In the next moment, Huo Wujiu put away his bow, pulled out the horsewhip at his waist, and lashed it through the air.
Following the crisp crack of the whip, the sound of hooves could be heard in the darkness all around.
The sound of hooves approached from afar. Soldiers riding horses from the darkness surrounded the hundreds of panicked elites who had scattered in all directions. Anyone who dared to use their weapons in resistance was immediately cut down from their horses. After a series of hurried clangs of swords and sabers, those people were cleanly captured by the soldiers surging from the darkness.
Huo Wujiu rode his horse in the direction of the Great River.
The night was hazy, and the absence of the moon made it seem even darker.
A few months ago, he had also led his troops across the river in such a dark night. In the end, the hundreds of thousands of soldiers who were supposed to cross the river with him didn't move at all. Only he and a few soldiers were left behind, besieged by Southern Scenery's defending army.
This was the first time in his life that he had ever lost a battle.
He had suspected that his strategy had been too radical, or that there had been a flaw in his deployment. He had always been self-confident to the point of being conceited. At this moment, he was trying to think of a way to take responsibility for these mistakes. He didn't want to think …
It was his Huo Clan's army that had stabbed him in the back.
He walked forward and stopped in front of Li Cheng's corpse. He lowered his head, sizing him up in the dusky night.
Li Cheng's death was extremely unsightly. His eyes were wide open, and his blood had already dyed the ground several square feet around him red.
Huo Wujiu looked as if he was looking at an animal that had been shot dead. His eyes didn't ripple.
"General …" Wei Kai worriedly said from behind him.
However, Huo Wujiu looked away, his face still expressionless.
"Go count the soldiers," he said. "See how many men Li Cheng brought to act as bait."
Wei Kai knew that he was suffering. Seeing him act as if nothing had happened, he felt even more sorry for him.
He pursed his lips and said in a low voice, "Yes, sir."
He turned his horse around. He had only taken two steps when he heard Huo Wujiu say, "Anyone who dares to resist will be killed."
Wei Kai sniffled and said in a low voice, "Yes, sir."
As soon as he walked away, Ji Hongcheng's soldiers escorted him over. Most of them had died, and only a few of them were left alive.
Huo Wujiu sat upright on his horse. He lowered his eyes and looked at the people who were forced to kneel on the ground. He calmly asked, "Who ordered Li Cheng to do this?"
One of them raised his head with an effort.
A tall man sat upright on the tall horse. He straddled an arrow, carried a bow on his back, and held a horsewhip in his hand. He swung it leisurely in his hand, creating a slight sound of wind.
The horsewhip clearly didn't land on his body, but it made his hair stand on end.
This was the first time this person had seen Huo Wujiu face to face.
Ever since he joined the army, he had been serving under General Huo Yuyan, the Crown Prince. Compared to Huo Wujiu's army, which was like a hot knife cutting through butter, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince was gentle and cautious. He had always thought over and over again when he used his troops, advancing step by step.
Ever since Huo Wujiu took over all the troops under his father's command, they had lived in Huo Wujiu's shadow.
Everyone knew that Huo Wujiu was the undefeated God of War. Who could see His Royal Highness the Crown Prince thinking about them day in and day out and working hard?
However, at that time, it didn't matter. When marching and fighting, life and victory were the most important things, not these things. But now, Da Liang had already been established, and the one to ascend the throne was the current Emperor. If His Royal Highness the Crown Prince was allowed to live in the shadow of a military general, there would be no end of trouble in the future.
Tonight, these people who knew the truth were the people His Royal Highness the Crown Prince relied on the most and trusted the most.
They couldn't do anything to betray him.
That person looked at Huo Wujiu, gritted his teeth, and didn't say a word.
However, he heard Huo Wujiu slowly say, "Huo Yuyan told him to do it?"
At the side, a soldier immediately shouted, "That's not true! His Royal Highness the Crown Prince doesn't know anything. General Li has been jealous of you for a long time and wants to get rid of you! "
Huo Wujiu sneered.
"Jealous of me, so he wants to get rid of me?" He seemed to have heard a joke. "Who is he? Is he worthy?"
As he spoke, he held the reins with one hand, and the horse obediently took two steps forward.
