dognovel Chapter 489
Chapter 489
Lin Ping was fully aware of the enemy's movements, which only made him more panicked.
The reason they defeated 50,000 with only 20,000 men was not only because of their superior strength, but also because the enemy was unprepared and unaware that they possessed tridents, kukri knives, and stirrups.
Now the enemy is not only on guard, but has also acquired more powerful crossbows and explosives. If they are combined with the 50,000 garrison troops in the city, their chances of victory are slim.
For a moment, Lin Ping didn't know what to do.
A forced attack would inevitably result in a bloodbath, and could even cost 20,000 lives.
But if they retreat, the royal palace will fall.
The Imperial Guards could barely hold off the few thousand soldiers inside the palace, but with the addition of tens of thousands of troops outside the city, they could only suffer a bitter defeat.
Once the palace falls, he will become a fugitive. Let alone leading tens of thousands of troops to attack the Lotus Palace, it's uncertain whether he can even save his life.
Moreover, once Lu Jie takes control of Yingtian Prefecture, he will inevitably suppress the businesses under Lu Jie's control.
They might even seize by force, leaving Lin Ping with absolutely no chance of turning things around.
"Damn it!" Lin Ping gritted his teeth, but he really didn't have the courage to launch an attack.
He pulled out his flintlock pistol, roughly calculated the distance, and then shook his head.
As if he had guessed that Lu Jie had a pistol, he kept a distance of several hundred meters from him and hid behind several soldiers.
"I've had my eye on this kid for a long time. Brother-in-law, let's go and kill him!" Jiang Yunyu's youthful face showed a resolute expression, a result of the baptism of battle.
Like begets like; as the heir apparent, this kind of heroic spirit is innate.
Jiang Yunyu's transformation into a lazy, chubby boy is by no means a personal problem.
The seemingly strict educational approach actually had no effect.
Jiang Yunyu's affairs were all arranged perfectly, so he didn't have to worry about anything. He was even confined to the city lord's mansion. No wonder he couldn't grow.
If he had remained in the military camp, he would have become a dashing and heroic general within six months.
Jiang Xiuwu deliberately let Jiang Yunyu experience this great battle, just as Lin Ping had suggested.
Judging from his performance at this moment, the effect is not bad.
"Ping'er, I'll listen to you. Make the decision as you see fit," Jiang Xiuwu said in a low voice, completely entrusting the lives of ten thousand private soldiers to Lin Ping.
"Nephew-in-law, are you trying to drive your uncle crazy? Hurry up and rush over there to kill this arrogant brat!" Jiang Xiuwen said anxiously, shaking his arm.
If it weren't for the city lord of Jiangcheng's dissuasion, he would have definitely taken along the few thousand guards he had. Although their equipment was poor, they could still make up the numbers.
"Brother Lin, just say something. My Shancheng Prefecture's 10,000 private troops are willing to obey your orders," Lian Ping said confidently.
After Lin Ping helped him seize the position of city lord, he made a bold decision: to hold on tightly to this powerful figure who was making his waist thicker.
In order to stay glued to Lin Ping's thigh and even have priority in eating his farts, he was willing to sacrifice the lives of 10,000 people.
Ah!
In utter despair, Lin Ping screamed.
In an instant, he activated his eyes to their maximum capacity and could vaguely see what was happening inside the palace.
Before Lu Jie left the city, he had already made arrangements for the rebellion.
At the break of dawn, the thousands of guards in the palace launched a frenzied rebellion.
Dozens of men stormed into the king's palace. If they captured him, it would be a great achievement, and they could rise rapidly in rank from then on.
Unfortunately, these dozens of people were all killed by the Imperial Guards who had been lying in ambush inside the palace.
Suddenly, two thousand guards in black robes and brocade uniforms appeared in the inner palace, while thousands of guards from the Eastern Palace also arrived outside the royal palace.
With the combined efforts of both sides, the momentum of the thousands of rebels was temporarily suppressed.
Now, more than half an hour has passed, and the intense battle has undergone a subtle change.
Of the thousand guards of the Eastern Palace, almost all were killed or wounded. The Crown Prince was covered in wounds and blood, fighting with only his willpower, much like a gladiator in an arena.
As the crown prince, a king second only to the emperor, he had every right to be carefree and easygoing, but he chose to lead from the front.
Nearly half of the two thousand Imperial Guards were also lost. Five hundred of them continued to fight the rebels, while the other five hundred protected the emperor alone in the middle.
They ultimately underestimated the strength of Lu's army. Among these thousands of rebels, there were a thousand crossbowmen and five hundred suicide soldiers strapped with explosives.
The Imperial Guards did a good job of holding out for most of the hour.
Looking at the blood-soaked palace and the guards with their tragic faces, Xia Linglong felt helpless, and tears involuntarily streamed down her face.
She was, after all, a girl, and sometimes not as strong as her brother.
"Lin Ping, where are you? Come back quickly!"
The hysterical shouts echoed throughout the entire palace.
In her most helpless moment, the first person she thought of was Lin Ping.
Perhaps, in her heart, only Lin Ping could solve the current problem.
She didn't know how Lin Ping could solve the problem; it was an inexplicable trust in him.
Having seen the state of the palace to his limit, Lin Ping didn't even get a clear look at Xia Linglong's face. Yet, his heart trembled violently, as if he were being tightly gripped by a pair of jade-like hands, causing him to break out in a cold sweat from the pain.
"Brothers, please forgive my selfishness. I cannot watch the palace fall, Linglong be captured, or my wife be imprisoned and powerless to help. I do not want to lose this battle, nor can I lose it."
Lin Ping lowered his head, closed his eyes, and loudly spoke out everything he wanted to say.
From beginning to end, he had no grand ambitions; he only wanted to protect the people around him.
Reality slapped him hard in the face; he had no power to make decisions, and he couldn't even protect those around him.
"The enemy harbors wolfish ambitions and attempts to usurp the throne. What should we, as citizens of Wu Kingdom, do?" Pang Xingji asked loudly, holding up his spear.
"Kill the enemy! Save the princess!" nearly 20,000 soldiers shouted in unison.
That's right, they didn't care about the king's life or death at all; they only cared about Lin Ping's private affairs...
"Kill!" Pang Xingji was always the first to charge, which successfully boosted the morale of the entire army.
The 20,000-strong army, like a raging flood, roared towards Lu Jie.
"Don't you want to live? Doing this will only lead to mutual destruction." Lu Jie kept looking back, but unfortunately, the 50,000 reinforcements were still on their way.
Faced with a formidable enemy, Lu's army dared not slacken in the slightest. Thousands of elite soldiers charged forward, thousands of armored soldiers held their shields firmly, and crossbowmen fired their crossbow bolts in unison.
"Let it end, let it all end!" Lin Ping closed his eyes, unable to imagine the consequences of this battle.
Even if Lu Jie is killed and the rebellion is quelled, they will still suffer heavy casualties.
This also confirms Lu Jie's statement about mutual destruction.
His mind went blank, and he let time pass by.
After an unknown amount of time, the battlefield fell silent, and even the sound of warhorses panting could be heard clearly.
"Is it over?" Lin Ping held his breath and slowly opened his eyes, seemingly unable to face it all.