Chapter 386 King Qin (VIII)

As the horses’ hooves in the city pounded, rumbling sounds like thunder swept in from the north. Some Shu’s imperial guards led their troops back to the inner city palace. The news that a gap was inexplicably blasted in the north city wall and that it had fallen spread immediately inside and outside the palace.

What is even more shocking is that the main general who led the Liang army to launch a surprise attack on Hanzhong was actually Xiao Yan, the King of Song of the Liang Dynasty!
The court officials who had not yet reacted were terrified and soon began to discuss countermeasures in a noisy manner.

But now there is a hammer countermeasure!

Anyone with a discerning eye could see that the Liang army had already entered the city, so the idea of ​​relying on the common people to defend the city had failed. There were only two options left: either surrender directly, or escape while the Liang army had not yet taken control of the situation!
God knows how the Liang army destroyed such a high and thick wall! And only God knows why these thieves were so fast!

Damn it, is this Xiao Yan a human? It’s a journey of several hundred miles, and nearly two hundred miles of it is bad road. No matter what, you have to take a break after running here. Why the hell are you rushing to Nanzheng! ?
Even Zhou Xuang, who had always been calm and able to think calmly, was at a loss at this moment. He looked around and saw that Yu Chuansu had a pale face and was leaning against the wooden pillar beside him, looking as if he was determined to die.

Behind the pearl curtain, Concubine Xu looked through the curtain at Emperor Wang Jian, and saw the figure of the official vaguely there. He seemed unable to sit still and was calling for the Right Prime Minister Zhang Ge to whisper something to him.

Although the emperor’s expression could not be seen clearly, he must have been very panicked at this moment, and he didn’t even care about his usual dignified demeanor in front of them. The eunuch Tang Wenjian beside the throne shrank his neck and bent his waist, no longer as gentle and elegant as usual.

The people in the main hall gathered together, more like arguing than discussing.

Some people cursed Zhang Qianyu, the defense envoy of Yangzhou, for failing to guard the Tangluo Road, which led to the Liang army’s sneak attack. Others said that everyone in the world underestimated the ferocity of the Liang Dynasty’s Tiance general.

Some people even cursed Wang Zongkan, saying that he led an army of 100,000 but failed to capture Fengxiang for nearly three months, which led to the situation becoming so deteriorating. Hanzhong was empty, and a mere tens of thousands of people were able to enter an empty place!

Of course, Tang Daoxi, who was defeated and captured, is even more to blame. He was more of a hindrance than a success, and was incompetent in commanding troops, which led to the annihilation of the Western Army. He also blindly abandoned the Wugong and other counties he had already captured and fled. Otherwise, if King Xiao Yan of Song was constrained by the Wugong front, how could he have sneaked across the Tangluo Road?

While cursing Tang Daoxi, You Pushe Zhang Ge spoke his mind: “Before the Battle of Fengxiang, we could have avoided the enmity with the Liang Dynasty, and even taken advantage of the situation to make friends with the unstable Song King Xiao Yan. Tang Daoxi and others insisted on colluding with Liang Dynasty’s Yang Shihou. Now they have angered the murderous Xiao Yan. Once the Liang army enters the inner city, what will become of the palace? What will happen to the emperor and the gentlemen?”

Yu Chuansu’s voice rang out: “You Pushe wants to surrender, right?”

Zhang Ge said angrily: “If we surrender now, will there be any good outcome?!”

During the quarrel, scouts outside kept reporting bad news.

“Xiao Yan has actually entered the city! The north of the city has fallen, and the city defenses have been lost to the Liang army!”

“Xiao Yan is only two miles away from the inner city!”

“Xiao Yan’s troops will dispatch two wings to seize the east and west gates!”

“Minister Zhang Fu of the Ministry of War led more than a hundred imperial guards from the south of the city to call on the people to come over and encircle the Liang army. In the end, Xiao Yan personally led his men to break the formation. More than a hundred soldiers were killed or wounded, and Minister Zhang was captured!”

“The armory was occupied, and the Liang army dragged out ladders and battering rams!”

