Chapter 263: Jade Gate Pass

Actually the best plan is for Zhu Ti to stay in Chang'an; that way the Great King can learn of Chang'an's movements immediately, much faster than any pigeon post.

But the Fifth Princess and Consort Wei Zhaoyi need escort, and this route isn't peaceful either—outside there are tens of thousands of Xiongnu cavalry; even if the Owl Cavalry is fierce, it's only ten men. The Great King still isn't willing to let his only sister fall into danger, so he grits his teeth and orders Zhu Ti to turn back with them to Youzhou.

He always feels the Cui clan is off; after all this trouble, they actually let the eldest son return to Chang'an to take charge?

Actually the Great King has doubts about the Cui clan's loyalty, but now even Empress Cui has fled—is the truth still what he thought?

He knows Empress Cui a little—she listens to the Cui clan, and the clan is her mainstay. It cannot be that, out of a ridiculous fear of death, they cause the central palace to abandon the capital.

His father emperor is still alive.

They would actually give up Chang'an, give up the great opportunity to shape public opinion—so… could it actually be not the Cui clan colluding with the enemy?

In the middle of the night he went to shake awake his poor cousin, "…Cousin, you say it's really the Cui clan colluding with the Xianbei and Xiongnu; logically, the Prince of Jing should be in Chang'an right now, so why did the Empress flee?"

His cousin strained to open his eyes, sympathetically pulling the covers over the Great King, "Analyzing the Cui clan's motives in the middle of the night? If you keep worrying like this you won't grow tall—go to sleep, ah?"

They smothered him completely under the blankets, but he stubbornly poked his head out, "If I were in the Prince of Jing's position and had that ambition, with Mother still in Chang'an I would definitely use this excuse to return to Chang'an and guard the emperor! Yet the Prince of Jing sits idle in Jingzhou, and Empress Cui has fled—this isn't right!"

Wei Shen yawned, "Either they've really been wrongfully accused, or they don't want to handle this hot potato that is Chang'an, and haven't yet reached the point where they'd intervene."

The Great King's eyes lit up, and he was no longer sleepy, "What do you mean? Will Chang'an really fall? No more negotiations this time? But… the Xiongnu alliance has numbers, yet Chang'an isn't lacking people either—couldn't they just gain some advantage and withdraw? Really fight to the death? I've heard that even in Duoye they haven't suffered few casualties; when the Duke of Sukoku and the Grand General Who Pacifies the West were alive, their fights were brutal, with heavy losses on both sides."

"You still trying to figure out those crafty old-timers? Don't dwell on it—wait for the Intelligence Bureau to get back with news, then we'll set out to rescue your father."

"Is my father bigger in Duoye?"

"Who knows…"

The Great King couldn't make sense of it, feeling there was a huge conspiracy, yet he didn't know what it was.

He didn't know—just as Zhu Ti's detachment left Chang'an, the court soon received news that the Allied Forces of the Thirty-six Kingdoms of the Western Regions were stockpiling troops outside Jade Gate Pass.

They said it was the thirty-six kingdoms, but only a few major states actually responded.

If the Grand General Who Pacifies the West were still here, Jade Gate Pass wouldn't have to be so embarrassed asking the court for aid, but now the general is gone and the garrison at Jade Gate Pass has lost half its strength.

After an uproar in the court, they finally decided to let Marquis Wei Ting lead troops to support Jade Gate Pass.

Earlier there had been voices in the court calling for Marquis Wei Ting to come and defend Chang'an, but the Senior Grand Commander opposed it single-handedly.

The Senior Grand Commander believed that once the Southwestern Army was mobilized, the ever-watchful Western Qiang would surely take action.

Chang'an still had two hundred thousand garrison troops, plus the few Imperial Guard battalions that His Majesty didn't take with him inside the city, making a total of about two hundred and fifty thousand.

He proposed transferring the thirty thousand troops stationed in Hanzhong to the capital to defend the imperial palace; if even nearly three hundred thousand wouldn't suffice, adding those few ten thousand from the Southwestern Army would be useless. Only then did the court give up on calling for Marquis Wei Ting—little did they know the Western Regions would also move at this time.

The Senior Grand Commander sighed, gazing at the empty Dragon Throne above, remaining silent for a long time.