Shipin Dalizheng

Rong Tang slowly adjusted his cuffs, his eyes dark, "It's not the time yet."

After the army crossed the river, it faced a food shortage in a short period of time. It was difficult to guarantee that they would not rob local people. It might be the case elsewhere, but this area, which suffered the most from floods, droughts and locust plagues, could not withstand any plundering.

Right now, most of the food is in his hands. It would be difficult for either Duke Du or Wang Biao to snatch it from him. Once they pass the disaster area and head south, they can do whatever they want.

He is not a god and cannot control everything in the world. He just needs to tighten his belt and hold on as long as he doesn't die.

The sharp-eyed Doctor Mo noticed that he was adjusting his cuffs to cover up a small wound, and hurriedly said, "Uncle Annan, let me bandage you."

"Need not."

Rong Tangwan refused Doctor Mo. Doctor Mo was very familiar with his pulse and could guess who he was just by feeling it.

Eleven came over and handed another note. Rong Tang opened it and his eyes became even darker.

Doctor Mo asked, "What's wrong?"

After asking, he felt that he had really overstepped the line. He had only come to treat the refugees, but he actually wanted to find out military intelligence. If this happened somewhere else, he would have been arrested.

Rong Tang didn't care. "It's the news from the city. Someone rushed to the relief office to steal food. I need to go back. Doctor Mo, please don't go back to the city for the time being. It's relatively safe here."

As a man with superb medical skills who treated refugees for free, Doctor Mo received the greatest respect. He had his own house, even if it was one of the dilapidated houses in Fengming Villa, it was much better than the countless straw huts outside.

Doctor Mo nodded, and seeing Rong Tang walking away like the wind, he sighed in his heart, thinking that he was not senile yet. The Feng Xiangjun in the city was no longer the original Miss Feng Liu. Although the An Nanbo in front of him had thick eyebrows and big eyes, and was very heroic, without a trace of girlish air, in the eyes of an old doctor like him, there were still too many flaws.

It’s just that Miss Feng Liu seldom went out to see people in the past, so people in the imperial capital were not familiar with her. Suddenly one day Miss Feng Liu and Rong Tang appeared in the same frame. Who would suspect that their identities had changed?

Good luck tricks people.

What happened in the imperial capital was already within Rong Tang's expectations. Marquis Yong'an was no fool. He was gathering more and more people outside, and his military force was growing stronger. With the few thousand imperial guards that he could not fully control, it was obvious that he was about to lose control.

As soon as Empress Sun dropped the imperial seal, she reported it to him. After much thought, Marquis Yong'an concluded that Rong Tang wanted to abandon him and become the emperor.

Because if it were him, he would think the same.

They say that it is difficult to convince foreigners, but he doesn't need anyone to obey him. As long as he has food and people, there is nothing wrong with ruling a certain area and becoming a local tyrant.

After figuring this out, he immediately ordered a thousand imperial guards to surround the relief office and seize the food first.

A thousand imperial guards marched to the relief office. Old Wen was already waiting in the middle of the road. His eagle-like eyes stared at Marquis Yong'an, making him feel cold in his heart.

Yong'an Hou bravely said: "You traitors, why don't you surrender?"

Old Wen shouted, "You lowly bastard, what right do you have to threaten the emperor's orders? The world belongs to the Nangong Dynasty. When did it become your Sun family's? And you, the Imperial Guards, your duty is to protect the Imperial City and His Majesty. Now you are following a traitor who wants to take over. Are you unworthy of your military duties?"

His inner strength was profound, and even on a crowded street, his words were deafening and could be heard clearly by everyone.

There were many children of officials in the imperial guards, and what was emphasized in daily life was loyalty to the emperor and patriotism. However, the Yong'an Marquis was in power and had sidelined the emperor, which was obviously not the same as loyalty to the emperor and patriotism. Many people felt ashamed at the time, and gradually they wanted to retreat.

