Chapter 100 Chapter 100 Jinjiang First Release
Chapter 100
In July, Jianye County.
The capital had just experienced a fierce and stalemate battle. The streets and alleys were deserted, and the doors and windows of every household were closed, with nine out of ten houses empty.
The ground was covered in shocking red, and the stench was so strong and pungent that it almost made people nauseous.
The stench of blood and blood attracted vultures that feed on human carrion to swoop down and happily bury themselves in the pile of horse and human corpses, feasting on them.
The towering city walls no longer had their former splendor; siege equipment had completely destroyed the stone walls.
The ruins were covered with blood and blackened flesh and bones.
The whole city was littered with the bones of nobles and the flesh of commoners crushed into powder by horses' hooves.
The most prosperous city of the Wu Kingdom in the past was destroyed today after being bombarded by artillery fire.
The city was littered with corpses and blood, and the country of Wu was in ruins.
At this moment, human life is finally equal.
It rained heavily today, the sky and the earth were dark, and a thunder dragon was looming over the mountains.
Drops of rain poured down from the sky, dripping onto the glazed tiles of the imperial palace, gathering into a curtain of rain that fell to the ground.
The entire imperial city fell into a chaotic silence, filled with a solemn and eerie atmosphere.
From the square of tens of thousands of people outside Hanyuan Hall, faint and heartbreaking sobbing sounds could be heard.
An old man with disheveled hair knelt beside a coffin, holding the coffin and wailing wildly.
It turned out to be the Supreme Emperor, Patriarch Cui!
Mr. Cui's hair crown had long been washed away by the heavy rain, and his clothes were soaked with rain. Even though his shoulders and spine were trembling with cold, his eyes were red and he pounded on the coffin again and again, shouting with bloodshot eyes: "My grandson, my grandson... Chen Liqing! You are unworthy of being a human being!"
"Lan Ju treated you, the Langshan Chen clan, very well during his lifetime. How dare you plot to murder him like this! Even when Ji Tian Li Ji was established, he never forgot the Chen clan's generous support and always praised the Langshan Chen clan!"
"All the descendants of the Chen family's legitimate sons have never bowed before the court. We have been given gold and titles, and have been allowed to enter the palace with swords and shoes. How could we treat you unfairly? You didn't appreciate the kindness of the Cui family in Wudong, but instead turned evil into kindness, slaughtering my grandson in Lushan. You are not worthy of being a human being!"
The person that Mr. Cui cursed was Chen Heng's father, Chen Liqing.
Back then, the Chen family of Langshan was in decline, but Mr. Cui, remembering their old friendship, wanted to promote them, which led to the current glory of the Chen family of Langshan.
Although the two families were not in name only, they were in reality. Even when educating Cui Jue, Mr. Cui repeatedly taught him to trust the Chen family of Langshan since he was a child. However, he did not expect that this respect would eventually become the death warrant of his grandson.
Mr. Cui really regretted his decision!
Mr. Cui wept bitterly, beating his chest and stamping his feet in anger. "I treated you like my own son or nephew. When you were still in swaddling clothes, I held you in my arms, chose a name for you, and taught you earnestly. If I had known you would betray me today, I would have thrown such a traitor like you to death right in front of my bed!"
Mr. Cui cried bitterly in front of Cui Jue's coffin because his outspokenness had angered Chen Liqing.
Chen Liqing wore a black dragon robe that violated the rules, a crown with twelve tassels on his head, a tiger head and a swallow forehead, and he acted like a solitary and independent person, just like the emperor of Wu.
He glared at her, "Shut up! Since ancient times, victors have been victorious and losers have been bandits, a common occurrence in the military! It's you, the Cui family of Wudong, who are inferior in skills and trust others too easily. How can you blame others?!"
Chen Liqing slowly descended the jade steps, walked out of the imperial carriage path, and approached Mr. Cui. "You keep saying that you've treated my Chen family with great kindness, but you're treating me, the Langshan Chen family, like slaves at your beck and call, and me like pawns in your battles! You simply want me, the Langshan Chen family, to be servile and subservient, to live under the yoke of the Wudong Cui family, and be enslaved by you for the rest of my life!"
