Chapter 112 "I humbly request Your Majesty to set out and catch up with the army, so that all may be well..."
Not all streets leading to the prefectural governor's mansion were completely blocked by the people of Yicheng. As time passed, soldiers from the city garrison arrived one after another to rescue the emperor. Therefore, when the imperial carriage was about to arrive at the south gate, the Yin Kingdom's ambush troops behind it were basically completely surrounded by the imperial guards covering the rear and the arriving soldiers, leaving them with no way out.
Emperor Xianping's chest wound prevented him from moving much, so he could only lie inside the carriage. Outside, Zhao Yi, Xiao Yu, Chen Ruliang, and the others saw the Yicheng people being forced back to both sides by the city guards' swords. They were all elderly, weak, women, and children, ranging from gray-haired old men to eleven or twelve-year-old boys. Although they were powerless to break through the Zhou soldiers' swords and rush forward, they all stared at them with hatred in their eyes.
Several Zhou soldiers lay on the ground. After inquiring, Xiao Yu learned that because Emperor Xianping had ordered that ordinary civilians who tried to stop them not be killed, some civilians were carrying sharp weapons such as scissors and kitchen knives. In the chaos, some Zhou soldiers were stabbed or killed.
With tears in his eyes, Chen Ruliang cried out to the people of Yicheng, "Our Great Zhou Emperor is benevolent. He would rather risk his life than order his soldiers to slaughter the civilians of Liaozhou. How could you do such a cruel thing to our soldiers? Do you have any conscience before Heaven and Earth?!"
The sound carried out, and some people lowered their heads, while others continued to stare intently at the imperial carriage.
Xiao Yu remained silent, his gaze sweeping over the Yicheng citizens who had run out, some wearing only undergarments and others with bare shoulders.
As rulers and subjects, we should support the unification of the world and the complete end of war. However, as commoners and soldiers, regardless of which country we belong to, we are destined to suffer the pain of war.
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At daybreak, Xiao Lin and several other commanders came to report to the emperor, their armor stained with blood, and some were injured.
After a night of carnage, over three thousand corpses of Yin soldiers remained in the city, victims of the chaotic battle. Another five hundred Yin soldiers attempted to hide in civilian homes, but were discovered by Zhou soldiers. Over three hundred fought desperately and perished, while the rest were captured alive. Furthermore, some Yin soldiers escaped out of the city through tunnels. After Xiao Lin and other commanders determined the general route of the tunnels, they dispatched cavalry and black dogs to track them down, capturing or killing over three hundred of them.
"We have already dispatched troops to continue the search in the vicinity, but we cannot yet confirm whether any Yin soldiers have escaped on horseback."
Although Emperor Xianping was not ambushed by the Yin Kingdom's troops, he was injured and his chest ached again after a night of tossing and turning. He could only lie in a room in the city camp.
With his eyes closed, Emperor Xianping asked with difficulty, "What are the casualties of our army?"
Another Imperial Guard commander visibly breathed heavily, clenching his fists as he said, "The Imperial Guard suffered over 2,500 dead and 800 wounded."
The Imperial Guards were tasked with protecting the Emperor, and initially they all gathered in one place. The archers in the Yin Kingdom's ambush only needed to fire arrows at the pile of people, and most of the Imperial Guards who died in battle died from arrows.
Upon hearing this, Emperor Xianping's muscles clenched, and his chest ached even more. The five thousand Imperial Guards escorting him this time, from the commander to the guards, were all personally selected by him. He had carefully examined the face of each guard, and even though he couldn't possibly remember everyone's name, Emperor Xianping regarded them as his confidants. Yet, in just one night, half of the five thousand brave and strong young men had perished!
"Your Majesty, please take care of your health!" The two imperial physicians standing by the side saw that Emperor Xianping's complexion was not right and quickly advised him, while stepping forward to examine Emperor Xianping's body.
Chen Ruliang promptly brought out Xiao Lin and other military officers. He didn't try to persuade Xiao Yu, who came out on his own.
The military officers went about their business, and Chen Ruliang asked Xiao Yu to move aside. After they stopped, he said to Xiao Yu with shame, "If I had known that the Yin Emperor and the Yin people were so ruthless, I should have listened to you and advised the Emperor together."
Xiao Yu looked towards Liaodong and sighed, "Who could have predicted that Emperor Yin would be able to hide such an ambush force?"
