Chapter 130 Chapter 130 The dust has settled...
Just as Prince Yi led his troops eastward, a letter arrived on the emperor's desk in the Taiji Hall of the Kyoto Imperial City, sent by express horse from Shuzhou.
But the people sitting behind the imperial desk at this moment were not Emperor Xuanwu, but two women.
Concubine Shu handed the unfolded letter to Concubine Yu'an, who was sitting beside the dragon bed, and said with excitement, "The prince's troops will set off immediately. We can start now."
Concubine Yu'an read the letter in her hand again and again in the candlelight beside the bed, and finally confirmed the content of it. Her old face couldn't help but tremble a few times.
She held the letter close to her chest with relief, her eyes welling up. "Great, great, I'm about to see my son. This is so great, so great."
"Hurry up, tell them to bring the medicine to His Majesty!"
Concubine Yu'an ordered the eunuchs outside the curtain, her hands shaking with excitement, and she did not notice the strange look in Concubine Shu's eyes beside her.
But in a moment, Xie Huan, the most trusted eunuch of Concubine Yu'an, came in with a bowl of brown medicine on a tray. The Concubine stood up and glanced at the unconscious emperor on the bed. Xie Huan understood what she meant and immediately called on the two young eunuchs behind him to help the emperor up and force-feed him the medicine.
At the moment when the medicine was about to enter the mouth, the door of Taiji Hall was suddenly knocked open from the outside. An old man shouted loudly and rushed in with a large group of people.
The leading eunuch was none other than Xie Huan's godfather, Guo Huai, the chief eunuch in charge of the imperial court.
Guo Huai had just been rescued from the inner court, and his chest ached with the pent-up breath. He ignored the furious cries of the other officials for the incoming imperial guards to seize the imperial concubine. He whipped the whisk from his waist and lashed at Xie Huan, cursing, "You ungrateful creature! You've even harmed my family for power and wealth! Bah! Thanks to my kindness in the past, I'll flog you to death today to vent His Majesty's anger."
After being hit hard several times, Xie Huan finally reacted. He quickly pulled the young eunuch beside him to hold him in front of him, hoping to escape in the chaos.
However, these officials and the imperial guards seemed to have known the current situation in the Taiji Palace for a long time, and they easily captured Concubine Yu'an and others.
Guo Huai was an old man in the palace. Seeing him looking at Xie Huan who was lying on the ground with red eyes, he knew better than to step forward to stop him.
The young eunuch couldn't withstand the beating and passed out after a few hits. Guo Huai pushed the two men apart and hit Xie Huan again and again, forcing Xie Huan to kneel down and beg for mercy.
"General Manager, Father, please forgive me. I know I am wrong."
Guo Huai refused to comply and only stopped after beating him until his skin was torn and flesh was exposed. "Bah, you bastard! I've always said that a slave can't eat from two tables. You deserve to be beaten by me. Today, I'm going to beat you to death!"
As he spoke, his hands, which had slowed down, began waving again.
Xie Huan turned around to seek the protection of the Concubine Dowager, but the Concubine Dowager had been held down by the Imperial Guards and could hardly save herself, so how could she save him?
With his eyes moving, Xie Huan went to look for Concubine Shu again. Concubine Shu, who should have been in the same situation as them, was now sitting beside the dragon bed, surrounded by officials like the backbone of the group.
She looked at the emperor, wiped her tears gently, and kept calling "Your Majesty".
Xie Huan looked at Concubine Shu in a daze, who was crying with tears in her eyes, and suddenly understood.
"You...you two, have you been colluding with each other for a long time?"
No one paid any attention to him.
Xie Huan crawled towards the imperial concubine, yelling at the top of his lungs, "Your Majesty, we've been tricked, tricked! They're not trying to support His Highness's ascension to the throne, they're clearly trying to murder you and make you bear the crime of regicide! And in the end, the one who benefits is Consort Shu. Your Majesty, ahhh, it hurts, Your Majesty, save this servant, save this servant!"
Concubine Yu'an looked at him palely, opened her mouth to yell at Guo Huai to stop, but couldn't say anything.
She has been in the palace all her life, so what is there that she doesn't understand?
The fact of regicide is indisputable. She was caught red-handed by the civil and military officials in the court. No one would help her at this time, let alone plead for her.
Concubine Shu...
She was old and confused, and only thought that everything would be solved by killing the emperor, but she forgot about the prince that Concubine Shu had just given birth to.
But he was just a baby, not even a month old. How could he ascend the throne and become emperor? How could he compare to his son, a grown prince whom the late emperor doted on and had high hopes for!
No, no, she couldn't just give in like that. She couldn't let her son be at the gates of the city only to be branded a regicide and rebel.
