Crown Prince's Counterattack

Zhao Dezhao (951-979), courtesy name Rixin, was the second son of Zhao Kuangyin in the Song Dynasty, and his mother was Xiaohui Empress He.In the fourth year of Taiping Xingguo, he committed suicide and died after being reprimanded by Song Taizong. After his death, he was named King Wei.

#************

There was no one in the dim hall, the candlelight on the desk was flickered by the late breeze, and the whispers of two people came from the bright yellow curtain.

"Official, Second Highness is here"

"Let him in"

The people inside were stunned for a moment, then sighed suddenly, the eunuch looked down at his feet, as if he didn't notice, got Zhao Kuangyin's order, and immediately saluted and went out to deliver a message.

When Sima Yi walked in, the scent of medicine in the hall was covered by the smell of spices, the faint smell could not be discerned, Sima Yi lowered his eyelids, and his eyes flashed thoughtfully.

When Sima Yi walked in, Zhao Kuangyin was holding an ancient book in his hand, sitting under the candlestick, he lost the majesty in the court, and he was more like a kind old man in his ordinary clothes, looking at Sima Yi who came in, His eyes showed kindness.

"Why are you here so late?"

Zhao Kuangyin helped Sima Yi who was about to salute, and let him come to his side.

"I heard that my father called the imperial physician today, and my son was a little worried, so I came over to have a look."

"It's just some old disease, it's okay"

Zhao Kuangyin shook his head, although he said so, the filial piety towards his second son was extremely useful.

"Then daddy must take good care of his health, and he must obey the doctor's orders."

Sima Yi looked at Zhao Kuangyin calmly, although his face was a little paler, but he was in good spirits, and he didn't give people the feeling that the sun was setting, Sima Yi's heart relaxed a little.

In the early years, Zhao Kuangyin has been running around on the battlefield, and the hidden wounds on his body have long been countless. When he was young, it was nothing. When he got older, these dark wounds could often become a fatal blow. So as soon as Sima Yi heard the news from the palace, he hurried into the palace, fearing that something might happen.Today's Kaifeng Mansion is under Zhao Guangyi's control, and he has military power in his hands. If something happens to Zhao Kuangyin, he will be completely hopeless.Therefore, the longer Zhao Kuangyin lived, the better for him.

"I heard that you have been in close contact with some officials recently?"

"I heard? Did Daddy hear what Uncle Three Wang said? It's just that we met by chance and got together for a while."

Sima Yi's eyes flickered for a moment, and then he said calmly, Zhao Kuangyin took a serious look at him, and felt that the grievance in his words did not seem to be fake.

"You are also a prince after all, it is always bad to associate with officials too much"

"What Daddy said is that my son must pay attention in the future"

"That's good, Dad has no other requirements, as long as you live in peace and contentment, remember, don't conflict with your third uncle"

Zhao Kuangyin's face suddenly became solemn, Sima Yi couldn't help being taken aback, something flashed in his mind.

In the past, Zhao Guangyi had a heavy army in his hands, and his power was in the hands of the government, and later, the eldest son had an unknown cause of death. Sima Yi did not believe that Zhao Kuangyin was not afraid, but now what is Zhao Kuangyin's inaction or even connivance towards Zhao Guangyi? What is Zhao Kuangyin afraid of?When Sima Yi left the palace, he didn't think about it. He came too late, which is why he is so passive now.

After Sima Yi left, the warmth on Zhao Kuangyin's face disappeared, and an elderly eunuch followed him closely.

"Do you think I did something wrong..."

"The officials are forced to do so, Your Highnesses will understand."

A little melancholy flashed in Zhao Kuangyin's eyes, but this kind of confusion was short-lived for him, and soon his eyes turned cold.

"Any clues?"

"Reporting to the official family, we have found the old palace lady who has been serving the queen mother all those years ago."

"You must take that thing back, no matter what, it can't fall into the hands of others, you know!"

Zhao Kuangyin clenched his fists, and a cold light appeared in his eyes.

"The old slave understands"

The old eunuch replied solemnly, he knew in his heart that if he couldn't get that thing back, his good days would be over.

#************

"Your Highness, how is Your Majesty doing?"

"No problem"

Zhang Zheng breathed a sigh of relief. For them, this was undoubtedly a happy event, but seeing Sima Yi still frowning, Zhang Zheng's heart also lifted.

"Since His Majesty is fine, why is His Highness so frowning?"

"There is one thing I still can't figure out. Why is the father so tolerant of the third uncle? There have always been rumors in the court that the father wants to make the third uncle the emperor's younger brother instead of the crown prince. Tell me about it, Zhang Zheng. How much of this is true?"

