Chapter 540: "Sacrificing One's Life for the Country"

It's a moment.

Although he had forced himself to convince himself, Jin Fengluan calmed the ministers in the palace and asked them to wait with her for new battle reports from the city wall. However, as time passed, the long-awaited battle reports did not arrive as promised.

This is really unusual. Even if the war is stalemate, someone should have sent back battle reports, and they should have been sent back one after another. However, there has been no news since the last battle report was sent.

Jin Fengluan finally became so flustered that he could no longer control himself, and everyone in the hall seemed to have noticed something and could no longer hold back. Jin Pingyong rubbed his hands anxiously and finally could not help but speak:

"Your Majesty, the front line has still not sent us any military intelligence. I'm afraid it may be disadvantageous to our side, or even... already..." He was trembling and didn't even get to finish the second half of the sentence.

Jin Fengluan waved her trembling hands and said calmly, "He must be in the middle of a fierce battle and has no time to report."

"But I sent someone to ask a moment ago, I think... we will know soon."

Jin Fengluan became furious not long ago as she had been waiting for no news, and then sent out the Imperial Guards to investigate. However, what she didn't know was that the Qian army on the front line had already surrendered, and the few Jin generals who took advantage of the chaos to escape had no time to care about the imperial city, and hurried to the west of the city, intending to escape far away.

The first to bear the brunt was naturally Jin Zhou. He took advantage of the chaos to escape when the people guarding the main city tower. After leaving the battlefield, he rode his horse straight to the west of the city. At this time, he was already far away from the imperial city.

At this moment, the guards who were out to investigate finally got a glimpse of the Yan army troops heading towards the imperial city. Immediately, some of those with weak minds turned around and fled, without even returning to the imperial city.

But there were still some loyal people who rushed back on horseback in a hurry and just happened to enter the palace at this time.

There was no time even to report, as the leader of the Imperial Guard, Jin Xuan, rode into the palace on horseback, jumped off his horse before climbing the stairs of the Golden Throne Hall, and galloped into the hall.

The sound of horses neighing outside the hall was naturally heard by the people inside the hall. Wang Yong's heart trembled, his eyes went dark and he almost fainted. He had already felt that he would most likely lose this battle. When he heard the sound of horses neighing, he suddenly realized that the rebels had entered the imperial city.

"It's over! They're coming to kill me!" He clapped his hands suddenly and howled with his head raised.

Jin Fengluan was caught off guard by the howl and was so frightened that her whole body trembled and she fell into the dragon throne. But before she could say anything, Jin Xuan rushed into the hall in a hurry.

Wang Yong turned around and breathed a sigh of relief. It turned out to be Jin Xuan! He was so scared that he almost died!

But before he could pat his chest to comfort himself, Jin Xuan said anxiously:

"Your Highness! Something terrible has happened! The rebels have entered the city! They are heading towards the Imperial City!"

As soon as the words fell, everyone's pupils shrank and the blood drained from their faces instantly. In the hall, apart from this sound, the only sound left was the sound of people gasping for air.

Jin Xuan continued, "The people we sent out hadn't even left a few markets when they saw the enemy coming from afar, and there was no one trying to stop them!"

"It is obvious that the troops of Zhengdong City have been defeated! No...! Even if they were defeated, they should have been defeated miserably in the fighting, so they would not have failed to send back news. They... might have been defeated without a fight, so they must have surrendered!" Although Jin Xuan was extremely anxious, he could not hide the anger on his face.

In the battle of Datong, his father died and his eldest brother Jin Tan also died. Fortunately, his younger brother Jin Zhou survived. After returning, he even took the initiative to ask for orders to make up for his mistake and guard the main city tower to defeat the enemy. Jin Xuan also placed high hopes on him.

But now it seems that not only has the city tower been lost, it is even possible that the defenders in the inner city have surrendered. As the commander-in-chief, he cannot escape the blame. Nan Ze is the last city, and the safety of the imperial city depends entirely on the city tower outside. He led his troops to surrender and did not send back any military intelligence. At this critical moment, he actually did such a thing!

