Thief Emperor

Chapter 880 Killing the Dragon
The next morning, the gates of Chengdu were indeed wide open.

The imperial guards in Chengdu also lined up to leave the city, leaving their weapons behind.

Zhao Cheng was riding on a tall horse. He looked at the team leaving the city and his breathing became a little rapid.

He was looking for the emperor.

After looking for a while and not seeing the emperor, he turned back to look at Chen Da and said in a deep voice: "Bo Zhong, take your men and take over these surrendered imperial guards. Confiscate all their armor and weapons, then count the number and find a warehouse to seal them up."

Chen Da was very good at doing these things. He immediately responded with a yes and turned around to lead his men to take over the imperial guards.

Zhao Cheng, on the other hand, was still staring at the team coming out of Chengdu City, and then he said to Li Zheng beside him: "These people are really straightforward."

"It's down when it's said."

Li Zheng also looked towards the gate of Chengdu and said, "There was a disturbance in Jiannan Road before. The Jiannan Army and the Imperial Army had a confrontation. Later, when the general came in, they started to cooperate again. I guess at that time, the Jiannan Army took away a lot of food from the granary in Chengdu City."

"and…"

Li Zheng smiled and said, "We can't defeat them, and we can't get out. There is no external help. In this situation, it is meaningless to defend for a long time. Emperor Wu is probably afraid that he will offend General Zhao, the commander, and suffer when the city is breached in the future."

The two men talked for a while, and when they looked up again, they could vaguely see a middle-aged man in an apricot-yellow robe walking out of the city gate with the emperor's seal in his hand. Seeing this, Zhao Cheng's breathing immediately stagnated, and then he turned over and dismounted, clenching his fists.

Li Zheng also got off his horse and stood beside him, whispering, "General, we must put aside our personal grudges for now. No matter what, we must first send the emperor to Luoyang."

Zhao Cheng came back to his senses and said in a hoarse voice: "I know, I know."

After saying this, he placed his hand on the sword at his waist and strode towards the imperial robe.

Seeing this, Li Zheng hurriedly followed in two or three steps, and soon, the two of them were less than twenty steps away from the emperor.

At this time, they could already see the emperor's face clearly.

This was a middle-aged man who looked to be around 40 years old. Although he was wearing an imperial robe and a crown, his hair was not combed and was somewhat disheveled.

Moreover, although he looked to be only in his forties, his hair had some visible graying and his face looked haggard.

Even when walking, I couldn't walk steadily.

But he just kept his head down and walked forward without raising it even once.

Behind him were the emperor's relatives.

There were princes and princesses who had reached adulthood, princes and princesses who had not yet reached adulthood, and the emperor’s concubines.

Among them, there were several babies crying loudly.

These babies were not only Wu Yuancheng's children, but one of them was also his grandson, born to his eldest illegitimate son.

Now, the entire royal family is trembling as they move forward, with expressions on their faces that look like they have lost their parents.

Zhao Cheng stopped and looked at the emperor in front of him, muttering to himself: "He didn't run away..."

Zhao Cheng had never met Wu Yuancheng, but he had met the previous emperor when he was young.

Most of his hatred was directed at the previous emperor.

However, the previous emperor is dead, and the son has inherited the father's legacy, so the hatred has to fall on the current emperor.

Li Zheng stood beside him and shook his head slightly, saying, "He has nowhere to go."

If they run further, they will have to run south, and if they run further south, they will be out of the border of the Great Zhou Dynasty.

"General."

Li Zheng looked at Zhao Cheng's hand holding the knife and said in a deep voice, "Be sure to stay calm."

"Don't worry, Sanlang."

Zhao Cheng said in a low voice: "I know what's going on."

After saying that, he strode forward and walked straight in front of the emperor.

The emperor was walking forward with his head down. When he felt someone in front of him, he did not dare to look up. He gritted his teeth and knelt down with his head down. He held up the emperor's seal with both hands and said, "The emperor of the Great Zhou, Wu Yuancheng, is willing to submit, willing to submit..."

The figure in front of him did not answer, but just stepped back half a step, avoiding Wu Yuancheng's courtesy, and then drew the long sword at his waist.

Hearing the sound of the sword being drawn, Wu Yuancheng was scared to death. The seal in his hand fell to the ground. He was so frightened that he lay on the ground, not daring to move.

"Hunjun."

Zhao Cheng said in a hoarse voice: "Today, I will avenge my father's death and the extermination of my entire Zhao family!"

After saying that, he raised the long sword in his hand high, and without hesitation, brought it down heavily.

The sound of the long sword breaking through the air fell into the emperor's ears. His Majesty the Emperor was so frightened that he closed his eyes tightly and dared not move.

When the knife was stabbed, everyone nearby exclaimed in surprise.

