Love Lock

Chapter 338 Straight to the Heart
Cao Ge's joyful voice immediately came from outside: "Your Majesty, good news! A great victory at Dongguan!"

Emperor Jing's eyes lit up, as if a drowning man had grabbed the last piece of driftwood, and he immediately straightened up: "Summon them quickly!"

Cao Ge practically jogged in, his barely suppressed joy standing out starkly in the somber palace.

He knelt down with a thud, his voice trembling with excitement, "Your Majesty! Heaven... Heaven blesses Dajing! A great... great victory at Dongguan! Marshal Li Jianyong's urgent report!"

"Quickly! Read it! Tell me in detail!" Emperor Jing leaned forward, the gloom from before dispelled somewhat by this good news.

Cao Ge took a deep breath to calm himself before clearly recounting the good news.

"Your Majesty, Marshal Li Jianyong said that he has successfully fulfilled his mission and has repelled the Dongming enemy army, thus securing Dongguan. However, the enemy is cunning and drove the prisoners of Dajing as their vanguard, causing Marshal Lu Chengyun and many captured soldiers to die in battle with resentment..."

At this point, Cao Ge's voice lowered, and Emperor Jing's face also darkened. The joy that had just risen in the hall was diluted and replaced by a sense of tragedy.

Cao Ge paused for a moment, then continued, "Fortunately, General Da Jiu's new army arrived in time and managed to defeat the enemy in one fell swoop. They also killed the enemy commander Murong Tai and captured the enemy's intelligence chief, Dongfang Jiming. General Da Jiu led the Zhengxin Army to escort the prisoners back to the capital in triumph! The crisis at Dongguan has been resolved, and Marshal Li is handling the aftermath."

"Good! Good! Good!" Emperor Jing said "good" three times in a row. A genuine smile finally appeared on his tense face. He slammed his hand on the armrest of the dragon bed. "Li Jianyong is mature and prudent, and Da Jiu is loyal and brave! They are both my trusted ministers! When Da Jiu returns to the capital, I will reward him handsomely! Handsomely!"

He hadn't expected that the battle at Dongguan would not only be a great victory, but that they would also kill the enemy commander and capture an important prisoner.

What kind of record is this?

He could almost see Da Jiu leading that powerful new army, banners waving, marching into the capital, becoming the sharpest sword in his hand.

But the smile lasted only a moment, then faded quickly like a candle flame blown out by the wind.

Marshal Lu Chengyun was killed in battle, and there was no commander left in Dongguan. He knew that Marshal Li Jianyong would stay in Dongguan to guard the city.

The good news from Dongguan was genuine, but the crisis of Qingzhou and Yizhou falling was even more imminent.

The terrifying shadow of Cangzhou King's "Aim Sixteen" is more threatening than the Eastern Ming Empire in the far east.

In the dream, tigers and wolves pounced from the left and right... Could it be referring not to Dongming and the King of Cangzhou, but to the already lost Qingzhou and Yizhou?

This thought sent a chill back through his limbs, which had just begun to warm up.

The capital is now like a warehouse with its walls torn down. What can the patrol battalion and the remaining pitiful imperial guards do? If the Cangzhou King's iron cavalry presses forward now, they will probably besiege the capital in a few days!
He took a deep breath, suppressing the panic in his heart, and looked at Cao Ge expectantly: "Minister Cao, did the battle report mention when Da Jiu and the New Army will arrive in the capital?"

All his hopes now rested on the new army that could defeat the elite forces of the Eastern Ming. As long as the new army returned, there was still hope of defending the capital.

Cao Ge quickly replied, "Your Majesty, the victory report did not specify the itinerary. However, since General Da Jiu is escorting important prisoners, he will surely return as soon as possible."

"As soon as possible..." Emperor Jing murmured, savoring the words, a heavy weight pressing on his heart. Would the King of Cangzhou give him that time?

He waved his hand, his voice heavy with weariness: "I know everything. Minister Cao, announce this good news to the world, so that the people can be at ease. These days, there has been much discussion and unrest in and around the capital. We need good news like this to calm them down."

