Movie: Get Alpha Dog at the start

Chapter 1134 The fish is hooked
At night, at the gate of Futing City, a team of black-armored knights knocked on the door across the city wall.

The guards on the top of the city shouted, "What are you doing?"

"You are so blind that you don't even recognize Duke Dingguo. Why don't you open the city gates?"

"It turns out that Duke Dingguo has arrived. Open the city gate quickly."

The city gate opened, and a group of black-armored knights filed in. The young general in the lead said with an indignant look on his face: "My uncle led his men to endure hunger and cold, and tried his best to save the disaster victims, fearing that it would delay the treatment of the victims. The prince actually asked my uncle to rush back overnight, but I don't know how many victims we can save this time."

Jiang Meisun glared at Song Mo and said, "Don't talk nonsense. The prince is inspecting on behalf of His Majesty. If Your Majesty is here in person, please be polite when you see the prince later."

"Oh."

When the group arrived outside the yamen, they immediately aroused the vigilance of the guards of the Prince of Qin's mansion.

"Who is coming!"

"Duke Dingguo Jiang Meisun has come to pay his respects to the Crown Prince and His Royal Highness the Prince of Qin."

"Do you have a seal certificate?"

"I have the seal of the general as proof."

After checking the seal, Ma Quan did not let Jiang Meisun in directly, but said that he had to inform first.

This caused dissatisfaction among Song Mo and Duke Dingguo's personal guards.

"Humph, my uncle has devoted himself to the country and the people, and has made outstanding contributions in eliminating Japanese pirates and bandits. The Crown Prince and the King of Qin have not made any contributions, but they still want to show off here..."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Meisun simply raised his hand to stop them from continuing.

Not long after, the guard who brought the news whispered in Ma Quan's ear. Ma Quan nodded and then spoke loudly.

"The Crown Prince has ordered that Duke Qing be invited to the government office for a chat."

Song Mei and her bodyguards were about to follow in, but were stopped by Ma Quan.

"Your Highness, please only invite Duke Dingguo to come in. The rest of you will just wait here."

Song Mo exploded when he heard this: "How dare you! Do you know who I am?"

"Prince of England, I am only following your orders. Please don't make things difficult for me." Ma Quan had a playful smile on his face, but his hand was on the hilt of the knife.

"you!"

Seeing that the two sides were on the verge of a fight, Jiang Meisun shouted, "Song Mo, listen to my orders."

"The end will be here."

"Take them and wait here. Don't cause any trouble."

"I obey your command!" Song Mo retreated unwillingly.

Just as Jiang Meisun was about to go in, he was stopped by Ma Quan again.

"Duke Dingguo, the Futing pirates have been eliminated. The prince's guards and the king of Qin's guards are in the yamen, so it's safe. Duke Dingguo, please take off your armor and sword."

Song Mo was exposed when he heard this: "How dare you..."

All of Duke Dingguo's personal guards also placed their hands on the hilts of their swords.

"Shut up, everyone." Jiang Meisun hesitated for a moment, and finally took off his helmet.

Ma Quan smiled and said, "The Crown Prince is taking off his armor just to show his sympathy for the Duke's hard work in the battles over the years. Duke Dingguo, please don't worry."

Several bodyguards came forward and quickly removed all the armor from Jiang Meisun, then politely invited him in.

At the same time, in the front hall, the prince was fidgeting like an ant on hot pot.

"Ninth brother, this may not be appropriate. How about I go and greet them?"

Qin Hao poured a glass of wine for the prince: "What's wrong? Your Highness the Prince inspected the disaster area on behalf of the Emperor, and Jiang Meisun dared to open the warehouse and release grain in advance without permission. He didn't take the prince seriously."

"The Dingguo Army thinks they have succeeded in pacifying the sea, so they don't take the orders of the court seriously and only follow the orders of the Dingguo Duke. If we don't kill their arrogance, who knows what kind of chaos they will cause in the future."

The prince thought about it and felt that it made sense.

As they were talking, a personal guard came quickly to report.

"Your Highness, Crown Prince and Prince of Qin, Duke Dingguo Jiang Meisun requests an audience."

"You're welcome." The prince calmed himself down.

When the prince saw Jiang Meisun wearing only a single garment, he was obviously a little surprised and quickly greeted him, "Duke Dingguo, you have had a hard journey. Have a glass of wine to warm yourself up first."

"Thank you, Your Highness, for the wine."

Jiang Meisun drank the wine in the glass without hesitation. Seeing this, Qin Hao could be basically sure that he had no intention of rebelling.

"I remember that the imperial court issued an order to the magistrate of Futing County half a month ago, asking him to clean up the granary and count the victims. Who on earth was so bold as to open the granary and release the grain privately?"

Jiang Meisun's face changed, and he said in a neither humble nor arrogant manner: "Reporting to His Royal Highness the Prince of Qin, there are many local people from Futing in the Dingguo Army. They watched their fellow villagers suffer from the disaster but did nothing. I am afraid that it will cause a mutiny..."

"Duke Dingguo, I am asking you, who gave the order to open the granaries and release the grain?"

