Chapter 924 Breaching the City!

The Emperor's carriage stayed in Xuehai Pass for three days;

A group of barbarian chieftains and nobles, led by the Hailan tribe, collectively paid homage to His Majesty the Emperor of Great Yan.

The ceremony was grand and unprecedented;

Everyone knew that what Xueyuan truly submitted to was the Pingxi Prince's Mansion;

But the Pingxi Prince's Mansion generously allowed the Great Yan Emperor to experience what it meant to "extend his might in all directions."

At least in this regard, the attitude of the Pingxi Prince's Mansion was very clear, and it was done extremely well. Even Eunuch Wei, who had been accompanying His Majesty, couldn't find fault with it.

In fact, since entering Jindong, Eunuch Wei had gradually become accustomed to this "way of getting along";

Before the Pingxi Prince's Mansion officially declared its rebellion, it was still a vassal of Great Yan and would act according to this set of procedures;

As for some minor details, they could be completely ignored.

The Great Yan Emperor gave a speech to these barbarian tribal leaders.

The process was basically the same:

First, he reviewed the past tacit and friendly relations between Great Yan and the Xueyuan barbarians, although these barbarian leaders themselves did not know what "close ties" they had had with Great Yan and the Yan people in the past;

But this did not prevent them from nodding like chicks pecking at rice, nor did it prevent them from prostrating themselves at the Emperor's feet and weeping bitterly:

"Oh, great and benevolent Emperor of Great Yan,

You have finally come to Xueyuan, which has been loyal to the Ji family since ancient times. We have been waiting for you so bitterly!"

Then,

The Emperor rebuked the Xueyuan barbarians for their crimes of endangering the lands of the Xia under the instigation of rebellious villains like the Barbarian King.

A group of barbarian nobles immediately vowed righteously that they and the Barbarian King were irreconcilable enemies and had not participated in it. One barbarian tribal leader even took off his shirt in front of the Emperor and requested the Emperor to grant him the punishment of carving a knife to warn him and his descendants.

What they said was actually the truth, because the barbarian tribes that had followed the Barbarian King had basically been wiped out in Jindong because the Pingxi Prince had blocked Xuehai Pass;

And their tribes, after suffering heavy losses as a result, were quickly suppressed and annexed by those who had stayed behind, and barely one in ten remained;

It could be regarded as the Xueyuan version of "bad money driving out good";

After all, those who followed the Barbarian King were the elite of this generation of Xueyuan barbarians, while those who stayed behind, from a historical perspective, could not escape the label of "short-sighted."

Finally,

The Emperor raised his wine glass and bestowed imperial wine upon these barbarian noble leaders, wishing them a beautiful future of harmonious coexistence within the territory of Great Yan;

The barbarian leaders took the wine, which they knew at first taste was produced by the Pingxi Prince's Mansion, and solemnly swore with the Emperor that the Emperor was the star of Xueyuan, and they would forever follow the Emperor's steps, follow Great Yan's steps, and forever be Great Yan's most loyal dogs!

The ceremony ended,

Host and guests were happy.

As for the fact that late at night, these barbarian leaders who had just pledged their loyalty to the Emperor during the day collectively knelt before the gate of the Pingxi Prince's residence to "re-express their feelings,"

Well,

Such trivial matters were not worth mentioning to outsiders.

Unlike the deeply rooted traditional family and national ideas of the Xia, such as "Mandate of Heaven" and "legitimacy," the barbarian tribes on Xueyuan had always been in a barbaric value system of mutual struggle, killing, and annexation;

Even the Barbarian King at his peak had not had time to completely integrate the entire Xueyuan.

And the desert barbarians, although they had declined for a long time, had once had a glorious Golden Horde era, at least able to maintain a nominal "common master," which the barbarians simply did not have.

Therefore, the barbarian noble leaders believed more in the supremacy of the strong. Whoever had more power within the tribe and more followers could directly betray the original master or break away from the original tribe and compete for new pastures, which was a matter of course.

