My Chinese ancestors

Chapter 351 The pull between the Emperor of Qi and the Crown Prince
Xinxiang has been the capital of Qi for more than 200 years. The towering city walls are full of ancient atmosphere. In the rainy season of summer, a thick layer of moss grows under the walls.

The eunuch carrying the imperial edict led the palace guards to the Prince of the East Palace, thinking that he could go back to deliver the edict after announcing the edict.

However, when I arrived at the East Palace and looked at a group of eunuchs and maids kneeling on the ground, I realized that the prince had gone privately to visit the people's "sufferings" incognito.

As a last resort, he asked the guards beside him to ride out of the imperial city and go to the place where the prince often went to look for him. After passing two streets, he entered the bustling market. The streets on both sides still looked crowded, and the wooden buildings were put together high and low. The country has not been repaired for many years, and the rammed earth on the street is full of potholes and muddy water has accumulated.

There are also wide and narrow alleys with twists and turns, and the eaves are still dripping with rain from last night.

The guard rode a fast horse through the long eaves and noisy streets, and stopped at the side door of the brothel in Fulin Lane. He walked into the courtyard door with beautiful lanterns hanging on it. There were also wet dresses and colorful silk hanging in the side courtyard. , and occasionally a delicate woman would come out of the room.

After walking around to the gate at the back of the main building, as soon as you enter, you can hear the sounds of women laughing, men laughing and cursing rudely, and the sounds of people drawing swords and shouting.

Soon, the guard was led by the turtle slave to a private room on the third floor. Prince Qi Ke'an was having fun with several officials and officials in the court. Each of them was surrounded by two beautiful prostitutes. The guard also Before he came in, the prince inside was hugging each other and talking.

"... I have a court meeting today, so I have the opportunity to sneak out and invite you to come here to have fun. When you go back, you will still follow the same rules. Don't tell your parents."

"Don't worry, Your Highness, how can you share the joy here with your fathers? Your buttocks will be blooming!"

"However, Xia Kingdom has already invaded Jiuding Prefecture. Isn't it a bit unkind for us to drink and have fun here?"

"That's a matter for the courtiers. Let's just follow the prince."

Sitting in the main seat was Qi Kean, who was being served by two beautiful prostitutes. His face was flushed with wine. He was only 16 years old. He hooked the slender waists of the two women. He was obviously drunk.

"Follow me well. When you become the emperor, I will let you become high officials one by one."

Speaking later, his tone was fierce.

"If you ask me, this battle was really frustrating. I, the Qi State, have been established for more than 200 years, but I can't compare to the newly established Xia State, which is the Yan State. If I become the emperor, I can lead the expedition myself..."

"Okay!" The officials and disciples around him clapped their hands and raised their wine glasses in toast.

dong dong!

At this time, there was a knock on the door, and the guard who followed Prince Qi Kean whispered outside the door: "Your Highness, someone from the palace is calling you to go back. It is said that the noisy eunuch is waiting for Your Highness in the East Palace."

Loud purpose?

Everyone in the private room showed doubts. Qi Ke'an staggered, pushed away a prostitute, went over to open the door with the help of others, and asked the guard at the door smelling of alcohol: "Where is the person?"

After a while, the guards who came out of the East Palace came over to pay their respects.

"Your Highness, I have been ordered to ask you to go back."

"Just say whatever you want here. If it's not important, let the noisy eunuch put the imperial edict in the East Palace. I'll read it when I get back."

"This..." The guard knew the temperament of His Highness the Crown Prince. He hesitated for a moment and whispered in Qi Ke'an's ear: "It is... His Majesty... wants to abdicate the throne for you... so that His Highness can ascend the throne as soon as possible."

bang.

The wine glass slipped directly from Qi Ke'an's hand and fell to the ground. He thought he heard wrongly. He looked at the guard in front of him and confirmed something again. The other person repeated it. His eyes widened and he was trembling in an instant. The drunkenness immediately faded away. People are more awake than usual.

"Go back...back to the palace, quickly!"

He hurriedly adjusted his robes, his hands trembling in this momentary movement. As for what he just said about becoming an emperor and a charioteer, he had already forgotten about it.

His father, who had only been on the throne for half a year, was about to give up the throne to him in the blink of an eye. Even a fool knew what was going on.

He hurried towards the stairs. The moment he saw the stairs, he suddenly had an idea. He stepped on the steps, deliberately tripped his back foot on the calf of his front foot, and then went down... and rolled down the stairs to the second floor with a crackle.

Qi Ke'an hugged one leg and kept screaming "Ouch" on the ground.

……

"What? The prince fell down the stairs and broke his leg?"

Qi Wangge was so excited that he almost stood up from the dragon chair. At this time, the court meeting had dispersed, but there were still several important ministers and the Queen Mother who stayed to discuss the establishment of a new king.

Hearing the news, there was some consternation in the main hall. In the study, when he saw the eunuchs who had gone to announce the order and the guards who were looking for people, their heads lowered in embarrassment, Qi Wangge patted the armrest of the dragon chair.

