Chapter 154 The Turbulent Times: The Deaths of Lu Hong and Cao Ruheng
With the support of the people of Shengzhou, Hu Dazhu and Ning Huai'an held Lu Hong's army back on the battlefield in Shengzhou for three or four years.
This not only allowed them to deplete Lu Hong's strength at minimal cost, but also gave Meng Junping and Yue Yao, who were attacking Ganzhou, Ye Hui, who was attacking Chuzhou, and Sun Yannan, who was attacking Xingzhou and Pingzhou, enough time.
Therefore, when Lu Hong finally led his troops to escape the battlefield of Shengzhou and returned to Ganzhou wounded, the four prefectures under his control had already been divided up by the other three parties:
After conquering Xing and Ping prefectures, Sun Yannan re-entered the capital. He ruthlessly killed the young emperor, Lu Hongli, and took control of all the ministers, including Liang Shanguang, Lu Hongli's strategist who was left to guard the capital.
Ye Hui successfully captured Chuzhou. After resting for half a month, she convened a meeting of her strategists and generals, and they unanimously decided to march on Chaozhou.
But this is tantamount to openly declaring war on Sun Yannan.
Li Xianyu didn't take it seriously. He said, "Even if we don't take action against Sun Yannan, do you think Sun Yannan will let Ningzhou go?"
Ye Hui was persuaded, and given the current situation, she was no longer afraid of angering Sun Yannan.
Moreover, Sun Yannan's biggest rivals, besides Lu Hong, are He Qinglan.
After Meng Junping took Ganzhou, his next target was Maozhou, which Sun Yannan absolutely could not tolerate.
By the time they've been fighting for a few years, I'll have already taken Chaozhou.
Ye Hui never expected that something would happen to them in Ningzhou at this time!
Cao Ruheng's uncles and cousins, dissatisfied with Cao Ruheng's decision to make his daughter the heir apparent, launched a coup while Ye Hui was away in Ningzhou and Cao Ruheng was ill.
They led their troops to surround the Prince of Ning's residence, forcing Cao Ruheng to abdicate.
Ye Hui received the news several days later.
Her face immediately changed, and her hands began to tremble. "They..." Ye Hui closed her eyes, "They will kill my Ying'er first!"
Zhu Yunwei's expression also turned grim. He comforted Ye Hui, "My lord will definitely protect you, young lady. Don't worry."
Hong Changxu said, "Madam, I will immediately lead a detachment of elite troops back to rescue the lord and the young lady!"
Looking at the strategists and generals present, Ye Hui calmed down.
She immediately gave instructions, “Hong Changxu, I’ll give you two thousand cavalrymen. Go back to Ningzhou right away.”
Hong Changxu replied, "Yes!"
Ye Hui's gaze fell on Zhu Yunwei's face, "Jing Zhao."
Zhu Yunwei understood her meaning and said, "I will go back with Brother Hong."
Ye Hui said, "I'm counting on you!"
News of the coup in Ningzhou will soon reach Jinzhou as well.
Cheng Hui paused for a moment, then speculated, "Could it have been done by Sun Yannan as well?"
"Also?" Wu Xiaoshan asked curiously, "Why do you say that, sir?"
Qian Shiwen said, "Instigating internal strife within families and supporting a good-for-nothing to rise to power, this coup in Ningzhou is no different from that in Qingzhou."
Upon reflection, everyone realized it was true.
Zhou Ci raised his question, "But he instigated internal strife in Qingzhou because he was there himself. Now that he's far away in the capital, he can't do anything about Ningzhou."
Cheng Hui patiently explained, "Instigating internal strife in Ningzhou is not to change the master of Ningzhou, but to keep Ye Hui occupied."
Lin Yuan nodded. "I see. He wants to prevent Ye Hui from taking Chaozhou in a short period of time."
Rong Qi put his hands on his hips and said, "Then he can take advantage of this time to quickly head south and protect his Chaozhou."
Wu Xiaoshan suddenly had a strange thought: "Could it be that the rebellions in our southwest and northwest were also instigated by Sun Yannan?"
