be prepared!
Let's go, follow me to Dunhuang City."