A son who doesn't resemble his father? Love you, old man, see you at Xuanwu Gate!

Chapter 91 The Inspection Tour
Ganquan Palace.

Spring is gradually arriving.

The empire's backyard is finally starting to take shape.

As time passed, news from Chang'an also reached this place.

Prince Wuqiu Shou, the Grand Master of Ceremonies and Chamberlain, who was recuperating there, temporarily kept the news under wraps, anxiously awaiting the return of one person.

A carriage "flew" into the palace, and when Wuqiu Shouwang saw Dong Zhongshu appear, he finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"teacher!"

“Zi Gan (the courtesy name of Wuqiu Shouwang)!”

After the failure of the Yongwu Temple sacrifice, the emperor and his ministers exchanged views, and Dong Zhongshu and Wuqiu Shouwang became known as master and disciple.

"It's good that you're back! It's good that you're back!" King Wuqiu Shou said from the bottom of his heart.

Dong Zhongshu smiled wryly, "Whether it's good or bad, who can say for sure?"

His original intention in going to Chang'an was to weaken the power of the Crown Prince's palace, sever the ties between the Crown Prince, Wei Qing, and Huo Qubing, and to find a way to get Prime Minister Gongsun Hong to return to his hometown. It was going smoothly until the Crown Prince suddenly turned against him.

Without any warning or prior arrangement, Chang'an City fell into the hands of the Crown Prince overnight.

With such a start, who could defend against it? Who could stop it?
"This is what I wanted to ask you, teacher: what exactly angered the Lord during your trip to Chang'an?" Wuqiu Shouwang asked, puzzled.

"I don't know either. As if it were a scheme, when I returned to Chang'an, I first approached Wei Buhai, the Minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, and persuaded the Marquis of Dangtu to contact Liu Shou, the Minister of the Imperial Clan, to jointly support the Empress in ruling as regent."

"Then they approached Gongsun He, the Minister of the Imperial Stud, and offered him benefits. The Wei family, relatives of the empress, were indeed moved and entered the palace to persuade the empress to rule from behind the curtain."

"This part seems to be fine. The Crown Prince's palace has not objected. The Empress is ruling as regent. As expected, the Wei family, the maternal relatives, has been divided into the Crown Prince's line of the Emperor, the Grand General, and the Marquis of Champion, and the Empress's line of the Empress and the Minister of the Imperial Stud."

"During this process, I went to see the Prime Minister, but I was no match for his cunning and shrewdness. The plan to issue the secret edict failed with the Prime Minister, but it succeeded with the Prime Minister's son, Gongsun Du."

"The subsequent plans for calculating and reporting the loss of wealth in court also proceeded smoothly."

“I thought I had received divine assistance, and then I further implemented my plan to separate the Emperor, the General, and the Marquis of Champion. Through the Grand Master of the Imperial Stud and his son, I persuaded the Empress to issue an edict to have Princess Pingyang marry the General and Princess Zhuyi marry the Marquis of Champion.”

"When the Grand Master of the Imperial Stud and his son were persuaded, and spring breezes filled the court and the countryside, I knew that this part of the plan had at least succeeded halfway, so I withdrew from Chang'an."

"Then, things took a major turn."

Dong Zhongshu said with a sense of sympathy.

That's why he ran so fast; if his legs had been any slower, he wouldn't have had a chance to return to Ganquan Palace.

The three years in Jiaoxi Kingdom caused him countless injuries, but also gave him tremendous growth. As the "culprit," he should never stay in the same place and admire his "achievements."

That is the way to death.

“There doesn’t seem to be any problem with that,” Wuqiu Shouwang said, frowning deeply.

This scheme.

Drawing on the collective wisdom of the entire Ganquan Palace and based on past experience, they aimed to dismantle the Crown Prince's palace while remaining within the bounds of the Crown Prince's authority.

As planned, the most difficult part of the entire scheme for the Crown Prince to accept was the Empress's regency, but this part was not a problem.

The Crown Prince has ways to deal with schemes involving the calculation and reporting of wealth. Even if he cannot accept such schemes, he can still oppose them.

