Chapter 202 The Battle for the City Gate

Chapter 202 The Battle for the City Gate

This king?

They all sensed something was amiss and dared not be careless.

However, seeing that the other party was alone, the woman said, "If we die, this child will die too."

The woman's dagger was already pressed against Xie Chengze's neck.

The masked man in black's eyes instantly turned icy, and a palpable aura of rage emanated from him.

He removed his veil, revealing a handsome face. "I am Prince Jing. Can you see me clearly now?"

"Prince Jing!" Upon hearing this, the woman's expression immediately changed.

Isn't Prince Jing already dead?

"I am willing to give my life to save his life." Xie Yan's words were as if they were being ground out from between his teeth, carrying an undeniable forcefulness.

His face was tense, his lips pressed into a ruthless line, and he unfastened the short sword at his waist and threw it on the ground.

He walked past alone, his demeanor one of submission, yet it somehow carried an air of haughty arrogance.

The woman was overwhelmed by his imposing aura and unconsciously took a step back. When she spoke again, her voice trembled slightly.

"Our master wants this child's life; what use is yours?"

"I am not discussing this with you, but asking you to accept it." His gaze was fixed on the face of the person opposite him, as if he were looking at a dead man.

Do you think I am all alone?

As soon as he finished speaking, a group of men in black appeared around him.

They all held bows and arrows, the bowstrings drawn taut, ready to riddle them with arrows at any moment.

The woman's eyes flickered slightly, and just as she was about to make a decision, a clear and melodious voice rang out, "Then let's change it!"

Xie Yan listened to that familiar voice, his eyes filled with a bone-chilling indifference, not even bothering to show a ripple of emotion, but also vaguely revealing disgust and murderous intent.

Just then, there was a commotion outside the woods. "General, it's just ahead."

Xue Qingning's brows furrowed slightly, and she said in a deep voice, "Let's go!"

The man carrying Xie Chengze put the unconscious Xie Chengze on the ground, then turned around and held a dagger to Prince Jing's neck.

"Your Highness!" Xie Yan's subordinates looked anxiously at their master.

Xie Yan signaled to them to secretly protect Xie Chengze.

The group left quickly.

A moment later...

"There are markings here, they must have been left by His Highness." Xiao Wen's voice, filled with both worry and excitement, led the army over.

Xiao Wu, who was lying in the grass, was awakened by the pain in his chest. He looked at Xie Chengze not far away and heard Xiao Wen's voice, which was choked with pain: "Your Highness is here."

*

Shen Nanzi arrived outside Luoyang City and obtained firsthand information from inside the palace.

All the city gates were sealed off, and there was no way out.

The city's imperial guards originally numbered five thousand, but Xie Yu decimated some of them, leaving an estimated four thousand or so.

Part of the Liang King's army is hidden inside Luoyang City, while another part has already slipped out of the city.

The whereabouts of the King of Liang are now unknown.

The Xue family suspects that the Prince of Liang stole the imperial seal, which means there is no possibility of them cooperating again.

Therefore, with more than 60,000 troops, they only needed to deal with 4,000 squads of imperial guards.

Even if the civil and military officials in Luoyang support the Xue family, the outcome is clear under the iron hooves of the enemy.

The Xue family will not sit idly by and wait for their doom. Knowing that Cheng'er's troops are surrounding and suppressing them, they will definitely run away, and perhaps they have already run away.

Because the message did not mention Xue Yubai and Xie Hongrui.

Now the entire Xue family follows Xue Qingning's lead.

Then she must have something to hold over her, namely Xie Yu and the fates of the princes and grandsons.

Yesterday she received news that the Cangjue army had breached more than fifty cities in Yunhan.

Therefore, in order to reduce the suffering of the people from the ravages of war, it is necessary to stabilize the court and unite against external threats in these few days.

After pondering for a moment, Shen Nanzi ordered, "Let the entire army set off immediately, divide into four routes, and surround the city gate directly."

"If they do not surrender, we will attack the city immediately. Once we have the city gates, our soldiers will replace them and guard the gates. No one is allowed to leave the city."

The deputy general who had come with her immediately obeyed the order, spurred his horse, and turned back.

Half an hour later, Prince Cheng's army had completely surrounded Luoyang.

Before each battle, Prince Seung's army would first shout:

"The people of Yunhan will not fight against other people of Yunhan; those who surrender will not be killed."

"The people of Yunhan will not fight against other people of Yunhan; those who surrender will not be killed."

At this moment, the voices of more than 60,000 soldiers resounded like spring thunder outside Luoyang City, shaking the morale of the defending soldiers.

After being rescued and regaining consciousness, Xie Chengze immediately rode his horse to the front of the battle and stood side by side with Shen Nanzi.

He looked at the Yunhan Banner flying over the city walls, his small face showing a mixture of emotions.

A young but firm voice rang out, "I am Xie Chengze, the grandson of the emperor. My return to Luoyang is not to slaughter the Yunhan soldiers."

"Instead, we must stabilize the government, unite the forces of the Han Dynasty, and prevent foreign powers from taking advantage of the situation to invade our territory and kill our people."

"Have you heard us? We do not want to fight with you. The death of even one soldier is a loss for Yunhan."

"If you can open the city gates, we guarantee that we will not harm a single soldier in the city, nor will we plunder a single penny of money or food from the people."

He raised his small arm with great force and pointed behind him, "Look, wherever the banners point, they are all my Yunhan brothers, comrades-in-arms, how can we fight each other with weapons?"

“Our Yunhan borders thirteen foreign states, all of whom are eyeing our borders, hoping that we will kill each other so they can reap the benefits.”

"You are all fine young men of Yunhan. Please think carefully about what is more important and what path you should take."

The soldiers defending the city wall looked at the massive army and thought that today was a battle to the death, and they would not be able to escape unscathed.

Even if they don't die, they should leave behind their severed limbs as a memorial.

Now, what this Prince Cheng said has actually shaken their resolve.

Within the imperial city, the Xue family controlled Luoyang, and they were supporting a young imperial grandson.

Those outside are also young grandsons of the royal family.

They are all legitimate members of the imperial family, but the one outside seems to be more benevolent.

One of them ordered them to guard the city gate to the death, completely disregarding their lives.

That's over 60,000 troops! Their mere few thousand men simply can't defeat them!

Since I'm going to die anyway, following this guy might give me a few more days to live.

As they said, they are all people of Yunhan, born of the same root.

Some soldiers were already whispering among themselves, contemplating surrendering.

At this critical moment, the figure of the Second Imperial Consort Xue Qingning appeared on the city wall.

She walked up to the city wall and looked at the massive army outside the city, a dark mass, and this was only the south gate.

She looked at the large flag embroidered with the character "承" (Cheng), and she recognized the script of the character "承" at a glance.

She was very familiar with Xie Yan's handwriting.

It turns out he faked his death and had been protecting the mother and child all along!

The jealousy in his eyes instantly turned into hatred.

"They are clearly a bunch of traitors and rebels, yet they dare to speak so arrogantly."

"Prince Jing committed the heinous crime of regicide and usurpation. Xie Chengze, you are a descendant of a criminal prince. How can you claim to be the legitimate heir of the Yunhan lineage?"

“Princess Jing colluded with Fang Shuo to turn Zhao Zhendong against the emperor. She led my Yunhan soldiers to kill the Grand Princess and imprison the two imperial grandsons.”

"They not only killed the King of Liang, but also came to Luoyang and tried to turn our defending soldiers against us."