Catching Monsters

Chapter 607 Fortunately, he lived up to his fate
"General!"

Many veterans of the Zhenchi Army stared intently at Xu Xiaogang, eagerly awaiting his answer.

Xu Xiaogang took a deep breath, gritted his teeth, and slowly said, "Prepare to break camp!"

"Yes!"

All the generals of Zhenchi Army present breathed a heavy sigh of relief.

Then, Xu Xiaogang looked at Zhang Pengyu, whose arm had been severed, and said in a deep voice, "Take him away for questioning. What exactly is the situation in the capital now?"

"General Xu, General Xu, please don't kill me! We've known each other since we were little. I've always followed you around as a child." Zhang Pengyu realized that the situation was completely different from what he had expected and was starting to get out of control.

He quickly replied, "I was also sent by His Highness the Crown Prince, and I don't know anything else."

Soon, Zhang Pengyu was dragged away. Among those present were some border troops and new recruits, not veteran generals of the Zhenchi Army.

These men frowned deeply. Among them, a senior general from the border army stepped forward and advised, "General Xu, by imprisoning the special envoy sent by His Highness the Crown Prince and preparing to march on the capital, you are committing treason..."

"The Duke of Zhenguo's family has been loyal and virtuous for generations. If you do this, there's probably no turning back."

If it were Xu Dingwu, he would never have raised an army in rebellion. Someone like Xu Dingwu would have obeyed even if His Majesty the Emperor wanted to strip him of his military power.

But Xu Xiaogang was different. The Duke of Zhenguo's mansion was massacred by the Crown Prince's men, and even his mother and Xu Suwen almost failed to escape.

He couldn't swallow this insult. He said in a deep voice, "General Xia, everyone has seen how hard I've fought on the front lines."

"I, Xu Xiaogang, have no intention of disloyalty."

"But the Crown Prince is plotting to wipe out my entire family from the rear. I am not rebelling, but rather I am leading my troops back to ask the Crown Prince what his intentions are!"

General Xia's throat moved slightly, but he couldn't speak. He could only clasp his hands and say, "I will lead the others to consolidate the battle line, and the rebels in the three southwestern provinces will not be able to get out."

"Wait for General Xu's Zhenchi Army to return, then continue to quell the rebellion."

……

The next morning, Xiao Jingqing was fast asleep in bed, with two incredibly beautiful palace maids on the bed. He had been in a good mood the day before and was quite drunk, so he had brought the two maids to serve him in bed.

Logically, since the late emperor had passed away, Xiao Jingqing should observe mourning according to etiquette and should not be near women recently. But Xiao Jingqing didn't care about such things at all.

There are only three days left until the Lunar New Year.

His coronation ceremony was held on the first day of the Lunar New Year.

Although Xiao Jingqing knew that many civil officials probably did not approve of him becoming the new emperor, no one dared to stand up and refute him.

Once he officially ascends the throne, these people will have no choice but to be loyal to him, whether they want to or not.

Then we can just replace them with a new batch of officials who listen to us.

Suddenly, the door was pushed open with a bang, and Du Huai'an, the Minister of War, rushed in from outside. The two eunuchs outside couldn't stop him.

"Lord Du, Lord Du, His Highness the Crown Prince is resting. If you wish to see him, you will have to wait for us to announce your presence."

"Your Highness!" Du Huai'an's face flushed with anger. Seeing the two disheveled palace maids still on the bed, he turned around and said, "Tell them to get out!"

Xiao Jingqing opened his eyes and saw this scene. His brows furrowed tightly. He then gestured for the two palace maids to leave first.

After the palace maid left, Xiao Jingqing said with some dissatisfaction, "Lord Du, let's talk about this when I get to the Imperial Study. It's still early, and we haven't had breakfast yet. Someone, go and prepare breakfast."

"Your Highness, something's happened!" Du Huai'an said through gritted teeth, "Did you send people to attack the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion?"

Xiao Jingqing frowned and argued, "The fugitive Jiang Yun has disappeared. I only ordered the Imperial Guards to go to the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion to search for Jiang Yun. This matter is not under Lord Du's jurisdiction."

Upon hearing this, Du Huai'an gritted his teeth and said, "Does His Highness not know what has happened at the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion?"

“I heard that bodies were being carried out of there.”

At this point, Du Huai'an handed over an urgent military intelligence report: "The news has probably already reached the southwest. Xu Xiaogang has led 250,000 Zhenchi troops and has broken camp, heading towards the capital."

Sitting on the bed, Xiao Jingqing rushed forward, took the military intelligence report, and began to read it. His hands trembled uncontrollably as he hurriedly said, "How... how could this be? How dare Xu Xiaogang rebel?"

