Chapter 216: Quelling the Rebellion in Chang'an
Prince Yu asked three questions in a row: "What is that colorful giant ball?"
"Where has the content on this paper been circulated?"
"Quick, get someone to shoot that thing down! This monster that is misleading people with its lies must not be allowed to drift south again!"
Unfortunately, among those who fled with him into Shu, no one knew what the giant seven-colored ball was, nor did anyone know which states the papers had drifted to.
There was no idea of how to take that thing down. Some low-level soldiers and slaves even began to kneel down and pray, believing that it was the work of God.
Prince Yu abandoned the city and fled, and the gods were furious!
Before Prince Yu resolved the public opinion incident caused by the colorful giant ball, the news that he abandoned Chang'an and the people of the city fled to Sichuan for refuge had spread throughout the world.
Then another major event happened, which completely threw Prince Yu's party into disarray. That was the death of the Emperor.
He died on the way back to Chang'an. If he was just dead, it would be fine. Prince Yu could use this as an excuse to return to Chang'an to mourn the emperor. If Jun Yanqing went to war with him, it would be disrespectful and unfilial! But the imperial edict that the emperor brought with him was missing! Prince Yu couldn't figure out how the emperor avoided his eyes.
When he escaped from the palace, he replaced all the people serving the emperor, except for two old doctors who had to treat the emperor at all times and could not be replaced.
As a result, problems occurred with these two imperial doctors. One of them even escaped with the imperial edict while being surrounded by his army.
When the pursuers found a bunch of disguises, Prince Yu realized that the old doctor was actually his grandson in disguise. The reason he failed to see through it was that the old doctor was a fake from the beginning.
At that time, he dared to commit such a serious crime of deceiving the emperor. There was only one possibility, that is, the emperor acquiesced. Or this was the emperor's plan!
Prince Yu wanted to whip the emperor's corpse! What on earth did I do to you that made you unhappy? I even took you with me when I was escaping. Even if it was a play of a loving father and a loving son, what else could you be dissatisfied with? You actually treated me like this before you died! Prince Yu looked at Duke Shen: "What if I can't get the imperial edict back?"
Duke Shen sneered. Even if the imperial physician was a young man in disguise, could he escape alone? There must be an accomplice in the army, which means that the emperor had already made careful arrangements to send out the imperial edict.
Even though we were on the run, his men still strictly carried out their mission and delivered the imperial edict.
Duke Shen couldn't help but think that perhaps the emperor had exiled Prince Li to the border in order to protect him, to keep him away from the political vortex of Chang'an and to allow him to grow up in the border.
It's really hard to predict the heart of a monarch! If you ask what Prince Yu did wrong, as a crown prince, he is still qualified, at least he is obedient.
But his biggest mistake is that he has a powerful relative. The emperor is afraid that the throne will be passed on to Prince Yu, and the country will eventually be in the hands of the Shen family! Duke Shen snorted coldly: "What he took away was just a fake imperial edict. The real imperial edict is here with me."
Prince Yu was overjoyed: "When did uncle get it? Great, then let's quickly announce the imperial edict to the world, and I will return to Chang'an to ascend the throne immediately."
Then he saw Duke Shen take out a blank imperial edict. His face changed drastically, and after a few breaths of silence he realized what Duke Shen had meant.
Duke Shen did not even look up at him, fearing that he would not be able to conceal the look in his eyes that looked at him as an idiot.
"We won't announce the death of the emperor. Even if the king gets the imperial edict, it's fake! When we get to Chang'an, we will announce the real edict to the world."
But the next day, the article floating on the colorful balloon changed. His Majesty passed away, and Prince Yu killed the king! Prince Yu abandoned his mother and killed the queen after she was deposed by the barbarians. He also killed the king on the way to escape, and kept the death a secret...
Prince Yu was about to collapse: "How did the news leak out?"
"Quick, burn that giant colorful ball for me!"
You know what, he succeeded in setting it on fire. The archer fired several flaming arrows, and the huge colorful ball caught fire and fell to the ground in a hurry.
Before Prince Yu could be happy for too long, another huge colorful ball was launched into the sky that afternoon, followed by the second and third.
On the way to Chang'an, colorful balls can be seen in every city and every checkpoint.
If Jin Sui knew what Prince Yu was thinking at this moment, he would definitely say, do you think I’m the Minister of Logistics for nothing?
I know too well how important public opinion is during wartime! After a few days of exposing Prince Yu's actions, letters of persuasion continued to float down, saying that as fellow soldiers of the imperial court, you were ordered by Prince Yu to abandon the city and flee.
As long as you surrender, the King will forgive you for your past. But if you don't surrender and continue to follow the traitor who killed your father, you can only be charged with treason!
The morale of the army was shaken.
In fact, when the army learned that King Li had expelled the Hu people and saved the city of Chang'an, their morale began to waver.
