Chapter 103: Within Ten Days, Grandfather Can Save You Back

However, Deputy General Liu's plan fell through.

When the troops were being transferred away, Yan Ning knew what they were going to do.

Yan Ning was not afraid of their archers; with the national treasury empty, the soldiers' equipment was also incomplete.

For instance, there were soldiers who didn't even have cloth armor, as well as archers who didn't have many arrows.

If they had many arrows, they wouldn't have sent only one hundred men to probe.

When they fired their arrows, Zhuo Heng and the others also threw Explosive Packages.

Several Explosive Packages were thrown down as if they cost nothing, and several archers were blown to pieces, their remains flying everywhere.

This was also the first time General Zheng and the others had seen Explosive Packages; even though they were quite far away, they could still feel the lingering power of the explosions.

General Zheng and Deputy General Liu looked at each other, feeling a lingering fear for a moment.

"Retreat, quickly, retreat!"

The surviving archers immediately ran backward.

Looking at Yan Ning's side, several soldiers were guarding the Watchtower, completely unharmed.

After all, the soldiers on the Watchtower were in more danger, so the armor Yan Ning and the others had made for them was exceptionally sturdy.

Yan Ning said to General Zheng opposite her, "Do you still want to attack?"

General Zheng walked to the riverbank and sighed, looking quite helpless.

Yan Ning said with a smile, "Do you want to try again?"

General Zheng: "…No."

Yan Ning said very "kindly," "I also think we should live in peace, but if you guys mess around, I'll just blow things up randomly on my side."

"Unless absolutely necessary, I am unwilling to use Explosive Packages on them."

Sitting on the opposite bank of the river, General Zheng was furious, but he could do nothing about her.

Yan Ning usually went for walks by the riverbank, but for the past few days, she hadn't gone.

This left General Zheng on the opposite side feeling somewhat at a loss.

Could she be thinking of some other devious trick?

Yan Ning really wasn't thinking of any devious tricks; it was just almost the New Year, and she wanted to spend the New Year happily.

Back when she was in China, every year during the New Year, there would be plenty of cured fish, cured meat, and sausages, but unfortunately, after coming to Lingnan, the weather was too hot, and it was impossible to make them at all.

However, even without those things, Yan Ning still had plenty to eat.

For example, they had traded for quite a lot of Spirit Beast Meat with the cultivation experts; these lean meats were sliced into thin pieces, and they tasted especially fragrant when used for hot pot.

Besides being able to prolong life, the texture of this Spirit Beast Meat was also quite good.

For the New Year, she gave Li Dachu a holiday, so the job of slicing fell to Yan Ze.

Yan Ning watched from the side, her eyes brightening, "Dad, your knife skills are actually better than Li Dachu's!"

Yan Ze was very pleased and sliced a large platter in one go.

Then, using the hot pot base that Li Dachu had stir-fried earlier, the fragrance overflowed in no time.

This fragrance drifted straight to the opposite bank of the river.

A group of soldiers smelled the fragrance of the hot pot, and one by one, they began to swallow their saliva.

It was simply too fragrant!

Moreover, they only had a small amount of food left, and they couldn't even bear to eat an extra bite during the New Year.

Staying on the opposite bank, smelling the fragrance but unable to eat it, they were all hungry and felt miserable.

General Zheng slapped a mosquito on his neck in annoyance and cursed, "What kind of godforsaken place is this, there are mosquitoes even in winter!"

The soldiers were all somewhat disgruntled.

One of the soldiers asked, "General Zheng, are we just going to watch them eat and drink well? I really can't stand this humiliation!"

Zheng Beimu said unhappily, "Then what can we do? How many people do you want to die?"

The soldier said, "But we... are almost out of food and fodder; we might as well give it one last try."

General Zheng sneered and said to him, "I have already sent a message by carrier pigeon to the Emperor, asking him to provide some food and fodder, and there is enough food and fodder in several nearby places to support us for a period of time."

Another person said, "But we, it's useless to keep dragging this out."

Zheng Beimu: "Is it useful if we don't drag it out?"

Besides food and fodder, he also requested that all his subordinates return to the Capital.

They really couldn't afford to drag this out.

The lives of fifty thousand soldiers—if they were to die, they should die on the battlefield defending against the Northern Rong.

However, they waited for five days and finally received the Emperor's reply.

Fifty thousand men were not enough, so the Emperor sent another fifty thousand over.

As for the food...

The letter said that if they captured Yan Ze, there would naturally be food.

When Zheng Beimu saw this letter, he wanted to curse.

The Emperor didn't care at all how many soldiers would die; he insisted that they capture Yan Ze's family.

Upon receiving the letter, Zheng Beimu sighed.

The national treasury was already empty, making it unsuitable for war; if the First Prince hadn't been pushed, he wouldn't have rebelled.

In short, Zheng Beimu felt that the Emperor was out of his mind.

Now, Zheng Beimu was not the only one worrying.

All the civil and military officials were on the verge of tears.

It was clearly a good time for the New Year, yet all the civil and military officials were kneeling on the ground, begging the Emperor not to send troops.

The national treasury is empty, and now that the Northern Rong are becoming increasingly aggressive, we should not go to war at this time.

"I implore Your Majesty to think thrice!"

"Your Majesty, the Northern Rong are currently the biggest problem that must be solved."

"Your Majesty, it would be better to eradicate the Northern Rong before dealing with the First Prince; currently, the soldiers do not even have enough food..."

"Your Majesty, beware of riots; we must still keep some troops stationed in the outskirts of the Capital."

"Your Majesty, the national treasury is empty, so it is truly not suitable to fight a war. It would be better to wait two years and slow down before dealing with the First Prince; after all, the First Prince does not yet have any intention of rebelling."

The Emperor sat on the high Dragon Throne and sneered: "Not enough food? Then go and seize the granaries of Yan Ze's family. They produced high-yield crops, so they must have enough."

"Riots? How could there be riots in the Capital? The only source of chaos is that rebellious son, Yan Ze!"

"And as for the empty treasury, by confiscating property and exiling people, this silver can always be found."

The result was that the Emperor acted like a madman; ignoring the Northern Rong, he directly exiled the several ministers who had tried to persuade him and insisted on sending troops to deal with the First Prince.

The ministers in the imperial court were truly becoming more and more cautious; one moment of carelessness and they would be subject to property confiscation and exile.

It would be better to let Yan Qing ascend the throne now.

At the very least, Yan Qing would not send troops to attack the First Prince, nor would he act on impulse and exile people at will.

Of course, there were also people who were happy.

For example, the Second Prince's maternal grandfather, Duke of Rong.

He was eager for all the military forces in the Capital to go and deal with the First Prince.

In this way, the Second Prince would have an opportunity.

That night, the Duke of Rong snuck into the Tianlao and met with the Second Prince, who was also the deposed Crown Prince.

At this time, Yan Yu was squatting in the cell, disheveled and unkempt, with a sour, foul odor emanating from his body.

The Duke of Rong's eyes were full of heartache.

Yan Yu felt somewhat distressed and asked the Duke of Rong: "Grandfather, when will I be able to get out?"

The Duke of Rong pacified him: "Soon."

Yan Yu scratched his hair in irritation, "Grandfather, you say 'soon' every time, but I have been inside for a long time."

The Duke of Rong continued to pacify him, "You will not have to suffer for much longer; just wait for your grandfather's good news."

"Within ten days, your grandfather will be able to rescue you. Stay here in peace for now."

"This time, there will absolutely be no failure."