Chapter 390 Those who want my head! Come! (5000 words)
Qin Jingsu led his army across the open fields.
Not far ahead is Shuling.
Although crossing the Shuling Ridge might offer a glimmer of hope for survival.
But Qin Jingsu also knew that these Jin state lords were not fools, and they would not give him that opportunity.
Sure enough, it wasn't long before the pursuers caught up again.
At the foot of Shuling Mountain ahead, many soldiers of the Jin state also appeared.
Qin Jingsu, mounted on his horse, looked ahead and then back.
Only then did they realize that they were caught in a pincer movement.
However, Qin Jingsu showed no panic whatsoever, as if he had long accepted his fate.
"If His Highness the Crown Prince surrenders now, we can spare his life!"
The Marquis of Qu of Jin shouted in front of his army.
"Enough with the nonsense, cough cough cough." Qin Jingsu coughed a few times, wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, and looked ahead. "What reason do the sons of Qin have to surrender?"
"That's truly a pity. We also have some admiration for His Highness the Crown Prince." Marquis Qu shook his head. "Kill!"
The other feudal lords led their armies and charged towards Qin Jingsu.
Qin Jingsu stared ahead, waved his hand, and shouted heavily, "Kill!"
As Qin Jingsu finished speaking, his horse spurred forward, and the army charged ahead!
Soon, the two armies clashed, and the sounds of charging and clashing weapons filled the wilderness.
The Qin army remained as brave as before, determined not to retreat.
However, since the city began to be defended, every soldier has been exhausted.
Furthermore, during the entire pursuit, Qin Jingsu's army had not had a moment's rest, and their nerves were constantly on edge.
Moreover, the enemy's forces are several times larger than Qin Jingsu's.
"Your Highness, the situation is urgent! We will help His Highness the Crown Prince break through the encirclement!"
The deputy general named Huayang shouted to the crown prince, then gathered the soldiers and escorted Qin Jingsu to the side to fight.
However, Qin Jingsu tried many times but ultimately could not break free from the Jin army's encirclement.
One by one, the fine sons of Qin fell in pools of blood.
Qin Jingsu knew that this time, he was really going to die.
Even knowing he was doomed, he continued to slash his sword again and again.
If we can kill one more person, then we'll kill one more!
"Big brother, Mother's belly is getting bigger and bigger. Is she about to give birth?"
Inside the Qin royal palace, five-year-old Qin Jingyuan looked up at his older brother and asked curiously.
"Hmm, Mommy should be about to give birth." Eight-year-old Qin Jingsu smiled and rubbed her younger brother's head. "Jingyuan, guess, will we get a younger brother or a younger sister?"
"Sister!" Qin Jingyuan said without hesitation.
"Why is Jingyuan so sure?" Qin Jingsu asked with a smile.
"Because I want a little sister," Qin Jingyuan said expectantly!
"Haha, I want a little sister too." Qin Jingsu pinched her younger brother's cheek. "Then when our little sister is born, we'll take care of her together."
"Okay, brother!"
The year after my younger sister was born.
Qin Jingsu and his second brother were having a martial arts contest in the backyard of the palace.
Qin Jingsu deliberately suppressed his cultivation level and fought his younger brother to a standstill, which could be considered as feeding him punches.
The two-year-old little sister squatted to one side, watching curiously, drool constantly dripping from the corner of her mouth.
Two incense sticks later, Qin Jingyuan, who had lost the fight, was ridden around by Qin Siyao like a horse.
After playing around for a long time, Qin Jingyuan, who was exhausted, finally lay down on the grass.
Qin Siyao followed her brother's example and lay down on the ground.
Qin Jingsu sat next to his younger sister.
"Brother, recently someone has been talking to me about the 'crown prince position.' Is the crown prince position really that important?"
After catching his breath, Qin Jingyuan looked at his older brother beside him and asked curiously.
Hearing his second brother's question, Qin Jingsu was slightly taken aback. Then, he reached over his younger sister, rubbed Qin Jingyuan's head, and a murderous glint flashed in his eyes, but he still asked with a smile, "Jingyuan, who told you?"
“My wet nurse,” Qin Jingyuan replied, “not long ago, my wet nurse said that I was exceptionally talented, and that although I am young, Qin does not have a rule of primogeniture, and that I could become the crown prince in the future.”
