socalfunplaces Page 236
Page 236
The ministers were terrified, but they had no choice but to await their fate.
"Look! Troops are coming from the west!" At this moment, a sharp-eyed minister suddenly pointed to the west and shouted loudly.
Since it was nearly dusk, the dust cloud was indeed inconspicuous unless you looked closely, thanks to the setting sun.
However, once the group was reminded, they squinted and looked over again, and found that it was indeed the case, and there seemed to be quite a few people on the west side as well!
But that's clearly not the direction of central Saudi Arabia, it's the direction of western Saudi Arabia!
Upon realizing this, the ministers all turned to look at Duke Chu, only to see the old man standing there calmly, gently stroking his beard with a smile.
It's obvious he knew this would happen!
"Duke Chu?" At this moment, Emperor An, Li Sun, also noticed that a large group of people from the west was rushing towards Andu. He stared wide-eyed in shock and then looked in the direction of Duke Chu.
"You've betrayed me too?!" As Emperor An spoke, the finger he extended to point at Duke Chu trembled slightly.
"I knew you all harbored rebellious intentions!" Emperor An shouted even louder when the Duke of Chu did not reply, "Come! Kill the Duke of Chu!"
In an instant, several palace guards rushed out and drew their swords to strike at Duke Chu.
However, the next second, the two guards behind Duke Chu suddenly made their move, slit the throats of the guards in the palace in just two moves, and watched as they slowly fell down, their faces full of disbelief and blood flowing from their necks!
"You..." Emperor An was stunned. He hadn't expected that the Duke of Chu would also have such skilled men by his side! Moreover, the martial arts skills of these two guards were clearly much higher than his own!
Even Deng Hui, standing beside him, was only holding his sword sheath! Judging from the opponent's attack just now, Deng Hui knew that even if he drew his sword, it would be useless, because he was no match for him!
"Why is Your Majesty like this?" At this moment, Duke Chu stopped pretending and directly smiled, cupped his fists and bowed to Emperor An, saying, "I was just afraid that Your Majesty might do something irreversible in a moment of anger, so I mobilized the tribal forces to protect the officials and people of Andu."
"His Majesty has always loved his people like his own children! He also treats his ministers like family!"
"I'm sure they'll understand my actions!"
The assembled officials were completely dumbfounded! They never expected that the Duke of Chu would also be involved in this grand drama... However, his words brought great comfort to the officials.
Although both sides consisted of tribal forces, Duke Chu was clearly much more rational than Emperor An, that madman!
Even if he were to usurp the throne in the future, he would not slaughter the officials and common people of Ancheng.
Thinking of this, many Anguo officials looked at Duke Chu with a fawning gaze, after all, it was still uncertain who would emerge victorious!
"This is treason!" Upon hearing this, Emperor An went even more insane, shouting, "I am the Son of Heaven! Even if you all die, it is only right! Thunder and rain are both imperial grace!"
As soon as he said this, the ministers present all frowned.
This crazy emperor is really killing us! Right now, they can't help but hope that the Duke of Chu will succeed in his rebellion!
In any case, they had no objection whatsoever to supporting a new emperor for this utterly ruthless ruler!
However, before the Duke of Chu could finish speaking, a guard who had been standing behind Emperor An suddenly sprang up, drew his sword, and swiftly cut down the guards on either side of him. He then brought his sword to Emperor An, Li Jun's, neck.
"You..." This sudden turn of events startled Li Sun and everyone present.
"Li Jun!" However, the guard's voice was a perfectly standard female voice. She sneered, "It hasn't even been twelve hours, and you've already forgotten the feeling of my sword's edge?"
"You are... Ren Xin?!" Upon hearing this, Emperor An frowned, but immediately recognized the voice.
After all, he still vividly remembers what happened last night and could never forget it!
The other party directly removed the human skin mask from their face, revealing Ren Ruyi's pretty face once again!
The ministers present were not so surprised by this situation!
Seeing Li Jun being held hostage by Ren Ruyi again, they were not as tense as they were last night!
Many people even felt that if Ren Ruyi were to kill the emperor, it would actually be a good thing for the people of Anguo.
"Ren Xin!" The only exception was Deng Hui, who remained utterly loyal to Li Sun. He shouted nervously, "Release His Majesty immediately! Otherwise I..."
"What else?" At this moment, a new figure finally appeared before everyone!
A young man wearing a jade fox mask lightly leaped down from the roof of the city tower and landed gracefully beside Ren Ruyi like a feather.
Of course, while everyone was surprised, this person did not stop walking and slowly walked towards Deng Hui.
"You're asking for death!" Deng Hui's threatening words were interrupted by Wei Tingyu's sudden appearance, and he was already annoyed.
At this moment, he saw that the other party was walking straight towards him with his hands behind his back, seemingly oblivious to his own mortality. His eyes narrowed instantly, and he drew his sword and thrust it towards the other party's chest.
However, Wei Tingyu completely disregarded Deng Hui's so-called swordsmanship. He didn't even dodge, but instead stretched out his left hand into a claw shape to meet the sharp blade thrust at him head-on.
At the same time, the powerful internal energy accumulated over more than twenty years within his body surged forth, directly shattering the sword thrusting at Deng Hui into several pieces from a distance!
