Chapter 349 Prison Roof
Xiao Beiheng slammed the memorial in his hand on the table and said angrily, "Are those generals planning a rebellion?"
Lin Kui, who was standing below, shrank his neck and secretly looked at the angry Xiao Beiheng.
It's no wonder Xiao Beiheng was angry. He was the emperor, but unexpectedly couldn't mobilize the army. The generals of the Yan army refused to fight, demanding that Xiao Beiheng reveal the true culprit of the assassination of Emperor Ming of Qi and the truth about General Zhao Mu's rebellion.
Emperor Ming of Qi had a methodical way of leading his troops, and the Yan generals were all suspicious of his death. Furthermore, with General Zhao Mu arrested, the Yan army was leaderless. Although Xiao Beiheng wanted to mobilize the army, he faced numerous obstacles.
Lin Kui was completely on Xiao Beiheng's side. Having loyally assisted him for so many years, he had long since developed a habit of following his lead. Later, when he was interrogated by Song Zhen and about to be taken to Shengjing, it was Xiao Beiheng who saved his life. He even suspected that Song Zhen's death by fire was a deliberate act of Xiao Beiheng's, a revenge for his father's death.
With so many causes and consequences added together, he became even more devoted to Xiao Beiheng.
He also believed Xiao Beiheng's claim that Xiao Zhuo assassinated Emperor Ming of Qi. After all, the Empress herself confirmed it, which was the strongest evidence. And Xiao Zhuo had indeed gone to the Anzhou hunting grounds, and the time was right. He then hurriedly fled without any explanation, clearly showing a guilty conscience.
Before letting Xiao Beiheng know the situation of the Yan army generals, he had already tried to appease the generals, but everyone refused to admit it and insisted on an explanation.
Now Xiao Beiheng was furious, and he had no choice but to try his best to find a solution for his master.
"If these generals want to rebel, just arrest them all," Xiao Beiheng said with a twitch of his lips, "and let them accompany Zhao Mu."
Lin Kui was shocked and said quickly: "Your Majesty, please calm down. It is difficult to offend the public anger. It is difficult to offend the public anger."
If all the troublemakers were thrown into jail, there would be chaos everywhere. If things went wrong, the entire Yan army might even mutiny.
Xiao Beiheng knew the seriousness of the matter, but he had just sat on the throne of the emperor when he was hit on the head with a club. He was depressed and had no place to vent, so he had to say a few harsh words, otherwise he would feel too uncomfortable.
"Then it's up to you what we should do," Xiao Beiheng suppressed his anger, "I still have to rely on these generals to help me fight, I really can't touch them."
Lin Kui said, "In my humble opinion, General Zhao Mu should not be moved. He enjoys great prestige within the army. If he steps forward to appease the generals, this matter will surely be resolved."
Xiao Beiheng walked to the window and opened it to let the moonlight in. The moonlight was bright, but it did not alleviate the annoyance in his heart at all.
"That's easy for you to say. His wife is accusing him of treason. How can I let him stand up?"
"Your Majesty, just because his wife reported him doesn't mean the general actually did it. You can just say his wife slandered him and that's it."
Xiao Beiheng snorted and said, "Zhao Mu's direct confrontation with me in the Golden Palace that day was enough to warrant the death penalty. I think what his wife said is true. If I let him go, what if he leads his army to attack me?"
Lin Kui said, "Your Majesty, I am not suggesting that the General should lead the army. I am suggesting that the General should come forward to appease the generals. Let's suppress this chaos first. Your Majesty is a skilled warrior, so why would you need the General? You can lead the army yourself."
Xiao Beiheng hadn't slept well in days, and his spirits were low, but his mind was still clear. After pondering Lin Kui's words for a moment, he understood what he should do. He stood up and called the eunuch, saying, "Go, I'm going to see the general. Lin Kui, come with me."
Lin Kui said, "Your Majesty, it's already very late. Should we wait until tomorrow?"
"Now."
Xiao Beiheng replied, and walked out of the imperial study. He was anxious to send troops to attack Xiao Zhuo and could not wait until tomorrow.
The prison specifically for imprisoning high-ranking officials was not within the imperial city. The emperor's carriage left the imperial city without notifying the chief of the prison. He drove all the way to the prison, entered the heavily guarded three-story courtyard, and finally arrived at the prison gate.
The guards saluted the emperor in person. Lin Kui asked, "Is there anything unusual?"
A soldier said, "Your Majesty, everything is normal. However, a woman came the day before yesterday and brought some food to Zhao Mu. We have questioned her and found out that she was a former servant of the general's mansion. Her former master was kind to her, so she came to visit."
Xiao Beiheng's heart trembled when he heard this. He thought of Shen Yuexi.
Shen Yuexi once disguised herself as a maid and sneaked into the camp of King Qi's army. With the help of Su Mo, she handed Bai Ling to King Qi. He still remembers this incident and becomes particularly alert when he hears the word "maid".
Could it be that Shen Yuexi has come to the capital? That girl is so elusive and always disguises herself. I must not let her ruin my plan.
"What does that maid look like?" Xiao Beiheng asked.
The soldier in question replied, "Your Majesty, she's just an ordinary girl. I don't see anything special about her. But she's quite strong. She carried such a large basket of rice without any effort at all."
The sergeant's explanation was unclear, and Xiao Beiheng didn't get any valuable information. Then the prison door opened, and he let go of that thought and walked inside. Perhaps he was being too suspicious. This was just an ordinary woman coming to repay her former master.
After entering the gate, walk through a long corridor to the outer room.
