Red Mansion: Picking up a Lin Daiyu

Chapter 78 Death

The hall where the emperor used to hold court now only has three people, father and son. The three have turned against each other, which makes Emperor Yuanqing sigh inwardly.

However, he could no longer feel the slightest bit of sympathy for the eldest prince, Prince Kang, who was barking non-stop.

"You make the decision. I have nothing more to say."

With a long sigh, Emperor Yuan Qing slowly closed his eyes.

The King of Qin nodded silently, came to King Kang, and asked: "In terms of the country, you have rebelled against the emperor and colluded with the barbarians; in terms of private affairs, you have tried to kill me several times. Now that things have come to this, what else do you want to say?"

The arrow penetrated into the bone and the blood kept flowing. The pain made King Kang's face twitch. Even his handsome face looked hideous at this moment.

Taking a deep breath, King Kang whispered, "Success means failure, but I just don't want to accept this. If I had prepared two years earlier and decided to fight, you would be lying on the ground now!"

The King of Qin curled his lips in disdain and said, "That's all?"

Afterwards, he took out the saber at his waist and wiped it gently with his robe.

When he saw the knife being drawn, King Kang became a little panicked.

He thought that at worst he would be sent to the clan house to repent. After all, executing a prince was not as simple as chopping him in the face.

With the help of Empress Sun and the second brother who has always valued friendship and loyalty, perhaps he would be able to show leniency and the situation could still be turned around.

But unexpectedly, the King of Qin was already sharpening his knife.

King Kang struggled to move his body backwards, leaving a trail of blood on the ground.

"You, you, you can't kill me!"

The King of Qin followed slowly, his face grim, and shook the iron ring on his saber, making a crisp sound, "Why? Give me a reason."

"If you kill me, what will all these royal relatives think? I am your brother, you can kill me if you want, but what about them? Don't forget that they have contributed a lot to your success here."

The King of Qin laughed and said, "They have worked hard for me, never plotted to harm me, and never rebelled. Why should I worry?"

Without thinking, King Kang said with trembling lips: "I am negotiating peace with the barbarians. If I die, they will definitely march south. Now they have occupied Datong Town. If they break through Zijing Pass and echo the Jurchens' exit from Shanhaiguan, the capital will surely be in trouble. Can you still keep your throne?"

The King of Qin asked in return: "If you ascend the throne, can you guarantee that they will not go south?"

King Kang said hurriedly: "That's inevitable. We have already signed a contract in private! Annual tribute in exchange for peace!"

The King of Qin sneered, "If the barbarians really followed the treaty, they would not have come south this time! Moreover, our country is more powerful than the ancients. We don't have the marriage of Han, the alliance of Tang, the annual tribute of Song, or the etiquette of brothers and enemies. The emperor guards the country's gates and the king dies for the country. How can we collect annual tribute and increase taxes on the people?!"

"When the enemy comes, I will go up to the city to fight them!"

King Kang retorted, "Do you want to make hundreds of thousands of people in the capital become homeless and their families destroyed because of your vanity?"

"Ridiculous." The King of Qin glared and said, "Aren't you trying to imitate the Song Dynasty, ceding five cities today, ten cities tomorrow, and then having a good night's sleep?"

"You only care about your throne, not the people. That's why I can win, but you can't!"

The King of Qin quickened his pace, unwilling to listen to King Kang's ridiculous words anymore, so he swung his knife and cut King Kang's throat, ending his life on the spot.

The palace returned to peace.

At the right moment, someone quickly walked into the hall.

King Qin looked in the direction of the voice and saw Yue Ling walking towards him quickly, his armor soaked in blood. His eyes suddenly became warmer.

"Yue Ling, what's the matter?"

Yue Ling quickly observed the situation in the lower field, cupped his hands and said: "Your Highness, I would like to borrow something."

The King of Qin was puzzled. He had even given his sword to Yue Ling, and he could only use this saber. What else could he borrow?
With his eyebrows raised slightly, the King of Qin asked in confusion: "What do you want to borrow?"

"Head!"

Upon hearing this, the King of Qin was startled. Then he heard Yue Ling say, "Your Highness, I need the head of King Kang!"

King Qin came back to his senses and didn't know what Yue Ling was going to do, but he nodded and said, "Go ahead."

Afterwards, Yue Ling stabbed King Kang's body with his sword again, held the head in his hand, and left quickly.

After Yue Ling left, Emperor Yuan Qing, who had been silent the whole time, suddenly said, "Erlang, you have found a famous and capable minister."

The King of Qin naturally knew that his father was talking about Yue Ling, so he walked closer and replied, "Yes, he saved my life several times, otherwise I would have fallen into the hands of King Kang."

"On the battlefield, he is brave and resourceful, and he is young. He is comparable to Wei Huo of the Han Dynasty. He is indeed a rare talent. Yue Ling, it turns out that he is him."

With a smile on his face, Emperor Yuan Qing said, "It was also him who gave you the confidence to fight against the barbarians and the Jurchens in the future."

The King of Qin said calmly, "Father, what you said is true."

Emperor Yuan Qing nodded slightly, pondered for a while, and then said: "The kingdom of Dachang is handed over to you. Give me a blow too."

Hearing this, the King of Qin was stunned. After a while, he said, "Why do you say that, Father? Do you think that King Kang and I are the same kind of people?"

Emperor Yuan Qing shook his head, sighed, and opened his palms slightly.

The King of Qin looked over and saw that what was in his hand were a few golden pills.

"I live on this every day. If I don't eat it, I'd rather die than live. If I eat it, I'll only be awake for a few moments, and I'll be no different from a walking corpse. What's the point of immortality, what's the point of power? In the end, it's nothing."

"You are right. If you cannot govern the people well, what difference does it make to be the emperor? I can hear you speak such wise words today, and I can rest assured to hand over the country to you."

Emperor Yuan Qing shouted, "Come on, Erlang! Give Daddy a quick death! Daddy doesn't want to spend his days on the couch, and doesn't want to live like a dead person!"

The King of Qin slowly raised the knife in his hand, feeling reluctant.

Emperor Yuan Qing's eyes widened with anger, and he used his last bit of strength to shout, "Erlang! Come quickly!"

……

Outside Xuanwu Gate,

Jia Daihua, who was originally ordered to besiege the Prince of Qin's Palace, is now arranging his troops under the city gate tower.

Originally, the palace wall was only three people high, so siege equipment was not necessary. However, facing the tall walls of the imperial palace, even if there were no defenders on top, it would be difficult to climb over the walls without ladders.

What's more, at this time, there were also the personal guards of the Prince of Qin's Palace on the city wall.

The best way is to ram the door. If you can break it, that will be the most successful.

"Damn it, how did King Kang arrange his troops? He was fooled again and again."

Jia Daihua spat and cursed, thinking that something was not good.

He quickly sent out orders for the soldiers to form battering rams to attack the city gate.

It was called a battering ram, but in fact it was just a big tree with the branches and leaves removed. The soldiers wrapped it in armor and used the trunk to hit the gate.

With a hundred people carrying it, if there is no obstacle behind the city gate, there is still hope of breaking into the city within a quarter of an hour.

When the soldiers had made their preparations and were approaching the city gate, a raging fire broke out from the inside of the city gate and burned all the way to the outside.

Many of the nearby soldiers were burned and had to retreat quickly.

"Damn it, the King of Qin is so bold when it comes to leading troops. This will delay me for a while, I'm afraid his words will come true!"

　Thanks to the big brother Jiuyuetian 111 for the reward, and thank you all for your recommendation votes. (Friends with digital IDs have used the last five digits instead)
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(End of this chapter)