"Didn't I already send Zhang Pengyu to take over his military power?"

Du Huai'an was slightly taken aback: "Zhang Pengyu? Can Zhang Pengyu take over Xu Xiaogang's military power? Your Highness, are you confused!"

“Even if it is to take over Xu Xiaogang’s military power, we must send someone of high moral character and great prestige, such as the Duke of Chen, Mr. Ji Jingchuan. Xu Xiaogang would not dare to act rashly.”

"But Your Highness, you sent Zhang Pengyu, who knows absolutely nothing..."

"I know the Crown Prince is nepotistic and has a good relationship with Zhang Pengyu, but this matter cannot be handled this way!"

Du Huai'an was truly anxious, as he currently had no large enough army to withstand the Zhenchi Army.

Xiao Jingqing hurriedly asked, "There are 600,000 troops in the southwest, and another 350,000? Why aren't they stopping the Zhenchi Army? The Zhenchi Army is rebelling!"

"Even the rebels in the southwest have to be besieged. What's more, most of these 350,000 are new troops, with a small number of border troops. If a real fight breaks out, they are no match for this Zhenchi Army."

"Instead, it gave the rebels in the three southwestern provinces an opportunity to take advantage of the situation."

"Your Highness still needs to figure out how to appease Xu Xiaogang."

Xiao Jingqing's heart sank: "I understand, you can go out now."

Du Huai'an opened his mouth slightly, sighed, and then turned to leave. Xiao Jingqing frowned deeply, watching Du Huai'an's back.

He then quickly dressed and rushed to Qin Hong's residence.

He even personally brought out a breakfast.

"Godfather."

Upon entering the courtyard, Xiao Jingqing said quite affectionately, "Godfather, something terrible has happened."

After dressing, Qin Hong slowly walked out of the room and asked Xiao Jingqing, "Your Highness, what has happened?"

"That's right, the Zhenchi Army has rebelled!" Xiao Jingqing said in a deep voice, "Xu Xiaogang should have been protected by Tongyou Guards, right? Godfather, quickly give the order to have them take Xu Xiaogang's head and send it back to the capital."

Qin Hong frowned slightly and invited Xiao Jingqing into the house. Xiao Jingqing personally handed breakfast to Qin Hong and said, "Godfather, please have breakfast first."

"Your Highness, this matter cannot be rushed," Qin Hong said slowly. "Do you know what the consequences will be if Xu Xiaogang is killed? The Zhenchi Army will be completely out of control."

"The high-ranking generals of Zhenchi Army are all loyal to the Xu family. If we kill all the Xu family members, Zhenchi Army will probably be even more frenzied than if Xu Xiaogang were still around."

Upon hearing this, Xiao Jingqing also became somewhat dissatisfied and said, "Godfather, he has already rebelled, can't we kill him?"

Qin Hong, after all, was in charge of the Tongyou Guard, and his intelligence and insight into matters were extremely ruthless. He said, "Your Highness, what you should do now is to appease Xu Xiaogang."

“Announce that the Imperial Guards mistakenly entered the Duke of Zhenguo’s mansion, that it was an individual act by the Imperial Guards who were unaware of it, and then execute all those involved and send their heads to Xu Xiaogang.”

"And please bring back Tao Yuelan, Xu Suwen, and Jiang Yun..."

Xiao Jingqing interrupted Qin Hong directly: "Godfather, there's no need to say anything more. I have my own plans."

Seeing that Xiao Jingqing wouldn't listen at all, Qin Hong remained silent for a while before saying, "I've already had breakfast, Your Highness, you should go back first."

"The Tongyou Guard is only responsible for protecting His Highness the Crown Prince's safety. As for killing people for you, the Tongyou Guard members all have their own missions to fulfill, so I'm afraid they can't do it."

"Godfather, what do you mean by saying that?" Xiao Jingqing frowned.

Qin Hong hurriedly stood up and waved his hand: "Your Highness, the word 'godfather' is too serious. I am a eunuch and have no children. If you call me that, it will shorten my lifespan."

Qin Hong also realized that Xiao Jingqing lacked wisdom and was a person who couldn't control his temper; such a person was unlikely to achieve great things.

Upon seeing this, Xiao Jingqing walked out of Qin Hong's residence with a gloomy face. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and thought for a moment that it would take at least ten days for the Zhenchi Army to reach the capital.

By then, he will have already ascended the throne, and the capital will still have the Imperial Guard and the Tianqi Army protecting him.

It's not like the Zhenchi Army can just attack whenever they want.

Why should I worry about anything?

Once you ascend the throne, there will be plenty of people below who will worry about you.

Thinking of this, he felt more at ease. He went to the Imperial Study and summoned officials from the Ministry of Rites to begin studying his enthronement ceremony.

