one
It started raining again in Canghuang.
Spring happens to be the rainy season in the southern region. The rain is continuous and the night sky is pitch black.
Prince Huai had just returned from Xu Jingye's cell, and he was not without pride. He returned to the main account, picked up the flag and stuck it in the direction of the imperial capital: "This place should not belong to him." Now that Zi Jin and Prince Liang already have Yunzhong, it is like a thorn in Wei Shangrui's heart. Prince Wu is stuck in the middle, wavering. Prince Liang has always been close to the first prince, so naturally he does not doubt Ran Yu's origins. As for the old fox Prince Wu, he wants Zi Jin to prove his identity before he is willing to cooperate.
This is easy to handle. Who doesn’t recognize the Gao Xin jade
King Huai knew that King Wu had another plan. King Wu wanted to see Gao Xinyu because there was a rumor that there was a secret treasure in the jade. If the rumor was true, it would be a great help to the uprising.
If they join forces, and Xu Jingye is in his hands, Wei Shangrui will definitely be in chaos.
For so many years, he was trapped in the desolate fiefdom, serving as a vassal king, and his life was not as good as that of a small official in the imperial capital.
By then, thousands of miles of rivers and mountains will be at his feet. Even the Xu family's murder of the late emperor will be settled.
However, he had sent someone to Yunzhong to contact Zijin before, but he had not returned yet. Zijin must have known that the Jade Cicada was the key to success and could not be given to others at will. If that was the case, then let Jingtan go, hoping that Zijin would not doubt it anymore.
As Prince Huai thought about this, he fell into a deep sleep sitting on his chair due to fatigue from the past few days.
Soon, someone came from outside the tent and said, "My Lord, Mr. Qi invites you to the White Horse Temple at the north gate for a while."
Prince Huai narrowed his eyes and asked, "What did you say?"
"The military advisor said that the spy sent to Xu's army just brought back a map of the enemy's defense."
Upon hearing this, Prince Huai lost his sleepiness immediately, picked up his cloak and left.
This Mr. Qi is none other than the talented Qi An. He had recently offered advice to capture Xu Jingye alive, and the King of Huai had full faith in him and held him in high regard.
Qi An, dressed in plain clothes, bowed his hands in greeting and said directly: "This is the defense map that the spy just sent me."
Prince Huai used the light to unfold it and took a look. He was delighted and said, "God is helping me! In this case, are you still afraid that Xu Jingye won't speak?"
"However, Xu Jingye is in our hands now, and we are afraid that Xu's army will make a desperate attempt. Your Highness should be careful and guard against it." Qi An said.
"But he refused to surrender to me no matter what."
"I have reminded my lord before that although he has taken his son with him to fight, all his belongings are in the Imperial Capital. If he surrenders, the Xu family will be wiped out."
"But if we spread such words, he will already have a rift with Wei Shangrui, so persuading him to surrender will be even more powerful. If he doesn't surrender, it's fine. Keeping him will embarrass his son. Let's see if he dares to take a step forward."
"My Lord is wise."
"Let's spread the word that Xu Jingye has joined my army. Upon hearing the news, Xu's army will be in chaos and defeated. If we strike hard at this time, we will surely win a great victory."
Qi An frowned: "My Lord, the battle line is too long now, aren't you worried about supplies?"
Prince Huai said disdainfully: "If you only care about the right time, right place, and right people, and you are always tied up, how can you accomplish anything great?"
Qi An asked again, "Your Majesty, aren't you afraid that the King of Yanping will bring the King of Liang to join the current emperor, and then we will be attacked from both sides?"
Prince Huai sneered, "I ordered him to seize Yunzhong from Xu Jingye, but he took the opportunity to occupy the land and become the king, and joined forces with Liangzhou to draw a clear line between us. I miscalculated. But those people in the Imperial Capital killed his parents and caused him to fall into this situation today. If you say he wants to go to Wei Shangrui, that fool, I don't believe it."
He added: "It doesn't matter whether he listens to me or not. I will just go straight to the capital, destroy Wei Shangrui, and then come back to deal with him."
"How are you going to explain to the people of the world why your Highness led his troops north under the banner of 'restoring the legitimate wife'? And how will the righteous people who came to join your Highness for this purpose feel?" Qi An asked.
