Chapter 235: Surrender to the Enemy
Even with the troops brought by Prince Xi and Su Fengzhang, the Zhenbei Army was still demoralized without General Meng. The already stalemate in the war situation was even more unfavorable to the Great Zhou.
At one time, all the news that reached the capital was bad news, which made the people of the Great Zhou talk about it and feel extremely terrified.
When the Xianbei invaded last year, the people of the Great Zhou still had some confidence. Even though such a terrible thing as the capture of the fourth prince had happened, the Great Zhou, which had been peaceful for a long time, was still a behemoth.
But a year later, the Xianbei attacked again, and everyone from the emperor to the common people began to worry.
The news of General Meng's death could not be concealed after all. Even though General Meng and Prince Xi tried their best, just as Su Fengzhang guessed, the Xianbei people would not let them keep it secret for too long.
If this news was known to the Zhenbei Army, it was also a bolt from the blue for the people of Da Zhou. In their hearts, General Meng was a god of war, so how could he die suddenly?
Behind this disbelief is the suspicion and fear growing in the hearts of the people. Even General Meng couldn't stop the Xianbei people. Prince Xi is just a young boy who has only been in the army for a few years. Can he really stop them?
Not only did the common people have such doubts, the court also had little confidence in Prince Xi, and some even suggested replacing the generals.
The court officials argued endlessly, and the eldest prince and the fourth prince each had their own ulterior motives. If the emperor had not known that there was no better candidate and that changing generals in the middle of a battle was a taboo in military strategy, Prince Xi might not have been able to keep his position as marshal.
But as bad news came back from Yunzhou one after another, even the emperor could no longer sit still.
"Your Majesty, Prince Xi is still young. Although he is a member of the He family, General He died young. I'm afraid he is just talking big."
"Yes, although Prince Cheng and Prince Xi repelled the Xianbei last time, that was really a fluke. The main credit still goes to General Meng. Now that General Meng is gone, it is really worrying that Prince Xi can rely on himself."
"Your Majesty, why not send General Cai and a few other veteran generals now? Although they are old, they have all been on the battlefield. When the time comes, Prince Xi will still be the primary commander, and the veteran generals can also help with strategy."
"Your Majesty, Yunzhou is the gateway to the Great Zhou. If Yunzhou is lost, the Xianbei will be able to march straight into the capital. We don't doubt Prince Xi's ability, but we must come up with a foolproof plan."
"His Majesty……"
"His Majesty!"
"His Majesty……"
"Enough!" the emperor slammed his hand on the table and shouted angrily, "Shut up, everyone! I want to hear which noble family has a foolproof plan and who can guarantee it to me."
As soon as these words were spoken, everyone shut up.
The Fourth Prince glanced at the people present and whispered, "Father, please calm down. You are all just worried about the situation in Yunzhou. The news we've been hearing these days is all bad. The Great Zhou is at a disadvantage, so it's no wonder everyone is worried."
The emperor snorted coldly, and the eldest prince immediately sneered, "From what Fourth Brother said, do you have a foolproof plan?"
The Fourth Prince cursed inwardly. If he had a perfect plan, he would have let Prince Xi and Su Fengzhang take the lead. You know, these two are Prince Cheng's men. If there was a way, how could he watch Prince Cheng continue to grow in power?
The Fourth Prince said coldly, "Brother, this puts me in a difficult position. I'm just a bald prince, what can I do? But you, brother, have been the crown prince for many years and are well versed in politics and military affairs. Don't you have anyone you can use?"
These words actually reflected that the prince's hand was too long back then.
The eldest prince's expression changed, and he said angrily: "You..."
The emperor slammed the cup down and sneered, "Well, well, the country is in crisis, and you still have the mind to argue here."
"Old Five, do you have any ideas to help Yunzhou solve its urgent problems?"
Prince Cheng replied, "Father, how about dispatching troops from the vicinity of the capital to aid Yunzhou?"
As soon as these words fell, the emperor's face changed.
The eldest prince sneered, "Fifth brother, what a rotten idea this is! All the troops near the capital have been transferred away. If something happens in Yunzhou, the entire capital will be lost. It will be like handing it over to the Xianbei for nothing."
The Fourth Prince also objected: "Prince Xi has already brought 100,000 soldiers and horses. Isn't that enough? The remaining troops must not be transferred at will. Otherwise, who will guard the imperial capital?"
The civil and military officials below also disagreed, and some even said, "Your Majesty, Prince Cheng, the First and Fourth Princes are right. The war situation in Yunzhou is not that bad yet. The remaining troops should not be mobilized unless it is absolutely necessary."
"We still have to be cautious. The gates of the capital cannot be left empty. Moreover, Prince Xi has not sent any letter asking for help, which shows that the situation in Yunzhou is still under his control."
"There's no need to rush in to help. Instead, we can prepare the remaining troops. If anything happens, we need to respond quickly. Only then will the capital be safe. Your Majesty's safety is the most important thing."
Prince Cheng listened to their conversation, each one prioritizing the capital over Yunzhou. He sneered inwardly and looked up at his father. "Father, if Yunzhou is lost, the Great Zhou will be in danger. Please make a decision soon."
The emperor pondered for a moment, then said, "Your Excellencies are right. The remaining people must not act rashly."
This court meeting ultimately did not produce any results. Since it was impossible to send more people to support Yunzhou, the court could do very little and could only passively wait for news from Yunzhou.
The atmosphere in the capital was tense. The wealthy and powerful families all stayed at home and did not dare to show up at this time.
