Great Yan Dynasty, 960 AD, September 1st, National Day.

It's sunny.

This is the 96th grand celebration held by the Great Yan Dynasty since its founding.

As the sun rises, the streets become more and more crowded.

No one knew what happened at the Sheriff's Office at noon last night.

Because at this time, all the officials of the Public Security Bureau were under the strict control of the city defense forces, and they were very cautious in every note they sent out.

The order conveyed by the Public Security Bureau is that the security team must cooperate unconditionally and fully assist the city defense forces in patrolling and "protecting" the order in the city.

At this point, the Public Security Bureau has become a puppet!

Qin's General's Mansion.

In the hall, a middle-aged man with a burly figure and a resolute face sat in the main seat.

"You said that a large number of city defense troops appeared on the streets?"

The middle-aged man had a loud and powerful voice, and his words and actions revealed an oppressive and iron-blooded power.

This person is none other than Qin Xiong, an important general of the Great Yan Dynasty!

His pair of bright eyes were fixed on the four men dressed as lieutenant generals standing beside him.

Qin Yu also had a solemn expression on his face at this moment, standing at the back and listening quietly.

"General, not only that, several city gates were also closed by the city defense troops this morning, prohibiting anyone from entering or leaving."

The bearded lieutenant standing at the head said calmly.

"It seems that my guess was correct. The city defense forces are using their power to completely blockade the imperial capital."

Qin Xiong frowned slightly and said in a deep voice: "In this way, our 100,000 border guards stationed outside will not be able to enter the city to provide support in the first time even if there is any sudden incident in the city!"

"General, with the current momentum, it's obvious that those bastards in the city defense army are bad. How about I send a signal and have my brothers march to the gates of the city and be ready at any time?"

The bearded lieutenant suggested fiercely.

Qin Xiong stretched out his hand and said calmly: "Don't worry. If we bring the enemy to the city now, we will most likely fall into a trap and even be accused of mutiny and rebellion."

"If that happens, wouldn't it give the city defense forces, who have been eyeing the city covetously, a reason to launch a mutiny openly?"

Hearing this, the four deputy generals looked slightly stern, and then they all said respectfully: "General, you are wise!"

"According to past practice, if the city defense forces want to intervene in the maintenance of public order in the city, they need not only a military order, but also a handwritten order from the emperor before they can fully execute it."

Qin Xiong's eyes were sharp as torches, and he asked in a deep voice, "Did you receive any news from Ma Yu of the Public Security Bureau?"

The bearded deputy general shook his head and said, "No, the men we sent were intercepted halfway."

Hearing this, a hint of coldness flashed across Qin Xiong's eyes.

The development of the situation was approaching step by step just as he had guessed before.

But even so, Qin Xiong couldn't stop it.

This situation was not due to his incompetence, but the person behind the other camp was the son of King Yan.

If the eldest prince had not openly rebelled, threatened King Yan, and endangered the foundation of the entire dynasty.

Even General Qin Xiong could not openly confront the eldest prince.

Otherwise, it would be an insubordination.

So, Qin Xiong had to wait.

This was also the strategy that the eldest prince Yan Peng had anticipated.

He knew very well that as long as there was no real mutiny, Qin Xiong would not be able to do anything to him.

By then, once they take action, the eldest prince's camp will be in full control of the situation.

"Dad, are we going to proceed as planned?"

Qin Yu stood up and asked solemnly.

At this moment, he was no longer as careless as before, and his serious and calm expression had a bit of the style of a general.

"Well, your majesty is secretly protected by the Mingge organization, so nothing should happen."

Qin Xiong said calmly: "Then... let's go."

After the voice fell, everyone walked out of the hall.

The three hundred elite soldiers who had been waiting in the courtyard immediately followed him towards the gate of the Qin Mansion.

These people are all elites carefully selected from the border defense troops.

Everyone's eyes were shining with brilliance and filled with murderous aura!

…

The central square is backed by the east wall of the imperial palace.

This is the largest square in the imperial capital and even in the entire Great Yan Dynasty, bar none.

The vast area is enough to accommodate tens of thousands of visitors.

The streets on both sides are wide and narrow, and the floors are all paved with granite, which is flat and solid and can be used for military parades involving tens of thousands of soldiers.

On every celebration day, the central square becomes the place for holding events and is extremely lively.

The east wall of the palace was built as a huge platform.

Only high-ranking officials in the court, as well as princes and nobles are qualified to enter and witness King Yan personally arriving to preside over the celebration ceremony.

