The Eldest Daughter Is Beautiful and Saucy
Chapter 868: dignity
Chapter 868 Dignity
Li Mao had calculated the time. Unless Bai Qingyan had an unexpected opportunity, he would not be able to lead his troops back before May.
Seeing that everyone was still in shock over the news of the Princess Zhenguo’s return, Shen Jingzhong suddenly turned around and stabbed towards the direction of King Liang with his sword. Fu Ruoxi and Xie Yu shouted loudly and suddenly stood up, knocking down the imperial guards guarding them, and shouted: “Prime Minister Lu! Lord Dong, Lord Lu, run!”
“Protect His Majesty!” Fan Yuhuai protected King Liang behind him, drew his sword and shouted.
Prince Liang was wearing an extremely heavy formal dress. Fan Yuhuai pulled him back and he fell to the ground. He was then helped up by the imperial guards and fled into the palace.
King Liang shouted angrily: “Kill them! Don’t spare any of them! Kill them all!”
Seeing this, the prince stumbled to his feet, rushed to the white marble fence nearby, and hid himself with his head in his hands.
The court ministers who were forced to kneel in front of the hall took advantage of the chaos to stand up, pushed away the imperial guards beside them, and fled indiscriminately. Some were killed by the imperial guards’ swords, while others escaped in embarrassment.
Outside the hall, there was chaos.
“Report…” Another spy rushed up and cried, “Report to Your Majesty! Princess Zhenguo is leading her troops in a fierce battle with the Pingyang army. Upon seeing this, the Yuanping and Shuoyang rebels opened the gates of Dadu. The Pingyang army is under attack from both sides!”
Fan Yuhuai, Li Mao and others opened their eyes wide. They didn’t expect Bai Qingyan to come back so quickly. It’s only been a few days… Did Bai Qingyan grow wings? Could it be that the generals defending the cities where Bai Qingyan led his army did not resist or stop him?
“Lord Fan!” Li Mao hurriedly squeezed to the side of Fan Yuhuai and grabbed Fan Yuhuai’s arm. “The Princess Zhenguo is back. Our hopes are all on the Pingyang Army. We can’t defend the palace anymore. We should send the Imperial Army to fight out of the Imperial City and contain the Yuanping Rebellion Army and the Shuoyang Army from behind. Otherwise… the Pingyang Army will be attacked from both sides. If the Pingyang Army is gone… all our hopes will be gone!”
King Liang threw away Fan Yuhuai who was protecting him and said, “All hope is gone. Have you forgotten? We still have bargaining chips! Bai Qingyan raised an army to defend the king for my father and the crown prince. We have my father… and the crown prince in our hands. What are we afraid of? Go… and capture the crown prince!”
Prince Liang announced to the outside world that the deposed crown prince attempted to assassinate the emperor, and the imperial physician was unable to save him, so the emperor died. But in fact… Prince Liang did not take action against his father.
He had the Jin Emperor placed under house arrest. He wanted to keep the Jin Emperor alive so that the Jin Emperor could see with his own eyes that he could sit firmly on the throne even without the Jin Emperor’s support.
He also wanted the Jin Emperor, who had always refused to personally issue an edict to exonerate Concubine Tong and the Second Prince, to watch carefully how he overturned the verdict for Concubine Tong and the Second Prince.
Although Li Mao and Fan Yuhuai both disapproved at the time, they did not expect that keeping the emperor would give them an extra bargaining chip.
Soon, the prince, who was so frightened that he was shaking all over and unable to stand up, was dragged in by the imperial guards.
Li Mao said to King Liang again: “Even so, we still have to save the Pingyang army!”
“Fan Yuhuai, dispatch 20,000 imperial guards out of the city to support the Pingyang army, and send another 5,000 men to push the deposed crown prince onto the city wall. If Bai Qingyan dares to attack the city, push the deposed crown prince down immediately! Order these 5,000 men to delay as much time as possible to defend the imperial city.”
Prince Liang spoke calmly, as if he had already made a plan: “The remaining 5,000 people… immediately escort me and the others to quietly break out of the capital from the east gate. As long as my father is in our hands, it doesn’t matter if they break through the capital! Our foundation is still there!”
Li Mao thought about it for a moment and nodded, “Your Majesty is right! But I think… pushing the deposed prince off the tower will provoke those rebels to attack the city more fiercely, and… the news that the late emperor has passed away has spread. If Bai Qingyan is only loyal to the prince and does not recognize the emperor, then there will be trouble!”
King Liang nodded, thinking that Li Mao was right, and ordered Fan Yuhuai to do as he was told.
Fan Yuhuai immediately issued an order.
Li Mao and Chu Zhongxing got together to discuss where they should go. Chu Zhongxing thought they should go to Guangling City. There was the Guanghe Canal in front of Guangling City, which had always been easy to defend but difficult to attack. But Li Mao thought they should go to Luohong City.
However, Li Mao felt that Guangling City was too close to the State of Yan. Instead of going to Guangling City, it would be better to go to Luohong City on the north side of Guanghe Canal. Now the Guanghe Canal was being built in Luohong City, where there were soldiers and food, and it was close to Yanwo. Once the Guanghe Canal was built… Yanwo would become a huge granary for the State of Jin and must not be lost!
“Although we only have enough troops to go out from the east gate, we should disperse in different directions after leaving the city… to confuse the pursuers! Buy time for Your Majesty!” Li Mao pointed his finger at the map and said in a low voice, “It would be best if Your Majesty’s troops travel light, and the other troops can be more powerful, mainly to attract the pursuers! And your Majesty’s whereabouts must not be known to anyone except you and me!”
Prince Liang didn’t listen to what Li Mao and Chu Zhongxing were saying. He sat on the dragon throne, staring at the deposed crown prince who stretched his neck to look out, sneering: “Why… are you still expecting Bai Qingyan to come in and make you emperor? Look at what you look like now… You’re begging for mercy in front of so many court officials, and you even peed your pants twice, and the smell is still there! How can you sit on this chair?”
Prince Liang stroked the dragon throne with his fingers, his eyes like a knife.
Upon hearing this, the deposed prince withdrew his gaze, and felt even more that his body was not dry yet… The chilly feeling made him feel extremely ashamed.
He wet his pants and begged for mercy from King Liang… He really couldn’t hold his head up high!
But at that time, it was a matter of life and death, how could the deposed prince care about his dignity?
“Your Majesty…” Li Mao spoke at the right time, “Your Majesty, I have already discussed with the Minister of Revenue. Please pack lightly and prepare to set off with me immediately.”
·
Outside the capital city.
The moment the black sail and white python flag appeared from the rolling dust raised by thousands of troops, the general of the Pingyang army was already panicked. He knew that the one who was fighting against them in the capital city was Bai Jinxiu, the sister of Princess Zhenguo. So the black sail and white python flag representing the Bai family must have come to support Bai Jinxiu when it appeared.
When Wang Meng, the general of the Pingyang army, saw the fast horses rushing in the front, with a white horse, silver armor, and a red cloak fluttering, and a woman holding a sun-shooting bow, he was suddenly overwhelmed. It turned out to be the Princess Zhenguo who led the troops herself.
Hearing the cheers of the rebels on the walls of Dadu City and Bai Jinxiu’s order to open the city gates to attack from both inside and outside, according to the wartime strategy, at this time… the Pingyang army should evacuate quickly.
But… General Wang Meng, who led the Pingyang army, knew that if they withdrew at this moment, the troops led by Princess Zhenguo would enter the capital, and the imperial city would be in danger! Your Majesty is in danger!
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