Then they saw a giant colorful ball that looked like a divine object, and realized that it was used by King Li’s army to send messages. The soldiers in the army were both envious and regretful.
They envied the Border Town for having such a powerful weapon, and regretted that they had abandoned the city and fled. If they had stayed to fight with the King of Li, it would have been so glorious! Then they learned that the emperor was dead. Yes, the emperor was dead. They learned about it from the leaflets sent by the giant ball.
Some generals could not bear it any longer. They were loyal to the emperor and patriotic, but after the emperor died, they abandoned the city and the people when the country was in trouble.
Do I have to follow Prince Yu and Duke Shen back to Chang'an to fight against Prince Li and his subordinates who are trying to save the country?
Why did they join the army? They fled when the barbarians came, but they drew their swords against the heroes who saved Chang'an City?
That night, several generals fled with their subordinates, holding the leaflets they had picked up, and prepared to return to Chang'an to meet King Li.
Prince Yu was horrified and asked Duke Shen again: "Uncle, what should we do?"
Duke Shen said in a deep voice: "Those who fled are scattered soldiers without any defense. Important generals will not flee."
Because the important generals all came from the aristocratic families and their interests were aligned with theirs, it was impossible for them to surrender to King Li.
Duke Shen thought that with these troops, he would have the capital to fight against King Li.
He thought he could bring the emperor's body to the city of Chang'an, fight with Prince Li before the three armies, and finally kill him, and Prince Yu would ascend the throne.
Until now, they have not clearly realized that the current King Li is no longer the King Li who was expelled from Chang'an by them.
To put it in Jin Sui's words, we now have strength and means! Your old tricks are no longer effective.
Gu Changxiao spread the news that surrendered soldiers would not be killed for three days, and tapped the table lightly: "Three days, those who do not surrender after three days will be killed!"
Cheng Yu frowned. When the surviving officials in Chang'an heard this, they thought that he would persuade King Li that brothers should not kill each other, especially since the emperor was still in the hands of King Yu.
Unexpectedly, Cheng Yu said: "Three days? That's too long! I think one day and one night is enough for them to think it through. Just pull out the fence-sitters."
The officials gasped. Although it had only been a few days, they had already discovered that the working style of the officials from the border town was completely different from that of the officials in Chang'an.
They are more efficient and faster. When a task is assigned, they will not shirk the responsibility or ask several departments to review it.
In comparison, the officials in Chang'an are simply a bunch of old foxes.
But this is not a quick method! There are tens of thousands of soldiers, how can we make a conclusion so easily, in one day and one night, if they don't surrender, they will be killed?
An official pleaded: "Your Majesty, why don't you let me persuade them to surrender?"
Gu Changxiao pointed at the colorful giant ball in the sky and said, "Can you still persuade me with it?"
He had already obtained the emperor's decree of succession, an decree that hundreds of people had desperately tried to deliver to him.
To be honest, Gu Changxiao saw that the imperial edict said that the throne would be passed to Prince Li, Jun Yanqing.
My heart was surprisingly calm and peaceful. I didn't feel the joy of finally getting my father's approval.
He even felt that this imperial edict was not that important, because no matter whether the emperor passed the throne to him or not, he would still grab the throne no matter what.
Even if not for ourselves, we must work hard to create a peaceful and prosperous era for the border town and for every year.
Sui Sui has so many things he wants to do. Only when he ascends the throne can he give Sui Sui the most comprehensive support! Gu Changxiao does not intend to put the battlefield outside Chang'an City. This city has been ruined by the Hu people and is riddled with holes. It cannot withstand a second war.
Moreover, he did not want to kill Prince Yu, exterminate the royal family, and punish hundreds of aristocratic families under the watchful eyes of his ancestors in the imperial mausoleum.
He personally led his troops to encircle and intercept Prince Yu's troops south of the Ba River.
Prince Yu was delighted to hear the news. Jun Yanqing was looking for death! If you hide in Chang'an City, we will have to find a way to attack the city.
How dare you go out of the city to fight!
In addition, the fact that Jun Yanqing had not announced his ascension to the throne for such a long time was beyond the expectations of Prince Yu and Duke Shen.
A country cannot be without a ruler for a day. If it were them, they would have ascended the throne overnight on the first day they entered Chang'an.
Did he intend to bury the emperor before ascending the throne? How foolish.
Duke Shen and Prince Yu did not stay happy for long. When the first cannon shot was fired, the fish oil firearms thrown from the colorful giant ball burned the entire river surface red.
Firearms fell into the military camp, scaring the horses, burning the food and fodder, and also breaking the morale of the troops.
Duke Shen said that the interests of the gentry were united and they would never surrender.
But if the generals don't surrender, the soldiers will. Looking at the Li King's troops and the artillery that was like divine thunder, the soldiers only wanted to save their lives, so how could they dare to fight! Once one person laid down his weapons and surrendered, it was like an infection, and immediately the second and third followed.
