Song Shizhao was riding a horse, holding a whip in his hand. At his age now he could no longer ride a horse a long time ago, but in order to get to Lin Yuan’s side as soon as possible, he simply put this old life on the line. Even the servant persuaded him: “If you rush to travel like this, once you arrive you will fall ill, the gains outweigh the losses.”

However, Song Shizhao wouldn’t listen. There was only one thing in his mind, and that was that he had to be with Lin Yuan when he attacked Dadu.

You c an fi nd t he la te st cha pte rs at ( th e bl mu se . c o m )

If he was not there then, in the future…..

So as expected, Song Shizhao fell ill.

Lin Yuan went to the carriage to look at him, and saw Song Shizhao’s ill state with sunken cheeks. He was old, but now he looked more haggard, and only that pair of eyes were frighteningly bright.

The servant was persuading Song Shizhao to drink the medicine. When Lin Yuan came, he quickly knelt to one side.

Lin Yuan said to him: “Have Mister Song drink the medicine.”

Song Shizhao didn’t dare not drink the medicine. He closed his eyes and poured the medicine down his throat. The servant quickly handed him a piece of candied fruit.

Song Shizhao’s mouth was stuffed with candied fruit and he dared not speak, for fear of indecent behavior.

Lin Yuan sat in the carriage and sighed: “Mister, you still have to take care of your own health. You are not a young man in your twenties.”

Song Shizhao hurriedly said: “I just rushed a little bit too impatiently. I just look weak, but my strength is still there! I am old but vigorous, so please don’t worry about me!”

Lin Yuan smiled and said: “You have to take care of yourself, as you will be busy when we enter Dadu.”

As soon as these words fell, Song Shizhao’s eyes brightened. He finally waited until this day. He could watch Lin Yuan ascend the throne and claim the title of emperor with his own eyes. Was there anything more exciting than this? What the ancestors could not do, he, Song Shizhao, managed to achieve!

Lin Yuan also knew why Song Shizhao rushed on the road so urgently. He rode a horse during the day and rode in a carriage at night. Not only was he tired himself but the servants and guards were also so tired they  fell asleep as soon as they arrived.

He not only sighed emotionally at Song Shizhao’s persistence, but also regretted that Song Shizhao could not be a few years younger.

Even if it was only ten years younger.

After Song Shizhao rested for half a day, he hurriedly reported to Lin Yuan about the affairs in Changshu.

“The common people are obedient. But those gentries are not very docile.” Song Shizhao leaned on the cushions, his energy much better than half a day ago. He said in an orderly manner, “So I set up a standing target and let them fight on their own. After they’ve almost finished fighting, their wealth and properties were then seized and confiscated. Some were sent to prison, and some were released and joined the common people. Although there are still many with discontent, generally there is no need to worry about them. Now Wu Changqing can be in charge on his own. With Zheng Qingfeng helping him, even if he is a dunce he will still be able to remain standing.”

Lin Yuan said strangely: “How odd, I actually hear the name of a fourth person from Mister.”

Song Shizhao was proud and arrogant. Wu Changqing, Luo Ben and Song Lian were the only ones who could be mentioned by him. Unexpectedly, there was now one more Zheng Qingfeng.

Song Shizhao begged for mercy: “Please don’t make fun of me. Zheng Qingfeng seems to be a man who likes to angle for fame, but he has some of the qualities of a virtuous official. The way I see it, Wu Changqing is not as good as him.”

Lin Yuan remembered Zheng Qingfeng. Before he arrived in Changshu, this was a man who ate but did not do work. After he arrived, he did show off his capabilities one or two times, but he did not impress Lin Yuan too deeply.

After all, there were many talented people who wanted to attach themselves to him and get more power from him.

If he had to remember all of them, Lin Yuan must have a genius mind with photographic memory.

“Has your disciple come to see you?” Lin Yuan asked.

Song Shizhao: “You are here, how could he dare to come?”

Looking at Song Shizhao’s proud look, Lin Yuan couldn’t help but laugh: “Are you not afraid that he will be at odds with you?”

Song Shizhao truly did regard Yang Shaowei as his son because he had only this disciple at his advanced age and no wife and children. He could only count on Yang Shaowei to provide for his retirement in the future.

Song Shizhao lowered his head: “You can only use him if he passes this test.”

Lin Yuan didn’t speak.

It was common for young people to be impetuous, and they have to be chiseled some more. But before Lin Yuan began, Song Shizhao came in person.

Even if Yang Shaowei had grievances, it would only be directed at Song Shizhao instead of Lin Yuan.

Although Lin Yuan seemed to have no shortage of people in his hands, there still remained only a small number of people who could do big things, were prudent, and could lead the masses.

There would always be a day when Song Shizhao retired.

Only when he retired would Yang Shaowei have a chance.

Otherwise, it was impossible for Lin Yuan to let both the shifu and disciple occupy a pivotal position.

In previous battles, Lin Yuan lacked people in his hands, and they were all used in more than one position, but now it was different. He was soon to become the master of Dadu, so the issue of civil servants must be given importance.

The Yuan Dynasty’s capital Dadu was located in modern day Beijing, and Lin Yuan did not plan to move his capital.

After all, Beijing’s geographical position was very good, and the capital before Lin Yuan’s transmigration was also Beijing.

Lin Yuan raised his head.

Speaking of, he hadn’t thought about what happened before transmigrating for a long time.

Occasionally, he would only think about whether the pot of spider plant grown in his rented apartment had died or not.

Or maybe because he hadn’t paid the rent in so long, what would the landlord look like when he saw his corpse?

It must be really smelly in that apartment.

Lin Yuan and the others were in the back, while Zhu Yuanzhang, Chen Baisong and Li Congrong were in the front.

This time they brought 400,000 troops. The march was slower than before, but it was fast enough.

After all, the cavalry opened the way, traveling day and night, and only stopping to repair and rest when encountering rain or rugged terrain.

The soldiers didn’t complain, what was there to complain about anyway?

They could now be assigned to some meat every day, even if they just tasted some meat, they were happy enough.

The general also said that when they won the battle and captured Dadu, they could eat as much as they wanted.

With this, they all wanted to go to Dadu early and fight the battle. They would definitely win. When they won, they would eat meat.

“What is Dadu like?” A soldier talked to people around him during resting time. He took off his shoes and shook out the sand inside, the smell so strong it caused even himself to lean back away from it.

The people around him also pinched their noses and urged him: “Hurry up and put it on.”

After he had put on his shoes again, and when the smell dissipated, the people around him said: “How do I know, I have never been to Dadu, but I heard that Dadu is full of gold!”

“Gold everywhere?” The soldier sneered, “Doesn’t that mean every household is rich? If they are so rich would the officials below still be coveting the common people’s wealth?”

Others: “I haven’t been there either, what’s the point of saying this to me!”

“When we win the battle, we still have to listen to the South Bodhisattva. Maybe we will stay in Dadu, or maybe go off to another battle. Whatever is the case of Dadu, it is not relevant to us now.” The soldier thought about the future, “We can retire after ten years of service. The court will also arrange for us to get a job after retiring from being a soldier. After I am discharged from the army, I will marry a wife and give birth to a few babies. If there is land to farm that will be great, with land life will be stable!”

Others laughed at him: “You have no ambition, I will not retire. I want to be promoted to platoon commander and then battalion commander, you can also marry a wife and have children without leaving the barracks.”

Each person had their own ideas, and with the battle imminent, chatting and talking about the future made them feel better.

No one talked about what to do if they lost.

Zhu Yuanzhang and the others were in the tent now, and the lieutenants and Luo Ben were also here. They had to discuss how to attack Dadu.

“Infiltrate from here.” Luo Ben’s finger landed at a point on the sand table.

Everyone followed his finger and looked over, and there was no objection.

It was not too difficult to enter the city, but to enter the palace was the difficult part.

However, it was only a matter of time as even the city gates could be broken, but no one wanted to delay it for a long time as who knew what variable would show up if they took too long.

Chen Baisong asked Luo Ben: “Where are the least common people?”

Luo Ben shook his head, he also didn’t know.

However, it was impossible not to accidentally hurt the common people when a war started.

It was just the difference between more and less.

The tent fell silent, and Luo Ben continued to talk about the battle strategies. Some people asked questions in the middle, and they all decided on the final plan after some discussions.

After knowing how to fight, it now all depended on their ability on the battlefield.

But when they arrived at Dadu, they were all dumbfounded.

Even as steady and calm as Luo Ben, couldn’t believe his eyes.

