Chapter 380 Death of Wang Yun

What is a cold?

Looking at Qiao Yan's steady steps at this moment, apart from the fact that she was wearing a thick windbreaker, no one could tell that she was in any way unwell.

At best, this was just an excuse she used to fool people and get her subordinates to go in with her.

It is not difficult to explain why she would do this.

Qiao Yan was able to arrive in Chang'an, and under Xian Yuyin's persuasion, he did not even return to the Grand Marshal's Mansion to rest first, but went to meet the emperor when he was most tired after the journey, which completely satisfied Liu Yang's needs.

It didn't matter whether she brought those subordinates along because she was on guard against the prophecy given by Yu Fan, or because she had long harbored rebellious intentions and was therefore wary of Emperor Liu Yu.

The result is the same anyway.

There were numerous traps set up in the Chang'an Palace City, and it was impossible for Qiao Yan to escape easily.

It wouldn't hurt if she went a little deeper!

The less noise they can make in killing the Grand Marshal, the easier it will be for them to carry out their subsequent operations.

"You're right," Wang Yun's voice suddenly came from behind him, causing Liu Yang to retract his gaze from Qiao Yan's back and look in the direction of Wang Yun. "Just let her go. Bringing guards into the Chang'an Palace City may seem like there are no explicit regulations, but we can completely use this as an excuse."

If she wants to leave, forget it!

There are at least three deadly sniper attacks on her in this palace. She may be able to dodge one or two of them with her agile skills and the ability to escape danger in years of fighting, but it is impossible for her to deal with all the crises.

"Have someone pass the message immediately. Don't rush to take action. Wait until she enters His Majesty's bedroom."

Wang Yun couldn't help feeling a little troubled by the twenty or thirty tiger warriors following Qiao Yan.

The tricky part is not how to kill them all, but the fact that these close guards will definitely fight to the death to protect Qiao Yan, making it very likely that she will be able to find a chance to hide after avoiding the first round of attacks by relying on the complex terrain of the palace inner courtyard.

Once they break out, as Qiao Yan and Lu Lingju analyzed, the situation will be reversed in an instant when Wang Yun and his men can only control part of the forces in Chang'an City and the Youfufeng defenders west of Chang'an.

They can't take that risk.

You feel a little cold, right? You can't use this excuse again to enter the bedroom!

Now that she was alone, he wanted to see how she would react.

At this time, Liu Yu and Zhang Zhongjing were no longer in the bedroom.

When Wang Yun received the news that Qiao Yan had arrived in Tongguan, he immediately ordered people to move the poor emperor to another palace.

Liu Yu was not a powerless man. A few years ago, he had personally dealt with the Wuhuan people in Youzhou and participated in suppressing rebellions in Youzhou. Relying on the strength he had recovered from the treatment by Zhang Zhongjing in the past few days, he even tried to resist.

Unfortunately, they were outnumbered and failed to resist. They were knocked unconscious.

Therefore, he was unable to see that Qiao Yan, who he had high hopes for but was also the source of his psychological burden, had already gathered his cloak and walked step by step towards the steps of the bedroom.

There was only Qiao Yan.

Since she was meeting the emperor, there was no way she could act like she was surrounded by subordinates.

But so what?

While the system was nagging at her that it could act as another pair of eyes, Qiao Yan had already reached the door of the bedroom and even nodded to the servant who was responsible for opening the door. He was extremely polite.

The remaining smell of medicine in the bedroom rushed directly towards her as the door opened. She did not show any strange expression on her face, and she was full of respect for the emperor.

Even though the attendant standing by the door was Wang Yun's confidant, and was sent here to take Qiao Yan's life, he was inevitably impressed by the magnanimity of the Grand Marshal at this moment.

When he thought that such a person might very likely die in this palace, he felt a little bit of pity.

No! No, his life was saved by Wang Yun, how could he have such a bizarre idea!

Fortunately, before his inner turmoil could be revealed in the slightest, Qiao Yan had already stepped into the hall.

Liu Yu preferred simplicity, and this preference did not change after he became emperor.

The layout of the bedroom is like this, and the number of people accompanying it is also like this.

Compared to Qiao Yan who brought more than 20 people waiting outside the palace, the number of attendants around Liu Yu was relatively small.

In fact, because they were doing their own jobs in the hall so quietly, one would feel that the only sound they could hear here was Liu Yu coughing lightly with his hands covering his lips.

Qiao Yan walked past these people without stopping and headed towards the depths of the bedroom, towards Liu Yu's bed.

When she stopped here, she bowed her head and saluted towards the bed in front of her.

