Chapter 249 - Missing
Tang Yue felt that his patience was reaching its limit. It was normal for him to be afraid all day long and have nightmares. If he continued like this, he might die sooner or later.
Every morning, he found his hair on the pillow and felt inexplicably sad. He would only wake up when he was alone in bed.
“young master, it's not good!” The housekeeper pushed the door open and came in. His face was pale and his teeth were chattering when he spoke.
Tang Yue's heart skipped a beat. He jumped off the bed wearing a pair of shorts. “What is it?”
“Someone came from the Palace just now. He said that he received an urgent report in the morning. Crown Prince suddenly disappeared after leading his troops into the North Yue.”
“What do you mean he suddenly disappeared? Tens of thousands of soldiers could shake the ground with a single stomp. How could he have gone missing?” Tang Yue roared.
He carefully recalled the dream he had the night before. He wondered if there had been such a scene, but he could not be sure if he had forgotten it when he woke up.
“This old servant asked the same question, but the person who sent the message was not clear. He only said that the Palace sent him to deliver the message, and then he ran away in a panic.”
“Heh, it must be fake news!” Tang Yue put on his clothes, washed his face with cold water, and rushed to the palace. The morning court was still in session. Tang Yue rushed into the main hall and received many strange gazes.
Although Tang Yue was a man, he was after all called Crown Princess. He had never seen such an occasion before.
It was already out of principle for the South Jin officials to accept a man as Crown Princess. It was absolutely impossible for them to accept Crown Princess going to court again.
Even if this Crown Princess had outstanding abilities, she would not be able to break their deep-rooted thoughts.
Tang Yue ran until his forehead was covered in sweat and he was panting. When he ran to the main hall, his legs were already weak and he immediately knelt down. He said, “Royal Father, is it true that Crown Prince went missing?”
King of South Jin did not make things difficult for him. His face was full of grief. “That's what we have heard so far.”
“I don't know who sent the news. When did it happen? My son received a safe letter from His Highness a few days ago.”
King of South Jin nodded to a soldier in armor in the hall. “Tell me.”
Tang Yue turned his head and saw a completely unfamiliar face. Of course, there were tens of thousands of soldiers in the army. He could not know all of them.
He asked, “What is your position in the army?”
The soldier was exhausted. It was obvious that he had rushed back day and night to deliver the news. He sat on the ground with a cup of water in front of him. It was obvious that he had just recovered from his fatigue.
“Reporting to Crown Princess, I am just a small chief in the army. I was sent back to deliver the news because I stayed in Chuzhou City.”
“Then how are you guys sure that Crown Prince has gone missing?” Tang Yue unconsciously raised his voice.
“I haven't heard from His Highness for ten days before I left Chu Province. I have been sending letters to him every day.”
Tang Yue interrupted him. “Maybe the scouts were killed.”
“Yes. Everyone has thought about your guess, so they sent out a large number of people every day. Unfortunately, they could not find Crown Prince for several days.”
“Which general is the one who stayed in Chuzhou City?”
“It's General Hu.”
Tang Yue's face darkened. Hu Jinpeng was not a reckless person. Since he had sent someone back to report, he must have used all means to not contact Crown Prince Zhao.
“Then one day earlier, where was he when you guys got the news about Crown Prince?”
“In Lishi City, Shunde County, North Yue. Lishi City has thirty thousand soldiers stationed there. His Highness took Lishi City in one night. He rested for a while and continued north. General Hu speculated that His Highness had lost track of him in Jinxi Valley, thirty miles north of Shunde County.”
“It's the canyon again!” Tang Yue frowned. The terrain of a canyon was too dangerous. It was usually the favorite place for ambushers. Crown Prince Zhao's troops couldn't have been wiped out there, could they?
Many of the officials present had the same thought. However, Tang Yue didn't believe it at all. Crown Prince Zhao led his men to the north. There were around 60,000 of them, and 10,000 of them were from the Black Armored Guard. No matter how incompetent they were, they wouldn't be unable to escape.
He had absolute confidence in the Black Armored Guard.
Tang Yue calmed down for a while and asked King of South Jin, “What plans does Royal Father have?”
“Continue searching. If you want to see someone, you need to see their corpse. Besides, the Crown Prince has only been missing for a few days. He is far from being in a panic.”
State Duke Heng nodded. He was worried as well. His only son was at the front line, but he was still rational. He agreed, “According to this official's speculation, this situation may be because His Highness suddenly changed his route and the scouts he sent were not able to contact him. The other possibility is that His Highness was trapped in a certain place and could not spread the news for a while.
