"His Majesty."
A soft voice rang out.
Li Jingang turned around and saw Empress Wang standing at the palace gate.
She was forty years old, dressed in simple palace attire, without any makeup.
She is Li Jingang's first wife, who has been with him from a junior officer in the border army to where he is today.
In the past twenty years, she has given birth to three sons for him. Two of them died in the war, leaving only one young son, who is only eight years old this year.
"Why are you here?" Li Jingang's tone softened.
Lady Wang entered the main hall, looked at the sword in his hand, and sighed softly: "I've heard... that His Majesty intends to unleash a massacre?"
"So what if it is?"
"Your Majesty," Lady Wang knelt, "I beg Your Majesty to rescind your decree."
"The common people are innocent, and those relatives and former officials are mostly the elderly, weak, women, and children. If Your Majesty does such an unjust thing, how will future generations write about you? How will our sons face the people of the world in the future?"
Li Jingang remained silent.
Lady Wang continued, "I know Your Majesty is unwilling. But Your Majesty, haven't we killed enough people in these three years?"
"The river breached its banks, drowning 100,000 of Yinxi's army; the fall of Xijing resulted in the massacre of a thousand members of the imperial clan; and there are Yang Yan's wife and children, your own sister... Your Majesty, stop now. Stop now, and perhaps you can still save your life, perhaps you can..."
"Save your life?" Li Jingang laughed bitterly. "Empress, do you think Zhao Muyun will let me go? Let you go? Let our son go? He's a lackey of the Yin family, do you think he'll let me go?"
Lady Wang wept bitterly, "Then Your Majesty must think even more about your son! He's only eight years old, he doesn't know anything..."
“Precisely because he is only eight years old, I cannot surrender!” Li Jingang gritted his teeth. “If he surrenders, he will surely die. If we fight, there may be a glimmer of hope.”
He helped Wang up, and looking at her aged face, a hint of tenderness flashed in his eyes:
"Empress, take your son and leave tonight. I have made arrangements. A team of personal guards will escort you out of the camp through a secret passage and head southeast. Once you reach Jiangnan, hide your identity and perhaps you can survive."
Wang shook her head: "I will not leave. I have been married to you for twenty-two years, sharing the same bed in life and the same grave in death."
"You must leave!" Li Jingang said sternly. "For your son's sake, you must leave!"
Before Wang could say anything more, Li Jingang shouted, "Guards! Escort the Empress back to the palace and keep her under strict guard! She is not to leave without my order!"
Two guards entered and respectfully but firmly asked Wang to leave.
Wang looked at Li Jingang, her eyes blurry with tears: "Your Majesty... take care."
The curtains were drawn, blocking the view.
Li Jingang slumped back into his chair, covering his face with his hands.
After a long while, a cool liquid seeped out from between his fingers.
Are they tears?
He hadn't shed a tear in twenty years.
"Report—!"
A messenger rushed into the tent: "Your Majesty! Urgent report from the scouts! Zhao Muyun's vanguard of 5,000 cavalry has reached Shou'an! They will surely arrive at the city walls around noon tomorrow!"
They arrived so quickly!
Li Jingang wiped his face and regained his imperial majesty: "Investigate again! Also, issue the order: at midnight tonight, bring all the prisoners held in the city to the city walls and tie them to wooden stakes!"
"I want Zhao Muyun to see this the moment he arrives tomorrow!"
"yes!"
Night falls.
Squads of soldiers escorted hundreds of prisoners to the south gate of the capital.
These prisoners included men and women, young and old, all dressed in rags and with expressions of fear.
They were former officials of the Yin Dynasty, including officials from the Six Ministries who refused to surrender, as well as a large number of members of the Yin Dynasty royal family, such as the Prince of Han and the Prince of Qin.
Instead of being captured by the Tartars and taken to the northern desert, they were captured by Li Jingang.
"Enjoy the breeze tonight!"
Whether you survive tomorrow depends on Zhao Muyun!
The commander of the prisoners being escorted said viciously.
He was a staunch supporter of Li Jingang and hated these parasites of the Great Yin Dynasty to the core.
Tomorrow, if Li Jingang gives the order, he will not hesitate to personally cut off these people's heads.
Zhao Muyun?
Could it be that the army of the Great Yin Dynasty has returned?
These prisoners were locked in dark, sunless cells and had no idea what was happening outside.
What awaits them, only tomorrow will tell.
......
As night fell, undercurrents surged.
A secret room inside the residence of Cui Mian, Minister of Revenue.
The candlelight flickered in the airtight stone chamber, casting flickering light on five faces with different expressions.
The sound of the copper kettle dripping was exceptionally clear in the silence, drop by drop, like the urgent drumbeats of death.
"Starting at midnight is too rushed."
Wang Ke, the deputy commander of the Imperial Guards, frowned, his fingers unconsciously stroking the rope wrapped around his sword hilt. "Among the guards at the South Gate, at least three captains are Zhang Han's loyal followers. To control the South Gate, we must first divert or eliminate these people."
A fierce glint flashed in Cui Mian's eyes: "Then resolve this. Commander Wang, how many reliable men do you have under your command?"
“My personal guards number three hundred, all of whom are old brothers who have followed me for many years.” Wang Ke paused, “but they are far from enough to deal with Zhang Han’s three thousand loyal followers.”
Commander Zhao Cheng of the City Defense Division replied, "The City Defense Division has two thousand constables. Although their combat strength is not as good as that of the Imperial Guards, they are more than capable of controlling the streets and maintaining order."
"The key is the palace—the palace walls are high and thick, and the four gates are tightly closed. If Zhang Han holds firm and does not come out, we will not be able to get in at all."
Feng Liang looked at Liu Wei, the Imperial Guard Commander of the East Gate who had remained silent, and asked, "Commander Liu, what's the situation at the East Gate?"
Liu Wei was about thirty years old, with a dark complexion, and was a typical soldier.
He said in a deep voice, “There are 800 guards at the East Gate, 500 of whom are my old troops. But the other 300 were placed there by Zhang Han three months ago. The captain in charge is named Chen Wu, who is Zhang Han’s nephew.”
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