"Today, it is the Langshan Chen family's turn to hold the power of life and death over the Wu Kingdom. If you know your place, you should keep your mouth shut. Perhaps I will still remember our old friendship and not punish the Cui family!"
Chen Liqing raised his hand resolutely and gave an order.
When the tens of thousands of soldiers stationed in the Forbidden City heard the military order issued by Chen Liqing, they immediately reorganized their troops and formed an arrow formation.
The sharp arrowhead flashed a dazzling silver light in the rain, pointing directly at Cui Weng in the center of the square.
The bowstring is stretched to the full moon, clearly ready to be released.
The Chen family had murderous intentions.
Seeing this tense situation, all the officials and nobles present were terrified, their faces pale and their legs trembling. Even the Qiyuan Xie family, Wenxi Pei family, and Zhoushan Yao family, who were all affiliated with Chen Liqing, did not dare to look up at the emperor, fearing that they would die at Chen Liqing's hands.
Chen Liqing knew very well that the Cui family was united in their hearts, relying solely on Cui Jue's reputation as a military commander over the years.
Once Cui Jue died, the Cui family army was doomed and had long since become cattle and sheep to be slaughtered, and there was no need to be afraid of them.
But his eldest son Chen Heng was spoiled by the Cui family. He gave up the beautiful land of Wu State and insisted on going to Cui Jue to be a servile dog who wagged his tail and begged for mercy!
In order to prevent Chen Heng from ruining his plans, Chen Liqing had already imprisoned this evil creature in his private residence for several months. He would release Chen Heng when the situation stabilized in the future.
After all, they are father and son, and with time and careful persuasion, Chen Heng will eventually come to his senses...
If you can't figure it out, it doesn't matter. Chen Liqing has more than one son.
Thinking of this, Chen Liqing felt relieved.
He no longer hesitated and just glanced coldly at Xie Xiuming, who was in a very high position.
Xie Xiuming understood, and holding the bright yellow imperial edict in his hand, he strode forward in the cold wind and rain.
The Xie family worshipped Confucius and assisted the dynasty for generations, but one day they would do such a thing as usurping the throne and threatening the emperor. It is really lamentable and tragic.
Xie Xiuming's sigh lasted only a moment. He also knew that now that he had offended Wudong Cui, there was no regret.
He could not bring disaster to the entire Xie family, and the only way to survive was to be loyal to the Langshan Chen family wholeheartedly.
Thinking of this, Xie Xiuming gritted his teeth and walked forward quickly.
He held the seal in one hand and the imperial edict in the other, asking the Supreme Emperor Cui Weng to abdicate and give way to the wise.
Xie Xiuming raised his hand and pressed the scroll of imperial edict to Mr. Cui's forehead: "Please ask the Supreme Emperor to place his seal on it."
Mr. Cui looked at the bright yellow paper and laughed wildly with his head thrown back. "Since you are already a traitor, why do you need to use the system of 'abdication' to cover up your shame?! Who in the world doesn't know that you have lost all conscience and betrayed your former master?! How dare you, a rat, ascend the throne!"
Chen Liqing's face turned pale and he couldn't say a word in rebuttal.
Because he knew that today's rebellion and forced abdication came too suddenly, and his deployment was ultimately not as meticulous as Cui Jue's.
Back then, even if Cui Jue wanted to change the dynasty, he still spent half a year setting up a trap. He would wait until the Li family of the previous dynasty colluded with the powerful clans in the northwest, fought wars in the south and the north, causing a situation of devastation to the people and losing the support of the people. Then he would be summoned to go to war, clear the world, and finally obey the will of the people and ascend the throne.
But Chen Liqing secretly formed a clique for personal gain, took advantage of Cui Jue's unpreparedness and attacked him, luckily winning.
He knew that the Langshan Chen family's ascension to the throne was not legitimate, but fortunately, they had the secret support of the aristocratic families, which was why they were able to achieve the good result they had today - forcing the emperor to abdicate and ascend the throne... For now, the only way for him to sit firmly on the throne was for Mr. Cui to take the initiative to abdicate to the Chen family.
After thinking it over, Chen Liqing could only glare at Xie Xiuming fiercely, forcing the old minister to take another step forward: "Do it!"
