Yang Zhen brought all the troops to Yongan City's drill ground. Chen Dao was already waiting there. After the two of them handed over the army, they left the drill ground and went to Chen Dao's room.
Yang Zhen had just stepped into Chen Dao's room when he heard a creak. When he turned around, he saw that Chen Dao had already closed the door. Chen Dao waved his hand and gestured for Yang Zhen to sit down. Yang Zhen and Chen Dao sat opposite each other. He took out a letter from his pocket and handed it to Chen Dao. He said,"General Chen! This is personally written by the Prime Minister. Take a look.”
Chen Dao took the letter and opened it. Seeing that there was no title at the top and no signature at the bottom, he raised his head and glanced at Yang Zhen. Chen Dao saw him sitting on the stool, frowning and looking at him solemnly. He said,"Why is there no title or signature on this letter?”
"General, you will know the reason at a glance," Yang Zhen said.”
Chen Dao lowered his head and glanced at the letter. His face revealed a nervous expression. He clasped the letter in his hand and slammed it heavily on the table in front of him. He seemed very angry. Seeing this, Yang Zhen didn't know why Chen Dao was so angry. He asked,""Why is the general so angry?"
Chen Daoleng snorted and scolded,""Prime Minister's actions are a little disgraceful, and I cannot agree with it.”
Yang Zhen saw through it and asked again,"The Prime Minister has already given his personal orders. What should we do?”
"What's your plan?" Chen Dao asked Yang Zhen.”
Yang Zhen was stunned for a moment. He did not expect Chen Hui to ask him a question. He said,"I don't know what to do, but I'm willing to listen to General's arrangements.”
Chen Dao suddenly laughed out loud and said in a clear voice,""I, Chen Dao, protected the former emperor for many years and fought on the battlefield. I've been through many battles and can be considered a hero for a lifetime. I didn't expect to become an executioner for others to fight for power today. What a good plan to kill two birds with one stone! Haha! Zhuge Liang! Chen Dao was really impressed!”
When Yang Zhen heard this, he seemed to empathize with them. After all, the Prime Minister's order was issued to the two of them. Regardless of whether the matter succeeded or failed, they would not be able to get away with it. Yang Zhen had been in the officialdom for the past two years, so he knew the laws of the country. Murdering an official of the imperial court without permission would result in the punishment of being torn apart by a car. Once they succeeded in plotting against Li Yan and completed the secret mission given by Zhuge Liang, the imperial court would definitely pursue the matter. Zhuge Liang was not a kind person. In order to protect himself, he would definitely abandon Yang Zhen and Chen Dao. At that time, the two of them would be unable to explain themselves and would definitely die. If they didn't obey Zhuge Liang's orders, even though it was his secret order, wouldn't Zhuge Liang, who was in power, target Yang Zhen and Chen Dao if things didn't go as he wished?
Yang Zhen thought about it carefully. It seemed that this trip to Yong 'an was deliberately arranged by Zhuge Liang to use this opportunity to get rid of dissidents. In the beginning, Yang Zhen thought that Zhuge Liang was blinded by power and killed him in order to fight for power. However, after hearing Chen Dao's words, he felt a chill down his spine. "Prime minister, oh prime minister, you gave me this mission. How is it loving me? You're clearly harming me!”Yang Zhen thought to himself.
"Yang Zhen, do you know why the Prime Minister is doing this?”Chen Dao suddenly asked, interrupting Yang Zhen's thoughts.
Yang Zhen shook his head. Chen Dao first sighed and then slowly explained,"Zhuge Liang's plan was to use this tactic to get rid of me and Li Yan.”
Yang Zhen let out a cry of surprise and quickly said,"Why?"
Chen Dao laughed dryly, his voice so pale and weak. He slowly said,"You might not know this, but Zhuge Liang has a strong desire for power. He can't wait for everything to be handled by him. When the former emperor was still alive, he knew this very well. He used Fa Zheng and Li Yan as the leaders of the Eastern Prefecture Faction and distributed all his power, causing Zhuge Liang to be completely powerless. After Fa Zheng's mysterious death, the former emperor had no choice but to use Zhuge Liang. From then on, Zhuge Liang gradually roped in the Jingzhou nobles in the army and formed his own faction to compete with the Dongzhou faction and the Yizhou faction. When the former emperor passed away, his last words were to order Zhuge Liang and Li Yan to assist the government together. He did not expect Zhuge Liang to order Li Yan to stay in Yong 'an to guard East Sichuan. Think about it, if an assistant minister didn't return to the capital but guarded the border instead, all the national affairs had nothing to do with him. No one would be able to see it if he only had a name. So I went to reason with him, but I angered him and made a feud with him.”
After hearing Chen Dao's words, Yang Zhen had a new understanding of Zhuge Liang. He then remembered the secret order of the late emperor that was almost a rebellion. At first, he thought that the late emperor trusted Zhuge Liang so much that he would rather sacrifice himself than lose the country. But now, it seemed that he had completely misunderstood. The reason why the former Emperor gave such an order was because he didn't trust Zhuge Liang. If Zhuge Liang didn't agree to assist the Young Emperor, he would have to kill the former Emperor first and then support Zhuge Liang. This didn't make sense. Perhaps there was only one possibility, and that was that the former emperor would rather choose to die than see his empire being tampered with. Yang Zhen was only guessing, but only the former emperor himself could explain the truth. This had become a mystery in Yang Zhen's heart, a mystery that could never be solved.
