nycdaug Chapter 160: Judgment of Execution in the Autumn
Chapter 160: Judgment of Execution in the Autumn
Jin Guangji originally thought that his life would be spent in frustration, but he did not expect that changes would occur in the Kingdom of Qing and the enemy army would attack the city, catching him off guard.
He was hunched over and coughing, and he didn't know how long he had to live.
Now that the Wu State is attacking the city, he hates himself for being old and slow. He always feels that the strategies he can come up with are missing something. He even wonders with some fear in his heart, is the strategy he has come up with really the right one?
The vigorous ambition of youth is now fading away, and it seems that even the gaps in my heart have been filled up by time.
Zong Yanli led his troops to retreat outside Yao'an Pass, and as usual, he sent people to survey the terrain and estimate the enemy's strength.
"Lu Ruiguang has only a few soldiers, probably around 6,000 to 8,000." General Pei Liang said based on the information he had gathered from everywhere, "But Yao'an Pass is located at a high altitude, and the city walls are very steep, making it easy to defend but difficult to attack."
"Moreover, this man hoarded countless amounts of grain and military supplies, and even ignored the lives of the people inside the pass. He is extremely selfish." Gongsun Pu added.
“In a fierce battle, they might resort to using civilians to fight the enemy. If we want to trap and besiege them to death, it will probably take too long.” Zhan Haoyue didn’t think that the Wu army could waste time here. This place was already the heartland of Qing State, and what they should do was to fight quickly and decisively.
"Do you have any good ideas?" Zong Yanli nodded slightly, then looked up at everyone and said.
Everyone was in a dilemma and couldn't make up their mind after several discussions. In the end, they could only stay unchanged for the time being and wait and see how the situation develops.
The cool breeze arrives and the cicadas begin to chirp.
In the blink of an eye, it is the beginning of autumn again.
It should have been the harvest season, but nothing could be seen in the Qing Kingdom. It seemed that people were dying every day, and the black crows circling overhead brought the breath of death.
At this time, Zong Yanli received a letter from home, which was sent from Wu State to Qing State. In addition to the letter, there were also military supplies and equipment that her father had collected for her, cotton quilts for the winter, etc., which were delivered here after going through many hardships along the way.
"Greetings, young master!" The man who came to deliver the supplies was none other than the personal soldier of Zong Yanhongjing. The tanned man's eyes lit up when he saw Zong Yanli.
"Wang Ming? Why are you here?" Zong Yanli was also very friendly when he saw Wang Ming. Wang Ming had been following Zong Yanhongjing since he was a child. Now he has grown from a young man to a middle-aged man. Maybe he was in a hurry along the way, his face was full of unshaved beard and dirty.
"The general didn't trust others, so he asked me to deliver it personally." Wang Ming took out two letters from home from his arms, one from his mother and sister, and the other from his father.
"Come in and have a rest and some tea." Zong Yanli called Huo Wenqi and asked him to count the supplies delivered, then called Wang Ming into the tent.
"Is everything okay in Wu State?" Zong Yanli did not rush to open the letter. He let Wang Ming drink some tea and sit down before asking.
Wang Ming gulped down a pot of water, wiped his mouth and said, "Everything is fine in Pingnanying, but something big happened in Beijing."
Wang Ming sighed and briefly described the situation in the capital. Not long after Zong Yanli left the capital for the battlefield, the emperor was assassinated during the crown prince's enthronement ceremony. Although the emperor was not injured, he was so old that he almost died from the shock.
Fortunately, the imperial concubine obtained an elixir and saved the old emperor's life.
"The emperor has fallen and the prince is young, so the power of the court inexplicably fell into the hands of the Imperial Concubine." Wang Ming felt strange and admired when he said this. You know, the Imperial Concubine Gao Jiayue was the Princess of Gao State!
How could the imperial power of Wu State fall into her hands?
But now no one in the court has the ability to seize power, so Gao Jiayue just took the power and took control of the power in her own hands by taking advantage of the young prince.
After many investigations, it was finally discovered that the assassin originally wanted to kill the crown prince. However, the old emperor was too protective of the crown prince, and he was frightened when he was assassinated.
The person who led the assassination was none other than the unwilling King Xuan.
Gao Jiayue originally had no plan to keep King Xuan. She just wanted to wait until the ceremony of enthroning the prince was over and the dust settled before slowly settling accounts with King Xuan. However, King Xuan was also restless and perhaps he was thinking of making a desperate bet.
"Just a few days ago, the Imperial Concubine found out that Prince Xuan had committed treason, colluded with foreign nations, and leaked military secrets, among other serious crimes."
"King Xuan is now in prison and will be executed in the autumn."
Zong Yanli's eyes darkened when she heard this. She had known that Gao Jiayue would never let King Xuan go, but she didn't expect her to be so efficient and decisive. In this way, there were no hidden dangers at all.
Wang Ming went on to say, "The eldest son has been leading troops to battle for many years, and his reputation has spread far and wide, so the Zong Yan clan has become increasingly powerful. The general is recruiting soldiers in the Pingnan camp, and now the military force has more than doubled, and he is doing his best to train them."
Shortly after the prince's enthronement ceremony, the old emperor sent an imperial edict to Pingnan Camp, enthroning Zong Yanhongjing as the Grand Marshal of the Army and the Earl of Anjin, and giving all the fiefdoms that originally belonged to King Xuan to Zong Yanhongjing.
In fact, any discerning person can see that this is such an honor, and that is because Zong Yanli now has enough power to command the troops, and it would be inappropriate to give him more power, so the only option is to reward Zong Yanhongjing instead.
Zong Yanhongtu was stationed at Yuanshi Pass for the State of Wu. Although he had recovered from his injuries, he could no longer command the troops. His back was injured and he needed help from outside to stand up and walk. All the soldiers under his command were wiped out.
The fundamental reason for this was King Xuan's treason!
The old emperor felt guilty about this, so he could only posthumously confer the title of a general on him and granted Changfeng County to Zong Yanhongtu as compensation, which was equivalent to giving him the title of a general and the sinecure of a county magistrate.
Zong Yanli listened to Wang Ming talking about these things one by one. When he talked about Zong Yanhongtu having difficulty standing, Zong Yanli couldn't help but clench his fists.
It was not easy to save Zong Yanhongtu's life at the beginning. The military doctor actually mentioned vaguely that the arrow pierced Zong Yanhongtu's spine, which might have caused complete paralysis of his lower body. Now he is not paralyzed, but has difficulty standing. He is lucky to have difficulty walking with assistance.
"I understand." After listening to it, Zong Yanli let out a breath and said after a while: "I will go to the tent to check the letters from my father and mother. You can rest as you like."
"Yes." Wang Ming agreed quickly. Just as he was about to stand up, he suddenly seemed to have thought of something and hurriedly called Zong Yanli and said, "By the way, your adopted son, the general, has sent him to the capital. He is now being raised by your mother for the time being."
"There are many things to do in the army, and the child is growing up and it is not easy to raise him in a peasant woman's home, so the general decided to send him to the capital." Wang Ming said.