LF Chapter 55
by VolareYan Wanzhi sat down beside the low table, and Jiang Yinghua poured her a cup of hot tea. She reached out to take it, took a small sip, and said, “I was just about to talk to you about this. I was thinking on the way to the capital that this news came too easily. Liu Wenjing heading east is just courting death.”
Jiang Yinghua’s eyes were dark as she thoughtfully analyzed, “Someone in the court wants to see my sister and me fight likesnipe and clam, but who is this fisherman? Was Liu Wenjing still alive when he entered the capital?”
“He was still hanging on by a thread when he was escorted to the Ministry of Justice. I made a plan on the way and secretly switched him out. The decoy was ambushed, so this matter isn’t simple. As for Prince Yong, he harbored evil intentions and deserved what he got. When does Prince Zhao plan to request an order to encircle and suppress him?” Yan Wanzhi said quietly, caressing the teacup, a hint of ruthlessness flashing in her eyes.
Jiang Yinghua’s mouth twitched, not because the assassination of the prisoner confirmed her guess, but because Yan Wanzhi was urging her to send troops. This person was usually so steady, how could she not know that if Jiang Yinghua were to quell the rebellion of Prince Yong in one fell swoop, she would immediately become the target of the court and a thorn in the fisherman’s eye? How could she have a peaceful life if she acted like this?
“Yan Wanzhi, you’ve been busy for so long, you must be tired. Don’t worry about the matters in the camp, I have ways to deal with it. This place isn’t suitable for rest. How about you return to Prince Zhao Manor and sit in charge of the border army for me?” Jiang Yinghua couldn’t figure out why Yan Wanzhi had lost her composure, but she was also worried that she would be injured by villains if she acted rashly in her anxiety, so she pondered for a moment and decided to send her back.
Yan Wanzhi was also a little disappointed that Jiang Yinghua didn’t respond directly and even wanted to send her away. In the end, she didn’t want her to get involved in this matter.
Perhaps, even though Prince Yong was plotting a rebellion, he was still her close relative, and she really found it difficult to make a decision. But for Yan Wanzhi, this was a golden opportunity, and she didn’t want to miss it. Even if there was a fisherman behind the scenes, Yan Wanzhi believed that she had the ability to keep Jiang Yinghua safe and sound.
“Jiang Yinghua, I’m worried about you, let me stay here and accompany you. I can handle the general affairs of the Northern Territory here just the same,” Yan Wanzhi said in a soft voice, trying to fight for it one more time.
Jiang Yinghua chuckled, “You’re still worried about me? The reason I’m letting you go back is because I’m worried that you don’t know martial arts and can’t protect yourself. Moreover, internal strife can easily attract foreign enemies. I can’t handle everything, and I don’t trust anyone else. Only if you go back can I feel at ease. Listen to me this once, dear sister~”
Although her tone was coquettish, her voice was firm and her tone brooked no refusal. Yan Wanzhi smiled helplessly, “Then I won’t add to your troubles, I’ll go back tomorrow.”
“You can’t say it like that. With you back there, I’ll be even more powerful. It would be good if you could come and see me every few days. Don’t look so bitter, smile,” Jiang Yinghua saw her disappointment and reached out to poke her soft cheek. She used the pads of her two index fingers to gently force a smile onto Yan Wanzhi’s face.
Early the next morning, Yan Wanzhi returned to Prince Zhao Manor as she was told. Jiang Yinghua watched Yan Wanzhi’s departing figure from the camp, feeling deeply tired. When would they ever be able to truly confide in each other? She vaguely sensed that Yan Wanzhi, in addition to the entanglement of monitoring her movements to show loyalty to Your Majesty, was hiding other secrets. She had tried to probe, but Yan Wanzhi kept her mouth shut, as if she didn’t want to confide in her.
Jiang Yinghua had already set up her chessboard in the Northern Territory. Even without Yan Wanzhi, she didn’t need to worry. Right now, she was very curious as to why Yan Wanzhi was so eager to put Prince Yong to death. Was it a secret request from Your Majesty?
Thinking of this, Jiang Yinghua decided to test Your Majesty’s intentions. If Your Majesty wanted to use her hand to eliminate Prince Yong, then the balance of power in the court would be broken, which shouldn’t be the art of the emperor.
Perplexed, Jiang Yinghua remained still. The troops conscripted from the southern neighboring prefectures barely managed to pull out a defense line to the south within a month. Although Prince Yong led his troops eastward, he did not dare to cross the river easily. It was already a semi-encircled situation, and if he rashly started a war, Prince Yong could not afford to lose.
