Chapter 546: Uprising
Editor: Atlas Studios
Madam Wu let out a heaven-shaking cry while Qi Shaosheng and Qi Shaotai’s tears fell. In comparison, Qi Xiuyuan, who was standing at the side with a dark expression, appeared much colder, but no one dared to reason with him.
Rong Xuan went forward and patted his shoulder. He said in a low voice, “Chengde, I’m sorry for your loss. The military camp still has to rely on you.”
Qi Xiuyuan didn’t speak for a long time. When everyone couldn’t help but pay attention to this side, he said in a hoarse voice, “Write a letter to inform Haoran that Father has passed away. We have to let him know.”
Seeing this, everyone thought that Qi Xiuyuan just had difficulty expressing his emotions. After all, the general had always been a reserved person.
Rong Xuan noticed the change in everyone’s expressions from the corner of his eye and felt slightly relieved.
After that, Rong Xuan found an excuse to pull Qi Xiuyuan away and said, “Many soldiers in the army are watching. I know you’re reserved, but you still have to put on a show.” He lowered his voice and said, “Don’t forget, this is our reason to raise trouble.”
Rong Xuan had been trembling with fear ever since he started rebelling with Qi Xiuyuan. It was not because of the rebellion itself, but because he was too easily affected by his feelings.
With Qi Xiuyuan’s ability and capital, and with Qi Haoran and Fan Zijin around, the possibility of them conquering the country was very high, but it was unknown if they could hold on.
Just because of Qi Xiuyuan’s personality.
Initially, it was best to leave the rescue to Fan Zijin. However, he was unwilling to put Fan Zijin in a difficult position, hence he had chosen not to do so.
At this moment, they were about to stage an uprising. Since Qi Haoran also had an army of 120,000 troops under him, it should be the right choice to call him back. However, because Qi Haoran was fighting West Xia, and because Qi Xiuyuan did not want him to bear the infamy in the future or feel guilty, he let Qi Haoran continue fighting West Xia at the front line.
Of course, this might also be because of his benevolence towards the people.
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However, were the successful Emperors of the past dynasties so indecisive and sentimental?
Hence, Rong Xuan was frightened. He was afraid that Qi Xiuyuan would not be able to act the part of a filial son, so he kept reminding him from the side.
Qi Xiuyuan sighed and said, “I’m really sad that he passed away, but I just can’t squeeze out tears.”
However, he did not merely feel sadness. He also felt a sense of relief and felt that this was how it should be. After so many years, he had long forgotten how to get along with his father.
The sadness on Qi Xiuyuan’s face only lasted for a moment before he quickly restrained his emotions and asked, “How’s General Yuan’s family?”
“There are injuries, but they’re not serious. A few of the younger kids suffered a fright. Fortunately, since the weather isn’t very cold now, it shouldn’t be a big problem.”
“Send them to General Yuan.”
Rong Xuan was stunned. “Send them over just like that?”
Qi Xiuyuan said, “If we send them over just like that, General Yuan will be even more grateful to us. Send General Guo’s two grandsons to him too. Draft the document tonight and we’ll stage an uprising tomorrow.”
“Should we call Haoran back? We have too few troops.”
They had left some of their men in the north. As they had only brought half of their men when they came over from Tongchuan Prefecture, they didn’t have many troops. If the loyalist forces who were originally surrounding the city turned around to encircle them, they would not be able to last.
Qi Xiuyuan was silent for a moment before shaking his head. “Haoran is already struggling to hold on against the 200,000-strong West Xia army alone. If we really transfer them back, those commoners will really die.”
“Try your best to stall for time and get Jiang Ze and Mu Shi to bring their troops back. It’s only a five-day journey from Tongchuan to here. Don’t forget that there aren’t many loyalist forces besides the Yuan family’s army and General Guo’s men. Even if we include the Second Prince and the West Xia cavalrymen hiding in the city, we have nothing to fear.”
Rong Xuan knew that it would be very difficult for him to change his mind, so he only considered for a moment before going down.
Qi Xiuyuan only went to see Matriarch Yuan and greeted her briefly. Then, he went straight to the point and said that he would send them to General Yuan.
Matriarch Yuan and Madam Shen did not expect to leave so easily and were stunned for a moment. However, Qi Xiuyuan’s mind was focused on tomorrow’s matter, so he looked a little indifferent. Matriarch Yuan and Madam Shen simply interpreted that as him feeling sad about his deceased father. They sighed and felt even more guilty.
Ever since Qi Feng was shot by a stray arrow, Matriarch Yuan had been feeling very guilty and uneasy. This was because she could not help but think that if not for the Yuan family’s large group of people dragging him down, Qi Feng might have been fine with a few more people protecting him.
In addition, Madam Wu’s resentful gaze on the way made her even more uneasy. Initially, she was worried that Qi Xiuyuan would make things difficult for the Yuan family and propose some difficult conditions to General Yuan. However, now that Qi Xiuyuan was straightforwardly sending them to the Yuan family’s army, she felt even more guilty about her petty thoughts.
The military camp was holding a funeral, so Qi Xiuyuan did not want Matriarch Yuan and the others to stay here. After all, his military camp was not without danger. If anything happened to the Yuan family here, all his previous efforts would be in vain. The gains would not make up for the losses.
When the Yuan family members were quickly sent to the Yuan army’s camp, General Yuan knelt in front of Matriarch Yuan and cried like a child.
Having not seen her son for several years, Matriarch Yuan was also in tears.
General Yuan was very grateful to Qi Xiuyuan. When he heard that Qi Feng had passed away, he felt guilty and hurriedly called his son, Yuan Zhao, to attend the funeral to pay respects.
At this moment, the shocked General Guo was looking at his grandsons who had curled up into a ball. He went forward to hug them, his eyes slightly red. After a long time, he finally let go of his two grandsons and looked up at the Qi army who had brought the two children over. “I was momentarily agitated when I saw the two children. Please forgive me.”
“This is human nature. General Guo, don’t stand on ceremony.”
General Guo was silent for a moment before saying, “Please go back and tell your General Qi to just tell me if I can be of help in the future. I won’t hesitate to step forward.”
His two sons had escaped with their two grandsons and their guards to look for him, but they were chased by Emperor Jingyan’s men on the way. One of his grandsons was taken back, and the other grandson died on the spot. Although his two sons managed to escape to his side, they were seriously injured.
Furthermore, he knew that his mother was still in Emperor Jingyan’s hands, so he could only send troops to protect him. It was obviously impossible for him to have another son considering his age, and the possibility of the hostages surviving was too small. Now that he had two grandsons by his side, he could only hope to save his mother and the rest of his family.
Although General Guo had high hopes, he knew that it was unlikely. That was why he was so grateful to Qi Xiuyuan and dared to make such a bold promise. After all, Qi Xiuyuan had ensured the continuity of the Guo family’s bloodline.
The next day, General Guo knew what he could do to help.
Qi Xiuyuan rebelled!
In the eyes of men in this era, the most important things in the world were one’s ruler and father. To be ranked alongside filial piety, one could see the importance of loyalty.
Hence, most people in the world felt that it was only right for Qi Xiuyuan to rebel in the name of avenging his deceased father.
If Emperor Jingyan was still sitting on the throne, many people might have jumped out and said that Qi Xiuyuan was disloyal. But now, Emperor Jingyan was dead, and the Second Prince was sitting on the throne. He was the antagonist, so everyone was more tolerant of Qi Xiuyuan’s actions and started to denounce the Second Prince.
But not everyone could accept it. Many people in General Yuan’s army could not accept it.