"Your subject obeys the decree!" Cao Ge accepted the order, and seeing the emperor's weary expression, he tactfully bowed and withdrew.

Once again, only Emperor Jing and Li Zhongxin remained in the hall.

Seeing that the worry between the emperor's brows had not truly dissipated, Li Zhongxin carefully stepped forward to comfort him: "Your Majesty, the victory at Dongguan is a great joy, and you should relax and take care of your health."

Emperor Jing seemed not to hear his words of advice. He remained silent for a moment, then looked at the somber sky outside the palace and suddenly spoke: "Li Zhongxin."

"The slave is here."

"Go, find my armor."

Li Zhongxin trembled violently, looked up abruptly, his face filled with shock and disbelief: "Your Majesty...Your Majesty? Why...Why are you doing this?"

A personal expedition?

This is no joke! Given the current state of the capital, if the emperor were to leave again…

Emperor Jing slowly turned his head, looking at the still gloomy sky outside the window, his eyes gradually becoming firm, even carrying a hint of ruthless determination.

"The great victory at Dongguan has stabilized the east. But the rebels in the northwest have already captured Yizhou, and their forces are heading straight for the capital." His voice was not loud, but every word was clear. "The new army of Da Jiu... may not be able to return in time. I cannot entrust the country, the nation, and my own life to the word 'maybe'."

He paused, as if gathering his strength, and then said, word by word, "If that moment truly comes, and reinforcements haven't arrived while the enemy is already at the city gates... I can't just sit here in this deep palace waiting for a knife to be held to my throat, can I? I will don my armor and let all my subjects see that I will never abandon this ancestral legacy!"

He withdrew his gaze and landed on Li Zhongxin's pale face, his tone carrying an unyielding calm: "Go and fetch it. Wipe it clean and be prepared. Perhaps we won't need it, but... I must be prepared."

Looking into the emperor's eyes, which held a mixture of despair and resolve, Li Zhongxin knew there was no point in trying to persuade him. His heart turned cold, and he could only bow deeply, his voice choked with emotion: "This old servant... obeys the decree."

He backed out of the bedchamber to carry out the order that terrified him.

In the empty hall, only Emperor Jing remained. He continued to gaze out the window, his fingers unconsciously tapping the edge of the dragon bed. The rhythm was chaotic and heavy, just like his current state of mind...

What Emperor Jing didn't know was that not only had Qingzhou and Yizhou fallen, but Jizhou and Dongguan in the east had also been taken over by the King of Cangzhou.

Cang, Xu, Jing, Qing, Yi, and Ji provinces have all fallen into the hands of the King of Cang. Now, of the nine provinces and seventy-two counties of the Great Jing Dynasty, only Yun province, Liang province, and the capital city in the south remain in the hands of Emperor Jing.

This is equivalent to the entire Great Landscape being sliced ​​in half. The capital city and Yunzhou and Liangzhou are now separated by Qingzhou and Yizhou, separated by a vast distance.

Six days later, amidst Emperor Jing's anxious anticipation, Da Jiu returned in triumph with 10,000 new troops.

The moment the army entered the capital, it caused a city-wide uproar.

The people who heard the news lined the streets to welcome him, and their cheers were deafening.

In the eyes of these simple and honest people, this army was a hero who supported Dongguan and repelled the Eastern Ming Empire, and a shot in the arm for their anxious days.

The brothers of Da Jiu and Da Zi team sat upright on their horses. Although their faces were covered in dust and their clothes were dirty, they couldn't help but feel proud when they saw the people's heartfelt joy over the victory at Dongguan. Their faces were beaming with pride.

The newly formed army following closely behind was impeccably dressed, with long spears standing like a forest, gleaming coldly in the sunlight, adding to their imposing aura.

Among the procession, a carriage covered with a tarpaulin stood out.