Without waiting for Jiang Meisun to finish his words, Qin Hao immediately asked.

"Yes, your humble servant."

"Jiang Meisun, you are so bold that you have opened the granaries and released grain without the imperial decree to win the hearts of the people. Are you planning a rebellion?"

When the word "rebellion" was uttered, not only Jiang Meisun was shocked, but even the prince was panicked.

Qin Hao also noticed something from the prince's reaction. He should want to recruit Jiang Meisun for his own use. He just didn't know whether it was his own idea or he had the emperor's approval.

"I am wronged."

"Whether it is an injustice or not, the court will naturally send someone to investigate. Duke Dingguo will stay in the government office for the next few days, rest in peace, and wait for the judgment of His Majesty."

Qin Hao said in a cold tone that no matter whether Prince Qing took action in the end, Jiang Meisun would definitely die. He had violated too many taboos. Even if Zhu Jianshen did not want to kill him, he had to kill him, otherwise there was no guarantee that others would follow suit.

The phrase "imperial power is supreme" is not just a saying, this is the emperor's bottom line. Once it is touched, he will show no mercy even if it is his own son, let alone just a so-called childhood friend.

After Jiang Meisun was taken away, the prince said to Qin Hao: "Ninth brother, Duke Dingguo has made great contributions to the country, but the court has not yet rewarded him. If he is placed under house arrest like this and causes a mutiny in the Dingguo army, I am afraid the consequences will be disastrous."

"Meritorious deeds are meritorious deeds, and faults are faults. Meritorious deeds should be rewarded, and faults should be punished. As for how to deal with Duke Dingguo, it will naturally be decided by my father and the cabinet after consultation. Your Highness does not need to worry too much."

The prince agreed. After all, he was not the one convicted, so even if he was to be scolded, it would not be his turn. It was just a pity for such a brave general like Jiang Meisun to be spared.

In a blink of an eye, it was the next day. Song Mo and his party rested outside the yamen last night, but they didn't see Jiang Meisun come out. At first, they thought that the prince had kept him overnight, but at noon the next day, he still didn't come out. They suddenly became anxious and questioned the guards at the door.

As a result, these guards ignored him completely, and Song Mo was so angry that he almost drew his sword, but was finally stopped by Yan Chaoqing beside him.

"Young Marshal, don't be impulsive. The person inside is the Crown Prince. If you disrupt the Crown Prince's headquarters, you will be confiscated and your entire family will be exterminated."

Song Mo said indignantly: "But my uncle has been in there for so long..."

"Wait a little longer, and see."

So the group waited outside until night, but still did not see Jiang Meisun come out. Now even Yan Chaoqing had to admit it.

"problem occurs."

In order to prevent Song Mo from acting impulsively, Yan Chaoqing could only trick Song Mo into staying in a nearby inn on the pretext of discussing countermeasures, and left a few personal guards to guard the gates of the government office.

"My uncle has made such great contributions, but the court not only did not reward him, but also put him under house arrest for such a trivial matter as opening the warehouse to release grain without permission. Is there still law in this world?"

Seeing Song Mo's angry face, Yan Chaoqing couldn't help but smile bitterly: "Young Marshal, opening the granary privately is not a trivial matter. I have advised the Duke at the beginning. If His Majesty intends to investigate, I am afraid..."

"What are you afraid of?"

"I'm afraid it will be difficult for the Duke to pass this test."

Song Mo slammed the table and stood up: "If it really doesn't work, I will rush into the county government office and rescue my uncle."

"Absolutely not. If this happens, not only will the Duke's life be in danger, but even the Duke Ding's Mansion and the Duke Ying's Mansion will be implicated."

"This doesn't work, and that doesn't work either. How can we rescue my uncle?"

Yan Chaoqing pondered for a long time: "This time, His Majesty sent the Crown Prince to Futing to inspect the disaster area in order to help the Crown Prince gain reputation for disaster relief. The Duke ruined the Crown Prince's good deeds, and I'm afraid the Crown Prince will bear a grudge. Now we can only start with His Royal Highness the Prince of Qin."

"At least we can know whether the Duke is...safe now."

Actually, what Yan Chaoqing wanted to ask was whether Jiang Meisun was still alive, but he was afraid of setting off the powder keg of Song Mo again, so he had to change his words temporarily.

"That's all we have to do."

……

Qin Hao looked at the jade pendant in his hand and couldn't help but smile amusedly when he heard Ma Quan report that it was Song Mo, the prince of the Duke of England, who wanted to see him.

"The fish finally took the bait."

The reason why he detained Jiang Meisun was, on the one hand, to maintain the dignity of the royal family, and on the other hand, to prevent Song Mo from siding with the prince.

After all, in the eyes of outsiders, Jiang Meisun was placed under house arrest because he robbed the prince of his opportunity to gain fame.

"Ma Quan, is there any quiet teahouse or restaurant around here?"

"I will arrange it right away."

In the west of Futing City, a road was suddenly blocked by a group of ferocious-looking men. The entire street was empty except for the shop assistants.

"Ma Quan, did I say that the street would be closed?" Qin Hao was sitting in a private room in the teahouse, looking at the empty street, speechless.

