Prince Jin wholeheartedly agreed to Su Lichen's proposal.
Anguo is only so big. If Su Lichen is to be enfeoffed, what about Su Limin?
They would definitely be granted titles, and they would be granted fiefdoms separately. But what about his second brother, Yu Wang Su Mu Heng?
He had promised him that he would give Jinxi and Ruzhou to him as his fiefdom. With Su Lichen and Su Limin added to the list, the Prince of Jin felt that Anguo would be reduced to almost nothing. How could this be acceptable for a ruler of a country?
Su Lichen's proposal directly designated the Southern Qi, whose strength was comparable to or even slightly stronger than that of Anguo, as part of Anguo's territory, making it equivalent to Anguo's vassal state. This was an incredible stroke of luck!
When the time comes, we will enfeoff Su Lichen and Su Limin in Southern Qi. After all, Southern Qi is big enough, and half of their fiefdoms will be enough for each of them!
Most importantly, the two not only check and balance each other, but also have to pay tribute every year. Equally important is that the powerful rival Southern Qi is gone, and it has become a vassal state of the country. The Prince of Jin has already begun to look forward to unifying the world in the future!
So he smiled and said, "Your Majesty's idea is excellent! But how exactly should it be implemented?"
In fact, Prince Jin had long since bypassed Su Lichen and reached an agreement with Qi Junguang, the third prince of Southern Qi, to have him help him attack Jingzhou and thus quickly seize the throne. This is also why the Silver Thread Army did not leave.
But now, the Prince of Jin has abandoned the agreement and is preparing to join forces with Su Lichen to fight against Southern Qi. I wonder if Qi Junguang will jump up and down cursing when he finds out.
"Uncle, I'll have the city gates opened in a moment. You lead the Jinxi army and the Western Frontier heavy cavalry into the city, and then go out through the east gate to attack the Southern Qi Silver Thread Army, catching them off guard!"
Su Lichen said, "Once we defeat all these Silver Thread Army soldiers and capture the Third Prince of Southern Qi alive, the people of Jingzhou will know that it was the Imperial Uncle who led the troops to defend Jingzhou and protect Anguo! Then I can rightfully hand over the throne to the Imperial Uncle!"
"..."
Prince Jin nodded without speaking, signaling Su Lichen to continue.
So Su Lichen immediately said, "After the Imperial Uncle ascends the throne, he can appoint me as the King of Southern Qi, and then lead the Third Prince of Southern Qi and the Western Frontier Heavy Cavalry to conquer Southern Qi and take it down!"
"good!"
After listening, the Prince of Jin nodded repeatedly.
The Prince of Jin was very pleased with this proposal, and as long as Southern Qi was conquered, his throne would be even more secure. Why not do it?
After finishing their discussion, Prince Jin and Su Lichen walked back slowly. The soldiers, seeing that the two had communicated well and that no conflict had occurred, finally felt relieved.
At this time, many soldiers had gathered below the city wall, while the streets were already deserted. The common people, fearing a fight, had gone home to hide long ago.
At this moment, Su Lichen arrived at the city wall and shouted down, "Open the city gates!"
"..."
The soldiers defending the city were stunned, thinking they had misheard.
The garrison commander also found it unbelievable, secretly glancing at the Prince of Jin and whispering, "Your Majesty?"
The look in his eyes seemed to say, "If you've been kidnapped, wink at us."
Su Lichen was somewhat moved by what he saw.
However, he urged again, "The Southern Qi Silver Thread Army is currently outside the East City Wall, and has long coveted Jingzhou, intending to attack! After hearing this in Jinxi, the Prince of Jin led the Jinxi army and also contacted the Western Frontier Heavy Cavalry Regiment to help resist the Southern Qi Silver Thread Army and protect Jingzhou!"
Seeing that the soldiers guarding the city remained unmoved, Su Lichen said with some dissatisfaction, "What are you all standing there for? Why don't you open the city gates and let them in to give the Southern Qi Silver Thread Army a good beating?"
"..."
This time, the soldiers guarding the city only hesitated for a few seconds before opening the city gates together. The Jinxi army and the Western Frontier Heavy Cavalry Regiment then entered Jingzhou City through the west gate and marched along the main city street toward the east city wall.
...
Because there were no pedestrians or vendors on the main streets of Jingzhou City, the streets were still quite wide, and even with so many troops arriving, they were still able to pass through quickly.
However, the Western Frontier Heavy Cavalry Regiment was too heavy, and its size and number were enormous. When it walked down the street, the surrounding houses and walls seemed to tremble with the road surface.
Those ordinary people who stayed at home were filled with fear and anxiety.
At this moment, the Prince of Jin whispered a few words in Su Lichen's ear. Su Lichen nodded after listening and then found the soldiers guarding the city.
Then, the soldiers defending the city started shouting in the streets.
"The Southern Qi invaded, and the late emperor was killed. The Prince of Jin has traveled thousands of miles from Jinxi to provide aid, and is now joining His Majesty in resisting the Southern Qi..."
These words were undoubtedly intended to reassure the people. Sure enough, after repeated shouts, some bold people opened their doors a crack to watch what was happening outside.
When the people discovered that there was no fighting outside and that all the troops were advancing towards the east of the city in an orderly manner, they finally believed it and breathed a sigh of relief.
Subsequently, more and more ordinary people opened their doors and came out, cheering on the soldiers who were about to leave the city to fight against the Southern Qi Silver Thread Army.
Ultimately, these people still deeply resented the Southern Qi Silver Thread Army for "killing" Emperor An, and therefore wished they could make the Southern Qi Silver Thread Army pay for their blood debt right now.
Seeing this, the Prince of Jin nodded in satisfaction.
...
Fifteen minutes later, the army had assembled inside the eastern city wall.
Prince Jin, Su Lichen, King Kadan of the Western Frontier, Prince Xiang Su Limin, and the leader of Qingyang Sect went up to the city wall together.
Su Lichen glanced outside the city and raised an eyebrow.
A few days earlier, the Southern Qi Silver Thread Army had been outside the city. They neither attacked nor retreated, but instead set up camp about half a mile outside the eastern city wall.
This distance was actually quite strategic, because that's about the maximum range of an arrow, so they set up camp there without fear of being attacked from the city walls.
For several days, the Southern Qi Silver Thread Army had not advanced or retreated even a single step. But now, the Southern Qi Silver Thread Army retreated a mile in unison. From afar, one could see the Southern Qi Third Prince, Qi Junguang, sitting on his horse, looking towards the city wall.
"this…"
Su Lichen was somewhat surprised, because judging from Qi Junguang's state, it seemed as if he was waiting for them to start a war—or rather, he already knew they would start a war, and he was ready to fight back!
The King of Jin was equally surprised.
He had originally planned with Qi Junguang that they would wait for his news, and then Qi Junguang would begin the attack on the city. The two of them would attack the east city and the west city respectively. At that time, Su Lichen would not be able to resist and would have no choice but to surrender and give up the throne.
But he didn't give Su Lichen any information, so why did he act on his own?
Moreover, this move is clearly a defensive counter-attack, isn't it?
What's going on?
————
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