The Prince of Jin was discussing matters with the leader of the Qingyang Sect when a message came from the soldiers guarding the western city wall.
Although Anguo had basically taken over the city after the King of Jin entered, he still sent out scouts to gather intelligence.
The message was relayed by the scouts; the Jinghong Iron Cavalry and Yueyao Army had already set up camp more than ten miles outside Jingzhou City and would arrive in Jingzhou as early as tomorrow!
The King of Jin pulled the scout over and asked, "Is Jing Zhe here?"
The scout naturally recognized Jing Zhe and hurriedly nodded, saying, "Reporting to the Prince of Jin, yes, Jing She... Jing Zhe is here too!"
The scout originally wanted to call him "Chief Jing," because he was originally a member of the garrison in Jingzhou, and Jing Zhe's name was very familiar to him. He had gotten used to calling him that before, so he was about to call him Chief Jing on his own. However, after being glared at by the Prince of Jin, he immediately changed his mind.
After hearing this, the Prince of Jin exchanged a glance with the Qingyang Sect Leader, and they both burst into laughter: "Hehe, it's truly a case of finding something you've been searching for without even looking for it! I never expected that Jing Zhe would be so bold! I thought he was very clever, but now it seems he's nothing special! Does he really think he can defeat me with so many people? That's wishful thinking!"
Then, with some curiosity, he asked, "It's only noon, and only a little over ten miles away. If they wanted to come, they could have arrived in less than two hours. Why would they set up camp here?"
The scout replied, "Your Majesty, I was also curious. When I saw them set up camp, I even observed them from a distance for a quarter of an hour. Later, I heard from two of the Jinghong Iron Cavalry who were on duty that Jing Zhe told them to stop and rest for a day and continue their journey early the next morning. It seems that it was because they had been traveling for too long and their soldiers were exhausted."
Upon hearing this reason, the King of Jin had no doubts. After all, those soldiers and generals did not know martial arts and had traveled a long distance. It was normal for them to be tired and exhausted. However, judging from Jing Zhe's posture, he really intended to attack the city tomorrow.
Thinking of this, the Prince of Jin sneered even more.
"Alright, let them rest for one last night. After tonight, they won't have another chance to rest!"
The Prince of Jin said confidently, and then ordered the Jinxi army and the heavy cavalry regiment to rest and wait for the big battle tomorrow.
...
Su Lichen and Su Limin were kept in the dark about Prince Jin's plan, because after returning from outside the East City Wall, Prince Jin forbade them to approach, seemingly regarding them as traitors.
The two huddled together, and Su Lichen spoke first: "Limin, what do you think about this?"
Su Limin sneered inwardly: What can I do? Just stand there and watch!
But he remained calm and said, "Brother, you so generously gave up the throne, but the Prince of Jin not only didn't appreciate it, he even drove us away. He clearly doesn't trust us!"
Su Lichen was equally angry after hearing this, but said with a bitter expression, "But what can we do? We are at their mercy, like fish on a chopping board. What else can we do but let them slaughter us?"
"..."
Su Limin nodded without replying.
"His Majesty…"
Just then, there was a knock on the door, followed by the voice of Feng Lianru, the Crown Prince's tutor.
"Come in, Prime Minister Feng!"
After Su Lichen finished speaking, Feng Lianru pushed open the door and entered, bowing to Su Lichen and Su Limin.
It turned out that after Emperor An died and Su Lichen succeeded him as emperor, Zhu Tong resigned from his post due to poor health. Su Lichen only symbolically tried to persuade him to stay. Subsequently, Feng Lianru, the Crown Prince's tutor, naturally became the new prime minister of An.
After closing the door, Feng Lianru said, "Your Majesty, news just came from the west city wall that Jing Zhe, along with the Jinghong Iron Cavalry and the army of Yueyao Kingdom, are heading this way. They should arrive outside the west city wall by tomorrow morning at the latest."
Although the Prince of Jin had driven away Su Lichen and Su Limin, Su Lichen was, after all, the current Emperor of Anguo, so it wouldn't be difficult for him to find out any information.
"This Jing Zhe is really bold!"
Su Lichen sighed, then looked at Su Limin and asked, "Limin, between the Prince of Jin and Jing Zhe, who do you think will win?"
Su Limin thought for a moment and said, "Judging from the current situation, it seems that whoever wins or loses between these two will not have much impact on us, since they will eventually have to submit to Southern Qi."
"So, Limin, who do you think will win?"
This time, Su Limin didn't even hesitate and said directly, "Naturally, it's still Prince Jin! After all, Prince Jin and the Qingyang Sect Leader are both Grandmasters. Even if Jing Zhe himself is a Grandmaster, he's no match for them! As for the Jinghong Iron Cavalry and the Yueyao Army, they don't have much of an advantage against the heavy cavalry regiment. Moreover, if Jing Zhe dies first, they will lose their leader and collapse like a house of cards!"
Su Lichen nodded in agreement and said, "However, I think it would be better if Jing Zhe won!"
"oh?"
"If the Prince of Jin wins, according to the agreement he reached with Qi Junguang, Anguo will become a vassal state of Southern Qi, the Prince of Jin will become a vassal king, and we will not even be considered a vassal king!"
Su Lichen said in a deep voice, "But if Jing Zhe wins, he will definitely kill the Prince of Jin. When Jing Zhe enters the city and sees the Southern Qi army eyeing him from outside, he will surely lead his troops to fight. The Southern Qi's Thunder Army will kill him directly. At that time, Anguo will still become a vassal state of the Southern Qi, but we will be the vassal kings!"
Su Limin nodded in agreement, but inwardly he sneered, because he knew that no matter who won between Jing Zhe and the Prince of Jin, the title of Prince would not belong to them, but to Su Limin himself!
At this moment, Su Limin said, "However, the probability of Jing Zhe defeating the Prince of Jin is not high..."
Su Lichen immediately interrupted him, saying, "Based on our understanding of Jing Zhe, he is an extremely shrewd and cunning person. Do you think that after being injured by the Prince of Jin once in a short period of time, he would come to his death again for no reason?"
"Your Majesty, are you saying that Jing Zhe already has a solution? What could it be?"
Su Limin frowned.
Su Lichen shook his head and said, "I don't know exactly how he will deal with it, but judging from Jing Zhe's past methods, he never fights a battle unprepared. If he dares to come, it means that he has a high probability of winning against the Prince of Jin."
Su Limin's eyes darted around, seemingly agreeing with this reasoning.
"Brother, what if Jing Zhe wins? What will happen to us after he enters the city? He won't do anything to us..."
"Hehe, what is Limin afraid of?"
Su Lichen laughed loudly and said, "Father was killed by the Southern Qi people while fighting against them. What does that have to do with us?"
To this day, Su Lichen is unaware that Jing Zhe already knows what they've been doing, and he's still fantasizing about good things.
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