No one knew when it started, but rumors began to circulate that Prince Xi and Su Fengzhang were defeated and captured, and now they have surrendered to the enemy. Only General Meng Xiao and General Chen are left to hold on, and Yunzhou is in danger.
No one knew where this news came from, but it became a hot topic overnight, and it was hard to tell whether it was true or not.
The moment he heard the news, Prince Cheng frowned. He certainly didn't think that He Jun and Su Fengzhang would surrender to the enemy, but this rumor was so fierce that it didn't seem like an ordinary rumor.
"Have you found out where the rumor came from?" Prince Cheng asked coldly.
His subordinates dared not look him in the eye. "Rumors spread overnight. We've only found a few Xianbei spies, but we haven't yet found the source."
Prince Cheng angrily said, "You useless people! The Xianbei are hiding right under our noses. What are you doing?"
After a burst of outburst, Prince Cheng said again: "Come here, send a few people to the Su family to take Madam Su and Miss Su to the palace for protection. Also send a message to the He family, asking Princess Hejing to take Madam He to stay temporarily at Prince Rong's palace."
"Yes, I'll go right away."
Prince Cheng frowned, then suddenly said, "Forget it. You go to the He family first. I will go to the Su family to pick them up myself, so as not to scare Madam Su."
At this time, the Su family was in chaos. A group of soldiers broke in with a fierce and aggressive attitude.
"What are you doing? This is the Su family of Lord Su, the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue!" Su Arong shouted loudly and stretched out his hand to stop them.
The leader of the team was named Liu, from the Ministry of Justice, and was usually not very conspicuous.
Lord Liu, however, simply pushed him away with a cold expression and shouted, "Su Fengzhang defected to the enemy on the battlefield, causing the Zhenbei Army to be defeated. All members of the Su family are imprisoned and await their fate."
"Impossible, my Feng'er would never surrender to the enemy." Su Zhaoshi was trembling and refused to believe it.
Lord Liu just sneered: "It's not up to you to decide whether it's true or not. Come, search the Su family and find any evidence of Su Fengzhang collaborating with the enemy and treason. All members of the Su family are detained."
As soon as he finished speaking, the officers and soldiers reached out to arrest the Su family.
"Stop!" Su Huihui stood in front of Su Zhaoshi and shouted coldly, "My brother is the third-rank Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, the military supervisor appointed by His Majesty, and my mother has a third-rank imperial decree. Who of you dares to attack me?"
Who knew that Lord Liu sneered and said, "That was in the past. Now Su Fengzhang is collaborating with the enemy and committing treason. Sooner or later, your entire Su family will be executed. What are you still standing there for? Get moving!"
"Come here, stop them!" Su Huihui gave an order, and saw dozens of strong men holding wooden sticks blocking the officers and soldiers. They all had a fierce temperament and it was obvious at a glance that they were not ordinary servants.
Seeing this, Lord Liu sneered repeatedly: "Great, Su Fengzhang actually has private soldiers hidden in his family. He really has evil intentions. What are you still standing there for? If anyone resists, just kill them!"
Su Huihui's hands were shaking, but she shouted coldly, "It's easy to find a pretext to accuse someone. My Lord, why are you slandering people with empty words? These people are just servants that my brother left behind because he was worried about me. Where did the idea of private soldiers come from?"
"Sir, my brother is at least a third-rank official. Do you have evidence that he's collaborating with the enemy and committing treason? Do you have orders to arrest my family? Do you have an imperial decree to search my house?"
Su Zhao was frightened out of her wits and now she had to rely on her maid to keep standing. Su Huihui was petite, but she stood in front of her steadily. Although she was tense, her voice was clearly audible.
Lord Liu narrowed his eyes and thought to himself that Su Fengzhang was not at home and there was not even a man in charge of the family. He thought it would be easy to arrest and put them in jail, but he didn't expect that the little girl from the Su family was quite powerful.
But soon, he shouted in a cold voice: "Your Majesty is seriously ill and unable to preside over government affairs. I am from the Ministry of Justice. As a public official, I should thoroughly investigate this matter and will not tolerate your quibbling."
"So, Sir Liu doesn't have the imperial edict?" Su Huihui shouted sternly, "Sir Liu, if you can't produce the imperial edict, you have no right to search the Su family, let alone take away any member of the Su family."
"Then you can see if I can do it." Lord Liu refused to waste time talking to her and waved his hand to signal them to take action.
For a while, the officers and soldiers brought by Lord Liu and the servants of the Su family were fighting each other. It could be seen that these dozen people were carefully selected by Su Fengzhang. Although each of them could not be able to fight a hundred people alone, at least they could make these officers and soldiers helpless for a while.
But they were outnumbered and soon fell into a disadvantage.
Su Zhao tightly grasped Su Huihui's hand and asked in fear, "Huihui, what should we do?"
Su Huihui gritted her teeth and said, "We can't let them search the Su family. Who knows who these people are? What if they frame my brother?"
Su Huihui also absolutely did not believe that her brother would collaborate with the enemy and commit treason, so she would never let them search at this moment. If they framed her brother and fabricated evidence, then even if her brother was innocent, he would become guilty.
Seeing that the attack was going nowhere, Lord Liu grew impatient and shouted coldly, "Madam Su, Miss Su, if you insist on doing this, don't blame me for being rude!"
Su Huihui's face tightened, but she still stood there stubbornly. She didn't say anything, but those servants were actually not afraid at all.
Suddenly, a voice broke through the air: "I want to see how rude you are, Lord Liu!"
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