After I got into the drama, I led the plot astray

Zhao Zhenyuan looked at Gu Cheng, who was still struggling with his thoughts, with some impatience. He was in a hurry to send A'man back to Dayu and had no time to bother with this fool.

So Zhao Zhenyuan said bluntly: "If you want to be king, I will stay and clear the obstacles for you; if you don't want to, I will take my people and leave now."

Gu Cheng remained silent. He had never even thought about treason. Would he be struck by lightning for doing so?

Gu Cheng remained silent, but the people behind him became anxious and shouted, "General Gu, why are you still hesitating? This is a godsend opportunity."

"That's right. His Majesty and the Crown Prince are both dead. If we fail to protect them, we will die if we go back. We might as well rebel."

"General Gu, my wife is about to give birth. If I die, my wife will not be able to survive."

The people behind Gu Cheng were still talking at once, while Zhao Zhenyuan had already counted the number of people. There were 48 people when they arrived, 10 of them died, 8 were injured, and the remaining 20 had some minor injuries, but they were not a problem. Qian Li had been following closely behind Gongsun Wen, and was the one who was most seriously injured.

Their horses were tied up in a cave at the foot of the mountain. Now they had to leave and get their horses back.

Zhao Zhenyuan waved his hand and asked these people to lead the horses, then gather at the Black Forest and return to Dayu together.

Seeing that Zhao Zhenyuan was really going to leave, Gu Cheng seemed to have made up his mind and shouted, "Marshal Zhao, I am willing. Please stay and help me."

Gu Cheng had his own personal guards, but they were not numerous, and when assembled there were less than a hundred men. If he wanted to fight against the imperial power, these people were far from enough.

Zhao Zhenyuan rode on his horse, looked down at Gu Cheng and said, "My help to you is not unconditional. If you agree, I will stay."

Gu Cheng knew that the arrow had been shot and there was no turning back. He gritted his teeth and asked, "Marshal Zhao, please speak."

Zhao Zhenyuan said: "The King of Beixiang hurt me and humiliated me. I want to settle this account with you."

Gu Cheng's heart tightened, and he asked, "How does Marshal Zhao want to calculate it?"

Zhao Zhenyuan said, "No hurry, wait until you become the new king and count the treasury. Second, you have to tell me where the old villain surnamed Gui is now. He also contributed a lot to my being captured by the King of Beixiang. Since he gave me such a great gift, how can I not return the favor?"

What Zhao Zhenyuan said sounded normal, but Gu Cheng was terrified. This was a man who held grudges very hard, and you could never offend anyone but him!

Zhao Zhenyuan continued, "I helped you seize the imperial power. You must not forget this great favor. As for how to repay me, I will tell you after I return to Dayu and discuss with His Majesty. If you agree to these three conditions, I will immediately return to Hanhao City with you and help you seize the throne without any effort."

Gu Cheng still understood the principle of "remembering the kindness of others for a thousand years", but Zhao Zhenyuan did not tell him how to repay it, but just said to record it and come back to settle with him later. This old fox, no wonder the people of Xihe Kingdom would take a detour when they heard the name of Zhao Zhenyuan, he was indeed a cruel, cunning, scheming and powerful man.

Gu Cheng pretended to think for a moment and said, "I agree with everything you said. I can tell you right now that the man surnamed Gui is now in Huai'an City."

"Huaian City?" Zhao Zhenyuan frowned and thought for a moment, then asked, "Is the mayor of Huaian City called Qian Jingui?"

Gu Cheng nodded and said, "That's right."

Zhao Zhenyuan said: "No wonder, the Iron Cavalry who drugged me was called Qian Yong, Qian Jingui's nephew. I was thinking day and night in the dungeon why Qian Yong would betray me. The Iron Cavalry are the elites selected from the army through thousands of selections and layers of screening and elimination. They would never betray their master. If it was instigated by my uncle, it would make sense."

Gu Cheng was unaware that Zhao Zhenyuan was captured and tortured in the dungeon. He only knew that the King of Beixiang captured Zhao Zhenyuan for his own benefit and he probably did not dare to torture him privately. He did not expect that he would cut the tendons of Zhao's hands and feet. How cruel!

The number of people on Gu Cheng's side was also counted. There were 107 horses when they came, but more than half of them were killed or injured, leaving only 51 horses; the King of Beixiang brought 983 people, 360 of them died, 252 were injured, and less than half of the remaining people were intact.

After listening to the number of people reported, Gu Cheng asked Zhao Zhenyuan: "Marshal Zhao, how are you going to help me?"

At this time, Zhao Zhenyuan's people also came over with horses. Zhao Zhenyuan left ten people to take care of the wounded, and asked the remaining ten uninjured people to ride horses to escort A'man and Gongsun Wen back to Dayu.

Zhao Zhenyuan made all the arrangements. When he saw the carriage disappear at the foot of the mountain, he turned around and said to Gu Cheng, "Now you take the bodies of the King of Beixiang and the Crown Prince with you. We will go directly back to the imperial city. After entering the city, have your people make a gong and beat it while shouting, "His Majesty was attacked and died. Everyone kowtows and sends the spirit away." We will send the bodies back to the palace, and then read out the oral order in public. When His Majesty is in danger, he will pass the throne to you. You will be the new King of Beixiang. Anyone who dares not to obey will be killed without mercy."

Gu Cheng frowned and said, "I don't have the imperial seal, so it's not legitimate for me to seize the throne."

Zhao Zhenyuan rolled his eyes at Gu Cheng and said, "To say you're stupid is really flattering you. You took people to send the body back to the palace. When the King of Beixiang left the city, everyone in the city saw it. If he was attacked and killed, no one would doubt it. So I have to go back to the palace first to find the imperial seal and forge a will. Now that you have the imperial seal and the will, who dares to disobey? If there are still people who don't obey, I will beat them until they obey."

Zhao Zhenyuan spoke this with great dominance, making it sound like stealing the imperial seal was as casual as going to the street to buy vegetables. However, Gu Cheng was horrified when he heard this. There were so many secrets in the palace that even he didn't know how many there were. He didn't even have the ability to force his way in, and yet Zhao Zhenyuan made it sound so casual.

What Gu Cheng didn't know was that he had killed almost all the guards and secret agents in the palace, so going in now was really no different from going to the vegetable market.

After everything was arranged, Zhao Zhenyuan rode back to the city first, and Qian Li arranged for his people to return to the courtyard that Gongsun Wen had originally rented to recuperate.

Gu Cheng led his men straight to the palace.

The palace was in chaos at this time. Because so many people died, the remaining guards and eunuchs were so busy dealing with the bodies that they were almost exhausted. They had no time to take care of anything else. The entire palace was like a vegetable market, and even if outsiders came in, no one would notice.

The King of Beixiang had few official concubines in his harem, only five or six. He spent all his energy on finding women outside, but he had many children. Including the crown prince, he had more than a dozen children. The adult ones had moved out of the palace. Now the people living in the palace were all princes and princesses under the age of ten.

When the concubines learned what had happened in the palace, they thought it was a coup and trembled in fear while holding their children. When things calmed down outside, they took their sons and fled out of the palace. Now only eunuchs and palace maids were left to guard the palace.