Xia Jiang's life has been really difficult recently. That idiot Xie Yu sent troops to Beijing and was forced into a prison. Before he could think of a way to save people, the emperor ordered him to be interrogated and beheaded.
After Xie Yu's death, Emperor Liang announced at the court meeting that he would build an "East Factory" with basically the same powers as the Xuanjing Division, except that the Xuanjing Division would supervise all officials, while the East Factory would specifically supervise the Xuanjing Division.
Xia Jiang was so frightened that he broke into a cold sweat. Later, when he inquired about it, he found out that it was Prince Jing's idea to establish the Dongchang.
At this moment, Xia Jiang already hated Prince Jing to his core.
Once the East Factory is established, the authority of the Xuanjing Division will be greatly reduced, but Xia Jiang has no way to do it.
Because King Jing had the support of Emperor Liang.
The reason why he and Xie Yu were able to overthrow the powerful King Qi and frame the Red Flame Army was ultimately because of the secret support of Emperor Liang.
As a result, the situation changed, and now it was King Jing's turn to borrow the help of Emperor Liang to deal with the Xuanjing Division.
Xia Jiang deeply realized that King Jing was a more terrifying opponent than King Qi.
At the same time, Xia Jiang thought of a person, Qilin Talent Mei Changsu.
In the past, Prince Jing was stubborn and acted impulsively, but since he accepted Mei Changsu, everything has changed. It seems that Prince Jing's change started when he met Mei Changsu.
Xia Jiang decided that he could not sit still and wait for death, but must fight back, starting with Mei Changsu who was next to Prince Jing.
"Xia Dong, Xia Dong." Xia Jiang shouted twice.
Xia Dong had a good relationship with Princess Nihuang, which made it easier to find out about Mei Changsu, so Xia Jiang decided to send his lover to take action.
"Master, my sister's old illness has relapsed and she will be ill for a few days."
Xia Jiang did not wait for Xia Dong to come, but waited for Xia Chun's reply.
"I asked for leave, why didn't I know about it?" Xia Jiang said strangely.
"Junior sister suddenly fell ill. I heard it was very serious. She has already left the capital to see a doctor." Xia Chun replied.
"Asshole, as a mirror master, she dares to leave the capital without my permission!" Xia Jiang said angrily.
Xia Chun explained: "Junior sister was injured at the Ningguo Marquis Mansion. His Majesty was considerate and allowed her to go out of the capital to seek medical treatment. I thought the master knew?"
"Your Majesty?" Xia Jiang was startled and suddenly remembered that Emperor Liang wanted him to retire.
"Could it be that His Majesty has already decided to let Xia Dong take over the Xuanjing Division, so he directly gave orders to Xia Dong and asked her to go out of the capital to work?" Xia Jiang said to himself gloomily.
The more Xia Jiang thought about it, the more something was wrong, so he quickly got up and went to the palace to meet the saint.
Unexpectedly, as soon as he arrived at the entrance of the palace, he was stopped by a young eunuch.
"You bastard, you don't even recognize me!" Xia Jiang, as the head of the Xuanjing Division, has the right to directly enter the palace to meet the saint without the need for communication.
Unexpectedly, today I was blocked by a young eunuch.
"Xia Shouzun, your majesty has decreed that from now on, people from the Xuanjing Division must go through Dongchang Communication, including Mr. Shouzun, before entering the palace." The young eunuch said confidently.
Xia Jiang felt a chill in his heart.
"I want to see the Holy One immediately." Xia Jiang insisted.
The young eunuch nodded and said: "I will go and inform Eunuch Gao now. Please wait a moment for Xia Shouzun."
Xia Jiang had no choice but to stand outside the palace and wait for an hour.
Just when he was impatient to wait, Gao Zhan came belatedly.
"Xia Shouzun, I'm sorry, your Majesty has important matters to deal with today and I don't have time to see you.
"If you have any questions, I can tell your Majesty," Gao Zhan said to Xia Jiang with a smile.
Xia Jiang narrowed his eyes and tightened his grip on the knife.
"I have important military and national affairs, and I must go up to see His Majesty immediately." Xia Jiang said solemnly.
