From Liyang back to Jiankang, along the several hundred li route, the large and small commanderies, counties, and villages passed along the way had long lost their former peace and tranquility.

The actual warfare triggered by the Celestial Master rebellion and Xu Mi’s revolt had not yet spread to this area near the capital due to military blockades, but the originally peaceful lives of the people here had already been shattered.

The fields on both sides of the road stretched endlessly. Though it wasn’t the agricultural off-season, only scattered people could be seen working in them. At city gates, in streets and alleys, in fields, at village entrances, everywhere were groups of people discussing current affairs, all with worried faces, sighing deeply. On the roads, one could even see streams of people carrying their belongings and leading children toward Jiankang to escape—in their eyes, that city where the emperor resided must surely be impregnable.

Ever since the Celestial Master rebellion first erupted, rumors had spread continuously that the Celestial Master followers had divine protection, were invincible in battle, and unstoppable in their advance. Wherever they passed was like a locust swarm—anyone with surplus grain or wealth who showed the slightest disobedience would be disemboweled. People were already in panic, and now with Xu Mi’s rebel army added to the mix, with rumors everywhere that they would attack any day, it was like pouring oil on fire.

The closer to Jiankang, the more these rumors and the resulting fear and unrest spread.

Travelers had become extremely sensitive—any slight disturbance could make them tremble with fear.

Throughout this journey, Gao Qiao had countless times witnessed the scene of passersby who, terrified by his group, scattered and fled in all directions, only to finally stop their panicked steps after recognizing that the approaching military men were court troops.

His mood was extremely heavy.

Geographically, Jiankang had the Yangtze River as a natural barrier to the north, but when facing internal rebellion like now, it became exposed and defenseless on three sides with no terrain to hold.

This inherent disadvantage meant that once strong enemies came down the river or invaded from the heartland, it would completely lose its defensive value.

In terms of military strength, even including the previously integrated Lu clan forces, they were now completely at a disadvantage.

The rioting Celestial Master followers, according to local reports, had already involved over twenty commanderies and more than seventy counties in Yangzhou province alone, with over two hundred thousand rebels. These people, as if possessed, were incited to attack cities and seize territory in a mad frenzy. When encountering court troops sent to suppress them in battle, even several of Gao Qiao’s veteran generals who had long experienced warfare were terrified by their cruel, life-disregarding ferocity.

Their numbers continued to grow like a snowball, not to mention that now there was also Xu Mi’s rebel army.

Though the offensive of the Xuan City rebels had been temporarily suppressed, giving Jiankang a breathing space, this was merely a breathing space and nothing more.

Gao Qiao knew in his heart that what he faced next would be an even more difficult battle.

Against the rebel army from Jingzhou, Wuchang Commandery couldn’t hold out much longer. In that direction, the forces he could allocate for reinforcement were also limited. Complete defensive deployment was an utterly unrealistic fantasy.

He had chosen to place heavy defenses further downstream around Wangjiang Commandery, hoping to use the solid city defenses and terrain to maximally block the rebels’ advance toward Jiankang.

Regarding Jiankang, he had already made a decision.

Making such a decision was an extremely difficult process for him.

But he knew in his heart that given the coordination between Xu Mi’s rebels and the Celestial Master sect, and considering the passive situation the Guangling Army currently found itself in, such arrangements were completely necessary.

Knowing that Jiankang had absolutely no defensive terrain, rather than holding onto false hopes and remaining motionless, only to face an uncontrollable situation at the end, it was better to plan ahead and retreat strategically to gain more time and opportunities for this inevitable defensive battle.

He could not possibly place all his hopes on reinforcements.

Although upon learning that Xu Mi had also taken advantage of the chaos to attack Jiankang, he immediately realized the severity of the situation and sent urgent summons to Li Mu, who was still far away in Longxi.

But he wasn’t certain whether Li Mu would immediately respond and return.

He knew Li Mu’s situation in Longxi was excellent. Once Longxi was secured, taking advantage of high morale to advance through the passes in one stroke and secure Luoyang—such temptation, compared to responding to the summons and making a long march back to aid Jiankang, especially when the court’s control over officials wielding real power could be ignored, would require serious consideration even for someone in his position, let alone for an external minister of Li Mu’s special status.

What more for him.

Frankly speaking, Gao Qiao still found his son-in-law’s thoughts somewhat unfathomable.

So he dared not base his hopes of defending Jiankang on rescue.

No matter how outnumbered, Gao Qiao would not easily abandon this capital of the Southern Dynasty.

But before that, he needed to arrange everything so he could do this without any worries.

He had not slept properly for several days and nights. Riding on horseback, his eyes, already too sore to blink smoothly, were blown by the oncoming wind until they nearly teared up.

He was clearly exhausted to the extreme, but his entire being was controlled from inside out by a tense emotion, making him completely unable to feel any fatigue from his body.

On the third day after the Battle of Liyang ended, at noon, Gao Qiao’s group finally returned to Jiankang.

He spurred his horse through the southern gate of Jiankang.

He hadn’t worn battle armor for many years. The people of Jiankang were also more accustomed to their Lord Gao’s scholarly demeanor in white robes. So when they first saw him riding into the city, nearby people didn’t recognize him and only looked with somewhat bewildered, uneasy gazes at this group who seemed to have just returned from battle.

“It’s Lord Gao! Lord Gao has returned!”

