Do you know: I am the crown prince

Chapter 502 Queen Liang

"It is precisely because she needs the Liang family to help her control the situation that she wants to check and balance the Liang family. She does not touch Concubine Dong because she wants to keep the Dong family to check and balance the Liang family." Liang Guangchuan sneered.

Although he and Queen Liang are father and daughter, the interests of Queen Liang and the Liang family are not consistent.

Queen Liang wanted her son to succeed to the throne while she ruled the country from behind the scenes, and even to become an empress like Wu Zetian in the future.

The Liang family wanted to take control of the situation, eliminate the Dangxiang nobles, completely monopolize power, and turn Western Xia into the Liang family's Western Xia.

Empress Liang wanted her son to succeed to the throne safely, and she could rule the country from behind the scenes. In order to prevent the Tangut nobles from turning her and her son into puppets, she had to rely on the Liang family.

But she was still on guard against the Liang family. Liang Guangchuan hinted several times that he wanted to get rid of the Dong family, but Queen Liang never agreed.

What Liang Yimei did to Concubine Dong was what he hinted at.

As long as the Dong family knew about this, they would definitely think that they were going to take action against the Dong family, and in order to protect themselves they would have no choice but to stand on the side of the Dangxiang nobles.

This was naturally not what Queen Liang wanted to see, so she could only agree to get rid of the Dong family.

"Father, my sister won't tell the Dong family about this, right?" Liang Yimai asked worriedly.

"Don't worry, will the Dong family believe it if she says so? Even if the Dong family believes it, can she believe it?" Liang Guangchuan sneered.

"That's good."

Liang Yi smiled and said, "When my sister becomes the queen mother, I will ask her to make my father a king."

"Forget about being crowned king, the throne is the most important." Liang Guangchuan said with fiery eyes.

…………

After Liang Guangchuan and his son left, Queen Liang became so angry that she started throwing things.

How could she not understand Liang Guangchuan's thoughts, but things had already happened and she could do nothing about it.

I can only order people to block the news first.

Even if we want to destroy the Dong family, it’s not the time.

…………

The next day, at daybreak, the soldiers guarding the city changed shifts and opened the city gate when the time came.

At this time, many people had gathered outside the city gate, waiting to enter the city.

"Be quiet, don't push! Take out the pass!"

The soldier in charge of the inspection shouted.

A lot of changes have happened in the city during this period. Although the news is strictly blocked, there is still a possibility of being discovered.

Therefore, Liang Guangchuan and Queen Liang discussed and began martial law, allowing only nearby residents to enter and exit.

The excuse is that His Majesty is now leading the army in person to guard against enemy spies.

If it weren't for the fact that closing the city directly would have such a huge impact and alert Li Mingxiao, they would have planned to close the city directly.

Amid the soldiers' shouts, the people entering the city lined up obediently.

At this moment, the soldiers who were checking and the people queuing to enter the city felt a slight vibration in the ground beneath their feet.

The defenders on the top of the city were stunned when they saw a large number of cavalrymen galloping towards the city gate in the distance. After a while, the defender on the top of the city came to his senses and shouted miserably: "Enemy attack!"

"Close the city gates!"

The other soldiers came to their senses from the shrill cry and were instantly in chaos. After hearing the words of the defending commander, they calmed down a little and immediately beat the drums to convey the order to close the city gates.

The soldiers checking at the city gate felt the vibration under their feet and thought it was a dragon turning over. When they were panicking, they heard the drum sounding to close the city gate. They hurriedly drove away the people and wanted to close the city gate.

"Oh no! Cavalry are attacking the city. The only way to survive is to rush into the city. Everyone, hurry into the city!"

The people were still a little confused when suddenly someone in the crowd shouted.

As the cavalry got closer, not only did the vibrations grow stronger, but the sound of thousands of horses galloping could also be heard.

In addition, someone deliberately led them, and the panicked people didn't care about the soldiers' expulsion and rushed into the city desperately.

There were not many soldiers checking at the city gate, and they were unable to stop them. The soldiers who were closing the city gate were also pushed open.

Yuan Wenshao brought dozens of people, mingled among the people, and directly ambushed and killed those soldiers.

There were actually not many people waiting to enter the city at the city gate, only a few hundred.

But the situation was in chaos at the time, and the people were only concerned with escaping in panic, and ended up blocking the city gates.

The guard on the top of the city rushed down with a group of soldiers. Seeing the chaos at the gate, he shouted: "Archers just..."

"Hey~"

Before the defending general could finish his words, Yuan Wenshao, who rushed in first, threw the dagger in his hand out.

The dagger pierced through the guard's chest, killing him instantly.

Yuan Wenshao threw out his dagger and entered the crowd again.

When the defending general died, the soldiers were at a loss. Some went to check on the defending general, while others stared at the crowd, trying to find the murderer.

But the people didn't care about that and simply dispersed the soldiers.

