Chapter 90: Returning to the Capital – What are the Feelings Like? ...
In November of the sixteenth year of the Jinghui era, Li Pan raised an army in rebellion. In just over a month, he captured four major cities in the northwest and cut off trade routes to the Western Regions.
In January of the seventeenth year of the Jinghui era, Li Pan led his army to attack Longguan. After confronting the imperial reinforcements for several days, his deputy general took the opportunity to bypass the enemy and launch a rear attack. The reinforcements were caught off guard and suffered a crushing defeat.
In February of the seventeenth year of the Jinghui era, Li Pan dispatched a detachment to contain the imperial army, while the main force marched swiftly across the Yellow River at night, launched a surprise attack on Guanzhong, and captured the fortified city.
In March of the seventeenth year of the Jinghui era, the imperial court dispatched two more generals and 80,000 reinforcements to the Weibei Plain. After several days of fierce fighting, a torrential downpour began. Li Pan feigned a retreat, luring the enemy general into pursuit. Once the enemy's formation was disrupted by the rain, his deputy general led elite troops in a pincer attack, inflicting a major defeat on them.
In May of the seventeenth year of the Jinghui era, the area within the pass was pacified. Li Pan led an army of over 200,000 to continue eastward, pacifying the region with proclamations along the way, and all surrendered without resistance. Any stubborn resistance was swiftly defeated.
In July of the seventeenth year of Jinghui, Li Pan entered Hedong. The defending general held firm in the city, but Li Pan led his army in a feint attack and then launched a strong assault to capture it.
Another year of summer heat is coming to an end, but the cool air has yet to arrive.
Inside the main hall of Ganyang, there was absolute silence; you could hear a pin drop.
On the dragon throne, Emperor Jinghui gripped a military report tightly, veins bulging on the back of his hand and knuckles turning white. Those few words seemed to weigh a ton, causing his body to tremble and his heart to ache.
With a crash, he slammed the military report onto the ground.
Another series of orderly sounds rang out, and the court officials in the hall all knelt down on the ground, utterly silent.
"In times of peace, you are all eloquent and persuasive, and I thought I had a group of capable ministers and pillars of the state! Now that the rebels are approaching, all of you have become mute turtles, and not one of you can share my burdens!" Emperor Jinghui sneered. "What, are you all hiding your true colors, planning to show them off again last year when the rebels storm the capital?"
The emperor was furious, and no one dared to respond.
Emperor Jinghui was breathing heavily. Over the past few months, he had been worrying about the war, and his hair had turned gray, making him look increasingly haggard.
Eunuch Zheng hurriedly stepped forward, patted his chest, and said, "Your Majesty, please take good care of your health!"
Emperor Jinghui barely managed to calm himself down, and looked coldly at Minister Wei kneeling below, saying in a low voice, "Minister Wei, what are your thoughts? If you can't offer any useful suggestions, I think you might as well just stay in your position as Minister of War for today."
Lord Wei raised his head tremblingly, forcing a smile, and said, "Your Majesty, I believe... the rebels are currently at their strongest. The forces in the capital may be able to hold them off for a while, but it will be difficult to sustain them in the long run. For the sake of the nation, has Your Majesty considered... temporarily moving south to Jiangdong? Jiangdong is rich and prosperous, has not yet been touched by the rebels, and has the natural barrier of the Yangtze River, which can temporarily protect Your Majesty's safety, allowing us to regroup our forces in the future..."
Before he could finish speaking, a teacup was smashed hard in front of him.
Lord Wei was startled; a shard of metal cut his face, leaving a bloody gash, but he dared not move.
"Useless!" Emperor Jinghui slammed his fist on the table, furious. "Are you suggesting I abandon the capital and flee south?!"
Lord Wei remained silent, not daring to speak.
"And you? Do you all think the same way?!" Emperor Jinghui laughed angrily. "There are still over 100,000 troops remaining in the capital. We might still be able to fight! You bunch of cowards! You've gotten used to peaceful days, you're complacent, cowardly as mice, and you've all been scared out of your wits by the traitor!"
His chest heaved violently, his eyes reddened, and his voice was hoarse: "This capital city is the foundation laid by the founding emperor! I will never be a ruler who abandons the city and seeks only a corner of the country! Issue my decree!"
Eunuch Zheng quickly stepped forward, bowing his head to listen respectfully.
