Thief Emperor

Chapter 878 The Last Respect
Hearing these words, even though he was the commander of an army, Zhao Cheng couldn't help but feel chilled. He sat in his chair, looking up at Li Zheng blankly.

"Sanlang, he is in power..."

Li Zheng knew what he was going to ask, so he said silently: "I am definitely angry, but fortunately the situation in Jiannan Road has not yet reached the point where it is out of control. Since it can be dealt with, it will be OK with Brother Wang."

"Brother Wang, you are not a mean person."

At this point, Li Zheng looked at Zhao Cheng and continued, "As long as we fight well in Chengdu, we should be able to pass Brother Wang's level. But there is one thing you have to remember, General Zhao."

"It's not the end of this year that we have to bring the emperor back to Luoyang. The army should continue to fight as usual and not mess up the rhythm."

"We must not lose our composure."

Zhao Cheng came back to his senses and nodded slowly. He was still a little worried. He stood up and walked back and forth for two steps. Finally, he looked at Li Zheng and said, "Sanlang, the matter of the Jiannan Army, the matter of the Jiannan Army..."

He whispered, "I originally wanted to go straight in, take Chengdu, then turn back and slowly deal with them..."

"I was thinking in a different way."

At the beginning, Zhao Cheng had just entered Jiannan Road and was full of confidence.

Moreover, in the battle of Jiameng Pass, his men suffered too many casualties.

If they had just entered Jiannan Road at great cost of casualties, and then captured the Jiannan Army without fighting a big battle, then there wouldn't be any big problems in terms of military merit, but it would be embarrassing.

After all, you suffered so many casualties in Jiameng Pass, and after entering Jiannan Road, you didn't kill a single enemy. If this news gets to Luoyang, it won't sound good.

In the future, when people talk about this past event, they will say that you, General Zhao, only know how to sacrifice human lives but not how to fight tough battles.

In addition, Zhao Cheng also has some direct descendants, and a considerable number of them. He also needs to consider these direct descendants and wants them to get some military merits.

It was a combination of coincidences and underestimation of the enemy that led to the predicament of Jiannan Road.

Fortunately, the Jiangdong Army had a strong foundation, so even though Zhao Cheng was struggling, no major problems arose. After Li Zheng arrived at Jiannan Road, the biggest problem of the Jiannan Army was solved, and the remaining Chengdu...

At most, it’s just a matter of time.

Moreover, it is very likely that Chengdu will be here, and it is not just a matter of time.

His Majesty the Emperor was not a man of strong character. He was able to hold on to Chengdu before, probably because he knew something about the situation of the Jiannan Army. Since he could know the situation outside, he would soon know the news that the Jiannan Army had surrendered.

Perhaps, His Majesty the Emperor will soon take the initiative to open the city and surrender.

Because the process of siege and attacking a city is actually a process of accumulating anger.

There will definitely be heavy casualties in sieges. The greater the casualties on the attacking side, the more anger they accumulate, and when the city is broken, they will vent it all at once.

If we encounter someone who is so bloodthirsty that he wants to kill people, it is possible that he will massacre the entire city after breaking into it.

However, the Emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty obviously did not have the courage to endure such "anger" and he could not hold on for long.

"It's in the past."

Li Zheng looked at Zhao Cheng and said slowly, "General Zhao, the commander of the Jiannan Army, Zhang Han, came here with me. He wants to meet with you to resolve the misunderstanding."

Zhao Cheng nodded silently at first, then lowered his voice and said, "Sanlang, I didn't believe them at first because their father died...died at the hands of Jiusi, and the revenge for his father's murder..."

Hearing this, Li Zheng whispered, "His father, Zhang Qiong, was determined to be loyal to Wu Zhou. His sons may not agree with him, otherwise they would not have surrounded Chengdu."

"Even if we are of the same mind, Zhang Qiong died in Chengdu City. We didn't tell them directly and they pretended not to know. So, it was not Jiusi who did it."

"Moreover…"

Li Zheng said slowly: "The dead are gone, so it may not be of any use."

"No matter what, the Jiannan Army has indeed surrendered, General Zhao."

Li Zheng looked at Zhao Cheng and said, "As long as they don't rebel, it will be a great achievement for the new dynasty, General Zhao..."

"Please understand."

Zhao Cheng has been leading troops under Li Yun for many years, and he also brought out a group of his direct subordinates from the Yuezhou rebels, and they all hold high positions now.

Because of this, even if Li Yun can absolutely control the troops on the front line, his position as the main general cannot be easily moved, so as to avoid any complications in Jiannan Road.

Even Li Zheng spoke politely.

Zhao Cheng heard this and said quickly, "I understand. I understand."

"I'm going to see General Zhang right now."

"correct."