However, the enemy had sent 120,000 of His Highness's men and took back Chu Prefecture. No matter how strong North Yue is, it is impossible for them to gather an army that can rival them in a short period of time.”
The two sides had been fighting for so many years, and both sides knew each other well. Occasionally, an army like the Black Armored Guard would appear, which was the result of Crown Prince's death. Moreover, this was not only the result of spending manpower and resources, but also the guidance from Tang Yue, who had traveled for a thousand years.
Of course, the North Yue would also have a trump card, but what kind of trump card could defeat the army led by the Crown Prince? In any case, no one could think of it.
However, such unknown danger was what worried them the most, because they could not receive any news, which meant that they could not rescue them. Moreover, it was within the borders of the North Yue, and it was a thousand miles away from the Ye City. Just the amount of time they had on the way was enough for a myriad of changes to occur on the battlefield.
A group of courtiers talked about the major events as if they were trivial matters. Some of them were whimsical and flattered that Crown Prince Zhao might have gone to the capital of the North Yue. Due to his fast speed, no one was able to find him. Tang Yue could only chuckle in response.
If North Yue was really so easy to fight, why would they bother with South Jin for dozens of years? It was true that they had Black Armored Guard, but the Black Armored Guard only had ten thousand people. Moreover, they were not invincible. It was impossible for them to attack the North Yue with just sixty thousand men.
Crown Prince Zhao rarely wrote anything about war strategies in his family books. He was afraid that someone would intercept him and expose his military forces, but Tang Yue could think of one thing.
Crown Prince Zhao did it in one go. Firstly, he wanted to take over some of the territory before North Yue could deploy their troops. Secondly, he wanted the soldiers to take revenge and gain some credit.
Tang Yue did not believe that his target was the capital of the North Yue.
“Royal Father, it will take at least half a month for the news to reach the Ye City from the Chu Province. There are too many variables. Maybe Crown Prince has already returned to the city and we are guessing randomly. Why don't we send someone to take a look?” Tang Yue's mind was beating rapidly.
“You have a point.” King of South Jin thought for a while and looked around. “Thank you for coming. The young people in the court are too inexperienced. I need you to hold them back.”
State Duke Heng was grateful. Even if King of South Jin did not name him, he planned to invite him to see the situation. Whether it was his son or the crown prince, they were both people he cared about.
After the meeting ended, Tang Yue and State Duke Heng walked together. Tang Yue looked at each other like a puppy that didn't have any meat, which made State Duke Heng's heart beat rapidly.
“Crown Princess, don't worry. I will go there if I have to. What do you have to worry about?”
Tang Yue wanted to say that he would not feel at ease if he did not see it with his own eyes. “Then you must be careful. You old arms and legs. You have to travel for a long distance. How can your body handle it?”
Tang Yue sighed and gave him a suggestion. “How about I ask you to come with me and take care of your body?”
State Duke Heng's beard shook. “Alright, what do you mean you don't know? Since he doesn't want you to stay in Ye City, he won't give you a chance to travel.”
“But it's useless for me to stay in Ye City other than being anxious.”
“How can it be useless? As long as you stay in Ye City for a day, the Crown Prince Residence will still be the Crown Prince Residence. No one will dare to argue with you. You must remember that Ye City is the foundation of Crown Prince. Guarding this place is equivalent to guarding half of Crown Prince's territory. Crown Princess's mission is very difficult.”
Tang Yue also knew this. Wasn't this the reason why he came back?
The border was closed. If any rumors were to spread to the Ye City, everyone would think that the Crown Prince was killed, just like this time. Who knows, someone might come out and propose to set up another Crown Prince.
All these years, the princes had grown up one by one. Not all of them were law-abiding people. With just a little provocation, there might be competitors emerging.
Tang Yue understood all of these principles, but the entire South Jin was not as important as Crown Prince Zhao's life. If someone really wanted to take the opportunity to cause trouble, they could just let Crown Prince Zhao fight back in the future.
The military power of South Jin was not something that many outsiders could command.
“This old official might stay by His Highness's side after he left. Apart from the twenty thousand soldiers he brought, the remaining thirty thousand soldiers will be given to Crown Princess.” State Duke Heng winked at him. The hint was self-evident.
Tang Yue instantly became a tycoon who held military power. Before his excitement could rise, he was suppressed by the responsibility on his shoulder.
These people were not easy to control. He wished he could never use them. Once he used them, he would never be able to control them. Once he used them, it meant that there was chaos in Ye City.
He took a long breath and answered firmly, “I understand.”
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