Chapter 97 Leading the troops into the imperial city
A day and a night of wind and snow covered the battlefield where blood flowed like a river. Pan Cheng, deputy general of the Zhenbei Army, stood on the city wall and looked out. The gray clouds made people feel depressed and panic. In the dark sky and earth, the white snow on the ground became the brightest boundary between heaven and earth. Under the snow, piles of corpses surrounded the city like graves.
Pan Cheng sighed, grasped the scabbard at his waist, turned around and asked, "Your Highness Prince Qi, are you leaving today?"
The young officer standing behind him said, "I and a few of my brothers came to the city wall to look for you and ran into them on the way. Prince Qi's personal guards are getting together and they look like they'll be leaving soon."
Someone nearby said, "They're not called the Imperial Guard, they're called the City Defense Army."
"Whatever it's called, it means the same thing."
After a fierce battle yesterday, Prince Qi informed Pan Cheng that the Yanzhou Army would return to defend Shanhaiguan, while the Northeast Army would remain temporarily to assist them in holding the northern border. At the time, Prince Qi made no mention of the city defense army. Today, as he assembled his troops and prepared to depart, it seemed clear he wasn't heading back to Songjiang City.
Someone lowered his voice and whispered, "General, is Prince Qi going south to Luoyang to support the emperor?"
"What king is he? Isn't he the king?"
It was obvious that if Prince Qi went south to Luoyang, he would definitely be aiming for the throne. However, rather than heading to Kyoto, Prince Qi came to support the Zhenbei Army first, which made Pan Cheng look at him with a higher regard.
"We've never met Prince Qi in person before. But yesterday, at a critical moment, Prince Qi led his troops to rescue us. Judging from the aura he displayed while commanding the troops, he's no fool. If Prince Qi were to take the throne, I'd definitely support him."
"I also think Prince Qi is a good person. Songjiang City is a desolate place. Prince Qi has only been there for a dozen years. I heard from the shopkeepers who have come back from doing business in Songjiang City that two official roads have been built there. The local people live and work in peace and contentment, and business is prosperous. This shows that Prince Qi really knows how to govern the people."
"The soldiers under the opponent are also good. The soldiers under the Qi Wang rule wear thicker cotton clothes than us, and their bodies are stronger than us. They also have good horses. Damn, it's a blessing for soldiers to meet such a master."
"Prince Qi's maternal grandfather was the previous Grand Commander of Zhenbei. Grand Commander Meng is more reliable than that old fellow Shen Hui. Prince Qi looks like his maternal grandfather."
"It's not an exaggeration to say that Prince Qi is a man of both civil and military abilities. To put it bluntly, apart from the founding emperor of the Zhou family, who else can compare to Prince Qi?"
A group of officers whispered their opinions, and in short, if Prince Qi really fought with General Shen and the royal family, they would definitely support Prince Qi.
General Shen was too selfish. For the sake of his Shen family's power, he actually abandoned his brothers and the people living on the border. If the reinforcements from Prince Qi had not arrived in time, the consequences would have been disastrous.
After yesterday, these people no longer respected Shen Hui, the Grand Commander, as a superior.
"General Pan, please tell me what you mean."
Pan Chengdao, who had been silent the whole time, said, "We all come from humble backgrounds and come here to guard the frontier. We do this for our country, our people, and our own future. Prince Qi is a descendant of the royal family, and we brothers trust him, so we should..."
Pan Cheng's eyes swept over everyone present. Everyone exchanged glances and nodded together.
"It's better to help someone in need than to add icing on the cake. Since we all have the same intention, why don't we go meet His Royal Highness Prince Qi now and express our feelings?"
"That makes sense."
Before leaving, Zhou Qi met with the generals of the Zhenbei Army. Pan Cheng took the lead in kneeling down to express his loyalty. Zhou Qi's mouth curled up slightly: "Oh, if Chen Hui comes back, do you dare to rebel against him?"
Pan Cheng gritted his teeth and said, "Chen Hui, the Grand Commander of Zhenbei, fled with his troops for his own selfish desires, giving the Tartars an opportunity to take advantage of us and killing so many of our brothers. Even if Chen Hui comes back, we will never recognize him as the Grand Commander."
Hearing Pan Cheng's words, Zhou Qi was no longer in a hurry to leave. He slowly sat down, leaning back slightly in his chair, looking relaxed. He smiled and asked the others present, "Do you think so too?"
"We all respect His Royal Highness Prince Qi."
