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Chapter 735 Strong Attack
The palace remained as impregnable as ever.

Emperor Jin's imperial guards were ordered to guard the palace gates to the death. Anyone who tried to break in would be treated as a rebel and killed on the spot. Anyone who had previously held a pass to enter the palace was no longer considered a traitor.

Although Lu Zeren was in the capital, he had no hope of entering the palace. He submitted memorials several times, saying that he wanted to visit his father and mother, but he did not receive any response.

Indeed, he was concerned about his reputation and dared not do anything else. It was said that he besieged the capital, but it was as if he himself was trapped in the capital but outside the palace walls. In addition, the supply of food and fodder was delayed, which made the once intelligent and youthful Prince Shu increasingly irritable.

“Very good. Since His Highness Prince Shu is so irritable, receiving his elder brother’s earnest advice at this time should be very encouraging for him,” Lu Qing said with a smile.

"There's something I don't understand." Zhu Yu had been listening for a while, but a question lingered in his mind: "Lu Ze doesn't dare to act rashly, so why is it that Ishan, who has been lying in wait by his side for so long, also so calm and collected?"

"Because he wanted to be the real 'sow'." Lu Qing had already figured this out. "In order to infiltrate Jin Kingdom unnoticed, he did not hesitate to find a puppet to stay in the Brahma Land to pretend to be the high priest, and then kill the puppet to create the illusion that he had died in the process of seclusion."

The reason he went to such great lengths, besides his cautious nature, was probably that he knew that the various forces within the Jin Kingdom were intertwined and turbulent, and that it was not something that he and his own forces in the Brahma Land could easily shake.

Although these forces are engaged in open and covert struggles, if any foreign tribes attempt to seize control of Da Jin's territory, they will immediately unite as one against them. By then, his grand plan will likely be thwarted before he has even taken the first step.

Therefore, what he needs to do is secretly stir up trouble, causing our own people to fight amongst themselves, resulting in mutual destruction. Then, he only needs to find a suitable opportunity to eliminate the ultimate victor, and he can directly seize power.

"No wonder he pushed Zhao Bi and Lu Zhang to the front as targets, but secretly colluded with and assisted Lu Ze."

Lu Ze's ambition made him the one most likely to rely on Ishaen as an ally, while his mother, Consort Duan's, background destined him to be the least supportive of the princes. Zhu Yu suddenly realized.

She even drew parallels from the experiences of King Fan and King Lan, concluding that "the current stalemate not only ensures the Emperor's safety for the time being, but also for Lu Ze himself."

If one day his wish comes true, then his life will essentially be over.

Lu Chao sighed, "We can all see the truth clearly, but unfortunately Lu Ze himself still doesn't understand it."

Lu Qing glanced in the direction the messenger had left, then beckoned to his deputy general: "Pass down the order that everyone be on high alert from today onwards, and be on guard against the puppet troops from the state trying to break through the encirclement. Under no circumstances should they be allowed to open a breach."

Upon receiving the order, the deputy general immediately dispatched men on horseback to inform all relevant parties.

The next day, news came that a contingent of imperial guards from the state had suddenly launched a surprise attack on the garrison of Runzhou, attempting to break through the encirclement. However, the garrison of Runzhou was as solid as an impregnable wall, and the puppet soldiers not only failed to break through but were also mostly killed.

Then there was no further movement from that side.

Two days later, Lu Ze's letter arrived again.

This time, the letter was not specifically addressed to Zhao Xin in the prefectural government office, but was delivered directly to Lu Chao by name. Lu Ze's fury was palpable in the letter; he vehemently accused Lu Chao of treason, saying that instead of helping his father resolve internal and external troubles, Lu Chao had besieged his father and younger brother in the capital, cutting off their food supplies, intending to starve them to death so he could seize power.

The letter was so harshly worded that it was clear the writer couldn't even pretend anymore and just wanted to take the opportunity to shift the blame onto Lu Chao.

Lu Qing believed the time was ripe. While Lu Chao was replying to Lu Ze and stalling for time, he wrote a letter and had it sent to Situ Jing by fast horse.

Situ Jing, as expected of someone from a family of military generals who grew up on the battlefield, said he had made all the necessary preparations, and that was absolutely true.

Almost at the same time that Lu Qing's letter arrived, he launched a surprise attack on the neighboring Vatican from Qinzhou, just as the letter had instructed. The attack was so fierce that his elite troops cut through the enemy like melons and vegetables, and with almost no effort, they routed the already exhausted Vatican defenders.

After Situ Jing launched a fierce attack on the Brahma, Lu Jun also led his troops to join the battle. Under Situ Jing's unified command, the army crossed the border step by step and advanced deeper into the heartland of the Brahma.

Although there are many Brahma King's personal guards in Brahma's land, in recent years, Brahma King has been indulging in debauchery, and it is not only the common people who are living in poverty and hardship. Those personal guards have long lost their fighting ability due to lack of food and neglect of training.

Faced with the powerful advance of the army led by Situ Jing, most of these personal guards chose to scatter and flee after a brief resistance. Some wanted to escape to the borders of Lan and Shuo, but they did not expect that the two originally loose and weak passes had become impregnable at some point.

Those personal guards who tried to escape failed and were killed or wounded by Situ Jing's army and the garrison troops of Lanshuo and other places. Many of the remaining men simply gave up resistance and surrendered to save their lives.

Of course, not everyone in Vatican City is so unfortunate.

With the defeat of the Vatican's personal guard, the Vatican rebels, led by the disciples and followers of Issane who had been hiding in the shadows, hoping to watch from the sidelines and kill the enemy with a borrowed knife, had no choice but to take to the battlefield themselves.

These men were far more ruthless than the incompetent personal guards. They were not only willing to fight, but also more unscrupulous. When the two armies faced each other, they tried to use poison smoke to attack Situ Jing's troops.

Fortunately, Lu Qing had arranged for Mu Hong to prepare the antidote, and Situ Jing and his men had already been provided with enough of it, so the poison smoke from the rebel army in the Vatican had little effect.

Thus, no matter how stubbornly the Vatican rebels resisted, their territory continued to shrink inch by inch.

At the same time, Lu Qing, having received the news, also made new arrangements.

"Tell our garrison that if the puppet troops launch a strong attack from the southwest, they must fight back with all their might, but they must fight and retreat simultaneously, creating an opening for them to escape," he instructed the deputy general in the camp.

The deputy general was puzzled. In his opinion, after so long, they had almost cornered the rebels from the state border, so why would they deliberately leave a loophole and let the people inside escape?

However, since both Prince Xu and Prince Xiaoyao agreed with the plan, he did not hesitate to pass on the order.