Therefore, when the Pingxi Prince cooperated with them in acting for the Emperor, they would wholeheartedly devote themselves to it;

But what they were actually thinking was,

Why didn't the Pingxi Prince just kill the Emperor and become the big boss himself? What was the Pingxi Prince waiting for?

Thanks to the generous rewards and treatment given to the Xueyuan servant soldiers who had been conscripted into the pass by the Prince's Mansion several times before, they really yearned to be taken along by the Prince when he rebelled, and were waiting for the Prince's summons!

Of course,

The Emperor could not possibly be unaware of this.

On the way from Xuehai Pass to Zhennan Pass,

The Emperor, who could not withstand the fatigue of the journey, and the Pingxi Prince, who was always lazy unless absolutely necessary,

Both lay in the spacious carriage specially made by the Prince's Mansion,

Facing each other;

The Emperor ate grapes,

And spat out a grape seed,

Self-deprecatingly said:

"Being an Emperor is sometimes like being an actor on a stage. You know you're acting, and the subjects know you're acting, but you still have to seriously perform this play well.

Perform for the people,

Perform for the world,

Perform for Heaven,

Perform for history books.

Zheng Fan,

Don't you think it's meaningless?"

"How so?"

The Prince asked, drinking fruit wine with ice.

"For example, a few days ago at Xuehai Pass, I summoned those Xueyuan noble leaders. In your eyes, isn't it a waste of effort? Even, do you find it a bit ridiculous in your heart?"

"Am I that kind of person in your heart?"

"Hmm?"

"If I really wanted to laugh at you, I would laugh in your face."

"That's true."

The Emperor agreed,

And continued:

"So, you agree with my approach? Just to let the accompanying historians add this stroke of Xueyuan to the history books for my eastern tour?

I think that at least there is historical evidence to check. Xueyuan, at least from my reign, is the territory of my Great Yan, although we don't have the energy to completely conquer Xueyuan now, just as we don't have enough energy to rule the desert now;

But when the Xia is unified, and there are no internal constraints,

Future generations,

May be able to free up their hands to truly occupy and develop Xueyuan and the desert.

In fact, what I want to do is this, to give future generations a 'since ancient times' righteousness before they take action.

Don't you think I'm naive?"

"No, I think you're doing the right thing."

"Really?"

"Really."

"But relying on a history book alone cannot truly take these territories and make the barbarians or the desert people submit. In the end, it still depends on the fighting of future generations.

Although I am not from the military, I also understand the thoughts of you soldiers.

Alas,

It still depends on whether future generations can live up to expectations."

"At least, it leaves a thought, leaves room for a buffer." The Prince shook the wine glass in his hand and continued, "Put aside disputes when weak, claim it since ancient times when strong."

When the Pingxi Prince said this sentence,

The Emperor was stunned for a long time;

Finally,

He smiled bitterly and said:

"I always thought I was one of the smartest people in the world."

"Don't think, you are."

"Thank you."

"You're welcome."

"But some things, I only understood after sitting on the dragon throne, but I suddenly realized that you really seem to see through the dragon throne very thoroughly and clearly."

"Oh."

"If this continues, I will feel that it's a pity if you don't rebel."

……

The Wei River is currently the dividing line between Shanggu County and the Chu state, and it is also where the armies of Yan and Chu are intertwined.

The Yan people would venture to build small fortresses on the south bank of the Wei River, and similarly, the Chu people would also build similar military fortresses on the north bank of the Wei River.

The story of the Pingxi Prince as a garrison officer in Cuiliu Fort has been circulating among the armies of both sides, encouraging the lower-level generals of both sides to take risks again and again.

Ma Yang was one of them.

He was a centurion under the Chu imperial guards, but in fact, he only had twenty or so people under him now, because before that, he was only a squad leader.

But he decisively crossed the Wei River to launch a surprise attack, killing two Yan soldiers on patrol, and was promoted for this military merit.

