Chapter 1349 - 1283: Obstruction (Part 2)
The peasant woman didn’t mind, climbing onto the carriage to sit with him.
This group that captured Tuoba Yilu not only would get a promising future but also the one hundred gold promised by the peasant woman, so they were very happy and even shared some dry food with her along the way.
Of course, they did not dare let Tuoba Yilu starve, so they removed the cloth from his mouth and stuffed a cake into it.
Tuoba Yilu nearly choked to death; his hands were bound, so he could only use his tongue to push the cake out and ate only the piece he had bitten off. He then glared at the peasant woman with a gloomy expression and asked, "Why did you betray me?"
The peasant woman said, "You are not actually a merchant, so how is it betrayal?"
Tuoba Yilu angrily said, "I am your Great King, you are all my subjects. Even knowing my identity and still reporting me, how is that not betrayal?"
The team leader was afraid he would spread seditious words and was about to stuff the rag back into his mouth when he heard the peasant woman say, "My husband was a Xianbei, he followed the Great King from Shengle City southward to the Dai Country, and he died in battle for you."
"I have two sons, they were both recruited into the army, the Great King sent them to help Governor Liu of Jinyang, and they also died in battle. There’s only one daughter left at home, so I married her to a Han man. That Han man doesn’t know how to fight; he’s a farmer, he only knows how to farm."
The peasant woman said, "They had two children, but two years ago, the Great King ordered an expedition to help the Jin people fight the Xiongnu Kingdom, recruited the farmer to escort provisions. His family’s food had already been requisitioned, and that year there was a great drought, the harvest was poor. I sold all my cattle and sheep to provide the rations, but was delayed by three days, and the Great King sentenced their whole family to death."
"Both of my grandsons, one three years old, the other only one year old, were killed by association." The peasant woman’s gaze fell on Tuoba Yilu, her voice flat as she said, "Even without those rewards, upon seeing the Great King, I would still report you to the Eldest Prince."
She finished speaking and gave a slight smile, happily saying, "I’m glad to help the Eldest Prince capture the Great King."
Tuoba Yilu looked at the smile on her face, and a chill ran through him instantly, "You... you dare, you all are my subjects, how dare you..."
The team leader reacted, immediately stuffed the rag back into his mouth, blocking his remaining words, making Tuoba Yilu struggle angrily with muffled sounds.
The peasant woman saw his futile struggle and seemed a bit disappointed; she looked down at the cake in her hand, taking a fierce bite.
As soon as Tuoba Yilu was sent to Xinping City, Yuan Li knew; he dared not delay and immediately rose to meet with Tuoba Liuxiu.
He was truly afraid of Tuoba Liuxiu’s speed, afraid of being late again, so he hurried away.
Tuoba Liuxiu also went, bringing a large knife, but before he reached the place, Su Hexiong and Tuoba Susuo, who arrived in time, took the knife away, and the two surrounded him, persuading from both sides, "General, you cannot kill the Great King."
Tuoba Liuxiu, with reddened eyes, said, "We have come this far, if I don’t kill him, he will surely kill me!"
"Filicide is a great taboo," Su Hexiong said, "Yuan Li is here, why not hand the Great King over to the court to handle?"
Tuoba Liuxiu struggled within, "What if the court releases my father?"
If Tuoba Yilu were released back to the Dai Country, he would certainly have no place to stand.
Su Hexiong said, "Does the General not trust the new Emperor?"
Tuoba Liuxiu lowered his eyes and said, "Of course I trust my aunt, but can she do whatever she wants, persuade those court ministers?"
Tuoba Liuxiu pushed aside Su Hexiong and Tuoba Susuo; without the knife, he did not try to snatch it back. Even without the knife, he still intended to kill Tuoba Yilu.
He went to see Tuoba Yilu.
Tuoba Yilu was thrown to the ground, tightly bound, and it just so happened that next to him was another person tied up; it was one of Tuoba Yilu’s subordinate generals, Sun Yan.
Sun Yan, seeing that Tuoba Yilu was also captured, wept and crawled over, tearing off the cloth from his mouth and trying to untie the ropes on him.
Tuoba Yilu couldn’t help but shout "rebellious son" twice; seeing Sun Yan in a more sorry state than himself, he asked, "Where are the others?"
Sun Yan cried, "Great King, Kuzuhun Shun has been killed."
Tuoba Yilu asked, "What about Wei Xiong?"
Sun Yan shook his head, "I don’t know."
Tuoba Yilu laughed heartily and comforted Sun Yan, "Don’t be afraid, since Wei Xiong is not here, he must have escaped; he will surely gather an army to rescue us."
"I still have 200,000 troops; how could I fear this rebellious son?"
Sun Yan thought it over and agreed, wiped his tears, and continued to untie the ropes.
Before he could untie them, a shadow loomed over them, Tuoba Liuxiu coldly said, "Don’t even think about it, Wei Xiong and Ji Dan have already pledged allegiance to the Jin State, no, now it’s the Hua Country, they will not come to rescue you."