Yuan Wenshao and dozens of soldiers mixed in the crowd, constantly attacking and killing those soldiers and creating chaos.

"Da da da~"

There was the sound of horse hooves. Yuan Wenshao took a look and his face changed. He shouted, "Quickly retreat to the city gate and defend it with all your might!"

The sound of horse hooves did not mean that the cavalry led by Gu Tingye had rushed into the city, but that the nearby defenders had heard the news and rushed over.

After all, this is the capital of Western Xia. Although it was still short, the Western Xia defenders reacted quickly.

"Quick, shoot these rioters and close the city gates!"

The leading general looked at the chaos near the city gate and quickly gave orders.

Upon hearing this, the soldiers behind him immediately drew their bows and shot arrows.

Hundreds of civilians and more than a hundred soldiers were killed or wounded in just one round of arrow rain.

The survivors woke up instantly, screaming and running around, and many even ran towards the city gate, trying to leave the city.

Yuan Wenshao looked at the civilians being shot with a solemn expression. It wouldn't take long for the chaos to be quelled.

He only had a few dozen men, there was no shelter in the city gate, and the enemy also had bows and arrows, so he couldn't hold out for long.

Yuan Wenshao looked back and saw that Gu Tingye and his cavalry were already several hundred steps outside the city. He shouted, "Quick, retreat!"

If they did not retreat, even if they were not shot to death by the Xixia soldiers, they would block their own cavalry from entering the city.

Yuan Wenshao led his soldiers to retreat, and the Xixia general also calmed down the chaos. Through the city gate, he saw that the cavalry was almost at the city gate. He no longer cared about chasing Yuan Wenshao and others, and hurriedly ordered the city gate to be closed.

A dozen soldiers rushed forward and pushed the city gate with great effort. At this moment, a rain of arrows came.

"what…"

Many soldiers were shot to death, and their screams before death echoed through the city gates very loudly.

Then the Song cavalry rushed into the city.

"Well done, guard the gate!"

When Gu Tingye passed by, he gave instructions loudly, and without stopping, he rode his horse and followed the soldiers into the city.

"Yes!" Yuan Wenshao responded loudly.

Gu Tingye led his troops into the city, broke through the soldiers guarding outside, and headed straight towards the Western Xia Imperial Palace.

There were frequent exchanges of envoys between the Song, Liao and Western Xia kingdoms, and the layout of the capitals of the three kingdoms was no secret to each other.

Gu Tingye naturally knew the way to the palace after entering the city.

After all the troops entered the city, the 5,000 troops at the back stopped and, under the leadership of Yuan Wenshao, cleared out the Western Xia troops near the city gate.

When Gu Tingye arrived at the Xixia Palace with 25,000 cavalrymen, the palace gate had been closed. Gu Tingye did not attack the main gate of the palace, but left some soldiers to contain the troops here, and personally led the troops to attack a side gate.

The walls of the imperial city are high, and attacking the main gate is more difficult than directly attacking the city.

He had only 25,000 cavalry and no siege equipment, so it was impossible for him to attack the main gate.

Gu Tingye has been with Zhao Xing for many years and has been in and out of the Song Dynasty Palace many times.

The guard situation of the palace is very clear.

Although the imperial palace is heavily guarded, there are generally not many defensive troops at the side gates unless there is a major incident.

Although this is the capital of the Western Xia Kingdom, many things are common.

The time between when he launched the raid and when the palace received the news was very short.

Even though the news had already reached the Xixia Imperial Palace, it was too late to mobilize troops.

Gu Tingye’s guess was correct. When Li Liangzuo led the army in person, he took a lot of imperial guards with him.

At this time, there were only 20,000 imperial guards in the imperial city.

Upon receiving the news that cavalry was raiding the capital, Empress Liang began to mobilize the imperial guards to defend the city.

The focus is on the main gates of the palace, as the side gates have limited troops deployed.

While the additional troops were still sitting and preparing, Gu Tingye had already begun to attack the city.

Gu Tingye chose to raid the capital of Western Xia, so naturally he had some preparations.

Although they could catch Xixia off guard and break into the city, the imperial city would definitely be able to close the city gates in time.

Although he could not carry large siege equipment, he brought a lot of assembled ladders.

Otherwise, the cavalry would not be able to attack once the gates of the imperial city were closed with just his few men.

After the ladders were assembled, Gu Tingye ordered a violent attack. Even though there were heavy casualties, Gu Tingye remained calm.

"Zhong Huai, this won't work. Not to mention the casualties, there are a lot of soldiers in the imperial city. Once the reinforcements arrive, it will be even more difficult to break through. There are also a lot of soldiers in the city. If our retreat is cut off, we will be in danger!" Wang Shao said anxiously when he saw that he was unable to attack.

"How many defensive equipment are there in the palace? Don't you think the enemy's defense is becoming weaker and weaker? You command here, and I will lead the troops to attack the city myself!" said Gu Tingye.

