Chapter 64: CH 64

Chapter 64: Difficult to enter the city

It was near dusk when Yun Ke’s carriage arrived at Jiangxia City, but the sky was almost completely dark. It seemed to be raining less than the previous two days but it still showed no signs of stopping. The majestic Jiangxia City stood under the low clouds and it seemed like if one stood on the city wall, they would be able to touch the sky by raising their hand. Thunder came faintly from the clouds. It was not very loud, sounding muffled and rumbly. From time to time, there would be a few bolts of lightning among the masses of clouds. Lightning flashed across the sky, lighting up Jiangxia City in bursts.

“Your Highness. It is likely we will not be able to enter the city.” The carriage stopped on a high slope outside the city and Du Xia came forward to report, “Refugees from who knows where have surrounded the periphery of Jiangxia City. The governor of Jiangxia City has ordered the gates to be closed.”

“Hm.” The person in the carriage responded with a sleepy voice. The curtain moved slightly and a token was handed out, “Take this prince’s token. Go and ask the guards of the city to open the gate. Tell them this prince has brought His Majesty’s imperial edict and these refugees must be allowed in.” After days of urgent travel, the already injured Yun Ke had been infected by the chilly wind. Now he had a high fever and had almost lost all his strength.

“Yes.” Du Xia took the token respectfully and rode his horse down the slope.

The outside of Jiangxia City was surrounded by refugees. He could only circle around the periphery while riding his horse and continuously shout, “Give way, I was sent by the imperial court.”

The refugees had long been numbed from the heavy rain. They had built simple sheds outside the city out of whatever they could find to shelter from the rain. Their hometowns had been flooded and they had survived the flood. They had finally come to Jiangxia City only to be blocked by the governor of the city, so the resentment and anger in their hearts had accumulated to extremes. In such heavy rain with nowhere to stay, a lot of people had fallen ill. The despair brought by death enveloped the hearts of every refugee outside Jiangxia City.

Du Xia’s shout was drowned out by the thunder and rain, so it did not spread very far. It was no use at all, no one made way for him and he could only wander around the periphery, unable to get close to the city wall at all.

“Your hope is in my hands!” Du Xia had no choice but used internal force to send out his voice, “If you let me go, I guarantee His Highness will persuade the governor of Jiangxia City, and tell him to open the gates and let you in. When that time comes, you won’t have to eat and sleep outside.”

Du Xia’s voice came clearly this time. When those refugees who had lost any hope suddenly heard such words, a glimmer of hope seemed to ignite in their hearts.

The refugees near Du Xia moved from their places doubtfully. As soon as they moved, the people behind followed suit. Soon, a narrow passage appeared in front of Du Xia.

Atop the horse, Du Xia cupped his fists together and said loudly, “Thank you very much!” He urged the horse forward and quickly reached the wall. He showed the token in his hand and cried aloud, “Listen, soldiers on the city wall. I am Prince An’s imperial bodyguard. In my hand is the token of His Highness Prince An. His Highness Prince An gives orders to provide disaster relief and is already before the city gate. Open the city gates and let us in!”

When he yelled like this, the refugees stood up one after another. Was His Highness Prince An really here? Although they did not care who His Highness Prince An was, it was still a prince who had come. The people in the city could not shut a prince out of the city gate, right? Maybe they could actually get in now. They had been outside the city for several days and now there was hope. The crowd suddenly became excited and rushed like a tide to the gate. It made Du Xia and his horse stuck and his horse snorted anxiously, hooves stepping quickly.

Du Xia was afraid that the refugees would really startle the horse and cause greater turmoil. He had to comfort his horse and shout loudly, “Still won’t open the gates?”

The soldiers in the city looked at each other. They heard Du Xia’s words but who dared to open the gate? They stood on the wall and looked down. The refugees were as dense as locusts. What if they poured into Jiangxia City?

“Brother imperial bodyguard, wait a minute. Wait for us to report to the governor.” A man who looked like a sergeant shouted down. After shouting, he said to the soldier beside him, “Go to the governor’s office quickly, what are you still doing here?” The little soldier suddenly woke up and immediately ran down the tower.

“Open the gate!” Seeing that the city gate had not been opened for a long time, some refugees rushing forward could not bear it any longer. They beat constantly on the heavy city gate, crying and shouting. The people behind also shouted and it became louder and louder, wave after wave. The voices echoed between heaven and earth and it was actually a palpitating force.

