In the summer of the fifth year of Chongde, General Jiang Tianqi, with only five thousand soldiers, crossed five passes and killed six generals all the way from the imperial city back to Jiangcheng.
The next day, 800,000 Jiang troops wearing golden battle armor were reviewed in Jiangcheng. On the fifth day, 800,000 troops marched south and approached the imperial city.
Under the thundering slogan "If virtue is not respected, the apocalypse will begin", the five major cities along the way surrendered without a fight.
The people in the southern cities thought they would live a life of displacement and not having enough to eat. Unexpectedly, following Jiang Tianqi’s army, the richest man, the Song family, opened warehouses to stock up on grain. The people’s lives were even richer than in a good harvest year.
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In less than a month, 800,000 troops had arrived within fifty miles of the imperial city.
Chongde Emperor Gu Zhaosi issued several edicts, summoning the sergeants from eight cities in the south to go to the imperial city to resist the rebels. Unfortunately, there were only five city lords who listened to the edict, and the total number of sergeants gathered was less than 300,000.
The lights in the Jiang family's military camp fifty miles away from the imperial city were brightly lit.
Jiang Tianqi, with a stubbled face and sunken eye sockets, was leaning on a desk covered with a map of the imperial city, deep in thought.
There was a noise outside the camp, and several sergeants escorted three old men in their sixties into Jiang Tianqi's camp.
"Report to the general, these three people are clamoring outside the military camp to see you." the sergeant reported.
Jiang Tianqi finally raised his head from the map, glanced at a few people, immediately put down the map in his hand, and scolded: "If you don't hurry up and untie the three adults, you are a veteran of the court."
As he spoke, he held Prime Minister Wang's arms with both hands and asked him to take a seat.
How dare Prime Minister Wang?
Now that all of the south has fallen, and a new dynasty is about to be established, how can they, as veterans of the Gu family, dare to be so arrogant at this time.
He stiffened his bones and knelt down: "General Jiang, the old ministers and others are here to defect to you. The Emperor... Gu Zhaosi detained all the court ministers in the palace, and some of the forces including us were able to escape, but
My family members also fell into his hands, and I asked the general for protection."
As he spoke, several people tremblingly knelt down after Prime Minister Wang.
"Please protect me, General."
All of them were in ragged clothes, unkempt, and some of them were seriously injured.
Jiang Tianqi immediately took several veterans down to settle down, leaving only Prime Minister Wang alone.
Jiang Tianqi pulled up Prime Minister Wang, helped him to his seat, and asked: "Prime Minister, what is the current situation in this imperial city?"
Prime Minister Wang burst into tears and said: "Forget it, didn't the Qian family in the capital send a daughter to the palace? In order to win over the Qian family, Gu Zhaosi has now abolished your sister's position as queen and supported the Qian family's leader.
Queen, the Qian family is following Gu Zhaosi's instructions to stockpile grain in the imperial city and wait for an opportunity to sell it at a high price."
Prime Minister Wang subconsciously raised his eyes to look at Jiang Tianqi's reaction, and then said: "The imperial court blamed the food shortage problem on you, saying that because you rebelled and robbed food, the food shortage was caused. Now the people in the city are in dire straits, and ordinary people's homes can't open the door to the problem.
Everyone is scolding you."
Jiang Tianqi frowned: "Where is my sister now?"
Prime Minister Wang naturally understood Jiang Tianqi's worries, and added: "General Jiang, don't worry, Gu Zhaosi will naturally not touch her in order to restrain you. It is said that he and the imperial concubine are now imprisoned in Wufang Palace."
When Jiang Tianqi heard this, he finally breathed a sigh of relief. Being with Emperor Zun, there must be no danger.
I don't know what method Emperor Zun thought of to get Gu Zhaosi to lock them together.
He probably never imagined that Gu Zhaosi thought that Xiaoyou would be jealous of the queen, so in order to punish Xiaoyou and make her submissive, he sent the queen to Wufang Palace to disgust Xiaoyou.
But Prime Minister Wang sighed and said distressedly: "But now we have reached a deadlock. Your sister is in Gu Zhaosi's hands. You will not abandon the people in the city. Even if your sergeants have a huge advantage,
We can’t act rashly this time.”
Jiang Tianqi frowned deeply. Prime Minister Wang was right. This was why he camped fifty miles outside the imperial city and did not dare to march rashly.
Moreover, spies reported that many of the people patrolling the outskirts of the imperial city were Buddhist cultivators disguised as imperial sergeants.