Gao Zhan smiled and said: "Your Majesty said that no matter what the big event is, the Xuanjing Division can hand it over to Dongchang, who will submit it to His Majesty."
"Hiss~" Xia Jiang took a breath and finally realized how difficult the situation of the Xuanjing Division would be after the establishment of the East Factory.
Xia Jiang gritted his teeth and took out an official document, handed it to Gao Zhan, and said: "Da Yu and Northern Yan each sent 100,000 troops, a total of 200,000, with the intention of invading our Daliang. Please inform your majesty as soon as possible, Eunuch Gao."
Gao Zhan took the official document, nodded and said: "I will go to the Holy Land immediately. Lord Xia will wait for a moment and wait for the summons."
Xia Jiang suppressed his anger and said, "Thank you, Eunuch Gao."
Gao Zhan quickly entered the palace with the official document, while Xia Jiang continued to wait at the gate.
Half an hour later, King Jing, King Yu, Minister of War and other important ministers entered the palace one after another. No one stopped them, but Xia Jiang was not summoned by Emperor Liang for a long time.
It wasn't until two hours later that Gao Zhan showed up.
"Eunuch Gao, Your Majesty has summoned me." Xia Jiang said anxiously.
Gao Zhan shook his head and said, "Your Majesty did not summon Xia Shouzun."
Xia Jiang was shocked and said: "How is it possible that despite the great emergency in the north, Your Majesty didn't even summon me?"
"Your Majesty has said that from now on all military reports in the northern border will be sent to Prince Jing's Mansion as soon as possible."
Xia Jiang couldn't help but take a few steps back as if he was struck by lightning.
Gao Zhan sneered, turned and left, and soon Prince Jing and other important officials in the court also walked out of the palace one after another.
Wang Gang saw Xia Jiang who had no master, and said proudly: "Xia Shouzun, Eunuch Gao must have passed the decree! My father asked me to lead a hundred thousand forbidden troops to support the northern border. From now on, all battle reports in the northern border will be sent to Prince Jing's Mansion first.
There must be no mistakes!”
Xia Jiang swallowed with a dry mouth.
"Xia Shouzun, did you hear clearly what I said? It's because your eyes are dim and your ears are not good!" Wang Gang snorted coldly.
Xia Jiang endured the feeling of humiliation and nodded slightly to return to life.
Wang Gang said reluctantly: "Wang Shangshu, did Xia Shouzun speak? I didn't hear it!"
Wang Shangshu of the Ministry of War said with some embarrassment: "I didn't even hear Xia Shouzun speak."
Xia Jiang gritted his teeth and said, "I will obey the holy orders."
Xia Jiang said this very loudly, and everyone could hear it.
Wang Gang was still dissatisfied and said: "Xia Shouzun has such great official authority, and he dares to show his respect in front of me! Don't forget that you are just a slave of my Xiao family."
Xia Jiang's forehead was throbbing with veins, and he resisted the urge to draw the knife.
At this time, King Yu came out to smooth things over and said: "Jingyan, my father asked you to personally support the Imperial Army and support the northern border. The military situation is urgent, so why do you need to embarrass Mr. Xia?"
Wang Gang said coldly: "It is because of the urgent military situation that I want to determine whether Xia Shouzun and Xuanjing Division are able to cooperate. If not, it is better to abdicate as soon as possible and let Dongchang take over."
Xia Jiang's body trembled, and he knew that Wang Gang was not joking. It was a small insult to him personally, and the Xuanjing Division could never be replaced by Dongchang.
"Don't worry, Your Highness Prince Jing, the Xuanjing Division will fully cooperate with you, and your subordinates will also fulfill their duties faithfully." Xia Jiang lowered his head.
Wang Gang said with satisfaction: "It's good that Xia Shouzun knows. I still have military affairs to attend to, so I won't waste my time."
After saying that, Wang Gang raised his head and left. Xia Jiang stared at Wang Gang's leaving back fiercely.
Prince Yu sighed and said to Xia Jiang: "Xia Shouzun, if you have time, come and sit in my palace, Prince Yu!"
