Chapter 103: Total Victory in the Southern Expedition
“Have you heard? To save the people of Xindu, His Majesty agreed to Li Yilong’s peace talk conditions. His Majesty entered the city with only General Xie!”
“The Emperor’s action is no less than going to a feast alone. Since ancient times, how many emperors have dared to do such a thing?”
In the tent for the wounded, Prince Yong struggled to turn over.
The retribution for going all out a while ago was that he had to lie there like a piece of plaster for a long time.
But Prince Yong knew how to enjoy himself; he acted like a grand lord while recovering.
He just heard the news about his brother and regained some focus. His brows shot up, and he raised his voice to shout outside: “Hey, someone come here! My brother went into the city leading a dog?”
The Longwu soldiers outside didn’t care to pay him any mind.
The Longwu Army revered General Xie, who was as steady and reliable as a god.
But they couldn’t stand Prince Yong constantly shouting “dog this, dog that” inside the room.
A soldier from the Longwu Army lifted the flap. “Your Highness is already laid out flat; can you say a few words less?”
Prince Yong raised an eyebrow. “Help me up! I’m going outside the tent!”
The soldier had no choice but to comply and help Prince Yong up.
Prince Yong pulled his wound, and the pain made him grit his teeth. He grumbled, “Help me more gently!!!”
The soldier was annoyed. “Your Highness is quite good at faking it; I didn’t even touch your wound.”
Prince Yong went from inside the tent to the outside. The morning sun was already bright.
Looking toward the dragon tent from afar, he couldn’t see any movement.
But he was concerned about his brother’s safety, which deepened his fear.
Especially before he was recovering, he had sensed a mysterious force outside his brother’s tent, which made Prince Yong believe that the camp’s atmosphere was not simple, but very complex.
Prince Yong closed his eyes and tried his best to recall and sense it, wanting to figure out something solid, but he couldn’t tell if it had been a hallucination at the time.
Prince Yong’s heart pounded. “Take me to see my brother! I’m going into the city too!”
The soldier laughed mercilessly. “Are you going into the city to cause trouble for our General Xie? If a real fight breaks out, should he protect the Emperor or you?”
Prince Yong was uncharacteristically silenced, the pain in his body even sharper.
That dog’s desire for his brother was glaringly disgusting; he had been annoyed by it since they were children.
His intuition told him it wasn’t a good dog; there was no need to verify the negative impression.
Prince Yong curled his lip. “Is your General Xie up to the task?”
The soldier looked up. “Just talking about this southern expedition: he took the lead in breaking Guangling, killed Xu Youyi in a duel, and killed seven generals in a row at Xindu, scaring the rebel Li into begging for peace. If he’s not up to it, you are?”
Prince Yong ignored him. Doggy protection.
All those who approached his brother with impure motives should die!
Anyway, the war was over. When the clever rabbit dies, the hunting dog is cooked—he would find time to slaughter that dog.
“The Emperor has agreed to talk with the Jiangnan Sovereign!”
“Open the city gates! Release the people!”
The messengers outside the city shouted.
Tens of thousands of Jiangbei troops were strictly lined up in front of Xindu, stretching as far as the eye could see.
The damaged main gate opened to both sides with a creak. The rebel capital opened its doors to Ying Xi. The Emperor left the dense army and stepped onto the main road of the city, walking inward.
The sunlight stretched Ying Xi’s slender shadow.
He looked into the distance; the area ahead was empty. On the blue stone road beneath his feet, corpses were scattered everywhere.
The bodies had different causes of death: starvation, disease, murder…
The expressions on the corpses were all pained.
But wherever Ying Xi went, the rebel soldiers laid down their butchering knives because of his appearance.
Those commoners who were about to be killed were suddenly saved by the Jiangbei Emperor. They all watched Ying Xi with expressions of disbelief.
No one would have thought that Ying Xi would actually enter Xindu for the peace talks.
And he had brought only one general, who walked to the Emperor’s right.
An emperor dared to enter the city alone, and a general dared to deep-dive into the enemy camp. Based on those two portions of equal, sky-high courage alone, wherever Ying Xi went, the residents of the city gathered on both sides of the road and knelt in unison.
“Thank you, Your Majesty! Thank you, Your Majesty, for saving our lives!”
“Long live the Emperor! Long live, long live!”
“…”
Sweetie System: [Your Majesty, you’re so handsome. The big wolf dog is also so handsome.]
Sweetie System: [You are currently the focus of the whole city; are you very excited? I have a premonition that this matter will be written into storybooks today. Are you thinking about something epic???]
No.
On this path to the palace, Ying Xi instead thought of a trivial little matter.
Years ago, he and “Foal” had sneaked out of Fanlan Hall to go hunting. It was dangerous for two children to go into the deep mountains.
He had tried to scare “Foal”: “There are wolves in the mountains.”
