Last night's heavy snow was really flying all over the sky, and the streets were covered with snow. In that vast expanse of white snow, there were too many footprints left behind, which didn't attract much attention. Among them was an old man wearing a coarse linen robe, whose rugged face still had several fresh scars.

  He was standing at the entrance of a small alley not far from the palace wall, and as soon as he thought of what the Empress had said to him two days ago, the old man burst into tears, his shoulders shaking.

  "I have already known the truth, and I cannot let Cheng Lang die in vain." At that time, the empress was still there, and when she first learned about the situation, she was also shocked and then heartbroken.

  The old man said: "But this matter is ominous and perilous, and more than half of it will not preserve your life. The people outside the city have already urged me several times, can't you really abandon the prince? Your Majesty..." The old man bowed his head and spoke sorrowfully: "Forgive the old slave for overstepping. His Majesty is no longer the His Majesty of those years, what true heart does he still have towards you! Why must you..."

  The queen let out a fearless sigh, the old man in front of her had been following her since she married into the prince's mansion. So many years of cold and icy life in the palace, if it weren't for these old people from the hidden residence period to accompany her, perhaps with her proud and arrogant personality, she would have ended her own life long ago.

  She helped the old man who was kneeling on the ground, and said softly: "The palace knows its own mind, and does not intend to act against its will. Even if His Majesty has forgotten his kindness in the past, the palace cannot abandon him. Besides, even if he leaves the palace, Cheng Lang is already gone."

  The old man heard this and knew that the matter was irreversible. In a daze, he felt even more resentment towards the late emperor. Such a deeply loving and righteous empress, yet the emperor's heart was unknowable. But the past is gone, and saying more is useless.

  At this time, the queen took out a coarse cloth bag from her sleeve and stuffed it into his hand. "This palace is dying, and Dalang is far away in Yu Zhang. This imperial city and throne are probably powerless for him to fight again. But I hope you can hand over this cloth bag to him personally. And advise him not to return to Pingyang again, if he wants to compete with each other, he must preserve his strength. If things go well, I hope my death can bring him a chance to fight."

  After regaining consciousness, the old man touched the scars on his face, gazed tearfully at the imperial city surrounded by black walls and red doors, knelt solemnly in the snow, bowed his head towards the direction of the empress's palace, and then disappeared into the snowy alleys.

  Five days later, the city of Pingyang was officially handed over, and the current crown prince inherited the throne, known as Emperor Yin. The first edict issued by Emperor Yin after taking office was to summon the princes with the same surname who were scattered in various fiefs to rush to Pingyang to attend the funeral and mourn for the late emperor.

  Everything in Pingyang City seemed to be going smoothly, and the transfer of state affairs between the old and new dynasties was not delayed due to the funeral of the previous emperor. Emperor Yin had secretly worried that the words of the former Empress in the Wuying Hall and the matter of her self-immolation would make many old ministers doubt and hinder his succession to the throne.

  Now it seems that such worries are somewhat superfluous. Except for a few old ministers who were close to the deposed crown prince and died of old age, all other things can be said to have gone smoothly.

  It was often in such seemingly calm times that storms were stirred up. Within just three short days after the edict recalling all kings was issued, rumors that had been suppressed before once again resurfaced.

  In the taverns, tea houses, markets and even in the brothels, it was widely rumored that the death of the previous emperor was quite suspicious, and that it was actually a plot between the current emperor and the empress dowager. Although both the previous emperor's sons eventually discovered the truth, they were ultimately forced to take their own lives, following the previous emperor in death, dying heroically.

  In the land of three teachings and nine flows, rumors spread easily. After a few days, the entire capital's streets and alleys were already aware of it. What's even more frightening is that once the rumor was passed on, people added oil to the fire, with various distortions emerging. Some even claimed that the current crown prince was not from the imperial family at all, and had no royal bloodline.

  When Tai Yin Emperor learned of this matter, apart from getting angry, he was also at a loss for what to do. After all, the law does not blame the masses, and it's hard to make everyone in the capital city be silenced.

  And the storm is called a storm, naturally one wave of wind and waves is not enough, there are still many waiting for him.

  After the envoys returned one after another, only Jiangzhe Road and Jiangxi Road did not come back to report. What's more, the Yangtze River, which blocked the south and north, reported that several important navigation channels and ferry crossings had been controlled by heavy troops on the southern bank, and all goods and personnel heading south and north were taken over in one night.

  "It's going to be overturned! It's going to be overturned!"

  The Emperor of Yin finished reading the memorial sent by the Central Government and was so angry that he directly smashed his teacup.

