Chapter 650

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Yingzhou.

This was a city in the southern part of Yan.

Compared to Bozhou, Yingzhou City was not large, only ten li long and wide. After Prince Yan led his officials to flee here, the already small Yingzhou became even more crowded.

“Imperial Father, now that Bozhou is occupied by the Fourth Prince, only half of Yan’s cities remain in our hands. What should we do now?”

In the temporary princely mansion in the city, a group of officials looked at Prince Yan expectantly.

At this time, Prince Yan looked dejected, leaning tiredly on a chair. In the past two days, bad news had come one after another.

The Black Feather Guard ultimately failed to stop the powerful families’ private forces. Bozhou was now completely occupied by the Fourth Prince, and at the same time, the imperial prefectures and counties that Yan had once occupied were successively captured by Prince Qi’s army, with all six cities falling.

Under such widespread betrayal, Prince Yan gradually lost his composure, and his emotions became increasingly volatile.

Prince Yan remained silent, but the officials below grew increasingly anxious. If they continued to stubbornly resist, they would be the ones to suffer misfortune.

An official seized the opportunity to say, “Your Highness, Xiao Ming has already ascended the throne. All he wants is the realm of the Great Yu Empire. If Your Highness submits to Xiao Ming at this time, he will surely be pleased and perhaps will no longer pursue this matter.”

“Yes, Your Highness, Prince Qi’s army is unstoppable. A wise man knows when to submit,” another official said loudly.

“Exactly, it’s still not too late to pledge loyalty now.”

“…”

Following these two officials, others echoed in agreement.

Prince Yan suddenly sneered a few times upon hearing this. He looked at the officials. These officials naturally hoped he would pledge allegiance to Xiao Ming.

Because by then, he would be sliced into a thousand pieces by Xiao Ming, but they would still be officials. Xiao Ming would still use them to govern Yan.

So for him, everyone else could surrender, but he alone could not surrender.

“No need to say more. My mind is made up. Whoever dares to mention surrender again will be treated like this table.” Prince Yan fiercely drew his saber and struck the table before him.

Instantly, the table was split in two by the sharp blade. All the officials present immediately shrank their necks, not daring to speak further.

With a cold snort, Prince Yan waved his hand, dismissing the officials, leaving only Cui Cheng and Cui Hao, the brothers.

At this point, Prince Yan said, “You two keep an eye on these officials. If anyone tries to betray us like the Tian family and Ji family, just…”

Having said this, Prince Yan made a gesture of slitting his throat.

Cui Cheng and Cui Hao exchanged glances and both nodded. Cui Cheng said, “Imperial Father, the Prince of Huainan has already dispatched 100,000 troops to attack Yingzhou, and there are only 70,000 troops in the city. If Yingzhou falls again, we will have nowhere left to hide.”

Prince Yan mused, “I might not be Xiao Ming’s match, but I will certainly not be at the mercy of the Prince of Huainan. Starting today, immediately conscript soldiers in the remaining five prefectures. Any male over thirteen years old must join the army. Xiao Ming wants to kill me; I will fight him to the death.”

“Thirteen years old.” Cui Cheng looked surprised, but in his opinion, it seemed already too late.

The Great Yu Empire’s conscription age was sixteen. Now, conscripting from the age of thirteen was only because they had no way back.

After a moment of hesitation, the two said in unison, “We respectfully obey Imperial Father’s command.”

At the same time, the Prince of Huainan and his eldest son, Cui Shang’an, leading an army of 100,000, had arrived in Guangzho yesterday.

Guangzhou was located southwest of Yingzhou, only seventy li away. In the past, this had always been the Prince of Huainan’s military stronghold against Prince Yan.

“Imperial Father, I have already sent men to investigate the situation in Yingzhou City. Currently, there are only 70,000 troops stationed in Yingzhou City.”

Standing on the city wall, letting the north wind howl by, the Prince of Huainan looked towards Yingzhou City and said, “Seventy thousand men. This Prince Yan is indeed formidable. Even after suffering such a crushing defeat from His Imperial Majesty, he still has so many troops.”

Cui Shang’an felt somewhat resentful. “Prince Yan is a first-rank prince, while Imperial Father is a second-rank prince. Not only is his status lower than Prince Yan’s, but he also has fewer cities than Prince Yan. Yet, when it comes to loyalty to the imperial family, who can compare to Imperial Father?”

“Hahahaha… My eldest son, those words are wrong. The establishment of vassal princes was determined during the time of Gaozu; the imperial family dares not easily change the titles of vassal princes. But what if he is a first-rank prince? Now, he will still be ruined one by one.” The Prince of Huainan’s eyes sparkled with wisdom.

“Imperial Father is absolutely right. It is precisely because Imperial Father has always been without ambition that His Imperial Majesty trusts Imperial Father so much, even allowing younger sister to enter the palace and become an Imperial Noble Consort,” Cui Shang’an said thoughtfully.

The Prince of Huainan sighed, “His Highness is not at ease with any vassal prince, otherwise, he would not have sent us to attack Yingzhou. This in itself is a test. Imperial Father’s personal expedition this time is also to put His Imperial Majesty at ease. I do not want to follow in Prince Wei’s footsteps.”

Compared to other vassal states, his state had only five prefectures and a population of merely 900,000, making it weak in strength among many vassal states.

In the past, they had always survived in the cracks between various vassal princes, so they had never harbored any intention of betraying the imperial family.

And after Prince Wei was eliminated, he keenly felt that his opportunity had arrived. By taking refuge with Xiao Ming at this time, he would surely have a bright future.

His choice this time could also be considered a gamble, and from the current situation, he seemed to have made the right choice.

Cui Shang’an remained silent. After a while, he said, “But Imperial Father, attacking Yingzhou now has exhausted the state’s military strength. If 100,000 men are lost in Yingzhou City, wouldn’t it greatly diminish the state’s power?”

“Those who achieve great things are not constrained by trifles,” the Prince of Huainan said. “Fighting is my loyalty to His Imperial Majesty. If we cannot win, it means we lack the strength, and we have done our best.”

Cui Shang’an nodded upon hearing this. “I only hope His Imperial Majesty can understand Imperial Father’s utmost loyalty and allow Imperial Father to become a first-rank prince from now on.”

Just as the two were speaking, a general suddenly ascended the city wall. He said to the Prince of Huainan, “Your Highness, two Qingzhou merchant ships have arrived outside the city. The merchants on board say they are delivering fifty cannons to Your Highness by His Imperial Majesty’s command.”

“Cannons!” The Prince of Huainan was overjoyed upon hearing this. “Really?”

“I indeed saw cannons on the ship, and on the other ship were cannonballs and ammunition. The messenger said that attacking a city is difficult due to the city wall’s solidity; one only needs to blast the city wall down with cannons. There will be people on the ship to train soldiers how to use cannons,” the general said.

The Prince of Huainan laughed heartily upon hearing this. “His Imperial Majesty still remembers me! I have long heard of the advantage of cannons, and with cannons this time, it’s like adding wings to a tiger!”

Cui Shang’an’s brows also relaxed. Initially, he always suspected that Xiao Ming wanted them to suffer heavy losses, but now it seemed he had misunderstood.

After their excitement, the two immediately followed the general to Guangzho’s dock to receive the cannons. Within five days, they had trained an artillery team consisting of fifty cannons.

After skillfully mastering the use of cannons, the Prince of Huainan and Cui Shang’an personally led their large army majestically towards Yingzhou.