Chapter 548: Attacking the City
Editor: Atlas Studios
The Qi family army charged towards Lin’an City like a hot knife through butter. Other than occasionally encountering the Imperial Court’s army on the way, the other rebel armies did not stop them. They only took five days to reach the outskirts of Lin’an City. At this moment, Qi Xiuyuan had already started fighting with the Imperial Court’s army.
Jiang Ze and Mu Shi’s army had already entered the battlefield, but they only managed to maintain their position and not suffer losses. When Qi Haoran’s 60,000-strong army arrived, they immediately relaxed.
Qi Xiuyuan was both happy and worried. “Since you guys are here, can Haoran with only 60,000 men withstand West Xia’s 200,000-strong army?”
“Assistant Commander Qi told General not to worry and said that he had a brilliant plan.”
Jiang Ze was a little dissatisfied with this and muttered to Rong Xuan, “This is a time when we need all the help we can get. How can Little General not come back?”
Rong Xuan had already heard the report of the situation on the way back. Upon hearing this, he said, “It’s also beneficial for Little General to resist West Xia at the front line. Not to mention anything else, we already have reason on our side. Now, the Imperial Court is colluding with West Xia and letting West Xia bully the commoners. Also, the other rebel army and generals are also doing their own things. At this moment, only the Qi family army is still resisting West Xia at the front line. Whose side do you think the commoners will stand on?”
Jiang Ze was stunned. “In that case, was this all planned by Little General?”
Thinking of Qi Haoran’s character, Rong Xuan shook his head and said, “Little General likely did this from the bottom of your heart, but it’s precisely because these actions came from the bottom of his heart that makes it even more precious.”
At this moment, General Yuan was also saying to his subordinates with a complicated expression, “Compared to what Qi Haoran is doing, we’re inferior.”
“General…”
General Yuan raised his hand to interrupt the other party and said, “Although Qi Xiuyuan is a rebel, the Second Prince did not take the throne via legitimate means. Now that the Guo family doesn’t have any particularly capable juniors, our brothers aren’t willing to help another Guo family member to become the Emperor. In that case, let’s return to the north and wait for things to settle down before swearing allegiance.”
The assistant commanders below were all silent. It was obvious that they had objections.
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General Yuan sighed and waved them away.
“Father, I’m afraid the uncles want to fight for their future.” Yuan Zhao said worriedly, “Will they take the Yuan family army away?”
General Yuan shook his head. “It’s not that easy to take away the Yuan family’s army. However, it’s understandable that they want to fight for their future. Since I’ve been suppressed by the Emperor for many years, my subordinates have never been able to stand out. It’s normal for them to have such thoughts in troubled times.”
Yuan Zhao lowered his head and remained silent.
Because General Yuan had already expressed his stance firmly, his subordinates watched for a while and realized that General Yuan really had no intention of going further. Most of them had the intention to leave.
However, at this moment, there was chaos with many vying for the supreme position, and they truly had yet to choose anyone new to swear their allegiance to. Therefore, they could only stay in the Yuan family’s army and observe for the time being.
Meanwhile, with the reinforcement from the 60,000-strong army, Qi Xiuyuan was now a little calmer. Only then did he find the time to meet General Yuan.
Qi Xiuyuan didn’t beat around the bush and asked General Yuan if he had any intention of fighting for the throne.
After getting a negative answer, he asked him if he would swear his allegiance to him.
General Yuan didn’t say anything, and Qi Xiuyuan guessed the answer. The third question was whether he could return to the northern border to guard it while waiting for the world to settle down.
General Yuan nodded without hesitation.
He had been fighting with the Jin Kingdom for half his life and had originally planned to go back.
With his ability and capital, no matter who became the Emperor after the world had settled down, the new Emperor wouldn’t go against him.
Only then did Qi Xiuyuan stand up and bow to express his gratitude.
