Chapter 633 Staying at Changchun Palace
Upon hearing this, Yuwen Cheng's face flushed red and then turned pale. He gritted his teeth and sneered with a ferocious expression, "Second sister-in-law—oh no, imperial sister-in-law, you're going to embarrass me too."
"...!"
Shang Ruyi's brows furrowed immediately.
She had just stepped outside the tent when she naturally heard Yuwen Ye scolding Yuwen Cheng. She hesitated whether to offer some words of advice—because Yuwen Ye's actions had indeed caused Yuwen Cheng to lose face, and Shen Tu Tai and the others around him could not speak at this time. Only she, as his wife and the emperor's daughter-in-law, should bear this responsibility.
However, upon hearing Huang Gongyi's name, she was so startled that she forgot everything.
Now that he had asked about Huang Gongyi's situation, it was indeed more embarrassing for Yuwen Cheng. No wonder his face was contorted with rage, as if he was about to explode in anger at any moment.
Shang Ruyi immediately said, "No, Second Brother—"
Before she could finish speaking, Yuwen Ye suddenly said coldly, "Show no face to yourself? If what you did is beyond reproach, who can show you no face?"
"..."
"Or do you think that losing Taiyuan and hundreds of thousands of troops is less important than saving face?"
"...!"
His words made Yuwen Cheng's face turn even uglier, and he gritted his teeth and remained silent.
Shang Ruyi breathed a sigh of relief, but seeing the other party's ashen face, she couldn't help but feel a little gloomy. However, the most important thing now was Huang Gongyi—not only was he Yuwen Yuan's most trusted general, but he was also someone who had helped them in the process of controlling the plague.
She looked at Yuwen Ye, about to ask something, but found that he was also looking at her.
As their eyes met, Shang Ruyi's mind suddenly went blank, and she couldn't utter a single word she was about to say.
The next moment, Yuwen Ye's gaze shifted from her to her back, and he said in a deep voice, "Bring Song Shiyan up!"
"..."
Shang Ruyi's heart skipped a beat.
It turned out that he wasn't looking at himself just now; his gaze had unconsciously swept over him when he was about to have someone bring Song Shiyan over.
At that moment, she felt a sense of relief, but also a slight sense of loss. However, the heavy footsteps behind her quickly suppressed this inappropriate feeling. She turned around and saw Song Shiyan walking in quickly from outside.
He had sustained some injuries on his face and body when he charged out of the valley, but he had taken care of them. He walked into the main tent and immediately kowtowed to Yuwen Ye and Shang Ruyi.
Yuwen Ye asked, "Where is Huang Gongyi?"
Upon hearing this, Song Shiyan lowered his head even further, and the resolute expression he had been maintaining on his face cracked, like a mask that had been violently thrown to the ground.
The gloom in Shang Ruyi's heart suddenly expanded, as if it was about to engulf her whole being.
She looked at Song Shiyan and asked again, "Where is Master Huang?"
"..."
Song Shiyan looked up at her again, and this time his eyes immediately turned red. He glanced at Yuwen Cheng before speaking in a hoarse voice, "To protect His Highness the Third Prince's safety, we—we, your humble servants, were ordered by Lord Huang to escort His Highness out of Taiyuan City; and Lord Huang, firstly, was to cover our retreat, and secondly, he was unwilling to easily abandon Taiyuan. Therefore, therefore—"
By the end, he was so choked up that he could no longer speak.
Shang Ruyi felt a sharp pain in her chest, and tears welled up in her eyes.
Yuwen Ye gritted his teeth, especially his injured hand, which he clenched into a fist. Not only did the veins on the back of his hand bulge, but the wound also reopened, and blood immediately seeped through the gauze.
Although Song Shiyan's words were extremely veiled, the truth was already clear—
Yuwen Cheng was cowardly and wanted to escape. When Wang Shaoji and the Western Turks attacked Taiyuan from both inside and outside, he fled the city. Huang Gongyi had no choice but to send a portion of his troops to escort Yuwen Yuan's son to safety. At the same time, as the garrison commander of Taiyuan, he had to continue fighting the enemy.
The result is already obvious.
If he had won, Taiyuan would not have fallen, and Yuan An would not have led his troops in relentless pursuit of Yuwen Cheng, even reaching Cangbai Mountain.
