0p0 Chapter 411 Wen Yanzhao Returns to Xueyue, Listening to the Argument Between Aunt and Nephew Regardi
Chapter 411 Wen Yanzhao Returns to Xueyue, Listening to the Argument Between Aunt and Nephew Regardi
After traveling for two days and one night, Wen Yanzhao finally caught sight of Xueyue City.
Four or five miles outside the city walls was a relatively flat mountain valley, where the Pofeng Army had temporarily set up their camp.
From afar, Wen Yanzhao could see his uncle Baili Chengfeng training his troops. The horses were different from the red-clad, gold-armored soldiers of the Pofeng Army; most of them wore dark blue armor.
It is obvious that these were all soldiers who surrendered in Yunzhou after this battle.
What puzzled Wen Yanzhao was that the camp was overflowing with people before he left, and with the surrendered soldiers from Yunzhou, there were as many as 30,000 to 40,000 people.
But upon returning this time, it seems that less than half remain, and most of them are Yunzhou soldiers in dark blue armor.
Wen Yanzhao searched the camp for a long time, finding only his uncle and the two deputy generals, Chen and Sheng. He did not see Marquis Baili Luochen of Zhenxi. He gazed at the military camp below and pondered for a long time:
'Where's Grandpa Baili? Wait a minute! Where did the original Pofeng Army go? Could it be that Grandpa Baili led his troops to Yunzhou City? Hmm… I'll go down and find out first!'
As Baili Chengfeng was training his horses, he felt a gust of wind sweep past his head. He instinctively looked up and saw a slender figure suddenly land at the feet of his warhorse.
"Uncle, I'm back!"
Upon seeing that it was Wen Yanzhao, Baili Chengfeng breathed a sigh of relief, dismounted, and patted him hard on the shoulder:
"You brat, you scared your uncle half to death! I thought some kind of deity dared to trespass into the Broken Wind Army's camp. Luckily you're fast enough, or I would have drawn my sword!"
Wen Yanzhao chuckled, scratched his head, and said:
"Look at what you're saying. Besides your nephew, who else would dare to swagger into your uncle's military camp like this? I guess only Xiao Baili would dare to be so presumptuous in front of you."
Baili Chengfeng handed over military affairs to his adjutant beside him and pointed to the military tent in the middle:
"Let's not talk about that little rascal. How did Zhao'er handle things this time? There are too many people around here, let's go to the main tent with Uncle to talk in detail."
Wen Yanzhao nodded and followed Baili Chengfeng into the main tent.
"Just as Grandpa Baili predicted! The Emperor completely ignored Lu Ting'en's plan. When he heard Lu Ting'en mention his uncle's gentleman's agreement with him, the old emperor became even angrier!"
Hey, guess what? Xiao Chongjing started cursing at Lu Ting'en... calling him an idiot and a moron for ages! Wait, I heard it all outside the Azure Dragon Gate!
Wen Yanzhao shook his wine gourd, moistened his throat, and said with a rather exaggerated expression.
Baili Chengfeng couldn't help but laugh at his nephew's vivid description:
"Oh? Emperor Tai'an is known for never showing his emotions, something my grandfather Dongjun and I have both experienced firsthand. How could Lu Ting'en alone make him so angry? Unusual, truly unusual..."
Wen Yanzhao put down his wine gourd, pulled up a leather stool, plopped down in front of the general's table, and said in a low, mysterious voice:
"That's not the most important thing. I have some very good news to tell you..."
As he spoke, he mysteriously beckoned to Baili Chengfeng. Baili Chengfeng hesitated for a moment, but still leaned in.
Wen Yanzhao lowered his voice, his tone full of schadenfreude:
"Xiao Chongjing is probably not long for this world!"
Baili Chengfeng was not surprised, and simply replied:
"Oh, that's it... The old man has committed so many evils, it's his good fortune that he's still alive! When I heard the good news, I thought you had killed him on the spot in Pingqing Palace!"
Wen Yanzhao was somewhat disappointed, shrugged, and sat back down.
"Uncle, you're wrong. Xiao Chongjing can die of illness, he can die of anger, or even be killed by Ye Dingzhi in the name of revenge, but he cannot die by our hands!"