Xia Jiang rolled his eyes and agreed readily.
The two of them returned to Prince Yu's Mansion all the way. Prince Yu ordered his servants to entertain them with good wine and food, and asked Qin Banruo to come over and accompany them.
"This time there is an emergency in the north. My father handed over the imperial army to Xiao Jamel and gave him the command of the northern army." King Yu started to complain after three glasses of wine.
Xia Jiang had just been turned away from the palace and was unaware of Emperor Liang's decision.
"The Forbidden Army plus all the troops in the north total 400,000 troops. The Emperor actually handed them all over to Prince Jing. Aren't you afraid that his mercenaries will respect themselves?" Xia Jiang said in surprise.
Qin Banruo said: "Many people speculate that the name of Prince Jing is written in the imperial edict. Now that the emperor has given another 400,000 troops, Prince Jing can succeed as the crown prince. It can be regarded as popular!"
King Yu and Xia Jiang's expressions changed at the same time, as if they had eaten flies.
"Prince Jing is a man who is very aggressive in his military affairs. If the beam is handed over to him, he may be in danger of ruining the country." Xia Jiang said gloomily:
"His Royal Highness King Yu has a reputation as a wise king and is the best candidate for the crown prince."
King Yu smiled bitterly and said: "Of all the civil and military officials in the dynasty, I am afraid that only Xia Shouzun would think so!"
Xia Jiang took a sip of wine and plucked up the courage to say, "Prince Yu wants to sit on the throne."
King Yu was stunned for a moment, then laughed at himself: "I am destined to miss the throne in this life, Xia Shouzun should know it best!"
Qin Banruo said to Xia Jiang: "Prince Yu is the son of Princess Linglong."
Xia Jiang's eyes widened and he thought of many things at once.
"No wonder, no wonder your Majesty has always refused to make King Yu the crown prince. No wonder your Majesty no longer trusts me."
Qin Banruo said: "Xia Shouzun, once the emperor and his ministers, when King Jing ascends the throne as the emperor, how long can you sit on the position of the first king?"
Xia Jiang put down his wine glass, stared at King Yu and said, "Your Highness King Yu, you don't need to test me anymore. We have a common enemy, why don't we work together. I will risk my life to ensure that you sit on the throne."
King Yu was overjoyed when he heard this.
Qin Banruo said at this time: "As long as King Yu ascends the throne as emperor, he will definitely rely more on Xuanjing Division."
Xia Jiang wondered: "It's a pity that we have too few troops."
Qin Banruo said confidently: "King Jing supports the northern border and takes away a large number of forbidden troops. The defense of Jinling will inevitably be empty. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. As long as we can capture the palace, great things will happen."
Prince Yu shook his head and said: "There are still 50,000 forbidden troops in Jinling, and even Princess Meng Zhi and Princess Nihuang are here. Taking the palace is not easy."
Xia Jiang pondered for a while and said: "We may not have no chance. As long as there is some trouble in the southern border, Princess Nihuang will definitely return to the southern border to take charge."
King Yu said in confusion: "Nan Chu just lost to Daliang two years ago, so he should be honest in a short time!"
Qin Banruo smiled and said: "Your Highness has forgotten that the Southern Chu delegation just left Jinling not long ago. Do you think that if something happens to the sons and daughters of King Sheng of Southern Chu in Daliang, Nan Chu will let it go?"
After Xiao Jingrui's life experience was revealed, the marriage between Daliang and Nanchu also fell through. Princess Xiandai returned to the Chu Kingdom with her brother Xiao Jingrui. She had just left for two days and should still be in Daliang.
Xia Jiang narrowed his eyes and said to Qin Banruo: "You have a way to kill Princess Xiandai and Xiao Jingrui."
Qin Banruo nodded and said: "There are people recruited by me from the Red Sleeves in the Southern Chu mission."
"You Hua tribe have great magical powers." Xia Jiang said with a smile.
King Yu said: "What about the remaining Meng Zhi? He has 50,000 troops and he is not a vegetarian. We don't have many troops in our hands."
Xia Jiang sneered and said: "The Forbidden Army is not monolithic. The Xuanjing Division has a lot of handles on the generals and commanders. If King Yu comes forward to subdue them again, it shouldn't be difficult."