"The edict has been issued no matter what... How can the words of the emperor be child's play!"

"Your Majesty, the prince is scared." On the phoenix chair on the other side, Queen Mother Zhao Zhuangyi said in a low voice, "At this time, your majesty abdicates and allows the prince to succeed quickly. Everyone understands what is going on, and the court also Without stability, the people below will become even more panic-stricken, so how can the army fight?"

An old minister came out and seconded the proposal: "Old minister seconded the proposal."

"Then first..." Qi Wangge frowned and said hesitantly: "... Take it easy for now. I have some serious illness and I went to the doctor indiscriminately, which made the prince panic."

After that, he continued to talk about deploying troops and generals and arranging the defense of Pingshengzhou. The veteran general Zhao Chengguang was already guarding there, which should be able to slow down the attack of Xia's troops, but it was obviously not enough. The emperor immediately issued an edict and dispatched Xin Xiang. Soldiers and horses from surrounding states and counties gathered in the capital to deploy heavy defenses in front.

Within a few days of the decree being issued and the surrounding counties and counties mobilizing troops and horses, the war in Yangping County of Pingsheng Prefecture had already started in earnest.

Zhao Chengguang was sixty-five years old, leading the army to defend the city, which was almost a peak moment that he had not experienced in the previous decades.

However, the continuous high-intensity siege also made the Qi soldiers who had never experienced war complain endlessly. A large number of soldiers died in the battle to defend the city, which also made many soldiers feel terrified.

The siege continued on the fifth day. Xiang Yu and Lu Bu led the Xianlang Cavalry and stood on a hillside in the northwest of Pingyang County. They looked at the Xirong soldiers in front of them like a swarm of ants climbing the city wall, vowing to shake the defense on the opposite side.

"It's a bit surprising that Qi State still has capable generals." Lu Bu looked at it for a while and commented with some emotion: "It's a pity that the Xiliang and Youyan armies didn't arrive, otherwise there would be no need to fight for five days."

"It's not bad to fight for five days. It's the first time Xiang came to this world. He was able to fight against the capable generals of Qi in the first battle. It gave me a good understanding of the fighting methods of the generals in this world."

Xiang Yu has been fighting in the south and north for many years, and has fought many battles in which he has defeated many with less. Now, when he spoke these words so boldly, it sounded a bit modest to Lu Bu.The fighting on the city wall was almost like boiling water. Xiang Yu looked to one side of the battle formation and raised his riding whip, "General Lu, if General Tie Ya of Xirong does anything evil, kill him immediately." , take over the army and continue to attack the city!"

Lu Bu squinted his eyes and followed his line of sight. Under the banner of Xirong, his horse turned to Tie Ya, the general of the Corpse Division, who was anxiously issuing orders.

Having been in the army for many years, he naturally understood what Xiang Yu meant.

At this time, on the opposite city wall, Zhao Chengguang kept issuing orders, mobilizing the reserve soldiers below, stair-stepping the city defense, and letting the incomplete team go down the city wall to rest.

Suddenly, he subconsciously stopped the order, turned his face slightly to listen to the city, and then asked the messenger next to him to hurry over and take a look. After a while, the messenger came back, and he hurriedly asked: "What's going on! Why is there such a commotion in the city?"

"General Qi, this is a reserve camp, a few troops... they... they don't want to fight..."

"Trouble... At this time, the city wall is still fighting. How dare they..."

The sudden rebellion of soldiers preparing for war in the city caught Zhao Chengguang off guard. He was ordered to come to Pingyang County to organize soldiers and horses for special training, and he also talked about the ideals of family and country, but he couldn't figure out why they would be in this situation at this time.

The intensity of the siege was brutal, and they were trapped in the city and defended it to resist Xia's troops marching south, which put the soldiers' psychology to a great test. As time went by, many people could not bear the torture, were frightened, hesitant, and finally collapsed.

Under the influence of the fear of death, he wanted to escape from the war, but the guards at the barracks refused to let him go, so he could only fight for it.

At this time, the riots in the city had become more and more obvious. The military camp was set on fire, and even nearby civilian houses were set alight by soldiers. The rising smoke made the Qi soldiers who were still fighting on the city wall startled and doubted.

Xiang Yu, Lu Bu, and Tie Ya who were outside also saw the black smoke rising from the city. Their first reaction was confusion. After all, the Qi generals guarding the city were not mediocre. If there was an ambush, they would be lured into the trap.

However, Xiang Yu still issued an order, asking Xirong general Tie Ya to increase his offensive on the city wall to test the strength of the city's defense.

After receiving the order, Tie Ya clenched his cheeks and deployed two battalions of troops again. About 4000 people joined the battle for the city wall, and the siege instantly increased like a tide.

Zhao Chengguang's soldiers kept coming and going along the city wall, trying to block the attacks of the Xirong soldiers. However, the instability in the city caused morale to plummet. Many soldiers were wandering and unable to fight as hard as before.

