Chapter 216: Quelling the Chaos in Chang’an
Prince Yu asked three questions in a row: “What is that Seven-colored Giant Ball?”
“To which places has the information on this paper spread?”
“Quick, send someone to shoot that thing down! A monster that spreads heresy and confuses the masses, it absolutely cannot be allowed to drift further south!”
Unfortunately, of the people who fled with him to Shu Province, no one knew what the Seven-colored Giant Ball was, nor did anyone know which Prefecture Cities these papers had drifted to.
Furthermore, there was no idea how to shoot that thing down. Some low-level soldiers and Slaves even began to kneel and pray, believing it to be the work of the Gods.
Prince Yu abandoned the city and fled, and the Gods were enraged!
Before Prince Yu could resolve the public opinion incident caused by the Seven-colored Giant Ball, the news of him abandoning Chang’an and fleeing to Shu Province for refuge had already spread throughout the land.
Immediately after, another major event occurred that completely threw Prince Yu’s Faction into disarray: the Emperor died.
He died on the way back to Chang’an. If he had merely died, it would have been fine. Prince Yu could have used it as an excuse to return to Chang’an to mourn the Emperor. If Jun Yanqing had mobilized troops against him, it would have been an act of great disrespect and impiety!
But unfortunately, the Imperial edict of succession that the Emperor carried with him had disappeared! Prince Yu could not fathom how the Emperor had evaded his surveillance.
When he escaped from the Imperial Palace, he had replaced all the attendants serving the Emperor. Only two old Imperial Physicians, who had to be present at all times to treat the Emperor, could not be replaced.
As it turned out, it was precisely these two Imperial Physicians who caused problems. One of them, under the siege of his army, had escaped with the Imperial edict.
When the pursuers found a pile of disguise items, Prince Yu only then realized that the old Imperial Physician had been impersonated by his Grandson. The reason he failed to see through it was that the Imperial Physician had been an imposter from the very beginning.
If he dared to commit such a grave offense of deceiving the Emperor back then, there could only be one possibility: the Emperor had tacitly approved it. Or rather, this was the Emperor’s plan!
Prince Yu wished he could whip the Emperor’s corpse! In what way was I unsatisfactory to you? I even brought you with me when I was fleeing for my life. Even if it was an act of fatherly love and filial piety, what more could you be dissatisfied with after I played my part so well?
To treat me like this before your death! Prince Yu looked at Duke Shen: “What if that Imperial edict cannot be retrieved?”
Duke Shen sneered. Even if the Imperial Physician was impersonated by a young man, was it possible for him to escape alone? There must have been an accomplice in the army. This meant that the Emperor had made thorough arrangements to send out that Imperial edict of succession.
Even though we were on the run, his people still strictly carried out their mission and sent out that Imperial edict.
Duke Shen couldn’t help but think that perhaps when the Emperor exiled Li King to the borderlands, he was also protecting him, keeping him away from the political vortex of Chang’an and allowing him to grow up at the border.
Truly, the Emperor’s intentions are unfathomable! If Prince Yu did anything wrong, as a Crown Prince, he was still qualified. At the very least, he was obedient.
But his greatest mistake was having a powerful maternal clan. The Emperor feared that if he passed the throne to Prince Yu, the empire would eventually belong to the Shen clan!
Duke Shen snorted: “What he took was only a forged edict. The real Imperial edict is here with me.”
Prince Yu was overjoyed: “When did Uncle get it? That’s great, then let’s quickly announce the Imperial edict to the world, and I will immediately return to Chang’an to ascend the Throne.”
Then he saw Duke Shen take out a blank Imperial edict. His face changed drastically, and after a few moments of stunned silence, he finally understood what Duke Shen had just said.
Duke Shen didn’t even look up at him, fearing he wouldn’t be able to hide his look of contempt for an idiot.
“Keep the death a secret. Even if Li King obtains the edict, it is fake! When we arrive in Chang’an, we will announce the real Imperial edict to the world.”
