Chapter 868
The Truth
Seeing his silence, the emperor sneered, "See, now that we've torn off the mask, there's nothing we can't say. I've fallen so low that you don't need to hide anything from me anymore. Just tell me, whose scheme is this?"
Yun Yan and the others remained silent while kneeling.
Only Pan Yun stood before him, sheathing her sword, and answered for the bewildered crowd: "It is the human heart."
"What?" The emperor looked at her.
“It is the result of people’s desire to seek profit and avoid harm, their selfishness, and their desire to cover up the evidence of crimes,” Pan Yun said. “Apart from those who have been advising the emperor to personally lead the expedition and return to the capital by detour, the officials have been seeking profit and avoiding harm, allowing the foolish Wang Zhen to be allowed to lead the army, and allowing you, who has no military talent, to be commanded by biased and gullible people. One wrong step leads to another.”
Pan Yun was not like Yun Yan, nor were he one of the officials. He couldn't resist popping the pus when he saw it, unlike the others who would endure it.
As he was dying, she didn't mind letting him know the truth; whether he believed it or not was up to him.
Pan Yun: "The officials' indulgence allowed you and Wang Zhen to lead the army deep into danger. The officials were at fault, but you and Wang Zhen are guilty! As the emperor, you acted arbitrarily. You had so many capable ministers and generals under your command, yet you didn't know how to use any of them. You are the primary culprit!"
Yang Jun delayed the battle, displaying incompetence and arrogance, leading to a grave mistake. Yang Hong, in an attempt to cover up his crimes, wasted military resources and missed the last opportunity to fight for the country.
Pan Jun leaned close to the emperor and whispered in his ear, "You think Yang Hong stopped fighting because of you? Actually, it's more because of his son. Who has time to ask what Yang Jun was doing when the emperor was captured? A true general would send troops before the hostages are confirmed. Even if he can't get the hostages back, he should make sure they are rendered useless forever. That's what a loyal general should do."
The emperor was so angry at the truth that he trembled all over. Pan Yun whispered in his ear, "The civil and military officials must be loyal to the entire country. They may be loyal to the Zhu family, but they will never be loyal to just one person."
There are many people in the Zhu family.
It's just one emperor; if he dies, just install another one.
Can the royal family be short of people?
Zhu Qizhen looked at Pan Yun with trembling lips. So that's what the officials thought?
Is this the truth?
His heart was filled with resentment and bitterness: "I am the ruler of all people under heaven, I..."
“So, the Duke of England died in battle, as did Li Zhen, Fan Zhong, Shen Rong, Chen Ying, and tens of thousands of soldiers, all of whom died protecting you,” Pan Yun said. “And now, I and they are also willing to die to protect you.”
A strange light flashed in Pan Jun's eyes, and she asked him softly, "So Your Majesty, are you willing to risk your life with us? If we fail, we will die for the sake of all the people."
The emperor remained silent for a long time.
Pan Yun understood, and so did Yun Yan and the other eleven.
The tent fell silent for a moment.
In the silence, a soft laugh rang out.
Everyone turned to look at the source of the sound.
The Grand Lama had regained some strength. He leaned against the table leg, smiling as he looked at them, and said, "Your ruler is neither like a ruler nor your ministers are neither like ministers. Your Ming Dynasty is truly strange."
Pan Yun: "What's it to you?"
The Grand Lama pointed at the Emperor and said, “He is a man with a pure heart. Although he is afraid of death, his conclusion is not wrong. If he goes out with you, the Oirat army will kill you at all costs.”
He chuckled and said, "There are 100,000 troops outside. Don't think that just because you are the First Marquis, even if the person worshipped in the palace came, he would not be able to escape the slaughter of 100,000 troops."
“If you escape on your own, you still have a chance of survival. You are all unimportant people, and Esen will not invest too many troops in you. But the emperor of the Ming Dynasty is different. If he cannot leave any alive, then killing them is not a bad thing.”
The emperor finally came to his senses, nodded repeatedly to them, and said softly, "You may leave."
However, he made no further mention of asking the officials to find a way to save him.
Pan Jun's face was ashen. He stepped forward, grabbed the Grand Lama, held his sword to his neck, and ripped open the tent flap before rushing out. The thousands of soldiers moved in unison, and only when they saw that the emperor was not among those who emerged did they slowly retreat under the command of their general.
Yun Yan looked back unwillingly.
The emperor stood in front of the broken tent, where he could be seen by the Oirat army, and he could also see Pan Jun and others gradually retreating.
Both sides knew that this was likely the last time they would see each other.
They didn't take the emperor with them, and Esen indeed chose to let them go, avoiding a direct confrontation.
The group returned to the city in a sorry state.
Upon entering the city, before he had taken two steps, Pan Yun coughed up a mouthful of blood and collapsed to the ground, utterly exhausted.
Miaozhen and the others were startled and rushed forward to support her, anxiously asking, "What's wrong? What happened?"
Miaohe took his pulse and her expression changed drastically: "Junior Uncle has no qi left in his dantian."
Seeing Pan Yun's face turn ashen, Yun Yan knew that she had been putting on a brave face all along, relying on taking the Grand Lama hostage to escape from the Oirat camp. No wonder she left the emperor there instead of knocking him unconscious and taking him away.
Kuang Ye and the others anxiously asked, "Where is His Majesty? Have we seen His Majesty?"
“We saw him,” Yun Yan said, her eyes red-rimmed. “It seems that Esen knew we were coming beforehand and set up an ambush in his tent. He also invited a group of lamas to help us. Master Pan and a senior lama fought fiercely and were seriously injured. We also…”
Kuang Ye asked anxiously, "Is His Majesty safe? Why didn't you bring him out?"
Yun Yan: "The Oirat army has surrounded the camp, so we cannot take His Majesty away."
Kuang Ye's gaze swept over the ten people. He saw that they were all injured, and three of them could barely stand with support. He knew that they had done their best.
But the heartache is still unbearable.
He opened his mouth, waved for someone to take them away to treat their injuries, and then followed Pan Yun.
Pan Yun was carried into the house.
Miaohe was frantic: "What should we do? Junior Uncle's internal injuries are too severe for us to treat."
Kuang Ye was also anxious: "Just tell me what medicinal herbs you need, and I'll have someone find them."
The only person who can save the emperor must be protected!
Kuang Ye sent people to find medicine and a doctor at the same time.
After the military doctor and the renowned physicians found in the city examined Pan Yun's pulse, Kuang Ye and the others realized that she had not only suffered severe injuries to her dantian, but also to her meridians, and would likely be unable to move for a long time.
Kuang Ye stamped her foot and looked at the others.
Cao Nai pondered for a moment: "If Pan Yun is so powerful, then her master must be even more powerful. Why don't we go to Longhu Mountain to ask for help? Perhaps we can rescue the emperor."
“No!” Chen Huai said in a low voice, “They have rules among themselves and will not interfere in politics. We cannot invite those masters who have already gone into seclusion. The ones we can invite are probably not as good as Pan Yun.”
"All ministers under heaven are subjects of the king; isn't Pan Yun serving the country?"
“Pan Yun is different,” Chen Huai said. “Firstly, she is young and comes from a secular background. Her father and brothers are both in the court, so she is naturally loyal to the emperor and loves her country. Secondly, she is a woman. In short, we can’t find a recluse to help us. Instead of wasting time on this, we should try to lure her in first, and then find a way to rescue His Majesty.” (End of this chapter)