The First Lackey Under The Empress

From the moment the Shenji Camp's cannons covered the battlefield, the battle was no longer in doubt.

On the watchtower, Prince Heng's face was pale, his hands clenched tightly on the railing in front of him, the veins on the back of his hands bulging.

He stared intently ahead, the strategists and civil officials around him not daring to breathe, their faces devoid of confidence and arrogance.

Only palpitations, disbelief, and… fear!

No one had anticipated that the Qingzhou soldiers would collapse so quickly. When the cannons covered the battlefield and war chariots fell one after another, the smiles on their faces disappeared.

When the "Young Duke" began to charge, using high morale to annihilate the nearly collapsing Qingzhou rebel army, this "chess game" also reached the "endgame" stage.

"Your Highness!" The crowd saw Prince Heng stagger abruptly, almost falling, and they were all shocked.

But quickly, Prince Heng stabilized himself again, his face as pale as gold paper.

Defeated! Defeated!

Even though Wei Xianzong was still desperately resisting below, and the elite Qingzhou rebel army still had the strength to fight, in Prince Heng's eyes, this battle alone had completely buried his ambition to invade the capital and ascend the throne.

"Your Highness, the thousand-mile tube has been retrieved!"

At this moment, the attendant, panting, rushed to the watchtower and presented a "telescope" in his hand.

Prince Heng closed his eyes, took a deep breath, until his chest swelled, and then exhaled slowly, trying his best to restore his composure.

He calmly reached out, took the exquisitely crafted, expensive spyglass, raised it, held one end to his right eye, and aimed the other end at the battlefield.

Then, the originally somewhat blurred scene immediately filled his eyes. He saw Wei Xianzong in the center of the army, already armored and on horseback, urging the military officers to resist together.

He saw Tang Ping, in silver armor and helmet, wielding his saber and charging into the enemy formation, as if entering an uninhabited land.

He saw the ferocious beasts lying on the ground, already lifeless, their heads blown to pieces.

Finally, Prince Heng raised the lens and looked towards a mountain in the distance, where a group of Fifth Army Camp generals were also watching the battle, and…

A handsome young man who had just thrown away a pear core.

In the lens, Zhao Du'an seemed to sense Prince Heng's gaze, his bright eyes looking directly over, the corners of his mouth curving into a smile.

Zhao Du'an raised his right hand, his five fingers together, and gently made a "throat-cutting" gesture at his throat.

"Ah—"

Prince Heng took two steps back in shock, his grip on the thousand-mile tube unsteady, and it fell to the ground, rolling under the feet of the crowd.

"Your Highness…" A strategist was stunned and hurriedly bowed obsequiously, picking up the spyglass from the ground. Just as he was about to say something, he suddenly heard a low cannon sound in his ear.

The people on the watchtower subconsciously looked up, and immediately their souls flew away. They saw a cannonball wrapped in flames flying straight towards them.

… …

"It's a pity, the accuracy is still a bit off."

On the mountain, Zhao Du'an looked disappointedly at the rebel camp. Although the cannonball successfully entered the enemy camp, its landing point was hundreds of meters away from the watchtower.

The range was too far, and the accuracy inevitably decreased. After this shot, Prince Heng and others fled, losing the best opportunity to "cannon the prince."

"Combat experience is still lacking. However, after this battle, the Shenji Camp's mastery of new firearms will reach a new level."

Zhao Du'an sighed, then turned back and smiled at a large group of Fifth Army Camp generals behind him:

"Commander Yuan, why aren't you all speaking?"

At this moment, the senior generals of the Fifth Army Camp, led by Yuan Feng, were all dumbfounded, staring blankly at the one-sided battlefield below the mountain, their faces filled with the word "shock".

Is this the Shenji Camp in our impression? Is this the power of new firearms? It was clearly not like this during the exercise last year…

The square-faced commander stood there in a daze, the roar of the cannons still echoing in his mind.

And when he witnessed Shi Meng leading the musketeer team out of the camp in the big camp below the mountain, assisting in the flat push of the Qingzhou rebel army with muskets, this shock and fear reached its peak.

"Lord Zhao… this is…" Yuan Feng's Adam's apple rolled down hard, his voice mixed with a hint of imperceptible trembling.

