Lian Erye in the Red Mansion

Chapter 739 Ruthless

Iron Net Mountain is located in the forests to the north.

The crown prince sat on the ground looking disheveled.

After a series of fierce battles and breakouts, the soldiers of the Beijing garrison under his command were either dead, scattered, or deserted, leaving only a handful remaining.

To this day, only a few hundred guards and soldiers from his Crown Prince's residence remain steadfastly by his side.

"Your Highness, we have no other choice but to surrender."

Looking at his confidants and guards around him, all dirty and lacking their former prestige, the crown prince was filled with regret.

He originally thought he had a complete grasp of the situation at Iron Net Mountain and that he had made the right choice for himself.

But no one expected that his father, the emperor, would plan so meticulously and be able to summon reinforcements so quickly, turning defeat into victory.

Now that they can't go up the mountain and there's been no news from the retired emperor for a long time, it's highly likely that he has fallen into the hands of Emperor Ningkang.

He himself was left with only a few remaining troops and had no idea what to do next.

"Your Highness! His Majesty is, after all, your biological father. If you are willing to turn back to His Majesty, admit your mistakes, and beg for forgiveness, I believe His Majesty will surely forgive you..."

Some of his trusted confidants were actively offering him advice and strategies.

He also considered going back to Emperor Ningkang to admit his mistakes and surrender.

But when he thought of Emperor Ningkang's usual sternness, and the disappointed and indifferent face he saw yesterday afternoon when he learned of his defection, he couldn't help but shudder.

Another ambitious person said, "Given His Majesty's temperament, if Your Highness were to return now, even if you escape with your life, you would certainly not be able to remain the Crown Prince."

Your Highness has been the Crown Prince for so many years. If you lose your position, it will be no different from waiting for death.

In that case, let's stick to the original plan and break out from the north!

The Emperor Emeritus's decree to come to the aid of the emperor was issued yesterday afternoon, and it has been almost a day since then. I believe that many armies are already on their way to come to the aid of the emperor.

"As long as Your Highness can escape and join forces with the various armies coming to the aid of the emperor, we can raise the banner of loyalty, launch a counterattack on Iron Net Mountain, and rescue the Emperor Emeritus. At that time, everything will be possible!"

This is actually what most of the confidants think.

Because most of them knew that if the crown prince chose to surrender and return, he might survive, but those around him would most likely not.

Listening to his confidants' repeated advice, the crown prince was in a state of utter confusion.

Meanwhile, those sent out to gather information began to return one after another.

"Your Highness, we have already investigated and found that we are less than two miles from the main road at the foot of the mountain. Moreover, the number of soldiers stationed at the foot of the mountain is not large, and they are scattered, so breaking through will not be difficult."

"Report! Your Highness, a large army has been dispatched from the mountain and is closing in on us!"

The series of news made it impossible for the crown prince to remain seated. He stood up and asked, "How many troops are pursuing us? Who is leading them?"

"We dared not approach, as we did not know how many troops there were... but we did see many people from Prince Yun's residence!"

The Crown Prince's expression suddenly turned cold: "Prince Yun? He has long wished for my death. Now that he has this opportunity, how could he let it go!"

Let's go down the mountain, then head east to Shanhaiguan!

The Crown Prince acted decisively, not wanting to fall into the hands of the Third Prince, and was prepared to fight to the death.

However, he ultimately overestimated his ability to escape, or rather, underestimated the determination of Emperor Ningkang's side to capture him.

Half a day later, in a dense forest only a few dozen miles away from Tiewang Mountain.

At this time, the crown prince had only a few people left by his side, and all of them were injured.

Seeing the cavalry closing in from all directions, he fell into deep despair.

In particular, seeing his younger brother, whom he had always regarded as a thorn in his side, riding arrogantly towards him surrounded by many guards, filled him with boundless shame and resentment.

The Third Prince rode slowly forward, looking at the Crown Prince, who was dressed in ordinary armor and surrounded by several guards in tattered armor, and said mockingly:

"How did you become so disheveled in just one day?"

Faced with the smug Third Prince, the Crown Prince's face turned pale and then red, before he finally sighed in dejection, "Third Prince, you really have reason to be proud."

"Yes, I was no match for my father, so I lost. Now that I'm in your hands, I have nothing to say."

After saying that, the prince's voice suddenly turned sinister: "But do you think you've won?"

We've been fighting for so many years, and we know better than anyone what kind of person Father is.

Do you think that without me, you can definitely sit securely on the throne as crown prince?

Don't be naive!

How Father treated me before is how he will treat you in the future!

In particular, this time the Emperor has openly defied the Emperor, and even if the Emperor ultimately wins, he will inevitably face endless troubles.