"From this day forward, open the imperial treasury to the fullest extent. Anyone who kills a rebel general or a lowly soldier will be richly rewarded! Whoever kills Li Pan will be immediately ennobled as a marquis! Anyone who captures him alive will be ennobled as a duke! Anyone who surrenders without a fight will be killed without mercy!"
Having said that, he gave the assembled officials a fierce look and stormed off.
When Emperor Jinghui returned to his study, he saw the head maidservant of the Empress standing bowing at the door.
He said coldly, "What are you doing here?"
The palace maid said, "Your Majesty, the Empress is confined to the palace and is filled with unspeakable sorrow. She has asked me to convey her longing to Your Majesty and begs that Your Majesty may see her."
Emperor Jinghui scoffed, "She misses me?"
It's ridiculous! When she first learned of the Crown Prince's death, she clung to him like a madwoman, saying it was all his fault. If he hadn't prevented the Crown Prince from returning to the Eastern Palace, the Crown Prince wouldn't have died such a tragic death. Later, when it was discovered that Li Pan was behind it, she went crazy again, trying to stab Li Pan's voodoo dolls.
Emperor Jinghui originally intended to clear Li Pan's name and convict the Empress's family of framing a high-ranking general after Li Pan returned to the capital. However, Li Pan's ambitions had already been aroused, and he directly raised an army.
His uprising was seen by the Empress as tantamount to admitting that he had killed the Crown Prince, so she kept nagging Emperor Jinghui to make Li Pan pay with his life.
Emperor Jinghui had no time to deal with her; he was busy dealing with Li Pan and didn't want any more trouble around him. Moreover, the Empress's maternal family controlled the Right Jinwu Guard, and if he were to question them now, it would only hasten his own death. Therefore, citing the Empress's unbearable grief over the loss of her child, he placed the mentally unstable Empress under house arrest.
After being confined to my home, it's finally much quieter around me.
More than half a year has passed in the blink of an eye. Why did the Empress, who had been silent all along, suddenly think of sending a palace maid to invite him? Could it be that she heard that Li Pan was about to attack the capital, so she wanted to come and perish together with him?
Seeing that Emperor Jinghui remained silent, the palace maid knelt down and kowtowed, saying, "Your Majesty, please see the Empress! The Empress said that she did not want to argue with Your Majesty; she has important matters to discuss with you!"
Emperor Jinghui gave a cold laugh.
The important matter? Her important matter was simply to get him to kill Li Pan as soon as possible, wasn't it? He wanted to!
The palace maids were still kowtowing.
Emperor Jinghui looked down at her for a moment, then glanced at the piles of memorials in the imperial study, and a feeling of extreme sorrow suddenly welled up in his heart.
"Fine, I'll make this trip."
Since Li Pan is attacking from both sides, she can't escape anyway, so she might as well see what he's up to.
Emperor Jinghui entered the Empress's palace.
The Empress, with a dignified expression, was sitting at her desk brewing tea. Upon seeing the Emperor arrive, she bowed respectfully and said, "Your Majesty, I pay my respects."
Emperor Jinghui sized her up.
After not seeing him for more than half a year, his appearance hadn't changed much, but his mental state seemed much more normal.
"I heard you have something to discuss with me?" Emperor Jinghui sat down opposite her.
"Yes," the Empress said, her eyes lowered. "Thank you, Your Majesty, for forgiving me and for still being willing to come and see me."
Emperor Jinghui said, "I don't have much time, so speak quickly if you have something to say."
The Empress said, "I have heard that Li Zicheng has more than 200,000 elite troops under his command, and has already conquered Hedong. He will arrive in the capital soon. Is this true?"
Emperor Jinghui: "You never leave your home, yet you're always well-informed."
Then I thought again, at this time of year, everyone is on edge, and even rumors are flying everywhere, let alone true news. Those palace servants who serve you may not show anything on the surface, but in reality, they will probably be the first to run away after the city falls.
Empress: "May I ask Your Majesty, who is currently leading the army to defend the capital?"
Now that things have come to this, there's no point in hiding anything. Emperor Jinghui said, "Zhang Tong from the Imperial City Guard."
The Empress frowned: "Zhang Tong? This man's abilities are not even as good as the deceased General Sun. How can Your Majesty entrust the capital to him?"
Emperor Jinghui sneered: "Then recommend one for me."
Could it be that he can't distinguish between good and bad? But there are not many good generals in the Great Yue, and apart from Li Pan, there are very few who can be used. Now they are either dead in battle or have surrendered to the rebels. What can he do?
