Chapter 404 Counterattack
It’s the thirteenth day since the Emperor suffered a stroke.

The Queen prohibited any visitation on the grounds that the Emperor was ill and needed rest. Apart from the Queen and the imperial physician, no one was allowed to enter or leave the Purple Palace.

Although news came every day that the emperor was gradually recovering, more and more people were doubting the authenticity of the news.

It is understandable that everyone has made many guesses since they haven't seen the emperor for so long.

But the real reason that made everyone uneasy was that His Royal Highness Prince Yu's face was as cold as an iceberg that had not melted for thousands of years. It was obvious that the situation was not good and the Emperor was in danger. It was said that Prince Yu and the fourth and sixth princes and others knelt in front of the Purple Palace every day, just begging to go in and take a look at the Emperor. However, the Queen would not allow them to do so.

On the other hand, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince also knelt outside the Purple Palace every day to pray for the emperor's well-being. His expression was also worried, but not as serious as Prince Yu's. Moreover, the Crown Prince gradually began to take care of the affairs of state. Of course, this was after repeated requests from the ministers, but most of those who made such requests were from the Crown Prince's party.

what does this mean?
It’s hard not to think too much!
Just when the situation was at a stalemate and full of doubts, a fire broke out in the Mansion of Duke Jingguo. That night, the flames shot up into the sky and almost burned down half of the Mansion.

The Five Cities Patrol Department, Jingzhao Prefecture Government Office, and Fire Department all went out to fight. After working for half the night, they finally brought the fire under control. When they investigated the cause of the fire, they found that the alchemy furnace in the Jingguo Mansion had exploded. What was even more terrible was that when the Patrol Department was rescuing property, they found a box of pills, which were confirmed to be the pills with the effect of refreshing and strengthening the yang.

Immediately, rumors spread like wildfire. At this time, Prince Anle, the fifth uncle, who was far away in Luzhou, happened to return to Jinling. Upon hearing the news, he brought a group of people to the palace to ask the queen for an explanation.

Didn't the Queen suspect that someone had given the Emperor some kind of medicine? Otherwise, how could the Emperor be so vigorous during that period? The Queen mobilized a large number of people to search the harem but could not find any evidence. As a result, she found this kind of pill in the Duke Jing's mansion.

Where is the Duke of Jing's Mansion? It is the Queen's maiden home, which makes people have to doubt it.

For a moment, all the criticism was directed at the Queen, who was speechless.

The fifth uncle was extremely emotional and threatened that if the queen did not give an explanation, he would send troops to rescue the king.

Such serious words as sending troops to defend the king were spoken, which was an open accusation that the Queen and the Crown Prince were suspected of treason. In fact, it was not even suspicion. In the eyes of some people, it was clear evidence.

The storm is about to break out.

At this point, Xia Chunyu, the deputy commander of the First-Class Imperial Guard, was extremely busy. He had no time to take care of his family and had to guard the palace day and night. The Prince's East Palace was even busier, with meetings one after another.

"Report from Luzhou: Fifth Uncle's troops are gathering."

"Report from Xuzhou: troops from Xuzhou have already set out for Nanjing."

"The troops from Fujian and Zhejiang set out towards Nanjing."

"The troops of Shuzhou are heading towards Jinling."

"There is no movement in the Northwest Camp yet."

"Recently, many unfamiliar faces have come to Jinling City..."

"The team that went to support Prince Helian has already joined Prince Helian and is rapidly approaching Jinling."

"..."

Almost all the news was bad, only the last one made everyone secretly relieved, but their nerves were even more tense.

Now the only forces in Jinling City are the Imperial Guards and the Northwest Camp stationed not far from Jinling.

The Imperial Guards only had 3,000 soldiers, the Five Cities Patrol had only 20,000 soldiers, and the people were not united. Although the Northwest Camp was under Helian Xuan's command, Helian Xuan had been away for more than a year, and many people had been inserted into the camp helplessly. It was hard to say that the camp was still united. If several armies came to the city,
Several troops under the banner of defending the king have already gone ahead, and the prince has no right to mobilize troops unless there is an imperial decree to let him govern the country. It is not difficult for the prince to do this, as the imperial seal is now in the hands of the queen. But once the imperial seal is stamped, it will be a false imperial decree. What if the emperor wakes up...

Everyone spoke out vigorously.

"Your Highness, the situation is urgent. If you don't send reinforcements, Jinling City will be in danger. Your Highness, please make a decision as soon as possible."

"Your Highness, the Fifth Uncle and Prince Yu's evil ambitions are obvious. If we don't take the initiative and let the rebels break through Nanjing, the world will be turned upside down and the consequences will be disastrous..."

"Your Highness, please make a decision as soon as possible..."

The prince's brows were always furrowed, never relaxed, and he thought for a long time, then looked at Xia Chunyu.

"Chun Yu, what do you think?"

For a moment, everyone's eyes fell on Xia Chunyu's face. Xia Chunyu knew that the Crown Prince was struggling. The Crown Prince was the legitimate heir to the throne. As long as he kept a low profile, waited patiently, and did not let the Emperor catch him, the throne would definitely belong to the Crown Prince. However, the situation was different from what he wanted, and the development of the situation forced the Crown Prince into a dilemma.

