The Blood Crown

When Chen Kui went to meet Huo Li and the two in person, Yan Sikong also recruited Wu Liuqi and asked him to spread rumors in Zhongqing City, saying that the king of Chu attributed the death of his mother and concubine to the framed by Concubine Wen Gui and the prince, and that once he returned to Beijing, he would Use their heads to worship the dead souls of the mother and concubine.

As soon as Wu Liuqi left, Qi Manbi came.This is not the first time she has come to visit Yan Sikong. She brings food and clothing to Yan Sikong every now and then. Sikong this guest.

But Yan Sikong can see through her thoughts at a glance.She clearly knew that Chen Yu's affection for her was not limited to the monarch and his ministers, but at the same time, she also knew that a man could not shake her status, so she wanted to win over herself. Queen, she has a place behind Chen Kui.

This woman is very knowledgeable, but not smart enough. Chen Wei's great career has just started, and it is far from the time when she is thinking about competing for favor in the harem. From this point of view, she is more anxious than Chen Wei to become the master of the capital.

However, as Chen Kui's concubine, Yan Sikong is generally satisfied with her. It would be better if she stopped trying to set him up secretly and let him waste his time dealing with it.

After exchanging pleasantries, Qi Manbi tentatively asked: "Sir, I have heard that Chen Chun had a son last year and another daughter this year. He is two years younger than the prince."

"Yes, the royal family must have a prosperous population, so as not to allow outsiders to take advantage of it. I have always advised Your Highness to spread the branches as soon as possible."

Qi Manbi sighed, and said aggrievedly: "Your Highness may despise my background, I... Sigh."

"Madam, don't be depressed. Your Highness is busy with important matters all day long, so you just neglected it for a while." Yan Sikong hinted at her, "Your Highness doesn't care, Madam should. Madam gave birth to His Highness's eldest son and eldest daughter, how could His Highness not care?" I like it."

Qi Manbi covered her lips and smiled: "Actually, I think so too. I feel more at ease after what Mr. said. I don't ask my child to be the heir or princess. I just want to have a son and a half with Your Highness. I'm content with just being like an ordinary couple."

Yan Sikong smiled but said nothing.

Qi Manbi wanted to say something else, but Yuan Nanyu suddenly came to see him.

Qi Manbi hadn't met Yuan Nanyu much before, but he had also heard that this man with a big beard covering half of his face and black forehead wrapped around his head was Yan Sikong's guard and the instructor of the current King Chu Army.

Yuan Nanyu saluted the two of them, Qi Manbi looked at Yuan Nanyu, and said "huh", "Coach Chen's eyes look so young, it seems... a bit like Mr.

Yan Sikong was a little alert, he smiled lightly and said: "Oh, is that so? It is said that the two of them will become more and more similar in appearance after being together for a long time."

Yuan Nanyu said in a rough voice: "A small rough man, how can he be compared with an adult, madam is joking."

Qi Manbi said with a smile: "It doesn't seem to be the same again. Then don't bother Mr. to talk about business."

"Ma'am, go slowly." Yan Sikong sent her out of the yard before turning back and asking in a low voice, "Any news?"

"I received a secret report from Zhu Lanting in the morning. The imperial court has secretly decreed that all government departments must gather troops. At the same time, they are enlisting troops and taxing massively. There are many complaints from the people, but it is expected that a large number of troops will be mobilized soon. I just don't know what it is To deal with the wolf king, it is still the king of Chu."

Yan Sikong pondered and said: "If it is to deal with Feng Ye, there is no need to make a secret decree. Judging from the current situation, Feng Ye and Chen Kui have not joined forces, and it is the best time to defeat them one by one. The Dog Emperor is planning to give courtesy first and then attack." If Huo Li can't appease the King of Chu, he will send troops to attack the King of Chu when his foundation is unstable."

"The imperial court has always been indecisive in doing things, but this time they acted so vigorously and resolutely."

"The dog emperor has a knife on his neck. He is afraid of repeating the mistakes of Fengye. After several peace talks, it will only delay the time, but will make the enemy stronger."

"What should we do now?"

"Procrastinate if you can, and stick to it if you can't. Yunnan is the territory of the King of Chu. The mountains and rivers are steep and easy to defend but difficult to attack." Yan Sikong paced in the room and said with a sneer, "If he comes to attack the King of Chu, he will not be able to attack him for a long time. , it will be wasted here, and that is a good time to send troops out of the wilderness."

"You mean to use the king of Chu to hold back the imperial army?"

"Yes, I know best about the imperial court's military and financial resources. The battle in Liaodong is stalemate, and the imperial court will never have the spare power to march into Datong and Yunnan at the same time."

Yuan Nanyu pondered and said: "If the imperial court is to build plank roads openly and hide Chen Cang secretly, it seems that they want to attack the king of Chu, but in fact they want to join forces with Chahar to attack the wolf king."

Yan Sikong nodded: "It's not impossible, so Feng Ye must take down Chahar as soon as possible. These rough barbarians have eccentric and unpredictable temperaments. They have to use both soft and hard methods."

Yuan Nanyu frowned and said: "I'm worried about Fengye. He has an arrogant temperament and is very competitive. If Chahar killed his envoy, he must be furious. I'm afraid it will be difficult to ask for peace like Chahar."

"He used to be more conceited and impulsive, but now that he is the coach, he has restrained himself a lot." Yan Sikong couldn't help but think of the first time the two fought side by side, and almost disagreed everywhere. Now it is difficult to tell who is right and who is wrong. Fortunately, they won the battle, but He still didn't agree with Feng Ye's boldness and adventure.He said in a deep voice, "I can't help Feng Ye now, he has made it this far, he has his own abilities, just wait for his news."