Although everyone knew that with the number of soldiers in Dadu now it was not possible to defend the huge capital at all, but it still shouldn’t be so…..

The soldiers standing together was definitely far from the number of 50,000.

What about the rest?

These “50,000” troops did not even last for half a day.

Many of them were not soldiers at all, they were recruited directly from the common people, and many of them were also the sons of big families and their family servants.

When asked, none of them knew anything.

Though the leading general was not temporarily recruited, he also didn’t look to have much importance either, and didn’t know anything either.

Luo Ben: “Oh, no! This is just to delay us back! They want to move the capital!”

Chen Baisong and Zhu Yuanzhang got on their horses immediately, and Luo Ben shouted: “Head towards the north!”

Chen Baisong and Zhu Yuanzhang did not find them, because they were still in the palace.

The Yuan court still had 100,000 soldiers and horses, and the ones stationed outside could no longer be called over, as the distant water couldn’t quench the present thirst.

These 100,000 soldiers and horses were their last means of saving their lives.

Originally they had thought about leaving Dadu today, but they didn’t expect the troops of the Southern King to come so quickly. They could hear loud sounds of footsteps and hooves and shouting even in the palace.

No one cared about the palace maids and eunuchs, all of them hid in their rooms and as for fleeing? Outside were His Majesty’s soldiers, and if they ran outside, before they were even killed by the rebel-thieves, they would surely be killed by His Majesty’s soldiers first.

When Li Congrong led his troops into the palace, he did not expect that there were 100,000 soldiers and horses in the palace.

They are all in the martial arts practice field.

Li Congrong was not afraid, and charged over on horseback with his weapon in his hand and his troops at his side.

He had experienced hundreds of battles. Although he was not as successful as Chen Baisong, he had also been tempered by numerous battles.

Li Congrong shouted: “The South Bodhisattva has said, there shall be gold for those less than five heads, and promotion for those with more than five heads!”

The soldiers went crazy.

Promotion! Even if just a squad leader that still meant power, and the monthly salary was twice that of ordinary soldiers!

If they could be promoted to battalion commander…..

Where were there enemies in front of them? It was simply just money, beckoning to them, asking them to cut off the other’s head.

When Chen Baisong and the others withdrew back, what they saw was a one-sided scene.

However, they didn’t get involved as well. Instead, they surrounded the entire palace, and even a rat could not escape.

In a small room in the imperial palace, Emperor Yuan Shun just hid inside. He grabbed the hand of his confidant eunuch and sat on a chair shivering.

“Outside…..outside…..”

You c an fi nd t he la te st cha pte rs at ( th e bl mu se . c o m )

The eunuch was also afraid, and at this moment he could only try to reassure him: “Your Majesty, there is nothing to worry about, God will not let the rebel-thieves succeed.”

“We still have one hundred thousand soldiers and horses.”

How long could 100,000 soldiers put up resistance?

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“Your Majesty! Battle report from the front! Our army is annihilated, the Chancellor…..the Chancellor died in battle…..Now the troops of the Southern King are marching towards Dadu…..” The soldier knelt in the middle of the court hall.

The entire imperial court broke out in an uproar.

The emperor’s vision went dark and he clutched at his chest, almost falling down.

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The eunuch next to him hurriedly supported him, and the civil and military officials all looked terrified.

Hama was also dazed at this time.

Standing in the position closest to the emperor, both his hands and feet went cold, and his whole body became stiff. He never thought that Wang Baobao would lose, nor had he imagined that Wang Baobao would die. The way he saw it, this was a battle that was sure to be won.

Whether it was the news delivered by his goddaughter or the news heard by the spies, it all showed signs that Hanyang was just a paper tiger.

But now…..

Hama trembled all over.

At this time, an official stood up and said: “Your Majesty! There are very few troops left at the court, so we should act decisively! We can retreat to Luanjing, that way we can guarantee the survival of our Great Yuan! One day we will regain our strength and regain Dadu.”

The emperor took a few breaths.

Xuexue suddenly said: “No! Back then, how could we surrender the Central Plains that Xue Chan Khan conquered with so much hardship? What is your intention? Wang Baobao is not worthy of the sacred grace, but naturally there are other generals who can turn the tide!”

“Your Majesty, we musn’t retreat!”

Hama glanced at his younger brother.

He took a deep breath and took a step out from the line, “Your Majesty, this official believes that…..the best policy is to retreat to Luanjing.”

Xuexue’s eyes widened, and he looked at his brother in disbelief.

The emperor grabbed the armrest of his throne. He looked around and asked, “What do you all think?”

The courtiers knelt down one after another, with their foreheads touching the ground.

The emperor waved his hand in exhaustion: “Move the capital.”

Most cities without troops to guard it were just fat pigs waiting to be slaughtered.

On the road, Xuexue hurried to catch up with Hama. He was born with a mouth that stuck out, a chin like that of an ape’s and was thin in stature. Many people say that he is not worthy of his name. Without a good elder brother, he would not be able to reach his current position in this life. Xuexue did not like to hear such words. He didn’t feel like he was inferior to his elder brother. He chased after Hama and asked breathlessly: “Brother, why didn’t you help me speak? Leaving to Luanjing, that is too far away from the Central Plains!”

“Back then, when the Song Dynasty was weak, it still took more than 20 years. Song people place importance on the literati and even so it took that long to conquer, and now retreating to Luanjing, in the future…..”

Hama: “Do you think I don’t know?”

Xuexue didn’t speak, but looked at Hama.

Hama sneered: “My position as the Head of the Palace Secretariat, you, the Senior Imperial Censor, are only useful in front of His Majesty. What is the use of the two of us while being trapped in Dadu? How many people in the court want us to die? Staying in Dadu, the courtiers will put pressure on His Majesty to kill me even if he didn’t want to. Going to Luanjing will give us a chance to find a path of survival.”

Xuexue: “Brother, that is impossible. Most of the people in the court belong to our side.”

Hama: “If we can give them benefits, they are our people, if we can’t give them benefits, we are their stumbling block.”

“Xuexue, the brain is for use, not for viewing.”

“Go back and pack up your things, the valuable things that can be exchanged for gold and silver should be exchanged as soon as possible, don’t bring too many things, so as not to have trouble on the road.” Hama made one last warning before he mounted his horse on the side of the official road, and galloped back to his manor with a crack of his whip.

Leaving Xuexue standing alone.

Xuexue raised his head to look at the sky. It was now April, but why did he feel that it was still cold?

When did the Yuan Dynasty begin to decline?

Their ancestors sacrificed so much before they managed to conquer the Central Plains, but it took only a few years before they were driven out again.

Xuexue wiped his face.

And then also mounted his horse.

The emperor was assisted by the eunuch and returned to his palace. His health had not been good for a long time. In his early years he had overindulged in the harem, so now his physique appeared strong on the outside but was weak in reality. After taking alchemical pills, it only became worse day after day. But after all, he had a stubborn will to live, and couldn’t die that easily.

The eunuchs in the palace were now mostly Han. Since Pu Buhua, the palace became reluctant to use Goryeo eunuchs. (TN: favored eunuch of the third empress of Yuan Shun who was also from Goryeo) 

In the early days, there were not many eunuchs in the palace, but Kublai followed the Han system, and eunuchs slowly took power. At that time, most of the eunuchs came from Goryeo and Burma, as were the concubines in the harem. After the establishment of the Yuan Dynasty, all the kings of Goryeo were the son-in-laws of the emperor of the Yuan Dynasty.

“Is there no one from Goryeo this year to come pay tribute?” The emperor asked.

His personal eunuch knelt on the ground with weakened legs, and said in a frightened manner: “Should…..should be that something has delayed them.”

The emperor let out an “Oh” and didn’t ask any more questions.

When the previous emperor was still alive, the small countries around them offered tributes year after year, wishing nothing more than to be a dog at their feet, and even the most trivial cases and conflicts required Yuan to settle for them. At that time, the previous emperor laughed and said that the small countries have weak rulers, too inferior to show in public.

Now that the situation in the Yuan Dynasty was not looking so good, they all did not bother to come anymore. It was the nature of people to curry favor with the powerful, and it was the same between countries.

Even though they say going back to the grassland is no big deal.

But after being the master of the Central Plains, who really wanted to go back?

The emperor lay down, but the eunuch could not rest. He had to stay by the emperor’s side. In case the emperor was thirsty or hungry, he had to wait on him.

The days in the palace were difficult, but as the days passed, it was still bearable.

