Memoirs of the Heavenly Khan

Chapter 512 This is not surprising
Laiguogong Mansion.

At night, Gao Huan, who was expressing his feelings to Lou Zhaojun, heard a noise outside.

"Grandma!"

Gao Huan, wearing only a thin garment, came out, looked at Gao Cheng, and asked:
"What's the matter?"

"Something has happened in Jinyong City!"

Upon hearing this, Gao Huan's expression changed drastically.

"how?"

"Jin Yong Palace dispatched a thousand armored soldiers into the city."

The timing of this military action is clearly unusual.

Gao Huan stroked his beard, but was somewhat puzzled.

"Who is in Jinyong City now?"

"Lord Liang is still in the city!"

Upon hearing this, Gao Huan waved his hand and said:

"It's alright, we can talk about it when it gets light."

"Can!"

Gao Cheng was young and lacked experience in dealing with such unusual events.

Gao Huan smiled and pointed to the next room.

“Learn from Yuwentai. He must have known about this matter, but he didn’t do anything about it.”

Gao Cheng listened, said "Oh," and turned to leave.

Gao Huan turned and went back into the room, lying back down on the bed. Lou Zhaojun was beside him and asked:

"He Liuhun, I hope nothing bad has happened to you?"

Gao Huan wasn't as calm as he appeared. He took his wife's hand and said:
"I don't know either, we'll find out tomorrow."

……

East Palace.

As dawn broke, Yuan Qin had just finished washing and dressing when the Crown Prince's Chamberlain hurried over, his face beaming with undisguised joy.

"Your Highness, this is good news!"

Yuan Qin was somewhat surprised and asked:
"What's the matter?"

Yuan Lie looked around, leaned closer, and whispered:
"News has come from Kinyong Castle: Ohno Sō has fallen ill."

Yuan Qin's face slowly changed from disbelief to ecstatic joy, and he exclaimed excitedly:

Do you know what's going on?

"Hou Jing controlled both the inside and outside, yet he still couldn't capture it. However, Liaodong is a bitterly cold place, so perhaps Da Yeshuang contracted an epidemic during his campaign, who knows?"

Upon hearing this, Yuan Qin excitedly touched his hand and said:

"It would be wonderful if he died of illness."

As he spoke, Yuan Qin couldn't help but pace back and forth, giving instructions:

"Let's go, I need to go to the palace to see my father!"

……

"not see!"

Yuan Baoju also learned of the situation in Jinyong City, and cursed Yuan Qin for his anxious appearance.

"Always causing trouble."

Yuan Baoju looked at his wife, Yifu, and saw that she seemed hesitant to speak, which made him somewhat uneasy.

"We hope we're not involved in this?"

Queen Yifu's expression grew increasingly grim upon hearing this, but in the end, she still spoke out.

"The matter at Ganquan Palace may be related to Yuan Qin!"

Upon hearing this, Yuan Baoju's face turned pale instantly, and he almost fainted.

"Your Majesty! Your Majesty!"

After pinching Yuan Baoju's philtrum, the palace guards at Yifu Palace managed to save him.

Yuan Baoju slowly woke up, still groggy, and mumbled something.

"Quickly, tie that brat up! I'm going to apologize with a bundle of thorns on my back."

Empress Yifu grasped Yuan Baoju's hand and advised:
"The situation is still unclear. How could the King of Qin, with his great talent, fall ill over this matter? Perhaps there is another reason. If Your Majesty goes there rashly, the situation may become uncontrollable."

Yuan Baoju's lips turned white with fright, and he said:

"Transfer Yuan Zan to the Eastern Palace, and replace all his officials, guards, eunuchs, and maids. From this day forward, he shall stay in the Eastern Palace and shall not step out of it."
-
Jinyong Palace.

Outside the Jinyong Palace, Gao Huan and Yuwen Tai were waiting.

Gao Huan slowly walked to Hou Jing's side and whispered:
"Wan Jing, give me a heads-up, what's the matter?" Hou Jing looked troubled, having guarded Jin Yong Palace all night and was now somewhat tired.

