This time, the rebel forces launched a surprise attack on the main military camp, with their target being the Marquis of Xuanping.
As the saying goes, “to catch the bandits, first capture their leader.” Without a leader, no matter how large the remaining army is, they would be nothing more than a headless swarm of flies.
But this was the most dangerous and the hardest place to attack. The soldiers who infiltrated the main camp were the strongest under Xiao Cheng’s command, and the generals were also the most formidable.
However, Xiao Cheng had known the Marquis of Xuanping for decades and was well aware of his battlefield prowess. You might be able to wound him, but to take his life would be a tall order!
Xiao Cheng did not advocate such a risky strategy. In his view, they should engage in a more circuitous battle, first shaking off the pursuing troops and then attacking Shunde Prefecture. But Mu Lei disagreed.
Mu Lei simply said, “Your cautiousness will only become a knife they use against you!”
Xiao Cheng remained silent; he had indeed missed an opportunity outside Taiyuan Prefecture.
But this time, he did not misjudge.
Standing on a high ground looking down, Xiao Cheng saw that there were no sparks on the hill, indicating that the surprise attack had failed and none of the elite soldiers he had sent survived.
He closed his eyes briefly, feeling a sudden sense of desolation.
Since arriving at Runing Prefecture, everything seemed to have slipped out of his control.
He hadn’t anticipated that the Crown Prince was still alive, nor that war would break out in Runing Prefecture. The once rotten court had suddenly become impregnable, and he knew nothing about the current situation in the capital, fighting the war blindly!
Yet, things had come to this, and there was no turning back.
The gloom in Xiao Cheng’s eyes deepened.
He did not blame Mu Lei, nor did he say much. He stood at the edge of the cliff for a long time, then returned to the camp with a decisive idea in mind, quickly convening the soldiers to discuss strategies.
Mu Lei was very happy; his master finally had the thought of confronting the enemy head-on.
However, they did not anticipate that the night raid seemed to have enraged the enemy. As they were discussing until midnight, there was a sudden commotion outside the tent.
The flames Xiao Cheng hadn’t seen in the enemy camp were now right before him. Initially, there were just a few sparks on the mountainside, but as the autumn breeze blew, the sparks scattered and gradually spread uphill, appearing to have the potential to engulf everything.
Everyone’s faces looked grim, clearly realizing that the enemy intended to use fire to smoke them out. Their strategy of confronting the enemy head-on had to be implemented ahead of schedule.
This was the second confrontation between the two forces. Both sides were fully rested, the war drums sounded, and the soldiers charged forth with unstoppable momentum!
The sounds of battle echoed, and it felt as though the ground beneath them was trembling.
Blood stained the fallen leaves of late autumn, flowing along the mountain ridge into the river, cleansing an entire stream.
Desperate fighters, each like a starving wolf, repeatedly tore open the formation surrounding the Marquis of Xuanping, only to have him decisively mend the breaches. He commanded from the rear with a crippled leg, yet it seemed as though he had countless eyes on the front lines, able to perceive everything and adapt his strategies to the ever-changing circumstances.
This was the experience forged in the heat of the battlefield!
He was an old general, a battle-hardened veteran. The glory of the Huo family had always been won on horseback, and the Marquis of Xuanping was no exception.
At this moment, Zhou Baihu finally admitted that he, as a bandit leader, was indeed inferior. He no longer complained and led his brothers to follow the Marquis of Xuanping’s commands wholeheartedly. Although they were outnumbered, they did not fall behind. The soldiers’ formation gradually pushed inward, attempting to drive their prey to a dead end, leaving them with no chance to retaliate.
For three days and two nights, both sides were utterly exhausted. A mere blink could give the enemy an opportunity, so no one dared to relax.
The situation once again reached a stalemate.
At this moment, Zhou Baihu vaguely felt the ground shaking beneath him. He turned around to see a large contingent of troops, flying the Dayong flag, charging toward the camp.
Lou Panshun had arrived!
Tens of thousands of troops surged toward the enemy like a tidal wave!
Zhou Baihu didn’t recognize Lou Panshun and stood in awe, gripping his weapon tightly.
The man, whose hair was entirely white, exuded a steely calmness and an ingrained authority. Facing thousands of troops, he raised his sword and roared, like a fierce tiger emerging from the mountains, rallying his men with a single call!
Despite his age, his movements were astonishingly agile. His sword flashed like lightning, and his steps were fluid and seamless. He stepped on the heads of countless foes, directly targeting Mu Lei, who was on the enemy’s command chariot.
With a swift slash, blood splattered, drawing an arc in the sky.
Standing atop the chariot, his eyes were cold and sharp, a sharpness that seemed capable of piercing throats and hearts.
This was the demeanor of a great general.
For a brief moment, Zhou Baihu even felt the urge to kneel before him.
—
While the battle outside Shunde Prefecture raged on, the imperial city was equally bustling with the new emperor’s enthronement ceremony.
The Imperial Astronomer had chosen a fine, sunny day.
September 22, with a sky as clear as a wash.
After worshipping at the Ancestral Temple, the new emperor’s imperial guards surrounded the gates of the imperial city, sealing it tightly. Officials gathered outside the Hall of Supreme Harmony. Xie Subai, dressed in a red and black imperial robe, holding the jade seal, sat on a specially made dragon sedan, carried step by step by eunuchs up the ninety-nine stone steps.
Xie Subai bowed his head, the pearls on his crown swayed, casting deep and shallow shadows on his flawless face. His eyes were lightly closed, listening to the music and drumbeats, a barely perceptible mocking smile playing on his lips.
