Chapter 848 - 845: Outsmarting Oneself
On April 21, in the eighteenth year of Xuanjia, the Ninth Prince of Yan, Murong Yan, conducted a nearly month-long purge in the Wei Kingdom, executing the powerful and benefiting the common people. He eradicated the Wei royal family, implemented new policies, and, with thunderous methods, stabilized the Wei situation, leaving Great General Xie Xun with heavy troops in Chang City. The Ninth Prince Murong Yan, accompanied by the Second Prince Murong Ping, returned to the Yan capital.
On April 23, in the eighteenth year of Xuanjia, King Liang and Fan Yuhuai had besieged the Imperial Palace for exactly one month. Fan Yuhuai claimed externally that attacking the palace might force the Crown Prince into a corner to harm the Emperor; hence, out of caution, they did not dare to attack.
In reality, the siege on the Imperial City was Li Mingrui’s idea...
There was not much grain stored in the palace, while the Emperor’s concubines and the eunuchs and palace maids in the palace were numerous, and people need to eat and drink! The soldiers under Xie Yuchang needed to eat and drink even more. As long as they besieged the Imperial City... within a month, once the food was exhausted, the soldiers guarding the Imperial City would surely defect, and by then, they could take the Imperial City at minimal cost.
But a whole month had passed already, and the soldiers guarding the Imperial City showed no signs of running out of food. King Liang seemed a bit anxious, and Li Mingrui felt there was something fishy about it, suspecting that the issue might lie with the soldiers besieging the palace.
This time, Li Mingrui followed King Liang in the rebellion, knowing that failure meant the extermination of his entire clan, so he had to do his utmost. He secretly mobilized personnel from the Left Prime Minister’s residence and conducted a covert investigation.
On April 29, it was revealed that the commander guarding the west gate of the palace under Fan Yuhuai had been secretly delivering grain to the palace at night. When confronted, it was discovered that the commander was a plant inserted into the imperial guard by the Crown Prince.
Xie Yuchang watched as Fan Yuhuai beheaded that commander outside the Imperial City, and then heard Fan Yuhuai shout loudly to him: "Xie Yuchang, I respect you as a man! If you surrender obediently... His Highness King Liang will not only plead with the Emperor to spare your entire family but also give you heavy responsibilities! Otherwise... don’t blame me for not considering our camaraderie!"