Du Xia’s horse was startled by the noise and stepped more restlessly, anxious to rise to its feet. Du Xia tried his best to control it, soothing it. He looked around anxiously and suddenly felt that his strength seemed very little in front of so many refugees. He was like a boat drifting in the crowd, about to be swallowed by the sea of people at any time.

On a distant hillside, Yun Ke also heard the shouting from the city gate. He raised the curtain and immediately a guard came over, opening the umbrella to cover his body, helping him out of the carriage.

“Your Highness, it’s very cold outside. It’s best if you rest in the carriage,” the personal guard said in a low voice, looking at Yun Ke’s face with a little worry. There was an abnormal flush on his face caused by high fever.

“No problem.” Yun Ke shook his head. Looking at the crowd in the distance, his brows furrowed deeply, “Has the letter addressed to Prince Ding definitely been delivered?” He asked.

“Yes. Your Highness, it’s definitely been delivered.” The bodyguard nodded and said, “This servant handed it over to Prince Ding personally.”

“Hm. Then he should be coming soon.” Yun Ke nodded. As soon as his voice fell, he heard the sound of horseshoes coming from the main road behind him. He looked back. Under the dark sky, between the vast sky and earth, a large banner was imprinted on his eyes. Although it was raining and the banner could not be unfurled, the striking red and black pierced through the darkness in the world. Behind the banner, a cavalry troop gradually emerged, heading over rapidly.

“They’re coming.” The guard pointed over there happily and said to Yun Ke, “It must be His Highness Prince Ding’s cavalry.”

It was indeed Prince Ding’s cavalry.

A gleam flashed across Yun Ke’s eyes. He was too familiar with the red and black banner. In the previous life, after he ascended to the throne, his Fourth Brother was very dissatisfied. In his eleventh year on the throne, during the winter when Gu Yu Qi set herself on fire, he finally could not hold back and started a rebellion.

The cavalry arrived quickly behind Yun Ke’s carriage. A knight at the head jumped off his horse and quickly walked towards Yun Ke.

“Fourth Brother.” Yun Ke saw him walk in and cupped his hands in salute, “To have Fourth Brother come in person, it really is this younger brother’s fault.”

He greeted Fourth Brother first and showed closeness, using the Fourth Brother title, calling himself a younger brother to express surrender and admiration. He knew his Fourth Brother too well. If it were not for a bit of conceit, he was truly a rare general. It was just a pity that his excessive self-esteem killed himself.

‘What is Seventh Brother saying?” Yun Qing strode over and held Yun Ke’s arm. He wore nothing but armour, no straw raincoat. The rainwater flowed down his armour onto Yun Ke’s arms. It was chilly and Yun Ke could not help but tremble slightly.

Sensing that Yun Ke’s body temperature was different to normal people’s, Yun Qing could not help but be slightly startled. “Is Seventh Brother sick?”

“Just caught a cold. This younger brother lived in the capital for a long time and fell ill when coming out, this younger brother is really useless.” Yun Ke said modestly. He knew his Fourth Brother’s temper. As long as he properly showed weakness in front of him and said everything well, he would take good care of him.

He was a good person, but unfortunately… Yun Ke sighed silently in his heart. It was a pity he died by his own hands in the end.

He looked at his Fourth Brother. Yun Qing had a very handsome face. In fact, after a hundred years of distilling through the sons of the Yun imperial family, both temperament and appearance was outstanding. He was half a head taller than himself and from the long-term experience in the military camp, there was heroism and a bit of might between his eyebrows, different to the princes in the capital. His skin was also a healthy wheat colour and he had a mouth of white teeth. His smile looked very kind and hearty.

If he did not rebel in the future, perhaps apart from Sixth Brother he would have one more person he could talk to. Yun Ke could not help feeling a little regretful in his heart. Such a Prince Ding was really a rare general. If he was around, safety was assured.

