Reborn Together: The General and I Reach for Power-Chapter 457 - 454 Mutual Harm

After the reinforcements arrived, Chang Tong led his men to capture Vice General Wu and others, rescuing those civilians who were being pursued.

Li Tao recklessly captured people at sea and blamed everything on pirates, causing great harm to the fishing villages along the coast and the nearby islands.

Finally, they escaped. The faces of those who had been laboring in the mines showed expressions of joy.

"From here to the west," one person said, "there are still people of theirs. When they see you coming, they will hide. I will lead the way and guide you there."

Chang Tong nodded and instructed people to treat the seriously injured civilians. He led a team to capture others.

The island originally harbored many people. After Prince Lu discovered that the situation on the island had been exposed, he withdrew some people. Today, more people followed Li Tao aboard the warship.

Currently, only a few hundred people led by Vice General Wu remained on the island.

Song Xian brought reinforcements, and with the help of the island’s civilians, those few hundred people were quickly captured.

Song Xian returned to the island to check the situation. Just as Chang Tong was about to report, Song Xian came over quickly and patted him on the shoulder.

Chang Tong was flattered: "Master."

"Today’s matter deserves commendation," Song Xian said, "Without you, the Commandery Princess could not have been saved."

Chang Tong felt a surge of excitement: "I was following the Master’s orders."

Song Xian patted Chang Tong again: "Once matters here are resolved, I will speak with you in detail. For now, let’s go see Vice General Wu’s men."

Chang Tong watched in awe as Song Xian strode forward, pondering if the Master’s words hinted at further rewards in the North beyond mere verbal praise.

Such things were unnecessary for him; the Master’s words alone were enough, as few among the household generals had ever been praised by him.

Chang An said, "With such merits, none of the other brothers can compare."

Chang Tong bashfully scratched his head: "It’s all just good luck."

Chang An laughed seeing Chang Tong’s simple-minded appearance: "Why are you still dazed? The Master has gone far ahead, and we still need to find out other places where Prince Lu has hidden soldiers."

They interrogated the island’s people, while Mr. Li interrogated those Prefects. The court’s fleet searched nearby, intending to uncover all of Prince Lu’s secrets.

Chang Tong snapped out of it and hurriedly caught up with his Master.

Li You arrived on the island and frowned upon seeing the civilians, emaciated and covered in blood.

Song Xian and Meng Su roughly explained the situation on the island to Li You.

Song Xian said, "To cover up his tracks, Prince Lu had Vice General Wu burn many documents. However, from questioning the island’s people, we can infer that Prince Lu has been operating from this island for at least ten years."

Li You’s gaze deepened. How much military resources and manpower could be accumulated in ten years?

Song Xian continued, "This island serves as a transit point, where goods from Daqi or the vassal people are brought, first delivered to this island, along with items from the sea and the shore. It’s because of this that we were able to discover this location by following Li Tao and others. Here, Prince Lu only has a few warships and soldiers."

Song Xian continued, "I also questioned the women involved in preparing military supplies for Prince Lu. Based on the number of supplies, Prince Lu has hidden at least tens of thousands of soldiers."

Li You nodded: "We are prepared, and it seems a battle is inevitable."

Song Xian looked at Li You.

Li You noticed a hint of joy in Song Xian’s eyes, yet he didn’t know the source of this joy: "What is it? Have you discovered something else?"

Song Xian nodded: "We found my mother-in-law."

"What?" Li You was surprised, "You... you mean the Princess Guangyang?"

Song Xian nodded: "Over the years, my mother-in-law was also imprisoned here. To survive, she disfigured herself, and those people did not know her identity."

"About the matters on this island, my mother-in-law knows some things. Once I clean up here thoroughly, I will bring them back to the island."

The island is some distance from the shore, unsuitable for nighttime travel as darkness falls. Moreover, all of Prince Lu’s men on the island are captured, making it the safest place to temporarily stay. At daybreak, they will be sent to Yuezhou.

Li You was also pleased: "You too are rewarded with good fortune for virtuous deeds. When the Commandery Princess arrives, I will go meet her."

After saying this, Li You and Song Xian went to look at the map together.

After the big ship returned to the island, Xie Liangchen accompanied Ah Jing to find her father.

Those who survived on the island were housed in a building, and Ah Jing looked over them one by one.

"Ah Jing."

Hearing the familiar voice, Ah Jing suddenly turned around: "Father."

The father and daughter embraced each other, crying loudly.

Ah Jing sobbed, "Mother is gone. Many people from the village were killed by them. Luckily, I met Song Jiedu’s men, otherwise I wouldn’t have been able to see Father."

This scene moved many to tears.

Besides Ah Jing and her father, there were also other females and males, once separated, now reunited with fathers or spouses.

Some awaited eagerly, others searched in vain, while a few learned of the deaths of their loved ones.

The room was filled with cries.

Standing aside, Chen Zigeng couldn’t help but tear up, while Xu Qian, thinking of his master, hid in a corner choking with emotion.

Xie Liangchen came out of the room as Yang Shuyin was speaking with Li You.

Li You reminisced about the past, not expecting Princess Guangyang to have suffered so much. He would report this to the court.

Li You asked, "After the Commandery Princess leaves here, are you planning to go to the capital?"

Yang Shuyin shook her head: "I have no grievances now. Everyone knows what happened, so there’s no rush to go to the capital to file a complaint."

Hearing this, Li You couldn’t help but laugh. Although the Princess Guangyang was disfigured, her nature remained frank and her heart broad.

Yang Shuyin said: "We plan to take the captives with us to Yuezhou, help them heal, and find their families. We hope to do our part. Once things are settled, I want to return to Chen Family Village to visit my mother. Mr. Li needn’t worry about us. There are still battles at sea, so please be careful."

After Yang Shuyin left, Li You stood staring at the map for a long time without speaking, contemplating Chen Family Village, the family of Prince Guangyang, and Song Xian.

Suddenly, Li You understood why the teacher stayed at Chen Family Village. It wasn’t only because the people of the village were kind, perhaps the teacher also appreciated talent?

A chord in Li You’s heart was struck.

...

The Emperor looked at the ministers in the hall.

"Did they fail to capture Prince Lu?" the Emperor said, "I instructed them to take five thousand cavalry to apprehend him, yet they let Prince Lu escape?"

The Emperor had dispatched his personal guard but received such news.

Prince Lu wasn’t captured, and chaos spread to Jingzhao Prefecture.

Everyone in the hall was silent, not daring to speak.

The Emperor continued to ask: "What do Prince Lu’s men say about me?"

The Palace Department’s Du Dianjian did not dare speak and turned to look at the Chief Secretary.

Left Minister Ge Zhi, upon receiving the news, attempted to leave the capital secretly at night but was captured by the Palace Department’s men. Now the heavy responsibility fell on Right Minister Xie Changshen.

The Emperor said: "I asked you a question, why are you looking at Mr. Xie?"

Du Dianjian bowed his head, trembling as he said: "Prince Lu’s rebellion involves fabricating lies, writing proclamations, saying... saying you harmed your family members... that Prince Yingchuan was harmed by you back then."

A rush of blood surged to the Emperor’s head.