Chapter 86

The cool moon hung on the branches of the osmanthus tree in the corner of the courtyard, and a few scattered stars dotted the deep sky.

Shen Yanzhi stood with his hands behind his back on the corridor, staring at the moon, lost in thought.

“Prince Shen, the Crown Prince requests your presence.” Finally, the tightly closed door behind him opened, and a servant respectfully informed him.

Shen Yanzhi turned around, as if he had expected this, and calmly followed the servant into the room that had been opened only after waiting from afternoon until night.

The Crown Prince was sitting behind a long table stacked with books, with a square face and deep-set features.

Among Li Xin’s several sons, he was the most unremarkable one.

The Crown Prince was born to Li Xin’s original wife during his farming days, but no one knew the surname or name of his original wife anymore.

It was only known that she was an illiterate and coarse peasant woman.

Later, the peasant woman passed away, and Li Xin, relying on his good looks and extraordinary courage, married into a wealthy family in Qi County.

He was born into a peasant family and understood the hardships of farmers.

When he helped the wealthy family manage their fields, he often waived rents, earning him a high reputation in Qi County.

It was precisely because of these reasons that when he rebelled, the farmers of Qi County supported him.

The position of the Crown Prince was undoubtedly awkward.

Although he was born to the original wife and was the legitimate eldest son, all of Li Xin’s prestige and reputation came from his later marriage and management of the wealthy family’s fields.

It was generally believed that the son born to Li Xin and the daughter of the wealthy family, who was now the Second Prince, was the best candidate to inherit the throne.

Later, Li Xin’s power grew day by day, and many officials and nobles tried various ways to introduce women to Li Xin’s side.

His sons and daughters kept coming out one after another.

However, the relatives of the Second Prince’s mother, who had fought alongside Qi County, clung together.

Although Li Xin was sitting on the dragon throne, the only people he could truly trust were those who had followed him in the beginning.

Therefore, even though many court ladies had sons for Li Xin, they still couldn’t shake the Second Prince’s position in the court.

The Crown Prince was full of resentment.

He was determined to make achievements and show the court officials and warriors who the true heir to the throne was.

That was why he volunteered to lead the troops to suppress the remnants of the former dynasty.

Unfortunately, things did not go well.

Before the army had even engaged in a single battle, the remnants of the former dynasty seized two cities, and the granaries in Huainan also fell into the enemy’s hands.

Li Xin was furious, and the Second Prince’s faction was fanning the flames in the court.

The Crown Prince’s situation became even more difficult.

It was at this time that Shen Yanzhi came to propose cooperation with the Crown Prince.

The Shen family was one of the first to send women to Li Xin’s side.

They even sent their own legitimate daughter.

The Crown Prince had a bad attitude towards families like the Shen family who sought favor and power — his mother had been defeated by such wealthy daughters.

It was said outside that his mother had died of illness, but only the Crown Prince himself knew that Li Xin wanted power, and his mother, a white-footed concubine who occupied the status of Li Xin’s first wife, could not be demoted to a concubine for the sake of good reputation.

The family of the rich daughter would not allow such an existence as a flat wife.

Therefore, his mother had to die.

In the past, the Crown Prince would not even deign to speak to Shen Yanzhi, but in the current situation, he couldn’t afford to be proud.

But at present, Shen Yanzhi was no different from a bereaved dog.

Minzhou had fallen, and Li Xin was already dissatisfied with Shen Yanzhi, directly demoting him by three ranks, making life difficult for the Shen family in the capital.

The remaining twenty thousand troops in his hand after suppressing the bandits were indeed what the Crown Prince needed.

The Crown Prince had fifty thousand troops in his hands, but each of Qingzhou and Xuzhou had twenty thousand troops stationed there.

After the former crown prince captured Meng County, he also recruited the ten thousand troops of the former Xuzhou defender Dong Da.

It was conservatively estimated that the former crown prince now had fifty thousand troops as well.

The Crown Prince dared not be careless.

Although their forces appeared to be evenly matched, the imperial army had lost its grain supply.

Now all the grain had to be transported from Taiyuan at great cost of manpower and material resources.

If they really started consuming it, they would not be able to match those remnants of the former dynasty.

At present, cooperation with Shen Yanzhi was indeed the best choice.

After leaving Shen Yanzhi waiting for an afternoon, he reluctantly agreed to see him.

When Shen Yanzhi saw the Crown Prince, he respectfully bowed, elegant and courteous, with perfect manners, without any hint of annoyance at having been kept waiting all afternoon.

The Crown Prince’s face turned cold as he said, “With military matters pressing, I have kept Prince Shen waiting for a long time.”

Shen Yanzhi bowed respectfully, saying, “I am willing to share your burdens, Your Highness.”