The other military officers next to him also had similar expressions, looking at Zhao Du'an almost pleadingly.

"That's right, this is the new firearms of my Shenji Camp." Zhao Du'an nodded with a smile, humbly saying:

"It's the first time showing off, fortunately, I didn't lose face."

More than not losing face? It's simply crushing!

After the shock, the generals became excited. It was not only for this victory, but also because, as fellow members of the Jing Camp, as long as the supply of firearms was sufficient, they could also obtain the use of new firearms.

"No wonder the Jing Prince rebel spent so much effort to steal the firearm blueprints."

A senior military officer sighed, a deep sense of dread hidden in his eyes:

"If the Jiancheng Dao rebels also had such weapons, I'm afraid Secretary Xue might not be able to hold Linfeng."

Zhao Du'an smiled and said nothing.

The firearm version stolen by Prince Jing is too backward. It's not just the generational gap in weapons, but also the understanding of the entire tactical level, which is far different.

However, there is no need to tell these people about this.

"Okay, the dust has settled in this battle, but it's not time to celebrate yet. We can't let Prince Heng run away." Zhao Du'an restrained his smile and walked towards the foot of the mountain:

"Commander Yuan, leave the matter of cleaning up the battlefield to you. This official will go and capture the prince first."

Capture the prince… Is he sure that Prince Heng will escape? Yuan Feng's heart moved, and he nodded in response.

Watching Zhao Du'an drive his light work skills and drift away, he cheered up and hurried down the mountain with his men, returning to the military camp, preparing to capture the rebel prisoners and expand the results—

The Fifth Army Camp can't grab the credit, but it can't do nothing.

Just as he returned to the camp, a low-ranking military officer suddenly ran over in a hurry:

"Commander, that Prince Heng's heir couldn't withstand the torture and confessed a lot of things."

What? He confessed before even holding on? Yuan Feng's expression was strange.

The Qingzhou army was defeated, and you surrendered…

"Bring it to me," Even though he felt it was not very meaningful, Yuan Feng was still curious and took the confession of Xu Zudi, quickly flipping through it.

Then, the people around him noticed that their commander suddenly froze, staring at a part of the confession, motionless.

"Not good, Lord Zhao is in danger!"

Yuan Feng's face changed, and he suddenly raised his head:

"Quickly chase Lord Zhao back!"

… …

… …

"Your Highness?"

Inside the Qingzhou army camp, a Wangfu servant who stayed behind in the rear camp was surprised to see Prince Heng walking hurriedly from the front.

The military camp area is huge, and when the camp was set up, it was isolated. The area where the Wangfu camp was located was at the very back of the entire military camp, and it was also the safest area.

The two armies were fighting in front, and the Wangfu family generals and accompanying Wangfu servants in the rear camp could not see the whole picture due to the perspective. They only heard the rumbling cannons and shouts of killing in front.

Until now, they still didn't know how the battle was going in front, and they only habitually thought that it was another great victory.

At this moment, I suddenly saw Prince Heng returning, and I was very surprised.

"Prepare the car immediately and wait for me at the back of the camp!" Prince Heng's face was gloomy, and he urged anxiously.

The servant was stunned for a moment, and wanted to ask what happened, but when Prince Heng's fierce eyes swept over, he didn't dare to ask, and responded to prepare.

Prince Heng's face was as gloomy as water, and finally he turned his head and glanced at the shouting and killing in front of the camp. After he was almost shelled, he immediately escaped from the watchtower, found an excuse to leave the others behind, and hurried back alone.

At this time, he quickly walked to the outside of his own big tent. The ground in the tent was covered with mats. At this moment, the two beautiful concubines looked at the returning prince in surprise, and the painted faces instinctively raised a smile: "Your Highness…"

When a concubine saw the prince's expression, her heart tightened, and she subconsciously asked:

"Your Highness, did something unexpected happen in the battle ahead…"

Prince Heng suddenly stopped, his eyes fixed on the two beautiful concubines who were brought into the army to serve him even on the expedition, and suddenly muttered neurotically:

"Leaving you behind is also for people to tarnish and lose the face of this prince."

The two concubines instinctively sensed danger, halting their steps, their smiles freezing: "Your Highness..."