Now, he was ordered to build a small fortress on the north bank of the Wei River with the newly supplemented people under him. It was not a rigorous brick structure, and many places were piled up with earth blocks and supported by wooden boards;

The defense was pitifully low, only serving as a sentinel post and a beacon tower, and two bamboo rafts were always parked behind the fortress for easy escape at any time.

At dusk,

Ma Yang was leaning against the battlements of the small military fortress, with a grass stem in his mouth.

The people below were busy trying to add a little more resistance to this not very solid fortress;

Of course, this was wishful thinking. Once the Yan people here intended to remove this nail, they had no choice but to immediately light the beacon and retreat to the opposite bank;

Staying behind meant waiting for death.

Even if there were their own troops on the opposite bank who could quickly come to support, Ma Yang still didn't think he had the strength to fight now.

He was very lucky to have killed two Yan soldiers on patrol with his original five comrades, and two of his men were killed and two were injured, but it was still a profit.

But he was also unlucky to have caught up with a young general of the Zhao family who had just suffered a great loss in a surprise attack by the Yan people, making him a foil.

Therefore, although he was promoted to centurion, the twenty old and weak auxiliary soldiers who were filled into his command did not have the elite appearance of the Great Chu imperial guards;

Moreover, he was sent to build a fortress on the north bank of the Wei River, which was clearly sending him into the tiger's mouth.

However, Ma Yang also knew that he had to thank His Majesty the Emperor for vigorously promoting commoners to high positions in the past two years. The arrogance of the noble lords was no longer what it used to be. If it were in the past, even if you didn't oppose the noble lords, once the noble lords felt that you were an eyesore, relying on the banner of the Zhao family, even if it was just a collateral descendant, they could easily take his life.

Now, at least there was still a way out, and it was not a dead end. They wouldn't dare to go too far.

As for the group of subordinates below who were continuing to consolidate the fortress,

Ma Yang didn't stop them, because he knew that these people were already worried being on the north bank, and adding a brick and a handful of soil could make the "fortress" in their hearts more stable, so that it wouldn't completely collapse.

After all,

Who told them that the situation now was that Yan was strong and Chu was weak!

And everyone knew that the Yan army they were facing on the north bank of the Wei River and in Shanggu County, and even the Yan army in Zhennan Pass, were the direct descendants of the Great Yan Pingxi Prince.

Ma Yang silently took out a few mint leaves from his sleeve, then found a piece of paper, rolled the mint leaves into it, moistened it with saliva, and then brought it to a small brazier that had just been lit in front of him and lit it.

Then,

He changed his posture, leaned comfortably against the battlements, and took a puff.

"Cough cough... cough..."

Choking, it was still very choking, and his entire lungs were filled with a burning sensation for a moment.

It was very painful,

But he was slowly getting used to it.

It was said that,

The Pingxi Prince liked to hold one of these in his hand when commanding operations;

Shake off the ashes,

And the powerful enemy would be wiped out.

Ma Yang knew that many people in the Chu army were imitating this now.

There was nothing wrong with admitting it. They were really convinced by that Great Yan Prince, and that Prince was from a commoner background, which could resonate even more with the lower-level soldiers and especially the officers in the Chu army.

However,

What Ma Yang didn't know was that the Pingxi Prince was wrapping tobacco leaves inside instead of mint leaves, and even the cigarette paper was specially made with a filter by a small workshop under the Pingxi Prince's Mansion.

Ma Yang, the ignorant centurion of the small fortress who was simply imitating,

Faced the setting sun,

And took another puff,

Which resulted in an even more violent cough.

……

"Cough cough... cough..."

"Don't learn this." Zheng Fan said, looking at the Emperor who was coughing from smoking.

The Emperor was still holding a cigarette in his hand, and shook his head, saying:

"I used to be curious about you smoking this, but you said it was bad for your health, so I didn't try it. It's good to use a snuff bottle.

Now that I know I have no way..."

The Emperor wanted to say that his years might be numbered, so there was no need to cherish his body.

"This thing, just needs to be refreshing." The Emperor reminded, "When I go back, you have to let me take more back, and then send someone to the capital for me every month."

"This is addictive."