But the next day, the articles floating down from the Seven-colored Giant Ball changed: His Majesty has passed away, and Prince Yu has murdered the Emperor!
Prince Yu abandoned his Mother, causing the deposed Empress to die at the hands of the Hu People. He then murdered the Emperor while fleeing, and kept his death a secret…
Prince Yu was on the verge of collapse: “How did the news leak?”
“Quick, burn that Seven-colored Giant Ball for this King!”
And indeed, he managed to burn it successfully. Archers fired several fire arrows in succession, and the giant Seven-colored ball caught fire, descending rapidly.
Before Prince Yu could rejoice for long, another giant Seven-colored ball rose into the sky that afternoon, followed by a second, and then a third.
On the way to Chang’an, every city and every pass saw the presence of Seven-colored balls.
If Jinsui knew what Prince Yu was thinking at this moment, he would definitely say, “Do you think I’m the Minister of Logistics for nothing?”
I understand how important public opinion is during wartime!
After floating articles exposing Prince Yu’s actions for several days, letters of persuasion to the army began to float down: As soldiers of the Imperial Court, you abandoned the city under Prince Yu’s orders.
As long as you surrender, Li King will not pursue past offenses. But if you do not surrender and continue to follow a traitor who killed his father, you will only be punished as rebels!
The morale of the army began to waver.
In fact, the morale of the army had already begun to waver when they learned that Li King had driven away the Hu People and saved Chang’an.
Then, seeing the Seven-colored Giant Balls, which seemed like divine artifacts, they knew these were used by Li King’s army to transmit messages. The soldiers in the army felt both envy and regret.
They envied the border city for having such powerful tools, and regretted abandoning the city. If they had stayed and fought alongside Li King, how glorious would that have been!
Then they learned that the Emperor was dead. Yes, they learned of the Emperor’s death from the leaflets dropped from the Giant Balls.
Some generals could no longer bear it. They were loyal to the Emperor and loved their country, but the Emperor was dead, and the country was in peril, yet they abandoned the city and its people.
Were they now supposed to follow Prince Yu and Duke Shen back to Chang’an to fight against Li King, who had saved the country, and his subordinates?
What was the purpose of their enlistment? To flee when the Hu People invaded, and to draw their swords against the hero who saved Chang’an?
That night, several generals led their subordinates to escape, carrying the leaflets they had found, preparing to return to Chang’an to see Li King.
Prince Yu was greatly alarmed and asked Duke Shen again: “Uncle, what should we do?”
Duke Shen said gravely: “Those who fled are scattered soldiers without any backing. The important generals will not flee.”
This is because the important generals all came from the Gentry, and their interests were intertwined. It was impossible for them to surrender to Li King.
Duke Shen believed that by leading these troops, he would have the capital to fight Li King.
He thought he could lead the Emperor’s corpse to the gates of Chang’an, curse Li King in front of the entire army, and finally kill him, allowing Prince Yu to ascend the Throne.
To this day, he has not gained a clear understanding. The Li King of today is no longer the Li King they expelled from Chang’an years ago.
If Jinsui were here, he would say, “We have plenty of strength and means now! Your old ways are no longer effective.”
Gu Changxiao released the news that surrendered soldiers would not be killed for three days, and tapped his desk: “Three days. Those who do not surrender after three days will be killed!”
Cheng Yu frowned. The surviving officials in Chang’an heard this and thought he would persuade Li King not to engage in fratricide, especially since the Emperor was still in Prince Yu’s hands.
Unexpectedly, Cheng Yu said: “Three days? That’s too long! I believe one day and one night is enough for them to think clearly. Fence-sitters, just pull them out.”
The officials gasped. Although in these short few days, they had already discovered that the officials from the border city handled matters very differently from those in Chang’an.
They were more efficient and faster. Once a task was assigned, there was no shirking, nor were there multiple departments for review.