The next second, Prince Heng abruptly drew the saber from his waist, and with two swift slashes, he killed both concubines in a pool of blood.

Without any hesitation, he quickly walked to a corner, squatted down, took out a bronze key from his waist, and unlocked a special metal box on the ground.

From the box, he lifted a half-body armor, fiery red in color, with a black human face pattern on the front.

Prince Heng quickly took off his gorgeous outer robe and put the armor inside, then flipped out a set of low-key, simple gray clothes and hat, no different from a servant's, from the bottom of the box, and hurriedly changed into them.

He threw the gorgeous clothes into the box and locked it. After doing all this, he bypassed the corpses of the two beautiful concubines and hurried out of the main tent.

After a slight hesitation, he turned his head and rushed into another secluded tent nearby.

"Your Highness?" The two family guards outside the tent were stunned for a moment, their eyes revealing doubt.

Prince Heng said with a straight face: "Is the person inside?"

"Yes, Your Highness. Don't worry, we are guarding, absolutely nothing will go wrong."

"Well, that's good." Prince Heng nodded in satisfaction, then suddenly burst out, the saber flashed, and the two unprepared family guards were also stabbed to death by him.

Stepping over the corpses, Prince Heng used the blood-stained blade to pry open the tent, only to see a woman tied up inside.

This woman had dark cloud-like hair, a round and generous face, and an outstanding appearance. Her dark-colored pleated skirt was made of extraordinary silk, and she was actually Xiao Dong'er, the female head of the Xiao family in Donghu, Qingzhou.

Madam Xiao's hands and feet were bound by hemp rope, her legs bent to the side, sitting on the ground, leaning against a box.

Her head was drooping, her eyes tightly closed, drowsy. Her originally smooth skin had been worn dull, and she had also lost a circle of weight.

At this moment, hearing the movement, she raised her head, opened her eyelids, and saw Prince Heng, dressed in plain clothes, carrying a blood-stained long saber, barging in, and was instinctively stunned.

Then she heard the sounds of fighting and killing outside, and suddenly sneered:

"Have you finally been defeated? Heh, Your Highness in this getup, could it be that you are trying to escape?"

Xiao Dong'er had not been doing well in the past six months. After the Lake Pavilion Gathering last year, because she publicly defected to the imperial court and became a "royal merchant," she completely broke face with Prince Heng's mansion.

The Xiao family's situation in Qingzhou became worse, but at that time, Prince Heng's mansion did not dare to go too far, and there were only some secret means of suppression.

It wasn't until the Empress's failure to perform the Feng Chan ceremony and the rebellion of the Eight Kings that Prince Heng immediately ordered the takeover of the Xiao family.

However, because the Xiao family of Donghu had deep roots, it was not easy to eradicate them in a short time. Prince Heng was anxious to enter Beijing and had no time to deal with the Xiao family.

Worried that this large family would cause trouble behind his back, he simply imprisoned some of the family members in the dungeon of the Prince's mansion, and tied Xiao Dong'er, the female head of the family, to the army.

In order to restrain the Xiao family and make this local clan afraid to act rashly.

However, according to Prince Heng's plan, once he entered the capital, the Xiao family would lose its value, and Xiao Dong'er's ending would be predictable.

"Bitch!"

With Madam Xiao's sneer, Prince Heng was enraged. He slapped Xiao Dong'er fiercely, causing the female head to turn her head, a palm print appearing on her fair cheek, and blood oozing from the corner of her mouth.

However, the contempt in her eyes was even stronger. She spat lightly, and raised her palm-sized face somewhat madly:

"Coward, if you have the guts, kill me. It seems that my initial defection to Zhao Envoy was the right thing to do. What else can you do besides being arrogant, dreaming of being an emperor, and bullying women?"

Prince Heng's expression suddenly turned gloomy, but he did not really draw his blade. Instead, he held the blade in one hand and roughly dragged Madam Xiao up with the other, walking out of the tent, sneering:

"Then you better hope that the pretty boy surnamed Zhao can come and save you."

Xiao Dong'er was stunned for a moment, capturing the hidden information in Prince Heng's words.

However, before she could confirm it, she was rudely dragged out of the barracks by Prince Heng.