"Why should I be afraid of this?" Prince Huai sneered. "After so many years, how can others know who is real and who is fake? The one who married my Princess Yanqing is the real Prince Ping of Yan. The other one must be fake. The traitor who pretended to be the orphan of the first crown prince should be killed."
Qi An said calmly: "The Lord actually has no regard for the friendship of the predecessor, and just wants to kill the present Lord and replace him for his own selfish desires?"
Prince Huai frowned: "Qian, you are so brave."
"I dare not."
Prince Huai glanced at him sideways and walked away.
After a long while, Qi An said to the back of the tent: "Generals Shen and Bai, please come out."
Three people walked out from behind the curtain beside the Guanyin statue. One of them was He Chuyi who was beside Shang Rui. The remaining two were both wearing military armor. The short one was Shen Mi, and the other one was Bai Chuan, who was tied up with a cloth stuffed in his mouth and He Chuyi's knife on his neck.
Qi An bowed and said, "My apologies, generals. You have heard what the Lord said."
Shen Mi replied dimly, "I have nothing to say. I, Shen, have actually been deceived by him and worked for him."
The other Bai Chuan, who had been untied, snorted coldly: "Mr. Qi, I used to admire your strategy, but I didn't expect you to be a slave of two surnames."
Unexpectedly, Qi An was not annoyed, but just smiled and said, "May I ask General Bai, what is a slave of two surnames? When the King of Huai raised his army and invited me to join the alliance, I was already the emperor's man."
Bai Chuan sneered: "Then you are a villain who pretends to obey but actually disobeys."
"Whether you are a villain or a servant, you can call me whatever you want as long as General Bai feels relieved. But Qi has something to say. How has the Southern Region been doing in the past six months since the Prince of Huai plotted rebellion? General, have you seen the corpses everywhere and the refugees displaced?"
"There will always be casualties in war," Bai Chuan replied.
"But why do we have to fight this war? If you say that we are seeking justice from the present emperor, then the general has just heard from the King of Huai that his oath has been treated as a joke. If you say that the present emperor is incompetent and the people are living in misery, then we need to enforce justice. But the present emperor has been ruling the country for more than ten years, is the nine provinces and four seas still safe?"
Bai Chuan's expression eased slightly, and he replied, "That... is because he is protected by his ancestors."
"Then how does the current emperor compare to Prince Huai?" Qi An asked.
Bai Chuan said nothing.
"General Bai has already made up his mind." Qi An paused, and then said, "Besides, the emperor has already promised to clear the former crown prince's grievances, posthumously confer the title of emperor and empress on the former crown prince and his wife, and move them to the Northern Mausoleum for burial."
The two generals were shocked when they heard this: "Mr. Qi, is what you said true?"
"Qi swears on his head that everything I said today is true."
two
It rained every day in Canghuang, and the ground was soaked into mud. Such weather was not conducive to marching day and night, and many soldiers fell ill.
However, Prince Huai insisted on his own way and took down two outposts of the Wei Army according to the defense map for two consecutive days, which made him feel proud.
Less than twenty miles away from the guards, Prince Huai ordered to set up camp.
As dawn approached, soldiers jumped off their horses and hurried into the tents, kneeling on the ground to report that all the food and grass in the northern camp had been burned.
Prince Huai was furious and slammed the table and stood up: "What's going on?"
The soldier trembled and answered: "I don't know what happened. Someone suddenly attacked from the rear, set fire to the food and grass, and then quickly withdrew."
"who is it?"
"I don't know."
"Asshole." Prince Huai angrily kicked down the nearest man.
"I think the commander-in-chief looks very much like Xu Chengzhi from the Gyeonggi Camp."
"Who is Xu Chengzhi?" Prince Huai had never heard of this name.
At this time, another soldier came to report that the enemy had attacked the military camp in Fenghui Town at night, and Hongwu led another 50,000 troops to encircle them from behind.
Prince Huai was anxious and angry. He drew his sword, shouted loudly, and split the table in half.
He shouted angrily, "Bring Xu Jingye up to me. Don't blame me for being ruthless if his son behaves like this."
The people in the tent received the order and hurried to do it.
