Chapter 288 Showdown
The King of Northern Frontier boasts of his benevolence, love for his people, and compassion for his subjects. Let's see if he values the world or these opportunistic officials.
If he dies, none of these treacherous officials will survive.
The Emperor did not say these words aloud, but the ruthlessness in his eyes still startled Eunuch Chu.
Aside from obediently agreeing, he dared not utter another word.
The two quickly returned to the Hall of Diligent Governance. A guard at the door handed the Emperor an urgent letter, which the Emperor casually placed in Eunuch Chu's hand.
"Let's see if it's good news or bad news?"
He was so annoyed by these messages today, worried that there might be more bad news, that he decided to let Eunuch Chu take a look first.
After quickly reading through it, Eunuch Chu looked at the Emperor and said, "Your Majesty, this says that General Gu has become the personal guard of the King of Northern Frontier and will be by his side at all times."
"Oh?" The Emperor snatched the letter, examined it carefully, and then laughed, "Of all these chess pieces, at least one has finally come in handy."
This is a message sent back by a spy who has infiltrated the Northern Frontier King's army camp and has not yet been exposed.
Eunuch Chu chimed in, "General Gu has gained the Northern Frontier King's trust so quickly. If only he could succeed."
"Give the order to bring General Gu's grandmother to Lieutenant Chen, and have him take her to the city wall. There's no need to arrange for anyone to protect her; Gu Yan will know what to do when he sees her," the Emperor commanded coldly.
Eunuch Chu was somewhat puzzled. "General Gu knows that his grandmother is in our hands, which already serves as a check on him. If we take him to the city wall and his grandmother is killed, then General Gu will have no weakness and might simply defect to the King of the Northern Frontier?"
The Emperor sneered, “Gu Yan is known for his filial piety. If his grandmother had died at the hands of the Northern Frontier King’s men, he would never have sided with the Northern Frontier King. Gu Yan’s weakness is not just his grandmother, but also Consort Xi in the Cold Palace, and the rest of the Gu family. If he does not do as I command, he can only watch helplessly as the people he cares about die one by one on the city wall.”
If the King of the Northern Frontier wants to force him to his death, he'll have to wait until the King forces his pawns to their deaths first.
Eunuch Chu could already foresee that the capital would soon be in chaos, with corpses strewn everywhere. He was filled with fear and unease, so he quickly nodded in agreement and withdrew.
...
Of the 30,000 soldiers of the imperial court, after deducting the more than 700 casualties, only a few thousand of the remaining 20,000 chose to return home, while the remaining 20,000 were willing to stay and join the Tiger Soaring Army.
By this time, the Tiger Soaring Army had grown to nearly 160,000 men.
Having won a brilliant victory, the soldiers were in high spirits and eager to storm the capital. However, Wen Zhiming was not in a hurry. He instructed the soldiers to make sure they were well-rested before entering the capital.
The army did not set off again until noon on the second day.
During this time, Gu Yan followed behind Wen Zhiming the whole time. He saw Wen Zhiming handling military affairs, comforting wounded soldiers, discussing military matters with his generals, and even when Wen Zhiming went back to his tent to rest for two hours, Gu Yan waited for him alone outside the tent.
Wen Zhiming seems to truly trust him now, doing everything without hiding anything from him. She has also repeatedly turned her back to him, exposing her vitals and showing complete lack of vigilance.
Gu Yan felt like a person who was about to starve to death. Seeing a table full of delicious food, he had to use all his willpower to resist pounce on it.
As planned, the military camp arrived at the city gate of the capital at dusk.
Torches were lit everywhere on the city wall, which was filled with soldiers, each holding a bow and arrow, ready for battle. An elderly woman with white hair stood out in the middle of the official's room.
Wen Zhiming led the group to a safe location and sat on his horse to observe.
Upon seeing the white-haired old woman, Gu Yan's face instantly turned grim, and his limbs stiffened.
Wen Zhiming turned his head slightly, his tone very certain.
"Is this old woman a relative of yours?"
After a few seconds of cold silence, Gu Yan nodded emphatically: "It is my grandmother."
Wen Zhiming smiled knowingly and said seriously.
"Grandmother? I heard from General Cao that you were raised by your grandmother. No wonder you haven't given up all this time. You must have thought about stabbing me in a vital spot at least ten times. I've waited so long, and you haven't made your move. Is it because you lack confidence in killing me with one blow, or because you haven't thought it through?"
Gu Yan thought to himself, "As expected."
As expected, the King of the Northern Frontier did not fully believe him. Fortunately, he held back, otherwise he would probably be dead by now.
Faced with Wen Zhiming's proactive confrontation, Gu Yan replied truthfully, "I have neither the confidence to kill him with one blow nor the wisdom to do so. Moreover, I suspect that you do not trust me and that you only made me your bodyguard to test me. Therefore, I dare not make a move."
"You're certainly honest." Wen Zhiming scrutinized Gu Yan for a moment. "But before, you had a slim chance of success, now you don't even have a sliver of hope of killing me. How are you going to save your grandmother?"
“It is I who have implicated Grandmother.” Gu Yan sighed with his head down. “It is my uselessness. Whether it is open and aboveboard or assassination and murder, I cannot kill you. But I have lived up to my conscience and justice all along, and even in the afterlife, I will have no regrets when I meet my father and brothers.”
They were a lone wolf, without any cowardice, despicable and shameless individuals.
He was grateful for his indecisiveness and thankful for his hesitation and giving up, so that he did not resort to any means to achieve his goal.
"What a fine claim of being true to conscience and justice! For that one sentence, I'm willing to give you a chance. In a moment, I'll have a few words with the official on the city wall. When I'm not paying attention, quickly stab me in the chest with your knife. Be quick, then have the official open the city gate and let you in. Whether you can save your grandmother, and whether I can easily break through the city gate, all depends on you."
Wen Zhiming smiled slightly, then ordered the others to stay put. He spurred his horse forward and, seeing that Gu Yan was still in shock, turned to him and gave him a command.
"Keep up."
General Cao and Ren Yang, guessing Wen Zhiming's intentions, hurriedly said anxiously, "Your Highness, no! This is too dangerous. We must use other methods to break through the city gate."
Wen Zhiming said coldly.
"I have my own plans. You shall obey military orders."
Other methods of breaching the city gates would require engaging in battle with the soldiers on the city walls, which would put Gu Yan's grandmother's life in grave danger during the chaos.
For the sake of Gu Yan saving Meng Lingge's sister, and for the sake of Gu Yan being pragmatic, Wen Zhiming was willing to take a risk for him.
Forced by the threat, the generals had no choice but to obey.
Gu Yan bit her lip and followed.
Lieutenant Chen saw that the Tiger Flying Army dared to approach and was about to order his men to fire arrows when he discovered that only two men on horseback were slowly approaching.
The first person was none other than the Northern Frontier King, whom the Emperor hated to the bone, and the personal guards following closely behind also looked very familiar, as if they were General Gu Xiao.
The Emperor ordered that Gu Yan's grandmother be sent here, and specifically instructed that she must be placed on the city tower. Lieutenant Chen was initially confused and did not understand the Emperor's intention, but now he slowly began to understand.
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