Zhao Cheng slapped his head, looked at Li Zheng, and said with a wry smile: "I was so scared just now that I almost forgot the most important thing. Sanlang came from Mianzhou, General Gongsun..."

"How is General Gongsun?"

Li Zheng sighed and said, "His life is not in danger, but he lost an arm and was seriously injured. From now on, Brother Wang probably won't let him lead troops to the front line anymore."

When Zhao Cheng heard this, his expression immediately became gloomy again, and he could only sigh silently.

"Once the matter in Chengdu is over, I will go and kowtow to him in person to apologize."

Li Zheng did not respond, but looked around in the tent. He saw the young man standing at the door of the tent and smiled: "This is General Zhao's nephew, right?"

“Very energetic.”

Zhao Cheng called out, and Zhao Chengqi immediately stepped forward, half-knelt on the ground, and bowed his head to Li Zheng.

Li Zheng helped him up, looked him up and down, then patted him on the shoulder and said with a smile: "Young talent, young talent."…………

In the city of Chengdu, in the imperial palace.

At this time, the palace was no longer peaceful. The concubines the emperor brought to Xichuan, as well as the concubines he took in Xichuan, were all in chaos. Some of them had already secretly fled the palace, preparing to "cut ties" with His Majesty the Emperor.

And His Majesty the Emperor had no intention of controlling them, so he allowed them to flee east and west.

At this time, deep in the palace, His Majesty the Emperor, dressed in his usual attire, was sitting on the dragon bed, and next to him sat a woman in palace dress.

The woman looked graceful, but at this moment, she also had a sad look on her face.

It was none other than Emperor Wu Yuancheng's first wife, Empress Pei of the Great Zhou.

Queen Pei.

Pei Huang's elder sister.

Pei Huang and Pei Sanlang were also in the room, looking equally worried.

After a dead silence, Pei Huang finally spoke: "Your Majesty, Madam, according to the news from outside the city, the Jiannan Army has most likely surrendered."

The emperor clenched his fists, veins throbbing on his forehead.

"These four little bastards can forget about the revenge for my father's murder!"

"Worse than a beast!"

After cursing, His Majesty the Emperor was still not satisfied and said angrily: "I said that the Jianzhou Pass is impregnable. How could the Jiangdong Army come in so easily? Maybe those little beasts of the Zhang family have secretly communicated with the Jiangdong Army long ago!"

At this point, the emperor became even more furious, gritting his teeth and saying, "The one who killed Zhang Qiong was a servant of the Zhang family! The Nine Officials are probably those little bastards who were placed around Zhang Qiong!"

"They murdered their father and committed treason!"

After cursing for several times, His Majesty the Emperor slowly calmed down. He then looked at Pei Huang, who had just returned from Luoyang, and the expression on his face became somewhat panicked.

"Sanlang..."

Pei Huang's face was bitter: "Your Majesty, at this time... you have no choice but to go to Luoyang."

"There is no other way."

He took a deep breath, stood up and said, "I will leave the city now to meet the people of Jiangdong Army. No matter what, I must maintain the dignity of Your Majesty."

Empress Pei glanced at her brother and whispered, "Sanlang, you..."

Pei Huang shook his head slightly and said, "Your Majesty, the Jiangdong Army... is still moral and will not kill an envoy like me."

"Your Majesty, don't worry."

Queen Pei sighed and nodded, "Then... you should be careful."

"I will talk to your majesty for a while longer."

"Yes."

Pei Huang stood up and walked out with his head down.

After Pei Huang left, Empress Pei took out two pills from her sleeve, placed them in her palm, and gave one to the emperor. She held the emperor's hand and said slowly, "Your Majesty, if you take this pill, you will die."

"We, husband and wife, each hold one."

The emperor looked up in astonishment and looked at his wife of many years.

Empress Pei smiled gently and said softly, "Your Majesty, if we go to Luoyang, my husband and I will be prisoners. Your Majesty, you are the emperor. Even if the Great Zhou falls, they may not do anything to you."

"But my status is different after all."

Empress Pei looked sad: "I was born in the Pei family of Wenxi, and have been the empress for many years. After arriving in Luoyang, I may not...may not..."

For men, when they reach a certain age, they may not simply like beautiful women.

Instead, I like women with status.

And meeting the queen before going to bed is undoubtedly a great achievement in life.

Almost no man can resist such temptation.

Queen Pei said this and sighed softly.

"Even on the road, it might be difficult to preserve your reputation."

"But don't worry, Your Majesty."

Queen Pei spoke calmly, her voice soft but quite firm.

"As a woman of the Wu family, I will definitely serve Your Majesty..."

"For Wu."

She looked at the emperor, held his hand tightly, and smiled gently.

"Preserve the last bit of dignity."

(End of this chapter)