In comparison, the officials in Chang’an were simply a bunch of old hands.
But not this fast! That was tens of thousands of soldiers, how could such a decision be made so easily? If they didn’t surrender within a day and a night, they would be killed?
An official pleaded: “Your Highness, why don’t you let me go and persuade them to surrender?”
Gu Changxiao pointed to the Seven-colored Giant Ball in the sky: “Can you persuade them better than it can?”
He had already obtained the Emperor’s Imperial edict of succession, the edict that hundreds of people had risked their lives to deliver to him.
To be honest, when Gu Changxiao saw the Imperial edict stating that the throne was passed to Li King Jun Yanqing.
He felt very calm and indifferent. There was no joy of finally receiving his Father Emperor’s approval.
He even felt that this Imperial edict was not that important, because regardless of whether the Emperor passed it to him or not, he would have fought for the throne.
Even if not for himself, it was for the borderlands, for Suisui, to secure a peaceful and prosperous era.
Suisui had so many things she wanted to do. Only if he ascended the Throne could he provide Suisui with the most comprehensive support!
Gu Changxiao did not intend to place the battlefield outside Chang’an. This city had already been ravaged by the Hu People, and it was too damaged to withstand a second war.
Moreover, he did not want to kill Prince Yu, exterminate the Imperial relatives, and punish the Gentry families under the gaze of the Imperial Mausoleum and his ancestors.
He personally led the troops to intercept Prince Yu’s forces south of the Ba River.
When Prince Yu heard this news, he was overjoyed. Jun Yanqing was seeking death! If you had stayed holed up in Chang’an, we would have had to find a way to attack the city.
You actually dared to come out of the city to meet us in battle!
Furthermore, Jun Yanqing’s failure to announce his ascension for so long was also beyond the expectations of Prince Yu and Duke Shen.
A country cannot be without a ruler for a day. If it were them, they would have ascended the Throne overnight on the first day they entered Chang’an.
Was he planning to ascend the Throne after burying the Emperor? How foolish.
Duke Shen and Prince Yu did not have time to rejoice for long. When the first cannon fired, and the Fish Oil Firearms were thrown down from the Seven-colored Giant Balls, the entire river surface turned red.
One by one, the firearms landed in the military camp, startling the horses, burning the Provisions, and scattering the morale of the army.
Duke Shen said that the interests of the Gentry were intertwined, and they would not surrender.
But while the generals might not surrender, the soldiers would. Looking at Li King’s army and the cannons that sounded like divine thunder, the common soldiers only wanted to save their lives and dared not fight anymore!
One person laying down their weapons and surrendering was like an infection, immediately followed by a second, and then a third.
Prince Yu shouted that those who surrendered would be executed! But it was no match for the overwhelming tide.
Gu Changxiao’s massive display of force from the outset was precisely to intimidate the soldiers and make them surrender as soon as possible.
He did not want to use such weapons on his own People.
Seeing that the morale of the army had collapsed, Duke Shen decisively decided to lead the remaining men further into Shu Province, where he had already made arrangements.
As long as Prince Yu entered Shu Province, he could declare himself Emperor there.
Unfortunately, he did not anticipate that the surrendered soldiers not only wanted to surrender but also wanted to earn merit. They beat Li King to it and blocked their path into Shu Province.
When Duke Shen and Prince Yu’s horses were shot down, and they were embarrassingly brought before Gu Changxiao.
Han Xing, remembering Cheng Yu’s instructions, did not give Prince Yu a chance to speak, nor did she want the Prince to gain a reputation for killing his brother.
Therefore, before Prince Yu could beg for mercy, Han Xing shot him in the throat with an arrow.
As Prince Yu fell in a pool of blood, the Gentry who had followed them completely panicked.
Those who reacted quickly wanted to surrender. Unfortunately, Gu Changxiao had already decided that to completely quell the unrest in Chang’an, the Prince Yu’s Faction must be eradicated.
