Jing Xiang is dead.

Or before he died, he also understood that he shouldn't have escaped.

What made him suddenly realize was the true identity of the assassins.

If he stayed in Chang'an City, he would lose his identity as prime minister and his power, but as a buffer between the Zhu brothers, he could at least delay or even stop the outbreak of internal strife, so that the Daliang regime, which he had worked hard and carefully maintained, would not be in a disaster of overturning.

Unfortunately, when he realized that it was coming, it was already a knife and an axe.

Yang Honggui, who returned from serious injury, did not last long. After bringing Xu Fu's message to Zhu Youyu, he was seriously injured and died. As the culprit of Jing Xiang's death, he was still murmured until the last moment of his death: "I didn't kill Jing Xiang!"

But none of this matters.

"Xu Fu Old Dog, bullying me too much!" The angry Zhu Youyu overturned the big case, "If you want to fight, then beat me. Am I still afraid of you?"

Sheng Zhonghuai's face was solemn.

"Your Highness, fighting a war is definitely inevitable, but we still have to treat this matter with a mentality of promoting peace and harmony."

"What does it mean to promote peace through war?" Zhu Youyu was a little puzzled.

"Your Highness, now it is not that the world is peaceful, but that all major forces are fighting together. Not to mention others, Li Ze from the north alone will inevitably be eyeing him. If your Highness fights with the third highness and is entangled for a long time, how should we deal with the Tang army in the north?" Sheng Zhonghuai sighed: "So we must promote peace with war. The most important thing is the first battle. This battle must be won, and you must also hurt the third highness and Xu Fu, so that they know that we are not so easy to meet. If the truth is against each other, in the end, it will only be a favorable price for outsiders."

"Xu Fu is just a madman." Zhu Youyu gritted his teeth and said, "You don't know how crazy this old Bazi is."

"Xu Fu is a madman, but the Third Highness is not." Sheng Zhonghuai said. "Brothers fight against the wall to prevent their insults. The Third Highness wants to attack us for the chair in the Qinzheng Hall, not for the revenge of His Majesty the Emperor. If the fight ends, not only will it not take the chair but break the chair, he may not necessarily go alone, right?"

"Then what do you think should do next?" Zhu Youyu asked.

"Your Highness, first of all, we need a general who can be compared with Xu Fu to guard Tongguan." Sheng Zhonghuai said: "At present, only Dai Chao's general. Only Dai Chao can be in status and reputation, and can he calm down this place. Moreover, Dai's general's military achievements are not inferior to Xu Fu. With him in Tongguan, it is not so easy for Xu Fu to take over this gateway to Chang'an."

"But Xiangyang?" Zhu Youyu hesitated a little.

"Where can you care about Xiangyang now?" Sheng Zhonghuai smiled bitterly: "I have passed this hurdle first. Although General Dai has gathered more than 10,000 defeated troops in Xiangyang, both food, equipment, and morale have fallen to a low point. It is better to just give up Xiangyang, preserve your strength, return to Chang'an, and wait until we get to know the third prince, and then talk about the counterattack."

"The consequences of Xiangyang falling into the hands of the Tang army are also very serious!"

"Let me write to the Second Highness and let the Second Highness march from Shannan West Road." Sheng Zhonghuai said: "It is unrealistic to ask the Second Highness to come directly to help you, but if he is allowed to control Shannan East Road, he may not be distracted."

"This is a good idea." Zhu Youyu's eyes lit up: "The wealth is touching. At present, the enemy of Shannan East Road is only Tian Guofeng, a military force and a navy. The second brother's strength is more than enough. Even if it is in the hands of the second brother, when I stabilize the situation in the future, he will be honestly handed over to me."

"The second step is to win the hearts of the imperial guards." Sheng Zhonghuai continued: "Your Highness, Xu Fu has led the imperial guards for many years, and there are many abdomen in the army, so we have to guard against it. Your Highness's pace in recent years still looks too small now."

"Some people deserve to die." Zhu Youyu said viciously.

"No!" Sheng Zhonghuai shook his head and said, "It's too late to kill now. At this time, these generals are afraid that they will be wary of each one. If one is not good, it will cause mutiny and will cause bad things."

"What do you think you should do?" Zhu Youyu was a little annoyed. He was still a general's style and liked to be clean and neat in his work. What he feared most was that he was so stubborn and sticky. He couldn't kill him, and he was worried about using it. Isn't this a bamboo pole to fight a wolf? Are you afraid of both ends?

"Your Highness, it's time for you to ascend the throne." Sheng Zhonghuai bowed and said, "It's over here, and there's no need to cover up. With the Queen's endorsement for you, you can ascend to the throne openly."

Zhu Youyu thought for a moment and thought: "What you mean is that if I have this position, I can use this position to do a lot of things."