As for Yuwen Cheng, it is now unknown how many troops he took out of the city. It is likely that he took a lot of people with him, which may have led to the rapid fall of Taiyuan City. Along the way, he suffered defeats and fled, and the soldiers lost confidence. The possibility that they scattered and fled or even defected to the enemy is too high. That is why only a few thousand remnants remain now.
Judging from this situation, Huang Gongyi is now afraid that—
Thinking of this, Yuwen Ye raised his head, his eyes red as he glared at Yuwen Cheng, and gritted his teeth, saying, "You, what a mess you've made!"
Although Yuwen Cheng had just been reprimanded and could only hold his anger in silence, he was still ashamed upon hearing Song Shiyan's words. Upon hearing his brother's angry rebuke, his anger flared up again. He stiffened his neck and sneered, "How am I a scoundrel? Taiyuan City is about to fall. Shouldn't I have fled the city to save my life? As Father's subordinate, shouldn't he have protected me, Prince Qi?"
"..."
"Besides, wasn't the quick fall of Taiyuan also due to his incompetence?"
"..."
"Don't be too sad, I suggest you don't. Maybe this person has already defected to the enemy, otherwise—"
Hearing his shameless words, even Shen Tu Tai and the others raised their heads, their faces filled with anger. Yuwen Ye could no longer contain himself and roared, "You bastard!"
A furious roar shook the entire central command tent. Yuwen Cheng's heart skipped a beat, and he instinctively shut his mouth. Yuwen Ye, his eyes red, cursed, "Losing cities and suffering heavy losses, yet you still dare to boast! Guards—"
Several guards immediately came in from outside the tent.
Yuwen Ye pointed at Yuwen Cheng and said, "According to military law, drag him away and give him eighty lashes!"
Upon hearing this, Yuwen Cheng's expression immediately changed.
Shen Tu Tai and the others around couldn't help but frown. They knew that eighty strokes of the military rod were no ordinary punishment. Even if the executioner showed leniency, eighty strokes could break a person's bones and muscles, and might even cost them their life!
However, Yuwen Cheng's words were too shameless. Even though they knew that this heavy responsibility was too much for His Highness Prince Qi, none of them wanted to stand up and plead for him.
Yuwen Cheng panicked and struggled violently, shouting, "Second brother, are you crazy? I'm your brother, are you going to hit me?"
Yuwen Ye's face turned ashen: "Attack!"
Seeing the guards come up and grab Yuwen Cheng to leave, Shang Ruyi immediately said, "Two—"
The moment the word left her lips, Yuwen Ye's eye twitched slightly. Shang Ruyi's words, which she hadn't yet uttered, were abruptly cut off. Just then, Shen Wuzheng, who had been standing silently to the side, stepped forward, cupped his hands, and said, "Your Highness, Prince Qin, you mustn't!"
"...!"
Shang Ruyi immediately held her breath and looked at the two of them.
Although she hasn't had a chance to meet Shen Wuzheng alone yet to find out what happened last night, she already has a general idea from Yuwen Ye's attitude. That's why she nervously and cautiously followed him after learning that Shen Wuzheng had entered the central command tent. Unexpectedly, when everyone was afraid to advise him, Shen Wuzheng actually spoke up.
She subconsciously turned her head to look at Yuwen Ye.
But the latter's eye twitched slightly, and his face showed no change in expression, only saying indifferently, "Oh?"
Shen Wuzheng's face remained calm and composed. He lowered his head, cupped his hands, and said in a measured tone, "His Highness Prince Qi lost Taiyuan and suffered heavy losses, which should indeed be dealt with according to military law. However, this matter is of great importance and should be left to His Majesty the Emperor to decide. Moreover, our army's objective this time is to recapture Taiyuan and completely recover the Taihang line. If we delay here for this matter, it would not be the best course of action."
"..."
"Therefore, Your Highness Prince Qi should not be punished with a cane at this moment."
Yuwen Ye didn't say anything immediately, but just looked at him coldly.
After a long while, he raised his hand and waved it gently. The bandage, already stained with blood, drew a somewhat glaring arc in the air. The guards immediately released Yuwen Cheng, saluted, and then withdrew.