He guessed that Emperor Yin left these four thousand ambush troops mainly to cut off the Great Zhou's grain supply route on the west bank of the Liao River. The other end of the tunnel was located inside the city, partly to facilitate gathering information through the city's residents, and partly to prepare for the possibility that the new Great Zhou emperor might reside in the city and to assassinate him. The late emperor had personally admitted that Emperor Yin was skilled in military affairs, and today, Xiao Yu, experiencing it firsthand, truly witnessed Emperor Yin's divine military prowess.
Chen Ruliang sighed in agreement, then asked, "In your opinion, sir, should we continue living in the city, or..."
Xiao Yu: "Let's hear what the imperial physician has to say later. His Majesty's health is the most important thing."
Emperor Xianping took his medicine and needed to rest. Xiao Yu said goodbye to Chen Ruliang and Zhao Yi and went to the wounded soldiers' camp. He heard from his second brother that Luo Song had survived the melee by sheer luck, but he had first been shot in the shoulder with an arrow, and then, when he cut off the arrow shaft and engaged the Yin soldiers in close combat, he was stabbed in the waist. Although he had killed seven Yin soldiers and made a contribution, he was now completely unable to fight again.
When Xiao Yu arrived at the wounded soldiers' camp and found Luo Song, his brother-in-law, who was about the same height as him but several sizes bigger, was secretly shedding tears.
Upon glancing up and seeing his brother-in-law, Luo Song quickly wiped his eyes with his intact right hand.
Xiao Yu noticed that his left shoulder and waist were wrapped in white cloth, and bloodstains were seeping from the wounds. She asked in a low voice, "Does it hurt a lot?"
Fortunately, his wife wasn't there, otherwise he would have been crying his eyes out.
Luo Song: "...It's alright, I didn't do it because of the pain, I was sad because so many brothers died."
The five thousand Imperial Guards came from thirteen guards. They might not have known each other when they first came together, but they had been guarding the Emperor's side since the first month of the lunar calendar. In the past four months, they had become like brothers. Luo Song felt more pain than if he had died himself when he witnessed familiar figures fall and never get up again. So even though he could have hidden in the darkness because of his arrow wound, he still rushed out with his sword in hand.
Xiao Yu understood, squeezed Luo Song's wrist, and leaned down to remind him: "One cry is enough. When you talk about this battle with others in the future, just mention the bravery and fearlessness of the Imperial Guards. Don't lament the casualties."
The Emperor was generally a benevolent ruler and was quite tolerant of him, but he was not very magnanimous towards other officials. The Imperial Guards were too close to the Emperor, and Xiao Yu was worried that his honest and kind-hearted brother-in-law might unintentionally offend the Emperor.
Luo Song didn't have many opportunities to meet the emperor, but he often angered the princess by saying the wrong thing. The emperor must have an even worse temper. After understanding his brother-in-law's meaning, Luo Song quickly nodded.
Xiao Yu stayed with his brother-in-law for a while longer, carefully inquiring about his injuries and battles the previous night. Then he went to comfort the other wounded soldiers. They were all soldiers of the Great Zhou, brave young men who had protected the emperor, and every wounded soldier deserved care.
As he moved among the wounded soldiers, Emperor Xianping summoned Chen Ruliang in from the other side.
Having inquired about some important matters, Emperor Xianping asked Xiao Yu where he had gone.
Chen Ruliang: "Lord Xiao is concerned about the wounded soldiers of the Imperial Guard and has gone to visit them in the wounded soldiers' camp."
Emperor Xianping pursed his lips. No one knew better than him how much Xiao Yu loved the people and cherished the thousands upon thousands of soldiers of the Great Zhou. So when Xiao Yu was heartbroken over the Imperial Guards who had died or been wounded last night, would he blame him, the emperor, for not heeding advice and insisting on staying in the city?
Surely he would. Emperor Xianping himself regretted it, so how could Xiao Yu not blame him? He just wouldn't say it out loud.
"Did he say anything to you during last night's battle?" Emperor Xianping asked, glancing out the window.
Chen Ruliang paused slightly and said, "Lord Xiao was in a heavy mood and only said two sentences to me. One was to lament the Yin Emperor's strategy of hiding troops in the tunnels, and the other was to express his concern for the Emperor's health. He said he would wait to consult the imperial physician before deciding whether to advise the Emperor to leave the city and set up camp."
Emperor Xianping: "..."
