Chapter 526: The Injustice of Duke Zhuang

Hearing the strong resentment in Long Buqi's words, Yan Xiuyun narrowed his eyes slightly and listened to Long Buqi saying:

“You also know that my father was an important official of the previous emperor. He was devoted to the court and never did anything disloyal.

But when you fought for power with King Qi and King Qi was defeated, my father did not follow the crowd and joined other ministers in writing a letter listing King Qi's crimes. Then you considered him a member of King Qi's party and ordered him to be executed in prison.

My father devoted his entire life to the court and the country, but in the end, you caused his family to be destroyed... and you actually come to ask me why I did such a rebellious thing?

I tell you, as long as I, Long Buqi, am still alive in this world, I will never reconcile with you!"

Before Yan Xiuyun could speak, Zhu Qingyan at the side could not help but say:

"The incident involving Long Bin was known to everyone in the government and the public. Later, the Chief Censor Zhu Lan found out that it was an unjust case and personally wrote a letter to Your Majesty requesting that the Long family be vindicated.

Your Majesty accepted the advice of Zhu Zhongcheng and not only rehabilitated him, but also posthumously conferred him the title of Duke of Zhuang, bestowed upon him the highest honor, and promoted you to be the commander-in-chief of Yunzhou. Why do you still repay kindness with enmity?"

"Repaying kindness with enmity!?" Long Buqi's eyes widened, his expression looking like he was crying, but also like he was laughing.

He pointed at Zhu Qingyan's nose and asked:

"I will kill you today, and then I will vindicate you and posthumously confer you a title, is that okay?"

Zhu Qingyan was speechless for a moment.

Long Buqi looked at Yan Xiuyun with a miserable smile.

“Since I came to Yunzhou, I have wanted to avenge my father every day, but Yunzhou Governor Ding Wangyuan is a loyal and good dog, and I have never found a suitable opportunity in Yunzhou City.

It wasn't until the King of Zhenbei raised his army and I came to Qingshi Pass from Yunzhou that I saw an opportunity...

I wanted to put on a good show with the King of Zhenbei and help him take over Qingshi Pass, but before I could implement my plan...she got here!"

Long Buqi glared at Zhu Qingyan hatefully.

If she hadn't brought those three terrifying cannons, King Zhenbei might have already taken down Yunzhou City by now!

Yan Xiuyun's eyes were filled with anger, and he spoke slowly:

“When I first ascended the throne, my foundation was not stable, so I had to resort to drastic measures.

I know that I was a little cruel in handling the matter of Duke Zhuang, so I tried my best to make amends, but since you don't appreciate it, I have nothing to say."

Long Buqi sneered.

The dead are gone, how can we make up for it?

Yan Xiuyun retracted his gaze, his voice cooled a little, and he made a decision.

"As the general of Yunzhou, you have colluded with the enemy and committed treason, your entire clan should be punished.

But considering the past achievements of Duke Zhuang, I will still preserve the Duke Zhuang's mansion, leave your body intact, and bury you as the general of Yunzhou."

Yan Xiuyun raised his hand slightly after he finished speaking. Xiao Yuan understood and signaled with his eyes to the other two guards to stay and protect Yan Xiuyun, while he walked in front of Long Buqi.

"General Long, please."

Long Buqi looked calm and walked out with Xiao Yuan with his head held high.

Zhu Qingyan watched the two of them leave, knowing that Yan Xiuyun was planning to secretly execute Long Buqi. Thinking of what happened at Duke Zhuang's Mansion, a trace of sympathy flashed across her eyes, but she quickly suppressed her emotions.

Yan Xiuyun said with a somewhat tired voice:

"Announce this: Yunzhou General Long Buqi was injured in the battle and died.

Murong Jing will temporarily take over the post of Yunzhou General."

…

Long Buqi followed Xiao Yuan down the city wall and came to a secluded and deserted place outside the pass with a look of being ready to die.

