Madam, don't do this!

Chapter 568 Ninghe Emperor's Blade (10,000 words)
The sky was overcast, and the moonlight descended from above like a cold, piercing sword, cutting into animal hide and bringing a chilling sensation.

Batu's face remained as gloomy as iron.

At this time, the Jurchen barbarians were still in a state of ignorance and had not yet been civilized. They did not value women's chastity. Women were more like assets used to flaunt their wealth and power. It was perfectly normal for some beautiful women to be snatched away.

Just like Batu's seventy-two women, many of whom he seized by force.

Therefore, Batu's real anger was not that the women were taken away, but that all the women were taken away.

Seventy-two.

Seventy-two of them!!!
Batu felt a pang of heartache whenever he thought of that number. That bastard Wanyan Guangzhi, at least leave him a few!

What Batu found most unacceptable was that, no matter what, he was Wanyan Guangzhi's father-in-law... Nahetuya had already been sent to the royal court and even had the title of queen. All that was left was to get married and consummate the marriage. Wanyan Guangzhi failed to protect her and let Song Yan take Nahetuya away. What did that have to do with me, Batu?
You couldn't afford to offend Song Yan, so you sent your troops to steal your father-in-law's woman?
She's at least your mother-in-law, right?

Beast!
Batu cursed inwardly with resentment.

However, Batu was not a fool. He naturally knew that Wanyan Guangzhi's behavior had been somewhat abnormal recently. It was said that since it had snowed, all the Jurchen tribes should hibernate... Hibernation meant staying in tents and not going out as much as possible to minimize food consumption and get through the winter.

Looking across the entire Haixi Grassland, winter is a relatively peaceful time. Even if there is a deep-seated hatred, it can wait until spring. After all, if you march through the snow and manage to kill your enemy by surprise, you will likely suffer unnecessary losses.

This was basically a customary rule, but now Wanyan Guangzhi has broken it.

The Heishui tribe was not the first tribe to be attacked by Wanyan Guangzhi while the mountains were blocked by heavy snow. Before the Heishui tribe, several other tribes were attacked by Wanyan Guangzhi. Jilie Khan was beheaded, and his brothers and sons were all killed. The women and daughters were given as rewards to the generals under Wanyan Guangzhi.

With each raid, Wanyan Guangzhi captured strong men and thousands of fertile women.

The power of the Wuji tribe is expanding at an unimaginable speed.

Batu knew that Wanyan Guangzhi, this madman, wanted to take advantage of the winter to complete the unification of the Jurchens; he wanted to be king, he wanted to be emperor.

He was somewhat unwilling to accept it.

No matter what, the Blackwater Tribe is one of the seven major tribes on the Haixi Grassland. Even if its power is not as great as that of the Wuji Tribe, it is not far behind. Back then, Anchegu was able to give Wanyan Guangzhi a great loss, almost costing him his life. If it were a direct confrontation, the Blackwater Tribe, with its greater strength, would definitely be able to fight the Wuji Tribe to a standstill.

Unfortunately, the reality was that all the old and weak in the tribe were slaughtered by Wanyan Guangzhi, and their blood melted the snow, which then froze into a huge block of ice.

Women and girls were all abducted.

The strong and capable men either laid down their weapons and surrendered or were beheaded. Only the eight thousand men behind them managed to break through the Wuji tribe's encirclement.

On the one hand, Wanyan Guangzhi received reinforcements.

Batu spotted the Xiongnu among Wanyan Guangzhi's troops.

On the other hand, there was the betrayal of his generals.

Otherwise, the Blackwater Tribe would never have suffered such a swift and devastating defeat.

Although he was filled with grief and indignation, he knew that things had come to this point and anger was useless. It was already quite difficult to survive under the encirclement of the Xiongnu and Wanyan Guangzhi. Now, Batu was no longer concerned with revenge, but with how to find a way to survive for himself and his eight thousand brothers.