The two sides were wary of each other and had been in a stalemate for more than two months. There were constant skirmishes along the line, but neither main force had moved, and each guarded its own city. Jiang Yinghua didn’t have to worry about material supplies, as the army was already there, and it was the same no matter where it was stationed. The three prefectures of Prince Yong were connected, and their material and military supplies could barely keep up.
——
Troops were mobilized in the summer, and in the blink of an eye, it was already late autumn. Yan Wanzhi, sitting in charge at Prince Zhao Manor, was anxious. Others were not clear about Jiang Yinghua’s troop deployment authority, but Yan Wanzhi was. If Jiang Yinghua was willing to fight, the Northern Territory could transfer another 20,000 troops to support her. Coupled with the local garrison, Prince Yong would definitely be defeated within three months.
She hoped that Jiang Yinghua would do so, which would save her from having to take action herself. She was ultimately afraid that if she really took action, the relationship between them would inevitably add a layer of suspicion.
Inside Prince Zhao Manor in the Northern Territory, Mo Jiu had already become the steward in charge of the manor’s external affairs, creating a situation of checks and balances with Cao Song. That night, Yan Wanzhi summoned Mo Jiu to her study, “Uncle Jiu, do you have the results of what I asked you to investigate?”
“Miss, take a look at this person in the portrait, does it match your impression?” Mo Jiu took out a portrait from his arms, which depicted a middle-aged man with a full beard.
Yan Wanzhi took it and glanced at it, her eyes gradually turning cold as she said in a deep voice, “It’s him, I’m sure of it.”
“Then, the truth is out. It was this person who entered the manor and took away the Marquis back then, and then… and then…” Mo Jiu’s expression was desolate, and he couldn’t bring himself to say the rest.
“Three months ago, when I returned to arrest spies, he was about to meet someone, but unfortunately, he managed to escape. Now it can be confirmed that it was Prince Yong who framed my father. This person must be captured alive. This is the closest clue to the truth in many years,” Yan Wanzhi sighed and returned the portrait to Mo Jiu, her expression sorrowful.
“Miss, should we tell Prince Zhao and let her help you?” Mo Jiu pondered for a moment and tentatively asked.
“No. If Prince Zhao knew my background, she might not believe me for a while. She cares most about the late Emperor, and this is an old case set by the late Emperor. The mastermind is also her brother, and I can’t guarantee that she will support me in clearing my name. Just like Your Majesty, she has promised me for many years, but in the end, she hasn’t taken any substantial action.
Uncle Jiu, let’s do it ourselves. If Prince Zhao kills Prince Yong on the battlefield, I can let go of this hatred and not mention it again. It’s difficult to be loyal and filial at the same time, and Yan’er is afraid that she will be sorry to her father and brothers in the afterlife.”
Yan Wanzhi explained softly, her eyes already red. She was struggling to choose between family hatred and loyalty. In order to preserve her relationship with Jiang Yinghua, she had made concessions, which was already heartbreaking. That’s why she could put herself in their shoes. It was not easy for Your Majesty and Jiang Yinghua, as descendants of the late Emperor, to publicly admit that their high and mighty father had made a mistake.
“Miss, take it easy. I know you and Prince Zhao are kindred spirits. If the old Marquis were alive, he would not want to see you burdened with hatred. It would be good if you could just live a happy life on your own. I’ll take care of the matter of arresting people. I still have a few trustworthy men,” Mo Jiu said, putting his hands in his sleeves, and comforted her because he couldn’t bear to see Yan Wanzhi’s entanglement.
“Okay, thank you. If we can get this person’s confession, there is hope for clearing my name in court in the future,” Yan Wanzhi looked up at the incomplete moonlight outside the window, her eyes faintly showing anticipation.
——
When Yan Wanzhi escorted Liu Wenjing to the capital, she reported that he had been ambushed on the way. When Your Majesty heard the news, she sent people to investigate, but they were unable to find any reliable clues. Sitting in the capital, Your Majesty pondered for a long time and made up her mind that no matter what, the Prince Yong must not be left alive.
As the end of the year approached, Jiang Yinghua still had not taken the initiative to request permission to lead the army westward to encircle and suppress Prince Yong. Your Majesty lost patience and issued an imperial decree, ordering Jiang Yinghua to launch an attack directly. The imperial order could not be disobeyed. Upon receiving the decree, Prince Zhao had no choice but to prepare her troops and get ready for battle, seize the opportunity to cross the Long River and launch a full-scale offensive.
In the freezing winter, as the west wind howled, Jiang Yinghua led her troops out of Bingzhou and headed straight for the cities that Prince Yong had been holding for several months. The siege was in full swing. Elsewhere, fireworks were dazzling to celebrate the New Year, but under the fortresses of Ningzhou, there was the clash of swords and the glare of fire.
