Chapter 134
The prince received an urgent report.
The King of Ruyin rebelled.
The King of Annan rebelled.
The prince's hands were shaking as he read the letter.
When he opened the secret letter sent by Yichun, his face was so gloomy that water could drip out of it. Anger surged up, and he couldn't help coughing, "Cough cough——"
The prince's ministers didn't dare to breathe. They didn't know what news the prince had received, but at this moment, his aura was really terrifying.
Suddenly, the prince stopped coughing and chuckled softly. "Raybon, good, very good!" The prince had never been so angry at someone before. Raybon was number one! Using his army and his trump cards as gambling stakes? Even a thousand cuts wouldn't be enough to assuage his hatred! Kill all nine clans, I must kill all nine of them!
"Prince?"
"No need to say anything. Now, go full speed ahead! Fast, you must be fast!"
"yes!"
drive!
The prince sat in the carriage and closed his eyes, hoping it was not too late!
*********
Governor Lei assembled more than 30,000 soldiers and marched towards the Yichun military camp with great momentum.
He hadn't slept much in the past two or three days and seemed unusually excited.
The army came from the west and when it passed through the commercial district, several Yichun residents who accidentally blocked the road were all ruthlessly killed on the spot.
The guards had already received orders to lock the gates shut against the enemy's army. They were told not to put up a fight, but simply to show some resistance. So, they were all hiding. As for the gate being destroyed, as mentioned above, let it be destroyed; it was inert matter anyway, and could be rebuilt later.
The soldiers led by Governor Lei discovered that the gate of the Yichun military garrison, constructed of marble and fine steel, was extremely difficult to breach. The only way to enter was by using ladders. But with 30,000 soldiers, including cavalry, using ladders alone was absurd. Finally, Governor Lei's men simply tore down the wall surrounding the gate, allowing them to enter without further ado.
However, as soon as their vanguard troops entered, they were shot at by archers from the Yichun military garrison stationed there.
The soldiers who were charging in the front fell one after another, and the soldiers behind them retreated while shouting, "There is an ambush, don't go in, don't go in!"
Two armies, one outside the military settlement and the other inside, faced each other, with corpses or wounded soldiers scattered in the middle.
Yao Chunnuan asked with a cold face, "Taishu Lei, you repeatedly lead your troops to attack our Yichun military settlement. Do you think our Yichun military settlement is easy to bully?"
"The night before last, you stole all the treasures from the warehouse I built in the northwest corner, and then set fire to the prefect's mansion. I came here today just to seek justice! And to get back my property!" Prefect Lei said with a grin.
Yao Chunnuan had insulted him too much. The day before yesterday, his reputation and prestige had plummeted. Last night, his treasure trove, the accumulation of most of his life, was burned down in a fire. He was left with nothing. All of this was caused by the woman in front of him.
"Where's the evidence? Do you have any evidence? Why are you slandering people without any evidence?"
"The evidence is in your warehouse at the Yichun military settlement!" Just open the warehouse, just find the stolen goods, and they'll be brought down. He'll get everything back: his reputation, his treasure. Prefect Lei was like a gambler desperate for a comeback, risking everything to get his money back.
Yao Chunnuan calculated the time of the general's return and prayed in his heart that he could make it, otherwise he would have to use another archer.
She was multitasking and intentionally stalling for time, so she explained, "Taishu Lei, whether you believe it or not, we in the Yichun military settlement have never even seen the treasure you mentioned, let alone taken it. I, Yao Chunnuan, am adamant that I didn't take your treasure."
She didn't take the gold, silver, and jewels from Prefect Lei's treasury, not because she had a change of heart, but because it was too difficult to take. Prefect Lei had built his treasury as solid as a wall of iron, even the floor was molten iron mixed with black iron. Retrieving the gold, silver, and jewels would be time-consuming, laborious, and difficult, and would likely wake up anyone sleeping in the prefect's mansion.
At that time, her purpose was to teach Governor Lei a lesson, so she had to make a choice and simply didn't take it. Now, this matter could be used to take advantage of it.
Yu Chen suddenly understood her intention and said, "If Yao Zhubo's share is not enough, what about adding me?" They indeed did not take anything.
Chief Steward Wu: "Add me!" I don't understand why, but these two are the military think tanks, so just follow them.
Ji Ze: "And me!"
Zhou Yushu: "Me!"
…
The top military officials expressed their views one by one.
At first, when Governor Lei arrived with so many soldiers and horses to demand an explanation for the treasure, the soldiers and residents of the military settlement were actually a little nervous and guilty. They felt a little uneasy in front of Governor Lei, and their reasoning was lacking. Even though he had been the one who had caused everything he had suffered.
Now that the military settlement's leaders had made such a statement, it proved that they, the Yichun military settlement, hadn't taken his treasures. They hadn't even caused the burning of the prefectural residence the night before! Now, Prefect Lei was blaming them and sending troops to attack their settlement. How infuriating!
Governor Lei sneered, "I don't believe it! As long as you open the warehouse and return the property, I can forgive you for what happened." Catch the thief and take the stolen goods. If he really gets the stolen goods, he will kill them!