Batu let out a heavy sigh, took out a frozen, hard piece of jerky from the animal skin pouch at his waist, cut off a small piece with his knife, stuffed it into his mouth and chewed it vigorously, while looking south.

Two or three hundred miles away is Xinhou County, which is the territory of the Prince of Yan of Ningguo.

The Prince of Yan was also his son-in-law.

Batu was extremely fortunate that after learning that Song Yan had abducted Nahetuya, he did not immediately sever ties with her. On the contrary, after the Ningguo Emperor bestowed a marriage upon Song Yan and Nahetuya, he even specially sent three thousand warhorses as a dowry. Originally, he just thought that having a Han Chinese son-in-law was not bad, and that he might be able to exchange some important resources, such as grain, from the Han people through this relationship in the future. Who would have thought that it would become his only way to survive?

Hey, hey, hey.

Just then, the dull sound of horses' hooves rang out once again.

Batu suddenly turned around and looked behind him, only to see a scout riding a fast horse at breakneck speed.

After all, he was the leader of a powerful tribe, and he had the most basic military skills. Even when he was fleeing for his life, he still made sure to send out scouts.

The scout galloped up to Batu, dismounted, knelt on one knee, and cried out in terror, "Report! Khan Jilie, it's terrible! The pursuers are here, just thirty li away!"

His grandma's.

Batu's face suddenly darkened, and he cursed.

"Everyone, mount up." Batu pulled on the reins, flipped himself onto the horse, and saddled.

Although he is over fifty years old, his physical condition is obviously still excellent.

The Jurchen barbarians all showed expressions of fear and dared not be negligent. Although they were extremely exhausted, they still struggled to get up from the ground.

"Don't look back, don't stop." Batu's almost roaring voice echoed across the snow-covered plain from horseback: "Run, southward!"

“That’s my son-in-law’s territory. My son-in-law is the Prince of Yan, who once trampled the court of the Wuji tribe. Once we get there, we’ll be safe.”

Batu's voice was like a shot of adrenaline to all the weary men. Their previously dull eyes suddenly burst with a glimmer of hope, their spirits lifted, and with a cracking sound, the eight thousand Jurchen cavalry charged forward once more.

Snowflakes fluttered beneath the horse's hooves.

However, these warhorses had already traveled hundreds of miles, and the men of the Blackwater tribe were exhausted, but the warhorses were even more exhausted.

The speed of their running was no longer what it used to be. Some of them had already reached their limit, and with a crack, their two front legs came to their knees, and they fell over, foaming at the mouth of the horse, clearly having no chance of survival.

Unlike the Blackwater tribe, the pursuing Wuji and Xiongnu cavalry were equipped with three warhorses each, allowing for much less horse consumption through rotation. Thirty kilometers may seem like a long distance, but on this vast snow-covered plain, it quickly closed the gap, and the roaring sounds behind them could already be heard.

Gradually, one could even hear arrogant shouts and roars.

"Woo..."

"Woo..."

"Woo..."

It is unknown how much time has passed, but accompanied by roars that imitate wild beasts, the elite cavalry of the Wuji tribe and the Xiongnu have caught up with them. However, they did not launch an attack directly. The huge cavalry legion split into two groups in an instant and quickly flanked them from the left and right flanks.

The moment the encirclement was completely sealed, Batu was forced to rein in his horse. His wide eyes were filled with resentment and hatred; he knew his path to survival had been cut off. His gaze swept around; the combined forces of the Wuji tribe and the Xiongnu numbered around 15,000. They could easily annihilate his 8,000 exhausted brothers. This time, they were truly doomed.

His heart was filled with resentment.

It was only a little over a hundred miles away from the son-in-law's territory.

“Batu…” Just then, a young man in his thirties spoke in a sinister voice, his eyes, like those of a venomous snake, fixed on Batu: “You can’t escape.”

When Batu saw this man, the flames of hatred in the eyes of Batu and even the eight thousand brothers behind him burned brighter than ever before.

“Ire-Ire-Ire…”

Batu slowly uttered a somewhat strange name.

