EWRN - Chapter 64
Chapter 64: War (IV)
"Archers!" the Imperial Guard commander defending the city roared. The archers stepped forward, drew their bows, nocked their arrows, and awaited the next command.
The great army of the Northern Kingdom thundered toward them, the soldier at the fore holding high the banner of his nation.
"Shield formation!" The Wu Clan Chieftain had sharp eyes and spotted the rows of archers on the Great Yuan imperial city's walls from a great distance. He immediately gave the order.
"Shield formation!" "Shields!"
The command was passed down through the ranks. The Northern Kingdom soldiers slowed their advance and changed formation. The shield-bearers raised their shields high, forming square after square as they slowly pushed toward the imperial city.
"Loose!" the Imperial Guard commander bellowed. At his command, the soldiers let fly the arrows already on their bowstrings with a series of whooshes.
After firing, the first rank of soldiers stepped back, and the second rank stepped forward to release their own prepared arrows, while the first rank nocked new ones behind them.
The two ranks took turns nocking and firing, and arrows rained down toward the ground like streaks of light.
The clanging of arrows on shields was enough to set one's teeth on edge. A few stray arrows slipped through the gaps in the shield wall, striking soldiers.
But for the most part, the Northern Kingdom soldiers were unharmed.
Seeing that the volleys were ineffective, the Imperial Guard commander quickly pulled a signal flare from his sleeve. He lit the fuse with one of the torches on the city wall, and with a whoosh, the flare shot into the sky, bursting in a dazzling light. The Imperial Guard throughout the entire city saw the flare ignite in the northern sky. They knew the north gate must be under attack. The commanders of the west and east gates quickly dispatched a large number of men to reinforce the north gate.
The Northern Kingdom's assault was ferocious, and the commander at the north gate nearly buckled under the pressure. Fortunately, reinforcements from the east and west gates arrived in time, allowing them to hold back the offensive, but they dared not relax their guard.
The sun gradually set in the west. Seeing that the entire imperial city's forces were bogged down at the north gate, Prince Anping, Huo Jinye, finally made his move after receiving his scout's report.
Huo Jinye and Hou Yuwen ordered their soldiers to advance. A great, dark mass of soldiers advanced on the imperial city's west gate, giving the defending soldiers quite a scare. They thought the Northern Kingdom's army was attacking and were about to fire a signal flare for help when they saw the lead soldier carrying the banner of the Northern Garrison Army. Only then did they breathe a sigh of relief. At least it wasn't the Northern Kingdom.
Once again, it was Chief Steward Lu who spoke. "Listen up, you on the wall! Below are His Highness Prince Anping, Young General Hou, and the Northern Garrison Army! Open the gates at once and let us in! The Northern Kingdom has invaded, and we are here to rescue His Majesty!"
The soldiers on the wall were already without a commander and had lost their backbone. Hearing that it was Prince Anping who had arrived, they were even more surprised. Without thinking it through, they saw the Jade-Inlaid Gold Medallion in Prince Anping's hand and believed the nonsense from the men below, directly ordering the soldiers at the base of the wall to open the gates.
Huo Jinye was overjoyed. He and the Young General rode their horses into the city. A portion of the Northern Garrison Army remained outside, while the rest followed Huo Jinye into the imperial city.
Once inside, Huo Jinye wasted no time, spurring his horse directly toward the Imperial Palace he had so long coveted.
The streets within the imperial city were unusually deserted. As soon as the battle at the north gate had begun, the common people of the Great Yuan capital had all hidden away in their homes, bolting their doors.
Huo Jinye arrived at the palace gates and presented his Jade-Inlaid Gold Medallion. Just as smoothly, the palace gates swung open for him.
When the three commanders defending the north gate heard the report from a soldier from the west gate—that Prince Anping had entered the city with a large force and was heading straight for the Imperial Palace—their hearts sank. It was over!
They were commanders, after all, and their minds worked far better than those of the common soldiers. The imperial city was in chaos, and they were fighting with all their might to repel a foreign invasion. At a time like this, Prince Anping, with so many troops, wasn't heading to the front lines to fight the enemy. Instead, he took a side route to the west gate and, taking advantage of the absence of its commander, used the pretext of rescuing the emperor to bring a large force into the city. What could this be but a coup?!
