Chapter 108 The Events of That Year (Part 5)
The reason why Su Li was willing to become Yan Jue's younger brother was naturally because he believed that Yan Jue could help him quell the disaster.
If he were to ascend the throne in the future and wish to appoint Yan Jue as regent, Yan Jue would have to be his elder brother or a cousin of a higher generation.
As the two descended the mountain, they chatted casually, with Su Li recounting in detail to Yan Jue some of the events that had occurred in the capital.
At the same time, he also told him the reason why the Southern Barbarians invaded the border of Dongyue.
By the time the two reached the foot of the mountain, they had finished discussing everything. Yan Jue now had a better understanding of the situation outside.
Yan Jue asked, "Ninth Prince, what should we do now?"
He grew up in Nanling Mountain and had never seen the prosperity of the capital, so he naturally knew nothing of the dangers of the world.
Su Li understood this point. "Brother Yan Jue, although I am just a ninth prince who has been demoted to a commoner, I still have some manpower and troops in secret. However, we are facing a 300,000-strong army of the Southern Barbarians. What we need to do now is to persuade more people to join us in defeating the Southern Barbarians."
Su Li's expression became even more serious. "Because the capital is now dominated by the Emperor's forces, what we need to do is carry out these plans in secret."
"What kind of method is it to do it secretly? If you ask me..." Yan Jue led Su Li to a big tree, "You might as well stand up in a big way and let your good brothers think you are simple-minded and all brawn and no brains."
"Although I grew up in the mountains, and my only companions besides my father were the wild beasts and birds of the mountains, I guess they, like you, were born in the palace, and their thoughts must be the same as yours. Perhaps you think the same way they do now. They all think you are hiding your talents."
"This..." Su Li didn't expect the thin boy to speak with such force and determination. "If I make a big fuss, won't they know that I have met with the Emperor?"
Yan Jue sighed, "Ninth Prince, you're wrong about that. The more arrogant you are, the more they'll think you're courting death. After all, the situation is dire right now, and everyone is hiding their strength. Everyone understands the saying 'the nail that sticks out gets hammered down.' So instead of suspecting you, they'll just think you're a fool."
"Really?" Su Li was still somewhat hesitant.
Yan Jue glanced at the dark clouds in the sky and said with certainty, "If you believe me, it is more real than pearls; if you don't believe me, it is more fake than turtles."
Su Li was amused by Yan Jue's analogy, and the serious atmosphere between the two of them dissipated somewhat.
Su Li said, "Brother Yan Jue, I believe you." As he spoke, he raised his hand, made a fist, and prepared to bump fists with Yan Jue.
"Just trust me." Yan Jue dodged the punch, his tone nonchalant.
The expected fist bump was dodged, and Su Li gave a wry smile. He had really treated Yan Jue as a brother just now.
The two only became sworn brothers due to circumstances; what was he really thinking?
Su Li shook his head, but his heart still ached.
But the next moment, his hand, which was hanging by his legs, was touched by something and lifted up heavily. Su Li was stunned. He raised his head in a daze and met Yan Jue's pair of heroic eyes.
"You..." Su Li stammered, only to see Yan Jue clench his fist and viciously strike his shoulder.
"Hiss..." He winced in pain, but the pent-up frustration in his heart was finally released, and he felt relieved.
"Although we have only recently become sworn brothers, once we have, you are my brother, Yan Jue."
The boy spoke casually, yet with an unprecedented sense of certainty that reassured people.
It would be a lie to say Su Li wasn't moved; a warm current flowed through his heart, making him feel warm all over.
"Brother Yan, you are also my good brother." Su Li grinned, showing none of the arrogance one would expect from the Ninth Prince.
But that's to be expected, since he had already been demoted to a commoner.
Yan Jue smiled and said, "Okay."
In the pouring rain, a carefree boy wearing a straw hat and a boy wearing a raincoat smiled at each other in a silly and innocent way. The serious and disdainful atmosphere from before seemed to melt away like ice and snow in spring.
Upon arriving in the capital, Yan Jue's military strategic talents were put to good use. Su Li, who readily accepted advice, quickly adopted Yan Jue's suggestion. No sooner had he appeared in the public eye in the capital than he declared his intention to participate in the struggle for the throne among the nine princes.
As expected, his grand display was met with ridicule from the other princes.
