Your Majesty, We’re Counting on You to Ruin the Country! 72

Chapter 72: Who Is It

“Long live Your Highness—”

Wen Ning’an stood on the high sacrificial altar, his ceremonial robes trailing on the ground, his high hat adorned with flowers. Below him were the civil and military officials, kneeling in worship. Before him was the old high priest of the Fengtian Temple. The old priest’s robes were even more complicated and intricate, with dazzling pendants hanging from them, and the makeup on his face was strangely thick.

“The hundred officials worship Your Highness, and Your Highness worships the heavens.” The priest respectfully handed a few sticks of incense to Wen Ning’an with both hands. “Your Highness, please.”

Wen Ning’an knelt before the incense table and the sacrificial table and kowtowed, then stood up and inserted the incense into the incense burner.

After doing all this, he stood up and waited for the priest to read the scriptures, but he only heard a “pfft,” and the tip of a blade suddenly appeared on the priest’s chest.

Fresh blood bloomed like a flower. After spitting out a few mouthfuls of black blood, the priest fell straight down, revealing the assassin with a dagger behind him.

The few men on the high altar, who were originally wearing the robes of the Fengtian Temple, took out short knives from their sleeves and attacked in unison, stabbing at Wen Ning’an. And below the high altar, it was a scene of chaos. Everyone was busy fleeing and dodging the assassins’ indiscriminate attacks. The generals were busy dispatching troops, and the Imperial Guard rushed into the sacrificial hall.

“Catch the assassins! Protect His Highness!”

Although Wen Ning’an was pregnant, he was not an ordinary person after all. After drawing his Cold Spring Sword, his figure was still graceful. With the help of the shadow guards, he could not only dodge the assassins’ attacks but also kill a few men who tried to ambush him from behind.

Even so, he was different now. He didn’t want the child to be tainted with the smell of blood in the womb. So, his movements were very careful. Although his robes trailed on the ground, not a single drop of blood stained them.

“Your Highness!”

The commander of the Imperial Guard, Xie Mufang, stood in front of him. “Your Highness, please return to the inner hall quickly! Leave this place to this subordinate!”

Wen Ning’an looked at the number of the Imperial Guard. It was indeed not a difficult situation for them, so he nodded and, under the protection of the shadow guards, walked down the high altar.

“Then I’ll leave this place to Commander Xie.”

“Your Highness! Urgent report—” A strange shout suddenly came from the distance.

Wen Ning’an smiled at the young man who was running towards him. “You brat, just call me General. What are you putting on an act for?”

Ren Feiyang smiled, then switched to his usual tone. “General! Those bastards from the Li family’s army are attacking the city!”

Wen Ning’an raised an eyebrow.

Ren Feiyang continued, “Our army is already prepared and is now at the city gate, fighting with them! Because of General Li’s position, the commander is General Yu Jiu. General Yu is commanding very well. The Li family’s army has not yet succeeded in breaking through the city gate.”

Wen Ning’an nodded to show he understood, then went to the city gate with Ren Feiyang.

“Wait! General, you…” Ren Feiyang looked at Wen Ning’an’s stomach, his expression complicated.

The great general who led everyone to war and kicked people’s nests, although gentle and scholarly, was in other aspects the manliest man in the army. He was suddenly pregnant. The Left Army’s feelings were all very complicated.

Wen Ning’an paused, reached out, and gave Ren Feiyang a flick on the forehead, smiling gently. “Do you think that just because I have a little extra weight, I can’t discipline you?”

“Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey! I know I was wrong! The general is mighty. Let go!”

After Wen Ning’an let go of his ear, Ren Feiyang immediately ran off. After putting some distance between them, he said with a wronged expression, “The general twists my ear, my mother twists my ear, and Qingqing also twists my ear! I’m about to get cauliflower ear!”

Wen Ning’an shook his head, then mounted his horse and followed him to the front line.

The towering city walls separated the enemy army from the capital. Inside the walls, the people were in a panic, their doors tightly shut, a scene of silence. Outside the walls, it was a scene of killing and chaos.

After Wen Ning’an ascended the city wall, Li Huaisheng immediately came over to greet him, a little anxious. “Ning’an, blades and swords have no eyes. You should go back quickly.”

Wen Ning’an said, “Don’t worry, I will take good care of myself. I am not being willful. I know I have the ability to protect Long’er.”

Li Huaisheng shook his head helplessly.

Wen Ning’an had always been so decisive, confident in his own abilities, and self-aware.

Seeing their own general arrive, the morale and the usual confidence of the Left Army immediately soared several times. And the other soldiers, seeing His Highness personally come to the city wall with the crown prince, were even more like they had been injected with chicken blood, fighting even harder.

A flurry of arrows flew, and it was impossible to tell whether they were from the enemy or our own army. Wen Ning’an looked down from the city wall. The ancient, lacquered-red city tiles, slightly covered by snowflakes, were filled with scaling ladders. Below, besides the Li family’s army, there were also their various allies.

The dull “boom” sound came continuously. It was the sound of the enemy army ramming the city gate with a battering ram.

Wen Ning’an shook his head. “It’s hard to distinguish between friend and foe. We can only see who has the better strategy and whose side the heavens are on.”

According to the letter he had received from Feng Jun, they probably wouldn’t be able to make it back.

Wen Ning’an leaped to the highest point of the city wall and watched the battle with Yu Jiu. Yu Jiu was first startled to see him, but then he thought that since so many people below hadn’t stopped him, and not only could he boost morale but also give him advice, he didn’t say anything, just respectfully gave him a bow and a quiver of arrows.

“Just in case.”

Wen Ning’an said, “To only defend and not attack is not the best strategy. We are too passive. With just bows and arrows, we can’t suppress the enemy at all. At most, we can just stop them from coming in.”