The rumors that the Queen and the Crown Prince were plotting treason were rampant, and there was no way to defend themselves. If the Crown Prince officially announced the mobilization of the army at this time, it would only attract more criticism. The Crown Prince was kind and filial, and the most intolerable thing was the false accusation of patricide and usurpation of the throne. Moreover, the Emperor was sometimes lucid and sometimes confused. Who knew if he would use this as an excuse to harm the Crown Prince after he was completely sober?
But if you do nothing, you can only wait for death.

Forbearance will only lead to death, while fighting back may provide a way out. History has always been written by the victors, and the winners are kings and the losers are bandits. This has been the case since ancient times.

Xia Chunyu hesitated for a moment, then gradually became determined.

Everyone here is trustworthy, but speaking skills are still needed.

He stood up and saluted, saying, "Your Highness, Lord Song is right. It's no coincidence that the Fifth Uncle returns to Nanjing at this time. It's clear that he had planned it long ago. It's not that the Fifth Uncle didn't covet the throne of the emperor back then. And everyone knows who Zhao Zhuohui, who led the troops in Xuzhou, and Qiu Guangsheng, who led the troops in the southwest, obeyed. As for the people who have recently sneaked into Nanjing, they are obviously people from the underworld. Don't forget that the Jiangzuo League, the Rongguo Mansion, and Prince Yu are inextricably linked. I understand that Your Highness is in trouble at the moment because you are worried about the emperor's health. You are afraid that the emperor's condition will worsen after hearing about this troublesome matter. The queen and the prince have endured all the grievances for the emperor, but the fire is about to burn to the eyebrows. Please ask Your Highness to ask the emperor to issue an order to mobilize the army to defend the king, otherwise the Song Dynasty will be in danger. I believe that after the emperor knows about it, he will definitely not watch the conspiracy of the traitor succeed."

Among those present, only he, Xiao Jing and the prince knew the emperor's true condition. The emperor was only hanging on to his last breath, a living dead man, and it was impossible for him to issue an edict. So, he said this deliberately to make everyone think that the emperor could still make a decision, and the prince's hesitation was only because he was worried that the emperor's condition would relapse.

Xiao Jing also stood up and said, "Your Highness the Crown Prince has a filial heart that is worthy of heaven and earth, but you cannot just stand by and watch the traitors do evil. Please put state affairs and the overall situation first."

Many ministers advised the Crown Prince to put the overall situation first.

His Royal Highness the Crown Prince was silent for a long time, with a complicated expression, and he sighed for a while: "When I was a child, the Fifth Uncle loved me the most. Whenever I was criticized by my father, the Fifth Uncle would always speak well of me. I never thought that we would have to go to war now. Prince Yu... Third brother, when I was a child, you always followed me and called me Crown Prince Brother, Crown Prince Brother. Now, you are also blinded by greed. Alas... I really don't want to see the situation like today."

Everyone was extremely anxious and had many complaints. It was true that the prince was kind and filial, but he was too kind and filial and did not know the importance of the important things. When the time came, it would not just be the prince who would lose his head, but all of these ministers who had sworn allegiance to him would suffer as well.

Only Xia Chunyu remained calm. The fact that the prince was reminiscing about the past at this moment showed that he had made up his mind.

Sure enough, the prince's eyes suddenly turned cold, revealing a rare chill in his eyes.

The tone changed: "Everyone is right. I cannot ignore the overall situation for my own selfishness, and I cannot let the conspiracy of the traitors succeed. I will go and ask for your permission now."

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief, feeling relieved.

"During this chaotic time, please do your job and don't lose your composure," the prince warned.

Everyone nodded.

"Chun Yu, He Lian Jing, you stay, the rest of you leave for now."

Xia Chunyu and Helian Jing stayed.

After everyone left, the prince said sternly, "Chunyu, Xiaojing, we have no way out."

What this meant was that once the imperial decree was issued, everything would be set in stone. The emperor, no matter whether he could recover or not, would never be able to sit on the throne again. Otherwise, the emperor would be wary of the power that the prince would unleash this time.

Xia Chunyu and Xiao Jing also looked serious. No one wanted to make such a choice, but they were forced to do so by the situation. The prince said this because he wanted them to express their stance and be mentally prepared.

"Your Highness, we swear to be loyal to you until death," the two said in unison.

His Royal Highness the Crown Prince nodded, his eyes determined: "Prince Yu thought that he could overthrow the world by colluding with the Fifth Uncle and using the power of the underworld. Humph, little did he know that this move would lead a tiger to chase away a wolf. This palace Renxiao is not stupid either. Chunyu, Xiaojing, act according to the plan."

"Yes." The two of them responded in unison.

The plan has already been drawn up, and we are just waiting for His Royal Highness the Crown Prince to make the decision. Now, let's have a good fight!

On that day, there were several vicious robbery and smashing incidents in Jinling City. Officers and soldiers were dispatched to impose martial law throughout the city, and all strangers were arrested. This was an action aimed at the gangsters who had sneaked into Jinling City.

The next day, thirty-six horses galloped out of the city, heading in the southeast, northwest, northeast and southwest directions.

In the palace, a beauty who had been banished to the cold palace reported Concubine Shu, saying that it was Concubine Shu who gave the emperor the medicine, which was colorless and tasteless, and mixed with wine for the emperor to drink. The medicine not only had the effect of refreshing the mind and strengthening the yang, but also damaged the human internal organs.

The next day, the Fifth Prince Uncle, who was returning to Luzhou, was ambushed on the way. Both sides suffered heavy casualties, and the whereabouts of the Fifth Prince Uncle were unknown.

(End of this chapter)