Records of Mysterious Things in the Southern Dynasties

Chapter 346 You Are Loyal, I Laugh
As soon as the mermaid rolled up a huge wave, Ren Yuan pulled A Yao and ran away.

The chanting monks suffered heavy casualties, and the temple protection formation naturally disappeared. The two were able to leave Daming Temple smoothly and returned directly to the small military camp near the dock.

Ren Yuan woke up Chen Baxian and others.

"How is it? Did you get the imperial seal?" Chen Baxian asked impatiently as soon as he woke up.

Ren Yuan shook his head and briefly explained the situation.

"Could it be that Xiao Zong was crushed to death in the rubble?" Zu An asked upon hearing this.

"How is that possible? He was carrying the royal amulet." Ren Yuan shook his head decisively and said, "When the tower collapsed, I felt the fluctuations of the teleportation array. He must have taken advantage of the chaos to escape."

The location of the teleportation array was obviously the bed where he slept. No wonder Xiao Zong was so calm...

"Is the imperial seal with him?" Yang Zhong asked in a deep voice.

"Yes." It was A-Yao who answered, and she said confidently: "I can sense the existence of the jade seal."

"That's good." Everyone was convinced by her judgment, or rather, Tian Zi Jian's judgment. "As long as the thing is still with him, that's good!"

"But the question is, where is he now?" Chen Baxian asked again, "The governor's office?"

"No, there is no point in going back to the yamen now. He should go back to the Jiacheng military camp." Ren Yuan shook his head.

"Indeed." Chen Baxian said readily, "At this time, the official seal is useless, and the knife handle is still reliable."

"What should we do? Chase after him immediately?" Zuan looked at Ren Yuan.

"We can't chase him." Ren Yuan said with a wry smile, "We are only investigating the case under orders. We don't have the power to arrest Xiao Zong, let alone enter the military camp to arrest him."

"Indeed, I heard that Xiao Zong lives a simple life and saves money to support his retainers and recruit troops. If we force our way in, I'm afraid it will be very dangerous." Yang Zhong was still as cautious as ever.

"It's okay. Our mission has been completed. It's time to ask General Chen to take action." After Ren Yuan finished speaking, he asked Chen Lingzhi to pass a message to Chen Qingzhi.

~~
As I said before, people of this era may have a serious lack of security and are extremely fond of building cities, not only building cities outside the city, but also inside the city.

Jiacheng is a small castle built in Guangling City, sandwiched between two rivers, where 10,000 Guangling defenders are stationed.

As expected, Xiao Zong returned to the Jiacheng military camp through the teleportation array, and immediately summoned his confidants and went to the camp overnight.

When all the men arrived at the central army camp, they saw Xiao Zong dressed in full armor and sitting at the commander's post. Jiao Xiaonu was also dressed in military uniform and stood solemnly beside him. It was obvious that something big was going to happen.

"Your Highness." All the generals clasped their fists in unison.

Xiao Zong nodded with a tense face and asked in a deep voice: "You all know how the court has treated me these past few days, right?"

"I know!" The generals were immediately filled with righteous indignation and shouted loudly: "I heard that they searched the governor's office and arrested the prince's entourage and interrogated them one by one!"

"Not only the attendants, but that kid named Ren is also pointing at the prince's nose and scolding him!" Someone shouted angrily:
"This is really too much! If it weren't for the prince's strict prohibition of conflict with them, I would have led my troops to kill them all!" Xiao Zong waited patiently for everyone to finish shouting before sighing, "I originally thought that those who are innocent will be innocent, and I can just endure it, but I didn't expect that excessive tolerance would only bring more excessive humiliation..."

He said with a sad face: "Tonight, I was forced by them to hide in Daming Temple to find peace and quiet, but they actually chased me into the temple!"

Amid the fiery gazes of the generals, Xiao Zong covered his face with his hands and said in great sorrow, "I had already hidden in the second underground floor, but that fellow pursued me relentlessly, accusing me of stealing the imperial seal... and even wanted to search me. Jiao Xiaonu couldn't stand it, so she fought with them, and ended up destroying the white tower that I donated to build..."

Jiao Xiaonu nodded and said coldly: "Yes, they no longer treat the prince as a prince, but as a criminal."

"So that's how it is." The generals suddenly realized that they had heard the noise in Daming Temple a long time ago. It was only because the court strictly ordered not to have any connection with the Buddhist religion that they refrained from checking it out.

"Damn it!" The generals were completely furious. "The prince is a prince, the most noble head of the royal family! Gou Chen Si is just a dog of the emperor. He actually dared to bite his master. He is simply rebelling against Tian Gang!"

"He must be beaten and killed to serve as a warning to others, otherwise where is justice?!" Some people were ready to vent their anger on the prince.

"Gou Chen Si is the emperor's dog. Without the emperor's permission, I don't think they would dare to be so rude to the prince!" Someone hit the nail on the head.

"Why would the emperor abuse his own son like this? Has someone deceived him?" someone was puzzled.

"I don't know either..." Xiao Zong shook his head tiredly and said sadly: "Why did the emperor decide that I stole the jade seal?"

As he spoke, he could not help shedding tears and said, "I have no words to defend myself now. I dare not return to the capital, or else the fate of my two cousins will serve as a warning to me..."

"Your Highness, let's just rebel!" a hot-tempered general shouted.

The generals were not afraid of what he said, but echoed him one after another: "That's right, if you don't want me here, there will be other places for me! Even if the prince defected to the Northern Dynasty, he is still the prince!"

"The Northern Dynasty is in chaos right now. If we work together to assist the prince, maybe we can accomplish something!" Some people with unconventional thoughts have already started to imagine.

The main reason was that Xiao Baoyin set an example. Not only did this former prince become the Prince Consort of the Northern Dynasty, but those who followed him also rose to prominence. Even the old fisherman's son who brought him across the river became a general of miscellaneous rank...

This has become a good story that people often talk about.

~~
I have said it many times before, these days whoever gives you milk is your mother, and whoever has soldiers is your king.

Where is the loyalty? Loyalty is bullshit. Since the Sima family did those good things, the heroes in the world have been "loyal to me" and have followed the Sima family and dared to pull down the emperor. It is completely a state of "the emperor takes turns, and it will be my turn next year."

Those who insist on being loyal to the emperor and patriotic are pure anomalies in this era... In the entire tent, only the chief secretary Jiang Ge and Sima Zugeng looked unhappy and did not agree.

The two men also knew that the crowd was in an uproar at the moment and if they opened their mouths they might get beheaded, so they kept silent.

"Alas, it seems that this is the only way..." Under the persuasion of everyone, Xiao Zong said with a sad face: "It's not that I don't want to fulfill my duties as a son and subject, but my father treats me like dirt."

"If the king treats his subjects as his own hands and feet, then the subjects will treat the king as their own heart and soul. If the king treats his subjects as dirt, then the subjects will treat the king as their enemy!" He stopped acting completely, his face turned cold, and he ordered in a deep voice: "All the generals, listen to my order! Gather the troops and follow me to the small military camp to kill those court lackeys!"

"Understood sir!" The generals responded loudly.

(End of this chapter)