Peach Blossoms in Chang'an

Chapter 181 Protecting Her Above All Else

The last meteor in the night sky also disappeared, leaving only a deep ink color. Hu Bugui closed his eyes and let the cold wind blow on his face. Wu Tao's words echoed in his ears, like the song of a nightingale, clear and firm, dispelling the confusion in his heart. He thought of the scene when he first met Wu Tao, her smart and cunning eyes, her brave and fearless spirit, and the unreserved trust and love when she looked at him.

Love is the light that can illuminate each other even in the darkest moments. He always thought that he was fighting for responsibility and for his country, but he ignored the softest part of his heart. He loved Wu Tao more than anything else, and protecting her was what he should do most at this moment.

"Someone come!" Hu Bugui suddenly opened his eyes, his eyes flashing with determination. He was no longer passively defending, he wanted to take the initiative to attack, for Wu Tao, for their future, and for this precarious country.

A few days later, a dusty messenger sneaked into Hu Bugui's tent. He was the emperor's desperate hope. The messenger brought a crucial piece of information, revealing a secret unknown to the prime minister - he suffered from a strange disease and needed to take a special herb regularly to save his life. The source of this herb was extremely secret and only a few people knew it.

Hu Bugui was overjoyed, knowing that this would be his only chance to turn the tables. He summoned his trusted generals overnight and made a careful plan. He wanted to cut off the prime minister's supply of medicinal materials, causing him to fall into chaos without fighting. At the same time, he also wanted to use this opportunity to disintegrate the prime minister's power and completely crush his ambitions.

Meanwhile, deep inside the palace, the queen is also working hard for her beloved. She knows the complexity and danger of the harem, but she also knows that she cannot sit and wait for death. She must use her wisdom and connections to fight for a glimmer of hope for Hu Bugui...

Deep in the palace, the queen sat in front of the bronze mirror, removing all the pearls and jade from her hair, letting her black hair cascade down like a waterfall. There was no panic in her eyes, instead there was calmness and determination.

"Your Majesty, are you really determined to do this?" asked the personal maid Lu Zhu worriedly. "If the Emperor and the Prime Minister knew about this, the consequences would be disastrous!"

The queen faced the mirror and slowly inserted a golden hairpin into her hair. Her tone was calm but firm: "I have no choice. Bugui and Miss Wu Tao are still in danger. I cannot watch them fall into danger."

Luzhu bit her lip and stopped trying to dissuade the queen. She knew that once the queen made up her mind, she would not change it easily. She walked to the queen and whispered, "Your Majesty, I have an idea that may be able to help..."

Lu Zhu's idea was to incite a close confidant of the prime minister, Liu Gonggong, to rebel. Liu Gonggong had been favored by the queen in his early years and was loyal to the queen. Lu Zhu took the risk of passing the message to Liu Gonggong, and finally succeeded in persuading him to work for the queen by appealing to his emotions and reason.

Eunuch Liu used his position to secretly pass on every move in the Prime Minister's mansion to the Queen, including the Prime Minister's daily life, his interactions with court officials, and even every piece of paper and ink in his study. These seemingly insignificant information provided Hu Bugui with crucial intelligence, allowing him to know the Prime Minister's actions clearly.

Late at night, the lights in Hu Bugui's tent were brightly on, and he was discussing countermeasures with several trusted generals around a map.

"The Prime Minister is cunning and treacherous. We can't confront him head-on." A general said worriedly, "Now he has a large army in his hands. It will be difficult for us to break through the city gate!"

"A strong attack is indeed not the best strategy," another general agreed, "but we can't just sit there and wait for death, otherwise when the prime minister is free, we really won't have a chance."

Hu Bugui frowned, tapping his fingers on the table, lost in thought. At this moment, a soldier came hurriedly to report: "Your Majesty, someone is coming from the palace!"

The visitor was Lu Zhu, who brought the intelligence gathered by the Queen and a detailed plan. Hu Bugui listened carefully, and a spark of hope gradually ignited in his eyes.

"Okay! Let's act according to the Queen's plan!" Hu Bugui stood up suddenly, his tone firm, "We will first make a feint to the east and attack the west, pretending to attack the city to attract the Prime Minister's attention, and then send an elite force to sneak into the city and rescue Miss Wu Tao!"

After the plan was formulated, Hu Bugui immediately gave orders and all parties took quick action. A thrilling rescue operation was about to begin...

 See the clouds

During the days when Wu Tao was imprisoned, Hu Bugui never gave up the rescue plan. He knew that the longer the time dragged on, the more dangerous Wu Tao would be. However, the Prime Minister's power was intertwined, and trying to rescue Wu Tao was like pulling teeth from a tiger's mouth.

