Chapter 28: The old friend is crazy and wants to wear the imperial robe
In the 30th year of Kaiyuan, the emperor personally led the army to attack Gu Khan, but suffered a tragic defeat, with 300,000 soldiers killed. This shocked the Great Jing Dynasty, and the atmosphere in the capital was even more tense. Officials were all in danger because the emperor was old, and they were furious after hearing that he was defeated. They were afraid that the emperor would die, and the prince had not moved to the East Palace yet.
This year, the young King of Wei was one year old.
In the courtyard, Jiang Changsheng was meditating under a tree. The Earth Spirit Tree was already ten feet tall, but its leaves were not lush enough, and now it could only produce weak spiritual energy, but it was also a good sign.
Not far away, Xiao Ping'an was riding a white dragon, and Qing Ku was chasing after him and playing games.
Although Xiao Ping'an was born with intellectual disabilities, his physical and mental talents were indeed extraordinary. At the age of one, he already had the strength of a four or five-year-old child and could run and jump. In Longqi Temple, he was already a recognized martial arts prodigy.
A figure walked quickly from outside the courtyard. It was Chen Li. He looked worried. He came in front of Jiang Changsheng and whispered, "Changsheng, something is wrong. The second prince is missing."
Jiang Changsheng said without even opening his eyes, "If she is missing, then she is missing. Didn't your Chen family take refuge with the Seventh Prince?"
Chen Li said: "The second prince is missing, and the Hong family is likely to rebel. It just so happens that your majesty has suffered a defeat in the north. If the capital rebels, Dajing will be in danger."
Only then did Jiang Changsheng open his eyes.
Jiang Yuan's life before he was sixty was absolutely brilliant, but unfortunately he was in power for too long, and when he was old he led the army himself and suffered a great defeat. His prestige in the hearts of the people dropped significantly, and even the civil and military officials were no longer so afraid of him. If the Hong family rebelled at this time, even if they failed, Dajing would be seriously damaged.
The Hong family's army was stationed outside the capital to guard the city, but now it has become a threat.
Jiang Changsheng said helplessly: "If the Hong family wants to rebel, what's the point of you telling me?"
Chen Li said: "Of course I am reminding you that if chaos breaks out, how will you protect yourself in Longqi Temple? You should hurry up and stock up on food these days. Even if the Hong family does not target Longqi Temple, if chaos breaks out in the city, Longqi Temple will definitely be isolated because the mountains are too suitable for hiding people."
Jiang Changsheng nodded and said, "I understand."
Chen Li sat down, not caring about Qing Ku being beside him. After all, they were acquaintances, and Jiang Changsheng and he had been friends for eighteen years.
Eighteen years have passed, and Chen Li is no longer the ambitious top scholar, and is now middle-aged.
Before I knew it, time had passed so quickly.
Jiang Changsheng looked at Chen Li's weathered face and felt emotional.
Not only Chen Li, but also the older disciples in the temple are gradually entering middle age, including the eldest sister Meng Qiushuang.
Jiang Changsheng refined a total of three anti-aging pills. He took one himself, one was given by the emperor to the empress, and the remaining one was given to Hua Jianxin to take. After all, Hua Jianxin gave birth to his child and was his wife, so he naturally favored her.
He did not want to interfere with the birth, aging, illness and death of others, but his youth gradually made his disciples respect him more.
The Taoist priest is truly a man of great virtue.
Chen Li said: "The Crown Prince has the help of the Yang family, two provinces and two ministers, and has a very high voice in the court. But unfortunately, he has no military power, and the masters under his command are not as good as the Seventh Prince. I suddenly feel that His Majesty deliberately left the capital to let the Crown Prince and the Second Prince fight. How can the Second Prince defeat the Crown Prince? When the Second Prince dies, the Hong family will rebel and swear to kill the Crown Prince. When the Crown Prince dies, the Seventh Prince can legitimately attack the Hong Family and make great achievements. The heart of the emperor is really terrible."
Jiang Changsheng thought it made sense and was indeed very possible. Anyway, he knew that the prince was doomed to die.