In just half an hour, gaps began to appear in the city wall that was originally defended. After five days of attack and defense, the Xirong soldiers finally stood on the city wall completely.

Zhao Chengguang was shaking slightly. He knew that the situation was over, but he still tried to issue orders to reorganize the retreating troops and set up tight defenses around the steps of the inner city wall. However, it was all in vain. The orders issued could not effectively control the lower-level generals. After the execution, the morale of the army was broken, and everyone was trying to rush into the city and escape from the stone steps of the inner city wall.

Countless corpses continued to fall along the city wall under the butcher's knives of the Xirong people. Facing the Xirong people who had been fighting for five consecutive days, it was difficult for them to show their previous momentum.

The Xirong people, whose morale was originally depleted, resumed their previous furious offensive at the moment they climbed up the city wall and approached the tower. They continued to press and crush the Qi soldiers, forcing them off the city wall and hacking them to the ground.

"General... let's go while there is still a chance!"

"We can't hold it any longer, general, let's go!"

Zhao Chengguang's personal guards had formed a formation and kept calling Zhao Chengguang who was standing over there with a sword. The old man did not move, but slowly drew out his sword. He defended Pingyang for several days, blocking the former Xirong people at the city wall, but there was no Think of success as a soldier, and defeat as a soldier.

At both ends of the city wall, countless Western soldiers poured into the city tower. The road leading to the stairs of the inner city wall had been blocked. Zhao Chengguang held his sword and looked at the guards and remaining soldiers formed on both sides.

Wearing iron armor and holding an iron sword, he staggered towards the parapet in front, looking at the gorgeous sunshine outside, hearing the emperor's words before leaving.

"General, take charge directly. I have organized the troops and horses and sent reinforcements to the old general. As long as the old general is here, Pingyang can be defended... By working together with my king and my ministers, we will be able to repel the Xia Kingdom's thieves."

"Your Majesty... I have never seen your troops until my death..."

Zhao Chengguang looked at the crowd of Xirong cavalry running across the field below. He stood on the wall and put his sword on his neck.

The wind blows, stroking the gray beard and hair,
"Old minister... I'm going first!"

After saying that, the old man pulled hard, and the sword edge grazed his neck, and blood spurted out. The body threw forward weakly, and fell straight from the tower.

Soon, the city gate opened, and the Xirong cavalry rushed towards the city like a tide.

……

The news that Pingyang County was captured and Zhao Chengguang died in battle reached Xinxiang, the capital of Qi State, on April [-]th.

Various deductions are still being conducted in the court, analyzing the marching route of Xia's army. It is likely that they will cooperate with Zhao Chengguang's [-] troops from Pingyang County in the south of Pingsheng Prefecture to set up a strong defense line here to prepare for the gathering of prefectures and counties in the capital. Soldiers and horses provide sufficient training time.

After the prince broke his leg, the emperor had no choice but to temporarily suppress the idea of ​​abdicating. As soldiers and horses from all walks of life gathered in the capital in the past few days, after Xia Guo's troops stationed in Pingyang, he felt ambitious again and said in front of the civil and military officials of the court: "I didn't think carefully before, which made Zhu Qing laugh."

Then he made a few perfunctory remarks and did not continue with the matter of abdicating the throne and letting the prince ascend the throne.

But just when everyone was full of confidence and the monarch and ministers were united in setting up the defense line, the battle report from Pingyang County was delivered. After reading the battle report, Qi Wangge sat back on the dragon chair with a bang. Even if he had been mentally prepared, at this time The psychological anticipation of Xia's southern invasion, which had just been established, was completely defeated.

"My dear friends, if you look at what I just said, don't take it seriously... let the prince succeed to the throne despite his injuries!"

The edicts are all ready-made.

In the court hall, Empress Dowager Zhao Zhuangyi took the lead and elected Qi Ke'an as emperor. Within half an hour, the civil and military officials in the hall agreed and announced to the people in the city that Qi Wangge abdicated and became the Supreme Emperor, and Qi Qingbao became the Supreme Emperor.

Qi Ke'an was lame on one leg, and with the support of the eunuchs, he ascended the throne with the expression of taking arsenic and accepted the worship of all civil and military officials.

In the next few days, more frontline battle reports came to Xinxiang City like snowflakes.

Since Zhao Chengguang died in battle and Pingyang County fell, more than 2 Qi soldiers in the city surrendered to Xia State one after another. On April [-], Xia State soldiers and horses took large ships and went south along the Tuohe River, directly arriving at Pingyang County seventy miles south. Counties have launched a strategy of central blooming.

Pingsheng Prefecture, which had been worked hard for more than 200 years, was cut in half overnight, and the entire Xia army's path south was almost unobstructed.

At this time, the Xirong Cavalry and Controlling Wolf Cavalry of the Xia Kingdom's East Route Army continued to advance south.

The news spread crazily, showing a chill that made everyone in the Qi Kingdom tremble.

(End of this chapter)