Zhu Yougui never dreamed that one moment he was thinking about how to obtain Qinglu, and the next he would be abandoned, and now he would even be killed by his own people…
By this time, Li Zhu had already surrounded the Prince's mansion with his men. However, since a battle was raging inside, he didn't lead his men in. Instead, he waited outside for the battle to end so he could reap the benefits...
Just then, a general in full armor, covered in blood, walked out...
This surprised Li Zhu, because he couldn't recognize whether it was Zhu Yougui or Zhu Youzhen...
"Halt!"
Wang Yanzhang, holding a long spear, pointed it at Ding Hui who was approaching and shouted at him!
Ding stopped in his tracks, then knelt on the ground and shouted.
"Your Majesty, I, the guilty subject Ding Hui, have executed the traitorous brothers Zhu Yougui and Zhu Youzhen on the spot. I request Your Highness to review this report..."
Upon hearing Ding Hui's voice, Li Zhu was stunned. He thought to himself, "These two are really unlucky! How did they get killed by their own people?" He had thought that at least one of them would survive, but now it seemed that the course of history had changed, and even the fate of these two brothers had changed...
"Ding Hui, are you sure what you're holding are the brothers Zhu Yougui and Zhu Youzhen?"
Li Zhu asked calmly.
"Sure!"
Li Zhu gave Wang Yanzhang a look; he had served under Zhu Wen before, so he must know Zhu Yougui and Zhu Youzhen…
Wang Yanzhang understood and stepped forward. Seeing that it was indeed two heads, he turned and nodded to Li Zhu, indicating that everything was fine…
"Ding Hui, you betrayed your master for personal gain; you deserve to die even more than they do..."
Wang Yanzhang pointed his spear at Ding Hui and said mockingly!
"Your Highness, the situation in Taiyuan Prefecture is largely settled, but there are hundreds of cities in Jin. I am willing to be the vanguard, to sweep away the enemy's stronghold in Jin and bring it back to the Tang Dynasty..."
Li Zhu didn't reply, but instead looked at Wang Yanzhang, wanting to see how he would evaluate this person...
"Your Highness, this person..."
At this point, Wang Yanzhang glanced at Ding Hui before speaking two more words.
"Available..."
Li Zhu nodded, realizing that Ding Hui possessed considerable military talent; otherwise, Wang Yanzhang wouldn't have spoken up for someone who betrayed his master. He looked at Ding Hui and asked...
What do you want?
"Your Highness, this humble subject has no demands, only that Your Highness spare my family..."
Li Zhu glanced at Ding Hui. He was a smart man who knew that the greatest request was not to make any demands. Moreover, the fact that Ding Hui had willingly exposed his weakness to him was also a way of showing his loyalty.
Li Zhu did not refuse this small request, and he knew in his heart that someone familiar with the troop deployment and garrison commanders of Jin was the most suitable person to recapture Jin...
However, Li Zhu was uneasy about letting Ding Hui lead the army alone. He believed that if such a person gained too much power, his ambition would inevitably swell, and he might become the next Zhu Wen…
"That's no problem at all, but I'll assign you a deputy general. I hope you'll work for me without worry, or you know the consequences..."
Li Zhu didn't say anything too harsh, but the aura he exuded made Ding Hui tremble inwardly, and he quickly said respectfully...
"This humble subject understands. This humble subject will certainly do his utmost and will not fail His Highness the Crown Prince's mercy in sparing my life..."
"Yes, you know the person I arranged; it's Li Zimu, the eldest son of the Li family. I hope you can cultivate a good relationship with him..."
After Li Zhu finished speaking, he turned and left. The Prince's mansion was now filthy and unsuitable for living. Most importantly, he could not accept this mansion with its chaotic ethics and morality...
He planned to stay at the military camp for the day and consolidate the forces of Taiyuan Prefecture. Although the losses from this battle were considerable, the gains were equally significant. Perhaps he could gather 100,000 elite troops before heading to Youzhou…
The battle report was quickly delivered to Li Zhu!
The losses of his army in this battle were negligible; several thousand were wounded and several hundred died. In such a war, such losses were indeed negligible…
The Taiyuan garrison, along with the Tianxing Army, numbered nearly 80,000. Due to infighting, more than half were killed or wounded. Several thousand were taken away by the Li family, some were killed by Japanese ninjas, and several thousand died at the hands of Chen Qingzhi and Li Zhu…
In the end, only a little over 20,000 men with fighting capacity surrendered, but this was just the beginning…
The battle report from Yangcheng also came back, and to Li Zhu's surprise, the entire city of Yangcheng had surrendered...
Taking Taiyuan Prefecture was tantamount to pacifying the Jin region, an unparalleled achievement that would ensure Li Zhu's continued rule in the new Tang Dynasty...
When the battle report reached Luoyang, the imperial court was in an uproar, because the news seemed too good to be true…
"Impossible! I am the Grand Marshal of all the armies in the land. No one understands military affairs better than me. This is clearly fake news. Let me tell you, winning a war requires the right timing, the right location, and the right people, plus a combination of various factors..."
How could a prince who had lived in the deep palace for so long, and had barely read any military books, possibly win such a victory?
Upon hearing Liu Ting's words, some people nodded in agreement, believing it to be false information and not to be believed. They thought it was definitely a fabricated rumor spread by Li Zhu to solidify his position as crown prince…
As the emperor listened to the ministers in the court saying that it was impossible and that Li Zhu was lying, he really wanted to ask them, "Where do you people who have never left Luoyang get the confidence to say that you understand military affairs?"
"Cough cough..."
The Emperor coughed twice, immediately silencing the noisy court. Everyone looked at him expectantly, waiting for him to say that it was false information...
"I also want to tell you this is fake news, but you'll know the truth once you see these three things..."
When the emperor opened the three enormous boxes, a chill swept over everyone, causing those around him to shiver involuntarily…
"Your Majesty, why are you showing us these ice blocks?"
Liu Ting couldn't help but ask in confusion!
"What's so interesting about three boxes of ice?" The others looked at the Emperor with puzzled expressions...
"What I showed you was what was inside the ice..."
When the Emperor spoke again, everyone realized that something else was hidden inside the ice...
Before the ministers could even act, a eunuch had already cleared away the top layer of ice, revealing what was inside…
Just one glance was enough to send some people back in terror. Only those with countless lives on their hands could calmly look at what lay before them: three human heads!
Even a seasoned general would be shocked at first sight of three human heads!
"This...this is..."
Looking at the face beneath the ice, Liu Ting could no longer conceal his shock…
"This is impossible, they...how could they die so easily..."
Liu Ting shook his head, muttering incredulously...
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