knife

Chapter 245 Suddenly
The Tiele mansion in the eastern suburbs of Yandu was covered in white overnight.

Yingzhuo is dead.

The Tiele people set up a memorial tablet in the mansion to commemorate the deceased.

Meanwhile, in Yandu, the imperial court finally issued an official announcement of Yingzhuo's death, along with a will authorizing Akdun to continue on the throne.

Akdun even issued imperial edicts to the commanders of the four major camps outside the city, including Tiele, ordering them to enter the city to pay homage to the spirits.

However, at this point, no one would even bother with this imperial edict.

Those inside the city had no choice but to go to the imperial palace to keep watch for Ying Zhuo, while those outside the city were observing the situation.

At times like these, one wrong step can leave little room for redemption.

The Tiele people were not idle either.

Countless arrows were shot into the city, denouncing Akdun for regicide, treason, altering the imperial edict, and executing ministers. They called on the soldiers and civilians in the city to join the Second Prince Tiele in punishing this treacherous villain, restoring order, and returning a bright and clear world to the Great Yuan!
While Akdun's imperial edicts could not yet leave Yandu City, the Tiele's proclamation of rebellion was being sent by fast horse to various parts of the Yuan Dynasty.

With the decisive battle imminent, Tiele and Akdun seized every opportunity to win over more supporters.

Princess Chang Le, dressed in white, knelt before Ying Zhuo's memorial tablet, burning paper money.

Do you think she likes Yingzhuo that much?

It's really not fair to say that.

When she married into the family, she was only sixteen years old, while Yingzhuo's son, Zhebie, was much older than her!
You said you don't like him?
They had lived together for over twenty years, and Yingzhuo had been truly good to Chang Le, basically granting her every request. Even before he passed away, he was thinking of passing the throne of the Great Yuan to the Tiele.

Non-vegetation, ruthless Practice makes perfect?
Even a stone would be warmed up by the warmth.

Therefore, Princess Chang Le was truly heartbroken.

"You, a hero your whole life, a strong man your whole life, yet in the end, you didn't even get a peaceful death!" Looking at Ying Zhuo's portrait on the wall, Chang Le choked up and said, "If you knew this in the afterlife, you would surely die with your eyes wide open in disbelief."

Wiping away her tears, Chang Le felt a sense of emptiness as she thought about the years that had passed.

Exclamations came from outside. Chang Le turned around and saw Duanmu Miaomiao, dressed in black, staggering as she walked in.

"Miaomiao, are you injured?" Chang Le exclaimed in surprise.

The last time I saw Duanmu Miaomiao injured was more than 20 years ago in Chang'an.

Hurried footsteps came from outside. When Tiele heard that Duanmu Miaomiao had returned, he jumped and ran over.

"Granny, is Phagpa dead?"

Chang Le's face darkened, and she glared at Tie Le angrily, saying, "Are you blind? Granny is so badly injured, and you don't care about her injuries, but you care about that Phagpa?"

"Granny, it's not that I don't care about you!" Tiele quickly tried to salvage the situation.

Duanmu Miaomiao coughed and waved her hand, but each cough caused a large amount of foul blood to spurt out, which made Princess Chang Le somewhat panicked.

Having been with Duanmu Miaomiao for over twenty years, they were like sisters. Seeing Duanmu Miaomiao's current situation, he didn't know what to do.

"What should we do? Someone, quickly get the medicine, fetch the imperial physician, and bring Attila here!"

“Mother, Attila is in Yandu and can’t get out!” Tiele said.

"Princess, it's nothing serious!" Duanmu Miaomiao waved her hand. "Tiele, I won't be able to help you for at least a year. I need to recuperate. As for Phasiba, you don't need to worry about him. Although my injuries are more severe than his, he won't be able to interfere in your affairs for a year. He was only wary of my Blood Jade Technique, not that I also know Phoenix Flame. Heh heh, he is indeed more powerful than me, but so what? He'll still have to lie down! He Qingqiu's Phoenix Flame is the most potent and powerful poison in the world. I've integrated it into my Blood Jade Technique, and he won't recover for at least a year or two. If he dares to make any more moves, he'll never be able to reach the Divine Travel Realm again."

Upon hearing that Phagpa also needed to rest for a year, Tiele breathed a long sigh of relief.

Even if our top combatants fall, as long as the other side doesn't fall either, then we're still on the same starting line.

I had never witnessed the role of innate masters in military formations before, but I saw it firsthand in the palace this time. Once innate masters are combined with well-trained troops, the army collapses in an instant if the opponent has no corresponding countermeasures.

The thought that Duanmu Miaomiao could kill dozens of heavily armored soldiers with a mere gesture made Tiele feel a chill.

"Miaomiao, go to Changchun Valley and find Fu Qingzhu!" Chang Le said, "That old man owes me a favor. Take my letter with you, and he can't just ignore you. I can only feel at ease if he takes care of you!" Hearing this, Tiele was overjoyed. If Duanmu Miaomiao could recover quickly under Fu Qingzhu's treatment, while that old bastard Basiba was still recovering from his injuries, he would have the upper hand in terms of martial prowess.

