Chapter 385 King Qin (VII)

Nanzheng was already extremely hot in mid-June, and the sky was gloomy and about to rain, so the air was hot and stuffy. It seemed that every official gathered in the palace was sweating profusely.

Beacons were urgently sounded in several cities in the east. Half an hour ago, scouts from Chenggu came rushing over and reported that there were nearly 10,000 soldiers suspected to be from Daliang in the east. It was said that they had crossed the Weishui River and were galloping towards Nanzheng without stopping. There was hardly any obstruction along the way, so it could be said that the journey was smooth.

As soon as this urgent military information reached Nanzheng, even the chirping of birds and cicadas, which once seemed peaceful in the palace, suddenly seemed urgent.

By the time Zhou Xuang arrived at the main hall, most of the court officials from the temporary palace had already arrived. Then people kept coming in, including the two concubines Xu and Xu Fei who came to Nanzheng with Wang Jian. Although they were behind the curtain, it was obvious that the elder concubine Xu was half-embracing the eleven-year-old Prince of Zheng, Wang Yan.

Women were never allowed to interfere in state affairs, but the elder Concubine Xu was extremely favored by Wang Jian, and she and the younger Concubine Xu were respectively given the titles of Xianfei and Shufei. The two sisters coaxed Wang Jian so much that he couldn’t bear to leave them for a long time. Their favor was even more exclusive than that of the prince’s mother, Concubine Zhang.

This time when Wang Jian came to Hanzhong to supervise the war, Concubine Xu actually brought Prince Zheng along. If she said that she had no ulterior motives, no one would believe it.

Unfortunately, in Nanzheng, located in the heart of Hanzhong, there was a war, and the movement was not small. In front of nearly 10,000 Liang troops, the entire eastern defense line of Hanzhong became a virtual nothing. I’m afraid that Concubine Xu was regretting that she shouldn’t have brought her son with her. In a hurry, she couldn’t help but run to listen to the court officials’ discussion.

At this time, Zhang Ge, who was the Minister of the Central Secretariat together with Zhou Xuang and was expected to succeed Wei Zhuang as the Prime Minister in recent years because of his ability to cater to the emperor’s will, was shouting: “The court must not retreat to the south! The Liang army is coming very fast. They were in Yangzhou a day ago, but now they have crossed the Weishui River. They must be equipped with a large number of horses! If the court leaves Nanzheng, won’t it be captured by the Liang army in the wild?”

Yu Chuansu, the Left Servant, still insisted: “Even if the Liang army has horses available, they have been rushing all the way without stopping for a moment. They are already exhausted. How can they have the energy to continue to pursue the enemy southward? At present, General Wang Zongbi has led a large force of Jiange to the north. The emperor’s first priority is to quickly join up with Wang Zongbi’s army! Only in this way can we be safe!”

Zhang Ge sneered: “It is precisely because the Liang army is already exhausted that we should stay in the city! Nanzheng City is high and strong, with sufficient reserves. What can a tired army do to Nanzheng? If we leave the city and are captured, who will be responsible for it!?”

Yu Chuansu did not argue with him, but continued to persuade him earnestly: “The Liang army is coming with great momentum. If they trap Nanzheng to death, the emperor will lose contact with the external armies. There are only a thousand soldiers in the city. If the Liang army attacks the city desperately, how can they hold on? Moreover, if the emperor is trapped in the city, the external armies will be cautious. If they are defeated one by one by the Liang army, it will be a disaster for Dashu! Hasn’t the Right Prime Minister ever heard of the saying of besieging a point and attacking the reinforcements?”

“Shut up!” Zhang Ge suddenly became furious. “After all, isn’t the emperor’s safety more important than a few reinforcements? Although General Zongbi was mobilized a few days ago, it will take three to five days to reach Nanzheng. But the invading Liang army can arrive within half a day!”

Zhang Ge was good at writing and was well versed in political affairs. There were many people in the court who were close to him. When he said this at this time, there was immediately a commotion in the main hall and many people echoed him.

Yu Chuansu was furious, but at this time, the eunuch Tang Wenjian who was guarding the throne had already spoken: “Yu Pushe’s deep thoughts and worries are indeed somewhat reasonable, but the world is so big, only the safety of the emperor is the most important. It is too dangerous to flee southward, and it will also tarnish the emperor’s reputation. It is inappropriate…”

Zhou Xuang, who had been watching coldly, sighed secretly in his heart. Although Tang Wenjian was only a eunuch, he had a very special status because he was favored by the emperor. He also secretly supported the eldest Xu Fei’s son, Prince Zheng, to be the crown prince, and was highly trusted by the two Xu Feis. Even Zhang Ge, the right servant who was the Minister of the Central Secretariat, had to curry favor with him. The two of them had already formed a clique, and now, one of them played the good cop and the other the bad cop, and Yu Chuansu could not defeat them.