  Although he expected the deposed crown prince to make a move, judging from the movements of various government offices in the capital, especially the Weiyuan Marquis's mansion, those who had been close to Yu Zhang were all on guard. For example, the Weiyuan Marquis's family moved south together, presumably because they feared that after he took power, they would be held accountable in the autumn.

  But he never expected that the energy of this abandoned crown prince would be so powerful, not only in Jiangxi Road where his fief is located, but also in Jiangnan and Zhejiang Road, which are known as granaries.

  With the two provinces of Jiangsu and Jiangxi, deposing the Crown Prince is truly a wealthy and grain-rich endeavor, with his own Yueyang army. Creating a state within a state isn't a difficult task either, and by relying on the natural barrier of the Changjiang River, he completely severed the connection between the imperial court and the land of Min-Guang.

  With the current situation, the Yin Emperor did not expect it, but the Yu Zhang Wang Fu had been planning for a long time. Since Wei Yuan Hou brought the Yu Zhang army back to their fiefdom, this plan has already been laid out.

  According to Xie Zhen's estimate, even if Chengdi did not die, after the spring thaw, the court would also be very likely to take action against the Yu Zhang army. At that time, the King of Yu Zhang would have no choice but to fight desperately, and his life or death would be uncertain. Although it was for self-preservation, it would ultimately harm his reputation.

  But who would have thought that, with a heart as impatient as Emperor Yin's, he couldn't even wait for Emperor Cheng to grow old and wanted to take power into his own hands. This actually gave the Yu Zhang faction an excuse to break away from the imperial court.

  What a pity for Empress Dowager, the birth mother of Yu Zhang Wang...

  "Your Highness, have some porridge." The Princess of Yu Zhang was currently accompanying the King of Yu Zhang in the study. Last night, the King of Yu Zhang did not sleep all night, and this morning he had not even drunk a drop of water. As the only person by his side, Pei Yanran naturally also knew the reason.

  Yesterday, a dignified old man with a terrifying appearance came to the Wang Mansion. He was disheveled and looked quite wretched. However, as soon as King Yu Zhang saw him, he personally welcomed him into his study, where they had an in-depth conversation that lasted for over two hours. Later, he ordered Lady Pei to arrange a high-end guest room for the old man's residence and immediately dispatched several of the mansion's best physicians to take his pulse.

  After settling the old man, Pei realized that he was also a familiar person. However, the old man's face had been ruined and was covered in dirt, so she hadn't recognized him at first.

  What kind of situation requires the Queen's first lady-in-waiting to dress up so elaborately, ruining her looks, and come to Yu Zhang?

  When she saw the pouch in Prince Yu's hand in the study, everything became clear. This was the Empress Dowager's solemn entrustment before her death, containing her insight into the late Emperor's cause of death and suggesting that Prince Yu make a big deal out of the late Emperor's and her own deaths to find an excuse for not returning to the capital.

  But isn't this price a bit too high...

  Yu Zhang Wang did not disappoint the Empress Dowager's high hopes, and in the capital city, a rumor was stirred up about the new emperor's intention to poison the previous emperor and ascend to the throne prematurely. Following this, he refused to recognize the new emperor and was unwilling to obey the imperial edict to go to Pingyang. At the same time, outside the city of Yu Zhang, he chose a place with excellent feng shui to establish a ceremonial tomb for the late Emperor and Empress, and held grand sacrificial rites.

  Xie Xuan, who had already deployed troops in various places on the south bank of the Changjiang River, also took action. All northbound ships on the river were detained at ports and were not allowed to transport supplies to the north shore. As a result, this spring, major cities in the north, which heavily relied on grain from the south, all experienced food shortages, and grain prices suddenly soared.

  The various batches of grain that were supposed to be transported northward were diverted to Sichuan and Yunnan under the direct intervention of the government. This move further boosted the goodwill of the people in these two regions towards Yu Zhang Wang.

  This step-by-step plan, with each link tightly connected to the next, is a concentrated manifestation of the years of cultivating personnel and channels by Yu Zhang Wang. And all these arrangements were indeed hidden enough to catch off guard the newly appointed Emperor of Darkness, who was slow to react.

  What he worried about most had finally arrived, in line with the changing times and the shift in people's minds.

  After the Dragon Raises its Head Day on February 2, following the first month of the year, Yu Zhang Wang issued a proclamation denouncing Yin Emperor for being disloyal and unfilial, then declared himself emperor, proclaiming succession to the orthodox lineage of the previous emperor.

  From then on, the world was divided into two parts, with the Changjiang River as the boundary, and the river was used to govern.