r18novel Page 408
Page 408
Having seized the Grand General's military seal and bribed the Prime Minister of Dunhuang City beforehand, all that's needed is to force the City Lord of the Palace Maid, and Dunhuang City will be captured.
Late at night, in the palace of Dunhuang.
An inside agent of the Embroidered Uniform Guard opened the palace gates, and the Dunhuang Golden Guards, who were on high alert, faced a dark mass of enemies.
The enemies of the Golden Guard included the Tang Emperor's Embroidered Uniform Guard and the private soldiers of collaborators like Wang Yan, totaling around three thousand.
The 30,000 troops in the city have been stabilized by the General's military token. The only obstacle now is the 500 Golden Guards who are loyal to the female city lord and the Mao family.
Suddenly, a head was thrown into the crowd of Jinwu Guards. Mao Rou's head looked even more ferocious in the moonlight.
"Mao Rou is dead, the Mao family has been wiped out. Any member of the Imperial Guard who does not bear the surname Mao and surrenders will be spared!"
Several leaders of the Jinwu Guard were members of the Mao family, and their legs went weak when they saw Mao Rou's head.
Sweet Potato continued, "The 30,000 troops in the city have surrendered, and all the generals of the Mao family have been executed!"
"Imperial Guards, immediately execute the Mao family and surrender to the Tang King, or your entire family will be exterminated!"
Knowing his chance to shine had come, Prime Minister Wang Yan quickly chimed in, "Brothers of the Imperial Guards, this Lady Song is the city lord's niece, and the true heir to the city lord's throne!"
"Although she is a member of the Tang Prince's Mansion, surrendering to her is not considered betrayal."
These Imperial Guards were all tough men in the army, and had been loyal to the female city lord for decades. They were all prepared to fight to the death.
However, after hearing these words that combined both soft and hard tactics, many people have already wavered.
Firstly, no one wanted to bring trouble to their families; secondly, this was the female city lord's family matter, and their surrender would not be considered betrayal.
Some of the older guards recognized Hongshu, whose name was Song Xiaoyu when he was in Dunhuang.
"She is Lady Song, the city lord's niece..."
Several generals surnamed Mao sensed the subtle changes within the Imperial Guard and felt the impending crisis.
"His Majesty has decreed that those who quell the rebellion will be promoted three ranks! Those who surrender without authorization..."
The general's voice abruptly stopped as several gleaming ring-pommel swords pierced through his chest, gushing out blood!
puff!puff!puff!
After several shrill screams, all the generals surnamed Mao were killed by the Imperial Guards. The remaining Imperial Guards threw down their weapons and knelt down to surrender.
"Lord Song! We are willing to submit to the King of Tang!"
The Jinwu Guard was captured without bloodshed, and these people could even be transferred to the Jinyiwei. Hongshu was very satisfied with this result.
"Wang Yan, send your men to capture them and keep them under strict guard."
Wang Yan, with a fawning smile, repeatedly said, "Yes, sir!"
As Hongshu and Xue Songguan entered the inner palace, they added a reminder, "Do not harm them."
Wang Yan quickly abandoned his thoughts of seeking revenge and kept expressing his loyalty.
Inside the inner city hall of Dunhuang, the female city lord of Dunhuang sat alone on her throne.
The female city lord's crow's feet at the corners of her eyes were enough to raise several fish, but her exquisite appearance still exuded charm.
"Hmph, you really are lucky. You didn't die in the Northern Liang King's mansion, but were taken into the Tang King's mansion instead."
Sweet Potato walked down the steps to the Empress's throne and looked at her dragon robe and throne. A mocking smile crept across his lips.
"Your dragon robe is nothing but self-deception. What kind of female emperor are you?"
The female city lord looked at Hongshu's eyebrows and eyes, her expression becoming increasingly complicated.
"You and your mother are so alike, even your fates are so similar."
"Even if Li Chang'an can't defeat the Northern Barbarians, he is enough to stand on equal footing with the Northern Barbarians of Liyang. He will surely have one of the three kingdoms in the world."
“If…you were not her daughter, and Li Chang’an became emperor, you would undoubtedly be the empress.”
"It's a pity... hahaha, do you think Li Chang'an wouldn't know about this?"
The female city lord's voice revealed a hint of madness and schadenfreude, while a trace of barely perceptible loneliness flickered in Sweet Potato's eyes.
Xue Songguan glanced at Hongshu's back in surprise. No wonder Hongshu lacked confidence in becoming a princess; it turned out she had the blood of the Northern Mang Empress.
In Xue Songguan's view, given Li Chang'an's fondness and emphasis on Hongshu, it was clear that he intended to make Hongshu his principal wife.
However, it seems inappropriate for Li Chang'an to make a descendant of the empress of an enemy state his queen.
“I am nothing more than a hostage you threw into Beiliang, an assassin from the Tianxiang Tower in Beimang, and I have never thought of becoming a princess or empress.”
"But no matter what I do, I will never deceive myself like you did by embroidering a dragon robe."
"Aunt, it's time to wake up from your dream of becoming an empress. You can only be yourself. You are not as good as her, and you can never become her!"
"You only need to step down, and I will let you enjoy your old age in peace."
Sweet Potato's words were like a fatal blow, striking the female city lord's weak spot, causing her face to turn ashen instantly.
She slowly stood up and walked to the front of Hongshu. The two somewhat similar faces were only a few feet apart.
