Inside a large mansion in Chang'an City.
"Young Master!"
"Young master, something's happened!"
A middle-aged man walked hurriedly, shouting repeatedly. His voice echoed in the empty mansion, sounding somewhat buzzing and noisy.
The handsome young man, who was sitting by the brazier inside the house, looked up at the door and saw the man striding towards him. He said in a calm voice, "Li Gu, what's all this commotion about?"
Li Gu, disregarding his apology, hurriedly said, "News has come from Xianyang that the King left the palace alone early this morning, taking his wicked husband and three thousand soldiers to Yongcheng."
"General Wang Jian dispatched troops to Yongcheng, probably because he was worried that Lao Ai would plot against the king."
Cheng Jiao's handsome and calm expression changed drastically in an instant. Ever since his brother ascended the throne, he had come to his fiefdom of Chang'an to settle down, just to stay away from Zhao Ji, who regarded him and his mother as thorns in her side, so as not to make things difficult for his brother.
Counting the days, the two brothers had not seen each other for two or three years. Before he left, he had explicitly and implicitly warned his elder brother that Lao Ai must have ulterior motives and that they should be wary of him.
"Foolish, brother, you're really foolish!" Cheng Jiao sighed. Even though he knew Wang Jian was going in person, he still couldn't put his mind at ease. He immediately ordered his advisor Li Gu, "How many troops can be mobilized from Chang'an?"
Upon hearing this, Li Gu was startled and immediately said, "Young Master, you mustn't! Without the king's order to mobilize troops, you can't bear such a heavy responsibility!"
Many people in the court saw him as a thorn in their side. If Lao Ai made a move, that would be fine, but if he didn't... wouldn't that be handing over a handle to others?
At that time, Zhao Ji and Lao Ai will definitely not let him go!
Cheng Jiao stood up. Despite being only thirteen years old, he possessed a resolute air. He said in a deep voice, "My elder brother and I are very close. As his younger brother, how can I sit idly by and let him be imprisoned?"
Li Gu looked anxious and tried to dissuade him, but Cheng Jiao sternly rebuked him: "Just tell me how many troops you can mobilize."
Helpless, Li Gu said in a deep voice, "Young master, Chang'an is a heavily fortified city with 50,000 troops stationed there. We... can only mobilize 20,000 troops, and without a royal decree, even these 20,000 might not obey orders."
Cheng Jiao disregarded everything else and said resolutely, "The situation is urgent, and we can't worry about anything else. We will mobilize troops in the name of serving the emperor, and those who disobey will be punished according to military law."
Li Gu sighed, turned around, and quickly left.
Cheng Jiao watched Li Gu leave, then turned back into the house and summoned a maid to help him put on his robe and armor.
Upon hearing the inquiry, Han Ji, the mother, rushed over. Seeing that her son had already changed into military uniform, she asked worriedly, "My son, have you...have you thought it through?"
Cheng Jiao forced a smile. "As the ruler of a country, my elder brother cannot afford any mistakes. How can I, as his son, sit idly by and allow my Qin state to be in turmoil because I am worried about being attacked?"
Han Ji didn't say much, but her eyes were filled with emotion. She seemed to see a trace of her husband in him. The responsibility of a member of the royal family was revealed at this moment.
As a mother, it would be a lie to say she wasn't worried, but she could tell what was more important. She straightened Cheng Jiao's armor and whispered, "My son, be careful."
"Don't worry, Mother, your son will definitely return safely."
"Speak," Cheng Jiao said respectfully, then turned and quickly left the mansion.
Outside Chang'an, an army of 20,000 had already assembled. When Li Gu saw Cheng Jiao approaching quickly, he immediately went to greet him and whispered, "My lord, the soldiers did not resist when they heard that the king was in trouble."
Cheng Jiao nodded, took a few steps forward, cupped his hands and said, "Cheng Jiao thanks you all. The king's situation is currently unclear. We must go to his aid immediately."
"I will obey Lord Chang'an's orders!"
Cheng Jiao bowed deeply with his hands clasped, then, with Li Gu's help, mounted his horse and roared, "Let's go!"
......
It was dusk in Yongcheng.
Blood stained the snow on the ground, the crimson spots revealing a tragic beauty.
The bodies of the slain rebels were scattered haphazardly on the street, gradually being buried by the falling snowflakes, so the scene was not too bloody.
In fact, less than half an incense stick's time after the two sides started fighting, the rebels were already terrified and cried out for their parents, wanting to surrender and beg Ying Zheng for forgiveness.
Unfortunately, the wicked man had already consulted Ying Zheng, but the Black Dragon Armored Army ignored his advice and continued to slaughter the rebels.
The figures of the Black Dragon Armored Army gradually appeared on the street. They were all covered in blood, and their faces still showed a trace of killing intent that had not subsided after the killing.
Zhang Han and his two companions walked arm in arm down the street and followed the path back to Qinian Palace to report.
Inside the Qinian Palace.
The wicked husband stood beside Ying Zheng, while Lao Ai remained lying on the ground, his upper body tightly held in Zhao Ji's arms. He occasionally groaned in pain, which broke Zhao Ji's heart. She was completely oblivious to her son's sorrowful appearance.
"Report—!"
Zhang Han and his two companions arrived quickly, their bodies covered in blood, a truly horrifying sight. "Your Majesty, General! All the rebels in the city have been executed, not a single one has been spared."
Upon hearing this, Lao Ai's eyes bulged, filled with disbelief. He knew better than anyone how many troops were in the city; how could Ying Zheng's three thousand men have wiped them out?
At this moment, his last glimmer of hope was completely extinguished, and there was no chance of turning the tide.
At this moment, two soldiers in black dragon armor carried a man into the hall and said in unison, "Your Majesty, General, this man is the former leader of the rebel army. He was hiding in a dog hole when we found him."
The man was none other than Ge You. His eyes were lifeless, and he pleaded repeatedly, "Your Majesty, spare my life! Your Majesty, spare my life..."
Ying Zheng, whose attention was entirely focused on Lao Ai and Zhao Ji, clearly caught the fleeting glint in Lao Ai's eyes and immediately realized that this man probably held a high position in Lao Ai's heart.
Ying Zheng looked at Ge You, who was begging for mercy, and said in a deep voice, "Who are you, and what is your relationship with Lao Ai? Tell me quickly."
Terrified, Ge You dared not hide anything and spilled all the secrets of Lao Ai, even revealing the names of Lao Ai's retainers and the officials and military officers he colluded with.
"You've come prepared quite thoroughly!" Ying Zheng sneered, turning to look at Lao Ai with a mocking expression.
Lao Ai, looking deranged, cursed loudly, "Ge You, I treated you so well, and you actually betrayed me?"
Ge You didn't even glance at him. At this point, he didn't care about anything else; saving his own life was the most important thing!
Ying Zheng suddenly asked, "Have you memorized it?"
The wicked husband standing to the side nodded and grinned, "Are we going to kill them all?"
"kill!"
A fierce glint flashed in Ying Zheng's eyes as he said sternly, "Not only must you kill them, but you must also implicate their families..."
"Alright, you can rest assured I'll handle things!" The wicked husband nodded gleefully, as if he had encountered some great joy.
Lao Ai's face was ashen, and he shouted in a frenzied voice, "Ying Zheng, you little brat, I am still your stepfather in a real sense. I don't believe you dare to kill me in front of the Empress Dowager!"
"As long as you release them, I will commit suicide here and will never give you any reason to criticize me!"
These words were like a resounding slap across Ying Zheng's face.
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