Baili Chengfeng was somewhat puzzled and asked with a frown:
"Oh? Why can't he die by our hand? You know he sent Zhuo Luo to the Marquis's mansion last year to demand an explanation, and he even wanted to send me and the old man to the capital for questioning. I've been holding back this long!"
Wen Yanzhao nodded affirmatively: "Xiao Chongjing has always been wary of the Marquis's 100,000-strong Pofeng Army, and he also feels like he has a thorn in his side when he sees Grandpa Baili. He always wants to get rid of him as soon as possible. Not to mention, when Dongjun first went to Tianqi City, he tried to kill Dongjun several times..."
"Even so, we can rebel against him, we can seize his empire, we can even take his throne, but we must never take his life!"
Baili Chengfeng was even more puzzled upon hearing this, and looked at the serious-looking Wen Yanzhao.
"Hehe... What you're saying is quite philosophical. Come, come... Uncle is all ears. Listen to your reasons for not killing the dog emperor!"
Wen Yanzhao sat up straight and said seriously:
"Xiao Yi, the ancestor of the Xiao family, rose from humble beginnings and, amidst the chaos of war, single-handedly established the Northern Li Empire with only a three-foot sword, truly deserving the title of a great ruler!"
"The dynasty passed down through five generations to Xiao Chongjing. Although the first few generations did not achieve great things, they allowed the people to recuperate and live in peace. Therefore, the people generally supported the rule of Beili. However, it gradually began to decline during the reign of Emperor Tai'an."
Upon hearing Wen Yanzhao's words, Baili Chengfeng couldn't help but blurt out:
"Indeed, among the previous emperors, there were those who expanded the territory and those who maintained the status quo and revived it. But in Xiao Chongjing's reign, not only did he achieve nothing, but the people of Beili also suffered more and more!"
"In earlier years, even ordinary people in border prefectures and counties had millet to cook every day, and could buy wine and meat during festivals. But what about in recent years? Apart from a few prosperous places like Jiangnan and Guanzhong, most prefectures and counties have been plagued by disasters and have repeatedly needed the imperial court to provide relief..."
"But the closer it gets to disaster relief, the more miscellaneous officials in the court use the name of disaster relief to engage in embezzlement!"
Leaving aside other places, when you were twelve years old, Lingnan Yuezhou first suffered a severe drought, followed by a locust plague that blotted out the sky. At that time, your aunt was worried about your father-in-law's family, so she led a group of people and transported several cartloads of grain back to her parents' home..."
"Who would have thought that upon arriving in Lingnan, they would witness the Lingnan Prefect's servants taking advantage of the disaster to forcibly buy the land from the disaster victims at one-fifth of the usual price. Your aunt couldn't stand it and beat that beast, which led to the Lingnan Prefect reporting her to our home. In the end, it was only through a personal letter from the old man that the matter was settled..."
"Alas... Although my uncle is not well-educated, the sage said, 'The blessings of a virtuous man will last for five generations!' The Northern Li dynasty has been in existence for five generations. Heh, isn't this a case of fulfilling a prophecy?"
Wen Yanzhao knew that his uncle had followed Baili Luochen in battles from childhood, and was a staunch and upright man who hated evil. He was deeply moved by his uncle's heartfelt words.
“What my uncle said is what any person with a conscience in the world would say. Although I am younger, I have long seen through the corruption and decadence of the Tai'an Dynasty. So ever since Zhuo Luo came to Qian Dong City to issue the decree, I have been wholeheartedly working with my uncle and Grandpa Baili to overthrow Xiao Chongjing…”
"But then again, although Xiao Chongjing is incompetent, he is still a direct descendant of Emperor Tianwu, Xiao Yi. If he dies of illness or anger, it's Heaven's will to take him! If he is killed by Ye Yu's only son, it's the cycle of gratitude and retribution, and he deserves his punishment!"
“But we cannot take his life. If we do, it will be considered regicide to the people. The throne may be changed, but the emperor cannot be murdered. My uncle should understand this principle better than I do!”
……