As expected, Yu Chuansu also understood this truth, so he could only sigh, bow to Wang Jian, who had a sullen face and remained silent, and said no more.

Wang Jian didn’t want to leave either. It wasn’t because he was worried about being captured by the Liang army in the wild, but because Concubine Xu didn’t want to leave.

After all, Wang Jian was a warrior who fought his way up from the bottom of society to become the emperor. Even though he was old, he still had some bravery. But it was different for Concubine Xu. After she heard from Tang Wenjian how dangerous it would be to leave the city, she was unwilling to take her son into danger.

Concubine Xu had only one son, Prince Zheng, who was also Wang Jian’s last son. As the saying goes, a mother’s status is determined by her sons. Wang Jian was already sixty-four, but she was not even thirty yet, in her prime years. When Wang Jian passed away, wouldn’t she still have to rely on Prince Zheng to continue to maintain her power and nobility?
Sure enough, under the gaze of Concubine Xu behind the curtain, although Wang Jian wanted to help Yu Chuansu out, he never said a word. He just moved his eyes and fell on Zhou Xiang: “Boya, in your opinion, can Nanzheng be defended?”

“As long as we want to defend, Nanzheng has tens of thousands of civilians besides the imperial guards. As long as we mobilize them, we can defend it anyway.” Zhou Xuang had actually guessed Wang Jian’s thoughts, but he still hesitated and said, “But what Yu Pushe said is also right. As long as Your Majesty is in the city, no matter where the reinforcements come from, the reinforcements will be afraid to act rashly, or may miss the opportunity to fight, giving the Liang army a chance to surround and attack the reinforcements…”

Suddenly, the faint voice of Concubine Xu sounded from behind the pearl curtain: “General Zongbi is a famous general as famous as General Kan. Which Liang army is qualified to let him miss the opportunity to fight? And I heard that the emperor has asked Hongnong County Duke Jinhui to mobilize the Chengdu army. Hongnong County Duke was a general of the Eight Loyal and Martial Capitals with the emperor in the past. He is the pillar of the country. With him in charge and General Zongbi as his assistant, is there any war that cannot be won? Or is it that the Liang army that ran hundreds of miles is really a heavenly army?”

The eunuch Tang Wenjian then smiled and said, “Yes, what the virtuous concubine said makes sense. The Duke of Hongnong and General Zongbi set out together in response to the imperial edict. Although they are far away in Chengdu, if they heard that the emperor was trapped, they would rush to rescue him without stopping. Once the royal army arrives, even if the Liang army is really a heavenly army, it will be defeated anyway.”

Yu Chuansu, who was blocked before, wanted to curse in public! When will it be the turn of the dead eunuchs and concubines who have no idea about military affairs to comment on the military strategy! The enemy army is only short of deploying troops, do you still think you are engaging in party disputes in Chengdu? !

At this time, Zhou Xuang sensed that Yu Chuansu was angry, so he said, “Since this is the case, we should immediately prepare to mobilize all the troops in the city to defend the city. Although the Liang army is exhausted, its commander dared to sneak across the Tangluo Road to attack Hanzhong. I am afraid he has the confidence, so we must be prepared.”

Wang Jian nodded with satisfaction. At critical moments, it was the loyal old minister like Zhou Xuang who could see the big picture and knew not to embarrass me in front of the virtuous concubine and the virtuous concubine.

Yu Chuansu stood silently in the queue. He didn’t want to talk to people like Zhang Ge and Tang Wenjian, let alone curse them, so of course he could only remain silent for a while.

He just turned his head and glanced at Zhou Xiang. The two looked at each other for a moment. Yu Chuansu’s eyes seemed to say: Sooner or later the country will be destroyed in the hands of these people.

At this time, a scout with several arrows stuck in his back was carried into the main hall by two eunuchs. The scout was too weak to bow down to Wang Jian, and he just said to the emperor and his ministers who were all pale, “Urgent news, Liang troops suddenly appeared in Mian County, and the Mian County Magistrate has surrendered the city…”

There was silence in the main hall at first, and then there was a loud uproar.

Mian County is dozens of miles west of Nanzheng. To its south is Dingjun Mountain, and not far to the west is Bailao Pass, the throat from Jiange to Nanzheng.

“Aren’t the Liang army still crossing the Wei River? How did they get to Mian County?!” “Damn it, they crossed the Wei River half a day ago!” “But this doesn’t make sense! Do Liang people have eight legs? This is a journey of hundreds of miles!” “Damn, who is the magistrate of Mian County? He should be executed along with his entire clan! The Liang army took Mian County without bloodshed, so shouldn’t they be replenishing their food and supplies?!”

