Chapter 104: The Fall of the Imperial Palace

During this period, Yan Ze's family lived quite comfortably. Bai Yu sent over a large crate of Fireworks, which were ideas provided by Yan Ning—making some Fireworks that could be held in the hand to be set off.

The village was very lively.

Of course, this did not include the group of people on the other side of the river.

General Zheng initially still had the energy to trade insults with General Xie, but in the last few days, Yan Ning felt that General Zheng was acting a bit strange.

He seemed much more haggard, and he looked unsteady when walking.

General Zheng had only been drinking thin gruel for the past two days; how could he not be haggard?

They even asked the Haicheng Prefect for grain, but it was simply not enough.

During this time, the soldiers would also go to the mountains to pick wild fruit, but this was merely a drop in the bucket.

The consumption of fifty thousand troops was truly too great.

So, starving to death is death and dying in battle is death; should they attack across?

General Zheng struggled in his heart. He did not want to attack across, not because their forces were insufficient, but because he was actually hoping the First Prince's family would hurry up and attack.

Recently, the Emperor had been truly excessive; if it weren't for his wife and children being in the Capital, he would definitely have surrendered.

At this moment, Yan Ning went for a stroll by the river and asked General Zheng, "Uncle Zheng, what is wrong with you? Your complexion doesn't look right."

Zheng Beimu's expression was stern: "Nothing is wrong. And in the future, don't call me Uncle Zheng. Once the fifty thousand troops sent by the Emperor arrive, I don't believe that one hundred thousand troops won't be able to deal with you."

Yan Ning:...

He just told them the plan?

He just said it out like that?

Yan Ning once thought he was doing it on purpose.

No, he was doing it on purpose.

Just as Yan Ning was thinking this, a sound of a stomach growling came from the opposite side.

After eating the Spirit Fruit, Yan Ning's hearing and eyesight had improved a lot.

She had just heard the sound of stomachs growling.

Yan Ning asked: "Are you all hungry?"

Zheng Beimu was stubborn: "No, you heard wrong."

Yan Ning: "..."

Saying this, she returned home.

Her parents were both there, and the two were playing Chinese chess.

As soon as Yan Ning entered the door, she said: "Dad, Mom, I want to take some Sweet Potato and Potato to General Zheng. He just revealed information to me, saying that another fifty thousand troops are coming."

Yan Ze was stunned, and it took a while before he asked:

"Is the Gou Huangdi crazy?"

Yan Ning nodded: "He should be crazy. He probably wants to use these soldiers as meat shields to annihilate us in one fell swoop."

"Honestly, if I were a native of Daxia, I really wouldn't be this conflicted."

Yan Ze stood up and comforted her: "Give it to them; General Zheng is a good person."

So Yan Ning began to fill bamboo baskets with Potato and Sweet Potato. With the recent harvest, Yan Ning had also bought some of the surplus Potato and Sweet Potato from other families, and she still had quite a lot left.

Yan Ze packed fifty thousand catties of Potato and Sweet Potato and went over with General Xie and Zhuo Heng.

The two threw bag after bag of Potato and Sweet Potato over and reminded them: "If you have silver on hand, you can go to the villages near Haicheng to purchase high-yield grain."

General Xie and Zhuo Heng worked together to send bag after bag of Potato to the other side, and the small boat made several trips back and forth.

General Zheng's expression was complex.

He had indeed thought about attacking Yan Ze to trade for grain.

Who would have known that Yan Ze and his group would bring so much grain directly and even kindly remind him where he could purchase grain.

General Zheng felt a bit uneasy in his heart.

He gave a bitter laugh, "I didn't expect that you would actually give us grain. For you, this must be a lot, right?"

Yan Ze said: "It's alright, Ningning told us to send it."

General Zheng sighed; if Yan Ze hadn't agreed, how could Yan Ning have sent the grain out?

Never mind General Zheng, the group of soldiers behind him were also dumbfounded.

They were clearly enemies, yet they were actually sending grain!

Yan Ze saw their expressions and acted as if he didn't see them.

Yan Ze also thoughtfully mentioned how to eat them: "You can boil them in water, or steam them. Remember to wash the skin clean first."

After a while, the fifty thousand catties of grain had been sent over.

Xie Luyan looked at General Zheng, his expression somewhat complex; for a moment, he didn't know what to say.

If he urged him to surrender, he still had a wife, children, and an old mother in the Capital.

If he didn't urge him, he would sooner or later be killed by that muddled Emperor.

In the end, Xie Luyan just sighed and went back with Yan Ze.

General Zheng was not idle either; after eating a piece of Sweet Potato to fill his stomach, he sent people to the villages near Haicheng to buy grain.

Imperial Palace.

At night, as the Imperial Guard walked, they would faint.

This was soul-bewitching incense.

The Duke of Rong knocked out several Imperial Guard members.

The number of Imperial Guard members was not large, but for the sake of safety, the Duke of Rong controlled them in batches.

Then, when the sky was just beginning to brighten, an army of ten thousand attacked.

Duke of Rong killed the little Eunuch guarding the palace gate and brought his men in directly.

The Emperor got up to prepare for Court, but when he pushed the door open, thousands of soldiers were standing densely outside.

A "Boom—" went off in the Emperor's mind.

He had just sent out the garrison near the Capital, and the Duke of Rong immediately brought an army of ten thousand to attack the Imperial Palace.

"Someone, come quickly, someone!"

The Emperor roared loudly, but no one came over.

The Duke of Rong stepped forward and said with a smile, "Your Majesty, if you are willing to name the Second Prince as Crown Prince and immediately abdicate the throne to him, I can spare your life."

The Emperor: "Presumptuous! All of you, get out of my sight!"

But no one listened to him.

The ten thousand men brought by the Duke of Rong surrounded the entire Dadian, and the palace maids and Eunuchs were all kneeling on the ground, not daring to even breathe loudly.

The Duke of Rong was all smiles, calling him "Your Majesty" with every breath, but what he did showed not half a bit of respect.

The Duke of Rong stepped forward: "Your Majesty, first depose the Grandson of the Emperor; as long as you write the edict, this humble subject will withdraw the troops from the Eastern Palace."

The surrounding palace servants were all gone, and no one responded to the Emperor's calls.

He could only humiliatingly write the edict to depose Yan Qing as Grandson of the Emperor.

Subsequently, the Duke of Rong's subordinates also brought Yan Qing back.

The Emperor was furious: "He is your great-grandson!"

The Duke of Rong said with a smile: "Isn't this bringing him to you?"

"Rest assured, I will not kill him; after deposing him, he will be raised by the Empress Dowager in the future, as the imperial heir should be the legitimate son."

As he spoke, he had people send Yan Qing to the Empress Dowager.

The Duke of Rong continued to look at the Emperor: "Your Majesty, write another edict; you will personally yield the throne to the Second Prince."

The Emperor took a few deep breaths: "Don't even think about it."

The next moment, a sword was pressed against his neck, and blood was already seeping out.

The Emperor only felt a sharp pain in his neck; his current situation was one where calling to Heaven brought no response, and calling to Earth brought no answer.

The Duke of Rong continued: "Your Majesty, you must consider this clearly; if you write the edict, you can still live; if you don't write the edict, we can kill you and seize the throne, that is also possible."

It is just that there would be some small trouble in the Court this way.

So he still wants the Emperor to personally write the edict and yield the throne to the Second Prince.

Silence.

A long silence.

The sky was already bright, and the Duke of Rong continued to ask: "So, have you decided?"

"I will count to three."

"1——"

"2——"

The Emperor took a deep breath: "I will write it."