rebellion
Every time she heard a word, Shen Qianyue's heart felt like it was being pricked by a needle, with a fine and clear pain emerging.
As soon as the three-day mourning period was over, she did not stop for a moment, not even to say goodbye to her father, but left the Prime Minister's Mansion and headed straight for the secret stake base.
There are only two days left until the ancestor worship date.
Shen Qianyue must race against time to complete the final confirmation and deployment.
The secret room here is the designated command post.
The table was covered with maps, secret letters, and detailed structural diagrams of the passage. She and Xie Zhiyun's confidants, staff, and confidants checked every link one by one.
The staff was a recent recruit and was very impressed by the military advisor who came up with this plan. Seeing that it was a woman who came in, he couldn't help but whisper to the others, "Who is this...?"
The confidant beside him glanced at him and replied, "This is Military Advisor Shen, the one who drafted the plan."
The staff looked surprised, but seeing that everyone around them looked normal and very respectful, they couldn't help but suppress their doubts in their hearts.
A trusted aide stepped forward, clasped his fists, and reported, "Military Advisor, the secret passage beneath the Yongxingfang official kiln has been cleared overnight. It's been paved with hay and planks to ensure a quiet and swift passage."
Another person chimed in, "The mechanism at the entrance to the rockery at the former residence of the Marquis of Zhenbei has been repeatedly inspected. It's ingenious, but extremely difficult to detect from the outside. It requires internal energy to activate specific stalagmites to open."
Shen Qianyue's eyes were calm as she slowly scanned the entire area before speaking, "Reconfirm the positions of all teams' personnel. They must disperse and conceal themselves. After the signal is given, all personnel must be in position within half an incense stick."
"They have all been rehearsed repeatedly, with absolutely no omissions." A confidant replied calmly.
Shen Qianyue nodded slightly, her mind working at high speed, not missing any possible omissions. When confirming the hiding place of the last batch of weapons, her words suddenly paused, and she subconsciously reached out and gently pressed her lower abdomen.
It's fetal movement.
This child came at a really bad time... But in the end, she overturned her previous idea and decided to keep the child.
This is the unbreakable connection between her and Xie Shangjia.
Xie Shangjia is looking forward to the arrival of this child, and he will definitely be very happy when the child is born.
She wanted him to see the birth of the child, to see his flustered and ecstatic look, and to see how he clumsily but extremely gently embraced their little life.
Shen Qianyue closed her eyes, suppressing the surging emotions in her heart. Her eyes became sharp as a knife again, and her voice returned to calm.
"Alright, let's execute the plan. One last check of all equipment and signals. Tomorrow night at midnight, we must act according to the plan. There must be no mistakes."
After leaving the secret room, she stepped into a bedroom used for rest and closed the door behind her.
Fatigue washed over her like a tide. She leaned back in her chair, one hand protecting her belly and the other hand against her forehead, murmuring softly.
"It's almost over... Wait till this is all over..."
The night is getting darker outside the window, and the wind is blowing in the building as a storm is about to come.
…
On the surface, the capital city still maintains its former prosperity and order, with bustling streets and night watchmen patrolling at night. Everything seems to be the same as usual.
However, beneath this calm appearance, an undercurrent that could subvert everything has already gathered and formed.
During these days, Xie Zhiyun's three thousand elite soldiers took off their armor and changed into the clothes of ordinary people or coolies. They had already sneaked into the capital quietly on the carts that transported garbage and filth every day, the firewood trains that delivered food to major restaurants, and the vegetable delivery trucks that delivered food to various mansions in the early morning...
They were scattered and hidden in various hidden stakes, abandoned houses, and even underground spaces that had been arranged long ago, like drops of water flowing into the sea, waiting for a signal.
The time has finally come.
The moon is dark and the wind is strong.
Just after midnight, without any warning, several beams of fire suddenly shot up into the sky in various parts of the originally quiet capital.
At first there were only a few scattered fires, but soon the fire spread like a plague.
The second-hand market in the east of the city, the hayfield in the west of the city, a group of shacks adjacent to the slums in the south of the city... Fires broke out in many places at the same time. The fire, carried by the wind, instantly turned half of the night sky red, thick smoke billowed, and a pungent smell filled the air.
"The fire is coming! The fire is coming!"
"Put out the fire!"
The chaotic shouts, cries, and messy footsteps instantly broke the tranquility of the night.
This chaos is not without order.
A careful observation revealed that the fires were not at vital points, but they attracted most of the firepower and attention of the Capital Patrol Battalion and the Five Cities Military Command.
The firefighting teams were intentionally or unintentionally led to these peripheral areas, and several main roads leading to the imperial city were temporarily closed in the chaos.
At the same time, more dark shadows emerged from various hiding places like ghosts. They had a clear goal and no longer concealed their whereabouts. Like several black arrows, they ignored the chaos and cries around them and rushed straight towards the imperial city!
The cold light of the unsheathed sword was particularly dazzling under the firelight.
The clarion call for action has been sounded.
In the central secret room where Shen Qianyue was sitting, she was concentrating on watching the intricate situation unfold on the sand table.
Suddenly, there was a burst of hurried footsteps outside the door, and the confidant pushed the door open and walked in, his face pale. He said in a hurry.