Even Li Zheng couldn't help but change his expression: "General Zhao!"

No one could stop him, and the knife smoothly reached the emperor and cut him in one stroke.

The Emperor felt a chill on his body, but no pain. He was so frightened that he almost peed his pants.

After a long while, Wu Yuancheng still didn't feel any pain. He mustered up the courage to look up and looked at the person in front of him. He saw a general holding a knife, looking at him with disdain.

The Emperor subconsciously looked back and saw that his robe had been cut with a long slit.

Zhao Cheng stepped forward and pulled off most of the imperial robe, then he slashed with the sharp sword, cutting the robe in half.

Zhao Cheng took the tattered imperial robe, looked at the emperor, and said sternly: "My parents, two brothers, and one sister all died at the hands of Wu. I should have killed you today to avenge my death, but for the sake of Your Majesty, I will give you this robe instead!"

"Just think of it as me avenging my parents!"

At this point, the commander-in-chief of a vast army, holding a knife in one hand and the emperor's torn robe in the other, could not hold back his tears.

Li Zheng, who was standing behind him, was also filled with emotion when he saw this.

The Emperor finally came to his senses. He stumbled to his feet and looked at Zhao Cheng, still a little scared: "You are...you are Zhao Cheng..."

"I did not kill General Zhao..."

His Majesty the Emperor swallowed his saliva and explained: "It was the late emperor who was deceived by the traitor..."

Zhao Cheng sneered when he heard this, and never looked at the emperor again. He sheathed his sword, tightly grasped the torn robe in his hand, turned back to look at Li Zheng, clasped his fists and said, "Sanlang."

"In the future, I will go to Guanzhong to find the remains of my parents and brothers, and build tombs and monuments for them. If I can't find them, I will also build a cenotaph for them."

"At that time, I will bury this robe in front of the graves of the two elders to comfort their souls in heaven."

He looked at Li Zheng and tried to calm down: "Please be a witness."

Wu Yuancheng is now a prisoner, but he is still the emperor, and the clothes he wears are still robes embroidered with dragons.

It is taboo to keep such clothes privately.

Although Li Yun himself may not care about these things, as a subject, Zhao Ben must care about them.

It was for this reason that he asked Li Zheng to testify for him, to prove that he had no intention of being disloyal and just wanted to use the robe to pay tribute to his ancestors.

Li Zheng nodded silently, took the robe from Zhao Cheng, then looked at the emperor not far away, strode forward, supported the emperor, and smiled: "Your Majesty is frightened."

Finally hearing some soft words, Wu Yuancheng felt a lot more relaxed. He was about to look up and talk to the young man in front of him when he suddenly felt a pain in his arm. He looked down and found that his left forearm had been injured at some point and was bleeding.

Li Zheng also noticed it, frowned, covered the wound with the dragon robe, and said, "I think your majesty fell just now and got hurt accidentally."

"Too careless."

He wiped the wound several times, smearing blood all over the dragon robe, and then stopped. Others came forward to treat the emperor's wound.

His Majesty the Emperor looked at Li Zheng with some fear, but gritted his teeth and said nothing.

He knew that it was the young man in front of him who hurt him, but he couldn't say it.

The person is under the eaves.

Li Zheng took the bloodstained dragon robe, walked back to Zhao Cheng, handed it over, and whispered, "This is the proper way."

Zhao Cheng hesitated for a moment, then reached out to take it: "Sanlang, you, how did you do that?"

"We grew up in the mountains. We don't have any great abilities, but we have a lot of little tricks."

Li Zheng smiled and said, "When Brother Wang was 17 or 18 years old, he could break someone's arm with just a touch."

"All right."

Li Zheng looked up at the Chengdu City in front of him and let out a long breath: "At this point, the major issues in the southwest have been dealt with. General Zhao, go and organize the Jiannan Army in the southwest and these imperial guards. I will restore order in Chengdu City as soon as possible."

"Once all the important matters are dealt with, General Zhao will escort these members of the Wu Zhou royal family back to Luoyang. It will take about two months."

"It should be...it should be in time."

Zhao Cheng looked at Li Zheng and shook his head, saying, "There are many things going on in the southwest, and the prefectures and counties have not yet taken over. I want to stay in the southwest to escort the emperor..."

"Sanlang, just do it."

Li Zheng smiled dumbly: "How come such a great achievement falls on me alone?"

"Besides, this is not just the credit of you, General, but also the credit of all the brothers in the Jiangdong Army. At this time, we must take the lead."

Zhao Cheng stopped talking after hearing this.

Li Zheng turned his head, looked at the emperor, and suddenly smiled.

"When I was little, I really thought the emperor was transformed from a dragon. Now I've actually seen it..."

He put his hands behind his back and raised his head slightly.

"It's nothing more than that."

(End of this chapter)