That Bastard Prince Had Gone Completely Mad: Anyone Who Dared Seize Grain Would Be Beheaded

Gu Mochen's voice was hoarse and low, carrying an indescribable violentness.

Zhou Huaili's heart tightened. His back was pressed against the cold wall. He repeatedly rubbed his palms with his fingertips, suppressing the surging fear in his throat, and bowed respectfully.

"Your Highness is wise."

I am not trying to stop Your Highness from recovering, but the capital has been in turmoil recently, Yi Prefecture is eyeing us covetously, and rumors are spreading Anyang City.

These two men are of unknown origin. As a staff member of the Prince's residence, I must consider the Prince's precious health and safety.

"Consider?"

Gu Mochen chuckled, strode back to the main seat, and casually tossed his longsword to the ground. The sword bounced off and struck the broken pieces of a table, making a crisp clang.

"If I die, what use will your thoughts be?!"

Gu Mochen sat down with an air of authority, his hands resting on his knees. Due to the excessive force, his knuckles were extremely tense, and the veins bulged out like earthworms.

He looked down at Zhou Huaili, speaking rapidly with an unyielding, manic tone.

"The old emperor is lying in the Hall of Supreme Ultimate waiting to die, while that good-for-nothing crown prince has ruined himself!"

The fifth prince is dead, and the fourth prince is the daughter of a palace maid; he's a spineless coward who can't be brought into the open!

The others are still small and not a threat.

I am the second son; who in this world is worthy to sit on the dragon throne but me?

Are you really going to rely on that sickly third son of Yi Prefecture who only needs women to back him up?!

Mentioning the words "third brother," Gu Mochen's face contorted, and his teeth clenched so tightly they clicked.

He sneered repeatedly, "The third brother dug ditches and built canals in Yi Prefecture, used manure and demon fire to forge soldiers, and managed Jiannan Circuit as well as an iron barrel."

Now the Tubo have made their move, and he has even seized military power in Jiannan Circuit!

Those old fogies in the court, Su Wenyuan and Lin Zhenshan, are all secretly biased towards him!

Zhou Huaili lowered his head and said in a low voice, " Chancellor Su is shrewd and calculating, and most of the civil officials in the court are taking a wait-and-see approach."

The capital is currently keeping the news under wraps, only saying that the Emperor is recuperating, but the major aristocratic families have already been secretly mobilizing funds and troops.

"If Your Highness wishes to contend for the throne, the most important thing right now is to quell the civil unrest in Anyang and stabilize the rear."

"A civil unrest? A few thousand starving commoners, do they even deserve to call it a civil unrest?!"

Gu Mochen slammed his hand on the armrest, stood up, and paced back and forth in the hall, taking large, hurried steps.

Didn't you hear my military order just now?

Immediately mobilize the Imperial Guard to seal off all the granaries of major grain merchants in the west and north of the city!

Transport the grain to the military camp and use it as military rations first!

As for those troublemaking vagrants outside...

Everyone will be given a bowl of thin porridge mixed with bran. Anyone who dares to storm the government office again will be treated as a traitor and beheaded on the spot, their head displayed on the city gate tower!

Zhou Huaili's jawline tightened, his head lowered, and his voice extremely soft. "Your Highness, I would like to offer you another piece of advice."

The grain merchants in the city had many connections with the Jiangnan Chamber of Commerce and the residences of several high-ranking officials in the capital.

If we forcibly seal off the granaries and seize the grain, it will likely invite impeachment from the censors in the court...

"Impeachment? Who will impeach me? The emperor is paralyzed, who will approve memorials?!"

Gu Mochen suddenly rushed in front of Zhou Huaili, grabbed his collar, and lifted him off the ground.

" Zhou Huaili, you've served me for several years, and I've treated you well!"

Now that we've reached the crucial juncture of vying for the throne, if you're still hesitant and indecisive, I wouldn't mind replacing you with someone more capable!

