parentshiftbook Chapter 22, Charge
Chapter 22, Charge
Outside the capital city, yellow sand swept across the sky, obscuring the sun.
Iron hooves thundered, warhorses neighed and galloped.
The battle flags fluttered fiercely in the wind, and tens of thousands of iron cavalry galloped swiftly, their killing might overwhelming the heavens and the earth.
The advancing Liang King's army resembled a long, dark dragon stretching across the sky, and the entire official road was completely occupied by the torrent of soldiers.
When the Liang King's army was less than a hundred miles from the capital, they began to set up camp.
……
Inside the central command tent,
Lu Chan, clad in heavy silver armor, sat in the commander's seat, with his civil and military generals standing solemnly on either side, including many former trusted subordinates of the Xie and Pei families.
Lu Chan slowly scanned the generals in the tent, his expression feigning pity, as if he couldn't bear it: "Gentlemen, in this battle we are only fighting to uphold the country, cleanse the court of corrupt officials, and restore an enlightened and prosperous era to Daqing."
"After all, the emperor and I are uncle and nephew. If it weren't for the sake of the people, I would not have been willing to start a war so easily and fight each other."
His gaze fell on the man at the bottom of the tent, and he asked, "How is the city?"
Wang Chengye quickly stood up, full of confidence: "Your Highness, rest assured, once the army arrives, the civil and military officials in the city will certainly open the city gates to welcome them!"
Upon hearing this, Lu Chan nodded in satisfaction, abruptly stood up, drew his longsword, and the sharp glint of the blade reflected the boundless ambition surging in his eyes. He raised his arm and shouted, "Gentlemen!"
"With our achievements complete today, we will all be remembered for generations to come, our names etched in history!"
The generals under the tent rose solemnly in unison, their roars shattering the tent and shaking the heavens: "We are willing to be shattered to pieces for the Prince!"
……
When news of the imminent arrival of the Liang King's army spread, the entire capital was thrown into an uproar.
Countless officials were so excited that they couldn't contain themselves and wished they could immediately open the city gates and surrender to the King of Liang, offering their loyalty.
Unlike the excited officials and noble families, the people in the city were gripped by panic.
For the common people, their lives had been peaceful for a rare period of time since the Holy Emperor returned.
Within half a month, the Holy Emperor allocated land and carried out large-scale projects, which not only provided food for many homeless people, but also gave many refugees outside the city a means to make a living.
They don't understand any grand principles; they only know who fed them.
……
Inside the palace, the Holy Emperor was putting on his armor.
The gilded patterns on the black iron armor gleamed coldly, and the white fox fur collar made his face appear even more stern. One hand rested on the hilt of the sword at his waist, and the dragon pattern on the scabbard echoed the black dragon on the crown. Red silk fluttered wildly in the wind.
Looking at his imposing figure reflected in the mirror, Lu Cheng was very satisfied.
Hearing the cries outside the palace, Lu Cheng frowned slightly and ordered, "Tell them to shut up. I'm annoyed by it!"
Several palace maids who were dressing trembled slightly, their faces pale, and they lowered their heads, not daring to look at the Holy Emperor.
Eunuch Cao hesitated, then quickly waved to the eunuch beside him to tell the palace maids outside to shut up.
Recently, rumors have been circulating in the palace that the Prince of Liang is about to attack, causing panic within the palace.
According to intelligence from spies, the King of Liang has amassed an army of 70,000.
The Emperor patted Consort Shu's soft bottom lightly, his tone relaxed: "I'll be right back!"
Consort Shu responded softly, her face slightly flushed, and buried her head in the Emperor's chest.
Beneath the red walls of the imperial palace,
The emperor's most loyal personal guards were already lined up in perfect formation, their eyes filled with fervent fighting spirit.
The fervent atmosphere reached its peak the moment the emperor strode out of the palace gates.
"Long live!"
"Long live!"
"Long live!"
The sound spread like a tidal wave, sweeping across the entire palace.
The Holy Emperor raised his hand to urge them down, then looked down at the soldiers below the wall, his voice steady and powerful: "Follow me—crush them!"
With just one word, the emperor's fanatical personal guards erupted like a volcano, shouting like a tsunami.
The moment the dragon banner emerged from the palace, countless eyes converged upon it from all directions.
Civil and military officials gathered in front of the palace gate, looking up at the majestic figure under the dragon banner.
Five thousand imperial guards emerged slowly from the palace, forming a long, winding line.
Many of these were former private soldiers of powerful families who chose to submit to the emperor because of his great power.
The Holy Emperor rode his horse, leading the Imperial Guards along Zhuque Avenue, passing through every inch of the land that belonged to the Emperor.
Twenty-two neighborhoods, forty-six streets, a territory spanning a hundred miles.
At this moment, everyone's eyes were on the aging emperor.
The homeless people on both sides of the street knelt down and prayed devoutly.
……
The Holy Emperor has left the city!
At that moment, countless carrier pigeons took to the sky and headed towards the Liang King's camp.
Liang King's Camp
The King of Liang clutched the secret letter in his hand, his expression showing a mixture of astonishment and confusion.
He didn't quite understand what his nephew, who was more than twenty years older than him, was thinking.
Perhaps they planned to surrender with their men, but fearing it would be a loss of face, they deliberately left the city.
Surely a foolish ruler wouldn't be thinking of using a few thousand men to fight against his 70,000-strong army.
No matter how he thought about it, Liang Wang couldn't imagine the possibility of his defeat.
With an army of 70,000 and the support of civil and military officials, how could they possibly lose?
Tell me how to lose!
"Someone come here!"
Two guards entered the tent.
The King of Liang turned around, removed his helmet and sword, and coldly ordered, "Give the entire army the order to prepare for departure!"
He will not accept surrender!
There can only be one emperor in this world!
Whatever the tyrannical ruler's plans, he intended to crush him with an army of 70,000.
He wanted to hang it on a flagpole and light it as a sky lantern!
……
The moment the King of Liang finished assembling his army, dust billowed in the distance, accompanied by a thunderous roar.
The dragon banner emerged from the smoke and dust.
The King of Liang rode forward, about to say a few polite words, when a huge shadow suddenly flew in from the dust in the distance.
"What is it?"
The King of Liang looked surprised.
As the enormous object fell from the sky, everyone finally saw what it was and their mouths dropped open.
A massive, heavy ball of black iron, ten meters in diameter.
"Run!"
"Run!!"
Terrified screams echoed throughout the arena.
"Boom!"
The moment the iron ball crashed down, the Liang King's army was crushed, with countless soldiers instantly turned into mincemeat.
King Liang was shocked and enraged, his fury surging like a raging fire.
Damn!
His heart was bleeding.
That attack cost him over a thousand elite cavalrymen.
The voice of the Holy Emperor echoed throughout heaven and earth!
"Listen up, you rebels on the other side!"
"If you want my life, then pick up your swords and fight like men!"
The charge has begun!
There was no pre-battle mobilization, no slogans, no hesitation, only heavy breathing and the uniform sound of warhorses galloping.
They will follow that dragon banner closely and die like men!
They were met with a hail of arrows!
I offer my loyalty to the Holy Emperor!
"Long live!"
"Long live the Emperor!"