The people of Dadu were thinking about withdrawing to Luanjing.

Lin Yuan was not prepared to give them a chance to withdraw, because Lin Yuan knew that once they had a chance to establish the Northern Yuan, they would be difficult to fight. In history, Emperor Yuan Shun retreated to Luanjing and was recorded as the Northern Yuan, allowing the Great Yuan Dynasty to continue to last for more than two decades.

Only when the Yuan Dynasty really fell could he gather the hearts of the Mongols.

Except for the Mongols who settled in the Central Plains, the Mongols outside the Pass still practiced a slave system.

At this time, there were four major tribes in Mongolia besides the Yuan Dynasty.

The Korbi, Chahar, Khalkha, and Oirat tribes.

So Zhu Yuanzhang, Chen Baisong, and Li Congrong marched almost day and night, and they didn’t have many opportunities to rest.

Lin Yuan stayed in Hanyang.

He was thinking about the Zhu Yuanzhang in history. After he established the Ming Dynasty, in order to prevent the Mongols from coming back, he used a carrot and stick policy on the Mongolian tribes. The victory of Lan Yu (TN: military general and politician of the Ming Dynasty) and others made the Mongolian tribes east of the Greater Xing’an Mountains lose their barriers and eventually be annexed to the Ming imperial court.

Zhu Yuanzhang also established Duoyan Sanwei (Mongolian mercenaries), which was mainly composed of Uriankhai, Ongniud and Uziyet.

But Mongolia did not support the Great Ming.

To be precise, there were still two regimes, the Mongolian regime and the Great Ming regime.

What Lin Yuan wanted was a great ethnic integration, and have the so-called “barbarians” also become part of the common people.

But his thinking was obviously hard to get support.

After all, it was different from modern times. Modern people’s thinking and concepts came to ve after many years. People look at their compatriots in the unit of the nation rather than the unit of the ethnicity, and this nation referred to the country, and all those who had citizenship in the country were compatriots.

But at this time, people were divided into ethnic groups and they distinguished themselves based on ancestors.

Don’t mention the Han accepting the Mongols.

It was also difficult for Mongolians to accept the Han.

Fortunately, the Mongols who migrated to the Central Plains earlier had experienced a lot of sinicization after two or three generations.

But the Mongolians outside the Pass…..Lin Yuan himself was not sure.

Lin Yuan felt that he was just thinking wishful thoughts. Whether he could carry out his thoughts or not was another matter.

Choose a leader among the Mongolian tribes.

Moreover, so long as the slavery system of the Mongolian tribes was still there, trying to achieve ethnical integration waa simply a dream.

There were also the Jurchens; the Jurchens had once been glorious, but they were trampled under Mongolian iron hooves. In the past they had been pitiful, but now they were slowly growing strong.

Lin Yuan rubbed his forehead, and said to Yang Shaowei: “Send a letter to your shifu and ask him to come over.”

Yang Shaowei was taken aback for a while before he answered in affirmative.

Yang Shaowei walked out of the room and let out a sigh. Of course he respected and loved his shifu, but the South Bodhisattva would value him even more when his shifu was not there. After arriving in Hanyang, he had gained a lot of experience and had his own team of subordinates.

But when his shifu came, he would have to take a step back, and according to his shifu’s temper, he was afraid that it would be difficult for him to stand out again before the South Bodhisattva became emperor.

Moreover, in order to show that he still cherished the old officials, the South Bodhisattva would pass over his shifu to promote him.

However, the matter of proclaiming emperor was indeed on the agenda.

Yang Shaowei smiled, he must raise this matter before anyone else, and at that time his achievements would be the greatest then.

Even if he couldn’t go past his shifu in the future, he wouldn’t be too far behind.

He had to take up the seat first, otherwise with the people behind who also wanted to climb up, it would be difficult to say at that time.

Not mentioning others, but just the people under him, weren’t they all trying their best to find a chance to show their faces in front of the South Bodhisattva?

Bah, so long as he was still there, the grasshoppers below won’t be able to jump around as they like.

Want to use him as a springboard? Let me see if you have that ability.

Inside the Changshu government office.

After receiving the letter, Song Shizhao quickly ordered people to pack his belongings and set off to Hanyang.

Before, Lin Yuan went to Hanyang and left him in Changshu. From then on, he began to worry and be afraid.

Because he knew that Lin Yuan would definitely make his way from Hanyang to Dadu.

If Lin Yuan arrived at Dadu yet he was not by Lin Yuan’s side, his position would become unstable.

Since knowing that Hanyang had defeated Wang Baobao, he couldn’t sleep at night. After receiving the letter, he breathed a sigh of relief.

Now Wu Changqing could also take charge on his own, so leaving him in Changshu, Song Shizhao was not worried.

Gaoyou had Jiang Gui. Although Lin Yuan’s sworn brother was not very capable, fortunately he was a cautious character. He had never made any mistakes. There were also quite a few smart people around to assist him. Although they had their own ideas, they were unable to do anything bad.

Last year, Jiang Gui borrowed soldiers from Yang Zi’an.

Because of this, the invading enemy soldiers were repelled.

It was the people from Chuzhou who attacked. Now Sun Deya couldn’t sit still, he led a bad example climbing up to his position, so now the people at the bottom were also fighting constantly. After Jiang Gui beat him back, his vitality was greatly damaged.

When Song Shizhao learned that Jiang Gui’s borrowing of troops was only because he had a dream, he couldn’t help sighing at the other’s luck.

Humans, sometimes didn’t need to be smart, nor did they need to be too capable. For example, Jiang Gui, the smartest thing he had done in his life was to become a sworn brother of the South Bodhisattva. In addition, he was cautious and did not let others catch any weaknesses. At his post, he had not achieved many accomplishments, but he had never done anything bad either.

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Now that he repelled the enemy, he now also had a great accomplishment to his name.

So long as Jiang Gui did not do anything stupid in the future, the wealth and prosperity of the future three generations of the Jiang family was guaranteed.

There were some people who strived hard for several generations, but they did not have such good luck.

How could people not be envious?

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There were many ways to lay siege to a city. A strong attack could be regarded as one type. It was easier to attack with crossbows and catapults than to use ladders and battering rams.

The problem was that the soldiers of the Southern King on the city wall had more sophisticated weapons, and explosives that could constantly be thrown down at their enemies, causing Wang Baobao’s soldiers to still be unable to move an inch despite trying to brave through the artillery fire.

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Sounds of explosions could be heard in the ears. Most of the soldiers who were blown away became dizzy and deaf. Although they did not really become deaf, they still inevitably lost their ability to move for a while. At this critical moment, the soldiers and their arrows up on the city wall could kill them, let alone those who had directly died from the explosives.

Wang Baobao stood by the chariot, unable to make up his mind.

The bows and arrows, crossbows and catapults were all useless. Was there really only the choice to use the lives of his soldiers to force open the city gates?

——Even if their lives were really sacrificed, it was extremely likely that the gates would not even be broken.

“Retreat!” Wang Baobao called loudly.

His military order was passed on, and from the front the sound of beating drums sounded.

It was difficult to convey military orders on the battlefield, using either flag change or drumming instead.

When the drums sounded, the officers on Wang Baobao’s side began to lead the soldiers in retreating.

They were exhausted after fighting nearly non-stop for these two days.

“Too strange.” Several officers waited before Wang Baobao to listen to the next military orders. The military officers were all bloodstained, and the clothes under their armor were soaked in who knew whether in sweat more or blood more.

“It’s like they are not afraid of death.”

“I haven’t seen anything like this before.”

When they first came, they were very ambitious. They thought that the news they received in Dadu was true and that Hanyang was short of manpower and lacking in weapons as well as medicine. They were excellent soldiers, the most elite soldiers of the imperial court and brought with them the most sophisticated weapons. Although there was not a lot of food and grass rations, it was  also not too little either, and moreover rations would continue to be transported over in the future.

But when they arrived at Hanyang, they discovered that the news was all false.

Of the soldiers they saw in the past two days, only a rare few had the skinny physiques in the rumors.

On the contrary, though they didn’t look very strong, they possessed quite a lot of strength.

Even the battle-tested Yuan military officers were shocked by the fierceness they exuded when they charged over.

There were actually such soldiers in this world?

When fighting, there must always be people in the rear to prevent soldiers from deserting. If anyone dared to run backwards, they themselves must kill the deserters first, so as to ensure that the soldiers do not try to follow their example.

