Great Han Empire

Chapter 939 Troubled Times Heroic Chapter Wins Central Plains
The moon is dark and the wind is high.

Zhao Rui commanded three thousand soldiers to approach Yebanjin quietly. They hid in the darkness, staring at the dark mountains in the distance, anxiously waiting for the moment of attack.

Suddenly, a little fire ignited in the night sky, dazzling.

Zhao Rui gasped for a few times, and waved his hand forward violently, "Go, kill..." The three thousand warriors ran along the Yellow River embankment like ghosts.

The light of the fire was fleeting, like a meteor flying across the sky, without leaving any traces, and the darkness was still deep and boundless.Then, dozens of flames suddenly shot up into the sky, drawing dozens of beautiful arc-shaped tracks in the night sky.

"Boom..." The rapid and frightening sound of war drums instantly shattered the tranquility of the night, and the Yebanjin camp exploded, and the shrill shouts were earth-shattering.

There are more and more fiery red stars in the sky, like a huge meteor shower, falling into the night sky overwhelmingly.The earth was ignited, and the raging flames let out a thrilling roar, and with the help of the bitter wind of the Yellow River, they soared into the sky.

The camp of the Northern Xinjiang Army was on fire, and the soldiers of the Northern Xinjiang were running wild and chaotic.

Zhao Rui commanded the army to rush through the guard trench, cross the horse-rejection formation, and break through the strong fence.Killed the panic-stricken enemy, "Kill, kill... burn, burn for me..."

"Boom...boom..." The drums of the Beijiang Army suddenly calmed down, and they were repeated again and again, as if an iron cone was hitting the flesh, making people unbearably painful.

Under the command of the sound of the drums, the soldiers from northern Xinjiang rushed toward the Yellow River embankment with their heads in their arms.

"Catch up... chase up, drive the enemy into the Yellow River, drive into the Yellow River..." Zhao Rui was so excited that he raised his knife and shouted, "Brothers, kill..."

=

On the embankment of the Yellow River, under the reflection of the fire, hundreds of ballistas showed hideous faces, opened their bloody mouths, and waited quietly for the approach of their prey.

Sitting on his horse, Sima Yi squinted his eyes at the soldiers from Northern Xinjiang who were rushing towards him like a tide, and couldn't help but yelled, "I didn't work hard when attacking the city, and I was faster than anyone else when I escaped, I've completely embarrassed you. "

The military commander next to him looked at him in surprise, "My lord, didn't you let them escape?"

"Does escape need to be so realistic? Isn't it just pretending?" Sima Yi curled his lips angrily, waved his whip and shouted, "I have been with me for more than two years, and I haven't learned other skills. The ability to escape is a comparison." One is strong. It’s a shame.”

The military commander shook his head and smiled wryly, and hastily changed the topic, "My lord, Hong Feng is coming soon, I wonder if Wei Yan, Ju Hu, and He Yi can lead the fleet to Xiaopingjin and Mengjin before Hong Feng? "

Sima Yi turned his head to look at the turbulent river. He didn't speak for a long time. Suddenly, he raised his hands and shouted to the sky, "God, open your eyes, help me, help the big man..."

=

The fugitive fled to the bank of the Yellow River, and the sound of huge waves was deafening.

"Boom...boom..." The drum sounded again, with a murderous aura.

The fugitives shouted more urgently, and the flow of people was divided into two, and they rushed along the two ends of the river embankment.

Zhao Rui stopped in shock.The flow of people in front of them dispersed, but there was a forest of battle flags, each flag was stained with blood, and a disheveled human head was stuck on the top of each battle flag.What's behind the battle flag?The river wind howled fiercely, the battle flags fluttered, and the messy hair on the head was flying all over the sky.

Zhao Rui's eyes widened suddenly.Under the reflection of the flames, a head in front of him was clearly visible, and Huo Ran was his personal guard Qu Junhou.Zhao Rui suffocated for a while, and suddenly turned to look at the mountain behind him.

