I embezzled 100,000 taels at the beginning, and the empress begged me to be more greedy

Jiankang City.

Inside the palace, Prime Minister Liu stared at the half-dead Emperor Chen with his brows furrowed and his face solemn.

The emperor has been in a coma for several days, and the situation in the palace has not yet stabilized.

They had already been clearing out the prince's faction, but many important figures still escaped, and they were unable to completely eradicate them.

Now that the emperor has not really died yet, Prime Minister Liu's plan to take sole power will probably be postponed for some time.

In fact, in his heart, Prime Minister Liu still hoped that the emperor would wake up as soon as possible and personally tell all the ministers and local princes that he would pass the throne to the eighth prince. In this way, Prime Minister Liu and his party would no longer have any worries.

Even if those vassal kings wanted to rebel in the future, Prime Minister Liu could still command most of the court's troops and wipe out the rebels.

I don't know how long it took before I heard footsteps behind me.

A general of the imperial guards came up behind Prime Minister Liu and said, "Greetings, Prime Minister."

"Has the prince's whereabouts not been found yet?"

Prime Minister Liu frowned, his hawk-like eyes filled with murderous intent.

The imperial guards officer did not dare to raise his head, but half-knelt on the ground and replied: "There is no news about the crown prince inside or outside the capital. Perhaps... perhaps the crown prince is dead."

"perhaps?"

Prime Minister Liu looked displeased and said in a more serious tone, "If you can't find the prince's body, you will all have to bring your heads to see me!"

In this palace, the most powerful person now is Prime Minister Liu.

The prince's party was almost destroyed, and no one dared to disobey Prime Minister Liu's orders.

The commander of the imperial guards was so frightened that his legs went limp. He knelt on the ground and kowtowed, saying, "Please forgive me, Prime Minister! I have ordered people to block the capital and sent hundreds of cavalry out of the city to search. All the important roads in the capital have been guarded. The prince will definitely not be able to escape."

Today, the entire capital region is almost entirely dominated by Prime Minister Liu's faction. In their view, even if the prince escapes from the capital, it is impossible for him to leave alive alone.

But what they could never have imagined was that the Crown Prince of Chen would actually choose to join the Yan army.

"What are the movements of the Yan army?"

Prime Minister Liu said with a stern look.

"There is no other movement. It is still staying in the North City."

"Are they planning to retreat?"

"They didn't retreat, but instead they kept sending more troops."

Hearing this, Prime Minister Liu couldn't help but turn his head and look towards the inner hall door.

"Summon all the ministers to discuss an urgent matter."

Half an hour later.

All the civil and military officials of the Chen court came to the court to pay homage to the emperor.

But the one who summoned them this time was not the Emperor of Chen, but Prime Minister Liu who held all the power.

That group of civil and military officials had not attended a court meeting for a long time, and at this moment, everyone felt a little surprised and confused.

"The Emperor actually summoned us. Don't you think it's a little strange?"

"Indeed, how long has it been since the Emperor attended court? Today is so special, is there something important going on?"

"Could it be related to the mutiny a few days ago?"

Some officials whispered.

The news of the mutiny a few days ago had already spread throughout the capital. Not only these court officials, but even the common people in Jiankang City had already known about it.

"Everyone, please don't say too much. Now that we are facing a powerful enemy, we should discuss how to deal with the Yan army outside the city."

Now, for this group of officials, as long as they can stay alive, it is a good thing, no matter whether the prince's mutiny is successful or not.

After a while, all the civil and military officials came to the palace, waiting for the emperor to arrive.

At this moment, there was silence in the hall and no one dared to say a word.

I don't know how long I waited, but the emperor didn't come. Instead, Prime Minister Liu slowly came to the hall and walked towards the dragon throne.

Everyone was shocked and thought that Prime Minister Liu was going to seize the throne now.

But the next moment, Prime Minister Liu stopped and looked at the dragon throne. A trace of greed flashed in his eyes, and then he regained his seriousness and turned to the ministers below and said, "The emperor is ill, so I, the prime minister, will come to the court on his behalf."

After these words were spoken, everyone felt uneasy.

Many people speculated, could it be that the emperor had really passed away as the rumors said?

Otherwise, it would not be Prime Minister Liu's turn to preside over the government.

Although Prime Minister Liu has been in charge of government for many years, it has never been like today.

After a moment, Prime Minister Liu said with a fierce look in his eyes: "The prince was conspiring for rebellion and has been executed by the court."

This piece of news immediately shocked everyone below.

It turns out that those rumors were all true.

In the struggle between the Prince's Party and the Prime Minister's Party, it seems that the Prime Minister's Party has the last laugh.

"The emperor is seriously ill and has issued a will to make the eighth prince Xiao Xiang the emperor."

Prime Minister Liu began to read out the so-called will of Emperor Chen.

All the ministers knelt on the ground.

Many of these officials were not on Prime Minister Liu's side. Most of them were fence-sitters who changed their stance according to the situation. Now that the situation in the palace had been determined, it was impossible for them to disobey Prime Minister Liu's orders.

No matter who becomes emperor, as long as it does not harm the interests of these officials, those officials will not object at all.

At this time, a guard came forward to report: "Prime Minister, the prince's traitors have all been arrested."

"Bring them all up here."

Prime Minister Liu suddenly gave an order in a stern voice.

A moment later, more than a dozen guards, escorting several court officials, were thrown to the floor.

"These traitors are plotting rebellion and conspiring with the Yan thieves. They should be put to death!"

Prime Minister Liu said with a dignified look.

"Bah! You are a country-stealing thief, how dare you say such a thing!"

The princeling official who was tied up below couldn't help but curse.

Prime Minister Liu was not angry, he just said: "Tell me the whereabouts of Zhou Bailin, and I can spare your life."

Now even Zhou Bailin is missing, which makes Prime Minister Liu quite uneasy.

"You are wishful thinking!"

"You bastard, you thief!"

The group of princelings cursed loudly.

Prime Minister Liu had already lost his patience and waved his hand: "Drag him out and behead him."

Even the officials standing by were so frightened that they were sweating profusely, fearing that they would be implicated.

After the group of princeling officials were taken away, Prime Minister Liu asked again: "What is the current situation of the Yan army outside the city?"

A general of the Imperial Army reported: "Our army has recaptured Xinyuan City and has surrounded the Yan army. Now, no matter how powerful the Yan army is, they can't escape the encirclement of our Chen army."

Now it seems that the situation on the entire battlefield is that the balance of victory seems to be more inclined towards Chen Jun's side.

"Very good, this will ensure that those Yan thieves will never return!"

There was a hint of joy in Prime Minister Liu's eyes. At least now it seemed that the situation had begun to change.

"Prime Minister, I think we should take advantage of the enemy's lack of supplies and take the initiative to attack. We will definitely defeat the Yan army."

An official suggested.

This suggestion was also echoed by many officials.

After thinking for a moment, Prime Minister Liu said, "I am afraid that the Yan army will fight back to the river and cause considerable casualties to our army. If we continue to defend Jiankang City, I don't believe that the Yan people can continue to drag it out."

"The Prime Minister is right."

Many officials echoed this.

Now, no one in the entire court dares to oppose Prime Minister Liu.