Concubine Yu'an suddenly broke free from the imperial guards on both sides, drew the swords from their waists, and rushed straight towards Concubine Shu.
As long as she killed Concubine Shu, the little prince would have no one to rely on. She was the Dowager Concubine, and the Yong'an Marquisate was her in-laws. As long as she could put all the blame on Concubine Shu, saying that she instigated it, there would be no evidence. She could lobby the ministers and she didn't believe that Concubine Shu could still be proud...
This belief supported her withered body to move forward, but she was caught by the Royal Guards when she was only five steps away.
The sword in her hand was put away, and Concubine Shu asked her attendants to retreat with red eyes.
The concubine looked at her angrily, but the concubine was not angry. She walked closer and slowly leaned over to whisper in the concubine's ear.
"Don't worry, Your Majesty. I promised Lord Bo that I would spare your life and the life of Prince Yi, and I will not break my promise. If Your Majesty still wishes to meet Prince Yi and his mother, then do not resist. I will naturally protect Your Majesty."
Shufei's words were like a cool spring, instantly calming the impatience and anger in the eyes of the Concubine Dowager.
She looked down at the rope that had been tied around her wrists at some point, her eyes gradually filled with powerless frustration.
"Ai Jia...can I really see Yi'er?"
No one answered her.
The concubine suddenly raised her head and laughed out loud, "Hahahaha, Duan Wenpei, what a Duan Wenpei! If Ah Xu knew that you had conspired with this evil concubine behind her back to support my son to become emperor, but cut off her cousin's life, I wonder how you would deal with it! How would you deal with it! Hahahaha..."
Concubine Shu looked at her suddenly going crazy and waved at the Imperial Guards with some disgust.
The concubine was taken away, and Xie Huan was beaten half to death by Guo Huai.
In the huge Taiji Hall, only Concubine Shu who continued to cry and the ministers who were concerned about the health of Emperor Xuanwu were left.
The imperial physicians from the Imperial Medical Bureau were quickly invited in, but one after another they just shook their heads silently without saying a word.
The expressions on the ministers' faces became more and more solemn. Finally, amid the mournful cries of Concubine Shu, Emperor Xuanwu breathed his last in the Taiji Hall.
Crystal clear tears rolled down from the corners of the young emperor's eyes.
But no one cares.
*
In the western suburbs outside Shuzhou City, Nan Xu, who was hurrying on his way in the gray sky, sneezed twice for no apparent reason.
She rubbed her nose nonchalantly and slapped the pony beneath her twice.
She wanted to catch up with Duan Wenpei as soon as possible.
Yu Rong was a little worried that her body might not be able to handle running so fast, but Nan Xu insisted and he had nothing to say.
For a moment, the only thing on the wide dirt road was the dust raised by a few galloping horses.
Finally, when the first ray of sunlight in the sky shone on the earth, Nan Xu and his group caught up with Duan Wenpei.
However, they caught up with not only Duan Wenpei, but also King Yi and his army who were taking the main road.
The first checkpoint heading eastward out of Shuzhou City is the Changyi Army stationed at Jianyu Pass.
Nan Xu rode his horse to the top of the mountain and watched Duan Wenpei and his group pass through the dense woods and enter Jianyu Pass quietly.
Yu Rong asked her if she wanted to follow him in.
Nan Xu raised the Western telescope he handed her and looked at it for a long time, then shook her head and said no.
"We don't know his specific plans. Following him in now will only distract him and make him worry. It's better to stay still than to move. Let's wait and see."
After a brief thought, Yu Rong felt that there was some truth in it, so he signaled everyone to spread out with the top of the mountain as the center and keep a close eye on the developments inside Jianyu Pass.
Nan Xu followed, but Duan Wenpei naturally had no idea. At this moment, he was avoiding King Yi's men and secretly conspiring with Chang Yi in the central military tent of Jianyu Pass.
A personal guard reported that the Fuhu Army and the Zhenbei Army were approaching the pass, and King Yi's men urged him to open the gate and let them pass.
Chang Yi pointed to a deep valley behind the camp gate on the sand table and showed it to Duan Wenpei. "After returning, I thought about it over and over again, and I still feel that launching an attack outside the pass is not a good idea. If we are careless, King Yi and his men will immediately retreat to Shuzhou City, and then we will be passive."
The center of Shu is flat, but the periphery is surrounded by mountains. Once the King of Wings retreats, it will be difficult to open Shuzhou City again.
If King Yi is provoked again, he will declare himself king, cut off the east-west hub, and occupy the southwestern border. By then, the imperial court will be unable to do anything to him for a while.
Duan Wenpei had considered this concern, but...
"If we let them in to fight, are you confident, General?"