After night fell, his personal guard Qu Junhou led six hundred soldiers to hang ropes down from the wall of Mangshan City, quietly lurking on the mountain near Yebanjin, and waited until the early morning to condescend to shoot and burn the food and grass of the Northern Xinjiang Army, so as to avoid confusion. The Northern Xinjiang Army created an opportunity for itself to sneak attack on the Northern Xinjiang Camp.Who would have thought that his head was right in front of his eyes, wouldn't the soldiers who shot and burned wantonly on the mountain be enemies?I fell for it...

"Withdraw...withdraw..." Zhao Rui grabbed the soldiers around him and shouted wildly, "withdraw..."

"Boom..." Before Zhao Rui finished speaking, the sound of landslides shook the entire battlefield.

Hundreds of ballistas on the embankment were fired at the same time, and the dense arrows pierced through the blood-stained flags, screaming all the way into the enemy group.The enemy soldiers were caught off guard and fell down in an instant.

"Yeah ... 咻 ..." The harsh howl covered the Yellow River, and the arrows torn the night sky, and shot into the enemy group like a storm.

"Withdraw, withdraw..." Zhao Rui held up his shield, turned around and fled first, "Return to the pass, return to the pass..."

The Northern Xinjiang Army swarmed up from all around, and soldiers from both sides fought fiercely together.Zhao Rui was eager to flee for his life, and the warlord fought hard. The northern army was obviously short of troops, and was easily surrounded by Yuan Jun.Just as they rushed out of the Yebanjin camp, a group of Beijiang warriors wearing Yuan Jun's armor mixed in among the deserters.

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"Beating the drum...chasing..."

Sima Yi kicked the horse's belly and galloped the horse, "Tell the pursuers to keep a distance of a hundred paces from the fleeing army. Don't shoot indiscriminately, so as not to kill your own people by mistake..."

"My lord, what about the food and supplies? Is it just burned like this?" The army commander caught up with Sima Yi and asked loudly, "My lord, do you want someone to put out the fire?"

"What kind of fire is going to be put out? Where are the people going to put out the fire? Take the pass, not to mention losing the food and grass, even if all the food, grass, and supply camps on the other side are burned by the enemy, we will be fine." Sima Yi raised his hand and shouted, "Beat the drum!" Attack, beat the drum and attack..."

=

Zhao Rui led the soldiers to run wildly in the dark night.A hundred paces away from the rear, the Beijiang Army pursued closely, and the sound of killing shook the sky.Probably because of the haste, the Northern Border Army didn't carry many torches, and they could only dimly illuminate the road, which seemed to affect their pursuit speed.

It is about fifteen miles from Yebanjin to Xiaopingjin Pass, and the Northern Xinjiang Army has not been able to catch up, but the distance between the two sides is too close, arrows are flying back and forth overhead, and the shouts and curses of the Northern Xinjiang soldiers can even be heard clearly Chu, this made Zhao Rui and his subordinates run away with all their strength. In order to speed up, many people even lost their weapons.

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Zhao Rui led the army to attack the camp, and the pass was guarded by Xiaowei Shenrong.The fire in the direction of Yebanjin illuminated the night sky, proving that the sneak attack was successful. Shenrong and the soldiers in the pass cheered and were very excited.While Shen Rong sent someone to alert Han Qiong, the gatekeeper of Mengjin, he stood on the tower and waited anxiously for Zhao Rui to return in victory.Even if such a thing as a sneak attack is successful, there is a possibility that the other party will bite back at the death, be beaten all over the body, and be dying.

Zhao Rui fled back in a panic after being beaten.The fastest soldiers were shouting at the door, but Shen Rong didn't dare to open the door.In the chaos, anything could happen. He would rather give up these soldiers than open the gate at the risk of losing the pass.

Zhao Rui appeared in Guanxia.He lost his helmet, took off his armor, and carried a sword in his hand.Amid the angry curses of the soldiers, Zhao Rui was shirtless and shouted at the top of his voice, "Mr. Judge, open and close the door for me."

Shen Rong pointed to the approaching Northern Xinjiang Army on the embankment and shouted loudly: "The enemy is coming, I cannot open the city gate. Please take your brothers to Mengjin Pass as soon as possible."

Mengjin Pass was twenty miles away from Xiaopingjin, and the soldiers were already exhausted and unable to escape the pursuit.Zhao Rui was in a hurry, he pulled Zhonglang off his body and lifted Yinshou high, and roared through gritted teeth: "Shen Rong, open the city gate for me, or I will kill you. Even if your uncle Shen Pei comes to intercede in person, I also swear that I will chop off your head and pay for my brothers' lives."

