Their crown prince truly deserves to be called a dragon among men... They all shouted loudly, and several soldiers stepped forward to restrain the seriously injured and unconscious Su Xijue and headed towards the military camp in the Demon Capital.
"Master..." The wind, rain, thunder, and lightning on the city wall shouted as they saw Su Xijue seriously injured and unconscious. Their eyes were red and their veins were bulging.
"Soldiers, our commander has been captured. If any of you are willing, please join us in battle to rescue him. We will not force you."
Suddenly, Feng turned around and glanced at the routed Fandu soldiers. He hated Su Beili to the core. If Su Beili hadn't been withholding military pay and rations, Fandu would never have been defeated, and Su Xijue would never have been defeated and taken prisoner by Murong Fanghua.
The soldiers, who had just returned from the battlefield, looked at each other and shook their heads.
They were lucky to have survived; since everyone was unkind to them, they couldn't be blamed for being unjust.
The wind roared, preparing to charge into the Shanghai camp alone.
"Feng, calm down. You're no match for Murong Fanghua. Our master is in grave danger; we can't act recklessly. We should devise a foolproof plan to rescue him."
Calm down, Lei pulled back the impulsive wind and roared.
That's right, Lei is right. Feng looked up and closed his eyes. After a long while, he slowly lowered his head and looked at Lei, who was holding him.
"That bastard Su Beili, once we rescue our master, I'll definitely cripple him!"
He gritted his teeth and stormed off.
"wind……"
Rain, Thunder, and the others followed closely behind, fearing that Wind might do something impulsive.
Inside the imperial palace, Su Beili sat firmly on the dragon throne, looking down at the civil and military officials in the court.
"Speak if you have something to report; otherwise, the court may adjourn."
Seeing that no one spoke, the eunuch next to him shouted in a high-pitched voice.
"Report..."
A shout rang out into the hall, and immediately a soldier rushed in and knelt down on the ground.
"explain"
Su Beili looked at the flustered soldiers and slowly began to speak.
"Your Majesty, the situation on the border is critical. This morning, the Demon Capital launched a major attack on our capital. The Third Prince was captured by the Demon Capital's commander, Crown Prince Murong. One hundred thousand soldiers were killed in action, and many more have deserted. Now, only thirty thousand troops remain on the entire border, and supplies and pay have not been provided. The soldiers are now in complete disarray."
The soldier, who had rushed back on horseback, said anxiously.
"What did you say? It's true..."
Su Beili immediately stood up, slamming his hands on the armrests of the dragon throne, his dragon eyes wide open. Su Xijue had actually been defeated and taken prisoner by the Demon Capital—it was truly humiliating, but even more worrying. With the God of War defeated, morale was wavering; wouldn't Fandu become easy prey for the Demon Capital…
"Your Majesty, what I just said is absolutely true."
The soldier knelt down in fear, trembling.
"Step back."
Su Beili waved his hand, and the soldiers who had entered quickly withdrew from the main hall. Su Beili slowly sat down, looked at the civil and military officials, and asked angrily.
"The one in charge of military pay and provisions should be Lord Jing Rizhao..."
Su Beili looked down at Jing Rizhao with a sinister expression.
"This old minister is here," Jing Rizhao said, walking to the center in a panic and kneeling down.
"The national treasury has no shortage of military rations and pay, so why is there a shortage of military rations on the frontier, leading to a collapse in morale and defeat at the hands of Shanghai?"
Every word seemed to carry an aggression, making Jing Rizhao somewhat apprehensive, yet he still replied tremblingly.
"Your Majesty, it was you who reviewed the memorial. My authority is limited to the distribution of one million dan of military rations. With 300,000 troops on the frontier, one million dan of rations would have been insufficient long ago if they were there for a month. I have requested permission many times, but you have repeatedly refused, saying that we should postpone it."
Jing Rizhao didn't hold back at all, and poured out all the bitterness that had been bottled up in his heart for many days.
"Outrageous! When did I ever say such a thing? This is outrageous! Guards! Jing Rizhao has deceived the emperor and embezzled military rations. Drag him out and execute him!"
Su Beili shouted loudly, and two guards rushed in from outside the hall, dragging the kneeling Jing Rizhao out.
"Your Majesty, this old minister is innocent! I have the memorials you have reviewed here; you will understand once you have read them."
Jing Rizhao shouted loudly, pulled out several memorials from his sleeve, and threw them forcefully in Su Beili's direction.
In the imperial court, no one stepped forward to mediate.
He glanced at the memorial that Jing Rizhao had tossed to him.
"Wait... Xiao Dezi, pick up the memorial and let me review it."
Seeing Jing Rizhao's wronged expression, Su Beili spoke, and the guards stopped, waiting for Su Beili's next command.
