Before I knew it, it was dawn.
The scene inside and outside Xianyang Palace was extremely tragic. There were literally mountains of corpses and rivers of blood.
Although Changping Jun's Western Chu army won, they also paid a heavy price. Except for the fact that the five thousand crossbowmen did not participate in the hand-to-hand combat and basically suffered no losses, even the cavalry fought hard and only less than half of the infantry were left. There are less than ten thousand people left.
Heartbroken, Lord Changping looked up to the sky and sighed, his hard work was in vain, and more than 30,000 soldiers gave up their young and precious lives...
Although there are bound to be injuries in war, this kind of loss is really too great.
Now, Lord Changping regretted a little, regretted agreeing to King Qin to guard the palace, and even regretted leading the Western Chu army to Xianyang.
Looking at the Western Chu army cleaning the battlefield inside and outside the palace, Lord Changping couldn't help crying.
And the Western Chu army who was carrying the bodies of their companions felt the same way, with blood and tears intertwined on their faces, and grief buried in their hearts.
After an unknown period of time, Meng Tian took over the battlefield and surrendered the soldiers with his troops, and took over the Western Chu army to clean up the battlefield.
Meng Tian and Wei Liao came to Chang Pingjun's side. Seeing his sad look, they couldn't help but feel emotional.
"This battle was indeed tragic. We lost a lot of soldiers, and Great Qin also lost a lot of good men." Wei Liao sighed.
"Don't be sad, Mr. Changping. These soldiers are loyal to the country, and the king will definitely reward their families." Meng Tian consoled him.
Lord Changping sighed and said: "Everyone is dead, so what's the use of those rewards? Don't you know that their family members have all been taken to Xianyang, and they are all waiting for the news of their victory and triumph, but now …”
Speaking of this, Mr. Changping's nose became sore and his voice became choked.
"Just look away." Wei Liao then consoled him, "Now that the culprit Lao Ai has been brought to justice, I believe the king will give an explanation to the entire Western Chu Army."
Changping-kun nodded, then rubbed his nose with his hand, as if swallowing his tears back into his stomach.
"Then why don't you ask the right prime minister to lead the army back to repair it, and leave this place to us." Meng Tian said with cupped hands.
Lord Changping nodded and said rather lowly, "Thank you both for your hard work."
Afterwards, Lord Changping came to the gate of the palace, organized his troops, and marched towards the station of the Western Chu Army.
In the past, only cavalry were equipped with war horses, but now almost everyone has one.
Just because the original 5,000 war horses were not lost at all, and many were captured from Lao Ai's army, and his own number was sharply reduced, so Changping Lord let the tired soldiers mount their war horses.
Perhaps because they were in a low mood, or were too tired and lacked strength, the team of the Western Chu Army moved very slowly.
The news spread quickly. The people who had temporarily moved out of Xianyang City heard about the Qin army's victory over the rebels. They rushed over early in the morning and stood side by side on both sides of the official road.
"You are all good!" an old man in the crowd shouted loudly.
"Yes, you saved Xianyang City!" someone shouted.
"Without you, our family would be destroyed."
"Not only is the family destroyed, but all of us are also killed."
On both sides, there were people's praises. Lord Changping's heart trembled, and the sergeants also cheered up.
At this time, a woman came forward with a basket: "After fighting all night, you are hungry. Eat something quickly."
She grabbed a young sergeant and handed him a big cake, her eyes full of care.
Under the leadership of this woman, many people came forward and handed dry food and water to the sergeants.
Lord Changping signaled the army to stop advancing and asked the soldiers to accept the gifts from the people.
But the hands, faces, and bodies of these sergeants were all stained with dried blood. They poured some water into each other's hands, washed their hands, and then started eating.
Looking at the scene in front of him, Chang Pingjun felt a lot relieved.
Isn't the ultimate purpose of the military tent just to protect the people?
Compared with the people of this city, or even a country, the Western Chu army is worth it!
The knot in his heart was untied, and most of the resentment in Lord Changping's heart dissipated.
However, after returning to the station, Changping Jun still picked up his pen and wrote a letter to Xiang Yan.