This is the man Batu once relied on most, who commanded nearly a third of the Blackwater Tribe's soldiers. If it weren't for Yili Yili suddenly stabbing him in the back, how could the Blackwater Tribe have fallen to such a state?
“You have betrayed the honor of the tribe,” Batu said slowly in a hoarse voice.

Ireilly, however, seemed to have heard something amusing and burst into laughter: "The glory of the tribe?"

“Oh, my respected Khan, I never imagined you could be so foolish… Glory, what is that? When life is hanging by a thread, what value does glory hold?” Ilyil’s eyes widened slowly, his bearded face revealing a twisted madness: “I did not betray the tribe, I was just trying to find a way for the tribe to survive.”

"food!"

"The tribe's food supply is simply not enough to meet the needs of its members."

"The only option for the Blackwater Tribe is to seek refuge with the esteemed Great Khan. The Great Khan will provide us with food, giving the Blackwater Tribe a chance to survive the harsh winter."

Ireilly roared, "It's a lie!" But judging from his frenzied state, he might have already taken the lie for the truth.

Batu sneered: "Does your so-called survival mean letting all 20,000 old and weak people in the tribe be slaughtered by Wanyan Guangzhi?"

crunch.

Batu's casual remark shattered Yilie's self-hypnosis, forcing him to confront the sordid truth: his surrender to Wanyan Guangzhi was never for the continuation of the tribe, but only because of the high-ranking official positions and generous rewards promised by Wanyan Guangzhi.

For a moment, Ireil ​​felt a surge of humiliating anger, his face shifting several times before finally settling into a gloomy indifference. Then, he slowly raised the curved blade in his right hand: "Kill them all..."

"Guys!"

Rumble, rumble!

Rumble, rumble!

Before the word "we" could be fully uttered, a muffled sound of horses' hooves suddenly came faintly from behind.

Such a commotion instantly attracted everyone's attention. Whether it was the remnants of the Blackwater tribe, or the iron cavalry of the Wuji tribe and the Xiongnu, their eyes subconsciously turned towards the direction from which the sound came. At the end of their gaze, they saw a cavalry force sweeping towards them like a dark cloud, covering the sky and the earth.

Although there was still a long distance to go, the immense and dense aura was already suffocating.

A deep, rich black.

It forms a striking contrast with the pristine white snowfield.

The sound of hooves grew louder and louder, and the ground beneath their feet trembled slightly. Even the warhorses of the Xiongnu people were restless and uneasy, as if some ferocious beast was charging towards them.

There was a slight commotion within the encirclement. Even among the Jurchen and Xiongnu barbarians, not everyone could calmly face such an overwhelming cavalry charge.

"Bows and arrows, get ready~~" Suddenly, Ireilly screamed in agony.

Apart from a small group guarding against the remnants of the Blackwater forces within the encirclement, the remaining cavalrymen all took down their longbows, and bone arrows were already nocked on the bowstrings.

The distance is getting closer.

Finally, someone was able to clearly see the flag unfurled from the dark clouds.

Bright yellow brocade.

Four-clawed dragon.

The King's Banner with the Character "Yan"!

This is the army under the command of the King of Yan.

Gradually, they were even able to see the other's black armor clearly, including the heavy helmet, the bright silver faceplate, and the metal boots!
Even more outrageous, the warhorse he rode was also covered in full armor.

That's fucking extravagant!
When did the production of raw iron in Central China reach the point where it could be used to armor warhorses?

Heavy cavalry.

These are heavy cavalry.

Although the speed wasn't too fast, when they charged forward, it felt like a towering mountain was constantly approaching, and an indescribable pressure was pressing down on everyone's chest.

It's hard to breathe.

Even the most arrogant barbarian warriors felt that despairing sense of oppression.

"put."

Finally, the Yan King's heavy cavalry entered the range of the longbows, and Yi Lie Yi Lie's raised sword suddenly fell.

hum.