Chen Ruliang lowered his eyes, unable to see the emperor's face on the kang, but he noticed the emperor's right hand suddenly clenching.
After returning from the wounded soldiers' camp, Xiao Yu visited Emperor Xianping again.
Zhao Yi stood guard outside Emperor Xianping's room and informed the emperor that he had already gone to sleep.
Xiao Yu inquired about the Emperor's injuries.
Zhao Yi truthfully replied, "The imperial physician said that His Majesty's blood and qi have attacked his heart, and his condition has worsened. He must continue to rest in bed and cannot get up for three days, nor can he move around much for half a month."
Xiao Yu: "Has His Majesty sent someone to inform the three generals?"
Zhao Yi was puzzled: "The army is about to besiege the capital of Yin. The emperor has even kept the assassination attempt a secret. If what happened last night gets back to the army camp, it will definitely shake the morale of the troops."
Xiao Yu: "I'm afraid that if we try to keep it a secret, Emperor Yin will spread the news on the battlefield. Rather than letting Emperor Yin catch the three generals off guard, it would be better for the Emperor to take the initiative to tell the three generals that last night was just a false alarm. It would be best to also send a few heads of Yin soldiers as proof. Only in this way can the three generals stabilize their morale."
After Emperor Yin withdrew from Yicheng, he must have instructed his ambush troops to wait until the Zhou army had crossed the river before making their move. The ambush troops, having received word from the city's inhabitants that the Zhou emperor was wounded and recovering, realized that the sooner they attacked, the easier it would be to assassinate him. Therefore, they chose the night the main Zhou army had just crossed the river. Simultaneously, before launching their attack, the ambush troops would have sent scouts to inform Emperor Yin. Given the length of the Liao River, the scouts could easily swim across to a section undefended by Zhou soldiers.
After Xiao Yu left, Zhao Yi, who deeply agreed with his words, immediately went inside.
Emperor Xianping was in no mood to sleep; he simply didn't want to see Xiao Yu. Upon hearing from Zhao Yi that Xiao Yu had advised that the three generals should be informed, Emperor Xianping calmed down for a moment and summoned Xiao Lin and Chen Ruliang, instructing them to take men and make the trip. Xiao Lin was one of the commanders of the Imperial Guards, and Chen Ruliang was his trusted confidant; their presence would be the most convincing for the three generals.
While it was infuriating, Xiao Yu's thoughts were indeed comprehensive.
Xiao Lin, Chen Ruliang, and their entourage rode at full speed and caught up with the army that afternoon, which was only a few dozen miles away from the capital of Yin.
The three generals and the Prince of Qi, who was fighting on the front lines, led the two into the main tent. Upon hearing about the danger of the previous night, Liang Bizheng, Li Wei, and Li Chong all broke out in a cold sweat, while the Prince of Qi's heart skipped a beat.
"How is His Majesty's health?" Liang Bizheng asked anxiously.
Chen Ruliang looked at Xiao Lin, who looked back at him directly, as if to say that he had been busy with military affairs and that it was more appropriate for Lord Chen, who was accompanying the emperor, to answer the question.
As a newly favored figure in the emperor's court, Chen Ruliang could only laugh and say, "His Majesty is protected by the nation's fortune, so naturally he is safe and sound."
Li Wei breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Then please ask Lord Chen to report to His Majesty and implore His Majesty to set out to catch up with the army in order to reassure the troops."
Only if the Emperor shows himself can the Yin Emperor's treacherous scheme to demoralize our army fail.
“This…” Chen Ruliang looked at Xiao Lin again.
Xiao Lin walked to the table next to him as if he was thirsty, picked up the teapot and poured the tea directly into his mouth.
Such behavior by a military general was perfectly normal. The King of Qi and the three generals continued to watch Chen Ruliang.
Chen Ruliang could fool others, but none of the four in front of him were easy to fool. With no other option, he had to tell them that the emperor had been stabbed twice by an old woman. Although it had not been fatal, the emperor would have to stay in bed for at least half a month before he could move freely again.
Liang Bizheng was choked by this sense of humiliation and turned around to slam his fist down hard.
The Li brothers exchanged a glance, and finally Li Wei spoke up: "Let's go, I have something to report to the Emperor in person."
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Author's Note: Xiao Yu: [Cracked open]
Xiao Lin: [Shut up]
Yang Sheng: [Angry][Clown]
Here they are! 100 little red envelopes, see you tomorrow!
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