Qian Shiwen: "...I think it has nothing to do with him."
Rong Qi chuckled. "What about Maozhou and Liangzhou? Sun Yannan must know we're going to make a move on those two places, right?"
Cheng Hui thought for a moment, "Perhaps he has already sent troops to Mao and Liang prefectures. After all, the main force of our Yun Kingdom is still chasing Lu Hong."
Too.
Lu Hong is currently still at large, and given Ning Huai'an and Hu Dazhu's style, they will never allow Lu Hong to escape and make a comeback.
They will surely kill Lu Hong and deal with his defeated troops.
But plans are plans, and things may not go as you expect, Sun Yannan.
Cheng Hui stroked his beard and smiled faintly.
We have a group of female soldiers who are eager to make a name for themselves.
Under He Qinglan's arrangement, the task of surrounding and killing Lu Hong was handed over to Ning Huai'an and Yue Yao, while Hu Dazhu led his troops to Ganzhou to garrison the area.
With confidence, Meng Junping led his troops to attack Sun Yannan's hometown, Maozhou.
One month later.
Jinzhou is hosting a lively sports meet.
Athletes from all over the country were giving their all on the field, allowing the audience to admire their heroic performance.
After watching the opening ceremony, He Qinglan went to the firearms workshop with Cheng Hui, Qin Dongkui, and Gu Lanying to see the new weapon jointly launched by the firearms workshop and the weapons workshop: the musket.
Zhang Yiwen couldn't hide his pride. "With this musket, we'll be able to end the war much faster in the future!"
Guo Qian said smugly, "With muskets, cavalry, and barbed wire, we're not afraid of two more Sun Yannans!"
Qin Dongkui smiled and said, "I underestimated Sun Yannan. He's not so easy to deal with."
Guo Qian coughed lightly twice, "Oh dear, that's not what I meant."
Cheng Hui stared at the musket for a moment and said, "Why don't you show it to us?"
Qin Dongkui nodded, "Let's see its power too."
Upon hearing this, Zhang immediately called a worker and had him demonstrate the power of the musket to everyone.
The worker, holding a musket, aimed at the distant wall and fired.
With a loud bang, gunpowder carrying the projectile flew out and slammed into the wall.
A hole immediately appeared in the wall.
Zhang Yi said, "After our improvements over this period of time, its range has become longer and its attack power is stronger."
Guo Qiandao said, "But we must admit that it is still far inferior to the arquebus. It is cumbersome to load, and the arquebus is more dependent on gunpowder."
Qin Dongkui didn't take it seriously. "You have to eat one bite at a time. You can't become a fat person in one bite."
The gap in productivity is not so easy to bridge. It would take at least several more decades to build a musket.
He Qinglan didn't pay any attention.
She praised the firearms workshop and the weapons workshop, affirming their achievements.
Finally, he said, "Let's use Lu Hong to test the gun."
All eyes fell on the musket in He Qinglan's hand, and they looked on with anticipation.
The musket was transferred from He Qinglan to Ning Huai'an.
The captains, curious and excited, gathered around, staring at the muskets again and again.
"Is this a gun? Is this the handgun described in the book?"
"Its power should be greater than what we're using now, right?"
"Boss, can I try it?"
"Why is there only one? When will our firearms battalion be able to use it?"
Ning Huai'an said, "It is definitely not as good as the pistols you read about in books. With our current strength, let alone making pistols, it would be difficult to even make bird guns."
The captains immediately felt regret.
Ning Huai'an sighed, "After I deal with Lu Hong, I'll ask the goddess for a real handgun. I want to experience it." Otherwise, he would never be able to touch a gun like the ones from later generations in his lifetime.
A captain's eyes lit up, "Please, Goddess..."
Yue Yao couldn't understand what his comrades were saying. He stared intently at the musket and asked the captain beside him, "What's that?"
The captain replied, "A weapon with great destructive power."
Yue Yao: "?"
The captain smiled mysteriously, "You'll find out when the boss uses it to kill Lu Hong."