Under such circumstances, do you think your father would feel at ease letting you be a secure crown prince?

He was able to support you against me in the past, and he can do the same in the future by supporting the fourth or fifth son against you.

My today is nothing more than your tomorrow.

Faced with the Crown Prince's curse, the Third Prince smiled and seemed not to care at all.

Not only that, he even sighed, "It seems that my eldest brother has a deep misunderstanding of Father. What a pity, what a pity..."

The crown prince felt insulted: "What do you mean??"

The Third Prince said, "Do you really think that I was deliberately promoted by Father to oppose you?"

"Isn't that right?"

"Of course not."

The Third Prince said, "The reason I am competing with you is simply because I want to compete with you, because I feel that you are not worthy of sitting in this position!"

In terms of status, your mother was just an ordinary concubine, while my mother was a Noble Consort!

In terms of intelligence, from childhood to adulthood, whether in classroom debates or when the Master tested your knowledge, how many times have you been able to surpass me?

In terms of moral character, I have always been cautious in my words and deeds, and have strictly adhered to the duties of a prince. But you, after the death of your second elder brother, have taken advantage of your status as the eldest son and heir apparent to bully your own brothers, indulging in debauchery and reckless behavior every day. After becoming the crown prince, you have gone further, amassing wealth everywhere and colluding with local factions for personal gain...

Clearly, I am more qualified than you to be the crown prince!

Upon hearing the Third Prince say this, the Crown Prince suddenly felt a little guilty.

His mother died early, and in terms of rank, she was indeed slightly lower than Consort Wu, the birth mother of the Third Prince.

In academics, he couldn't compare to the Third Prince.

As for his reckless behavior... Back when Emperor Ningkang was still the Prince of Chang, his second younger brother, born to the Empress, was weak and died young. He became the heir apparent and vaguely remembered doing some things that made him too proud. After all, he was still young at the time...

As for what he did after becoming the crown prince, wasn't it all in order to deal with the third prince, whose ambitions had been exposed?

He wasn't wrong about that.

"Hmph, the order of seniority has always been there."

"Yes, there is an order of seniority. Because you are the eldest son, your father has made you the heir apparent and crown prince."

Because you are the Crown Prince, your father, even knowing the wrong things you have done, chooses to turn a blind eye. Even when I try to gather evidence of your crimes and present it to your father, he only lifts the bar high and then lets it fall gently.

Because I am not the crown prince, I dare not take a single wrong step!

"Elder brother, aren't you curious why, after all these years of competing with you, I've never placed my own people in the army? I've befriended so many sons of prominent families, yet almost none of them are sons of military officers or generals who hold real power. Aren't you ever curious, elder brother?"

The crown prince was taken aback.

He wasn't sure if the Third Prince had interfered in the military, but it seemed that few of the people who associated with the Third Prince were related to military power.

Everyone says that the Third Prince is refined and doesn't like to associate with vulgar people.

The Third Prince chuckled self-deprecatingly: "I once befriended a high-ranking general in the capital garrison and even took his daughter as a concubine. Not long after, my father-in-law was transferred to a local post."

At the time, I did not realize what my father meant.

Later, I secretly obtained leverage over a deputy commander of the Imperial Guard, forcing him to pledge his loyalty and secretly pass on palace information to me. Then, he was convicted of smuggling military equipment, had his property confiscated, and was executed by my father. Moreover, I personally oversaw the execution.

Hehehe, you'll never know how well your father protected you.

The Third Prince's words caused the Crown Prince's expression to change, and he vaguely realized that he might have overlooked something in the past.

"By the way, didn't you question Father yesterday about why he wouldn't let me bear the blame for him? Perhaps I know the answer to that question."

The Third Prince looked down at the Crown Prince: "Because only you, the Crown Prince and heir apparent, can bear this infamy for your father. In your father's heart, no one else is qualified."

The crown prince was startled.

Is that really true?

Was he really wrong?

Seeing the Crown Prince become dazed after being moved by his words, a hint of pity appeared in the Third Prince's eyes, but it was immediately replaced by coldness.

He glanced back at the path he had come from, knowing that someone might follow the battlefield and come looking for him at any moment.

So he gently raised his hand.

As he moved, dozens of his guards, who were already prepared, immediately raised their crossbows.

These crossbows were borrowed from the military camp.

The actions of the Third Prince and his entourage startled the Crown Prince, whose expression changed drastically. He shouted sternly, "Wei Yan, what do you think you're doing?"

"What are you doing?"

The third prince burst into laughter, his voice tinged with madness: "Of course, we'll see our eldest brother off on his way."

"You dare! You... If Father finds out, he will never forgive you!"

