Chapter 450: The Emperor Calls the Door
When the news reached Kyoto, Zhu Yu, Zhu Qi's younger brother who was appointed as regent, was shocked. He did not expect the situation to take a turn for the worse and that one battle would destroy most of the dynasty's national strength.

"Your Highness, the King of Qing, His Majesty has been captured by foreigners, and his life or death is unknown. Everyone in the capital is in danger. I wonder if you are acting as regent and is doing well now?"

Yan Fan stepped out. He only knew that the emperor was a waste, but he didn't know he could be so useless. An army of 200,000 was wiped out in one day. Even 200,000 pigs could be killed by people. Now the defeated soldiers were fleeing everywhere and it was difficult to form a system. There were only two schools of troops in the capital, and more soldiers were among the vassal kings in the border areas. It was inevitable that the ruler was weak and the ministers were strong.

Zhu Yu was also forced into a task. He was originally the Prince of Anle and was young, so how could he have any opinion of his own? For a while, the court was in an uproar. Some people said to take the troops and gather the remaining generals to fight back against the Jurchens and rescue the emperor, while others objected that there were no generals available. Some even proposed to offer tribute to redeem the emperor.

"Your Highness, I observed the sky at night and saw that the White Tiger was fierce and evil, and it was a sign of great disaster. War is at hand, and danger is inevitable. I don't know whether the emperor is alive or dead, but the country cannot be destroyed. From what I see, the only way to save the country is to move the capital south to avoid war."

An official from the Hanlin Academy stepped forward, but was counterattacked by Yan Fan. The imperial mausoleum and ancestral temples were all in Shengjing and could not be moved lightly, otherwise the country would be destroyed. It was not until Zhu Qi's biological mother, the empress dowager, stepped forward and made Zhu Qi's son the crown prince, Zhu Yu acted as the state affairs, and the whole country moved south that the matter came to a conclusion.

At this time in the Jurchen camp, Wanyan Shu was facing Zhu Qi. Zhu Qi was now well fed and well treated, without a trace of embarrassment.

"Han Emperor, you are the ruler of a country, I should treat you with courtesy, but you are a captive of my Jurchen tribe, so you should know your place."

He pointed outside the tent, and only the sound of horses neighing and swords could be heard: "Now my Jurchen army is about to march, and it is only a hundred miles away from the next city Xuanfu. I heard that your majesty has made great progress in cultivation. I have never seen anyone with the emperor's main cultivation before. This is a great cause to create the world, so don't let all the previous efforts go to waste!"

"If your majesty is willing, you can open the city gates and let our Jurchen army march straight in. When the day comes, you will also enjoy wealth and honor. Otherwise, please try the methods of a grassland barbarian like me!"

After Zhu Qi was captured, he was in a state of constant fear. He enjoyed all the wealth and glory in the world and was even more afraid of death. Wanyan Shu did nothing else in the past few days but stayed by Zhu Qi's side, letting him watch his defeated generals being skinned, tendons pulled out and bones pulled out one by one. It was so miserable.

Such a cruel act made Zhu Qi vomit several times and suffer from palpitations. Although he had not suffered any injuries from weapons in just a few days, he had lost a lot of weight.

Hearing Wanyan Shu's words, Zhu Qi snorted coldly and said with all his strength: "My death alone can save the lives of all the subjects of my country. I died a worthy death. I am not afraid of death, so why force me to die? You want me to be your running dog? It's a fool's dream!"

Wanyan Shu smiled and swallowed the spit without getting angry. He then ordered his servants to serve him well before making a big payment.

"Great Khan, is the Emperor of Han still so ignorant?"

As soon as I walked out of the tent, I saw someone waiting outside. When he saw Wanyan Shu coming out, he hurried forward and asked.

"It's okay. He's just a coward. If he really had the heart, he would have killed himself like those surrendered generals in the Han army, and he wouldn't have waited for me to capture him. People like him are heroes, and the rest are just mediocre people who are afraid of death."

"When the troops are at the gates of Xuanfu, push the Han emperor to the front of the battle line and ask him to open the city gates. He will know what to do!"

So, a few days later, Luo Hengxin, the defender of Xuanfu City, watched the barbarian soldiers' formation break through and one man was pushed out by two barbarian soldiers. "Lord Luo, don't shoot. It's me, it's me. The Jurchen Khan and I have become brothers. We have signed a brotherly pact. Please open the city gate quickly and welcome me in. I will show my brotherly loyalty!"

Luo Hengxin frowned, feeling a little absurd in his heart that the lord of his country was actually going to knock on the door for the enemy. However, as a subject, loyalty and righteousness naturally came first. He could be loyal and Xuanfu City would surely fall. If the enemy army marched straight in, the country would no longer be a country. But if he did not open the door and disregarded the emperor's life and death, he would inevitably be branded as disloyal and unfilial.

On one side was the emperor's life and his posthumous reputation, and on the other side was his country and the rise and fall of the dynasty. Luo Hengxin only thought for a moment, stood on the top of the city wall, and bowed deeply to Zhu Qi.

"Your Majesty, I, Luo Hengxin, pay my respects to you. I wish you good health. We should have opened the gates to welcome you, but you have fallen into the hands of the bandits. If we open the gates, we will abandon the lives of hundreds of thousands of people in Xuanfu City. Please forgive me for not being able to obey your orders."

Zhu Qi's expression froze. Since he ascended the throne, he had only met sycophantic ministers like Wang Zhen and obedient officials like Yan Fan. When had he ever encountered someone who disobeyed the king's orders?

He couldn't help but curse loudly, but he was afraid that he had lost his effectiveness and would be killed by Wanyan Shu. In shock and anger, he said everything.

What about not listening to the king and father, disobeying superiors, being disloyal, unjust, unfilial, and unbrotherly? In the hundreds of years of national history of several dynasties, there has never been such a treacherous and evil person. Luo Hengxin was shouted as the number one criminal of this dynasty.

The shouting continued. Luo Hengxin touched the city wall with trembling hands, took a long breath, pretended not to hear, and slowly gave orders.

"Order the defenders in the city to be on high alert and hold the city for life. Any Jurchen barbarians who come to attack will be killed without mercy. If a stray arrow injures the man under the city, all the guilt will be borne by me, Luo. If that man dies, after the battle, I will die to atone for my crime!"

The generals spread the word, which calmed the defenders' hearts. As a general in a city, Luo Hengxin naturally had some prestige. He was a military general and a man who knew military affairs. It was just that he was not liked by the officials in the court, so he was assigned here and was not promoted for several years.

In other words, Xuanfu City had become an iron bucket run by him, and even the military pay was embezzled by the officials of the court, and he had to sell his property to make up for it. Therefore, all the soldiers in the city obeyed his orders, and it seemed that they did not obey the king's orders and only respected General Luo's Luo family army. Now that they received the general's order, the defenders all agreed.

Wanyan Shu at the foot of the city also noticed something was going on. He waved his hand and ordered his soldiers to escort the frightened and angry Zhu Qi down. This man was still useful, so he must not be killed. There might be some foolishly loyal people who could take down the city without losing a single soldier.

"The three armies obey orders!"

He gave an order, looking at Xuanfu City with murderous intent in his eyes: "Raise the troops, attack the city, and the first one to reach the top of the city will be rewarded with a promotion of three ranks, a thousand taels of gold, three hundred cattle and sheep, and countless bondservants!"

For a moment, flags were waving, military drums were beating, black armors were pressing against the city, and dense groups of soldiers erected ladders, raised battering rams, and attacked Xuanfu City like ants. There was no casualties yet, but the city was already a bit bloody.

(End of this chapter)