“The people in the inner city are in a state of panic. Some people are saying that Your Majesty has already fled with the other officials. Some are also saying that they should surrender the city to the Liang army to avoid being massacred by the Liang army!”

“Xiao Yan is here in person! Here he is! His subordinates are approaching the inner city! This King Song is so powerful! The might of the Liang army is terrifying!”

“Xiao Yan ordered his men to attack the inner city! They are attacking the city! Your Majesty, listen! The sound of killing is deafening! The Liang army doesn’t look like a tired army at all. They can move briskly even with heavy armor!”

“The Liang army attacking the city has a northern accent. They are Xiao Yan’s personal army that is here to lead Ding Badu!”

The scouts went in and out, becoming more and more flustered and less and less polite. At this time, of course, no one cared about hammer etiquette!
The news was getting worse and worse. Xiao Yan’s actions were almost unstoppable. In the blink of an eye, he had already begun to attack the inner city without a moment’s rest. The eldest concubine Xu had already grasped the hem of her skirt in panic, and her face was pale as she kept talking to the young concubine Xu.

In the main hall, Zhou Xuang finally said, “Your Majesty, please come to the top of the city and encourage the soldiers and civilians. If we mobilize the civilians and soldiers now, we can still deal with the Liang army.”

At this time, it was not Zhang Ge who refuted him, but the eunuch Tang Wenjian. His voice was a little sharp at this time: “The one who came is Dingbadu! In the past, Li Cunxu, the crown prince of Jin, was defeated by this army. Even Zhu Wen’s 100,000 imperial guards could not resist the mutiny of this army and abdicated. If you go to the city, who can protect you? “

Wang Jian was completely unable to remain calm and stood up, pacing around anxiously.

The situation changed too quickly. Half an hour ago, the emperor and his ministers were still discussing how to annihilate this isolated army that had penetrated deep into Hanzhong. Not long ago, they were still discussing whether Xiao Yan would really launch an offensive against Shu through Qi. But in the blink of an eye, this guy had actually arrived outside the city in person!
Is this guy really a lunatic! ?

The Concubine Xu behind the pearl curtain had the same idea. She had been interfering in government affairs for many years and was not a woman who knew nothing. On the contrary, she knew a lot. She suppressed her fear and said to her sister:
“This Xiao Yan must be the kind of crazy person who doesn’t care about his life. He can do anything! I heard from others that this man was in the Liang Dynasty. In order to climb up and usurp the throne, he was very brave. He relied on desperate efforts and force to break the situation, and only then did he kill the notorious Hades Emperor and Ghost King… Sister, if the inner city is breached, don’t fall into his hands.”

When Concubine Xu heard this, she also remembered some rumors about Xiao Yan. An image of a man with bloodshot eyes, a crazy look, and even warmongering appeared in her mind. For a moment, she also felt that Xiao Yan was a little scary.

Wang Jian’s voice was heard in the main hall. He did not ask whether he wanted to go to the top of the city wall to boost morale, but asked: “Who is the commander on the top of the city wall? Is it General Zhao Xiongwu? Alas, Zhao Dabing is usually extravagant, I thought he could only make cakes, but I didn’t expect that he could be loyal to the country at the critical moment… In this case, I will also go to the top of the city wall…”

“What? Zhao Dabing was shot in the face and died? Or was it Xiao Yan who shot him personally? Then, what about the soldiers stationed in the camp under his command? Are they still resisting on the top of the city? Send a message quickly, and tell them to hold on. I will immediately mobilize the troops of Weixindu, the imperial guards… What? Weixindu was annihilated in the outer city? What about Pihudu? … The people of Pihudu were afraid that they could not resist the enemy, so they fled, right?”

A series of bad news came almost one after another. Not to mention Wang Jian who was hesitating whether to go to the top of the city wall to encourage the soldiers, even court officials such as Zhou Xuang and Yu Chuansu who were still resisting were stunned.

