HomeEchoes of YouthChapter 791: Retreat

Chapter 791: Retreat

Son of Prince Su?

This news struck like a thunderbolt thrown into the crowd.

The noble ministers all stared at Jiang Yuanchao with shocked faces.

Under the lamplight, the young man in vermilion robes stood tall and elegant, his lips still carrying that spring-breeze-like smile that made people feel at ease, yet that very smile now sent chills down their spines.

“We are all descendants of the founding emperor. Back then, the founding emperor originally intended to pass the throne to my father, Prince Su. It was Empress Dowager Yang and Emperor Mingkang who used underhanded methods to seize the throne. Now that I’m taking the throne back, how can Chief Minister Xu say I’m rebelling?”

“Bah! You’re a treacherous subject and rebel, remnant of Prince Su, and now you dare to masquerade as legitimate, utterly shameless! As long as we are here, don’t even think about usurping the realm with any semblance of righteousness!” Chief Minister Xu raged.

Jiang Yuanchao curved his lips in a smile: “Since that’s the case, then let’s just kill them all.”

As his words fell, he swiftly drew his bow and nocked an arrow, sending a sharp arrow flying straight toward Chief Minister Xu’s face.

“Chief Minister, be careful—” The noble ministers all cried out in alarm.

With a clang, the flying arrow was deflected and flew off at an angle, embedding itself in a nearby tree trunk.

Shao Mingyuan withdrew his hand and smiled at Jiang Yuanchao: “What kind of performance is Commander Jiang putting on?”

His gaze swept over Qiao Zhao beside Shao Mingyuan, and Jiang Yuanchao smiled calmly: “That the Marquis could wait until this moment to make a move truly surprises me.”

Chief Minister Xu looked at Shao Mingyuan with gratitude in his eyes.

If not for Marquis Guanjun deflecting that arrow just now, he would already be a corpse at this moment.

“That Commander Jiang could endure until today to reveal his identity equally surprises me.”

Jiang Yuanchao burst into laughter: “If I hadn’t endured until today, how could I have achieved such an excellent situation?”

At these words, everyone present felt their hearts sink completely.

If Jiang Yuanchao truly was Prince Su’s son, then his calculations were indeed masterful—first inducing the two princes to engage in fierce battle, then using the pretext of eliminating rebel factions to ruthlessly exterminate the Yulin Guards. Now the Yulin Guards were decimated, the Inner Drill Army had few left, the Jinwu Guards were severely damaged, and the Jinlin Guards, after suffering losses, had split into two factions…

At this moment, those disguised as mountain villagers—the remnants of Prince Su’s faction—launched their attack, truly occupying every advantage of timing, terrain, and popular support. It seemed Great Liang’s realm was about to change hands.

“You’re lying!” Prince Rui stopped and hid behind Jinwu Guard Commander Wang Haitao, shouting: “When Prince Su was defeated and executed years ago, not a single son or daughter survived—they were all beheaded! Now you claim to be Prince Su’s son, but you’re just finding an excuse to rebel!”

Jiang Yuanchao chuckled: “Don’t be anxious, Your Highness. Once you become a prisoner, I will naturally prove my identity to the world!”

As several men exchanged words, the fighting hadn’t stopped. An arrow from some unknown location flew toward Jinwu Guard Commander Wang Haitao.

Wang Haitao pulled Prince Rui and narrowly avoided it, instantly breaking into a cold sweat.

This couldn’t continue—with blades and arrows flying everywhere, if anything happened to the prince, everything would be finished.

In his extreme anxiety, Wang Haitao suddenly spotted Shao Mingyuan, his eyes immediately lighting up as he called out loudly: “Marquis, your martial arts are unparalleled! I entrust the prince’s safety to you. I’ll lead the Jinwu Guards to hold off these treacherous rebels!”

Shao Mingyuan protected Qiao Zhao and instructed his guards: “Escort the prince over here.”

“Yes.” Several personal guards broke through the forest of spears and rain of arrows, protecting Prince Rui as he fled toward them.

