Chapter 135 Chapter 135 It’s better to strike first than to strike second.
Chapter 135
Ye Changning felt like a bystander who knew the inside story, watching the Seventh Prince and... her, bit by bit, building their 'future' world...
Unfortunately, His Majesty the Seventh Prince's legs were injured, which might have a detrimental effect on their plans...
I don’t know if they have any solution.
Or... is this itself a solution?
Ye Changning was riding on the horse, but his mind was completely on the two people in the hunting ground.
Based on his understanding of the Seventh Prince and her, they should have been wary of Cheng Lunian a long time ago. How could he have been injured so easily? And such a serious injury?
It's so serious that he has to use a wheelchair...
Perhaps, being in a wheelchair is the goal...
Because it is easier to disguise.
Ye Changning's soul is wandering outside, and he currently doesn't know how to deal with this matter.
It would be easy for him to handle cases and catch criminals.
But he found it very difficult to deal with these things that could not be solved by evidence and martial arts.
Fortunately, it was a genuine invasion by northern barbarians. Judging from the scale of their invasion, it was not small, and it should not be something that could be caused by the Crown Prince or any of His Highnesses being involved...
After all, seizing power is one thing, and the winner is the king and the loser is the bandit, and no one can blame them.
But colluding with foreign enemies is another matter - it will bring eternal infamy, lasting disgrace, and lose the support of the people.
He always has a serious and cold face, and others don't know what he is thinking.
Jing Zhuorui was chatting with Yan Chongshan, listening to Yan Chongshan talk about the interesting things he encountered when he was on the northern barbarian border.
The soldiers in the front as the vanguard were clearing the way, chasing and killing the Northern Barbarians. When they reached the top of the mountain and met up with Lin Zhiqi and the others, they had killed hundreds of Northern Barbarian soldiers.
Upon learning that the base camp had been captured, the bearded man in red did not dare to confront them head-on. He immediately changed his direction and followed the example of Ye Changning and others - hiding in the mountains.
The situation is reversed.
They didn't expect to be discovered so quickly.
Originally, they planned to take action after the Emperor of Dayan Dynasty's spring hunt was over.
As a result, the secret passage was discovered, some people were captured, and some could not withstand the torture and revealed their existence...
Fortunately, they did not gain nothing - their prince had a source of information in the capital, and what happened in the hunting ground also gave them the opportunity to launch a surprise attack.
Although it was completely different from the original plan, it wouldn't be considered a failure if it could provoke the Dayan royal family.
"Rest here and launch a surprise attack tonight."
"Sir, it's the Lin family army... Do we really want to fight head-on?"
"What are you afraid of? It's true that they are the Lin Family Army, but more than ten years have passed. The original soldiers are old. The current Lin Family Army is mostly new recruits like you. They will also be afraid..."
Soldiers who had actually been to the battlefield would have some achievements, and with such achievements, they would no longer be soldiers after so many years. They would have been promoted and become small leaders, just like the burly leader of Dayan...
After Yan Chongshan and his group reunited with Lin Zhiqi and his group, both sides were very happy.
Except Cheng Miao.
He now gets angry when he sees someone with the surname Lin.
Even if Lin Zhiqi gave their people a chance to breathe by making a feint to the east and attacking in the west, he still looked down on Lin Zhiqi.
He would even attribute the credit to Prince Jing.
Prince Jing is also a prince that Your Majesty has high hopes for. He has also made great achievements in the Western Regions. Wouldn’t it be easy for him to lead the soldiers to capture the hilltops held by the northern barbarians here?
How could a woman like Lin Zhiqi take the credit?
Therefore, without waiting for rest, he urged to return to Beijing as soon as possible.
"We still don't know what the situation is in the capital, Lord Cheng, please be patient." Lin Zhiqi, as the temporary commander here, instinctively responded and analyzed the current situation. "We have just fought a tough battle, and we still need to--"
Cheng Miao interrupted her, his tone not very good: "When is it your turn to speak here? I am asking for instructions from His Royal Highness the King of Chu."
Jing Zhuorui tried to smooth things over, but Prince Jing gave up and said coldly, "This battle was won by Lord Lin. She gives the orders, and I obey them. Lord Cheng, do you think you are a better fighter than Lord Lin?"
Cheng Miao was choked for a moment, and considering that the other party was a prince with a title, he swallowed his words reluctantly.
Jing Zhuorui finally said something to smooth things over: "Master Cheng is also anxious to return to the capital, fourth brother, please be understanding."
Jing Zhuoyue glanced at Ye Changning and said, "Lord Ye should have taken protective measures. A day or two of rest won't affect anything. Lord Cheng, many factors need to be considered in marching and fighting, including the right time, place, and people. It's useless to rush them. If you are not worried about an ambush by the northern barbarians in the capital, take your men back first and we won't stop you."
Cheng Miao: "Thank you, Your Highness, Prince Jing, for your advice. I will be leaving now."
He was also angry and wanted to take some people to escort him and Cheng Lunian.
Jing Zhuorui stopped him and said, "Master Cheng, don't be impulsive."
Ye Changning also advised at the right time: "Master Cheng, the enemy may be lying in ambush at the foot of the mountain. If they damage Master Cheng's coffin, we won't be able to find another place to preserve his body. The effect of those medicines will be useless."
Cheng Miao was persuaded by Ye Changning. He bowed hastily and left, guarding Cheng Lunian's coffin with a tormented heart.
