Kezuhun Sun scrambled away in terror, rolling repeatedly. The guards behind him immediately rushed to help block the attack, but like him, many were killed and knocked from their horses by this formation. After they fell to the ground, the cavalry behind them were also affected—men and horses tumbling over each other. Their short blades couldn’t provide timely rescue, so they could only shoot arrows…
In one clash, three people on Lady Zao’s side died and three were severely wounded. Lady Zao herself was also gravely injured—the cut on her left arm was deep enough to see bone. But she merely used her blade to cut off a strip of cloth from her garment, quickly bound it, then gripped her blade with both hands and shouted loudly, “Kill!”
The remaining people reformed into groups of three and charged forward with a great shout.
Lady Zao struck down the vice commander’s head with one slash and kicked it toward Kezuhun Sun.
Kezuhun Sun was startled. Under the protection of his guards, he retreated two steps, furious beyond measure. “Kill her for me!”
“I am the Great King’s wife, the Eldest Prince’s birth mother. Let’s see who dares!” Lady Zao held her blade and shouted loudly: “If you want to pass me to pursue my son, you’ll have to step over my corpse!”
The followers with Lady Zao also shouted loudly: “Stand back, stand back!”
“A father and son quarrel, but their bloodline is connected. There will always be time for reconciliation. They are family. Do you want to interfere in the Great King’s family affairs?”
Hearing this, the guards quietly retreated.
Seeing this, Kezuhun Sun pushed aside those protecting him and stepped forward to stand opposite Lady Zao. “The Eldest Prince defied the Great King—even the heavenly gods cannot tolerate this. The Great King personally ordered the Eldest Prince killed. You’re just a deposed woman. If you step aside, I’ll spare your life. Otherwise, I’ll kill you without mercy!”
Lady Zao laughed coldly. “I am the wife my mother-in-law personally selected for the Great King. I helped him manage Shengle City, followed him from Shengle to Bingzhou, accompanied him in conquering Dai Commandery. Half of this Dai Kingdom belongs to me!”
Kezuhun Sun said sinisterly, “Save those words to tell the King of Hell in the underworld.”
With that, he launched the first attack, and both sides immediately engaged in battle.
The thirteen people were surrounded in the middle. No matter how skilled they were, under constant assault, they gradually exhausted their strength.
After half an hour, people fell one after another around her. Lady Zao finally couldn’t hold on anymore. Failing to dodge in time, she was slashed hard on her back, and her leg was also cut. With a thud, she half-knelt on the ground. All around were corpses—some her people, but more from the other side.
A follower beside her, still clinging to his last breath, slowly crawled toward her, wanting to guard her side…
Lady Zao spat out the blood in her mouth, raised her bloodied face to smile at Kezuhun Sun, and said softly: “You want to catch up to my son? Impossible now.”
Kezuhun Sun stepped forward with an ashen face, placed his blade across her neck, and sneered: “Do you think I’m the only pursuit force? The Great King sent the message by flying eagle. The soldiers ahead will also intercept him. If he wants to cross the river and return to New Pingcheng, don’t even think about it.”
Lady Zao’s eyes showed no fear, only firm belief. “I believe in my son. He has two horses.”
As soon as she finished speaking, Lady Zao finally couldn’t hold on. Her eyes slowly closed, yet they didn’t close completely, remaining half-open as they gazed ahead.
A military advisor cautiously stepped forward to check her breathing and was startled. “General, she’s dead.”
Hearing this, the follower on the ground who still had a breath of life left stopped his crawling hand. His head rested on his arm, his head drooped, and he too expired.
Everyone silently looked at the bodies fallen in the middle, lowering their eyes slightly in respect.
Even though Kezuhun Sun was angry about not completing his mission, at this moment he couldn’t help but admire their courage. After sheathing his blade, he said: “Collect their bodies and bring them back to Pingcheng.”
“Shall we stop pursuing the Eldest Prince?”
“He’s been running for so long, and with two horses per person, can we catch up? Don’t worry, there are still people ahead to block them. They can’t escape.”
Tuoba Liuxiu desperately rode toward New Pingcheng. He had inherited his father’s military talent. The wind whipped against his cheeks, making the tears on his face cold and frozen. He grew calmer and calmer, his mind increasingly clear. The incident happened suddenly, yet why did the pursuers come so quickly, and why were they all cavalry with two horses each?
It was deliberate. He deliberately had Tuoba Biyan provoke him, all to have a legitimate reason to kill him.
Then, were there checkpoints ahead?
Tuoba Liuxiu instinctively avoided thinking about his mother and the subordinates left behind. At the fork in the road ahead, he turned directly.
Those following him called out in surprise, “Eldest Prince!”
“There are defenses ahead, we’re taking a different route!”
Tuoba Liuxiu planned to take back roads, avoiding the checkpoints.
Did Tuoba Yilu think there was only one route back to New Pingcheng?
The reason he could build New Pingcheng in just two short years was because he gained the recognition of the common people on that land. Whether herdsmen or farmers, they all acknowledged him as their lord.
Tuoba Yilu had become too arrogant in recent years. He forgot that those most familiar with this land were definitely the people who had lived on it for generations.
Tuoba Liuxiu had learned about it—there was another route back to New Pingcheng, one the herdsmen commonly took to avoid government soldiers.
Kezuhun Sun brought back the bodies of Lady Zao and the others, but failed to capture Tuoba Liuxiu. This greatly angered Tuoba Yilu, who immediately summoned all his advisors and tribal representatives, denouncing Tuoba Liuxiu’s disrespect and unfilial behavior toward him, and for harming his brother. He pointed to two people and said: “You go to New Pingcheng personally and order him to come to Pingcheng to see me immediately.”