The prison is divided into an outer room and an inner room. The outer room is where the guards rest, separated by an iron door. The inner room contains two rows of cells, used to hold prisoners. Normally, two guards sit in the outer room and one in the inner room. If a prisoner has any requests, the inner and outer guards communicate through a small iron window to ensure that no prisoners escape.
When Xiao Beiheng arrived at the outer room door, he didn't see the jailer coming out to greet him. The soldier behind him felt something was amiss and hurried forward to open the door.
As soon as the door opened, a pungent smell of alcohol rushed out. Xiao Beiheng frowned and walked in.
Inside the room, there was an old wooden table against the wall, with cups and plates scattered on it. Two jailers were lying on the table, seemingly drunk and unconscious. The soldier who entered the room was furious and grabbed one of them.
"You two, don't keep watch properly..."
Before he could finish his words, the jailer who was grabbed did not wake up and collapsed to the ground.
No matter how drunk a normal person is, they wouldn't be completely unresponsive to someone calling them. Xiao Beiheng put his hands behind his back and said, "Lin Kui, check what's going on."
Lin Kui stepped forward, first leaning over to look at the one on the ground, then standing up to look at the one lying on the table. He turned around and said, "Your Majesty, there's no smell of alcohol on their breath. It seems they've been drugged. They appear drunk, but it's just an illusion."
At this time, a soldier rushed to the rusty iron door of the inner room, opened the iron window and looked inside, crying out in surprise: "Zhao Mu is gone!"
Lin Kui ordered: "Open the door!"
Someone nearby took the key from the jailer and opened the iron gate. Xiao Beiheng immediately spotted a rope ladder suspended between two rows of cells. It led all the way to the roof, where there was an opening large enough for an adult to enter and exit. The door to the cell where Zhao Mu was imprisoned was open, the key still in the lock. Unfastened shackles and handcuffs lay on the ground. The jailer in the inner room slumped in the corner, as unconscious as the one in the outer room.
Lin Kui turned around in panic and said, "Your Majesty, Zhao Mu has escaped."
Zhao Mu was the commander-in-chief of the Yan army. If he ran to Xiao Zhuo's side, he only needed to raise his arm and many generals would defect. This was simply a life-threatening move.
Xiao Beiheng was well aware of the consequences of Zhao Mu's escape, but he did not panic. His eyes fell on the rope ladder that was still shaking slightly.
Although the prison had a skylight, it couldn't let in such a strong wind to move the rope ladder. It was obvious that someone had just climbed up.
He called out to Lin Kui and said, "Since Zhao Mu has escaped, you should send troops to chase him as soon as possible." As he spoke, he pointed at the roof.
Lin Kui looked in the direction he pointed, and immediately understood what he meant. He bowed and said, "I understand. I will go and gather the troops right away." After that, he called on the soldiers present to hurriedly walk out of the iron gate.
Xiao Beiheng rolled up the hem of his dragon robe and tucked it into his belt. He walked to the rope ladder, reached out and pulled it. After confirming that the ladder was sturdy, he slowly drew out the Yanque sword from his waist, held the ladder with one hand and the sword with the other, and climbed up step by step.
When he was almost at the roof, he paused for a moment, gathered all his strength, pushed the rope ladder with both feet, and rushed upwards, while dancing Yan Que into a ball of white light to protect his body.
When his body rushed out of the gap, a cold light came from the side and collided with the light of Yanque Sword. With a ding sound, the cold light broke in half and flew out in a spin.
Xiao Beiheng landed on the roof, swung the Yanque Sword, looked at the young woman dressed in black opposite him, and said with a smile:
"Ji Yunyan, I knew it was you."
When he discovered the jailer had been drugged, he recalled the sergeant's words about the woman's immense strength. He had already guessed who it was. Shen Yuexi wouldn't drug anyone, and she wasn't very strong either. If she hadn't been Shen Yuexi, then it had to be Ji Yunyan.
Ji Yunyan gritted her teeth and threw away the broken sword. Without turning back, she said to Zhao Mu behind her:
"General, I'll hold him back, you quickly find a chance to escape."
She had previously given Zhao Mu the key to the shackles in his food and had agreed to rescue him tonight using a rope ladder. Despite all her planning, she hadn't anticipated Xiao Beiheng's visit in the dead of night. She intended to strike him with a sword the moment he showed his face, but he was well prepared and not only escaped unscathed, but he also managed to sever her sword.
Before Zhao Mu could answer, Xiao Beiheng said with a smile, "Neither of you can escape."
At this moment, the fire below was dazzling, shouts and cries of killing were heard everywhere, and the shadows of people and swords and guns were cast on the wall below. Then there were several muffled sounds, and several ladders leaned against the edge of the roof.
Ji Yunyan saw that she was surrounded below. Her only chance of escape was to capture Xiao Beiheng as a hostage. If she was any slower and waited for the enemies to climb up the ladder, she would have no chance.
"Xiao Beiheng, prepare to die."
She reached out from her waist, pulled out a silver-shining soft sword, and flew forward to stab Xiao Beiheng.
Xiao Beiheng was a little surprised to see Ji Yunyan had prepared an extra sword. He smiled and said, "It seems you came prepared."
He relied on the sword in his hand to cut through iron like mud and stepped forward to meet the blow. When the two swords clashed, Yan Que was like a hard poplar branch hitting a willow branch. The soft sword bent into a half arc and did not cut through. He was shocked.
Just when he was stunned, Ji Yunyan's soft sword had bypassed Yan Que and stabbed him in the chest.
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