CHAPTER 503: CHAPTER 497: WANTING TO DIE FOR THE COUNTRY

Fu Tinghan asked, "Does it look good?"

Zhao Hanzhang nodded without looking carefully, "It looks good."

Fu Tinghan laughed and explained, "Yuan Li gave it to me. I think it’s beautiful, the jade is of excellent quality, and it’s a perfect pair, so I’m giving one to you."

Only then did Zhao Hanzhang look closely, seeing the jade’s translucency, indeed it was exquisite, and raised an eyebrow, "He’s quite thoughtful."

Fu Tinghan nodded, "Very thoughtful indeed."

Zhao Hanzhang accepted it, turned to hand it to Ting He to store, then asked, "How many days can our provisions last?"

"Only twelve days."

That’s quite little, for Wang Mi and Liu Cong’s armies entered the city before them, and they had thirty thousand troops outside. No one knew how long this battle would last.

Zhao Hanzhang lowered her gaze, thinking for a while, and finally decided, "First, we need to find a way to evacuate the remaining civilians in the city; we can’t let them become hostages of Wang Mi and Liu Cong."

Fu Tinghan said, "There are enemy forces in the city, and their numbers exceed ours; it won’t be easy to evacuate the people, will it?"

"Indeed, so someone must distract them," Zhao Hanzhang surveyed around and found only two suitable people present: herself and Beigong Chun.

Whether Wang Mi or Liu Cong, both had suffered defeats at the hands of her and Beigong Chun; either of them turning up would be enough to attract their animosity.

While their ability to attract animosity was the same, when it came to chatting...

Zhao Hanzhang thought for a moment and decided, "Forget it, I’ll go. General Beigong, Wang Mi wants to deal with Shi Le, he won’t bother with those two thousand of his own men. As for Liu Cong’s ten thousand, keep a close watch; no need to move. Lead the army to guard outside the South City Gate, hold the South City Gate, and you’re securing my rear."

Beigong Chun agreed.

Zhao Hanzhang then went to muster troops and entered the city.

Ting He helped Zhao Hanzhang put on armor and, seeing the jade on her hand, asked, "Miss, are you wearing this?"

"Who would wear this to fight? It’ll get damaged if not broken. Store it away, and I’ll wear it with regular attire later."

Ting He agreed.

Though Zhao Hanzhang didn’t wear the jade, many people saw Fu Tinghan giving it to her, and the news quickly spread throughout the trusted aide camp.

Yuan Li gifted a pair of jade pieces to Mr. Fu, who then immediately gave half to the lady; though they were originally a pair, people seemed to perceive it differently.

Thus, on the way back to his tent, Fu Tinghan encountered countless generals, deputy generals, team leaders, and centurions, all offering what they deemed valuable spoils as gifts to him.

Fu Tinghan: ...

He rejected them all, finally managing to return to his tent, only to find many things had already accumulated there.

Fu An went out once and returned heavily laden. Helplessly, he looked at Fu Tinghan, "Sir, I tried hard to decline, but they left immediately after giving me things; no matter how I refused, it was useless."

Fu Tinghan held his forehead and asked, "Do you remember who gave what?"

"I do remember. They stated their names when gifting, repeating it several times, making it hard for me to forget."

Fu Tinghan nodded, "Return each item individually. If they refuse to accept, tell them anyone who doesn’t will be treated as offering bribes to superiors and their families."

Fu An agreed, "Yes."

Fu An organized all the items, pausing to recall who gave them, though some he couldn’t remember precisely, he knew the general area. He decided to find them later and let them take back their items, sparing him the dilemma.

As Fu An wandered the camp returning gifts, Zhao Hanzhang led her army through the South City Gate toward the Imperial Palace.

From afar, they heard the sounds of battle cries.

Of course, Wang Mi and Liu Cong knew she had arrived.

Last night in the middle of the night, they realized an army had arrived outside the city. The scouts they sent out didn’t report back, indicating an anomaly, so they discreetly sent out more scouts.

However, Zhao Hanzhang and Beigong Chun’s skills were impressive; within a twenty-mile radius, there were troop patrols, making it difficult for the scouts to infiltrate and investigate. Ultimately, only three returned.

They came back after dawn, reporting the opposing army carried Zhao Family Army and Xiliang Army flags.

Wang Mi and Liu Cong could guess who they were with their intuition.

Despite having been defeated by the two previously, they held a deeper dread toward Beigong Chun.

Now, these two previous conquerors joined forces against them, leaving Wang Mi and Liu Cong feeling indescribably complex.

Wang Mi deeply resented Prince East Sea and Prince Nanyang, "A bunch of incompetents; they couldn’t even hold Beigong Chun. He made it to Chang’an and still managed to flee to Yu State to join Zhao Hanzhang."

Liu Cong also regarded Prince East Sea and his brother as incompetent and told his subordinate, "Zhao Hanzhang and Beigong Chun have arrived. We must achieve quick victories; dragging this on is unfavorable. Send someone to inform Wang Mi; our armies should unite, seize the Imperial Palace first, and discuss other matters later."

Additionally, he declared, "Whoever enters the Imperial Palace first will be rewarded with a Thousand Households."

The generals heard this, their eyes lit up, and they moved swiftly to comply.

Wang Mi also temporarily set aside his grudge with Liu Cong, aiming to capture the Imperial Palace first.

Thus, early in the morning, the gates of the Imperial Palace were approached once again, with troops carrying siege machinery towards the gates. Yet they hadn’t reached before chaos erupted, and arrows shot down from the towers, coinciding with stones hurled from the ramparts.

Liu Cong’s Xiongnu army wasn’t adept at besieging cities, which was a weakness of the Xiongnu, but Wang Mi excelled in this area.

This was why he managed to invade Luoyang before Liu Cong.

Initially hesitant due to Liu Cong’s presence, lest defeating Jin Army benefits him as a bystander.

However, with Zhao Hanzhang present, Wang Mi couldn’t worry about much and immediately called on his men to deploy ladders, instructing an organized advance.

Liu Cong, knowing when not to contend for credit, cooperated from the side by sending troops to assist.

Enemy forces suddenly exhibited fierce combat spirit, and the general commanding atop the ramparts realized it, urgently directing stone launches and arrow shots before rushing to the Emperor and court ministers.

The Emperor sat in the highest position, while Fu Zhi and Zhao Zhongyu sat among officials below.

The general saluted, "Your Majesty, for unknown reasons, the enemy suddenly united to launch a fierce attack and our arrows are limited, even stones are running short; please consider departing immediately."

Did the Emperor wish to leave? Of course! But he needed to be able to leave, as the palace gates were blocked, surrounded outside by enemy forces; forcing a wall escape was impossible.

The Emperor looked to Fu Zhi, "Fu Zhongshu, what do you think should be done?"

Fu Zhongshu seemed to have aged ten years within the year, replying, "Your Majesty should prepare; if we can’t endure, we ministers shall accompany you in loyalty unto death."

The Emperor: ...

Zhao Zhongyu and other court officials remained silent, tacitly agreeing.

At the bottom of the seating was Zhao Ji, who was trembling with cold and deeply regretting. When Luoyang was breached, they shouldn’t have retreated into the Imperial Palace with the other officials’ families; fleeing the city might have offered a slim chance of survival.