Inside the palace.
Chu Feiyang's departure made everyone feel relieved. As long as King Chu was there, there was hope of winning this tough battle.
But Emperor Yugan, who was sitting in the main hall, still had a gloomy face, which made everyone nervous again. Everyone stood in the main hall trembling with fear, not daring to speak rashly for fear of being reprimanded.
"Your Majesty." At this time, Xia Ji walked quickly into the hall. His face was solemn. He knelt before Emperor Yugan and said, "Your Majesty, the city defense troops closed the city gates after the King of Chu left the capital and blocked all entrances and exits."
"What did you say?" Emperor Yugan suddenly tightened his hands on the dragon throne, and the veins on the back of his hands were exposed, obviously suppressing great anger.
"Your Majesty..." Xia Ji knew very well that the series of rebellions that had occurred tonight had angered the emperor, but what was happening was the fact, so he could only bite the bullet and repeat what he had just said.
"Pah!" A celadon teacup instantly shattered into countless pieces. Emperor Yugan's face was filled with rage, and his sinister eyes shot out an extremely cold light, frightening the court officials to their knees.
"Your Majesty, calm down."
"Calm down? How can I calm down? On weekdays, you are all loving and loyal brothers, but I didn't expect that you are harboring evil intentions, each of you is thinking about my country. What a good Prince Chen, the capital covers such a vast area, and the city defense army under his command can actually block all the entrances and exits. I am afraid that the establishment of the city defense army has already exceeded the number stipulated by the court. He is still acting in front of me, personally delivering the sparrow talisman to me, so that I can let down my guard against him. With such sinister intentions, it's a pity that I trusted him so much. But I didn't expect that he would turn his face and disown me, and even took advantage of the fire to rob when Haiquan rebelled. And you, as ministers in the court, I provide you with millions of taels of silver every year, but no one among you noticed it. You are really my good ministers. Apart from fighting for power and occupying people's land, what on earth do you do on weekdays?" Emperor Yugan Longting was furious, and he stood up and pointed at the court officials below and cursed.
"Your Majesty, I beg you to hide temporarily to avoid being hurt by the bandits. We can discuss everything after King Chu comes back." Drops of cold sweat on Xia Ji's forehead dripped into his clothes, but he still risked his life to speak, begging Emperor Yugan to temporarily avoid the war to avoid being accidentally hurt by the rebels.
"Hide? Where can I hide? Hai Quan is guarding the city outside, and Jiang Muchen is inside the city. Where can I hide? Now Chu Feiyang is also locked up outside the city. I'm afraid he is also in a desperate situation. If I have to wait for him to rescue me, I'm afraid that by then I will have become a pile of bones." The anger in Emperor Yu Gan's heart rose instead of decreasing. His bloodshot eyes stared fiercely at the ministers below, wishing he could drag all these trash out and chop them up.
"Your Majesty, our only option now is to defend the Imperial Palace. Prince Chen's actions tonight are clearly an attempt to seize an opportunity. Only by mustering all the Imperial Guards in the Palace can we have a chance of waiting for reinforcements from Prince Chu. Furthermore, as Your Majesty just said, Prince Chen's city defense forces have likely expanded dozens of times. With a mere 80,000 Imperial Guards, how can we possibly fight him? Furthermore, there are thousands of troops protecting Concubine Rongxian at Puguo Temple. We cannot confront Prince Chen head-on, lest we incur even greater casualties." At this point, Qu Lingao began to persuade Emperor Yugan. Although allowing the Emperor to seek refuge would be detrimental to the royal family's dignity, the situation was dire and they had no other choice. Otherwise, not only would the blood of the courtiers in the palace be stained red, but Emperor Yugan himself would likely be killed.
"Your Majesty, I agree with Lord Qu's opinion. For now, we must first preserve our strength before we can make long-term plans." At this time, even the usually silent Prince Duan joined the ranks of persuading.
"Your Majesty, I second the motion."
"Your Majesty, I second the motion."
"Your Majesty, I second the motion."
As soon as these two people started, everyone began to cry and beg Emperor Yugan to take refuge quickly.
Looking at the group of court officials who were afraid of death, Emperor Yugan was so angry that his face turned red. He pointed at them fiercely but could not say a word.
"Your Majesty... Your Majesty... This is bad..." At this moment, a young eunuch with a bloody face ran into the hall. He stumbled over but accidentally tripped over the high threshold. He could only crawl into the hall and fell to the ground crying, "Your Majesty, this is bad."
"What's the matter? Can't you see that the emperor is in trouble?" Seeing that Emperor Yu Gan was very angry, Eunuch Yu scolded the young eunuch.