Wang Jian laughed out of anger. Both Pihudu and Weixindu belonged to his personal army. Although they had been guarding the imperial palace for many years without seeing the battle, he had never thought that one of them would be defeated as soon as they encountered the enemy, while another would simply flee without fighting.

In this case, how many people are left to defend the inner city?

“Your Majesty.” Yu Chuansu resolutely bowed his hands and said, “I request that I take the palace guards to the top of the city to resist. Although the situation is extremely critical, it is not really hopeless. Your Majesty is the true emperor and will surely be able to turn the danger into safety. I still mean that no matter north or south, we have hundreds of thousands of troops from the Great Shu. If Your Majesty takes advantage of the thief Xiao’s unpreparedness, you can still break through!”

Having said that, he resolutely turned around and left without waiting for Wang Jian to respond. Some loyal ministers were encouraged by him and bowed to Wang Jian before following him. From beginning to end, they never looked at Zhang Ge, Tang Wenjian and other party members again.

The main hall was almost silent, no one spoke anymore. Zhou Xuang looked at Yu Chuansu’s resolute back and could only sigh in his heart.

The Concubine Xu behind the pearl curtain had her heart in her throat at this time. She looked at Wang Jian through the pearl curtain without blinking, waiting for the decision of this emperor who had given her countless favors and powers.

Should we fight? Should we surrender? Or should we escape?

The key is, can you escape?

Before Concubine Xu could figure it out, she heard Wang Jian say in a strange voice, “Let me think it over carefully and discuss it later.”

The ministers were also silent. They gathered together today to discuss whether the court should continue to stay in Nanzheng, but they did not expect that the Liang army would suddenly enter the city. At this time, they had no time to inquire how the north city wall collapsed. Perhaps the emperor just wanted to meet with some ministers alone to talk.

Some things are really not suitable for public speaking.

Things like whether the king of a country should surrender…

Almost all the forces that could resist had already climbed onto the top of the city walls, and the ministers had no other options. They all bowed and took their leave. Some did not leave far away, but waited outside the palace, while others immediately returned to their own residences and summoned their nephews and nephews who had been brought to Hanzhong to discuss matters.

Again, at this point, what hammer can be discussed later?

There are only two choices: active surrender and passive surrender. The former may be a bit unbearable, but at least there is a great possibility of protecting your life and property. The latter is different. If you wait for Xiao Yan to break into the city before surrendering, many people may die.

The emperor needs to consider things like loss of face or humiliation. The court has suddenly reached this point, and naturally most of the ministers will not accompany the court all the way to the end. Sometimes, ministers can get more tolerance than the monarch.

The eldest Concubine Xu watched Wang Jian hurriedly leave with Zhou Xiang, Zhang Ge and several trusted ministers. No one cared about her at this time, so she took the young Prince Zheng and the young Concubine Xu and left the main hall as well. However, they only realized at this time that they had only one option, which was to return to the back garden.

Compared with the chaos and disorder of the previous dynasty, the Back Garden is relatively stable. But it won’t be long before the news spreads among the palace people in the Back Garden, and the scene in the Back Garden will probably become even more chaotic by then.

Moreover, the situation has changed to a more critical level than the rulers and ministers of Shu had imagined!
Just half an hour later, we heard that the outer city wall had been breached, and Zuo Pushe Yu Chuansu had led the defenders to retreat to the palace. In other words, the Liang army outside the city was probably only a few hundred steps away from the back garden.

The Liang army entered the city with almost no hindrance. They controlled the four gates of Nanzheng and now they had breached the inner city and occupied the granary. It is said that before Yu Chuansu retreated, he wanted to have people burn the granary, but the inner city was breached before the troops he sent could reach the granary. The granary garrison immediately surrendered to the Liang army.

Another urgent report came in from outside, saying that Zhang Qianyu, the defense commander of Yangzhou, had marched westward along the Han River two days ago, gathered the defenders of Chenggu, and led 3,000 troops to aid Nanzheng. Unexpectedly, a few quarters of an hour ago, before the entire army had time to stabilize its formation after getting off the boat, it was intercepted by the cavalry led by Li Sian, the general of the Liang army. The two armies then fought a fierce battle on the bank of the Xihan River, ten miles north of Nanzheng. As a result, Zhang Qianyu was defeated, and the generals of Yangzhou, Chenggu and others fought desperately and died in the battle with Zhang Qianyu.