After knowing the fate of the prince, Jiang Changsheng's hatred for him disappeared, and he even stopped paying attention to him. After all, the prince was also a pitiful man, who was manipulated since he was born. When the Yang family knew the truth, the prince was really isolated and abandoned by the whole world.
Jiang Changsheng said, "Let's talk about the things in the martial arts world."
Hua Jianxin took care of the young King of Wei day and night, and would occasionally tell Jiang Changsheng about the affairs of the court, so Jiang Changsheng didn't care.
Jiang Changsheng's only concern for the court is the young King of Wei's ascension to the throne, but he is still young and has a long way to go before he can ascend the throne. Before that, as long as Da Jing is not destroyed and the young King of Wei is fine, it doesn't matter what those people do to him, and his goal is to practice.
Chen Li shook his head and said, "I don't have time to pay attention to the martial arts world now. Oh, by the way, do you still remember your senior brother Li Changqing?"
Jiang Changsheng nodded and said, "Of course I remember."
Li Changqing rebelled against Longqi Temple when he was young, and because of this, Taoist Qingxu was deeply poisoned by the evil sect.
Chen Li sighed: "He joined the Demon Sect for a woman. Last year, the woman died and he went crazy. Now he kills anyone he sees in the martial arts world. He is notorious for his viciousness. Eighteen sects are working together to hunt him down. I'm afraid he won't live long."
Jiang Changsheng remained silent.
Chen Li comforted him, "Don't think too much. That's the path he chose. Don't get involved. With the combined efforts of the eighteen sects, even the supreme martial artist may not be able to escape unscathed."
Jiang Changsheng smiled and said, "Brother Chen, you worry too much. I won't go down the mountain."
Chen Li smiled and then talked about other things.
Li Changqing's experience did cause waves in Jiang Changsheng's heart, after all, they were old acquaintances.
He thought of Taoist Qingxu again, and wondered where his master had gone.
…
Half a year later, Chen Li's guess was correct. The Hong family mutinied, and General Hong Lie led 100,000 cavalrymen into the capital and broke into the imperial palace.
The sound of fighting echoed throughout the capital.
Jiang Changsheng opened his eyes, sighed, and stood up.
After all, I can't let go.
Jiang Changsheng gave Bailong a few instructions and then turned into a sparrow and flew towards the palace.
At the same time, inside the palace, cavalry were running rampant, and the maids and eunuchs all knelt on the ground, trembling in fear.
Hong Lie was wearing heavy black armor and riding a sturdy black horse, moving forward slowly. He held a big knife in one hand and had a fierce look in his eyes.
"Seal off the palace and find the prince!"
A general raised his sword and shouted, and the soldiers received the order and dispersed to start searching.
A concubine came running to Hong Lie and cried, "Brother, you have to avenge Ming'er!"
Hong Lie glanced at her and said, "Don't worry, sister. The prince will die today."
The concubine wiped her tears and then asked, "Where is Ming'er? Have you sent someone to investigate?"
Hong Lie said: "My soldiers found a body outside the city. It was Ming'er's. Big brother couldn't bear to tell you."
Upon hearing this, the concubine was struck by lightning and collapsed to the ground.
Hong Lie shook his head and reined in his horse. His face became unruly and his eyes were fixed on the high and lofty Jinluan Palace in the distance. He murmured, "Brother Jiang, you have been sitting on this throne for thirty years. It is time for me, your younger brother, to sit on it."
On the other side, inside the queen's bedroom.
Crown Prince Jiang Gan sat at the table with disheveled hair, looking extremely decadent.
The Queen walked in from outside, closed the door, and said, "No, Hong Lie has already rushed in, and I can't ask the Yang family for help."
Jiang Qian smiled bitterly and said, "Mother, how could the Yang family not hear of Hong Lie's big commotion? Before my second brother disappeared, I noticed that the Yang family's attitude was not right. My uncles' attitude towards me was not as enthusiastic as before, and even..."
Even a little disgusted!
Jiang Qian did not say this out loud. He was puzzled in his heart. In his opinion, all the ministers might betray him, except the Yang family.
