61. The Traitorous General

"Your Majesty, General Yan, it's General Yan."

This time Fu Cong returned with such great military achievements. In addition to Princess Mingzhu waiting outside the city gate, King Zhou and the two princes also sent people to guard outside the city gate early. When the other party entered the city, they immediately went to the palace to report.

The banquet was also prepared. All the ministers who could be called by name were sitting in the Hall of Supreme Harmony. Everyone's face was beaming with joy. That was the Ming Dynasty. Their Great Zhou actually conquered most of the Ming Dynasty. Now the other party is curled up in a small place. It is estimated that it will not take long for the Ming country to completely disappear in the long river of history.

It has only been a short time. Half a year ago, they were still regretting the ten cities lost because of Yan Chu. Now General Fu has doubled the cities ceded to the other party. It is really a blessing for the young heroes and the Great Zhou.

But the smile didn't last long. The eunuch who suddenly ran in stopped the greetings and whispers in the palace. Everyone, including King Zhou, Queen Zhou, and the two princes, looked at him with inexplicable eyes. What General Yan? Isn't Yan Chu still in the Yan Mansion?

"The one who led the troops back was not the son-in-law, but General Yan."

The eunuch realized that he didn't explain it clearly, and quickly calmed down his fluctuating tone and recounted it. The originally quiet Taihe Hall suddenly exploded.

"How is it possible?"

The prince was the first person who stood up in disbelief. "Yan Chu is still in the Yan Mansion, and he is a disabled person with broken tendons in his hands and feet. It is a gift from God that he can walk normally. How could he run to the border? Where is the son-in-law? Where is he now?"

His face was a little ugly. He was the one who ordered people to abolish Yan Chu, but he did it perfectly, and the person he bribed was also dead. Yan Chu should not know that he did it.

The scary thing is that after the previous incident, Yan Chu hated all of them. This time, he was able to run to the border quietly, and none of the letters sent back revealed this. I am afraid that the army is basically under Yan Chu's control now.

That Fu Cong is really a waste. It's a pity that my little sister trusted him so much, but now he quietly returned the military power to Yan Chu. Isn't it God's will to destroy the Great Zhou?

Prince Zhou's forehead was sweating, but he acted decisively and immediately turned around and bowed to King Zhou.

"Father, while Yan Chu has not entered the imperial city yet, quickly send the imperial guards to arrest all the women of the Yan family. Yan Chu is probably going to rebel."

"How is that possible? Yan Chu is a loyal child. Why would he rebel against our Great Zhou?"

The King of Zhou was initially shocked by why Yan Chu suddenly appeared in the victorious army returning to the court. Then he heard his son's bold guess. He said it without thinking, but he also found that when he said this, his confidence became a little less strong.

Why did Yan Chu quietly leave the capital? Why was his existence not mentioned in the victory reports sent to the capital again and again? The most important point is where is Fu Cong and what happened to him.

Even Wenhe and the King of Zhou could not explain these questions. In fact, he had a vague guess in his heart that Yan Chu was afraid that he would really rebel.

The King of Zhou felt a little disappointed. He thought about the day a year ago when the child was just escorted back to Beijing, he said that he was wronged. The Yan family was full of loyal and brave people and would not betray the Zhou Kingdom.

At that time, because the evidence was irrefutable, he did not believe him. The people even surrounded the long street, and everyone threw things in the direction of the prisoner car, because in the eyes of those people, Yan Chu was the culprit who betrayed his country, killed his compatriots, and made Zhou cede ten cities.

Some of those things were rotten eggs and rotten leaves, and some were sharp stones. Those things cut his flesh and his heart.

The King of Zhou felt that if he really rebelled, he might be forced to rebel by the whole Great Zhou.

He felt a little guilty, but this was the limit of what he, an unsuccessful emperor, could do. The King of Zhou was unwilling to hand over the foundation of his ancestors to others. After thinking it through, he quickly called the guards.

"Come here, hurry to the Yan Mansion to invite in Old Lady Yan and Third Lady Yan, as well as the other female members of the Yan family, including those who have returned home, all come to the palace."

"Remember to invite."

King Zhou still had a glimmer of luck in his heart, so he emphasized the way to bring people into the palace to the people he sent.

After the guards left, except for the whispers of the crown prince and the second prince, there was basically no sound in the huge palace, including the sound of heavy breathing.

Everyone thought of the incident that happened a year ago like King Zhou.

At that time, although Yan Chu was cleared of the crime of treason, everyone still didn't understand why he attacked the Ming Kingdom without reporting to His Majesty.

It is not a trivial matter for the two countries to go to war, and sufficient preparations must be made. First of all, there must be a discussion in the court, and then each department must calculate whether the military pay and food can be supplied. However, Yan Chu took the Yan family army to fight quietly for the so-called advantage in his mouth, which made some old ministers in the court very dissatisfied.

They attributed the death of 30,000 soldiers and the cession of ten cities to Yan Chu, so even though he had not committed treason, he still had to endure the pointing and scolding behind his back from time to time.

Now Yan Chu used his own way to openly slap all of them in the face.

It was not that Yan Chu could not conquer the land of Ming, but because of this group of fools who thought they were smart, not only did they delay the expansion of Zhou for a whole year, but also made a loyal and brave general give up on the Great Zhou, and there was a posture of changing the dynasty.

*****

"Yan Chu."

Zhou Mingzhu slightly lifted her skirt and ran down the city wall panting, followed closely by a group of little palace maids.

Today she dressed like a married woman, with her waterfall-like long hair tied up in a high bun behind her head, and the exquisite hairpin and the beautiful peony made her look like a rich and noble flower in the world.

