dognovel Chapter 643 The Imperial Palace
Chapter 643 The Imperial Palace
The capital of the Daye Dynasty, within Shuntian Prefecture, inside the Prince's Residence.
"Your Highness, Bai Tiantian has led an army of 300,000 to Xuzhou Prefecture. They could breach the gates of the Wu Kingdom at any moment," Fan Li said urgently to a young man with a cold expression.
"If we can conquer the Wu Kingdom, it will fulfill our ancestors' long-cherished wish. What's wrong with that?" the Third Prince replied, his attitude still respectful.
"The Daye Dynasty is vast and its army is strong. It's only a matter of time before it takes over the Wu Kingdom. We can't let Bai Tiantian take credit for it. He's the Second Prince's man and a stumbling block to your ascension to the throne. Once he becomes powerful, it won't be so easy to get rid of him."
Fan Li said earnestly.
Upon hearing this, the Third Prince's face suddenly turned cold, and he hurriedly replied, "Teacher, don't worry, I will go and report to Father immediately. We absolutely cannot let Bai Tiantian take all the credit."
Not long after, a dispute broke out in the main hall of the Daye Dynasty.
Nearly half of the court officials impeached Bai Tiantian one after another, and the crimes she committed were simply too numerous to list.
“Bai Tiantian harbors wolfish ambitions; she intends to become the second ruler of the Wu Kingdom. I urge Father to make a decision as soon as possible,” the Third Prince said respectfully.
That sincere expression truly seemed to suggest that he was thinking of the fate of the Great Ye Dynasty.
“Third brother, you are mistaken. The general is loyal and has made many military achievements. How can you convict him based on just a few words?” said another smiling man, who was the second prince of the Daye Dynasty.
"Your Majesty, please reconsider," another group of courtiers knelt on the ground and pleaded.
Clearly, these two groups are divided into factions.
Those who slandered Bai Tiantian pledged allegiance to the Third Prince, while those who protected Bai Tiantian pledged allegiance to the Second Prince.
The old emperor sat firmly on his dragon throne, quietly watching them put on their act.
Although the old emperor had delegated a lot of power and seemed to be indifferent to politics, he was actually well aware of the situation, but he just didn't want to expose the two princes.
The current crown prince is incompetent and will be deposed sooner or later. The old emperor will choose the most capable prince and will not favor either side.
"Okay, stop arguing."
The old emperor raised his eyes and uttered a few words in a calm and unremarkable manner, which already stunned all the civil and military officials.
This is the pressure of long-held high position, the innate majesty of an emperor.
"Since you all have conflicting accounts, why not let Minister Bai return for a face-to-face confrontation?" The old emperor's imposing presence silenced everyone, and no one dared to utter another word in rebuttal.
This statement, seemingly neutral, actually benefits the Third Prince.
Once Bai Tiantian returns to the court, the 300,000-strong army will no longer have any reason to remain on Chu King Mountain, which is equivalent to a retreat.
The old emperor didn't intend to favor either side, but rather feared that Bai Tiantian's achievements would overshadow his own and become uncontrollable.
He did want to conquer the Wu Kingdom as soon as possible, but he wasn't in a hurry.
"Vice Minister of Rites, go and convey my decree."
After speaking, the old emperor already looked tired, and the eunuch next to him immediately announced the end of the court session.
The officials, both civil and military, left in small groups, except for the Vice Minister of Rites, who seemed somewhat dazed.
Generally, the eunuchs were responsible for conveying imperial edicts, except for very important edicts which required officials from the Ministry of Rites to relay them.
The fact that the second-in-command of the Ministry of Rites was dispatched directly shows the importance of this matter.
The old emperor sent the Vice Minister of Rites to suppress Bai Tiantian.
After all, Bai Tiantian is proud and arrogant, and she might say something like, "A general in the field may disobey orders."
If they had only sent a few eunuchs, they might have been killed by Bai Tiantian with a single sword strike.
The Vice Minister of Rites was ultimately inferior in rank, and even though Bai Tiantian was arrogant and complacent, she dared not kill him at will.
Even so, the thought of the other party's ruthless methods still made the Vice Minister of Rites tremble with fear.
"Your Highness, I humbly request a secret decree from you... You know the General's temperament..." the Vice Minister of Rites said with a fawning smile.
"Didn't Father Emperor give you an imperial decree? My word doesn't carry weight," the Second Prince said sarcastically.
"It works, it works, at least it works for me," the Vice Minister of Rites said with a beaming smile.
As a high-ranking official in the court, how could he not know the relationship between the Second Prince and Bai Tiantian?
If the Second Prince issues a secret decree ordering Bai Tiantian to withdraw her troops, this trip will go much more smoothly.
Therefore, the Vice Minister of Rites, who had originally maintained neutrality, had to side with the Second Prince.
Clearly, this was done intentionally by the old prince.
This weakened Bai Tiantian's power, but it also allowed the Vice Minister of Rites to join the Second Prince's camp.
"We are both thinking of the Great Ye Dynasty, so we should help each other. I will write a letter right away. We must not let the General make things difficult for Lord Yang." The Second Prince patted the Vice Minister of Rites on the shoulder and said, his sinister smile sending chills down one's spine.
At this moment, Lin Ping was lying on the grass, enjoying the sunshine.
Bai Tiantian was no longer as impatient as she had been the previous two days, and secretly observed Lin Ping's every move.
"Are you really that confident?" Bai Tiantian asked curiously.
Lin Ping was facing an army of 300,000. An ordinary person would probably have wet their pants with fear long ago. Even if he was confident, he shouldn't be so relaxed.
"Man proposes, God disposes. So what if we're not sure?" Lin Ping smiled faintly, which was also the longest sentence he had said to Bai Tiantian in the past few days.
"Perhaps the Emperor will order a retreat, but the Daye Dynasty will definitely demand that the Wu Kingdom release me. What will you do then?" Bai Tiantian asked softly.
"Of course I'll let you go," Lin Ping said, feigning confusion as he looked at him.
"Aren't you afraid I'll lead an army of 300,000 to launch another attack?"
Bai Tiantian said it without any hesitation.
He dared to defy even the emperor's decree, so he wouldn't be afraid of going back on his word.
“If that’s the case, I will kill Pang Xingji!” Lin Ping said coldly.
"Hahaha, I didn't expect you to be such a vindictive person." Bai Tiantian laughed loudly, her opinion of Lin Ping somewhat lowered.
"The reason I killed him is to take his place. At that time, I will be the one facing you!" Lin Ping said coldly and ruthlessly.
This look startled Bai Tiantian, who retorted, "Are you threatening me?"
"Threats or intimidation, I'm just stating the facts. If I had 100,000 troops, I wouldn't necessarily be afraid of your 300,000-strong army," Lin Ping said grimly.
Bai Tiantian was not angry but pleased, and laughed again: "Good lad, you're arrogant enough, I like it!"
"So you're not afraid of attacking Wu Kingdom again?" Lin Ping said triumphantly.
“I will definitely come again, but not now. Before that, I need to kill two people.”
"Oh? Kill whom?" Lin Ping asked curiously, a sudden sense of panic creeping into his heart.
"The first one is Fan Li, and as for the second one... it's you!"
The chilling voice, penetrating the cold armor, sent shivers down one's spine.
Lin Ping's face was icy cold as he glared at Bai Tiantian through gritted teeth, but he finally laughed out loud: "Perhaps you can kill Fan Li, but you can't kill me."
"I like your confidence, but overconfidence comes at a price," Bai Tiantian said frankly.
"The same words apply to you!" Lin Ping's lips twitched slightly as he said coldly, "Time will tell. Let's wait and see."