Chapter 532 Close the doors and windows

"What did you say? The emperor is dead? The King of Chu has already reached Luoyang???"

The writing brush in Xiang Wang's hand fell to the ground with a thud. The small piece of sandalwood rolled on the table before falling to the ground with a crisp clink.

King Xiang rubbed his temples, never expecting the emperor to be defeated so quickly. It was no exaggeration to say that the defeat was swift and devastating. He had been attacking Taiyuan for over a week, and it seemed that Taiyuan was within his grasp, but then the emperor died!

King Xiang slumped back in his chair, feeling somewhat powerless. He still had 20,000 troops, but the people in the court didn't listen to him much. The Ji family father and son disagreed with him on the battlefield, and these days they were just dragging him down in the fighting.

Taiyuan clearly only had Qi Rong left, and he had already been wounded by his own generals last time, yet these two father and sons, who were dragging him down, let him go.

King Xiang sighed, recalling the words his queen had spoken to him before he went to war, and a sense of annoyance and regret welled up in his heart.

All that had happened was enough for the Ninth Prince to take his life. Moreover, now that the Ninth Prince had reached the capital and the throne was within his grasp, there was no way he would spare him.

King Xiang sighed. The Ninth Prince was not the emperor, and he still needed to have some leverage. Thinking of this, King Xiang pondered for a while.

Now we can only take Taiyuan first. The emperor's golden seal is in his possession. Now that the emperor is dead, he will use the golden seal to mobilize troops from all over the country and turn them towards Taiyuan. After taking Taiyuan, he will gather the troops together and use the pretext of defending the emperor to fight back.

Thinking of this, a hint of consideration flashed in the eyes of the King of Xiang, and the two of them summoned the Ji family father and son.

When the Ji family father and son arrived, they placed the golden seal on the table without saying a word: "His Majesty is dead. You two, will you fight or flee? Give me an answer today!"

When the Ji family father and son heard the news from the King of Xiang, their eyes widened in disbelief, as if they had not expected the emperor to be defeated so quickly.

The original plan was that as long as the emperor could hold out for half a month, reinforcements would definitely arrive, and if they could capture Taiyuan within a month, the predicament would be resolved, and the King of Chu would be no threat.

How long has it been? Mengjin City has fallen!

Ji Chang'an paused for a moment before asking, "How did His Majesty die?"

King Xiang glanced at Ji Chang'an: "He committed suicide."

Ji Chang'an glanced at his father, then knelt before the Prince of Xiang: "Your subject is willing to follow Your Highness's lead!"

After his son knelt down, Lord Ji quickly followed suit, clasping his hands in a fist salute: "Your subject is also willing to follow Your Highness's lead!"

King Xiang was not very surprised by this result. Now that the emperor was dead, the Ji family father and son had offended King Chu to the core. Not to mention the time they tortured his eldest niece in the capital, just the fact that they led troops to attack Taiyuan this time meant that King Chu would not spare them if they fell into his hands.

Seeing the two men submit, King Xiang looked at the Ji family father and son with a profound gaze: "We don't have much time left. We must take Taiyuan within three days."

Otherwise, they would have no bargaining chips left to negotiate with the King of Chu.

The Ji father and son hesitated for a moment, then quickly bowed and agreed.

That night, after King Xiang and the Ji family father and son had reorganized their troops, they launched another attack on Taiyuan City.

Qi Rong stood atop the city wall, his lips pale and bloodless. He had a knife wound on his waist, abdomen, shoulder, arm, and even his heart, all from the days he had spent defending the city.

There are still more than 10,000 troops left in the city, which can hold out for a few more days at most. My uncle has already attacked Mengjin and can't spare any troops to send back to reinforce. Fortunately, the Prince of Qin's mansion has sent several thousand soldiers, as well as food and medicinal herbs in the past few days, which has allowed them to hold out for a few more days.

Chang Zhiyuan stood beside Qi Rong, frowning as he looked at the Xiang King's soldiers attacking the city below: "Commander, your injuries haven't healed yet. Go and rest. You haven't slept for two days and two nights..."

Qi Rong turned his head and looked at Chang Zhiyuan and Lin Changning's almost identical faces, his eyes softening slightly.

Xiao Liu's cousin looks almost exactly like him, except he has a more scholarly air about him. The two are very different, one is a scholar and the other is a warrior. Although they look alike, people who know them well can tell them apart at a glance.

"Thank you very much, Brother Chang, for these past few days."

Xiao Liu's second brother recently emptied the Lin family's coffers, negotiating with various merchant caravans to buy up grain and medicinal herbs at high prices, and then donated them all to the Prince's Mansion.

Xiao Liu's cousin went to the garrison a few days ago and taught people how to make some simple traps with some crude wood. While he was busy, he also helped the garrison staff with their official duties, which really helped everyone a lot.

Knowing that Qi Rong's arm was bandaged, Wen Zhi stood limping beside Qi Rong and also advised, "Yes, Commander, you should go down and rest for a while. We're here; we can hold on for half a day."

Qi Rong shook his head again. Many of the commanders below had recently died or been injured, and it was difficult to replace them. Supplies were scarce, and the Prince of Xiang was putting pressure on them, so the situation was really stressful.

"No need to persuade me anymore, I can hold on. Let's defend the city. We'll take turns resting tonight!"

As if he had just thought of something, Qi Rong suddenly turned to look at the face that was remarkably similar to Lin Changning's and said, "Brother Chang, you are a scholar. The battlefield is dangerous. You should not stand on the city wall. Go home as soon as possible."

Chang Zhiyuan sighed and bowed to Qi Rong, somewhat understanding why his elder sister was so devoted to this commander.

Chang Zhiyuan looked at the firelight below the city wall, heard the sounds of fighting outside the city, clenched his fist, turned around, went down the city wall, mounted his horse, and headed towards the Lin residence.

She prayed in her heart that her older sister could bring people back soon.

Judging from the King of Xiang's posture today, he seems determined to launch a strong attack and take Taiyuan. He really needs to go home first and settle his mother, second brother, and sister-in-law.

A few days ago, Lin built a secret passage in the mansion, but it did not lead to the outside. It contained food, drink and other useful items, so even if the Prince of Xiang's men entered the mansion, they would not be able to find the secret passage for a while.

"Mother! Second Brother!"

Nowadays, almost no one in the mansion goes out. Since the second brother of the Lin family delivered all the medicinal herbs and food to the Prince's mansion, he has kept the Lin family's mansion closed for the past few days. The Lin family members have been guarding Li Mingshu in the mansion for the past few days.

Li Mingshu naturally noticed that the situation was different, but no matter how she asked, Lin's mother always had a smile on her face and told her that everything was fine. After Yue'er saw that her mother had woken up, she clung to Li Mingshu every day.

Recently, Sister-in-law Wang also led the embroidery workshop back home, and she and her children stayed in the courtyard every day, occasionally going to Li Mingshu's bedside to chat with her.

Lin's second brother stood guard outside Li Mingshu's courtyard, while outside the gate were guards arranged by Zhiyuan, patrolling in shifts.

Chang Zhiyuan walked to the gate of the Lin residence and knocked on the gate at a certain frequency. After the gatekeeper opened the door, he quickly went in, handed the horse to the gatekeeper, and ordered with a cold and stern expression: "Close the gate tightly. Tonight, have all the servants in the house come to the front yard. Prepare hot oil and hot water. Have someone bring out all the weapons I have prepared. Tonight, you must guard the gate well!"