"The Fuhu Lords don't have many men, but because the late emperor loved the Wing King, he selected elite soldiers and generals. Not to mention the Zhenbei Army. Although Wang Songqing is not good at fighting, he is indeed a good trainer. With tens of thousands of people, the Changyi Army may not be able to cope with it."
Chang Yi looked at the canyon, his face solemn. "I know this, but between two powerful situations, we must choose the lesser of two evils. The day before I left for Shuzhou City, I wrote a letter to General Chi, the garrison commander of Wuchang Prefecture, asking him to send troops to support us promptly. I haven't received a reply yet. If we waited another day, there might be a chance, but you see, King Yi won't give us that opportunity."
"I can't just watch him walk through Jianyu Pass with such impunity."
Originally, he and Duan Wenpei had planned it in advance. They pretended to be coerced into agreeing to open the Jianyu Pass. When they lured King Yi to approach the gate, the soldiers who had been ambushed earlier and the soldiers inside the pass attacked together to repel King Yi's army.
As long as we can hold King Yi back for a few days, we can annihilate him once the imperial reinforcements arrive.
But this was a different time. Princess Jingyi suddenly offered up those thunder bombs, and the earlier deployment was no longer suitable.
Firearms can pave the way and defeat thousands of troops. Chang Yi had to ask for help immediately, but the original tactics could no longer be used.
Duan Wenpei looked at the morning light outside the tent which was getting brighter and brighter, the expression in his eyes kept changing. Just when the guards outside the tent urged him again, Duan Wenpei finally made up his mind.
"Okay, let's do as the general says, but we need to change our fighting style."
"How?"
Duan Wenpei stroked his chin and pulled up the yellow flag among the troops outside the camp gate on the sand table.
"Catch the leader first!"
*
Just when King Yi's patience was about to run out, the gate of Jianyu Pass was finally opened from the inside, and Chang Yi came to greet him in person on horseback.
King Yi thought about it and asked Zhao Mingcheng to lead the Zhenbei Army ahead.
Although Zhao Mingcheng was somewhat unhappy with this move, this was not the time to bargain, so he had no choice but to lead the charge with Zhao's retainers and part of the Zhenbei Army.
Chang Yi wanted to go with them, but was stopped by King Yi.
"General, there's no rush. It won't be too late to follow me into the pass after Patriarch Zhao enters."
Chang Yi expected King Yi to play some tricks, but he didn't expect him to be so cautious.
While feeling worried and frightened, he couldn't help but feel fortunate that Duan Wenpei was the one in control of the situation inside the pass at the moment.
He just laughed it off and said it was no big deal.
King Yi observed his expression and saw that there was nothing unusual, so he felt a little relieved.
After waiting for a while, a yellow smoke suddenly rose from the inside of the pass. King Yi curled his lips, waved his arm, and the army behind him immediately marched towards the inside of the pass.
King Yi grabbed Chang Yi's arm and walked forward slowly.
This scene was seen by dozens of eyes above. Nan Xu put down the telescope in his hand and told Yu Rong to put away his sword, replace it with a bow and arrow, and prepare some flint on the spot.
Yu Rong had the same idea, so he called out and everyone followed his instructions.
"Give me my bow, too."
Nan Xu plucked the pearl flower from her head, let her hair down, and tied it up simply with a headband. She then went to tie her sleeves. Seeing this, Yu Rong still didn't understand what was going on and disagreed. "Swords have no eyes. Madam, please wait here. I will take the others to support you."
Nan Xu bit one end of her hairband and used her free hand to tie a knot at her sleeve. She shook her head, "Although I'm a woman, I'm not useless. One more person means more strength. Asking me to wait here makes me uneasy." Seeing that Yu Rong still refused to give in, she grabbed the bow and arrow he had placed on his horse, bent over, and headed towards the interior of the pass. "I know my archery skills are not good, but at that time, shooting close up, or perhaps shooting from a distance would be enough?"
......
Archery requires a lot of arm strength. If you can’t hit the target close up, how can you hit the target far away?
Looking at Nan Xu's thin back, Yu Rong shook his head helplessly. Well, his wife had already said so, what else could he say? At least she was in front of him, and even if things got worse, he could still protect her in time, so as not to lose the master's instructions...
*
Just when Nan Xu and others aimed their arrows at the interior of the pass, King Yi and his entourage had already entered the pass about 70% to 80%.
After King Yi and Chang Yi stepped into the door, it suddenly fell with a slam.
King Yi instantly became alert, tightened his grip on Chang Yi's pulse, and glared at him, "What's going on?"
Chang Yi hurriedly tried to comfort him, "Don't be alarmed, Your Highness. This is how it happens when the gate closes in winter and spring. It was open for too long just now, and the soldiers' hands are inevitably numb. That's why they lost their grip and slipped down. I'll go check it out."
