Rebirth: The Journey of an Heiress novel Chapter 1560

Chapter 1560: Chapter 1555: Eager to Return Home

"Therefore, we must first kill the Emperor of Zhou... Once the Emperor of Zhou is dead, whether the Regent Prince has been prepared or is seeking revenge, deploying troops... always takes time, doesn’t it? This way, we’ll have room to maneuver to deal with the Regent Prince!" King of Xiping spoke slowly, "Naturally, the best scenario would be to eliminate both of them together! That would save a lot of future troubles." "How about we ambush and wait for the Emperor of Zhou, then notify the Regent Prince... If this Regent Prince is truly the Emperor of Zhou’s husband, he will certainly rush to the rescue like he did during the previous incident at Jiangzi City, then... we can catch them all in one fell swoop!" a counselor suggested. "I’m afraid that won’t work! If we’re not careful, we might not catch the prey but get hurt by it instead!" King of Xiping placed the teacup aside, closed his eyes, and extended his hands toward the fire. "Your Highness is thoughtful!" said a counselor in black, "Our Regent Prince Murong Yan is indeed quite skilled in military affairs. You can see some of it during the previous annihilation of Xiliang. However, before, he was hard-pressed... The Emperor was young, pulled by state affairs and battles, inevitably distracted! But now if it’s to save his wife... it’s different. The Regent Prince might take a desperate gamble! After all... if the Emperor of Zhou dies, his title of royal husband is unclear, his son is just babbling and can’t take power, he might be replaced by any of those Princes of Zhou, perhaps not even leaving him alive! This wouldn’t align with the Regent Prince’s plans and interests." "Hmm..." King of Xiping didn’t open his eyes, flipping his hands by the fire, "On the surface, this seems simple: the vassal kings all agree to kill Murong Yan and the Emperor of Zhou, so... we handle the Emperor of Zhou, and others handle Murong Yan!" Otherwise, why should their Xiping army exert effort, while everyone else shares in the benefits? It’s unreasonable. "But if another vassal king is responsible, I’m afraid the Regent Prince will notice the troop movements!" a counselor worried. "What does that have to do with us?" King of Xiping smirked, already having calculated clearly in his mind, "If they move troops against the Regent Prince, the Regent Prince will be prepared. Meanwhile, we silently act against the Emperor of Zhou to catch him off guard. It’s best if the Emperor of Zhou hears of Murong Yan’s trouble and splits his forces to rescue... it’d make the Emperor easier to deal with! It’s a good thing for our Xiping army!" As soon as King of Xiping finished speaking, there was a soft crackling sound from the red coals in the brazier. "Even if the Emperor of Zhou is ruthless and doesn’t divide his forces to save Regent Prince Murong Yan, as long as someone else holds back the Regent Prince, we have nothing to worry about!" King of Xiping continued. Disregarding any relationship as spouses, purely from an interest perspective, Regent Prince’s child is in Zhou, and his titular biological father’s already dead. The Emperor of Zhou, Bai Qingyan, has many capable siblings; if Bai Qingyan dies... the Regent Prince’s plan to unify the world through his child is shattered, and the child’s life may not even be safe. Thus, the Regent Prince has every reason to rescue the Emperor of Zhou! But for the Emperor of Zhou, aside from the marital relationship, there’s no compelling reason to save the Regent Prince. By understanding this and discussing it with other vassal kings, the King of Xihuai is essentially doing the most dangerous thing. If they can’t even handle such small matters, on what grounds should they share the benefits? Just because they also bear the surname Murong? Ha... The King of Xiping is not one to preach reasoning or consider sentimentality like the young emperor. With his mind made up, the King of Xiping spoke: "Let’s do it this way. Send someone quickly to communicate with the nearest vassal king. Whoever handles the Regent Prince doesn’t concern me, but someone must kill the Regent Prince; otherwise... if the Xiping army here fights with Zhou and they don’t act, I’ll be attacked from all sides. At that time, I must lead the Xiping army to surrender to the Regent Prince. If the Regent Prince then orders me to attack them, even if I wish to consider the brotherly ties for my relatives and brothers’ sakes, I’m afraid I won’t be able to." "I will write the letter!" the counselor in black offered, "Please rest assured, Your Highness!" "Good... send someone to keep an eye on it! This heavy snow is likely not to cease for some time, inevitably delaying the Emperor of Zhou’s journey. Sending the letter to other vassal kings still allows us time; as soon as the Emperor of Zhou sets off toward the front Danzhou, we Xiping troops will proceed to set up an ambush." "Yes!" The counselors and generals inside the house responded in unison. Amid the wind and snow, fast horses from the King of Xiping’s residence sped in four directions towards the four city gates... · The snowfall continued for three days, and by the early morning of the fifth day, signs of clearing skies finally emerged. Golden light pierced through the thinnest edges of the clouds, as if gilding the thick clouds with a dazzling golden edge. Liu Pinggao and Lu Yuanpeng knew that once the snow stopped, Bai Qingyan would certainly set off, so they began instructing the soldiers to pack up and prepare to depart. The snowy roads were difficult to navigate, but since they were heading home, none of the soldiers complained. They cheerfully packed their things, with some even tucking roasted sweet potatoes warmed by stove ashes into their pockets for the road. Inside the residence, Wei Zhong stepped through the snow-blue curtains, seeing Bai Qingyan already draped in a high-quality fur cloak, and after saluting, he said, "Your Majesty, the carriage is ready." "Today the Eldest Young Lady rides a horse! Eunuch Wei mentioned the snow scenery is quite lovely, it’s nice to admire along the way..." Bai Jinzhi emerged from behind the screen, with a grayish-blue cloak draped over her arm, looking in high spirits. Bai Qingyan walked past the hanging veil, coming around the screen: "Riding back on horseback, no need to protect the carriage, can travel faster!" "Your Majesty misses the Empress Dowager, Little Prince, and Little Princess, wishing to return as quickly as an arrow!" Wei Zhong said with a smile, bowing again, "This old servant will prepare right away!" The gatekeeping general and county official of Bianliang City escorted Bai Qingyan to the city outskirts. Before leaving, Bai Qingyan repeatedly urged them to take good care of the common people and asked the defense general sent by Zhou to painstakingly continue caring for the people there for over two more years. The gatekeeping general repeatedly agreed, watching as Bai Qingyan led the army disappear into the vast white landscape before turning back to the city. Previously, Bai Qingyan and Bai Qingjue had divided their forces to visit various cities to soothe the people. This time, they were returning to Shequ together and, after meeting there, would return to Zhou together. Just after departing from Bianliang City, where Bai Qingyan led the forces, the scout who had long been waiting outside the city learned Bai Qingyan’s troops numbered less than ten thousand, immediately reporting back to King of Xiping. With the Xiping forces already in a state of readiness, just as twilight fell, the scout who had been dispatched returned to report Bai Qingyan’s current troop strength. "What a wonder! This time the Emperor of Zhou comes to Yan Kingdom, not for war, yet brings a considerable number of troops..."