276, the time has come
276, the time has come
“Knock knock—”
"It's the prince, the prince is back!"
The doorman looked out from inside and saw that it was their prince who came back, so he hurriedly opened the door.
The steward waiting in the courtyard heard that their prince had returned and hurried forward to greet him, "Prince, you are finally back. You are so..."
"It's not my blood." Zhao Lang stepped over the threshold and strode into the palace. Without even turning his head, he asked, "Where is Lord Lu?"
"Lord Lu is waiting for you inside." The butler trotted behind their prince, instructing his men to prepare hot water and food.
When he arrived at the courtyard where he lived, Zhao Lang waved his hand, telling the housekeeper and the others behind him not to follow him, and then he stepped into the house.
Hearing footsteps coming in, Lu Mingfei looked up and saw that it was Zhao Lang who came back. A smile appeared on his face. He immediately stood up from his seat and ran towards the person who came back.
Seeing that Zhao Lang's body was covered in blood, he grabbed Zhao Lang's hand and asked, "Are you okay? Are you hurt?"
"I'm fine, I'm not injured. The blood on my clothes is from someone else." Zhao Lang stretched out his hand, intending to hug the person in front of him, but when he saw that he was covered in stolen goods and Lu Mingfei had already changed into clean clothes, he withdrew his hand and said to Lu Mingfei, "Wait here for a while, I'll go change my clothes."
"Okay." Lu Mingfei nodded and walked Zhao Lang to the door.
After watching Zhao Lang go to the bathroom, he stood at the door waiting for people.
Before Zhao Lang came out, the butler came with his men to deliver food. He had the food placed on the table and sent the butler and the others out.
Not long after, Zhao Lang finished taking a shower and came back after changing into clean clothes.
Seeing this person coming, Lu Mingfei hurriedly asked: "What's the situation outside now?"
"The west city gate has been closed, and all the Hu soldiers on the streets have been cleared out. There are still some hiding. General Wei has arranged people to search the whole city." Zhao Lang waved his hand and asked the others to go out, then he pulled Lu Mingfei to sit in front of the table where food was set.
He took a sip of the tea on the table before continuing, "However, the current situation outside the city is still unclear."
"General Wei proposed organizing a team to go out of the city to search for His Majesty and to wipe out the Hu soldiers outside the city."
"Well, letting those Hu soldiers stay outside the city is a very dangerous thing for the people outside. It is best to control them all." Speaking of outside the city, Lu Mingfei thought of the people in their village and their two workshops. There were also many people in their workshops, and they were afraid of encountering the retreating Hu soldiers, which would be troublesome.
"Are you planning to go out with me?" He looked at Zhao Lang and had already guessed what Zhao Lang was planning.
Zhao Lang nodded, hummed, and stated his plan: "I will go out with them when the time comes, and will leave the team and return to Beijun halfway."
"I just sounded out Qi Jun and the others, and they should take this opportunity to leave Kyoto Prefecture."
"What about you? Do you want to go with me?" After asking this question, Zhao Lang's eyes were fixed on Lu Mingfei.
"I still have some things to do at home. I'll come to you after I've arranged everything here." This was the solution Lu Mingfei had been thinking about for a long time when he was alone here. He was worried about his family, but he also didn't want to break up with Zhao Lang from then on.
He knew that after Zhao Lang returned to Beijun, he would definitely need help, so he wanted to help Zhao Lang.
If the dream he had before was true, then the world would probably be in chaos.
With the court in its current state, the chances of the emperor returning alive were slim. Not only did the princes not want to see the emperor return alive, but even their supporters didn't want to see him return alive either. Furthermore, the vassal kings would surely take this opportunity to have the emperor die outside.
Once the emperor dies, the princes will surely fight for power, and the court will be in chaos. The princes from all over the country will also want a piece of the pie, and by then, the entire Dayan will be in chaos.
Officials who remained in the court were inevitably faced with the dilemma of choosing a master. If they chose the right one, they would ascend to high office; but if they chose the wrong one, they could lose their office at best, or even their life at worst. The only way to avoid this calamity was to resign and leave the court.
But if the court is in chaos, and the country is in chaos, there is no place to hide, there is no safe place. There is a home only when there is a country, without a country, how can there be a home?
It would be better if they took this opportunity to fight. With Dayan in such a state now, the people had no way to survive. It would be better if they overthrew the dynasty, established new rules, and gave the people of the world a chance to survive and a new way of living.
If they don't want to be like meat on a sticky board, being slaughtered by others at will, then they have to become the ones holding the knife.
That day, the two of them talked about these things for most of the hour and finalized some of their future matters.
After having his last meal with Zhao Lang in Kyoto Prefecture, Lu Mingfei looked at the man and said before leaving, "Take care of yourself. I'll come find you."
"Okay. You must come. I'll wait for you." Zhao Lang stepped forward and hugged the departing man, feeling reluctant to let him go. This was the first time they had been apart in all those years since they met.
