The Tyrant's Beloved Empress

77

Translator: She.Wee
Editor: KitKat

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When Xiao Zhige received the reply from Yanzhou, he had already arrived in Yongzhou. By November, the weather had grown increasingly cold. Even though Yongzhou was located in the South, the people there had already donned their padded cotton clothing.

Sitting atop his horse, Xiao Zhige gazed into the distant North. By now, Yanzhou would be experiencing its first snowfall.

The gates of Yongzhou slowly creaked open, the loud sound pulling him back from his thoughts. Behind Xiao Zhige followed twenty thousand troops from Yanzhou, their cold and stern eyes fixed on Kang Hong, who had come to greet them.

Kang Hong, the General of Martial Valor, was one of the Twelve Generals, a direct subordinate of Xue Qi, and a loyal supporter of the Third Prince's faction. He was in his early thirties, tall and robust, with rough, dark skin, clearly a man of the military—a stark contrast to those pampered parasites like Zuo Qiu, who had risen through the ranks by relying on connections. Kang Hong was a man with real abilities.

However, the situation in Yongzhou was not much better than in Qingzhou. Refugees had caused chaos, powerful families had been slaughtered, and they had even breached Yongzhou's defenses, pushing all the way to Ruan Zhou.

There was no need for Xiao Zhige to guess who was behind all of this. It was nothing more than an attempt to use the chaos in the southern provinces as a way to impeach the Crown Prince. The more severe the situation became, the graver the Crown Prince's crimes would appear. Even if they couldn't topple the Crown Prince in one fell swoop, they could at least tarnish his reputation. If a nation's heir had a bad reputation, his position would become increasingly unstable.

Kang Hong spurred his horse forward to greet Xiao Zhige and led the party into the city.

As they traveled through the streets, they saw desolate roads, collapsed houses, and even dark red bloodstains on the ground that had yet to be cleaned. These were evidence of the turmoil that had taken place within the city. Despite everything, Kang Hong was no pushover like Zuo Qiu so the refugees had not managed to take over the city. The chaos had, however, spread to the surrounding counties.

The city was relatively peaceful now, but ordinary citizens dared not leave their homes or venture into the streets. They spent most of their days holed up indoors. Soldiers patrolled everywhere within the city, the atmosphere cold and tense.

Suppressing his emotions, Xiao Zhige dismounted and followed Kang Hong into the mansion. Without any politeness, he sat directly in the seat of honor and asked, "What is the current situation in Yongzhou?"

Having heard about Xiao Zhige's actions in Qingzhou, Kang Hong's eyes flashed with caution as he replied, "The refugees have occupied Guangping County, where most of their forces are concentrated. I sent people to try to persuade them to surrender, but they refused. We have clashed several times since then, but there is a strategist among the refugees whose tactics are quite formidable. Even I suffered some losses, so I decided not to attack preemptively and waited for Your Grace to arrive and take charge."

Xiao Zhige gave a noncommittal "hmm," neither agreeing or disagreeing. Instead, he said, "The soldiers have traveled a long way and are exhausted. We will discuss this matter later."

Kang Hong was taken aback and grew anxious. "How can we afford to delay dealing with the refugee chaos? I heard that the Prince quelled the rebellion in Qingzhou without shedding a drop of blood, which is truly admirable. However, the situation in Yongzhou is different from that of Qingzhou. These refugees are extremely fierce. If we do not resolve this quickly, it could lead to even greater disaster!"