Your Majesty, please beg for mercy. The prince's rebellion was successful.

My Lord Prime Minister, fear no life or death and eradicate the traitor!

The news spread like wildfire throughout Kyoto.

For a time, the prime minister's image and status were once again elevated to a new height.

Correspondingly, the image of Emperor Tianjing plummeted.

Countless people denounced him, believing that he was greedy for life and afraid of death, cowardly as a mouse, and totally unqualified to be the emperor of the current Zhou Dynasty.

In the past, such remarks would have resulted in the execution of all nine generations of the clan. But now the situation is completely different. There even seems to be a driving force behind this, making such voices grow louder and louder.

This is true from high-ranking officials to ordinary people.

As the situation became more and more serious, even the last few people who were loyal to Emperor Tianjing began to waver.

After all, everyone knows that this battle is not just a decisive battle, but also a battle of life and death.

If Emperor Tianjing could lead his troops to war under such circumstances, perhaps his reputation would be improved to a certain extent. Unfortunately, Emperor Tianjing did not seem to do so.

Such a result has made people dissatisfied.

Of course, some smart people have already seen the key.

That's all, there are people behind the scenes fanning the flames, and even adding fuel to the fire.

As for who it is, looking around the court and the whole world, only the prime minister has such courage.

Everyone knows the heart of Sima Zhao.

He was preparing for a change of dynasty after the war. When Emperor Tianjing abdicated, he would rightfully become the new generation emperor and reach the peak of his life.

However, it can also be seen from this point that the current Emperor Tianjing has been completely sidelined, and even the court officials cannot be controlled.

I have struggled all my life, spent everything I had, and tried every possible way, but unfortunately, in the end, all was in vain.

Not only will he be sidelined, but even the throne will be lost.

The most crucial thing is that the Great Zhou dynasty, his master’s foundation, was taken away by a mere prime minister in such an unclear manner.

How will future history books record this?!

I'm afraid no one would use the word "wise ruler" to describe him.

Of course, this is a story for another day.

There was turmoil in Kyoto, with countless people secretly speculating. Some even thought that the prime minister had already made the dragon robe and would only wait until the war was over before he would wear the robe and ascend the throne on the spot.

However, it is different from these.

Instead of being noisy and lively at this time, the Prime Minister's place seemed a bit deserted.

In the past few days, officials in the court and dignitaries in the capital have all been waiting outside the gate, begging for a meeting.

The purpose is to become the prime minister's confidant before the prime minister becomes the emperor. Only in this way can one have the so-called merit of following the dragon.

But the prime minister seemed to have changed his mind and had closed the door to visitors for the past few days.

No matter who it is, he will not meet them easily.

Such abnormal behavior seemed more like an extremely high level of means used by the prime minister in the eyes of everyone.

At this time, the Prime Minister's Mansion!

The huge inner hall was empty.

Only two figures appeared in it.

At this moment, a white-haired old man was sitting on the main seat at the top, holding in his hand a cup of freshly brewed old tea. The aroma of tea was so fragrant that one could tell just by the taste that this tea was different from the others.

“Good tea, good tea!”

The old man took a sip, letting the aroma of tea linger on the tip of his tongue, and finally a hint of satisfaction appeared in his eyes.

Seeing the old man above in such a state, the people standing respectfully below breathed a sigh of relief.

This tea is not ordinary tea, it is picked from thousand-year-old tea trees. It will only get a little better every ten years.

Even though he was the Emperor Tianjing, he had only drunk this tea a few times in his life, so how could it not be good tea?

In order to make the person in front of him happy, the prime minister put in a lot of effort and even spent a huge price to find this kind of tea.

Gulu!

Swallowing his saliva, the Prime Minister was used to seeing countless delicacies from land and sea, rare treasures, but at this moment, just the aroma of tea made him feel greedy.

Fortunately, his upbringing taught him that this kind of tea was not something he could taste now.

"If you like, Fifth Master, I will prepare some for you every year in the future."