Yuan Nanyu couldn't help but said, "You...don't worry about him at all?"

Yan Sikong looked ahead expressionlessly, and after a while, said: "No."

"Then you don't plan to go back to Datong?"

Yan Sikong looked at Yuan Nanyu and asked back, "Do you really think I should go back?"

"If you don't go back, Feng Ye will definitely think that you have a different heart. The relationship between him and the King of Chu is delicate, and it depends on you as the bond. Don't you think this move is too dangerous?"

Yan Sikong said calmly: "Feng Ye had already decided that I had a different heart, so he sent you to watch me. So, how did you reply to him?"

Yuan Nanyu's face changed, and his tone sank: "One is the person I swear allegiance to, and the other is my brother. How do you want me to reply to him?"

Yan Sikong understood Yuan Nanyu's loyal and upright temperament very well, so he never tried to win Yuan Nanyu to his side, otherwise he would only confirm Feng Ye's evaluation of his cunning, making Yuan Nanyu more defensive and stay away from him. Own.If it was someone else, he would have thought of a way to get rid of it, but it was Yuan Nanyu. Feng Ye chose the most suitable person to monitor him, which also shows how wary Feng Ye is of himself.

Seeing that he didn't speak, Yuan Nanyu said in a low voice: "I hope you can be honest with each other and fight side by side, but your thoughts... I really can't see through."

Yan Sikong smiled wryly: "Sometimes, I feel like you don't remember anything, that's great."

Although the words were endless, Yuan Nanyu felt that he understood, at least, he could hear Yan Sikong's deep helplessness.

There was a suffocating silence in the room.

Yan Sikong said softly: "I will go back. The imperial court sent envoys to seek peace with the King of Chu. Feng Ye is already on pins and needles. If I don't go back, he will have a lot of suspicion." He took a deep breath, "But no Now."

"when?"

"I want to stabilize the King of Chu first, and the peace talks must fail, and..." Yan Sikong narrowed his eyes, "The King of Chu is not as easy to control as I imagined, if I let him send troops now, there are only two results, one is The defeat of the army, and the second is to summon more vassals to rebel together. Neither of these two is what I want. I want to temporarily trap him in Yunnan. Rely on Feng Ye's soldiers and horses." There is a saying that Yan Sikong didn't say clearly, the most important thing for him is to let Chen Kui rely on himself.

Yuan Nanyu nodded: "But what if the King of Chu can't stop the imperial army?"

"Given Yunnan's easy-to-defend and difficult-to-attack terrain, as long as it doesn't defend itself, the imperial court will definitely not be able to attack for a while. At the critical moment, Feng Ye besieged Wei to save Zhao and sent troops to the Central Plains to solve Yunnan's emergency."

-

Chen Kui received Huo Li and his grandfather as a guest of honor, Yan Sikong couldn't show up, but he bought off the servants around Chen Kui, so he knew roughly what they were talking about.

Although Huo Li is indifferent by nature, he is quite speculative and highly respected. He is very suitable as a lobbyist. Needless to say, Mr. Xu is Chen Kui's pro-grandfather.

Yan Sikong was afraid that Chen Kui would be shaken, so he told Chen Kui the secret report he had received in due course, saying that the imperial court was gathering a large army to attack him in Yunnan, and they must not fall into their trick of delaying the troops.

Chen Kui's determination to become emperor has indeed never wavered, but as Yan Sikong expected, what Huo Li brought was Emperor Zhaowu's expedient measure, that is, abolishing Chen Chun and re-establishing Chen Kui as the prince, which is very tempting Conditions, it is not an exaggeration to say that going to the capital is a sea of ​​swords and fire. Who dares to say that they are only victorious, not to mention that they are still rebelling. Although it is risky to force the palace, it is much easier than fighting from Yunnan.

Yan Sikong was afraid that Chen Kui would have this idea, and Chen Kui really brought it up hesitantly. Yan Sikong was not in a hurry to refute him, but said: "I have already thought of this, and reminded Your Highness last time, Your Highness Still being bewitched by Mr. Huo Ge, Your Highness has thought about it, once His Highness returns, it will be like a sheep going into a tiger's mouth."

"Of course I thought about it, but if my father had announced it to the world first, he would not be able to repent for a while, and now that the eunuch party has declined, most of the ministers in the court support me."

Yan Sikong said coldly: "If His Highness is destined to return to the capital alive."

Chen Kui frowned: "Mr. is also reasonable. I have been very hesitant these few days."

"Why don't you do it like this, the minister contributes a plan and tries it out for His Highness."

"What's the plan?"

"The case of Chen Chun's assassination was investigated by Mr. Meng Duo and Mr. Meng. Now Xie Zhongren is also in his hands. Let Mr. Meng interrogate the matter and let Xie Zhongren admit that it was Concubine Wen Gui who designed to frame His Highness and Concubine Hui. Let's see how His Majesty will deal with Concubine Wen."

Chen Kui said: "Okay! Let's do it!" He hesitated, "But now, Chen Chun is the only hope for Xie Zhongren's life. Xie Zhongren will never take the initiative to be honest, and why does Meng Ge want to pursue this truth? Especially, the emperor must not want him to investigate."

"His Highness asked Huo Li and Mr. Xu to jointly sign a letter to thoroughly investigate the case as a condition for His Highness to negotiate a peace. Mr. Huo Ge is loyal to the country and will definitely agree. Mr. Xu also naturally wants to avenge Concubine Hui. If His Majesty disagrees, Your Highness I know that His Majesty still wants to protect Concubine Wen Gui and Concubine Wen Gui, if His Majesty agrees to find out the truth about the collusion between the dog and Concubine Wen Gui, but not punish, the result will be the same."

Chen Yuhan said in a low voice: "Okay, I will do as the master said!"