One day, Hu Bugui secretly met with several righteous men from the people. These righteous men were all heroes in the underworld. They usually robbed the rich and helped the poor, and were deeply loved by the people. When they heard about Hu Bugui's experience, they were filled with righteous indignation and expressed their willingness to help him.

"Your Highness, you don't know that the Prime Minister has been doing evil things and bullying the people, which has long aroused public resentment!" A burly man with a full beard said angrily, "It's just that he has a large army under his command, so ordinary people like us dare not speak out!"

"Yes, Your Majesty," another lean man echoed, "As long as you raise your arms and call, we are willing to be the vanguard and follow you to the death!"

The words of the righteous men were like a flash of lightning, illuminating the confused path in Hu Bugui's heart. He had always limited his sights to the court, but ignored the powerful force among the people.

"I will remember the heroic deeds of all the warriors!" Hu Bugui stood up and bowed deeply to everyone, "But this matter is of great importance. We need to think carefully and must not act rashly."

After sending the righteous men away, Hu Bugui locked himself in his tent and pondered over the matter. He realized that if he wanted to defeat the prime minister, it was not enough to rely on force alone, but he had to have a legitimate reason and get the support of the people.

At the same time, he began to use his modern knowledge to make some simple weapons. He ordered people to collect a large amount of saltpeter, sulfur and other materials, and tried to make gunpowder according to the formula in his memory. Although the process was very difficult, he never gave up because he knew that this would be the key to turning the tide of the war.

After many experiments, the crude gunpowder was finally developed. Hu Bugui was ecstatic. He filled the gunpowder into bamboo tubes to make simple "hand grenades" and began to secretly train soldiers.

Late at night, the camp was lit with firelight, and soldiers were holding torches and conducting night training. They were divided into groups and practiced the skills of throwing "hand grenades", and everyone's face was full of excitement and anticipation.

Looking at this scene, Hu Bugui smiled confidently. He knew that the darkness before dawn would soon pass and the dawn of victory was just around the corner.

Under the dark night, Hu Bugui led his "Fire and Thunder Battalion" to quietly approach the Prime Minister's Mansion. They had trained for many days, just for this moment. The flames shot up to the sky, the explosions were deafening, and the Prime Minister's Mansion was in chaos. Hu Bugui led the way, rushing into the mansion like a tiger descending from the mountain, and went straight to the courtyard where Wu Tao was.

During the days when Wu Tao was imprisoned, she was looking forward to Hu Bugui's arrival all the time. However, as time went by, her hope gradually became slim. When she heard the shouts and explosions coming from outside the yard, a glimmer of hope ignited in her heart. The next moment, the door was suddenly slammed open, and Hu Bugui's familiar figure appeared in front of her.

"Taotao!" Hu Bugui hugged Wu Tao into his arms and held her tightly, fearing that he would lose her if he let go.

"I'm fine..." Wu Tao's voice was a little choked, and tears welled up in her eyes.

The two hugged each other tightly, no words were needed, everything was said without words.

After a brief moment of tenderness, Hu Bugui and Wu Tao quickly evacuated the Prime Minister's Mansion. Back at the camp, Wu Tao told Hu Bugui what he had seen and heard during his imprisonment.

"Although the prime minister holds a large number of troops, not all ministers in the court are loyal to him. They are just forced to be angry but not speak out because of his tyranny." Wu Tao paused and continued, "I found a maid in the prime minister's mansion who seems to have a grudge against the prime minister. Perhaps I can take advantage of this..."

Wu Tao's words made Hu Bugui's eyes light up. He didn't expect that Wu Tao could observe the surrounding situation so calmly and find a breakthrough from it while being imprisoned.

"Taotao, you are right. We can't just fight head-on. We must learn to use all the forces we can." Hu Bugui held Wu Tao's hand, his eyes full of gratitude and admiration, "You are really my good wife!"

Wu Tao's analysis opened a new door for Hu Bugui. He realized that in addition to military force, people's hearts and strategies were equally important. He began to think about how to take advantage of the contradictions within the prime minister to disintegrate his power.

The two talked all night long, discussing the next plan. Outside the window, the night was dark, but their hearts were full of hope. They believed that as long as they were united, they would be able to overcome all difficulties and usher in a bright future that belonged to them.

However, they did not know that the night raid on the Prime Minister's Mansion was only the beginning of the struggle, and greater challenges were still to come. How could the Prime Minister and the Crown Prince give up?