"Not bad." Sheng Zhonghuai said: "More than 90% of the imperial guards are old men of Xuanwu. What did they ask for with His Majesty the founding emperor? They are just founding heroes and wives and children. After you ascend the throne, you can reward these people with money, beauty, and ranks, and give them a lot of rewards. Naturally, you can gather the thoughts of a group of people. The scope of reward is not limited to the main general, but you should expand the scope as much as possible and win over the hearts of the people."

"But there are always some people who are stubborn?"

"That's less." Sheng Zhonghuai said: "The First Emperor has left. Those who are loyal to the First Emperor have lost their goal. They need to find a new master. In fact, it is nothing more than you and the Third Prince. In Chang'an, this is the first opportunity. Even if the Third Prince wants to give them these things, it is not the matter now. You have to defeat you first. In this world, most people can only see the three feet of land in front of you."

“It makes sense.”

"As long as most people are loyal to you, some of the remaining people will become fences, follow the crowd, and be truly stubborn. At this time, you can raise your knife." Sheng Zhonghuai said with a smile.

"Third, Chang'an horses are about to enter a wartime control state. Luoyang has cut off the road to material imports. Although Chang'an had previously reserved a lot of food and grass, it is still possible to prevent it. At this moment, it is urgent to prevent the garrison and raise prices. It is absolutely necessary to cause panic among the people."

"Of course, you will be responsible for this."

Sheng Zhonghuai smiled and said, "Your Highness, after you ascend the throne, of course you will have to take more concubines. Whether it is the daughter of a wealthy family or a high-ranking official or a general's family, you can enter the palace. Although your children are still young, they can still get engaged."

"I understand, this means using marriage to tie all the key characters together with us?" Zhu Youyu sighed.

Sheng Zhonghuai said: "Your Highness's clarity."

"Just do it like this, I'll go to see my mother first." Zhu Youyu said.

In the dark and wet tunnel, Hao Ren groped for a while and took out a dagger from his waist, turned it back, knocked on the seemingly complete stone wall several times. After pausing for a moment, he knocked a few more times. The stone wall suddenly sank inward, and a sharp knife appeared in front of him. The knife-holder glanced at Hao Ren, looked around, and then he flashed to make way.

This is a stone chamber with more than a dozen big men inside and Fan Sheng sitting in the middle.

"What's the news today?" Fan Sheng wrapped in a thick blanket and looked at Hao Ren coldly.

"Your Highness is about to ascend the throne." Hao Ren said: "The city is already organizing a ceremony. At the same time, several concubines were also collected, all of whom are the descendants of senior generals of the Imperial Guard. And they are rewarded with great rewards. All the Imperial Guards have been promoted to the level. I heard that they are also paying reward silver in the army. My brothers in the army said that everyone is happy now!"

Fan Sheng sneered: "No matter how hard he struggles, he will not be able to jump for a few days. I know all the things you said."

"Where do you think, should we make some trouble for him? We can't get close to those big guys. Ordinary ones can still make some mistakes for him."

"No need." Fan Sheng shook his head: "Now the other party must be loose on the outside and tight on the inside. We have been too active during this period and have lost many brothers. Next, we have to lie down and leave a useful body. When the Third Highness's army comes back, we will take the initiative to attack to help the Third Highness take Chang'an in one fell swoop and take the head of this traitor."

"Master Fan is far-sighted, unlike those of us who come in and out of the red knife, what we think is simple!" Hao Ren said with a smile.

"Don't put a high hat on me." Fan Sheng said: "Hao Ren, this time you have saved Jingxiang's family. When the third prince enters the city, your reward will inevitably be indispensable. You will no longer have to do these things in the future. You can be an official in a righteous and open manner."

"The villain is used to doing these tasks. I can't do it even if I really give it to an official. Anyway, I can do more for the third prince, right?" Hao Ren smiled.

Fan Sheng nodded and said, "Then let it be, let your people stop moving."

"Yes, Fan Zhusi, it is absolutely safe here. No matter how many troops they send, they will never find it. You can hide here for a while. As long as you need, I will send someone I absolutely trust."

"Don't worry about my business." Fan Shengdao.

"You still want to go out?" Hao Ren was shocked: "Didn't you just say that they are loose on the outside and tight on the inside? People like you will definitely kill them quickly."

"Then they must be able to catch me, too." Fan Sheng sneered.

Hao Ren, who said goodbye to leave this secret room, walked around the tunnel for half an hour. These tunnels were not dug by him. They were all sewer channels underground in Chang'an City, and all the well-connected alleys. Only Hao Ren could truly be familiar with the roads. When someone came in, I was afraid that if I could turn around for ten days and half a month, I would not be able to find any tricks.
Chapter completed!