"Okay, in that case, I will appoint General Pan as the commander-in-chief of the Zhenbei Army. Do you agree?"
Pan Cheng immediately stood up and said hurriedly: "Your humble servant..."
Zhou Qi paused and waited for responses from the others present.
Accepting his transfer order means completely standing on the side of Prince Qi's Mansion. If he had not ascended the throne, Pan Cheng, including those who supported him, would not only have offended Shen Hui to death, but also completely betrayed Emperor Zhou Xuan.
Zhou Qi didn't have to wait long before the generals present gave him a satisfactory answer.
"Your Highness Prince Qi will command you."
The smile on Zhou Qi's lips grew wider and wider. He patted the back of the chair, stood up, and shouted three good words in a row!
Because Pan Cheng led the Zhenbei Army to pledge their loyalty, Zhou Qi stayed for one more day. He first reorganized the army and left his confidants to count the number of soldiers who died in yesterday's battle. He promised to send out the pension money as soon as possible.
Then came the transfer of military generals. Pan Cheng was appointed as the Grand Commander of Zhenbei, and his vacant position of deputy general was promoted to someone else. Under the deputy general, all generals, thousand-householders, and centurions were promoted and transferred.
Finally, all the Shen family members who were still here were detained. After the matter in Luoyang was settled, Shen Hui would convict them and then punish the Shen family members.
The next morning, before setting off, Zhou Qi told Pan Cheng, the newly appointed Grand Commander of the Northern Frontier, and Dong Yizhong, the commander of the Northeastern Army, "Although the Canglang Tribe has been completely annihilated, there's no guarantee that other tribes will attack again. You two must work together to protect the Great Zhou Dynasty's northern gate."
"Please rest assured, Your Majesty. We will definitely live up to your expectations."
Zhou Qi led the city defense army southwards to Luoyang. The noise of tens of thousands of soldiers leaving the camp was so loud that the city defense army disappeared from the sight of Pan Cheng and others half an hour later.
Still at the city wall yesterday, Pan Cheng asked Dong Yizhong, "General Dong, when the prince comes next time, we should be welcoming the emperor's carriage, right?"
"General Pan, you're joking. After our prince ascends the throne, he will definitely not come to us first."
"Oh, General Dong, what do you think?"
Dong Yizhong pointed to the northeast and said, "If the prince ascends the throne, the first thing he will do is to go to Songjiang City to welcome the princess and the prince into the palace."
Pan Cheng asked tentatively, "I heard that besides the princess, there are no other wives or concubines in the rear quarters of Prince Qi's mansion?"
Dong Yizhong smiled and said, "The master's affairs are not for us subordinates to discuss, but since we are colleagues, I can tell General Pan a word."
"What?"
"The Qi Wang Mansion's wealth is in the hands of Qi Wangfei."
Does this mean that Princess Qi holds great power? So, she can't be offended? Pan Cheng was very dissatisfied with Dong Yizhong's half-hearted words and wanted to ask more, but Dong Yizhong refused to say anything.
When Dong Yizhong and Pan Cheng were chatting on the city wall, they mentioned Princess Gu Youan of Prince Qi, and they felt uneasy.
"Liu Zhong, has there been any change in the city in the past two days?"
Liu Zhong stepped forward and reported, "Everything in the city remains normal. Since the prince took away the city guards, patrols in and around Songjiang City have been handed over to the yamen runners and our palace guards. With the severe winter weather, there are few new faces entering or leaving Songjiang City, so we're able to keep busy."
Gu Youan lowered his eyes and thought quietly, probably suffering from the fear of insufficient troops.
Since she received the news that the Canglang Tribe was about to march south to plunder and attack the Zhenbei Army, the entire city defense army was dispatched, one to transport military supplies, and the other to support the Northeast Army, forming a pincer attack and encirclement in the north with the Northeast Army, Yanzhou Army, and Zhenbei Army to cut off the Canglang Tribe's retreat.
After annihilating the Canglang Tribe, the Yanzhou Army must quickly return to defend Shanhaiguan, which is temporarily guarded by the Liaodong Army. The Northeast Army must remain in Ningxia and join the Zhenbei Army in defending the northern border. Zhou Qi will lead his troops south, but he can only take the city defense troops with him.
She didn't know how the fighting was going in Luoyang, and she had no other choice but to transfer all the city defense troops to Zhou Qi.
"According to the date, the navy from Dongshan Port should be leaving for Shandong, right?"