Zhou Huaili was being strangled until he could hardly breathe, his face turning from white to red, and despair and struggle flashing in his eyes.

He figured it out.

After Prince An took the Bliss Pills, although his strength increased greatly and he appeared to have shaken off his illness, his mind was completely consumed by the drug's effects and his greed, and he fell into a state of extreme paranoia and mania.

Gu Mochen is now completely deaf to any dissenting opinions.

"Your subordinate... is guilty."

Zhou Huaili managed to squeeze out a few words, "I will take care of it immediately and will not delay Your Highness's important matter."

Gu Mochen then released his grip, letting Zhou Huaili fall to the ground.

"Go and do it."

Gu Mochen flicked his sleeves and turned around coldly, "Invite those two overseas renowned doctors to the guesthouse and settle them in properly, serving them the finest wine and meat every day."

Furthermore, tell them that I want more of those Bliss Elixir! I'll take as many as you have!

"Yes..."

Zhou Huaili slowly got up, dusted off his long robe, bowed, and left the side hall.

As soon as he stepped out of the hall and through the cold, damp corridor, a gust of cold wind blew in his face, and Zhou Huaili couldn't help but shiver.

In the shadow of the pillars, Inukami Jusaburo and Park Roejang stood with their arms crossed, watching him with ambiguous smiles.

Zhou Huaili stopped in his tracks, his eyes as cold as iron, and fixed on the two of them.

"Two Daoist priests, what impressive skills you have!"

Park Roejang bowed slightly, a hint of mockery in his small, single-eyelid eyes. "Lord Zhou, you flatter me. We two merely presented a life-saving elixir. After taking the medicine, the Prince is full of vigor and vitality. Isn't this a blessing for the Prince An's Residence, and a blessing for the Great Yan?"

"Good fortune?"

Zhou Huaili sneered, took two steps closer, lowered his voice, and spoke with undisguised chilling killing intent.

"I don't care where you come from overseas or what kind of fairy island you are from, nor do I care who is behind you."

You all know what was added to those pills, and I can guess seven or eight parts of it myself.

Inukami Jusaburo raised an eyebrow slightly, and the smile on his face faded a bit.

Zhou Huaili stared into their eyes and said, word by word.

"Your Highness needs this strength to fight for the throne right now, so I'll let you do whatever you want."

But if you dare to play any tricks to cause trouble in Anyang behind my back...

Don't forget, this is the land of Great Yan. The 30,000 iron cavalry of Anyang can chop you into mincemeat and feed you to the dogs at any time!

After saying that, Zhou Huaili didn't even look at the two of them, turned his sleeves and strode into the wind and snow.

Watching Zhou Huaili Huaili's departing figure, Park Roejang's smile vanished completely, replaced by a sinister look.

"Baka... This scholar from the Central Plains certainly has a keen sense of smell."

Inukami Jusaburo cursed in a very low voice in Japanese, his hand instinctively pressing on the hilt of the short blade hidden in his sleeve.

"So what if it's spiritual?" Park Roejang sneered, taking a sip from a small brass flask in his pocket.

"His master has already swallowed the Bliss Pills."

This medicine was brewed by a sorcerer from the far west using datura flowers and human bone marrow.

"If we continue this for a few more days, even if Zhou Huaili holds a knife to his own throat, Prince An will kneel at our feet, begging us to feed him the medicine!"

Inukami Jusaburo nodded.

"The carrier pigeons have already been released. As soon as our two countries' delegations arrive, under the guise of paying tribute to the Emperor of Great Yan, we will lead three thousand 'elite guards' to infiltrate Anyang Port..."

This gateway to the Central Plains and the North Sea will sooner or later be completely open to our two countries!

"Let's go, Inukami- gami-nii."

Park Roejang put away his wine jug and straightened his Daoist robe. "Let's go to the guest house to enjoy the food and drink of the Prince An's Residence. The real show is just beginning."

The two walked with light, unsteady steps along the corridor toward the backyard.