"Qiao Yan greets Your Majesty. I wonder what important matter has Your Majesty summoned me here so urgently?"

The figure covered by half of the curtain shook again due to a cough, and then stretched out a hand, as if trying to support himself and come forward to help Qiao Yan up, to show his respect for this loyal minister.

But the shocking change happened at this moment!

A dagger suddenly appeared in the hand that was about to touch the curtain, and the coughing sound suddenly stopped.

The figure who was originally lying on the hospital bed suddenly rushed towards Qiao Yan as if he was injected with vitality out of thin air.

But before the knife in his hand could hit the target within reach, an arrow had already pierced his throat accurately.

As if it was afraid that he was not dead enough, the second arrow pierced his chest without any pause.

The arrow pierced the heart with such accuracy that it was unbelievable! It’s really too fast!

"You are far from being good enough to disguise yourself as His Majesty!"

The two consecutive mechanical sounds and Qiao Yan's cold shout seemed to have pressed the switch that turned the silence in the hall into a boiling point.

The moment Dian Wei and others outside the door rushed into the hall, all those servants who looked like attendants rushed towards Qiao Yan.

It was difficult for people moving quickly to be hit by the short crossbow in Qiao Yan's hand. What made them still determined to win was that they were sure that even if Qiao Yan fired the crossbow in a repeating manner, she would not be able to hit the others while having to hit one person!

This is the opportunity left for these death warriors.

But in that split second, no one had expected that Qiao Yan would retract the crossbow arrow and at the same time throw the wind cloak on his back outwards.

Taking advantage of the visual obstruction caused by the wind cloak, she pulled out two halves of the gun barrel from under the heavy coat and merged them into one at an unexpected speed. The rotating spear immediately swept away the assassin closest to her.

How could someone enter the palace to meet the emperor with a spear hidden under his cloak?

What’s the difference between this and going to the palace with sword and shoes!

But at this moment, because their assassination plot has been completely exposed and Liu Yu is not here, Qiao Yan's actions can only be said to be self-defense!

A self-defense in this palace!

For Qiao Yan, there is no conflict at all between his kindness to the people and his determination to kill the enemies at this moment.

The strong wind created by the spear intercepted one of the arrows shot at an angle, and even deflected it towards another person.

Even though people knew that such an interception and deflection would certainly reduce the penetrating force of the arrow by an unknown amount and would never cause any significant damage, when people were faced with such an attack from a foreign object, they would always inevitably pause for a moment.

But in just this tiny moment of delay, Qiao Yan's spear had already appeared in front of him, and pierced through his head without leaving any room for maneuver.

This time, what swept towards the rest of the people was not the wind cloak, but the bodies of their companions.

What attacked him was Qiao Yan's spear that shot out like a dragon!

Compared with the two arrows she had shot earlier at the man pretending to be Liu Yu lying on the bed, this strange move made people realize more clearly that Qiao Yan's ability to sit firmly in the position of Grand Marshal who commands the military generals of the world was never due to her means of playing power games and manipulating the hearts of the people, but was due to her real ability.

The guy who followed closely behind and intended to chop her from behind with a knife was met with a tricky and fierce silver light.

It was as if Qiao Yan had another pair of eyes on his back. He swung the spear in his direction, and the moment he grasped the spear with his backhand, he stabbed it into his vitals in an unstoppable manner.

The characteristic that an inch shorter is an inch more dangerous was undoubtedly best demonstrated in front of Qiao Yan's long weapon.

Although this narrow indoor space is not where spears are most effective, and they did suffer such a counterattack, they still had a chance to turn the tables, but they must not forget that Qiao Yan did not come here alone.

It’s just the distance from the bedroom door to the bedside!

Amid the shock caused by Qiao Yan's killing of three people in succession, Dian Wei and the more than 20 warriors who were with him had arrived at Qiao Yan's side.

These elites who served as the personal guards of the Grand Marshal had been trained for several years under Dian Wei. Even if they could not move in a truly unified manner, when it came to tacit understanding, they were no worse than anyone else.

Some of them immediately fought with the assassins in the bedroom, while the others protected Qiao Yan and left.

The moment they came into close combat with these people, these warriors realized that these people did not behave like this because of their strong bodies, but because -

Wearing heavy armor on their bodies!

Even when they jumped out to fight, they pulled up the chain mail masks hidden in their collars, fully demonstrating what a qualified "wind barrier" is!

Qiao Yan didn't need to worry about these subordinates who were fighting against the people in the bedroom on her behalf.

In their internal selection and assessment, these people are the most outstanding. Otherwise, they would not be able to become her close guards. If they can lose to Wang Yun, Liu Yang and others when it is almost a one-on-two fight, then they really have no use!

but……

The moment they broke out of Liu Yu's bedroom could not be regarded as escaping from the trap, but was precisely the beginning of the crisis they faced.