The Crown Prince couldn’t be unaware of why Shen Yanzhi had come eagerly seeking him; it was all for the former Princess Consort of Chu.

For the sake of a woman, he had dared even to kill his own uncle, which was truly letting lust cloud his judgment.

He sneered and asked, “So, Prince Shen, how do you propose we fight this upcoming battle?”

Shen Yanzhi looked at the Crown Prince, his phoenix eyes smiling dangerously. “Fight fire with fire,” he said.

“The former Prince of Chu disguised himself as remnants of Meng County and deceived them into opening the gates. We can also send someone over to pretend to surrender.”

The Crown Prince’s eyes suddenly lit up with excitement.

Seeing Shen Yanzhi’s expression change from disdain to approval, he smiled and said, “Prince Shen, your wit is truly remarkable! This plan is brilliant!”

Shen Yanzhi nodded with a faint smile but remained silent.

Compared to before, he looked even thinner now.

Not only his figure but also his complexion showed signs of weakness.

His face was pale, and there was little color on his lips.

It was the middle of summer, and others were feeling hot even in light clothing, but he was dressed in thick clothes as if it were already autumn.

However, the more gentle he appeared, the more frightening he seemed.

It was like a venomous snake retracting its fangs.

It seemed harmless, but it could strike at any moment.

The Crown Prince glanced at him and asked, “So… Prince Shen, who do you think should be sent as the insider for this plan?”

Shen Yanzhi lowered his eyes slightly and said, “General Dong Da died in Meng County. The remnants of the former dynasty spread rumors that General Dong Da had committed suicide, but who would believe them? At least not General Dong Da’s son.”

The Crown Prince applauded, “General Dong Da surrendered to our Great Chen, was first deprived of Xuzhou, and then died in Meng County.

To say that he committed suicide, I don’t believe it, let alone his son! Let’s have General Dong Da’s son go and pretend to surrender!”

Shen Yanzhi added, “But just in case, Your Highness, you should send an elder who has a good relationship with the Dong family to persuade him. We shouldn’t make it too obvious, or General Dong Da’s son might become suspicious.”

The Crown Prince agreed to everything.

They were worried about the lack of grain.

If they could use this plan to recapture Meng County, they could press the remnants of the former dynasty.

When Shen Yanzhi left, the Crown Prince changed his previous cold attitude and personally escorted him to the door of the mansion.

After boarding the Shen family’s carriage, a hint of sarcasm finally appeared in the upturned phoenix eyes of Shen Yanzhi.

He covered his mouth with a handkerchief as he coughed.

He had been injured by the arrow shot by Chu Chengji before, and the cold air had penetrated his lungs when he escaped by jumping into the water.

This cough had not improved.

“Chen Qing, back to the inn,” he said instinctively, and the response of “Yes” came in a rough voice.

Only then did Shen Yanzhi realize that Chen Qing was already dead.

Because he couldn’t change his habit, the bodyguard who now protected him personally had been given the name “Chen Qin.”

The carriage moved slowly back, and a letter was handed to Shen Yanzhi through a gap in the curtain. “Master, a letter from the capital.”

Shen Yanzhi took it, read it quickly, and a smile with little color on his lips, as cold as early winter snow, appeared. “Tell Chan’er to take good care of herself at the Shen family’s home. Li Xin has lost another son, so he shouldn’t bother Chan’er and the child in her womb anymore.”

Chen Qin hesitated. “The one who died was Lady An’s son. Now the one sitting on the dragon throne is relying on the An family. I’m afraid this matter will have to be thoroughly investigated.”

It took a long time for Shen Yanzhi’s voice to come from inside the carriage.

It was cold and cruel. “It was the Second Prince’s faction that made the move. What does it have to do with the Shen family? Let’s see if Li Xin will stand up for his new favorite or give face to his old ministers who followed him. Suppress this matter.”

Chen Qin didn’t dare to speak, but he understood very well.

With Li Xin sitting on the dragon throne, any consort who gave birth to a prince and had some influence in the family would be fiercely contested.

Li Xin currently only had two adult princes, the Crown Prince and the Second Prince.

The Crown Prince had no support from his mother’s family and had hardly anyone supporting him at all.

The Second Prince has the highest popularity, but those who support him are mainly old ministers who followed him from Qixian.

Later, when they surrendered to Li Xin’s power, there was dissatisfaction.

This led to the power struggle between the Second Prince and the other underage princes.

With the sudden death of an underage prince, the Shen family must have played a significant role in inciting and fueling the situation.

The Second Prince’s rise to power relies on external family influences.

Shen Yanzhi’s plan is to use the Second Prince to defeat other palace consorts with princes, then assist the Crown Prince in rising to power.

