Chapter 97: Domineering Emperor
To tell the truth, this was not part of Tian Tong’s service range. She was responsible for romance, not for taking lives.
But Tian Tong now had some “comrade-in-arms” feelings with Ying Xi, so she cooperated: “How are you going to kill him?”
Ying Xi thought for a moment. “Che Chengren fights to save his mother. Based on this link alone, he is much easier to deal with than Xu Youyi.”
Xu Youyi fought to protect the Southern Dynasty; his faith was unshakable.
Tian Tong didn’t understand, she was just concerned: “Does that mean the big wolfdog doesn’t have to go out?”
Ying Xi nodded. “Mhm.”
“Wuhu!” The little girl cheered. “The big wolfdog is so handsome and gentle; he can’t be ‘written off’!”
Ying Xi didn’t know when Xie Qianli had gained such massive favor with Tian Tong.
Thinking back to the heavy words he had said, Ying Xi’s gaze drifted.
“Your Majesty!”
A voice came from afar. Lian Qing hurriedly caught up with the Emperor. “Just now, You entered the tent alone to see General Xie and didn’t let the brothers follow. This subordinate finally saw You come out, so…”
“So what?”
So I overthought things a bit. Lian Qing lowered his voice and said sheepishly, “So I was prepared to petition Your Majesty. Tomorrow, I also want to go and meet that Che Chengren!”
Ying Xi glanced at Lian Qing. “Did General Xie send you?”
“Absolutely not!” Lian Qing said righteously. “I eat the monarch’s stipend and must repay the court! Both Generals Xie are injured. If I don’t step up, not only will I feel bad, but my father will break my legs when I go home…”
This was also his Foal’s duty.
But why was he so uncomfortable, even losing his temper at his Foal?
Ying Xi suppressed his confusion and said as he walked, “I already have a candidate. We will surely win.”
Lian Qing was excited. “Is General Xie going to take the field?”
“Let Lu Heyu go.”
“This subordinate feels Little General Lu’s skills are inferior to mine,” Lian Qing hesitated.
Ying Xi looked profound but didn’t say it directly—You aren’t ‘toxic’ enough.
The siege continued the next day.
Ying Xi ascended the observation platform. The Imperial Army originally had generals as numerous as clouds, but due to injuries, they had suffered countless losses. Even if the troop ratio was still lopsided, the morale was affected after the setbacks.
Gazing toward the main gate of Xindu. The two armies faced off.
Che Chengren held his board axes. After several days of “carousel battles,” his movements had already begun to show fatigue, yet he still came to the front to challenge. His voice echoed outside the city.
“Jiangbei Army! To your deaths! Jiangbei Army, come out!”
The harness bells rang, and the rebel war drums thundered atop the city walls. The dong-dong sound made the earth beneath their feet tremble.
However, the Jiangbei Army didn’t send out several generals for a chaotic melee as they usually did. Only Lu Heyu came out alone, wielding twin blades. The enemy recognized this baby-faced man; he was the commander of the Xuzhou Army.
Che Chengren laughed loudly, striking a provocative pose and waving his axes. “You. Seeking death.”
With that, he spurred his horse forward, his large axe hacking down!
Everyone on the observation platform held their breath.
Sweat poured down Lu Heyu’s forehead like rain. He used every ounce of strength he had to hold his ground. He had to at least block one axe strike to have a chance to speak.
Lu Heyu said with difficulty, “You fool! You’re being sold by Li Yilong and helping him count the money! Your mother was killed by that rebel Li long ago!”
Che Chengren roughly knew he was different from others, so he was particularly sensitive to being called a fool. He immediately swung another axe.
Lu Heyu could only retreat. His arms were numb as he shouted at the top of his lungs, “Don’t you miss your mother? Even if you stop now and ask them to bring your mother to see you, no one will pay you any mind.”
Lu Heyu raised his voice: “Because she’s dead!!!”
The momentum of Che Chengren’s swinging axes paused.
In his bronze-bell-like eyes, layers of bloodshot veins suddenly appeared, the color growing darker and darker.
Che Chengren was filled with disbelief. His eyes were wide and round. Pain and anger instantly flared up. He said in a drawn-out voice, “Im—possible—You—insult her—She is well—You are a bastard.”
Che Chengren was instead provoked into an even more intense retaliation!
His two board axes danced like flying wheels, their momentum seemingly tearing the sky apart. The rebels attacked together, their battle cries shaking the heavens.
Everyone on the observation platform thought things looked bad.
Lian Qing said, “This subordinate will go save General Lu!”
At that moment, within the battle circle, Lu Heyu frantically spurred his horse, darting left and right. Relying on his horse’s superior speed, he circled Che Chengren, shouting hoarsely while defending.
