Chapter 108 Leader
Back in the tent, Zhao Mingyue looked at the glittering gold, her eyes calm.
She didn't send Xue Shiyun to lobby Zhao Ping for money.
When A Niang found her and asked her to join the alliance and destroy it, she had already thought of trying to alienate them.
If Zhao Ping dared to send spies to Yuzhou to sow discord between her and A Niang, he should have thought that she would use this method of an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth on him.
No matter how the relationship between her and A Niang changes, it is not something that someone like him can provoke!
Master Xue was right. If A'niang really hated her, she would never give Yuzhou to her, nor would she support all her actions in Yuzhou.
Besides, if it wasn't because of her trust in her, how could A Niang give her the important task of dealing with the rebel alliance?
This must be another test from A Niang.
Maybe she had disappointed her mother before, but not this time.
She wanted her mother to admit in person that she, Zhao Mingyue, was the only one qualified to be her successor!
As for Zhao Ping and his men, they are just a bunch of rabble.
People who come together because of interests will eventually separate because of interests.
The alliance that seemed solid and indestructible was shattered by her words.
But dealing between Zhao Ping and Zhao Diao is also a very dangerous thing.
Just now, she asked Zhao Ping to go to Xingzhou to borrow grain, which seemed a bit too deliberate. She should be more cautious next time.
She must not let them find out that all this was due to her guidance, but let them think that they made the decision on their own, just like guiding Zhao Ping to bribe her, so that no one would suspect her.
Fortunately, the hidden dangers within the alliance have already been planted, so she doesn't need to do anything else, just wait and see.
Zhao Mingyue carefully reviewed the arrangements she had made during this period, and after making sure that there were no major omissions, she felt a little relieved.
She ordered her guards, "Put all this gold away secretly so no one can find it."
When the war is over, this gold will be used to reward my men.
They have fought so many battles with her, so they should be rewarded.
————
Soon, the day arrived for the army to set out.
In order to ensure that everything goes well and all the armaments are ready, Zhao Diao has been so busy these days that he has no time to care about what Zhao Mingyue is doing.
Under his supervision, the first batch of troops transporting food and fodder were able to set off first.
After swearing an oath of blood, Zhao Diao led nearly 100,000 allied troops to attack Yishui.
Because it takes ten days to walk from Lanzhou to Yishui, the army marched quickly, and the food and fodder team fell behind.
When they were almost at Yishui, Zhao Diao discovered that there was not enough food, so he quickly sent people to the rear to urge the grain transport team.
As a result, the soldiers came back and said that Zhao Ping refused to provide food and fodder.
The reason was that he had calculated that the first batch of food and fodder would be enough for the army to eat for half a month. If he asked for food before ten days, he would not give it to him. Otherwise, if the food and fodder were eaten up before the battle, what would happen if there was a shortage of food and fodder later?
Moreover, the soldiers also found out that Zhao Ping secretly sent a group of people out of the city, apparently heading towards Xingzhou.
When Zhao Diao heard this, he was immediately furious. Zhao Ping did this on purpose. They were fighting in the front, and he was holding them back in the back!
He immediately summoned the other four kings and Zhao Mingyue and severely accused Zhao Ping of his crimes.
"...I told him to attack Yishui, but he refused to send troops. I told him to supervise the supply of grain, but he refused to send it. He even secretly sent troops to attack Xingzhou. And then he talked about dividing the world equally and supporting the Zhao Dynasty. I think Zhao Ping is a traitor!"
Zhao Diao roared angrily, his whole face was distorted and looked extremely ugly, and his clenched fists were shaking constantly. It was hard not to suspect that if Zhao Ping was here, he would definitely punch him immediately.
The other kings also shared the same hatred and denounced Zhao Ping in a harsh voice.
Only Zhao Mingyue laughed secretly in her heart, but she was afraid that Zhao Diao would find out something was wrong, so she had to pretend to be angry and join in scolding Zhao Ping.
"That's right, Prince Yue is really too much. How could he do this to us!"
"Once we run out of food and fodder, we won't be able to capture the capital, not even Yishui."
Zhao Diao's eyes glared as he spoke, "Pass my order, one hundred thousand troops return to Lanzhou and attack Prince Yue!"
On the other side, the defenders of Yishui Pass were so frightened when they saw the 100,000-strong army charging towards Yishui that their legs went weak. They quickly sent people on horseback to the capital to ask for help.
However, not long after, he saw the 100,000 soldiers suddenly turn around and leave. The field was empty and even the sound of the wind was silent, as if these people had never been there.
This... is it possible that he is seeing things? The defender rubbed his eyes, it was unbelievable.
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Zhao Diao led his army back to Lanzhou in a menacing manner. Zhao Ping, who knew nothing about this, was still drinking and having fun with his generals and soldiers.
The counselor was very worried, "Your Highness, if we don't provide food and fodder to the army, I'm afraid it will incur public wrath."
Zhao Ping's cheeks were red from the strong liquor, and his eyes were cloudy. "Did I say I wouldn't give them food? It's just a few days late. Even if they are defeated, it's Zhao Diao's fault. What does it have to do with me?"
As soon as he finished speaking, a messenger rushed in, "Your Highness, something terrible has happened! Zhao Diao has returned with a hundred thousand troops and is already at the city gate!"
The wine glass in Zhao Ping's hand fell to the ground with a clang, and he was sobered up from the shock. "What did you say?"
"The kings are coming in full force, and King Ling is even challenging them outside the city gate, saying..." The messenger swallowed nervously, fear in his eyes.