Prince Yu shouted, "Those who surrender should be killed!" But he could not stop the situation.
Gu Changxiao made such a big noise as soon as he arrived just to scare the soldiers and make them surrender as soon as possible.
He also didn't want to use such weapons on his own people.
Seeing that the army's morale had been broken, Duke Shen made a prompt decision to lead the remaining troops into Sichuan, where he had already made arrangements.
As long as Prince Yu enters Shu, he can become emperor in Shu.
Unfortunately, he did not expect that the surrendered soldiers not only wanted to surrender, but also wanted to make meritorious service. He actually took one step ahead of King Li and blocked their way into Shu.
When the horses that Duke Shen and Prince Yu were riding were shot dead and they were brought in front of Gu Changxiao in a panic.
Han Xing remembered Cheng Yu's instructions and must not give Prince Yu a chance to speak, nor let the prince be branded as a murderer of his brother.
So, before Prince Yu could even open his mouth to beg for mercy, Han Xing shot an arrow in the throat.
When Prince Yu fell in a pool of blood, the nobles who followed them were completely panicked.
Those who reacted quickly wanted to surrender immediately, but unfortunately, Gu Changxiao had already made up his mind to completely quell the unrest in Chang'an, and only Prince Yu's party could be wiped out.
Soldiers and civilians were not killed, but the direct descendants of the nobles had to die! The collateral descendants were made commoners.
However, Gu Changxiao did not kill Prince Yu's son who was not even one year old. Instead, he let his mother take him to live in the imperial mausoleum and guard it for the rest of his life.
What’s funny is that Lin’s daughter thought that Gu Changxiao didn’t kill her because he still had feelings for her.
She also wanted to ask someone to pass on a message that she wanted to meet the King of Li.
After hearing this, Gu Changxiao did not let his personal guards handle it, but asked Han Xing to go, because everyone knew that Han Xing was brought up by Boss Ji.
He couldn't leave any initiative that would cause Sui Sui to misunderstand.
Han Xing didn't even ask Cheng Yu and took Huo Zian to meet the Lin girl.
Han Xing and Huo Zian surprisingly agreed that the Lin family girl must not be kept. If she was an honest girl, she could still survive by raising the child in the imperial mausoleum.
He even dared to pass a message to the prince! And this message could be smoothly passed to the prince's desk, which shows that there are still people with evil intentions in the palace and the court.
They want to use the daughter of the Lin family, or rather, they are using each other to ruin the prince's reputation.
Lin's daughter's identity is very sensitive. First, the prince betrothed her, and then she married Prince Yu. Now Prince Yu is dead, and the prince spared her life, which has caused many romantic rumors.
She even dared to approach the prince! "If these rumors spread to the border town, how sad will Boss Ji be! She worked so hard for us in the border town, but the prince rekindled his old lover?"
Seeing Han Xing getting more and more excited, Huo Zian hurriedly said, "It's not a burning flame! The prince doesn't even want to see her, and he asked you to deal with it, which proves that there is no old love to burn!"
Han Xing sneered: "People who are alive are ultimately a hidden danger. I have already killed Prince Yu, so I don't mind killing Prince Yu's wife."
He looked at the knife in his hand and said with a smile: "When Boss Ji gave me this fine iron knife, I never thought that this knife could kill so many powerful nobles and princes!"
This is the truth. Even the Zuo Xian King of the Northern Frontier almost lost his life to this sword.
"Using a knife is too bloody, so let's give her white silk!" Huo Zian advised.
As expected, he was brought up by Miss Ji. He looked like a handsome young man, but I didn't expect him to be so cruel and ruthless. He really looks like his master!
Huo Zian thought of Jinsui. Who could have imagined that the girl with curved eyes and a gentle and bright smile could kill people without blinking an eye.
I'll pour syrup on you and dump you in an ant nest, watching you being eaten by thousands of ants...
Huo Zian shuddered, took out the white silk, and went to the imperial mausoleum with Han Xing.
Even though the palace was looted, there was still no shortage of white silk and poison to give to people.
Miss Lin never imagined that the letter she sent to King Li with deep affection would be received in return with a three-foot white silk!
Before she died, she was still saying, "I want to see the prince! The prince will not kill me. He should have been my husband!"
Han Xing's ears hurt from hearing this. How shameless! When the prince was in trouble, you immediately broke off the engagement and remarried.
Now you still have the nerve to say that the prince should have been your husband! He thought of the words that Ji Lao Da used to curse people. The difference between people is greater than the difference between people and pigs! There are women as smart as Ji Lao Da, as bright and cheerful as Shi Er Niang, and as Lin's daughter...
The body of Lin's daughter was buried with Prince Yu, but not in the imperial mausoleum. Their children were sent to the imperial temple and raised by the old imperial concubines there.
The civil war that the people of Chang'an were worried about, which might last for several months or even years, was actually resolved in just half a month.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
