With a million soldiers, the empress begged me not to rebel

Chen Qingwan's voice was a little hoarse, but it was obviously majestic.

"I have an important announcement."

Everyone pricked up their ears, waiting for Chen Qingwan's announcement.

Chen Qingwan looked around at everyone, her tone heavy but firm:

"I have made up my mind and agree to Zhang Xinwang's conditions."

As soon as these words were spoken, it was like a thunderclap, and everyone was stunned.

Qiao'er was the first to react. She fell to her knees with a plop and cried:

"Your Majesty, this cannot happen. Absolutely not! Zhang Xinwang is clearly a hungry wolf. You are… you are inviting a wolf into the house, aren't you?"

Li Mu's face also turned pale, and he said in a deep voice:

"The Zhang family's intentions are known to everyone! Your Majesty, please revoke your order!"

His fists were clenched so tightly that his knuckles turned white, and he was obviously trying hard to suppress his anger.

Qiao'er crawled two steps, grabbed Chen Qingwan's skirt, and cried:

"Your Majesty, no matter how powerful the Zhang family is, they are not as powerful as the Shannan Prefecture! Instead of asking the Zhang family for help, why not go to the Shannan Prefecture yourself, go to... Lord Lu... Lord Lu! The Zhang family, can the Zhang family possibly handle the Shannan Prefecture?"

When Chen Qingwan heard the words "Shannan Prefecture", her heart tightened and her face turned even paler.

Doesn’t she also want to find Lu Yan?

But as the Queen of Datong, how could she lower herself to beg for help every time?

There was something unclear between him and Princess Mingyue, and she didn't want to rely on him anymore.

What's more, she concealed her identity...

Xia Shanhu also looked anxious and advised:

"Your Majesty, this is too risky. Please think twice!"

Chen Qingwan took a deep breath, suppressed the bitterness in her heart, and explained:

"I know you are loyal, and I also know this is dangerous. But now Jingzhou is under siege, with no reinforcements from outside and no food from within. We are at the end of our rope."

"The marriage with the Zhang family is just a temporary measure to preserve the last strength of the Datong Dynasty and wait for the opportunity to strike back!"

Li Mu persuaded again:

"Your Majesty, it's far from that point! If we can't hold the city, then we will fight our way out and retreat to Qingzhou to plan for the future!"

Chen Qingwan shook her head, her brows furrowed, tears welling up in her eyes.

"I...I can't retreat anymore! I can't abandon the people of Jingzhou City anymore! They...they are all my people!"

She paused, took a deep breath, and tried to steady her trembling voice, her tone becoming firm:

"Before I raised the imperial flag, I could still survive, but my imperial flag has already been raised!"

"I...I am the emperor of Datong! I...I don't want to run away anymore!"

She closed her eyes, and the scene of her embarrassing escape a year ago emerged in her mind, and her heart ached.

Now, does she have to go through this humiliation again?

How could she, the dignified Queen of Datong, retreat again and again? Absolutely not!

Chen Qingwan suddenly opened her eyes, and a determined light flashed in her eyes.

Of course she knew what kind of person Zhang Xinwang was! But how could she make him take the bait without using some ruthless tactics?

Humph! She wanted to set up a trap, a trap that would make these bastards kill each other!

She wants to reap the benefits!

Qiao'er wanted to persuade her again, but was interrupted by Chen Qingwan:

"It's settled! Immediately! Send the imperial seal and imperial edict out at night!"

Although everyone was unwilling, seeing Chen Qingwan's firm attitude, they had no choice but to obey.

As night fell, Jingzhou City was shrouded in a tense atmosphere.

The national seal and imperial edict were secretly sent out of the city.

Chen Qingwan stood on the city wall, looking at the dark night sky in the distance, with a thousand thoughts in her mind.

She remembered a year ago, on a night like this, she fled the capital in a panic with a few close confidants.

At that time, he was forced to abdicate by the treacherous minister Liu An and almost lost his life.

If Lu Yan's men had not appeared in time, she would probably have died.

Now, as the empress, she has to rely on power and means to protect herself and the Datong Dynasty.

"Your Majesty, it's late. You should return to the palace and rest."

Qiao'er's voice sounded behind him, with a hint of worry.

Chen Qingwan turned around and looked at Qiao'er's worried eyes, and her heart felt warm.

She patted Qiao'er's shoulder gently and said:

"I'm fine, go and rest."

Qiao'er wanted to say something else, but was stopped by Chen Qingwan's eyes.

Chen Qingwan stood alone on the city wall, letting the night wind blow her long hair.

……

Jingzhou City seemed exceptionally quiet under the cover of night, like a dormant giant beast, waiting for the arrival of dawn.

At this time, the Chisha Army camp was in a state of chaos.

After besieging the city for many days, the soldiers were already exhausted, but tonight, they rarely launched an attack.

Inside the central army tent, General Chisha was looking at the map with a frown on his face.

Jingzhou City is easy to defend but difficult to attack. A strong attack will only increase casualties, and if it is besieged, our own food and supplies will not last long.

"Report! General, we've captured a group of Jingzhou scouts!"

A soldier came hurriedly to report.

"What information did you bring?"

General Chisha suddenly looked up, a gleam in his eyes.

"General, we haven't gotten anything out of you. These guys are stubborn and would rather die than confess."

The soldier was a little depressed.

"Waste!" General Chisha shouted angrily, but seemed to have thought of something.

"Have you been searched? Do you have anything with you?"

The soldier quickly took out a package and handed it over like a treasure.

"Report to the General, we have seized some treasures!"

General Chisha took the package and opened it suspiciously.

There were three things in the package: a jade seal, an imperial edict, and a... marriage certificate?

"what is this?"

"General, why don't you open it and take a look yourself?" The soldier chuckled.

General Chisha unfolded the imperial edict and his face changed suddenly.

The edict clearly reads:

By the Will of Heaven, the Emperor proclaims: "Zhang Xinwang of Huai'an is hereby granted the title of Duke of Anguo, and is granted marriage to my son..."

Looking at the marriage certificate again made him gasp.

This marriage certificate was actually granted by the Empress Datong to Zhang Xinwang!

"It's hard to tell whether this jade seal is real or fake!"

General Chisha carefully looked at the jade seal in his hand, and his heart was filled with turmoil.

"General, the imperial edict and marriage certificate are also here. They are probably real!"

General Chisha looked at the imperial edict and marriage certificate again, his expression changing from gloomy to bright.

If these three things are true, then we are in big trouble.

The Zhang family of Huai'an has tens of thousands of mercenaries and no less than 20,000 cavalry. If they are allowed to help the empress at this moment, the consequences will be unimaginable.

"If the Empress really lets these three things go, we'll be in big trouble!"

General Chisha muttered to himself, a fierce look in his eyes.

"General, now that we've intercepted the Zhang family's belongings, what should we do next?"

the soldier asked cautiously.

"If the Zhang family knew we had the thing, they would definitely not let it go! Otherwise, let's withdraw our troops first."

General Chisha pondered for a moment and shook his head.

"Withdraw troops? If we withdraw now, wouldn't all our efforts be wasted? Go, find someone knowledgeable and see if this seal is genuine."