"Well, it's a deal." Lu Mingfei raised his hand and touched Zhao Lang's face, nodded with a smile, took away Zhao Lang's hand that was hugging him, and got on the carriage that was taking him back.
A low-key carriage left from the side door of Prince Ding's Mansion and headed out.
Their carriage took a long detour, entering a courtyard midway, and Lu Mingfei changed carriages. Both carriages left at the same time, and he sat in one of them, heading back to the courtyard on Chunxi Road.
It was already daybreak outside and the streets were in chaos.
There had been a riot in the city the previous night, and many shops on the street had their doors broken open by the Hu soldiers. In some shops, people were inside packing up their belongings, but in others, the doors were open, the insides in chaos, with no one packing up their belongings. It was likely that everyone inside these shops had died.
The carriage stopped at the gate of a small courtyard on Chunxi Road, and Lu Mingfei got off the carriage.
But before he could knock on the door, the yard door was opened from the inside.
"Mingfei, you're finally back." Lu Youtian rushed out and hugged his eldest son who had returned.
Lu Mingfei paused for a moment before resting his raised hand on his father's back and asking, "Don't worry, Dad. I'm fine. Are you all okay?"
"elder brother!"
"Ming Fei."
Liu Sanniang and her two children also came out of the courtyard. Lu Mingrui and Lu Mingcong hugged their brother's waist on the left and right.
"We are all fine, and I'm glad you're okay too. After you left last night, we have been uneasy, worried that something happened to you." Lu Youtian let go of his eldest son, and seeing that he came back safely, he finally let go of the worry that had been hanging over him all night.
Xu Yueniang stood at the gate of the yard and said, "Mingfei is back. We cooked breakfast. Are you hungry? Come back and eat something?"
"Yeah." Lu Mingfei nodded, took his two younger brothers' hands, and followed his father and mother into the yard.
Liu Sanniang walked last. She closed the yard door from the inside and bolted it.
After seeing everyone here, Lu Mingfei asked his father, "After I left last night, did Hu Bing come into our room again?"
"We shot them dead at the entrance of the alley outside and prevented them from coming in here," said Lu Youtian.
Last night was the first time for many of them to kill someone, but compared to the fear of killing, they were more afraid of their wives and children being killed, and even themselves being killed. So, either those ruthless barbarians died, or they died.
They know how to choose between these two options.
Not long after returning home, Lu Mingfei learned from his father what happened at home after they left last night.
After the family had breakfast together, his father and adoptive father took people to the store to pack up, and he let his mother and two younger brothers sleep at home for a while.
After he packed up his things, he took a carriage and left. He first went to Mr. Fu's house, and then went to the Hanlin Academy.
However, there were not many people coming to the Hanlin Academy that day. Here he met Zhang Lingxuan. After the two met, they talked about some things that happened last night.
***
On the other side of Prince Ding's Mansion, not long after Lu Mingfei left, Zhao Lang also came out of the front gate of Prince Ding's Mansion with a group of people, and they left on horseback.
The butler brought people to see off their prince at the gate of the palace. Looking at their prince's departing back, the old butler's eyes were filled with tears, and he prayed in his heart: I hope their prince will be safe on the way back.
Zhao Lang brought his men to the East City Gate and met Qi Jun and several other princes who also brought their men.
After everyone met, they just nodded to each other and didn't communicate.
"Boom—"
The city gate was opened from the inside, and all of them rode on horses and followed the team in front out of the city.
At this time, the emperor was missing, several princes were fighting for power, the court was in chaos, all officials were in danger, Kyoto was in chaos, and the Hu soldiers were still killing people outside. No one noticed that several hostages had left the city.
General Wei, who had prevented people from leaving the city to look for the emperor and rescue the people outside the city, knew about this, but he turned a blind eye and deliberately let these princes leave the capital.
It was the old Zhennan King who saved his life back then, a favor he had never been able to repay. Now that the grandson of the old Zhennan King had come to him for help, there was no reason for him not to help.
In fact, when the civil officials in the court first proposed to summon the sons of the feudal princes to Kyoto for "study", most of these military generals refused to agree. However, they were unable to argue with the civil officials or the emperor, so the emperor issued an imperial edict and summoned the legitimate sons of the feudal princes to Kyoto for "study". Although it was called study, they were actually held hostage for many years.
Last night's events also made the old general see clearly that when the officials in the court and their descendants encountered real trouble, they would hide in their homes and dare not come out. Only the descendants of these princes dared to lead their men out to fight and kill the Hu soldiers when they saw them entering the city to burn, kill and plunder.
He no longer saw hope for the officials in the court and their descendants. The hope of Dayan lay in these young men who dared to take up the butcher knife and fight against the Hu soldiers, not in the younger generations who hid at home like turtles.
So, rather than saying that he is letting these children go home, it is better to say that he is saving a flame of hope for their nation! Author's words: Thank you Bole 9492239 (9492239) for your support, mua! To know more exciting content, please leave me a message on Liancheng Reading
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
