Chapter 326 Rescue King Qin
The bonfire in front of the grave gradually went out, and Ye Yan and Buyan left one after another.
Huo Gannian said he wanted to sit for a while longer and asked Yun Chen to go back and rest.
After walking a long distance, Yun Chen looked back and saw Huo Gannian taking out a big red scroll from his arms and spreading it out. He looked at the words on it carefully, opening and closing his mouth, reading very solemnly.
She squinted her eyes and looked at the big red thing. It seemed to be a reward order used by military officers when they were promoted.
Unlike generals who would receive a bright yellow Eastern Palace decree or imperial edict when they were awarded a title, soldiers who were promoted were given bright red envelopes.
The so-called rewards are often a text full of flowery words and nonsense, with the most important sentence at the end being "promoting so-and-so to the rank of non-commissioned officer".
But rewards are honors, and soldiers often cannot let go of such reward orders after receiving them. Some even carry them with them as amulets.
She didn't know what Huo Gannian was saying to Hua Jue, what he had sealed in Hua Jue, and what merits he had shown Hua Jue.
From the tall, yet slightly bent figure sitting alone in front of the grave, she could only see an unspeakable sadness and pain.
She sat quietly at the foot of the mountain, guarding against anyone approaching the hillside.
She thought, let the legendary invincible general cry.
Be it for Hua Jue, for the Shiwei Army, for the bleak and uncertain future, or for the disaster that could take one's life at any time.
At this moment, let him temporarily stop being a god-like figure in the eyes of the world, stop being the backbone of the Lion Army, and just be Huo Chen's cousin.
A long time passed.
It was not until night fell that Huo Gannian slowly walked down the hillside.
Yun Chen wanted to go forward to greet him, but Rong Jiang's figure was faster than her. He suddenly ran over from a distance, darted past her like a rabbit, rushed to Huo Gannian, and said excitedly:
"General! The rebel army has won a series of victories! We have broken through the rebel lines! I have ordered my soldiers to deliver a letter! Please see it in person!"
It had been an unknown amount of time since they had contacted the outside world through correspondence, and this was important news delivered by the rebels at the risk of their lives. Huo Gannian and Yun Chen hurried back to the command post and ordered Rong Jiang to immediately summon all his confidants and generals to discuss the matter.
When Yun Chen, Ye Yan, Buyan, Rong Jiang, Rong Yi, and Luo Dongdong arrived, Huo Gannian had already finished reading the letter in the inner room.
Everyone was waiting in the outer room, hoping for some good news, but they saw Huo Gannian walking out of the inner room with heavy steps, his face showing an unprecedented sadness and gloom.
When everyone saw Huo Gannian's expression, they felt something was wrong.
Yun Chen even got goose bumps on his neck for no apparent reason and asked softly:
"What's wrong? What does the letter say?"
Ye Yan looked at the letter in Huo Gannian's hand. The cover was ordinary, but the letter paper inside was of a style only found in the palace. "Young Master, is this a letter from the palace?"
Everyone was attracted by these words and looked over, carefully examining the letter in Huo Gannian's hand.
Under the candlelight, the dark shadows of the characters looked like mud, staining Huo Gannian's slender white fingers.
Huo Gan said "hmm" and seemed to have spent a lot of effort to raise his hand and hand the letter to Yun Chen.
Yun Chen took the letter and read only a few lines before his face suddenly turned pale and he almost couldn't stand.
Her violent reaction made everyone else feel uneasy and nervous.
"Let's take a look. After that, we'll pack up the camp and get ready to set off." Huo Gannian swallowed the blood in his throat and said this with red eyes.
Yun Chen handed the letter to Ye Yan with trembling hands, and then Ye Yan handed it to Buyan, who handed it to Rong Jiang...
After everyone had read it, Luo Dongdong was the last one to take the letter.
He was so anxious that his intestines were almost burnt. He grabbed the letter and looked at everyone's faces, and asked curiously:
"Look at you all, you're all as listless as a string bean. What exactly is written in this letter?"
Luo Dongdong eagerly looked at the letter, then his eyes widened and he screamed:
"Four hundred thousand Northern Expedition troops... completely annihilated?!"
No one spoke, only people covered their faces and sobbed softly.
Luo Dongdong's hands were shaking so much that he could hardly hold the letter. He was eager to get a "no" answer from other people's faces, but unfortunately, all he saw were pairs of red and tearful eyes.
The brazier burned dimly, the flames growing smaller and smaller, as if about to be swallowed by the cold.
Luo Dongdong's face was covered with tears, his lips were trembling, and he looked at the text of the letter in panic.
The following are the analysis of the situation by the officials in the palace.
There was another line at the end of the letter, which showed the difficulty of Yun Wang's supervision and made Luo Dongdong even more heartbroken:
"The Prime Minister and all the officials have reached an agreement: The princess has been missing and has been searched for a long time without success. We urgently hope that the Lion Army will march north to rescue the emperor..."