There was no need to be aware of any ambush around him, because at this moment, the sound of horse hooves could be heard in Qiao Yan's ears!

It was the sound of cavalry galloping toward her.

"It's really a luxury to use cavalry to deal with people like us who walk on two feet."

Before Qiao Yan finished speaking, the cavalrymen who had received the signal and were heading towards them appeared in front of them.

The leader is an acquaintance!

If not Liu Bei and Guan Yu, then who else could it be?

Although he had already known about Liu Bei's choice from the signs of the meeting of the Three Dukes held by Wang Yun in Situ Mansion, when he really saw that the historical Emperor Zhaolie of Han made such an unwise choice, Qiao Yan couldn't help but feel a little sad.

But this sigh is just a fleeting emotion.

It is not surprising that Liu Bei, who has Han ancestry, would make the choice to "eliminate the enemy"!

Since everyone has their own stance, there will definitely be a winner and a loser in the battle!

In the confrontation between cavalry and infantry, when they had an absolute advantage in numbers, Liu Bei and his men did not even consider using bows and crossbows to test the defensive capabilities of the enemy's armor. Instead, they rushed towards the direction of Qiao Yan without stopping in a cavalry charge.

The strong wind brought by the cavalry's sabers had clearly not yet reached Qiao Yan, but it seemed to have already brought a bone-chilling chill.

But facing such a crisis, Qiao Yan just saw the hesitation on Liu Bei's face and gave Dian Wei an order without changing his expression, "Throw it!"

This hasty and brief command might easily cause misunderstanding to others, but for Dian Wei, who had followed Qiao Yan for nearly twelve years, it was definitely not an order that would cause any ambiguity.

The hand halberd he used was forged again after he was awarded the title of General Yamen, making it sharper and more suitable for Dian Wei's manipulation habits.

The swing was just like what Qiao Yan did to Zhu Rong, one of the four surnames of Wu County, in Yangzhou.

And lost——

Before the sound of Qiao Yan's order seemed to have dissipated from the air, Dian Wei had already rushed forward, as if he didn't care at all about the cavalry that were about to arrive, and rushed to the front of the team.

At the moment he stepped out of the crowd, one of the two hand halberds was suddenly swung into the air by Dian Wei, drawing a rapidly moving arc in the air.

Even if the route is a straight line, this halberd cannot be intercepted by anyone on the opposite side.

It’s just because the path the halberd traveled was too low!

He swung his halberd so low that he cut off both legs of the horse Liu Bei was riding, slowing down its running speed and causing it to fall to the ground.

Dian Wei's amazing arm strength and accuracy acquired through years of practice made his weapon extremely useful at this moment.

But this is not the end.

The damage caused by the hand halberd to the horse's legs caused the horse to miss its step and fall forward. Seeing that Liu Bei was about to fall forward, Guan Yu hurriedly caught him.

But the impact of this heavy blow that knocked people and horses to the ground was far more than that!

If Liu Bei did not know that these troops did not belong to him but were temporarily assembled cavalry, he would not have to charge in front of everyone like he did now, setting an example of leading by example. Or he might have hoped to intimidate Qiao Yan enough with his not-too-bad performance in battle.

When he fell, the cavalrymen behind him were unable to rein in their horses and immediately became chaotic.

It was at this moment that Qiao Yan took out the crossbow in his hand again and fired a burst of arrows towards the height where the cavalry was.

There were only ten crossbows in stock, which made every arrow in them particularly important. This was why she had abandoned the spear when she could have used it in the previous hall.

Who makes this thing play a greater role at this moment!

Qiao Yan didn't know that such a situation of cavalry versus infantry would occur, but she knew better than anyone that her ability to respond on the spot would not be reduced just because she was facing an environment she had never seen before. It would only allow her to make the right choice at the most critical moment.

Just like now!

She was the only one who could carry special weapons in her cloak, but the eight short arrows fired in such a short time were as if eight people were shooting at the same time at a close distance, and they were all aimed at the hands holding the sabers!

"Seize the horse!"

At Qiao Yan's command, the followers around her, including some who had safely retreated from the bedroom, immediately rushed towards the team that had not been able to tame the horses at the moment.

The rustling sound of their heavy armor as they ran seemed no quieter than the whirring sound of the horses opposite them. Also, the murderous intent and determination revealed in everyone's eyes made the opposing team, who were not well-trained, fall into an unspeakable fear in an instant.

When Guan Yu tried to stop him, it was too late.