But as the shattered sword blade clattered to the ground, Deng Hui was shocked! However, he couldn't stop in time, because Wei Tingyu's left hand didn't stop at all, and in less than a breath, he directly grabbed Deng Hui's neck.
Deng Hui felt a powerful force strike him, then his vision went black, and with a cracking sound of his neck breaking, his entire body went limp!
Wei Tingyu's clean and decisive move shattered Deng Hui's sword, and at the same time, he took his life in one move, which truly shocked everyone present!
After all, Deng Hui's martial arts skills were not weak, yet he couldn't even withstand a single move from this Jade-Faced Fox Gentleman!
Even the Duke of Chu, who had previously completely submitted to Wei Tingyu, was dumbfounded.
Of course, he felt mostly relieved! With Wei Tingyu's skills, taking the head of an enemy general amidst thousands of troops would be as easy as taking candy from a baby.
If I hadn't surrendered to him beforehand and instead became his enemy... who knows, one day I might end up like Deng Hui without even knowing it!
"Good! You...you've all conspired to rebel..." Emperor An hadn't expected that his most loyal and capable henchman would be instantly killed by this handsome fox-faced young man. Despite his fear, he still called out, "Duke Chu! Ren Xin! And your accomplice!"
"Don't think you can control Anguo just because you've taken me hostage!"
"Once my maternal clan's forces arrive, none of you will survive!"
"I will make the entire Andu pay with its life! Hahahaha!"
Upon hearing Emperor An's outrageous words, the ministers present all showed expressions of panic.
Whether or not the Duke of Chu was rebelling was no longer important to them. What mattered was that, according to Emperor An, the troops from the Central Plains had come to massacre the city.
You, an old emperor, have gone mad, and now you want to drag everyone down with you?
"Duke Chu! What should we do now?"
"Yes! Only your forces in western Saudi Arabia can hold off these lunatics in central Saudi Arabia right now!"
"We're all counting on you!"
The ministers then surrounded Duke Chu, pleading for his protection.
Although the forces in western Saudi Arabia are few and cannot possibly save the entire city, the people in central Saudi Arabia are unlikely to be so crazy as to be willing to suffer heavy losses in a direct confrontation with western Saudi Arabia.
Therefore, Duke Chu undoubtedly still has leverage in negotiations! Perhaps he can do his best to protect the lives and fortunes of the officials!
However, Duke Chu also looked worried, but his eyes were fixed on Wei Tingyu, after all, he had now submitted to this Marquis of Jining.
What should he do next? He still has to listen to the Marquis's instructions!
"You're really crazy!" Ren Ruyi snorted coldly after hearing An Di's words, and then said, "Master's prediction was indeed correct!"
"Master?" The people on the city wall were stunned for a moment, and then all looked at Duke Chu.
But he showed no sign of being in a superior position; instead, he displayed utmost respect in front of the handsome, fox-faced young man.
At this moment, everyone understood that the master Ren Ruyi was referring to was not the Duke of Chu, but this young master wearing a jade-faced fox mask.
Even the Duke of Chu regarded him as his master and obeyed his commands.
But who exactly was this person? All the ministers present looked at each other in bewilderment, none of them knowing.
"What?" Emperor An was taken aback by Ren Ruyi's words, and then asked, "Did you anticipate that I would summon all the troops from my maternal clan to Andu?"
"No! In that case, you should have killed me last night. Why are you only stopping me today?"
"Or is this also part of your plan? I've fallen for your trap?!"
Although Emperor An was a bit crazy, he wasn't stupid! He rolled his eyes and immediately sensed something strange about the atmosphere.
"Not bad!" Wei Tingyu was quite impressed with Emperor An's political acumen at this moment, and he nodded, revealing the final answer.
"If I had killed you last night, the chaos in the central desert would have been a huge problem!"
"So I'll have you gather all the troops from the central desert region, and we'll resolve this problem right here in Andu City!"
"That would save everyone trouble... wouldn't it?"
As soon as Wei Tingyu finished speaking, all the ministers present were shocked. They never expected this to be a series of interconnected schemes!
However, the Shazhong tribe is the most powerful among the Anguo tribes, and their able-bodied men number around ten thousand! Now they have come out in full force to attack Andu. How can they possibly resist?
Although the western part of the desert came to help, even if all the able-bodied men of the tribe were sent out, the number would only be five or six thousand!
Everyone here is from a tribe on the grasslands, and their tactical skills are roughly equal! With a difference of nearly twice the number of people, the chances of the western desert winning are extremely slim!
"Hahahaha!" If the ministers could think of this, Emperor An certainly could too. He rolled his eyes and burst into laughter.
"Even if you have the western desert as your support, what good will it do?"
"I'm afraid that when the two tribes clash later, the western tribe will be defeated in less than the time it takes for an incense stick to burn!"
"When my mother's people enter the city, I will make you all pay with your lives!"
As soon as Emperor An finished speaking, the ministers present felt a chill run down their spines. After all, in their view, this was the most likely scenario to unfold next!
The chances of the West Coast winning are not nonexistent, but they are so slim that they have given up hope.
However, Duke Chu straightened his clothes and knelt down in front of Wei Tingyu, saying, "Master, please rest assured, my Shaxi will fight to the last man and will never retreat!"
On paper, he certainly understood that his tribe could not confront the Central Sands head-on.