CHAPTER 450: CHAPTER 447 ESCAPE

As Li Tao boarded the warship, a large ship also set sail from Mingzhou, and the Governor of Hai State, Xue Yuanzong, looked at his colleagues.

"If it weren’t for Lord Zhao reminding me to keep an eye on the movements at sea, I might not have discovered it," Xue Yuanzong said. "It seems that Meng Su has mobilized the court’s warships."

The officials on the ship exchanged glances, their expressions varied but still calm and composed. They knew what was going to happen, but even though there were people from Prince Lu’s side all around, they had to conceal it.

Xue Yuanzong said, "Governor Meng is not at the government office."

Prefect Zhao said, "I also sent people to look for him, and indeed he is not there. Additionally, people at the government office said that they also saw Song Jiedu. I have already reported this to the court. In theory, we should wait for the court’s official document, but the time it takes for the back and forth from the Capital City is too long. If something major happens in the meantime, the consequences would be unimaginable."

Xue Yuanzong said, "Prefect Zhao is right."

Prefect Zhao continued, "I invited all of you here so we can bear witness to each other." Several governors seeing it with their own eyes could suppress any voice of doubt if it reached the court.

"Let’s go," Prefect Zhao said. "If Meng Su is wronged, I will submit a memorial to the court to plead guilty."

Xue Yuanzong and Prefect Zhao were very confident. No matter how many troops Song Xian and Meng Su prepared, they could not compare. The moment the large ship set to sea, Song Xian and Meng Su were defeated. Perhaps this was the first step to lay the foundation for Prince Lu’s future ascension to the throne.

...

At sea.

Song Xian and Meng Su saw several large ships heading towards them.

Meng Su snorted coldly, "They have indeed come."

Not only did Li Tao come, but the Governors of Hai State and Mingzhou would also take action with their men. Meng Su had never experienced such a situation in Yuezhou all these years, but he was not worried. Having thoroughly investigated beforehand, he felt assured.

Meng Su looked at Song Xian, "Back when Song Jiedu attacked the Pseudo King, there were many voices in the court. Many said Song Jiedu was young and reckless, thinking he could recover the eight states after making some achievements at the Northern Border, which was bound to exhaust Daqi’s finances."

Meng Su took a deep breath, "I also had doubts. After all, Song Jiedu was indeed too young." Young people are always impulsive and overconfident.

"Now," Meng Su turned to bow to Song Xian, "I apologize to Song Jiedu here." Someone with such confidence may not be young and reckless or have control over everything, but it was something that had to be done.

Song Xian, at the North, saw the situation of the eight states and knew the life of the people there.

Just like now, standing here without much thought, perhaps a small misstep could lead to a great disaster. But he feared even more not understanding it all, as Daqi could face more terrible war disasters.

As an official, these were things he should do.

Song Xian naturally couldn’t let Meng Su bow to him. He reached out to help Meng Su up, "Meng Su, you’re being too serious. After this matter is over, let’s have tea together."

Meng Su laughed, "Shouldn’t it be drinking wine? Is it because the Commandery Princess doesn’t agree?"

Song Xian shook his head, "I cannot drink alcohol."

Although Song Xian said this, Meng Su was convinced it was the Commandery Princess’s idea. Everyone knew that Song Jiedu listened most to the Commandery Princess.

Song Xian and Meng Su took several large ships forward; they were the bait to draw out Prince Lu. The warship Li Tao brought was the first fish hooked.

Xie Liangchen and Chen Zigeng didn’t proceed with Song Xian and the others. They were waiting for movements on the other side. The Emperor secretly arranged the Navy to capture Prince Lu’s troops in one go.

Xie Liangchen looked at Ah Jing, "Don’t be afraid."

Ah Jing nodded but still clenched her hands tightly, "If dad is on the island... can he come back?"

Xie Liangchen said, "Song Xian and Meng Su will find a way to save the people on the island." Prince Lu would want to escape and blame the sea incidents on Song Xian, so he couldn’t leave anyone alive on the island.

When the time came, Prince Lu could say Song Xian, seeing things exposed, handled all the people at sea. Coupled with those "eyewitnesses" like the Prefect of Mingzhou, upon thorough investigation, many of the goods being smuggled came from the Chen Family Village.

Before this, Xie Liangchen personally presented Prince Lu with evidence, which was the ink block produced by Chen Family Village, never sold to any shop, only available from the Chen Family Village.

Gaining this evidence would seal the guilt of Song Xian and the Chen Family Village.

Since they had long guessed Prince Lu’s intentions, they also made arrangements. Song Xian selected individuals, sending Chang Tong, Liu Ji, and others to the island.

Even though there was someone to respond, casualties were unavoidable. Just hoping it would be a bit smoother.

...

The warship left the island.

Vice General Wu’s gaze became sharper, full of murderous intent.

"Take action," Vice General Wu ordered those around him.

They had to silence everyone on the island and hurry to leave.

Vice General Wu waited for a while and was about to go and see the situation when a subordinate hastily reported, "General, there’s been a mistake. The women in the village have escaped."

Vice General Wu frowned, "What?"

The subordinate said, "They might have sensed something in advance. When we took people in, we found they were not there... The back wall had an exit dug out, and they left through there."

Just after the subordinate finished speaking, another team that went to the mine also reported, "Those people killed our guards. The island is in chaos. It might take some effort to kill everyone."

Vice General Wu’s forehead twitched. Before this, they hadn’t noticed any anomaly.

Those people had no weapons. Sooner or later, they’d be killed, but they didn’t have much time.

Vice General Wu said, "Send everyone out."

The knives in their hands were harder than those people’s bones.

Zheng’s heard screams coming from behind; she looked at Sister Chen, who was calm and reassured those around her, "Keep going, don’t look back."

The more you look, the more afraid you’ll be. Even if you get caught and killed in the end, you can’t die because of cowardice.

Zheng took a deep breath and continued running forward. They used the tunnel they dug to escape at midnight, moving the boats they made to a place not far from the coast to hide them.

This escape route had been calculated many times, but when it came down to it, fear shrouded the path.

The people Vice General Wu sent were all armed. Once they caught up with one, it’d be a cut as soon as they raised their hand. After seeing blood, they killed in a frenzy, no longer able to be measured as "human."

"They’ve come."

"They’re chasing us."

A woman cried out.

Those who were not in good health had already given up on escaping, collapsed to the ground, and could only muster the strength to find a place to hide.

Sister Chen looked around. The footsteps were getting closer; everything was more challenging than they had anticipated.

"Quick, speed up."

The boats hadn’t set sail yet, and the women saw those armed men surrounding them.