That day came quickly.
The Shengzhou army and the remnants led by Lu Hong met at the foot of Peach Blossom Mountain, and a fierce battle ensued.
Ning Huai'an, mounted on his horse, watched as Lu Hong and Yue Yao fought for dozens of rounds. Yue Yao grew stronger with each battle, while Lu Hong gradually found himself at a disadvantage.
It was obvious to the naked eye that Lu Jun was no match for his side, and many of his soldiers had already fled.
The young general touched the musket that the goddess had specially sent, and suddenly shouted, "Yue Yao, get out of the way!"
Yue Yao sheathed his crescent blade and, upon hearing the sound, leaped back several feet.
Lu Hong: "..."
Before he could react, Ning Huai'an fired a musket.
Under the watchful eyes of Ning Huai'an, Yue Yao, and Ying Yanzhou, Lu Hong, who had been shot in the chest, fell off his horse and collapsed to the ground.
His wide-open eyes were filled with disbelief.
Blood was flowing freely from his chest.
He died.
Ying Yanzhou was taken aback, "My lord!"
But Lu Hong would never answer him again.
After his initial shock, Yue Yao rode over and placed his crescent-shaped blade against Ying Yanzhou's neck.
He shouted, "Lu Hong is dead, why don't you surrender?"
Ningzhou.
At this moment, the atmosphere in Ningzhou was extremely tense.
The rebels surrounded the Prince's residence and forced Cao Ruheng to abdicate, relinquishing the position of Prince Ning.
Of course, they wanted to take the opportunity to kill the young lady Cao Ying, but Cao Ruheng was only sick, not dead, and could still protect his daughter.
"We can't let this drag on any longer!" someone exclaimed excitedly. "It will be too late once Ye Hui comes back."
"We must force Cao Ruheng to abdicate before Ye Hui returns!"
“You’re right, then Uncle, you can go.”
"What do you mean by that? Why don't you go?"
Inside the mansion.
Cao Ying sat by Cao Ruheng's bedside with the medicine in her hands, watched him drink it, and then gave him some candied fruit.
Cao Ruheng ate one, and looking at his daughter's much more mature face, he felt a surge of relief.
He asked Xu Dongyang, "How's it going outside?"
Xu Dongyang said with a sneer, "They've started arguing."
Cao Ruheng smiled helplessly, "Everyone wants to take my place, but everyone is afraid of driving me to my death. When Ah Hui returns with troops in the future, he will be the first one to be dealt with."
Cao Ying put down the medicine bowl. "Since they are so afraid of Mother, why are they causing trouble with the medicine?"
"Because I wanted to take a gamble, cough cough cough." Cao Ruheng coughed as he spoke, and then coughed up blood.
Cao Ying was shocked and exclaimed, "Father!"
Xu Dongyang also hurriedly came over, "My lord, you..."
Cao Ruheng waved his hand, "Don't worry, I will try my best to hold on until Jingzhao comes back."
He said firmly, “Ying’er, you are the heir. Now that your father has fallen, you are the mistress of the Ning Prince’s Mansion. You must take on the responsibility.”
The girl's eyes were filled with tears.
Hearing her father say this, she took a deep breath and held back her tears. "I know, I will, Father, don't give up!"
Xu Dongyang looked worried. "Now they are afraid of the madam and dare not approach your sickroom, but I am worried..."
What if they receive news that Zhu Yunwei and Hong Changxu have returned with their troops and decide to go all the way?
Someone must be planning to harm the young lady.
Cao Ruheng coughed for a while longer.
He looked up at Cao Ying and Xu Dongyang, "Dongyang, take Ying'er and hide in the secret passage first. We'll come back and pick you up in the secret passage."
Xu Dongyang was still worried, "Then what about you, my lord?"
Cao Ying grabbed Cao Ruheng's hand, "Father, aren't you going to hide with us?"
Cao Ruheng smiled gently, "Father is the Prince of Ning, and he must guard this Prince Ning's Mansion."
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Author's Note: Almost finished, but I'm having too much trouble writing this QAQ
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