Upon hearing this, Yun Songquan and Wu Liping both turned to look at Li Jinyuan, their meaning clear: it was up to you to speak.
Li Jinyuan secretly rolled his eyes. He hadn't said he had to answer!
He could easily make excuses for this, saying he knew nothing about what happened back then. Those two guys are really stupid as pigs, they betrayed him outright.
Seeing Su Yun'an's expectant expression, Li Jinyuan coughed lightly and said, "When the General was sent away back then, I was still an infant, so I don't know exactly what happened back then."
Upon hearing this, Su Yun'an knew he was lying, and stared at him meaningfully, saying, "General Li, would you like to return to Northern Wei?"
Su Yun'an's question left Li Jinyuan completely dumbfounded.
Su Yun'an glanced at the three men and said, "The three generals were originally generals of the Northern Wei Dynasty. They came to Eastern Chu on the orders of your emperor. Do you want to stay in a foreign land for the rest of your lives?"
Upon hearing this, all three expressed their homesickness.
How could they not want to return to Northern Wei? They left home when they were young and have been separated from their families for almost twenty years. Now that they are middle-aged, who wouldn't want to return to their homeland!
But without the emperor's order, they had to stay in Eastern Chu!
Su Yun'an knew what they were thinking, and grabbed the military tally on the table again: "If I use the military tally to order you to take me to Northern Wei, then you can go back, right?"
Su Yun'an's words stunned the three of them once again, and at the same time, a hint of surprise appeared in their eyes.
The Emperor had already given orders for them to act in accordance with the military tally.
If the young general takes the military tally and troops back to Northern Wei, then they can indeed return!
Seeing their surprised expressions, Su Yun'an raised an eyebrow and said, "So now can you tell me what exactly happened back then?"
Yun Songquan longed to return to Northern Wei. His mother's health had been poor when he left Northern Wei, and now, twenty years later, he really wanted to go back and see her as soon as possible.
Yun Songquan looked at Li Jinyuan and pleaded, "Just tell him. The young general is so clever, we can't hide anything from him."
Li Jinyuan glared helplessly at Yun Songquan.
This guy knows what happened back then, why doesn't he say anything?
Wu Liping frowned and said, "Now that things have come to this, there's no point in hiding it anymore. Just tell me."
After they both said that, Li Jinyuan sighed softly and began to talk about what happened back then.
"In the year of the Great General's birth, the Northern Wei Dynasty was embroiled in internal strife. A severe drought struck, the worst in the history of the Northern Wei, causing widespread suffering and leading to uprisings. The Emperor was forced to personally intervene to provide disaster relief, suppress the rebellions, and pacify the people. Taking advantage of this drought, the Emperor's younger brother, the Prince of Nanxian, launched a rebellion. The Crown Prince and Crown Princess, who were also the Great General's parents, attempted to protect him by having a palace maid help him escape the palace. The Great General's parents were both killed by the Prince of Nanxian."
Speaking of what happened back then, Li Jinyuan still sighed: "If the emperor hadn't personally gone to provide disaster relief back then, perhaps the tragedy wouldn't have happened. Although the emperor later eliminated the Prince of Nanxian after returning, the Grand General was left to wander. It wasn't until many years later that the emperor found the Grand General's whereabouts and sent a few of us with 300,000 Su family troops to Dongchu to protect the Grand General."
Su Yun'an understood what had happened. He hadn't expected that such a tragic event had occurred in the Northern Wei royal family in the past.
His grandparents were murdered, and his father was forced to flee to Dongchu.
Although he and his sister didn't guess the whole story at the time, they were pretty close to it.
The grandmother of Sujia Village should be the palace maid who was entrusted to her father's biological parents. She took her father to Dongchu, met the grandfather of the Su family, and finally settled in Sujia Village, becoming a resident of Sujia Village.
However, there was one thing Su Yun'an didn't understand: "Since the Emperor of Northern Wei later found my father, why didn't he just send someone to bring my father back to Northern Wei, instead of having you guys travel thousands of miles to bring troops to protect him?"
Now, after so many decades, they are being asked to bring their father back to Northern Wei.
Wouldn't it have been better if he had taken his father back decades earlier?
Li Jinyuan frowned and shook his head. To be honest, he didn't understand the problem either.
Wu Liping suddenly spoke up: "The reason why His Majesty did not allow the Grand General to return to Northern Wei before was perhaps to protect him."
Su Yun'an asked, puzzled, "What do you mean?"
"After the Crown Prince and Crown Princess were killed by the Prince of Nanxian, the Grand General also disappeared. The Emperor was devastated and never appointed another Crown Prince. Although the Emperor had many children, he only had one legitimate son, the Crown Prince. Once the Crown Prince died, all the princes born out of wedlock began to vie for the throne. If the Emperor had immediately sent someone back to Northern Wei when he found the Grand General, perhaps the Grand General would have died at the hands of his uncles long ago."
Upon hearing Wu Liping's words, Li Jinyuan and Yun Songquan seemed to understand something: "That's possible. The Emperor used to favor the Crown Prince the most, and the Grand General is the only bloodline left by the Crown Prince. Naturally, the Emperor would want to find a way to protect the Crown Prince."
Su Yun'an could understand what they were saying.
After listening to this, he seemed to have a different opinion of this great-grandfather he had never met.
Was everything he did to protect his father? If he didn't resort to other means against his father, then he could be forgiven.
After all, no one is obligated to protect him, his mother, and his sister. If he can protect his father, he doesn't care about him, his mother, or his sister; as long as his father is safe, he'll do anything!
"But back then, your emperor sent so many Su family troops to Eastern Chu, which was quite a big fuss, right? Didn't any of the emperor's sons notice?" Su Yun'an asked in confusion.
"Young general, you may not know this, but the Su family army is a secret army under the Emperor's control, unknown to others. The three of us also took over the Su family army from our fathers. The generals of the Su family army are hereditary, and the rules are the ancestral system of the Northern Wei royal family!" Li Jinyuan explained to Su Yun'an while also explaining the previous rule of only recognizing military tallies.
Actually, the rules weren't set by the emperor, but by the first emperor of the Northern Wei Dynasty who established the secret army.
Su Yun'an remained noncommittal; if that were the case, then it made sense.
Thinking of something, Su Yun'an frowned again and said, "Is your emperor nearing his end, which is why he suddenly ordered you to take your father back?"
However, it has been four years since my father left Eastern Chu. If the emperor of Northern Wei is truly incompetent, then after four years, wouldn't he be...?
Wu Liping sighed softly: "I only saw the Emperor once four years ago when I escorted the General back. At that time, the Emperor's condition did not look very good."
As for how the emperor is now, he doesn't know, since they haven't returned to Northern Wei for far too long.
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