Chapter 592: The Burning Jinling

"Why?"

Zhao Mu did not hear what Dou Wei was saying at all; he was merely repeating this one sentence.

Seeing this, Dou Wei felt even more heartache. He continued, "Mu'er, I am doing this for your sake as well. Now you must pull yourself together; this Great Song empire is still waiting for you to conquer it."

As his voice fell, he suddenly heard the sound of horse hooves at the entrance of the mansion.

Following that, Xiao Cheng walked in with long, swift strides.

"Brother Dou, Zhao Heng took advantage of the chaos and escaped. Wei Hao was a man Zhao Heng planted in the Imperial Guards, and that bastard Xie Duan also had his own people take action to rescue Xie Huanghou. The palace maids of the Yanxi Palace said that Xie Duan forced the Emperor to name the First Prince as the Crown Prince."

Dou Wei's thoughts were entirely on Zhao Mu now. His expression was calm. "Everyone has been calculating against each other; it is impossible for us to win every time. Whether Zhao Heng escaped or not, it no longer has any impact on us. You need not feel guilty."

Xiao Cheng nodded, glanced at the devastated Zhao Mu, and said, "However, Jinling is not a place to stay for long. Ningzhou is, after all, the Xie Family's territory. Moreover, although the Imperial Guards controlled by other powerful clans did not oppose us like the Xie Family did, they have all broken away from the Imperial Guards to escort the clans' descendants out of Jinling."

He paused and said, "Therefore, if we wait for the Xie Family to gather troops to attack Jinling, I fear we will not be able to hold it."

Dou Wei finally withdrew his gaze from Zhao Mu.

Pacing back and forth a few times, he pondered, "Lead the soldiers under your command to ransack Jinling. Take everything that can be carried away, and burn everything that cannot. Leave the Xie Family an empty city."

"Hahaha, that suits my wishes perfectly," Xiao Cheng laughed loudly.

He enjoyed ransacking cities after a battle most of all, because at such times, he could do whatever he pleased.

He glanced at the Third Prince again, shook his head, and turned to leave.

Before long, bursts of screaming could be heard from outside the city, followed by thick smoke rising into the air.

Dou Wei merely glanced at it, then continued to stare at the Third Prince.

Seeing that the Third Prince remained in a listless state, he suddenly furrowed his brows, raised his hand, and slapped Zhao Mu across the face.

"Slap!" A crisp sound rang out, and five finger marks appeared on Zhao Mu's face.

The previously dejected Zhao Mu suddenly widened his eyes and looked at Dou Wei.

"Mu'er, have you forgotten your great ambition to ascend the throne as Emperor?" Dou Wei shouted.

Striking this blow pained him as well, but sometimes, for a child spoiled rotten, one must use thunderous methods.

"No," Zhao Mu said instinctively.

This slap immediately cleared his head.

Dou Wei continued, "Since you have not forgotten, you must pull yourself together. The fact that your surname is Dou is now known to all under heaven. Aside from unifying the Great Song, you have no second path to take. Do you wish to die at the hands of Yan Wang?"

"Yan Wang?" Zhao Mu repeated.

Dou Wei snorted, "Where do you think Zhao Heng will flee to? Aside from Yanzhou, does he have any other place to go? Now, he hates us powerful clans to the bone."

Zhao Mu suddenly pressed his lips together.

Right now, the person he hated most was Yan Wang.

If it were not for competing with him for military merit, how could he have fallen into the hands of the Xiliang people and suffered such a humiliating disgrace?

His eyes gradually regained their spirit. He looked at Dou Wei, "Uncle, I want to kill Yan Wang. I want to be the Emperor of the Great Song."

Dou Wei finally revealed a smile, "That's right. This is my good Mu'er. If the Great Song empire can have the surname Zhao, why can it not have the surname Dou? Once we return to Jingzhou, I will have you ascend the throne as Emperor."

Zhao Mu nodded. Dou Wei was preparing to establish a new state.

After all, he could no longer ascend the throne of the Great Song in a legitimate manner.

