After all, they are all Xiang Kang's absolute confidants, either the think tank staff who often accompanies Xiang Kang, or the first military civilian official who has Xiang Kang's absolute trust and can replace Xiang Kang in charge of the civil and military power of the Han Dynasty, and has long been familiar with Xiang Kang's temperament, so after Xiang Kang shook out the evidence collected by the local officials in Linjiang, Zhou Zeng, Zhou Shu, Chen Ping and Zhang Liang and other four important ministers of the Han Court immediately smelled a strong smell of blood.

However, none of the four important ministers of the Han army spoke for Yingbu, for many reasons, Uncle Zhou and Zhang Liang are both people who know how to protect themselves, one in order not to provoke suspicion and jealousy, he would rather give the merit of destroying Qi to his colleagues, and the other should not let Linzi, a famous city in the world, choose an ordinary county town as a fiefdom, and would rather suffer losses than attract attention, all of them are characters who clamp their tails tighter than anyone else, and naturally they will not speak for Yingbu, who has no friendship, in such a sensitive matter.

Zhou Zeng and Chen Ping are inferior to Uncle Zhou and Zhang Liang in this regard, but they have long seen that Xiang Kang is actually disgusted and hated the feudal system from the bottom of his heart, but he was forced by the situation to pinch his nose and implement the centralized system and the feudal system at the same time, as long as there is a chance to cut off the princes and kings with different surnames, Xiang Kang will definitely not be polite, so of course Zhou Zeng and Chen Ping will not jump out to disgust Xiang Kang and say good things for Yingbu to please people.

In addition, Yingbu did go a little too far, Xiang Kang ascended the throne and became emperor for less than a year, similar to the use of the Son of Heaven's chariot and horse of the arrogant and disrespectful behavior Yingbu has done five times, and at the same time connived at his subordinates to do evil, blocking and interfering with the Han court officials to investigate his criminal subordinates, shielding and sheltering fugitives from other counties, speaking disrespectfully to Xiang Kang in public, bullying and insulting the local officials sent to Linjiang by the Han court, these things are all piles and piles, all of which can prove that Yingbu is secretly disobedient, Chen Ping and Zhou Shu and others are reckless about the consequences, It's also difficult to help Yingbu speak.

Because of this, they passed on the secret report of the crime accusing Yingbu, Zhou Zeng and Uncle Zhou and the other four were all silent, not daring to express their opinions casually, and finally Xiang Kang took the initiative to speak and said: "The two prime ministers, Zhou Taiwei Zhang Fengchang, you are all my ministers, Linjiang Wang Yingbu is so lawless and disrespectful to me, what do you say should be done?" ”

After all, it was Xiang Kang's uncle, seeing that Uncle Zhou, Zhang Liang and Chen Ping were all scruples, and they didn't dare to speak casually, Zhou Zeng hesitated, gritted his teeth and said: "Your Majesty, Yingbu is disrespectful and lawless, so he should be arrested and imprisoned, punished severely, and at the same time cut off his prince, abolish Linjiang State or replace him with a new king." ”

"I think it should be." Xiang Kang directly expressed his attitude, and directly let Uncle Zhou, Chen Ping, Zhang Liang and others understand their intentions, and then said: "But I am worried that if I do this, I will openly rebel, I don't know what a few Aiqing think?" ”

Seeing Xiang Kang's direct attitude, Uncle Zhou no longer had any scruples in his heart, and immediately said: "Your Majesty, don't worry, although Yingbu has tens of thousands of soldiers and horses, but his people are brave and strategic, and lack strategy, if he really raises an army to rebel, Your Majesty only needs to send General Long He to lead an army south, which is enough to quell the rebellion he initiated." ”

Uncle Zhou, who had already handed over the military power, recommended Long and led the army south to quell the rebellion, and did not take the initiative to ask Ying to deal with Yingbu, what is the purpose Xiang Kang of course knew very well in his heart, in order to appease his in-laws, Xiang Kang immediately said: "Although Long He is good at fighting, but Linjiang is remote after all, if Yingbu really raises troops to rebel and defend according to the danger, I am afraid that it will take a long time for General Long to completely quell the rebellion, so when the time comes, you will still have to work hard, Lieutenant, you will personally lead the troops to the south to help me quell the Linjiang rebellion." ”

Uncle Zhou also immediately understood that Xiang Kang was telling himself that he was absolutely at ease with himself, so he hurriedly left the table and saluted and said: "Please rest assured, if Yingbu really dares to resist the royal law and rebel, His Majesty will immediately lead the army south and capture and kill this fang for Your Majesty." ”

Xiang Kang nodded with satisfaction, and immediately said: "Then it's decided, immediately send someone to Jiangling to arrest Yingbu, and escort him back to Xianyang to punish the crime, if he obediently obeys the law and recites his past merits, I can consider being gracious as appropriate, but if he ......." ”

"Your Majesty, please wait a moment."

