Chapter 773 The Rift - The Last City
Looking at Xu Yunzhi's expression, Yun Yichen wondered whether he should tell him about the painting.
After a while, Yun Yichen shook his head and said, "Don't think about it too much for now. Just rest well at home for a while."
As for what to do after resting, Yun Yichen believed that the Fourth Prince would give them the answer.
On the official road, Bai Moqin and the others sped along.
Thanks to Zhong Lin's advance arrangements, they were much faster than before, but even so, they couldn't outrun the Crown Prince's carrier pigeon message.
After several failed attempts to ambush them, the eldest prince knew that a small group of people were no match for the enemy, so he sent a message to each county and dispatched soldiers stationed in the city to ambush and kill everyone.
"I never imagined that after ruling as emperor for over a decade, I would one day be hunted down by my own son. What a tragedy! What a tragedy!"
The emperor glanced at the pursuing soldiers, his feelings inside the carriage more complex than ever before.
Seeing the Emperor's pitying expression, Ruoxue comforted him, "Your Majesty need not be so sad. As the saying goes, a dragon has nine sons, and each one is different. Moreover, the eldest prince has always been influenced by the Empress, so it is understandable that he would do such a thing."
The emperor naturally knew that such fratricide was common even in ordinary families, let alone in the royal family.
But seeing those innocent soldiers die at the hands of their own people without their knowledge, the emperor still felt extremely heartbroken.
"Perhaps I should stay in the capital. With me here, at least these people won't die."
Those were soldiers from his Wei Kingdom, a city-protecting army established to protect the people.
Ruoxue shook her head as she listened to the emperor's words. "They will not survive just because Your Majesty stays in the capital. On the contrary, if Your Majesty stays in the capital, Your Highness will only be subject to the control of the eldest prince."
Releasing a tiger back into the mountains is something no ruler would want to see. Since the eldest prince wanted to usurp the throne, he couldn't possibly be unaware of this, especially when he still had leverage. The eldest prince would do everything he could to make that leverage play a huge role.
After listening to Ruoxue's words and glancing at the soldiers who had been left behind, the emperor finally had no choice but to nod in agreement.
"Your Majesty, Crown Princess, we are approaching the next city. Please make preparations in advance."
Zhong Lin rode alongside the carriage, and after saying these words to the two men, he quickly walked towards the others behind.
This was their ninth change of location, and everyone was already used to this rhythm. So, after seeing their assigned people waiting in the dense forest, they quickly distributed their rations and water and hurried on their way again.
If there were another city, they could safely reach the border and reunite with General Song, who was stationed there.
However, things always take an unexpected turn at the end. After two more days of trekking through mountains and rivers, the group encountered an unprecedented ambush in the last city.
Standing on the carriage, the emperor saw a familiar face.
"Bai Hao, it's you!"
The emperor was clearly surprised by the arrival of the newcomer, while the person opposite him showed excitement in his eyes when he saw the emperor.
"You didn't expect this, did you, Sixth Brother? I'm still alive."
Bai Hao looks to be in his fifties, but his hair is already quite thick.
The Emperor nodded upon seeing this. "It seems someone helped you back then. If I'm not mistaken, that person was the Empress!"
Back then, when Bai Xu, the crown prince of Wei, who was also Yun Yichen's father, went to the Great Zhou, he disappeared. Although there was no major internal strife in Wei, Bai Hao was sentenced to beheading for poisoning several of his brothers.
Subsequently, the sixth prince was appointed crown prince and became the heir apparent of the Wei Kingdom.
As for the grudges between the two, it all started with Bai Hao poisoning his brother.
Bai Hao was the eldest of the late emperor's sons, but because he was not the legitimate son, he missed out on the position of crown prince.
He thought that after Bai Xu's death, the throne would fall to him, but who knew that the emperor said that the Great Wei dynasty would only establish the legitimate heir.
The Empress has only two sons. If Bai Xu loses his position as heir apparent, wouldn't that mean establishing the sixth prince?
How could Bai Hao be willing to let the young sixth prince sit on the throne of the crown prince? So he devised a plan to invite a few of his brothers to drink together, and then put poison in the wine.
Bai Hao originally only intended to poison the Sixth Prince, but unexpectedly, the other two brothers' wine was also poisoned. Not only that, before the Sixth Prince could even drink the wine, one of the brothers succumbed to the poison.
Thus, Bai Hao was sentenced to death by the emperor for the crime of harming his own brother, while the emperor, as the sixth prince, was successfully made crown prince.
After hearing the emperor's words, Bai Hao did not agree, but retorted: "Wrong! Now you should be called Empress Dowager. As for you, the retired emperor, you are no longer of any use."
As Bai Hao spoke, he raised his hand, and a large group of soldiers immediately stepped out from behind him.
"You've had enough of being emperor all these years, haven't you? Why don't you stay here and keep me company!"
Over the years, Bai Hao had long since lost his ambition to become emperor, but he still harbored resentment over what happened back then, which is why he wanted to kill the emperor here.
"You've certainly had your fill of being the emperor, but as for spending time with you, you'd be better off going to be with your brothers first!"
The emperor had been exhausted from the journey, but seeing Bai Hao actually cheered him up.
Bai Hao has been stationed here for so many years, so he's no pushover. Moreover, he received a letter from the Empress, and even if he dies today, he will stop these people here.
"If that's the case, then there's no need to say anything more!"
After Bai Hao gave the order, hundreds of people rushed towards the crowd.
A chaotic scene erupted in the crowd, and the two sides quickly clashed. However, despite the larger number of opponents, Bai Moqin's group still gained the upper hand.
Seeing that Bai Moqin and her group were incredibly strong, Bai Hao thought for a moment and immediately adopted a human wave tactic to wear down their stamina.
Sure enough, as time went on, his human wave tactics proved effective. Even though the enemy could fight against a hundred men, they gradually became exhausted due to the large amount of physical exertion.
"Mo Qin, we'll be dragged down if we continue like this."
The Emperor and Ruoxue stood at the very back of the crowd, watching their own side gradually lose its fighting strength. The Emperor couldn't help but remind them.
Ruoxue knew that things were not going to get out of hand if things continued like this, so she climbed onto the roof of the carriage and glanced at the situation ahead. Ruoxue began to look around and eventually saw a canyon not far behind her.
"Your Highness, may we retreat to the northwest now?"
Ruoxue's voice was neither too loud nor too soft, just loud enough for Bai Moqin to hear.
Although Bai Moqin didn't know what Ruoxue was planning, judging from the current situation, continuing the fight would not benefit them.
Nodding, Bai Moqin shouted, "Everyone, retreat to the northwest!"
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