Forced to Marry the Enemy Prince - Forced to Marry the Enemy Prince - Chapter 1

Chapter 1

The Liang Dynasty was towards the south and it had a favorable climate throughout the year. There were frequent monsoons during the summer and the air was humid.

Coincidentally, it rained yesterday and the rain was heavy. The ground was still wet this morning.

In the side chamber of Kun’ning Palace, the palace maids all gathered together. They conversed in low voices, “Did you guys notice how the atmosphere in the palace wasn’t right?”

Some younger palace maids asked confusedly, “The atmosphere wasn’t right how?”

“In the past, whenever the princess was sick, the princes all rushed and fought to visit her. However, there was no movement for the past two days.”

“It must be because of the war. Didn’t they say that General Qin personally led the troops to the battle? He is the pillar of our capital. Since he personally went, the battle situation must be dire and very serious.”

“That’s what I’m worried about…”

“What is there to be worried about? With General Qin here, even if there are ten Zhan Luelue, they are definitely not a match against him.” The little girl must’ve grown up hearing the stories about General Qin’s expeditions on the battlefield. When she mentioned him, her eyes were sparkling with admiration.

There were older palace maids who wanted to say something but then the little girl comforted, “Sister, you guys don’t need to be overly worried. Four years ago, Zhan Luelue was beaten by the General Qin and he ran back home, crying his nose out. With the general here this time, he definitely won’t allow Zhan Luelue to get his fingers on the capital.”

They just finished when they saw a few people walking in. The leader held a heavy expression. It was the personal palace maid for the Liang Dynasty’s Empress, Ying Lu.

The two hurriedly paid respects by the side, but the woman held an indifferent expression. She didn’t even look at them before walking by.

The little girl happily said, “Look. Didn’t the Empress send someone over to check on the princess?”

Princess Xian Sheng was the third legal child of the Empress and the only princess of the Liang Dynasty’s Royal Family. According to the customs of the Royal Family, she was a princess to be married over to another country to keep the peaceful relations between countries. Although that was the case, she was also the youngest child. She had two brothers and two half brothers. She was pampered the most. The only regretful thing is that Xian Sheng had a weak body as a child and she would pant just walking three steps. When there was a temperature change, she would definitely get a cold. She was always taking tonics, but she didn’t get any better. She basically grew up while being submerged in the pot for decocting herbal medicine.

There was a scent of bitter medicine in the room of the palace hall. Ying Lu didn’t enter yet when she heard a person trying to suppress their coughs. She paused and then said deeply, “Everyone wait outside.”

She walked in herself and saw the weak princess knitting her eyebrows and drinking the bitter medicine in the bowl.

“Aunty.” Xian Sheng’s personal maid paid respects to her and then subconsciously looked behind her. Ying Lu said, “There’s no need to look. The Empress didn’t come.”

She walked over as Xian Sheng finished drinking the medicine and sucked on a piece of candied fruit. Her face was pale and she lacked color on her lips. But because her face was pale, it made her eyelashes and hair appear to be even darker. Because she coughed, her eyes appeared to be teary and translucent. There seemed to be a black tear mole by the left corner of her eyes. She was so beautiful that even women couldn’t help but be moved by her. What a pity that heaven was jealous of her beauty and the princess was born with a weak body. She grew up with medicine by her side.

“Princess.” Ying Lu bent down and said, “The Empress orders you to pack up and prepare to get in the horse carriage.”

‘

Xian Sheng looked at her and Ruyi asked for her master, “What happened?”

“General Qin died in battle.” Without a care for Ruyi’s expression, Ying Lu continued, “He died to the Crown Prince of North Jin. He was unable to withstand three moves.”

The moment she said this, Xian Sheng’s expression finally changed a bit. He started coughing and Ruyi hurriedly supported him, “Princess…”

Xiansheng stopped her panic and said, “mother, let me go alone?”

“Princess Qing will be with you.” Yinglu eyes color firm, way: “I will also sacrifice my life to protect the princess.”

Ruyi said, “your majesty and the queen are not going?”

“The news of general Qin’s beheading came from his Majesty’s heart. Now the people don’t know it, but tomorrow at most, the news will spread to every corner of Dadu. According to speculation, the army of the northern Jin Dynasty will arrive at Dadu in three days. One month ago, general Qin took away most of Dadu’s troops. At present, most of Dadu’s garrison is less than 20000 However, there are hundreds of thousands of troops in the northern Jin Dynasty, and the crown prince of the northern Jin Dynasty is not a grass-roots group. When the number of troops is superior, we can stick to it for three days at most. ”

“What about reinforcements?”

“Unless Qin Yi of Zhelong city is willing to support, but it will take them at least 15 days to get there. We can’t hold on to that time. ” Qin Yi is the son of Qin Tao. Qin Tao has been claiming to be the pillar of the main beam all these years. He has become more and more influential and doesn’t pay attention to the royal family at all. His son is even more extraordinary. He was driven out of Dadu because he had a quarrel with the prince Xian Shang. In a few years, he secretly occupied a city and changed the name of the city to Zhelong, which seems to have the posture of self-reliance.

