The Child Emperor

The King of the East Sea finds himself in trouble, becoming the least welcome person in Ironbreaker.

He unnecessarily sent more than 100 honorable children to Nancheng, and all of them were killed or injured. The truth has spread throughout the city and outside the city. The surviving honorable children have been far away from him since then, and ordinary soldiers are also deeply impressed by his ability. Suspected that only some soldiers of the Buqu battalion were more polite to him, seeing that they once charged together.

With the arrival of General Zhenbei, the status of the East Sea King plummeted.

Han Ruzi brought good news.

Hearing that the 50,000 Northern Army will arrive soon, the Chu army inside and outside the Broken Iron City cheered. They have been waiting for this news for too long, especially those soldiers who originally belonged to the Northern Army, after losing the right general Feng Shili, even more looking forward to the same Robe's aid.

In the blink of an eye, the Chu army, who had been frightened by the Huns, began to worry about another question: Will the Huns escape before the reinforcements arrive?

Han Ruzi needed to boost his morale, but he was not so optimistic about his real situation. Not long after he arrived at the Iron Broken City, he didn't even return to the General's Mansion. He and a group of generals went to the ruins of Quicksand City to the west, and joined Chai Yue who was stationed here. Listen to his report on the military situation on the other side.

The ground was as hard as iron, and a gust of wind blew broken snow everywhere. The Chu army built a five-layered deer antler fence along the river bank, with different directions to block the impact of the Huns' cavalry. There were tents all over Lingnan, where a large number of soldiers took shelter from the wind. Cold, but can't disarm, weapons are at hand, ready to be called at any time, especially at night, can only take turns to sleep for a while.

Han Ruzi rode on horseback and stood on the highest point of the mountain. After a while in the wind, he felt his face like a knife, tears in his eyes, and the chill shot into his forehead like an arrow. There were a few simple watchtowers not far from here. For at least an hour, I was frozen stiff, and often I couldn't even move a step.

"I heard from the veterans in the army that this winter is colder than usual." Chai Yue was wearing several layers of armor, with frost on his helmet and eyebrows. These days, he has been on the mountain longer than anyone else. , Even if there is only one horse running around on the other side, he will like it for a while.

"The Huns won't last long here, and so will the Chu army." Han Ruzi pulled his cloak a little tighter, "There is not much food and grass left in Broken Iron City, and the reserves in Shenxiong Pass are not enough to support tens of thousands of people for a long time. army."

Of course, Chai Yue understands the difficulty of stationing in Saibei, "General Zhenbei decides to negotiate?"

"I want to hear your opinion first."

Chai Yue slowly inhaled a gust of cold air. He observed for so long just to give General Zhenbei a clear answer. When it was time to speak, he still didn't have much confidence.

"The Huns' camp is a little strange."

"Yeah." Han Ruzi only felt that the camp on the other side was very long, but he didn't see anything unusual.

Chai Yue pointed to the west, "The camp over there is blocked. I sent scouts to observe it. It is said that the tents in the camp are the most dense, and almost half of the Huns are stationed there. Obviously, they are guarding against a sneak attack. Not to the west."

He turned his arm and pointed to the east, "The camp there is relatively sparse, but it extends longer. There is still a small camp a hundred miles away, probably monitoring the terrain, and the east is the retreat direction chosen by the Huns."

Chai Yue finally pointed to the center, where there was a mountain ridge, almost entirely occupied by tents, "Da Chanyu's banner stands there, and a scout once saw the Huns migrating eastward from the rear of the camp."

"Are the Huns fleeing?" Han Ruzi asked.

"It seems so, and it is not only the Eastern Huns, but also a large number of Western Huns. The two have been merged into one. It is said that the current Da Chanyu is also a Western Huns."

"Then the peace talks are sincere?"

Chai Yue was silent for a while, "It's hard to say, no matter what happens in the west, the Huns are eager to flee, but the truce doesn't make much sense to them, they may also want a piece of land that is guarded by the card, which is enough to resist in their eyes. stronger enemy."

Han Ruzi was also silent for a while.

Chai Yue looked at the small group of people on the other side and said, "The messenger is back, listen to what he has to say."

Han Ruzi and the others went down the mountain and entered a tent to warm the fire to ward off the cold. Not long after, the messenger came in. He was instructed to conduct preliminary negotiations with the Huns, and also to inquire about the military situation.

"The Huns hope to exchange prisoners first to show the sincerity of the peace talks."

Chai Yue frowned and said, "We have quite a few Hun prisoners in our hands. Where did they get the Chu army prisoners?"

In the previous two battles, both sides suffered casualties, but not many were captured alive. The prisoners in Broken Iron City were all the Eastern Huns captured by the army led by Right General Feng Shili.

The messenger said: "There are more than 1,000 Chu soldiers in the Huns' army, and General Feng You is among them. I have seen it with my own eyes."

The generals and officials in the tent were all startled. According to the practice of the Huns, only women and children were taken as prisoners. The captured soldiers were either killed or forced to act as forwards in the next battle, but they had not seen them in the previous two battles. The figure of the soldiers of the Chu army, everyone thought that Feng Shili and other soldiers would definitely die.

