The Demonic Crown Prince

Ministry of War.

At this moment, Duke Xu Rui of Qi was talking with Liu Yuwen, Minister of War, in the inner office.

"I just heard from the palace that the Prince of Qin actually beat the Second Prince unconscious?"

Liu Yuwen kept hissing as if he had a toothache.

"I've heard about it too. That bastard Li Yuan is so ruthless, he truly deserves to die!"

Xu Rui said with a gloomy face.

The incident just now caused such a big commotion that the news quickly spread to these important figures in the imperial court.

"By the way, Your Excellency, I just heard you say that Li Yuan actually went to Huiziwu to collect those 500,000 taels of silver?"

Liu Yuwen asked in a low voice.

"Don't worry, he can't get it out. Besides, someone from Yuanshan has already sent him away."

Just then, someone outside reported, "Your Excellency, Your Excellency, the Prince of Qin has arrived with men, demanding his two thousand soldiers!"

"They actually came here." Liu Yuwen took a deep breath and turned to look at Xu Rui.

"As we just discussed, if he wants troops, we'll give him troops."

But these people know they're just following him to their deaths. What will happen if he goes to take over the troops?

Xu Rui gave a sinister smile.

"Whatever happens, it's King Qin's own business and has nothing to do with us."

Liu Yuwen grinned.

"Even if he manages to take those two thousand soldiers with him, without supplies and provisions, they'll likely mutiny halfway there. What will he do then?!"

Xu Rui's eyes were filled with extreme coldness!

……

"Your Highness, the Minister is unwell today and has not come to the yamen, but he has already instructed his ministers to make the necessary arrangements for the Prince of Qin to lead those two thousand troops."

This is the seal of command, the military tally issued by the Privy Council, and His Majesty's edict. All three are complete. Your Highness, please keep them safe. I will now lead Your Highness to see that unit.

At this moment, Wang Zhe, the Vice Minister of War, respectfully handed a brocade box to Li Yuan, and then led Li Yuan out of the city.

"Liu Yuwen is unwell?" Li Yuan raised an eyebrow; of course, he didn't believe it.

But it doesn't matter, let's get these two thousand soldiers first.

The two thousand troops were selected from the Imperial Guards and had previously been stationed outside the capital with other Imperial Guards to protect the important area around the capital.

Upon arriving at the garrison of the Thirteen Garrison Command, they revealed their identities, ordered their men to announce their arrival, and waited for the garrison commander Wu Ying to come and greet them.

But after waiting for a while, the soldier who had delivered the message returned, clasped his hands and knelt on one knee, saying, "Your Highness, Minister, our Commander Wu said that the gate is open, and you can come in and find him yourselves."

He's busy with important military matters and doesn't have time...

Ah, it was an inadequate welcome; please forgive me.

"Damn it, this is the King of Qin, the former Crown Prince! How dare Wu Ying treat him with such disrespect?"

Wang Zhe roared.

Li Yuan watched coldly from the sidelines, inwardly sneering.

Stepping on a broken bean bun, this Wang Zhe who stirred up trouble is no good either. He might have been ordered to collude with that guard named Wu Ying inside to put on a show and give him a hard time.

"Let's go. Since Wu Ying isn't welcoming us, let's go in ourselves."

Li Yuan spurred his horse and followed the messenger inside.

Upon arriving at the central camp, we saw a large tent standing there with the curtains open, and surprisingly, we could hear the sounds of drinking and playing drinking games coming from inside.

The men dismounted and looked inside. They saw a group of officers sitting there drinking and playing drinking games, occasionally letting out loud, boisterous laughter.

"Wu Ying, you damned thing, how dare you not go to greet the King of Qin when he arrives, and instead you are drinking and making merry here?"

"Quickly kneel down to greet them and beg for forgiveness?"

Wang Pai rushed in and roared angrily.

A tall, burly man inside stood up, still slightly drunk; it was Wu Ying, the garrison commander here!

He chuckled, "Oh, isn't this Minister Wang? Come, come, what's the matter? Sit down and have a drink. As for His Highness..."

At this point, he seemed to only then notice Li Yuan, turning his head to say, "Your Highness, why don't you sit down and have a drink? After all, we're all a bunch of people going to our deaths in Yanbei Road, so enjoying ourselves while we can is the most important thing."

"How dare you, Wu Ying! The King of Qin has been so generous and righteous, giving each of you the opportunity to go down in history, yet you do not cherish it and dare to spout such nonsense here. Do you really want to die?"

Wang Zhe roared in a mock-sounding manner.

"What nonsense about being remembered in history! Minister, who doesn't know that we two thousand men were sent to our deaths in Yanbei with this deposed crown prince?"

Wu Ying slammed her wine cup down with a loud bang, turned to look at Li Yuan, and said provocatively, "Your Highness, I just want to ask you one question: if you're looking for death, then go ahead and die! Why are you dragging us down with you? What a fucking unlucky bunch!"

Upon hearing this, the officers in the tent were filled with righteous indignation and joined in the clamor, questioning, "That's right, why should we be dragged to our deaths? We're not going!"

As a result, a large number of soldiers gathered outside the camp, roaring and waving their fists, shouting, "Whoever wants to go and die can go, we're not going!"

"Yeah, what a load of bull! Get the hell out of here, we're not going!"

In an instant, the crowd erupted in a cacophony of voices, as if the camp was about to explode.

Seeing this, Wang Zhe quickly moved closer to Li Yuan and whispered, "Your Highness, the situation is not right. The entire military camp is filled with strong anti-combat sentiment. If these soldiers really go crazy, they are not afraid of death."

It would be dangerous for you to stay here any longer. Why don't we go back first?

"Xiao Guizi, go and lower the curtain and close the tent flap."

Li Yuan gestured towards Xiao Guizi with his lips.

Xiao Guizi quickly lowered the curtain and closed the door.

The group of people were a bit confused, wondering what Li Yuan was trying to do with all this!

"Disrespecting superiors, drinking in the military camp, inciting conflict, and even insulting the imperial family—Minister Wang, do you think these are capital offenses?"

Li Yuan asked again, looking at Wang Zhe.

According to the law, it should be so.

Wang Zhe's eyes flickered, and he nodded emphatically.

"Haha, so you mean Your Highness wants to kill me?"

"Come, the knife is on the table, the head is here. Let's see if Your Highness dares to chop it off!"

Wu Ying looked at Li Yuan with disdain, stretched out her neck, and said provocatively.

But just as he was saying this, Li Yuan suddenly grabbed the knife handle on the table, drew the knife from its sheath, and swung it fiercely.

A flash of light, a spurt of blood, and Wu Ying's head fell to the ground, rolling around on the floor!

Li Yuan looked at the severed head on the ground, flicked a string of blood beads off his knife, and then smiled slightly, "As you wish."

A deathly silence fell. Everyone stared at Li Yuan in horror, never expecting that he would actually dare to kill someone.

A moment later, Wang Zhe's scream rang out first, "Heavens, Your Highness, you've made a grave mistake! That was a fourth-rank garrison commander, a high-ranking military officer. To kill a military officer without authorization is a serious crime. Even if you are the Prince of Qin..."

But just as he shouted that, "thud!" A knife pierced his chest and emerged through his back, bringing with it a string of beads of blood.

Wang Zhe's face still held a sinister smile of triumph, and his eyes were filled with terror. He never expected that Li Yuan would dare to kill him.