Chen Ping, who had been silent, suddenly spoke, first stopped Xiang Kang's edict, and then said, "Your Majesty, should you think twice about this matter?" Yingbu did go too far, but his crimes were not obvious, and they did not cause bad consequences, if Your Majesty you forced Yingbu to rebel for these trivial things, I am afraid that Zhao Xie, Zang Di and Wu Rui and other princes and kings will be in danger of themselves, and from now on they will be separated from Your Majesty, and the world will also have a resurgence of war. ”

"Turning him back?" Xiang Kang's eyebrows were raised, and he said: "I have just said that as long as Yingbu confesses his guilt and surrenders to the law, I will be merciful to him as appropriate, why does the prime minister say that I am forcing Yingbu to rebel?" ”

"Your Majesty, if you send someone to arrest Yingbu and ask him for the crime, Yingbu will have to rebel." Chen Ping said in a deep voice: "Yingbu is not Your Majesty's old department, when he abandoned Chu and returned to Han, he also wanted to expand his territory and expand his power, and it was all for the sake of profit to help Han attack Chu." Afterwards, Your Majesty, you did not give the promised Nanyang and Chudi to Yingbu, although there is a reason why Yingbu himself was not angry and could not help us a lot, but Yingbu must be secretly dissatisfied in his heart, so if you send someone to arrest him and ask him for crime, he will definitely not obediently obey the law, and will only choose to immediately raise an army to rebel and start a war with the court. ”

"Of course, the disparity in strength is huge, and our Han court doesn't need to be afraid of Yingbu's rebellion, he really raised an army, Your Majesty, you can also raise your hands to destroy." Chen Ping continued: "But what will the princes and kings of Zang Di, Zhao Xie and Wu Rui think? Will they think that Your Majesty is making a big fuss and deliberately forcing Yingbu to rebel, and then take the opportunity to eradicate the vassal king with a different surname? Under the sorrow of the rabbit and the fox, will they be separated from your majesty and rebel for the sake of self-preservation? At that time, once Yingbu can't be eradicated quickly, will they take the opportunity to start an incident and join forces with Yingbu to rebel? ”

"Therefore, His Majesty believes that although Yingbu must do it, he must not be forced to rebel directly, let alone directly send troops to crusade against the princes and kings when the world is initially decided.

Chen Ping's words calmed down Xiang Kang, who was anxious to eradicate the king with a different surname, and also made Xiang Kang realize that he did this because the traces were too big, so that a discerning person could see at a glance that it was Yingbu who he deliberately forced to rebel, which was not only not conducive to his own defeat of the king with a different surname, but also detrimental to his reputation. So after thinking about it again, Xiang Kang nodded and said: "The prime minister's words are extremely true, I don't have to be afraid of Yingbu's rebellion, but I must not let the people of the world think that I deliberately forced Yingbu to rebel." ”

"Prime Minister, in your opinion, what should Your Majesty do with this Yingbu?" Zhou Zeng next to him asked.

"Since ancient times, the Son of Heaven has traveled around the country to meet with the princes of various places and discuss state affairs." Chen Ping said slowly: "Your Majesty thinks that Your Majesty may wish to find a random destination to parade, and summon the princes to discuss state affairs at a designated time and place, this is Your Majesty's first parade after you ascended the throne, it is expected that Yingbu and the princes of all walks of life will not dare not come, and after Your Majesty sees Yingbu, you can show evidence of the crime to take down Yingbu, and at the same time order all the princes to discuss Yingbu's crimes and punish them according to the law." ”

"At that time, Your Majesty, you can not only take down Yingbu without fighting, eliminate the hidden danger of Linjiang, but also let all the princes and people in the world understand that Yingbu is guilty and deserves it, and it should be subdued.

Before Chen Ping finished speaking, Xiang Kang, who had not yet been sparsely rotten to the extreme, had already remembered the story of Liu Laosan's pseudo-You Yun Mengze, and suddenly smiled: "Clever plan, this not only punishes Yingbu, but also avoids the war and harms the innocent, and it can also make the people of the world have nothing to say to me." That's it, I've never been to Yunmengze before, so take this opportunity to go to Yunmengze to have a look. ”

"Your Majesty Shengming, Yunmengze is located in Linjiang, Your Majesty, you go to Yunmengze to patrol, Yingbu just can't go out to greet him." Chen Ping praised and asked, "I just don't know where Your Majesty plans to meet the princes?" ”

Xiang Kang started his head full of bad water and calculated, and after a while, he suddenly said: "Chen County of Chen County, it is very close to my hometown Xiang County, and after meeting the princes there, I can lead the princes and hundreds of officials to Xiang County to worship the ancestral tomb." ”

Chen Ping's eyes moved, and he immediately understood the reason why Xiang Kang designated to meet the princes in Chen County, and immediately nodded yes, but Zhou Zeng next to him was a little worried, and hurriedly said: "Your Majesty, is there some lack of consideration in meeting the princes of the world in Chen County?" Your Majesty has not forgotten that you have given Chen County to Peng Yue as a fief (see Chapter 504), Your Majesty, you have previously relieved him of his position as the Pillar State of Chu, and did not accept his plea, and chose to rebuild the Chu State after the establishment of the Chu royal family, I am afraid that he will also be secretly dissatisfied in his heart. ”

"Afraid of what?" Xiang Kang smiled and said, "Wouldn't it be okay to bring more guards to the army?" A small Chen County, even if Peng Yue hides dissent, how many soldiers and horses can he gather? ”

Xiang Kang's words were a little explicit, and Zhou Zeng immediately vaguely understood what Xiang Kang meant, and quickly nodded and praised Xiang Kang for his wisdom, and then asked, "Your Majesty, when are you going to leave for the patrol?" When will you meet the princes in Chen? ”

After thinking about it for a while, Xiang Kang said: "Although I don't like red tape, after all, this is my first tour after I ascended the throne, and it is related to the majesty of the Son of Heaven, so it is better to be grand." In this way, twenty days later I set out for a parade, and two and a half months later I met with the princes in Chen County, giving them more time and saving them from hurrying. ”

"You're deliberately giving Yingbu and Peng Yue a little more time, right? Peng Yue, this time it depends on whether you are smart enough. Chen Ping muttered in his heart, but said with a smile on his face: "Your Majesty's holy grace, cherish the princes, even if it is Zang Di, the king of Yan in Jixian County, has enough time to rush to Chen County to meet Your Majesty on schedule." ”