"I see."
Qin Jingsu withdrew his hand, shook his head, and said.
"The position of Crown Prince is important in some ways, but not in others."
"Once I become the crown prince, I will have to deal with official documents every day, just like my father, the emperor. I will have no freedom, I will have to play mind games, and I will be constantly worried about this and that. It will be an incredibly heavy burden."
"How heavy could it be, brother?"
Qin Jingyuan asked again, and even his two-year-old sister blinked and looked at her older brother with curiosity, even though Qin Siyao didn't understand most of what he said.
"How heavy it is."
Qin Jingsu leaned on the grass, looking up at the azure sky above.
"This weight comes from hundreds of millions of people raising their heads, staring intently at you, and eagerly awaiting every word you utter."
"Father, did you summon me?"
In the imperial study, Qin Jingsu bowed respectfully.
"Hmm." The King of Qin nodded, put down the memorial in his hand, and looked at his son. "I heard that you gave Jingyuan's wet nurse a sum of money and then expelled her from the palace?"
"Yes, Father Emperor," Qin Jingsu admitted.
Why?
“That man was wicked. For his own selfish desires, he dared to speak of the Crown Prince to Jingyuan, so I expelled him,” Qin Jingsu said truthfully.
“A mere wet nurse dared to say these things to Jingyuan; her intentions are truly despicable.”
The King of Qin approved of Qin Jingsu's approach.
"But Jing Su, your father asks you, what are your thoughts on the position of Crown Prince?"
“.”
After a moment of silence, Qin Jingsu bowed.
"The position of Crown Prince can only be granted by Father Emperor. How dare I have any other thoughts?"
"You, you..." The King of Qin pointed at his son and sighed, "Jing Su, you are so young yet so intelligent and thoughtful. Sometimes I really don't know whether to laugh or cry."
"But you are my son, how could I not know what you're thinking?"
The King of Qin shook his head.
“You have the ability and the skill, but you are carefree by nature and take power too lightly. You are not like an ordinary royal. What difference does it make to you whether you have the throne or not?”
But Jing Su, there are many things that you can have just because you don't want them.
In this world, there are too many things that are beyond our control.
"Do you think you understand what I'm saying?"
"I understand, son." Qin Jingsu nodded.
"No, you don't really understand." The King of Qin shook his head and said, "Alright, alright, let it be. Go and think about it carefully."
"Yes, Father."
Qin Jingsu bowed and was about to turn and leave.
But soon, the King of Qin called out to his son: "By the way, Jing Su."
"What are your orders, Father?" Qin Jingsu asked.
"It's nothing, just telling you that when you do things, you must do them cleanly and without being soft-hearted." The King of Qin said while reviewing the memorials, "I've dealt with Jingyuan's wet nurse cleanly. Remember that in the future."
Qin Jingsu's mouth opened slightly, his eyes trembled slightly, but in the end he closed his mouth, bowed, and said, "Yes, Father."
When Qin Jingyuan was sixteen and Qin Jingsu was nineteen.
The King of Qin summoned the two brothers to the Imperial Study.
After leaving the Imperial Study, Qin Jingyuan said happily to his elder brother, "Brother, Father has allowed us to establish our own residences. From today onwards, we two will have to compete with each other. I will definitely not lose to you. If you do lose, don't blame me."
Seeing his younger brother's happy expression, Qin Jingsu smiled and nodded: "Okay, then I'll do my best, big brother."
The day after Xiao Mo annihilated Wei and returned in triumph.
A guest minister arrived at the First Prince's residence and bowed to him: "Your Highness, the Second Prince hosted a banquet for the Frost King, and the Frost King has already taken the Third Princess to report back."
"Okay." Qin Jingsu nodded. "I understand."
After hesitating for a moment, the guest minister finally spoke up: "Your Highness, the Second Prince's move is to win over the Frost King. The Frost King was promoted and made a king by His Majesty simply because of the battle to destroy the Wei. Anyone with eyes can see that His Majesty wants to make the Frost King a confidant."
The Frost King's abilities were also highly praised by the Flame King.
If the Frost King has truly been won over by the Second Prince...
this."
"I know, I know what I'm doing. You may leave now," Qin Jingsu said slowly.
