bayedsolid Chapter 303: Rehabilitating the Marquis of Zhenbei
Chapter 303: Rehabilitating the Marquis of Zhenbei
Since Mingmin moved in, Huan Ge'er has become busier.
He became fascinated by witchcraft.
In his knowledge, witchcraft is a blind spot, an unknown area, and full of mystery.
My mother said that reading ten thousand books is not as good as traveling ten thousand miles, and she also said that there must be a teacher among three people!
Sure enough, you didn’t lie to me!
"Last time, when that insect attacked, it started itching from my wrist all the way to my heart. It was so painful that I wanted to saw my hand off. Is there anything more painful and uncomfortable?"
Brother Huan is eager to learn.
"Of course! For example, this..."
Mingmin flipped her hand and another worm appeared out of thin air. She pointed at the worm and explained in detail the breeding methods, usage and effects.
Seeing the two children whispering together all day long, Su Li felt mixed emotions.
With Xie An away, Huan Ge'er finally had another friend of the same age.
But what they study is really beyond the understanding of normal people.
Geniuses are always different!
Su Li could only comfort herself in this way.
"Captain Qian, please go to Dali in the name of a caravan." Su Li returned to the study and began to make arrangements.
"Madam, do you want me to go and find out about Miss Mingmin?" Su Li did not hide her speculation about Mingmin's background from Captain Qian. Upon hearing this, she said:
"That's right. If you go to Dali, you can find out what's going on there. If you can find someone who supports Mingmin, that would be great."
Since I have taken Mingmin in, I still need to prepare for some things.
"The little one knows what to do."
It just so happened that the tea plantation had a bumper harvest of tea, and within a few days, Captain Qian led a caravan to Dali Kingdom in the name of selling tea.
……
Prince Kang's Palace in Shengjing.
"Ari, tell me, I like His Highness! I like His Highness!"
In the corridor, King Kang fed his parrot with bird food and taught it to speak.
The parrot walked back and forth in the golden birdcage with a proud look on its face, looking up and shouting, "Hate! Hate!"
"you!"
King Kang was so angry that he threw away the bird food.
The butler waiting outside the corridor saw an opening, stepped forward quickly and said cautiously:
"Your Highness, General Peng in the south has succeeded. He sent these specially to Shengjing as a tribute to Your Highness."
In the yard, there were many boxes densely packed together, all filled with gold, silver and jewelry.
King Kang glanced at it casually and said, "This is not what I want."
The housekeeper quickly brought over another pile of documents.
"Your Highness, General Peng said that nothing promised to Your Highness will be lost. From now on, the entire Dali will support Your Highness, and Your Highness's foundation in the south will be as solid as Mount Tai."
"That's pretty much it!"
"Your Highness, General Peng also said that Princess Mingmin was accidentally lost."
"What? Idiot! Is he a pig? Can't he handle a child?"
The butler lowered his head even lower.
"I heard that Princess Mingmin was rescued by a wealthy family named Qian in southern Fujian. They have a large number of people and are located in Nanqi territory, so it is difficult for them to attack openly. General Peng hopes to get your help, Your Highness."
"You go and handle this. Remember, cut the weeds at their roots! Do it cleanly!"
"Yes!"
As soon as the butler left, King Kang took out a golden spoon and started to play with the parrot A'li.
"Ari, aren't you suited to enjoying the scenery of the south? When I conquer the entire south, I'll take you everywhere to play, okay?"
He had been operating in the south for many years, but the King of Dali had always been against him and refused to accept his favor. He simply joined forces with General Peng and killed the King of Dali.
By supporting one of his own people to take the throne, the entire southwest is now under his control. When he takes action in Shengjing in the future, he will be well prepared. Even if he fails in the future, he can still find a safe place in the southwest by retreating.
He is not as foolish as his fourth brother, who made deals with the people of Beimang.
He chose to directly replace the monarch of the neighboring country with one of his own.
Know when to advance and when to retreat!
He is simply a genius!
A Li will definitely look at him with admiration!
"Your Highness, quite a few people have gathered at the palace gates, claiming they want to appeal for redress for the Zhenbei Army. They've already started a commotion!"
The captain of the guards came to report.
"Okay! I can't miss such a lively event."
King Kang packed his clothes. Cui Tongxiang had informed him in advance that he had been waiting for this day. He had to perform well.
……
There were already quite a few people crowding at the entrance of the palace.
The imperial guards received orders from Emperor Jingde not to let even a fly in. They all held their swords, ready to draw their swords at any time if anyone dared to rush into the palace gate.
Across from them, the old Duke Xie stood at the head of the procession. Behind him, Xie An, clutching his golden mace, stood proudly and heroically. Further back, the Xie family's servants carried a stretcher, upon which lay Liao Zhiyi.
After several days of rescue, Liao Zhiyi was finally out of danger and woke up this morning.