The officers were worried, everyone knew that they had to fight this battle, they had no other choice, so now they were in a difficult situation.

If they retreated at this time, putting aside whether Hanyang would pursue them, just the issue of the imperial court was a problem…..

The several people shuddered.

If they fled back, Wang Baobao could still at least guarantee his life, but the lives of small shrimps like them would just be gone, and no one would shed a tear for them except for their family.

“Come in.” Wang Baobao said in the tent.

The several people went in together, splitting up to stand on either the right or left side.

The advisors stood in the rear; they had to discuss the military strategy for tomorrow.

An officer said: “How about we use the battering ram…..”

“It’s better to use a chariot…..”

“It’s hard to get close when driving a chariot, let alone with a battering ram.”

They brought scaling ladders, but they couldn’t get close to the city wall at all. The arrows were like rain, and not everyone was equipped with armor.

Wang Baobao pursed his lips: “What else can be done?”

No one spoke.

What else could be done? There were only so many siege methods.

After these two days, morale had dropped drastically.

The officers had all fought more than one battle and knew what this meant.

At this time, an officer said: “The Chancellor…..towards the court, how about…..”

He wanted to retreat. They couldn’t win this battle at all. Unless Hanyang’s brain suddenly came down with a problem and opened the city gates to welcome them in, a forceful attack would not succeed at all. They couldn’t compare in armaments, just the enemy’s explosives were enough for them to get a headache. Fight with numbers? Hanyang’s soldiers were definitely more than twice theirs.

Fight with morale…..who wanted to compare morale against soldiers who were not afraid of death? Just one or two who were not afraid of death was alright. But when 80% of them were not afraid of death, just how terrifying was that?

Wang Baobao raised his hand, and everyone fell silent.

It was no longer theirs to decide whether to retreat or not.

The situation in the imperial court was no better than the battlefield.

The emperor did not care about governmental affairs nowadays, and the civil and military officials all had their own ideas.

Wang Baobao pursed his lips: “If tomorrow doesn’t work, then we try again the day after. If still after a month there is no sign of success, then we will return to the court!”

He must preserve his military strength no matter what.

If the soldiers were all lost here, the Great Yuan would definitely be done for, and he would become a sinner.

But if they indeed returned to court just like that, he would also become a sinner.

The officers all bowed their heads and answered in affirmative.

But after exiting the tent, the expressions on everyone’s faces were all dazed.

How to fight?

It seemed that to fight was to die, and to not fight was also to die.

But their families were in the capital, and if they died on the battlefield their failure would not implicate their family members. Their wealth and property might be confiscated, but their lives could still be guaranteed.

But if they deserted, the whole family would die.

Morale in the military camp was at an all time low.

They lay siege for a month and thousands of people died every day.

Towards the end, there were soldiers who wanted to flee, but they were all beheaded on the spot.

No one dared to become deserters, but on the battlefield, no matter how they persisted they couldn’t break through the city walls.

If they approached even a step too close, explosives would be thundering everywhere. Their trebuchets threw stones into the city, but no sound came from inside. It was likely that the common people within the range where the trebuchets could be thrown had already been moved away.

Wang Baobao prepared to retreat, but the army supervisor stopped him.

The army supervisor was one of the emperor’s favored officials, possessing a familial relationship with Hama and often committed evils with the latter.

Seeing that Wang Baobao wanted to withdraw, he began to accuse him of his crime.

“What is the Chancellor’s intention? Hanyang has still not been captured, yet you want to flee back to Dadu with your tail between your legs? When you return to Dadu, how do you plan to explain to His Majesty?” The superintendent arrogantly said, “The Chancellor is deeply favored by the emperor, and you must be aware of the kind of burden on your shoulders.”

The personal guard behind Wang Baobao was very angry, and said angrily: “You speak lightly, but it is not you who go onto the battlefield to risk your life!”

Wang Baobao scolded angrily: “Shut up!”

The personal guard bit his lip with an angry expression.

Wang Baobao smiled and said to the supervisor: “Much honor to have His Majesty’s regard, there is no need for the Supervisor to be in a rush. When we return to the capital, this official will naturally see His Majesty to ask for forgiveness.”

The supervisor scolded: “Does the Chancellor know how many men, horses, rations, and weapons were all available for you to take at will for this battle? If you go back with your tail between your legs, not only will you not have anything good waiting for you, I will also not escape the responsibility!”

Wang Baobao retracted his smile and looked at the supervisor with a cold expression, his eyes deep and full of killing intent: “If we don’t retreat at this time, once we are to the point of exhaustion and then decide to retreat, only for the Southern King to send troops to pursue us. Now that will really be the end of us. If we withdraw at this time, we can still save our strength. Otherwise, where would the empire of the Great Yuan be? Without soldiers, how can we recover the mountains and rivers of the Great Yuan empire?!”

Supervisor: “The Chancellor…..we cannot go back.”

The supervisor retreated: “Going back at this time, the both of us…..”

No matter how much the emperor favored him, returning with such a shameful defeat, even Hama would not be able to save him. No matter how powerful he was, Hama had not yet reached the point of overriding the emperor’s will. Hama would naturally be willing to sacrifice him.

But he didn’t want to die, he cherished his life.

Wang Baobao: “As officials in the same court, this official advises you that Dadu is the foundation of this country. Without Dadu, we will all be done for.”

——

“Wang Baobao withdrew?” Lin Yuan was sitting on the city wall. His eyes lit up, and he said to the military officer next to him, “Tell the two generals Zhu and Chen to chase with troops, cooperate in pincer attack with General Li to capture Wang Baobao alive!”

The officer next to him quickly answered in affirmative and left.

Li Congrong left people he trusted in Huangzhou and brought 50,000 troops over.

With Zhu Yuanzhang and Chen Baisong, they were not afraid of not being able to defeat the court’s soldiers.

Lin Yuan breathed out slowly and clenched his fists.

Just how long the Yuan Dynasty had left to live depended on this battle.

Zhu Yuanzhang and Chen Baisong led cavalry to charge in the forefront.

The infantry followed closely behind.

They brought away the most sophisticated troops. Everyone was wearing armor. For the sake of lightness and easy movement on horseback, most usually only wore helmet and armor with breastplate while the infantry was armed from head to toe.

At Li Congrong’s side followed his most capable subordinates, and the three parties gathered in a pincer attack.

When Wang Baobao heard the scout’s report, he was stunned for a moment.

He looked back at the subordinates who had followed him for so many years, at the exhausted soldiers, so many lives…..

Wang Baobao closed his eyes, his lips trembled, and he could no longer utter those two words.

He, Wang Baobao, had never surrendered or lowered his head.

But of the 200,000 troops that he brought were now less than 60,000.

It was also unknown whether these 60,000 troops were real or empty numbers.

Even if they broke out from the encirclement, how many could keep their lives? Half?

After returning to Dadu, what would be waiting for these people?

“The enemy is coming!”

Wang Baobao held the long knife tightly.

He could not surrender, if he surrendered, the Great Yuan’s backbone would be broken and no longer be able to connect again.

Even if he died here, he couldn’t surrender!

“The warriors of the Great Yuan! Charge with me!” Wang Baobao rode his horse and charged to the forefront.

The arrogant soldier will lose, and the oppressed soldier will rise to win.

This was Wang Baobao’s final belief.

The blood seemed to have stained the sky red, specks of it splashing into the eyes. When the eyes were opened again, everything was blood red.

Wang Baobao pulled out the arrow from his abdomen, panting, his eyes red with murder.

He could hear the screams and saw that his subordinate who had been following him were cut through the neck with a knife.

Wang Baobao’s world became quiet for a while, and he couldn’t hear anything at all.

The subordinate was not dead yet. He covered his neck and looked in the direction of Wang Baobao. He opened his mouth as if he wanted to call out ‘Chancellor’.

He wanted to say that he did not shame the Mongols, that he did not back down for a moment even up to the last moment of his life.

But before he fell, a knife pierced his chest. The enemy soldier didn’t even spare him a look. There were corpses and blood everywhere. The soldier who killed him didn’t even know who he was, and just directed his knife at other people.

“Disarm and surrender, those who surrender will not be killed!” Someone on the enemy side yelled.

Wang Baobao looked around, thinking that someone would surrender, but even at this time, not a single soldier had put down his weapon.

He heard someone near him shout: “We Mongolian warriors will rather die on the battlefield than surrender!”

They fought to the last moment.

No one surrendered.

Wang Baobao fell to the ground, allowing his life to flow away with his blood.