Liu Zhong nodded: "It's probably already at sea."
She had seen Zhou Qi deducing the inevitable Battle of Luoyang with his generals and counselors in the study. In the best-case scenario, the various troops that entered the capital to defend the king would fight first, and after Zhou Qi came to the aid of the Zhenbei Army, they would go south to pick up the advantage and finish the fight. Any remaining defeated troops that fled south would be stopped by the navy and dealt with halfway.
Will it be so smooth? Gu Youan always felt that it was unlikely.
Liu Zhong said, "Princess, how about we transfer a team from the Yanzhou Army to garrison Songjiang City?"
There are official roads on both sides. Even if the road is difficult to walk on due to heavy snow, it is still possible to get through.
"The Yanzhou Army cannot be mobilized, and the Northeast Army's garrison is empty. The Yanzhou Army not only has to guard Shanhaiguan, but also has to divert its attention to defending the grassland." A large group of troops cannot be mobilized, but it should be okay to transfer one or two thousand soldiers.
"What about the Liaodong Army?"
It would be better not to mobilize the Liaodong Army.
The Liaodong Army had been under the Qi Wang Mansion for too short a time, so she did not trust them much. Zhou Qi probably thought the same, so she did not dispatch the Liaodong Army to support the Zhenbei Army, but only asked them to divide their forces to temporarily defend Shanhaiguan.
A good cook cannot cook without rice. The Qi Wang Mansion has too few soldiers and horses, and they are stretched to the limit at times like this.
"Liu Zhong, we need to get ready."
Liu Zhong didn't understand: "Princess, you want to..."
Gu Youan said, "I know that most of the families living in Songjiang City have land and houses in the villages outside the city. You go and inform them that those who can return to the village should go back and hide there."
"Princess, are you worried about thieves..."
"It's just a precaution. Although the Shanhai Pass, Dongliaocheng Port, and Dongshan Port leading in and out of Songjiang City are guarded by soldiers, they are not foolproof. It's better to be cautious."
Gu Youan was thinking that Zhou Xuan had sent people to surround and kill Zhou Qi out of resentment in the past. Now that Luoyang City was in such chaos, someone might want to go around to the rear and wipe out Zhou Qi's base camp.
Can't you just hide if you can't win?
"Tell them that asking them to leave the city and hide is for their own good. Even if someone attacks Prince Qi's mansion, as long as they stay away from Prince Qi's mansion, they will naturally not be affected."
"Yes, I'll go right away."
After hearing the princess's instructions, Liu Zhong immediately went to the front yard and ordered people to inform the news.
Gu Youan said to A Yue, "Go and bring A Yuan back."
A Yue trotted to the private school in the front yard, where Mr. Huang was teaching. When Mr. Huang saw the maidservant beside the princess was about to take the prince away, he did not stop her.
After A Yuan was taken away, the stewards of the Gu, Tian, and Zhang families also came in to apologize to Mr. Huang, saying that their young master had not come to the private school since the New Year.
Before the group of children knew what was going on, they were carried into the carriage by the steward. The carriage started moving. Ah Xing realized something was wrong. This was not the way home.
The steward hurriedly said, "We are going to the old house in the neighboring mountain village."
Ah Xing lifted the curtain and looked out. The carriages of the Tian and Zhang families were following behind his carriage. It was obvious that they were also going out of the city.
"Where are my grandparents? Where are my parents? Where is my sister?"
"I don't know about this little one. The old lady and the others have their own arrangements, but they will definitely return to the village."
The Gu family spent a lot of effort to build their house in the neighboring mountain village. The secret passage under the house leads to Tiger Ridge in the back mountain, which is a good place to hide.
"Wait, what about my aunt and Yuan? Stop quickly, let's go back to pick up Yuan and my aunt." As Ah Xing said this, he was about to jump up and asked the driver to turn around quickly.
The housekeeper anxiously held him down and said, "My little master, please be obedient. We can just take care of ourselves. The arrangements made by the princess and the prince will only be more complete than ours."
As they were talking, the carriage arrived at the East City Gate. The East City Gate, which was rarely visited in winter, was now crowded with carriages and pedestrians, all heading out.
Ah Xing looked outside and saw that the curtains of the Tian and Zhang families' carriages were also lifted up behind him. The little friends looked at each other and became anxious.
Although they were young, they knew that something big was going to happen.
The officials' families were definitely the first to receive the news. They didn't bother to pack up carefully. They loaded the food onto the carts, took their gold, silver and valuables, and headed out of the city as a whole family.