Everyone thought Su Li was overestimating himself and courting death. Little did they know, he was already quietly arranging everything.
Even as a teenager, Yan Jue already knew how to manipulate public sentiment and how to stir up trouble regarding the Southern Barbarians, making the people extremely indignant towards them.
The traitor planted by the Southern Barbarians in Dongyue also learned of this matter and was planning to send it to the Southern Barbarians via express courier. Unexpectedly, Yan Jue caught him in an alleyway on a dark and windy night.
The man had a fierce expression and looked extremely menacing. He seemed to know that Yan Jue knew his identity, and spoke to the two of them with a heavy southern accent.
"Who are you? Do you even know who I am? I advise you to release me now, or you'll be in for a world of hurt when the Southern Barbarians invade the capital."
Yan Jue had already spent some time in the capital and knew how chaotic it was at that time. He looked at the man, said nothing, and completely ignored what the man said.
He calmly plunged a dagger into the man's chest, and after witnessing the man die, Yan Jue casually tossed the body aside.
Su Li arrived late and was stunned when he saw the scene. He looked at Yan Jue, still somewhat bewildered, and said, "Brother Yan, you..."
Yan Jue gently lifted his eyelids and replied in a calm voice, "Ninth Prince, I have already taken care of this person for you."
Su Li's pupils dilated in shock; he never expected Yan Jue to be so decisive. His impression of Yan Jue changed once again.
He raised his hand in a gesture of respect: "Brother Yan, thank you."
But that eerie atmosphere lingered around the two of them, refusing to dissipate for a long time.
The two seemed to have developed a rift because of this incident, and they hardly spoke to each other when they met.
Until that day, they gradually completed their plan in the capital and saw that many people had successfully learned about the Southern Barbarians and hated them to the bone. They crowded together outside the Forbidden City, pleading with the current emperor and prince to respond to the 300,000-strong Southern Barbarian army that was besieging the city.
Although they were just ordinary people in Dongyue, they did not want their homeland to be ravaged by war.
The current emperor, supported by eunuchs, stepped out of his sickbed and stood atop the high city wall. Looking at the densely packed crowd, a smile of satisfaction appeared on his lips.
As the emperor, how could he not know who was behind all this? At the same time, he was also shocked that the young prince, whom he had never thought highly of, actually had such courage and had actually managed to bring the Yan family to his aid.
It seems it's time for me to let go...
He sighed heavily and instructed the eunuch beside him, "Eunuch Li, help me to the study."
"Your servant obeys." Upon receiving the order, Eunuch Li helped the late emperor to the study.
The Emperor carefully wrote down an imperial edict and then handed it to Eunuch Li, who was standing next to him.
Eunuch Li was somewhat surprised, "Your Majesty, this is..."
The Emperor said in a deep voice, "Come here and listen carefully to what I have to say."
Eunuch Li leaned closer and memorized the emperor's words, while also feeling deeply shocked.
As the emperor's confidant, he naturally respected the emperor's wishes and hid the imperial edict in a place no one would expect.
However, he couldn't help but ask, "Your Majesty, do you really think there's a solution to this crisis?"
The emperor's mind was filled with images of people crowding outside the palace walls. "Yes, or no, it all depends on what they do."
Eunuch Li sighed, "I hope His Majesty hasn't trusted the wrong person this time."
-
Yan Jue and Su Li had achieved their goal. They watched in secret as the people crowded the gates of the Forbidden City. Although they had nothing to say, they tacitly carried out their next plan.
With the Southern Barbarian army at the city gates, Dongyue naturally wouldn't stand idly by. The current emperor quickly dispatched 200,000 Dongyue troops to the southwestern border. Yan Jue was appointed as the temporary General of the Cavalry by Su Li and the emperor, who turned a blind eye to the situation.
The sudden appearance of unfamiliar faces puzzled the Nanman army, which had already captured more than a dozen cities. They wondered if Dongyue had run out of people and had sent a young boy to lead the army.
But they were soon slapped hard by reality, especially the general from the Southern Barbarians, who, speaking in their Southern Barbarian dialect, cursed and complained about Yan Jue.
"This brat, unable to outmaneuver us openly, resorts to underhanded tactics, hiding gunpowder underground!"
Several subordinates knelt tremblingly inside the southern barbarian tent, heads bowed, not daring to look at the southern barbarian general before them, enduring his rage.