“Your mother had a headache and couldn’t stand the heat. She died of an illness in Mingren Hall last night! Your wife and sister were all killed by Li Yilong because they tried to fight for a way for your mother to live!”
“Innocent people were trapped and died, yet the palace consorts each have ice basins.”
“She raised you for nothing. They couldn’t rely on you. It was truly bad luck to marry into your family.”
“—I am a bastard, but you are a big idiot! A stupid egg who only knows how to kill!!!”
Che Chengren wailed.
Lu Heyu was relying purely on improvisation at this life-or-death moment.
But as the saying goes, fight poison with poison. The more he spoke, the more exaggerated it became. His words pierced the heart, and they actually made the battle-worn Che Chengren, who deeply missed his family, feel a seed of doubt after his initial rage.
Che Chengren retracted his axes and reined in his horse toward the city gate.
He stood under the gate and shouted frantically: “Master! Master Fan! Is what the Jiangbei general said true?”
“Master Fan, where is my mother? My wife? My sister???”
“Let me see them!”
Every word Che Chengren spoke was written in blood and tears. Although his intellect was inferior to others, he possessed a few more degrees of sincerity.
He set down his two board axes and kowtowed to the city gate, not even caring that a massive army was behind him.
Blood flowed from Che Chengren’s forehead. “Master! I beg of you! Master Fan! Master Fan!!!”
Fan Zhiai sat high in the center of the city tower, his tone coaxing: “They are all in the city waiting for your triumphant return. Do not listen to the instigations of the Jiangbei army. Quickly, kill the enemy general and reunite with your family!”
Che Chengren picked up his axes and stood. His fists were clenched, and he turned toward Lu Heyu, trembling.
“I… want to go home. You die.”
Terrifying murderous intent burst forth!
Everyone on the observation platform stood up.
Lian Qing was already about to charge out!
Lu Heyu’s mind flashed with inspiration. He spurred his horse again and shouted, “This young master doesn’t believe the whole city is full of idiots! Last night in the Xindu Palace, the families from every household fled en masse. You can hide it from a fool, but can you hide it from yourselves?”
The rebel ranks fell silent for an instant.
The palace was only a dozen or so miles from the city gate. It was impossible for such a massive riot in the palace to have leaked no word at all.
Moreover, Li Yilong had thought it was an enemy attack at the time and sent soldiers to suppress it. The family members had suffered many casualties, and the news had already spread through the city.
Naturally, there were other generals who, like Che Chengren, cared for their families. Someone shouted from below the city: “Master Fan! What exactly happened last night? Tell us clearly!”
“Are our families well?”
“If you detain our relatives and can’t even keep them safe, it’s no different from forcing us to fight!”
“The ones who killed my family were actually my own brothers!”
“Master Fan! Come out and explain!”
“…”
The southern rebels fell into internal strife.
The Jiangbei Army watched from the observation platform.
How could Fan Zhiai possibly explain?
Old Madam Che truly died a tragic death. The casualties among the families of the various households were heavy, and those who survived were deeply distrusted by the “Lord” due to suspicion of rebellion.
Fan Zhiai was silent for a breath.
This silence confirmed the guilt. Che Chengren’s reckless streak flared up, and he grabbed his axes to charge the city.
“Where is my mother! Give me my mother!!!”
“Open the city gate! Let my mother out! I want to see them!”
Che Chengren possessed the courage of ten thousand men. Once he turned back to attack Xindu, the enemy army had no way of stopping him.
On the observation platform, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
Lian Qing, who had originally wanted to save someone, didn’t need to go anymore.
On the contrary, Lu Heyu said excitedly: “Beat the drums! Attack! Attack! General Che, you absolutely must not let them go! These are your great enemies…”
Below the city, the rebels were killing each other, and then they were being slaughtered by the Jiangbei army.
On the tower, Fan Zhiai knit his brows. “Close the city gates. Fire the arrows.”
A volley of arrows was released, thick as a rainstorm.
Che Chengren was standing right by the city gate, already within the archers’ range. In an instant, he was pierced by ten thousand arrows!
The two blood-dripping board axes fell to the ground.
Rebel corpses were strewn everywhere, and the morale of the Jiangbei army surged. After being besieged for several days, the court finally welcomed a great victory.
The observation platform echoed with the generals’ sincere praise for Ying Xi:
“Your Majesty is brilliant!”
“Long live Your Majesty!”
After the victory, Ying Xi granted rewards according to merit. The top credit naturally went to Lu Heyu, which caused Lu Heyu’s prestige to skyrocket, making him another important general the Emperor could rely on besides the Xie family.
Ying Xi used people for the public good, but he also had his private reasons, which he did not voice.
Let’s speak only of that night’s military meeting.
Too many generals were injured, so only those who could still fight participated.
The Emperor had observed the army many times. Since there was no longer a single general in the ranks who could completely command everyone, Ying Xi personally presided over the discussion.