The guest minister wanted to say something more, but seeing the Crown Prince's calm expression, he finally gave up and simply replied, "Yes, Your Highness."
"Oh, right." Just as the guest minister was about to leave the study, Qin Jingsu looked up and said, "Go prepare the carriage, and then bring that fine Snow-Treading Horse."
The guest minister immediately understood the Crown Prince's intention and said with delight, "Yes, Your Highness!"
After the guest left, Qin Jingsu stood up, walked to the door, sighed, and muttered to himself in the night: "Second brother, for that position, you even used Third Sister to win over Xiao Mo. Was that really your intention?"
Third Sister is innocent, but she's not stupid.
"You're her brother, that's why she trusts you so much."
About ten years later.
One day, Qin Jingsu strode into the imperial study, bowed deeply to his father, and said in a tone that suppressed his anger, "Your subject Jingsu greets Your Majesty!"
"What's the matter? You seem to be in a great hurry, and you sound quite angry," the King of Qin said slowly, flipping through the scroll in his hands.
"Your Majesty, I have something I would like to ask you," Qin Jingsu said respectfully.
The King of Qin then raised his head and glanced at his son: "Speak."
"Your Majesty, I have heard that my second brother intends to form a marriage alliance with the State of Jin. This is no small matter, and I urge you to reconsider, Father!" Qin Jingsu bowed even lower.
The King of Qin raised his head, looked at his son, and frowned: "Tell me your reasons."
"First, over the years, the State of Jin has been expanding its territory by befriending distant states and attacking nearby ones. The wolfish ambition of the ruler of Jin is well known to all."
Second, the King of Jin cherishes his eldest daughter as the apple of his eye, yet Jin has had constant friction with Qin in recent years. This sudden attempt to arrange a marriage alliance is unusual and must be suspicious.
“What you say makes sense.” The King of Qin nodded. “However, I also asked Jingyuan about this marriage, and it was Jingyuan who agreed to it.”
"..." Qin Jingsu frowned. "I'll go and try to persuade my second brother."
"No need."
The King of Qin shook his head.
"You're overthinking it. It's a princess of Jin marrying out, not my son marrying into the family."
Both the states of Jin and Qin need time.
The best solution is to forge a marriage alliance.
Even if they eventually fall out, Jingyuan will only gain a wife; he will suffer no loss.
In short, you don't need to worry about this matter, and you can't do anything about it anyway.
Just focus on your work and get out of here.
"Father."
"Get down!"
"Yes, Father."
"Your Highness! Prince Jing has betrayed the country!"
While Qin Jingsu was handling government affairs, a guest minister ran into Qin Jingsu's study and shouted loudly.
"What did you say? Who betrayed us?" Qin Jingsu stood there dumbfounded.
"Your Highness! The Second Prince has betrayed the country, and Luzhou has now fallen!" the guest minister repeated.
Outside Huaishan Pass, Qin Jingsu appeared quite exhausted after guarding the city for four months.
However, the situation is developing in a positive direction.
As long as we continue to hold our ground, the morale of the Jin army, which has been unable to break through for so long, will inevitably reach rock bottom in two months at most.
Then I can really launch a counterattack!
But at that moment, the capital sent Qin Jingsu a letter and millions of pills.
There were only a few simple sentences written on it:
"This elixir can dispel the miasma in the Black Beast Forest for five hours. You all must quickly ambush them in the valley of the Black Beast Forest and wait for the Jin army to arrive. Jingyuan will cut off their retreat! Remember! Do not let Jingyuan's painstaking planning go to waste!"
Looking at the short letter, Qin Jingsu was very happy, glad that his younger brother had not betrayed him.
However, Qin Jingsu also knew that Jingyuan's actions would likely result in him facing certain death.
After Xiao Mo, Qin Jingsu, and others returned to the capital in triumph, the King of Qin bestowed rewards upon them. Qin Jingsu did not leave the palace immediately.
He suppressed his anger and questioned his father, "Father, did you already know about Jingyuan's matter?"
"Yes," the King of Qin replied frankly.
Qin Jingsu took a deep breath and said, "Does Father really believe that anything is worth sacrificing for the sake of Qin's hegemony? Including his own son!"
"That's right!"
The King of Qin looked directly into his son's eyes.
