Emperor: When will the Seventh Prince rebel? I will open the city gates to welcome him.

After hearing this, Emperor Dingwen woke up as if from a dream.

Unexpectedly, whether it is war or peace, Bei Shang’s new king Ba Xin and national teacher Yun Yi have already made plans.

"I now understand why the Northern Merchants would send their Imperial Master Yun Yi to lower his status to be this envoy."

Emperor Dingwen was glad that he did not act rashly, but instead called Hongxuan to discuss the matter together.

"Prime Minister Zhang, as the Prime Minister of the Cabinet and a former top scholar, you are really disappointing me more and more." Emperor Dingwen said with disappointment as he looked at Prime Minister Zhang who was kneeling on the ground.

"I deserve to die! I never expected that the new ruler of Beishang would have a plan to kill two birds with one stone!"

Hongxuan continued:

"Father! The harm of killing the Northern Merchants' envoys is not limited to this."

Emperor Dingwen was startled: "Is the danger not so serious?"

"Yes! Father, the dangers don't stop there. Southern Xinjiang is now in rebellion, and most of the rebels are hiding in the mountains of Southern Xinjiang. If the imperial court kills the envoys from Northern Merchants, what will the rebels in Southern Xinjiang think? I can conclude that these rebels will fight to the death and refuse to surrender. The imperial court of Dafeng can even kill envoys, let alone the rebels who have already rebelled. Surrender means death. These rebels will definitely rebel to the end!"

The envoy from Northern Merchants was beheaded, and it will be extremely difficult to suppress the rebellion in Southern Xinjiang in the future.

Emperor Dingwen said: "Commander of the Jinyi Secret Guards! Cancel the operation!"

"Yes, sir!" The secret guards in brocade robes wearing flying fish robes left the Qianqing Palace.

Hong Xuan watched the Jinyi Secret Guard leader leave and said, "Father! If there is nothing else, I will take my leave and not disturb you from sleeping."

"Oh! My son, I still have some doubts."

Emperor Dingwen did not intend to ask Prime Minister Zhang these questions.

He found that compared with his own son Hongxuan, Prime Minister Zhang was simply a foolish man without wisdom. The level of Prime Minister Zhang's view on problems and his suggestions was not much different from that of Emperor Dingwen himself.

"My son! Will the Imperial Master of Beishang come to Kyoto this time?"

"I will definitely come!" Hongxuan said in an affirmative tone.

"But my son! Didn't you just say that the King of Beishang was not in the delegation?" Emperor Dingwen asked curiously.

"The Beishang Kingdom's envoys must have arranged two teams, one in the open and one in the dark. If the team in the open can successfully reach the capital of Dafeng, it means that our Dafeng Kingdom is seeking peace. Then the imperial teacher Yun Yi hiding in the dark will naturally show up in the envoy's inn."

Emperor Dingwen understood.

If this Northern Merchants delegation successfully enters Kyoto, it means that the attitude of the Dafeng Kingdom is to seek peace. Seeking peace means agreeing to pay a tribute of ten thousand gold coins, a tribute of young girls, and cede the city. At this time, the Northern Merchants' national master will naturally appear.

"My son! I understand. You can go back first!" Emperor Dingwen ordered.

"Yes! Father, I will take my leave now!"

After Hongxuan left the Qianqing Palace,

He looked at Prime Minister Zhang who was kneeling on the ground: "Prime Minister Zhang, is my Xuan'er's assessment of the situation correct?"

Prime Minister Zhang kowtowed and said, "Your Majesty, the wisdom and strategy of the King of Zhenbei are beyond the reach of this old minister, and I am convinced."

"Well! It's late! You should go back!" Emperor Dingwen said lightly.

"I'm going to take my leave!" Prime Minister Zhang stood up tremblingly.

"Oh, right! I almost forgot that the matter of welcoming the Northern Merchants' delegation to Beijing this time will be handed over to Prime Minister Zhang, and your duties will be handed over to Cabinet Grand Secretary Hu Weizhen."

Prime Minister Zhang's body trembled slightly. This was the first time that Emperor Dingwen had stripped Prime Minister Zhang of his power after nearly seven years.

