"Prince, if one can escape, let them! Staying in the city will only add to the casualties!" Liang Zhiman urged in a lowered voice.
He had long advised Chen Zhaoxuan, but Chen Zhaoxuan was unwilling to leave.
Of course, Chen Zhaoxuan was unwilling to leave; his wife and children were in the city.
Though he was obsessed with martial arts, it did not mean he didn’t care for his family.
"No need, perhaps dying in battle here is also a good thing!" Chen Zhaoxuan said hoarsely.
"This way, perhaps it will awaken His Majesty, make the court aware of the bandit chaos in Longnan!"
In his heart, he harbored resentment toward Emperor Jianxing and the court.
Because he believed all this was caused by the inaction of the Emperor and the court.
He didn’t understand politics well; this was all he could think of.
"Prince!" Liang Zhiman wanted to persuade further.
Chen Zhaoxuan interrupted him, saying, "No need to say more; I will not leave!"
He looked at the enemy troops below the city, his thoughts unwittingly drifting away.
He thought of the Capital City, thought of the Imperial City, thought of Marquis Jing’an Mansion, thought of Yang Zhenshan.
At this moment, the person he wished to see most was not his father, nor his brother, but Yang Zhenshan.
"If Master were here, he would surely have a way to solve the enemy troops outside the city!"
"Prince, if you do not wish to leave, at least let the Princely Heir go!" Liang Zhiman showed a look of anxiety.
He previously had little contact with Chen Zhaoxuan, as local officials having too much interaction with a prince was a taboo.
But having fought side-by-side these past twenty days, he truly respected Chen Zhaoxuan from his heart.
He himself no longer had the chance to escape the city, but he hoped Chen Zhaoxuan could.
Chen Zhaoxuan bowed his head in silence.
After a long while, he said, "I understand, I will make arrangements now!"
"Mr. Liang, the rest is up to you!"
He solemnly bowed in respect.
This bow was his way of thanking and showing respect to Liang Zhiman.
Liang Zhiman sidestepped to avoid it, saying, "Prince, go quickly, don’t delay any more time!"
Chen Zhaoxuan glanced at the enemy troops outside the city and then left the city wall with a determined expression.
In the Royal Mansion.
The Princess Consort Dai held the hands of her son and daughter, standing in front of the main hall, looking out the door.
Chen Zhaoxuan had only one main consort, not even a concubine, but he had one son and one daughter, the son being fourteen this year, and the daughter just eight.
Chen Zhaoxuan hurriedly walked towards the door, and Princess Consort Dai’s eyes lit up upon seeing him.
"Prince, outside the city..."
The Princess Consort Dai wanted to ask about the situation outside the city, but before she could finish, Chen Zhaoxuan interrupted her.
"Less talk, pack up immediately, we’ll break through later!"
Upon hearing this, Princess Consort Dai immediately nodded anxiously, "I’ll pack right away!"
"Don’t bring too much, we’ll ride horses!" Chen Zhaoxuan said.
The Princess Consort Dai immediately called for the maids and old women in the mansion to pack valuables, while Chen Zhaoxuan summoned the guards and eunuchs in the mansion.
Most of the mansion’s guards were defending the city walls; currently, there were only twenty guards and over thirty eunuchs in the vast mansion.
As for the mansion’s officials, Chen Zhaoxuan did not rely on them at all.
With guards and eunuchs assembled, Chen Zhaoxuan scanned each of their faces.
The grand Royal Mansion still had some power.
Among the eunuchs were two grand eunuchs transferred from the Imperial Stables, both possessing considerable cultivation. The source of this content ɪs 𝗇𝗈𝗏𝖾𝗅•𝖿𝗂𝗋𝖾•𝗇𝖾𝗍
The guards of his mansion were also elite.
However, in the face of two hundred thousand enemy troops, the people before him clearly weren’t enough to make a difference.
"Mr. Lu, Mr. Zhang, I leave the Princess Consort and Princely Heir to you!" Chen Zhaoxuan said, looking at the two grand eunuchs.
"This old slave will definitely protect the Princess Consort and Princely Heir!"
The two grand eunuchs said firmly.
Chen Zhaoxuan then looked at Xiao Anzi and Liu Bin, Xiao Anzi being his companion, and Liu Bin a guard who had been with him for over ten years.
"Liu Bin, Xiao Anzi, you protect Yan’er!"
"Understood!" The two responded firmly.
Chen Zhaoxuan nodded and instructed, "Go fetch the horses, we’re leaving the city, hopefully we can break through!"
The guards and eunuchs immediately brought all the horses from the mansion.
Outside the city, the sounds of battle cries had already started, and the citizens inside the city had rushed towards the city walls.
Moments later, a large group of people surged out of the mansion in a disorderly manner.
The Princess Consort Dai looked at Chen Zhaoxuan, who was leading in front, clutching the reins tightly with both hands.
She suddenly called out.
Chen Zhaoxuan turned back.
"You must take Chi’er and Yan’er out safely!" The Princess Consort Dai’s eyes were slightly red.
Chen Zhaoxuan looked at her, said nothing, but strongly nodded.
The enemy was attacking from all four sides, and there was a large number of enemy soldiers outside the North City Gate. Liang Zhiman had already arranged everything; as soon as Chen Zhaoxuan and his entourage reached the city gate, dozens of soldiers opened the gate.
The reason for leaving through the North City Gate was because it had Vessel City.
Entering Vessel City, soldiers opened the outer gate once more.
Beyond the gate, hundreds of enemy troops were pushing logs, pounding at the city gate.
The gate suddenly swung open; the enemy soldiers outside had no time to react.
Chen Zhaoxuan took the lead, charging out of the city gate brandishing his long spear.
Wielding the spear, he sent the enemy soldiers flying, followed by more than a dozen guards charging out with him.
Although only a dozen men charged forth, it was as if they were unstoppable, and the enemy soldiers outside the gate, not anticipating anyone coming out from within, were so frightened they scattered in chaos.
Breaking through the gate, Chen Zhaoxuan looked around briefly, "Northeast direction, quick!"
The enemy camps surrounded them from all directions; the Northern camp, though smaller, had twenty to thirty thousand enemy soldiers. With their limited manpower, directly attacking the camp was impractical; thus, they could only head toward the northeast, trying to avoid the enemy camps as much as possible.