After the news was urgently brought back to the back garden by the palace servants, the eunuch Tang Wenjian and the palace servants on both sides, who had just rushed to discuss matters with Concubine Xu, were all stunned where they were. It was unclear whether they were afraid that the inner city would be breached, or they were shocked that the 3,000 Shu troops were defeated by the Liang people in the blink of an eye, and even Zhang Qianyu, who had a relatively high status in Shu, was killed in the battle.

Concubine Xu’s face turned pale. She tightly grasped her son, Prince Zheng’s hand and asked Tang Wenjian, “What does the emperor say?”

Tang Wenjian was also somewhat frightened, even more so at this time. He was just a eunuch, and no matter what, he could only rely on Wang Jian to maintain his honor and disgrace in this life. But when the city was about to be destroyed and the country was about to be destroyed, he ran to find the two Xu concubines, which was strange.

Tang Wenjian’s voice changed a little, and he said, “I’m afraid the emperor is going to surrender… Just now, the Secretary Zhou Xiang has gone to the palace to ask for an audience with Xiao Yan…”

Concubine Xu shook her shoulders and said in a trembling voice: “Doesn’t the Great Shu still have hundreds of thousands of troops?”

“At this point, even if there are millions of troops, what use will it be to you?” Tang Wenzhen whispered, “Xiao Yan of the Liang Dynasty is in power, and he needs a great achievement to consolidate his power before he can make further progress. If you can let him get the entire Shu Kingdom as he wishes, the royal family may not be humiliated. Although you will be deprived of the throne, you will most likely retain the title of a prince, but all the royal family members should be moved to Bianliang…”

On the side, Concubine Xu interrupted and asked, “Will the emperor do this?”

Tang Wenzhen forced a smile and whispered, “I don’t know what the emperor thinks about this.”

But he thought about it, and immediately said: “Xiao Yan has great ambitions! This man has risen to his current position in just a few years. He has fought in many battles, but he has never been defeated. He has gained power by relying on his military power. It is said that Yang Shihou, the Taiwei of the Liang Dynasty, also had tens of thousands of elite troops, but he could not stand up to Xiao Yan for a single day. I dare to conclude that even if the emperor does not do this, Xiao Yan has the strength to conquer the entire Shu Kingdom…”

When the elder Concubine Xu heard this, she let go of her younger son and handed him to the younger Concubine Xu. She then asked Tang Wenjian in a cold voice, “What do you mean?”

Tang Wenjian did not dare to look at Concubine Xu. He lowered his head and spoke in a low voice: “It is recorded in historical books that after Emperor Wu of Wei defeated Lu Bu, he took Lady Du, the wife of Lu Bu’s subordinate Qin Yilu, as his concubine. Lady Du also raised two sons and one daughter for Emperor Wu of Wei…”

The little concubine Xu’s eyes widened beside her, and the elder concubine Xu was even more ashamed and angry. She slapped Tang Wenjian in the face and said, “What do you mean, slave?”

Tang Wenjian covered his face and said, “Since ancient times, all the wives and concubines of the kings who lost their country were inevitably humiliated. Instead of this, why don’t you… I have just inquired about it. Zhang Zhenniang, the most favored concubine of Ying Wang by Emperor Liang Zhu Wen, was taken into the room by Xiao Yan… The Hades Emperor and the Ghost King are both dead, but Zhang Zhenniang is still alive and well…”

As he spoke, Tang Wenjian glanced at Concubine Xu, then took a few steps closer, lowered his voice and said quickly: “Even if you don’t want to, don’t you have Concubine Shu? Concubine Shu has not given birth to a child for the emperor, and she is only twenty-five… You are well-respected in the court and the country. As long as you get close to Xiao Yan, Xiao Yan will definitely rely on you. In this way, not to mention your natal family, the Xu family, but the entire court can benefit from you!”

