Chapter 2 The Day Before

The next day.

Jiang Chen, refreshed after a night of passion with Xu Jiaying, arrived at the Hall of Diligent Governance.

By this time, the Imperial City Guards, who had secretly taken their posts, were fully engaged in their mission.

More than eighty people were divided into dozens of small teams, infiltrating the residences of the three princes to monitor and gather intelligence.

With the birthday celebration fast approaching, the Jiang Zuo Prince and his gang had fallen into a final frenzy, and could erupt at any moment.

Jiang Chen would not allow any accidents to happen or disrupt his plans.

Therefore, he had deliberately increased patrols and defenses in the imperial capital, and arranged for certain individuals to be placed under close surveillance.

"Your Majesty, as you ordered, General Xu has already deployed personnel in advance. Tens of thousands of elite troops have been drawn from the four camps of the imperial capital and are lying in ambush in the city, ensuring that any conspiracy is nipped in the bud."

Jiang Chen nodded upon hearing this, "Not bad."

"Remember to act with extreme caution. Do not expose yourselves until I give the order!"

After instructing the military, he turned to Jing Yue, who was standing beside him, and said, "The Dark Guards must also be vigilant. Before the birthday celebration begins, keep a close watch on Jiang Zuo Prince, the Sixth Prince, and the Seventh Prince."

"If necessary, you can contact the Palace Guards and seal off their residences."

"This time, I will eliminate them root and branch!"

"Yes, Your Majesty, I will obey." Jing Yue's pretty face turned cold, and her clear, beautiful eyes were filled with murderous intent.

She had wanted to make a move against this gang of traitors for a long time, but His Majesty had been suppressing her, not allowing her to act. Now that she had permission, she was determined to paint the town red with their blood, and deter those lurking in the shadows.

"By the way, where has the Zhenhai Regional Commander reached? How many men did he bring? Did he leave any backup plans before setting off?"

Jiang Chen's series of questions caused the faces of everyone present to turn solemn.

Those who were able to participate in this secret meeting were all Jiang Chen's trusted ministers. Knowing that His Majesty intended to take action against the Zhenhai Regional Commander, they all spoke up, revealing the information they had gathered.

"Your Majesty, according to reports from scouts, the Zhenhai Regional Commander secretly convened a meeting of the southern aristocratic families before leaving, and his words were overbearing, completely treating the others as his subjects, extremely arrogant!"

"Your Majesty, not only that, but the Zhenhai Regional Commander is also using the pretext of offering birthday congratulations to amass wealth from the common people, plundering a great deal of gold, silver, and grain, but he does not hand it over to the court, but instead puts it into his private treasury. His crimes are heinous!"

"..."

On the throne, Jiang Chen listened quietly, his eyes growing colder and colder.

He had originally wanted to give the Zhenhai Regional Commander a chance to abandon the darkness and embrace the light, and did not want to resort to direct force to avoid provoking a counterattack from the southern aristocratic families.

But now, this person's actions had completely crossed his bottom line.

Even if it meant forcing the entire south into rebellion, he would take this person's life!

"Hmph, the Zhenhai Regional Commander, does he really think I can't deal with him?"

"Amassing wealth in the name of the royal family, ignoring the decrees I issue, and condoning the local tyrants to prey on the common people... it seems that I will have to start a massacre at this birthday celebration!"

Hearing the anger and murderous intent in Jiang Chen's words, the ministers fell silent, their heads bowed, not daring to voice the slightest objection.

In the deathly silence, only Zhang Zifang, the Deputy Prime Minister, stood up and disagreed, "Your Majesty, I believe this is not appropriate!"

"All the vassal kings and regional commanders will be arriving for this birthday celebration. If we take action against the Zhenhai Regional Commander at this time, they may think that the court is dissatisfied with the local forces and is killing the chicken to scare the monkey."

"If this causes those regional officials to become estranged from the court, wouldn't that be penny wise and pound foolish?"