Su Beili's face grew increasingly dark. Someone had altered his memorial; it was truly outrageous! The handwriting was so similar to his own. Only one person was allowed into the imperial study. Considering the emperor's dignity, he couldn't disregard it...
"The audacious Jing Rizhao dared to alter a memorial without authorization. His entire clan shall be exterminated, and he shall be executed by slow slicing."
After finishing speaking, Su Beili picked up the memorial and stormed off in a huff.
Regardless of guilt or innocence, if the ruler commands the subject to die, how can the subject refuse?
Su Beili stormed into Jingyuan Palace, into Jing Lian'er's bedroom.
"Consort Jing, Consort Jing..."
Looking at the empty hall, Su Beili slammed his fist hard against a pillar.
"Xiao Dezi, immediately issue a notice to arrest the thieving woman Jing Lian'er and strip her of her title of Consort Jing, quickly..."
He shouted loudly as he watched Xiao Dezi follow closely behind.
This is outrageous! The emperor of the capital city has been outmaneuvered by a woman! This is intolerable!
On second thought, the border war was urgent, and as the emperor, he had to protect his country and hold onto the throne he had fought so hard to win.
They decided to set off the next day, reorganize the 150,000-strong army, and march north.
This time, supplies were sent first, and soldiers arrived later!
☆、143
On the frontier, within a dilapidated city.
Amidst wind, rain, thunder, and lightning, several people discussed a plan to rescue Su Xijue.
Wu Liuyin, Xia Zhiheng, and Nalan Ruo stood on the battlefield, where corpses lay strewn across the land and blood flowed like rivers.
Throughout history, countless soldiers have died on the battlefield, proving the old saying: "The lives of ordinary people are cheap and worthless."
Nalan Ruo sighed and said.
Wu Liuyin looked at the scene before her without being moved in the slightest.
"There was just a battle here; it must have been a major conflict between Shanghai and the mortal realm."
Xia Zhiheng nodded and said.
"Judging from this situation, they've all suffered a crushing defeat."
Nalan Ruo continued Xia Zhiheng's words, and the two echoed each other. Wu Liuyin remained silent for a long time.
A sense of worry crept into my heart: Would Su Xijue go to the battlefield? Was he injured?
Looking at the dilapidated city, one of his clones had already stepped over the city wall and entered the city.
"Liuyin..."
"benefactor……"
The two shouted and followed suit.
Wu Liuyin walked along the main road, looking at the sighing common people and the soldiers who had lost their will to fight. On both sides of the road, there were also drunken people waiting to die.
I can't help but sigh, when did Fandu become like this!
She immediately began searching the city for the person she wanted to see.
"Third Imperial Consort?" A sudden shout made Wu Liuyin stop in her tracks and look at the people on the opposite street.
"Yu, where is your third prince?"
"I asked, my tone seemingly tinged with anxiety."
"Master...Master has been captured by Murong Fanghua," Yu said hesitantly.
"How could that be? Your master's martial arts skills should be no less than Murong Fanghua's."
Mai Ryune asked, somewhat incredulously, her face full of disbelief!
"Having been on the frontier for several days, no one in the military camp has had a proper meal. That bastard Su Beili has been withholding military rations and pay, dragging it out until the morale of the troops has collapsed. Our master has been anxious day and night about the issue of military rations and pay. In addition, the frequent invasions by the Demon Capital have left the soldiers of Fandu completely vulnerable after several battles. Our master is also exhausted. When he fought against Murong Fanghua, he was defeated and taken back to the Demon Capital by Murong Fanghua."
As Yu spoke, her face shifted from anger to worry and sadness, her emotions fluctuating greatly.
Wu Liuyin didn't speak, and Xia Zhiheng and Nalan Ruo followed.
Wu Liuyin glanced at Xia Zhiheng and asked, "How many men can you gather right now?"
Xia Zhiheng looked up at Wu Liuyin and immediately replied, "Reporting to my benefactor, Zhiheng can gather about ten thousand men. Adding the people in the Bloodthirsty Hall, the total is approximately fifteen thousand."
"Alright, go and gather your men immediately, and get them all here within three days. I'll be waiting for you here."
Wu Liuyin spoke resolutely. Xia Zhiheng did not say much. He turned around, leaped onto the city wall, and disappeared into the city in a few moments.
"Rain, immediately gather all the soldiers, reorganize the troops, and settle my grandfather in. He will wait for me for three days."
After speaking, Wu Liuyin ignored Yu's reply and immediately took flight, disappearing from the city and rushing towards the Demon Capital Camp.
"Xijue, you must be alright!" Wu Liuyin silently prayed in her heart.
With just one belief, Wu Liuyin was willing to give everything, even her life! She had already given her heart and soul to Su Xijue, so in this life, she would belong to Su Xijue whether she died or lived!