Yu Jiu said, “What is Your Highness’s opinion?”

Wen Ning’an said, “Have a few teams go out from the side and back gates and launch a surprise attack on the enemy.”

Yu Jiu was stunned. He had actually had the same thought in his heart, but in the end, it was too risky, and he didn’t dare to try. To let his own soldiers leave the safety of the city gate, he didn’t have much practical combat experience and lacked the courage to make such a decision. But now that he saw Wen Ning’an also thought so, he no longer had any worries.

“Enter from the left flank.”

“Yes.” Although Yu Jiu was puzzled, he withdrew his own order to attack the enemy’s formation from the right flank without any hesitation. After conveying what Wen Ning’an had said, he only then began to study it carefully.

It turned out that although the enemy’s defense seemed weakest on the right flank to the naked eye, at the end of the right flank was an elite team. The elite team could use the terrain to force our army into the encirclement of their formation, so if we killed our way to the end, we might be counterattacked by the enemy and have no way to retreat. On the contrary, if we broke through from the left flank, our army would have a chance to go straight for the center of the formation, which was where the general was.

And Ren Feiyang was the best at taking the enemy general’s head. He had been with Wen Ning’an for many years and had already learned very well. He was good at judging the situation and knew when to advance and when to retreat. He was generally not wrong in his estimations.

Ren Feiyang led the elites out of the city gate.

The battle became more intense, but also more of a stalemate.

Yu Jiu said, “Your Highness, although these words are inauspicious, they are this subordinate’s sincere feelings! And also the sincere feelings of all the generals here!”

Wen Ning’an raised an eyebrow.

Yu Jiu was Feng Qi’s confidant, and now he had become Wen Ning’an’s. So he was also one of the insiders. Seeing that the people around them were at a distance, he said, “Your Highness, even if the Li family succeeds in taking the capital, it won’t be so easy for them to become king. Leaving aside the fact that they are of a different surname, the soldiers here are all loyal to the late Emperor and to you! They have no legitimacy. How can the common people be convinced? Your Highness is defending the country for us. What else is there in the Li family’s eyes besides silver?”

Wen Ning’an, however, noticed one of his sentences and couldn’t help but sigh. “They all say Huaitian is a tyrant, but in the end, there are still so many people who are loyal to him…”

Yu Jiu said with some embarrassment, “I have been with the late Emperor since I was a child. It was His Majesty who saved me from prison. I naturally recognize only him. And Your Highness is the late Emperor’s beloved. This subordinate will naturally give my all.”

“A tyrant has his ways,” Wen Ning’an shook his head. “Huaitian is more suitable to be an emperor than I am. I remember in the past, when Huaitian’s face fell, the entire court would be silent and in a cold sweat. I don’t have that kind of courage.”

Yu Jiu chuckled. “Your Highness, you and the late Emperor are not ordinary people. You each have your own strengths, your own strengths.”

“Boom—”

The city gate was broken open. Wen Ning’an had already expected it, but there was nothing he could do to stop it. Now, they could only fight face to face.

The battle reached a white-hot stage.

Suddenly, Wen Ning’an sensed that something was wrong.

“General Yu, don’t you think… the enemy’s follow-up is weak?”

“Yes.” Yu Jiu frowned and looked into the distance. “Besides, the enemy has clearly broken through the city gate, but looking at their formation… why does it seem like they are intending to retreat?”

Wen Ning’an said, “They only changed it after breaking through the city gate. Either something unexpected has happened that they can’t control, or it’s a trick to lure us to pursue our victory.”

As he spoke, he walked down from the city gate. He had to get a closer look, to think more carefully.

“Wait! Your Highness, no need to look…”

Yu Jiu’s voice was a little trembling.

Wen Ning’an turned his head and saw a banner flying not far away.

On the large banner was a dragon-and-phoenix-dancing character: Feng.

The banner of the Bei Miao imperial army!

Yu Jiu said, “So it’s the reinforcements! The reinforcements are cutting off the enemy from behind. The enemy can’t advance or retreat, so they’re thinking of retreating!”

Wen Ning’an said in surprise, “Prince Jun is so fast?”

He stood back beside Yu Jiu. He saw the reinforcements in the rear coming like a storm, gradually swallowing the enemy from behind, impossible to defend against, unstoppable!

The leader of the army was tall, highly skilled in martial arts, and high-spirited. His sword moves were sharp and deadly. It was clearly not the playboy Feng Jun.

Wen Ning’an was startled and took a few steps forward to get a closer look. Yu Jiu couldn’t help but reach out and support him, afraid that he would be too absorbed and fall.

The enemy army, under the pincer attack of the army that Wen Ning’an and the others had arranged in the city and the reinforcements, hastily retreated. The reinforcements then dispersed to encircle them. But the leader of the army rode straight for the city gate.

In the snow, a fierce horse galloped forward, leaving a trail of prints. It was as if he were the only one in the world.

Closer and closer, his face became clearer and clearer.

Wen Ning’an felt as if he had lost his breath, his whole body beginning to tremble uncontrollably.

“Huai-Huaitian…”

A familiar figure, familiar features, a familiar demeanor…

“Your Highness!” Seeing Wen Ning’an suddenly collapse beside him, Yu Jiu immediately reached out and caught him. He only felt the person in his arms go limp.

Wen Ning’an still looked straight at the man who had now ridden to the city gate.

“Yixin!” Feng Qi blinked and shouted with a smile at the city wall, “That’s not right of you. I’ve only been ‘sick’ for a few days, and you’re already hugging another man?”

At this moment, Wen Ning’an only felt the world before his eyes suddenly come back to life, finally regaining its color…