"Oh? Is that so?"

"My eldest brother was stubborn and refused to be captured, but unfortunately died in the chaos of battle. I have failed in my duty, and I beg Your Majesty to punish me."

"Tsk tsk, and with my elder brother having changed into ordinary soldier's clothes beforehand, how could Father possibly blame me?"

The Crown Prince felt a chill run down his spine. He never expected the Third Prince to be so ruthless, having come all this way just to kill him.

Suddenly, one of his guards dropped his sword, knelt down with a thud, and said to the Third Prince, "Your Highness, I have done everything you instructed me to do. The Crown Prince is here; may I return to Your Highness's side now?"

The crown prince stumbled, enraging his loyal guards.

No wonder the Crown Prince, despite his changed appearance, couldn't escape the Third Prince's pursuit; it turns out there was a traitor among them!

Enraged, without even needing the crown prince's order, they charged forward with their swords drawn, quickly hacking the shameless traitor to pieces.

Throughout this process, the Third Prince watched coldly, showing no intention of saving this traitor.

Some pieces, having fulfilled their purpose, no longer need to exist.

"Your Highness, we will cover you, you must go!"

Several guards, overjoyed at killing the traitor, turned around and shouted before charging towards the Third Prince.

"Swish swish!"

With the sound of crossbow bolts piercing the air, several guards fell to the ground.

The crown prince froze, his survival instinct making him turn around. But behind him were dozens of brightly armored guards from the Prince Yun's residence, leaving him no way to escape.

"Whoosh whoosh!"

The arrow pierced his armor and embedded itself in his body, yet he seemed to feel no pain.

He didn't utter a sound, just knelt down straight, his head hitting the ground covered with leaves.

A gentle breeze blew by, seemingly carrying something away.

"Da da da!!"

The sound of hooves rang out, and several riders galloped in.

"Your Highness, I haven't found any trace of the Crown Prince on my end. How are things on your end?"

Tian Qu quickly arrived at the Third Prince's side.

As a confidant of Emperor Ningkang, he was completely loyal to Emperor Ningkang.

The Crown Prince's betrayal has caused Emperor Ningkang a great loss. Everyone knows that the Crown Prince will inevitably lose power, and the Third Prince will surely rise to prominence.

Since Tian Qu had this opportunity, he naturally wanted to first cultivate a good relationship with the Third Prince.

Therefore, in assisting the Third Prince in capturing the Crown Prince, he was completely obedient to the Third Prince and did everything he could to please him.

Previously, the remnants of the Crown Prince's army had scattered and fled, so he and the Third Prince separated to pursue and eliminate them.

Unexpectedly, the prince he was chasing was just a guard in disguise.

Seeing the Third Prince and his guards huddled together, seemingly having gained something, he couldn't wait to ask them more questions.

Meanwhile, he also turned his gaze to the field.

Well, only a few corpses riddled with bullets...

Suddenly, his expression froze, and he stared blankly at the "hedgehog" that was kneeling on the ground with its back to him.

The hedgehog's posture was different from the others, and its shape was vaguely familiar.

Tian Qu looked up at the Third Prince.

But he saw that the Third Prince and his personal guards were all staring at him with stern eyes.

Tian Qu felt a chill run down his spine and said awkwardly, "Well, since Your Highness hasn't found any trace of the Crown Prince either, then this humble servant will check elsewhere."

The Third Prince laughed and said, "Alright, Vice Commander Tian, ​​please proceed."

"good……"

Tian Qu suppressed his urge to look at the corpse and turned his horse around to leave.

"Bang!"

With a loud gunshot, Tianqu fell to the ground.

But he didn't die. Ignoring the excruciating pain in his back after falling off his horse, he immediately knelt down and said, "Your Highness, spare my life! I didn't see anything, I don't know anything."

"If Your Highness will spare my life, I am willing to swear allegiance to Your Highness and will go through fire and water for you from now on."

The Third Prince blew on the muzzle of the musket, which was still emitting smoke, and looked at Tian Qu, who was still lively and kicking, and frowned, saying, "It seems that this thing is not very useful. He can't even kill this."

As he spoke, he threw the musket into the guard's arms and rode his horse up to Tian Qu.

"To be honest, it's rare to see someone as smart and sensible as Deputy Commander Tian."

It's a pity you know something you shouldn't know. Only the dead can keep secrets.

As soon as he finished speaking, the guards from the Prince's Palace who had also surrounded him showed no mercy and fired a volley of bullets at Tian Qu, turning him into a hedgehog-like corpse as well.

His personal guards, seeing this, scattered and fled in terror.

Unfortunately, they didn't have time to escape far before they were all shot off their horses.

……