718 All into Ashes (1/2)

However strongly Xu Chi, Han Qing and other generals in the Northern Army Camp were against the idea, but the Empress took the objections peacefully, and she insisted on her idea to take the Sixth Prince back to Chang'an.

The Golden Palace was coming south and the Northern Borderline of Tang was at risk. The generals had no other choice, and there was no way that they could send a large troop to escort the Empress. The final decision was to send 500 elite riders to escort the Empress.

In the morning of the day when Ning Que was leaving, he went to Xu Chi and said, ”Her Majesty and I brought thousands of calvarymen to you, so I think we are qualified to ask you for a few people.”

Xu Chi thought to himself and then he said, ”500 cavalry soldiers is indeed not enough.”

”That's not what I meant.”

Ning Que said, ”I don't need them alive, dead bodies will do.”

Xu Chi understood what Ning Que meant. He frowned and said, ”The two generals killed themselves after the assassination attempt failed. How could their dead bodies be helpful to you?”

Ning Que said, ”The two generals died, but the hundreds of cavalries involved in the assassination haven't been punished yet. I know they've been disarmed and locked in the barracks by you.”

Xu Chi frowned even more and asked, ”Mr. Thirteen, are you going to punish them all?”

”They disturbed His Majesty's remains and tried to kill both Her Majesty and the crown prince. That was a capital crime, and I know what you're saving them for.”

Ning Que continued, ”So I'm not goin to kill all the cavalry. But I need you to promise me that all of them will be sent to the battlefront, the most dangerous one.”

”And, should any of them survive the war after several years, I won't punish them anymore. If they die on the battlefield, death would be their atonement.”

After saying that, Ning Que turned back to leave.

And he got into trouble as he was leaving.

The heavy pine coffin.

Everyone knew that if Ning Que wanted to bring the Empress and the Sixth Prince back to Chang'an, time and secrecy would be what mattered most. The heavy pine coffin would bring much inconvenience if they brought it along.

Xu Chi suggested that His Majesty's coffin should be kept in the Northern Military Camp temporarily which would also help inspire the generals and soldiers.

The Empress shook her head and answered gently, ”His Majesty wanted to go back to Chang'an, so I have to take him back.”

”So burn it.”

The Empress ordered as she was looking at the heavy grey coffin.

All men in the court were astonished.

The Empress said with a smile, ”His Majesty was a very spontaneous man, and he wouldn't care much about this.”

That reminded Ning Que of His Majesty's cursing those stupid guys day after day in the palace. Then Ning Que smiled and said, ”I'm sure His Majesty wouldn't mind.”

The pine coffin was later burnt on a pile of wood.

Bark was cracking, with sparks flying everywhere.

In the end all turned into a box of ashes.

”A leaking house on a rainy night” was far too weak to describe the successive set backs the Empire of Tang was going through. The situation was more precarious than a shabby house shaking in a storm. Terrifying waves, which were rising higher than the ones before, roaring and attacking.

As shocking as the war in Capital Cheng might be for the Tangs, their confidence was seldom influenced by the war. It was when the Golden Palace came south that the Tangs were actually getting alert and uneasy.

In the rescript, the West-Hill Palace called upon the whole world to attack the Empire of Tang. That was the first time when the Tangs had felt the fear of death of their Empire. And the most shocking strike for the Tangs recently was the news about the betrayal and independence of Qinghe County.

The Tangs were felt anger born of anxiety, and anger because of fear. They were angered because they were angry. The whole city of Chang'an was angered. The ministers who used to stand on the Empress' side couldn't bear the situation any more. They started to criticize the new Emperor and the Princess in the royal court and in public.

Officials questioned why the Empress and the Sixth Prince had not returned to Chang'an, and why there was still no news about Helan City. They wondered why the Prince's loyal ally, Qinghe City, betrayed the royal court shamelessly in its hardest times. They asked how the Emperor and the Prince would live with the shame of failing to live up to the late Emperor's expectations.