Behind the barracks, the family servant had already prepared a carriage. Seeing the Prince walking over with a saber, his heart skipped a beat, and he trembled:

"Your Highness, what is this..."

Prince Heng said nothing, threw the constantly cursing Madam Xiao into the carriage, and then backhanded and killed the coachman as well.

Only then did he jump into the carriage, personally shake the reins, wave the whip, and drive the carriage along the road, fleeing rapidly towards Qingzhou.

He actually abandoned the entire Qingzhou army and fled alone!

......

"Giddy up! Giddy up!"

On the empty and deserted official road, a carriage galloped, leaving the sounds of fighting and killing behind.

Soon, Madam Xiao, who was bound hand and foot in the carriage and was almost vomiting from the bumps, could no longer hear the sounds of the two armies fighting.

She lay sideways in the carriage, her hair disheveled, her forehead bruised red and purple. Through the shaking curtain, she could see the blood-stained long saber and Prince Heng's back driving the carriage.

Although the Qingzhou army was defeated, with Wei Xianzong's ability, leading the remaining elite troops was not without a chance to fight.

At least they could block the Shenji Camp for a considerable amount of time, and this time was enough for Prince Heng to escape far away.

However, just as Madam Xiao closed her eyes, thinking that she would be taken back to Qingzhou by Prince Heng all the way.

Suddenly, the carriage stopped abruptly!

The dignified Prince, dressed in a servant's gray clothes, wearing a small hat, and acting as a coachman, grabbed the reins with his left hand and subconsciously touched the hilt of the saber beside him with his right hand, his eyes fixed on the front.

In the center of the empty and deserted official road, under the green trees on both sides, a team of cavalry quietly blocked the way.

Elite cavalrymen of the Shenji Camp, wearing armor and holding sabers, were expressionless and murderous, sealing off his path forward.

And on a black horse at the very front, Zhao Du'an sat leisurely, playing with an old bronze mirror the size of a palm in his hand.

On the mirror surface, the water rippled, and the scene of Prince Heng driving the carriage was slowly fading away, disappearing without a trace.

Zhao Du'an put the "Romance Treasure Mirror" into his arms, staring with interest at the King of Qingzhou, whom he was meeting for the first time, but whose relevant portraits he had seen countless times:

"Prince Heng, where are you going?"

......

Capital City.

Inside a side hall of the Imperial Palace, a closed-door small court meeting was being held.

Not many officials were present, but they were all important ministers of the court.

The atmosphere was oppressive and heavy. The Empress sat upright on the dragon chair, closed the memorial in her hand, placed it on the yellow silk-covered table in front of her, and her bright eyes swept across Grand Tutor Dong, Yuan Li, the various ministers, Ma Yan... all these faces.

"Is this the opinion of all of you?" Xu Zhenguan's voice was clear and cold, and no emotion could be heard.

Only two days had passed since the Li Party's rebellion was quelled, and the aftermath of the coup in the city had not completely subsided. The military situation that the Qingzhou rebel army had defeated the Five Armies Camp caused the turbulent court to once again set off a storm.

For a time, none of the ministers answered. Finally, Yuan Li, the Censor-in-Chief, sighed and took the initiative to stand up, cupping his hands and saying:

"Your Majesty, no one in the court doubts Zhao Shaobao's talent anymore, but although he is a military general, he has never really led troops into battle. Even with Shi Meng by his side, rushing to support him so rashly, I'm afraid it's not stable enough. Moreover..."

Yuan Li paused, glanced at Ma Yan, who was pulling a long face beside him.

The latter understood, took out a secret letter from his sleeve:

"Reporting to Your Majesty, this is the intelligence just sent back by the Shadow Guards of Qingzhou. According to the investigation by the spies there, Prince Heng not only secretly raises evil beasts, but also holds a treasure, the 'Crimson Flame Holy Armor'.

It is said that it is the sacred object of the Fire Worship Cult that was destroyed six hundred years ago. Although Zhao Du'an has entered the Worldly Realm, if he encounters this thing, I am afraid he will be in danger."

Crimson Flame Holy Armor? Sacred object of the Fire Worship Cult?

Xu Zhenguan's beautiful eyes narrowed.

......