Without any prompting, the people already guessed that the prisoners held there were the Eastern Ming Empire prisoners mentioned in the war report—one of the culprits who drove the Great Jing prisoners to the front and forced them to perform the sheep-leading ceremony.

"That must be Dongming Dog in that carriage!"

"Yes, that must be it!" "Kill him!"

"Damn it, make him pay for our soldiers' lives!"

The thought of Marshal Lu Chengyun and his many soldiers dying in humiliation aroused the crowd's anger. Rotten vegetable leaves, pebbles and clods of earth rained down on the carriage, accompanied by deafening curses and swears.

Inside the carriage, Dongfang Jiming, still wearing his bright red brocade robe, lay on a stretcher, staring blankly at the swaying roof.

When he set foot on the land of Dajing again, he was no longer greeted by the secrecy and tension of his stealth journey, but by the naked hatred and humiliation before him.

His injuries had healed considerably, but he ordered the prisoners of Dajing to be the first to charge and forced them to perform the sheep-leading ceremony. Now that he himself had been captured, he knew what fate awaited him.

Along the way, he attempted suicide several times, but was stopped each time by the heavily guarded soldiers of the New Army.

At this moment, his ankles were still firmly tied to a small table inside the carriage, rendering him unable to move, and even the desire to die had become a luxury.

After passing through the bustling streets, Da Jiu ordered Da Shiliu to lead the new army back to the camp in the outskirts of Beijing to rest, while he himself, along with several other brothers from the Da Zi Brigade and his deputy Qiu Zhenyu, went to the palace to meet the emperor.

The palace guards had already received the imperial decree and, after verifying Da Jiu's token, immediately allowed him to pass without even needing to announce it.

When the guards saw the brothers of the Big Character Team carrying a disheveled prisoner in red clothes off a carriage on a stretcher, they immediately understood who this person was.

Their eyes blazed with anger, and they couldn't help but hurl another string of low curses at Dongfang Jiming on the stretcher.

Da Jiu took a sealed wooden box off his horse. Despite being sealed, the hot weather still caused a faint odor to emanate from it, attracting flies to swarm around it.

Inside was the head of Murong Tai, the commander of Dongming, which Han Lei had treated with a medicinal solution.

In the Golden Palace, Emperor Jing was forcing himself to be alert while attending court. Upon hearing the eunuch report that Da Jiu had returned, Emperor Jing immediately perked up and ordered him to be summoned.

When Da Jiu and his men entered the hall, presented Murong Tai's head, and pointed out that the red-clad man on the stretcher, who looked like a dead dog, was Dongfang Jiming, the Grand Commander of the Dongming Intelligence Bureau, awaiting His Majesty's judgment, the courtiers in the hall immediately erupted in uproar.

Immediately, civil and military officials stepped forward to commend them, praising Da Jiu and the new army for their heroic efforts in turning the tide, as if with them, the Great Jing Dynasty could truly rest easy.

Emperor Jing's haggard face finally radiated a rare glow, and he lavished praise on Da Jiu himself.

But soon, his gaze shifted to Qiu Zhenyu, who was kneeling beside Da Jiu, and his tone carried a hint of barely perceptible caution.

"Deputy General Qiu, are all the statements in Marshal Li Jianyong's battle report true?"

Qiu Zhenyu's heart tightened suddenly.

He knew this moment would eventually come.

Emperor Jing's appointment of him as deputy general of the new army was a clear indication of his intention to monitor Da Jiu. Meanwhile, on the other hand, the Prince of Cangzhou…

The image of a weapon spitting fire flashed through his mind, along with the seemingly casual yet slightly threatening recruitment by the King of Cangzhou, and the message coming from the small box at the King of Cangzhou's waist—Qingzhou and Yizhou had fallen.

Although the King of Cangzhou did not openly coerce him, he was torn between various internal struggles and weighing the pros and cons on his way back to the capital, and he could hardly sleep at night.

At this moment, he felt Emperor Jing's gaze, as well as the seemingly calm but actually oppressive aura emanating from Da Jiu beside him.

