Upon hearing the young prince's instructions, Chief Secretary Xie readily agreed, and at the same time breathed a sigh of relief, thinking to himself that no matter who did this, it was a good thing that the prince's beast army was not discovered.
To prevent the young prince from trying to show off with his beast army, Chief Secretary Xie turned and left, his usually composed pace quickening considerably.
A few days later, the Duke of Qi led the Lingnan navy, escorting the remaining Jiangnan navy and private troops back to Jiangzhou.
Upon seeing Gu Yuzhi, the Duke of Qi laughed heartily, knelt on one knee, clasped his hands in greeting, and said, "Your subject, Qi Heng, greets Your Highness. May Your Highness live a thousand years!"
Before Gu Yuzhi could speak, the Duke of Qi said, "Your Highness has come to Jiangnan to oversee the war effort, which will allow me to fight without any worries. I am delighted..."
Gu Yuzhi had never met the Duke of Qi, but he knew that people like the Duke of Qi, who spent most of their time in the army, had loud voices. Therefore, he not only did not show any disgust, but also felt a sense of kinship.
In particular, the appearance of the Duke of Qi and the Qi guards clearly showed that they were father and son.
He was smiling and about to jump off the chair to help the Duke of Qi up when he suddenly widened his eyes and saw the Duke of Qi pulling at his sleeve and sobbing.
"The Duke of Qi?"
Gu Yuzhi blinked, quickly jumped off the chair, took two steps forward and then stopped, turning his head to look helplessly at Chief Secretary Xie.
Both Xie Changshi and Mr. Huo were demonstrating to him that a true man sheds blood but not tears.
This was the first time he had ever seen a grown man cry, especially a general!
Just as Gu Yuzhi was at a loss, not knowing what to do, Prince Qi finally arrived.
Before I could even get a good look at my father as soon as I entered the door, I saw a scene that left me speechless.
After a moment of reaction, Prince Qi quickly stepped forward and forcibly helped him up, saying with a helpless expression, "Father, please don't put on an act in front of the young prince, it will frighten him."
Duke Qi peeked at Gu Yuzhi through his fingers and saw the young prince looking panicked. He then moved his hand away and said with a grin, "Your Highness, I am truly happy that you have come to Jiangnan."
He sighed as he spoke: "After I met Gu Yufan with my Lingnan troops, I knew that Huizhou had definitely fallen."
But at that time, the Duke of Qi dared not show the slightest dissatisfaction, because he was the commander-in-chief and his emotions affected all the soldiers.
If his personal affairs had shaken the morale of the army at that time, he would have been a sinner for all time!
Fortunately, not long after, he learned that Prince Wen had arrived in Jiangnan and had successfully persuaded the prefects of Yunzhou and Ningzhou to defect...
Although the Duke of Qi felt it was unbelievable that the young prince could do all this at his age, when he thought about what the Prince Wen had done after going to the northern desert, everything seemed to make sense.
It was from that time that the Duke of Qi was able to fully unleash his potential.
Seeing that the Duke of Qi had returned to normal, Gu Yuzhi scratched his head and smiled, "Actually, I didn't do much. It was mainly because the Prince of Qi was capable."
If it weren't for the respect that Prince Qi had earned from the people of Huizhou, making them willing to stay in the city, any other prefect who was unpopular with the people would have long been overrun by the people and handed over to the enemy.
After he finished speaking, he pointed to Chief Secretary Xie and the others, saying, "And Chief Secretary Xie, Guard Zhang, Mr. Huo..."
Upon hearing the words "Mr. Huo," the Duke of Qi abruptly turned his head.
Although the two veterans had never appeared on the same battlefield, the other's name was well-known to them.
When the Huo family was convicted, the Duke of Qi also submitted a memorial, hoping that the late emperor would conduct a thorough investigation. Even if there was no thorough investigation, he suggested using Huo's military achievements as leverage, thinking that whether it was exile or something else, at least his life could be saved.
As long as you're alive, everything is negotiable.
Who knew the Emperor would issue the order so quickly?
On the day Huo Qiyuan was sentenced to beheading, the Duke of Qi suffered from insomnia, feeling a mix of emotions. He once told the heir apparent that if Huo Qiyuan hadn't been sensible and handed over his military power earlier, he might have ended up in the same situation.
But at this moment, the man who should have been beheaded but survived by a twist of fate and should now be in exile suddenly appeared in front of him.
The Duke of Qi could not hide his excitement. He took two steps forward, his eyes slightly reddening, his throat tight, and after a long while, he finally managed to speak: "You, you are..."
Mr. Huo was naturally aware that the Duke of Qi had made many efforts to avoid being sentenced to beheading, and he was somewhat moved at the time.
But no matter what, this is not the time to reveal one's identity.
He bowed and clasped his hands in thanks to the Duke of Qi for speaking up for him back then: "Your Excellency, I have long admired your name. My surname is Huo, and I am a martial arts instructor in the Prince Wen's residence."
Duke Qi nodded repeatedly, saying "good" several times. He then turned to look at Gu Yuzhi and gave him a deep bow, exclaiming, "Your Highness is truly righteous!"
Gu Yuzhi quickly stepped forward to help him up, pointing to the chair next to him and saying, "Duke of Qi, please sit down and talk."
They must be tired after such a long journey.
After everyone sat down, he quickly said, "A few days ago, I received a wooden box containing Gu Yufan's head."
When the topic of heads came up, Gu Yuzhi couldn't help but feel a little upset, and said in a low voice, "Do you know what happened?"
Upon learning that Gu Yufan's head had been delivered, Gu Yuzhi instructed Jia to send the message to the capital overnight, hoping to ensure that the army's journey would not be in vain.
In addition, I request that Your Majesty send another elite force to escort these gold and silver treasures back to the capital.
Otherwise, he would be a little scared if he were asked to escort him.
There's still no news from my elder brother. Chief Secretary Xie and Prince Qi have been checking the files of the Jiangzhou prefect these past few days, trying to get rid of all the big bad guys in Jiangzhou before they leave.
He looked expectantly at the Duke of Qi, who nodded slightly and said, "I know a little about this matter."
Duke Qi sighed and said, "Chief Secretary Ling's sister is one of Gu Yufan's concubines. She must have known the true cause of her brother's death, so she tried her best to go to the battlefield with him."
After he learned about this, he probably guessed that the reason why the secret guards who were sent to kill him failed was thanks to Consort Ling.
If this courageous and resourceful woman weren't the sister of Gu Yufan's chief secretary, and if she lived in the capital, he would definitely have shamelessly gone to her door to ask for her hand in marriage for his youngest son.
"After Gu Yufan's defeat, he took his advisors and Consort Ling to Lingnan. He was killed by Consort Ling not far away, and then Consort Ling committed suicide."
What exactly happened was unknown to the Duke of Qi, because when he found the bodies of Gu Yufan and the others, Consort Ling's body was also lying next to them, with a faint smile on her face.
Whether it was because she had finally gotten her revenge or for some other reason, the smile on her face was serene and content...
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