Qin Tao said that he was a rebellious son, but in private there was no movement. He was in power, and the royal family could only let him be arrogant.

It could be said that the general had to do with the situation of the Liang Dynasty today.

Xian Sheng continued, “What about the imperial brothers?”

“The Crown Prince still didn’t recover from his heavy injuries, so he couldn’t get out of bed. The Second Prince was held hostage by Zhan Zhen and it was unclear whether he was still alive or dead. Only the Third and Fourth Prince were left. The Emperor said that the Liang Dynasty’s Royal Family can’t leave a city of common people behind to escape by themselves. They would coexist or die with the Liang Dynasty.”

“It has already come to this point…” Ruyi subconsciously looked at Xian Sheng while the latter looked worried and tightly pursed his lips. Ying Lu urged, “Princess, the horse carriage has been prepared. Please quickly get in. The moment the city is in chaos, it’ll be too late to leave.”

“I’m also a member of the Liang Dynasty’s Royal Family. I can’t leave.”

“You’re the princess.” Ying Lu was anxious. “You have to marry someone in the future. You’re not considered a member of the Royal Family.”

Xian Sheng insisted, “Since my brothers aren’t leaving, I’m not leaving either.”

“They naturally can’t leave. They are the princes of the Liang Dynasty and masculine men. No matter what happens to the Liang Dynasty, they must fight until the last moment!”

Xian Sheng couldn’t help but laugh. “I’ve been a princess for a long time that even you forgot about my real identity.”

Ying Lu suddenly thought of something and looked at him with distressing eyes. “Princess…it’s because you have this identity that you can escape easily. You’re the only bloodline left that the Emperor could protect. He couldn’t protect his sons because everyone’s sons are sacrificing their lives to save others. He naturally can’t be selfish and let his sons run away. But you…you can’t do anything to help. You’re his daughter, so you can go.”

Xian Sheng shook his head weakly. Because of his body, he was very quiet normally and tried his best not to talk when it wasn’t necessary. Xian Sheng understood her meaning. If he escaped with the status of a princess, he could save the last bloodline of the Liang Dynasty.

“As a child, I have lived a life of luxury and was able to live until today because of my Emperor Father. It seemed like my existence only brought fear and worry to my Emperor Father and Empress Mother. With the situation today, I want to stay with them until the last moment.”

A dark glint flashed by Ying Lu’s eyes. She faintly moved her hands and Xian Sheng already saw through her thoughts. “Even if you knock me out, I won’t be able to live for long after exiting the city.”

He coughed again and his snow-white face flushed a bit. Ying Lu pursed her lips and said, “This is the Empress’s order. As Confucius says, one must obey their parent’s orders. Princess…”

Xian Sheng shook his head again and pulled the blankets to the side, getting out of bed. He said, “I want to go personally see Emperor Father.”

He paused and then continued, “Starting today, I want to be a proper prince.”

The next day, the death of Qin Tao spread throughout the capital. The common people all fear for themselves. Everyone knew that the Liang Dynasty had reached a situation of life and death. At the same time, news spread. “Did you hear? Princess Xian Sheng is going to battle as well.”

“Isn’t she a weak and sickly person? Is she going to cause trouble?”

“She insisted that she was a prince and needed to battle for the Liang Dynasty until the last moment. I heard the Emperor couldn’t do anything about it and allowed her to disguise herself as a guy.”

“Although the story of Mulan is one that captured the attention of many and led to praises, looking at the situation of the Liang Dynasty right now, she would only be causing trouble if she went. They must as well surrender…”

When someone said this, the passionate men immediately roared, “Psh! Our Liang Dynasty’s princess is personally going to battle, but you, a man, is actually saying this! How shameless are you? I already signed up to join the army. If North Jin’s army reaches the city, I will be the first one on the frontline to sacrifice for my country. Even if I die, I will never be my enemy country’s dog!”

“Brother, don’t be too emotional. What he says makes some sense. That Zhan Luelue is only eighteen and he really killed our Liang Dynasty’s pillar in three moves. Say, the princess has a weak body, so what else could she do besides getting killed?”

“No matter what, we can’t help grow the opponent’s aspirations and undermine our own prestige!!”

…

Since the death of the Liang Dynasty was nearing, the common people started to blabber without thinking about their words. However, no one was in the mood to care because North Jin’s army approached them quickly. In a short three days, they were under the city walls. The great force of 150,000 soldiers quickly surrounded the capital, sealing it off from the outside world.

The neat army that stretched into a far distance made the people of the Liang Dynasty fear from just taking a look. However, they were courageous and they didn’t surrender or escape even when North Jin’s army was impending their destination. The Third and Fourth Prince of Southern Liang rode the horses out of the city together to personally prepare for war.

