Chapter 70: The country is about to be destroyed, and asks for help from Daqi
Prince Jing was dismissed from office and placed under house arrest in Prince Jing's Mansion, with no one allowed to enter or leave.
Prince Jing was not surprised by this. While sitting in the yard basking in the sun, he glanced vaguely at the Observatory in Prince Gong's Mansion next door.
Three days later.
In the High Heaven Palace, the tyrant emperor seethed with rage: "There are indeed disturbances in the wilderness. Prince Gong, what should we do? I trusted you wholeheartedly, but I never expected Prince Jing to be such a traitor! What good will it bring him by inviting the wilderness to invade? Nan Qiao only has a handful of land. Is he planning to follow the example of the late emperor and cede territory to appease him in the future?"
The mute Prince Gong raised his hand and made a gesture of silence.
He looked at Zhang Fujin who was standing beside him and raised his chin.
Zhang Fujin hurriedly asked all the eunuchs and palace maids in the hall to leave.
Prince Gong took out a piece of paper from his bosom and handed it to the tyrant emperor: I request your permission to quell the rebellion.
A complex expression flashed across the emperor's eyes, and he hesitated, remaining silent. He had just learned of Prince Jing's collusion with the barbarians; how could he dare give military power to Prince Gong now? How could he be sure Prince Gong wouldn't seize the opportunity to rebel?
After pondering for a moment, the emperor smiled gently and said, "You are unable to speak now, and it will be inconvenient for you to lead the troops to fight. It is better not to worry about this matter. I will order the General of Cavalry to go and quell the situation as soon as possible."
Prince Gong sighed and took out another piece of paper: It is better to put down the rebellion as soon as possible.
The emperor nodded and immediately asked the Hanlin Academy to draft an edict.
Suddenly, thunder roared outside, and dark clouds rolled in, seemingly threatening to engulf Xijing. It was as if "dark clouds were pressing down on the city, threatening to destroy it." Soon, hailstones the size of pearls began to fall, crashing down with a crackling sound that threatened to destroy everything.
The foolish emperor's heart was pounding. Was his wish to pamper his sweet baby for the rest of his life going to be shattered?
Three days later.
"Report! The barbarian army has invaded Chang'an County!"
One day later.
"Report! Chang'an County has fallen!"
Chang'an County is where the Nanqiao Kingdom borders the wilderness. The loss of Chang'an County is equivalent to Nanqiao having opened its door to the wilderness.
Five days later.
"Report! The barbarian army is approaching Yongle Prefecture!"
Ten days later...
The barbarians were approaching Xijing step by step with unstoppable force.
The foolish emperor couldn't sleep all night, but he couldn't tell his concubines about this matter, especially Tianbao. He couldn't bear to see even a trace of worry on his daughter's face.
In Fengyi Palace, Tianbao is playing hide-and-seek with the princes.
Tianbao hid behind a pillar. The blindfolded Xiaowu accurately caught her laughter and groped over. When Tianbao tiptoed to avoid to the side, there was a crisp "whoosh" sound.
The queen's favorite vase was drunk. The vase was originally made of blue and white exquisite porcelain with a pattern of a phoenix wearing a peony. When a few fireflies were placed in it, the phoenix wearing a peony became translucent and sparkled.
Wenqing exclaimed, "Ah, Your Highnesses, how did you break this vase?"
Xiaowu tore off the blindfold and saw Tianbao frowning and about to apologize, so he quickly winked at Xiaojiu: It's your turn.
Xiaojiu pouted and said first, "I broke it."
Tian Bao looked at Xiao Jiu who was almost half a meter away from him:???
Xiaojiu pointed behind Tianbao and said, "I was running over from there just now and accidentally bumped into Tianbao, and then knocked over the vase."
Tianbao frowned in confusion. She had indeed hit something on her back just now. Was it Xiaojiu?
The Second Prince sighed, "Xiaojiu, you must be more careful in the future."
The Third Prince shook his head and said, "You should go and apologize to your mother later."
The Fourth Prince rarely joined their side: "Why are you so careless?"