Yong'an Hou was extremely anxious. He had never held any real power, relying solely on Empress Sun and the Second Prince. He said, "Don't listen to his nonsense. His Majesty is simply ill from worry and unable to attend court. He has already ordered the Second Prince to serve as regent and will abdicate soon..."

Old Wen shouted again, "He's talking nonsense. His Majesty has never issued an imperial decree ordering the Second Prince to be regent. A few days ago, the officials petitioned to make the Second Prince the Crown Prince, but he rejected it. His intentions are clear: he wants to seize control of the Imperial City and force His Majesty to abdicate, allowing him to become emperor."

At this time, Xiao Poyun, who was mixed in the crowd, also began to use his eloquent tongue to tell everyone about the sinister intentions of Yong'an Hou. He had been traveling in and out of various mansions recently and had contacted some knowledgeable people to jointly attack Yong'an Hou. Some people also urged his son, who was in the imperial guards, not to participate in the rebellion.

Well, Marquis Yong'an became a traitor without realizing it.

The panicked Marquis of Yong'an was at a loss as to what to do and simply attacked Rong Tang. "The Earl of Annan is the one who is truly plotting treason. He has gathered tens of thousands of people outside to commit murder, looting, and all manner of evil. Do you really want to wait until he breaks into the imperial city?"

Feng Qingqing stood up and retorted, "Marquis Yong'an, what you said is irrational. The entire imperial city's grain is in the relief office. If the Earl of Annan wanted to rebel, he only needed to transport all the grain out, surround the imperial city, and starve everyone to death in a few days. Did he do that? He already has tens of thousands of troops. Do you think the imperial city's guards can withstand the attack?"

Marquis Yong'an was even more panicked. It turned out that he had unknowingly raised a tiger to harm him. The Earl of Annan took advantage of his conscription order to openly grow bigger and stronger, and became an existence that he could not shake.

Three thousand imperial guards against fifty thousand. No, how many of these three thousand could he command?

The aide with a goatee beside him took a step forward, but before he could say anything, Old Wen picked up a long spear beside him and rushed out. The aide flew back several feet without even a flap of his wings.

That’s not all. The spear pierced through the body, brushed past the shoulder of another imperial guard, and took away a piece of flesh and blood.

This distance, this accuracy, this force, it's so terrifying.

"what……"

It was the terrified scream of a wounded imperial guard. Only he himself understood the feeling of being scared to death. He simply turned around twice and fell to the ground in a corner.

Yong'an Hou shouted, "You dare to kill the imperial guards! Come on, come on, charge! Only by grabbing food can you survive. Without food, you will starve to death sooner or later."

He had some loyal men who, upon hearing the order, attacked without hesitation. The thousand men guarding the relief office began to resist. The two sides were evenly matched in strength, and for a time they were in a stalemate.

Lao Wen and Feng Qingqing did not participate in the battle, but stood guarding the gate of the relief agency. Anyone who approached would be killed.

On the other side, Rong Tang led 3,000 vanguard troops to the south gate, pointed his Tang sword, and said, "New troops, return to the city, open the gate immediately."

The gatekeeper was the same officer who had spoken rudely last time. Ever since Old Wen had hit him on the head, his courage had been shattered. He looked at his own guard, numbering less than a hundred, and then at the three thousand vicious tigers and wolves below the city walls, and trembled all over. "Why didn't Lord Annan go through the west gate?"

He had always entered and exited from that side before, so why bother going through the South City Gate? Even though it would be the same once inside...

Damn it, if I don’t resist, I’ll seem like a coward. But if I resist and make enemies, what if I get retaliated against?

Rong Tang was very upset by his hesitation. "Marquis Yong'an is plotting treason, yet you haven't opened the city gates to let us in to rescue him. Do you want to be charged with treason as well and have your entire clan exterminated?"

They had heard about the riots in the city a long time ago, but they dared not move without receiving orders from their superiors. As for treason, Marquis Yong'an and Earl Annan should be the same.

The gate officer opened his dry mouth and said, "We haven't received any orders from our superiors. Lord Annan, please go to the west gate."

All in all, he doesn't want to take responsibility at all.