Luo Dongdong slumped on the ground, unable to utter a single word.
Rong Jiang, who was standing next to him, helped Luo Dongdong up and then smiled bitterly:
"From what the letter says, it's asking us to coordinate with the rebels inside and outside, break through the rebel lines immediately, and head north to rescue the princess. The imperial court has no soldiers or generals left, no one can come to reinforce us, and no one can go to the king's rescue. Even the letter was sent by the rebels. If I had known it was such a letter, I would have been so disappointed..."
"What about Guying City?" Luo Dongdong interrupted Rong Jiang, his voice a little distorted:
"No! What about the entire Southeast? We withdraw our troops if we say so! What about the people of Southeast? Who will defend them from the 130,000 black dogs outside?"
Rong Yi tried not to cry, his face turned pale, he spat on the ground and cursed:
"What kind of bullshit order?!"
Regardless of Rong Jiang's anxious attempts to stop him, Rong Yi started cursing:
"We're surrounded now, all because the Eastern Palace insisted on moving troops north! Central China fell, and the rebels, along with the Black Scale Cavalry, nearly trapped us here! We've finally recovered, relying on food and clothing donated by the people of the southeast, and the righteous army's ability to contain the rebels while airdropping them with their night-flying, target-like flying wings! Only then have we managed to have food to eat and winter clothes to wear! And now, they're asking us to accept a favor, only to abandon it the next day?! Is this how the Eastern Palace governs the world?!"
"Don't talk nonsense!" Rong Jiang jumped up in fright and quickly covered Rong Yi's mouth. He nervously checked the expressions of Huo Gannian and Yun Chen. However, Rong Yi was already furious and ignored him. He pushed Rong Jiang away and continued to curse:
"Last time, it was so difficult to push the Black Scale Cavalry back to the border! Just as we were about to launch the final attack, the Eastern Palace insisted on transferring the two generals back to Kyoto to report! This delayed them for a full six months! This gave the Black Scale Cavalry a chance to catch their breath!
Now, the righteous army, the people! Everyone risked their lives to aid us, hoping we would rally our forces and drive the Black Dog out of the Southern Kingdom! Now you're asking us to give up! To save a wayward Crown Prince! Four hundred thousand deaths aren't enough! Are you going to force us to hand over the entire Southeast to the Black Dog?!
Rong Yi almost shouted the last sentence, and Rong Jiang couldn't stop him at all.
If it were in the past, if Rong Yi dared to say such treasonous words in public, he would definitely be sentenced to death and his entire family would be punished.
But at this moment, everyone had just eaten a few full meals and had just escaped death. No one had the energy to care about the dignity of the imperial power.
What's more, Rong Yi just expressed what everyone was thinking.
Seeing that everyone was silent and no one responded to him, Rong Yi said to Yun Chen in an almost pleading tone:
"Boss! Say something! Are you heading north? Are you abandoning Guying City and the entire southeast's people? Can you ask the Prime Minister to rescind his order?"
Luo Dongdong also looked at her pleadingly and called out "Boss!"
Yun Chen knew very well what going north meant. Every word Rong Yi said was like a knife, piercing everyone's heart.
But this order was decided by all the officials, and Yun Wang could not influence it alone, and there was no other choice.
In the hearts of all the Lion Army soldiers, the common people in the southeast have long been far more important than that incompetent "Eastern Palace".
But for the huge country of Nan, Nan Lijun is the one who maintains all balance and symbolizes the hope of Nan's survival.
After a long silence, Yun Chen said:
"Let's go north."
Originally, Luo Dongdong and the others were still holding on to the last glimmer of hope, expecting Yun Chen to change something, but now they were completely depressed.
At this time, Bu Yan, who had been silent all this time, discussed with Ye Yan for a few words and asked in a low voice:
"If we're going north... then... can you take Hua Jue with you? Don't leave him here alone, and don't let that beast Jiao Zuotai touch him again."
As soon as these words were spoken, Luo Dongdong, who was originally indignant, suddenly became quiet and just sat there with his shoulders drooped.
Yun Chen and Ye Yan didn't even seek revenge for the brutal murder of their closest brothers, and they had to swallow their anger. What qualifications do others have to blame them?
Only Rong Yi, blinded by anger, shouted:
"We can take Brother Hua Jue away, but what about the remaining civilians? Should we take them with us? How many should we take with us?!"
As soon as these words were spoken, the room seemed to freeze.
Seeing that Huo Gannian's face had turned gloomy, Rong Jiang quickly stepped forward to smooth things over and poured tea for Huo Gannian to apologize.
Rong Yi glanced at everyone, his chest heaving with anger, but he said nothing more. He gritted his teeth, turned around and rushed out of the house.
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