Concubine Xu gritted her teeth and did not refute, but asked: “What about Prince Zheng?” Tang Wenjian was very anxious, patted his thigh and whispered: “My queen! At this point, the royal family is no longer the royal family. Even the emperor can’t protect himself. You should understand who you need to rely on, only yourself! Who knows how Xiao Yan will treat the royal family!? If he is not satisfied, he may kill the entire royal family!”

“Ridiculous…too ridiculous…” Only then did Concubine Xu finally understand why Tang Wenjian had run to find her in a panic. It turned out that he wanted to cling to her before the last moment when the ship of the Shu royal family sank.

But if not, what else could Tang Wenjian do? He was just a servant of Wang Jian. He was a troublemaker in the court before, and even the prime minister had to curry favor with him. But when he was captured by the Liang army, they only had eyes for Wang Jian, and who cared whether he was a eunuch or not.

The little concubine Xu also had a stern face. She just said: “The emperor treats us well…”

“Don’t talk!” Concubine Xu glared at her fiercely, then rubbed her brows and paced back and forth in deep thought.

However, they obviously did not have much time left. At this moment, the sound of a bell suddenly rang out in the palace. The sound traveled far away, and at this moment, several people realized that the deafening shouting and screaming outside the palace had also stopped.

Tang Wenjian’s face changed instantly. He didn’t have time to say anything more. He just left a sentence and left: “My queen, you must think carefully! Don’t waste your prime years!”

Not long after, when several palace maids came to invite Concubine Xu and Concubine Xu to the main hall in front, several ministers were already kneeling in the hall, crying bitterly.

Yu Chuansu, the Left Prime Minister, was among them. He was choking with sobs at this moment and said, “The Crown Prince and Prime Minister Wei are both in Chengdu. Marshal Kan, General Zongbi, and the Duke of Hongnong can lead hundreds of thousands of troops to serve the king. Why does the emperor want to surrender…”

“Shut up!” Zhang Ge shouted angrily, “Is Your Majesty thinking this? If the soldiers had not fought badly, how could the country be in this state? Zhang Qianyu was killed, Wang Zongkan is unable to move in Fengxiang, and even Wang Zongbi is not sure if he can retake Bailaoguan to rescue. What do you want Your Majesty to do?!”

Yu Chuansu raised his head and cursed: “Zhang Ge, don’t forget that your whole family was killed by Zhu Wen and you fled to Shuzhong. It was the emperor who took you in! But now, you don’t think about being loyal and serving the country, but just talk about surrendering. Aren’t you ashamed?”

Zhang Ge flicked his sleeves and snorted coldly, then turned away without saying anything.

Wang Jian, who was at the top, had already taken off his imperial robe and was now wearing only a single garment. He was also holding his forehead and sighing. The ministers on his left and right were all staring at the floor in silence.

Zhou Xuang had been watching coldly, and at this moment he only spoke: “If we surrender, the Liang army will not wait any longer, nor will they choose an auspicious day, but will only give us half an hour. If we do not surrender, all the imperial guards are dead, and if we want to fight, we will just follow the emperor and burn ourselves here. As subjects, we should maintain the emperor’s etiquette to the best of our ability, and we must not let the emperor be insulted by the Liang people.”

The eldest Concubine Xu lowered her head silently in the corner, thinking of what Tang Wenjian had just said. She was afraid that Xiao Yan really wanted to insult the royal family, and the ministers could only pretend not to know.

She sneered, but heard a low voice next to her.

“The emperor and his ministers all took off their armor, and no one was a man…”

The elder Concubine Xu turned around in surprise and glanced at the younger Concubine Xu.

His sister was known for her talent in poetry, and Wang Jian particularly liked this. She had written many poems in the palace before, but most of them were about scenery. He never expected to hear these two lines today.

Fortunately, the crying of those kneeling ministers was quite loud and no one could hear it.

Concubine Xu suddenly thought that the King of Song, Xiao Yan, seemed to have great talent in poetry. The poem “When Will the Bright Moon Rise” that was popular all over the world at that time had also been popular in Chengdu for a long time.

