Chapter 92: Is He Trying to Rebel?

After a journey of over ten days, Yan Ze and his group finally arrived.

One large ship and ten smaller ships were all docked at the Chaoyang Village pier, which was completely unable to accommodate them.

Yan Ning held the telescope; they kept two small ships and let Wu Jiangjun take the remaining eight, as their own ship was too crowded to hold them.

As soon as Yan Ning returned, she threw herself into her mother's arms, "Mother, Father and I missed you so much."

Ji Lan stroked her head, "I missed you both too, worrying every day whether you would get hurt."

Remembering her father's instructions, Yan Ning said with a smile, "Father is amazing, Mother, you don't need to worry; Father could blow them all away by himself!"

Hearing Yan Ning say this, and seeing Yan Ze's ruddy complexion, she finally set her heart at ease.

Xiao Chengtian was also speaking with his wife; although there was no great suspense, his heart had always been on edge.

At this moment, Wu Jiangjun said with a smile, "The soldiers have all taken off their armor; let us help you move it. Where should we put it?"

Two thousand sets of armor were not a small amount.

Although the law stipulated that one could not privately store armor, the person before him was the First Prince, and Wu Jiangjun was also too embarrassed to embezzle these armors.

A great deal of money had been spent on this armor.

Yan Ze pointed casually, "Put them in that storehouse."

Wu Jiangjun and his men quickly carried the armor over, and in a short while, it was all moved inside.

Wu Jiangjun was still immersed in joy, and he said to Yan Ze, "Your Highness, now that we have achieved such a great merit, you will soon be able to return to the Capital!"

Yan Ze was noncommittal, "I think if I told him, the Emperor would send troops to attack me."

Wu Jiangjun was incredulous, "How could that be? Your Highness, this time you are the greatest contributor."

Yan Ze laughed, "Shall we make a bet? If the Emperor summons me back to the Capital, I will give you ten thousand taels of silver."

Wu Jiangjun really did not believe it.

"If the Emperor sends troops over... no, as long as I am reprimanded, I, I will..."

Wu Jiangjun thought for a long time, but really couldn't think of anything, "Whatever you say, so be it."

At this time, the Prince of Nanyang, who was watching the excitement, came over.

Xiao Chengtian said with a smile, "If you lose, then bring your two thousand troops and defect to the First Prince."

Wu Jiangjun's thoughts were in turmoil.

Seeing the Prince of Nanyang and Yan Ze so certain, he felt a bit worried for a moment.

But thinking about it carefully, defecting to Yan Ze seemed feasible.

On the way to suppress the Japanese pirates, Yan Ze always walked at the very front, and there was that sweet water that could prevent wounds from becoming inflamed; it was said that the medicinal powder added to the sweet water was very precious.

He remembered that there were even a few who were seriously injured, with arrows piercing their hearts, who were actually able to survive.

Such a precious thing, he brought it out as soon as it was needed, without abandoning a single soldier.

Two thousand six hundred men went, and when they returned, there were still two thousand six hundred men.

Wu Jiangjun had inquired about it; the reason Yan Ze was exiled was merely for breaking a piece of Yuanqi, so he estimated that he would be able to return to the Capital very soon.

Moreover, the Emperor doing this was mostly for tempering; otherwise, the Emperor would have to be crazy to let the First Prince come to Lingnan because of such a small matter.

The Emperor was definitely not that muddled.

In just an instant, Wu Jiangjun figured it out; it was impossible for the Emperor to punish the First Prince, and perhaps after establishing merit, he could even let the First Prince return to the Capital immediately.

If there was that one in ten thousand possibility that the Emperor did not reward him but reprimanded him, such a muddled ruler was not worth following, and in that case, defecting to the First Prince would be fine.

Wu Jiangjun gritted his teeth, "Fine, a bet is a bet. I will write a memorial to the Capital today and see exactly what the Emperor does."

They did not avoid anyone while talking, and the soldiers heard it.

A few people whispered:

"I actually think the First Prince is a good person; if one could follow him, even if it were..."

That person lowered his voice, "Even if it were treason, I would be willing."

"I heard the Crown Prince—no, it's the deposed Crown Prince—he colluded with the Northern Rong to betray the country and privately accepted quite a few good things. You tell me, is this Crown Prince stupid? He was already the Crown Prince, yet he still wanted to be greedy."

"I think the First Prince is good."

The armor was all stored in the warehouse, filling two empty rooms.

Once everything was handed over, Wu Jiangjun immediately took his two thousand soldiers back.

He had to write a memorial to the Capital immediately; he had to win that ten thousand taels of Silver Note!

After he left, Xiao Chengtian walked with him to the study.

Seeing his appearance of wanting to speak but finding it difficult to open his mouth, Yan Ze asked, "What do you want to say?"

Xiao Chengtian lowered his voice, "You kept all those two thousand sets of armor; this is a grave crime of treason."

Yan Ze did not respond.

Xiao Chengtian said, "If you want to commit treason, I will follow you."

Yan Ze revealed a smile, "Then I will tell you when I have a plan."

Xiao Chengtian was also happy.

However...

Xiao Chengtian asked, "I heard from my wife that the Emperor bypassed all the princes and directly named Yan Qing as the Grandson of the Emperor."

Yan Ze was stunned.

Yan Qing?

He then said directly, "If it is him, then there is no need to commit treason."

Xiao Chengtian frowned, "Why? His father is the deposed Crown Prince, and the deposed Crown Prince hates you to the bone."

Yan Ze thought of Yan Qing, a ten-year-old child who ran a long way to see them off and even stole the last box of treasures from the deposed Crown Prince's study to give to them.

Yan Ze patiently explained, "Qing'er is someone we watched grow up; he has a good relationship with Ningning, and he even said before that he wanted the fief of Lingnan and to bring us over."

Xiao Chengtian sighed, "Alright then, but I still think Yan Qing is lacking a bit."

Yan Ze: "Whether he is lacking or not does not matter."

Once the Gou Huangdi dies, Yan Qing will be able to summon them back to the Capital.

Their family will be able to live a life of leisure once again.

Not long after, Wu Jiangjun's memorial was sent to the Capital.

The ministers in the Imperial Study were all very happy.

"Your Majesty, these Japanese pirates have finally been dealt with; Heaven bless our Daxia Dynasty!"

"I didn't expect the First Prince and the Prince of Nanyang to have gone as well, and I wonder what this 'explosive' mentioned in the letter is."

"Your Majesty, the First Prince has performed a meritorious service; why not summon him back to the Capital?"

"If it weren't for the First Prince's explosives, they certainly wouldn't have been wiped out so easily."

"I second this; the letter also stated that His Highness spent his own silver to provide the soldiers with new armor, which reduced many losses."

"I second this..."

"I second this..."

The several court officials in the room were in high spirits; they finally had a good excuse to have the First Prince return to the Capital.

"Your Majesty, the First Prince previously only broke a Yuanqi, but now that the First Prince has led men to wipe out the Japanese pirates and performed a meritorious service, he should be summoned back."

Yet the Emperor, sitting on the Dragon Throne, did not speak.

Instead, he asked the Grandson of the Emperor beside him: "Qing'er, do you think your eldest uncle should be brought back?"

Yan Qing nodded like a pestle pounding garlic, "Grandfather Emperor, Eldest Uncle is suffering greatly in Lingnan; let Eldest Uncle come back."

The Emperor was noncommittal, then had the palace attendants take Yan Qing away.

Afterwards, he said coldly: "Yan Ze left his place of exile without authorization, privately manufactured armor, and even privately raised one hundred household soldiers."

"Is he trying to rebel?!"