He didn’t know whether he had succeeded or failed in this life.

But he was worthy of his ancestors, worthy of the emperor, and worthy of Xue Chanhan.

You c an fi nd t he la te st cha pte rs at ( th e bl mu se . c o m )

When he went to the underworld, he could also say with a clear conscience, he was worthy of the skies, and he was worthy of the earth. He had done his best.

In the spring of the 25th year of Yuan Shun, Wang Baobao led his army to attack Hanyang, but was defeated and died on the battlefield.

The fate of the Yuan Dynasty had reached its end.

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Yu Bi was gone, and she didn’t tell what she knew before she left.

Lin Yuan had someone find a beautiful place to lay and bury her body to rest.

Towards the outside, it was said that Yu Bi passed away from illness, as no matter what the news of her death had to be made known.

You c an fi nd t he la te st cha pte rs at ( th e bl mu se . c o m )

Liu Yi was doing embroidery. Sitting next to her was Chu Lin. Both of them were rare beauties. Chu Lin arrived a few days ago and had been so busy he barely rested. It was not until now did he find the time to come to see Liu Yi. The two were sent to Lin Yuan’s side together, and their relationship was not far or close, but towards each other they were able to have a good chat.

Liu Yi saw that Chu Lin was drinking tea in silence, and asked him, “Looking so worried, what happened?”

Chu Lin smiled at her: “It’s nothing, it’s not a big deal.”

Liu Yi nodded and stopped asking.

Now they each had their own errands, and they had learned to speak in halves. If one  spoke too much there was always a chance of making a miatake, so it was better to learn to be a dumb and silent statue. This way they were much better off.

Chu Lin sat for a while. Right now he had nothing to talk about with Liu Yi. The two sat opposite each other, and the atmosphere became so embarrassing it made Chu Lin stand up abruptly: “I just thought of something I need to do, so I’m going now. It’s safe here but after a while, the outside world will become chaotic, so take care of yourself first.”

Liu Yi also stood up, and the two saluted each other before parting ways.

In the past, they had a feeling of sympathy, but shared no love of that found between men and women. Because they both possessed outstanding looks, they had never seen people like themselves since they were young. So when they saw each other, they felt that the other was no different from themselves. People coveted their beauty and never cared what kind of person they were inside. Over time, they also felt that they had only a face.

Or in other words, under that face, nothing else mattered.

Because others couldn’t see it, they didn’t care.

Liu Yi once said to Chu Lin: “If I hadn’t had this face, I might have married a man early and had a few babies. By now I might have even become a grandmother.”

Everyone desired to possess peerless beauty, but no one knew that a person’s treasure, whether literal or something like talent or beauty, would arouse the envy of others. For noble ladies, beauty was the icing on the cake, but for ordinary women, the more beautiful they were, the more difficult their lives would be.

“I thought about disfiguring this face back then.”

“But then I thought again, God gave me this, what wrong did I commit?”

So from then to today, she arrived at the side of the South Bodhisattva based on her beauty and became the Sister Liu in everyone’s mouth, the Beauty Liu in the mouth of outsiders.

In the past, those people used to speak frivolously in front of her, with loose hands and feet, but now when they stood in front of her, they all had to bow their heads in fear.

Liu Yi didn’t want to leave here, even if the South Bodhisattva asked her if she wanted to marry someone.

Why would she want to marry? If she married, she would have to leave the South Bodhisattva. Who knew what the days would be like after marrying? She saw too many men, but the best one was out of reach, and she was unwilling to settle for a lesser one.

Not marrying for her whole life. Many prostitutes outside were like this. The men spoke words of love and took them back home, but after a while they resented them for being dirty.

Why bother? Those prostitutes had no choice. Now that she had a choice, she didn’t want to go live her days pleasing men anymore.

If one day the South Bodhisattva really ascended the throne, maybe she could become a servant in the palace. When she got old and left the palace, she had a sum of money and could recognize a few godsons and goddaughters. So long as she held the money tightly in her own hands she was not afraid that they would be disobedient.

These days, Liu Yi embroidered patterns and did not mingle with others. She knew what she was like, and often she sighed. Sometimes, understanding one’s position in life is the most important thing. Don’t know how many people did not realize this truth even up to their deaths.

This day, as usual, Liu Yi was embroidering by the window sill, embroidering flowers, grass, and butterflies. When she was embroidering, she heard someone passing by.

She stood by the window to look, and saw that there was a group of people walking past, each wearing a helmet and armor, and holding sharp weapons.

When she was about to sit down again, she heard a thundering sound come from outside that traveled across the skies. Even the earth seemed to be shaking. The people who were sweeping outside stopped and looked up toward the direction of the city wall, but they only stopped for a moment before they began to continue doing their work.

Even Liu Yi sat down again to embroider.

The sound did not cut off, and the earth was still shaking, but her heart was calm.

After the servants finished their work, they packed up their things and went into the house to rest. One person poured a cup of hot water and talked while listening to the sounds.

“There are people outside fighting?” Someone took out two steamed buns from their bed and shared them with others, eating them with the hot water.

Another person said: “Don’t know which side it is.”

“Where else can they come from, Dadu right?”

Some people said to a tall fellow: “You don’t want to go out and have a look?”

The big man was a Mongol. His family had never been wealthy before. Later, unrest and chaos spread over the land and their family fled. Originally, they wanted to go to Dadu, but of course they didn’t arrive. They then heard that the South Bodhisattva treated Mongolians and Han people equally, unlike the rebels in other places who killed them on sight. So his family took a gamble. With this bet, their lives were saved.

Go back to Dadu?

Maybe others want to go back.

Because the blood that flowed in their veins belonged to the grassland, even if they didn’t even have a horse of their own before.

But they couldn’t go back. They couldn’t go back since they stepped into the territory under the reign of the South Bodhisattva.

The big man chewed his bun in silence. He didn’t know what other people thought, but he didn’t want to go back to the grassland.

He heard from his elder that they used to rely on the heavens to make a livelihood on the grasslands. The cattle and sheep in the family had to be offered to the clan patriarch above. The family could only keep a little bit. The grasslands lacked everything, lacking salt and sugar. If they encounter natural disasters, or come across wolves, the family’s livelihood would be gone in an instant.

After arriving in the Central Plains, they finally knew that life could actually be so good.

Herd some cattle and sheep, and so long as one didn’t go deep into the mountains, there would be no danger, one could also farm the land, and there was salt sold everywhere.

Han people always had a lot of novel things.

The jewelry they made, even if they were made of wood, was incredibly well-crafted and even cheaper.

They heard that the Central Plains was good before, but that was just rumors.

When they really came, they didn’t want to leave at all.

The big man chewed the buns. He spoke Chinese well, so he told them, “I don’t want to.”

What was the point?

Should he help the Han fight his own people, or should he help his people fight the Han who were kind to him?

The grassland placed importance on the distinction between kindness and grievances, but the distinction between kindness and grievances was now unclear.

He wanted to live a good life and let his parents live a good life, marry a girl, have several children, and have the whole family stay together.

Several other people chattered: “I wonder what the situation is like outside?”

“What are you afraid of? With the South Bodhisattva, could they be able to break through the city walls?”

“That’s right, the South Bodhisattva has the blessing of heaven, and we are blessed by the South Bodhisattva. What’s there to be afraid of?”

The more they talked, the more excited they became.

“If it wasn’t for the fact that I didn’t grow strong enough in my mother’s womb, and didn’t grow into a strong man, I would also charge out today and fight the enemies to the death!”

Others laughed: “Come on, with your meek courage, you would only be a lamb to the slaughter.”

The big man sat listening on the side.

He thought, the South Bodhisattva was a good person. The Mongols who defected to him had not been discriminated against. Everyone could live a better life than in the hands of the emperor. The Han people did not bully them, and their children could also attend school together with the Han children and bear the lecturing from the teacher together.

If the South Bodhisattva won the empire, they would not be driven back to the grassland, right?

The big man took a sip of hot water.

Looking out the window in a daze, once upon a time they had sat looking toward the fertile land of the Central Plains from the grassland.

Later, they entered the Central Plains and became the masters, thinking they could occupy this place forever.

But just how many years have passed since…..

——

Outside Hanyang City, Wang Baobao returned to the tent in the military camp. He was bloodstained and his long knife was worn. He didn’t know how many people he had killed. He just remembered that each of them looked at him with the same eyes.

Those people didn’t seem to be afraid of death. The look in their eyes before death was not fear, only resentment and ridicule.

