Family Rise: Beginning with Grandfather.

Chapter 667 Kyoto is surrounded
Inside the imperial city, Emperor Jianxing sat dejectedly in the Fengxian Hall.

The person who now dominates the court of Darong is no longer Emperor Jianxing, but Prince Yu, Chen Wansong.

"Do we have any other options?" Emperor Jianxing looked at Chen Wansong.

Chen Wansong looked at the ancestral tablets and said, "The situation is hopeless and there is no way to turn it around!"

"Then~~" Emperor Jianxing wanted to ask himself what to do, but he couldn't ask.

At this time, he had lost all his ambition. He no longer wanted to revive the government, he no longer wanted to be the emperor, he no longer wanted to rule the world. He just wanted to save his own life.

A good death is worse than a miserable life, and he doesn't want to die.

But as an emperor, he had no way out.

Chen Wansong turned around abruptly and looked at him fiercely, "Don't embarrass our ancestors!"

Emperor Jianxing paused, staring at him blankly, and said after a long while: "I know!"

He slowly stood up and walked out of Fengxian Hall. Standing in front of the door of Fengxian Hall, he turned his head to look at the ancestral tablets, then left quickly.

The enemy is approaching, and the fall of Kyoto is inevitable.

But he still had to struggle. He wanted to lead Daiei's last forces to defend Kyoto.

Chen Wansong looked at his departing back and said in a deep voice, "Is Mingxi gone?"

"In reply to Your Highness, His Highness Mingxi left for Jinhaiwei by boat yesterday!" A figure walked out from the corner of the hall and said with a slight bow.

This person was none other than Chen Zhongshu.

Chen Zhongshu is still the same, but looks a little more haggard than before.

Chen Wansong nodded slightly, walked to the temple door, and looked at the clear sky.

"The royal bloodline must continue. This is all I can do now!"

Chen Zhongshu stood quietly by the side without saying anything.

At this point, nothing can be done.

To be honest, Chen Zhongshu did not expect Dayong to reach its current state.

He has not been in Kyoto in these years, but has gone to the imperial mausoleum to guard the tomb of Emperor Chengping.

However, he did not expect that in just a few years, the situation of Darong would deteriorate to such an extent.

"What are your plans?" Chen Wansong asked.

Chen Zhongshu was silent for a while before he said, "I will continue to guard the imperial mausoleum."

"Okay!" Chen Wansong nodded.

He understood what Chen Zhongshu meant. Chen Zhongshu did not want to stay in Kyoto and fight to the death. He just wanted to guard in front of the tomb of Emperor Chengping.

Perhaps in the future he will fight to the death to protect the imperial tomb of Emperor Chengping, or perhaps he will give up guarding the imperial tomb and live alone.

But no matter what choice he made, Chen Wansong could not force him.

Although Chen Zhongshu calls himself an old slave, no one can regard him as a slave now.

"Old slave, please resign!"

Chen Zhongshu left and left Kyoto alone.

At the same time, nobles, families, and aristocratic families of all sizes in Kyoto were also fleeing the city.

The country is a dying country, the people are dying people, but the powerful are not dying powerful people.

Ordinary people have no way to escape, but the powerful have many choices.

They can surrender, join other forces, or flee far away.

At this time, the gates of Kyoto had been opened, and countless carriages and horses formed a long dragon, trying to escape from Kyoto.

No one could stop them, not even Chen Wansong.

In fact, there are still many warriors and troops in Kyoto. The emperor's sixteen guards have all entered Kyoto, ready to defend Kyoto. The nobles and aristocratic families have many warriors, many of whom are martial arts masters, and even many innate warriors.

However, people's morale was low, and except for ordinary soldiers who could not control their own destiny, the powerful families all sought their own way out.

Among them, the most powerful people fled to Jinhaiwei, because Jinhaiwei was the nearest port to Kyoto, and Jinhaiwei also had enough merchant ships and warships.

Duke Ning's Mansion.

Zhou Mao and Zhou Xu sat opposite each other, neither of them looking anxious at all.

"Dad, let's go!" Zhou Xu said softly.

Zhou Mao is now a hundred years old and is about to die, but he is still very energetic.

He is not a congenital warrior, so it is rare for him to live such a long life.

Zhou Xu is also over eighty years old, and with his white hair, he looks even older than Zhou Mao.

"Oh, I'm so old now, there's no need to bother with that!" Zhou Mao said with a sigh.

He didn't want to leave Kyoto. Although he had given up Darei, he didn't want to leave Kyoto.

In fact, Zhou Mao and Zhou Xu both had resentment towards the court.

Their resentment originated from Emperor Chengping and Emperor Yanping.

How prominent was the Duke of Ningguo back then?
But now?

Zhou Lan is the only one supporting the huge Ningguo Mansion.

Is it because the descendants of the Zhou family are incompetent?

No, because the emperor was suppressing their Zhou family.

Doesn’t Zhou Xu have any ability?
How can it be?

No matter how bad Zhou Xu is, can he be worse than An Guo and Gong Huairen?
However, Zhou Xu never served as a formal official in his life, nor did he inherit a title.

Zhou Mao was very dissatisfied with this.

