The First Lackey Under The Empress

According to the book, the process of smelting the "Crimson Flame Holy Armor" takes at least a few days to complete.

Zhao Du'an busied himself all night, and the next morning, he glanced at the "charging" progress bar, greatly disappointed.

He simply instructed his stepmother to seal off his room, forbidding anyone from entering, leaving the Holy Armor to slowly devour the many "spoils of war" on its own.

He himself was calm and leisurely, playing games, and then turned to the Imperial Prison.

The Imperial Prison was as depressing as ever. Even from a distance from the gray-black building, one could feel the temperature drop.

"My Lord."

Zhao Du'an, with his hands behind his back, led Qian Kerou and Shen Juan to the prison. The old warden hurriedly greeted him with a flattering smile: "Do you have any instructions?"

"Take me to see Li Yanfu," Zhao Du'an said calmly.

As the first important figure he encountered after coming to this world, and also the first stepping stone for his rise from humble beginnings, considering that the Chancellor was about to die, he felt it necessary to see him one last time.

The dungeon was dark and stuffy.

As soon as he stepped in, he heard screams. On both sides of the corridor, the cells were overcrowded. From time to time, cell doors were opened, and jailers roughly dragged away prisoners covered in wounds.

"Most of these are officials of the Li faction who plotted rebellion, as well as some of the newly押进来青州 rebel leaders," Secretary Qian Kerou whispered.

Shen Juan also muttered, grinning, "The last time I saw the Imperial Prison so full was after the Xuanmen coup."

Zhao Du'an remained silent, walking slowly.

As he walked along the corridor, prisoners on both sides often rushed to the bars, reaching out their hands and begging for mercy, pleading with Zhao Du'an to report to the Emperor.

The jailers, facing these officials who had held great power not long ago, changed their flattering attitude towards Zhao Du'an, becoming fierce, whipping them with leather whips, making "crack" sounds, accompanied by the prisoners' wails.

"Shut up, if you disturb Lord Zhao, you will be sent on your way today!"

Zhao Du'an glanced at this group of prisoners and suddenly said with some emotion:

"Last summer, if I had not made meritorious service, just the matter of Zhuang Xiaocheng's escape would have earned me a cell here."

The three subordinates beside him looked at each other, not knowing how to respond.

Zhao Du'an smiled, but said nothing more, and continued to walk deeper.

… …

Li Yanfu was imprisoned in the "Class A" cell at the deepest part of the Imperial Prison.

Directly opposite him, another cell originally held another high-ranking official of the Li faction. Yesterday, that person was taken away, and Prince Heng and his son replaced him.

Thus, Li Yanfu learned of the defeat of the Qingzhou rebels.

"Clang!"

The iron door at the end of the corridor opened. Li Yanfu, with disheveled hair, wearing a prison uniform, and meditating facing the cell's air vent, opened his eyes.

Opposite him, Prince Heng, covered in wounds and curled up on the straw mat, and his son Xu Zudi were also awakened.

The three Class A prisoners stood up at the same time, looking towards the darkness of the corridor, seeing a familiar figure walking towards them.

"Hehe, Chancellor Li, Prince Heng, Young Master Xu, are you three used to living here?"

Zhao Du'an walked from the darkness into the light, smiling, with a smile on his face.

The pampered Prince Heng and his son were immediately frightened and curled back into the straw mat, their eyes filled with fear, no longer possessing their former superiority and arrogance as relatives of the Emperor.

"Zhao Du'an." In comparison, Li Yanfu was much calmer.

The old man was wearing a prison uniform, his gray hair disheveled, and the beard connecting his temples had not been trimmed for several days, making him look messy.

The gaze he directed at Zhao Du'an was heavy, carrying a complex meaning.

He sat on the ground facing the bars, with an attitude of resignation:

"I heard that you led the army and defeated the Qingzhou army in one day, returning in triumph yesterday."

"To be precise, it only took half a day to defeat these two wastes," Zhao Du'an said with a smile, lifting the hem of his robe and squatting at the cell door, facing Li Yanfu.

The old Chancellor, with gray hair and now a prisoner, stared at him and suddenly sighed:

"Young people are to be feared. In these days in prison, I have repeatedly pondered, and the most regrettable thing is that I should have listened to Yinglong's advice and eliminated you with all my strength when you had not yet risen to power!

It's just a pity that there is no regret medicine in the world. Who would have thought that my Li family and his son would die at the hands of a mere gigolo."

Zhao Du'an squatted outside the prison cell, staring at him with a smile, shaking his head and saying, "Chancellor is wrong."

Li Yanfu raised his eyes:

"What is wrong? This old man has been an official all his life and knows the principle of the winner being the king and the loser being the bandit. I don't regret launching a coup to seize power, but only miscalculated the Emperor's return. Otherwise, everything would be different."

Even at this moment, he didn't think he had done anything wrong, only admitting defeat.

Zhao Du'an shook his head and said very seriously: "You are wrong to be my enemy."