At this time, the square was already crowded with people, and many city officials were rushing in and forming long queues on the streets on both sides.

Such terrifying popularity, the voices are overwhelming!

At this time, many nobles, celebrities, and court officials gathered on the high platform of the imperial city.

However, when these people saw the city defense troops appearing on the streets when they went out early in the morning, they more or less knew some of the secrets.

They were now standing on the platform, most of them with worried looks in their eyes, completely different from the ordinary people in the square below who were immersed in the joyful atmosphere.

At this time, Qin Xiong strode onto the platform with his head held high, led by the palace maids.

Having served as a general for many years, he had a majestic aura, which made the guards and maids under him lower their heads slightly, not daring to look him in the eye.

As for Qin Yu and the four deputy generals, they disappeared without a trace after entering the palace and carried out their operations secretly according to the plan.

"General Qin is here."

When they saw Qin Xiong arrive, the eyes of the court officials and celebrities and nobles suddenly lit up.

For a moment, they all gathered around and said some flattering words.

"Everyone, today is the day of celebration for our Great Yan Dynasty. Previous celebrations have gone smoothly, and today will be no exception."

Qin Xiong waved his hand and said in a deep voice.

There was no doubt that everyone understood the meaning of his words, and they felt reassured at that moment.

Throughout the dynasties, the Qin General's Mansion has not only achieved great successes, but most importantly, it has loyal ministers and capable generals.

As long as he is there, and with the 100,000 border garrison troops stationed outside the imperial capital, it seems that no matter how big the problem is, it can be settled.

"Brother Qin, long time no see, you are still as mighty as you were back then."

At this moment, a hearty laugh rang out.

But he turned out to be a middle-aged man in black brocade clothes, with long black hair, revealing a bit of unruly.

And behind him, Gu Yunle followed closely like a good boy.

Obviously, this middle-aged man in black robe was his father, Gulie.

As Gu Lie walked over, the high-ranking officials and nobles who had originally gathered around Qin Xiong felt a chill in their hearts, and then dispersed with awe-inspiring looks on their faces.

As everyone knows, the Gu family is the most powerful ancient martial arts family in the Great Yan Dynasty.

Its sphere of influence is located in the northern border of the dynasty, which is vast and like a country within a country.

Although the Gu family's territory was shown on the map as being under the jurisdiction of the Great Yan Dynasty, it had completely lost control over three hundred years ago.

As descendants of the Gu family, each generation is outstanding. More than three hundred years ago, a member of the family even transcended the ninth realm and reached the terrifying level of the holy realm.

With those powerful Gu family members guarding the territory, the successive kings of the Great Yan Dynasty, even though they were ambitious, never mobilized the army to truly control the Gu family's territory.

"Brother Gu, I didn't expect you to actually come to attend the celebration. Why didn't you tell me in advance?"

Seeing Gu Lie coming, a smile immediately appeared on Qin Xiong's resolute face.

Then he strode forward and embraced Gulie's hands.

The relationship between the two seems to be very deep.

"I know you've been busy with military duties lately. Even if I informed you in advance, you wouldn't have the time to entertain me."

Gu Lie smiled meaningfully and said, "When you are done with your work today, we will get drunk together."

"good."

Qin Xiong patted Gu Lie on the shoulder, knowing that the latter was also a sensible man.

However, the Gu family has always adhered to an ancestral precept, which is not to interfere in the power struggles of the royal family.

As long as the person who claims the throne is from the Yan family, no matter who it is, they will acquiesce and maintain a neutral situation.

"Uncle Qin, isn't the second one here?"

Gu Yunle looked around and saw that there was no sign of Qin Yu, so he couldn't help but ask.

"Second brother?"

Qin Xiong was slightly surprised and looked at Gu Yunle with strange eyes.

Apparently, he was not aware of the fact that the four of them had sworn brotherhood, nor did he know that the second one was Qin Yu.

Gu Yunle then realized that this was his habitual way of addressing Qin Yu.

"Yun Le, who is the second one you are talking about?"

Gu Lie glanced at Gu Yunle and asked in confusion.

"It's like this..."

Gu Yunle chuckled, and then told them about his secret brotherhood with Lin Hao, Lei Meng and Qin Yu.

After hearing this, Qin Xiong and Gu Lie couldn't help but look at each other.

Soon, both of them laughed.

It seems that there is no aversion to the sworn brotherhood among the younger generation.