"Without Huo Yuyan's decree, how dare he fake an imperial edict and lead troops to cross the river to kill me? There's no need for you to play dumb with me here. I've known all along. Today, I just want to hear you admit it personally before you die. "
The horse slowly paced in front of the crowd.
When one of them heard Huo Wujiu's disrespectful words, his eyes gradually turned red.
He couldn't hold back his anger and shouted, "Since General Huo knows, why are you still living in this world? If you really care about Da Liang's country and treat His Royal Highness the Crown Prince as your own brother, you should kill yourself early and let him feel at ease. Why do you need him to personally give the order?! You're so proud of your achievements, do you really think Da Liang can't survive without you?! On the contrary, as long as you're alive, His Majesty and the Crown Prince won't be able to sleep in peace! "
The slowly pacing horse came to a stop.
Huo Wujiu lowered his eyes and looked straight at Huo Wujiu.
This person probably didn't know that Huo Wujiu's confident words just now were just a bluff.
… He didn't expect that not only did he bluff out the truth, but he also bluffed out such … words that made Huo Wujiu wonder.
Ji Hongcheng, who was standing at the side, couldn't listen anymore.
After the birds had flown, the bow was put away. Any military general would more or less understand. However … if it weren't for Huo Wujiu, who would have the ability to beat the Jing Dynasty, which had such a rich treasury and was at the peak of its power, down to its current state? Ten years ago, the Jing Dynasty's emperor was just muddle-headed, but the foundation left by the late emperor was still far from being completely ruined.
However, they were actually so afraid of Huo Wujiu that they were anxious to kill him … That was his biological uncle, his cousin, whom he could entrust his back to.
"General Huo …" Ji Hongcheng saw that Huo Wujiu hadn't said anything for a long time, so he nervously stepped forward.
However, he saw Huo Wujiu raise the hand holding the horsewhip, indicating for him to shut up.
Ji Hongcheng shut his mouth.
Under the night sky, Huo Wujiu slowly revealed a smile.
There was nothing strange about it, but there was an indescribable bitterness and sarcasm.
"Well said," he said.
After he finished speaking, his face turned cold. He pulled the reins with one hand, kicked his foot, and urged the horse to gallop in the direction of the Yangtze River.
"Capture all of them. Kill them."
—
That night, the Yangtze River was turbulent.
Huo Wujiu counted the ten thousand soldiers and horses by the river. He unscrupulously swung his whip and ordered the Wei Kai to immediately carry Li Cheng's head across the river. They received his verbal order and sent all the soldiers guarding the Jiangbei River to Jiangnan overnight.
The military boats coming and going didn't stop for the whole night.
On the surface of the river, an inconspicuous gray pigeon flew across the Yangtze River and arrived at Lin 'an City in the fourth watch of the night.
When the sky began to brighten, an inconspicuous carriage pulled by two fast horses quickly traversed the gradually fading night sky. It stepped on the empty green brick streets that were dyed with morning dew and stopped outside the Tianshu Gate. An urgent letter was passed through the tightly locked palace gates.
A moment later, a corner door opened at the Tianshu Gate. The people in the carriage hurriedly alighted and quickly walked in. With a heavy sound, the corner door closed. The entire magnificent Imperial City once again became an iron prison that even birds couldn't fly in.
Only the carriage was left quietly parked outside the Tianshu Gate.
—
Every day, the palace gates had to be locked at the appointed time. If an official wanted to enter the palace at night to have an audience with the Emperor, they had to have an urgent report in hand. It had to be delivered through the Tianshu Gate, which was closest to the Emperor's residence. Only then would they have the opportunity to meet the Emperor at night.
This was the first time the Empress Dowager had been woken up in the middle of the night by an urgent report since she ascended the throne. He was draped in a robe and invited to the Dragon Throne. He leaned against it and dozed off.
He had stayed up late last night with the two concubines who had just entered the palace and had just fallen asleep.
A moment later, he saw Pang Shao walking quickly towards him.
With a thud, he knelt down in front of the Dragon Throne.
"I once hid something very important from the Emperor. Now that it has been exposed, it's all my fault!" he said.
The Emperor was puzzled. He suppressed the yawn that was about to come out of his mouth and asked, "What is it?"