Jiang Chen chuckled and shook his head, "My dear minister, let me ask you, who is the master of this Great Wei?"

Zhang Zifang was taken aback, "Naturally, it is Your Majesty."

Jiang Chen nodded, a smile appearing on the corner of his mouth, but his eyes were as cold as ice, "It's good that you understand this."

"'Eat the king's food, share the king's worries.' If they don't even understand this principle, and fantasize about sitting in high positions and having the qualifications to challenge me, disobeying royal orders, then what reason do I have to spare their lives?!"

"Whether they are vassal kings or regional commanders, their glory and status all come from my reward. If they forget this grace and want to take away my authority, then only one fate awaits them!"

"Beheading at the Meridian Gate, extermination of their nine clans!"

"Therefore, why should I care about the thoughts of these ministers? If they don't listen, then I'll just kill them and replace them with someone who does."

As soon as these words came out, all the ministers present felt a chill run down their spines, and even their breathing became lighter.

Although the previous encirclement and suppression of the Mei family had made them aware of the current emperor's brutality, the calm of the past few days had clearly numbed their memories, forgetting that the one in front of them was the infamous 'tyrant' of the people!

Zhang Zifang also remembered the bloody rumors about the current emperor that had been circulating among their scholars, and couldn't help but let out a wry smile.

He originally thought that those rumors were just smears from people with ulterior motives, but now it seems that they might not be false.

Thinking this, he bowed to Jiang Chen and said respectfully, "I misspoke, I hope Your Majesty will forgive me!"

Jiang Chen was still very tolerant towards talented ministers, and Zhang Zifang's advice was also out of public interest, for the sake of the court, so he naturally would not blame him.

Softening his expression, he said, "It's okay, there is some truth in what you said. I am not a muddleheaded ruler who cannot distinguish between good and bad, and will not punish you for this."

"As for the Zhenhai Regional Commander, just arrange things according to my wishes."

"A minister who is so reckless and willful must die!"

Zhang Zifang still wanted to say something, but when he thought about the situation of the southern aristocratic families that his colleagues had just reported, he ultimately did not speak.

With the current emperor's ambition, he would definitely not tolerate the local forces growing stronger.

Since he was going to take action sooner or later, it would be more advantageous to fight on home ground. Taking the Zhenhai Regional Commander's life during the birthday celebration was undoubtedly the decision with the least sacrifice.

Inside the inner hall, everyone discussed for another two hours or so.

Only after all the details were finalized did they secretly leave under the escort of the Dark Guards.

At this time, there were less than three days left before the start of the birthday celebration, and the entire palace was shrouded in an atmosphere of tension.

The curfew in the imperial capital had been temporarily lifted, in order to facilitate the reception of the vassal kings and regional commanders who were arriving one after another.

Among all the regional officials who had received the imperial edict, Duke Ding was the first to arrive.

One reason was that he was concerned about his grandson's current situation.

The second was to use this active response to show all the forces in the world his loyalty to the current emperor.

After all, among the regional officials, the territory he guarded was the farthest from the imperial capital. But now he was the first to rush to the capital.

This kind of proactive display was more convincing than any words.

In a solemn mansion in the imperial capital, Duke Ding, with his gray hair and full armor, was staring blankly at Jiang Mu, who was practicing martial arts in the courtyard.

His tiger eyes became wet without him realizing it.

"This, is this really my good-for-nothing grandson? I must be dreaming, right?"

The murmured words caused Jiang Mu to turn his head.

"Grandpa! When did you come back? Why didn't you send someone to let me know so I could pick you up!"

"Oh right, did you receive the news? I am now studying at the Imperial Academy, and His Majesty said he wants to bestow a high-ranking official position upon me!"

Looking at his grandson, who was full of fighting spirit, Duke Ding finally dared to believe that he was not dreaming. He wiped away his tears and said with relief, "Good, good, it's good that you've changed. Now that you've become successful, I can die in peace!"