Then the Prince of Huai said to the deputy general next to him: "Tell Xu Yang to surrender immediately, or I will sacrifice his father tomorrow morning."
As soon as the message was passed down, the man who was sent by the King of Huai to bring Xu Jingye came back in a panic, kneeling down and saying, "My Lord... Xu Jingye hanged himself in prison."
Prince Huai's eyes were red with anger: "Say it again?"
The man repeated it again in panic, but before he could finish his words, Prince Huai had already stabbed him in the eye socket, killing him instantly.
He thought that if he captured Xu Jingye alive, Wei Shangrui would be in great chaos, the front line suddenly lost its commander, and the army's morale was unstable. It was a good opportunity for him to take advantage of the opportunity to attack, but he didn't expect to be killed by surprise.
This was clearly a trap set by Wei Shangrui, waiting for Xu Jingye to relax and then attack him with all his strength. But why did Xu Jingye also die so coincidentally
He was about to ask for more details about Xu Jingye, but remembered that the man who reported the news had been killed by him, so he took his sword and went to the place where Xu Jingye was imprisoned.
Prince Huai had been keeping Xu Jingye in custody with the army. After setting up camp today, he was imprisoned in a dilapidated temple on the south side and was kept under very strict surveillance.
As soon as he entered the living room in the back hall of the dilapidated temple, he saw Xu Jingye's body hanging on the beam like a piece of rag.
Prince Huai looked at that face and asked in disbelief, "Is Xu Jingye really dead?" He was not asking anyone, but muttering to himself, as if he didn't believe it. Now that Xu Jingye is dead, how can he not avenge his father's murder? In this case, Xu Yang must be grief-stricken. He is young and energetic, and he is no match for Sima Lin in terms of winning hearts and minds. In terms of leading troops, his prestige is not as good as Hongwu. Naturally, the Xu family army can only obey those two.
The deputy general said, "My lord, we should block the news of Xu Jingye's death at this moment, and find someone with a similar figure to impersonate him on the battlefield, and use his life to force Xu's army to retreat."
At this time, someone else rolled over and shouted, "Report—"
Prince Huai closed his eyes, an ominous premonition filling his body: "What's the matter?"
"My lord, Shen Mi and his soldiers rebelled and took advantage of the chaos to attack from Wujiazhuang. They have now arrived at the foot of Qi Mountain." Shen Mi was originally assigned to the right wing as a vanguard, but he never expected that he would surrender to the enemy and launch a surprise attack.
Upon hearing this, Prince Huai turned around to look at Xu Jingye who was hanging in the air, and with a "puff", a mouthful of blood spurted out of his mouth.
"My Lord!" Everyone was shocked.
After a long while, Prince Huai finally recovered his breath and fled hastily with his men in a weak state. Only after he got on his horse did he remember to ask his accompanying subordinates to take Xu Jingye's body with them.
But when they returned to the dilapidated temple, there was no trace of the corpse.
three
In just a few days, Hongwu led his troops to an unstoppable victory.
The Huai Wang's party suffered a crushing defeat and had retreated from Canghuang to Huaizhou. Seeing that Xuzhou, the frontier of Huaizhou, was lost again, they had almost no way to retreat.
Jingtan hurriedly passed through the chaotic army from Xuzhou, and when she came to Yunzhong and saw Zijin, she had lost the glamour of a princess.
Jingtan was in Yunzhong City. When he saw Zijin and King Liang, he cried out in pain, "Sixth Uncle, Brother Yu, can you please save my father?"
King Liang sighed and said, "Jingtan, you must be tired after traveling all night. You should take a rest first."
When Jingtan heard this, she knew that there was little hope. The King of Liang had never had much contact with her father, and now it was even more unlikely that he would persuade him to risk his life to help Huaizhou.
She was originally a delicate young lady from a royal family. The greatest pain she had ever experienced in her life was that her lover didn't like her. At this moment, she completely lost her sense of propriety and knelt on the ground with a plop: "Sixth Uncle, Jingtan begs you."
King Liang stood up and said, "Jingtan, do you know what your father is doing now?"
Jingtan was stunned and shook his head: "When Jingtan left Huaizhou, it was my father who ordered people to break through and send me here. Jingtan doesn't know the rest."
