Reborn Lady - Chapter 238

Wei Jin shook her head and went on to describe the situation between her and her husband’s family over the past three years. Her husband’s family was dissatisfied with her, and he stayed in the concubine’s room every night. These details were something Wei Jin had refrained from telling her father.

When the emotions settled, King Yan, in front of all the generals, asked his daughter, “Did the Emperor send you here to persuade me to surrender?”

Wei Jin presented the edict where Wei Ang promised to share the world equally with her father.

After King Yan saw it, he showed joy and asked his daughter, “What do you think, Ah Jin?”

“If he gets angry, he will send a large army to attack immediately. At that time, not only will your previous achievements be for naught, but the people of this dynasty will also suffer from the civil war again if you agree with this edict!”

King Yan’s expression turned cold, but he hesitated again, saying, “But if I continue to go south, and you fail to fulfill the Emperor’s order, the court will punish your husband and my grandchildren…”

With tears in Wei Jin’s eyes, she raised her face slightly and said in a firm voice, “Compared to the safety and danger of the people in the world, they are nothing. Father, just go south, don’t worry about my family!” 

Wei Luo, Wei Xuan, Cui Yu, along with all the generals, knelt down together, begging King Yan to fight for the people.

King Yan held his eldest daughter’s shoulders heavily. His good daughter was worthy of being his and the princess’s child. In the face of the significant situation, she knew what was more important.

Therefore, King Yan kept his daughter and sent envoys to reply to the new Emperor. He asked the Emperor to get rid of the treacherous ministers. Unless Huang Ren, Qi Tao, and Yin Wen were punished, he would never stop!

Wei Ang was furious and sent someone to tie up the envoy of King Yan!

Huang Ren and Qi Tao knelt in the middle of the main hall, weeping, willing to die to solve the crisis of the court.

How could Wei Ang kill these two confidants? Once killed, he would admit that he was deceived by treacherous officials and that he was a foolish Emperor. How could an Emperor who could be swayed by treacherous officials just after he ascended the throne gain a foothold in the future and convince the officials and the people? In addition, King Yan intended to rebel. Even if Wei Ang killed Huang Ren and Qi Tao, King Yan will continue to march and find other reasons to take the throne. At that time, Wei Ang couldn’t even save his last integrity.

Helping the second minister up with his own hands, Wei Ang gritted his teeth and said, “King of Yan is a traitor, and his wolf’s ambition is well known in the government and the public. Since he wants to fight, I will accompany him. I don’t believe that my righteous teacher will lose to a traitor. The late Emperor is in heaven. If he were alive, he would definitely help me!”

Since there was a fight, Huang Ren and Qi Tao immediately began to make plans again.

At that time, Wei Ang still had confidence in himself. So what if King Yan had four hundred thousand troops in his hand? He still had the Yangtze River, and King Yan’s iron cavalry ran unimpeded on the ground, but there was nothing he could do in the face of the turbulent river.

At the end of June, Wei Ang appointed Chen Yanchun, who was skilled in water warfare, to lead the navy and wait on the river.

In Jiangbei, King Yan was worrying about crossing the river. The number of fishing boats was limited, and he had no sailors at hand. It was challenging enough for the soldiers to get on the boat without experiencing seasickness.

That morning, King Yan came to inspect the riverside again. After crossing the river, there was Jinling City, just one step away. Unfortunately, the river was so vast, his legs were not so long, and his steps were not so wide.

At that moment, he saw countless warships coming from the opposite bank with the wind, resembling huge fish monsters that had transformed into spirits.

Was the court going to take the initiative to start a war?

King Yan quickly ordered his soldiers to prepare, waiting on the shore. The Imperial Navy would engage in battle if they had the ability. Otherwise, no matter how fierce the water battle was, they would not be able to beat them while staying on the boat.

King Yan was concerned but not afraid. He was eager for the warships.

To his surprise, those warships lined up on the river, and as they approached, one by one, flags on the warships were suddenly lowered, only to be replaced with flags bearing the mark “Yan”!

Immediately, a warship came alone, standing on the bow and looking over with a smile was Chen Yanchun, the commander of the Imperial Navy.

 Chen Yanchun brought his whole family ashore. Under the vigilant eyes of all the generals of King Yan, Chen Yanchun knelt down in front of King Yan and said in a loud voice, “Chen Yanchun, commander of the lower official navy, is willing to serve you!” Bringing his family along made it clear that this surrender could not be faked. King Yan was overjoyed and helped Chen Yanchun up with his own hands. For a moment, he felt closer to Chen Yanchun than to his own son!

With the unexpected addition of the navy, after three days of rest, King Yan’s army boarded the ships one after another, crossed the river smoothly, and headed straight to Jinling.

When Wei Ang learned that Chen Yanchun had surrendered to King Yan, he vomited blood and fell ill on the bed.

The young Emperor, only in his early thirties, lost half of his hair overnight.

The chief assistant Huang Ren knelt before the Emperor’s sick bed, crying, and said, “Don’t worry, your majesty, we still have one hundred and fifty thousand troops, and all of them will be called back to defend the capital!”

Wei Ang stared blankly at the top.

Dispatch troops?

It was true that there were still several frontier generals with substantial troops at their disposal, such as Shu Pinghou in Shu, Pingxi in Qin, and Liao in Liao. However, both Shu Pinghou and Pingxihou were unwilling to heed the Imperial Court’s orders, maintaining their positions under the pretext of guarding the frontier. Wu Jian, the Marquis of Liao, had sent troops to surround Pingcheng but returned to Liao due to the Jin soldiers’ attack. Rumor had it that King Yan wrote him a letter, the contents of which remained unknown. Regardless, since then, Wu Jian had not obeyed the court’s orders.

“You can figure it out,” Wei Ang said, closing his eyes and entrusting the matter of defending the city to Huang Ren and Qi Tao.

These two individuals were thorns in the eyes of King Yan, compelled to defend Jinling City for their own lives. They summoned several generals and veterans in Jinling City, including Xu Yao, Lu Long, and Sheng Shiting, and assigned them critical tasks to safeguard the city gates.

In mid-July, King Yan’s army approached the city.

It took only one day to attack the city, and that night, Lu Long, in charge of guarding the west gate, surrendered overnight and opened the gate.