After a long silence, Zheng Yu finally lost his temper and said, "Since the Third Prince has something to teach you, I will say the same thing - I am all ears."
Zheng Miao didn't care what the deeper meaning behind his words was, and continued, "Why don't you invite your father, the King of Lingnan, out and persuade him to retire in the capital Luoyang. Brother Yu knows that the Lingnan Palace is a thorn in the court's side, but it is difficult to remove it for the time being. Therefore, as long as the King of Lingnan leaves this place and returns to the capital to retire, Brother Yu can gradually reduce some of the military power and fiefdoms when he is in charge of the Lingnan Palace. The court will gain benefits and face, and everything will be fine."
In a hurry, Zheng Miao spoke very stiffly, fearing that Zheng Yu would not understand him after a few words.
But Zheng Yu asked, "Your Highness, do you want me to sell out my father for fame?"
Zheng Miao felt a chill in his heart when he heard his words. He thought that although these words sounded harsh, they were indeed true. He said, "It's not like he sold out his father for fame. The Prince of Lingnan is so old, he must return to his roots. If he can go back while his body can still support him, wouldn't that be the Prince's wish?"
Zheng Yu suddenly raised his head and looked directly into Zheng Miao's eyes: "What good will it bring to you, the Third Prince, if you help me ascend the throne?"
Zheng Miao, who was always calm and composed, actually felt a little shy when Zheng Yu looked at him, and said, "I came up with a plan to eliminate the threat of Lingnan Palace to the court, so naturally I will have a share when my father rewards me. At that time, perhaps I will be made the crown prince and let me inherit the throne..." At the end, Zheng Miao felt a little guilty and his tone gradually weakened.
“Hahahaha!” Zheng Yu stood up from his seat, looked up to the sky and laughed, “Your Highness the Third Prince has made a really good plan. You want to be the emperor, don’t I? If I say that my father was invited back by you guys and it’s like returning to his roots, then it would be better for us to raise an army and pull Zheng Rong down from the throne and become the emperor ourselves. Only then can we truly return to our roots and accomplish our mission!”
Zheng Miao was so frightened by Zheng Yu's unadorned words of rebellion that he could not think of any words to say in response for a moment.
At this moment, a man suddenly rushed out from outside the tent and said to Zheng Miao: "Third brother, I didn't think it through. Now we can't hesitate any longer. We have to lead the entire army to rush into this basin and out of Lingnan Road first. We can discuss other things later." The person who spoke was Qiu Yizi.
Seeing Qiu Yi's panicked expression, Zheng Miao hurriedly asked, "Don't worry, my dear brother. What happened that requires such urgency?"
Qiu Yi said: "It's all my fault for not thinking it through. This Zheng Yu probably doesn't want to be the prince of Lingnan, but wants to be the crown prince or the emperor! Think about it, if Lingnan King Zheng Gui is captured, how long can Zheng Yu, the second generation Lingnan King, be the king? If Zheng Gui rebels, the first thing the court will do is to kill Zheng Nuo as a sacrifice, and Zheng Yu will be the only heir of Zheng Gui. If Lingnan Dao succeeds in rebelling, then this Zheng Gui will be the emperor, and Zheng Yu will be the crown prince, and the future emperor!"
Zheng Miao was unusually calm. He pointed at Zheng Yu and sneered, "Humph! He just told me about this idea. It seems that he has big ambitions. He is another wolf from Zhongshan!"
Zheng Yu, who was very proud just now, was actually a little scared by what Zheng Miao said, and defended himself: "If a man does not work for himself, he will be punished by heaven and earth. If I don't fight to the death, not to mention the throne, even my life may not be able to end well. Isn't it the same for you, the Third Prince!"
Zheng Miao was immediately struck by his words. The usual gentleness and kindness on his face disappeared immediately. He said viciously: "Such a thing is useless in the world. Not only will it harm the court, but it will also kill brothers and fathers. Where is Yuchi Jiming? Kill him now!"
Yuchi Jiming always took orders from Qiu Yizhi, but Qiu Yizhi followed the lead of the Third Prince Zheng Miao. Now that Zheng Miao had given an order, she was a little at a loss.
But Qiu Yizi advised: "Killing such a villain would dirty our hands. Leaving him as he is might have other uses." After that, he took two steps forward, raised his foot and kicked Zheng Yu in the stomach.
Qiu Yizi used all his strength in this kick, intending to knock Zheng Yu to the ground. However, he did not expect Zheng Yu to be so fat that his kick seemed to hit a huge pillow. Instead, Qiu Yizi was bounced back two steps and almost fell on his back.
Qiu Yi missed the target with one strike, and became angry and shouted, "Jiming, knock him down!"
Yuchi Jiming finally stopped hesitating, leaped forward, and hit Zheng Yu hard on the back with his palm, and Zheng Yu fell down with a bang, falling face down on the ground.
Zheng Yu was as fat as a barrel. He wanted to turn over, but failed. He suddenly remembered that he was still in his own stone city. Except for the two hundred people in Zheng Miao's camp, the rest were his men. He shouted at the top of his voice: "Someone come! Someone come quickly! Someone is trying to murder the Prince of Lingnan!"
Qiu Yizi was anxious after hearing this and hurriedly shouted, "Jiming, what are you still standing there for? Shut him up!"
Yuchi Jiming agreed and stepped lightly on Zheng Yu's back with a little force. Zheng Yu stopped screaming and became breathless. He even foamed at the corners of his mouth and looked very embarrassed.
Qiu Yizhi said again: "Jiming, be careful, this man cannot be killed yet."