Before the long sword in his hand could reach one of the heavily armored soldiers, a long spear flew out from the air and blocked him.

It was not a move that was broken from bottom to top, but it came rushing in with an almost horizontal strike!

She is already sitting on the horse!

Just now, Guan Yu went to rescue Liu Bei to prevent him from falling, so he missed the whole process of Qiao Yan grabbing the horse and mounting it. However, this did not affect his feeling that this set of actions must have been practiced countless times and was indeed too fast.

For several years, as the Grand Marshal, the number one person under the emperor, it seems that Qiao Yan has not relaxed at all in honing her own strength. Instead, it makes her demand more stringent attitude towards herself, and she must always remember the principle of being prepared for danger in times of peace.

This attitude will never let her down.

In this critical moment, she got on the horse first and stood in front of Guan Yu with her spear. The subsequent swing of the silver spear created a torrential rain that left no room for breath.

As long as she could stop Guan Yu, her operation would be half successful.

The width of the road in front of the palace originally limited the number of cavalry that could appear in a line.

In the sword-and-gun clash that blocked the enemy's attack, Qiao Yan's subordinates also seized the horses one after another.

These horses can be presented to the emperor as the supporting mounts of the Jinwu Guards, so they cannot be considered ordinary items. Although it is still a bit difficult to use them to carry these heavily armored cavalry, it is not impossible!

Changing the ownership of the domesticated war horses was not a difficult task for the elite soldiers who were accustomed to dealing with the fierce horses from Bingzhou, Liangzhou, and even the famous horses from Dayuan!

They even snatched the sabers from each other's hands while fighting for the horses.

At this moment, it was only a few breaths of time before Qiao Yan and Guan Yu's cavalry fought.

What caught people off guard was that although Qiao Yan had such an advantage from the reversal, he did not show any intention of fighting. After blocking Guan Yu's attack with one move, he led his subordinates towards the palace without hesitation.

This was not just because she did not want to give the other side a chance to mobilize troops to encircle them after she had successively broken through Liu Yang and his men's two interceptions.

Or is it because——

She had heard another voice.

There was a noise coming from the palace!

For Wang Yun, if he could kill her in the palace, he would spare no effort to achieve this result, so the sound from that direction could not be a stupid act made by Wang Yun to attract other people's attention.

The only possibility is that reinforcements arrived here under Qiao Yan's command.

Judging from the shaking of the ground, there must be quite a few people coming.

Before coming to Chang'an, Zhao Yun had already had a discussion with her about the future of the world. Considering Zhao Yun's prudent behavior and his military training in Guanzhong in the previous few years, there should be no problem for him to move the garrison in Huayin to Chang'an.

As for Lu Lingju, who was sent by her to dispatch soldiers from the Grand Marshal's Mansion to rescue Xianyu Fu, all his attention was now pinned on the hope of making meritorious contributions to Qiao Yan, and there would be no delay in the action.

Can't slow down!

Who knows what the consequences would be if she acted slowly at such a critical moment.

So before Wang Yun and Liu Yang could wait for the result inside the palace walls, they had already seen a scene that horrified them.

The army led by Zhao Yun seemed to not care at all that the place they were heading to was the most important palace in Chang'an City. They attacked with a mighty momentum. In another direction, Xianyu Fu, who was obviously imprisoned by Xianyu Yin, actually attacked with a young female general and a group of cavalry.

With the appearance of Xianyu Fu, those members of the Jinwu Guard who had previously obeyed Xianyu Yin's orders were suddenly thrown into confusion and chaos.

Whose orders should they obey now?

But the greater probability is that it is not their current superior.

When they looked in the direction of Xianyu Fu and Lu Lingju, they saw an important person behind them.

It was Huangfu Song who was serving as the Grand Marshal.

Huayin soldiers poured into Chang'an City, and a small-scale conflict broke out in the Weiwei Mansion. Either of these two events was enough to attract his attention.

This is really too big a commotion.

But he never expected that, compared with these two things, what was even more incredible was that Wang Yun, as one of the Three Dukes, actually had the courage to take control of the defense of the palace city into his own hands, and then trapped both the emperor and Qiao Yan in it.

Lü Lingju and Zhao Yun's troops joined together and rushed into the palace city at Xianyu Fu's command to "open the city" to support Qiao Yan who was still inside. However, Huangfu Song did not move under the city gate, but asked loudly: "Master Wang Zi, do you know what you are doing!"

It's absolutely ridiculous!

How dare he do this!

This is the emperor’s residence.

But with Wang Yun's unscrupulous behavior, it seemed like it had become a place where anyone could interfere at will.

