Chapter 196 Finale (Part 1)

The second year of Yonghe.

The emperor followed the will of the people and raised an army to attack Nanning. After three months of preparation, he appointed Xu Tingfeng as the commander of the army and went to Yangfu to fight in the summer.

Xu Jin and Xia Hong also strongly requested to go to the battle, but the emperor refused. They asked again, and the emperor allowed them to stay in the rear, take over the logistics and military affairs, and attack Nanning together.

Zhennan Pass.

Xu Tingfeng rode his horse in front, and Xia Fuyang was beside him.

Behind them was the Great Zhou army. Xu Jin and Xia Hong, two old partners of more than ten years who had been stationed at the northern border, handled the logistical military affairs with ease.

This was the battle in the history of the Great Zhou Dynasty with the most famous generals and the best preparation.

Xu Tingfeng: "I heard that His Majesty originally planned to lead the army in person."

Xia Fuyang smiled and said, "He said he wanted to come, but not at the front line. He stayed in the rear with my father and the Duke of Zhenguo. I don't think it's a big deal. Your Majesty has been to the battlefield before. This time he just came out for a walk. But those officials in the court... Tsk, uncle, you know their character."

Xu Tingfeng: "I know, but it's okay if you don't come."

He looked towards Nanning.

"The Great Zhou will unify the world, and this is the battle!"

Capital city.

Qu Dubian stood on the imperial city, looking towards the south.

Xi Zixing behind him said, "Your Majesty, the Great Zhou will win."

Qu Watanabe: "We will definitely win. I'm just thinking about one person."

Xi Zixing: "Old Xia?"

Qu Watanabe shook his head.

"It's Yu Ruo."

"The Second Prince of Nanning. What does your Majesty want to do with him? It seems that you two don't have much in common."

Indeed, during the five years that Yu Ruo was in the Great Zhou, Qu Dubian thought from the bottom of his heart that he was a bit perverted and hated the feeling of him secretly wanting to uncover his disguise.

So I kept avoiding him.

It was not until the Xianghe River disaster relief that Yu Ruo rushed to the Xianghe River without hesitation and asked him for help on behalf of the people of Nanning that he felt less repulsive and disgusted with this man.

Yes, he was hiding here and there at that time, and he really hated the way Yu Ru would lift his vest from time to time and tease him.

Later, on the day Yu Ruo returned to China, they were drinking on the rooftop. Only Yu Ruo was drinking, and he was drunk.

They talked about everything and eventually talked about the prosperous future. It was the first time he talked about the future with people in this world. Yu Ruo said that he didn't believe that such an era would exist in the world, but the yearning in his eyes was not fake.

It is undeniable that at that moment, Qu Watanabe found a sense of resonance in Yu Ruo.

At least at that second, Yu Ruo understood what he said. They both longed for the same place.

Qu Watanabe: "It would be nice if he was born in the Great Zhou Dynasty."

-

Late spring of the second year of Yonghe.

Xu Tingfeng led an army of 30,000 and raided the six cities of Youyun and the twelve cities of Jiangzhou, which had been ceded to the Great Zhou by Nanning and later recaptured, and won a great victory.

Gunpowder and the Shenbi crossbow showed their power. The three-bow crossbow, as a powerful Quecheng crossbow, was an invincible weapon in siege battles.

The army marched straight into the heart of Nanning.

All the soldiers of Nanning gathered in the center of the hinterland. The second prince Yu Ruo fought desperately to stop Da Zhou. The battle was at a stalemate and the two sides fought for more than three months. In order to boost morale, the Crown Prince of Nanning led the army in person.

Winter of the second year of Yonghe.

Xia went to Yang to challenge the enemy, and the Prince of Nanning rode his horse to meet the enemy in battle. Then he was captured and tied to a flagpole. The prince was held hostage to conquer the city. He was invincible and even conquered Jin and Yuan states.

In the Nanning Palace.

