Dilemma

He knew very well that if Prince Ning became the crown prince, his use value would be greatly reduced.

Maybe in one year, maybe in two or three years, he will be completely ignored.

Even in the end, he may become the final pawn used by the Duke and the Queen to eliminate threats.

He didn't want to die, and he didn't want them to get what they wanted, so he never let go and never let Prince Ning become the crown prince.

It was not that the Queen and the Duke of Zhen had not warned her in private.

There were already cracks in their relationship. He knew very well that he was no match for them, and the other party did not dare to break up with them rashly.

No, this is what happened later when the eldest prince was granted the title of Prince Ning.

This was his concession, and it was also an appeasement to Duke Zhen and the others. After all, Prince Ning was his former title, which gave them a hint.

Later, the Duke of Zhen and the Queen obviously understood that the pressure had been too tight recently, and knew that continuing to press would be counterproductive, so they acquiesced in his approach.

Emperor Hongwen originally wanted to take a moment to wait and see if any of the princes behind him could stand up and challenge King Ning.

Of course, he also knew that such a chance was very slim, but he could only hold on to the plan of taking a moment to retreat.

As a result, Xirong asked for peace, and the King of Jin asked for a marriage. In addition, Lu Yaoyao's identity was exposed, and there was also a marriage request.

It disrupted his thoughts and allowed him to see another way from this.

The former was passively living and waiting to die, but the latter allowed him to see a glimmer of hope.

Of course, there is also some protection for Lu Yaoyao's daughter. After all, his life has become false since he ascended the throne.

Therefore, he misses his previous life very much. It was his most real life, and Lu Yunjun was also his best memory and biggest regret in that real life.

"Of course, this is just my worst-case scenario, and things may not necessarily develop in the worst direction."

"If nothing happens today, then we will get a chance."

King Jin looked at him intently. At this moment, he had more trust in Emperor Hongwen.

"You are right, this matter may be troublesome for us, but it is also troublesome for the Duke of Zhenguo."

"It's risky to advance, and you'll lose a lot if you retreat. It just depends on whether he is willing to gamble."

With that said, he closed the edict and handed it to Wang De beside him.

"Keep this thing. Even if the Duke doesn't gamble this time, there is no guarantee that there will be another time. It is safest to keep this thing on you."

Hearing this, King Jin raised his eyebrows and asked, "You are on guard against Duke Zhen, aren't you afraid of me?"

"You are different from him. This country should have been yours. If you want to take it back, just take it back."

"However, even so, if you are anxious, something will happen, so cooperating with me is your best choice."

"And this edict is my sincerity."

Indeed, although the King of Jin could take advantage of this edict and get rid of Emperor Hongwen, there was such a big risk. He was also very afraid of the current power of the Zhen Guogong faction. If he acted recklessly, he would probably do something for you.

wedding dress.

Cooperation is indeed his best choice, he knew this before.

But at that time, I somewhat distrusted Emperor Hongwen.

Emperor Hongwen obviously knew this very well, so he took out this edict to show his sincerity.

"If the Duke of Zhen doesn't gamble, what will you do?"

While talking, King Jin put away the edict.

Seeing him like this, Emperor Hongwen smiled, and from this moment on, the two officially became a cooperative relationship.

"Slowly plan to disintegrate the power of Zhen Guogong and his faction step by step."

"The first thing is this palace."

Hearing this, King Jin nodded. It is true that there are many people from Zhen Guogong's faction in the palace, which means that there are basically not many secrets in the palace.

At the same time, Emperor Hongwen's situation will be very dangerous. This is indeed a good opportunity to eliminate the influence of many queens and princes in the harem.

"Deposed queen? I'm afraid this won't work, right?"

"The queen and I have been husband and wife for many years, and have shared joys and sorrows together for many years. Although she has made mistakes, I have not disciplined her well. She will retain her position as queen and will only be imprisoned in Fengqi Palace from now on."

Seeing that he had already made a plan, King Jin nodded.

This kind of treatment is not bad. The queen can still appease the Duke of Zhen, and the confinement in Fengqi Palace can also achieve his purpose of elimination.

When King Jin was urgently summoned to the palace, the Queen of Fengqi Palace and Duke Zhen Guo outside the palace knew about it immediately.

"A mere Jin Prince, do you really think you can be protected?"

"The visitor will secretly deliver this letter from me to the Duke of Zhenguo."

Queen Wang's eyes were cold. With this matter making such a big fuss today, she was afraid that the outcome would not be too good. She was not a person who allowed herself to be wronged.

Especially after becoming a queen, she has always been used to being aloof.

In the Zhen Guo Gong's Mansion, Zhen Guo Gong was sitting alone in the study, thinking about what to do this time.

If what happened this afternoon were spread like this, the Queen would definitely bear the brunt, and both he and Prince Ning would be affected a lot.

He knew very well that this was Emperor Hongwen working behind the scenes. This guy had already had second thoughts and wanted to get rid of his control bit by bit.

This was something he didn't want to see, but today's incident put him in a dilemma.

"My lord, there is a letter from the palace."

"Bring it in."

Not long after, the butler entered the study with the Queen's secret letter.

Duke Zhen Guo opened it and just glanced at it, his face became extremely pale, and finally he slapped the letter heavily on the table.

"What a fool."

The Queen's letter is very simple, just one sentence.

No, just two words to be precise.

"Do it."

Does this situation mean that it can be done by taking action?

The incident this afternoon caused such a big fuss, and many people in the capital were secretly watching how they would deal with it.

Let's start now, not to mention that the King of Jin has entered the palace now, but there are many people in various families in the capital who are loyalists.

If he makes any move, will these people sit back and watch?

Also, for those people from aristocratic families, even though Emperor Hongwen had already shown signs of dealing with them, most of these people were never willing to go to war with Emperor Hongwen outright.

They want to develop steadily. If he takes action, these people will probably cause him a lot of trouble. Firstly, they can take this opportunity to make Emperor Hongwen owe them a favor and not target them again in the short term. Secondly, it is also for the sake of

own safety.

After all, even if Emperor Hongwen deliberately targeted him, he still had many worries.

And the Duke of Zhenguo has a reputation for being vicious. Who knows if he will have another massacre after he succeeds?

He was able to wipe out those who threatened Emperor Hongwen in the first place, but there is no guarantee that he will not do it again, especially now that the treasury is empty.

These aristocratic families are full of fat.

Besides, is it so easy to do something? Because this time things happened so suddenly, he was not prepared.

It's already dark now, and it's not convenient to mobilize a large army into the city. Although there are quite a few people in the city, King Jin still has more than 20,000 forbidden troops. It's hard for me to say whether we will win or lose.
Chapter completed!