He paused for a moment, then subconsciously lowered his head, not daring to meet Emperor Jing's gaze. His Adam's apple bobbed, and finally, he gritted his teeth and said in a deep voice, "Your Majesty, Marshal Li's battle report... is entirely true!"

Da Jiu, kneeling to the side, had a barely perceptible smile playing on his lips before quickly concealing it.

As expected, the prince gave Qiu Zhenyu time to consider, and the sights and intimidation he witnessed along the way clearly led the deputy general to make a "wise" choice.

Upon hearing Qiu Zhenyu's personal confirmation, Emperor Jing's last trace of doubt vanished, and he was overjoyed, as if the gloom of the past few days had been largely dispelled.

He laughed and said loudly, "Good! You have not only relieved the crisis at Dongguan, but also killed the enemy chieftain and captured him alive, thus demonstrating the might of our nation! I am very pleased! I hereby promote Da Jiu and all the generals and officers by one rank and reward them with a thousand taels of gold! Da Jiu shall continue to lead the new army, garrison the capital, and be ready to respond at any time in case the traitorous King of Cangzhou attacks!"

A promotion?
And he even wants Da Jiu to lead the new army to fight against the King of Cangzhou?

Upon hearing this decree, Qiu Zhenyu, who had just breathed a sigh of relief, felt his eyelids twitch uncontrollably a few times.

The few kneeling in the hall, including myself, had already pledged allegiance to the Prince of Cangzhou. Yet Emperor Jing was entrusting them with the heavy responsibility of ensuring the safety of the capital and confronting the Prince of Cangzhou.
The saying goes, "A wise man submits to circumstances," and he wasn't stupid. If he hadn't witnessed the world-destroying power of that "demonic weapon" firsthand, if the King of Cangzhou hadn't displayed his ambition and made his promises to conquer the world, if his entire family hadn't been in the capital…

He will not ultimately choose to side with the King of Cangzhou.

After two major battles, Dongguan had few remaining soldiers. Zhao Zun did not leave the new army to guard Dongguan, but instead sent Da Jiu back with the new army and prisoners to claim credit, thus deceiving Emperor Jing into entrusting him with an important task.

The King of Cangzhou's move was like a direct hit to the heart!
At this moment, Da Jiu, having expressed his gratitude, pointed to the stretcher on the ground and asked, "Your Majesty, what should be done with these prisoners from Dongming?"

Emperor Jing glanced at Dongfang Jiming, who remained silent as if he had lost his soul, and snorted coldly.

"What this thief has done is outrageous and deserves to be executed in public to appease the spirits of our fallen soldiers and to quell the anger of the people of Dajing! However, the troops from Cangzhou are now close to the capital, and the situation is critical. This matter will be postponed for now."

He waved his hand, his tone decisive and leaving no room for argument, "First, throw this traitor into the imperial prison and keep him under strict guard! We'll deal with him after the rebellion of the rebellious king is quelled!"

"Your subordinate obeys the order!" Da Jiu and the others accepted the command.

"Your Majesty is wise!" the ministers echoed.

Emperor Jing then adjourned the court and ordered Da Jiu and the others to return home and rest.

Four burly palace guards lifted the stretcher and walked with heavy steps toward the gloomy and dark imperial prison.

On the stretcher, Dongfang Jiming's eyes were empty and his face was expressionless. His face appeared even paler in the flickering light of the prison corridor wall lamps, and his once dazzling red clothes were now dull and lifeless, like congealed blood.

He closed his eyes, seemingly oblivious to everything around him, awaiting his final fate.

However, as the stretcher passed a narrow cell, a figure huddled in the corner suddenly raised its head.

Zhao Qiao'er's originally numb and desperate eyes suddenly burst forth with an incredulous light when she caught sight of that familiar yet dazzling bright red.

She practically tumbled and crawled to the cell door, gripping the cold bars tightly with both hands, her voice filled with excitement and uncertainty.

She cried out in a trembling voice, "Young...Young Master?"