Xiao Yuan finally stopped, and Long Buqi also stopped. He saw that Xiao Yuan had slowly drawn his sword from his waist.

"Go ahead, if you're a man, do it to your heart's content."

Long Buqi closed his eyes and waited for a long time, but instead of the expected death, he heard a slight groan from Xiao Yuan.

When he opened his eyes, he saw Xiao Yuan holding a knife and cutting a deep and long wound on his leg!

Long Buqi was shocked and confused. Before he could ask, Xiao Yuan had already thrown the bloody knife at his feet.

…

Yan Xiuyun was discussing the next plan with Zhu Qingyan and Murong Jing when he suddenly saw Xiao Yuan limping in from the door.

Xiao Yuan had a bandage wrapped around his left leg. The white bandage was stained with blood, and it was obvious that he had bled a lot.

"What's going on?" Yan Xiuyun asked with a frown.

Xiao Yuan's face turned pale due to blood loss. He knelt in front of Yan Xiuyun with difficulty and said:

"I was a lowly official who failed to do my job well. I didn't realize that Long Buqi was very skilled. I led him out of the city just now, but I was careless for a moment. I didn't expect that he would take my sword and escape."

Xiao Yuan lowered his head and said in a shameful voice, "Please punish me, Your Majesty!"

Yan Xiuyun stared at him for a moment, with a hint of suspicion in his eyes.

However, he thought carefully. Xiao Yuan had been with him all these years and had hardly ever left the capital. Moreover, he was from the Dong family. There was no reason for him to collude with rebels like Long Buqi.

After a long while, the doubts in Yan Xiuyun's eyes gradually dissipated.

Zhu Qingyan stood up at the right time and said:

"Your Majesty, since Long Buqi has become the general, his skills must be good. It is understandable that Commander Xiao was careless and fell into an ambush.

Although Long Buqi escaped, he passed on false information to the King of Zhenbei today, causing the King of Zhenbei to suffer heavy losses. Even if he did not die at the hands of His Majesty, the King of Zhenbei would not let him go. "

Yan Xiuyun nodded slightly and said to Xiao Yuan:

"You have failed in your duties. Go down and receive twenty military sticks."

"yes."

After Xiao Yuan left, Yan Xiuyun rubbed his brows and said to Zhu Qingyan:

“Tonight, the 200,000 defenders of Qingshi Pass fought against the 400,000 Northern Frontier troops and won a great victory, killing more than 50,000 of the enemy, while our losses were less than 3,000.

This battle was won thanks to your method of maneuvering troops, otherwise we wouldn't have achieved such an effect. I will reward you handsomely when we return to the capital."

Zhu Qingyan bowed and said, "It was thanks to Zhu Lan and Zhou Jianzheng's alertness that they discovered the traitor. If it weren't for Zhu Lan's eight words 'false and true, twists and turns', I would not have thought of this plan."

Yan Xiuyun said: "She only mentioned eight words, but you understood it. It's not easy. I will naturally not forget her contribution."

Next, Yan Xiuyun asked Zhu Qingyan and Murong Jing about their plans for the next battle.

Murong Jing expressed his willingness to wait until dawn and lead 200,000 defenders inside the pass to continue pursuing the King of Zhenbei.

Zhu Qingyan, however, rarely raised objections.

“Tonight we were able to defeat the enemy with fewer troops. First, we used Long Buqi to pass on false information to the King of Zhenbei. Second, we took advantage of the terrain advantage of Ziyangpo and used cavalry to attack from behind, which led to the collapse of the Northern Frontier Army.

Now that the King of Zhenbei has led his troops to retreat, if we go after them now, we will not have the advantage in numbers, and there is no terrain to set an ambush. The risk is too great."

Murong Jing insisted:

“Although the enemy outnumbers us, the Northern Frontier army is demoralized and has lost its fighting spirit, and there are no generals available. Our morale is high, so we should take this opportunity to defeat the rebels in one fell swoop.

Otherwise, it will be even more difficult to deal with once the rebels regroup.”