After Transmigration: Building a Kingdom in Turbulent Times-Chapter 868 - 854: Changing the Emperor

Huyan You also thought this was the best time, because Liu Cong’s power had been divided, and if they didn’t act now, once the Five Xiongnu Tribes started demanding conditions, causing conflict, it would be unlikely that the tribes would follow Liu He’s command.

Oh, this was also taught to Huyan You by Ming Yu.

Anyway, Liu He found a time to invite Liu Cong to have a meal together.

Liu Cong came, not only with three hundred trusted aides, but also wearing armor under his clothes.

Who else would wear armor to have a meal with their brother, let alone bring three hundred trusted aides?

So Liu He did not hide anymore; as soon as he saw him, he immediately accused Liu Cong of rebellion and ordered his men to seize Liu Cong.

Liu Cong had long anticipated this and was prepared. As soon as Liu He made a move, he smashed a cup as a signal. The three hundred trusted aides split into two groups to send messages, while the rest charged in to fight. 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚

Liu Cong, courageous and strong, with his personal soldiers by his side, rose fiercely in anger, and Liu He was intimidated by the aura of blood and ferocity emanating from him, turning pale and retreating repeatedly.

The generals and guards in the room saw this, feeling a chill in their hearts, and their movements became sluggish.

Since Liu He ascended the throne, he had been harsh and unkind, rarely showing favor to the guards, let alone those generals who submitted out of fear.

They already felt that Liu He was inferior to the other princes, and seeing him frightened like this, they felt even more disappointed.

Everyone was disappointed, severely affecting morale. Even though this was just a battle of a thousand men, the impact of morale remained significant.

Liu Cong, high in morale, quickly broke through the encirclement and escaped.

Liu He’s face was ashen; this was in Boping County, where Liu Cong had significant power. Therefore, he dared not deploy many people, only calling on several generals and hiding three hundred warriors with swords and spears in the buildings on both sides, with an additional five hundred guards outside, believing he had enough manpower but not expecting Liu Cong to escape.

Liu Cong didn’t run far; after running two streets, he encountered his reinforcements, and then he led the army back, causing instant chaos in Boping County.

In a certain residential house in Boping County, Ming Yu heard the thunderous sound of killing and shouting and did not hesitate to get up and leave with his people.

Wu Erlang was also prepared; three days ago, Ming Yu had him pack their things, saying they might have to leave at any time.

The scouts with the team went out to gather information and soon reported back: "Sir, the south of the city has already been closed; no one can get out for now."

Before the words were finished, two more people ran back from the other street, saying, "Sir, the east of the city has not been closed yet, but many people heard the sounds of killing, and on the way back, I saw many people fleeing to the east of the city."

The people from another team said: "The situation in the west of the city is unclear, but to go west, we must pass through the main street area. Currently, the Xiongnu Army is fighting in the three streets over there, and it’s too dangerous to go through."

"The North City Gate hasn’t reacted yet; when I came back, the city gate was open, and no one seemed to notice."

Ming Yu let out a sigh of relief and immediately said, "We will exit through the North City Gate."

This place was originally in the north of the city and closer to the North City Gate.

In Boping County, Liu He resided in the west of the city, where many court ministers lived nearby, and Liu Cong’s temporary residence was also in the west of the city, although he had mostly been staying in the camp outside the city recently to avoid Liu He’s aggression.

As one of Huyan You’s most valued advisors, Ming Yu had a courtyard at his residence, but under the pretense of repaying an old favor, he had bought a house in the north of the city where he lived next door to Wu Erlang.

The pretense to Huyan You was to repay a favor and also to support Wu Erlang while helping him calculate the accounts in the caravan.

Huyan You often received gifts from Wu Erlang and was quite fond of this merchant, so he agreed.

For such a confidential matter as when Liu He intended to kill Liu Cong, Huyan You naturally wouldn’t reveal it to Ming Yu, even if he was a confidant, but Ming Yu still guessed it and had Wu Erlang prepare.

Ming Yu took advantage of the chaos in the city to escape through the North City Gate and then temporarily lost track of the situation in Boping County.

He led his people to make a large detour to the south of Anping Country to rendezvous with Beigong Chun.

In this battle, Liu He completely lost control of Boping County.

Liu Cong, who already had prestige in the army, and was previously designated as the Great General by Liu Yuan, was able to easily direct a large-scale mobilization of troops, leading the dispatched Chief of Staff Tian Mi and General of Martial Defense Liu Rui to defect to Liu Cong without hesitation.

Liu Cong, seeing this, happily accepted them and then widely publicized it.

On the other side, unable to find Ming Yu, Huyan You could only discuss countermeasures with Minister Liu Cheng. Liu Cheng suspected that someone had leaked information; otherwise, Liu Cong couldn’t have known about their plan.

So the two of them advised Liu He to first investigate the traitor.

But with the fierce fighting outside and people not gathered, how could they investigate the traitor?

Huyan You and Liu Cheng sorted through the people in their camp and arbitrarily concluded that Liu Anguo, Liu Yu, and Liu Long were the ones with differing intentions, as they usually had closer interactions with Liu Cong.

All three were of royal blood, with Liu Yu and Liu Long being the Fifth Prince and Sixth Prince, respectively.

With this judgment, Huyan You quickly had the three killed.

Their actions lost them popular support, and within days, Liu Cong led the army to Liu He’s residence and killed him before Liu He could even speak a word.

Huyan You and Liu Cheng managed to escape in advance, and at that moment, Huyan You felt regret, realizing he had acted too soon against Liu Cong.

He tearfully said, "If only Mr. Ming were by my side, there might still be a chance."

Huyan You’s aides, in panic, defended themselves, saying, "We have already sent people to search, but because of the chaos in the city, Mr. Ming’s residence is now empty, and we’ve had no success finding him."

Upon hearing this, filled with fury, Huyan You angrily said, "You must be jealous of his usefulness so you did not make a sincere effort to find him."

Before the aides could further defend themselves, Liu Cong’s pursuing soldiers caught up with them. After a brief resistance, considering Huyan You’s earlier words, their hearts chilled, they quickly fled on their own.

Huyan You was soon captured, but Liu Cong didn’t hold a trial and directly killed him, hanging his head by the roadside to deter the soldiers who followed and caused trouble.

Liu Cong’s methods were ruthless; aside from killing off all the ministers who either willingly or unwillingly followed Liu He, he also killed his implicitly silent second brother Liu Gong, who had always remained hidden and did not dare to make a sound.

Thus, among Liu Yuan’s seven sons, only Liu Cong himself and one exiled, Liu Yi, remained.

Complacently, Liu Cong sat in Liu He’s place, yet apart from his confidants shouting for him to ascend the throne, the other ministers remained silent.

Although they were Xiongnu people, they were influenced somewhat by the Han people, and even if Liu He was wrong, Liu Cong shouldn’t have committed regicide.

Moreover, he killed Liu Gong.

Liu Gong was his second brother, a prince who had always stayed quiet without causing trouble. If Liu Cong didn’t harbor ambitions of disloyalty, why would he kill Liu Gong?

Therefore, Liu He’s accusation that Liu Cong harbored disloyal ambitions wasn’t baseless at all.

People are such peculiar creatures.

They are willing to support someone to become emperor, but once that person wants to truly become an emperor, they are unwilling to let him be one.

Liu Huanle and Liu Yang, among other ministers, also remained silent.