Free Web NovelChapter 1249: Chapter 1220: Suicide by Sword
Wang Dun himself also noticed, as he fled, he found he had no place to stop. Ahead, a troop blocked his way, and when he turned to change directions, the soldiers who had been pursuing him appeared in front of him.
Wang Dun pulled his horse to a stop, looked at the mountain on his left, then at the fairly flat field on his right. It stretched endlessly, all covered in knee-high wild grass, and a river flowed not far away. It seemed an easy escape, as long as he reached the riverbank and found a way to cross. But...
Suddenly, Wang Dun no longer had the desire to flee. He sat on his horse, waiting quietly for the people on both sides to approach.
Wang Xuan and Wang Yifeng stepped out, encircling him front and back.
Upon seeing the siblings, Wang Dun couldn’t help but laugh heartily. His laughter echoed through the mountains, causing his followers’ faces to pale as they looked at him helplessly.
Wang Yifeng and Wang Xuan watched him silently, their faces expressionless.
Wang Dun laughed until tears welled up in the corners of his eyes, expelling the frustration and pride from his chest. He slightly relaxed his back and casually sat on his horse, saying to the two, "Who among you will take my life?"
Wang Xuan pursed his lips, glanced at his sister across Wang Dun, and said, "If you surrender, I and Fourth Sister will plead with the Great General for mercy to spare your life."
Wang Dun sneered, "You say spare me, but can Zhao Hanzhang let me go? I’m the first to rebel since she took regency. Yuan Li died at my hands; she won’t let me go even if just to warn others."
Wang Yifeng: "You indeed have aged. Yuan Li isn’t dead. Not only is he alive, but he also defeated your main forces. Did you receive no news at all?"
Wang Dun’s complexion finally changed, "Then what about Shi Ru and Wang Ying..."
Wang Yifeng: "They should have already been escorted into Jiankang City by General Zhao Ju by now, right?"
Wang Dun, seeing her coldness, couldn’t help but feel anger, "Wang Bin is your uncle, Wang Ying is your cousin..."
Wang Bin, courtesy name Shi Ru, was one of the rare Wang clan members who followed Wang Dun in rebellion. Yet no one knew that he didn’t truly wish to rebel. He simply couldn’t accept how Wang Dao was treated by King Langya and how the Wang clan was suppressed. In a moment of hotheadedness, he took his nephews to seek Wang Dun, hoping to push King Langya to compromise.
Who knew King Langya would be so useless? As soon as they caused trouble, he neither worked to vindicate nor appease them, but instead turned to ally with Zhao Hanzhang.
The genuinely rebellious Wang Dun arrested Yuan Li, provoking Zhao Hanzhang’s army.
Wang Bin and Wang Ying detached from the main forces, heading north in silence, intending to flee back to Langya.
They were small in number and had a small team, so they shouldn’t attract much attention. Besides, who would expect them to escape north?
He planned to hide for two years, until the storm had passed, and then use the Wang clan’s influence to seek a pardon.
In the end, they ran into Zhao Ju’s waiting forces, caught even earlier than Wang Dun.
Wang Yifeng had a telegraph, receiving near real-time news. Shortly after Zhao Ju captured them, she received the news.
She kindly shared this with Wang Dun. Seeing his rage and shame, she sarcastically remarked, "Uncle remembers family now, but did you consider kinship when you killed my Second Uncle?"
Wang Dun immediately fell silent.
If he had won, he could’ve defended different ideologies or justified grand causes ignoring minor matters, but now he had lost.
He couldn’t claim moral high ground, and he hadn’t won, so what could he say?
"If you seek vengeance for your Second Uncle, come ahead. Kill or cut, do as you please."
Wang Yifeng snorted coldly, "You are already a turtle in a jar; why would I bother claiming another life?"
With that, she ordered to have Wang Dun taken down.
As the soldiers approached him, Wang Dun suddenly drew his longsword, pointing it at the approaching soldier, and shouted, "Wait! Wang Yifeng, do you intend to parade me in the Capital City to disgrace me?"
Wang Xuan: "Fourth Sister is saving you. She has an affair with the Great General. If we siblings plead with our military merits, we can surely preserve your life."
Wang Dun squinted his eyes, "You don’t wish to kill me for revenge?"
Wang Xuan: "By bringing you back to the Capital City for trial, fairness for Second Uncle will be restored, and this vengeance counted as settled. Why must we kill you? You are our uncle too."
After a pause, Wang Dun spoke, "Rumor outside is half true, half false, isn’t it? I killed him because he stubbornly insisted on going north to join the battle, and because his mouth was too vile."
He looked up at Wang Xuan and Wang Yifeng, speaking deeply, "I spared him once, but he returned after leaving. It was fate, and I couldn’t refrain from taking."
Wang Yifeng tightened her grip on the reins, glaring at him in anger.
Wang Dun suddenly chuckled, "Today, like his fate then, cannot be altered."
"Convey to Mao Hong for me that he should act with toughness in the future, not always conceding. Though he is lenient, others may not appreciate it," he continued, "Also, tell King Langya that I have a clear conscience towards him. He failed me and Mao Hong. Though defeated, it wasn’t to him, but to Zhao Hanzhang."
Wang Dun looked back and forth at the siblings, sighing with comfort, "You two siblings have prospects. The Wang clan shall rely on you in the future."
With that, he brandished his sword and took his own life!
Wang Xuan exclaimed loudly, "Uncle Dun—"
Wang Yifeng’s complexion changed as she watched Wang Dun take his life before her eyes.
His followers also shouted, swiftly dismounted to catch Wang Dun’s falling body, reaching out to cover his neck.
Wang Xuan and Wang Yifeng dismounted and rushed over, kneeling before him to watch his condition. Wang Xuan took his head from his follower’s hands to hold, also reaching out to cover the neck wound.
Wang Dun looked at them for a moment without a word, closed his eyes, and departed.
His followers knelt on the ground crying in grief. Three of them wiped their tears and drew their swords ready to follow Wang Dun, but Wang Yifeng swiftly grabbed one’s hand, kicked another onto the third person, rescuing them.
Wang Yifeng spoke heavily, "If you are truly loyal, then take care of Uncle’s affairs once he’s gone. Only then is great loyalty."
The followers, tear-stained, replied, "We are rebels with no qualification to send off the General. It may even implicate our families; dying now would be clean."
Wang Dun’s suicide was partly to avoid the humiliation of entering the Capital City. More so, it was to detach the Wang clan from the rebellion. By dying, Wang Xuan and Wang Yifeng need not sacrifice military merits to save him, and other Wang clan members would not be dragged down by him.
Debts die with the person. Zhao Hanzhang would still use Wang’s people, preventing the Wang clan from declining.
The followers had similar intentions. They still had close family. If captured, they’d likely be held accountable, implicating their families.
Wang Yifeng said, "You are just followers, not masterminds. The Great General is lenient. At most, you’ll lose your heads, but your families won’t be implicated."
In the end, Zhao Hanzhang didn’t even take their heads. She only held a few ringleaders accountable. The rest were either demoted or discharged entirely, fined, and sent home to farm.
As for followers and lower-ranked officers and soldiers who couldn’t act independently, they weren’t even fined. They were either reorganized into other troops or sent back to their villages to settle and farm.
