Chapter 4 The Third Prince

Mengyang, the imperial capital, Ziluan Hall.

"The third prince, the vigorous cavalry of the Chinasi has advanced to Linshui County. If Linshui County is not captured, it will only take 15 days for the enemy's iron cavalry to advance to the imperial capital." A black scout knelt on one knee on the magnificent mica stone ground, holding his fists and saying respectfully.

Wan Yanjun, the third prince in a graceful embroidered wide-sleeved robe, sighed. He got up from the throne at the top of the hall and walked down the white jade steps carved with majestic gluttony animal patterns. He held the thick purple gold glazed dragon column and looked at the iron-blue night with infinite compassionate eyes. The stars glittered with cold light, and the light of the moon and the starry sky passed through the dome of the hall and coated his angular face with a mercury-like halo, which looked holy and beautiful. Suddenly, his hand clenched into a fist and hit the cold pillar fiercely. For a moment, strong pain swept over, like a burning knife, cut all the way from the fist, along the meridians to the heart. It's not so much a pain in my hand, but the sadness in my heart is even worse. Blood slowly flowed out of the wound on the fist and splashed out.

The two palacemen came in a panic and whispered, "Your Highness, take care of yourself!"

"Body?" Wan Yijun said coldly, "You bastards in the deep palace." He looked at the scouts and asked, "How did those barbarians deal with the surrender soldiers and the people?"

"The slaughter of the city. Those who are taller than the saber are killed, and young and beautiful women and children are kept as slaves!" The scout's voice was as calm and powerful as it was, as if the cruelty had nothing to do with him.

"Do you hear that?" Wan Yanjun's cold eyes flowed out of a deterrent light and stared at the two submissive palace people, "My dream people are being killed, and I wish I can't save them from water and fire. This little pain can't relieve one ten thousandth of my guilt. How can you losers understand?"

The palace man knelt down in a hurry, put his forehead against the cold ground, and dared not speak again. Of the four princes in the imperial palace of the city, only this third prince has such a suffocating momentum. Prince Wan Changlong, good calligraphy, painting and poetry, gentle to people, but he owes the emperor's anger. The second prince Wanyan Hongyun lingated with women, which was well-known in the imperial capital and humiliated the royal family. The fourth prince, Wan Yan Zerui, was 16 years old and was still following the crown prince Taifu to study the scriptures and etiquette. The royal classics did not show his edge. Only this third prince Wan Yujun is as fierce as a knife, as domineering as a tiger, young and bloody, arrogant and boney. When the people of the imperial capital talk about the four sons of the royal family, they must first mention the third prince Wan Yijun, which is enough to see his power.

"At the time of the survival of the dynasty, where is the great general of the night country? What is his 100,000 light armored brigade doing? Shen, Nanliang, Qiuyue, what are the soldiers and horses guarding them? What are the tens of thousands of forest guards doing in the prince's hand? Just watch the barbarian kill people casually? Teacher, what do you think we should do? Wan Yanjun looked at another person, his teacher, former Prime Minister Li Shengxiong.

Li Shengxiong is more than 65 years old and is a loyal minister of a generation. During his tenure, he promoted a series of business changes in the empire and opened two county chambers of commerce, mainly sea salt and silk weaving. This move has allowed Mengyang to accumulate eye-catching wealth for more than ten years, and Li Shengxiong has reformed the tax law, and the life of Mengyang's citizens is rich and beautiful. Wan Yujun is also full of respect for this teacher.

"Your Highness, at present, the court is divided into two factions, the generals and the ministers. Today, His Majesty is seriously ill, and there are no ministers, and it is difficult for civil ministers and generals to unify their opinions, which is the key. However, the Wenchen faction is led by Ling Fenglie, the leader of the Zuo Prime Minister Ling Kingdom, and the main generals in the battle are led by Ye Mingshan, the general of Zhentian, the Lord of the Night Kingdom. It's difficult, difficult, difficult, difficult!" Li Shengxiong said three 'difficult' words in a row. A few days ago, when the two factions quarreled and wanted to meet each other. If it hadn't been for the timely arrival of the Yulin Forbidden Army, I'm afraid that the literary ministers would have splashed blood in the court.

"I also think Wenchen should kill them all!" Wan Tong said in a clear voice. His clenched teeth made his resolute face a little angry. Suddenly, he seemed to notice something. He looked at Li Shengxiong, who stood in front of him and quickly arched his hand and said, "Teacher, please forgive the students for your rude words!"

"That's all!" Li Shengxiong waved his hand, and his old voice was a little hoarse in his throat. The old minister was powerless to see that Mengyang was so unbearable. With the resignation of Prime Minister Zuo, he has no real power. All he can do is say a few words "the people first" with the reputation he left when he leaned on the court. But this words were soon drowned out by the dispute between the literary minister and the general, and it seemed extremely pale and powerless. He doesn't care about Wan Yijun's rude words. As a teacher, he knows this student too well. This unique third prince has a fierce love. He loves Mengyang and every citizen. The prince, who lost his mother since childhood, lost the care of his father as Emperor Mengyang, and was excluded by his brother, has an extremely strong and deep love for this country. This makes him faintly uneasy, and he knows better than anyone that too much love is unbearable.

"Teacher, are you the main battle or the main peace?" Wan Yijun tightened the big command on his shoulder. Mengyang's early autumn night is cool and refreshing, especially the imperial capital, which is located in a humid depression with high water vapor, so it is known as "Eber" and is even more cloudy and cold.

