Chapter 397: Army at the Gates (Part 1)
The Crown Prince’s long-prepared plans made it very difficult for them to break all his arrangements in a short time.
"Mother, there’s no need to worry. With Brother Qiao here, as long as we hold the Capital City and wait for the reinforcements Su Yu dispatched to arrive in time, the Crown Prince will be powerless to turn the tide," Han Jing assessed. The most it should take is two or three days, but the difficulty lies within these two or three days — how to stop an army of fifty thousand from being overwhelmed by the enemy’s two hundred thousand.
Moreover, the Imperial Guard in the capital has been indulging in comfort for too long, how can they compare to those soldiers who often bathe in blood at the border? I’m afraid they won’t even be able to hold out for a day.
Once the city falls, who knows how many innocents will be implicated, and the whole Capital City would become a river of blood.
Han Jing never doubted whether her decisions were right or wrong. She only knew that once the Crown Prince ascends the throne, even more people would die, so no matter what, they must stop the Crown Prince.
As for three days...
"Mother, I have a way," Han Jing suddenly said.
Su Yaogeng widened her eyes and looked at her: "What way?"
Han Jing: "Mother will know when the time comes."
Han Jing originally wanted to reveal her plan but thought twice and realized she mustn’t say it. Otherwise, her mother would never allow her to do it.
Han Jing had heard Yun Feng say that the greatest taboo for Spirit Cultivators is slaughter. Given the disparity in power, any Spirit Cultivator could fight against thousands or even tens of thousands. If they were to kill on the battlefield, it would violate the natural order.
So Han Jing knew that neither Su Yaogeng nor Brother Qiao could rely on their powers to turn the tide of battle easily. Doing so would be disadvantageous to them.
They couldn’t, but she could.
No one said a Superpower User couldn’t join the battle, right? Besides, she was merely an ordinary person now, and the laws of the Spirit Cultivation Realm did not bind her.
Therefore, Han Jing’s plan certainly was... she would go. But under no circumstances could Su Yaogeng know about this, or she would never agree.
Of course, she wasn’t going to risk her life to protect everyone in the Capital City; she wasn’t that noble. But in these times, using a bit of spiritual power wouldn’t harm her. The spiritual power Su Yu had excessively endowed her was enough to help, as long as they held off the enemy forces until reinforcements arrived, they would win.
They absolutely cannot lose.
Han Jing brushed off Su Yaogeng, and Su Yaogeng did not pursue the matter further.
Since discovering the Crown Prince and Prince An’s conspiracy, the Emperor seemed to age ten years overnight. He hasn’t attended morning court nor seen anyone these days. He hasn’t even ordered the restriction of the Crown Prince Mansion’s people.
Indeed, the Crown Prince had left, but the hundreds of people from the Crown Prince Mansion were left in the Capital City. The Crown Prince seemingly had no intention of managing them.
Su Yaogeng knew the Emperor was reluctant but also pained, which is why in these two days, she frequently kept him company in the palace.
Yet, what was destined to come, finally came.
When the earth-shaking sound of the horn reverberated throughout the Capital City, the air seemed filled with the smell of gunpowder.
Su Xingqiao personally positioned himself at the city gate, directing the battle. The Capital City had only fifty thousand Imperial Army, which could not possibly hold back the enemy’s two hundred thousand army. However, the two hundred thousand did not come all at once but in batches. Initially, when facing the enemy’s fifty thousand troops, with Su Xingqiao’s experience, they could still fend them off.