Half a month later, Ningzhou was recovered, while Prince Yong preserved his main force and retreated to his old nest, Yinzhou. The further west, the more unfavorable the terrain became for Jiang Yinghua. Ganzhou and Yinzhou had always been important military strongholds that were easy to defend and difficult to attack. The two sides suffered heavy casualties. After a bloody war that dragged on for as long as half a year, Jiang Yinghua finally forced Prince Yong into the city where his palace was located and surrounded him on three sides.
Prince Yong, his eyes bloodshot, stood on the city tower and personally directed the battle, thinking that Jiang Yinghua was extremely difficult to deal with, always taking risks and going to extremes, simply outrageously.
In Jiang Yinghua’s heart, Prince Yong was just a cornered beast, a grasshopper after autumn, who wouldn’t be able to hop around for many days.
Therefore, she repeated her old trick, ordering people to shout and curse outside the city, saying whatever was unpleasant, day and night. Her army, on the other hand, was safely camped outside the city to rest.
After a month of siege, the shouting and cursing continued for a month. Prince Yong finally couldn’t bear it anymore and went to the top of the city tower to challenge her, saying that he wanted to negotiate with Jiang Yinghua. Jiang Yinghua had no fear. She had wanted to meet this person for a long time. After several rounds of communication between the messengers of the two sides, the two of them, each on horseback and guarded by archers behind them, went forward alone to meet each other.
As soon as they met, Prince Yong angrily denounced Jiang Yinghua and Your Majesty for being cruel and ruthless, even attacking his nephew and trying to kill him.
Jiang Yinghua hated the ugly face of him biting back, and retorted without hesitation, “It was clearly you who directed and acted this out, disregarding the human relations and the love between father and son, you are extremely despicable.”
Prince Yong was furious when he heard this, and cursed at Jiang Yinghua, spitting everywhere, saying that the two sisters were in cahoots and had hearts like snakes and scorpions, fabricating a story of father and son killing each other, and that they were not afraid of being condemned by the heavens and having no face to face their ancestors after death.
Jiang Yinghua didn’t care about the dirty words he cursed. It was just that Prince Yong’s facial features were ferocious, his saliva was flying, and his eyes were bloodshot. This kind of out-of-control reaction made Jiang Yinghua feel that perhaps there was really something else hidden in this matter.
They didn’t see eye to eye, and even if she knew the truth at this moment, it was too late. Jiang Yinghua said angrily, “Third brother, the winner is king, the loser is a bandit. At this point, the relationship between us siblings is over. I will no longer show mercy. Use whatever abilities you have.” After saying that, she turned her horse around and returned to the camp.
“Jiang Yinghua, don’t be complacent and arrogant, it’s not yet known who will win!” Prince Yong angrily clenched his horse’s belly and shouted loudly behind her, then rode back to the city.
The first thing Jiang Yinghua did when she entered the camp was to order her deputy general to secretly mobilize the troops from the southern prefectures to attack Ganzhou, catching them off guard and cutting off their supplies. In this way, surrounded on all sides, she would see how many days Prince Yong, cut off from reinforcements, could linger in the city.
In August of that year, Ganzhou fell, and Prince Yong was cut off from his only supply channel. Even if Yinzhou was as solid as a rock and was his old nest, he would surely die if he was besieged like this. After breaking through Ganzhou, Jiang Yinghua had no more scruples. She just watched the show outside the city without attacking, occasionally sending a few teams of soldiers to provoke them, tricking them out of some arrows, stones, and kerosene, and then quickly retreating.
During this time, Yan Wanzhi sent a message saying that intelligence reports mentioned that some people in the court had criticized Jiang Yinghua’s tactics, saying that she was treating the rebellion as a child’s play, and that there were already quite a few impeachment memorials.
When Jiang Yinghua learned of this, she just narrowed her eyes and smiled, and ordered someone to write a memorial in a grand manner, saying that this move was to preserve the strength of the imperial court and avoid unnecessary sacrifices. Yinzhou was difficult to attack, and the casualties from the battle were heavy. Although it could shorten the time, it was not worth it in this prosperous age. If the border army was not strong enough in the future, it would be bad if foreign enemies took advantage of the situation. If anyone had any other good ideas, she was willing to abdicate and hand over the command of the army to quell the rebellion to a new general.
These words were clearly a challenge, saying that she would listen to her own orders when she led the troops, and if they didn’t like it, they could change people, and she would be happy to be at ease.
After Your Majesty received this memorial, she secretly criticized her in her heart, saying that Jiang Yinghua’s wings had hardened and that her ability to quibble had also improved. She knew very well why Jiang Yinghua was besieging and not suppressing, dragging on and not taking action. This person had not learned the good things, but she had learned the tricks of the courtiers to deal with the emperor, and she was afraid that she would become an all-powerful prince, provoking the emperor’s jealousy.
