Chapter 1,073: The Empress Dowager Returns to the Court
Xiongguan Jingzhou, about three feet high.
Su Mingzhe and Xiandengying pushed the siege truck all the way across the ten-foot-wide moat. In less than two breaths, they took the lead in climbing to the top of the city.
With the first, the second soon followed.
In less than half an hour, the gate of Jingzhou City was opened.
Jingzhou is declared broken!
By this time, Pei Hong was already dead, spitting blood and foam from his mouth.
Su Mingzhe didn't have time to take another look at Pei Hong's body. He just held the knife and chased the officer to kill him.
Several captains looked panicked, rolling and crawling, and ran towards the palace.
"They're all devils!"
"The Han army is all devils!"
Less than half an hour.
Li Xi (Emperor Li) also learned that the city gate had been breached.
The beardless and gloomy chamberlain supervisor on the side quickly advised:
"Your Majesty, the city gate has been breached, it's time to retreat!"
"Evacuate? Where to retreat?"
Li Xi was a vicious person, and his eyes always exuded a sharp and violent aura. Ordinary people would not dare to look at him.
And just like that, Li Xi suddenly felt that all his strength had been taken away from him, and he sat down on the dragon chair, with a look of desolation on his face, and sighed with emotion:
"Pei Hong misunderstood me!"
According to the original plan, Jingzhou City had to be defended for at least ten days and a half, in order to dampen the vigor of the Han army.
As a result, the Xiongguan in Jingzhou could not stop it for even an hour. Wouldn’t the remaining Guizhou and Xiazhou be even less reliable?
Therefore, Li Xi's mind was completely blank and he couldn't muster the strength to escape.
In the dim hall, as a long sigh ended, a long silence slowly fell.
I don't know how long it took.
Li Xi suddenly felt that the already dark hall was filled with darkness, and he couldn't help but ask:
"Housekeeper, it's dark, why don't you turn on the lamp?"
The eunuch, who had a pale face and a cold appearance, looked at his master in astonishment. His mind was blank for a moment, and then he said cautiously:
"Your Majesty, the lamp has been turned on..."
"What did you say?"
Li Xi was stunned for a moment, then reacted:
"Inner Chamberlain, you said, 'The lights have been turned on'? Then why is the main hall still so dark?"
The chamberlain supervisor looked at Li Xi, whose expression gradually became ferocious. For some reason, he felt panicked, but he did not dare to speak again.
…
"You said, Li Xi is blind?"
As soon as Su Mingzhe led his troops to the gate of the palace, he learned from Yin Xian, who had surrendered, that Li Xi, the 'Li Emperor', was actually blind.
"Your Majesty, it is indeed true!"
Yin Xuan did not dare to hesitate and quickly reported the specific situation:
"This is the chamberlain supervisor. He is usually responsible for serving the traitor Li Xi. He just reported to Li Xi the news of the city's destruction. The traitor Li Xi suddenly became blind for some unknown reason."
Su Mingzhe was silent for a moment. Seeing that the Han army took over Yin Xun's command and took control of the palace gate, he asked:
"Since Li Xi is blind, there is no use keeping him, so just kill him. By the way, where is the queen of your late king?"
The power of Nanping Kingdom is divided into three parts.
As the sworn brother of King Nanping, Li Xi took control of the military.
The ministers in the court expressed their love to the late king and empress.
There are also local nobles, headed by Taichang Qing Yin Wujiu.
Yin Xuan had long known from his father that the Han Emperor knew the situation in Nanping very well, so he did not dare to hide it and directly said:
"Ever since the death of the late emperor, Empress Wan has been imprisoned in the dormitory by the traitor Li Xi, and she is not allowed to enter or exit. Now Empress Wan should still be in the dormitory!"
When Su Mingzhe heard the news about Empress Wan, he immediately had no intention of talking to Yin Xuan and directly ordered to the eunuch:
"Inside Chamberlain, lead the way!"
Although the Nanping Kingdom only has three prefectures: Jing, Gui, and Xia, its area is quite large, with seventeen counties and a population of nearly one million.
Jingzhou Imperial Palace took the whole country's efforts and took more than ten years to build. The palace is naturally extremely luxurious.
While leading the way, the chambermaid smiled flatteringly and explained to the man:
"Your Majesty, in front of you is the bedroom of King Nanping. After the death of King Nanping, Empress Wan was unwilling to submit to the traitor Li Xi, so she was locked up in this bedroom by Li Xi for more than a month."
