The Invincible Sixth Prince

The reactions of the court and Zhao Ji were beyond Yun Zheng's expectations.

Yun Zheng was ready to deal with the attack from the imperial army, but in the end, the imperial army did not make any move to attack them.

Except for the Guangling County of Juzhou, which was closest to them, where troops were withdrawn and deployed for defense, the armies in other places showed no signs of mobilization.

The court's actions really left Yun Zheng a little confused.

Two days later, Zhao Ji sent an envoy to meet Yun Zheng at Yangguan Bridge, about five miles away from Lu Lin’s camp.

The Shepherd Bridge is a bridge less than three meters long. It is said that it was originally built by a few shepherds in order to facilitate their grazing of sheep on the other side of the river.

Later, the original wooden bridge collapsed due to age, so a stone bridge was built in its place, and the name Yangguan Bridge was retained.

Since Zhao Ji had an appointment, Yun Zheng naturally had to go.

He also didn't need to worry about Zhao Ji setting an ambush or something like that. He had previously sent a large number of scouts to the surrounding areas to guard against an attack from the imperial court.

The views on both sides of Yangguan Bridge are relatively wide. If Zhao Ji sent people to set an ambush, it would be impossible for them to escape the eyes of the scouts.

When Yun Zheng arrived at Yangguan Bridge with hundreds of guards, Zhao Ji was sitting alone on Yangguan Bridge with a simple table and chairs in front of him.

There are teapots and teacups on the tables and chairs.

There was no one around Zhao Ji. There was only a group of people who were in a defensive posture a hundred feet away from Yangguan Bridge.

From a distance, he has the demeanor of a Confucian general.

Yun Zheng dismounted at the bridgehead and went up the bridge alone.

Miaoyin and the others did not follow either.

The bridgehead was only about ten feet away from the center of the bridge where Zhao Ji was sitting. Miaoyin brought a few people to guard the bridgehead, which was not much different from guarding Yun Zheng.

Zhao Ji, a Confucian general, dared to meet Yun Zheng alone, so they had no reason to let Zhao Ji laugh at Yun Zheng.

"I've met the prince!"

Seeing Yun Zheng coming, Zhao Ji stood up and saluted.

Although Zhao Ji was not very willing, Yun Zheng was higher than him in both status and official position. As long as Yun Zheng was not labeled a traitor by the court, he had to pay his respects.

"General Zhao, there's no need to be so polite!"

Yun Zheng waved his sleeves, slowly sat down in front of the simple tea table, and asked directly: "General Zhao, are you here to talk to me today, or to call me to task?"

Zhao Ji sat down and said calmly, "I know the power of the prince. If I bring such a small number of troops to punish him, I might as well cut off my head and send it to the prince."

Yun Zheng raised his eyes and smiled, "If it's not a call for punishment, then it's a heart-to-heart talk?"

Zhao Ji shook his head slightly and said calmly, "As the saying goes, people with different ideals cannot work together! It seems that there is nothing to talk about between me and the prince."

One sentence shows Zhao Ji's attitude.

It was obvious that Zhao Ji still had some hostility towards Yun Zheng.

"Then why did General Zhao ask to see me?"

Yun Zheng raised his eyebrows and looked at Zhao Ji, sighing secretly in his heart.

This Zhao Ji is actually a loyal minister.

However, in some respects, it is indeed a bit pedantic.

"Of course it's because of the rebellion of the soldiers in Lulin's camp."

Zhao Ji answered neither humbly nor arrogantly.

"Rebellion?"

Yun Zheng smiled indifferently, "They are not rebelling, they are just too disappointed with my third brother, so they changed places to serve the court!"

Change place... and serve the court?

What a novel idea!

He can even say that anything black is white!

"No wonder the prince is invincible. His mouth alone is enough to defeat an army of 100,000!"

Zhao Ji was still sighing and looking at Yun Zheng with admiration.

"I am only stating the facts!"

Yun Zheng heard Zhao Ji's sarcasm, but he did not get angry. Instead, he smiled calmly and said, "The righteous will have many supporters, while the unrighteous will have few supporters. That's probably how it is!"

"Indeed! The righteous will have many supporters, while the unrighteous will have few!"

Zhao Ji nodded in agreement, "Your Majesty, please remember this sentence!"

"Oh?"

Yun Zheng raised his eyebrows and smiled, "General Zhao, is there something else behind your words?"

"I believe that the prince is a smart man."

Zhao Ji looked at Yun Zheng fearlessly, "Who attacked and killed those cavalrymen under your command? I believe your Majesty should know it in his heart!"

In Zhao Ji's opinion, the previous incident was most likely the result of collusion between certain forces in the court and Xiqu.

Their purpose was to provoke a war between Yun Zheng and the imperial court so that they could reap the benefits.

Zhao Ji believed that Yun Zheng should be able to see what he could see.

Yun Zheng's surprise attack on Lu Lin's camp was just an attempt to take advantage of the situation.

"Of course I understand!"

Yun Zheng pursed his lips and smiled, "I have examined everything clearly, is there anything you don't understand?"

"Did Your Majesty really get the truth from the interrogation?" Zhao Ji asked back, then smiled and said, "How about this, Your Majesty, make a condition. Hand over the people captured by Your Majesty's troops to me, and I will interrogate them for Your Majesty again?"

"I have examined everything clearly. There is no need to trouble General Zhao!" Yun Zheng refused without thinking.

After listening to Yun Zheng's words, Zhao Ji immediately confirmed that his guess was correct.

Yun Zheng definitely knew that the incident had nothing to do with Zhou Daogong, and Yun Zheng was indeed taking advantage of the situation!

It is possible that Yun Zheng had no intention of taking over the troops in Lu Lin’s camp, but just wanted to take advantage of the situation to demand money and food from the imperial court.

This isn't the first time Yun Zheng has done something like this!

Those who follow Yun Zheng know that this is Yun Zheng’s usual tactic.

"Since the prince says no, then forget it!"

Since his guess was confirmed, Zhao Ji did not dwell on the issue and said solemnly: "The court has agreed to send the family of the Fourth Prince to Fuzhou. The court will not take the heads of the families of the surrendered generals, but will only punish them to perform corvée labor. But rest assured, Your Majesty, I will treat them well!"

"it is good!"

Yun Zheng nodded, "If they make any mistakes, I will settle the score with you!"

"can!"

Zhao Ji did not shirk responsibility, "The reason why I treated them well was not because I was afraid of the prince's threats, but because the prince knew the importance of the matter and did not directly start a rebellion!"

"Oh?"

Yun Zheng looked at Zhao Ji with interest, "I have taken over 15,000 soldiers from Lu Lin's camp. Doesn't General Zhao think that I am rebelling?"

"of course not!"

Zhao Ji shook his head slightly. "If the prince really wanted to rebel, he could have taken advantage of the fact that there was no news coming out of the Lulin camp and directly opened the gate of Guangling, seized Guangling in one fell swoop, and devoured all of Guangling's troops..."

Zhao Ji saw these things very clearly.

The reason why he did not send reinforcements to Juzhou under such circumstances was because he understood this point clearly.

Yun Zheng did not rebel directly, which left room between him and the court, and there was no need for him to go to extremes.

Although he could not disobey the court's order and prevent the families of surrendered generals from performing corvee labor, there was a big difference between caring for them and not caring for them even though they were both corvee labor.

Listening to Zhao Ji's words, Yun Zheng couldn't help but nodded approvingly.

This Zhao Ji is actually a smart man!

Unfortunately, I can’t use it for myself at the moment!