Chapter 175 Falling from a Horse

Fighting is the top priority. Once a war breaks out, countless people will die on the battlefield.

Chunzhi had previously told Huo Zheng that the Ninth Prince Huo Yan had never fought in a war, and who knows what might happen if he went to Xizhou.

At that time, Huo Zheng said that as long as Huo Yan listened more to the generals, nothing serious would happen. But now the Ninth Prince has fallen into the hands of the rebels.

Queen Wang also said that Huo Zheng might have to clean up the mess left by Huo Yan, which made Chunzhi very worried.

After all, Chunzhi came from a small town and had not yet learned the skill of concealing her emotions or her worries.

She was worried about Huo Zheng, and it was clearly shown on her face.

Seeing her like this, Queen Wang knew that she was sincere towards Qilang, and her tone softened unconsciously. "I am just saying this. Qilang may not be the only one to clean up the mess in Xizhou. There is also Prince Rui ahead."

Among the emperor's sons, Prince Rui Huo Yang and the ninth prince Huo Yan were the most competitive and formed the most cliques. Huo Zheng was always down-to-earth. There was also the fourth prince who was fond of practicing Taoism. He spent all day refining pills and cultivating immortality. In recent years, he has become increasingly invisible.

This time, the ninth prince Huo Yan volunteered to go to Xizhou to quell the rebellion, but was captured alive by the rebels.

I don’t know if Prince Rui Huo Yang still dares to go.

Queen Wang thought so in her heart, and said to Chunzhi, "The men in the court will take care of the important matters. You should pay more attention to Yanran's marriage."

Chunzhi replied softly, "Yes."

But his mind had already drifted to Huo Zheng.

At this time, in the imperial study.

Battle reports from Xizhou were sent back to the capital every three days. The ninth prince Huo Yan led a group of generals and a large army to quell the rebellion, but after a month, they failed to wipe out the rebels. In addition, the rebels captured the prince alive and held him hostage.

When the emperor heard the news, he was furious.

A group of ministers stood in the imperial study, with their heads lowered, not daring to breathe.

Emperor Huo Yan became even more furious when he saw everyone like this. "Aren't you usually quite noisy? Why are you all so silent today?"

Huo Zheng said, "The rebels know that my ninth brother is a prince and will not kill him easily. The most important thing right now is the people of Xizhou."

Grand Tutor Wang said, "The rebels are cunning. They must have captured the Ninth Prince alive in order to exchange him for something they want. The Ninth Prince's life is definitely safe at this point. The key is who to send to Xizhou to negotiate with the rebels, rescue the Ninth Prince, and resolve the rebellion at the same time."

Some of the Ninth Prince's followers tried to excuse themselves, saying, "The Ninth Prince is new to the battlefield, so it's understandable that he wasn't careful for a moment..."

Prince Rui Huo Yang said, "Ninth brother is impatient to begin with. He has been in Xizhou for a month and has not been able to defeat the rebels. It is inevitable that he will not listen to the advice of the generals around him."

Prince Rui's words were somewhat like adding fuel to the fire.

The emperor became even more furious after hearing this, but instead of getting angry, he smiled and said, "You're not in a hurry. How about I leave the negotiation with the rebels in Xizhou to you?"

Prince Rui Huo Yang was shocked when he heard this, "Father..."

Huo Yuan asked, "You don't dare to go?"

Huo Yang said stubbornly, "Father has given the order, and I will not refuse even if it means death."

The emperor heard him say this, "Then you should prepare and set out today. You must rescue Jiulang and put an end to the rebellion in Xizhou."

Huo Yang cupped his hands and replied, "Yes."

The emperor discussed with everyone for another half hour and arranged everything.

In fact, everyone present knew clearly that the Ninth Prince Huo Yan was still too young. He only needed to stay in the rear when he went to Xizhou, let the military advisor make plans, and the generals fight in the front. However, he insisted on going to the battlefield himself, giving the rebels an opportunity to take advantage.

