Chapter 43: Breaking Through the Defense

Gao Changsheng attempted to break through Song Ziyong's psychological defenses to extract the secret he so desperately desired.

This secret concerned the future trajectory of the entire Great Yong Dynasty.

At the same time, it was of paramount importance for Gao Changsheng's future plans.

Since he was determined to contend for the imperial succession, the Crown Prince and the two imperial princes were naturally his adversaries.

If he could grasp the thread of collusion with Northern Qi, it would be equivalent to holding an unbeatable trump card.

It could be said that never in his life had Gao Changsheng been more eager to obtain an accurate answer than right now.

"So that was the Sixth Prince's real intention!"

"Hahaha!"

Song Ziyong suddenly burst into unbridled laughter, the contempt in his eyes radiating with absolute recklessness.

"If I were to say the mastermind behind all this is the two imperial princes, would Your Highness believe it?"

"Conversely, even if I said it was the Crown Prince, Your Highness probably wouldn't believe that either!"

Song Ziyong continued with a mocking sneer.

Even at this moment, he was still attempting to mislead Gao Changsheng's judgment.

One had to admit, Song Ziyong knew how to play with human hearts.

As long as Gao Changsheng lacked substantive evidence proving that the Crown Prince and the two princes were colluding with Northern Qi, nothing Song Ziyong said could be trusted.

"What a pity."

"Originally, I intended to spare your life. At least until you saw the Divine Martial Emperor, you still had some utility value."

"Now it seems you are purely seeking death!"

With a darkened face, Gao Changsheng said with extreme displeasure.

"Humph!"

Song Ziyong let out a cold snort and closed his eyes once again.

"Oh right, there is one more matter that Lord Song probably does not yet know."

"Since Lord Song is about to die, it won't hurt to tell you."

"Han Cong!"

Gao Changsheng called Han Cong over with a placid expression.

At this moment, Han Cong's face was not concealed, and no one would associate him with Dou Yuan.

Yet, the moment he proactively put on his helmet, those dormant memories instantly attacked everyone present like a frenzy.

Including Song Ziyong.

"You... you are not Dou Yuan?!"

Song Ziyong's face was a mask of utter shock.

At that instant, the last remaining sliver of hope in his heart was completely shattered.

This meant that even if those one thousand Northern Qi soldiers slaughtered their way here and killed everyone, they would never find Dou Yuan.

Because Dou Yuan had never entered Fengxi County at all.

"Gao Changsheng!"

"You are a dignified imperial prince, yet you used yourself as bait to lure us out. Are you really that confident you can leave Fengxi County alive?!"

Song Ziyong's aged face flushed crimson; at this moment, his psychological defense was truly breached.

"That is hardly worth Lord Song's concern."

"You would be better off considering whether your one thousand Northern Qi brothers wish to throw away their lives in vain!"

Gao Changsheng sneered.

Upon hearing this, Song Ziyong, who had previously looked like a corpse and was resigned to death, suddenly revived as if experiencing a final burst of vitality, struggling to his feet.

"Your Highness, how about we strike a deal?"

Song Ziyong took the initiative to make certain concessions.

Without him spelling it out, Gao Changsheng knew precisely what Song Ziyong was plotting.

"You want Us to let that thousand Northern Qi soldiers go."

"Yet We do not believe you would be willing to reveal that person's identity."

Gao Changsheng shook his head.

"Your Highness is wise."

"Though I will not tell you his identity, I can agree to go and see the Divine Martial Emperor."

"Your Highness may rest assured, I will not commit suicide—at least not before I meet the Divine Martial Emperor."

Song Ziyong said through clenched teeth.

Hearing these words, even Gao Changsheng could not help but feel a shred of admiration for him.

It was not hard to imagine what kind of tragic end awaited someone who had hidden within the Great Yong Dynasty for decades and risen to a high-ranking official of the second rank once he stood before the Divine Martial Emperor.

To describe it as a fate worse than death would be an understatement.

Yet he voluntarily chose to endure such torment for the sake of another.