At the same time, the strong soldiers wearing black robes and armor also received signals from the elders of the Chen family.
They advanced with swords drawn, blocking all the roads in and out of the Hanyuan Palace, and surrounded Mr. Cui and the coffin of his deceased emperor, Cui Jue, in a tightly sealed, impregnable enclosure.
The war is about to break out.
Xie Xiuming finally sneered, "You are so ignorant of the current situation, don't blame me for offending His Majesty! Come, ask the Supreme Emperor to drop the seal!"
As soon as these words were spoken, a burly soldier immediately came and pressed the old man's head down like a prisoner, forcing him to kneel on the ground with his head banged, and then forcibly restrained his hand bones, forcing Mr. Cui to hold the seal and seal it.
Mr. Cui was pressed to the ground like a pig, dog, cow or horse. How humiliating it was!
Outside the Hanyuan Hall, there were civil and military officials standing there.
Although they were children of aristocratic families, they had also received favors from the Wudong Cui family and even received instruction from Mr. Cui in the past, so they could be considered as disciples and former officials of the Wudong Cui family.
How could a family of nobles, proud and noble, endure such humiliation...
Even though they hated Cui Jue, they still couldn't bear to see Cui Weng being humiliated like this, and a cold feeling of grief arose in their hearts.
Whether out of fear or out of respect for Wudong Cui, everyone turned their heads away, avoiding his gaze, trying to leave Mr. Cui with a last shred of dignity...
At this point, it was a foregone conclusion that the Chen family of Langshan would take over the Wu Kingdom.
Mr. Cui knelt on the ground, feeling humiliated and embarrassed. Tears welled up in his old eyes. He only regretted that he was too old and weak to kill the treacherous villain with his own hands!
As the elder of the Cui family in Wudong, Mr. Cui was over 70 years old and had lived a full life.
Since the Chen family wants to kill him, then let them kill him.
It's nothing more than dying here...
He simply sacrificed himself for the Cui family, and his death was worthy!
Mr. Cui would rather die than surrender!
Just as Mr. Cui was in tears and was about to "break his finger bones and die to show his determination", a sharp and loud sound of an arrow broke through the air.
“Whoosh!”
Suddenly, there was a dull sound of an arrow piercing into Mr. Cui's flesh.
Hearing this makes one's spine tingle and the whole body tremble.
Fresh blood dripped down, landing on Mr. Cui's forehead, where deep wrinkles formed, and was then washed away by the heavy rain.
Mr. Cui looked up in surprise.
He watched the arrow fly towards him with great force, piercing Xie Xiuming's cervical vertebrae and knocking him to the ground.
With a loud bang.
Xie Xiuming fell to the ground. Before he died, his hands were curled up and he was grabbing the skin of his head and neck with a ferocious look.
He was shocked, terrified, and uneasy. Before he died, he recalled this arrow...
This attack was powerful, as if assisted by a god, absolutely correct.
Only one person in Wu State could match such powerful archery skills...
Xie Xiuming lost all his energy.
He collapsed in a pool of blood, trembling. Before closing his eyes, he vaguely recalled the scene just now... He actually saw, actually saw Cui Jue? Impossible, it must be that his time was up and his vision was blurry.
However, a moment of negligence allowed the assassin to succeed and shoot the important official to death in front of the emperor.
This is a great shame and humiliation!
Chen Liqing was furious. He raised his arm and called for the troops to repel the enemy: "Protect the emperor! Protect the emperor! Archers, deploy and fire left and right! Light cavalry and infantry, form a battle array to meet the enemy!"
No one knew how such a skilled archer could sneak into the city when the imperial city was heavily guarded.
But the situation in the inner court was already in chaos, and the battle was about to break out, with smoke and flames everywhere.
Chen Liqing knew that there were not enough soldiers and horses in the imperial city to defend against the enemy, so he hinted to his soldiers to release falcons to give a tip-off, so as to summon reinforcements from the military camp outside the city to provide support.
The falconer received the order and released the carrier hawk.
But at the moment when the eagle spread its wings and flew high, thousands of black feather arrows attacked from all directions. The sharp iron arrows pierced the clouds and split the rocks, and pierced through the chest of the eagle with a clang, killing the poor bird in the empty sky and earth.