Xiaowu blinked and scratched his head: "Be careful next time and don't make the same mistake again." Next time it will be Xiaoshi's turn, and Xiaojiu can breathe a sigh of relief.
Well, the second child given birth to by Concubine Wan is also a prince, who is now four years old.
Xiao Shi curled his lips. He had been educated by his brothers since he was a child and had long accepted his fate. He just didn't know what trouble his royal sister would get into next time. He hoped it would be a small one.
After the princes’ criticism, Tianbao’s doubts disappeared.
She began to believe that the person she had just met was indeed Xiaojiu, not a vase.
The queen hurried over and saw the broken vase on the ground. She was heartbroken and wanted to cry. Seeing this, Tianbao hurriedly winked at several princes.
Then a group of half-grown children gathered around her, massaging her shoulders and back and wiping her tears.
The Queen's accusations were suppressed by these little flattering tricks, but she was heartbroken and kept a sullen face and refused to speak.
The foolish emperor didn't let anyone pass on the message. After entering and seeing such a heartwarming scene, his eyelashes trembled a few times, and he turned around and left Fengyi Palace again: "Call Prince Gong and Prince Jing!"
Prince Jing has made several requests in the past few days, hoping to enter the palace for an audience, but each request was rejected by the foolish emperor.
He knew very well that now was not the time to be angry. The two of them were smarter than him and might be able to help him solve this urgent problem.
After a stick of incense, the two princes hurried to Lingxiao Palace.
Prince Jing, with his head covered in blood, let his guards put him on the ground for the first time, and he knelt on his broken legs to pay his respects to the tyrant.
The emperor ignored this and, after dismissing his attendants, turned to Prince Gong and said, "Yongle Prefecture is about to fall. Xijing is only a day and a night's journey away from Yongle Prefecture. What suggestions does Prince Gong have?"
Prince Gong gritted his teeth and sighed.
There was no life in his gloomy eyes, and he was almost determined to die. He took out a piece of paper from his pocket: Your Majesty, I request permission to go to war and delay until death. The Emperor is asking Daqi for help.
If he had led the troops to fight at the beginning, he was not sure that he would be able to repel the barbarian army, but at least he would not have been defeated so quickly: in less than a month, they were almost at the gates of the city.
The tyrant emperor shuddered. "Ask Daqi for help? Why should they send reinforcements?"
Prince Jing looked up, glanced at Prince Gong, then lowered his eyes in a submissive manner, "Yes. Your thoughts are the same as Prince Gong's. I will immediately ask Daqi for help. The tyrant of Daqi has been waging wars everywhere for years, clearly aiming to unify the world. Manhuang kidnapped the prince of Daqi a few years ago, and the tyrant of Daqi has been using this as an excuse to attack Manhuang."
The tyrant emperor became angry when he heard his voice and threw a teacup at him.
Prince Jing didn't dodge. The teacup hit his chest, causing a dull pain. He coughed violently a few times, his breath coming out of his side. "Your Majesty... is guilty. This invasion by the barbarians is directly related to me..."
He told the whole story about how he colluded with the old Savage King when he seized the throne.
He also recounted how the new Savage King came to power and conspired with him to usurp the throne.
The foolish emperor hadn't expected Prince Jing to harbor such thoughts right under his nose. He roared in anger, "I respect you so much that I let you, a jerk, be the Minister of the Central Secretariat, and this is how you serve Nanqiao? Do you wish Nanqiao would be destroyed and Tianbao's family to be torn apart?!"
The last sentence made King Jing tremble all over. His eyes were red. “No, I don’t want to. I just want to give Tianbao a better life. I was wrong.”
At first, he couldn't see clearly and thought that Tianbao's life in the palace was not satisfactory, but over the years, he saw clearly that Tianbao was born to be so sensible and lovable.
Prince Jing took a deep breath and said, "I have strengthened military training over the past few years. If I send Prince Gong, he will surely be able to hold his own. I will pretend to cooperate with the barbarians from within, lure the enemy deep into our territory, and catch them in their trap... It will be a fight to the bitter end!"
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