The exchange of prisoners is not harmful to both parties. After Han Ruzi discussed with the generals present, he agreed. The envoy of the Chu army brought a Huns. He returned to the other side to inform Da Shanyu, and agreed to exchange prisoners the next morning, and then discuss peace talks. Things.

Back at the General's Mansion in the city, Han Ruzi was finally able to rest for a while. Zhang Youcai and Loach had been left in the Iron Broken City. They had already tidied up the room to make them comfortable, and the heat was suffocating. Han Ruzi, who had just returned from the front line, even had a little Sorry to check in.

It was already dark at this time, and Han Ruzi had just finished eating when the King of the East Sea ran in, "You want to exchange prisoners with the Huns?"

"Well, General Feng You is still alive, he is a general of the Great Chu, and he has to exchange it back anyway."

"Hey, Feng Shili..." King Donghai motioned for his two followers to withdraw, "Feng Shili is the right general of the Northern Army. When he comes back, who will obey your orders?"

"The 50,000 Northern Army is on the way and will arrive soon. No matter Feng Shili is there or not, the Northern Army will have its own generals."

"Forget it, not to mention the Northern Army, have you heard about the capital?"

"Slightly heard, unknown details."

The King of the East Sea stepped forward, "I guess you don't know, otherwise you wouldn't return to Iron Shattered City from Shenxiongguan." He sighed heavily, showing a bit of anger, "I got the news that the emperor has already one I haven’t been to court for many months, and the queen mother is often absent from the Qinzheng Palace, the memorials are not processed, the ministers are panicked, Wu’s three kingdoms have secretly returned to Beijing, and I heard that the champion Hou is also hiding in the capital.”

"How do you know these things?" Han Ruzi only got a letter and knew very little about the situation in the capital.

"My uncle sent someone to deliver the letter to me." King Donghai also called Cui Hong his "uncle".

Han Ruzi remained silent.

"You don't believe me?" Donghai Wang said anxiously.

"Of course I believe it. I also got news that the capital has changed, but what can we do?"

"What should I do? Of course, go back to Beijing immediately, the sooner the better. You can't let the champion Hou Choi get cheap. If he becomes emperor, the first imperial edict will probably be to kill you and me."

"What about the Huns here? You may not be able to beat the champion when you return to Beijing now, but Iron Broken City is very likely to lose the war."

"God, aren't you very smart usually? Why are you confused when the most critical moment? The Northern Army is the champion, and he abandoned the army to return to Beijing. What do you care about? Let the Northern Army fight the Huns by themselves. Anyway, Feng Shili will be able to exchange it back tomorrow, and the future victory or defeat has nothing to do with us. You have to decide the priorities and regain the throne, the world will be in your hands, and you will stay in Broken Iron City. Even if you defeat the Huns, the credit will go to others. Can't keep it!"

"No hurry, anyway, there is no clear news from the capital, wait for me..."

"Ah - I'm really going crazy, are you addicted to being a general?" The King of the East Sea angrily turned around and left, and soon came back, "You want to talk about peace, well, then talk to the Huns, After the talk, you have to return to Beijing with me immediately."

Han Ruzi thought for a while, then nodded and said, "Okay."

Donghai Wang still shook his head incessantly when he left.

Meng E walked in. These days she has been living in the same room with Han Ruzi to protect his safety. Just like in the palace, she blew out the candle and sat on the small bed for herself for a while, and suddenly asked: "Why don't you go back to Beijing with the King of the East Sea?"

She didn't eavesdrop, but King Donghai spoke in a loud voice, and he was angry when he went out. She could guess the general situation.

Han Ruzi sat on the bed, secretly lucking out, and replied, "Champion Hou returned to Beijing, because he has the support of the Northern Army, as well as nobles and clans, and the King of the East Sea hopes to return to Beijing immediately, because he has Taifu Cui and the Southern Army's support. Support, what do I have?"

Han Ruzi knew best, but he had only one use for the King of the East Sea: to restore the orthodox status of the son of Emperor Huan, and to create conditions for the King of the East China Sea to inherit the throne.

He doesn't want to be anyone's puppet anymore.

"What can I help you with?" Meng E asked.

"Don't let me be killed." Han Ruzi smiled, and then said sternly: "I have a hunch that as soon as the 50,000 Northern Army arrives, someone will do it, and it is not certain who it will be."

"Then you still have to dispatch the Northern Army to come to the rescue?"

Han Ruzi had no luck anymore, got out of bed and walked in front of Meng E, whispering, "This time, I will do it first."

Meng E was taken aback, "Is this what you want me to do?"

"Well, just keeping me safe is not enough. Not only do I have to survive, but I also have to destroy the enemy and have an army loyal to me. Meng E, do you think I am qualified to be the emperor?"

"Of course, otherwise I wouldn't have come to protect you."

"From now on, I have to do something the emperor should do, Meng E, are you ready?"

"Okay." Meng E once again felt that the young man in front of her had a certain irresistible majesty, so she could only promise and dare not make any more conditions.

"That's good, very good." Han Ruzi returned to his bed and silently calculated who was the enemy, who was trustworthy, and who was usable but not trustworthy.

No matter what happened in the capital, it was a rare opportunity for him, much earlier than expected.

He has many things to do, the first of which is to deal with the threat of the Huns.