Unfortunately, the Crown Prince turned against him!
"I just can't figure it out." Dong Zhongshu asked Wuqiu Shouwang, "However, why didn't the envoy, Protector-General Ren An, send a message beforehand about the unusual movements of the Northern Army?"

Since it was a scheme, both success and failure were considered. Among them, Ren An, the envoy of the Northern Army and the protector of the army, was a very key person.

It should be noted that this was a move His Majesty made a long time ago. Ren An was once a retainer of General Wei Qing. When His Majesty targeted General Wei Qing and supported Huo Qubing, Ren An did not betray Wei Qing and join Huo Qubing like others did when Wei Qing lost power.

Therefore, Ren An was known throughout the court and the country for his "loyalty and protection of his master." In fact, however, Ren An was the greatest traitor among the general's men.

Huo Qubing launched a surprise attack on Chang'an. Gongsun He, Su Jian, and Zhao Shiqi controlled the Three Auxiliary Regions and mobilized tens of thousands of cavalry and infantry. As the envoy and protector of the army, Ren An had no reason not to know this and was fully capable of sending the message out so that Li Guang, Li Gan, and Han Shuo could prepare.

With the Southern army prepared, no matter what, they could lose Chang'an in just one night or two.

“Ren An is dead,” said King Wuqiu Shou.

"died?"

Dong Zhongshu was shocked. "How did he die?"

The envoy protecting the army was dispatched to the Northern Army by order of the Emperor. He was an angel, and without sufficient evidence, even the Crown Prince could not be killed.

"Look," said Wuqiu Shouwang, taking out a memorial that Hu Jian, the military commander of the Northern Army, had sent not long ago.

"I have heard that military law establishes military might to awe the troops and punishes evil to deter wickedness. Now, the Supervising Censor has breached the military walls for personal gain, engaging in private trade with the soldiers. He lacks a resolute heart and courageous spirit, failing to lead the officers and soldiers, and is especially unreasonable and unjust. He has relied on the opinions of civil officials, failing to apply the law severely. The *Huangdi Li Fa* states: 'Once the walls and ramparts are established, those who dig tunnels without using the proper roads are considered traitors, and traitors shall be executed.' I have carefully examined the military law, which states: 'If a general is found guilty, the matter shall be reported, and those below the rank of two thousand shi shall be punished according to the law.' The Assistant Minister is doubtful in applying the law, and he has not shirked his responsibilities. I have been prepared to be executed, even at the cost of my life, to report this."

"How poisonous!" Dong Zhongshu was terrified.

This memorial directly accused Ren An of misconduct, but according to the laws of the Han Dynasty, it did not even qualify as a serious crime.

However, Hu Jian cited the ancient military law "Huangdi Lifa," which contains the clause that "anyone who arbitrarily digs through the established military camp walls without following the proper path is a traitor, and traitors shall be killed," thus sentencing Ren An to death.

At the same time, Hu Jian followed the military system of the Han Dynasty, which stipulated that if officials below the rank of 2,000 shi committed a crime, the military judge could directly deal with them, so he executed Ren An on the spot.

"If you want to find fault, you can always find a reason!" sighed King Wuqiu Shou.

Ren An was obviously discovered by the Crown Prince and eliminated in advance. The crime was that he shot the arrow first and then drew the target. How could he not hit the target?

But how was Ren An exposed?

Dong Zhongshu and Wuqiu Shouwang looked at each other speechlessly. Although they were very unwilling to believe it, their intuition told them that there were treacherous people around His Majesty!
"Now that things have come to this, has the teacher thought of what to say to His Majesty?" King Wuqiu Shou asked helplessly.

The more you do, the more mistakes you make. You made a good plan and didn't harm the emperor in the slightest, but you still lost Chang'an.

That was the city of power in the Han Dynasty. Whoever returned first, His Majesty or the Supreme Ruler, would gain the upper hand.

Time is running out for His Majesty.

This left even less time for the emperor's close advisors and favorites.

Is Venus truly a divine decree?

"Near Chang'an, Your Majesty is no match for the Emperor, and may even face mortal danger. Since you cannot prevail in court, how about we advise Your Majesty to retreat to the countryside?"

"What does the teacher mean?"

"On patrol!"

(End of this chapter)