Zhou Mingzhu used to dress gently and elegantly. Today, she chose such a gorgeous princess dress because she wanted to welcome her husband who had returned victoriously, and also to let the other party know her identity, so that he would not be able to climb over her head just because she won the battle.

Because she ran a little too fast, Zhou Mingzhu's cheeks were flushed. She stopped in front of the black horse ridden by Yan Chu, raised her head high, and looked at him with a few traces of longing and entanglement in her eyes.

"These days, I often sent people to send things to your house, but you didn't send any messages back. I thought... it turned out that you went to the border."

Zhou Mingzhu's eyes were full of smiles: "It's great to see you recover like this."

"If you could have been earlier... we wouldn't be like this today." She said this very softly, especially lonely. It is estimated that except for the few palace maids closest to her and some generals with better hearing, no one could hear what she said.

Gou Xiong rode beside Yan Chu. He remembered Princess Mingzhu. At the beginning, she was betrothed to the young general, but because of the traitor Fu Cong, Princess Mingzhu was betrothed to him again.

What a good relationship they had as childhood sweethearts, it was all ruined.

Gou Xiong had no ill will towards women like Princess Mingzhu. In this era, the annexation of dynasties was very common. Usually, when a country conquered another country, it would not execute all the royal family of that country, but would choose to give them a title without real power, enclose a piece of land in the imperial city, and keep them in captivity for life.

And the new king marrying the princess of the old royal family as a concubine is also a good story, which shows the world the open-mindedness of the new king. Therefore, if Zhou Mingzhu had not married Fu Cong, she and Yan Chu would still have a chance, but now she is married. Zhou is different from Jiang, and the restrictions on women's etiquette are still relatively large.

Gou Xiong sighed, and it was a pity for Princess Mingzhu.

"General, it's bad. A group of people came to the palace and said that you, the general, are plotting treason. They want to arrest the old lady and the ladies and girls to punish them. The guards in the mansion tried to stop them, but they were beaten to death by the people in the palace. Please go back and save the old lady."

A middle-aged man dressed as a servant with blood all over his body suddenly rushed into the team, threw himself in front of the cavalry and cried to Yan Chu.

The people watching around looked at each other. Although the general who led them to a great victory was replaced by General Yan from General Fu, the people didn't care so much. They only knew that the larger the territory of their country was, the lower the possibility of them suffering from war in the future.

In their opinion, Yan Chu seemed to be a hero in this matter, and the other party had just entered the city gate and did nothing. The palace said that General Yan was going to rebel and arrested all the old lady Yan and others into the palace. In the eyes of the common people, it was because General Yan's merits were too great and the emperor could not tolerate him.

Before Zhou Mingzhu could secretly curse which idiot in the palace had come up with this idea, Yan Chu had already taken the lead and rushed towards the Yan family. The tens of thousands of elite soldiers who followed him back to Beijing were all his confidants. Now the city gates were wide open, and seeing how King Zhou treated his meritorious officials, he immediately took up his sword and rushed over with the young general.

The onlookers scattered like startled birds. They had realized that whether the young general wanted to rebel or His Majesty could not tolerate this loyal minister, the capital of the Great Zhou would probably be a river of blood.

The smarter ones immediately ran home, gathered their families, blocked the doors and windows, and planned to quietly survive these few days.

As for who would be the emperor, as long as they could live well, what did it matter to the people.

If it weren't for the palace maids around her protecting her, Zhou Mingzhu would have been injured by the sudden chaos, but when they were about to leave, a small team surrounded them.

Now the situation is uncertain, she is the princess of Zhou, and naturally she is also a ready-made bargaining chip.

At this time, the door of the Yan Mansion was closed, and only the occasional fighting and crying of the women could be heard from inside. Yan Chu knelt in front of the ancestral temple of the Yan family, turning a deaf ear to the noise outside, and so did Old Lady Yan and Third Lady Yan.

"Grandma asked you for the last time, have you really thought it through?" Old Lady Yan looked at her grandson with mixed emotions and asked.

"Yes." He nodded solemnly again, "I will marry the princess of Zhou. In the future, our children will inherit this land, and it will not be considered a failure of the teachings of our ancestors."

Old Lady Yan and Third Lady Yan looked at each other. They didn't expect that their grandson/son would have such deep feelings for Zhou Mingzhu, but the other party was already a married woman. It was a bad fate, a bad fate.

"The princess has done a favor to our Yan family. Although she will marry you again, since you have decided to marry her, you can't let her down. This is also the ancestral teachings of our Yan family, so have you really thought it through?"

Since Princess Mingzhu married Fu Cong, she had no contact with the Yan family. Old Lady Yan and Third Lady Yan also knew that she was in a difficult situation. They were grateful that the other party had pleaded with King Zhou to save the life of their grandson/son. This favor would never be forgotten.

Yan Chu nodded. He naturally would not bear any grudges because Zhou Mingli was forced to marry King Jiang. He was not one of those scumbags he had passed through before.

Looking at the determined look of their grandson/son, Old Lady Yan and Third Lady Yan had nothing to say. They watched him kowtow three times to the ancestors of the Yan family and leave with the sword.

After he left, the guards and Yan Chu's personal soldiers who were still competing for who had the loudest voice and who shouted the best stopped their pretentious acting and looked straight at him.

Yan Chu stood on the high steps and raised the sword in his hand with a cold glow above his head.

"Kill——"

All the soldiers present roared, and the entire capital seemed to be shaken by their voices.

Today is destined to be a sleepless night.

*****

"Over there, it should have started too, right?"

As usual, Zhou Mingli climbed the highest tower in the imperial city of Jiang State and looked towards the direction of Zhou State.

She held a piece of letter in her hand, and the man said that he would take her home soon.

Going home, it was like a dream.