Chapter 523 Returning to Aid?
"Bastard! Bastard! How dare Li Jingzhou! How dare he!!!"
The candlelight reflected the crimson in the King of Chu's eyes as he shattered the cup in his hand. The warhorses outside the tent seemed to sense the menacing aura, their long neighs tearing through the cold night.
"Commander Sun was assassinated and died from his wounds. The Princess Consort and the Grand Princess were attacked by the Prince of Xiang's mansion, and the Grand Princess is in a coma. The Prince of Xiang has led an army of 40,000 to besiege Taiyuan, and the Prince of Qi has been leading the defense for more than seven days. Now the city's food and medicine are running out, and it is in imminent danger. We earnestly request Your Highness to send reinforcements to rescue us and save us from this dire situation!"
Anger burned in his eyes and made the King of Chu's throat feel bloody. He slammed the secret letter onto the table, and the celadon brush washer shattered. Shards splashed onto his armor, and those outside heard the noise and rushed into the tent.
"Father? What has caused such great anger?"
Li Mingxiu's camp was right next door, so he was the first to arrive. Mengjin had been under attack for almost a week, and the city was now almost completely besieged. They only needed to wait two days to take Mengjin and then march straight into the capital.
My father has been in a good mood lately, since the capital is within his grasp, and it's rare to see him so furious in the middle of the night.
Upon hearing the noise, he put on his clothes and went straight into his father's tent.
Seeing the uncertain expression on the King of Chu's face, Li Mingxiu asked with some curiosity, and his gaze involuntarily fell on the paper that his father was tightly clutching on the desk.
The King of Chu looked up and saw his eldest son, his anger intensifying. He sat down, covered his face, and shoved the letter in his hand into Li Mingxiu's hands: "Read it yourself!"
Li Mingxiu picked up the somewhat crumpled letter by the dim candlelight. The more he read, the more gloomy his expression became. After he finished reading, his face turned as dark as the bottom of a pot.
"Prince Xiang? What a Prince Xiang!!!"
Li Mingxiu slammed his fist on the Chu King's desk, then suddenly asked as if he had just remembered something, "Does Xiao Liu not know about Ashu's injury and unconsciousness?"
The King of Chu suddenly looked up, and his eldest son-in-law, who had been working day and night without regard for his own family lately, frowned slightly as he led the troops to attack the city.
"Go and call Xiao Liu over. He should know that something happened to Ashu."
Li Mingxiu frowned as he walked out of the tent, intending to summon Lin Changning. Meanwhile, the King of Chu summoned several other generals to the tent overnight.
Lin Changning arrived relatively early. On the way, he heard his brother-in-law tell him that Li Mingshu had been assassinated and was now in a coma. He frowned all the way.
Instead, Li Mingxiu, the elder brother, had to offer some words of comfort: "Sixth Brother, don't worry too much. The family physician is here, and my mother and the others are taking care of you. There shouldn't be any problems."
Lin Changning nodded quietly without saying a word. After she and Li Mingxiu entered the tent, she looked up and saw the King of Chu, who was frowning, kneeling on the ground with a thud.
"Please allow me, Father, to lead troops back to aid Taiyuan."
The King of Chu looked up at Lin Changning, whose gaze held a hint of coldness, and sighed softly, saying, "Why did you kneel as soon as you came in? Get up and we'll talk later."
Lin Changning still frowned as he looked at the King of Chu: "A-Shu's life or death is currently unknown. As her husband, I should stay by her side. Yue'er is still young, and A-Shu is unconscious. She must be terrified. As her father, I should be with them at this time. Moreover, Father, Second Brother is still injured, Commander Sun is seriously injured and will die, and the King of Xiang also has strong generals under his command. I am not at ease leaving Second Brother alone in Taiyuan."
What Lin Changning could think of, the King of Chu could naturally think of as well. However, all the troops were currently concentrated in Mengjin. If the troops were transferred back to Taiyuan and the situation dragged on for a while, they would likely become trapped like turtles in a jar.
Therefore, although the King of Chu was furious, he was still rational and clear-headed. The most important thing now was to take Luoyang first. As for Taiyuan, he left 30,000 troops there. Even without a general to fight, as long as they could hold out for a few days, they could take Luoyang and the crisis in Taiyuan would be resolved.
Changning was a general he had chosen and a son-in-law he had personally selected. He was very satisfied with him. Now, seeing Changning abandon the credit for attacking the capital and rush home to be with his daughter and granddaughter and support his second son, he felt both gratified and happy.
He knew Changning was a good place, but given the current situation, he really couldn't leave.
With fewer troops, returning to Taiyuan would be like delivering food to the enemy; with more troops, if the emperor could hold out for a while longer, the remaining army would be in danger.
For a moment, the King of Chu hesitated.
After sighing, he waved to Lin Changning and continued, "Xiao Liu, don't be stubborn. Stand up and speak first. The most urgent task now is still to take the capital first, and then lead the troops back to Taiyuan to provide reinforcements..."
Li Mingxiu was also worried about his family and relatives. He frowned and said to the King of Chu, "Father, why don't we first allocate 10,000 troops to return to Taiyuan to support the Second Prince? The rest of us can continue the siege. We've been besieging the city for a week now, and the city is running out of food and weapons. It should only be a matter of time before we break through the city. Losing 10,000 troops should be enough..."
Before he could finish speaking, the King of Chu interrupted him: "Nonsense! Battlefield matters are not child's play. If the emperor holds out for a while longer, and reinforcements from all over arrive, we will be like turtles in a jar, at their mercy. The most urgent task is to break through the city first. Once we enter Mengjin, the gates of Luoyang will be wide open, and then we can send reinforcements back. That is the best strategy."
As soon as Li Mingde entered the room, he heard the King of Chu arguing with his younger brother. He had just received the news and, although he was anxious, he knew that the King of Chu was right.
The most urgent task now is still to capture the city. Once the city falls and the emperor is captured, everything will be almost settled. Even if the Prince of Xiang conquers Taiyuan, so what? They have already occupied the capital and can even turn their attention back to deal with the Prince of Xiang's people.
Seeing that Li Mingxiu seemed to want to say something more, she quickly took a few steps forward and grabbed Li Mingxiu.
“Ah Xiu, I think Uncle Jiu is right. It will only take two days to break through the city. Why don’t we take Mengjin first and then send people back to reinforce it? Ah Rong can’t possibly not hold out for even a few days. I trust Ah Rong.”
Li Mingxiu sighed softly, looking at Lin Changning kneeling on the ground with some worry.
Seeing the determination in the King of Chu's eyes, Lin Changning knew that it was highly unlikely that troops could be mobilized to reinforce the capital. If they were to do so, it would likely play right into the court's hands.
After dusting off his trousers and standing up, Lin Changning cupped his hands and asked, "Father, may I lead the troops to attack the city tonight?"
The King of Chu looked at his two stubborn children with a headache: "There's no rush in the middle of the night. Let's wait for Old Qin and the others to come over, discuss tomorrow's tactics, and try to take Mengjin quickly and capture the emperor alive!"
Li Mingxiao had just entered the tent and had obviously heard the news that had just been sent out.
He clasped his hands in a fist salute to the King of Chu and said, “Ninth Uncle, our Qin Prince’s Mansion may be able to send some people to Taiyuan to provide support first. The number of people is estimated to be not too many, but we have enough food and medicine.”
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