Yao Chunnuan was silently estimating the time of the general's return when suddenly they noticed a signal smoke rising ten miles away. Yao Chunnuan, Wu Zongguan, and Yu Chen exchanged a subtle glance.
Yao Chunnuan smiled and said, "What if we don't agree?"
The soldiers and residents of the Yichun military settlement nodded inwardly: "That's right, we can't agree to that!" Who would open the warehouse to him? That's the foundation of the military settlement. What if he gets greedy after seeing it?
"I must take back what belongs to me!"
"Even at the cost of killing people?"
"Yes!" Lei Taishou admitted shamelessly. He was truly determined to fight to the death this time. Why was he afraid of killing a few people? If possible, he even wanted to kill everyone in front of him to vent his hatred!
Changing the subject, Yao Chunnuan asked doubtfully, "Grandmaster Lei, with your status as Grandmaster, you simply cannot mobilize over 30,000 soldiers. Are you forging an imperial edict?"
Of course, Governor Lei would not admit it. "Nonsense! This action was carried out on the orders of the Crown Prince!"
Yao Chunnuan's face was filled with even more confusion. "The Crown Prince's order? You have no evidence whatsoever, and yet you want us to open the military warehouse to compensate you for your treasures, even resorting to force! You were trying to storm the military settlement, weren't you? You were charging recklessly, and you didn't care if you hurt or killed anyone? This is the Crown Prince's order? It's simply unbelievable."
These words deeply touched the people in the settlement behind him. "Yes, the general took 10,000 elite soldiers with him to support the northern border, risking his life for the Yang family. But the prince treats us, the people in the settlement, like this. It's so disappointing."
Another villager echoed, "Yes, although it is said that if the king wants his subjects to die, they must die. But we have never done anything wrong, and dying like this is really too unfair."
Lei Taishou vaguely sensed that something was amiss, and the uneasiness in his heart urged him to act quickly. "Stop talking nonsense. Since you are unwilling to return the treasure, then I can only take it myself. Come! Give it to me—"
Before the last word "charge" was shouted out, everyone saw an arrow shooting from a distance and hit Governor Lei!
A hundred steps away! An arrow pierced his heart!
Governor Lei slowly lowered his head, blinked, and fell down before he seemed to realize what had happened.
The second official of the prefectural governor's office squatted down, tremblingly felt his breath, and then shouted in a trembling voice, "Prefect Lei is dead!"
After the death of Governor Lei, the more than 30,000 soldiers he brought with him became riotous.
Lu Deng, the former general of the Meng army, quickly stepped forward to take charge. The other party shouted at the leaders of the Yichun army, "How dare you kill an official appointed by the imperial court? Are you planning a rebellion?!"
At this moment, the general returned with his troops, still holding a bow and arrow in his hand, which made it easy to think that the arrow just now was shot by him.
The general pulled the reins, and the horse stopped in front of the corpse of Lei Taishou. He looked at the corpse on the ground and said proudly, "So what? Such an official appointed by the court, such a court, what does it matter if we rebel against it?"
Yao Chunnuan, Yu Chen, Zhou Yushu and seven others immediately followed, "Rebel against it!"
As soon as the seven of them expressed their stance, the lower and middle levels of the military settlement quickly followed suit, "Revolt!"
Then came the soldiers and settlers, shouting loudly, "Revolt against it!"
The more than 30,000 soldiers mobilized by Governor Lei were confused at first, and then they were shocked when they realized what had happened.
Then, when they came to their senses, they found themselves surrounded.
Luden clenched the long wooden cannon in his hand, "General Xing, what do you mean?"
Yao Chunnuan smiled and said, "General Lu, General Meng, our general would like to keep you as guests at the military settlement for a while. Is that possible?"
After Meng Chao loaned out his troops, he also sent capable generals to accompany his son, General Meng Xiao. This was mainly because his son had a brief acquaintance with the higher-ups of the Yichun military settlement, and he also assumed that a fight would likely not break out. However, he never expected things to develop like this.
Lu Deng looked around. They had over 30,000 soldiers, and the Yichun military garrison surrounding them probably numbered 40,000. Breaking through was possible, but he could see the Yichun military garrison was very stubborn. If they tried to break through, they would definitely do everything they could to stop them. But they were the prince's men! They were destined to be in opposition, so they had to charge!
"People with different ideals cannot work together!" Then, he raised his voice and ordered, "Everyone, break out to the west!" Before giving the order, he actually glanced at Yao Chunnuan, but when he saw Axia standing next to her with a fierce look in her eyes, and thought of her terrifying fighting power, he immediately gave up the idea of capturing Yao Chunnuan.
The general ordered, "Chase!"
Yao Chunnuan and the others were of no help in the battle, so she and Yu Chen and other scholars retreated to a safe place. Now it was time for the soldiers to take the stage. This battle was inevitable. And they would need to go all out to destroy the Crown Prince's remaining forces. Fortunately, they had anticipated this outcome and had already set numerous traps in the north. Their Yichun army was stationed in the south, and the enemy initially approached from the west. When the general returned, he had blocked the western direction. If the enemy wanted to break out, they would most likely head north. Their deliberate plan proved correct.
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