The terrifying mobility of one person equipped with multiple horses was almost unimaginable to the court officials of Shu. For a moment, the crowd in the main hall was noisy and chaotic, as if they had lost their composure.

Behind the beaded curtain, Concubine Xiao Xu approached Concubine Da Xu and whispered, “Sister, the Liang army has arrived in Mian County. Is it serious?”

The elder Concubine Xu looked solemn, because she seemed to be panicked for a moment when she saw Wang Jian’s expression just now, so she just lowered her voice and scolded the younger Concubine Xu: “Don’t talk.”

Zhou Xuang said anxiously, “The commander of the Liang army must want to block the troops from Chengdu and Jiange who are coming to support the emperor. Your Majesty, immediately send the cavalry to take the small road south and have Wang Zongbi quickly reach Bailao Pass before it is lost!”

Yu Chuansu also said in a hurry: “The leader of the Liang army has big plans. He has the advantage of cavalry and can come and go like the wind in the Hanzhong Plain. I’m afraid he is not only planning to seize Nanzheng! Your Majesty, the Liang army has already rushed to Bailao Pass. You can take this opportunity to lead the imperial army to Jizhou on a small road in the south! There must be enough time. If we miss this opportunity and Bailao Pass is lost, Nanzheng will become an isolated city! What if the Liang army has a large army behind them… In Fengxiang to the north, Xiao Yan is said to have 100,000 troops to attack Shu.”

Behind the pearl curtain, Concubine Xu’s heartbeat quickened. She could visibly sense the panic among the court officials. Even Wang Jian himself seemed a little unsure at this moment.

“You can’t leave.” Zhou Xuang suddenly refuted Yu Chuansu at this time. He said in a deep voice: “Before getting the exact news, no one can determine whether the whole army of Liang people appeared in Mian County. It is possible that a certain unit of Liang army is waiting for the emperor to rush out of the city in panic…”

He looked around at his officials and said, “Don’t panic. After all, the Liang army is only 10,000 people. If there were a large army behind us, this commander would not have been so desperate to advance hundreds of miles alone in one day. What we need to do now is to quickly send scouts out of the city to find out the enemy’s situation and call on all the soldiers and civilians in the city to prepare to defend Nanzheng to the death.”

As he spoke, he bowed to Wang Jian and said, “Your Majesty, the northern troops always like to massacre the city when they fight. I ask for your permission to spread this message throughout the city, so that the people can unite as one and not retreat a single step.”

Wang Jian had also calmed down and agreed to everything.

——

Dozens of miles northeast of Nanzheng, on a gentle slope, Xiao Yan reined in his horse, stretched out his hand to catch the raindrops falling from the sky, and through the hazy fog, he looked out at the almost invisible city of Nanzheng.

A night warrior rode over from afar and clasped his fists on his horseback: “News has come from the west and south, there is no unusual movement, Wang Jian must not have escaped yet.” “It seems that there are still smart people in the city.” Xiao Yan untied the cloak behind him, stroked the tall mount that had lost a layer of fat under his crotch, and smiled to the people behind him: “Since Wang Jian is unwilling to come out, then take me to see him and let us know each other, how about it?”

Tang Daoxi was lying on the back of a night soldier’s horse. He was already out of breath from the constant march, but he still had the energy to curse: “You traitor, Nanzheng City is strong, of course I want to see you kill yourself!”

Xiao Yan smiled, raised his hand and waved forward, and a Saker Falcon suddenly flapped its wings and flew straight to Nanzheng.

…………

“coming.”

The dark blue-skinned man wearing a half-face mask of an evil ghost folded his arms across his chest, looked up at the Saker Falcon circling in the sky, then turned around and walked into the house.

Hou Qing, holding a sword behind him, also looked at the Saker Falcon and nodded: “Looks like we have to blow it up again.”

When the vicious man came out, he had pushed out a small cart covered with oilcloth. The car was bulging like a small mountain.

The two were originally in the north of the city, and not far from the yard was the city wall. At this time, the city was already in chaos. There were also armored soldiers holding spears rushing up the city wall, and crossbows were being carried up one after another, as if they were ready for a fight.

But the two men did not approach the city wall directly. The ferocious man stopped at the corner about twenty steps away from the city wall.

But even so, the soldiers on the city wall had already spotted them, and their voices could be heard from afar: “Hey, those two, what are you pushing in secret? Get out of here, stay away from the city wall!”

The vicious man did not respond, but stomped his foot heavily on the ground. With his foot as the center, a tunnel extending to the base of the wall collapsed instantly. The soil in the tunnel was very fresh, and it was obviously dug out recently. Judging from the traces, the starting point should be in the yard of the two people. However, the tunnel was not spacious and it was almost impossible for one person to pass through it alone.