Zhao Ping shouted, "What did he say?"
The messenger said, "The Spirit King said that you, Your Majesty, have betrayed the alliance and will take your head as a drink!"
Zhao Ping's face instantly darkened. "How dare you, Zhao Diao, challenge me? Today, I'll show you who is truly qualified to be the leader!"
He immediately called people in, changed into armor, took a long sword, selected five thousand elite soldiers, and rode out of the city gate to meet them.
Zhao Diao was outside the city challenging him. When he saw him coming out, he immediately raised his long knife, pointed it at his nose and cursed, "You evil thief! I thought you were my brother, and you stabbed me in the back!"
The other kings also condemned him, saying, "King Ling, you are too disloyal. You've already cut off the army's food supply before the battle even begins. Could it be that you've already sided with the imperial court and are seeking credit for it?"
Zhao Ping sneered, "If you really wanted to take on the imperial court, you wouldn't have let a loser like Zhao Diao be your leader. Rather than letting me watch you suffer a crushing defeat in the end, it's better to stop your plans right from the start."
When Zhao Diao heard this, his eyes suddenly burned with rage. He swung his long sword and slashed at Zhao Ping. Of course, Zhao Ping was not willing to be outdone and swung his sword to meet the attack.
The two men started fighting in front of the formation, each with a knife. Before long, each of them had several wounds on their bodies, and was bleeding.
Zhao Mingyue watched the excitement from the sidelines, not caring about the situation, and shouted, "Stop fighting! We're all brothers. If you have any grudges, you can sit down and talk it out!"
In her heart, she thought: Haven't you two eaten? She should put in some effort. It would be best if both of you could kill each other with one blow. If the two brothers could go to hell together, it would be worth all her planning.
When Zhao Ping heard this, he was very grateful. After all, Zhao Mingyue was the only one among the kings who spoke to him. He felt that his gold was not wasted.
But he didn't know that Zhao Mingyue was hoping for his death in her heart.
Zhao Diao felt very disdainful when he heard this. Women are soft-hearted. She still wanted to persuade them to make peace at this time. There are no brothers in front of the throne!
However, Zhao Mingyue's words did distract him. Zhao Ping saw the opportunity and swung his knife towards his throat. Zhao Diao was frightened and his face turned pale. He turned around to dodge and ended up falling off his horse.
Zhao Diao screamed in pain, and his personal guards immediately rushed forward to rescue him.
Zhao Mingyue was also concerned about whether Zhao Diao had died from the fall, so she immediately rode her horse forward to check, but found that he had only broken his leg.
I couldn't help but sigh, "What a pity..." He didn't die from the fall.
The other kings, seeing Zhao Diao's miserable state, thought Zhao Mingyue was sympathizing with King Ling. They changed their previous attitude of seeking responsibility and echoed him, saying, "Yes, we are all brothers. Why resort to violence?"
They also thought it through clearly. Prince Yue and Prince Ling were the backbone of the alliance. If they continued to fight, their rebel alliance would inevitably collapse. When the imperial court came to the rescue, no one would be able to escape with their lives.
It would be ridiculous to die before achieving success.
Therefore, after King Ling was injured and withdrew his troops back to the camp, the kings immediately divided into two groups, one to persuade King Yue and the other to persuade King Ling, asking them to shake hands and make peace.
However, one of the victims broke his leg, and the other was deprived of his position as leader. How could they be reconciled easily?
Zhao Mingyue watched coldly, feeling that it would not be long before this farce would end with "internal strife among the rebels and a crushing defeat", and she would be able to withdraw her troops back to Yuzhou.
After both armies withdrew their troops, Zhao Mingyue led his troops back to the camp.
Xue Qi and Zhao Yuzhang came to the tent to see her.
Zhao Mingyue saw that both of them had smiles on their faces, so she started laughing too. "Master Xue, Aunt, were you satisfied with the show in front of the city gate just now?"
Xue Qi smiled and said, "I'm very satisfied. Princess, this strategy of sowing discord is truly brilliant. It's caused the alliance to fall apart without bloodshed."
Zhao Yuzhang scoffed and commented, "Although the play was exciting, the actors were terrible. I've never seen such a boring fight. The two fought for a long time, but neither of them could kill the other."
Zhao Mingyue laughed out loud.
Too sharp! If Zhao Ping and Zhao Diao were here, they would definitely vomit three liters of blood after hearing these words.
If the imperial court sent troops to quell the rebellion now, it would certainly be able to easily destroy this group of rebels.
Zhao Mingyue couldn't wait to tell this joke to Chi Lan.
However, before she could finish writing the letter to Chi Lan, Zhao Ping came to her house with Zhao Diao, who was in a wheelchair, and the Four Kings.
Zhao Mingyue was shocked. Could it be that they had already discovered that she was the one who was obstructing this?
She immediately took up her musket and had her personal guards ambush around the tent. After making sure that everything was safe, she invited the people into the tent.
Unexpectedly, Zhao Ping came in and said, "Princess Fuguang, we have discussed this seriously over the past few days. No matter who becomes the leader, the other party will not accept it. Therefore, we have decided to let you be the leader."
Zhao Mingyue's pupils trembled violently. Are they crazy, or do they have an IQ problem?
Is it possible that she is actually an undercover agent?
I swear to God, she didn't want to rebel.
————
Letter to my mother:
Mother, now I have good news and bad news to tell you.
Good news, I successfully alienated Zhao Ping and Zhao Diao, and almost broke up the alliance of the rebel army.
Bad news, I have become the leader of the rebel alliance.
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