It would have been fine if it was Emperor Chengping who suppressed their Zhou family, after all, the Zhou family was too prominent at that time.

However, Emperor Yanping was still suppressing their Zhou family. Zhou Mao repeatedly asked for an official position for Zhou Xu. As a result, Emperor Yanping was always unwilling to let Zhou Xu enter the court for the sake of the balance of the court.

Emperor Jianxing really wanted to ask the Zhou family for help, but isn’t it too late for him to think of them only at this time?
Zhou Xu looked at Zhou Mao helplessly, "Dad, if you don't leave, how can I leave? If I don't leave, can your grandchildren leave?"

"My sister has sent me a letter, promising Xian'er to be married to Yang Mingzhao's son. This marriage was arranged between my sister and Yang Zhengshan. Our family can go to Shenmu Island and finalize this marriage with the Yang family!"

"After the two children get married, the situation in Darong will be more or less stable. We can come back then!"

Zhou Lan did not explain the Yang family's plan. She just said in the letter that she had arranged a marriage with Yang Zhengshan and asked the Zhou family to go to Shenmu Island to handle the engagement between the two families. They could also stay on Shenmu Island for three or four years to wait for the two children to get married.

In fact, Zhou Lan was just looking for a suitable reason for the Zhou family to go to Shenmu Island so that people would not think that the Zhou family was shameless enough to run to the Yang family for help.

Zhou Mao was still hesitating. He was already so old and didn't have many years left to live. Was it necessary for him to leave?
"What are you still doing here? Why don't you pack up and leave?"

Just then, a scolding voice rang out in the room.

Hearing this voice, Zhou Mao and Zhou Xu immediately stood up tremblingly.

"grandfather!"

"Great-grandfather!" An old man in a gray gown and with gray hair walked in from outside the door with a bad look on his face.

This person is Zhou Mao’s grandfather Zhou Tianci, who is also the innate warrior who has never appeared in the Ningguo Mansion.

Speaking of which, Zhou Tianci was also a famous figure back then, but he was always traveling outside, and he did not travel only within Dayong like Liang Shengze, but often left Dayong.

Every time he goes out, he won’t return for several years, or even more than ten years.

Zhou Tianci glared at Zhou Mao and said, "I told you a long time ago to take everyone away from Kyoto, but you haven't left in such a long time!"

"There are many people in our family. If we don't act properly, many people will be in trouble!"

The Zhou family is a large family. Zhou Tianci has three sons and six grandsons. Although most of his sons and grandsons have passed away, there are still a lot of great-grandsons and great-great-grandsons.

Although he did not have deep feelings for his great-grandchildren and great-great-grandchildren, he did not want to see them die in this chaotic world.

"Don't worry, great-grandfather. All the branches have left Kyoto. Now only the eldest branch has not left!" Zhou Xu explained hurriedly.

In fact, he had asked the Zhou clan to move out of Kyoto a long time ago, but their target at the beginning was not the Yang family's Shenmu Island, but the Liusheng Dynasty in the east of Dayong.

The Liusheng Dynasty was just a small dynasty with a population of only three million and a territory of only a few small islands. It was a very humble dynasty.

But the Liusheng Dynasty has always been a vassal state of Dayong. The Zhou family has a good relationship with the Liusheng royal family and is also a marriage-related relationship, so the Zhou family’s first choice is the Liusheng Dynasty.

As early as three years ago, Zhou Xu had arranged for his clansmen to begin migrating to the Liusheng Dynasty. Up to now, all clansmen from all parties and branches have moved to the Liusheng Dynasty.

Now in Darong, only their main lineage descendants are left.

Zhou Tianci looked much better after hearing this. "Let's go quickly. I'll go with you guys!"

Zhou Mao might still have some feelings for Darong, but Zhou Tianci no longer has any feelings for Darong. He has been traveling for so many years and has been to countless places. He even stayed in the Dazhao Dynasty across the Storm Sea for several years. If he didn't still care about his descendants, he would not have returned to Darong.

Now that Dayong is on the verge of collapse, he doesn't care about the right and wrong of Dayong at all. He just wants his descendants to have a place to go and the Zhou family can be passed on.

In this way, the entire Zhou family moved out of Kyoto. At the same time, the Liang family also moved out of Kyoto.

Outside the gate of Kyoto, Liang Shengze and Liang Chu looked back at the majestic Kyoto City.

They both sighed.

Kyoto seemed particularly desolate at this time, and the whole city was filled with a depressing atmosphere.

"Let's go!"

Liang Shengze turned around and rode away.

Liang Chu nodded slightly, turned around and left.

In times of chaos, many powerful and wealthy people are forced to do things against their will and have no alternative.

The once prosperous Kyoto was now abandoned by them. It was not that they were unwilling to stay in Kyoto, but that Kyoto had become a place of disaster.

For themselves, their loved ones and their families, they had to leave.

Whether it is imperial power or the imperial court, they are nothing but troubles in troubled times.

With the help of the Liang family, Wang Sheng also left Kyoto with his family. Wang Bin had passed away many years ago, and now Wang Sheng is the head of the Wang family.