However, he couldn't possibly invite someone like Fu Qingzhu.

Although there is still the connection with Li Dachui, Tiele is now feeling a chill when dealing with someone like Li Dachui. You never know when Li Dachui might betray you.

Although Zhou Yi and his group saved Tiele's life, they also made Tiele even more wary of Li Dachui.

Avoid speaking or doing anything with such people unless absolutely necessary.

The best way is to kill him as soon as possible and get rid of him once and for all.

This was the first time since Tiele had been able to understand things that he had felt a deep-seated fear of another person.

"Granny, your injuries are serious. Fu Qingzhu is a god-like figure who will surely help you reach a higher level. Perhaps you can even easily achieve the realm of spiritual travel!"

Duanmu Miaomiao nodded: "So what are you planning to do next?"

"What else can we do? Of course, we should concentrate our forces and take Yandu!" Tiele clenched his fist and waved it in the air.

"What if we can't take it?" Princess Chang Le sighed. "There are tens of thousands of troops in the city. Whether it's Wutu or Azaxi, they are both capable. Akdun has been building up his garrison for many years; he's not so easy to deal with!"

The Tiele people were furious at the mention of Wutu.

It can be said that the root of his failure this time lies with Wutu.

Even now, he still can't understand why Wutu suddenly turned against him again without any prior warning, catching him completely off guard and leaving him in such a passive position.

"We have to try. As long as the two major camps in the north and south don't participate, the city will eventually be unable to stop the army of the eastern camp," Tiele said.

Princess Chang Le shook her head: "Your cousin really has a clever plan!"

“I also think he must have been involved in this, but I can’t imagine how deeply involved he was!” Tiele said. “I also don’t know what his purpose was in saving me.”

"Isn't that simple?" Princess Chang Le said, "You're blinded by your own involvement. For Li Dachui, a unified Yuan Dynasty is certainly not as advantageous as a divided Yuan Dynasty. So, he won't let you succeed, but he also can't let you die. Instead, he'll make you fight Akdun in a contest. You two brothers will be fighting to the death for the throne, so you won't have time to care what he's doing outside the Great Wall."

"That villain!" Tiele exclaimed suddenly. "Mother, I remember now. Wutu is one of my men. I told that scoundrel Li Dachui about it. It must have been him who leaked this secret to Akedun, giving Akedun a means of retaliation. What a scoundrel!"

“If a minister is not discreet, he will lose his life; if a ruler is not discreet, he will lose his country!” Princess Chang Le shook her head and said, “Who can you blame? Right now, your elder brother Zhebie is fighting a fierce battle with Li Dachui and Xiao Changche outside the pass. I bet your elder brother will definitely lose, won’t he?”

Tiele's expression was very unpleasant.

Of course it will fail.

Jebe sold all the secrets of his military campaign to Li Dachui. If he still didn't lose, Jebe would be a god.

“But I’m certain that Jebe won’t die!” Princess Chang Le said. “Moreover, Li Dachui will definitely let Jebe come back, and he will bring back a large army with him. Why fight between two brothers? The more you fight, the happier he will be!”
The more Tiele thought about it, the more likely it seemed. He gritted his teeth, making a grinding sound, but there was nothing he could do.

“My nephew is far more capable than his father. He cleverly used his methods to bring all three princes of the Great Yuan Dynasty under his control. Now that Linghu Ye has gone far away inside the Great Yuan, the entire area outside the Great Yuan is his domain. Son, if you cannot unify the Great Yuan in a short time, you will suffer in the future. That Li Dachui is a hypocrite who will pretend to be innocent even after getting the benefits. He will be like a leech, impossible for you to get rid of, and you will eventually be drained of your life.”

"I won't let him succeed!" Tiele turned around angrily: "He's just 30,000 greenhorns who've never been on the battlefield. I'll show them what real war is, take Yandu, and kill Akdun. All his schemes are nothing but a mirage!"

"Princess, can Tiele conquer Yandu?" Duanmu Miaomiao looked at Tiele's retreating figure with some worry.

“If we raise an army in anger, I’m afraid we will not get what we want!” Princess Chang Le sighed. “Moreover, Li Zhun, Yelü Zhongguang, and Xian Shi are all in the city, and Wu Tu and Azaxi are both experienced generals. The defenses of Yandu are not as solid as a rock, but they are definitely not something that can be taken down by 20 or 30,000 men.”

"What about the North and South camps?"

“The only hope for the Tiele is the support of the two major camps in the north and south,” Princess Changle said. “However, this possibility is not great. On the contrary, it is more likely that Akdun will gain their support.”

"Why do you say that?"

“Because Akdun has no bottom line in his actions. He’s willing to give anything as long as he can achieve his goal. He only cares about the present and doesn’t think about the future. The Tiele can’t do that!” Princess Chang Le said.

(End of this chapter)