"A true man!"

"However, to ensure their safe departure, we will still require Lord Song's cooperation."

Gao Changsheng praised.

It might seem as though Song Ziyong was begging Gao Changsheng.

In truth, the current outcome was precisely what Gao Changsheng desired most.

He was well aware that with merely the three hundred armored guards under his command, he could never be a match for a thousand Northern Qi soldiers.

Moreover, whether the reinforcements from outside the city could arrive in time remained an unknown.

Rather than pinning his hopes on a stack of uncertain variables, it was far wiser to seize the opportunity right before his eyes.

"General, we've found Dou Yuan's tent!"

Soon, a group of ruffians disguised in Northern Qi attire appeared a hundred paces outside the front of the encampment.

They had hacked and slashed their way through, their bodies stained crimson with blood.

They looked like a pack of evil ghosts crawling up from the depths of hell.

"Hold your ground! Do not panic!"

Han Cong used military authority to forcefully steady the morale of the troops.

Even so, these ordinary men who had never witnessed the cruelty of the battlefield could not suppress a wave of agitation.

In truth, this was also Gao Changsheng's first time experiencing such brutal warfare.

To say he wasn't afraid would be a lie.

Yet as Han Cong's master and an imperial prince of Northern Qi, he had to maintain his composure no matter what.

Even if it was only an act, he had to keep up the facade!

"Dou Yuan is inside the tent! Sons of Northern Qi, follow me and charge in!"

The middle-aged man in the lead hoisted his saber high, preparing to charge.

"General Xiao, it's a trap!"

At that very moment, Song Ziyong shouted at the top of his lungs.

That single cry abruptly halted the advance of the Northern Qi soldiers.

"What?"

General Xiao stared from afar at Song Ziyong, who was missing an arm, and his expression shifted in alarm.

"General Xiao, our plan has been exposed."

"Dou Yuan is not here at all."

Song Ziyong said helplessly.

Before General Xiao could speak, he continued:

"You must leave quickly. I have already arranged it with the Sixth Prince."

"He will let you go!"

"Stop throwing your lives away in vain!"

Song Ziyong was practically pleading with them to leave.

However, the Northern Qi soldiers, whose eyes were already bloodshot from killing, were unwilling to retreat just like that.

"Are you saying there is still an imperial prince of the Great Yong Dynasty here?"

"Kill him and then we leave—it's all the same!"

General Xiao readied himself to issue the attack order once more.

"Archers, ready!"

Seeing this, Han Cong immediately signaled the armored troops to form a defensive stance.

It seemed a bloody clash was unavoidable.

"General Xiao, you must not!"

"If the Sixth Prince is killed, the soldiers of the Great Yong Dynasty will certainly seek vengeance for their prince."

"Should that ignite the fighting spirit of the Great Yong troops, the war in the northern border will become even more disadvantageous for Northern Qi."

"Does the General wish to become a sinner against Northern Qi?!"

Song Ziyong was not entirely muddle-headed.

Although Gao Changsheng's reputation among the many imperial princes was far from stellar, he was still an imperial prince nonetheless.

Normally, to the common folk and soldiers, the death of a single prince was merely fodder for post-meal amusement.

However, if a prince were to die at the hands of an enemy army during a time of war, it would become a national humiliation.

This was a matter of dignity, having nothing whatsoever to do with who the prince was or how good his reputation was.

"What General Tuoba says is true. I was muddle-headed."

"But the scholar is still in their hands, I cannot simply—"

General Xiao wore an expression of deep conflict.

"General, rest assured, Lord Song will come to no harm."

"The ones who will come to harm are rather the General and your subordinates."

At that moment, a group of people resembling ordinary civilians appeared in the rear of the Northern Qi soldiers.

Each of them wielded a weapon, and their numbers were no less than three thousand.

Yet the entire First Transport Fleet could not have mustered so many weapons, and most of those had been consumed in the raging fire.

The few that remained were all in Gao Changsheng's hands.

Where on earth did these people procure so many weapons?