The next day, when General Yuan announced the time to return, his assistant commanders became even more unsettled. At this moment, news started spreading that Qi Haoran had defeated the West Xia army and forced them to retreat to the west of Yuanshui. Not only the Qi family army, but the Imperial Court army in the Imperial City was also stirred up.
The assistant commanders seemed to have made up their minds and came to look for General Yuan one after another, expressing that they wanted to stay and follow Qi Xiuyuan.
Having already expected this, General Yuan agreed with a sigh. After that, he sighed to Shen Mu and said, “In terms of war, Qi Haoran’s talent far exceeds his older brother’s and even mine.”
When he was at Qi Haoran’s age, he’d relied more on small battles to accumulate military merits. Even if there were battles where he won with numbers, there was never such a huge disparity in numbers as what Qi Haoran was facing—60,000 against 200,000. He could not fathom how he did it.
Qi Xiuyuan was very excited. “Haoran’s good news came at the right time. Not only did many of General Yuan’s assistant commanders over, but even General Guo has made up his mind to swear his allegiance to me.”
“Congratulations, General.” Rong Xuan bowed slightly and said with a smile, “This way, we have many more people to deploy.”
Qi Xiuyuan’s eyes lit up. “There’s more than one surprise.” He took out a piece of paper and passed it to Rong Xuan. “Zijin found a way to have this sent to us. Look.”
Rong Xuan took it and looked at it. After a long time, he sighed and said, “I feel like we’ve become old. To think we can’t compare to two children.”
Qi Xiuyuan laughed out loud and patted his shoulder. “Jinyu, you’re not old. Without you, the rations of my army would be a huge problem.”
Rong Xuan bowed slightly and asked, “When do you plan to take action, General?”
“Isn’t General Yuan leaving tomorrow? Then let’s make a move tonight so that General Yuan knows our strength and can make a decision faster,” Qi Xiuyuan said. “Let the soldiers rest now. When the sun sets, bury the pot and cook rice. After eating, have them set off at our orders.”
Because General Yuan and the others were going to set up camp and stockade the next day, they also rested early. Unexpectedly, as soon as they closed their eyes, they heard deafening battle cries outside. General Yuan jumped up and put on a simple piece of clothing before rushing out. Yuan Zhao was rushing in. When he saw his father, he said excitedly, “Father, General Qi has rushed into Lin’an City.”
General Yuan’s body stiffened and he asked, “How could that be? The walls of Lin’an City are tall and thick…”
“There’s an insider.” Yuan Zhao’s eyes lit up. “I was standing on the upper slope just now. Although I didn’t see it clearly, I saw that the city gate was opened from the inside. I’m guessing they have an insider. Father, General Qi was the first to enter the city, so he…”
General Yuan raised his hand to stop him and said, “No matter what Qi Xiuyuan does, our Yuan family will definitely not get involved in the rebellion. Restrain the soldiers and set up the stockade at dawn the next day.”
Yuan Zhao was slightly disappointed, but he still listened to his father’s orders and left.
The battalion commander of the imperial guards, who had been instigated by Fan Zijin, was trying his best to rush towards Qi Xiuyuan. Since he had already submitted to Qi Xiuyuan, he naturally had to leave an impression on him.
At this moment, Fan Zijin was sitting in the middle of the reception pavilion, listening to the news. When Fan Siwen heard the commotion and came out to take a look, he saw this scene. His heart skipped a beat and he asked, “Unfilial son, what did you do?”
Fan Zijin looked up at his father and said, “What do you think I can do?” Just as Fan Siwen heaved a sigh of relief, he heard Fan Zijin say, “Father, Eldest Cousin has rebelled. We’ll be exterminated by association of nine of a clan. The new Emperor is in a terrible fix now and is too busy to settle scores with us. However, as long as someone mentions it to him, the only fate that awaits our family is imprisonment.”
Fan Siwen stiffened and asked, “So?”
Fan Zijin revealed his white teeth and said with a grin, “That’s why I helped Eldest Cousin. Listen, did they charge in?”
Fan Siwen’s body went limp and he almost fell to the ground.