Chapter 1271: 1266: The Younger Generation is to be Feared
Chapter 1271: Chapter 1266: The Younger Generation is to be Feared
Li Tianjiao heard these words from General Cui Shanzhong, and tears welled up in his eyes. He gritted his teeth and shouted, “Open the palace doors! Charge out and kill! Even if we die… we must kill a few more of those dogs who trample on our Xiliang’s sacred land before we do!”
Cui Shanzhong nodded. Since they had already resolved to die, they would never cower within the hall and wait for a disgraceful death at the hands of Zhou and Yan Kingdom.
Soon, the palace doors were thrown wide open…
Li Tianjiao, Cui Shanzhong, and a group of Xiliang commanders were the first to step out of the hall.
The troops of the Bai family and the Yan Army surrounding the hall gripped their longswords in vigilance.
“Ninth Prince, Fifth Young Master of the Bai family…” Cui Shanzhong cupped his hands towards the two, “I never expected that after thinking I had acquired the battle intelligence of the Yan Army and Zhou Army from Empress Dowager Yan, and capturing the brother of the Zhou Emperor, Bai Qingyu, that even if I couldn’t incite them to fight each other, their alliance wouldn’t be so stable. Who would have thought… that I would stumble. Fifth Young Master Bai… the younger generation is indeed formidable. I am impressed!”
Cui Shanzhong spoke sincerely. Merely watching Bai Qingyu remain motionless while being tormented by the Imperial Physician was enough to earn Cui Shanzhong’s admiration.
“For someone Cui respects, I am willing to face them in battle! Our Emperor of Xiliang is also willing to fight head-on! A glorious battle to the death! I implore the Ninth Prince of Yan and the Fifth Young Master of the Bai family not to hold back!” General Cui Shanzhong finished speaking and raised the sword in his hand, still instinctively shielding Li Tianjiao behind him, shouting, “Kill!”
The Xiliang soldiers simultaneously drew their swords and shouted, “Kill!”
Though the Xiliang soldiers were resolved to die with a terrifying momentum, both the Bai family troops and the Yan Army knew they were just a spent force, roaring as they charged forward.
This was the first time Li Tianjiao truly faced the chaos of battle, the glint of blades, and extreme danger. Despite being protected by Cui Shanzhong and the soldiers, she was still injured, her entire body sticky with blood. She thought it would hurt, but she only realized on the battlefield that humans could feel no pain.
Sword after sword, Li Tianjiao’s hair was in disarray, her face and body indistinct between her own blood and others’.
Uncertain how long had passed, the Xiliang army had been pushed back to the position at the doors of the hall.
“Your Majesty, watch out!” General Cui Shanzhong grabbed Li Tianjiao and casually flung his longsword, slaying an enemy soldier who was swinging a sword at Li Tianjiao. The enemy’s blade grazed Li Tianjiao’s jade crown, splitting it in two, and it fell to the ground with her broken hair.
The old general saw yet another cold blade glint aiming at Li Tianjiao and turned to protect his Emperor of Xiliang with his aged body.
The longsword pierced the already tattered armor, and General Cui Shanzhong spat a mouthful of blood. The already few in number Xiliang army immediately fell into chaos, shouting for the old general!
The disheveled Li Tianjiao embraced General Cui Shanzhong from behind, gritting her teeth, dragging the old general back into the hall and shouting, “Close the doors! Close the palace doors!”
The few remaining Xiliang soldiers retreated into the hall and immediately shut the doors, holding them with their bodies, unsure if this was merely a desperate struggle.
Yue Shi was just about to break through the doors when Xiao Rongyan called out to him, “Yue Shi!”
Yue Shi turned his head back.
He heard his master shout loudly, “Empress of Xiliang, if you surrender now, perhaps General Cui can still be saved.”
The hall was silent.
Li Tianjiao lowered her head, watching General Cui Shanzhong’s lips move, “Old general, old general, how are you?”
“Your Majesty, everyone… must face death. For an old servant like me to die for Xiliang in battle, for a soldier, this is the best end! I am very pleased!” General Cui Shanzhong’s voice was but a whisper.
“Old general, go ahead, I… will join you shortly!” Li Tianjiao’s tears fell, striving to steady her voice, “We have all given our best for Xiliang!”
General Cui Shanzhong pleaded in a weak voice, “Your Majesty, surrender! My death is not worth grieving over. You are still young, like the Third Prince of Liang, may you live peacefully and remain to see… whether Zhou or Yan will succeed in uniting the Central Plains, and a hundred years later, you must come and tell me whether Zhou or Yan completed unification of the world! And whether their people… are living better than when the kingdoms each held dominion.”
At this moment, whatever General Cui Shanzhong said, it was in hope that Li Tianjiao would survive!
If she surrendered, Li Tianjiao would certainly be etched in history, becoming a monarch scorned by the people of Xiliang, but at least she would be alive.
If not, perhaps Li Tianjiao could earn the admiration of future generations, but in General Cui Shanzhong’s view, it was not worth it. After realizing that nothing was more valuable than life when his loved ones passed, he understood.
Having spoken, General Cui Shanzhong lost his breath in Li Tianjiao’s embrace.
The Xiliang soldiers holding the door were full of tears, gazing at their current leader, Li Tianjiao, waiting for her decision, surrender or death.
“But old general, I… am the Emperor of Xiliang. I only wish to see Xiliang unite the world, to see the people under Xiliang’s reign well-fed and clothed. If another country unites the world, such a realm is not worth witnessing!”
Li Tianjiao placed General Cui Shanzhong on the ground, tearing a strip from the bright yellow drape to neatly bind her long hair atop her head, before taking out the poison she had prepared for herself from her chest, tilting her head back to swallow it…
“Your Majesty!”
The Xiliang commanders who were holding the doors rushed to Li Tianjiao, knocking the poison from her hand, but it was already too late.
Li Tianjiao looked at the other Xiliang soldiers and said, “You should not die alongside me! As General Cui said, it’s not easy to stay alive, go!”
“Your Majesty!”
“Your Majesty!”
“We will go with Your Majesty!”
These Xiliang soldiers refused to leave, kneeling before Li Tianjiao, their pledge to die not mere words.
Li Tianjiao gazed at these wounded Xiliang soldiers, who had truly fought to the last, nodded, stood, enduring the torment from the poison, and walked towards her imperial throne.
The Xiliang soldiers knelt, watching Li Tianjiao clutch her abdomen, step by step ascend the high steps, take the candle from the high table, and move towards the hanging drape, as if intending to set the palace ablaze.
The flickering candle in her hand neared the bright yellow drape of auspicious clouds, and the flame wavered, inching towards the gold-threaded drape…
Just as the flame was about to touch the drape, Li Tianjiao suddenly moved it aside, enduring the intense pain, and flung it away, grasping the table… and sat on her Dragon Throne.
Originally intent on setting this Xiliang palace ablaze to leave Zhou and Yan with nothing, should she burn it to the ground, Xiliang would only be left with a name in history.