Madam Lu urged the driver to hurry up while saying to Su Guang, who was already sixty years old and retired, "I didn't expect that Princess Qi would be so kind as to ask the people in the city to evacuate first. We are lucky."
If it were in Luoyang, the people in power wouldn't care about the life or death of those below them. Even if they were implicated, they would deserve it and die. Some people would even say that it was a blessing in your several lifetimes to be able to die for them.
Su Guang said, "The popularity of Prince Qi's mansion is due to the hard work of Prince Qi and Princess Qi."
The elderly Su Guang was also looking outside. They were walking out of the city, but many people were running in the opposite direction towards the city. Su Guang recognized several descendants of military generals.
The Prince Qi's Mansion was surrounded like an iron barrel inside and out. Many descendants of military generals came to the Prince Qi's Mansion with their family guards to help. Bodyguards from various escort agencies in Songjiang City also came. In a short while, more than two hundred people gathered in front of the Prince Qi's Mansion.
Zhou Chen, the palace's chief official, went out to persuade them to return home quickly and protect their families through the winter. Those who came were filled with passion and determination, and Zhou Chen couldn't persuade them to leave.
Zhou Chen had no choice but to go in and report to the princess.
Gu Youan smiled and said, "Since they are willing to help, send them to Li Xian and assign them to the patrol team. They can be of some help."
Zhou Chen hurriedly smiled and said, "The princess is really thoughtful."
Zhou Chen ran out to get busy again.
After the city guards left, Gu Youan handed over the patrol of Songjiang City to her chief guard Li Xian, and the guards in Prince Qi's mansion were handed over to Guo Su.
While Gu Youan and his son were busy in the study, Guo Su and a group of guards were patrolling the palace without stopping. The closer they were to the main courtyard, the more people there were.
"A Yuan, are you scared?"
Yuan shook his head: "I'm not afraid."
Gu Youan thought about disguising A Yuan and sending him to the Gu family or the Tian family and Zhang family, so as to fish in troubled waters and confuse those who were secretly watching the Prince Qi's Mansion.
Later she gave up. If A Yuan could survive this time, he would inherit the entire Zhou Dynasty. She couldn't let A Yuan become weak and evasive. The more critical the moment, the more she had to keep him by her side.
Having not held him for a long time, Gu Youan struggled to hold her son on her lap. She smiled and said, "Your father is fighting with others outside, and we mother and daughter cannot retreat. But you don't have to be afraid, mother will protect you."
Yuan nodded. As long as he was with his mother, he was not afraid of anything.
After this day, most of the people in Songjiang City disappeared, and the remaining people rarely went out. A snowstorm covered up the chaotic footsteps on the streets. Songjiang City was quieter than usual. In the quietness, fresh footprints and strangers' faces appeared in the city, and the patrol team could recognize them at a glance.
The cold wind with snow and blizzard made it impossible for people to open their eyes. Li Xian held the precious iron sword hanging at his waist tightly in his right hand. Before the leader on the opposite side drew his sword, he took two steps forward, dodged to the side with both hands holding the precious sword, and easily killed the man with a fierce chop.
The clanging sounds of swords clashing were blown away by the cold wind, and all the people hiding in the dark came out, wearing black clothes, covered in white snow, and with bright red blood, as they fought from the west gate to the main gate of Prince Qi's mansion.
The guards in the front yard of Prince Qi's mansion came out in full force, killing off one wave of assassins before another wave rushed in.
Liu Ling emerged from a secret passage somewhere and rushed into the main courtyard. "The assassins coming here are from more than one faction. I can recognize the emperor's personal soldiers, assassins, and assassins from the Shen family. As for the others I can't recognize, I'm sure they must be from those families outside the imperial city."
Gu Youan was not surprised by this result. She asked, "Can't win?"
Liu Ling said, "I'm afraid we'll have to ask the princess and the prince to hide in the secret passage."
"Then let's go now."
Gu Youan was well prepared. She had already changed herself and her son into warm clothes, shoes and hats for going out. She immediately took A Yuan's hand and retreated into the secret passage.
Guo Su and Xing Liuniang brought a group of guards to protect the mother and daughter, and Liu Zhong and Xiaoyue were by their side.
Gu Youan personally trained the female guards, and she treated them equally with Li Xian and others. They had been out on missions many times over the years and were accustomed to seeing blood and death.