Compared with the Ninth Prince Huo Yan, although Prince Rui Huo Yang had never been to the battlefield, he acted more cautiously. To put it bluntly, he was afraid of death and would never risk his life and rush forward.

If Huo Yang goes to Xizhou, at least the second prince will not be captured alive by the rebels.

The emperor only wanted Huo Yang to go there under the name of the royal family, and the rest of the matters would be handled by his ministers.

Everyone below understood and quickly decided on the person who would accompany King Rui to Xizhou.

After the emperor finished speaking, he held his forehead with a headache and waved his hand for everyone to leave.

"I'll take my leave."

"I'll take my leave."

As they talked, they lowered their heads and retreated. Huo Zheng walked at the end and saw the Ninth Prince's party leaving with sad faces. Several members of Prince Rui's party surrounded Huo Yang and talked about the trip to Xizhou.

Someone said to Prince Rui Huo Yang, "You can't go to Xizhou, Your Majesty. The Ninth Prince has fallen into the hands of the rebels. They are ambitious and unreasonable. If the negotiations fail and the rebels kill the Ninth Prince, the crime of killing your brother will fall on you."

"The multiple charges are relatively minor. The Xizhou rebels are extremely ferocious. Your Highness is placing himself in danger if he goes there. If anything goes wrong, what will we do?"

"Prince Chang'an didn't show up today, which shows that the trip to Xizhou is indeed dangerous. Your Majesty, please think twice!"

Huo Zheng had previously gone to the North Province to inspect the troops and the South Province to patrol. Huo Zheng was assassinated in the South Province and almost died. This time, the West Province will be even more dangerous than the South Province.

Huo Yang frowned tightly, thinking to himself, this is the emperor's personal choice, can I not go if I don't want to?

"This is not the place to talk." Huo Yang lowered his voice and said, "Let's talk after we leave the palace."

Several members of King Rui's party shut up and left the palace together.

Huo Zheng was walking far behind and didn't hear what those people said, but he could guess about 70% of what they said.

As he was about to leave, a young eunuch ran over and said, "Your Highness Prince Chang'an, please stay. The Empress asks you to move to Qiwu Palace. Princess Chang'an and the young master are also in the palace."

Huo Zheng replied "OK" and followed the eunuch to Qiwu Palace.

When he arrived, Queen Wang was saying to Chunzhi, "Please try to persuade Yanran. I see that she and you get along very well."

Huo Zheng entered and bowed, saying, "Your son pays his respects to the Queen Mother."

"Qi Lang is here." Queen Wang raised her eyes to look at him, "Come and sit down."

Huo Zheng walked forward as he was told and sat down next to Chunzhi.

When Xiaoxing saw his father coming, he babbled and reached out to pull his sleeve.

Huo Zheng took the child in his arms. His eyes fell on Chunzhi and he found that she was looking at him with worry in her eyes.

Perhaps he knew that Huo Yan was captured alive by the rebels in Xizhou.

Huo Zheng gave Chunzhi a look that said "don't worry".

Queen Wang raised her hand to allow the palace maids and eunuchs to leave, then asked, "I heard that Jiulang was captured by the rebels in Xizhou. Who does your father plan to send to Xizhou to negotiate with the rebels and rescue Jiulang?"

Huo Zheng fiddled with Xiao Xinghui while saying, "Father sent Brother Rui, the Prince."

Upon hearing this, Chunzhi secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Queen Wang's expression also relaxed a lot. "Prince Rui always said that whenever there was an important matter, the Emperor would leave it to you to handle. It would be good for him to go and gain some experience during the rebellion in Xizhou."

This way, Huo Yang would no longer be jealous of Huo Zheng for being the most favored by the emperor.

The mother and son understood this tacitly, and neither of them said it out loud.

Queen Wang spoke with Huo Zheng for a while and then let the young couple leave the palace.

Huo Zheng and Chunzhi left the palace together. As soon as they reached the palace gate, they saw the entourage of Rui Wang Huo Yang hurried into the palace and shouted loudly: "Oh no! Oh no! Rui Wang has fallen off his horse!"