This would keep the Crown Prince and the Second Prince fighting each other, consuming the power of the Li family.

As Shen Chan is pregnant, regardless of whether she gives birth to a boy or a girl, the one who will be seen by everyone is a little prince.

Once the internal strife in the Li family is settled, it will be time for them to reap the benefits.

With Li Xin bedridden, the Shen family will support the young emperor’s ascension to the throne, and everything will fall into place.

…

Dong Da’s son is named Dong Cheng, just past the age of adulthood, and skilled in martial arts.

After Dong Da’s death, both the Great Chu and the Great Chen sides sent people to comfort his family with generous gifts.

On the Great Chu side, it was said that Dong Da committed suicide, but on the Great Chen side, Dong Cheng’s uncle personally came forward, saying that Dong Da died under the horse of the former prince.

The former prince ordered Dong Da’s family to be treated well because Dong Da was a loyal minister who cared for the people and the former prince feared being criticized.

Dong Cheng was filled with anger and wanted to take up arms immediately to seek a decisive battle with the former prince and avenge his father.

Under the pretext of serving the Crown Prince, Dong Cheng’s uncle seized the opportunity to offer Dong Cheng a chance to serve as an official, which could help Dong Cheng avenge his father.

He would lead a thousand elite soldiers to pretend to surrender.

After learning about the Chu forces’ deployment and defenses, they would launch a surprise attack, catching the remnants of the former dynasty off guard.

However, any defection required a proof of loyalty.

The Crown Prince arranged for Dong Cheng to be provided with a proof of loyalty: another army would pretend to attack Hu Prefecture at night.

After Dong Cheng leaked the news to the Great Chu side, they confirmed its authenticity.

Naturally, they trusted Dong Cheng’s surrender without any doubts.

Their army pretending to attack Hu Prefecture would just be for show and would not incur any significant losses.

…

Early the next morning, the imperial court split its forces into two groups.

One group, led by Dong Cheng and his one thousand soldiers, pretended to defect to Chu Chengji in Qingzhou, while the other group headed to Hu Prefecture to stage a mock siege.@@novelbin@@

The choice of Hu Prefecture was mainly because its defenses were the weakest among Qingzhou, Xuzhou, Hu Prefecture, and Meng County.

…

At the same time, Chu Chengji also prepared to go to Hu Prefecture with his troops.

When Lin Yao heard that Chu Chengji was going to Hu Prefecture to collect silver, he immediately volunteered to accompany him.

Qingzhou’s defenses were solid, with strategists like Song Heqing and Cen Daoxi, so there shouldn’t be any problems with defending the city.

Chu Chengji needed someone to assist in the attack, so he allowed Lin Yao to accompany him.

However, before departing, Chu Chengji specifically instructed Lin Yao to replace all the accompanying soldiers with grassroots fighters from Qiyun Stronghold and did not bring any recruited soldiers.

When Lin Yao set off, he noticed this but didn’t question Chu Chengji’s intentions.

Upon arriving at Hu Prefecture, Lin Yao discovered that Chu Chengji did not take them to the prefectural yamen but instead went to the wilderness.

Along the way, they even borrowed farming tools from villagers. Lin Yao became increasingly uneasy.

It was already nightfall, and the area they were passing through was where the imperial mausoleum was located.

There was no one around, and after the change of power in Bianjing, the original guards stationed here had all been withdrawn.

The official road was flanked by overgrown weeds, and occasionally, the sound of crows could be heard in the silent night, adding a chilling atmosphere.

Fortunately, every five steps along the marching route, there were soldiers holding torches.

However, when Lin Yao rode his horse along the roadside, watching the soldiers each carrying a hoe or a shovel, it still seemed incredibly strange to him.

Catching up with Chu Chengji, Lin Yao carefully asked, “Your Highness, are we going to reclaim land in the wilderness of Hu Prefecture?”

The last time the entire army marched with hoes and shovels, it was when Qin Zheng ordered the army to stop training and go farming.

Now they were marching with hoes and shovels again, but there were plenty of barren lands in Hu Prefecture, and going to the wilderness at this late hour seemed suspicious to Lin Yao.

Chu Chengji glanced at Lin Yao and simply said, “We’re almost there.”

Squinting in the dim light, Lin Yao looked ahead at the dark and steep mountains and indeed saw a lantern shining in the distance.

As they drew closer, he discovered it was the shelter built by the guards of the imperial mausoleum.

A middle-aged official with graying hair hurriedly came out with a few assistants carrying lanterns to greet them.

Chu Chengji’s party did not carry any flags, but the news of Hu Prefecture changing hands had already spread.

The official knew that the incoming army was from Great Chu.

Seeing the man at the forefront wearing a purple gold crown, he knew he was undoubtedly the Crown Prince.

