242. No chance of winning
Huaqu City.
Inside the mansion.
"Prepare pen and ink immediately! I need to write letters to the other princes!"
Before long, the Prince of Zhennan took the wolf-hair brush and began to write rapidly at his desk—
The court is corrupt and tyrannical. It uses the name of the crown prince to lure the princes into handing over their sons, thus restraining the princes. It even imprisons the crown prince in an attempt to eliminate him!
Today, I, the King, have decided to raise an army. I hope that you will remember our past friendship and join me in this righteous cause. If we succeed, I will surely share the world with you all!
Gentlemen, do not shrink back, otherwise, what is my fate today will be your fate tomorrow!
After writing, he folded the letter, stuffed it into a wax-sealed bamboo tube, and handed it to the messenger: "Send it by the utmost speed! Tell them that if they don't reply by tomorrow, I will consider them lackeys of the court!"
He invited the princes who lived closest to him.
Because they had to be fast, fast enough to gain the upper hand before the court could react.
He had no time to contact people far away, nor to persuade them.
The messenger obeyed and rode away, while the Prince of Zhennan gazed at the dust in the distance, feeling as if a huge boulder was pressing down on his heart.
He was well aware of the dangers of rebellion, but when he thought of the words in Li Boxin that the court wanted to eliminate the Zhennan Prince's Mansion, and the possible misfortune that might befall the heir, he felt that there was no way to retreat.
Another fast horse galloped from the direction of the camp, with its attendant holding up a letter and shouting, "Your Highness! Lord Xie has sent a letter! He says he has important matters to discuss with you!"
The Prince of Zhennan frowned, took the letter and opened it. The letter told him to think twice before acting, to calm down, not to believe the instigation of villains, and not to forget that the Crown Prince was still in the capital. Before taking action, he should think more about the Crown Prince.
The Prince of Zhennan crumpled the letter into a ball and threw it on the ground: "Don't mention it again! I have no way out!"
As for Dou Shichen... how could he not be heartbroken?
This is his favorite son.
He also knew that if he raised an army in rebellion, Dou Shichen would have no chance of survival.
However, he had no way to save him.
Moreover, the success of one general is built on the bones of ten thousand.
For the sake of his great cause, he had no choice but to sacrifice him.
Just as he was about to order an attack to kill Xie Wenling first and then lead light cavalry to raid the nearest pass, he saw two more knights galloping towards him from afar, each carrying two more letters.
The lead knight dismounted, his voice urgent: "Your Highness! Urgent letters from the capital! One is in the handwriting of His Highness the Crown Prince, and the other is an imperial edict from His Majesty!"
Prince Zhennan was taken aback and took the letter.
First, let's look at Dou Shichen's letter. Dou Shichen's childish yet neat handwriting immediately catches the eye—
Father, it's all a misunderstanding! Uncle Li misheard!
Li Bo and I are currently under house arrest. Our only way out is if His Majesty allows you to focus on treating the epidemic!
If you raise an army, we will truly be doomed!
Let's look at the emperor's edict again—
If the Prince of Zhennan can quell the plague and protect the people, he will pardon Dou Shichen and Li Bo, and retain your fiefdom.
If anyone dares to raise an army, the Crown Prince's entire family will be executed, and troops will be immediately dispatched to raze the fiefdom. There will be no leniency whatsoever!
I have already dispatched troops. If you do not believe me, you are welcome to try.
The Prince of Zhennan's gaze was fixed on the imperial edict.
“No…” he muttered to himself, reaching out to grab the imperial edict and reading it carefully again to make sure he hadn’t misread a single word.
His mind raced through his military strength: although he had 50,000 troops stationed in his fiefdom, they were scattered in various places, and only 20,000 could be mobilized immediately.
The imperial court's elite troops number at least 100,000, not to mention the various warlords who might not necessarily stand on his side.
Once an uprising is launched, it will be tantamount to throwing an egg against a rock. Not only will it not save Dou Shichen, but the entire Zhennan Prince's Mansion will also perish.
Moreover, his only chance of winning previously lay in killing the imperial court by surprise.
But now, the imperial court has already taken precautions and has stated that it has sent troops.
He has no chance of winning.
"Your Highness..." the guard began cautiously, but seeing the Prince of Zhennan's pale face, he dared not say anything more.
The Prince of Zhennan closed his eyes.
After a long silence, he let out a heavy sigh, his voice filled with resentment: "Send down the order to have the army withdraw to the camp. All medicines and food should be immediately transported to the outside of Qiuhe City Gate and placed under Xie Wenling's command."
"Yes!" the guard quickly accepted the order.
The Prince of Zhennan mounted his horse and headed towards Xie Wenling's camp.
He was both angry and regretful, but now he had no choice but to back down.
When he arrived outside the tent, Xie Wenling was having people distribute medicinal herbs. When he saw him, he only glanced at him indifferently and did not say anything.
He had already received a letter from the imperial court and was now confident of victory.
