si-mexico Chapter 424: Emperor Liang is confused
Chapter 424: Emperor Liang is confused
The Emperor of Qi's plan to sleep with his wife ultimately failed because he could not defeat the Queen.
Although he is the emperor, he can't call the guards to take the queen away, right?
With fewer people, we can't win, but with more people...
You can't have so many people watching you do things, right?
If this matter gets out, I will lose all my face.
People should say that the Emperor of Qi married a queen, but she refused to let him sleep with her, so he called the guards to help hold her down before he could sleep with her.
It's so embarrassing.
What's more, the Emperor of Qi was reluctant to use force against her. Firstly, her family had indeed made contributions to the country. Before his death, the late emperor asked him to take good care of Yu Ziling. This was both an imperial edict and his father's last words. How could he not do as he was told?
Secondly, the Emperor of Qi, who had lived in the deep palace for many years, still liked his childhood sweetheart, Bai Yueguang, who was also his first wife.
Who doesn’t like a heroic female general?
Emperor Qi sat back in his chair helplessly and said,
"If you don't want to have a baby, then don't have one. It's already this late. If Qi is destroyed, then the baby won't be born.
Actually, if you are really pregnant, even if the country is destroyed and I die, you can escape with the posthumous child and give birth to him. If there is a civil war in Yan in the future, you can take the child with you, recruit soldiers, and start an army to restore the country..."
"Don't even think about it. If my country is destroyed, I won't live like a slave!"
"You...oh!"
The Emperor of Qi sighed again and said,
"Do you think that this time, our Great Qi can defeat the State of Yan and save our country?"
Yu Ziling sneered,
"Last year, Kun's military strength was twice that of Yan's, but it was completely destroyed by Yan. After three defeats, it had no power to resist. Yan destroyed Kun with overwhelming force.
This time, the State of Yan has completely absorbed the State of Kun. A million troops are marching south, carrying siege weapons and artillery. Do you think you can win?
Do you think that with just a few hundred thousand of us, we can be stronger than the Kun Kingdom back then?"
"But...Kun Kingdom was destroyed by internal strife and the emperor's incompetence..."
"So you can ignore the Yan army's powerful military strength? Do you think you are not a tyrant?"
The Emperor of Qi reluctantly went to the Imperial Study and began to issue imperial decrees, ordering the recruitment of local troops across the country.
If he said one more word to the queen, he would be furious to death.
……
Unlike the Qi State, which was in mourning, the Liang State was extremely excited.
Although Xingqing Prefecture had been devastated and there were only a few tens of thousands of troops left in the city, and they were also covered in wounds, Emperor Liang was still very happy.
At least, Yan had declared war on Qi, and the Qi army had withdrawn. Now they only needed to unite and face the Qin people together.
The Qin army seemed a little tired, and the offensive in the past few days had not been fierce, which gave Xingqing Prefecture a rare opportunity to catch its breath.
As long as they can hold on, once Yan's western army destroys Qi's army, they will be able to resolve the crisis in Xingqing Prefecture.
When the Yan army arrives, it will definitely be able to deal a heavy blow to the Qin army.
In the evening of that day, the Qin army's offensive withdrew.
In order to boost morale and stabilize the military spirit, the Emperor of Liang personally went to the city wall to inspect, encouraged the soldiers to fight bravely, told them the good news, and personally bandaged the wounds of the injured soldiers.
The soldiers were so moved that they burst into tears and shouted their loyalty.
Although they were hungry, although they were poor, although they were always losing battles, as long as the emperor was there, their sun would never set.
After inspecting the city wall, Emperor Liang looked at the setting sun, the vultures and crows circling outside the city, and the bloodstains on the ground. He sighed and asked behind him,
"What is Zhao Biao doing now?"
The Grand Marshal quickly stepped forward, clasped his hands and said,
"Your Majesty, Zhao Biao's White Horse Army is stationed thirty miles away. They have been harassing the enemy outside the city and delaying their offensive."
“Well, that’s fine. The advantage of cavalry is their mobility. It would be a waste to go back to the city to defend it.
But he couldn't really confront the Qin army of over 300,000 men. Zhao Biao made the right choice."
The general frowned and said,
"But Zhao Biao, who previously recommended Zhao Kuo as the commander-in-chief, caused the annihilation of 400,000 strong men in our country."
Liang Huang sighed and said,
"That's just a misjudgment of people. It's not his fault. Not to mention him, even the entire court, including me, failed to see that Zhao Kuo was a fool.
If we are to be found guilty, we are all guilty. But Zhao Kuo was the commander-in-chief appointed by me personally."
Hearing this, all the ministers behind him knelt down and shouted that they were guilty!
If the emperor humiliates his subjects, they must die. If the emperor says he is wrong, then don’t the subjects have to die?
Liang Huang sighed and said,
"Everyone, get up. Right now, we only have so many people left. We still have to survive this national crisis together.
If we can get through this safely, I will forgive all the mistakes made by everyone before and rebuild the country well."
"Thank you, Your Majesty!"
Liang Huang nodded and said,
"Zhao Biao has been working hard leading the troops outside. I can't meet him in person to encourage him. How about this? You all follow me to Zhao Biao's home to meet his family. This will show my favor and allow him to relax and fight outside."
"As ordered!"
The group came down from the city wall and took a carriage to head towards Zhao Biao's home. The Emperor of Liang even ordered people to ride faster and go back to the palace to get several thousand taels of gold to reward Zhao Biao's family.
A quarter of an hour later, they arrived at Zhao Biao's home.
With the cry of "The Emperor has arrived", all the doors in Zhao Biao's house opened.
A group of servants came out, knelt down and shouted "Long live the emperor".
"Be flat."
As he spoke, the Emperor of Liang led his ministers into Zhao Biao's house.
"Hmm? Where are the Zhao family? Why don't they come out to greet me?"
Liang Huang frowned.
The Zhao family's housekeeper knelt down and said,
"Your Majesty, the general's family has gone to visit relatives in Zhangye County in the west."
"Visiting relatives? Nonsense! How long have the Qi and Qin armies been besieging Xingqing Prefecture? How did they leave the city?"
"Your Majesty, I dare not speak nonsense. Even if he left, he left long ago. It has been almost two months."
"Almost two months?"
Emperor Liang's head buzzed, as if he realized something.
He glared at the butler and shouted,
"Tell me, when did they leave and how did they leave?"
"Your Majesty, Your Majesty, please spare me. It was the last time the general came back. Didn't he come back to rest for two days? He also recommended Zhao Kuo to be the commander-in-chief, and then left.
During those two days, his family also went out, saying they were going to Zhangye to visit relatives, and the rest of us knew nothing about it."
Zhao Biao ran away...
This was the first thought that flashed through the Emperor Liang’s mind.
He glared at the butler and shouted angrily,
"Why didn't you report it?!"
"Ah? Your Majesty, if the general's family visits relatives, do we also...have to file a complaint with the authorities?"