Overwhelmed with excitement, he stumbled over his words and knelt before Chu Chengji, “Your Highness, the old servant pays respects to the Crown Prince!”

Chu Chengji nodded slightly, “No need for formalities.”

Lin Yao followed Chu Chengji off his horse.

Glancing at the large hoe in his hand, he wondered if the Crown Prince had brought them here late at night to repair the imperial mausoleum.

The official also thought so.

He eagerly said, “Your Highness, traveling all night to come here, allow me to arrange temporary lodgings for Your Highness.”

However, after Chu Chengji said, “No need,” he directly asked, “Where is the entrance to the imperial mausoleum?”

The official, looking at the soldiers behind Chu Chengji, each holding a hoe or a shovel, suddenly had a foreboding feeling. “It’s… it’s at the edge of the Long Vein in Hu Prefecture.”

Hu Prefecture had a mountain range called Longbone Mountain.

Emperor Wu Jia, the founder of Great Chu, was buried here.

Later, the Taoists claimed that the direction of the Longbone Mountain range was the dragon vein of Great Chu, and the tomb of Emperor Wu Jia was the dragon head of this dragon vein.

Throughout history, the imperial tombs of the Chu royal family were built along the dragon vein’s path.

Only a few notorious emperors, unwilling to have their tombs at the dragon’s tail, had the audacity to build their tombs adjacent to Emperor Wu Jia’s tomb, claiming it would form a closed loop with the dragon’s head, bringing prosperity to Great Chu for generations.

When over a thousand soldiers arrived at the entrance of the imperial mausoleum, Chu Chengji gave a light command, “Dig.”

Supporting himself with the hoe, Lin Yao seriously doubted if he had misheard.

The official of the mausoleum knelt down, clutching Chu Chengji’s robe tightly, crying as if the sky were falling, “Your Highness! We cannot dig! The fate of Great Chu lies here. If we disturb the Feng Shui, Great Chu will surely suffer calamities!”

Chu Chengji furrowed his brow.

He guessed that the old ministers led by Song Heqing would definitely prevent him from digging up the tomb.

That’s why he hadn’t brought any officials from the court on this trip, but he had overlooked these mausoleum officials.

He said, “The deceased emperor was incompetent, extravagantly building palaces during his reign, indulging in pleasure.

After his accession, he began building the mausoleum, draining the national treasury.

After his death, he even demanded that thousands of palace servants be buried with him.

Such an unworthy emperor, what can’t we dig up? Great Chu is in dire straits now.

Using the wealth of the past to save the people of today is not something our ancestors would blame us for, even if they were in the heavens.”

Who would dare to blame him?

The mausoleum official continued to weep, “Although the Emperor was foolish, he was still Your Highness’s great-grandfather. How can we violate the laws of kinship and righteousness? Digging up the tomb…

This, this… If word gets out, Your Highness will be criticized by the people of the world!

Not to mention that the Emperor’s tomb is right next to Emperor Wu’s tomb. We must not disturb Emperor Wu’s peace! We mustn’t dig! Absolutely mustn’t dig!”

Chu Chengji said, “We won’t disturb him.”

Upon hearing that the imperial tomb was adjacent to Emperor Wu’s tomb, Lin Yao felt even more awe-stricken.

He cautiously spoke up, “Your Highness, the soldiers and officers all respect Emperor Wu. When you went to Yungang Temple to pay respects before, it raised the morale of the soldiers. If we dig up the tomb now, I’m afraid the rumors will be unstoppable…”

At this moment, a scout hurried back with news, “Report—traces of the imperial army’s march were found fifteen miles away!”

Lin Yao’s face changed instantly.

For a moment, he even suspected whether Chu Chengji had anticipated that the imperial army would return to attack Hu Prefecture, deliberately coming here to wait in ambush.

He hurriedly asked, “How many soldiers and horses?”

“It’s already dark, and the investigation was not very clear. A conservative estimate is about five thousand!”

Lin Yao looked at Chu Chengji, waiting for him to give orders.

Send someone to report the news back to Hu Prefecture and let Wang Biao set up an ambush.

They would drive the enemy troops into the ambush and easily win.

However, Chu Chengji seemed to be in deep thought and said, “What if the imperial court sends people to dig up the Chu Imperial Tomb?”

Lin Yao was taken aback but immediately understood Chu Chengji’s meaning. Did he want to shift the blame for digging up the tomb to this imperial army?

He took a cold breath and stammered, “I… it would surely be condemned by the people of the world.”

Without mentioning anyone else, just thinking about Lin Zhao, if she heard that Li Xin had sent people to dig up Emperor Wu’s tomb, she would probably go straight to Bianjing with a sword!