Suddenly, a voice rang out.

The surrounding people finally recognized him too and became excited, calling his name as they surged toward him.

A commotion arose near the southern gate.

The worry and fear in their eyes about Jiankang’s uncertain tomorrow, born from the terrifying rumors filling the air, all disappeared at the moment they saw the armored Gao Qiao suddenly appear before them.

In their place came excitement and agitation full of trust and dependence.

For the first time in his life, Gao Qiao dared not directly face this kind of gaze that Jiankang’s people cast upon him.

He suppressed the surge of guilt in his heart, suddenly spurred his horse, leaving behind the crowd following him. When he reached the crossroads leading separately to the imperial palace and his home, he hesitated briefly, then headed toward the palace.

He entered the imperial palace directly without obstruction. Palace servants who saw him showed expressions of immense gratitude, as if seeing a savior, nearly crying: “Lord Gao, you’ve returned! His Majesty has been waiting for you day after day these past days—”

“Your Majesty! Your Majesty! Lord Gao has returned!”

The palace servants seemed to forget even palace rules, leading Gao Qiao hurriedly inside. Before reaching the hall, they were already running toward the interior.

Accompanied by a rush of hurried footsteps, Gao Qiao looked up to see a figure emerge from behind the curtains of the inner hall, running urgently toward him.

“Minister! You’ve finally returned!”

The young emperor looked as if he had fallen ill, his face waxen yellow and his eyes swollen.

He had lost his usual elegant demeanor. Running to Gao Qiao’s front, just as Gao Qiao was about to bow to him, he reached out and grasped his sleeve.

“Throughout the city there are rumors that the rebels and Celestial Master sect are about to attack Jiankang! Ministers have memorialized that though Liyang was defended, it probably won’t last long. They want me to leave the palace in case Jiankang falls!”

“Lord Gao, what do you think should be done?”

Gao Qiao stared at this emperor who was questioning him.

In the emperor’s eyes, he saw a gaze full of eager anxiety emanating from his heart.

In the depths of his heart, a sense of powerlessness suddenly surged.

These days of battle and rushing about, all that accumulated fatigue seemed to suddenly assault him in this moment.

He remained silent for a time, not responding.

“Minister, wait, let me get those memorials for you to see!”

The emperor’s elegantly maintained, slender fingers released Gao Qiao’s armored sleeve and he turned around, hurrying to fetch the memorials.

“Your Majesty!”

Another voice suddenly came from behind the hall, seeming to carry a hint of hidden displeasure.

The emperor turned back, saw Gao Yongrong approaching, hesitated briefly, and finally stopped.

Gao Yongrong prevented the emperor’s action and hurried to Gao Qiao’s front.

“Uncle, I just heard that in the Battle of Liyang, Uncle repelled the rebels. Is Uncle well?”

Gao Qiao’s gaze slowly moved from the emperor to his niece’s face, watching her.

“I’m fine.”

He said after a moment.

Gao Yongrong breathed a sigh of relief and said gratefully: “Everything depends on Uncle turning the tide and protecting Jiankang. Otherwise, if the Xuan City rebels had attacked, who knows what state this place would be in now. These past days, with Uncle absent, ministers daily memorialized that Jiankang was indefensible, advising His Majesty to temporarily relocate. His Majesty was frightened by the officials’ warnings, which caused his loss of composure. Whether to leave or stay, everything follows Uncle’s words.”

Gao Qiao steadied himself and looked again at the emperor, his expression having returned to his usual calm composure.

“Jiankang is the imperial capital, and this minister will swear to defend it to the death. The ministers’ concerns are not without reason. This minister returned precisely for this matter. For the sake of security, Your Majesty may first move to Qu’a. The terrain there is defensible, the city defenses are solid—it’s a safe place. This minister will send people to escort Your Majesty, with Lu Jianzhi providing support. Your Majesty can be at ease.”

The emperor breathed a complete sigh of relief.

At this moment, his feelings could be described as overjoyed beyond expectation.

Transforming from the pampered, carefree Prince Dongyang into this nation’s emperor still felt like a dream to him.

Compared to being emperor now, the enjoyment he could have was actually not much more than when he was Prince Dongyang. On the contrary, he had to constantly listen to Gao Qiao’s earnest admonitions, which made him feel extremely mentally exhausted.

He had already been terrified by the menacing rebels and rumors from all sides.

He had thought Gao Qiao would firmly oppose his leaving Jiankang and insist he stay to share Jiankang’s fate. He hadn’t expected that Gao Qiao had already prepared an escape route for him.

He was simply overwhelmed with gratitude. If Gao Yongrong hadn’t been standing nearby, he would have grasped Gao Qiao’s hands and shed tears of gratitude.

Gao Yongrong said: “Uncle, for the sake of state dignity, His Majesty may leave first. If Uncle has need, your niece and the Crown Prince can remain in Jiankang with Uncle, sharing Jiankang’s fate!”

Gao Qiao shook his head slightly: “That’s unnecessary. You should all leave. I’ll stay, that’s enough. I’ll also arrange for the city’s residents to evacuate.”

“Uncle—”

Gao Yongrong seemed about to persuade him further.

Gao Qiao waved his hand: “You and His Majesty prepare first. Once I’ve made arrangements, you can leave.”

He left the palace and headed toward the Gao family residence with hurried steps.