Chapter 242

After the Qilin was fine, Mu Yuanzhi and the others set out to meet with Qi Shihuai and the others; with whipped horses they could arrive in less than half a day.

After arriving, they received news that the Prince Pacifying the North was coming with fifty thousand troops to reinforce.

Gu Rongjin: "What can a mere fifty thousand troops do? With so many troops already here, we don't even take them seriously; the emperor probably has an ulterior motive, wanting to put the Prince Pacifying the North in command of the troops."

Pei Shangling

Prince Jia: "Given the emperor's way of doing things, even if we let the Prince Pacifying the North command the troops, military authority wouldn't wholly be in his hands; it would likely be split with the crown prince."

Father Emperor

Gu Rongjin laughed and said: "In that case, it's still unknown where the Prince Pacifying the North's troops will march to."

A Zi

Crown Prince

"What about Pei Shangling—are we going to escort him to the front line?" Qi Shihuai knew they had still brought Pei Shangling along.

Mu Yuanzhi: "The two armies haven't even clashed, so he has no place to use his martial skills."

Young Master Jin

They only brought Pei Shangling along; as for A Zi, Gu Rongjin let her fend for herself in the prison, and of course the guards of the great prison became even stricter.

Prince Zhenbei

The scout came to report: "My lord, general, Heir Apparent Jin, we have scouted that the Prince Pacifying the North's army detoured around Item City, taking the water route; we don't know if they intend to attack us from the rear."

feudal prince

Prince Jia: "Our tower-ship navy has long been ready; with Miss Mu's reinforced iron-chain links, once they come they won't be able to fly away."

"Don't be nervous, how do we know whether he's coming to attack us or to defect to us? I'll bet a meal that his fifty thousand troops will all be ours!" Gu Rongjin said confidently.

primogeniture system

interlocking iron chains

Mu Yuanzhi almost immediately replied: "Naturally I'm with you, just a meal."

Qi Shihuai: "Hey, when did we bet that he wouldn't come defect to us?"

Prince Jia said indifferently: "A one-sided bet is no fun."

The scout watched them still happily making bets, and not only did he feel that his earlier nervousness was a bit of an overreaction, seeing enemies in every bush.

common people

The facts proved that the Prince Pacifying the North had indeed come to defect to them; right from the start of the ferry crossing, they sent people over to shout, and of course the treatment still needed to be negotiated.

Prince Jia was very generous, promising the Prince of Zhenbei the same treatment, and even returning his previous military authority.

Mu Yuanzhi felt it was improper: "Your Highness, the Prince of Zhenbei now has nowhere to go; you don't need to promise him so much. It's never good for a vassal prince to hold troops."

Prince Jia said: "Miss Mu is right, so I only promised to return the military authority that the Son of Heaven had previously confiscated from him, and I did not say to let him go to his fief as a vassal. I intend that from now on all these vassal princes must remain stationed in the capital, and I also told him that we should abolish the primogeniture system and let the worthy reside."

"In that case, it seems I was overthinking," Mu Yuanzhi laughed.

Having the vassal princes remain stationed in the capital is indeed a method of restraint; coupled with abolishing the primogeniture system, these princes will think more and be even less willing to leave the capital for their fiefs as vassals.

However, every system has its pros and cons, but I hope Prince Jia can keep his original intention and in the future do a hundred, even a thousand times better than the Son of Heaven.

News that the Prince of Zhenbei had defected to the rebels quickly reached Pei Shangyan's side.

Pei Shangyan immediately ordered the entire army to retreat!

We had thought that with the Prince of Zhenbei on our side, we could deliberate long-term on how to retake a city, but instead he turned around and defected to the enemy!

"Your Highness the Crown Prince, are we retreating without the Emperor's order?" the right general worried, fearing for his own head.

He isn't the Crown Prince, so he doesn't have that privilege to be pardoned!

Pei Shangyan briefly said: "Retreat!"

The right general could only obey the order.

With several hundred thousand troops, they say retreat and retreat—don't they feel cowardly?

Morale is about to collapse again!

He doesn't understand, so can't we just fight these rebels to the bitter end?

Even if Prince Jia, relying on just that few troops, managed to defeat the allied forces soundly—which is already impressive—they are the empire's elite! Could several hundred thousand elite troops possibly lose?!

Being fearful before battle even starts, it's no wonder the common folk now look down on the court's army and all support Prince Jia.

Pei Shangyan felt it was purely due to the Father Emperor's one mistake leading to mistake after mistake; if he had not let Qi Shihuai lead the troops against the allied forces at the outset, today's situation would not have arisen.

Now the court has simply handed over fifty thousand troops to those rebels for nothing, and even the sole commander who had fought battles, the Prince of Zhenbei, has been given away.

"Your Highness the Crown Prince! After all, the rebel troops are at the city gates!"

The voice of the one bringing the report was trembling.

Listening to this, Pei Shangyan felt annoyed; they clearly have several hundred thousand troops, yet they can even make their own subordinates fear the rebels to this extent!

Sometimes he really just wants to wave his hand and fight the rebels to the death, net broken!

But after thinking calmly, he still decided to retreat first.

One must not act on impulse; one must still deliberate long-term.

The speed of the army's withdrawal was fast; they immediately evacuated Xiangcheng.

Even the people of Xiangcheng composed a folk song, every word mocking how the court's army retreats faster than it advances.

Once they withdrew, Qi Shihuai and his troops occupied Xiangcheng.

The people of Xiangcheng joyfully welcomed Prince Jia, lining the streets with cheers, singing and dancing; it didn't look at all like a city occupied by rebels, but rather like a place that had achieved victory.

"We truly have the people's hearts!" Gu Rongjin, entering the city, laughed and waved at the welcoming crowds.

Also riding beside Gu Rongjin on horseback, Mu Yuanzhi said: "Prince Jia's great defeat of the allied forces is the key; the court's popular support is nearly exhausted, and now it's merely clinging to life."

Gu Rongjin said: "I think we can really win without spending a single soldier, following their tactic of pulling back after hunkering down."

They just need to keep pressing forward all the way.

Mu Yuanzhi: "If only it could be that simple, or perhaps the Cloud Mirror Tower's method offers more hope."

Gu Rongjin disagreed: "The hope isn't that great either; the Son of Heaven isn't a fool—could he really be talked into it? But if he has any business, Xiao Yang should bring word over."

Mu Yuanzhi was about to say something when suddenly, the corner of her eye caught a familiar voice, a flash, so quick she wondered if her eyes were playing tricks.

Noticing Mu Yuanzhi's expression was off, Gu Rongjin asked curiously: "What's wrong? Did you see something?"

Mu Yuanzhi wasn't entirely sure either, she frowned and said: "I think I saw Pei Yunxi..."

"It's such a familiar figure; she couldn't possibly be mistaken, could she?"

"Is Pei Yunxi still alive?" Gu Rongjin thought, unless it's a cockroach, who has such tenacious vitality?

"Just giving a blood transfusion to Xu Shangnian already feels like enough of a slap in the face, let alone him also contracting the adhesion plague."