They seem to be saying: “I will be waiting for you in the underworld.”

The soldiers of the Southern King…..

The soldiers of the Southern King were terrifying.

On the battlefield, one not only fought with swords and guns, but also with will. If you feel fear and take a step back, even if it was only one step, the will of the military would dissipate and the line of defense would be broken.

All of the soldiers of the Southern King were not afraid of death.

As if they were not here to fight.

They were all lone warriors clear that they would die, but even so they must kill the enemy before they died.

Wang Baobao looked at his officers.

There was already fear on their faces.

They had never seen such soldiers before.

How could there be soldiers who were not afraid of death at all? Just before a battle, before the swords truly met, how many of them could remain unshakable?

Wang Baobao sighed.

But in any case, they could not withdraw at this time.

They had no retreat, they could only plough forward.

Wang Baobao ordered: “The whole army will rest and attack the city tomorrow morning!”

Victory or defeat would be clear tomorrow.

——

Lin Yuan couldn’t sleep. He was sitting at the desk with a cup of strong tea in his hand. No one could fall asleep tonight. He stood on the city wall all day. Hearing countless battle reports, lives becoming just a number, estimation of deaths and estimation of the wounded.

All he could do was to be there and oversee the battle. He looked down the city wall, only able to see the heads of countless people moving, some falling, some still standing, and constantly killing.

Er Liang came in with hot water, he lowered his head and whispered, “Young master, it’s time to soak your feet.”

Lin Yuan looked at Er Liang.

Er Liang had grown up, the little boy who cried back then had grown into a young man now.

When they were wrapped in a worn quilt and fumbled for the bank notes in the run down temple, they didn’t expect that they would have today.

Lin Yuan rubbed his temples, and said to Er Liang, “Put it there first.”

Er Liang put down the water basin and stood behind Lin Yuan.

Lin Yuan wanted to say a few words to Er Liang. He opened his mouth, but didn’t know where to start. After a while, he said softly: “You don’t need to wait here, you can go.”

Er Liang responded and withdrew from the room.

Lin Yuan closed his eyes, the faces of many people flashing in his mind, those who once followed him but have now died on the battlefield.

Those who talked about making achievements and declared to follow him all their lives.

Those who said that once they had a child they wanted the child to serve as a soldier.

You c an fi nd t he la te st cha pte rs at ( th e bl mu se . c o m )

Lin Yuan leaned on the chair and let the tears slip from the corner of his eyes.

When the sun rose tomorrow, he would still be the South Bodhisattva with a smile on his face and confidence in his chest.

Anyone could fall, but he couldn’t.

TN: aiya, sorry for the confusion, I seem to have mixed up the dates when scheduling the posts. Here’s a double update to make up for it!

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The day when Wang Baobao and his troops set out was a day with good weather. There was no wind and no clouds, neither too hot nor too cold. The soldiers were high-spirited. The soldiers under Wang Baobao’s command had reason to be proud. They were survivors who had gone through hundreds of battles. Each and every one 9f them dared to fight and win. The personalities of the soldiers differ depending on the generals they follow.

You c an fi nd t he la te st cha pte rs at ( th e bl mu se . c o m )

This personality was not personal, but group.

Wang Baobao rode a stallion and waved his horse whip. He was tall with a straight back and a torch-like gaze.

The moment he left for the expedition, he suddenly thought of Toqto’a.

When the news that Toqto’a was recruited by the Southern King reached the imperial court, he remembered that the whole court fell silent at that time, and no one dared to speak. The hall was full of people, but it was as quiet as a funeral hall.

That was Toqto’a, the person they had always looked up to, a direct descendant of a family that had been loyal to the imperial family for generations, and dared to break away from his family relatives for the sake of the emperor.

Wang Baobao still remembered that he had stood among the officials, but he didn’t even dare to lift his head.

He felt ashamed at that time.

Now that he thought about it, he didn’t even know whether it was shame towards the court for being unable to retain Toqto’a’s loyalty.

Or shame at Toqto’a for betraying the court despite being a high-ranking official——even if Toqto’a had been exiled and his wealth and property had been seized and confiscated at that time.

He couldn’t become a second Toqto’a.

He was a Mongolian, and the blood flowing in his veins came from the grassland. He would never bow to Han people.

He must live up to his ancestors and his clan.

All the way on the march, the soldiers ate and slept in the wilderness. Fortunately, they were used to such days. The soldiers came from families that had been soldiers for generations. When they first came to the Central Plains in the early years, they were all big lords, even young children could judge cases——they had just conquered the land of the Han people, and the people above them turned a blind eye to their presumptuousness. This was called conferring a favor.

Later, the earlier emperors passed away. Although they were still higher in status than the Han people, they had to start looking for a livelihood on their own. When there were no battles to be fought they took up hoes, and when there were battles they took up armor and weapons.

Mongolian soldiers conquered the world on the backs of war horses. They were brave by nature. Since they could walk, they must learn to mount horses. They were not afraid of wars. On the contrary, they were warlike by nature.

Today, only Wang Baobao had so many Mongolian soldiers under his command.

Under the command of other generals, there were only a fraction at best, and most of the soldiers were from Han military households.

After setting up camp to rest, some soldiers patrolled the camp, and some sat together to drink some wine and tell some jokes. The spirits in the barracks couldn’t be drunk on normal days, afraid of getting drunk and interfering with things. The wine they brought themselves was not strongly alcoholic, so it didn’t hurt to drink it.

“If you ask me, Xue Chanhan is the greatest! If I was born a few years earlier, I could follow Xue Chanhan!” The soldier looked regretful.

Several other people said: “Our general is also good, better than the others. When the general eats meat, we can also eat meat. Look at the others, when their general eat meat, they may even be able to have a mouthful of broth.”

The soldier asked in a low voice: “Say, if this battle is won, our general should be promoted again, right?”

Someone suddenly said: “Where else can he be promoted? Our general is now the Left Chancellor of the Palace Secretariat, if promoted it will be Head of the Palace Secretariat, but the Head of the Palace Secretariat is Lord Hama. Unless our general is promoted to one of the Three Councilors in one go, otherwise there really is no place to promote to.”

“Then we should still get some rewards at least, right?” The soldier said, “Even some cattle and sheep are good.”

“The scimitar my father gave me has become rusty, and I haven’t been willing to buy another one this whole time.”

Everyone talked about what to do after winning, but no one dared to talk about what to do if they lost.

They didn’t dare to talk or think about it. When they were defeated in the past, at most they could flee back to the capital in a pathetic manner and recuperate for a period of time before fighting again.

But this time if they lost, would Dadu still be stable?

After marching days and nights, they camped in an open space half a day away from Hanyang. The scouts had to observe the surrounding terrain. From preparation to attack, it took at least seven to eight days. Wang Baobao did not feed the soldiers fully these days. They were purposely left half hungry and could only eat fully after winning the battle.

Lin Yuan also received the news.

Now Zhu Yuanzhang and Chen Baisong were both in Hanyang, and Li Congrong stayed in Huangzhou.

Yu Bi was standing behind Lin Yuan when the letter from the informant came. She was now serving in the place of Liu Yi and was responsible for serving tea to Lin Yuan.

Both Liu Yi and Chu Lin were the people who were sent to Lin Yuan to serve as signboards back then. Now Chu Lin had become an official, specializing in dealing with wealthy businessmen. Liu Yi waz still doing her original work, dealing with the female family members of big affluent families.

After Yu Bi came, Liu Yi no longer had to follow Lin Yuan.

The women in the manor didn’t like Yu Bi.

Liu Yi was alright, who let her be so beautiful? Even a woman had to admit that she was born with a lovely face. If she uttered a few soft words and begged softly, even if a woman heard it they would feel their heart soften.

But what was Yu Bi?

Liu Yi was already there early on, and they recognized it, but Yu Bi?

“A born slut that seduces men.” When the maids spoke in private about her they had nothing good to say, “Fortunately, our South Bodhisattva is wise and only let her be a concubine.”

“I heard that she eats swallow’s nest every day, she is but an orphan, yet she acts more noble than a real lady.”

“No matter how she is, she may not really be able to push Sister Liu down? The South Bodhisattva just want to have a taste of something new.”

They didn’t like Liu Yi before, but now Yu Bi had come, they were fine with Liu Yi. They would often chat with her every day, giving her better treatment than when Liu Yi was still serving at Lin Yuan’s side, causing Liu Yi to be flattered for several days.