The red cape was blown by the wind and the young man on the horse half narrowed his eyes, looking into the far distance. His smile was beautiful and he was carrying an unrivaled arrogance and coldness as though the world was in control. However, if one looked closely, they could tell that although he was proud, he didn’t underestimate his opponent.

The wind was howling. Zhan Zhen didn’t personally go to battle, but in the short two years, he had conquered twenty of Southern Liang’s cities. A month ago, he even killed the Liang Dynasty’s fierce general, Qin Tao within three moves, tearing down the backbone of the Liang Dynasty. He was able to establish unwavering prestige in his army. As long as the soldiers were behind him, they were in high spirits.

“Crown Prince, you don’t need to be overly cautious. There are less than 20,000 soldiers in Southern Liang’s regular army. Even if we take turns in battle, in less than two days, we will definitely be able to conquer the capital.”

“I heard that in the capital city, there are many men who volunteered to join the army, so there are more than 20,000 soldiers in truth.”

“So what if the men joined the army?” The military counselor, Feng Chen smiled and said, “They’re just a bunch of ignorant people. Our North Jin has 150,000 specially trained soldiers, so could we be afraid of them?”

Zhan Zhen stared ahead and his expression got graver. Feng Chen glanced at him and felt that the Crown Prince was making a fuss out of nothing. However, it could be understood. Four years ago, the fourteen-year-old Crown Prince really didn’t place anyone in his eyes. At such a young age, he was going on an expedition for the country. In the end, he was treated like a fool by the Liang Country’s Qin Tao. He lost his first battle and nearly 8,000 soldiers died as well as one general. That general was his grand tutor. He was killed by Qin Tao in order to save him. Even more, his grand tutor was beheaded and his head was hung on a pike and inserted on the city gate tower for people to see for dozens of days.

At a young age, he had suffered quite a bit. Besides shame and hatred, he also learned to be cautious. However, Zhan Zhen had grown from a child to a real fierce tiger. Feng Chen believed that if he still continued to be cautious like this, he would seem to be a little childish.

However, he was still his Crown Prince. Feng Chen thought about this in his heart but didn’t express this on the surface.

Zhan Zhen said, “Have you seen through the enemy army’s tactics?”

“Tactics?” Feng Chen glanced over and then suddenly raised his eyebrows. “They actually seem to be up to something.”

That’s right. Clearly, there were more Jin soldiers fighting and battling ahead. But taking a closer look, one could see that the Liang army was sometimes running and sometimes breaking into a stop. Sometimes, they would battle at the same time. These people seem to be a team and had the same consciousness.

Three days later, in the Jin Country’s camp, several generals looked down, dejected, and depressed, glancing at the Crown Prince ahead who held a deep expression. “In these days, 3,000 people died and 5,000 were wounded. However, for the Liang Country…less than 1,000 people died.”

Feng Chen didn’t dare to be careless as well. He wiped the cold sweat off his forehead and said, “Could it be that there is a master or expert behind them guiding the Liangs?”

“Your highness, how about we don’t battle? We can deplete their resources and strength. After all, not even a single fly could fly into the capital. We just need to surround the city and wait for them to use up their resources. Naturally, they’ll come out of the city then.”

“But the spies said that Qin Yi who was in charge of guarding Minghai Port is on his way back. He has money and resources in his hands, as well as troops. If we continue to wait and waste time, the moment Qin Yi arrives with backup, the battle will be harder to fight. That guy is Qin Tao’s proudest son.”

“Qin Yi got into a disagreement with the Liang Dynasty’s Royal Family. Right now, the Minghai Port has been renamed as Zhelong City. Clearly, he treated himself as an Emperor and even titled himself as the head of the city. He’s actually coming to aid?”

“But your highness…after all, you killed Qin Tao. Would he not make a move when this piece of news reaches his ears?”

Everyone chattered about and at the same time, placed their gazes on the commander-in-chief. “Your highness, what do you think?”

“This time, the tactics of the Liang army have changed countless times and we have no idea what’s going on at all. It seems like someone is watching over the situation and assessing it, changing according to the situation.”

“You’re saying that someone has been watching the battle between the two countries?”

“That’s right.” Zhan Zhen said, “I noticed that someone is holding a flag on the city gate tower. Whenever there is a change on the opposing side, the flag would move.”

“You’re saying that…expert is in the city gate tower?”

Someone shockingly said, “Then that makes sense. That person must be situated somewhere high in order to be able to see the changes between the two sides and make the appropriate reaction in time. No wonder the Liang army was in unison. I was wondering what tactics they were up to, but it turns out that someone is guiding them in the city gate tower.”

“I wonder who this unique and intelligent expert is.”

Zhan Zhen said, “They might not be strong in terms of martial arts skills, but not many could surpass their wisdom.”

“How does your highness prepare to deal with this?”

“Battle as usual tomorrow. I will personally go capture them at the city gate tower.”

Everyone said in seriousness, “Understood!”

Thank you for reading on myeasynovel.com