“Wolves can’t beat me.”
“There are tigers.”
“Foal” had raised the Youlong E. “Tigers can’t beat me either.”
“There are bears.”
“I’ll try my best.”
“Two little bears.”
“Foal” had reached out his hand. “I’ll let you hold one.”
“Two male bears!” Ying Xi had gestured. “Huge ones, this big.”
“Have I poked a bear’s nest?” “Foal” had considered seriously. “Then I’ll let Little Black send a message, get on Little White, and run fast.”
“”Foal” is so stupid; bears sleep in the winter.”
The teenage Ying Xi’s laughter still echoed in his ears. In this life, he rarely played such childish jokes with anyone.
The adult Ying Xi caught a glimpse of the light and shadow of memory and couldn’t help but smile as he entered the Xindu Palace.
Ying Xi could see the figure of the Jiangnan Sovereign.
He turned back at the main gate of the hall, which was heavily guarded by soldiers and bristling with swords and spears. “Li Yilong didn’t come for peace talks; he definitely wants to kill me.”
Xie Qianli said coldly, “Before he can move, I will take his life first.”
The corners of Ying Xi’s mouth rose another two notches.
Memory and reality overlapped; time slowly intertwined.
It felt like going on another adventure with his “Doggy” again. “Foal” was always reliable.
Ying Xi sighed, “Li Yilong can’t beat you either.”
“Jiang… the Jiangnan Sovereign kneels to Your Majesty for peace—”
In the main hall, there was a very tall man holding the rebel seal in both hands, walking toward the two of them.
His legs were trembling, and his voice wasn’t very steady. This person lifted his gaze and then habitually lowered his head, walking as if he couldn’t lift his feet.
The two sides approached each other. The change happened in an instant!
The Youlong E flipped the rebel seal, blocking it and creating distance between Ying Xi and “Li Yilong.” “It’s fake.”
The seal was thrown away, the box opened, and thick smoke burst from it, drugging the surrounding armored soldiers.
Before “Li Yilong” could even get close, his cover was blown.
The fake fell on his butt, his beard fell off, he wet his pants, and his legs kept shrinking back!
It was a eunuch. His high-pitched voice shouted, “Surround them! Kill them both…!”
It was thought that Li Yilong would strike during the peace talks, but it wasn’t expected that he would completely remove himself from the situation.
The heavy doors of the main hall were closed.
The heavy-armored rebels attacked all at once, and the light suddenly dimmed.
On the palace wall, seeing the hall doors locked from afar, a fast-moving expert hurried up the city tower.
the expert pulled out a short blade, killed a guard, and fired a signal flare into the sky above the main gate.
Red light flooded the sky.
The garrison outside the city saw the fire in the palace and knew something was wrong. They mobilized, saying, “What’s happening? His Majesty is in danger; charge into the palace to save him!”
The Imperial army surged into the city like a flood.
Xindu was in a state of panic!
The commoners, who had just gained some peace, didn’t expect the war to start again. Screams broke out everywhere.
But fortunately, Ying Xi had made arrangements beforehand. The Imperial army shouted as they entered:
“Li Yilong is treacherous! He is killing the people and breaking the peace talks!”
“Those rebels who lay down their weapons are pardoned! Residents of the city need not panic; the Imperial army is taking control of the city!”
The gates of Xindu were all open.
The Jingzhou Army, Xizhou Army, and Longwu Army took over the streets.
A commoner stumbled and fell in front of the army, accidentally blocking the path. Fearing he would be treated as a rebel, he covered his head in terror.
But he was pulled up by two soldiers. The soldiers let him go and continued to charge toward the palace.
They only had a moment’s encounter. The commoner was stunned, staring blankly at the departing soldiers.
In this Xindu, some people ignored the lives of the people and destroyed things, while others spared no effort to protect them.
The citizens of the city calmed down slightly.
The barrier between the inside and outside of the city was gone, and people were moving everywhere.
Fan Zhiai was dressed as a commoner, dragging the beautiful girl he had fished out of the harem. Both of them carried bundles.
“Quick! While the city defenses are weak, we must escape Xindu…”
“Brother Fan, inside the palace…” The beauty was out of breath; she had never suffered so much. She said while running, “The Sovereign… can he kill Ying Xi?”
“That’s his business; I can’t worry about that much!”
“If he kills Ying Xi, the world will be in chaos, and Li Yilong can hold on for a few more years,” Fan Zhiai said. “Even if he can’t kill him, he can run. We’ve already run first!”
The beauty was horrified. “So you’ve schemed against the Sovereign?”
Fan Zhiai looked disdainful, the scratches on his face making him look even more monstrous. “If he doesn’t make the city a mess, how can we get out? The soldiers in the city are all frantically going to save Ying Xi; who can care about you or me?”
This pair of man and woman was trying to sneak out of the city in the opposite direction.