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In Xianyang City, Li Si has also met with Meng Tian and Wei Liao to discuss the next plan.
"Sir, is the harem safe now?" Meng Tian asked.
"Lao Ai's army has gathered in the city, so of course there is nothing going on at Jingyao." Li Si replied.
"That's good." Meng Tian smiled and said, "It seems that Lao Ai didn't get much information about us."
"Yes, there are many reasons for his failure, and blind confidence is one of them." Li Si analyzed.
"Then what should we do next?" Wei Liao asked.
Li Si thought for a while and said: "First of all, clean up Xianyang City, including the entire palace. Don't let the harem live in Xianyang Palace yet. The Gucheng Palace is relatively less bloody. You can let them live in Gucheng Palace first. palace."
"Secondly, Meng Tian, you take 50,000 troops and escort Lao Ai to Yongcheng so that the king can be punished. Moreover, there may be war over there in Yiqu, so you must help the king."
"As for Lord Changping, there seems to be some mood swings. I will try my best to comfort them, but I also need the Lieutenant to supervise their movements at the same time."
"Okay, just do as the teacher says." Meng Tian and Wei Liao replied in unison.
In this way, after a day of repairs, Meng Tian escorted Lao Ai to Yongcheng.
At this time in Yongcheng, Ying Zheng was ready. Under the auspices of Ning Gong, the concubine of the Si Che Shu, the adult crowning ceremony began.
Originally, the person who performed the crown ceremony for Ying Zheng should be Queen Mother Zhao Ji, but after Zhao Ji knew the truth of the matter, she was very depressed and was not suitable for this ceremony anymore, so she temporarily changed her name to Ning Gong.
Ying Zheng seemed to have expected this, so he brought Ning Gong to Yongcheng.
In the main hall, Ying Zheng was sitting in the middle, and two maids were combing his freshly washed hair.
All the ministers were looking here, but they didn't know whether their eyes fell on Ying Zheng or on these two delicate maids.
After a while, the maids dried Ying Zheng's hair, combed it and put it into a bun.
At this time, another maid came to Ning Gong carrying a wooden tray with a crown on it.
Ning Gong picked up the crown and walked to Ying Zheng's side.
"Your Majesty, please!" Ning Gong gently put the crown on Ying Zheng's head.
The moment he had been waiting for for a long time finally arrived. Ying Zheng's eyebrows brightened and he held the crown on his head with a slightly trembling hand.
The two maids put the crown on Ying Zheng's head again before retreating.
Ying Zheng stood up and cooperated with Ning Gong to complete the last step of the ancestor worship ceremony.
After everything was settled, Ying Zheng, who had been quite excited, gradually calmed down and walked to the center of the hall.
"Today, I have been blessed with the crowning ceremony. I have the ancestors as witnesses and all the ministers as witnesses. Since I have become an adult, in the future, I will naturally handle the affairs of the dynasty myself." Ying Zheng's voice was loud and clear, "Here, too, I I would like to thank the Queen Mother and her assistant Lu Buwei for their wholehearted support, which made the court stable and supported by the people."
Ying Zheng said this because he also wanted to help Zhao Ji avoid being criticized. After all, because of Lao Ai's incident, it was impossible for Zhao Ji to get out of the relationship.
"From now on, I will inherit the aspirations of my ancestors and work hard to govern the Qin Dynasty to make the people prosperous and the country stronger!" Ying Zheng continued, "From today on, the court meetings will resume, and all political affairs will be discussed together in the temple."
"I obey my orders!" all the ministers responded in unison.
Ying Zheng returned to his throne and continued: "Now, something big is happening in Xianyang. I want to temporarily move the temple to Yongcheng. Firstly, to rebuild Xianyang, and secondly, to facilitate the fight against foreign enemies."
"The Point Guard Is Here"
. "
Before the blessing ceremony, Ying Zheng heard that there was urgent news from Xianyang. Naturally, he was anxious to know the situation there, so he looked at Meng Wu and asked, "General Meng, is there any news from Xianyang?"