The Prime Minister rubbed his hands together with a fawning look on his face.

The Prime Minister at this time no longer looked like the head of all officials in the court.

He was more like a licking dog, with a cracked mouth, constantly managing his facial expressions, fearing that he would make a mistake. He didn't care about his status in the court at all.

"You are quite good, you are kind of filial."

The fifth man slowly raised his head at this time, squinted at the prime minister standing in front of him who was about the same age as him, and nodded with satisfaction.

Since moving into the Prime Minister's Mansion, the Prime Minister has been very concerned about all his affairs.

Be it food, accommodation or etiquette, it can be said to be meticulous and has reached the extreme.

He is naturally happy with such people.

"As long as you like it."

The prime minister, who was praised, bent his back even more.

"I will be going with the army tomorrow, how can you still have time to stay here now?"

Putting down the teacup, the fifth man was quite straightforward.

We are all smart people. He knew very well that the Prime Minister was standing here at this time, probably not just to watch him drink tea.

"Nothing can be hidden from your eyes."

Finally getting to the point, the Prime Minister's heart, which had been in his throat, finally relaxed a little.

If the fifth man didn't speak, it would seem a bit abrupt for him to speak up.

Seeing the Prime Minister like this, the fifth man just smiled knowingly. He had already seen through the Prime Minister's tricks.

But this guy has good methods and can make people happy, so as long as it is not a big deal, he can support it.

"This time, the 300,000-man army is marching forward in a battle that we are sure to win."

"However, if Zhou Zheng got the news in advance and deployed it, I'm afraid it would cause some considerable losses."

With a light cough, the prime minister frowned and finally got to the point.

He knew Zhou Zheng's methods and abilities too well. Faced with Zhou Zheng's tyranny, only by taking him by surprise and catching him off guard would he have a chance to kill Zhou Zheng at the lowest cost.

After all, these 300,000 troops are almost the entire Great Zhou's assets.

If the losses were too great, even if he sat on the throne in the future, he would not be able to deter those villains.

There was no way they could compete with the Yuan Dynasty and the Great Xia Kingdom.

The throne he wants is absolute authority.

The fifth man sneered in his heart as he noticed a hint of panic in the prime minister's eyes. He then slowly said, "So you mean to doubt the strength of my five ancient families?"

"No, no, how dare I."

Noticing the change in the fifth man's expression, the prime minister instantly broke out in sweat on his forehead.

Then he hurriedly knelt down and kowtowed to the fifth man to admit his mistake.

It is really ridiculous that a prime minister lives such a humble life.

However, this move was quite enjoyable for the fifth man.

After all, looking around the world, who doesn’t want to live a life like this, lying on the lap of a beautiful woman when drunk and holding the power of the world when awake?

"The five great ancient families had long ago asked the aristocratic families and the gentry and nobles in the world to block the news."

"Zhou Zheng, even if he is deaf and blind at this moment, it is impossible for him to know any news."

Taking another sip of tea, the fifth man explained slowly.

After hearing this, the prime minister finally felt relieved.

As expected, the five great ancient families are really powerful.

This was just a random order from them. If the five ancient families took action personally, how powerful would their force be?

This was something he simply couldn't even imagine.

"With your words, I feel relieved."

"If I go out in person at this time, Zhou Zheng will definitely be killed!"

This is Zhou Zheng's promise to the five ancient families, and it is also the prime minister's resentment towards Zhou Zheng.

You know, when Zhou Zheng massacred Kyoto, many of his students and former officials were involved, causing him to suffer heavy losses.

Now, he wants to avenge both the new and old grudges!

"One more thing..."

Biting his lip lightly, the Prime Minister forced himself a little strength, looked up at the fifth man who was sitting in front of him without any movement, and spoke again timidly and nervously.

"explain."

The fifth man continued speaking calmly and indifferently.

"Regarding what you said last time, what the emperors took turns doing..."

The prime minister's heart sank slightly, but he still asked the question that concerned him most.

"It seems that you are ambitious too..."