Yu Ruo's armor was stained with blood, his face was cold, and he came back from outside with a swift step.

He pushed aside the guards who blocked his way and rushed into the bedroom of Emperor Nanning, where Lu Guogong cried, "Your Majesty, please rescue the Crown Prince!"

Duke Lu is the prince's uncle and the queen's brother.

Yu Ruo suddenly came in, and the Emperor of Nanning frowned: "Didn't I tell you that you are not allowed to enter unless it is an emergency military situation?"

"This son of yours brings me urgent military information."

Emperor Nanning's heart trembled: "Speak."

Yu Ruo knelt on the ground and said in a deep voice: "Please give the order, father, to shoot the prince!"

The emperor was bedridden and the Great Zhou army was advancing like a hot knife through butter. It would have been a good thing for the crown prince to lead the army in person on behalf of the emperor to boost morale, but that idiot should never have put himself in danger and was captured alive by the general of the Great Zhou.

The soldiers of Nanning did not dare to shoot because of the crown prince. The Great Zhou had already conquered the two states of Jin and Yuan in the hinterland. If they could take Wu state, the road ahead would be smooth. The imperial city of Nanning was in danger!

If he was the prince, he would have committed suicide on the spot the moment he was captured alive, instead of allowing himself to be used as a handle to threaten his country!

Duke Lu was furious: "How dare you say such treasonous words? Do you want to take advantage of the prince being captured so that you can kill him and have a chance to inherit the throne?!"

Yu Ruo said coldly: "Compared with the destruction of Nanning, killing a prince is not a big deal. Can the life of a prince be more important than the destruction of tens of thousands of people and the country of Nanning?"

"When the Black Dragon Banner of the Great Zhou Dynasty is planted on the wall of the Nanning Imperial City, what's the point of talking about succession to the throne?"

He looked at the emperor on the dragon couch, "Father, please make a decision as soon as possible!"

Riots broke out in Nanning, and the Great Zhou was approaching the imperial city. Yu Ruo was not good at martial arts, but only at strategies, and was forced to put on armor and go to the battlefield.

Before the Emperor of Nanning could speak, Duke Lu mocked him, "How many soldiers are there in Nanning? How could they be defeated so easily? Don't spread rumors here to confuse the people! Your mother is from Northern Frontier. Now Northern Frontier belongs to the Great Zhou. Are you also half a Great Zhou person? Then can I suspect that you have been traitors for a long time?"

Yu Ruo raised his head suddenly, and the murderous intent in his eyes that he wanted to kill someone frightened Duke Lu.

“You, you…!”

Yu Ruo ignored him, looked at Emperor Nanning, and said again: "Your Majesty, please give the order to shoot the prince!"

Emperor Nanning coughed lightly and got up from the bed. He walked around the bedroom twice and frowned: "That is my favorite child."

He walked up to Yu Ruo and patted his shoulder.

"When you kill him, shoot him accurately and don't let him feel too much pain."

Duke Lu was stunned: "Your Majesty! Your Majesty——"

Emperor Nanning: "Someone, take Duke Lu out."

Duke Lu was dragged out.

Even though Yu Ruo received the order to shoot the prince, the solemnity in his heart did not diminish in the slightest.

He glanced at his calm father. Except for the capital, everywhere in Nanning was filled with disgust and condemnation for what his father had done.

Fortunately, he still had some decisiveness as a king and was not obsessed with protecting his brother, the crown prince.

Yu Ruo left the bedroom.

The palace was desolate.

The palace servants who came and went hurriedly with their heads lowered, even though their faces were calm, had an uncontrollable aura of panic about them.

After he left, Emperor Nanning stood at the door of his bedroom, and after a moment, he shouted, "Bring me some more Wu Shi San."

-

One victory report after another flew back to the Great Zhou.

Qu Dubian issued an order that those who surrendered would not be killed.

February, the third year of Yonghe.

The Great Zhou conquered Ganzhou and was only ten miles away from the capital of Nanning.