Lin Zhiqi and the others finally had time to exchange information.
Jing Zhuoyue handed over the leadership position of their side to Lin Zhiqi, and Jing Zhuorui also handed it over to a professional, right?
So Lin Zhiqi and Yan Chongshan discussed the future itinerary together.
"I want to capture all the northern barbarians who have escaped." Lin Zhiqi said, "Lord Yan, please leave me two hundred men, and then you can escort them back to the capital."
Yan Chongshan: "No, it's too dangerous to leave you alone."
Lin Zhiqi: "I'm not the only one here. There are two hundred of us brothers here."
Yan Chongshan: "That won't work either. We've finally reunited, and the risk of separating is too great."
Lin Zhiqi: "How about we send a letter to the Southern Camp, asking them to come and support us?"
Yan Chongshan: "Not appropriate. The Southern Camp is the first line of defense for the capital. Don't act rashly."
Lin Zhiqi: "So it's more appropriate for me to do it. Lord Yan, you've just witnessed my abilities, so trust me."
Jing Zhuoyue spoke up for her at the right moment: "I believe in you. I am willing to stay and go with you to wipe out the fish that have escaped the net. The emperor originally ordered you and me to act together."
Yan Chongshan: "Let's wait until tonight to see if they dare to come back."
The northern barbarians had indeed returned, but Lin Zhiqi had been prepared for this. The traps they had dug came in handy, and they also used falling rocks to attack, keeping the enemy at the foot of the mountain, preventing them from attacking at all.
The other party wanted to learn their fire attack, but the fire could not spread and almost burned themselves.
It turned out that the wind direction changed at night.
Lin Zhiqi also ordered people to cut down a circle of trees near the foot of the mountain before nightfall to form a safe zone. Even if the fire spread, it would stop here.
Fortunately, God helped them and changed the direction of the wind.
Seeing that the situation was not good, the northern barbarians fled first.
The fire didn't start.
This time, we have to thank the blizzard last winter.
The trees were full of water, very moist, and growing vigorously. There was a stream at the foot of the mountain, and the fire stopped after burning a small part of it.
But the smoke still rose, and it looked very serious from a distance.
Lin Zhiqi used a wooden bird to convey a message to Lin Zhihua, and the people in the hunting ground knew that they were safe and that the two groups had already reunited.
Half of the northern barbarians were also killed.
Of course, this is what is revealed in the open. As for how much more is hidden in the dark, they don’t know now.
But I think there shouldn't be many. It's not easy for outsiders to sneak into the capital. Once they gather in large numbers, they will definitely attract the attention of the City Patrol.
Therefore, everyone speculated that the northern barbarians only dared to station outside the city, and those inside the capital were mainly responsible for supporting each other.
Lin Zhiqi used the wooden bird to contact her elder sister and asked her to remind Zhou Bokai to pay attention to suspicious people in the capital and its suburbs.
Lin Zhiqin learned about Zhou Mingyan and Cheng Lunian from the letter handed to her by Lin Zhiqi, and also learned that Jing Yue was injured because of it. She sighed and lit the letter, and after watching it turn into ashes, she turned her head to look towards the palace.
Zhou Bokai had already been summoned by the prince to guard the palace.
Your Majesty took so many people to the spring hunt, and the palace defense was relatively weak. When the prince heard about the northern barbarians, he ordered Zhou Bokai to lead the soldiers of the Northern Camp into the capital to protect the palace.
Zhou Bokai pointed out many disadvantages of taking defensive measures without authorization, but the prince refused to listen and used his status as the prince to pressure others, so Zhou Bokai had to obey his orders.
The Zhou and Lin families have not been favored by the royal family recently. Zhou Bokai listened to Lin Zhiqin and stayed quiet, just obeying the orders.
The method of transferring Zhou Bokai back to Jing Zhuowen was proposed by his adviser Liao Ronghua.
On the one hand...it's a warning to the Zhou family.
On the other hand, it was indeed to protect the safety of himself and the palace.
Liao Ronghua even suggested that he should strike first.
Instead of waiting for the emperor to come back and take back the ruling power, or take back his position as crown prince, why not take a gamble?
Leave the suburbs of Beijing empty and allow the northern barbarians to come and go freely?
The northern barbarians' target was Emperor Dayan, Duke Lin and General Zhou who had repelled them.
And these people are all in the hunting ground. If the northern barbarians can rush to the hunting ground... that would be God's will.
Jing Zhuowen initially strongly opposed this approach.
The queen promised him that she could help him control the Zhou family, the fifth brother and half of the military power in his hands, and Jing Zhuowen gradually became tempted.
Half of the reason why he dared to take the risk was because of Cheng Lunian's death.
And it also involves the Wei and Qin families. Oh, now it's not just those two families, but also the Zhou and Lin families...
The other half of the reason is that there are no other princes in the capital except him.
If Emperor Longshun and the other princes stayed in the hunting ground, then he would be the only and legitimate Emperor of Dayan!
Power is always tempting.
A mere taste won't satisfy him.
In addition, Cheng Manyu fanned the flames in his ear, using "for the sake of their son" as an entry point, which made Jing Zhuowen finally make up his mind.
——The so-called 'eldest grandson of the emperor' from the Rui family is also a major hidden danger.
Indeed, it is better to strike first.
Suddenly, someone hurried over to the Empress's side to report, "The Empress—Concubine Xian—is seriously ill. The imperial physician is unable to treat her. She just... died!"
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