Shen Rong had no choice but to order the strong archers to shoot intensively, stopping the pursuers at eighty steps away.

The suspension bridge was lowered slowly, and the city gate was slowly opened, allowing only two people to pass through.Zhao Rui was overjoyed, and was the first to rush up the suspension bridge, but just as he was about to rush into the pass, he suddenly saw his bodyguard fell to the ground, and a bloody short knife pierced his abdomen.Just as Zhao Rui was about to scream, his mouth was covered. He saw the long arrows of the Northern Border Army shooting towards him, and saw his subordinates pushing, killing, and trampling each other like lunatics. They smashed open the city gate. , They were worried that the judge in the city would pull up the drawbridge and cut off the sling.

Zhao Rui took a hard breath and turned to look outside the pass.In the dark of night, warships from Northern Xinjiang are coming by the wind and waves.Zhao Rui was terrified, struggling hard, he wanted to scream, he wanted to order Shen Rong to close the city gate. "Puchi..." The dagger penetrated his abdomen, and blood spurted out.Zhao Rui died with his eyes wide open. He didn't know who killed him until he died.

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Sima Yi went crazy, he held up his shield and rushed into the arrow formation, "Kill...Kill up and take the city gate".

It doesn't matter how many people die at this time, as long as they rush to the bottom of the city gate, even if they fill it with dead bodies, they will also take the city gate down.

Shen Rong also went crazy, the ballista roared above and below the city, and the arrows were so dense that there was hardly a gap, but he made a mistake in his busy schedule, and he shot people to death under the city gate. up.

"Rush over, move the dead body away, move the dead body away."

The soldiers of northern Xinjiang would not miss the opportunity. They fought hard against the enemy's ballista.The two sides fought to the death in Fangcun.

"Hurry up, call Master Han Qiong urgently, ask for support, ask for support."

=

Mengjin Pass.

Han Qiong had carefully prepared for this attack for a long time, and he thought it was safe.

In the evening, he and a few of his subordinates waited patiently for Zhao Rui's good news while chatting all over the place.

Suddenly, the battle drums roared on the pass.Han Qiong's complexion suddenly changed, and an ominous premonition enveloped his whole body in an instant.The head of the guard station rushed over, "My lord, the Northern Xinjiang army came to attack late at night, and hundreds of warships are already approaching the ferry."

Han Qiong's heart trembled, and he fought two cold wars involuntarily in the hot weather.The Northern Xinjiang Army crossed the river before the flood peak of the Yellow River reached Mengjin, obviously not for any surprise attack.Could it be that there are spies within him, and the plan to attack Yebanjin camp at night has been leaked?
"Hurry up, send someone to Xiaopingjin and order Shen Rong to guard the pass and not let anyone enter."

"Urgently tell Lord Yuan Shao that the northern border army crossed the river late at night to attack, and the strategy of attacking Yebanjin at night may be leaked. Please send troops to garrison the Shouyangkou of Mang Mountain as soon as possible to prevent accidents."

Han Qiong stood up slowly, "Order the ministries to light the bonfire and prepare for the night battle."

=

Xiaopingjin.

The wind was strong and the waves were violent, and the speed of the warship docking was extremely slow.

Wei Yan was very calm. He commanded the Qiang Bow Battalion to go ashore first, suppressed the enemy troops on the city with intensive salvos, and reduced the casualties in the attack. Killed into the pass.

The Northern Xinjiang Army is on the offensive.Yuan Jun finally couldn't resist, and was first robbed of the city gate by Sima Yi, and then the tower of the city by He Yi. The defeat was set.

During the fierce battle, Shen Rong was seriously injured and fell into a coma.The army Sima who took the place of command was in danger, so he had to issue an order to retreat.

=

Mengjin Pass.

Juhu commanded a large army to attack Mengjin Pass, and the offensive was fierce.

Han Qiong received Shen Rong's request for help, and immediately dispatched [-] reinforcements without further ado. However, it was too late.Before the three thousand reinforcements arrived at Xiaopingjin, the pass had already been lost.

=

Dawn came quietly.

