allonlinenovel Chapter 250 Prince An's Expedition
Chapter 250 Prince An's Expedition
Shen Qionghua's face was tense, her eyes were slightly narrowed, and her hands were a little itchy.
It seemed that if Xie Nanyuan dared to talk about other things again, she would pick up the hot tea that the servants at the table had just served and smash it into Xie Nanyuan's face.
Xie Nanyuan was obviously very clear about Shen Qionghua's temper. This kind of excessive behavior should not be repeated once or twice, otherwise it would really annoy her.
He straightened his expression and said, "Today, the emperor summoned all the ministers to the palace. He is very angry about the Chen Kingdom's breaking of the contract."
"The State of Chen not only broke the contract but also seized three cities in a row, burning, killing, and looting in the cities, with reckless disregard for human life."
Shen Qionghua had heard all this before, but she was a little surprised and asked, "Don't the border generals have any countermeasures?"
Even if the Duke of Zhenguo was summoned back to the capital, other capable generals should have been sent to guard the border.
It would have been fine if he hadn't mentioned this. As soon as he did, Xie Nanyuan's expression darkened and he said solemnly, "This is exactly the problem this time."
Seeing Shen Qionghua looking at him with doubt, Xie Nanyuan slowly said, "Originally, before my uncle returned to the capital, he recommended a brave and resourceful general to the emperor. The emperor listened to my uncle's advice, and later this general took care of all military affairs on my uncle's behalf."
"This man is brave and skilled in battle, and good at using strategies. Logically speaking, with him around, the people at the border would never have fallen into this state."
"But the State of Chen was cunning and had planned this in advance. They actually sent several secret guards to infiltrate the camp and assassinate him, causing him to be seriously injured and die."
"With the chief general killed, the remaining generals naturally lost their composure, and with no one able to take control of the situation, the State of Chen took advantage of the situation and launched an attack, forcing the soldiers to retreat step by step."
"By the time we reacted, the State of Chen had already occupied three cities. The soldiers fought desperately to stop the soldiers of the State of Chen from entering the fourth city."
"The Emperor has already sent a pigeon message, asking the surrounding prefectures and counties to immediately provide support at the border. He will also send a large army later, but..."
Xie Nanyuan looked gloomy. The fact that Chen State suddenly broke the agreement and was so familiar with the deployment of the border that it could even send secret guards to sneak in and kill the chief general was a big problem in itself.
Shen Qionghua's face changed drastically when he heard this. He was even more shocked than when he first learned that three cities had been lost at the border. It was obvious that he understood the implication of Xie Nanyuan's words.
She tried to calm herself, but a barely perceptible tremor still lingered in her voice. "Did the Emperor say who would lead the troops?"
At this point, Xie Nanyuan frowned. "My uncle, Prince An, Earl Yongning, and General Lin and I have all recommended ourselves to the Emperor. The Emperor was very hesitant and only sent someone to reorganize the army. The specific command will be announced tomorrow morning."
This sentence made Shen Qionghua even more uneasy.
Logically speaking, Prince An and Earl Yongning had never been to the battlefield. The situation at the border was urgent at the moment, and only Prince Rui, Duke Zhenguo and General Lin were the most suitable candidates.
Especially Prince Rui, he basically won all the battles he participated in, but the emperor hesitated, which means that the emperor did not want Prince Rui to participate in this battle.
In other words, the emperor had begun to fear Prince Rui's prestige in the army and felt that his achievements were too great to be trusted.
In the previous life, the emperor sent the Duke of Zhenguo to the battlefield because Prince Rui had already passed away, and the only descendant of the Duke of Zhenguo's family, Princess Pingning, was left in the capital, so the emperor was naturally not worried.
In this life, the war started a year earlier, and Prince Rui is still alive and well, and his body is not getting weaker day by day like in his previous life. Can the emperor still be at ease?
What Shen Qionghua could think of, Xie Nanyuan could naturally think of as well.
He comforted Shen Qionghua, "Right now, the people at the border are the top priority. The emperor will prioritize the overall situation. Even if he sends Prince An to fight, given the emperor's temperament, he will let General Lin go with him."
"Although this person is a bit arrogant, he does have some abilities."
Xie Nanyuan said this, but he knew very well in his heart that the emperor would most likely not send him to the battle.
Shen Qionghua left with a sad face, and Xie Nanyuan did not try to keep her.
The current situation is not suitable for romance, as everyone's thoughts are on the border thousands of miles away.
That night, Shen Qionghua tossed and turned, sometimes awake and sometimes unconscious.
In his mind, he thought of the tragic situation of the Shen family in his previous life, the scene of the entire Zhenguo Mansion being executed and the blood flowing like a river, and the pain of the fire rising to the sky when he died...
It was not until dawn that Shen Qionghua fell into a drowsy sleep.
After waking up, Shen Qionghua felt exhausted all over. Thinking back to the scene in her dream last night, she frowned, feeling that she had missed something.
But before she could think about it, Shaoyao heard the noise and came in, interrupting her thoughts.
Before Shen Qionghua could say anything, Shaoyao's face darkened as she spoke rapidly, "Miss, the Emperor issued an imperial decree early this morning, ordering Prince An to lead his troops to battle, with Earl Yongning and General Lin to assist."
Shen Qionghua: “…”
I heard this news early in the morning. Although I was mentally prepared, I still felt upset and panicked.
The emperor was still afraid of Prince Rui, so he abandoned Prince Rui and let his rival Prince An lead the troops to war. It is unknown whether the war situation in this life will be different compared to the previous life.
Although Shaoyao was very dissatisfied with Prince Rui's behavior of breaking into Shen Qionghua's boudoir at night, if she compared Prince Rui with Prince An, Shaoyao still tended to favor Prince Rui.
She couldn't help but mutter, "I don't know what the emperor is thinking. The border is already so critical, and Prince Rui is obviously more experienced in combat, but he sent Prince An, who has no combat experience, and he's not afraid of delaying the war."
Shen Qionghua was startled and said, "Keep your voice down. You can't say such things casually. Be careful if others hear you. Are you going to die?"
Now that the imperial edict has been issued, if these words are heard by someone with ulterior motives, Shaoyao will definitely be punished for disrespect, and Prince Rui may even be implicated.
Shaoyao smiled awkwardly and said, "I only dare to say this in front of the young lady. Besides, the secret guards of the Rui Palace have surrounded the palace like an iron barrel. No one will hear it."
Shen Qionghua shook his head helplessly, but couldn't help sighing in his heart.
Those in power will never care about the suffering of the lower-class people. Even if they do, they will be immediately abandoned once it conflicts with their own interests.
The emperor knew very well that Prince Rui was more suitable than Prince An, but he had to do so.
The court is like a chess game. The emperor is the chess player, and they are just chess pieces on the board. They cannot resist, and even if they are conscious, they can only let him control them.
Shen Qionghua no longer thought about things that were beyond her control, and just hoped that the people who were in dire straits could be safe.
After a bad night's sleep, Shen Qionghua looked a little listless, her face was very pale, and there was a hint of purple under her eyes.
After being helped by Shaoyao to wash and have breakfast, she took a nap and her complexion became a little more rosy.
Shen Qionghua picked out a simple and elegant dress, put on a jade hairpin and a few velvet flowers, and went to the Duke of Zhenguo's Mansion with Peony.
Since she has no say on who goes to war, she still has to try her best to change other things that can be changed.