Prince Rui’s face had long turned ashen. When he reached Shao Mingyuan’s side, he grasped him like a drowning man clutching a lifeline, desperately gripping his sleeve: “Marquis, what do we do now?”

Shao Mingyuan pulled his sleeve free and calmly consoled: “Your Highness, please remain calm. This minister will immediately escort you back to your residence.”

Emperor Mingkang’s residence had already been breached, and staying here was extremely dangerous. Within the entire traveling palace, only the residences of Prince Rui and Prince Mu were second to this place in terms of defenses—retreating there would at least allow them to hold out for some time.

“Good, good, this prince will listen to the Marquis in everything.” Prince Rui nodded repeatedly, completely without any ideas of his own.

Prince Rui’s performance caught the eye of some ministers, who couldn’t help but sigh inwardly.

The prince acting like this didn’t have the bearing of a sovereign.

Forget it—at this moment, whether they could preserve their lives was still unknown, so where was the time to think about other matters?

Jinwu Guard Commander Wang Haitao led the guards in a desperate defense at the front. Seeing Marquis Guanjun leading his guards while protecting Prince Rui in retreat, the noble ministers hurriedly followed.

Many stray arrows flew through gaps, and during the retreat process, people were constantly struck by arrows, then cried out in agony as they fell to the ground. Those behind would run past the fallen, sometimes accidentally stepping on their bodies.

These people who had once been precious nobles were now no different from refugees, displaying complete wretchedness in the face of life and death.

As the gates of Prince Rui’s courtyard were closed, those who had followed inside breathed heavily with relief, but hearing the sounds of slaughter drawing ever closer, their hearts were suspended once again.

Like Prince Mu, Prince Rui hadn’t brought any household troops when accompanying Emperor Mingkang on this journey, and even his attendants had been streamlined. Now they all stood trembling in the courtyard, looking completely at a loss.

While Marquis Guanjun was indeed unparalleled in martial arts and renowned throughout the realm, he had only brought a dozen or so personal guards on this trip.

How could these dozen men possibly withstand the rebellious Jinlin Guards and the rebel party?

“Those rebels must number over a thousand, right?” one minister said uneasily.

“More than that—I saw them stretching black across the mountains and plains, probably tens of thousands!” another person said with a terrified expression.

Prince Rui’s legs went weak upon hearing this, and he repeatedly wiped his sweat while asking Shao Mingyuan, “Marquis, what do we do? Your men—”

Speaking to this point, Prince Rui swallowed the rest of his words.

His private request for Marquis Guanjun to summon reinforcements naturally couldn’t be spoken of under these circumstances.

“Your Highness, please go inside first. This minister will have the personal guards keep watch outside and report immediately if there are any developments.”

“Good, Marquis, please come inside with this prince.” At this moment, Prince Rui felt uneasy following anyone else—only following Marquis Guanjun gave him some peace of mind.

He wanted to grab Marquis Guanjun’s sleeve again.

Shao Mingyuan nodded, called Shao Zhi over to give some instructions, then brought Qiao Zhao inside.

“Marquis, let the Marquis’s wife go speak with her sister,” Prince Rui suggested, seeing that Qiao Zhao wouldn’t leave Shao Mingyuan’s side.

Shao Mingyuan glanced at Qiao Zhao: “That’s not necessary. With such chaos outside now, my wife should stay by my side.”

“Ah, the Marquis is quite right.” Prince Rui quickly changed the subject: “Who would have thought Jiang Yuanchao was a remnant of Prince Su? Our forces have suffered massive losses after two days of battle and probably can’t hold out much longer. Those people will soon break through to here. Marquis, approximately when will the troops from Shanhai Pass arrive?”

“This minister instructed them to come at the fastest possible speed, but since we lack the tiger tally and the secret message used by Your Highness and this minister’s private seals, I’m afraid there will be some delay in time—”

Upon hearing this, Prince Rui couldn’t help but pull at his hair: “The Marquis has led them for so many years, yet they still don’t recognize you?”

Shao Mingyuan smiled: “This is only because Your Highness’s private seal is included. If it were only this minister’s private seal, I’m afraid not a single soldier could be mobilized.”

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