The peak of the Yellow River set off a shocking wave and rushed through Xiaopingjin mightily.

Sima Yi, with his upper body bare, stood on the city wall and looked at the rising sun on the river, full of ambition and high spirits.

Wei Yan and He Yi dragged their exhausted bodies to Sima Yi's side.Sima Yi jumped in front of the two of them and patted He Yi vigorously, "Master He, when will you buy me a drink?"

He Yi smiled, "It's up to you, you set a date, I invited it. Today is so risky, I almost fell short. If Hong Feng came an hour earlier, we would have been working for nothing for several months."

"One has to be lucky." Sima Yi smiled, "Of course, confidence is the most important thing."

The three looked at each other and smiled.

"Zhongda, how is your injury?" Wei Yan asked hastily when he saw Sima Yi's body was covered with blood and the wound was still bleeding.

"It's okay, it's okay." Sima Yi grinned in pain, "How about the casualties? How many casualties have we had in the past few months, plus today's, have they exceeded 3000?"

Wei Yan looked at the densely packed corpses inside and outside the pass, and sighed softly: "Zhongda, it looks like you are going to take up a post in the General's Mansion."

"No way?" Sima Yi looked around, then whispered in a negotiating tone, "How about we report less?"

He Yi laughed, "Lord Sima, if the general knew that the food and supplies of the Yebanjin camp had been set on fire by the rebels, you would be very guilty."

"The general said at the time that casualties should not exceed [-], but he didn't say that the loss of food and supplies should not be much, so..." Sima Yi smiled slyly, "When I conquer Mengjin again, everything will be fine."

"Hit Mengjin right away?" He Yi hesitated, "The soldiers are very tired, should they rest for a long time?"

"Assembly the army immediately, rush to the Shouyangkou of Beiman Mountain, and cut off Han Qiong's retreat." Sima Yi said without doubt, "We will never give him a chance to escape back to Luoyang."

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Mengjin Pass.

Han Qiong ordered to retreat.

He couldn't believe that Xiao Pingjin was lost.I originally wanted to take advantage of the inconvenient opportunity of the Northern Xinjiang Army's attack during the Yellow River flood season to defeat Sima Yi, so as to completely reverse the situation in Luoyang, but God made a joke with me. At the last moment, he seized an opportunity that was not an opportunity at all and captured the impregnable Xiaopingjin.

Is this God's will?Could it be that Yuan Shao's fire enraged the sky, and it wants to punish us?
Yuan Shao never replied. He made two urgent reports before dawn, two reports related to the safety of Luoyang, but Yuan Shao did not reply once. That is to say, there is no army stationed at Shouyangkou so far.If Sima Yi's army seized Shouyangkou, his retreat would be cut off. At the same time, the northern army was only twenty miles away from Luoyang.What is Yuan Shao doing?sleeping?At this time, can he still sleep soundly at night?

When the morning sun rose, Juhu led his army into Mengjin, and he did not stop at all, commanding the army to follow and pursue.

=

Yuan Shao's letter arrived, making Han Qiong be careful.Han Qiong was so angry that he threw the letter into the grass by the roadside.Only a moment later, Yuan Shao's letter arrived again. At this moment, he had received the news that Xiaopingjin had fallen and Han Qiong had abandoned Mengjin Pass.Yuan Shao was furious, and scolded Han Qiong, saying that Lv Hong's reinforcements would arrive immediately, and asked him to stick to the front line of Beiman Mountain to stop Sima Yi and buy time for the guards at the gates to withdraw to Luoyang.

In the morning, Sima Yi, Wei Yan, Juhu, and He Yi met at the foot of Beiman Mountain, and the Northern Army launched an attack.Han Qiong led the army to fight to the death, but due to low morale and ineffective blocking, Shouyangkou was in danger.

At noon, Lu Hong led the reinforcements to arrive.Han Qiong asked angrily, why the delay until now?Lv Hong cried and said that the guard of Dagu Pass, General Suizhan, was killed in battle and that the pass was at stake. He led his army to support him overnight, but halfway through, Yuan Shao ordered himself to turn around and stick to the line of Beimang Mountain. "I ran back and forth within six hours. Baili Road, the soldiers are all exhausted, I have tried my best."