“You’re often in the capital and wouldn’t be used to the climate here. Especially this year, it’s raining non-stop like hell, it’s difficult for you. I’ve already sent someone to fetch the food and provisions you asked for. Don’t worry about it being robbed by refugees. It’s just that the food delivery team is slower and it would take another five days for them to get here,” Yun Qing patted Yun Ke on the arm and smiled, “Let’s go, I’ll escort you into the city.” Due to Yun Ke’s deliberate humility and his currently frail body, Yun Qing felt somewhat closer to Yun Ke. In front of him, he did not put on airs of being the Prince Ding, and he had used a humble way to refer to himself. Besides, having been in Jiangbei Camp for so long, he had not seen his brothers from the capital. Moreover, this younger brother was also the one with the least chance of seizing the throne of all his brothers. He just needed to guard against him a bit, there was no need to compromise their brotherhood in vain. If he were not so close with Yun Yi, he and Yun Ke could have gotten closer.

“But I’m afraid this will be difficult,” Yun Ke turned to look at where the city gate was. Yun Qing followed his gaze and looked over and could not help but be startled. His brows furrowed, “What’s wrong with the governor of Jiangxia? Actually closing the city gate.”

“Yes.” Yun Ke replied lightly, his heart a little cold. All the soldiers in the city were Yun Qing’s people. How would he not know about the governor of Jiangxia closing the city gate? It was likely that as long as the city gate did not open, he would not be able to get away from Yun Qing.

He should have a lot of property in Jiangxia City. In his previous life, he had relied on Jiangbei Camp and being based in Jiangxia City, he had started his rebellion. Having operated in Jiangxia for many years, Jiangxia City was full of Yun Qing’s people and informers.

Yun Ke’s heart moved slightly. Without their Father the Emperor’s decree, the troops of Jiangbei Camp could not be moved at will. He, Yun Qing, could also not leave Jiangbei Camp at will. As for himself, he had his mission to provide disaster relief, bringing with him his Father the Emperor’s decree, making Yun Qing assist in protecting the food and provisions for disaster relief. In this way, he had a reason to mobilise the army. In his previous life, he was infected with the plague after entering the city and was so sick he had blacked out. This time, it was possible to investigate Yun Qing’s background in Jiangxia City.

Yun Ke also let out a long sigh in his heart. So even his Fourth Brother had a lot of selfishness. Compared to them, he himself seemed quite clean.

Of those who wanted to work hard towards that position, who could say they were as clean as a sheet of white paper?

“It’s okay, with elder brother here, Xiao Qi need not worry.” Seeing Yun Ke’s pale face, Yun Qing’s eyes flashed. As long as he was afraid, he could not help but look down on his Seventh Brother. He even fell sick just journeying on the road, what use would he be? Who knew what Father the Emperor was thinking, actually sending such a weakling to help with disaster relief. If Yun Yi actually recommended someone like this, it was likely he had no one around him.

“Yes. Naturally, I have to rely on Fourth Brother.” Yun Ke knew that he felt somewhat contemptuous of himself. With a faint smile in his heart, he just followed his intentions. “I also ask Fourth Brother to send more people to protect me.”

“Of course.” Yun Qing could not help but twitch the corner of his lips slightly. Sure enough, he cared for nothing but saving his own skin.

That was fine too. In the future, he would just be a prince of peace and happiness, able to live a safe and prosperous life. He would be afraid of getting too close to Yun Yi and inevitably implicating himself in the future.

Thinking of this, he could not help but say tentatively, “I heard you were strongly recommended by Fifth Brother in front Father the Emperor?”

Yun Ke deliberately let out a long sigh. He did not say much and just said one sentence softly, “A person has to bow their head under someone else’s eaves.”

Yun Qing raised his eyebrows slightly. With this sentence, he guessed in his heart that even if Yun Ke and Yun Yi were close, it was likely to have been forced. This was good!

On the city wall, the little soldier who went to report to the governor’s office ran back out of breath, “Boss, the governor said if the city gate is opened, he was afraid these refugees would flood in and cause trouble. That man only carried a token, but we don’t know if it’s real or not. What if it’s fake? Who would take responsibility?”

When the sergeant heard, he thought that was right, it would be a problem if this continued. He leaned out and shouted to the people under the tower, “Hey, Brother Imperial Guard, our governor has spoken. He said we cannot determine your identity and this city gate cannot be opened!”

When Du Xia heard this, he frowned deeply. He was now trapped in the crowd with his horse and could neither advance nor retreat. He could not get out even if he wanted to.

Yun Ke had given him the order to open the city gate. Since they did not want to listen, then do not blame him for resorting to force after trying fair means. Thinking of this, his body soared into the air.