Li Yanfu was stunned. At this moment, he looked at the flames in the dungeon corridor reflected in Zhao Du'an's eyes, and suddenly lost all his strength.

Zhao Du'an said: "The Emperor has already issued an order that in two days, all the officials of the Li faction who participated in the rebellion will be beheaded and displayed to the public in the capital's execution ground to celebrate my victory.

As expected, today is the last time you and I will meet. I have instructed the jailer to add some wine and meat to your last meal, which is considered my reward for letting Feng Ju slander and falsely accuse you, thus escaping the fate of being exiled and beheaded."

Li Yanfu closed his eyes, only to stubbornly say:

"History books will have my name."

This was the last sentence Li Yanfu said to Zhao Du'an in this world.

Zhao Du'an smiled, got up and walked out.

Suddenly, in the cell next door, Xu Zudi knelt on the ground, walking on his knees, rushing to the bars, grabbing the thick wooden pillars with both hands, squeezing out a flattering smile:

"Lord Zhao, has the Emperor calmed down? Please bring a message to the Emperor, just say that we know we are wrong, we are all family, and the imperial children killing each other will make the people of the world laugh, won't it?

My father and I promise to retire and return to Qingzhou to be rich men, never interfering in the affairs of the court again, and guaranteeing to be law-abiding…"

Zhao Du'an stopped, staring at this stupid fellow with a strange look, thinking that Old Xu's genes had been ruined when they were passed down to this branch.

He was too lazy to talk nonsense with this guy, and said with a smile:

"I almost forgot, in two days, you two will be joining Li Yanfu on the road to the afterlife."

After saying that, he left gracefully.

Xu Zudi was struck by lightning, his face ashen.

Behind him, Prince Heng, who was curled up on the straw mat pretending to be dead, suddenly raised his head in shock and roared like crazy:

"This Prince is a member of the imperial family! How dare she kill me!? How dare she kill uncles and brothers, she will surely bear the infamy for thousands of years! This Prince…"

The sound of footsteps gradually faded away.

… …

"Clang!"

Zhao Du'an closed the iron door of the Class A prison cell with his backhand, rubbed his ears that were hurting from the roar, and said lightly:

"Cancel the last meal for Prince Heng and his son. They are so noisy, they must not be hungry."

The jailer smiled obsequiously: "Yes."

Qian Kerou and Shen Juan looked at each other, wanting to laugh a little.

Zhao Du'an glanced at the two of them and said:

"Give you two a task, take Wei Xianzong away from the prison cell, send him to the Divine Machine Camp, demote him to the vanguard camp to be a small soldier, tell him that this official cherishes talent and gives him a chance to atone for his sins.

If he can make military achievements on the front line, the joint responsibility for his family's rebellion can be waived. If he doesn't take good care of it and thinks about escaping, tell Shi Meng to kill him directly."

I've shown him the path to survival. If he doesn't know how to seize it, it only proves he's a fool, and his death is no loss.”

Qian K柔 and Shen Juan were both taken aback, then clasped their fists in unison: “As you command!”

Zhao Du'an stepped out of the prison gate, raising his head to let the late summer sunlight fall on his face. He looked at the blue sky and white clouds, the dazzling sunlight, and felt a hint of the late summer chill.

Next, there would be a tough battle to fight.

……

……

The small town on the eastern Huai River line, right next to the Grand Canal and adjacent to Bin Hai Dao, has been very lively recently, as the rebel army of Jian Cheng Dao has halted its northward march to the capital, abruptly changing its previous offensive stance to instead rely on the terrain and key transportation points to construct solid front-line fortifications.

At the same time, officials of the Jing Wang faction began to take over the eastern Huai River line, digesting and absorbing local forces as quickly as possible.

In just a few days, notices of “Protecting the Territory and Pacifying the People” were posted on the walls of major county towns and even villages.

Inside the city, within a county government office.

Jing Wang Xu Wen sat in the back office with a blank expression, reviewing the latest intelligence from the secret agents.

Below him, in two rows of seats on the left and right sides of the room, were “civil and military officials.”

Everyone was afraid to breathe loudly.

The heir Xu Jinglong and Wangfei Lu Yan'er sat on the two chairs closest to Jing Wang, one on each side.

“Bang!”

Finally, Xu Wen slammed the paper in his hand on the tea table, the force of his palm causing the table to groan.

“Father, what is the situation in the capital?” Xu Jinglong dared to ask.

Xu Wen's face was as deep as water, and he said unhappily:

“The female emperor returned in time, stopping the coup launched by Li Yanfu. The Li faction was destroyed, and the court was once again in the hands of the female emperor.

In addition, that Zhao dog led the Divine Machine Camp, defeating the Qingzhou army and capturing Xu Heng and his son alive, supposedly due to the success of new-style firearms.

Now, Li Yanfu, Xu Heng, and his son have all been beheaded and displayed to the public. Next, if there are no accidents, the Jing Camp should head south to support Xue Shence.”

A few hundred words contained a huge amount of information.