When the reinforcements arrived, they couldn't fight. Han Qiong had no choice but to let Lu Hong rest temporarily, and commanded the army to launch a counterattack.This time both sides put on a battle to decide the outcome, and the battle was very fierce.Han Qiong felt shameless when he saw Yuan Shao, and rushed to kill Yuan Shao with his own guards, wanting to die.In the afternoon, Han Qiong was seriously injured, still fighting hard, and finally died of exhaustion.

At dusk, Sima Yi ordered to set up camp on the spot and fight again tomorrow.

=

In mid-August, Luoyang.

Yuan Shao ordered that the guards of the gates quickly withdraw to Luoyang.

In order to prevent the armies from retreating too quickly, losing protection to each other, and being severely injured by the Northern Xinjiang Army, Yuan Shao formulated a detailed retreat route and time, requiring each army to retreat in turn and stop them step by step.

Shen Rong was escorted back to Luoyang, and Yuan Shao personally interrogated him.When Zhao Rui held Zhonglang Yinshou to force Shen Rong to open the door, Shen Rong hadn't received Han Qiong's letter, and Zhao Rui was still the general of Xiaopingjin Pass, so Shen Rong was forced to open the door.Yuan Shao was so angry that he trembled all over, he ordered Shen Rong to be executed without distinction.Yuan Wei, Feng Ji and others begged for mercy.Shenpei is Shenrong's uncle, and at this moment, Shenpei is in charge of Luoyang's defense. Killing Shenrong is too stimulating for Shenpei, which is not conducive to Luoyang's defense.Yuan Shao calmed down a little, and ordered Shen Rong to be imprisoned, and he will be released after he recovers from his injuries.

"Sima Yi..." Yuan Shao gritted his teeth, wanting to eat him alive, "Who would have thought that the first person to break through the Eight Passes of Luoyang would be this little-known boy. Ye Banjin's night attack not only failed to reverse the situation in Luoyang, but made Luoyang The situation is getting worse. If I knew this, I shouldn't have agreed with Han Qiong and Zhao Rui's night attack plan."

Everyone was depressed and did not speak.

"My lord, you should leave Luoyang as soon as possible." Feng Ji urged anxiously, "Qu Yi's army has entered Hangu Pass, and they will be able to capture the ancient city and Henan city immediately. If Henan city is lost, go west from Luoshui The road to Nanyang was completely cut off. Now that Henan City is still under our control, you should leave as soon as possible. Luoyang has brother Meng Qian (Yuan Wei) in town, and with our help, he will be safe.”

"Yes, at first, I thought it was very unwise for you to stay in Luoyang." Yuan Wei also persuaded, "Whether Luoyang can hold on depends on whether the east and west battlefields can be opened up and play a role. The opening of the two battlefields requires you to personally command. Although Liu Bei killed Zhao Wei, quelled the Yizhou Rebellion, and quickly formed the Northern Expedition Army with the support of Liu Biao and Liu Zhang, it is too difficult to go north from Hanzhong to fight in Guanzhong , and so far, we don't know whether Zhang Lu in Hanzhong will give Liu Bei enough help and support. If he turns his back on his word and goes to Hebei, blocking the Northern Expeditionary Army to the south of Bashan, the opening of the West Road battlefield will immediately come to naught .”

"As for the opening of the East Road battlefield, relying on the power of Xiansi (Yuan Tan) to maneuver and coordinate is obviously of no importance. Xiansi's prestige and qualifications are not enough. Liu Biao, Cao Cao, Sun Quan, and Zhou Yu can give him some face now. It’s because of you. If you can mediate in person, the chances of opening up the East Road battlefield will be greatly increased.”

"I can't listen to you about this matter." Yuan Shao shook his hand resolutely, "I can't leave. Once I leave, Luoyang's military spirit and morale will be gone. What do you use to defend the city? The opening of the east and west battlefields requires If Liu Biao, Liu Bei, Cao Cao and others work together, if they are unwilling to fight for the country, even if we form an east and west coalition, we will still lose the battle. Am I in Nanyang, and am I in charge of this matter personally? It has no effect on the opening of the east and west battlefields. Don’t discuss this matter any more.”

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In mid-August, Qu Yi, General of the Left Guard, led his troops across the Hangu Pass and advanced along the Gushui towards Gucheng and Henan.