Black Hawk attacked.
One by one, the hawks and falcons fluttered down, and the blood of countless birds splattered on the ground, like a bloody rain from the sky.
Everyone looked up at the sky in astonishment. Even Chen Liqing stood under the eaves with a gloomy face. He suddenly felt a chill rising from his waist and abdomen, reaching his throat.
He was filled with boundless despair, staring at the coffin in the distance with sharp and cold eyes... He didn't believe that Cui Jue could come back to life, he thought this arrow formation was just a coincidence.
Cui Jue is just a young boy, how can he be considered as a match for Chen Liqing?!
Chen Liqing had been scheming for so many years, he had endured decades of hardship, he had even deceived his own son, he had been fully prepared to abandon the Cui family... How could he possibly fail at the last moment?!
Chen Liqing was unwilling to accept this.
A fierce look was revealed on his wrinkled face. He gritted his teeth and said, "Kill them for me! Everyone present will be killed, leaving no one alive! You are all traitors to the Cui family! You are cunning and treacherous, and no one is on the side of the Langshan Chen family! You are all traitors to the country!"
Chen Liqing was unable to summon reinforcements. He had fallen into a state of madness and could only force his soldiers to draw their swords.
The square in the distance had already become a sea of blood and corpses.
Arrows came like a rain of locusts, shooting without hesitation at the Chen family's light cavalry who were trying to ride their horses to kill the enemy.
The horse's hoof was broken, the warhorse neighed sadly, and blood splattered everywhere.
The soldiers were jolted by their horses and could not hold the reins steadily, so they were chopped off their horses by the sudden attacking axemen, and their bodies were scattered all over the place.
Thousands of black-armored cavalrymen surged in like a tide, galloping from the palace road.
The terrifying roars rose one after another, echoing in all directions.
For a moment, the entire palace was filled with the roar of horses' hooves and the commotion shook the earth.
Until the first flag is hoisted—
On that flag burned a raging red fire that could not be extinguished by rain, and it was the word "Cui" written with tung oil!
The fire flags fluttered, and the Cui family's troops swept away the remaining Chen family's troops with the force of autumn wind sweeping away fallen leaves.
As the man on horseback with a bow gradually approached, the Chen family army's momentum was greatly reduced, and the soldiers of the other aristocratic families were also dumbfounded... From then on, the battle had been decided.
"Cui Jue..."
I don't know who shouted this creepy name.
The eyes of the fighting soldiers were dazed. Thinking of Cui Jue's cruel past, they were frightened and put down their weapons and looked into the distance.
Even Chen Liqing subconsciously took two steps forward, trying to see it more clearly.
I saw soldiers approaching the city in the distance, and the army was approaching.
The Cui family cavalry, with their neat military appearance, marched towards the inner court in an orderly manner.
When they arrived in front of Hanyuan Hall, they bowed their heads respectfully and stepped aside, leaving a wide passage.
The road was clear and a man and a horse were approaching from afar.
The man had beautiful eyebrows and eyes, and his shoulders were as straight as pine and cypress.
He was wearing a black armored robe, holding a strong ox-horn bow in his hand, and his pair of phoenix eyes were as cold and icy as frost and snow. Just a cold glance from him was enough to make people stand on end with fear and feel pain all over their body as if a steel blade was scraping their bones.
Who doesn't recognize this Shura Jade Face?!
Who wouldn't submit to this Rakshasa ghost?!
The moment Cui Jue rode forward, the Chen family's soldiers had already surrendered after being warned by Chen Heng.
Chen Liqing watched as power fell into the hands of others. He knew that he had fallen into a trap today and the defeat was irreversible.
Chen Liqing sat down dejectedly, sinking into the dragon claw throne in the court hall, unable to utter a word.
He wanted to scold Chen Heng, calling him a traitorous son, but all his shouting was finally swallowed by the cold blade that Chen Heng held across his father's neck...
Cui Jue did not take action.
He simply plucked the bowstring in his hand and approached step by step.
The man closed his eyes slightly, curled the corners of his lips and sneered.
"Master Chen, is this imperial throne... comfortable?"
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