The Empress bowed her head and said, "If Your Majesty does not despise me, I am willing to recommend my elder brother to replace Zhang Tong in defending the city and fight for Your Majesty."
Emperor Jinghui twitched the corner of his mouth.
The Empress's elder brother holds the position of Right General of the Golden Guard in the palace, and he is indeed capable of being used, but...
"Whether your recommendation is for my sake or for your own, you know perfectly well," he said coolly.
"Your Majesty, I dare not deceive you. I did have ulterior motives in recommending my brother. My only son..." At this point, the Empress choked up, "...my only son died at the hands of that traitor Li. My entire family is mortal enemies with that traitor! I am but a woman, powerless to do anything, but I beg Your Majesty to give my brother a chance so that my family can avenge Ji'er!"
The tea on the table was boiling, making a gurgling sound.
Emperor Jinghui looked at the rising white mist and said coldly, "Now you know she died at the hands of that traitor Li? Didn't you say it was all my fault? If I hadn't confined Ji'er to the imperial garden, would Ji'er have died in the fire?"
"I didn't know it was Li the traitor who instigated this at the time. I was in a moment of anger and took my anger out on Your Majesty. I know I was wrong." The Empress gently wiped away her tears. "Over the past six months, I've come to understand. Back then, when Lady Lou threatened to commit suicide, everyone knew about it. Your Majesty was in a difficult position and had to give an explanation to the officials, which is why you punished Ji'er. I shouldn't blame Your Majesty. It was all that wicked woman and the traitor who did it on purpose! I'm afraid they had rebellious intentions all along and plotted against Ji'er! My poor Ji'er, he never got close to women. Who knows what happened that day..."
"Enough," Emperor Jinghui said irritably. "After all this talk, all you want is for me to transfer your brother to guard the city so you can settle a personal score."
"Is it not possible to avenge him? Your Majesty, having a grudge against Li is far more reliable than having no grudge against him!" the Empress said tearfully. "How can Your Majesty know that Zhang Tong won't be afraid of Li and open the gates to surrender? Even if Your Majesty harbors many grievances against me, you cannot deny that only my family is of one mind with Your Majesty, wishing nothing more than to eliminate Li! All the civil and military officials may abandon Your Majesty, but my family is already bound to Your Majesty. Even if we wanted to escape, Li would not let us go! Moreover, the revenge for Ji'er has not been avenged. My brother will fight to the last moment and will never give up! I beg Your Majesty to give my brother a chance to avenge him!"
Emperor Jinghui stared at her intently, slowly clenching his fist.
-
In August of the seventeenth year of the Jinghui era, Li Pan led his army to the city gates.
As the sun set, Li Pan stood atop the hill, leading his warhorse, gazing at the magnificent and imposing gate of the capital city in the distance. On the city walls, a dense swarm of black armor, like ants, covered the area.
Further away, one can almost see the hazy silhouette of the imperial city, its crimson hue flowing in the afterglow of the setting sun.
Someone walked up behind me.
“The first time I entered the capital, I was welcomed in with utmost respect, and the roadsides were lined with curious onlookers. Now I have to fight my way in myself, and once I’m inside, I doubt anyone will dare to watch.” Li Pan chuckled. “And you, how do you feel about returning to the capital?”
Lou Zhongyan said, "I don't have any particular feelings, I'm just wondering if my father is alright."
When Lou Shu was mentioned, Li Pan frowned.
"We still haven't heard from my father-in-law. I'm afraid Liang Chong is determined to keep him alive until this point," Li Pan said. "If the garrison uses him as a threat, what should we do?"
Lou Zhongyan gazed at the sky and fell silent.
“If that’s the case, I’ll try my best to deal with them and see if there’s any chance to rescue my father-in-law.” Li Pan sighed. “When I left Hedong, Susu asked me to do my best to save my father-in-law’s life if I could. I can’t let her down.”
Thinking of his elder brother and younger sister who were still in Hedong handling various affairs, Lou Zhongyan also let out a long sigh.
The two were silent when suddenly a soldier rushed in to report: "General, General! Something terrible has happened!"
Li Pan and Lou Zhongyan suddenly turned around.
"Lord Wu Zhao, Lord Wu Zhao is here..." The soldier was so nervous that he couldn't help but swallow.
"Wu Zhao?!" Li Pan's pupils shrank. "Wasn't he staying in Hedong? What's he doing here?"
"Lord Wu Zhao says that the lady has disappeared..."
Before he finished speaking, Li Pan suddenly mounted his horse and charged towards the military camp.
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