Jin Xuan's face was filled with rage, and at the moment he wanted to chop him to death with a knife, but it would be useless to do anything now. Now that the rebels were coming, it would be a real disaster.

But at this moment, when he finished speaking, a sharp and piercing laugh suddenly rang out.

"Haha! You're talking nonsense again."

"My soldiers are all brave and good at fighting. How come there are more than 100,000 people in the city? According to the news sent earlier, the rebels are still leading people to attack the city tower. How is it possible that they are heading towards the imperial city at this time?"

"... That's nonsense. You must be mistaken."

Jin Fengluan's face was wet with sweat, and her haggard face had a sparse makeup. She was still huddled in the dragon throne, holding the dragon head armrest with one hand, with a stiff smile on her face.

Jin Xuan sighed in his heart, knowing that this matter was a huge blow to His Majesty, but he could not care about much at the moment. He immediately stepped forward and said in a deep voice:

"Your Majesty, it is absolutely true. There is no mistake. In a moment, we can hear the sound of the enemy's horses' hooves even here!"

"Your Majesty, we cannot stay here for long. We must leave as soon as possible before the rebels enter the imperial city!"

After saying that, Jin Xuan stepped forward quickly.

The ministers were already in a panic at this time. Some clapped their hands, some stamped their feet, some sat on the ground with haggard faces, and some cried and shouted, muttering "What should I do?"

Of course, most people turned around and ran outside. Jin Pingyong was the first one. When Jin Xuan said the first sentence, he had already turned around, and when he finished his second sentence, he had already rushed out of the hall, followed closely by Wang Yong.

At this moment, increasingly shrill screams came from the dragon throne.

"Don't leave! No one is allowed to leave!"

"Come back to me!" Jin Fengluan staggered to her feet, her face distorted and hideous, and she screamed at the top of her lungs.

Jin Xuan had already stepped forward and said in a hurry, "I can't care less, Your Majesty. I have already ordered the Imperial Guards to block the doorway. I will take you out of the Imperial City now!"

Jin Fengluan was panting heavily and shaking so much that she could hardly stand. Jin Xuan held her up.

"No, I won't leave."

"This is my palace. I have already lost the palace in Jinling, and I must not lose this place as well." The previous scream seemed to have exhausted Jin Fengluan's strength, so these two sentences were spoken silently.

After hearing this, Jin Xuan's expression gradually became solemn. He was silent for two breaths, then he sighed:

"If that happens, we'll all die here."

After saying this, his solemn expression gradually turned sad, "In this situation, I have no idea what to do in the future."

"Perhaps...today, Daqian...is truly extinct."

"Since you won't leave, then die here for your country." Jin Xuan lowered his head and pursed his lips, but his eyes gradually turned red. At this moment, he finally understood that Jin Fengluan had accepted the ending.

When Jin Fengluan heard the words "die for the country", her eyes widened wider and she suddenly pushed Jin Xuan.

"No! I won't do that! I will never be forced by the traitor to die for my country! I will never let him succeed!" Jin Fengluan gritted his teeth, his face so ferocious that he was completely different from before.

"Then just stay here and fight the rebels!"

“Even if I die in the chaos of war, I will never bow to them!” Jin Xuan clenched his fists, his face also ferocious.

After the words fell, Jin Fengluan was stunned for a moment.

die?

As the ruler of a country, she had issued many imperial decrees to take people's lives. The most recent one was the Huang family, which was once extremely prominent. Thousands of people in the Huang mansion, including servants, were killed. To her, it was just an imperial decree.

But the word death seemed to weigh more than a thousand pounds upon me at this moment. Was I going to die here?

No! I must not die!

Then Jin Fengluan grabbed Jin Xuan's wrist and shouted:

"Go! Take me away from the imperial city immediately! Quickly! Quickly!" She shook Jin Xuan's arm, her face full of the desire to survive.