"As expected of mother and daughter, your words are truly venomous. But don't worry, even if I die, I will still be the Empress of Dunhuang."
After the female city lord finished speaking, she slowly walked towards the entrance of the main hall, where the Imperial Guards stood ready.
"Shh!"
Hundreds of Imperial Guards simultaneously drew their Embroidered Spring Blades, their cold gazes fixed on the female city lord of Dunhuang.
"What a pity, I didn't get to see that bitch die first..."
The female city lord remained expressionless, but blood was already flowing from her seven orifices, indicating that she had ingested a deadly poison beforehand.
The figure in the dragon robe fell backward with a thud. She ultimately died as the Empress of Dunhuang City. Her only regret was that she did not see the Northern Mang Murong Empress die first.
Sweet Potato frowned as she glanced at her aunt's body, her heart filled with mixed emotions.
She still doesn't know about the entanglement between the female city lord and Empress Murong, and this aunt doesn't show her any affection.
"After giving her a proper burial and confiscating her property and intelligence, seal off the inner palace and await Your Highness's decision."
Subsequently, the Embroidered Uniform Guard began to search the palace, and Dunhuang City was finally incorporated into the territory of Shazhou, and all seven counties of Shazhou were recovered.
Jiange Pass.
The Tang army and the Waleng tribe led by the White-Robed Guanyin attacked from both inside and outside, causing heavy casualties to the Liyang army, which was on the verge of breaking through the pass.
On the city wall, Huo Qubing and Gu Jiantang fought for more than an hour without a clear victor.
Gu Jiantang planned to launch a surprise attack on Huo Qubing's army behind the city gates to open a passage for his remaining troops to retreat to Liyang.
“Gu Jiantang, Western Shu and Qingzhou have all fallen to my king. Where can your remaining troops escape to?”
Gu Jiantang felt heartbroken looking at the precarious Jiange Pass, as these tens of thousands of elite troops were his own personal guard.
With this defeat, the number of troops that the Liyang court can control will be surpassed by the number of troops controlled by the various regional vassal kings.
The Li Yang Dynasty, which had unified the world less than twenty years ago, was clearly on the verge of splitting up again.
Tang King Li Chang'an has openly rebelled, and the Prince of Yan and the Prince of Beiliang, who hold heavy troops, are even more uncontrollable.
"The Tang Emperor's actions are tantamount to plunging the world back into war and division! Is Li Chang'an destined to become a sinner for all time?!"
Huo Qubing couldn't help but sneer, "The Liyang court has mobilized five armies to besiege Shazhou, and now the villain is accusing us first."
"Moreover, your Liyang Dynasty is strong on the outside but weak on the inside. Not only have you failed to eliminate a major threat like the Northern Mang, but you can't even suppress the Northern Liang. If you let the Zhao family emperor rule the country, Tai'an City might be trampled by the Northern Mang cavalry one day."
"It's better for such a court to perish sooner rather than later!"
Huo Qubing's spear was like a dragon, and his powerful true energy swept across the heavens and earth. The confrontation between martial artists at the Celestial Realm was enough to change the color of the heavens and earth.
As the two were locked in fierce combat, a series of booming Buddhist chants suddenly emanated from the city gate, and the great banner on the city gate was changed from Liyang to the Tang army's banner with the character "Li".
It was clear that the white-robed Guanyin's monks had broken into the pass, and the Liyang garrison had either died or surrendered; no one could possibly escape.
Gu Jiantang was pale and filled with despair. He and Zhao Kai had led an army of 100,000 into the territory, while there were still 60,000 troops at Jiange Pass.
The entire army of 160,000 has now been wiped out by Li Chang'an, and both Western Shu and Qingzhou have fallen into his hands.
Originally, the goal was to recapture Shazhou, but now they have suffered heavy losses and a complete defeat, allowing Li Chang'an to grow stronger once again.
Even if Northern Mang and Northern Liang were to defeat Li Chang'an, Li Yang Dynasty would not be able to gain any benefits.
Not only could Li Yang Dynasty not gain any benefits from the Northwest, it also faced greater internal strife, to the point that Gu Jiantang even contemplated suicide.
However, when he thought of the celestial eunuchs in Tai'an City and the Imperial Observatory, which could summon immortals to descend to earth, a glimmer of hope arose in his heart.
Even if the northwest and southwest are lost, it shouldn't be too difficult for the Liyang Dynasty to retain the central plains.
With this thought in mind, Gu Jiantang lost the will to fight and turned to flee eastward.
This great general of the Liyang Dynasty lost 160,000 men, two prefectures, a Shu king, and a national advisor. He himself fled back to Tai'an City alone.
Inside the Jiange Pass, the three groups of people—the White-Robed Guanyin, Huo Qubing, and Zhao Dingxiu—finally converged.
Zhao Dingxiu was following Zhuge Liang's instructions to lead the remnants of the former Western Shu and Western Chu to the two provinces to appease the people.
Huo Qubing sat in the main seat, rapidly assigning tasks according to the secret letter sent by the Embroidered Uniform Guard.
With a major battle about to break out in the north, Huo Qubing couldn't help but feel anxious.
"White-robed Guanyin, take your five thousand monk soldiers and another thirty thousand cavalry, and head north to Yanjia Lake at top speed."
"His Highness has given a strict order: we must arrive within five days!"