The old emperor only desires immortality; you must not rebel.

After massacring the beasts in Changning Prefecture, the Holy Emperor's carriage slowly headed out of the city.

On the streets of Changning Prefecture, they saw each other off for ten miles!

The people, trapped in the mire of suffering, lined both sides of the street, their eyes filled with tears, and watched the Holy Emperor depart with utmost respect.

With the arrival of the Holy Emperor, a new era has begun for Changning Prefecture!

When the villains who had long plagued Changning Prefecture were punished and the corrupt officials were beheaded, the oppressed people felt that their great revenge had been achieved.

They didn't understand court politics; they only knew that the Holy Emperor had arrived, their enemies were dead, and they had even been allocated land.

The Holy Emperor said that as long as they paid enough to the Emperor, the rest would be theirs.

For the common people at the bottom of society, isn't it their duty to pay taxes to the imperial court?

Inside the ancestral hall of Changning Prefecture, a golden statue stands.

……

After the emperor's carriage left Changning Prefecture, it quickened its pace.

The Holy Emperor originally intended to sweep away the remaining areas one by one, but unfortunately, he had set a time limit to reach the Northern Qi palace within a month.

The Holy Emperor is a man of his word, and naturally he would not break his promise.

The emperor of Northern Qi must be impatient!

Once he returns from Northern Qi, he will be able to free up his time to tidy up this land.

……

At this time, the Northern Qi imperial palace,

When news of the annihilation of the princess and her entourage arrived, the emperor of Northern Qi cheered joyfully in the palace.

"Hahaha!"

The Northern Qi emperor ran barefoot through the palace.

"That damn bitch is finally dead!"

"Finally dead!"

"This is truly gratifying!"

The emperor danced with joy.

Even if it was his own sister who died!

As the emperor of Northern Qi was running, he suddenly knelt on the ground and angrily pounded the ground with his fist.

"You bitch!"

"Damn bitch!"

As the emperor of Northern Qi, he should have been high above, holding the reins of power over the country, but now the power of Northern Qi has been divided up by that vile woman and his rebellious son.

He didn't even have the authority to appoint a ninth-rank official!

He himself, the emperor, was merely a mascot, a figurehead they had put forward.

The crown prince and the eldest princess never took him, the emperor, seriously.

An old eunuch attending to the emperor whispered, "Your Majesty, according to news from the Qing Kingdom, that emperor says he intends to storm the palace."

He felt that His Majesty was celebrating too soon.

The eldest princess is dead, but there's still the crown prince.

"What?"

The Northern Qi emperor was stunned for a moment, recovering from his great surprise, and exclaimed in astonishment, "You mean that old fellow from the Qing Kingdom is going to storm my palace?"

He was a puppet, that's true, but how much better was that guy from Qing Kingdom than me?

At least in Northern Qi, the power was still in the hands of its own people, but in Qing, the power had long since been out of the hands of the royal family.

This comparison made the Northern Qi emperor even happier.

The old eunuch attending him whispered, "I heard that the emperor of Qing has already set off north."

The emperor of Northern Qi was completely taken aback.

He originally thought the other party was just making threats, but they actually dared to go north.

How many men did he bring?

"Ten thousand people!"

"Ten thousand people?"

The emperor of Northern Qi was shocked once again.

Although he was a puppet, the imperial guards were still under his control, numbering 50,000.

There were also some officials in the imperial court who were loyal to him; he was not truly alone.

With only 10,000 men, how dare they boast that they will storm my palace?

Moreover, along the way, they would pass through many cities, each with hundreds of thousands of garrison troops.

"That old man's gone mad!"

Gao Zhan looked at his personal eunuch and asked, "Or did he persuade those military governors of Qing?"

"No!"

The old eunuch shook his head and said, "So far, none of those military governors have sent troops to help us."

Those military governors were clearly just watching a show.

Gao Zhan was both amused and exasperated, and sighed, "In this respect, I am inferior to him."

If the emperor dies in Qi, it will be a legitimate reason to seize Qing.

It should be said that from the moment the Emperor of Daqing left the capital, he only had one fate.

He died in the State of Qi!

Even if the State of Qi doesn't kill him, those people will never let the Emperor of Daqing go.

As the emperor of Northern Qi, Gao Zhan was not entirely ignorant of court politics.

However, he ascended the throne too late and held too little power, which is why he became a puppet.

"deliver an imperial order!"

Gao Zhan straightened his robes and declared loudly, "I will personally lead the army into battle!"

"With such courage and determination from the Emperor of Qing, how can I hide in the deep palace?"

opportunity!

He saw an opportunity to escape his current predicament.

The eldest princess is dead, and her faction is bound to fall.

If I can seize this opportunity and win the hearts of the people, and then return with a great victory, all the officials in the court will surely turn around and support me.

The old eunuch once again showed a look of astonishment.

"Your Majesty..." the old eunuch hesitated, "Isn't this too risky?"

"Where is the Crown Prince...?"

"You bastard!"

Gao Zhan angrily retorted, "I am the Emperor, do I need to ask the Crown Prince for permission to do anything?"

"I will personally lead the army today, and let's see who dares to stop me!"

If we miss this opportunity, and wait until the Crown Prince consolidates Gao Xiaoyue's power, then he will become the only one who can dominate.

……

The Eastern Palace of Northern Qi

Upon hearing that his father was going to personally lead the army into battle, the Crown Prince sighed softly, his face full of helplessness: "Father still doesn't trust me."

"I did all of this for him."

"Otherwise, if I hadn't been holding on so hard, my aunt would have seized his throne long ago, and now she's even risking her life to lead the army herself."

The Crown Prince looked down at the commander of the Qi State's Golden Guard, who was clad in armor, and instructed him, "Zhong Yuan, you will lead 50,000 men to follow Father Emperor and ensure his safety."

"No matter what, we must ensure Father's safety."

Zhong Yuan strode forward, clasped his hands in a fist salute, and said, "Your Majesty, rest assured, I will certainly protect the Emperor Emeritus's safety!"

The Crown Prince seemed not to hear Zhong Yuan's mistake, instead wearing a smile on his face.

……

Where has the Holy Emperor gone at this moment?

The Holy Emperor has already led his army to the border of Northern Qi.

Standing in front of the border is the former first pass of the Qing Kingdom—Shuofeng Pass!

It is said that no army of less than 300,000 can break through!

The majestic pass stands before the valley.

The pass is flanked by towering cliffs.

The emperor's dragon banner fluttered in the strong wind.

Beneath the dragon banner was the emperor's chariot.

Gazing at the pass ahead, the accompanying guards' eyes blazed with intense fighting spirit.

If the Holy Emperor had not given the order, they would have already rushed forward.

At the foot of the city, Qin Xiong rode forward and shouted, "His Majesty has decreed that if you are willing to open the city gates and surrender, His Majesty will spare you."

As a sage emperor, he possessed benevolence, even towards people from enemy countries.

The soldiers on the city wall burst into laughter.

"call out!"

An arrow struck Qin Xiong's feet.

"Go back and tell your old emperor that if he doesn't want to die, he'd better retreat now!"

"Get out!"

"You are not welcome here!"

"Hahaha!"

The general guarding the city wall laughed and put down his longbow.

All the soldiers were laughing loudly.