……

The actions of the Zhenchi Army could not be kept secret from the information network of many powerful figures in the capital, and for a time, people's opinions were divided.

Du Huai'an also rushed to visit the Duke of Chen's residence immediately.

"Lord Du, I'm already this old, these matters are beyond my ability to concern myself with." Duke Chen, Ji Jingchuan, sat in the living room, looking at a military intelligence report in his hand, and couldn't help but shake his head.

Du Huai'an, who was standing to the side, also sighed and said, "If Xu Xiaogang really leads his troops to the capital, the Imperial Guard and the Tianqi Army will fight back. These are all the top-notch elite troops of our Zhou Kingdom. No matter who wins or loses, it will be a great loss for our court."

"Duke Chen, in terms of prestige in the military, you were even higher than Xu Dingwu in your early years. Why don't you step forward and persuade Xu Xiaogang?"

Xu Dingwu's influence was only significant within the Zhenchi Army, while Duke Ji Jingchuan of Chen was a legendary figure throughout the entire military world.

In Du Huai'an's view, as long as Ji Jingchuan was willing to step in, Xu Xiaogang would have to give him face, more or less.

Ji Jingchuan then put aside the military affairs and picked up his tea: "Lord Du, I don't have that kind of face. They are working diligently on the front lines to deal with the rebels and have no intention of disloyalty."

"And His Highness the Crown Prince suddenly sent the Imperial Guards to massacre the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion. This is simply not plausible."

"It's only natural for people to want an explanation. If it were me, I would have done the same."

"Moreover, they did not rebel under any pretext."

Du Huai'an said in a low voice, "Our Crown Prince is indeed a bit radical in his actions."

Ji Jingchuan commented indifferently: "Compared to the First Prince or the Fourth Prince, they are far inferior."

Xiao Jingqing probably thought the situation was settled; the emperor was dead, he was the crown prince, and the enthronement ceremony was just around the corner.

He failed to win over the civil and military officials, and instead remained secluded in the palace every day. Ordinary civil and military officials who wanted to pay their respects were stopped by the imperial guards, who declared that no one was allowed to enter the palace unless summoned by His Highness the Crown Prince.

Of course, Ji Jingchuan also knew that His Highness the Crown Prince was probably afraid of being assassinated.

However, the fact that neither the civil nor the military officials were trying to win over either side is a significant problem.

……

"The roasted sweet potatoes are here."

In a small courtyard in Gong County, Jiang Qiaoqiao used a pile of firewood in the corner to roast a large basket of sweet potatoes. She took the basket, walked out of the courtyard, and went to the street. When she saw the Jinyiwei (Imperial Guards), she handed them a sweet potato.

Jiang Yun sat leisurely on a recliner in the courtyard. He was fully aware of the situation in the capital, including the arrival of Xu Xiaogang from the southwest with the Zhenchi Army.

"You're not worried at all, but my mother's eyes are red from crying." Xu Suwen sat down next to Jiang Yun, peeled the sweet potato for him, and fed it to him.

How is Mother?

"I cried myself to sleep." Xu Suwen sighed softly. "My mother said that our Zhenguo Duke's Mansion has been known for its loyal and virtuous people for generations. What Xiaogang did will ruin the reputation of our ancestors."

“If he really leads his troops to besiege the capital, Mother will personally go to stop the Zhenchi Army and not do such a treasonous thing.”

Jiang Yun was taken aback, but it wasn't surprising. After all, it wasn't unusual for Tao Yuelan, at her age, to have such thoughts.

He simply sighed and then said, "I didn't expect Xiao Gang to bring his troops directly to Beijing."

This was indeed unexpected by Jiang Yun, but it was also a good thing.

Soon, Jiang Qiaoqiao returned to the yard, leaving behind several sweet potatoes. She looked at Wu Chi, who was sweeping the yard, and said, "Uncle Wu, would you like one?"

"Okay." Upon hearing this, Wu Chi took a sweet potato from Jiang Qiaoqiao's hand.

"Ouch, it's still quite hot." Wu Chi moved the roasted sweet potato back and forth between his right and left hands several times before squatting down next to Xu Suwen with the sweet potato in his hand, just about to speak.

Footsteps sounded outside the courtyard. Jiang Yun opened her eyes and quickly got up. Qi Da had returned.

Zida looked travel-worn. After entering the courtyard, he quickly came to Jiang Yun and said, "Lord Jiang, I have successfully brought back His Highness the First Prince."

From a great distance, the eldest prince, Xiao Jingzhi, walked in from outside the courtyard. However, his white robe had turned gray, as he had rushed all the way without even having time to change his clothes.

(End of this chapter)