Zhang Xianbin felt that his career in the officialdom was extremely dangerous.

It is obvious that this move is intended to sideline him as the Prime Minister.

Two consecutive mistakes in major strategic planning today made Emperor Dingwen see clearly the true ability of Prime Minister Zhang.

Emperor Dingwen was very disappointed.

If the decision made by the highest level of the Dafeng Kingdom is implemented in the wrong direction, the consequences will be irreversible.

"Old minister, I obey the order!"

"Let's go back!"

After Prime Minister Zhang left, there was still a cold look in Emperor Dingwen's eyes.

"This old man, I have stripped him of his power and asked him to lead the Northern Merchants' delegation. The meaning is very clear. I thought he had some self-knowledge and would choose to resign and return home to retire! I didn't expect that even at this point, he is still reluctant to leave the court, humph!"

the next morning.

Zhongcui Palace, located on the east side of the imperial palace, was the bedroom of Imperial Noble Consort Cao.

At the Guanchi Pavilion, the Second Prince Huang Xiong roared angrily. There was a slightly swollen purple lump on his forehead above his right eyebrow.

"Mother Queen! I can't swallow this anger. I must kill Hongxuan! I must kill him!"

"Hongxiong! Don't be impulsive. Don't talk nonsense and get yourself into trouble. Hongxiong is now the King of Zhenbei. He will leave the capital and go to the northern border in a few days."

"Then wait until he reaches the northern border and let grandpa and uncle kill him! I want him to die! I can't get rid of the hatred in my heart until he dies!"

Hongxiong was the second prince and had never been beaten since he was a child. As a prince, he was only allowed to beat others. However, he was a competitor for the position of crown prince, yet he was knocked unconscious by a single punch from the seventh prince.

"This is a disgrace to a prince! A disgrace! I will kill him!"

Imperial Concubine Cao looked at her son and shook her head slightly.

Thinking about yesterday in the Hall of Supreme Harmony, Na Hongxuan was giving instructions and making plans in the hall. He not only exposed the conspiracy of the King of Beishang, but also proposed countermeasures. The prince's momentum was undoubtedly revealed.

"My son! The Seventh Prince Hongxuan is far more terrifying than you think. What mother said was not that his fists were hard, but that he made a big splash and everyone misjudged him. Even mother admired his strategy."

Imperial Noble Consort Cao said.

"Mother Queen, he is so cunning and has hidden himself. We cannot keep such a person. Sooner or later, he will become my greatest enemy in my pursuit of the throne."

"Don't worry, my son! Now that he has become the King of Zhenbei, he has no chance of becoming the Crown Prince. Although he is extremely talented, there are no followers of his in the court. Becoming the King of Zhenbei is already his limit."

Just at this moment a palace maid came over with a piece of letter in her hand, and she handed the letter to Noble Consort Cao.

Imperial Concubine Cao took the letter and opened it: "What! How is it possible?"

Hongxiong looked at his mother and her face suddenly turned ugly.

"What happened to mother?"

Imperial Concubine Cao was silent for a while, then she said slowly, "Our party is about to suffer a heavy loss. If this loss is not handled properly, it will affect the emperor's competition for the position of crown prince."

Hong Xiong's face changed drastically when he heard this: "What happened to my mother?"

Imperial Noble Consort Cao handed the letter to the Second Prince Hongxiong.

The second prince Hongxiong took the letter and read it carefully.

"Damn it! It's Hongxuan again! Why is it him again? It was so late last night, but father summoned him to the palace to discuss state affairs! Father is completely disappointed in Chief Zhang, how is this possible? How can anyone believe that Chief Zhang is the minister that father trusts and relies on the most!"

The second prince was holding a secret letter from Chief Zhang to Imperial Consort Cao.

The letter told Consort Cao about his current situation.

"Mother! Hong Xuan cannot stay. He has the strength to move to Zhang's capital city even though his wings are not fully grown. If we let him grow, he will definitely come after us in the future."

Imperial Noble Consort Cao had framed Hongxuan's mother, Concubine Xiang.

The second prince Hongxiong instructs the palace maid Lan'er to poison the palace.

They can be said to be fighting to the death with Hongxuan.