"and!" Li Shengxiong said without thinking. Now His Majesty is seriously ill, and the ministers are panicked, and the prince is suspected of forcing the palace to usurp the throne. At this time, it is really not appropriate to fight the whole country.

"Oh? Has Wan Changlong been waiting for it? My father can't live. After my father's death, the throne is naturally his prince. He is so anxious to seize the throne!" Wan Yijun smiled arrogantly and looked disdainful.

"It's not that the prince is in a hurry, but that the prince is afraid that the second prince and His Highness are in a hurry to seize the throne. Today's empire is full of internal and external troubles, and the wind and rain are swaying. In the eyes of ambitious people, it is a good time to turn over. The position of the prince is also unstable. He is more anxious than anyone else now. He is worried that His Majesty is not dead, and he is worried that his Majesty really dies and can't control the situation. Prime Minister Ling Fenglie is also a treacherous and cunning person. He insisted that the peace was also to temporarily let the situation be controlled by civilian officials. If he supported the First World War, there was no doubt that the generals would take over the imperial power. He was afraid that General Zhentian would threaten him after he got power. After all, the general abolished his daughter Ling Yunyao's main room and made too much trouble. As for the Zhentian General Ye Mingshan, he deserves the title of 'Peerless General'. The old minister thought it was necessary for the third prince to win over the Zhentian General. Li Shengxiong's mind can definitely be called 'Shengxiong'. Although he has left the position of Prime Minister Zuo for many years, the change of the empire could not escape his eyes. At this time, his analysis of the situation of the empire was extremely thorough, especially his last suggestion, which brightened Wan Yijun's eyes.

"Now the situation is not very clear. If there is a war, no one knows where the empire will go. Don't forget that Mengyang has to face not only the Chinasi in the north, but also the Fanyang Dynasty in the east. The Fanyang Dynasty is more terrible than the wolves in the north. Therefore, it is the best policy to adapt to changes at this time. It's best to avoid war. I hope the third prince can calmly face the changes in the situation," Li Shengxiong bowed and saluted.

"What about the murdered citizen? They died tragically under the enemy's knife, and we nobles in power used their taxes to fight infighting? If you don't send one soldier and one soldier, will you see the life suffering and blood flow into a river? Wan Tongjun clenched his fists, stared at his teacher, and asked coldly.

"Your Highness, the strong have the desire to protect the weak. When the strong rode, stared ahead, roared with a knife, he did not find that his horse was stepping on the bones of the weak. Sometimes, inaction is a kind of protection. Instead of sending my imperial men to the battlefield, it is better to abandon the population of several counties for the overall situation for stability. The barbarians just come to grab the golden grain women. If I Mengyang gives the barbarians what they want in the form of an emperor, let them be grateful for their virtue and use for my dream Yang. This is the best strategy to raise the army without bloodshed and not fighting and subduing the soldiers! And the loss of gold grain is nothing for me, Mengyang."

Li Shengxiong suddenly found that Wan Yanjun's smile was so strange, the smile at the corners of his mouth was full of sarcasm, and the light in his eyes burned like fire in the bleak moonlight. He suddenly felt that the student he had grown up with was so strange, as if another personality had awakened in his body. He quickly turned his eyes away and stopped looking at the burning eyes, as if he were afraid of being burned by the fire.

"Teacher, please forgive the students again that you are no different from the group of waste in the deep palace." Wan Yanjun walked to Li Shengxiong and stared into the teacher's eyes. Inaction? Give up the population of several counties for stability? The emperor's posture? My dream is like a subordinate to the barbarians. Where is the emperor's posture? Several of his questions roared, and Li Shengxiong's beard was swept away by Wan Yanjun's anger. Wan Tongjun still stared at him. Under that violent breath, he didn't even dare to tidy up his beard and was so embarrassed by his students.

Li Shengxiong was stunned. When did this polite student growl at him? When did this student look at himself with such hostile eyes? He suddenly felt very tired, as if he was going to grow old at once. His eyes dim, silently sorted out his beard, bowed and saluted, "The old minister's mental revenge is not as good as 12 of the third princes. It is difficult to be the position of His Highness's teacher. I hope His Highness can give the old minister freedom and allow him to take off his hat and return to the field." After saying that, Li Shengxiong bowed and worshipped again. Then he turned around and left. His old and slightly rickeched body looked so lonely in the lonely moonlight. A generation of famous ministers are inevitably heartbroken.

Wan Yijun watched him stagger away from Ziluan Hall, and suddenly felt a throb in his heart. Teacher--" he shouted, but Li Shengxiong's figure has been integrated into Daiqing's night. He doesn't know if the teacher has heard his call. Maybe the teacher will not look back even if he hears it. The teacher who taught him political etiquette, the teacher who comforted him when he was alone, and the teacher who had been around left sadly under his injury.

"Ah————" Wan Yijun couldn't help shouting out, his voice was desolate and regretful, and the corners of his eyes became wet. The two palace men swayed like a flat boat in the storm in such a sad shout. The sad voice in Ziluan Hall echoed endlessly, and his figure was sad in the moonlight. At this moment, an illusory voice came from the night, "The third prince can lose his royal identity by shouting like this!"

"Who?" Wan Yijun said coldly and suddenly turned around and saw a tall thin man in a scarlet robe looking at him with an evil smile.