Yuwen Cheng, still shaken, looked at Yuwen Ye again, his bloodshot eyes revealing an undisguised ferocious rage.
He sneered, "Good, Second Brother—Royal Brother, good!"
After saying that, he flicked his sleeve forcefully and turned to leave.
But just as he reached the entrance of the main tent, Yuwen Ye's icy voice rang out once more: "Who let you leave?"
Yuwen Cheng paused, his steps faltering. Though he was furious, the person behind him was Yuwen Ye, and he could only stop, no matter how unwilling he was. He said in a deep voice, "What, does Your Majesty have anything else to say?"
Yuwen Ye said coldly, "This time, my objective is Taiyuan. Rescuing you here has already delayed our march by a day. After a night's rest, we must immediately break camp and set off tomorrow. So you—"
Yuwen Cheng turned to look at him: "What about me?"
Yuwen Ye said, "I can't take you with me, lest it affect morale and delay our march. Also, your seriously wounded soldiers need a place to recuperate."
His cold, harsh words made Yuwen Cheng's face turn pale again. He gritted his teeth and said, "Then what do you want?"
Yuwen Ye said, "You, immediately take your men—"
Return to Tongguan.
At this moment, everyone, even Shan Tong'er, who was just a child in the eyes of the crowd, understood that Yuwen Cheng could not stay with the army, nor could he return—after all, the Great Sheng Dynasty had just been established, and Yuwen Yuan had just become emperor. If a son who had lost his birthplace returned to the city, he would probably immediately disappoint the people.
Therefore, the best solution is to send him to Tongguan to be guarded until Yuwen Ye returns from the battle, and then bring him back to Chang'an for trial.
Just then, a series of hurried and heavy footsteps sounded outside the tent. A soldier ran to the tent entrance and said urgently, "Your Highness, it's an urgent report!"
Upon hearing this, Yuwen Ye immediately looked up: "Come in!"
The soldier hurriedly walked in, gave a hasty salute, and everyone noticed his pale face and somewhat panicked expression, sensing that something was wrong. Yuwen Ye immediately said, "What is it? Speak!"
The soldier said, "Just now, an urgent report came from the rear—the Yellow River pontoon bridge has been washed away!"
"What!?"
Upon hearing this, Yuwen Ye immediately frowned.
Not only him, but everyone else in the tent also frowned, especially Shen Wuzheng, who immediately lowered his head and looked at the scroll in his hand.
It should be noted that this time they led an advance force of 20,000 to Tongguan Pass to rescue Yuwen Cheng, but the main force was still behind. Originally, after the battle of Cangbai Mountain was over and Yuwen Cheng was rescued, they could wait for the main force to cross the Yellow River, and then the two forces would merge and head north together to attack Taiyuan.
But now, the Yellow River pontoon bridge has been washed away!
The continuous rain and snow in the past few days must have caused the upstream torrents to rush and destroy the pontoon bridge.
Yuwen Ye thought for a moment and immediately asked, "How long will it take to rebuild the pontoon bridge?"
The soldier naturally couldn't answer that question, but Shen Wuzheng, who was standing to the side, turned and asked, "Was the pontoon bridge completely destroyed?"
The soldier nodded: "That's what the news from the rear says."
Shen Wuzheng frowned, thought for a moment, and then said to Yuwen Ye, "The main force has a large number of troops and even more supplies, which cannot be crossed by a simple pontoon bridge. If the pontoon bridge is completely destroyed, it will take at least two or three days to rebuild such a pontoon bridge."
"..."
Yuwen Ye let out a deep breath.
His purpose in sending troops to Taiyuan this time was to catch the enemy off guard. That's why he deliberately set up a heavy encirclement in the Battle of Cangbai Mountain, not letting a single person go, for fear that someone would go back and report to the Taiyuan garrison, letting them know that they were planning to retake Taiyuan. However, if the main force in the rear needs at least two or three days to rebuild the pontoon bridge, it will take at least four or five days to get here.
In that case, the best opportunity has already been missed!
Moreover, on the eastern front, there is also a force under Yuwen Qian!