But this time the tunnel continued to collapse, and a large gap was suddenly exposed under the city wall. From a distance, it looked like a big hole.

The soldiers on the city wall had already changed their expressions. Without saying a word, they drew their bows and arrows and shot at the two men.

“You just detonate it.”

Hou Qing hooked his fingers upwards, and the long sword behind him instantly flew up, breaking through the air and heading straight for the top of the city wall.

——

Inside the palace, a large group of people were still standing and discussing.

Because it was an emergency call and there were many people, there were no seats in the hall. But it was better this way, it might be cooler than kneeling and sitting still. The weather was gloomy today, and it was too stuffy for so many people to gather together.

The main reason was that the main hall was not big, and there was no wind, so the air could not spread. Unlike in Chengdu, the halls were spacious, and there was a breeze in the harem, which was very comfortable.

Little Concubine Xu watched the arguments and discussions in the palace from behind the pearl curtain, and then she glanced at her sister beside her and found that she was also staring at the court officials with concentration. She just felt bored. She didn’t understand why her sister wanted to come by herself and brought her along as well, since she clearly knew nothing about these things.

She wanted to tease the little nephew of King Zheng, and she moved her hips slightly, which were already uncomfortable from kneeling. But before she could call out to the little King Zheng Wang Yan in a low voice, the sky and the earth outside suddenly shook as if there was an earthquake.

If she was outside at this moment, she would be able to see a huge ball of fire and smoke rising into the sky in the north.

But the giant ball wasn’t watching, but the sound was clearly transmitted.

“boom!”

The loud bang almost knocked down everyone in the hall. Of course, several elderly ministers had already fallen down, and the others were staggering and unable to stand steadily, as if the world was shaking. Everyone could hear clearly that in the loud bang, something that was not sure if it was a wall collapsed.

Countless palace servants outside the palace screamed in fear, and many palace maids even began to run around. Little Concubine Xu, who was almost deafened by the loud noise, seemed to feel her hearing buzzing back at this time, and then she heard the little Prince Zheng howling not far away.

Concubine Xu was also terrified, but she immediately hugged the little Prince Zheng in her arms and looked at the emperor and his ministers in the palace in a daze.

The emperor and his ministers were equally bewildered. This earthquake-like tremor did not last long, only a breath or two, but the noise was so loud that it made them feel as if it had lasted a very long time.

Yu Chuansu was stunned and looked at Zhou Xiang, who was holding on to a wooden pillar not far away and not falling down. His head was still buzzing.

…………

On the northern city wall, countless pieces of earth and rocks had just splashed to the ground in all directions amidst the rapidly spreading thick smoke. On both sides of the ten-foot-wide gap in the city wall, there were a dozen Shu army corpses scattered around. Many Shu army officers and soldiers who were far away from here had already collapsed on the city wall in shock, with only tinnitus in their ears.

At the same moment, the sound of thundering horse hooves suddenly rang out from the north side of the gate.

A team rushed out of the city to surround Hou Qing and the other two, but the Shu army officers and soldiers, who had already become paralyzed with fear, stared with their eyes wide open, looking toward the gate.

At the entrance of the gate, the smoke and flames suddenly separated to both sides, and the sound of angry neighing of horses was heard. The first person who rushed in through the flames and fire was actually a skinny young knight without a helmet, holding a dark lance in his hand!
There was still a wisp of smoke rising from the handsome figure of the young man. He was dressed in black armor, his sharp eyes were particularly eye-catching, the sharp blade of the lance in his hand was shining, and the mane of the horse under his crotch was flying. Perhaps the hair was burned by the fire. At this moment, when he crashed into the city, he suddenly stood up and neighed loudly!
A sturdy man holding a flag behind him roared loudly.

“General Tiance is here in person. Anyone who refuses to surrender will be killed!”

The Shu army soldiers who had just climbed up suddenly felt their legs weaken again and instantly fell to the ground. There were countless generals and commanders in Shu, but when had they ever seen such a heroic young man? At this moment, they felt that all their strength had been drained and they couldn’t even climb up.

The young man’s eyes flashed like lightning, he reined in his horse, pointed his spear forward, and shouted, “Let’s go to the palace!”

Amid shouts, countless knights shook their reins and drove straight into Nanzheng, galloping away. Their iron hooves struck the bluestone road surface, and sparks also flew all the way.

General Tiance, which General Tiance! ?

In a trance, someone on the city wall finally shouted frantically: “Xiao Yan is coming! Xiao Yan is coming! The Liang army has entered the city! The Liang army has entered the city!”

(End of this chapter)