The topic he threw out was—how to recover Xindu as quickly as possible.
With one victory as a foundation, the generals were all bold and confident during the meeting, each offering their own schemes.
“This subordinate believes we can divide the soldiers into several small teams and have them carry baskets of dirt to the enemy city. By accumulating it bit by bit, the dirt pile will form a gentle slope. The army can then charge up the slope to enter the city and take it!”
“The south is a dense network of waterways. If we mobilize the people to divert the Han River and breach the dikes to flood the city, even the strongest city gate of Xindu won’t be able to hold. The entire city will turn into fish and turtles.”
“Filling dirt will cause massive casualties in the early stages, and flooding takes too long. Neither is as good as a fire attack.”
“Why not a poison attack? During the charge, release poisonous smoke toward the city. Make the toxicity stronger, and once the enemy smells it, won’t that be the end of everything?”
“No, no! Won’t our own soldiers also be poisoned!”
“…”
Now was a great opportunity to fight for merit.
With Lu Heyu’s rapid rise to fame as a precedent, the generals in the tent debated the next siege strategy incessantly, each hoping the Emperor would adopt their suggestion.
But for Ying Xi, all the schemes in the tent—whether burning, flooding, filling dirt, or poisoning—were not very satisfactory.
The casualties would be too great. Regardless of whether it was the enemy or his own side.
Once Xindu was recovered, the current enemy would immediately become citizens of Great Qin.
Ying Xi had studied the art of governing since childhood. For the sake of the realm’s long-term stability, it was not suitable to conduct a massive slaughter in Xindu.
Ying Xi sat on the dragon chair, leaning on his hand.
The candelabra on the sand table cast a layer of light gauze-like mist. His gaze seemed to still be focused on the military meeting, but in reality, his thoughts had already drifted far away, letting the generals continue to debate the pros and cons of their tactics.
He couldn’t help but chew over the second piece of intelligence Prince Yong brought back.
Pre-granting fiefs, giving people hope.
“—Even Li Yilong knows to win over people’s hearts. I must do it even more.” Ying Xi became even more determined not to take Xindu by force.
His confusion ran deep, and he couldn’t help but murmur to himself, falling into a state where he couldn’t extricate himself.
He was searching for a way to break the deadlock when he was suddenly interrupted by a sweet voice.
Tian Tong: [It’s just ‘Drawing a Big Cake.’]
“Drawing what?”
His thoughts jumped sharply as Ying Xi followed up with a question. He had already changed his attitude toward the Dating System from perfunctory to cooperative and utilizing.
The Dating System occasionally didn’t cause trouble and would bring him surprises; Ying Xi carefully captured them.
Tian Tong repeated: [Drawing a big cake. A modern slang term often used as a business strategy in CEO novels. It means painting a vision of the future to the employees to give them a boost of energy, when in fact there are zero actual benefits.]
There were too many unfamiliar words.
But after thinking seriously, Ying Xi could actually understand it. He responded, “Drawing a cake to satisfy hunger?”
[Exactly, exactly!] Tian Tong agreed. [Your Majesty is truly cultured. I’ve read too many web novels and almost forgot the original idiom.]
Ying Xi curled his lips, pondering for a moment before adopting Tian Tong’s context. “Then I shall not be a cake-drawer. I have decided to give the ’employees’ the most substantial benefits, attracting them to surrender to Me and give up following Li Yilong.”
He already had a general countermeasure in his heart.
Tian Tong cheered: [You will definitely be the best male lead in a CEO novel!!!]
The emotional value was maxed out.
Ying Xi thought about it and still asked: “What is a CEO novel?”
This hit right in Tian Tong’s comfort zone.
Tian Tong: [It’s novels about business elites falling in love in various ways! I’ll recommend the BL versions to you!]
[System Prompt: “1000 Sweet Pet CEO Novels 2.4G.zip” has been loaded.]
Once the compressed file was opened, the titles surged forward. Tian Tong thoughtfully converted them all to traditional characters for Ying Xi.
《The Dummy Beauty Runs Away with a Child, the Young Master CEO Chases Fiercely》
《Priceless Sweet Wife: My 10-Billion Heart’s Darling》
《Forced Pleasure Every Night: The Tycoon’s Unending Love》
《Mistakenly Provoking the Domineering Young Master Hubby, Begging for Mercy on the Bed》
《…》
The documents were still popping up. The names grew more and more abstract, widening Ying Xi’s dark gray eyes.
As a person who had been reborn, Ying Xi thought he had opened his mind and was very enlightened.
Until he witnessed these titles. Ying Xi was still shocked for a moment.
The Emperor couldn’t help but let out a deep sigh: “Could it be that the scholars of the future all read these things?”
Tian Tong answered with a giggle: [No, those who read BL novels are the rich ladies of the future!]
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