"Anything can be sacrificed for the sake of my Great Qin's hegemony!"
If soldiers on the battlefield can die, why can't Jingyuan die?!
Even if it's me, why can't I die?
Just because he's my child?!
No!
"Precisely because he is my son, his death has all the more meaningful!"
Qin Jingsu clenched his fists so tightly that his nails dug into his flesh.
The King of Qin stood up, walked to his son's side, and patted him on the shoulder: "Jing Su, you are too kind, but as a monarch, one cannot have a kind heart."
"Not bad, Third Sister's cooking skills have improved again."
The day before the expedition, the eldest prince came to the Frost King's mansion to freeload a meal.
However, Xiao Mo had to go out, so it was just the two of them, brother and sister, having dinner.
"After cooking for so long, I'd better improve my skills."
Qin Siyao smiled slightly.
However, the girl soon seemed to remember something, lowered her head, and a hint of disappointment flashed in her eyes: "It's a pity that my second brother will never be able to eat my cooking again."
Hearing his sister's words, Qin Jingsu lowered his head.
"Look what you're saying, little sister." Realizing her slip of the tongue, Qin Siyao quickly looked up, raised her wine glass, and said with a smile, "Siyao will help elder brother break through the enemy lines and return victorious soon!"
"Then I'll take your kind words, Third Sister." Qin Jingsu raised his wine glass and clinked it with his Third Sister's.
"Third sister, eldest brother said it's just in case, just in case eldest brother doesn't come back."
"There's no 'what if'," Qin Siyao said, clutching her sleeve and looking earnestly at her older brother. "Big brother will definitely come back!"
Qin Jingsu paused slightly, then smiled:
"good.
That older brother.
I will definitely come back.
On the small plain, the fighting continued.
As his soldiers fell one by one, Qin Jingsu's forces dwindled until he was all alone.
The immortal palace guard who was protecting Qin Jingsu was besieged by two immortal realm cultivators and three jade-purity realm cultivators, and has been injured and escaped.
Qin Jingsu didn't have much hope for this kind of imperial palace offering.
Qin Jingsu didn't know how many times he swung his sword, or how many people he killed.
All he knew was that his spiritual power was almost exhausted, the tiger's mouth holding the long sword was cracked, and his hands were trembling uncontrollably from exhaustion.
The last Qin soldier fell before Qin Jingsu, and the Jin soldiers, like a tide, gradually surrounded Qin Jingsu with their weapons in hand.
"call"
Qin Jingsu raised his head and looked at the white clouds drifting leisurely in the sky.
Involuntarily, the figures of his father, mother, second brother, and third sister appeared in his field of vision.
"Father, Mother, your unfilial son has caused you, an old man, to bury your son."
"Second brother, eldest brother, we're coming to see you right away."
"Third sister, I'm sorry, your eldest brother can't keep his promise to you anymore. From now on, your eldest brother won't be able to protect you anymore. You will encounter many things and be forced to grow up. From now on, you'll have to work hard."
But don't worry, Xiao Mo is a good man, he will stay by your side.
Qin Jingsu spoke each word as if he were saying his last words to a loved one far away.
"Does the eldest prince truly refuse to surrender?"
The Marquis of Qu of Jin and other feudal lords rode forward, their brows furrowed, and asked Qin Jingsu.
Qin Jingsu withdrew his gaze from the air and simply smiled: "Two hundred thousand of my Qin soldiers died on the battlefield, not one of them surrendered. How do you think I would surrender?"
"Alas," Marquis Qu shook his head, looking respectfully at the fine young man before him. "Does the Crown Prince have any last words?"
"Yes." Qin Jingsu's lips curled into a smile, his sword pointed at the other man, and he said heartily, "Tell your Prince Jin! I, the Crown Prince, will be waiting for him in the Yellow Springs!"
Upon hearing this, the feudal lords of Jin frowned, and some even wanted to step forward and kill the man immediately, but were stopped by the Marquis of Qu.
"What are you all standing there for? Is this battle over yet?"
Qin Jingsu stood with a gun in one hand and a longsword in the other to fight back, his voice carrying across the wilderness with the help of spiritual power!
"You brat from Jin!"
Anyone who wants my head!
Come!"
(End of this chapter)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com