When they were about to attack the city, Xu Tingfeng called for a halt.

Xia Fuyang said: "Something is not right."

Xu Tingfeng nodded.

The capital is an important place, the throne of the emperor. Now that they have fought their way here, they will never agree to Nanning's surrender and give up this conquered land - wherever the horses of the Great Zhou have stepped on, it is the territory of the Great Zhou.

The unification of the world is just around the corner. If they were from Nanning, they would definitely gather all their strength and fight to the death.

Xu Tingfeng and others were also prepared to waste time to surround and kill the enemy.

For the last step, it is better to go slowly than to make mistakes.

"We got here and didn't encounter any obstruction."

While he was wondering, a man from Nanning rode up on horseback and tremblingly handed over a letter from his credential, "This, this is what our Majesty asked me to give to the Emperor of Great Zhou."

When two countries are at war, they do not kill envoys.

Xia Fuyang: "We should be able to see it too."

The envoy said, "Yes, it is possible."

Xia Fuyang opened the letter and thought it was a letter of surrender, but after taking a quick look, he flew into a rage: "This unscrupulous beast!!"

-

Great Zhou.

The Imperial Palace.

There was a solemn silence.

The letter from the Emperor of Nanning actually only said one thing.

He believed that when an emperor died, ten thousand people should be buried with him, so he ordered the fifty thousand soldiers guarding the capital to have the remaining gunpowder in the Nanning warehouse tied to their bodies.

The news was blocked, and the confused people in the city thought that it was the emperor and the soldiers who were protecting them, so they stayed in their homes obediently.

All these people add up to tens of thousands of people.

The Emperor of Nanning asked Qu Dubian to make a choice: first, withdraw his troops.

Second, attack by force, but all they got was a dead city and a magnificent imperial tomb.

Qu Watanabe really wanted to call him a lunatic.

What about the magnificent imperial mausoleum... A tomb where hundreds of thousands of lives are buried, aren't you afraid of being trampled to death?

Xi Zixing: "If Your Majesty chooses to withdraw, the Emperor of Nanning may not necessarily give up his plan. If Your Majesty chooses not to withdraw, the history books may record that Your Majesty's reputation will be damaged."

But it would be a pity to retreat now.

Qu Watanabe shook his head.

When a choice that is destined to be controversial is presented to you, no matter what you choose, it will not be perfect.

If he chose to withdraw his troops, and Emperor Nanning acted according to the original plan, people in later generations would criticize him for being "soft-hearted", "lacking the decisiveness of a hero", and "wasting the merits of his generals".

If he had not withdrawn his troops, nearly 100,000 civilian lives would have paved the way for the final unification, and he would have been evaluated as "brutal" and "cold-blooded".

Qu Dubian: "Send an order to the front line to withdraw 20 miles."

The Minister of War sighed and said, "Alas, what a pity."

Qu Dubian: "The Great Zhou is attacking Nanning with a righteous army. If we also ignore the lives of so many people in the city, we will be no different from the Nanning emperor who blew up the dam."

The Emperor of Nanning used moral blackmail on him, so Qu Dubian also wrote a letter in reply.

Just a few words:

[If you commit suicide in front of the Imperial City to appease the anger of the people of Great Zhou, then when the Great Zhou army enters the capital, they will not hurt a single civilian and will not trample on a single seedling.]

The emperor is supported by the world, and it is only natural for him to go through hardships for the country and the people.

The envoy from the Great Zhou who came to deliver the letter was neither humble nor arrogant. He read out the contents of the letter aloud while passing through the capital city of Nanning to announce to the people what their Majesty had said.

As long as the guilty emperor dies, Da Zhou will not harm any civilians.

-

Nanning.

Yu Ruo walked in this city.

The strong smell of gunpowder permeated the air. The soldiers were like silent stones. Some huddled in the corner, while others stood upright on one side. They had already tied gunpowder on their bodies, ready to sacrifice their lives for their country.

