Chapter 206: Son's Revenge
Outside the northeastern pass of Dayan, two armies faced each other, war horses neighed, iron armor blocked out the early spring sunlight, and iron hooves crushed the thin snow on the ground.
King Xiao Ming of Qi invited the Grand Marshal of the Northern Di Army to meet him.
The two sides had previously engaged in a fierce battle, a battle of wits and courage, back and forth. This was also the first time the two coaches had met.
King Xiao Ming of Qi, clad in helmet and armor, led over twenty cavalrymen to the battlefront. The opposing Northern Di general also led only a dozen cavalrymen.
As the two sides approached, Xiao Ming clasped his hands together and bowed slightly to the other party.
Although the enemy was a barbarian nation, the Northern Di general had a methodical command of his troops and a measured approach to advance and retreat. No wonder after Xiao Zhuo was deposed, the generals sent by Emperor Yongde were defeated and had to ask him to send troops.
Now he could only push the Northern Di outside the pass, making it difficult to advance further, and the front was deadlocked. There were more important things waiting for him to do, so he decided to cease fighting. He had come today to discuss this matter. The letter had already been submitted to the other party.
The Northern Di Grand Marshal was very young, looking to be in his thirties, not yet forty, a young and promising man. He returned the greeting to Xiao Ming on horseback and said a few words to the Northern Di soldier next to him.
The soldier nodded, rode forward and out of the formation, speaking in the stiff Yan dialect, "King Qi, our Marshal respects you. Since you want to call a truce, our Grand Marshal agrees."
Xiao Ming frowned.
He originally agreed, so does that mean he doesn't agree to a truce?
He said to the soldier beside him who was fluent in the Northern Di language, "Ask him why he doesn't agree to a ceasefire."
The Yan army sergeant followed suit and relayed Xiao Ming's message. The Northern Di Grand Marshal then spoke to the sergeant who was delivering the message. The sergeant replied, "The Grand Marshal's son died at the hands of your son. He couldn't just let you go. If he did, he would be doing his son a disservice."
Xiao Ming was stunned. How could such a thing happen? How could the Northern Di Marshal in front of him have contact with his son Xiao Beiheng?
The Northern Di soldier who delivered the message continued, "The Grand Marshal has only two sons, and your son killed one of them. Now that you want to stop the fighting, he demands that you hand over your son. He will withdraw his troops immediately and will not regret it."
Xiao Ming laughed and said, "That's just slander. Bei Heng has been heading west since leaving the retreat. He didn't come here with me. How could he hurt his son?"
A general nearby rode up to him and said, "Your Highness, the Crown Prince once burned down a village and killed many people..."
As the general spoke, Xiao Ming's smile gradually froze.
After listening, he slowly said: "Why have you never mentioned this matter?"
"Your Highness, this..." The general hesitated, "That village belongs to the Northern Di people, an enemy village. We all think there's nothing wrong with what His Highness did, so we didn't tell Your Highness."
"What about those generals who followed Bei Heng? Why didn't they tell us?" Xiao Ming was furious. "What's the point of me letting them follow Bei Heng?"
Seeing the King of Qi was angry, the generals were so frightened that they dared not speak and lowered their heads.
"This kid, once in charge of the army, is so absurd!" Xiao Ming raged. "When the two armies are fighting, they actually take pleasure in slaughtering civilians!"
The Northern Di soldier on the opposite side shouted, "King Qi, the Grand Marshal can see that you are unaware of this. That means your son did it without telling you. That would be a personal grudge between him and your son, and has nothing to do with you."
Xiao Ming was about to lose his temper, but when he heard what the Northern Di Grand Marshal meant, he suppressed his anger and said to the sergeant who was in charge of delivering the message, "What does the Grand Marshal mean?"
The sergeant repeated the story as it was. The sergeant opposite said:
"The Marshal's son was shot dead by your son with a bow and arrow. If your son ever falls into his hands, he will also avenge his son's death with his bow and arrow. He will not let him go just because he admires you. If you agree, both sides will stop fighting and you can return to Dayan to deal with your affairs. If you disagree, the two sides can continue fighting. However, outside the Great Wall, it will be the world of our Hu people's cavalry. Your Yan army will no longer have the advantage as it did inside the Great Wall."
Xiao Ming replied, "It is only natural for a father to avenge his son, but it is up to the Northern Di Grand Marshal to do it himself. This king agrees."
The Beidi Marshal nodded, saluted again with both hands, turned his horse around and galloped towards the Beidi camp.
"Your Highness, will he go back on his word?" a general said, looking worriedly at the Northern Di Marshal's departure. "If we withdraw, they'll come back and attack us."
"No, the other Grand Marshal is not that kind of person." Xiao Ming also reined in his horse. "Now the Second Prince is attacking the tyrant emperor. We must respond."
A general asked, "Your Majesty, shall we return to the capital now?"
Xiao Ming said, "That's right. For the sake of all living beings in the world, I have always tolerated Emperor Yongde. Now he is acting recklessly, not only killing Prince Jing, but also killing Concubine De's entire family. I heard that many innocent palace maids were also tragically killed, and Concubine Xian was also banished to the cold palace. Such wanton killing of innocent people is already a heinous crime. In addition, he indulges in wine and women all day long and ignores state affairs. If such a tyrant is allowed to rule, the people of Great Yan will have a hard time seeing the light of day."
These were the obvious reasons. More importantly, he dared to kill Prince Jing, who also had the surname Xiao. If he didn't act decisively, the knife would fall on Xiao Ming's neck next.
He saw the killing of Prince Jing and Consort De, but firstly, the Northern Di were engaged in a fierce battle, and secondly, the timing was not right. Now that the Second Prince had issued a manifesto to the world to punish the tyrant, it was the perfect time to send troops.
The surrounding generals cheered. One of them said, "Emperor Yongde has been trying to seize the throne from you for twenty years. It's time to return it!"
Many generals under the command of the King of Qi knew that the King of Qi was the popular choice back then, but unfortunately they were one step too late and let Emperor Yongde get there first.
A general asked, "Then should we quickly recall His Royal Highness the Crown Prince?"
"No need. The tyrant emperor's son, Xiao Zhuo, is currently in Xiliang," Xiao Ming said, looking westward with some worry. "The tyrant emperor named him King Zhao and gave him 50,000 troops. I'm afraid Bei Heng is no match for him."
With Xiao Zhuo's battle-hardened skills, Xiao Beiheng probably can't compete with him.
Although he was worried, it would take more than a short period of time for the army to go to Xiliang.
The general said, "Your Highness, don't worry. His Highness is a brilliant and talented man we have never seen before. He is agile and resourceful. Even if Xiao Zhuo has his own tricks, he is probably no match for His Highness."
The general said, "Your Highness, the emperor is now tyrannical and the whole world is responding. Xiao Kai of the Jingzhou Army is leading his troops against Xiao Zhuo. Why not write a letter requesting the Jingzhou Army to assist Your Highness? If so, even if Xiao Zhuo had three heads and six arms, how could he defeat an army five times his size?"
Xiao Ming nodded and said, "This plan works. When we return to the main camp, I will send a letter to Prince Jing's son Xiao Kai and Bei Heng. With Xiao Zhuo around, it may be difficult to remove this tyrant. We must first clip his wings, and then deal with the tyrant himself."
Everyone was extremely excited and said to Xiao Ming, "We will split our forces into two groups. Your Highness will destroy Xiao Zhuo's group. Your Highness will lead the troops directly to the capital. Without Xiao Zhuo, Emperor Yongde will be unable to hold on alone."
After the discussion, the King of Qi's army broke camp and began to march towards the capital.
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