"No, you are the coach, what if..."

"Nothing is wrong!"

Gu Tingye took the spear handed to him by Shi Tou and walked out with Shi Tou.

…………

"Empress, the Song army has already attacked the top of the city wall, and I'm afraid we can't hold it. Just in case, I will escort you and His Royal Highness the Crown Prince out of the palace first!" said the general of the imperial guards in charge of the palace's defense.

"Useless! Didn't they say that the Song army didn't have many soldiers? It's only been a short time and they can't hold on? I won't leave!" Queen Liang yelled angrily.

"Your Majesty, the Song army is alone and deep in the territory. They are completely desperate and fearless. For the safety of you and His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, you'd better leave first. As long as you and His Royal Highness the Crown Prince leave, I will be able to deal with the Song army with all my strength. I will definitely wipe them out and not a single one will be left alive!" said the general.

"You said it, if we can't keep all the Song army, I will never let you off easily!"

It’s not that Queen Liang didn’t want to escape, but she was worried that escaping would affect morale.

Moreover, the imperial city is protected by city walls, which is much safer than outside the palace.

Now that she heard that she could no longer hold on, she was actually afraid.

After giving the instructions, he took his son and headed to the east of the palace under the protection of the imperial guards.

The Western Xia Imperial Palace, like the Great Song Imperial Palace, also faces north and south.

However, Western Xia did not divide the city into inner and outer cities, and the northern city gate was connected to the imperial city.

It was more dangerous to leave the city directly at this time, and the only three directions left to leave the palace were east, west and south.

To the south is the main gate of the palace, with enemy troops outside, while to the west is the direction of Gu Tingye's attack. Only the east is the safest at the moment.

Moreover, the people living in the east are all princes and nobles, and each of them has some bodyguards.

Before this, she had asked her father Liang Guangchuan to gather the guards of those powerful families to come and destroy the Song army.

So she chose to leave the palace from the east gate to reunite with her father.

However, when she was riding in a carriage out of the palace and had not gone far, she suddenly heard shouts of killing outside.

"Your Majesty, something bad has happened. The Song army has ambushed you. I will escort you back to the palace!"

The general in charge of the escort said.

"Quick, escort me back to the palace!" Queen Liang said anxiously upon hearing this.

She felt the carriage shaking violently and hugged her son tightly, wishing she could cut the general who forced her to leave the palace into pieces.

Although it would be dangerous if they did not leave the palace, the imperial palace had layers of gates and so many palaces that it would be no problem to stop the Song army.

The Song army had a limited number of troops, and by the time other troops arrived to rescue the emperor, it was only a matter of time before they were wiped out.

Just as she was daydreaming, the carriage suddenly stopped.

Soon, the fighting and screaming outside subsided.

Just when Queen Liang wanted to lift the curtain to see what was happening outside, the curtain was lifted.

Sheng Changwu smiled and said, "Queen of Xixia, please get out of the car!"

Empress Liang hugged her son tightly, trying to calm herself down. She looked at Sheng Changwu and asked, "You want to take me and my son to the Song Dynasty?"

"That's right!"

Sheng Changwu said calmly: "Time is limited, Queen Liang should cooperate and don't let me use force!"

"His Majesty has passed away! If you take me and the prince back, the throne can only be inherited by someone from the royal family. Then, I and the prince will have no value to the Song Dynasty. If you release me and the prince, the prince is young, and even if he succeeds to the throne, Xixia will fall into civil strife for a long time, which is also beneficial to the Song Dynasty!" said Queen Liang.

"What did you say?"

Sheng Changwu exclaimed: "The Emperor of Western Xia has passed away?"

"That's right!"

Queen Liang said: "I don't know where you are from. If you have paid attention to the intelligence about Xixia's attack on Hehuang, you should know that the Xixia army has now returned to the court!"

"get off!"

Sheng Changwu shouted coldly: "Hurry up, I don't have time to talk nonsense with you!"

He didn't know whether what Queen Liang said was true or false, and he couldn't make a decision. He could only take the person back and report to Gu Tingye for the decision.

…………

"Zhong Huai, the plan has been implemented. Sheng Changwu has intercepted the carriage of Queen Liang who escaped from the palace. Let's hurry and meet him!" Wang Shao said anxiously.

"Hahaha~"

Gu Tingye laughed, wiped the blood off his face, and ordered his troops to retreat and reunite with Sheng Changwu.

After many discussions with Wang Shao, he had already considered the possibility that the Queen of Western Xia would escape from the palace.

For them, the best outcome would be for Queen Liang to escape from the palace.

Otherwise, even if they broke into the palace, it would be difficult for them to find people because the palace is so big.

Now that Queen Liang has left the palace, there is no point in attacking the palace.

When Gu Tingye was halfway there, he met a group of soldiers escorting Queen Liang and her son.

"Where's Sheng Changwu?"

Gu Tingye didn't see Sheng Changwu frowning.

(End of this chapter)