There are many such people.

"Your Highness."

"Your Highness..."

When the soldiers saw him coming, they tried to cheer themselves up and greeted him.

Some even whispered, "Is Nanning going to die?"

Yu Ruo couldn't answer a single word.

The people poked small holes in the windows and looked out, and all they saw were eyes filled with fear and panic.

They were afraid of the soldiers of the Great Zhou, afraid of the gunpowder which was far more powerful than that of Nanning, and even more afraid of the crossbows that could shoot out spears and nail them firmly into the city walls.

The city was filled with smoke and gave off an air of decay and decline.

Even the ants crawling on the ground can smell the scent of their country’s destruction.

Yu Ruo felt like a heavy mountain was pressing down on his heart.

There is no dynasty that will not perish in history books. People all say that dynasties will last for thousands of years, but the change of dynasties is an inevitable fate, just like a curse. The only difference is the length of time.

If there is a wise ruler, the country will exist for a long time; if there is a foolish ruler, the country will exist for a short time.

If my father had not blew up the dam and joined forces with the Northern Frontier to besiege the Great Zhou, Emperor Yonghe would not have been forced out.

If my father had not blown up the dam and released the plague, Nanning's fate would not have ended in this generation.

Gu Xin, who was beside him, was now one of the generals defending the city. He said in a deep voice, "Your Highness, if you give the order, we will live and die with Nanning!"

Yu Ruo pointed at the gunpowder and said, "Surrender and you won't have to die."

Some people avoided the gunpowder piled up in the city like a tiger, while others were fearless.

"We are willing to live and die with Nanning! We will defend our country to the death!"

"Defend the border to the death!"

A stone was thrown out from the houses of the people on both sides.

“We don’t want to die!”

"It doesn't matter where you live. It doesn't matter if we die. How old is the child?"

"Will the children be killed in the explosion too?"

Sporadic complaining and resentful voices were heard from the residential area, and the patriotism that had just begun to boil was poured with a bucket of cold water.

"The envoy sent by His Majesty the Great Zhou said that we don't have to die..."

Sobbing began, and then the crying became louder and louder.

An old man walked out of the street and knelt down from a distance, "Your Highness."

Yu Ruo walked over quickly, "Get up quickly."

The old man didn't get up. He grabbed his hand and said, "We are not cowards. It's just that those children really shouldn't be lost like this. Can we discuss with His Majesty and send the children to a safe place?"

"Now that we know the kids are behind us, we common people will definitely fight to the death when we kill the Great Zhou soldiers."

“……”Yu Ruo’s eyes turned red for a moment.

No matter how he tried to help him, the old man refused to get up. He knocked his head on the ground, and his turbid old tears were stained with dust and mud.

"Please!"

Yu Ruo could only straighten his back and look towards the direction of the imperial city.

"I see."

His left hand pressed on the scabbard of the long sword at his waist.

-

Bang--!

The Emperor of Nanning overturned the table and threw Qu Dubian's letter to the ground.

"You are a young man who has just passed the age of twenty, and you want me to commit suicide?!"

"What is that..."

He sneered, "He wants both, obviously just to preserve his reputation in the history books."

"Commander Yuan! Get in here!"

"Isn't the Great Zhou Emperor kind? I want to see how kind he is! Drive all the people out of the city, pack up the gunpowder, and drive them to the Great Zhou army to see if they will kill them!"

For a long while, no one answered.

"Commander Yuan?!"

"Damn it, someone come."

Not only was there no leader, there wasn't even a palace maid.

Emperor Nanning waited for a long time, but no one paid any attention to him, so he could only stand up and walk out of the bedroom barefoot.

It is spring now. The spring in the south warms up faster than in the north, but it is still a bit chilly walking barefoot on the road.

After getting used to using Wu Shi San, my skin became sensitive and sometimes even wearing shoes would irritate my feet.