Times had changed. Emperor Shunan’s body had barely been buried, and the current palace revelry seemed to overshadow the mourning then. No one’s life or death really mattered that much in this world, not even the emperor’s.
The officials chanted “Long live the Emperor” and knelt, but their obeisance was to the dragon throne and the jade seal, not to any individual, not even to Xie Subai himself.
But so what?
He had finally taken the seat that rightfully belonged to his father.
His father and mother taught him the fundamentals of life, how to conduct himself, what it means to be a ruler, a minister, a commoner, and a subject. Wasn’t it all for the sake of this very day?
Now, he has finally set this upside-down world back on its proper course. His sitting here is the way of heaven!
Wu Sheng quietly reminded from the side, “Your Majesty, it is time to allow the officials to rise.”
Xie Subai glanced over lightly, the cold disdain in his eyes had not faded, frightening Wu Sheng into a shiver as he hurriedly lowered his head.
During the upheaval at Jiuzhen Temple, he was taken into the imperial prison by the Jinyiwei. But perhaps because there were too many matters at that time, the Jinyiwei didn’t deal with him for a long time. Wu Sheng could only say he was lucky. When the new emperor ascended the throne and granted amnesty to the world, he was noticed by the new emperor and kept as a close attendant. His fate took a turn, and he kept his head and position.
He could not afford to offend the new emperor again.
But the new emperor was different from the old one. The old emperor was a fool, easy to deceive, but the new emperor was deep and difficult to fathom.
After serving him for a few days, Wu Sheng was often pierced by the cold frost that the emperor couldn’t retract from his eyes in time. But if you looked closely, you would think it was your own illusion. Yet that instant was too terrifying, like a knife brushing past your neck, leaving your life hanging by a thread.
He had to be extremely cautious while serving the emperor, unlike before.
At this moment, Xie Subai allowed the officials to rise, and ordered the Guanglu Temple to move to the palace and prepare the banquet. The feast began.
Logically, the late emperor had just passed away not long ago, so such extravagance was inappropriate. Even though it was the new emperor’s ascension, it should have been conducted with low-key simplicity. However, today’s coronation ceremony was grand and luxurious to the extent that the late emperor would have been enraged.
But this was all the idea of the cabinet.
With the frontlines at war and the throne vacant for some time, the state of Dayong had been tottering. Without an emperor, the city was like an empty shell, the people’s hearts were unsettled, and internal and external troubles were compounded.
Now, holding a grand banquet could not only stabilize the people’s hearts but also the army’s.
Xie Subai cooperated fully, sitting at the feast for a full hour. But the entire day’s coronation ceremony had exhausted him, his face could not hide his fatigue. The elder statesman saw his discomfort, fearing that something might happen to this new emperor, and quickly summoned him to return to the palace to rest.
Ao Zhi draped a blanket over him.
It was only deep autumn, but he had already started to fear the cold again.
Xie Subai did not reside in the Chonghua Hall, but in Qian’an Palace next to the Taihe Hall, which was the proper palace for emperors to live in throughout history.
The medicine had already been prepared in the palace, just waiting for Xie Subai to return and drink it.
Yinzhuang and other young maids swiftly carried out their usual tasks.
But Wu Sheng was not used to it. Every time he saw Xie Subai drink a large bowl of medicine without blinking, he would frown bitterly.
Drinking medicinal soup daily as if it were a meal, Wu Sheng thought the new emperor’s body wouldn’t last more than a year or two, perhaps not even until the spring of the coming year…
Thinking of this, Wu Sheng hurriedly slapped himself and spat, Ptooey! Ptooey! Ptooey!
As Wu Sheng was lost in his thoughts, a sudden commotion came from outside the hall. It was Shen Qingli. This young master Shen had a close personal relationship with the emperor and always barged straight into the inner hall without any prior notice, now being stopped by the little eunuchs at the hall door.
Xie Subai glanced over, holding a jade spoon, and said, “Let him in. From now on, there is no need to stop him. Lanxu knows the importance of things and will not barge in without an urgent matter.”
Wu Sheng thought to himself that this wasn’t entirely true, but he quickly ordered the front hall to let him pass.
Shen Qingli rushed in, lifting the curtain and bumping into Wu Sheng, causing him to stagger a few steps. Without even paying his respects, he exclaimed, “Zhao Yong is missing!”
Xie Subai’s hand paused. He put down the bowl and looked at Shen Qingli.
Shen Qingli was extremely anxious.
Originally, Zhao Yong was kept to eradicate the remaining remnants of the Zhao faction. To wipe out the lingering forces in one fell swoop, Shen Qingli had increased the guard in the Ministry of Justice’s prison after Xie Subai took power. But what he feared most happened.
He frowned and said, “There’s another strange thing, though I don’t know if it’s related. Shortly after Zhao Yong disappeared, Chengyuan Temple caught fire, burning beyond recognition. All three hundred people in the temple perished. The most critical issue is that today, with Your Majesty’s coronation, many people went to the temple to offer incense and pray, and they all died in the fire. This is too inauspicious! Isn’t this a deliberate affront?”
“Damn,” he cursed in frustration, “That old bastard! The Ministry of Justice’s prison is heavily guarded, and he still managed to escape!”
Xie Subai frowned slightly and said in a deep voice, “Lock down the city gates. Bring Zhao Yong back to me.”
Shen Qingli was about to say more when someone outside shouted excitedly, “Your Majesty! Your Majesty! Good news from Shunde Prefecture! Marquis Xuanping has achieved a great victory, and the rebels have surrendered!”
Xie Subai’s brows did not relax. He only turned his eyes slightly towards the door without the slightest hint of surprise or joy, as if everything was expected. He simply asked, “When will Marquis Xuanping return to the capital?”