As soon as he woke up, Duke Xie couldn't wait to carry him to the palace to meet the emperor.
It was time for the court to end, and the palace gate was crowded with civil and military officials, who gathered together and whispered.
"Your Majesty! Prince Jing has committed treasonous acts, collaborating with the enemy and betraying his country, leading the Beimang people into the pass and slaughtering the northern border! He has committed heinous crimes. Your Majesty, please announce this to the world!"
The voice of Duke Xie is as loud as a bell.
Today, he had shed his sickly image and was now draped in gold, looking majestic and imposing. Everyone was amazed. The once powerful Duke had returned.
The sound passed through the palace gate and spread into the palace.
Emperor Jingde sat in the Golden Palace, his beard flying with anger.
"Didn't we say that this matter should be suppressed and handled in a low-key manner? Prime Minister Cui, what's going on?"
Cui Xiang, who had deliberately walked a step slower and was left behind, looked embarrassed.
"Your Majesty, I have taken care of it. As soon as I received the news, I immediately went to the Ninth Princess's residence to retrieve the person. However, I was still a step behind Old Duke Xie, and he took the person away. Your Majesty, Old Duke Xie is a veteran of three dynasties, and he wields the golden mace bestowed upon him by Emperor Gaozu himself. I dare not offend him."
Emperor Jingde groaned.
Old Xie is not going to die. It was him who broke into the palace last time and forced him to get rid of Prince Jing.
This time he's the troublemaker again!
Outside the palace gate, Duke Xie was still shouting incessantly.
"Your Majesty, the Marquis of Zhenbei was a loyal and courageous man who served his country, yet he was murdered by Prince Jing! He was slandered as a traitor! This is an outrage to both humans and gods! Your Majesty doesn't believe the military reports, nor what Prince Su saw with his own eyes on the front lines, and he demands proof!"
"Your Majesty, I have brought you the evidence you requested!"
Old Duke Xie pointed to Liao Zhiyi on the stretcher behind him and hundreds of refugees.
"Your Majesty, please open your eyes and take a look! Every one of them is evidence! Every one of them has just escaped from Liangzhou and Ganzhou. They saw clearly the collusion between Prince Jing and the people of Beimang."
The refugees behind him were the same group that had escaped with Song Ci and Su Zhe.
As soon as Prince Su sent out his military report, Su Yanzhi also selected a team to escort the refugees to Beijing. He also wrote a letter to Duke Xie.
The letter stated that he speculated that Emperor Jingde would most likely suppress the matter, allowing the Marquis of Zhenbei to continue to bear the blame. Therefore, he planned to send all the witnesses to Shengjing and ask Duke Xie for assistance.
He wants to use the power of the people to redress the injustice done to the Marquis of Zhenbei!
Duke Xie did not disappoint Su Yanzhi's trust.
At the palace gate, the crowd was outraged.
"Your Majesty, I am Liao Zhiyi, the Lieutenant General of the Zhenbei Army."
Liao Zhiyi struggled to get up from the stretcher, supporting his body.
"On New Year's Eve, the Beimang people suddenly launched an attack. The Zhenbei Marquis led my 100,000-strong Zhenbei Army to resist for fifteen days, until we ran out of ammunition and food. In total, we repelled the enemy's entry into the palace over thirty times."
"During the defense of the city, I don't know how many waves of people were sent to Liangzhou, Ganzhou, and Guazhou to seek help, but all of them were in vain, with no news at all. Until the Lantern Festival..."
Liao Zhiyi propped himself up and recounted how the Zhenbei Army bravely fought the enemy and how they were tricked by Zhao Dayong, the defender of Liangzhou, into opening the city gate.
Outside the palace gate, everyone held their breath and listened.
When they heard that the Marquis of Zhenbei and the soldiers who had managed to survive were slaughtered by Prince Jing, everyone's eyes turned red and they raised their arms and cheered.
Some of the refugees could no longer contain their excitement. As soon as Liao Zhiyi finished speaking, they climbed to a higher place and shouted:
"Your Majesty! I am from Liangzhou and a retainer of the Governor's Mansion. That day, Prince Jing and the garrison commander, Zhao Dayong, stormed the Governor's Mansion and killed him. I escaped by hiding in a manure vat."
Once there was one, there was a second, and a third. The people stood up one after another, filled with righteous indignation:
"Your Majesty, I am a clerk in Ganzhou. The entire Ganzhou officialdom is filled with followers of Prince Jing. I refused to be associated with them, so they murdered my entire family. I was lucky enough to survive, having crawled out from the mass grave."
"I'm a soldier who luckily survived the battle of Guazhou. The Zhenbei Army was completely annihilated in the battle at the border town. We didn't get any news in Guazhou. Later, we learned that Prince Jing had led his troops to surround the border town and massacre anyone who came out of the border town, regardless of gender or age! Not a single piece of information was allowed to be released."
……