Soldiers would not be killed, nor would the common people. However, the direct descendants of the Gentry must die! The collateral branches would be demoted to commoners.
As for Prince Yu’s son, who was not yet a year old, Gu Changxiao did not kill him. Instead, he had his mother take him to live in the Imperial Mausoleum to guard it for life.
Amusingly, Miss Lin thought that Gu Changxiao sparing her meant he still had lingering feelings for her.
She even wanted to send a message, saying she wanted to see Li King.
When Gu Changxiao heard this, he did not have his Personal Guards handle it. Instead, he sent Han Xing, because everyone knew that Han Xing was a person brought up by Leader Ji.
He could not leave any room for misunderstanding from Suisui.
Han Xing did not even ask Cheng Yu, and took Huo Zi’an to see Miss Lin.
Han Xing and Huo Zi’an’s opinions were surprisingly consistent, believing that this Miss Lin could not be kept alive. If she were honest and stayed in the Imperial Mausoleum with her child, she would have a chance to live.
She even dared to send a message to the Prince! And this message could smoothly reach the Prince’s desk, which showed that there were still people in the Imperial Palace and the Imperial Court who harbored ambitions.
They wanted to use Miss Lin, or rather, this group of people were using each other, wanting to tarnish the Prince’s reputation.
Miss Lin’s identity was very sensitive. First, the Prince was engaged to her, and then she married Prince Yu. Now that Prince Yu was dead, the Prince sparing her life had already led to many scandalous rumors.
She still dared to approach the Prince!
“If these rumors reach the border city, how heartbroken would Leader Ji be! She worked herself to death for us at the border city, while the Prince rekindled old flames with his former lover?”
Seeing Han Xing getting more agitated, Huo Zi’an quickly said: “There are no rekindled flames! The Prince doesn’t even want to see her. The fact that he sent you to handle it is proof that there are no old feelings to rekindle!”
Han Xing sneered: “As long as a person is alive, they are a potential threat. I have already killed Prince Yu, and I don’t mind killing a Princess Consort.”
He looked at the knife in his hand and smiled: “When Leader Ji gave me this Refined Iron knife, she never imagined that so many Powerful People and royal descendants would fall by this knife!”
This was true. Even the Left Wise King of the Northern Frontier had almost lost his life to this knife.
“Using a knife is too bloody. Let’s bestow a white silk noose instead!” Huo Zi’an advised.
As expected of someone personally trained by Miss Ji, she looked like a handsome Young Man, but unexpectedly so ruthless. She was truly like her master!
Huo Zi’an thought of Jinsui. Who would have thought that the girl with the curved eyes and bright, gentle smile could kill without batting an eye?
Pouring Syrup on you and dumping you into an ant nest, watching you be devoured by Ten Thousand Ants…
Huo Zi’an shivered, took out the white silk noose, and went to the Imperial Mausoleum with Han Xing.
Even if the Imperial Palace had been looted, there was no shortage of white silk nooses and poisons bestowed upon people.
Miss Lin never imagined that the letter she had written with deep affection to Li King would result in a three-foot white silk noose!
Before she died, she was still saying: “I want to see the Prince! The Prince won’t kill me, he was supposed to be my husband!”
Han Xing’s ears ached from listening. Truly shameless. When the Prince was in trouble, you immediately broke off the engagement and remarried.
And now you have the audacity to say that the Prince was supposed to be your husband! He thought of a saying that Leader Ji often used: the difference between people is greater than the difference between people and pigs!
The world has women as intelligent and peerless as Leader Ji, women as bright and cheerful as Miss Yan, and women like Miss Lin…
Miss Lin’s corpse was buried with Prince Yu, but not in the Imperial Mausoleum. Their child was sent to an Imperial temple and raised by the old Imperial Consorts there.
The civil war that the people of Chang’an had worried might last for several months or even years was resolved in just half a month.
