Chapter 152 The Dust Settles
The general is back!
Not only did he come, he also brought with him an unknown number of Northern Border troops, and quickly took control of the Prince's guards.
The shouts and cries of killing outside seemed to flow in with the night wind. The stern and solemn general pointed his sword at the dumbfounded prince and asked coldly, "Did you expect that I could come back alive?"
The prince had been confident of victory all night, but when he saw Chen Ting was safe and sound, he finally collapsed: "How did you..."
The troops Chen Ting brought back with him were the most elite troops of the Northern Border, and they were also the Chen Family Army that he personally trained. The imperial guards of the capital were naturally powerless against these fierce troops that had just returned from fighting on the battlefield.
When the prince saw that the truth was revealed, his first reaction was to draw his bow, ready to shoot a second arrow at the emperor. It seemed that he was determined to kill Emperor Xian of Zhou.
Chen Ting reacted faster than him. He clamped his long legs on the horse's belly, drew his bow and released an arrow as he rushed over. The arrow went straight through the prince's wrist, causing his arm to go limp and he no longer had the strength to lift it up.
The emperor, who was originally unconscious and confused, finally came to his senses. His will to survive was unstoppable. He grabbed Zhang Dai's sleeve and hid behind him, shouting incoherently, "General, save me! You have saved me, and I will grant you the title of Duke of the First Rank!"
"......"
Chen Ting's expression remained unchanged. His eyes were focused only on the prince who was struggling to get up. The latter stared at him with resentment: "Why didn't you die in the siege of the Xixia people?"
The northern border of the Great Zhou Dynasty was always under the invasion of the Turks, and the south was also not peaceful. There were Japanese pirates on the southeast coast, and the Western Xia in the southwest were eyeing the country covetously and launching frequent attacks. However, compared with the larger Turkish army, these two countries could only be described as "harassment."
It's like a poisonous snake hiding in the dark, which can give you a fatal bite if you're not careful, but it won't kill you outright.
Chen Ting slowly glanced at everyone and said, "I should have reached the capital seven days ago, but on the way back to the capital, I encountered a Xixia surprise attack team. They knew the number of our troops and the route of our march very well, and they kept interfering with the army's departure along the way. It was snowing, so we were delayed for so long on the road."
"I'm really curious about what allowed the Xixia people to grasp the movements of the Northern Border Army so clearly. So I used myself as bait to make them think that our army was trapped in the mountain valley. In fact, I led them into a trap and captured the Xixia leader."
Chen Ting waved his hand, and a half-dead guy who was almost unrecognizable as a human being was brought up by Chen Hu. He threw him to the ground casually and lifted up his head for everyone to see.
"This is the Xixia commander! I have fought him before. He is very cunning and skilled..."
Now it has fallen into Chen Ting's hands?
"The general who guards the country actually captured this man alive!"
Regardless of what everyone was saying, Chen Hu kicked the man and said in a rough voice, "You speak for yourself."
The Xixia commander's eyes were filled with a desire to die. He gasped for air and took several difficult breaths before he said in a hoarse voice, "Half a month ago, a eunuch from the Zhou Dynasty palace found me and said he wanted to make a deal with me..."
From this man's intermittent account, the ministers learned that it was the prince who promised the Xixia people a city and provided them with all kinds of information about the Northern Border Army. It would be best if they could kill Chen Ting directly, but if they couldn't kill him, they must stop them from returning to the capital so as not to delay the prince's important affairs.
When Master Xu heard about the city, he was furious and jumped up and yelled, "Yezhou? That's the granary of the central part of the Great Zhou! The prince promised it to the Xixia people just to kill the general who defends the country! How is this different from treason? What are you thinking, prince?!"
"Is the prince crazy?!"
"Regicide, treason, corruption... What else do you have to say after all this?!"
Even in this situation where he was being criticized by thousands of people, the prince did not show any regrets: "What do I have to say? Everything I did was for that position."
"But you used all means possible, and ultimately didn't get the results you wanted." Rong Guo said.
"If it weren't for Chen Ting, I would have succeeded by now!" The prince suddenly became excited, pointing at Chen Ting and saying, "Why has he never been defeated in all these years? Why can he always rush out of any dangerous situation safely? Why? He avoids people for three days every month. What is under the black iron gauntlet that he never takes off? Is he a human or a monster? Aren't you curious at all?!"
This doubt is indeed shared by everyone. No matter how brave a general is, he cannot win every battle. Moreover, judging from his age, Chen Ting is less than 30 years old, and there are those strange three days...
"But even so, he is still a hero who defends the territory of our Great Zhou!"
"Compared to a traitor like you, what is General Chen's problem?"
"Of course I am not omnipotent. This time, Prince Ning was aware of the Xixia attack and informed me in advance, so I was able to respond completely." After Chen Ting finished speaking, he ordered someone to arrest the prince: "If you have anything else to say, stay in the imperial prison and talk slowly."
And the fifth prince mentioned in the lady’s letter... humph, I hope he doesn’t die too early.
The guards previously arranged by the Crown Prince and the Queen were not enough to resist for a moment, and the Shangguan family officials present were also captured. Whether it was poisoning or the several crimes listed by Prince Ning, they were all tried one by one in the imperial prison in the end.
As for the emperor, no one paid any attention to him for such a long time that he fainted again quietly.
Originally, the ministers thought that they would be detained in the palace today, and even many old ministers were ready to die rather than surrender. They did not expect that a palace coup would be resolved like this. The prince had no power to fight back or to retort, and in the end he was still very stubborn and would not regret what he had done even until his death. It can be seen that he has been suppressed to this extent over the years and has become mentally abnormal.
The head of the Qingliu, Grand Tutor Xu, sighed, thinking about the Great Zhou Dynasty where the royal family had lost its heirs, and said with emotion: "If it weren't for His Royal Highness Prince Ning's early preparations, I'm afraid we would really be forced into submission by the Crown Prince today, and from then on the throne of the Great Zhou Dynasty would be occupied by a disloyal, unfilial, unkind and unjust person."
"If it really comes to that, I will be too ashamed to go see the late emperor..."
"Fortunately, His Royal Highness Prince Ning was patient and found out so many truths. He also helped the general to predict the Xixia people's conspiracy. With His Royal Highness Prince Ning, our Great Zhou is not without a leader."
The most confused person in the whole audience was probably Concubine Li. The situation kept changing tonight. First, the prince rebelled, then the emperor woke up, and then the general of Chen State came to rescue him. In the end... how come the throne suddenly fell on her son's head? ?
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