Ma Quan scratched his head: "Your Highness, don't you want to be seen associating with Song Mo?"

"Do you think Ji Yingwei are fools? How can they not find such a big target?" Qin Hao said unhappily.

"Then, should I ask them to withdraw?"

"Forget it, forget it. It's already like this. There's no need to try to cover up the truth."

Just when Ma Quan was feeling embarrassed and didn't know what to do, footsteps were heard at the stairs. Ma Quan ran out quickly as if he had been pardoned.

"Your humble servant greets His Royal Highness the Prince of Qin."

"No need to be polite, Prince Song. Please take a seat."

Song Mo drank cup after cup of tea, but Qin Hao refused to mention Duke Dingguo.

Finally, Song Mo couldn't help but forcefully speak, begging, "Your Highness, Prince Qin, my uncle visited His Highness the Crown Prince the night before yesterday, and he has been missing since entering the government office. Please let Your Highness know if my uncle is okay now. Song Mo will be grateful."

"Prince Song is making things difficult for me." Qin Hao groaned.

Song Mo gritted his teeth and knelt directly in front of Qin Hao: "My uncle is the commander of the Dingguo Army. I have heard the news for two consecutive days. I am afraid that it will cause trouble if it is reported back to the military camp. If His Royal Highness Prince Qin can tell us, the 150,000 Dingguo Army will definitely remember His Royal Highness's kindness."

Qin Hao shook his head secretly. He didn't know what was going on with Song Mo's brain. Was it all muscle? If these words were heard by Zhu Jianshen, it would only hasten Jiang Meisun's death.

"Forget it, forget it. Considering your filial piety, it's okay to tell you that Duke Dingguo is fine. However, this time he opened the granary privately, which is a serious crime. I'm afraid we have to wait until His Majesty discusses with the cabinet before we can convict him."

Song Mo couldn't help but defend Jiang Meisun when he heard this: "Your Highness, my uncle..."

"I know that Duke Dingguo has made great contributions to the pacification of the sea, but don't forget that it took Duke Dingguo nearly twenty years, and the victory of the Dingguo Army was also built up by the court at the cost of countless money and grain. If Prince Song wants Duke Dingguo to be safe and sound, don't publicize Duke Dingguo's achievements everywhere in the future."

After Qin Hao finished speaking, he stood up and left. Song Mo was slightly stunned, then quickly bowed to see him off.

On the way back, Song Mo told Yan Chaoqing the information revealed by Qin Hao.

Yan Chaoqing secretly breathed a sigh of relief: "At least the Duke is fine for now."

"But my uncle has devoted himself to the country and the people, but he is treated like this. Where is justice and fairness?" Song Mo said unwillingly.

"Young Marshal, please be careful with your words. Just as His Royal Highness the Prince of Qin said, the threat of pirates has been eliminated now. The Duke is already in an awkward position, and this time... we must keep a low profile." Yan Chaoqing hurriedly advised.

"Also, the military camp needs the young commander to be in charge, otherwise no one can control those arrogant and brave soldiers."

"That's all we can do for now."

At the same time, the court was in an uproar over the matter of Jiang Meisun, and many court officials wrote letters demanding severe punishment for Jiang Meisun.

However, these memorials were intercepted when they reached the cabinet.

This included Dou Shishu's memorial.

Lord Wu was very dissatisfied with Dou Shishu's jumpy behavior and directly sent him home for vacation.

The Prime Minister of the dynasty seemed to be good at smoothing things over on ordinary days, but when it came to the critical moment, he was actually very decisive.

Of course, this would make Dou Shishu completely hate him.

"Old man, I wonder how many years you can last!"

Until one day, Zhu Jianshen issued an order to the Jiying Guard to arrest Jiang Meisun and bring him to Beijing. The imperial edict did not go through the cabinet, but was sent directly to the Northern Pacification Office.

At the same time, there was another imperial edict ordering the prince and Qin Hao to return to Beijing immediately.

Qin Hao's heart moved. It seemed that the poison that Queen Wan had given to Zhu Jianshen had suddenly erupted. In the original plot, it seemed that Zhu Jianshen was afraid that he would die, so he began to pave the way for the prince. Unexpectedly, he survived for several more years. I wonder if the prince was in great pain during those years.

Qin Hao returned to the capital with the prince, but Zhu Jianshen only recruited the prince into the palace. For a while, many rumors spread in the capital, such as that the Prince of Qin had fallen out of favor, or that the emperor was in poor health and intended to pass the throne to the prince.

Qin Hao was too lazy to pay attention to these rumors. He first went to the Dou family, but was told that Dou Zhao had gone to the farm.

A farm on the outskirts of Beijing.

Dou Zhao was playing with his cousin Zhao Zhangru by the stream when he suddenly heard Miao Ansu running over in a hurry.

"What's wrong, Susu? You're sweating all over. What's the matter that worries you so much?"

Miao Ansu leaned close to Dou Zhao's ear and whispered something. Dou Zhao blushed when he heard it: "What is he doing here?"

"Of course I came to pay my respects to the old lady, and by the way, I came to see if someone missed me during my absence for so many days."