As she was thinking, she finally heard Wang Jian sigh loudly.

“Surrender. I will give you my life in exchange for your safety. What’s wrong with that?”

After saying this, Wang Jian no longer paid attention to Yu Chuansu and others who were crying below, but walked over to the two Concubines Xu, holding the hand of the elder Concubine Xu, and said ashamedly: “I failed to protect the two beloved concubines. It’s my incompetence.”

The eldest concubine Xu forced a smile and said, “Your Majesty has tried his best. The Liang army is too shocking and cannot be stopped by human power.”

Wang Jian sighed, turned around and left. Zhou Xuang, Zhang Ge and others followed him out. It turned out that a plain carriage pulled by a white horse with a white cloth hung on it had been prepared outside the hall. However, it was too hasty and no sheep for the sheep-leading ceremony was prepared.

However, the ministers did prepare some white cloth to wrap around their arms. It was impossible to find the white linen mourning clothes used for the ceremony of the demise of a country in the palace.

Wang Jian tied his hands behind his back and walked in front alone, leading the ministers out. The two Concubines Xu and other palace maids did not have to follow them, but the younger Concubine Xu followed for some reason. The older Concubine Xu could not be called back, and she was shocked and afraid that the younger Concubine Xu would be hurt, so she led a few palace maids who were relatively trusted to chase after them.

The group left the palace and not long after walking, they saw the city wall of the palace. There were still traces of fireworks on it. There were no guards on duty, but the city gates were not open either. The Liang army did not continue to attack the city.

The remaining soldiers of the Shu army pulled open the palace gate, and the people in the palace were finally able to see what was happening outside.

There were no flags outside, just a sea of ​​armored soldiers surrounding the only knight.

The knight did not wear a helmet and only had a sword on his waist. Compared with his subordinates holding various weapons on both sides, he looked very thin. However, his figure was very tall, especially when he sat on a tall horse. He looked like a mountain that no one could climb. No one dared to look directly at him, and everyone lowered their heads.

The elder Concubine Xu held the younger Concubine Xu tightly, and watched with empty eyes as Wang Jian led the ministers out. Of course, she paid more attention to the knight.

That is Xiao Yan.

The soldiers on his left and right barely maintained any formation and seemed loose and disorganized, but Concubine Xu had once inspected the army with Wang Jian and understood that this looseness was definitely not caused by lack of training and battle experience, but because everyone in the formation was an experienced fighter.

These soldiers have seen many battles on the battlefield, and have developed a spirit of bravery and indifference to death. So when faced with such a scene, although they will not ignore it, they will naturally feel a sense of laziness and contempt in their bones, as if they can’t muster up the energy.

I wonder if they were the same when facing the Shu army.

Concubine Xu thought that she had never seen such a brave old soldier in Chengdu.

It is said that there were many wars in the north, and every soldier lived with his head hanging on his belt. He ate meat today, and might die on a battlefield tomorrow. Therefore, they were always domineering and disrespectful to their superiors and subordinates. Once, the Weizhou government soldiers in Hebei caused Emperor Zhu Wen of Liang to personally lead his army to kill them all. This is a good example.

However, even these brave and fearless soldiers, who were gathered around Xiao Yan at this time, were just quiet and no one spoke or made any movements. In the midst of weapons like a forest, everyone just calmly watched the king and his ministers of Shu Kingdom walk out of the palace dejectedly. No one was agitated or noisy, and showed any excitement.

It seemed as if conquering Nanzheng and forcing Wang Jian to surrender was simply a trivial matter.

So what kind of monster is Xiao Yan, who has such great prestige that he can force these generals and soldiers to die for him?

The elder Concubine Xu couldn’t imagine it. She felt her legs were a little weak and her lips were dry. She pulled the younger Concubine Xu and dared not move or walk.

“Stop!”

Finally, a shout rang out between heaven and earth. It was unknown which general in the Liang army was asking, “Who is coming?”