Even so, this was the first time in all these years that someone had attacked them in their own lair and forced them to hide. Everyone was very angry.
Gu Youan smiled and said to Xiaoyue, "Fortunately, Xiaoju is still at home raising the child. If she were here, she would probably burst into tears."
Xiaoyue was at a loss for words: "Princess, it's already this hour, and you're still joking with us."
Guo Su's icy expression finally softened a little. She said, "Princess, we must hurry to the North Mountain. The secret passage still has other uses, so we can't stay here for long."
The secret passage can only be used to hide for a while, not forever. Those people have bad intentions and are specifically designed to kill people. Sooner or later, they will find the entrance to the secret passage.
In preparation for this day, Gu Youan prepared several places to hide people on the North Mountain in advance.
Beishan is huge and tall, and it is difficult to walk in the thick snow in winter. As long as you hide in the mountains, even the most powerful killer will find it difficult to find you.
It was dark in the secret passage, and with the raised torch lighting the way ahead, Gu Youan lowered his head and ran inside. When he reached the bottom, he climbed up in twists and turns. Gu Youan didn't know how long he had been crawling in the secret passage. He turned his head and looked back, and saw A Yuan lying obediently on Liu Zhong's back.
The leader, Guo Su, said, "Princess, we're here."
Gu Youan walked forward for a few dozen meters, and the cold air rushed towards him. Gu Youan took a deep breath and took a step forward.
This location is not very high. If the weather is good, you can overlook most of Songjiang City from here. But it is a dark and snowy afternoon. Not to mention seeing the bottom of the mountain, even places a little further away on the mountain are difficult to see clearly.
They couldn't stay here and had to continue walking into the mountains against the wind and snow.
Xing Liunian stayed behind with a team of guards and ambushed at the exit. If the assassins found the secret passage and came out from here, no one would survive their ambush.
Gu Youan and the remaining guards walked for half an hour to another more secluded cave.
There were many thick quilts, dry firewood, ready-made food and other things prepared in the sheltered area of the cave. People definitely didn't dare to light a fire at this time, but Xiaoyue and several maids brought hot water. They put the gourd filled with hot water in the thick quilt to warm the bed, or use it to soak various foods.
Gu Youan also admired them for still thinking about these little things while they were running for their lives.
Liu Zhong went outside the cave entrance for a walk and came back to report: "I think this snowstorm won't stop anytime soon. I estimate it will cover our tracks in another half hour."
Liu Zhong protected the princess and the prince as they fled, while Liu Ling took command at Prince Qi's mansion. It was almost time, and the guards in Prince Qi's mansion who had been fighting hard to kill the enemy retreated while fighting and gave up the mansion.
The secret passage of Prince Qi's Mansion was soon found, and various forces, knowing or not knowing the origin, rushed into the secret passage, and the evenly matched battle turned into a one-sided stranglehold.
In the dark room, a smile appeared on Liu Ling's old face, and his fingers couldn't help trembling. Great, he had been preparing for this moment for many years, and it was finally put to use.
Poison arrows, knives, spikes, iron chains, hanging stones, traps... The first person to rush into the secret passage will die the fastest.
Liu Ling felt very happy listening to the wailing coming from the secret passage, but unfortunately, after a while, he heard no more sound. The people behind him were too timid to rush forward.
Liu Ling looked gloomily across the stone chamber. At this moment, Li Xian came in from the secret door and said, "I'm afraid most of the palace's personal troops have been sent here."
"How many people are outside?"
"There are nearly a thousand more, all of them skilled."
Liu Ling asked, "The princess sent a letter to Shanhaiguan the day before yesterday?"
Li Xian nodded: "It will probably take several days for Deputy Tian to arrive."
"No rush, as long as the princess and the prince are safe, we will slowly fight them and wear them down to death."
In the dark night, Prince Qi's Mansion was like a terrifying monster, which stretched out a knife from nowhere to reap the lives of its enemies.
In contrast, Luoyang City was noisy and bustling tonight. Troops from all directions rushed into the imperial city in fierce fighting, and the piles of corpses bore witness to the brutal struggle for power.
Zhou Qi was the last force to lead troops into the imperial city. He didn't care who their subordinates were, and he would not leave anyone who blocked his way alive.
Sixteen years!
Sixteen years ago, he followed his father's order to send his mother to Songjiang City for burial, and stayed in Songjiang City ever since.
Sixteen years later, he led his troops into the imperial city, and the world would eventually fall into his hands.
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