If he delays for four or five days, Yuwen Qian will likely have already arrived in Taiyuan. If he takes Taiyuan first, then the position of Crown Prince—
Seeing Yuwen Ye's gloomy face and the fierce sparks in his cold eyes, as if countless thoughts were surging and colliding in his mind, Yuwen Cheng looked at him, suddenly sneered, and said, "What's wrong, Second Brother? Why do you look so pale?"
"..."
“Oh, I remember now, my eldest brother—no, I mean my eldest imperial brother, he’s also going to Taiyuan.”
"..."
Are you worried that he'll get there before you?
He had just heard this news from the people around him while he was resting. Although he didn't know why Yuwen Qian hadn't come to his rescue from the west, he knew in his heart that his loving older brother would not really abandon him. Moreover, he felt satisfied just to see his second brother suffer a setback.
The more he thought about it, the happier he became. His anger vanished, replaced by a triumphant smile. However, the smile was distorted, making his face look even more ferocious: "But don't be angry. My eldest brother is the elder brother. He was born before you. Even if he beat you to the attack on Taiyuan this time, it's not a big deal."
Upon hearing this, Shang Ruyi's face darkened.
She understood very well that she couldn't say much while in the army, but she also understood that all she could do was ease the strained father-son relationship between Yuwen Ye and Yuwen Yuan. Now that Yuwen Cheng had returned, given his personality, he would definitely interfere, and the relationship between the two sides would only become more tense, or even fall into hostility.
so--
Thinking of this, she said softly, "Third brother is right, there is an order of seniority."
"..."
"His Highness the Prince of Han is your eldest brother, so it's natural that he's ahead of you, that's undeniable. But this time, the battle isn't about being first, it's about Taiyuan City. For Father Emperor, that's not just the place of origin, but also the place where the dragon rose. Whether it's His Highness the Prince of Han or your second brother, if you can win this battle, it will be a great joy for the Great Sheng Dynasty, and it will also benefit you, my third brother, won't it?"
Yuwen Cheng glared at her, but had nothing to say.
Shang Ruyi breathed a sigh of relief, looked up and met Shen Wuzheng's gentle gaze, smiled slightly, and then turned to look at Yuwen Ye.
But he immediately looked away and said coldly, "Yan Jie, take your men and stay at Changchun Palace for now!"
Changchun Palace was a temporary palace built by Emperor Wen of the previous dynasty shortly after he ascended the throne, on a high ground outside Tongguan, on the other side of the Yellow River. However, because Chu Yang took most of the officials with him when he built the Eastern Capital, and he himself hardly ever returned to the Western Capital, the temporary palace was almost abandoned.
At this time, it would be just right to have Yuwen Cheng stay temporarily at Changchun Palace.
This would not only prevent him from being in a difficult situation where he had nowhere to retreat and could not go to war with the army, but also make it easier for the seriously wounded soldiers to recover.
"Okay, I'll go."
Yuwen Cheng looked at Yuwen Ye with a cold smile and said, "Then, I will take my men to Changchun Palace. These days, I will stay in Changchun Palace and wish my imperial brothers a great victory. I just don't know—which of you will be able to reach Taiyuan first."
After saying that, he laughed loudly, turned around, and swaggered out of the central command tent.
Watching his retreating figure, Yuwen Ye frowned deeply, and the other deputy generals also remained focused—after all, Yuwen Cheng was arrogant and domineering, and had never been an obedient person; no one knew what he might do behind the scenes. Under these circumstances, the best course of action, or rather, both logically and emotionally, was for Yuwen Ye to leave someone behind to keep an eye on him.
The question is, who should we keep?
Just as everyone was looking at each other and then at Yuwen Ye, he suddenly said, "Shen Wuzheng."
Upon hearing this, Shen Wuzheng immediately raised his head, cupped his hands, and said, "Your subordinate is here."
Shang Ruyi stood to the side, her heart skipped a beat, and she looked at her brother nervously, but she couldn't speak at this moment. Yuwen Ye said, "I order you to stay and guard Changchun Palace to protect the safety of Prince Qi."
Shen Wuzheng glanced at him, but remained calm and said, "This subordinate obeys the order."
"..."
"However, I wonder how many men His Highness the Prince of Qin has assigned to guard Changchun Palace."
"..."
Yuwen Ye was silent for a moment, then said, "Two hundred people are enough."
Upon hearing this, Shang Ruyi's eyes widened immediately: "What?!"
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