If this wasn't a damned coup, the commander would eat his own head!
The commander sent a soldier flying back several steps with a powerful kick, but the man managed to stay on his feet.
"Who the hell gave you permission to let people into the city?!" the commander seethed. Right now, the entire Imperial Guard was concentrated at the north gate fighting the enemy. How could they possibly spare anyone to protect the emperor at the palace?!
If the Imperial Guard left and the north gate fell, all the common people of the city would be exposed to the claws of the Northern Kingdom. But if the Imperial Guard didn't go to the palace, wouldn't His Majesty, without anyone to help him, be in grave danger?!
After a painful deliberation, the Imperial Guard commander slowly lowered his fist.
"Keep holding the line, damn it!" the commander roared, praying in his heart that His Majesty, Huo Jinyu, had received news in advance and had run as far away as possible. He could not gamble with the lives of the entire city's people!
The commander let out a long sigh. The Great Yuan Kingdom, he feared, was about to change hands.
If Huo Jinyu could have heard the commander's thoughts, she would have been astonished to find he was a prophet.
Why? Because Huo Jinyu had indeed received the news early and had already fled.
The Imperial Palace was situated in the southernmost part of the imperial city, and the city's south gate was located within the palace grounds. So, upon getting word that Huo Jinye had entered the city, Huo Jinyu had hopped on her horse, slapped its rump, and leisurely slipped out the south gate. As for Noble Consort Di An, the Third Prince, and his mother, Huo Jinyu had sent them to Baili Mountain days ago. The entire Wang Shu family had also moved to Baili Mountain. Wang Shu was a walking treasury, and Huo Jinyu was not about to let him go. The expenses of the Brocade Guard Army still depended on him.
Huo Jinye spurred his horse into the Imperial Palace and ordered his soldiers to conduct a thorough search. The moment they saw Emperor Yuanjin, they were to "bring" him over immediately!
His soldiers were already part of Huo Jinye's faction, so they naturally had no reservations. The guards who had opened the palace gates could only stare, dumbfounded, as Prince Anping began to search the Imperial Palace with impunity.
"Report! Emperor Yuanjin not found in the western section of the palace."
"Report! Emperor Yuanjin not found in the Hall of Imperial Governance."
"Report! Emperor Yuanjin not found in the Hall of the Slumbering Dragon."
...
The soldiers turned the Imperial Palace upside down, but they found no trace of Emperor Yuanjin.
Huo Jinye was furious. That Emperor Yuanjin was like a rabbit! Gone! Fast as lightning!
But that was fine, too. With the Imperial Palace masterless, couldn't he, Prince Anping, Huo Jinye, rightfully occupy that supreme throne?!
Prince Anping, Huo Jinye, laughed heartily as he walked into the Hall of Imperial Governance. Young General Hou and Chief Steward Lu followed behind him, stepping into the hall together. Huo Jinye paced with his hands behind his back, ascending the steps one by one, until finally, he sat upon the glittering golden dragon throne.
"Hahahahahaha! This dragon throne has finally fallen into my hands!" Huo Jinye laughed with triumph, his entire being radiating arrogance.
Young General Hou stood fixed at the bottom of the steps, looking up at the ecstatic man before him. The corners of his lips curled into an alluring smile, but it vanished in an instant, unseen by anyone.
Huo Jinyu took the back roads to Baili Mountain, but that is a story for another time.
The Wu Clan Chieftain of the Northern Kingdom had spent two days wearing down his forces against the Great Yuan imperial city. He had failed to breach its defenses.
On the morning of the third day, the Wu Clan Chieftain suddenly received an urgent report: the Northern Kingdom's imperial city had been taken by Yan Xi and her army. He was urged to return at once to reclaim it!
The Wu Clan Chieftain was stunned. What was all this? Shouldn't Yan Xi still be in the Great Yuan imperial city? Where did she get an army to march to the Northern Kingdom and capture its capital?!!
The Wu Clan Chieftain was so choked with rage that he nearly spat up a mouthful of old blood.
The Northern Kingdom, the imperial city.