The deputy general of the Southern Barbarians was also very puzzled. They had always won battles against Dongyue, but ever since Dongyue changed generals at some point, they, the eagles of the grasslands, had suffered several losses in the same place, and they had no way to deal with this young upstart.
The Southern Barbarian General was also furious. He smashed the cup he was holding on the ground, shattering it into pieces. He stormed to the window and paced back and forth. "Tell me, what should we do next? The King said that if we fail to enter the rich lands of Dongyue this time, he will hold us accountable!"
The deputy general of the southern barbarians was also at a loss. He could only keep telling himself to calm down and force himself to think of a solution.
A sudden inspiration struck him: "General, why don't we..."
The Southern Barbarian general frowned, listened to his deputy's idea, and then burst into laughter. "I've heard that the people of Dongyue are very disunited. We might actually be able to use this method."
"If the general thinks it's feasible, then it is."
This decisive battle took place in Youzhou. Yan Jue led three thousand elite soldiers to venture into Youzhou alone, not for any other reason than the words spoken by the Nanman general: "If General Yan dares to lead three thousand generals into Youzhou City, we will willingly return Youzhou to you."
Yan Jue was never afraid, and he actually did as he was told.
There was no expected attack; instead, there was only calm and negotiation.
The southern barbarian deputy general was quite surprised to see Yan Jue arrive. "General, what brings you here?"
Yan Jue asked in confusion, "Has the general forgotten what he said?"
The Southern Barbarian deputy general's lips curled into a smug smile. "General Yan, you've fallen for my trap."
Hearing that this young upstart from Dongyue was only good at being clever and arrogant, the deputy general of the Southern Barbarians sent a spy to follow General Yan and deliver false information. Unexpectedly, General Yan actually listened to the spy's message and led three thousand elite soldiers to break into Youzhou alone.
The Southern Barbarian army surrounded Yan Jue. The Southern Barbarian general looked at Yan Jue with a cold smile, expecting to see helplessness, despair, and fear on Yan Jue's face, but to his surprise, there were none of these expressions.
Yan Jue even casually pulled a blade of grass from his pocket, chewed it, and spat it out. His gaze swept casually across the faces of the Southern Barbarian soldiers surrounding him, and he said in a nonchalant tone, "That's it?"
The Southern Barbarian general thought Yan Jue was just making empty boasts before his death, and his eyes turned fierce in an instant. "You, kill General Yan, and then, hahahaha, this Eastern Peak will belong to us Southern Barbarians."
The soldiers raised their swords and thrust them at Yan Jue. The Southern Barbarian general laughed loudly, believing that Yan Jue was doomed.
But the next moment, he was shocked. He saw the armored youth, wearing helmet, raising his sword with a cold expression and killing in all directions.
Blood splattered all around in an instant. The Southern Barbarian general stared in disbelief as his soldiers were killed one by one, his eyes nearly popping out of their sockets.
"Yan Jue, how dare you!" The Southern Barbarian General brandished his sword, never expecting that Yan Jue, a mere youth, would be so powerful.
He was almost blinded by rage and didn't see the cold eyes beneath the boy's armor, nor the triumphant smile on his lips.
"General of the Southern Barbarians." Yan Jue looked at the sharp sword whistling towards him, his voice like that of a demon from hell, "Since you've come to deliver yourself to my doorstep, don't blame me for being impolite."
He easily dodged the Southern Barbarian general's sword and used a move his father had taught him in Nanling Mountain, slashing at the general's vital points.
The Southern Barbarian general was blinded by rage and never expected Yan Jue to suddenly make a move.
His pupils widened as he stared in disbelief at the flashing sword, but it was too late for him to dodge.
"Clang—" The sword rang out with a clanging sound, and the flesh was pierced by the sword, with blood gushing out like a pillar.
Yan Jue glanced coldly around and shouted, "Brothers, charge! Take Youzhou from the hands of the Southern Barbarians!"
With a single call, hundreds responded. Though he only had three thousand elite soldiers behind him, they moved as if they commanded a thousand troops, the sound of iron hooves echoing in his ears. The southern barbarian deputy general watched in disbelief as his general and brothers were killed, and fled in panic.
The remaining surviving soldiers panicked upon seeing their general dead, immediately dropping their weapons and fleeing out of the city.
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