Countless longbows released their bowstrings simultaneously, and in that instant, they converged into a muffled sound. Arrows shot up from the ground like a swarm of locusts, suddenly rushing towards the Yan King's iron cavalry on the opposite side.

The arrows falling diagonally from mid-air carry enormous kinetic energy. Although the arrowheads are made of polished bone, they have no problem piercing through human flesh.

But then, a despairing scene unfolded.

A dense rain of arrows enveloped the armored cavalry, followed by a series of clanging sounds as all the arrows were deflected. Some arrowheads, even those made of bone, couldn't withstand the impact and turned into fine bone dust.

On the armor, only shallow dents remained.

Even the momentum of the heavily armored cavalry charge did not slow down in the slightest.

The heavy armor plates converged in one place, like a surging torrent of steel, and with a ferocious momentum that swept across thousands of troops, it slammed heavily onto flesh and blood.

Blood splattered, and the body was torn to pieces!
……

at the same time.

Dongling City.

It's not snowing or raining here; it's a nice day. The morning sun has just dispelled the autumn mist and is now enveloping the vast palace.

In the imperial study, Emperor Ninghe sat quietly.

On the imperial desk lay countless memorials, all of which had been approved, clearly indicating that Emperor Ninghe had not slept a wink the previous night.

Emperor Ninghe's health is deteriorating.

Any official in the court who wasn't blind could see this.

In the eyes of the court officials, the next emperor would naturally be chosen from Luo Tianshu and Luo Tianquan. Since the two princes had no foundation in the court, now was an excellent opportunity to curry favor with them. However, apart from showing up in the court on the first day, the two princes rarely appeared in front of the public.

Sometimes, it even makes people forget that the two princes have already returned.

Everyone assumed that Luo Tianshu and Luo Tianquan were in the palace helping Emperor Ninghe with some government affairs, but now it seems that this is not the case. All the government affairs, including the memorials sent by the Secretariat, are being handled by Emperor Ninghe himself.

Emperor Ninghe gently closed his eyes, but he did not fall asleep.

My head hurts a lot.

Her cheeks would twitch slightly from time to time.

Emperor Ninghe was desperately trying to endure it, his breathing becoming somewhat disordered. Only now did Emperor Ninghe finally understand what it felt like to have a tumor growing in one's brain, as Song Yan had described. He felt as if his head was about to burst open, and he was experiencing a dull, aching pain.

But he was the emperor, and no matter how much pain he was in, he could not lose his imperial dignity and composure. The incident of banging his head against the wall like before was absolutely unacceptable.

He had very little of the most potent painkiller, fentanyl, left, and could only save it for the most critical moments.

There was the sound of footsteps in my ears.

Emperor Ninghe pursed his lips and finally opened his eyes. The first thing he saw was Wei Zhong's hunched figure. Emperor Ninghe smiled slightly and asked, "Has Yang Hexin arrived yet?"

Wei Zhong glanced at Emperor Ninghe. When he saw the emperor's pale face, cracked lips, and tired eyes, a trace of sorrowful heartache flashed in Wei Zhong's eyes, but he still nodded: "Your Majesty, we have arrived outside the capital and are awaiting Your Majesty's decree."

"You've finally arrived." Emperor Ninghe smiled.

A hint of relief even shone through his tired eyes.

Ever since the Yang family announced that Yang Hexin would represent the Langya Yang clan and enter the capital to beg the emperor for forgiveness, Emperor Ninghe had been waiting for this day to arrive.

However, Yang Hexin's journey was much slower than he had anticipated.

What should have taken three to five days to arrive was delayed by Yang Hexin for half a month.

Perhaps the Yang family was worried that begging for forgiveness would be useless, so they traveled slowly and visited the governors of several prefectures along the way... Governors were not officials in the capital, and although their influence could not compare to that of high-ranking officials in the capital, it was not an easy thing for Emperor Ninghe to reach out and kill governors hundreds or thousands of miles away.