"Military Advisor! The underground palace passageway that the prince led three hundred elite soldiers into has experienced a massive collapse!"
Shen Qianyue suddenly raised her head, and for the first time, a crack appeared on her usually calm face: "The underground palace collapsed?! Is the news true?"
"Absolutely true! Urgent report just arrived: the entrance has been completely blocked. Our people are trying to dig, but the landslide is too extensive to be opened in a short period of time!"
The secret passage from the previous dynasty that could lead directly to Huanglong actually ran into problems at this time!
Xie Zhiyun and the three hundred most elite main forces he personally led were trapped inside, or rather... buried inside...
The shouts and cries of killing from the direction of the palace can be faintly heard. The other feint attacks and supporting troops have been launched according to the plan. The arrow has been released and there is no turning back!
But the most important sharp knife may be broken in the scabbard!
Shen Qianyue's fingers instantly turned cold. She clenched her fists tightly, digging her nails deep into her palms, using the pain to force herself to calm down as quickly as possible.
"Immediately try all backup methods to contact the prince's team! Confirm the specific situation!"
"Inform all other forces: Increase attack intensity to maximum! Create chaos at all costs to attract the attention of the palace defenders!"
"Notify the reserve troops lurking near Ganwu Gate to move closer to the underground palace exit and attempt to dig for support. However, they must remain concealed and not reveal their intentions!"
She spoke very quickly, issuing a series of commands, trying to keep her voice steady, but her slightly trembling fingertips revealed the turmoil in her heart.
Everyone's heart was in their throat.
If they succeed, they may reach the top in one step. If they fail, they will be doomed and their bodies will be gone.
And at this moment, the biggest variable has already occurred.
Can they open up the collapsed passage before the palace guards react, or... find a second way...
Shen Qianyue arranged everything without any hesitation. Her voice was as cold as ice. She grabbed the underground palace structure diagram that she had already memorized by heart, turned around and rushed out.
"Prepare the horses! Go outside Ganwu Gate!"
When they rode at full speed to the agreed hidden rendezvous point outside Ganwu Gate, they saw several of Xie Zhiyun's close confidants leading people desperately digging a collapsed deep pit that was still leaking rubble.
The flying dust was mixed with suppressed gasps and sobs.
"military adviser!"
A general, his face covered in smoke and dust, looked up and saw her, and shouted hoarsely, "Your Majesty! Your Majesty is still down there!"
Shen Qianyue jumped off the horse and rushed to the edge of the pit to take a look.
The scale of the collapse was extremely large, with a mixture of soil, bricks and stones, which blocked the entrance tightly. It was impossible to dig it through in a short period of time by manpower, and the risk of secondary collapse was extremely high.
Her heart sank to the bottom. She unfolded the map in her hand and quickly drew a few intricate lines with her fingers.
The passages in the previous dynasty's underground palace were like a maze, extending in all directions. There was definitely more than one exit, and it was impossible for them all to collapse at once, burying the three hundred elite soldiers alive. Not even the person who reported the news could escape!
There must be a way to survive, or... at least we can find the people who are blocked in a certain section!
“Stop digging!”
Everyone's eyes were focused on her.
Shen Qianyue pointed to another marked point on the map, an abandoned dry well about half a mile away from here.
"Go down from here. This is the entrance to another branch line. Although it's a longer detour, it may lead to the blocked rear section of the main passage. The prince and his men might just be blocked at the other end! Come with me! Bring explosives!"
"Explosives?!" A confidant who looked like the deputy general suddenly looked up, his face drained of blood.
"Military Advisor! No! The underground palace is already unstable, and using explosives will easily cause a larger-scale collapse! That would only make matters worse!"
Shen Qianyue looked at him suddenly, her eyes like sharp blades, and her voice was a little sharp because of her urgency.
"Are you betting on the one-in-a-million chance that the prince might be trapped inside awaiting rescue, or are you afraid of a so-called secondary collapse? The commander's life or death is uncertain, the plan has already been launched, what escape route do we have?!"
The adjutant was intimidated by her aura, but still insisted, "I'm not afraid of death, but I can't gamble with the lives of the brothers who might still be alive. What if they're not crushed to death, but are killed by our explosives..."
"Okay! Okay!" Shen Qianyue suddenly laughed, with an extreme coldness and sarcasm in her smile, interrupting him.
"Your loyalty and bravery are truly commendable! Then continue digging slowly, inch by inch, with your hands! Pray that you can dig the prince out before the imperial army arrives and chops you into minced meat!"
Shen Qianyue stopped looking at them, turned around abruptly, and raised the token at her waist.
"Seeing this token is like seeing the prince. Now everyone, grab your weapons and follow me. We're going in from the other side and blowing it up from the inside. Explode with precision and blow up any possible blockages!"
These words were like a tempered steel knife, cutting through the desperate night.
Shen Qianyue took one last look at the stiff adjutant. There was no emotion in her eyes, only a cold, gambler-like madness.
She took the lead and rushed towards the dark, abandoned well, throwing herself into it resolutely, as if into the mouth of a giant beast.
Rather than waiting to die, it is better to burn everything down and fight for that elusive glimmer of hope!
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