Chen Dao looked at Yang Zhen. Seeing that he was deep in thought, he didn't say anything else, afraid of interrupting him. After a long time. Other than the sound of their breathing, there was no other sound in the room. "Sigh!" Yang Zhen let out a long sigh.
When Chen Dao heard this, he also sighed. Yang Zhen found it funny and said," General, I sigh, and you sigh too. It seems that we are like-minded."”
Chen Dao smiled and said slowly,""Yang Zhen. You're too naive. You shouldn't be like this as an official, and you shouldn't be like this as a person. Remember, no matter what you do or do in the future, you have to remember one word, and that is 'essence'.”
"I'll remember it," Yang Zhen said."Thank you for your teachings, General." General, what should we do about this?”
"Let me think about it slowly. This matter needs to be discussed at length." Right, come with me. I'll take you to see a secret.”
"What is it?" Yang Zhen asked suspiciously.”
Chen Dao stood up and pushed open the door. He waved at Yang Zhen and said,"Come! Follow me!"
Yang Zhen stood up and walked to the door. Chen Dao locked the door and led the way. The two of them took a few turns and passed through a garden before arriving at another garden. Chen Dao stopped in his tracks and pointed to a room.""The secret is in this room." Yang Zhen looked around and was shocked.""This... Wasn't this the room where the late emperor lived before he died?”
Chen Dian nodded and said with a solemn expression,"Yes, but you have to promise me that after you see this secret, no one will mention it.”
"Don't worry, General," Yang Zhen said."Yang Zhen understands!”
Chen Dao led Yang Zhen to the door of the room. There was no one at the door. Ever since the late emperor passed away, this house had been isolated from the world. This garden had also become a forbidden place, and very few people came here. Chen Dao took out a key, opened the door, and walked in with Yang Zhen. As soon as he entered the door, Yang Zhen smelled an extremely unpleasant smell. The smell was indescribable. Yang Zhen quickly covered his nose and looked around the room carefully. He saw that the room was in a mess. Medicine cans, books, and clothes were scattered all over the ground, and there was a thick layer of dust on them. There was a series of footprints on the dust that led to the bedside. "General, hasn't anyone cleaned this place in the past two years?" Yang Zhen asked. Why did the former emperor's palace become like this?”
"I was transferred to Yong 'an two years ago to assist Minister Li in guarding this place. However, the military and political power here is in the hands of Minister Li. Other than reporting to the prefect's office every day, I have nothing to do. Once, I thought of the late emperor and walked into this garden, hoping to find some comfort in the room where the late emperor died. When I came to this garden, the original guards were already empty and the gate was locked. I think this is probably because Minister Li did not want anyone to disturb this place. But I really wanted to go in, so I climbed over the wall and entered the garden. At that time, this room wasn't locked. When I entered the room, I saw a mess. It was the same as now. I don't know who messed this place up, but my intuition tells me that the person who came must be looking for something. I was very angry at that time, so I wanted to pack up and tidy up the items again. When I came to the bed and picked up the blanket that was still on the ground and laid it on the bed, I suddenly discovered a secret. From then on, I locked this room and did not allow anyone to enter. A few days ago, I came again, and the footprints on the ground were left by me.”
"General, what's the secret you're talking about?" Yang Zhen asked hurriedly. You haven't told anyone for the past two years. Why are you willing to tell me?”
Chen Dao didn't answer. He took Yang Zhen's hand and pulled him to the bed. Chen Dao let go of Yang Zhen's hand and lifted the blanket on the bed. He jumped onto the bed and felt along the wall. When he felt a slightly protruding brick, he stopped and pushed forward. A quarter of the wall was pushed in, revealing a hole.
Yang Zhen's eyes widened. Never in his wildest dreams would he have thought that there was a secret room next to the bed. It was dark inside the cave, and no light could be seen. Chen Dao reached in with one hand and felt around the wall. He took out a torch and lit it. He held the torch and entered the secret chamber at the entrance of the cave. The secret room was illuminated by the fire and became much brighter. Chen Dao poked his head out of the secret room and said to Yang Zhen,"Come in quickly!"
Yang Zhen also entered the secret chamber through the hole. The space of the secret chamber was very small, and there were many steps. Yang Zhen saw the steps extending down step by step until they reached a place where the fire could not see. "General, the stairs here extend all the way down. Could it be that there's a basement below?" Yang Zhen asked.”"Smart, follow behind me." Chen Dao smiled.”
Chen Daizou held a torch and walked down the stairs, one step at a time. Yang Zhen followed behind. The two of them walked for a while. Chen Dao turned around and raised the torch in his hand high. A ball of flame was lit by the torch and quickly extended forward. It was actually an extended fire pool. Chen Dao turned around and took a few steps forward. He also used a torch to light up the fire pool opposite him. The two fire pools were lit, and the originally dark secret chamber immediately lit up. Yang Zhen looked around and saw everything in the secret room. His mouth was wide open as he stood at the entrance of the corridor in a daze.
This book comes from：m.funovel.com。