Thirty years ago, at the end of the Dayong Dynasty, the imperial city and its surroundings were already in a state of utter decay.
At that time, the Dayong royal family indulged in extravagance and pleasure, reveling every night and living a life of debauchery.
The government was controlled by powerful clans, who levied exorbitant taxes and levies that caused families to be ruined and people to die.
In the countryside, people resorted to cannibalism, and corpses of the starved littered the fields, while scions of noble families still spoke of "benevolence, righteousness, and morality" in the imperial palace.
Just as the iron cavalry of the north was pressing in and Lu Qingcang, the founding emperor of the Great Gan Dynasty, was leading his army south, the powerful clans, led by the Wang clan of Langya, the Cui clan of Qinghe, and the Li clan of Longxi, secretly sent trusted envoys to meet with Lu Qingcang and propose a deal.
They proposed providing them with military supplies and provisions to ensure that the officers and soldiers had no worries about their rear.
When they capture the capital, they will open the nine gates of the imperial city and let the army march straight in.
Gan Jun promised to preserve the power and status of the aristocratic families and allow their descendants to continue to serve as officials in the court.
In the winter of the thirteenth year of Yonghe, heavy snow fell.
With the army approaching the city, the private armies of powerful families quietly began their operations.
The powerful families falsely claimed to have issued an imperial edict, transferred the imperial guards, and then opened the city gates.
The private armies of powerful families ambushed and killed members of the Dayong royal family throughout the city, sparing not even infants in swaddling clothes.
That night, flames soared into the sky above the imperial city, and shouts of battle shook the heavens.
Emperor Dayong was shot to death on his dragon throne by a hail of arrows, his crown rolling off into a pool of blood.
This dynasty, which lasted for 237 years, finally came to an end in the most tragic way.
After the bloodbath, the scions of noble families personally took up knives and counted the royal corpses one by one to ensure that none were missed.
The Dayong royal family was wiped out, but the aristocratic families transformed themselves into the meritorious officials of the founding of the Great Gan Dynasty, continuing to enjoy wealth and honor.
—Only Cheng Boyan, the Junior Tutor to the Crown Prince.
The Cheng family has been loyal and virtuous for generations. Cheng Boyan's father once served as the General Who Guards the North and was a well-known loyal and capable general in Dayong.
Cheng Boyan could have escaped alone, but he insisted on breaking into the Eastern Palace to protect his master to the death.
Seeing him covered in blood, the Crown Prince smiled bitterly and said, "I know your loyalty to your master, but the aristocratic families have betrayed you, severing the bloodline of our royal family. Minister Cheng, the situation is hopeless. You should flee for your life..."
Cheng Boyan knelt and kowtowed: "Your subject has received the Emperor's favor; how can I live on alone?"
This move truly touched the heart of the Crown Prince of Dayong.
The crown prince sighed deeply, then suddenly lowered his voice: "I have a favor to ask of you."
It turns out that a few months ago, the Crown Prince had slept with a palace maid, resulting in her becoming pregnant.
Because the palace maid was of humble origin, the crown prince delayed making the matter public. Little did he know that the royal family was about to be wiped out, and this unborn child would become the last bloodline.
At this moment, all the people he trusted had long since scattered like birds and beasts, and only Cheng Boyan was someone he could entrust with his life.
"She's in the secret passage beneath the dry well in the Cold Palace..." The Crown Prince placed a jade pendant adorned with a coiled dragon into Cheng Boyan's hand. "If this child survives, tell him—"
Before the words were even finished, the palace doors were smashed open.
With tears in his eyes, Cheng Boyan kowtowed and, taking advantage of the chaos, sneaked into the Cold Palace and found the trembling palace maid.
She was nearing delivery, but due to days of fright, she was on the verge of death.
Cheng Boyan risked his life to rescue the man, and from then on lived in hiding for several years, vowing to avenge his master one day.
——-
Twenty years later, a young man named Zhou Zhao knelt before Cheng Boyan's sickbed, listening to him recount the tragedy of that night.
The old man trembled as he took out the blood-stained "Genealogy of the Dayong Royal Family" and added the boy's name to the last page.
"Remember, your enemies are not only traitors who betray the dynasty, but also those aristocratic families who sell out their masters for personal gain!"
The young man gripped the dragon-patterned jade pendant tightly, his eyes burning with boundless hatred.
From then on, a mysterious organization quietly rose up, vowing to make the traitors pay for their crimes and to let Gan Chao taste the bitterness of being betrayed and exterminated!
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