Wang Jian lowered his head, his hands tied behind his back, and said in a low voice: “Lord of Shu, Wang Jian…”

At this time, the sound of horse hooves was heard, and countless pairs of eyes watched Xiao Yan riding his horse slowly forward. Some of the Shu ministers were indignant, some lowered their heads and remained silent, but just like before, no one looked at Xiao Yan. Those who had the courage to do so, after meeting Xiao Yan’s not too sharp eyes, felt an inexplicable increase in pressure, and involuntarily lowered their heads and looked away.

This environment doesn’t seem to be too solemn.

Of course, Xiao Yan didn’t care about all this. After looking down at Wang Jian for a while, he got off the horse and reached out to take the seal from the wooden tray held by Zhang Ge.

Wang Jian raised his head, glanced at Xiao Yan, and then was stunned for a moment, as if Xiao Yan’s image was quite different from what he had imagined.

Xiao Yan also glanced at him, playing with the seal in one hand and pressing the sword with the other, just indifferent and silent.

Wang Jian gritted his teeth and knelt on the ground, and the ministers behind him also knelt down. Wang Jian shouted: “Wang Jian, the Lord of Shu, has tied himself up in front of the army and begged for surrender to General Tian Ce of the Liang Dynasty!”

Sobbing sounds were immediately heard among the ministers of Shu Kingdom. Those people were arranged at the end, and it seemed that Wang Jian also knew that these people might make Xiao Yan unhappy.

But Xiao Yan didn’t care. He just held up the seal and shone it towards the sun in the sky which was too gloomy and non-existent. He said casually, “I heard that the emperor always said that I was a scoundrel. Now that I have met a scoundrel, why should I be respectful?”

Wang Jian’s mouth was filled with bitterness, and he kowtowed and said, “I don’t know the great power of the general, I hope the general will calm down.”

Xiao Yan smiled faintly, and then handed the seal to Gong Yang Zuo who followed behind him, and said: “This king accepts the surrender of the monarch and ministers of Shu.”

As he spoke, he drew his sword from its sheath with a loud swish, which startled Wang Jian and the ministers behind him. However, after a flash of cold light, Wang Jian was safe and sound, and the rope tied behind him broke.

“The world is in turmoil, and I cannot bear to see the people suffer, so I raised troops here. You know how to handle the current situation, very good.” Xiao Yan grabbed Wang Jian’s arm and lifted him up, saying, “However, your surrender to me does not mean that Chengdu will accept this national sacrifice. You still need to worry about it.”

Wang Jian had just breathed a sigh of relief, but now he felt bitter again. Of course he could only nod.

Xiao Yan was very satisfied and said, “When you arrive in Bianjing, you can be made a prince. The officials of Shu Kingdom can also live in peace.”

Isn’t this exactly the result Wang Jian wanted by doing all this? Xiao Yan made a promise to him directly, not only to appease Wang Jian, but also to appease the ministers of Shu Kingdom. He wanted them to understand that they should not think about doing anything else.

Everyone knew that what Xiao Yan said was equivalent to the imperial edict of the Liang Dynasty. Wang Jian finally breathed a sigh of relief and immediately bowed to Xiao Yan.

At this time, a voice rang out from the back of the crowd: “Will the general treat the people of Shu well?”

Xiao Yan glanced sideways and looked in the direction of the voice. It turned out to be a woman in her twenties. Wang Jian was annoyed and ashamed. First, he was annoyed that Concubine Xu had come to this scene in a confused state, and second, he was ashamed that he had forgotten to ask Xiao Yan to treat the people of Shu well.

Xiao Yan thought for a moment and asked, “Are you Madam Huarui?”

The younger Concubine Xu was stunned, and the older Concubine Xu, who was following behind her in shock and fear, was also stunned. Many ministers turned their heads to look over, as they did not know where the title of “Lady Huarui” came from.

Xiao Yan didn’t explain, nor would he explain that his memory might be wrong. He just smiled, jumped on his horse, and rode straight into the palace.

Of course, I didn’t answer Concubine Xu’s question.

(End of this chapter)