"This……"

Zhang Zheng lowered his head, his face was a bit more thoughtful, he had heard these rumors, Zhao Guangyi had been installing his own people in the court all these years to exclude dissidents, but His Majesty has always turned a deaf ear to it, and he is very favored by the Third Prince.On the contrary, his attitude towards the princes was a little cold. His Highness should have been granted titles of princes according to the rules, but His Majesty has never said so. Therefore, there are only ministers in the court who have a lot of speculation about the candidate for the future prince, but Zhang Zheng believed that what the emperor's younger brother said was the rumor from the Three Kings, but His Majesty's attitude was ambiguous and he never expressed anything, which was enough to make people think about it.But since ancient times, the throne has been handed down from father to son, without any heirs, and there is a saying that brothers will end up with younger brothers. Now that His Highness is at an age of his own, Zhang Zheng does not believe that His Majesty will not pass the country that he conquered with all his strength to his son, but to pass it on to his son. younger brother.

"This matter is nothing but groundless rumors, Your Highness does not need to disturb yourself"

Facing the reassurance from his subordinates, Sima Yi just smiled, no one except him would know that Zhao Guangyi was really the one who ascended the throne in the end.

"Whether it's groundless or not, we can't let go of our guard. We'll send people to keep an eye on the movement of the Three Princes' Mansion, and report immediately if something happens. But be careful when you're done, and don't let a mad dog pester you."

"Humble job understands"

Zhang Zheng nodded, he could also smile at Sima Yi's occasional impulsive remarks.

"By the way, how is the work I told you to do a few days ago?"

"Your Highness, don't worry, the craftsmen are rushing to work day and night, and I think they will be able to get results that satisfy His Highness soon."

"That's good. If you don't have enough money, ask someone to withdraw it from the account. You must do everything perfectly. In addition, this matter must be kept secret, and no one should know. If it is leaked, you are ready to come and see me." ,have you understood?"

Although Zhao Kuangyin did not crown the princes as kings, he was not stingy with the rewards and salaries on weekdays, which may be another meaning of compensation for Zhao Kuangyin, who has always advocated frugality.

"Humble job understands, and will never let His Highness down"

Sima Yi's gentle tone suddenly revealed a cold killing intent, Zhang Zheng shook his body, and then tried his best to reply calmly.

Sima Yi smiled in satisfaction, and he felt less worried. Now the military power is roughly concentrated in the hands of Zhao Guangyi and Zhao Kuangyin. It is undoubtedly impossible to get military power from these two in such a short period of time, so Sima Yi Yicai had to choose another path.

#****************

There is no one in the woods outside the city, the lush trees block out the sun, and the weeds are overgrown. It has been uninhabited and deserted for a long time.

"Hurry up, don't let her escape, or she will be handed over by someone else"

In the silent woods, there were sudden bursts of hurried footsteps, and there were reprimands from men who lowered their voices. There was constant movement in the grass, and the birds perched on the trees were disturbed by the bursts of movement, fluttering their wings. Fly towards the sky.

A woman in a mess is hiding behind a thick tree, her hair is disheveled, the sweat on her face is mixed with mud, and her clothes are also dirty. There is panic and panic in her black and white eyes, and the weeds cover her face. Whereabouts, she subconsciously hugged the burden in her hand tightly, frowning, those people were about to chase after her, her life and death had already been ignored by her, but she hadn't done what the empress ordered, she must Protect what you have on hand.She looked around nervously, the rocks under her feet were a little bit awkward, and she was about to kick it away, when suddenly her eyes lit up instantly.

Suddenly, the weeds swayed for a moment, and a slight sound came over.

"Here, hurry up!"

The leader pointed to a movement just now, and a dozen people hurriedly chased after that place.

As soon as the people on this side left, a thin figure appeared on the other side, turned around and left quickly in the opposite direction from where those people left, with a look of shock on her face, she had to leave here before they could react.

Outside Kaifeng

"Stop, where are you from?"

In the long queue, a woman tightly held the bundle in her hand and looked around, her eyes full of vigilance. The soldiers guarding the city suddenly stopped her when she was about to enter the city. The woman suppressed the inner tension, He reported a location at random, and subconsciously stuck the package in his hand tighter.

"What's in here? Take it out and have a look!"

After speaking, regardless of the woman's struggle, he snatched the package and tore it apart.

"It turned out to be nothing more than a few rags, and a pariah is a pariah!"

The soldier threw the clothes on the ground, a bit of disappointment flashed in his eyes, seeing the nervous expression on the woman's face just now, he thought there was something good, it was a waste of time.He looked at the woman in a mess again, and suddenly felt that he must have not washed his face when he went out today, so he made a mistake. What valuable things can such a refugee have, so he regarded these few rags as a treasure, bad luck !

After the soldiers left, the woman packed her bags in panic and then breathed a sigh of relief. Looking at the high city wall, a trace of mist rose in her eyes, and she finally returned to Bianjing.

After entering the city, the woman seemed much calmer. She found an ordinary inn to freshen up and prepared to leave tomorrow to find someone.