General Longxiang Zhao Yun led the northern and southern armies into Hulao Pass and advanced along the banks of the Yishui River to Gongxian and Yanshi.

General Wen Chou of Wuwei led his army into Dagu Pass and quickly advanced to the south bank of Yishui River.

=

At the end of August, Qu Yi, Zhao Yun, Wen Chou, and Sima Yi led an army to surround Luoyang City.

At the end of August, the general Li Hongshu told the former general Lu Bu to sit in Chenliu, guard the safety of Yanzhou and Henan, and ensure the smooth flow of food roads for the army.On the same day, the general Li Hong and the later general Yushi led the general Xingyuan into Hulao Pass and rushed to Luoyang.

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Luoyang, Shanglinyuan, where the general walks.

The Chief Shi Fugan, Sima Wangling, Bo Jiangji and others of the General's Mansion sorted out the battle situation of each battlefield in the shortest possible time and reported to the General in detail.

Due to the long attack time of the army, especially the Hanoi battlefield and Yingchuan battlefield, the army has been fighting for six months and urgently needs to rest and reorganize.In addition, considering the difficulty of attacking Luoyang City, the army needs to hoard a large amount of food, grass and ordnance.Therefore, Fu Gan and others suggested that the time to attack Luoyang City be set at the end of September, and take a month to rest the army and hoard supplies.

"After we entered Luoyang, we found about 40 to 50 homeless refugees outside Luoyang City, most of whom were old and weak, women and children." When Fu Gan said this, his voice was not loud, but the expression on Li Hong's face The smile disappeared immediately.

"What about people?"

"All the ministries gathered them and sent them to Xianyang Garden." Fu Gan said, "General Qu Yi has allocated a batch of military rations, but there are too many people. If the supply continues, the army's rations may not be able to last until the end of the year."

"Yuan Shao..." Li Hong sneered, "He can think of such a way, it's beyond conscience. How many people can be recruited as civilian husbands?"

"There are about 20 able-bodied peasants in the city." Fu Gan shook his head and said, "So, the rest... can only do some light work."

"Immediately reduce 20 civil servants." Li Hong said without hesitation, "Our food is limited, and we have too many people to support us. By the way..." Li Hong pointed to Jiang Ji and said, "Every civil servant recruited from military households , let them go home immediately." Jiang Ji understood and nodded repeatedly.During the New Year, he had accompanied the general to inspect counties and counties and went to Dahei's house. He knew that the general meant to let him pay attention to Dahei's daughter-in-law and send her home.

"Although Yuan Shao burned the outer city of Luoyang to the ground, he could only burn the houses and manors, but he could not burn the land." Li Hong waved his hand and said, "Request the imperial court immediately, and immediately appoint Henan Yin and Hongnong prefects to form a government office. , to help these people rebuild their homes and sow seeds in the land.”

"Okay, I'll write a memorial immediately." Fu Gan bowed and said, "However, General, there are 10,000+ people in Guanzhong who have been evacuated from Xiliang this year. They need relief from the imperial court. Now there are hundreds of thousands of people in Luoyang Relief is needed, the court may..."

Li Hong's face became colder, "I will tell the eldest princess, Taifu Yang, Prime Minister Cai, Taiwei Xun, Yushi doctor Liu, Shangshutai Cui, Zhongshu Jiantian, please carefully consider whether this year Is it necessary to move the Son of Heaven and the imperial government to Guanzhong? It is a long way from Jinyang to Guanzhong, and the relocation is very costly. The situation in Western Xinjiang is severe, the situation in Guanzhong is critical, and Luoyang has not yet been conquered. Sure, the relocation time should be adjusted later so that the imperial court has enough money to support the Luoyang war and provide relief to the people in Xijiang and Luoyang.”

The atmosphere in the tent suddenly became tense.The general's tone became harsher, "suggestion" was changed to "should", and there was no room for discussion with the eldest princess and the court.

Fu Gan hesitated for a moment, then asked in a low voice: "General, is the wording..."

"I want to fight Luoyang, so I don't have time to linger with them." Li Hong said coldly, "Please reply as soon as possible, the eldest princess and the court."

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(End of this chapter)