Chang Yi was about to leave when he said that, but King Yi held him tightly and refused to let go.
"Why would a general like you care about this? Just tell someone to open it. Send me through the customs first, so as not to miss the time."
Seeing this, Chang Yi had no choice but to say yes.
King Yi led him forward on horseback, and just across the Fuhu Army he could see Zhao Mingcheng in the distance. Seeing that he looked relaxed, King Yi felt much more at ease.
He unconsciously urged the horse to go faster.
The central army gave way, and the sound of horse hooves was particularly loud. Just when King Yi was about to pass through the Fuhu Army, suddenly a bright light came rushing towards him. King Yi subconsciously ducked to dodge, but Chang Yi, who was grabbed by his side, grabbed him with his backhand, drew the sword at his waist and slashed down.
King Yi reacted quickly as well. He immediately stretched out his long legs and kicked his armor. With the rebound force, he used his lightness skills to move towards the Fuhu Army behind him.
He had sensed that he had fallen into a trap.
As long as they are protected by the Fu Hu Army, they can rush out unstoppable.
How could Chang Yi and Duan Wenpei miss such a golden opportunity? With small red flags waving high above the camp and horns blowing, Chang Yi's troops, which had been ambushing on both sides and on the hilltops, immediately moved out and quickly cut through, separated and surrounded the Zhenbei Army and the Fuhu Army.
Duan Wenpei, along with the Zhou family and his personal guards, attacked King Yi.
No matter how talented the King of Wings is in both civil and military affairs, he is still a pampered prince and cannot defeat these people who have been fighting for years.
After several rounds, if it weren't for the protection of the Fu Hu Army who desperately stayed close to them, they would have been defeated several times.
King Yi knew that he could not show off his strength at this time and had to retreat immediately.
He no longer wanted to fight, and rode his horse back, dispersing Chang Yi's army that had surrounded the Fu Hu army. He ignored Chang Yi and Duan Wenpei who were chasing him closely, and shouted to retreat.
The Fuhu Army was indeed powerful. They managed to break through the siege and, with overwhelming force, surrounded King Yi and rushed to the gate.
Outside the Great Wall, the remaining Zhenbei Army was also actively resisting the Changyi Army ambushed outside.
King Yi ordered his men to attack the checkpoint and open the gate.
Seeing that no one could get in, Duan Wenpei stopped fighting with the Fu Hu Army. He flew over the heads of the crowd and headed towards the Wing King like a roc spreading its wings.
When King Yi saw this, he hurriedly saw people shooting arrows.
Arrows came pouring down, Duan Wenpei dodged left and right and was almost hit. Seeing the arrows raining down, suddenly an arrow from the side and high above blocked the attack of King Yi.
Duan Wenpei didn't have time to think about who was helping him. Taking advantage of the gap in the block, he exerted force with his arm and swung out the long sword, just in time to cut off the crown of King Yi's hair.
King Yi was furious and snatched the bow and arrow from the soldier and shot at him. The arrow was hidden behind the other arrows and had a tricky angle. Duan Wenpei couldn't dodge it in time, and the arrow passed under his armpit and pierced through the sleeve of his wedding dress.
Duan Wenpei took a deep breath and rushed forward again, but King Yi would not give him a chance. He shot three arrows at him in the face.
Just as it was about to hit him, suddenly, another arrow came from above and knocked down three oncoming arrows horizontally.
Duan Wenpei glanced upwards and saw many figures on the bare mountain, but his faces were not clear.
He took a deep breath and leaped up, exerting strength from his waist and abdomen to attack King Yi. King Yi took a few steps back and hid behind his soldiers.
Duan Wenpei's body was in the air for a moment and he had no place to gain leverage. Just when he was about to fall, a slightly shorter figure suddenly rushed out from the Fu Hu army.
The man shouted Huaizhou, then pushed upwards, carrying Duan Wenpei and leaping behind the Fuhu Army.
Duan Wenpei was not surprised at this. The two of them attacked together and wiped out a large number of Fuhu soldiers. The man took the opportunity to shoot two arrows. Duan Wenpei attacked King Yi following the arrows, but was shot down by the generals of Fuhu soldiers.
Duan Wenpei frowned and was thinking about how to retreat when another arrow was shot from above.
This arrow seemed to be assisted by God.
Duan Wenpei no longer hesitated, transformed himself into an arrow, and pointed it directly at King Yi's throat.
King Yi was still trying to draw his sword, but his vitals had already been suppressed by him.
The Fuhu Army dared not act rashly again.
Xiao Jing tore off her disguise and stepped forward to tie up King Yi. As she passed Duan Wenpei, she glanced down and asked in surprise, "Isn't this the arrow you gave to Nan Xu?"
——End of text——
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