Yuchi Jiming then put down his foot that was stepping on Zheng Yu's back: "Uncle, you spoke just in time. If it was a little later, his spine would have been broken by me."
Zheng Miao said, "It's better to kill this kind of person. What's the point of keeping him alive?"
Qiu Yizi immediately replied, "This man has great ambitions but little talent. There is no benefit in his death, and there is no use in keeping him alive." He changed the subject and said, "The situation is urgent now. The longer we delay, the more danger we will face. Third brother, please follow me to break out. If the King of Lingnan reacts and catches us in the trap, we will be finished!"
After that, Qiu Yizi actually took Zheng Miao's hand and ran out of the tent, saying as he walked: "When Zheng Yu wakes up, he will definitely tell King Lingnan about this. When King Lingnan knows about it, he will definitely take action against us. If we kill Zheng Yu, King Lingnan will be even more angry and will also take action to get rid of us. Now we have to leave this dead place first, otherwise everything else will be in vain."
However, outside the tent, all the soldiers had gathered and lined up neatly. Their faces were full of nervousness, but they were still calm. It was obvious that they had been mobilized and trained. I also saw that several large carts loaded with ceremonial guards had been emptied, loaded with weapons and baggage, and harnessed to horses, ready to set off.
Qiu Yizhi said: "There is no time to lose, Third Brother, hurry up and set off. The ceremonial objects you brought from the capital, as well as the imperial sedan chair given by the emperor, are too heavy, so how about throwing them away?"
Zheng Miao listened to him and mounted his horse: "These are the reputation of the court. We can't take them, and we can't let them fall into the hands of the enemy. Let's burn them!"
"Alright!" Qiu Yizhi said, and then stretched out his hand to call Zhao Chengxiao, "Brother Zhao, did you hear what the Third Prince said? Send a few brothers to burn the ceremonial chariot, and we will set off immediately!"
After hearing the order, Zhao Chengxiao straightened the formation and ordered his men to sprinkle some gunpowder on the imperial chariot and ceremonial guards. He lit a match and threw himself into the chariot. Then, these objects representing the royal majesty were suddenly ignited with flames and soon they were completely unrecognizable.
Qiu Yizi was riding on the back of his own Ferghana horse. Seeing the flames blazing, he suddenly praised, "Good, burning well, burning well!" He then whipped the horse and shouted, "Brothers, follow me!" Then he squeezed the horse's belly, and the blue horse rushed forward like an arrow.
Zhao Chengxiao and his eighteen personal soldiers who were following closely behind him also shouted loudly, loosened the reins, urged their horses to gallop out as well.
Yuchi Jiming followed Qiu Yi's order, rode a brisk horse, and closely guarded the Third Prince Zheng Miao, following behind the large group of people.
Behind them came the other two hundred Shanyin militiamen and the ceremonial guards brought by Zheng Miao from the capital Luoyang. Although they had no horses, their huge shields and crossbows had been placed on their carts. They did not even wear rattan shields, but only held light Japanese swords and followed the cavalry forward at a fast pace.
The rigorous training these local militiamen received on weekdays finally came in handy here. They rushed forward as fast as they could, and when they arrived at the gate of Shicheng with the cavalry, the defenders of Lingnan Road in the city had not yet fully reacted.
An officer guarding the gate of the Lingnan Army saw that Qiu Yizhi and others were coming with ill intentions, so he bravely stood at the gate and shouted loudly: "Stop! You have committed a serious crime by ramming into the military camp. Stop now!"
Qiu Yizhi couldn't listen to his orders, so he whipped his beloved horse hard. The horse was very human, knowing that its master's life depended on it, so it kicked its four hooves and flew into the air, landing right next to the officer who was yelling. Qiu Yizhi was overjoyed when he saw this, and drew out the Western Region sword worn on his waist, chopped down from top to bottom on the horse's back, and cut the officer in two from the shoulder.
The rest of the soldiers guarding on both sides of the city gate were all shocked when they saw this drastic change - however, the Lingnan army was, after all, composed of veterans who had long fought against the southern barbarians, and were much more capable than the official troops in the Central Plains and Jiangnan who had never been in battle.
Another officer among the gatekeepers saw that his chief officer was dead. Although he did not know the cause and effect, he immediately made the most correct judgment: "Quick, close the door quickly, don't let the murderer escape."
When the other soldiers heard this, they immediately reacted and pushed and pulled, trying to close the gate of the stone city tightly.
It happened that at this time Zhao Chengxiao arrived with 18 cavalrymen. Without any orders, they immediately took up their swords and killed the Lingnan soldiers who were closing the gate.
These soldiers from Lingnan Road were not prepared for the battle in a hurry. They had few weapons and incomplete equipment. How could they match this group of elite personal soldiers who had experienced hundreds of battles? In a few moments, they were killed and fled in all directions.
Seeing that the city gate was under his control, Qiu Yizi quickly ordered his soldiers not to pursue the enemy, and stood at the gate to escort the large group of troops out of the city.
The troops all knew that time was precious and opportunities were rare, so they did not need Qiu Yi's mobilization order and immediately filed out of the stone city gate and arrived at the basin outside the stone city that was used as the base of the King of Lingnan.
The Lingnan Army in Shicheng has already taken action on this matter and is gradually organizing a team to hunt down Zheng Miao, Qiu Yizi and others.
Qiu Yizhi saw this from inside the gate, and ordered the troops to return along the same route they had taken yesterday and leave this dangerous place through the valley. At the same time, he pointed at Zhao Chengxiao, "Iron Head Jiao", Meng Hong and other strong men and told them to stay for the time being and close the city gates first. (To be continued)