The Prince of Zhennan dismounted and walked to Xie Wenling. His face turned pale and then red, but he gritted his teeth and cupped his hands in a gesture of respect: "Lord Xie, I was foolish before and listened to slander, which almost ruined everything. Now... I will leave the matter of treating the epidemic entirely to your arrangements."
Seeing his resentment and compromise, Xie Wenling understood his situation and didn't pursue the matter further. He simply nodded and said, "It's good that Your Highness has come to terms with it. Now is not the time to dwell on the past. The plague is still spreading, and we need to formulate a plan as soon as possible to control the epidemic."
-
As night deepened, Qiu and the camp outside the south gate of the city.
Xie Wenling sat at his desk, holding a letter in his hand. It had arrived that morning along with a letter from the imperial court.
He recognized the little dumpling's handwriting on the envelope and deliberately saved it for now when he had some free time to open it and read it slowly.
The letter paper was a type of tracing paper commonly used by children. The handwriting on it was crooked and distorted, with some strokes even going out of bounds and a couple of misspelled words, but each stroke was written carefully.
The format is obviously wrong, and it's clear that the author has only recently learned how to write a letter, but thankfully it's not some kind of scribbles.
The letter went on and on about what happened in the capital: how she went to find someone to help her, how she ended up at the Prince's residence, how Uncle Li misunderstood her and imprisoned her, how the little princess helped her, and how His Majesty punished the Prince and Uncle Li...
Finally, he even drew a crooked smiley face.
Xie Wenling looked at the childish handwriting, sighed helplessly, and gently brushed his fingertips across the ink marks on the letter.
He had only been away from the capital for a few days, yet so much had happened, and the child had suffered as a result.
But when he thought of how she was clearly scared, yet still tried her best to explain things clearly and still cared about putting his mind at ease, a warm feeling welled up in his heart.
As for her saying she needed to find someone to help her, he didn't really take it to heart.
After all, the friend that Little Dumpling found should still be a child, right?
He picked up a pen, spread out a sheet of paper on the table, and wrote in clear and neat handwriting—
As long as the county magistrate is well, there is no need to worry about the affairs of the capital. Once I have quelled the plague, I will return to the capital to deal with them.
Take good care of yourself.
After writing it down, I felt it was too thin. I thought about it again and again, and picked up my pen several times, writing about a lot of things without getting to the point.
He paused writing for a while, then folded the letter, handed it to his attendant, and instructed him to deliver it to the capital as soon as possible.
As the wind outside the tent subsided, Xie Wenling stared at the letter, his tense nerves inexplicably relaxing a little.
-
The capital city.
The residence of the Marquis of Beiding.
The courtyard was bustling with activity.
Jin Qizhi took leave to recuperate, and Xiao Tuanzi encountered some trouble, so Marquis Beiding simply granted her, her second brother, and himself leave as well, and the whole family gathered together.
The little girl was surrounded by her two older brothers and mother. The Marquis of Beiding had just returned from outside and was still a bit travel-worn, but he went to the little girl's side first, bent down and patted her head: "Yue'er, don't be afraid. Father sent someone to the Prince's Mansion today. Uncle Li was locked up in the Prince's Mansion. Father even took people to teach him a lesson. He will never dare to bully you again."
The little dumpling blinked her big eyes and smiled, "Daddy is so amazing! Yue'er isn't afraid, she has Daddy, Mommy, and her brothers!"
only……
-
The residence of the Prince of Zhennan.
Despite being under house arrest, Li Bo did not behave himself.
That afternoon, he couldn't help but curse: "I only temporarily looked after Princess Fukang for the safety of the Prince's mansion. I never expected that this three-year-old girl would have so many thoughts. She turned around and instigated His Majesty to punish the heir apparent, and even sent Xie Wenling to the south to keep an eye on the Prince..."
These words were overheard by a servant from the Marquis of Beiding's residence who was there to monitor them.
The servant was so angry that his hands trembled. He turned around and rushed to the Marquis of Beiding's residence. As soon as he entered, he said urgently to the Marquis of Beiding, "Master! That Uncle Li was talking nonsense in the Prince's residence. He said that Miss is scheming and that she instigated His Majesty to punish the Heir Apparent. This is simply slander!"
Upon hearing this, Marquis Beiding looked up abruptly, furious: "That Li Bo! He's under house arrest and still dares to be so stubborn, slandering my Yue'er?!"
"Father! We can't let him get away with this!" The second brother, who happened to be kept in the study by the Marquis of Beiding for studying, was furious upon hearing this. "My sister is only three years old, and he locked her in the woodshed. He still dares to distort the truth. He must apologize to my sister!"
Jin Qizhi nodded in agreement, his eyes filled with anger: "Let's go to the Prince's mansion right now, drag him out of the courtyard, and make him admit his mistake in front of everyone! That way, he won't be able to gossip about us anymore!"
Marquis Beiding immediately ordered, "Prepare the carriage! Take twenty guards and head to the Prince of Zhennan's residence! Today, I will make him know that the children of my Marquis Beiding residence are not to be slandered or bullied at will!"
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