"Huo Wujiu has escaped," Pang Shao said through gritted teeth. "I have been in contact with the Crown Prince of Northern Liang, Huo Yuyan. His subordinate sent an urgent letter today saying that Huo Wujiu has led Northern Liang's army across the river. I'm afraid there are 100,000 soldiers."
The Emperor's brows were tightly knitted together.
He could understand every word Pang Shao said, but when they were put together, he was confused.
What was going on? How could so many things happen in one night?
Pang Shao took out a few letters that he had prepared with regards to Huo Yuyan. He placed them on the Emperor's desk and quickly explained to him.
"Before Huo Wujiu crossed the river, Huo Yuyan found me. He wanted Huo Wujiu's life, but he didn't dare to do it himself. He said that he wanted to trick Huo Wujiu into coming here and use me to kill him. I originally wanted to kill Huo Wujiu, but I changed my mind at the last minute. I captured Huo Wujiu alive to restrain Huo Yuyan. After all, I can send Huo Wujiu back in one piece at any time and threaten his position as the Crown Prince again. Therefore, with Huo Wujiu in my sight, Huo Yuyan didn't dare to act rashly. "
However, the Emperor still looked sleepy. He asked again, "Is this what you said to me? Is it useful to keep Huo Wujiu alive?"
Pang Shao looked at his dull and cowardly appearance and only felt annoyed.
If it weren't for the urgent matter that required him to use his imperial edict to mobilize the troops in the surrounding counties, he wouldn't have come here to report this to this good-for-nothing. The words that came out of his mouth were sixty percent true and forty percent false. He naturally wouldn't tell his successor that he had long relied on Huo Wujiu to swindle Huo Yuyan out of hundreds of thousands of taels of silver over the past few months.
Pang Shao gritted his teeth. "Yes. But now that Huo Wujiu has escaped, he will endanger Lin 'an from time to time. I request Your Majesty's imperial edict to immediately send people to the surrounding counties to borrow troops to protect Your Majesty's safety. "
The Emperor was only halfway awake from his shock.
"Go, go quickly," he said. "But, how did Huo Wujiu escape?"
Pang Shao gritted his teeth.
"Naturally, Prince Jing let him go," he said. "It will take at least three to five days to rush from Lin 'an to the riverside, no matter how fast the journey is. After so many days, Prince Jing's residence has been peaceful. He must be covering for Huo Wujiu. "
At this point, Pang Shao cupped his fists and knelt on the ground. "Your Majesty, you must capture Prince Jing and guard him. Since he can cover for Huo Wujiu, he must have a lot of information about Huo Wujiu in his hands. Perhaps even capturing him can restrain Huo Wujiu. "
However, the Emperor didn't care about this.
"This sickly person is so bold that he dares to collude with the enemy!" He gritted his teeth. "He is indeed the unfilial son of a b * tch. He is evil to the bones!"
As he spoke, he raised his hand and said, "Guards! Quickly go to Prince Jing's residence and capture that b * tch for me! "
However, Pang Shao stopped him. "Your Majesty, you can't!"
The Emperor frowned. "Why?"
Pang Shao said, "Prince Jing is unfathomable. I'm afraid that this will alert him. This subject has a plan that I hope Your Majesty will listen to. "
The Emperor hurriedly said, "Quickly say it."
Pang Shao said, "There will be a court assembly today. Your Majesty, why don't you wait until he enters the palace and then detain him? At that time, he will be in the palace. Wouldn't that be like catching a turtle in a jar? "
When the Emperor heard this, he felt that it made sense.
He let out a sigh of relief and said, "We'll do as you say."
Pang Shao acknowledged and was about to leave.
The Emperor's drowsiness was also awakened. He watched as Pang Shao bowed and retreated. Outside the window, the faint morning light faintly shone through and blended with the candlelight in the hall.
The Emperor suddenly spoke.
"Uncle," he called out.
Pang Shao stopped.
The Emperor then asked, "No matter what, Uncle will stay in the capital and protect me, right?"
Pang Shao lowered his head and bowed. Under his wide sleeves and tall hat, his expression couldn't be seen clearly.
"This subject will naturally do so. I will definitely not abandon Your Majesty."
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