The moment Jing Wang revealed the intelligence, the entire hall was silent. His civil and military officials were stunned, widening their eyes in disbelief, as if they had misheard or were listening to a fantasy.

Li Yanfu was defeated? The Li faction was uprooted? What about the promised number one power in the court? What about the confident assurances? The Huai River Li family's categorical guarantees… was this it?

Xu Jinglong opened his mouth, deflating like a ball, his expectations falling flat.

Did he return to the capital? And lead troops to defeat the Qingzhou rebels? Wangfei Lu Yan'er clenched her fingers in her sleeves, a strange look in her eyes.

She was both pleased that Zhao Du'an was safe and sound, and that her ancestor had not disappeared with him, and surprised by the news of his great victory.

“The Qingzhou army was defeated? So quickly? Everyone knows that the Qingzhou army is the smallest and not good at fighting, but it shouldn't have been defeated so quickly, right? Is that Heng Wang a pig?!” A general roared.

The allied feudal kings, the Heng Wang's defeat, with one less force to contain the imperial court, the pressure they would bear next would inevitably increase sharply.

“What new-style firearms? I think the Qingzhou soldiers are too useless. At least tens of thousands of them, even if they were just tens of thousands of chickens, would be enough for that Zhao Du'an to catch for ten days and a half, right?” Another staff member also opened his mouth angrily.

Jing Wang was the first to learn of the female emperor's great victory in the Hundred Flowers Village battle.

Therefore, Jing Wang was also the first to realize that he should give up entering the capital and instead become a separatist feudal king.

So, everyone was not surprised that the female emperor took power and Li Yanfu was killed. What really made them unacceptable was Zhao Du'an's great defeat of the Qingzhou army.

It was so fast that people couldn't react.

Jing Wang said lightly: “Detailed information about the new-style firearms will be sent back as soon as possible. Do not underestimate it. At the same time, order the armies to block the news of the Qingzhou army's defeat to avoid military unrest. Order all places to remain the same. As long as we completely蚕食 the territory we have conquered and block the Grand Canal's grain route, the capital and Linfeng and other places will be short of supplies in at most three months.

Even if Qingzhou transfuses blood, it can last a little longer, but as long as we continue to block it, by winter this year at the latest, a simple shortage of food will be enough to cause the imperial court to collapse without a fight.

The ultimate victor will be us.”

Everyone was greatly encouraged and agreed, rising to take orders and leave.

“Jinglong, wait a moment.” Xu Wen called out to the heir who was preparing to leave last, “What did you want to report earlier?”

Xu Jinglong oh-ed and said:

“It's nothing. It's just that people below sent a message saying that they accidentally discovered the heavily injured and unconscious Tianhai Monk by a river. His injuries are extremely serious and he has not yet woken up. They are asking for instructions on how to deal with him.”

“Tianhai? That young monk who competed with Zhao Du'an in the Buddhist and Taoist competition?” Jing Wang recalled and frowned:

“Since he is a disciple of Shenlong Temple, order someone to find a temple to take care of him for the time being.”

In the current situation, he had no time and no interest in paying attention to a defeated and seriously injured monk.

“Okay, I understand.” Xu Jinglong nodded in response.

……

Linfeng Dao West Line, Taicang Prefecture.

Inside a military tent, Xue Shence carefully read the urgent report from the capital in his hand, his brows gradually relaxing.

The “Military God” of the Great Yu was full of fatigue, but his eyes were frighteningly bright.

The corners of his mouth turned up, and he closed the letter, smiling and saying to the generals in the tent: “Good news, you all take a look.”

Soon, the letter was passed around among the generals.

Everyone who read it had bright eyes and an excited expression:

“What a great victory! We are in dire need of this great victory!”

The top urgent report was the battle report of the Divine Machine Camp defeating the Qingzhou army and capturing Heng Wang alive.

Xue Shence smiled and reminded: “Take a closer look at who won the victory?”

Everyone was stunned for a moment before looking at the letter below. After reading it, everyone was shocked.

“Zhao Du'an? The newly appointed Junior Guardian of the Crown Prince? The most popular figure in the capital in recent years?”

“What? He led the troops and defeated Wei Xianzong's Qingzhou army in just half a day, in one battle? How is that possible?”

“Heng Wang was also captured by him personally? This…”

Everyone showed an unbelievable expression. A considerable number of people present were local generals who had heard of Zhao Du'an's name.

But in their impression, they only knew that he was a popular figure by the emperor's side, who was good at poetry, martial arts, and handling cases.

The bigger symbol was still the identity of “Female Emperor's Consort”… well, now he has become the Imperial Husband, but it is not much different.

But such a person actually defeated the enemy in half a day. Looking at the history of war, it can be said that there has never been anyone like him before.

“This… I think the letter says that this Shao Bao Zhao is holding the title of ‘Military Supervisor’. Presumably, someone else led the troops to fight, such as the Divine Machine Camp Commander Shi Meng. I remember that he has the demeanor of a great general. It's a bit undeserved to count the battle merits under this Shao Bao Zhao's name.”

Suddenly, a general in the tent calmly analyzed.