IDWBE -Chapter 259 The Little Boat of Friendship Capsizes at Once

In the end, Wang Tuozi braced himself and said, “It’s the Delong Emperor. His Majesty has held court again!”

“My old man held court?”

Lin Yi sprang up from the stone mill he had been squatting on. Xiao Xizi hurried forward to steady him, but Lin Yi shook off his hand and urgently asked Wang Tuozi, “How could it be so sudden? What about the Crown Prince? And Chancellor Qi Yong, Minister Gong Xiang, Scholar Ma Jin? Especially that damned eunuch He Jin—where did he run off to?”

Although he had long anticipated such a possibility, when it truly happened, he still could not believe it.

His father really knew how to play this game.

It all felt like a dream.

Wang Tuozi said helplessly, “Your Highness, I can’t even enter the capital. How would I know that much? This little bit of news was already smuggled out with great difficulty by Pan Duo’s runners. Anything more—we truly don’t know.”

Lin Yi asked, “Where’s Pan Duo?”

Wang Tuozi shook his head. “Haven’t seen him since yesterday.”

He Jixiang cupped his hands and said, “Your Highness, if this is true, we must consider our next steps carefully.”

He was a veteran minister of two reigns. He understood the methods of the Delong Emperor better than anyone.

Most importantly, Delong was not like the newly enthroned Zhengchang Emperor. He was the true Son of Heaven, the supreme ruler whose command none dared disobey.

Lin Yi snorted. “It is what it is. No need to be afraid. After all, I marched into the capital to ‘protect the throne’ and uphold the order of elder and younger. What’s there to worry about? And Prince Yong? Damn it… if you think about it, he’s not entirely wrong either. If it really comes down to it, even the Emperor might not be able to punish him.”

Prince Yong had led troops south in essence to compete for the throne, but on the surface he had raised the banner of “cleansing the court.”

With the Delong Emperor’s life uncertain and the Crown Prince’s accession questionable, Prince Yong claimed to act out of filial piety.

Standing before the Emperor, he might even be praised as a dutiful son!

He Jixiang said worriedly, “Your Highness speaks truly. But since ancient times, it has been a grave taboo for feudal princes to lead troops into the capital.”

Lin Yi shook his head. “I’ve already seized so much territory. Not just a taboo—I should’ve been executed long ago. What’s there to care about now? Yes, the Emperor surely hates us to the bone. But what we need is to make it look acceptable on the surface, so he can give us a step down with dignity.”

Right now, they still did not know what cards his father held.

Nor did Lin Yi want to seize the title of “greatly unfilial” for himself before the entire realm.

Better to deal with things as they came.

Just then, Wang Dahai rode up, dismounted before reaching them, and knelt. “Your Highness! Prince Yong and Prince Jin have withdrawn their troops ten li.”

Before Lin Yi could respond, Pan Duo suddenly leapt down from a tree and shouted, “Your Highness! The combined forces of Qizhou and Jizhou—one hundred fifty thousand strong—have arrived at Ankang’s North Gate! The North Gate has opened! Jizhou’s Commander Kuang Daxiang and Qizhou’s Commander Shen Zhan’ao each rode alone into the city!”

Lin Yi sighed. “It’s not that I don’t understand—it’s just that the world changes too fast. The old man is still the old man. Everything done without a sound. Who knows what trick he’ll pull next? When fighting the Wadan, there’s no money or grain. But when dealing with his own sons, suddenly he’s full of schemes. One day he’ll scheme himself to death.”

In Lin Yi’s view, the Liang Empire was not far from disintegration.

He Jixiang lowered his head in silence.

Shen Chu, Ji Zhuo, and the others looked equally dejected.

They had once dreamed of earning the merit of “supporting the dragon” in founding a new reign.

Now… that dream seemed precarious.

Their worry spread downward; even the soldiers became cautious.

But the Sanhe laborers were blissfully unaware.

They were busy making money. Who had time to care about politics?

The Sanhe army, to avoid trampling crops, had set camp along official roads and barren hills, spreading across more than twenty li. Everywhere you looked, there were Sanhe people.

The laborers, however, were different. They had come to earn money, not to uphold military discipline.

They would not trample crops—military law was ruthless—but business had to be done. And to do business, they had to get ahead of the soldiers.

To Prince Yong’s stunned amazement, they set up their stalls right outside his command tent and openly began trading.

They pitied these northern troops—gaunt faces, battered armor, straw sandals on their feet, most without a single silver coin. Many paid with grimy strings of copper cash.

Though muttering “paupers” in private, the laborers greeted customers with bright smiles.

No money? Barter was fine.

Sanhe did not lack grain. They traded rice for short blades, old clothes, battered armor—even so-called “heirloom” jade.

Yongzhou and Sanhe were enemies. Killing Sanhe laborers should have been expected.

But cart after cart of grain changed everything.

Yongzhou was bitterly cold, plagued by disasters. Their expedition already lacked supplies.

Grain from Sanhe was like pies falling from heaven.

In the end, a Yongzhou supply officer stepped in, paying thirty thousand taels of silver for grain from the Sanhe laborers.

Looking at the shrewd “southern barbarians,” the Yongzhou soldiers even found them somewhat… adorable.

The laborers traded happily—after all, Shen Chu and He Jixiang had approved it.

By evening, the combined armies of Prince Yong and Prince Jin began to withdraw.

The laborers naturally followed to continue business.

What greeted them, however, was a rain of arrows from the Yongzhou forces.

The laborers scattered in panic. Shouts of men and the neighing of horses filled the air. Livestock fell in large numbers.

“What the hell!”

Butcher Jiang, struck by an arrow in the shoulder, cursed angrily. “Put on your pants and you don’t recognize people anymore?!”

Before he finished shouting, a roar rose from the earth. The ground seemed to tremble.

Two elephants of the Qian tribes had been shot full of arrows like hedgehogs. Many others were wounded, trumpeting in agony.

Three thousand Qian tribesmen erupted in fury.

Elephant troops in front, warriors behind—they charged at the Yongzhou soldiers with knives raised and war cries echoing.

The Lian, Li, and Kuo tribes—fellow clansmen—were equally enraged and followed without hesitation.

The Sanhe laborers also charged. Tens of thousands surged forward like a torrent.

“I’ll kill you all!”

Butcher Jiang snapped off the arrow in his shoulder and roared, “Either you die or I do today!”

“You’re wounded, you idiot!”

Zhu Ruorong stomped his foot and rushed into the Yongzhou ranks as well.

And just like that, the little boat of friendship between Yongzhou’s soldiers and Sanhe’s laborers capsized instantly.