Liu Yi still had to go to Lin Yuan’s side occasionally. Although she had a beautiful face, she did not have an arrogant and domineering character, otherwise she would not be sent to Lin Yuan’s side.

But every time she went over, she would see Yu Bi.

The two had also exchanged several verbal barbs.

Don’t know why, she always felt that Yu Bi hated her. This hate could not be expressed so Liu Yi could only pretend not to know.

She was just puzzled, Yu Bi was the only concubine the South Bodhisattva accepted. The South Bodhisattva should love her somewhat, so why didn’t he tell Yu Bi that she had never actually been favored by the South Bodhisattva?

But she couldn’t say anything, she could only pretend to be deaf and dumb.

Liu Yi was stopped by someone: “Good sister, the South Bodhisattva asked this humble one to accompany you over there. It seems that that little hussy will not be able to jump around for long. With you there, how can there still be a place for other people to stand?”

Liu Yi smiled and said, “No, no, what the South Bodhisattva likes and dislikes is not up for us to decide. This is just one’s duty.”

The person was retorted by her, and could only lower his head respectfully.

Liu Yi arrived at the study with the attendant. After walking all the way, her heart began to beat extremely fast, and she felt that something big had happened.

When she stood outside the study room and reported her identity, the voice of the South Bodhisattva came from inside.

“Come in.”

Liu Yi opened the door.

The South Bodhisattva was sitting at the desk, holding a newsletter in his hand, but Yu Bi was collapsed on the ground, looking dazedly and with terror at Liu Yi who opened the door.

Lin Yuan said to Liu Yi: “Bring her away for now.”

Liu Yi swallowed and nodded.

The South Bodhisattva had her come, and it was clear that the reason was because he didn’t want this matter to spread.

She stepped forward, took Yu Bi’s arm, and said softly: “Lady, come with me.”

But Yu Bi screamed at this moment: “You lied to me! You lied to me!”

Liu Yi covered her mouth and had the servant drag her out.

The attendant looked weak, but his strength was not small. He grabbed Yu Bi by the hair and dragged her out easily.

Liu Yi’s daily dealings with women had let her gain much experience. Lin Yuan called her over and it was clear that he wanted her to keep a look on Yu Bi, and pry Yu Bi’s words out.

If she couldn’t pry it out, torture would be used.

The fewer people who knew about this, the better, and Liu Yi was also clear about this in her heart.

Lin Yuan took a sip of tea after Liu Yi dragged Yu Bi away.

He had Chen Baisong and Zhu Yuanzhang go muster their troops. The two often cooperated and they had a tacit understanding. They would not fight for command over the troops. This gave him a lot of peace of mind.

Yu Bi was no longer of use. She had relayed the news and let the court believe in it. So whatever information she knew did not really matter.

However, the imperial court could not believe Yu Bi alone.

So Lin Yuan made several preparations.

Don’t know how many spies were in Hanyang City. So long as they kept it from their eyes, the people behind them would naturally not be able to discover the truth.

Lin Yuan pursed his lips.

If Wang Baobao’s army could be defeated this time, whether it was killing Wang Baobao or imprisoning him, Lin Yuan would be able to direct his troops to Dadu. As for Anfeng, let them continue to be chaotic for some time yet.

——

Liu Yi dragged Yu Bi to the corner room not far away. The people here had received Lin Yuan’s orders and had the place sealed. No one could enter without Lin Yuan’s order. Liu Yi watched Yu Bi gritting her teeth, with tears on her face, and sighed: “Lady, if you want to live, just say everything you know. People are raised by one’s father and mother. If you don’t have any pity for your own life how can outsiders pity you?”

Yu Bi glared at Liu Yi: “You don’t have to pry my words! When I came here, I never thought about going back alive!”

Liu Yi smiled and said, “The lady actually has a strong temper.”

Yu Bi closed her eyes: “You don’t need to say anymore, just give me a sharp knife, so I can go to the underworld to reincarnate.”

Liu Yi looked at Yu Bi and thought that this child was probably brought up in wealth and love, and she had never suffered any real hardship. She said softly: “Lady, listen to this sister’s advice, there is nothing more important than one’s own life. Even if you die, who will shed a tear for you?”

Yu Bi sneered and said, “A prostitute like you actually want to teach me a lesson!”

Liu Yi was taken aback for a moment, her old wounds uncovered in such a way. She glanced at Yu Bi, stood up, and straightened her back.

The attendant next to her smiled and said: “Sister Liu, what is the point in talking to her, she is a noble person, with eyes on the top of her head.”

Liu Yi glanced at Yu Bi one last time, and said to the attendant: “Leave her some dignity when sending her off.”

Attendant: “It will definitely be decent.”

Liu Yi walked out of the room.

Yu Bi’s screams sounded from inside.

This attendant was originally in charge of the prisons, and he had his own set of skills on how to torture prisoners and force prisoners to open their mouths.

You c an fi nd t he la te st cha pte rs at ( th e bl mu se . c o m )

He was originally a person in Xu Shouhui’s palace, after cutting off that thing he had become an attendant. The nice way to call what he was was attendant, the unpleasant way was eunuch.

The attendant said to Yu Bi: “Lady, in the next life reincarnate in a better family and be a rich lady, this humble one will send you off.”

AN: “Xue Chan Khan”: The Mongolian name for Kublai Khan.

TN: aiya, sorry for the confusion, I seem to have mixed up the dates when scheduling the posts. Here’s a double update to make up for it!

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Fang Guozhen’s secret letter came. The letter said he knew that Chen Youliang was Lin Yuan’s enemy, so he would first help keep a watch on Chen Youliang. If Lin Yuan wanted to make a move, he would be able to cooperate with Lin Yuan on the inside.

“Half true and half false.” Yang Shaowei said, “Fang Guozhen has always liked to benefit from both sides, does not act before he is sure of the benefits to him, and prefers sitting on the fence.”

You c an fi nd t he la te st cha pte rs at ( th e bl mu se . c o m )

Lin Yuan nodded: “We don’t need to believe it fully.”

Chen Youliang defected to Fang Guozhen, so either he submitted to the Yuan Dynasty, which was obviously impossible.

Or, he managed to persuade Fang Guozhen to rebel again.

One should not make the same action or mistake more than three times, Fang Guozhen naturally understood this.

“Don’t worry about them for now.” Lin Yuan took a sip of tea, “I asked you to watch the movement of the court, have you seen anything?”

Yang Shaowei nodded: “The imperial court is rallying its troops, and I imagine it will come to attack in the near future.”

Lin Yuan raised his hand: “Has the general been decided?”

Yang Shaowei: “The general decided is Chaghan Temur’s foster son, who is also his nephew, Wang Baobao.”

Wang Baobao’s original name was Köke Temür, his father was a Hanlin scholar, and his mother was Chaghan Temur’s sister. As early as when the peasant rebels first appeared, he followed his uncle in putting down the rebellions. Two years ago, Chaghan Temur was assassinated and killed, so he became in charge. Later, he was involved in party disputes within the court, and he was now named the Prince of Henan and Left Chancellor of the Palace Secretariat.

Lin Yuan remembered him.

He remembered that in history, he was hailed by Zhu Yuanzhang as “a man of extraordinary talent.”

It was conceivable that Wang Baobao was not a useless person.

Lin Yuan did not expect that the news revealed using Yu Bi would reel in such a big fish.

The Yuan court now had few generals who could command armies well.

Toqto’a was now in his hands, specializing in water conservancy.

Chaghan Temur was assassinated.

Many more died either in internal fighting or on the battlefield.

It was already at the end of the Yuan Dynasty, and the only ace left now was Wang Baobao.

Wang Baobao…..

Lin Yuan sighed.

He could not recruit this person. Wang Baobao was different from Toqto’a. Toqto’a was abandoned and rejected by the Yuan court. So Toqto’a still had a chance to be drawn over by him. But Wang Baobao had always been in an important position, and the court did not wrong him. He also had his own aspirations.

Since he could not be recruited, he could only be killed.

Lin Yuan felt it was a pity.

Yang Shaowei said: “I believe that at the end of the month, Wang Baobao will lead a strong army to attack the city. There will be a fierce battle. My Lord should take care of your safety first.”

Lin Yuan understood what Yang Shaowei meant. He shook his head and said, “This battle will not be lost.”

Chen Half-Immortal and the others had developed a new type of weapon. The previous weapon was only loud and did not possess much killing power , its greater effect was just to scare people and disrupt the enemy’s military spirit. Now, the newly developed weapon, while incomparable to that of the modern times, in terms of the simple defensive measures of this era, this weapon was practically invincible.