"Is this better than Five Stone Powder?" The Emperor asked rhetorically.

Zheng Fan nodded. Smoking was harmful to health, but compared to the Five Stone Powder prevalent in Qian, which was heavy metal poisoning, it was nothing.

"I'll allocate silver from the imperial treasury to purchase this for you, okay?"

"There's no need for that, it's not worth much."

"Okay, taking advantage of you makes me very happy, it's a rare opportunity..."

"Offset it with military pay."

"..." The Emperor.

At this time, Eunuch Wei came over and whispered, "Your Majesty, put this on too."

"If I put this on again, I won't even be able to run!"

The Emperor said extremely reluctantly.

"Your Majesty..." Eunuch Wei was very embarrassed.

"Under layers of protection, how could I be so unlucky? Don't you think so, Zheng Fan."

The Emperor looked at Zheng Fan standing next to him.

And Ah Ming, who was standing next to Zheng Fan, showed a hint of helpless arc at the corner of his mouth when he heard this question.

"Ji Lao Liu, listen, put it on. On the battlefield, I've encountered... seen even more unlucky things."

"Your Majesty, let's listen to the Prince." Eunuch Wei quickly advised.

The Emperor had no choice but to put on another layer of leather armor.

The Emperor wore something like a golden silk soft armor inside, then inner armor, and then a layer of Yan army standard light armor. After covering it with another layer of leather armor,

His body was already very weak,

And the Emperor, who had become even weaker during the eastern tour because of the Empress,

Had to support his knees with both hands and start panting.

"Zheng Fan, if the army of my Great Yan were all dressed like this, could they fight?" The Emperor asked, panting.

"If the army of my Great Yan were all like Your Majesty, there would be no need to fight at all."

"Can't you say something nice?"

"Does Your Majesty know that there is a Vanguard Camp in every Yan army unit?"

"Of course I know, this is the tradition of my Yan army."

"Vanguard Camp soldiers, dismounted and fighting on foot, can all wear heavy armor and fight fiercely for at least five rounds."

"My Great Yan can have such brave soldiers, I... I am very pleased... Huff... Huff..."

At this time,

Two painters set up their easels, sat on their own folding stools, faced the Emperor and the Prince, and began to paint.

Seeing this, the Emperor subconsciously straightened his body. The Prince had no choice but to reach out from behind and lift the Emperor's waist belt to share some of the weight.

Not only that,

The Emperor also issued an decree:

"Paint me more heroic."

The meaning was that the Emperor allowed them to do some artistic processing, at least so that he wouldn't look too different from this Zheng guy next to him.

"Yes, Your Majesty."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

The Emperor turned his head to look at Zheng Fan and asked;

"You've arranged this so carefully."

Zheng Fan nodded and said; "It should be."

In fact, bringing painters when going on expeditions had long been a habit of the Pingxi Prince. The "Pingxi Prince's Battle Array Picture," "Pingxi Prince's Bandit Suppression Scroll," etc. circulating among the people had long been used as door gods.

The most widely spread one was the picture of the Pingxi Prince sitting there eating melon seeds with his legs crossed, with the enemy army collapsing in the distance. The people felt that posting this at the door could get the Prince's blessing and ward off evil spirits.

Then,

Zheng Fan looked at the historian standing there and reminded;

"Record truthfully later, history is clear, don't be careless."

"This humble official obeys."

This historian, who had accompanied the Emperor from Yanjing on the eastern tour, took the order very seriously, and when he stood up, he had a righteous spirit of being responsible for history with his pen like a knife!

At this time,

The Emperor asked in a low voice:

"Zheng, why don't you say that my actions are absurd and unreliable?"

"Dreams, I understand."

The Emperor was very satisfied and laboriously raised his hand to pat the heart-protecting mirror on Zheng Fan's chest and said:

"Yes, you still understand me, unlike this Wei Zhonghe, he doesn't understand me."

When Eunuch Wei heard this, he immediately said aggrievedly:

"Your Majesty... This servant... This servant..."