The two officials were about to comply when Sun Yan, standing nearby, expressed his opposition. He was the clan leader of the Sun clan tribe and was puzzled and dissatisfied with Tuoba Yilu’s actions. “Great King, you are departing for Luoyang the day after tomorrow. Summoning the Eldest Prince now—there isn’t enough time.”
“Have him stay confined in Pingcheng. When I return, I’ll punish him then.”
Sun Yan frowned. “His mother is dead. He’ll likely resent the Third Prince. With you absent from Pingcheng, you shouldn’t summon him at this time.”
Tuoba Yilu of course knew this, but he knew even better that at this moment, Tuoba Liuxiu definitely wouldn’t dare come.
He had already decided that on this trip to Luoyang, he would use this as an excuse to completely depose this son and then establish his younger son as heir.
Wei Xiong clearly saw his intention, sighed, and stepped forward. “Great King, although Lady Zao was deposed, she was after all the Eldest Prince’s mother and your companion for many years. Now that she has met with misfortune, she should be given a proper burial.”
His Great King had decided to show favoritism to the end. Since he couldn’t be persuaded, Wei Xiong could only try to manage the aftermath as best as possible to prevent Tuoba Yilu from attracting more resentment.
Lady Zao came from the Yinalou clan. After Tuoba Yilu used Jin people to govern the tribe and implemented Sinicization, they were called the Lou clan. So Lady Zao’s full name was Lou Zao, also called Yinalou Zao. Their tribe suffered huge losses during Tuoba Yilu’s annexation and unification, and their power grew smaller and smaller. But no matter how small, the Lou clan still had deep roots among the Xianbei people.
Xianbei women were more easily involved in politics, which was one reason why Tuoba Yilu never questioned Zhao Hanzhang proclaiming herself emperor.
Therefore, Lady Zao was highly respected among the Lou clan. Even many Xianbei tribes, because she was Tuoba Yilu’s first wife and the mother of his first child, held her in great respect and affection.
If Tuoba Yilu didn’t handle this matter well, the Xianbei tribes he had worked so hard to unify might very well split apart again.
One must know that from his first western tour to subdue various tribes and states, Lady Zao had accompanied him. The thirty-some tribal states recognized Lady Zao.
He had deposed her, but too little time had passed—the news hadn’t even been announced to all the tribes yet.
Wei Xiong hoped to use this to alert Tuoba Yilu and make him temporarily abandon his plan to deal with Tuoba Liuxiu.
But at this moment, Tuoba Yilu couldn’t even listen to Sun Yan’s straightforward advice, let alone Wei Xiong’s subtle hints.
This time, he planned to leave his second son Tuoba Pusgen in Pingcheng to defend the city. Together with his capable subordinates, even if Tuoba Liuxiu wanted to rebel, he wouldn’t be able to.
And he would take Tuoba Biyan to Luoyang.
As for his two strategists, Tuoba Yilu thought about it and still decided to take Ji Dan to Luoyang, leaving Wei Xiong to guard Pingcheng.
If it really came to a fight, with the second son’s bravery and Wei Xiong’s wisdom, Tuoba Liuxiu would be no threat.
In the end, Tuoba Yilu didn’t say how Lady Zao should be buried, but simply had her body sent to the courtyard where she used to live.
Her servants were still waiting in the courtyard for instructions.
Her deposition had been sudden, so the servants hadn’t been dealt with yet.
Because after Tuoba Yilu deposed her, he immediately drove her out. These people hadn’t had time to follow.
Only one day had passed. She had just been deposed yesterday—how could she be dead today?
The servants who had followed Lady Zao wept inconsolably. When they laid out her body, they saw she had eighteen blade wounds on her body, filling them with both anger and hatred at once.
The servants dressed her in her most beautiful clothes, adorned her with her favorite jewelry, pooled their money to buy her a better coffin, and brought along the items she commonly used.
Tuoba Yilu forbade them from mourning loudly, so they could only suppress their crying voices as they quietly carried the coffin and burial items out of the city.
The Xianbei burial grounds were organized by clan, but Lady Zao, having been deposed, could no longer be buried with the Tuoba family. They could only find a place outside the city to bury her.
The servants sold the things they had on them and pooled money to buy fifteen simple coffins. They laid out all fifteen warriors as well and buried them surrounding Lady Zao.
They placed the burial goods they had brought into the burial pit, then set a great fire to burn all the burial clothing, porcelain, wooden basins and other items before covering everything with earth.
Looking at these sixteen small mounds, the servants looked at each other, their gazes gradually becoming resolute. They silently returned to the palace together.
The palace steward calmly received them, not thinking that just because he let them leave the city they would dare to run away.
This was because Tuoba Yilu was extremely strict in controlling his subordinates and harsh in applying the law.
How harsh? Sometimes in the wilderness, if you saw people traveling with their families carrying few belongings and asked where they were going, they would tell you, “To face death!”
His application of law was so severe that when a family was sentenced to death, no one dared to flee. Instead, they had to voluntarily go to the execution grounds to accept death.
Sometimes when fighting wars and transporting grain and supplies, if one person missed the deadline, the entire tribe would be executed.
These servants obediently returned to the palace. The palace steward certainly didn’t know that their families and tribes were not in Pingcheng, but in New Pingcheng with the Eldest Prince.