However, after dragging on for more than a year, Your Majesty had already lost patience. If this continued, the court’s military expenditure would be considerable, and she, Jiang Yinghua, really didn’t care about the silver in the national treasury. Therefore, Your Majesty issued two decrees to the troops stationed in Yinzhou and Ganzhou, giving Jiang Yinghua a month to break through the city.
Fighting a war with a time limit, Jiang Yinghua held the imperial decree and had a headache. Helpless, she had to put away her little calculations, arrange her troops, and directly launch a strong attack.
In late October, Yinzhou fell, and Prince Yong fled in a panic. Jiang Yinghua led her troops deep into the area, imprisoned the people of the palace, and executed all the local officials in Ganzhou and Yinzhou who had defected in front of the battle. For a time, the two cities were filled with blood and people were panicked.
Jiang Yinghua was once again forced to be an executioner, becoming a ruthless and decisive killing knife. But she deliberately opened a gap for the fleeing Prince Yong and did not pursue him relentlessly. As for the reason, it had to be traced back to that night when the city was broken.
That night, Jiang Yinghua ordered people to strictly guard all the entrances and exits of the city as soon as she entered the city, and she went straight to the palace. When the officers and soldiers were raiding the palace, an old minister of the palace risked his life to rush towards Jiang Yinghua, who was watching coldly from the side, and was picked up by a spear by a guard. In the old minister’s hand, he was holding a blood letter.
Jiang Yinghua quickly ordered someone to hand over the blood letter, and after reading it, she was moved and turned to ask where the children in the palace were.
The guards searched around and brought the body of Prince Yong’s heir to see Jiang Yinghua. Seeing the heir fall on the wheelchair, a sword pierced through his heart. Jiang Yinghua asked in a stern voice, “Who did it? Who allowed you to take action without authorization? Get out!”
No one responded for a long time, and the guards all knelt down. After a long time, an old servant of Prince Yong said in a trembling voice, “Prince Yong killed him himself. This old servant saw it. He told the heir that he couldn’t take the disabled heir with him, and he didn’t want the child to suffer in prison and be a prisoner, so he ended it.”
Jiang Yinghua was speechless. The Princess revealed Prince Yong’s plans for many years and said that Prince Yong’s mobilization of troops was only because he was worried about protecting himself. She also said that she and her husband were afraid of contacting the court officials and hoped that Jiang Yinghua could understand their fears.
The letter stated that Liu Wenjing instigated Prince Yong to cause trouble, and that the deaths of Qing Jun’s side and his children had nothing to do with the couple. They only hoped that Jiang Yinghua would spare the heir and the infant daughter for the sake of their blood relatives. The two-year-old child had already been sent away by Prince Yong’s confidants and was nowhere to be found. The heir was killed by him with a sword, and now that Prince Yong was really at the end of his rope, Jiang Yinghua felt deeply sad.
Once supported by thousands of people, once a fugitive, he had to harden his heart and painfully kill his own son. Prince Yong’s fear of Your Majesty must have been bottomless.
In mid-November, Jiang Yinghua returned to the Northern Territory, and only issued an order to the prefectures of the Western and Northern Territories to strictly patrol and search for Prince Yong, and to capture him alive. However, she did not personally supervise it and rarely asked about it.
Although the officials of Prince Zhao and the generals of the Zhenwei Army did not say much, they vaguely sensed Jiang Yinghua’s intention, which seemed to be not to kill them all. With Jiang Yinghua’s thunderous methods against the rebels in Bingzhou, Yinzhou, and Ganzhou, and the swift and decisive means of hunting down the rebels, if she cared, Prince Yong would have no way to escape.
Hearing that Jiang Yinghua had safely led her troops back to the Northern Territory, but Prince Yong had disappeared, Your Majesty was furious in the capital and ordered Jiang Yinghua to personally capture Prince Yong and escort him to the capital within a month.
When Yan Wanzhi received the order, she squeezed a sweat for Jiang Yinghua. Your Majesty could issue such a strict order because she must have been furious and could no longer tolerate Jiang Yinghua’s perfunctory performance.
When Jiang Yinghua saw the handwritten letter from Your Majesty that came with the order, her face was pale. Knowing that there was no room for maneuver, she had no choice but to join forces with the secret service under Yan Wanzhi’s jurisdiction to personally capture him from the territory of the Weibo Jiedushi. She had always been aware of Prince Yong’s movements, after all, she was the one who opened the gap, but she just deliberately concealed it.
On the second night after Prince Yong was escorted to the prison in the Northern Territory, a raging fire turned half the sky red. The jailers were all dispatched, and after putting out the fire in the morning, only charred corpses remained in the prison.
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