mtl008 Chapter 912 Prince Jin, hand over the land!
Chapter 912 Prince Jin, hand over the land!
For Qiao Lian'er, this number exceeded her expectations.
She could have waited a little longer, ideally crushing and annihilating half of the main force of the Da Nu Kingdom, but clearly, the people of the capital were already in a state of panic, and they could not wait any longer.
The emperor would not allow her to gamble again.
If things continue like this, I'm afraid the Qiao family will be criticized and vilified whenever they go out, accused of bringing disaster to the country and its people.
In the shortest possible time, she traveled to various key cities and passes, issuing orders for a counterattack.
Once the counterattack order was issued, the long-suppressed men of the Qiao family and the elite troops of Jinglang Prefecture launched a counterattack against the enemy forces of the mainland almost simultaneously. The sound of their voices was deafening, their momentum was unstoppable, and they dealt a very decisive blow to the enemy, catching them completely off guard.
For the army of Da Nu Kingdom, the progress was going very smoothly. It seemed that they were about to swallow up the entire Jinglang Prefecture and then continue south to invade the entire Da Ze Kingdom, but they were suddenly attacked.
Completely different from the passive resistance they had encountered before, the army of Daze Kingdom suddenly unleashed astonishing combat power, as if its strength had increased tenfold, and its tactics were varied and its formations were used very skillfully.
Faced with such an army, they could only suffer repeated defeats. Even though the Da Nu Kingdom had rigorously trained its soldiers in recent years, significantly improving their combat capabilities, the Da Ze Kingdom had progressed even faster.
With victory in sight and the situation turning around, the Da Nu Kingdom was certainly unwilling to give up. They tried everything they could, but still could not reverse the decline.
In just two days, the situation in each war zone became favorable to Dazeguo.
Now, the Da Nu Kingdom understood the Great Swamp Kingdom's conspiracy.
In order to preserve their strength as much as possible, the Da Nu Kingdom's army quickly retreated north.
But how could the Great Swamp Kingdom give up? This move was aimed at annihilating the main force of the Da Nu Kingdom to the greatest extent possible.
They surrounded and pursued them, and refused to accept their surrender.
Two days later, most of the soldiers from the mainland had been wiped out.
When the news reached the capital, everyone immediately realized that Princess Zhenguo had been playing a long game, or rather, weaving a vast net.
Now, it's time to close the net.
The emperor breathed a sigh of relief and laughed heartily.
"I told you not to be impatient, not to be impatient. Now you see, the Princess Zhenguo has indeed not disappointed you."
"This plan was devised by me and Princess Zhenguo. At the time, I also felt it was risky, but Princess Zhenguo made a solemn pledge before me: if we cannot repel the enemy, I will offer up my head. How many people can match her courage?"
"In just a few days, more than 40,000 soldiers of the Da Nu Kingdom were wiped out, leaving only 20,000 who will also become the victims of our soldiers' swords."
"In recent years, the Da Nu Kingdom has trained 150,000 soldiers. This time, it's like wiping out nearly half of them, severely weakening the Da Nu Kingdom. This is all thanks to the Zhenguo Princess and the men of the Qiao family."
Qiao Lian'er humbly replied, "It was His Majesty's wise decision; otherwise, I and the Qiao family would not have had the opportunity to make contributions."
The ministers slowly recovered from their shock, filled with admiration, and knelt down one after another.
"Your Majesty is wise."
"The Princess who protects the country is wise."
Prince Jin was stunned and dumbfounded. His knees buckled and he collapsed to the ground.
In fact, good news of victory had come during the counterattack two days ago, but he didn't believe it, nor did he want to believe it. He hoped in his heart that it was just a rumor, and that the Qiao family army had actually suffered a terrible defeat and that they would all die on the battlefield.
Unexpectedly, just two days later, most of the soldiers of the Da Nu Kingdom were killed.
"Eleventh brother, you're only in your thirties, how come your legs are already getting weak? In the middle of winter, you should take care to keep warm to avoid getting rheumatism." Prince Guangping said with amusement.
Prince Heng chuckled.
"I think we can't hold onto Kunyang Prefecture. Eleventh Brother is anxious and restless, and can't bear it. If I had known this would happen, I shouldn't have said anything in the first place."
Prince Jin remained dazed and pale.
The emperor looked at him and frowned.
“A bet is a bet, Prince Jin. You shall prepare to hand over the token of Kunyang Prefecture and related matters, along with two hundred thousand taels of silver, to Princess Zhenguo.”
Prince Jin felt as if he had fallen into an ice cave, his face contorted in a grimace, looking even more miserable than if he were crying.
“Brother, this is our royal land! How can such a fertile piece of land be given to the Princess Zhenguo? There has never been such a thing before.”
The Emperor had previously granted Qiao Lian'er fiefdoms, but they were all barren lands, either undeveloped or underdeveloped.
These princes, with royal blood flowing through their veins, would receive several good fiefdoms after establishing their own government offices, where they could collect taxes and command troops to govern the people.
This is the foundation upon which a princely residence stands, and the guarantee for maintaining its prestige and dignity.
Now, he has to give one of them to the Princess Zhenguo. How can he be willing to do that?
The emperor snorted coldly: "Princess Zhenguo is busy with the war at the front and has been making painstaking plans, but you have taken advantage of her kindness and spouted nonsense in court. The stakes have been placed on your head, but you are unwilling to bear them."
"Since you have caused such a result, you must bear the corresponding consequences. I will give you three days to withdraw all your people from Kunyang Prefecture. Otherwise, the Princess Zhenguo's army can march in directly. When that happens, don't come to me crying for my life."
Prince Jin shed tears, looking pitiful.
“Your Majesty, even if I were willing, Yao Guang would not be. Yao Guang has been stationed in Kunyang Prefecture for two years. She trained the army there and managed various industries such as agriculture. I told Yao Guang that Kunyang Prefecture would be part of her dowry. She has long regarded Kunyang Prefecture as her own. To ask her for Kunyang Prefecture now would be like cutting flesh from her body. Your Majesty has always doted on Yao Guang and treated her like your own daughter. How can you stand by and watch her suffer?”
The royal prince's behavior was improper, and the court officials frowned, looking down on him.
"All of this is your doing." The emperor's face was icy. "If you hadn't repeatedly provoked the Princess Zhenguo, and even with war at hand, you still tried to take the opportunity to sow discord among the people, I wouldn't have let you gamble with the Princess Zhenguo."
Seeing that the emperor remained unmoved, Prince Jin looked at Qiao Lian'er with a pleading expression on his face.
“The Princess Zhenguo has a title, status, and fiefdom. You have everything, and you often achieve great deeds. You don’t need to ask me for a fiefdom where you can just loaf around and wait to die, do you?”
Qiao Lian'er said calmly, "Your Highness, it's not that I'm asking you for it, it's that you lost to me. If you lost, you have to hand over the chips."
Seeing that she remained unmoved, Prince Jin's attitude changed abruptly, and he said coldly.
"That piece of land is not something you can take just because I'm willing to give it up."
Yao Guang was proud, arrogant, and domineering, and never submitted to anyone. For Qiao Lian'er to try to take the land from her was like snatching food from a tiger's mouth.