Chapter 744: Chapter 476: Your Majesty Wants... Outdoor Sex?
But these things are still too far from him right now.
"The death of Ouyang Ye and the inevitable blow to the secret agents of the Prince Jing Mansion is good news for us. Things will be much easier from now on... However, the death of an entire team will also alert the rebels like Prince Jing, and I’m afraid that the next round of pursuers will not be of this level but rather experts capable of threatening the Worldly Realm..."
Xu Zhenguan calmly analyzed.
Suddenly, he heard a "thud thud" sound behind him and turned his head in surprise:
"What are you doing?"
He saw Zhao Douan picking up a sword and carefully "whipping the corpses" one by one, and he calmly replied: "Finishing the job."
"...Are you done?"
"Thud... Yes, confirmed that they’re all dead. Your Majesty, you should first return to the village with me, Baihua Village has been burned down, and there needs to be a follow-up."
"Hmm..." Xu Zhenguan nodded but walked in another direction:
"When I was captured, I intentionally left the Taia Sword in the mountains, I’ll retrieve it first."
...
When the ruler and minister returned to Baihua Village again, they only saw that in the blue sky, the houses in the village were still emitting soft black smoke.
It was the aftermath of the extinguished flames.
The villagers had lit some wood for illumination and were moving the salvaged items out of the houses.
The phony girl sat on a wardrobe in front of her yard gate, resting her cheeks on her hands, watching the path leading into the village. She suddenly stood up and shouted loudly:
"Sister Xu and the others are back!"
The villagers hurried over at the news, gathering at the village entrance, looking complexly at the approaching ruler and minister.
At this moment, they realized that these must be distinguished "noblemen," otherwise how could they attract a large number of government soldiers?
Xu Zhenguan looked ashamed. As the Emperor of Yu Country, it was her fault for implicating the people under her rule.
The only solace was that these rebel soldiers still aimed for merit, so they only captured people and did not massacre the village; the losses were only property.
Zhao Douan stepped forward and said to the villagers:
"Those were rebel soldiers from the Prince Jing Mansion, pursuing us, and now they are all dead at my hands."
Wow—the villagers erupted in astonishment.
Zhao Douan didn’t wait for them to react and continued with a stern face:
"Without surprise, more rebels will arrive soon. If you do not want to be implicated, escape quickly, seek refuge with your relatives, the rebels are after us, and they won’t waste effort looking for people like you."
He took out several thousand taels of silver notes from his bosom and handed them to Liu Qi in public, saying:
"Here are three thousand taels as compensation for you. Those who do not wish to die, leave quickly."
He deliberately put on a stern face, first demonstrating might and authority, then offering compensation.
He was very aware that these villagers must hold resentment towards the two at this moment, but also feared their status and martial prowess, daring not to act out.
Yet now was not the time for affection, three thousand taels were enough to rebuild the entire village more than once.
At the same time, from another perspective, the rebel forces of Prince Jing and Mu Prince had not yet reached here, so Baihua Village remained calm.
But even if the ruler and minister hadn’t come, how long could this peace last?
As a flower field dedicated to the Royal, it would inevitably be taken over by the rebels, undoubtedly, and letting these villagers escape early might be a good thing as well.
"This..."
As expected, after hearing the amount of three thousand taels, the villagers were stunned, and the anger in their hearts extinguished by more than half.
An elderly man in the village shook his head and said:
"Master, it is not that we are unwilling to escape disaster, but we are all of artisan registration. If we escape without authorization, once the court pursues..."
Xu Zhenguan stepped forward at this time, solemnly saying:
"You may disperse, as long as Yu Country still stands, nothing will happen."
The villagers looked at each other, not entirely believing, but driven by the fear of military disaster, they quickly reached an agreement, each returning home to pack and prepare to leave overnight.
Zhao Douan looked at the bustling villagers and suddenly said:
"If the soldiers come too quickly, they might not be able to evacuate in time."
Xu Zhenguan replied calmly:
"Therefore, we cannot leave; we need to stay here for a while longer until the villagers have completely left."
Zhao Douan looked at Zhenbao in surprise:
"Your Majesty is not in a hurry to return to the Capital? With my current breakthrough, the speed of travel with Your Majesty could be greatly increased."
Xu Zhenguan did not look at him, but stood shoulder to shoulder with him in the night, the night wind lifting her long hair.