Everyone in the palace knew about his Majesty's habit of going barefoot, so wherever he walked on a daily basis, the palace servants had to wipe clean, leaving not even a speck of dust.

If anyone found dirt on his feet after he left, the palace servants who were cleaning the floor would lose their heads.

However, during this period of time, apparently no one mopped the floor, and when Emperor Nanning walked along this road, his feet were not only covered with dust, but also with some small, pebbled stones that hurt his feet.

He walked all the way to the main hall and was about to scold and curse Commander Yuan, but as soon as he entered, he saw Commander Yuan's body.

And Yu Ruo, who was holding a long sword and standing next to Commander Yuan.

In the eyes of the Emperor of Nanning, Yu Ruo has always been a handy tool. As a descendant of the humble Northern Frontier bloodline, he was destined to have no chance of becoming an emperor. He had a Northern Frontier face and was incompatible with Nanning.

But he was obedient enough because his mother was in the harem.

So even if he had to be sent to the Great Zhou as a hostage back then, he was willing to do so.

Emperor Nanning treated him as a tool, never thinking that one day the tool would kill his master.

"Father is here."

Emperor Nanning took a step back, but stopped abruptly. He asked, "You want to kill me?"

"I won't live much longer anyway, so you don't have to kill me. Where is the signal? Give it to me."

Yu Ruo took out a signal order from his arms. It was a small firework with a limited transmission distance, but it could be seen by soldiers throughout the capital.

Once the signal is given, the capital will become a dead city.

Yu Ruo dropped the sword, and he smiled and said, "Here you go. I killed Commander Yuan because he wanted to escape, not for anything else. Father, don't worry."

Emperor Nanning took two quick steps and snatched the signal order from his hand. "Don't let it go for now. I have a new idea."

He expressed his idea of ​​using the common people to force back the Zhou soldiers and ordered Yu Ruo to do it immediately.

"It doesn't matter if it fails. Even if the country is destroyed, I will not let the reputation of the Emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty be better than..."

A dagger pierced his abdomen.

The dagger was pulled out and thrust back in, repeated nine times.

The pupils of Emperor Nanning contracted for a few seconds, then began to dilate and he spat out mouthfuls of blood.

Bang.

The signal order in his hand fell out.

He staggered back a few steps and pointed at Yu Ruo: "You——"

Yu Ruo held a dagger in his right hand, and half of his sleeve was covered with sticky blood.

He picked up the signal order, tore off the bamboo skin outside, and destroyed it completely in front of the Emperor of Nanning.

Emperor Nanning: "Yu Ruo!"

"Tens of thousands of people were buried with him?" Yu Ruo smiled, "Father, I think you are not worthy."

"They all deserve to live well and not be implicated by an immoral monarch like you."

Wu Ying came to Yu Ruo and said, "Your Highness, there are not many people in the palace. Those who can hide have hidden themselves. The summoned ministers are all in the Imperial Palace."

Yu Ruo: "Okay."

He took out the blank imperial edict that he had prepared long ago and dipped it in the blood of the Emperor of Nanning, who was still breathing his last breath.

"Please, father, write a will."

-

Nanning changed its emperor.

When Qu Duanbian heard the news, he thought his ears were broken, "The emperor has been changed at this time?"

The original emperor finally couldn't hold on and died, and some unlucky guy was pushed up.

Wen Xiaochun said: "Your Majesty, it is Yu Ruo."

"he?"

Qu Watanabe was surprised.

Given the current situation in Nanning, no one in the royal family would be willing to be emperor. If anyone did, they would have been forced. But Yu Ruo... this guy, it's hard to say whether he was willing.

While he was deep in thought, another lacquer-sealed letter was sent from the front line.

The lacquer seal remained untouched, obviously meant just for him.

Qu Watanabe unfolded it and took a look.

[Nanning Feixian Tower is full of pear blossoms in March. I have prepared a pot of wine to invite you to come to the appointment.

Yu Ruo.]