The Prince on the side laughed:

"Hehe, this is easy to handle, I'll take care of myself, enter the palace and replace Eunuch Wei to accompany you."

"Thump!"

Eunuch Wei immediately knelt down.

The Emperor laughed loudly,

Said;

"Look, he's so scared when he hears that you're going to take his place."

Eunuch Wei felt bitter in his heart,

And immediately recalled that night of that year,

When the Pingxi Prince, who was still a small garrison officer, entered the palace late at night from the Tian residence, he was the one who led the way;

"Garrison Officer Zheng, the Directorate of Ceremonial Affairs really lacks talents like you."

At that time,

Looking at Garrison Officer Zheng's uneasy expression of not daring to be angry or speak out, Eunuch Wei felt it was very interesting to tease him;

Now,

Times have changed.

"Wei Zhonghe, get up, why are you so scared, you're really embarrassing me."

……

"What's wrong, why are you so scared?"

Ma Yang looked at a subordinate standing there trembling. This subordinate was an old member who had been following him.

Then,

Ma Yang looked in the direction where this subordinate was in a daze,

His expression,

Also immediately changed,

Only to see that he did not hesitate to take the arrow wrapped in oilcloth to the side of the brazier to ignite it, and then quickly raised it and threw it high forward.

A little qi and blood was infused into the rocket, which split open in the air, scattering sparks everywhere;

In this instant of bright light,

He discovered that a dense mass of armored soldiers wearing brocade clothes on the outside and armor inside were rushing towards this weak little fortress.

When the rocket was fired,

The brocade-clad guards below almost at the same time all drew their bows and nocked their arrows, throwing them out!

The unprepared little fortress was thrown into chaos, with people and horses overturned and screams echoing.

At the same time,

An even greater eunuch released two green training ribbons from his sleeves, whistling as they came;

In another direction,

An even whiter-clothed sword saint held sword qi at his fingertips, bursting out with terrifying sword intent sweeping out.

In the very center,

There was even Liang Cheng, the number one general of the Pingxi Prince's Mansion,

Waving his hand to give the order,

The brocade-clad guards stormed the fortress!

Ma Yang was stunned,

This small military fortress,

With his little old and weak soldiers,

With his small, newly meritorious commoner-born centurion who had been squeezed out,

What kind of virtue and ability,

Could enjoy such an array!

The next moment,

He saw an even more eye-splitting scene,

He saw a man wearing silver mysterious armor, holding a broken knife, and behind that man, supporting a Great Yan Pingxi Prince's banner!

Thousands of words,

At this time, in Ma Yang's heart,

Could only be condensed into a sentence of despair:

"What a sin!"

This was a battle without any suspense, if it could be called a battle.

More than half of the Chu people in the military fortress were killed or wounded, and the remaining ones directly surrendered their weapons, and the defending general directly gave up resistance, with a blank expression.

But the brocade-clad guards who had already entered the military fortress were still deliberately colliding their blades with each other, occasionally making a few "hohohaha" sounds, continuing to create an atmosphere of fierce fighting.

This time, the Pingxi Prince was not walking at the end.

He walked to the entrance of this military fortress,

Behind him,

The Emperor, wearing several layers of armor and holding a Great Yan horse saber, walked with difficult steps, finally catching up, and then used his last strength to rush forward and kick open the gate of the military fortress.

At the moment when the Emperor kicked open the gate,

The Great Chu Fire Phoenix flag hanging on the military fortress was cut down by the Sword Saint,

And Eunuch Wei, extremely excited, raised the Great Yan Black Dragon flag!

In the distance,

The historian held his pen,

And recorded on the manuscript with incomparable solemnity and solemnity:

"On the first day of the fourth month of Yingan Year 1, the Emperor toured the east to the Wei River;

The Chu slaves greatly invaded the border, the military situation was like fire, and the situation was like a precarious egg;

The Emperor put on armor and personally wielded a white blade, leading the army to charge and kill in front,

Fighting fiercely day and night,

Repelled the Chu slaves, broke one city!"