The Queen frowned and asked, "Did you really kill your second brother?"
Jiang Qian was furious when he heard this, and gritted his teeth and said, "How is it possible! The dispute between my second brother and I was because he wanted to compete with me. Mother, for so many years, haven't I been forbearing again and again? Why did I endure it? Wasn't it because of the brotherhood? I never thought of killing my second brother. Even if he killed me, I would never kill my brothers!"
Although he is the crown prince, the emperor and the empress have had a hot and cold attitude towards him since he was a child, which led him to cherish their brotherly feelings. Because his younger brothers needed him and respected him when they were young, he always wanted to protect his younger brothers, otherwise his dispute with the second prince would not have lasted for several years.
He is the crown prince and holds great power in the court. It is so easy for him to deal with the second prince!
He could even ask the emperor to send Jiang Ming to the frontier.
The Queen sighed and looked at Jiang Gan with a very complicated look.
Jiang Qian was in panic, fear and anger at the moment and did not notice her look.
There were the sounds of horse hooves and footsteps coming from outside the hall, and from the sound one could tell that a large number of soldiers were coming.
"Your fourth brother followed your father to the war, otherwise with him and Zong Tianwu here, you could still be saved." The Queen said helplessly.
Jiang Qian gritted his teeth, stood up, and said, "Mother, please don't come out. If I go out alone, the worst that can happen is that I will die. I, the son of the Jiang family, have no fear of life or death!"
After saying that, he walked to the gate without hesitation and pushed it open . The courtyard outside was full of black soldiers. Hong Lie was riding a horse on the corridor outside the courtyard, looking at him from afar.
Jiang Qian took a deep breath, tidied his hair, stepped forward, and said loudly: "General Hong, if you don't believe that my second brother was not killed by me, I have nothing to say. You can kill me or chop me up, and when my father and my fourth brother come back, you will also die."
The soldiers were silent and did not move immediately, waiting for General Hong to speak.
Jiang Qian followed up and said, "General Hong, even if my second brother is really dead, what's the point of you being so angry? You are dragging the Hong family down with you. The Hong family only has one prince to rely on!"
Hong Lie leaned forward and said with a scornful smile: "Since there is no prince to rely on, then I will put on the imperial robe. I wonder what Your Highness thinks?"
"you……"
Jiang Qian's eyes widened, and he was shaking with anger. Suddenly, he understood.
Could it be that Jiang Ming’s disappearance is related to Hong Lie?
The soldiers laughed and shouted "Long live Emperor Hong".
Jiang Qian was extremely angry and rushed towards Hong Lie. He had never practiced martial arts and was like a scholar. He was kicked over by a soldier and a sword pierced his body, with blood spilling on the ground.
Jiang Gan's mouth was full of blood as he stared at the soldier in front of him. There was no more fear in his eyes, only anger.
"How dare you! Hong Lie, do you really not care about our old friendship?"
The Queen's voice was heard, her words were cold, and she walked out of the palace.
Hong Lie laughed and said, "Sister-in-law, I didn't expect that after decades, you are still as beautiful as ever. I don't know what rare treasures His Majesty fed you. I have come to this point. Do you think I have any way out?"
"Come here, capture the queen and bring her to my palace...hahahaha!"
Hong Lie laughed wildly and even changed his words to "I". He had gone crazy because in his opinion, the throne was right in front of him.
The soldiers stepped forward immediately. Jiang Qian raised his hand and cursed, "Hong Lie, you are not a human! You will not die well!"
The soldier who was pinning him down immediately slit his throat. He covered his throat with both hands, unable to speak, as blood gushed out and could not be stopped.
The Queen was frightened out of her wits and she backed away, leaning against the door.
At this moment, a voice came down lightly:
"A dog of Dajing also wants to wear the imperial robe? You are so arrogant and ignorant. Today, you will die miserably."
Everyone looked up and saw a figure appear on the eaves of the Queen's bedroom. This person was wearing a tattered black Taoist robe and a wooden mask on his face. He had no weapon in his hands, but he gave people a feeling of extreme danger just standing there.