"Yeah?"
Su Mingzhe didn't know when Empress Wan surrendered to Emperor Li.
However, it would be best if Empress Wan had not been touched by Emperor Li.
Thinking like this, Su Mingzhe had already arrived at the door of the closed dormitory.
In the bedroom, under the light, Empress Wan was sitting in front of the dressing table in a daze. When she heard the door of the palace door being pushed open, she didn't look back.
These days, Li Xi has to come to persuade her to obey him every day, and Wan Hou is starting to get tired of it.
"Uncle, you came a little early today. Is there any news about the prince?"
The chamberlain supervisor glanced at Su Mingzhe and saw that he had no intention of speaking. He coughed lightly, reminded Wanhou to turn around, and then helped introduce:
"Empress, the traitor Li Xi has been captured and killed by His Majesty the Emperor of the Han Dynasty. Now the Emperor of the Han Dynasty is here to see you!"
"His Majesty the Emperor of the Han Dynasty?"
After Wan Hou passed through the screen, she saw a young man with sharp eyebrows and starry eyes, a heroic figure, and a tall and straight posture, standing at the door of the palace, looking towards her.
"You guys, please step back."
Su Mingzhe noticed that Queen Wan was calm even though she was frightened, so he knew that it might take a lot of effort to capture her tonight.
However, the more challenging something is, the more interesting it will be.
With a wave of his hand, Su Mingzhe signaled all the palace residents in the palace to retreat.
Wanhou became even more nervous when she saw this, but there was nothing she could do about it.
The emperor of the Han Dynasty ran to his palace. It was obvious that the Nanping Kingdom was gone.
At this time, Wan Hou could only think about whether to use it or not.
The next day.
Su Mingzhe opened the bedroom window that had been closed for more than a month.
A ray of morning light shone in, and Wan Hou's flawless white skin actually exuded a charming luster.
Wanhou curled up her slender legs, raised her head and looked in the direction of the man, only to be faced with bright sunshine.
After being imprisoned for more than a month, she suddenly saw a bright light. Wan Hou's eyes became sour and she actually shed tears.
"Have you not seen the sun for a long time?"
Su Mingzhe smiled faintly and was about to close the window again.
Wanhou quickly raised her snow-white lotus root arm and stopped her:
"Your Majesty, don't close it. It's better to keep this window open."
"Yeah?"
Su Mingzhe also liked the feeling of the sun falling on his body and couldn't help but smile:
"I heard that Empress Wan was the wise empress of Nanping. She assisted the late king for three years, and all the civil and military officials in the court were interested in Empress Wan. Now that the Han Dynasty wants to take over the three states of Jing, Gui, and Xia, it still needs Empress Wan's help. I, please calm the hearts of the people..."
"It is my duty to help His Majesty!"
Empress Wan could bargain with the licking dog Li Xi (Emperor Li), but she did not dare to disobey the Han Emperor Su Mingzhe.
After all, Wanhou had already experienced the consequences of resistance last night.
In a blink of an eye, it’s early May.
Su Mingzhe was still immersed in the tenderness of Xiao Ai and Wan Hou, unable to extricate himself.
Some news came from the Imperial City Division,
First, Emperor Li Sheng of the Tang Dynasty took advantage of the great victory of the Wuyue Kingdom and continued his southern expedition, destroying the Min Kingdom.
King Ma Chu also gathered the power of the whole country and spent more than a month to devour the Kingdom of Wu (South Vietnam).
Yang Qianzhen, a powerful official in Nanzhao, was instigated by King Ma Chu to rebel and usurp the throne, and established the Dayi Ning Kingdom.
In just over a month, south of the Yangtze River, only the three kingdoms of Southern Tang, Ma Chu, and Dali were left.
The three countries formed an alliance with each other and prepared for war at the same time, preparing to use natural dangers to fight the Han army to the death.
June.
Su Mingzhe led 200,000 Han troops to fight three consecutive battles with Tang troops in Anqing and other places.
Three battles and three victories.
Emperor Li Sheng of the Tang Dynasty was forced to move the capital of the Southern Tang Dynasty from Jinling to Hangzhou, the capital of Wuyue.
Su Mingzhe originally wanted to lead his troops in one go and continue the southern expedition.
As a result, God was unfavorable, and heavy rains fell continuously, causing the Yellow River and Yangtze River to flood at the same time.
In desperation, Su Mingzhe could only choose to temporarily return to the court and wait for a new opportunity for the southern expedition.