Meng Wu took a step forward, raised his hands and said, "Your Majesty, the latest news has come from Xianyang. Lao Ai has been captured alive and will be escorted on the road immediately. He is expected to arrive at Yongcheng in two days."
"Well done." Ying Zheng raised his lips slightly, as if he had expected it. "What are the casualties?"
"Back to the king, more than half of Lao Ai's Changxin army suffered casualties, and the remaining troops were less than 30,000, all of which have been captured. As for our army..." Meng Wu hesitated in the middle of his words.
"How is our army?" Ying Zheng asked with concern.
The other ministers also pricked up their ears and were eager to know the result.
"The deployment led by Wang Jian captured nearly 20,000 Changxin soldiers without spending almost a single soldier." Meng Wu sighed softly, "It is a pity that the Western Chu army responsible for guarding the palace did not have an advantage in numbers. Under such circumstances, they engaged in hand-to-hand street fighting with the enemy and suffered heavy losses. In the end, only more than 16,000 soldiers were left."
Hearing this, Ying Zheng also took a breath of cold air. He expected that the Western Chu Army would suffer losses, but he did not expect that the losses would be so great. In the original plan, only Changping Lord led the Western Chu Army to trap the Western Chu Army. Chang Xin's army, then let Lao Ai go, and then recruit Chang Xin's army to surrender.
Unexpectedly, the Changxin Army and the Xichu Army were both so bloody, and they almost fought to the death.
Ying Zheng couldn't help but blame himself, and also regretted that he didn't ambush more troops in the city. Perhaps, seeing that the number of troops surrounding him far exceeded his own, Chang Xin's army might not have done anything like a trapped beast.
Although all the ministers did not know the origin of the Western Chu Army, they all felt sorry for it. After all, the person who led the Western Chu Army to destroy the enemy was the current right minister Chang Pingjun, so they didn't know what to say for a while, and they all lamented in their hearts.
They are all subjects of the Qin Dynasty, so why are they constantly fighting with each other, especially the Changxin Army, who are all good men from Yongcheng, and only join the army to be loyal to the Queen Mother.
Pity.
Ying Zheng's lips trembled a little, and he said bitterly: "Lao Ai! I have to settle this account with you!"
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Two days later, Lao Ai finally returned to his hometown, but instead of standing proudly in front of the temple as before, he knelt on the ground with his hands tied.
"Lao Ai!" Ying Zheng shouted, "Do you know your guilt?!"
On the way to Yongcheng, Lao Ai had long thought of her own consequences. After everything was over, she suddenly felt that the pressure she had endured over the years was gone, and she felt extremely happy and relaxed.
"Hahaha..." Lao Ai's dirty face was full of smiles, "As the saying goes, the winner is the king and the loser is the enemy, so why am I guilty?"
Ying Zheng's eyes widened in anger and he said, "What's the crime? Isn't it a crime for you to insult the Queen Mother? Isn't it a crime to form a clique for personal gain? Isn't it a crime to have ruined the lives of tens of thousands of good men in our Qin Dynasty in vain?"
"Hmph!" Lao Ai asked back, "Little Huangkou, let me ask you, if my Yiqu country still exists, would this still happen? Isn't it your Daqin royal family that caused all this?!"
"Strong words!" Ying Zheng refuted loudly, "If you still have a country in Yiqu, just send troops and fight with me. Even if the two countries are at war, no one will do something as shameless as you!"
In one sentence, Lao Ai didn't know how to deal with it. Of course he knew how despicable the methods he used were.
"Why are you talking so much? Give this young master a quick break." Lao Ai said coldly, "In the future, Da Qin will naturally receive violent revenge."
"Haha." Ying Zheng laughed angrily, "Originally I wanted to keep you so that you could see how your Yiqu family was defeated by me. In view of the disgraceful things you have done to the harem, even if I call you Living a moment longer would be disrespectful to the elders of the royal family.”
"In the history of the Qin Dynasty, only one person was punished by breaking a chariot, and that was Shang Jun Wei Yang."
Ying Zheng turned around and no longer looked at Lao Ai: "I'm afraid you will be lucky enough to be the second person."