But if Wang Yun would be frightened by Huangfu Song's questioning tone, then he would probably not be Wang Yun anymore.

"What am I doing?" Wang Yun repeated.

He was now thrown into disarray by the sudden appearance of the team. Huangfu Song's question made him realize clearly that his hope of getting rid of the bandits silently had become a pipe dream.

But by this point, Liu Yang had been so frightened that his hands and feet became limp, and Wang Yun had no intention of giving up his plan.

He suddenly raised his voice again and replied sternly: "I'm doing what I think I should do!"

This sentence appeared in Liu Yang's response to Liu Yu, and now it appeared in Wang Yun's answer to Huangfu Song.

Huangfu Song couldn't help but frown at seeing such disregard for laws and rules and doing things based on personal likes and dislikes.

On Wang Yun's blurry face, he did not see any guilt that the other party had realized that his words and actions were inappropriate. Instead, he only saw a kind of frenzy that his great cause had been interrupted by others.

He even avoided Huangfu Song's sight in an almost indifferent manner and looked inside the palace wall.

Just then he saw Qiao Yan, who had seized the horse and rushed out, and Lu Lingju, who had rushed into the palace, meeting each other. They turned around and ran towards the city gate.

It seemed that once she was allowed to pass through that city gate, she would be able to completely get rid of the predicament and escape from this encirclement.

Wang Yun had no time to think about it. After their conspiracy was discovered by Huangfu Song and they were rescued from confinement by Xianyu Fu, and when Liu Yu was released, he was wondering what kind of punishment he would face.

He didn't even have time to think about why Liu Bei and Guan Yu, who he entrusted with important tasks, seemed to be unable to do anything effective to stop Qiao Yan, but instead allowed her to kill her so easily, and looked so high-spirited as if someone had given her a mount!

The blood-stained spear held tightly in Qiao Yan's hand was more like a burning color, which burned Wang Yun's eyes.

No! It’s not over yet!

As long as she can be eliminated, there is still a chance to end it later!

He snatched the fire lighter from Liu Yang's hand, blew it up, and then pressed it on the fuse extending above the city wall.

The gunpowder improved by Zuo Ci was buried on the city gate by Wang Yun and others after they took over the palace. Because the performance of the gunpowder was not stable enough, he finally decided to use it as his last killer weapon.

And at this moment, when the gunpowder was ignited, it was not only the final killer, but also a life-saving straw for Wang Yun.

The sound of the fuse being lit seemed so faint compared to the sound of horse hooves, but Wang Yun knew clearly that once this thing was detonated, the noise it would make would be no less than the collapse of the sky and the cracking of the earth.

At this moment, he could no longer hear what Huangfu Song was shouting at him under the city wall.

He also couldn't see if anyone was climbing up the city wall, trying to pull this madman down.

What he could see and hear was that at the moment when Qiao Yan and others passed through the city gate, the fuse of the gunpowder finally burned to the end, and suddenly erupted into a burst of expanding blood-red fire.

At the moment the flames exploded, voices outside the city gate expressed unanimous concern for Qiao Yan's safety.

These concerns converged into one, forming a unified shout.

"Da Sima!"

Almost in an instant, the firelight filled the city gate archway, causing those who thought they would be able to see Qiao Yan rushing out immediately to suddenly fall into a state of tension where their breathing held.

But before their hearts were filled with panic, they saw two mounts, one in front and one behind, rushing out from the city gate where the flames were still lingering. Who else could it be but Qiao Yan and Lu Lingju!

What about the explosion?

Wang Yun rubbed his ears blankly, trying to make sure it was not because the noise was too loud that made him deaf, but because there was indeed no sound of explosion, just like a dull gourd with only sparks.

Even the sparkle might have been cut corners.

From the corner of Wang Yun's eye, he could see clearly that neither Qiao Yan nor Lu Lingju were injured at all.

That is what should be called a lively state.

What particularly proves this point is that the moment Qiao Yan rushed out of the city gate, there was no pause in his hand movements.

She threw the spear in her hand away, and at the same time the spear stabbed into the ground, she had taken the bow and arrow from Lu Lingju.

She twisted her body, drew her bow, and put an arrow on it.

Pointed in the direction where Wang Yun was.

Almost at the same time, Liu Bei and Guan Yu, who were chasing Qiao Yan's team, finally arrived at the gate of the palace city.

But they were obviously a step too late.

The arrow shot decisively by Qiao Yan broke through the air and pierced Wang Yun's forehead violently.

Faced with this powerful impact, Situ, who had already moved to the edge of the city wall due to the explosion under the city gate, was pushed back another step.

Then he fell backwards from the top of the city wall.

Fell to the ground.