"It's hard to say, it's quite troublesome..."

Seeing Hou Jing's hesitant manner, Yuwen Tai, who was standing to the side with his ears perked up, was very anxious, wanting to know what was going on.

At this moment, the palace doors slowly opened.

Gao Huan and Yuwen Tai walked side by side at the front.

Just as Yuwen Tai was about to step inside, he saw Gao Huan run in first with small, quick steps, still shouting.

"How is the King? How is the King?"

Yuwen Tai cursed inwardly as he watched this scene.

Huai Shuo people!

Despite cursing inwardly, Gao Huan had already walked to the front, looked at Li Shuang, and said:

"Why is Your Majesty like this?"

Yuwen Tai slowly followed, and saw Gao Huan looking excited. He said:
"Your Majesty's life is tied to the fate of the nation and its people. How can I be at peace? Which treacherous minister has caused Your Majesty such distress? I will make sure that villain is torn to pieces."

Gao Huan launched into a long and eloquent performance, but Li Shuang remained unmoved, sitting slumped on his throne.

"I didn't want to meet you all like this, but things have come to this."

As she spoke, Li Shuang sighed again.

Yuwentai became even more puzzled after reading it.

At this moment, Hou Jing walked up to the crowd and succinctly explained the reason for Li Shuang's deep sorrow.

"This campaign against Liaodong... has been a loss!"

Gao Huan listened and asked in confusion:

"Goguryeo has been managing Liaodong for a century, and we have benefited from most of its accumulation. How could we have lost money?"

Hou Jing explained:
"This time we mobilized hundreds of ships, purchased hundreds of catapults, and conscripted a large number of laborers. Eighty to ninety thousand men marched for several months, and the food and supplies for the men and horses were exhausted. Your Majesty checked the accounts last night and found that you had suffered a great loss."

After Hou Jing finished speaking, Li Shuang, who was on the throne, raised his head. His face was weathered, and his eyes seemed to have lost their light.

"Is Lian Po still able to eat, even though he is old?"

These plaintive words echoed in everyone's ears, and the sense of desolation sent chills down their spines.

"Wan Jing, do you think I'm getting old?"

Hou Jing, noticing Li Shuang's gaze, suddenly began to sob and wiped away his tears.

"To be honest, Your Majesty, I am getting old, and I often feel that I am no longer able to do what I should."

Upon hearing Hou Jing's words, Li Shuang became even more excited. He stepped down from his throne, approached Hou Jing, and said:

"Wanjing!"

"Your Majesty!"

The emperor and his ministers embraced and wept.

Seeing this deeply moving scene, Gao Huan suddenly burst into tears.

"To be honest, Your Majesty, I am getting old and I feel that I am not as good as I was when I was young."

"He Liuhun, are you the same way?"

When Li Shuang asked Gao Huan, Gao Huan nodded and then joined the group of people who were crying and expressing their sorrow.

The sound of weeping came from behind.

Yuwen Tai wanted to cry a few times when he saw this scene, but in the end he was not shameless enough to do so.

"Your Majesty!"

Yuwen Tai's shout startled everyone in the palace.

Seeing the way everyone was looking at him, Yuwen Tai said:
"This is not Your Majesty's fault!"

Yuwen Tai's gaze was firm as he bowed and said:
"It was truly due to the Goguryeo king's failure to cultivate virtuous governance that this situation arose."

Just then, Zu Ting, who had been busy all night, walked in and looked at the strange scene in the palace.

"Your Majesty, those 100,000 Goguryeo people, 200,000 cattle and sheep, and 33 cities..."

Zu Ting became increasingly flustered as he spoke, but then he saw Hou Jing wave his hand.

"Don't bother Your Majesty with such a trivial matter at this time."

……

Zu Ting walked out of the main hall and saw a group of scholars from the Prince of Qin's residence.

"Why are you weeping in the palace? And why is the king ill?"

"In this campaign, more than two thousand people died. His Majesty was deeply saddened by this, and that is why he wept!"

……

(End of this chapter)