The Empress’s voice was also somewhat gentle:
"Perhaps, the most pressing matter now is not returning to the Capital."
Zhao Douan’s heart stirred, his mouth dry, cautiously probing: "Your Majesty means..."
Xu Zhenguan turned her head aside, her cheeks like red flowers, and softly said:
"Didn’t you say, besides the Sealing, there’s a second plan?"
Pausing, she somewhat awkwardly toyed with her hair and said:
"This wave of rebel army is dead, it will still take some time for the new pursuers to arrive... the time should be... should be enough."
Zhao Douan’s breath became a bit heavier, his Adam’s apple moved, and his gaze anxiously swept across the wrecked village, finding almost no house suitable as a new home, growing increasingly restless.
Suddenly, his gaze fell on the boundless sea of flowers outside the village, revealing a pensive look:
"Your Majesty... wants a field battle?"
"Ah?" Xu Zhenguan turned her head blankly to look at him, looking adorably dumbfounded.
...
...
Huai River border, above the canal.
A dense array of warships sailed north, with the lead warship having the elegantly dressed Prince Jing standing at the prow.
Behind him was the Princely Heir Xu Jinglong, his face full of fatigue yet in high spirits, and the expressionless Princess Consort Lu Yan’er accompanying the army on the campaign.
"Father, does the Coastal Road’s Prince Chen truly wish to become a turtle? Blocking the coast, neither coming out nor letting us in, acting as if he’s cutting off territory to be a mountain king. Could this not be quite inappropriate?" Xu Jinglong couldn’t help but ask.
Prince Jing stood with his hands behind his back and said calmly: "What is inappropriate about it?"
Xu Jinglong rationally analyzed:
"On this journey, our main force marches north, leaving Jiancheng Road inevitably empty. If this Prince Chen remains by the side, it would be... "
Prince Jing nodded appreciatively, then shook his head:
"You are not foolish to think of this aspect. However, there’s no need to worry, as Prince Chen himself lacks great ambition and is not a heroic leader; his ability to control at most one path, incapable of contending for the world.
Besides, the private armies of the Coastal Road excel in naval battles, and once they land, their strength is greatly diminished. How could they easily raid Jiancheng?
Even if he succeeds, so what?
This Yu Country, the most crucial is still the Capital. As long as we enter the capital to rescue the king, even if Jiancheng is lost, we can easily take it back later. Nowadays, in these chaotic times, one must not hesitate and miss the chance for a battle."
Xu Jinglong looked enlightened and said:
"Unfortunately, when Xu Zhenguan went southward for the Sealing, she left a backup plan, arranging civil servants and military generals to guard the capital. To capture it, one must deploy a large army, otherwise, for a swift approach, one could only march north along the canal with an elite troop.
But to lead a large army forward, one can only take the short route on the canal, ultimately unable to bypass the Huai River and Linfeng."
Prince Jing’s eyes gleamed, sighing accordingly:
"Perhaps not necessarily; as long as Ouyang Ye succeeds in capturing Xu Zhenguan, those people inside the Capital will naturally give up resisting."
The Empress is missing; though the group lacks a leader, it’s still only "missing"!
Even if the capital is in chaos, the court’s defense will not immediately collapse.
Not to mention in a short while, because of the restraint from the adjacent Mu Prince, taking down the Huai River may not be quick.
Even if capturing the Huai River, breaking through the Linfeng Road, which is the strongest barrier outside the capital, is definitely not easy.
It is a tough nut to crack.
"What a pity, if not for Governor Gao Lian being killed by that Zhao Douan earlier, otherwise... with Gao Lian as the internal support, could we be like this?" Prince Jing’s eyes turned cold.
Xu Jinglong smiled and said:
"Rest assured, Father, now that Hai Chunlin and others have been entrapped by Duan Shuiliu’s men, with Ouyang Ye’s ability, collaborating with the elite troops, capturing that Xu and Zhao duo is only a matter of time; perhaps by now, it’s already done."
At this moment, suddenly a goshawk broke through the clouds, flying from the sky, and was caught by a scout on the warship.
After a short while.
The scout hurriedly ran to the deck, knelt on one knee, and presented a secret document with both hands:
"Prince, urgent report from the spy!"
...
Happy New Year to all book friends, this is the first update for today, more to come in the evening.