It is unknown what benefits the Yang family gave to these governors, but in any case, Emperor Ninghe has received six memorials in recent days. Each one recounts the merits made by the Yang family when the Ning Kingdom was founded. Yang Hetong is guilty, but it is really inappropriate to implicate the entire Yang family. They also stated that in order to plead guilty, the Yang family is willing to offer a large sum of money.

These governors temporarily served as a mouthpiece between the Yang family and Emperor Ninghe.

The amount of compensation increased from the initial one million taels of silver to two million taels, five million taels, and now to tens of millions of taels. Emperor Ninghe's attitude also changed from initial rage to disdain, to being tempted but unable to back down, and finally, he openly stated that the Yang family had expelled Yang Hetong's lineage from the genealogy and that he actually had no intention of implicating the Langya Yang clan.

That's a bit of a slap in the face.

However, it's always necessary to lay the groundwork for the future.

"Is what I asked for ready?" Emperor Ninghe sighed and asked again.

Wei Zhong's hunched body trembled slightly, but he still took out a dagger from his sleeve and placed it on the imperial desk.

Emperor Ninghe laughed, casually picked up the dagger, and stabbed it a couple of times haphazardly: "Is it sharp?"

"I am actually a little afraid of pain."

It's a little embarrassing to say, but it's the truth.

Emperor Ninghe was afraid of pain from a young age.

Wei Zhong forced a smile: "Of course it's sharp."

"That's good, that's good." Emperor Ninghe nodded with satisfaction, then hid the dagger in his sleeve, let out a long breath, and stood up: "Let's go. I imagine those people in the court are getting impatient. It's not good to keep them waiting."

Emperor Ninghe shook his head vigorously and walked towards the Golden Hall. When he arrived at the hall, all the officials were already waiting there.

"Your Majesty, Yang Hexin, the younger brother of the patriarch of the Langya Yang clan, has arrived at Dongling and is currently kneeling outside the imperial city." As soon as the routine ceremony was over, an official from the Ministry of Rites stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, please give your instructions on how to deal with this person."

"The Yang family of Langya made great contributions to the establishment of Ningguo." Emperor Ninghe nodded slightly: "Indeed, he should be met. Why didn't he go to the palace, but stayed outside the city?"

"Your Majesty, Yang Hexin said: Yang Hetong has formed a faction to suppress dissent and wreak havoc in the court, which is a disgrace to the Yang family. As Yang Hetong's brother, Yang Hexin feels deeply ashamed. Without Your Majesty's summons, he dares not set foot in Dongling, for fear of defiling the imperial city."

"How could this be? How could this be..." Emperor Ninghe shook his head and sighed, "Yang Hetong is Yang Hetong, and the Yang family is the Yang family. How could I be such a foolish and incompetent emperor? How could I implicate the entire Yang family because of one person, Yang Hetong?"

"Wei Zhong, go and invite Yang Hexin to the palace... Never mind, prepare the imperial carriage, I'll go myself."

With that, Emperor Ninghe stood up and walked towards the outside of the hall.

The court officials looked at each other in disbelief. Good heavens, just a few days ago they were ready to wipe out the Yang family, and now they're preparing to personally welcome them in the imperial carriage.

Is this the allure of millions of silver dollars?

Actually, this was somewhat against etiquette. It wasn't uncommon for the emperor to personally greet officials outside the city, but this was mostly reserved for generals returning from victorious battles. Although the Yang family was powerful, Yang Hexin was ultimately just a commoner, and there was absolutely no reason for him to be personally greeted by His Majesty.

However, Emperor Ninghe's health is currently very poor, and he may not live much longer. A dying emperor is a terrifying figure. The court is full of cunning old foxes, and no one would dare to provoke Emperor Ninghe at this time. Otherwise, if Emperor Ninghe were to accidentally enrage and behead them, it would be too unjust.

They exchanged glances and followed behind Emperor Ninghe. No one noticed that Emperor Ninghe, who was walking at the front, quietly adjusted his cuffs.

The sunlight shone on his face, a radiant smile that also conveyed a sense of relief.

(End of this chapter)