Three months later.

The dispute over the throne of King Jingnan has long been settled, and the imperial edict of enthronement arrived a month ago.

Geng Jingzhong, the former prince of King Jingnan, is now the new King Jingnan.

Geng Zhaozhong and others were the leaders of the rebellion, and according to the law, they should be handed over to the court for investigation and prosecution, and have now been escorted to the capital.

As for those ordinary soldiers, they were dismissed after surrendering, and Geng Jingzhong kept his promise and did not start a massacre.

In fact, this is not how kind he is, but how Chen Yi advised him. Today, the chaos is revealed, and it is time to use troops. If you rashly kill thousands of elite soldiers, it will not only be called cruel and bloodthirsty, but also greatly damage your strength.

Although this statement was not made clear, both of them knew each other well. In their eyes, the court was simply unreliable, and could even be said to be an enemy.

...

On this day, the inner courtyard of the royal palace.

"The prince urgently ordered his subordinates to come, what happened?"

Chen Yi walked quickly behind Geng Jingzhong and said respectfully with his fists.

Geng Jingzhong was still dressed in the brocade dress, but the majesty in his expression was no longer comparable. He was standing by the pool and watching the swimming fish in the water.

Behind him, Wugen Taoist and Zhang Danyue stood solemnly - since they lived and died together that day, he regarded these two and Fatto Tuo as confidant existences.

When Taoist Wugen and Zhang Danyue saw Chen Yi coming, they curled their lips just right, revealing a condescending attitude.

In this way, it was as if they had been valued by Geng Jingzhong, and they ignored Chen Yi, the "introducer".

In fact, these were all arranged by Chen Yi long ago, in order to avoid Geng Jingzhong's suspicion of their formation of cliques and private interests, he deliberately showed disagreement.

Sure enough, when Geng Jingzhong saw this scene, he had no intention of scolding the two of them, and a trace of undetectable satisfaction flashed in his eyes.

For the superiors, it is of course a great thing that their subordinates are loyal to themselves, but if they get too close, it will be bad.

With his eyes taken back from the pool water, Geng Jingzhong turned around and looked at Chen Yi, with a strong worry on his face: "Sir, news came from the capital that the emperor had publicly discussed with his ministers about the 'reducing of the vassal state' with his ministers in the morning court a month ago... What should I do now?"

In the past, Kangxi was just to release some news about the reduction of the vassal states. It was unprecedented to openly discuss the court like this time.

The meaning of this is self-evident.

After learning this news, not only Geng Jingzhong, but also I believe that Wu Sangui from Yunnan and Shang Kexi from Guangdong will feel unprecedented heavy pressure.

Chen Yi had known that there would be such a day, but he deliberately frowned and pondered for a long time before he said cautiously: "Prince, you should take the initiative to write to the court and request the withdrawal of the vassal state!"

"What?"

Geng Jingzhong didn't expect him to say this, and immediately screamed out loud. Then he thought that Chen Yi had always been resourceful and could not talk nonsense, so he quickly suppressed his temperament.

"If you take the initiative to ask for an order to withdraw the vassal state, you will be afraid that it will be decades long and a few years short. My Jingnan King's lineage will be removed from the world!"

If there is no military power, how can the court allow them to continue to act as a mighty man in their fiefdoms?

It should be noted that in the current Three Feudals, the king's order is more effective than the imperial edict!

Chen Yi was not surprised by his attitude, and he clasped his fists and explained: "Prince, this strategy is a slow-down strategy for the court to relax his guard."

"This... but doing this is like drinking poison to quench thirst, and it will eventually be dead!" Geng Jingzhong was still puzzled, but his tone eased a little.

Chen Yi smiled and said, "Among the Three Feudals, King Pingxi is the most powerful, and he is extremely domineering. How could he be willing to accept the reduction of the vassals? We just need to give in temporarily, not be the bird that stands out, sit and watch the court fight with King Pingxi, and then reap profits."

Hearing this, Geng Jingzhong's eyes lit up, and he seemed to have some understanding, so he asked again: "How to reap profits?"

"Now the imperial court's troops are not as good as before, especially the Eight Banners soldiers, which are simply corrupt. If the war against Yunnan is really started, the outcome is still unknown. The prince just needs to see who can gain the upper hand and then follow the trend. Of course, if the prince has greater ambitions, it is not impossible..."

Chen Yi outlined the general trend of the future for Geng Jingzhong in just a few words.

Geng Jingzhong's eyes lit up when he heard this, and his face was full of worry: "Not bad! The imperial army has been lazy for a long time, I am afraid it may not be the opponent of King Pingxi. What's more, I am still with King Pingnan on my side, so it is still unknown who will win..."

Although he has been wandering among princes and nobles since he was a child, he is quite cunning, but when it comes to military and political abilities and strategic vision, he can only be said to be a middle-aged man.

Now when I heard the beautiful blueprint drawn by Chen Yi, I was so excited that I couldn't control myself.

Chen Yi was secretly amused, but his face did not change, and added: "So, now, the prince should immediately write a letter to request the withdrawal of the vassal state and appease the court with all his sincere words. At the same time, he should also step up the training of troops and expand his military strength to wait for the time!"

"Okay, sir, I am really my think tank! But sir, about expanding the military... I'm in a hurry to do it now, are you a little too anxious?"

Speaking of military affairs, a hint of irritability and worry appeared on Geng Jingzhong's face again.

"Mr. I know more than anyone else that those veterans who once followed their father to fight everywhere could still suppress them when they were alive... But now, they have another layer of contribution to supporting me..."

He didn't finish his words, but Chen Yi had fully understood it.

If those veterans get up, they are all Geng Jingzhong's uncles and uncles. They have made great contributions. This time they have made great contributions when supporting the new king, and they have become more arrogant for a while.

Regarding military arrangements and mobilizations, they did not take the newly succeeded King Jingnan seriously. They often evade Geng Jingzhong's various orders with a sentence "The prince doesn't have to bother with this matter, I will deal with it myself."

Even though he successfully succeeded to the throne, Geng Jingzhong's life was not very comfortable.

"The prince is so bad. The more he says, the more he should expand his military power immediately! It is better to send the prince's confidant to take important positions in the military, and then slowly compete with or even replace those veterans! Otherwise, if the prince does not have his own confidant, he will always be controlled by them!"

Chen Yi finally waited for this opportunity and immediately made another suggestion without hesitation.

When Geng Jingzhong heard this, he suddenly felt enlightened: "If it weren't for sir, I would have almost misled the matter!"
Chapter completed!