With the military rations burned, it was already a problem for the 100,000-strong Xirong army to feed themselves, not to mention going into battle to kill the enemy and capture cities. By now, the Xirong military camp was in complete chaos.
"Third Prince, an imperial order has come from the royal court. Winter is approaching, and the food in the royal court has to be reserved for the winter. I'm afraid they won't be able to spare any for us."
"Third Prince, something bad has happened! General Kule of the Dayue Tribe has taken his 100,000 troops away."
"Your Highness, Prince Bu'er of the Futu Tribe has also taken all his men... all of them away."
...
The mighty 100,000-strong army had turned into a mess because of a fire. The Third Prince Tuotuo'er's dream of restoring the prestige of the royal court had also completely turned into a joke because of this fire.
Yuheng Pass
"The granary has been burned, and winter is coming soon. It's impossible for the Xirong to cause any more trouble."
One day, after a whole night's rest, Su Anhe was still extremely excited, seemingly savoring the battle of the previous night. "We owe this victory over the Xirong to His Highness the King of Jing."
Saying this, he bent down to pay his respects, but was stopped halfway by Shang Luoshu. "I just said a few words. The actual action still depends on Captain Su and your soldiers."
Su Anhe clearly disagreed with this statement and was about to decline when the man changed the topic.
"By the way, Captain Su, now that the Xirong is no longer a threat, they probably won't be able to stir up any trouble before this winter is over. But please don't let your guard down."
"Your Highness, please rest assured. I understand."
Shang Luoshu nodded. After getting along for these few days, he knew that Su Anhe was not the kind of person who would become complacent because of a little victory. With him at Yuheng Pass, he could feel at ease.
"With your words, Captain Su, I can set off with peace of mind."
Seeing that he stood there in a daze without saying a word, Shang Luoshu continued, "I came to Yuheng Pass this time with the intention of solving the Xirong problem. Now that the problem is solved, it's only natural for me to leave."
Su Anhe didn't try to persuade him to stay because he suddenly remembered that the King of Jing's face seemed a bit off before leaving the pass yesterday. At that time, he was preoccupied with the Xirong and didn't pay much attention. Now that he thought about it, the king's eagerness to leave might be related to this.
Not daring to delve deeper into the reason, he immediately replied, "I'll arrange for your departure right away."
The Capital
The young emperor didn't attend court again today. Prime Minister Lu, who was always good-tempered, flew into a rage in the court, startling everyone. They couldn't understand why the prime minister was suddenly so angry.
Shang Mozheng had already been executed. The emperor was only in his early twenties, and having suddenly solved such a big problem, it was understandable that he was too playful to attend court. Apparently, they didn't know what kind of forces were hidden behind this former regent king.
But they would all know by afternoon.
No one knew where the news came from, but suddenly some so-called insiders emerged among the common people. They claimed with certainty that the 200,000 troops of the former regent king were approaching the capital and urged everyone to pack up their things and prepare to flee.
As everyone knew, Shang Mozheng had long been imprisoned in the imperial prison, in a separate cell, and guarded by the Jinwu Guards beside the emperor. With such tight security, even if he had wings, he couldn't fly out. How could he possibly lead troops to approach the capital?
Naturally, hardly anyone believed this news when it first came out.
But as more and more people swore that the news was absolutely true, and some even dared to swear an oath, the common people who had firmly believed it was impossible began to waver a little.
But no one had expected that the first to be completely shaken would be the court officials.
They had also heard the news that Shang Mozheng's army was approaching the capital. At first, they didn't want to believe it, but seeing that the news was spreading so vividly outside, they finally couldn't sit still. They all came to Prime Minister Lu's mansion to ask for an explanation.
After Shang Mozheng was arrested, Prime Minister Lu was a close official of the emperor. He must know more news than others.
The panic outside had nothing to do with Shang Mozheng. He was still leaning casually against the prison wall, humming a tune contentedly. He didn't look like a prisoner at all.
At this time, one of the jailers inside finally seemed unable to stand it anymore. He strode angrily up to him and then roared, "Stop humming! It's so noisy!"
The sound echoed in the empty cell, so no one noticed the deliberately lowered voice that the jailer followed with, "Your Highness, we'll act at midnight tonight."
The humming stopped. Shang Mozheng lowered his eyes and then casually glanced at the door, his eyes full of coldness. The jailer seemed to be startled by his look and retreated back to his original position dejectedly.
Seeing this, the other jailers stepped forward to comfort him one after another. "Why do you care about him? He was at least a prince before he came in."
"Got it. I won't next time."
He lowered his head and pretended to answer awkwardly. No one noticed the mocking smile on his lips.
A bunch of idiots!
The night was as black as ink, and the time was gradually approaching midnight. As the saying goes, it's the time for murder and arson on a dark and stormy night. It was probably like this.
The palace gates had been locked. Without special orders, no one was allowed to knock on the palace gates at night. Otherwise, it would be a great crime comparable to treason. However, tonight, at a quarter past midnight, the heavy palace gates were knocked on by a man covered in blood.
Prime Minister Zhang would never have thought that one day he would be threatened in his own home by an outsider.
At this moment, he was being forced to sit on a round stool in the room. He was only wearing a thin undergarment. His wife, who had shared the same bed with him, had already been knocked unconscious on the bed.
"Sir, as long as you don't harm my wife and me, you can take whatever valuable things are in the house."
He thought the visitor was a money-seeking thief, but what responded to him was a familiar cold snort.
"I didn't expect that Prime Minister Zhang actually understands the principle of spending money to avoid disaster."
In the boundless darkness, someone came through the night. As he gradually approached and lifted the hood of his cloak, in the flickering candlelight, it was unexpectedly Shang Mozheng's face that was revealed.
"The Regent King..."
Zhang Chengen murmured, obviously not expecting that he could escape from the imperial prison. After a moment of surprise, he suddenly exclaimed, "You... you escaped from prison!"
It was a statement. Shang Mozheng didn't deny it.
Although he no longer had the Wolf Guards, he still had other aces up his sleeve. It wasn't difficult to break through the defense of the Jinwu Guards and rescue him from the imperial prison, but the price was still quite high.
If Yang Li hadn't deliberately spread the news during the day that the army was approaching the capital, which had affected the morale of those people, the loss this time might have been even greater.
"Your Highness, a Jinwu Guard has escaped. We have to hurry up and leave the city." Yang Li entered the room, glanced at the embarrassed Prime Minister Zhang, and whispered in Shang Mozheng's ear.
"Got it."
The former regent king's face changed slightly, and the next moment he laughed. "I'll leave after I settle the score with Prime Minister Zhang."