King Liang said, "He fled to Canghuang and was defeated at every turn. Now he is trapped in Huaizhou and has no food or grass. He ordered the collection of food in the city. At first, it was voluntary, but later he even robbed and killed innocent people to steal food."
Jingtan didn't believe it and shook his head and said, "No."
King Liang sneered and said, "As the ruler of Huaizhou, he actually dug up the dam between Huaizhou and Canghuang in order to stop the pursuit behind him when he was defeated. The river water rushed down for thousands of miles, drowning how many people? He is so cruel and mad that not only do I not help him, but even God will not tolerate him."
King Liang turned away in anger.
Jingtan was speechless. Seeing that it was useless to beg him, he rushed to Zijin again: "Brother Yu, Brother Yu..."
Zijin leaned over and helped her up: "Jingtan, stand up and talk."
"Brother Yu, please save my father." Jingtan threw herself into his arms and cried bitterly.
Seeing this, the King of Liang paused, turned around and said sternly: "Ran Yu has a kind nature, don't take advantage of his kindness to harm him. As long as the King does not agree, it is useless for him to agree to you."
After hearing this, Jingtan burst into tears and called him father.
After crying for a while, she felt a little tired.
Zi Jin asked someone to cook a bowl of soup noodles for her.
Jingtan had been pampered since childhood and was still not used to such rough food. Although he was starving, he only ate two bites before putting down his chopsticks.
Zijin explained: "The conditions here are tough, you should eat a little so you don't get hungry at night."
But she refused to eat it anyway.
"Brother Yu, have you been eating this kind of thing since you were a child?"
Zijin smiled and said, "Why can't I eat it?"
"Is Yu Sheng, the one who saved you, good to you?"
"good."
"My father said you call him godfather?"
"Um."
"If Yu Sheng is like my father, will you save him?"
Zi Jin was slightly stunned.
Chu Zhong next to him frowned slightly. This girl was trying to persuade Zi Jin to save her father in a roundabout way.
"My father, he is not only your uncle, but also your father-in-law. You will call him father in the future, but you were so cruel that you didn't save him."
"Jingtan," Zijin frowned, "You also know that neither you nor I agreed to this marriage."
"I know that father and the others are using you. Brother Yu, you are so smart that you will definitely be able to see it."
Zijin said nothing, just looked at Jingtan and waited for her to continue.
"Although I said before that I liked Uncle Jiu and didn't want to marry you, I was wrong. I have changed my mind now, so my father asked me to persuade you. Brother Yu, now my father is trapped in Huaizhou, and the food and grass are cut off. The army of Hongwu may break into the city at any time. If you don't help my father now, then my father is really finished." She started crying again when she said this.
She cried for a while and then changed her mind, saying that even if Zi Jin didn't save his father, he would at least lend her Gao Xinyu.
Chu Zhong, who was standing beside him, knew that Zi Jin was soft-hearted and was a little anxious, fearing that he would be deceived by Jing Tan's cunning.
Zijin patted Jingtan on the shoulder and said, "Jingtan, you are old enough now and understand a lot of things. Things in this world cannot be measured by right or wrong, let alone personal feelings."
He was tired after a day of running around, and it was difficult for him to speak. He paused, thought for a while and said, "Speaking of Uncle Jiu, I think there are few uncles who don't hate him. But Jingtan can always understand Uncle Jiu's difficulties and even like him. Jingtan can give up his feelings for Uncle Jiu in order to save his father. I understand your heart."
Chu Zhong suddenly felt something was wrong, and hurriedly walked up to him, interrupting him and calling out, "Your Highness..."
He raised his hand to stop Chu Zhong from speaking, glanced at Jingtan, then at Chu Zhong, and then moved his gaze to the window, muttering, "I also hope that Jingtan understands me. Let's put Uncle Jiu aside for now. You want to exchange everything you have for your father, but I also have such a person in my heart, even if it means sacrificing everything I have, I will not hesitate to do so."
"If I beg you for my life, you still won't agree?"
Zijin sighed: "If it was just me, you could have whatever you wanted, but for her, I can't."
Jingtan sneered when he heard this. He knew that Zijin had already made up his mind and couldn't shake him at this moment.