Yan Xi had conquered the Northern Kingdom's capital with astonishing speed, capturing everyone from the Wu Clan. It had to be said, Huo Jinyu's Brocade Guard Army was truly effective. They had breached the imperial city's defenses as easily as splitting bamboo. Less than half a day after her arrival, she had the city under control. Yan Xi had spies and had heard that the Wu Clan Chieftain was on the verge of reaching the Great Yuan capital. To provide indirect aid and help Huo Jinyu, she had deliberately let two of the Wu Clan's men escape. She let them go to Great Yuan to deliver the news, hoping to lure the Wu Clan Chieftain back to the Northern Kingdom.
The Wu Clan Chieftain did exactly as she wished, scurrying all the way back out of Great Yuan and leading his army straight for the Northern Kingdom's capital.
The Great Yuan imperial city.
When Prince Anping, Huo Jinye, saw the Wu Clan Chieftain's army retreat like the tide, he was truly relieved. Although he didn't know what had happened in the Northern Kingdom to make the Wu Clan Chieftain leave so decisively and without a trace of hesitation, for Huo Jinye, this was a great stroke of luck.
It meant that as soon as the Wu Clan Chieftain left Great Yuan, the agreement they had made was naturally void. He, Huo Jinye, no longer had to sell out the country for personal glory!
It never occurred to Huo Jinye to think of the commanders he had betrayed and killed, or the cities of Great Yuan that had been ravaged by the Northern Kingdom's invasion, where the people were plunged into misery.
Right now, Huo Jinye's eyes were only for that glittering, golden throne. Chief Steward Lu was right. As long as the outcome was correct, who cared about the process?
The next day, Huo Jinye summoned all the civil and military officials. He used military force to coerce them into recognizing his claim to the throne and ascended smoothly, changing the reign title to Yuanye.
Huo Jinye had finally achieved his dream, ascending to the throne he had coveted for so long. He eagerly walked through the palace again and again, as if seeing it for the first time. He set foot in the Hall of the Slumbering Dragon for the first time—this was the palace where the emperor resided. Now, the Hall of the Slumbering Dragon was his! The Imperial Palace was his! The Great Yuan Kingdom was his! The world was his, Huo Jinye's!
"Hahahahaha!" Huo Jinye lay on the great bed in the Hall of the Slumbering Dragon, laughing wildly, as if possessed by madness.
The Northern Kingdom. The imperial city.
After several days of fierce battles, the imperial city remained as impregnable as a fortress, not yielding an inch. Instead, it was the Wu Clan Chieftain who had lost a large number of men.
They say momentum is everything in a battle; the first charge rouses the spirit, the second sees it wane, and the third exhausts it. After consecutive days of defeat, the Wu Clan Chieftain's troops were demoralized, and some even began to harbor resentment and dissatisfaction toward him.
Seeing that the time was ripe, Yan Xi led a surprise night raid on the Wu Clan Chieftain's main camp. She successfully captured him alive. Without their leader, the Northern Kingdom soldiers fell into chaos. The clever ones immediately surrendered. With some taking the lead, more and more Northern Kingdom soldiers surrendered. In the end, Yan Xi completely reclaimed the military authority of the Northern Kingdom. She escorted the Wu Clan Chieftain and his followers back to the imperial city to await their execution the next day.
The next day, the sun shone brightly. The execution platform was set up in the northern execution grounds of the imperial city. Many people from the Northern Kingdom came to watch. Yan Xi ordered a man to read aloud the wicked deeds of the traitorous Wu Clan over the past year and declare their crimes. The Wu Clan Chieftain and his sons were all pushed onto the execution block.
Yan Xi sat impassively in the seat of honor, waiting for noon to arrive. She felt neither joy nor anger. The victor is crowned king, the loser is branded a bandit. It was likely just that.
Noon passed. Heads rolled. In every era, there are always superstitious commoners who will eat human-blood-steamed-buns, and this time was no exception. Yan Xi gave a cold laugh, left the execution grounds, and returned to the Imperial Palace.
In the palace, a guard came to report.
The former emperor of the Great Yuan Kingdom, Emperor Yuanjin, had been killed by the current emperor, Yuanye!
Yan Xi's hand trembled, and she nearly dropped her teacup. She glared at the guard and shouted in disbelief, "That's impossible!"
At that moment, a wrenching pain seized her heart.
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