Furthermore, his Imperial Father had already issued an Imperial Edict naming the First Prince as the Crown Prince.

Dou Wei was increasingly delighted. Thinking of something, he continued, "If it feels natural to you, you may continue to call me Uncle; I will not force you."

Zhao Mu realized something and looked at Dou Wei with a complex expression.

It was just that he still could not bring himself to say the word "Father."

But he did not want to disappoint Dou Wei, so he said, "From this day forward, I will no longer use the surname Zhao; I will change it to Dou."

"Good, good." Dou Wei was overjoyed, and tears welled up in his eyes.

Turning around, he said, "You only need to wait for news in the mansion now. Once we have looted the wealth of Jinling, we will leave this place and head for Xiangcheng."

Then, he called over a descendant of the clan and said, "You are to go to Northern Di immediately. Relying solely on the Dou and Xiao families will likely be insufficient to deal with Yan Wang; we need to borrow the power of Northern Di."

Zhao Mu said, "But wouldn't that be inviting a wolf into the house?"

Dou Wei shook his head, "Northern Di is no longer the Northern Di of its prime; they lack the strength to threaten us. And because of their hatred for Yan Wang, they will only cooperate with us in good faith."

Zhao Mu thought for a moment and said nothing more.

After giving a few more instructions, Dou Wei left the Prince's mansion.

Boarding his carriage, he headed toward the Dou Mansion.

Along the way, the Imperial Guard soldiers under Xiao Cheng's command were in a chaotic frenzy, brandishing blades as they darted from one residence into another.

When they emerged, their arms were stuffed with silver and jewelry, and their hands were filled with porcelain and calligraphy paintings.

Anyone who tried to stop them lay on the ground, blood staining the earth red.

In the corners, there were the shrill screams of women and the beast-like, ferocious laughter of the Imperial Guard soldiers.

Up ahead, soldiers were holding torches, setting fire to the residences that had been looted clean.

The great fire instantly engulfed the wooden rooms, the flames soaring into the sky and burning like a fire dragon.

Dou Wei sat upright in the carriage, his heart without a ripple of Bolan.

The world is about to fall into chaos; only a hero can achieve a great hegemony.

Compared to war, this bit of slaughter counts for nothing.

……

On the Jiujiang, Zhao Heng's Merchant Ship was already far from Jinling City.

Even so, the thick black smoke rising from Jinling could still be seen.

"Dou Wei, you are truly ruthless," Zhao Heng clenched his fists.

He knew that Dou Wei must have indulged his soldiers in burning, killing, and looting to seize the wealth of Jinling.

Thinking that his Imperial Palace might also be reduced to ashes, he suddenly felt a pang of heartache.

If it were not for being forced by circumstances, how would he want to go to Yanzhou?

"I never expected that in this life, I would succeed because of Dou Wei and fail because of Dou Wei; enough, enough," Zhao Heng sighed deeply.

Liang Cheng stood by Zhao Heng's side, wiping away his tears.

Besides the sorrow of leaving his homeland, he also felt pained for the gold, silver, and jewels in his mansion.

It was just that, like Zhao Heng, now he could only sigh.

Two days later.

The Merchant Ship entered the open sea, and after confirming there were no pursuers, the Merchant Ship headed north all the way, sailing toward Yanzhou.

Five days later, they arrived in the waters off Qizhou.

This day, the Merchant Ship was sailing as usual, when suddenly a Warship flying the flag of the Wufeng Pirates came toward them.

Upon learning the news, Zhao Heng was nearly scared to death.

He had heard of these Wufeng Pirates.

If he fell into their hands, his fate would be no better than falling into the hands of Dou Wei.

But just as he ordered the soldiers on the deck to draw their Curved Bows and nock arrows, preparing to fight back.

He discovered that this Warship of the Wufeng Pirates passed straight by their Merchant Ship, ignoring the Merchant Ship entirely.

Just when they breathed a sigh of relief, the soldiers on the ship suddenly pointed in the direction from which the Wufeng Pirates had just come.

It turned out that a massive Warship was slowly sailing toward them.