The palace hall.
“One, two—”
There were over a dozen spears pressing down on the shaft of the Youlong E.
Both sides were locked in a struggle of strength. In front of them were countless rebels, and behind them was the heavy main door. Li Yilong was nowhere to be found, and Ying Xi and Xie Qianli were trapped in the hall.
Beneath his silver armor, Xie Qianli’s muscles tightened, and he slammed forward with all his might!
The dozen spear shafts were thrown back, and the rebels fell backward.
Xie Qianli fiercely swung the Youlong E at the rebels. The heavy armor was smashed open, sweeping a semicircle with a radius of nearly two yards within the formation.
Ying Xi stood outside the range of the blades and spears; that semicircle was like a chasm between the inside and outside.
Xie Qianli said coldly, “The news of the battle in the palace has reached the outside; the army is entering the city. Do you really think you can succeed?”
The rebels all had family members held by the Sovereign. Although they were terrified, they still charged.
“Kill him!!!”
The bloody semicircle was layered again.
Blood splattered over the silver armor.
Facing the familiar back, Ying Xi gritted his teeth.
He had once pretended to be weak to seek protection from Xie Qianli, and now he was the most powerful person in the world. The shield in front of him, the sword in his hand, was still this man—the teenager he had met by chance ten years ago.
It was like a seed buried deep in his heart, having long since sprouted in Ying Xi’s heart, finally pushing its head out with force.
The blood dripping on Xie Qianli, his effort in swinging the Youlong E… it made Ying Xi’s eyes sting, and his vision blurred.
He realized the source of these recent irrational emotions.
—He didn’t want the other person to be hurt because of him.
His sickly body always needed another person to bear the full force of the enemy for him.
[System Message: Verification task reward, receiving (25%)]
His back almost touched the door panel. Ying Xi’s body went stiff.
The Mainframe indeed didn’t dare to offend a big client; it had to give the Emperor compensation.
Sweetie System: [Waaah, I have a feeling the big wolf dog is going to be saved…]
[System Message: Verification task reward, receiving (45%)]
Xie Qianli shouted, “If Xindu is reclaimed by the Imperial army, who will pardon your family members?”
The rebels hesitated for a moment.
[System Message: Verification task reward, receiving (65%)]
Thick smoke billowed around the main hall!
The hall doors had been locked from the start, and tung oil had been poured outside long ago. Li Yilong didn’t want anyone to live; flames were already licking their way into the hall.
[System Message: Verification task reward, receiving (85%)]
The rebels could be moved by persuasion.
However, fire and water were heartless. Wooden structures ignite upon contact with fire, and the flames immediately surged into fire-snakes!
If the hall collapsed, the roof weighing tens of thousands of pounds would fall.
By the time the Imperial army came to the rescue, they would be picking up the Emperor’s corpse.
The rebels opposite were hesitating; before the fight, their families might have died, but now they were about to die immediately. If they killed the Emperor of Jiangbei, their families would certainly not survive under the blades of the furious Jiangbei army.
Li Yilong had sold them out.
All the rebels were lost!
Xie Qianli put down the Youlong E, hugged Ying Xi tightly, and moved away from the main door. His voice rang through the hall.
—“Hurry up and run for your lives???”
A dozen people began smashing the door from the inside!
[System Message: Verification task reward, receiving (100%)]
[Charm Value +10,000,000,000]
The Sweetie System couldn’t even count how many zeros that was. No wonder it had taken so long to receive.
The Charm Value radiated outward from Ying Xi, spreading layer by layer beyond the palace walls, instantly affecting the entire city.
The Son of Heaven was in danger.
The Son of Heaven had come to save Xindu, yet he was about to die in Xindu.
Knowing this, countless men, women, and children who had survived because of Ying Xi rushed toward the Xindu Palace.
And those family members of the guards who were held in the palace had long been unwilling to be controlled.
The soldiers responsible for watching them also lost their will to fight.
The two sides came together in an instant.
One by one, the hall doors were opened.
The hostages swarmed out, rushing toward the main hall to save the people. Everyone’s expression showed absolute fanaticism.
Before Fan Zhiai could escape the city gate, he and the beauty were recognized by the fleeing commoners. They were pinned down and beaten severely before being tied up and sent to the palace.
Li Yilong had secretly manipulated the assassination, and after failing, he wanted to flee, but no one followed him.
Li Yilong was helpless. He intended to escape on his own, but his close guards didn’t give him the chance; they tied him up and presented him to the Jiangbei Court.
The fire was extinguished and the doors were broken open. The main hall burst open!
The steps below the hall were filled with soldiers and commoners.
The people looked up at the hall, welcoming the Sovereign as he emerged safely from within.
Coming from different regions and holding different identities, the commoners, without anyone to command them, completed a spontaneous rescue.
The one who wins the hearts of the people wins the world.
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