“Your Highness, absolutely not! The State of Chu still has many important matters requiring your judgment! How can Your Highness remain in Jinling Province?”
The atmosphere in the main hall froze for a moment. Sima Hao shouted anxiously.
“Presumptuous! Is this a place for you to shout?” No sooner had Sima Hao’s voice fallen than Qian Dafu immediately rebuked him sternly.
Sima Hao’s mind was instantly shaken. He then realized that the person before him was the Emperor of the Great Yu Empire. And he, having lived in Lin’an for many years, had no respect for the imperial family at all.
Xiao Ming’s eyes narrowed slightly. He naturally saw that Sima Hao had no reverence for him whatsoever. Hearing was not as good as seeing; now he finally understood the imperial family’s standing in the eyes of these Jiangnan powerful families.
If Sima Hao, a person with sensitive political instincts, would still neglect respect for the imperial family due to habit, what would other powerful families do?
Now he felt even more strongly how correct it was to let the Jiangnan powerful families and the merchants’ council fight each other. As long as their influence disappeared, the imperial family’s influence could control the south.
Li Chuyuan, kneeling on the ground, secretly rejoiced. This time, he finally saw Sima Hao suffer a setback.
Xiao Ming merely snorted. He said bluntly, “I have long heard of your Sima family’s reputation. But you must remember, whether in Jiangnan or Jiangbei, you are all citizens of the Great Yu Empire. What the imperial family gives you, the imperial family can also take back.”
Sima Hao’s expression was grim, but he still forced a smile. He said, “Your Majesty, I was merely speaking out of urgency. After all, a nation cannot be without its monarch for a day, and a feudal state cannot be without its feudal prince for a day.”
“Is Li Chuyuan not the Prince of Chu? The place where he is, that is your royal court. If you are willing to remain in Jinling Province, I will also agree.”
Sima Hao choked. Li Chuyuan was already his pawn, and now this pawn had been seized by Xiao Ming with just a few words. He was truly unwilling, but he also understood that he was powerless to argue further now.
So he said, “Yes, Your Majesty. However, government affairs in Lin’an are busy, so I cannot remain.”
Xiao Ming nodded. He then said to Li Chuyuan, “The merchants’ council colluded with barbarians, incited the common people, and caused chaos in the region. They are rebels and traitors. Effective immediately, I will lead the imperial army to punish them.”
“Thank you, Your Majesty, for your immense grace.” Li Chuyuan let out a heavy sigh of relief. He was finally out of danger.
Having settled this matter, Li Chuyuan had Sima Hao return first, and instructed Sima Hao to provide convenience for the imperial army upon his return to Lin’an.
Sima Hao sneered inwardly, but readily agreed verbally. For him, he would not provide even a single grain of food to the imperial army.
Watching Sima Hao depart, Li Chuyuan’s face now turned grim. He turned to Xiao Ming and said sadly, “Father King resented me and hated me, and did not believe me. The Sima family is ambitious and determined to control me. And the Cao family even wants to annihilate me. This State of Chu has no place for me, Li Chuyuan. It is truly lamentable, truly tragic.”
Xiao Ming, hearing this, said, “You needn’t belittle yourself. The long-standing problems of the State of Chu did not develop overnight. Even without the merchants’ council, you would have met the same fate if you inherited the throne one day.”
Li Chuyuan sighed slightly. He said, “I, your humble servant, now desire nothing more. I only wish to live a life of wealth and glory in the latter half of my life.”
“What’s so difficult about that? I have prepared a large mansion for you in Qingzhou Province. You will surely like it when you see it,” Xiao Ming said with a smile.
Keeping Li Chuyuan was still useful. After all, the Li family still had influence among the common people. As long as Li Chuyuan was present, he could use this card at any time. If he died, there would be no more playing this game.
“Thank you, Your Majesty,” Li Chuyuan said sincerely. He believed Xiao Ming, because the Third Prince was still living well in Bashu.
Xiao Ming could show such kindness to the rebellious Third Prince. He believed he would also keep his promise to him.
With a slight smile, Xiao Ming had Li Chuyuan return to rest, leaving the remaining matters for him to handle.
After Li Chuyuan left, Qian Dafu said with emotion, “Your Majesty’s benevolence is known throughout the realm. Li Chuyuan has also sincerely submitted. It’s just a pity that the old Prince of Chu did not see through it.”
“He was too clever for his own good. If he had realized earlier, he wouldn’t have ended up like this,” Xiao Ming said angrily. The current situation in Jiangnan was entirely caused by the Prince of Chu.
After exchanging a few casual words with Qian Dafu, Xiao Ming drafted an imperial edict and sent it to the Jinling Grand Camp. He ordered Lu Fei to immediately cross the Yangtze River southward and attack Songjiang and Jiaxing.
Jinling Grand Camp. Upon receiving Xiao Ming’s order, Lu Fei immediately mustered his troops. He and Luo Xin each headed for Songjiang and Jiaxing.
At the pier, the Qingzhou Navy’s warships had already been resupplied. The two, each leading twenty thousand men, boarded the ships, left the Yangtze River for the sea, and landed near Songjiang and Jiaxing from the sea.
After a night’s march, the next morning, Lu Fei landed east of Songjiang. On the ship, the soldiers, having packed three days’ rations in their combat backpacks, successively disembarked.
“Songjiang is less than a day’s journey from here. These rations are enough, after all, the warships are anchored at sea, and we can get supplies at any time.”
Lu Fei pointed to the landing site on the map and the location of Songjiang City.
Beside him were the commanders of the 1st and 2nd Divisions, one named Fang Zicheng, and the other Guo Ming.
“There are forty thousand soldiers of the merchants’ council stationed in Songjiang City. According to secret guard intelligence, they all use old flintlock guns provided by the French. They also have seventy-two cannons, all traditional siege cannons, with a range similar to Qingzhou Province’s first-generation artillery,” Fang Zicheng said.
Guo Ming frowned. He said, “These cannons can still pose a threat to us. A skirmish line would be useful.”
“Indeed, you’re right. This time, our Huben 1st Army is the first to be equipped with Falcon breech-loading rifles. You must not disgrace me. I only give you two days. You must take Songjiang City for me and march south!”
“Yes, Army Commander!” Fang Zicheng and Guo Ming shouted loudly. They did not want to lose to Luo Xin’s men either.
With that, the two led their troops towards Songjiang City. After half a day, they saw Songjiang City standing on the plains.
At the same time, the council army of Songjiang City also saw this army.
“General, look! This army’s attire is truly strange!” a general on the city wall said.
The person responsible for defending Songjiang City was Yao Hongtao, a former general of the old Prince of Chu. Under the temptation of the merchants’ council’s money, he chose to betray after the Prince of Chu’s death.
And under the attack of Li Chuyuan’s army, he, relying on his trained new army, repelled Li Chuyuan’s army’s attacks several times.
However, when he clearly saw this army, the calm expression on his face disappeared. He exclaimed, “Oh no! This is the northern army! There’s no mistake! Although they wear helmets, their military uniforms are still the same!” Yao Hongtao said.
He had once followed the Prince of Chu to scout Jinling Province’s deployment and recognized the northern army.
The soldiers, hearing this, immediately panicked. They all knew the news of the northern army defeating the barbarians. Could they now withstand them?