novelaction Chapter 356 The situation worsens
Chapter 356 The situation worsens
Concubine Yue was submissive to the emperor, but she was not polite to the empress dowager.
They had fallen out in Ciyun Palace before, and she and Concubine Hui had bullied the Empress Dowager together. Moreover, at this time, the Empress Dowager had led her army in rebellion and had become a prisoner. How could she bear the Empress Dowager's anger?
Upon hearing this, Concubine Yue raised her head and said loudly to the Queen Mother:
"No matter how capable my cat is, it's not as capable as the Empress Dowager. My cat can only attract wild cats from outside the palace to bring military intelligence to Your Majesty, helping you repel the enemy and quell the rebellion. But you, the Empress Dowager, can attract rebels from hundreds of miles away to force Your Majesty to abdicate!"
The Queen Mother narrowed her eyes, "Noble Concubine Yue has always been sharp-tongued and good at making excuses..."
Before she could finish, Concubine Yue interrupted her and snorted coldly, "That's nothing compared to the Empress Dowager, who always likes to monopolize power and stir up trouble."
"enough!"
The emperor stopped the two from arguing with a stern voice.
He looked at the Queen Mother coldly: "Queen Mother, why are you coming out instead of staying in your room to have a good 'rest'?"
Even if he suspected Concubine Yue and Xie Weizhou of something, he knew that Concubine Yue would not betray him easily. However, the Empress Dowager was the one who had created all this chaos.
The empress dowager met the emperor's cold gaze, changed her recent forbearance, and raised the corners of her mouth proudly.
"Emperor, is there any accurate news outside the palace? That unknown army is giving you a hard time, right? Do you need my help?"
"Empress Dowager, have you forgotten your situation?" The emperor frowned.
"Emperor, do not forget your situation." The Empress Dowager took two steps forward and gently reminded him, her tone very kind. "Although I have issued a letter to withdraw the troops, the war has already begun. How can my subordinates be willing to bear the crime of treason? Naturally, they will continue to fight to the end. The chaos in the city is precisely because of this. This is no longer something I can control with my own handwritten letter. Unless... you let me go, let the soldiers and generals I brought with me see me with their own eyes, and listen to my guarantee that their lives and future wealth and glory will not be affected. Only then can this crisis be resolved."
The emperor waved his hand impatiently and scolded the palace servants, asking them to "invite" the empress dowager back to the inner hall.
"If the Queen Mother still wants to come out and walk around casually, I'm afraid I will have to tie you up."
The Queen Mother glanced at him indifferently.
Smiling, he turned around and walked back, without the need for any coercion from the palace servants.
She believed that the emperor would change his mind.
"Your Majesty... This is a matter of great importance. Regardless of whether I am guilty or not, I beg Your Majesty to examine it."
Concubine Yue was still kneeling on the ground. Seeing that the emperor had sent the empress dowager away, she hurriedly whispered a reminder.
If the Tartar army really sneaked into Daliang and approached the capital, that would be no small matter!
It was precisely because she feared this might be the case that, after much deliberation, she decided she had to present the note to the emperor. As for whether it would incriminate her or arouse the emperor's suspicion, that was a matter for later. The greater good was paramount, and she knew it clearly.
The emperor said coldly: "You get up first."
The palace servants were ordered to take Concubine Yue to a side hall to rest, but in fact they were there to keep her under guard.
Then he called his trusted guards out of the palace and took the handwritten letter to find the Huben Guards to investigate whether the army outside the city was Tatars in disguise.
At this time, the situation in the city had become increasingly worse.
The rebels and the city defense forces were all blood-thirsty.
It's no longer the time when everyone has their own concerns.
Every household closed their doors and no one dared to come out. There was blood and corpses on every street, and the shouts of killing were deafening.
The battle heats up.
Not only did the two sides fight in the streets, they also broke into people's homes to hide and hunt, thus affecting many civilians.
And some of the army that suddenly appeared outside the city also rushed into the city.
Their target was the rebels.
Therefore, the city defense army thought they were reinforcements and cooperated with them enthusiastically, strangling the army brought by the Queen Mother with internal and external support.
A three-way melee ensued, with blood flowing like a river.
By the time the emperor finally received the secret report and found out that the unknown army was actually the Tartars in disguise, more than half of the 100,000 rebels, except for those who initially escaped, had been killed or wounded. Only about 30,000 to 40,000 were left struggling, and most of them were wounded.
The city defense forces and the Xishan camp also suffered heavy losses, with only a few thousand people left.
The unknown army that arrived later continued to arrive, and before anyone knew it, they had blocked the east and north gates of the capital.
"Your Majesty has issued an order! The Duke of Zhenguo is ordered to swiftly organize his entire army and combine it with the troops brought by the Queen Mother to jointly defeat the enemy!"
The order issued by the emperor almost made the Duke of Zhenguo curse on the spot.
The defenders and the rebels fought for most of the day, and the situation was a fight to the death.
Now let the two parties merge into one? !
He can obey orders, but can the soldiers under him who are red-eyed with killing intent obey orders?
If we tell everyone that those "reinforcements" are Tartars, wouldn't that shake the morale of the army even more? During a war, the most important thing to avoid is a loss of morale!
"I... obey your command! I will do my utmost! I will serve you until my death!"
The Duke of Zhenguo endured the curse and accepted the order.
He immediately ordered his personal guards to spread the message everywhere, shouting loudly that the fighting should stop and everyone should deal with the disguised Tartars together.
Sure enough, as he expected.
The intense battlefield came to a standstill for a while.
After a brief moment of astonishment and pause, there was widespread chaos.
The city defense troops were cursing.
The rebels were also cursing.
Everyone beat and scolded him.
The battle has become chaotic.
For a moment, no one knew who to fight next.
The real enemy showed its fangs at this moment.
The soldiers of the unknown army suddenly untied their hoods, revealing the unique hairstyle of the Tartar men.
Like a hungry wolf, he pounced on the Daliang soldiers!