The precedent of the Prince of Anhua's rebellion serves as a stark warning.
Prince Jian, Lu Youmi, wanted to carry on his father's legacy, but did not want his mother, wife, and children to be involved and lose their lives. Announcing their death was the most convenient way to do so.
Prince Jian's Mansion had been secretly preparing for so many years before finally gathering a large number of cavalry in Henan.
They practically emptied the Jianwang Mansion's coffers, even selling the calligraphy, paintings, and antiques that Zhou had secretly subsidized them, using the proceeds to pay wages, weapons, equipment, and horses to supply the army.
However, this army still lacked real combat experience, and when it encountered the formidable border troops, its combat effectiveness was at a disadvantage.
However, since killing the border general Feng Zhen, their morale has greatly improved, and their fear of the border army has also decreased significantly.
"Enough with the nonsense!" Prince Jian, Lu Youmi, said fiercely. "The overseas fleet built by Emperor Xianzong is in your hands?"
"Call it out!"
Su Wanwan smiled faintly: "No, I gave it to someone else."
"Who did you give it to?"
"Like you, I am of royal blood, and a descendant of Emperor Xianzong."
Lu Youmi's pupils contracted.
In terms of legitimacy, his lineage can be considered descendants of Emperor Yingzong.
Compared to the legitimate descendants of Emperor Xianzong, they had far less say in the succession to the throne.
It's all because Grandmother Zhou was too indecisive and couldn't directly depose the late emperor and let my father ascend the throne!
Lu You narrowed his eyes: "You mean that sickly prince, Prince Xing?"
Emperor Xianzong had many sons, all of whom were more likely to inherit the throne than he was.
Su Wanwan remained noncommittal and sighed softly.
“Among the royal princes, there are those like you who covet the throne, and there are those who take it upon themselves to protect the safety of the Great Liang Dynasty and put aside their personal interests.”
"Don't assume that everyone is like you, only focused on their own selfish desires and completely disregarding the country and its people. What gives them the right to aspire to the throne?!"
Su Wanwan served as empress for several years and also held political power. She possessed an indescribable aura of authority that made her difficult to ignore.
Her question startled Lu Youmi.
In Runing, he was the most respected person, and local officials could only kowtow and pay their respects to him.
Although the princes' movements were restricted and they were not allowed to leave the city.
But he was good at adapting; he could leave the city using a false identity. In his eyes, the law was nothing but dirt.
Lu Youmi was too lazy to waste any more words with her: "Write a letter, state who that person is, and I will send someone to take over his fleet!"
Su Wanwan thought he was too naive.
"Do you really think you can control a fleet that has been sailing overseas for decades with just a letter?"
"Lu Youmi, have you gone mad from thinking you were a prince?"
"Do you think everyone is a fool? Thirty thousand bandits suddenly appeared in Henan, and they didn't have a master behind them?"
"No one would guess that it was your Prince Jian's Mansion that was behind this?"
Lu Youmi, radiating hostility, said: "Enough nonsense, write the letter now!"
Su Wanwan stopped arguing with him and wrote the letter as he asked.
...
When Xiao Bin received the letter, he agreed to the messenger's request: "I can take over the fleet, but I need to meet your master first, so I can show my loyalty and get credit for it in the future."
The newcomer said smugly, "Our master is Liu Hui, the Grand Marshal who is sent by Heaven to lead the expedition against the enemy."
Xiao Bin remained unmoved: "Never heard of it."
The newcomer raised his eyebrows. "You've never heard of Liu San? Liu Hui is Liu San, a great hero who has even fought in the capital!"
"The deputy marshal is Zhao ??, known as Madman Zhao. The massacre of Zaoqiang County was his and Yang Hu's masterpiece!"
Xiao Bin: "They are nothing but two traitors who follow orders. If they cannot see their true master, and they show no sincerity, then it is better not to hand over this fleet."
The visitor hesitated for a moment, but then agreed.
Prince Jian, Lu Youmi, was somewhat interested in this meeting.
He wanted to see which royal prince Su Wanwan was talking about.
Lu Youmi was quite cautious and arranged the meeting place to be a private residence.
When Xiao Bin arrived, he only brought two attendants.
Lu Youmi, however, brought more than twenty followers.
Lu Youmi scrutinized Xiao Bin, his eyes filled with doubt.
The royal princes that Su Wanwan mentioned, apart from Prince Rong Lu Youting, are not this age.
He was well aware that Prince Rong's fate was uncertain in Xiping City.
Upon seeing Lu You and Rong Wang's group, Xiao Bin simply said, "Release them!"
A hail of arrows rained down on the house.
Lu Youmi was greatly alarmed.
"We've been ambushed!"
I have no idea when they deployed so many archers!
Are you even willing to risk your own life?
Lu Youmi quickly ordered his men to capture Xiao Bin, thereby intimidating the archers.
However.
Instead, Xiao Bin took the initiative to move closer to them, grabbed one of the guards, and started swinging him around.
Most of the arrows aimed at him were swatted away by his guards who swung them around.
Many arrows still struck his body and remained embedded.
However, these arrows did not hinder his movements in the slightest.
His double-layered armor, acquired from overseas, was exceptionally sturdy. Even if arrows could pierce the first layer of hard armor, they generally could not penetrate the first layer of soft armor.
Last time, he was hit by three arrows, but the two arrows that hit him were not heavy enough to be fatal.
The fatal arrow was to his head, because he was wearing a helmet but not a face shield.
The men that Lu Youmi brought were also wearing armor.
Their martial arts skills are also quite good.
However, they were caught off guard by the enemy's intent and had to scramble to avoid the rain of arrows. Then, Xiao Bin and his men launched a surprise attack, and the number of dead and wounded continued to rise.
Lu Youmi and his group no longer wanted to fight, but since the road they came from was blocked, they had to find another way to leave.
The group had just exited through the back door, relieved to have escaped.
Bang!
A huge explosion was heard!
Lu Youmi and his group were blown to pieces.
Explosives were planted at the only passage outside the back door; anyone who passed through there would surely die.
The rain of arrows stopped.
Xiao Bin grabbed one of Lu Youmi's henchmen who was bringing up the rear, and held a knife to his neck: "Where is Su Wanwan being held?"
...
At this time, Qiu Yue had already led his government troops to Henan, vowing to avenge his comrade Feng Zhen.
Fearing they would be unable to cope, Liu San and his men moved towards Ruzhou.
However, the strategic points of Ruzhou had already been seized by the government troops, and Liu San and Zhao Yi, in order to avoid being surrounded and annihilated, retreated south to Baofeng.
Baofeng was an earthen city, and it fell as soon as it was attacked.
Then, from Wuyang, he turned southeast of Ruzhou, and fled to Gushi before reaching Yingzhou.
The imperial court widely publicized the news of Prince Jian's death, using the pretext of holding a funeral for him to spread the news of his demise in a grand manner.
Without their master, the bandits were cut off from their food and supplies, and morale collapsed immediately.
The imperial army besieged the main force of the bandits, who fled in haste, attempting to cross the Huai River, where two thousand drowned.
After the remaining bandits crossed the river, they fled to Guangshan. Qiu Yue led his troops in pursuit and ordered Shen Zhou, Yao Xin, and Jin Fu to attack from both sides. The bandits suffered more than 1,400 casualties and were routed in Liu'an.
At this time, Liu San and Zhao ?? had another fierce conflict over control of the main force.
Zhao, being a scholar by birth, actively recruited scholars into the bandit ranks, even issuing orders:
“When a scholar-official’s family is granted a command arrow and hangs it in front of the door, his soldiers will not be allowed to enter.”
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