"It turns out that your boss is Lin Hao, the martial arts genius who has become famous in Tianyan Academy in recent years."

Gu Lie laughed and looked straight at Gu Yuner.

That gratified look was as if he felt for the first time that his son had finally done something right.

Qin Xiong also praised: "I have heard some rumors about Lin Hao's deeds when I was at the border. He is indeed a rare talent."

"Unfortunately, he likes freedom and doesn't want to be restricted."

At this point, Qin Xiong sighed, "Even for this celebration, he refused the Fourth Prince's invitation and did not come to participate."

"Brother Qin, you are wrong."

Next to him, Gu Lie smiled and shook his finger, saying meaningfully: "I think Lin Hao's choice is a smart move, so as to avoid getting involved in this muddy water and getting himself into trouble."

Hearing this, Qin Xiong smiled but said nothing, but he knew what the so-called muddy water was.

Just like Gu Lie, although he came to participate in the celebration this time, if a coup really happened, if it did not affect the interests of the Gu family, he would probably choose to sit back and watch like a spectator.

However, just when they were talking about Lin Hao.

Little did they know that at this time Lin Hao and many members of the Ming Pavilion were still trapped in the formation inside the Jinhai Pavilion.

"It's already daybreak."

Lin Hao's eyes narrowed slightly as he looked at the skylight above his head.

Although the formation made it impossible to hear any noise from the outside world, according to the time, there was only about half an hour left before the celebration officially began.

Immediately, he turned his gaze and looked at the formation shield. The energy flowing in the runes was obviously weakened by half.

However, according to the current progress, it will take at least an hour to break the formation.

After a whole night of fierce attacks, the assassins of the Hades Pavilion present, even though they took turns to fight and rest, gradually showed signs of fatigue.

"Forget it, let's wait and see what happens."

Lin Hao hesitated for a moment, and then gave up the idea of ​​taking out the Talisman Puppet Beast to help break the formation.

The four talisman puppet stone beasts can be regarded as his life-saving trump cards now. If anything unexpected happens, he can still use them to block it.

At this moment, the trapped array was not dangerous, and he felt that there was no need to reveal his trump card power.

"Don't rest, everyone mobilize your strength and buy time to break the formation and protect His Majesty!"

Seeing that it was getting light, the three team leaders, An Ying, Feng Ming and Long Jiu, were obviously unable to remain calm any longer.

At that moment, all the members of the Underworld Pavilion gathered again, and launched a series of martial arts attacks, concentrating their strength and attacking the center of the formation frantically.

Bang bang bang...!!!

For a moment, violent shock waves resounded more frequently.

The speed at which the formation's light shield dimmed became noticeably faster, undoubtedly reducing the time by half.

However, with this level of intense consumption, even if they break out of the formation, these assassins from the Underworld Pavilion probably won't have much combat power left.

Half an hour later.

As the sun shone on the high platform in the central square, a loud sound of bells and drums rang out.

The golden gate on the east wall of the palace slowly opened.

The once-in-a-decade celebration ceremony has finally officially begun!

When the gate was completely opened, a team of royal guards wearing golden red armor and riding black horses appeared in the sight of countless spectators at a steady pace.

After them came the imperial palace's guard of honor. Each of them was strong and powerful. They held high various types of musical instruments and played the music from that year's founding ceremony, instantly igniting the atmosphere on the scene.

"Long live the Great Yan Dynasty!"

"Long live the Flame King!!"

The civilians in the square were excited and cheered slogans loudly.

Then, the music of the guard of honor stopped.

Instead, there was the sound of drum hammers...

Boom! Boom! Boom…!!!

The heavy and rhythmic drum beats spread throughout the central square like thunder!

As the sound of the drums spread far away, the audience seemed to have a tacit understanding and immediately stopped making noise.

The officials, eunuchs, royal relatives and nobles on the high platform all stood up solemnly.

Because everyone knows that according to the traditional ceremony of the celebration, once the drum sounds, it means that the King of Fire will appear!

Moreover, the drum sound also has its own charm.

Each ring represents a decade.

Now that the Great Yan Dynasty has been established for 960 years, the drum must be beaten ninety-six times!

Boom! Boom! Boom!! …

Just like that, when the ninety-six drum beats ended, the supreme authority of the Great Yan Dynasty, the current ruler, King Yan, finally appeared on the scene.

The officials on the platform and the people in the square, all of them had stood up and were facing the gate of the imperial city, bowing slightly.

Greet their king with respectful etiquette.