Wang Sheng’s son Wang Qianzhong is also the grandson-in-law of the Yang family. When the Yang family is evacuating from Kyoto, they will naturally not forget the Wang family.

In addition to the Wang family, there is also the Xue family. In fact, the Xue family was the first to leave.

Xue Chang'an has also passed away. The current Haichang Earl is Xue Chang'an's eldest son Xue Feng, who is Xue Ping's elder brother and Yang Chengmao's elder brother-in-law.

The Xue family has accumulated a lot of wealth over the years. They have been in charge of Jinhaiwei. Relying on the convenience of maritime trade, they have not only accumulated a huge fortune, but also many sea vessels.

So it is very easy for the Xue family to escape from Dayong.

The fifth day of the fourth month in the sixth year of Jianxing.

Three hundred thousand soldiers of Daliang arrived at the gate of Kyoto. The dust was flying. The army was approaching and the cavalry was mighty and black, sweeping across the suburbs of Beijing.

It has only been more than four years since the first year of Jianxing when King Daliang started his rebellion.

However, in just five years, King Daliang occupied the four northern provinces of Dayong and had an army of 500,000 men under his command, including many elite soldiers and generals.

This may sound incredible, but it is actually reasonable.

The imperial court was corrupt, people's lives were difficult, and a natural disaster made 30 million people in the three provinces of Longyuan miserable. Bandits emerged everywhere and rebels rioted. As a result, in just three years, only one in ten people in the three provinces of Longyuan survived, and the remaining people almost all turned into bandits.

The King of Daliang was able to accomplish things so quickly, both natural disasters and man-made calamities played a role.

Although the 300,000 Daliang troops at this time were not elite, 100,000 of them were veterans of many battles.

They were well-equipped with weapons, rode strong horses, and had experienced hundreds of battles. They were all brave warriors who had crawled out of the pile of dead bodies.

The 100,000 elite Daliang troops are by no means a mob.

The rumbling sound of horse hooves rang out, and the emperor's personal troops on the walls of Kyoto looked very nervous.

The Sixteen Battalions of the Emperor's Guards were originally the most elite troops of Dayong. However, over the years, Dayong's military power had fallen into disarray, and everything from the Emperor's Guards to the Imperial Guards of Kyoto had long lost their former glory.

To put it bluntly, twenty years ago, the emperor's personal army and the imperial guards could be considered elite, but it is not certain how much combat power they have now.

The Twelve Battalions of the Imperial Guards were able to cripple themselves while encircling and suppressing a group of bandits in Shanhe Province. This shows that the so-called elite Imperial Guards are just a facade.

The situation of the emperor's personal army is similar now. Those soldiers standing on the city wall, looking at the vast and boundless Daliang army, can't help but feel a little frightened.

They haven't been to the battlefield for many years, and even the most basic military training has been neglected for a long time.

In addition, the morale of the people in Kyoto is now low, with the powerful and wealthy leaving one after another, and the morale of the soldiers in the imperial army has reached its lowest point.

On the tower of Guang'anmen, the west gate of Kyoto.

Li Feihe, Marquis of Haining, held a telescope in his hand and looked at the Daliang army setting up camp outside the city with an extremely solemn expression.

Li Feihe is 43 years old this year and is a member of a generation that has just risen in recent years.

When talking about Li Feihe, we have to mention his grandfather Li Chao.

Li Chao, an innate warrior, broke through to the innate realm about thirty years ago and belongs to the same era as Yang Zhengshan.

However, before Li Chao became a congenital warrior, the Li family of Haining Hou had been in decline for many years, so Li Chao had not held any important position in the army before.

It was not until he became an innate warrior that the Li family gradually rose.

Back then, when Yang Zhengshan conquered Xingyuemen, Li Chao followed the army. In that battle, Li Chao seemed very inconspicuous and was almost just a supporting role.

But later, Dayong established the Navy Headquarters, and Li Chao became the first Left Headquarters of the Navy Headquarters. Since then, the Li family began to truly rise.

In other words, it was almost after Yang Zhengshan left Dayong that the Li family became the new elite in the court.

Li Feihe also has some relationship with Yang Zhengshan. Li Feihe is the illegitimate son of the Haining Marquisate. Logically speaking, he is not qualified to inherit the title.

But Li Feihe was once a disciple of Yanwu Pavilion, and could be considered a disciple of Yang Zhengshan.

This man was extremely talented and generous. He performed extremely well in the Martial Arts Pavilion. When Yang Zhengshan was choosing a husband for Yang Wanqing, he had considered him.

It was only because Li Feihe was a bastard's son and there was some unrest in the Li family's rear quarters that Yu Qingyi rejected him.

The result was just as Yu Qingyi had expected. Li Feihe was able to inherit the title, and naturally there would be some struggle within the Li family.

Li Feihe had outstanding qualifications and showed great potential in martial arts, which was why he was able to inherit the title with the support of the Li Dynasty.

Li Feihe did not disappoint Li Chao's expectations. Now Li Feihe's cultivation has reached the half-step innate level, and he is also the commander-in-chief of the Four Jinwu Guards, the emperor's personal army.

(End of this chapter)