The duty of the Xuanjing Division is to monitor the officials, and the army is no exception. Even Emperor Liang may not know how much information Xia Jiang has on the officials.
Meng Zhi was an upright man who could not be splashed with water, and Xia Jiang could not do anything to him, but the same could not be said for his subordinates.
As long as we seize the handle of these people and King Yu uses his kindness and power together, it will be easy to control the Imperial Army.
"Now there is another problem." Qin Banruo said: "If King Yu rashly leads troops into the palace, he will easily be labeled as a rebellious minister and traitor. If King Jing leads an army back to the capital, we may not be able to stop him."
King Yu couldn't help but look at Xia Jiang.
Xia Jiang pondered for a moment and said: "This is not difficult. As long as we can get the edict of passing the throne and change our name to King Yu, we can legitimately succeed to the throne."
Qin Banruo shook his head and said: "The imperial edict is made in two copies. One is hidden behind the plaque in the main hall and is guarded by experts at all times. The other is in the hands of His Majesty and must be revised at the same time to be useful."
"It's not difficult to get the edict behind the plaque." Xia Jiang said confidently: "There are also my people in the palace. The trouble is that the edict is in His Majesty's hand and is always with you. It is too difficult to get it."
King Yu rolled his eyes and said: "I can go into the palace to discuss with the Queen. She may be able to get the edict from my father."
Nominally, King Yu is the adopted son of the Queen. He ascends the throne as the emperor, which brings benefits to the Queen. King Yu is confident that he can convince her.
"It would be great if we could get the Queen's support. With her cooperating inside and outside, it would be easy to win the palace." Xia Jiang said with great joy.
The three of them worked together for one night and all felt that there was much to be done. The next day, King Yu began to actively contact the senior generals in the Forbidden Army.
On the other side, Wang Gang and Mei Changsu were also actively preparing for war because of the danger in the northern border. Everyone from the Prince Jing's Palace to the Jiangzuo Alliance were mobilized.
This time Dayu and Beiyan each raised 100,000 troops and divided them into two groups to harass the northern border of Daliang. It is not ruled out that the two countries will continue to increase their troops.
If this battle is defeated, Daliang will lose half of its country, so it is very important, otherwise Emperor Liang would not hand over military power.
In the original plot, Daliang was besieged on all sides and the court had no generals to send. Mei Changsu personally went into battle and sacrificed his life to finally block the two countries.
Now that Wang Gang is here, there is no need for Mei Changsu to take risks.
However, Mei Changsu still sent someone to Wang Gang.
"Your Highness Prince Jing, this is Miss Gong Yu. She will serve as the liaison of the Jiangzuo Alliance and will accompany you to the north."
When Mei Changsu brought Gong Yu to see Wang Gang, he was discussing with Meng Zhi how to resist the coalition forces of the two countries.
Wang Gang said without even raising his head: "It's inconvenient to have a woman in the army, so let's find someone else!"
Gong Yu said nervously: "Your Highness Prince Jing, I can disguise myself as a man."
Wang Gang raised his head and said: "Miss Gong Yu, you should understand that this time Dayu and Beiyan join forces, the northern battlefield will be very dangerous."
"Gong Yu is not afraid of danger. As long as he can help the sect master, Gong Yu is willing to go through fire and water." Gong Yu said firmly.
Wang Gang sighed and said to Mei Changsu: "I'm afraid that King Yu will do something when I leave. Jinling may not be safer than the Northern Territory. You should also be protected by good hands."
When Gong Yu heard this, he looked at Mei Changsu in surprise.
"I have Zhen Ping and the others protecting me, so nothing will happen to me. On the contrary, the situation in the north is very complicated. It is best to have someone familiar with the Jiangzuo Alliance by your side to facilitate communication between the two parties." Mei Changsu explained:
"After much thought, Gong Yu is the most suitable."
Wang Gang knew that Mei Changsu wanted to give Gong Yu to him and deliberately made excuses. Otherwise, he could change the contact person, and it didn't necessarily have to be Gong Yu.