In addition to this, there was also an improved crossbow, which had a higher accuracy.

Although it was still difficult to hit a moving target, it was much better than traditional bows and arrows and unimproved crossbows.

Not to mention that they were standing in Hanyang now, with a city wall in front of them, enough food and grass rations, and a ready-made lookout tower.

In addition, the news Yu Bi spread was false news.

If this battle could still not be won, then Lin Yuan could only think that heaven wanted to kill him.

When Wang Baobao received the imperial decree, he couldn’t believe it.

It was not that he didn’t dare to fight, nor was he afraid of death, but that there was no certainty that this battle would be won!

Someone in the court confided in him. The reason why the emperor asked him to attack Hanyang was because Hama said that his spy was now the concubine of the Southern King, and there was no secret on the bed.

Wang Baobao took the imperial decree and sat at the table with his staff of advisors.

The advisors gritted their teeth and said: “That Hama…..he thinks everyone will…..”

Just because Hama successfully used beauties to deceive the emperor, did he think that all men in the world would be blinded by beauty? If it was a trap, if they really stepped in it, it would not just be them who would die, but the entire Great Yuan Dynasty which was on its last breath.

Wang Baobao smiled bitterly: “The imperial edict has been issued, what can I do? This battle must be fought no matter what.”

Advisor: “We should still think about a retreat route. If you really fall into the trap of the Southern King, you must guarantee the safety of the troops. Only with troops can you have a chance to make a comeback.”

Another advisor gritted his teeth and said, “Why didn’t Tughlugh Timur kill him back then?”

After Ha Ma secretly framed Toqto’a, he became the Left Chancellor of the Palace Secretariat, which was the current position of Wang Baobao. His younger brother Xuexue was the Chief Imperial Censor and the two brothers controlled the court. In the 16th year of the current reign, he wanted to expel his brother-in-law, Tughlugh Timur, Tughlugh Timur wanted to tell the emperor first, but was stopped by Hama and beheaded outside the imperial city.

Today’s Hama was already the Head of the Palace Secretariat.

The Yuan official system, with the exception of the three Councillors of State: Taishi, Taifu, and Taibao, the following most powerful was the Head of the Palace Secretariat, which led the hundred officials, and decided general affairs.

The Head of the Palace Secretariat had existed since ancient times, particularly the Western Han Dynasty. This position regained authority in the Yuan Dynasty. After Kublai’s entry into the Central Plains, Yelü Chucai served as Head of the Palace Secretariat, and Kublai resumed the authority of this position, its power extending to all provinces.

Later, the emperor of the Yuan Dynasty generally conferred this position to the crown prince or a member of the imperial family.

It was not that there were no clever emperors of the Yuan Dynasty. The rules of the ancestors could not be changed, but in order for the emperor’s power to not be divided, it was better to use a nephew or his own son in this position.

This position was too important.

No one thought that Hama would be able to climb a step up from the Left Chancellor of the Palace Secretariat.

But if he continued to climb, only the three Councillors of State remained.

Wang Baobao: “What’s the point of saying this now? Save yourself a bit of energy and put your mind in the right place. How should Hanyang be fought?”

It was not that they didn’t know that the Southern King relied on Hanyang not being well-staffed with troops when capturing Hanyang.

But today’s Hanyang was in the hands of the Southern King, and it was no longer the Hanyang that belonged to Xu Shouhui.

Attacking it now was as difficult as climbing the skies.

What was more, they had to march through mountains and rivers, and the consumption of grain and grass, weapons and soldiers could not be counted.

The Southern King only needed to use Hanyang as backing, and he would have sufficient food and grass, as well as soldiers. If their troops were not enough they could recruit on the spot, but could their side do the same?

Guarding outside the city wall?

Soldiers would be consumed, how to add more?

The advisors bowed their heads and pursed their lips without saying a word.

They must come up with a solution as soon as possible.

This was the worst thing in the world. Everyone knew that the emperor was incapable, obsessed with enjoying wine and women, had no ambitions, and lived off his ancestor’s past gains. Most importantly, he also favored traitorous officials and entrusted them with heavy responsibility, whoever suited his wishes was a good official and whoever went against his wishes were corrupt officials. He did not even need to say anything, just one look and someone would below come up with all kinds of crimes to frame and pull down the people he hated.

It was a compulsory course for traitorous officials to speculate on the thoughts of the emperor.

Wang Baobao said to his staff: “We haven’t fought yet, we might be able to win. Who do you want to show your crying face to? Me?”

“Chancellor.” The advisor sighed, “It would be great if you weren’t sent this time, if you win, it will be throwing a sprat to catch a herring. If you lose, it will be because of lack of manpower and insufficient food supply. So the defeat will not be an ugly one.”

“But sending you this time, you can only win, you can’t lose, if you lose, you…..even if you win, Hama will see you as a thorn in his side.”

Left Chancellor of the Palace Secretariat, if he also had outstanding military merits, how could Hama not panic?

Besides, it was not uncommon since ancient times for a general’s great achievements to threaten the ruler. If Hama incited disharmony and displeasure in the heart of the emperor, even if he won, it would be a dangerous road ahead.

Wang Baobao smiled and said: “The Han people say that since officials and subjects receive the emperor’s remuneration they must share in the worries of the emperor. Let’s talk about it again when that day really comes.”

“What we must think about right now is how to capture Hanyang.”

“It is said that Hanyang has only 30,000 troops now, and another 200,000 troops have suffered heavy losses when chasing Chen Youliang. All in all, Hanyang has only 100,000 available soldiers, many of whom are old, weak, sick and disabled. Moreover, Hanyang has changed hands for less than half a year, and the hearts of the people have not fully been won. If we attack now, the chances of winning are not small at all.” An advisor said, “Although Hanyang is a big city, it is not able to infinitely provide reinforcements.”

Wang Baobao: “Siege? This method is too time-consuming. Without at least two years it won’t work. The situation in the court is changing rapidly. I don’t know what it will be like next month, let alone two years from now.”

The advisor could not help saying: “If we can pull Hama down before the expedition…..”

Another person: “How is it so easy? After Chaghan’s assasination, he now takes personal guards wherever he goes, and it is practically impossible to get close to him. Besides, in the imperial city, who would dare to touch the Head of the Palace Secretariat?”

The proposer gritted his teeth: “If I have good martial arts skills, I will definitely kill him!”

But Hama being alive was too much of a threat to them.

Wang Baobao said: “Let him remain rampant for a while longer.”

On the other side, Hama was accompanying the emperor in reading memorials. He was now the Head of the Palace Secretariat, and reading memorials fell within his duty. What memorials the emperor could and could not see now was all up to him. Now in the palace, the palace maids and eunuchs all acted very diligent and devoted to him, treating him even better than their own fathers.

All of them were filial chidren and grandchildren.

The officials outside were not as sensible as these slaves, and there were some who were against him.

But he couldn’t make a move on them yet.

If he really did make a move, the reputation of the traitorous official would not be able to be washed away any longer.

When that time came, the emperor would have to execute him even if he didn’t want to execute him.

Hama said softly: “Your Majesty is tired? Why not rest earlier? There is no end to these memorials, after today there will be tomorrow. Your Majesty is diligent, but you have to cherish your health as well.”

The emperor glanced at Hama and nodded.

He was willing to favor Hama because Hama was the only official in the imperial court who regarded his happiness as his own happiness.

He might not be unaware of what Hama wanted, but Hama could make him happy, could find him beautiful women, so why couldn’t he favor Hama?

How many of those officials whose words were full of the common people could do the same?

He was the Son of Heaven, not a cattle or work horse for the common people. If he worked away his health, could these officials make it up for him?

They complain that he favored Hama, but if other officials showed the same care for him that Hama did, he wouldn’t just fabor only Hama.

The emperor was helped to bed by the eunuch. After all, in the study room he could only take a brief break.

The emperor asked him: “Extending this expedition, if it is won then that is the best, but what if it is lost?”

Hama was full of confidence: “Your Majesty, my foster daughter is the most clever girl, that Southern King is so bespelled by her that he can’t keep any secrets from her.”

You c an fi nd t he la te st cha pte rs at ( th e bl mu se . c o m )

The emperor closed his eyes and listened to Hama’s repeated assurances, and finally said: “Then that’s good.”

AN: Historically, Hama died because Tughlugh Timur managed to find Emperor Yuan Shun in advance and sue him.

His brother Xuexue also died with him.

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