But after being scolded by Eunuch Yu, the young eunuch cried even louder, "Your Majesty, Prince Chen's army has stormed into the palace and is now fighting fiercely with the Imperial Guards at the palace gate. The Imperial Guards have suffered countless casualties, Your Majesty..."
"Your Majesty..." Before the little eunuch's voice faded in the hall, everyone heard Eunuch Yu's exclamation.
However, Emperor Yugan suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood, and his usually tall body swayed back and forth several times until Eunuch Yu supported him firmly and he was able to stabilize his body.
"Your Majesty, please and all the others, hide in the underground palace as soon as possible. I swear to protect Your Majesty until my death." Xia Ji stood up, with the long sword at his waist already unsheathed.
After hearing what he said, everyone moved closer to Emperor Yugan and supported him as they walked towards the underground palace.
Unexpectedly, Emperor Yugan brushed away Eunuch Yu's support with one hand, quickly grabbed the sword beside him, and said angrily: "I want to see what Jiang Muchen is capable of. How dare he covet my kingdom? If this traitor is not eliminated, the hatred in my heart will be unbearable."
After he finished speaking, Emperor Yugan walked out of the palace...
This action frightened the ministers in the hall. There was only the sound of rustling clothes, and in an instant all the ministers knelt throughout the hall, crying out in unison: "Your Majesty, please think twice. I hope Your Majesty will take care of your health. Please Your Majesty, please think twice. I hope Your Majesty will take care of your health..."
"Your Majesty, the arrows flying at the palace gate are indiscriminate. How can Your Majesty's dragon body be threatened in the slightest? Please go to the underground palace to hide for a while. I will come to pick You up after I defeat King Chen's army. Your Majesty is connected to the people of Western Chu. How can you put yourself in danger? If anything happens to Your Majesty, how can I explain to the people of the world?" As he said this, Xia Ji knelt on one knee in front of Emperor Yugan decisively, and vowed that he would not get up unless Emperor Yugan agreed to his request.
"I hope the emperor will reconsider..." A group of old ministers had already burst into tears and kept kowtowing and begging for mercy, just hoping that Emperor Yugan would change his mind.
"Come here, report to the Empress Dowager and the Empress, and ask them to take refuge in the underground palace immediately. Leave 50,000 people to protect the Empress Dowager and the Empress, and the rest of you follow me to the palace gate. If anyone dares to block my way, I will kill him immediately!" Under the moonlight, the sword glowed with a cold and dark light, chilling people's blood and captivating their souls. Emperor Yugan had a cold and solemn air. He no longer looked at the ministers and Xia Ji on the ground. He led Eunuch Yu beside him and strode out of the hall and walked towards the palace gate.
How could Xia Ji dare to let Emperor Yugan face King Chen's army alone? Seeing Emperor Yugan insisting on stepping out of the hall, Xia Ji was already frightened and broke out in a cold sweat. He stood up in a hurry, quickly caught up with Emperor Yugan, and guarded behind him.
"Prince Duan, Prime Minister Yun, what should we do?" Seeing that even asking for orders could not make Emperor Yugan turn back, the ministers were anxious but helpless. They could only turn their attention to Prince Duan and Yun Xuanzhi who were in the front, hoping that these two could come up with a perfect countermeasure.
Prince Duan stood up straight, watching as Emperor Yugan disappeared into the darkness. He then turned to Qu Lingao and spoke calmly, "My Lord, I'll leave it to you to inform the Queen Mother. As outsiders, we can't enter the harem. My Lord is the Queen Mother's brother, so you have fewer concerns. I'll trouble you to lead the Queen Mother and the others to the underground palace to avoid alarming the ladies in the harem."
Qu Lingao was aware of Prince Duan's concerns. Seeing his composure in the face of danger, Qu Lingao was filled with admiration. He immediately bowed to Prince Duan and said in a deep voice, "Don't worry, Your Highness."
After he finished speaking, Qu Lingao turned around and strode out of the hall.
Seeing Qu Lingao act decisively without wasting any time, Prince Duan's eyes flashed with approval. However, seeing that all the ministers standing in the hall looked afraid of death, Prince Duan felt slightly annoyed. Then he spoke loudly and righteously, "My lords, we are the ministers of the court, we are loyal to the emperor and we share his worries. As ministers, we receive salaries from the court and we should share the emperor's worries. Now that the emperor is facing a great disaster and a formidable enemy, how can we let the emperor face Prince Chen and his rebels alone?"
"But Your Highness, we are mere civil servants. Even if we accompany the Emperor to confront Prince Chen, I'm afraid we won't be able to make a difference. It's just... it's just our lives at stake..." A minister spoke up immediately after Prince Duan finished speaking. His eyes flickered, and he didn't dare meet Prince Duan's gaze. He must have been terrified.
Prince Duan wasn't angry, but a sneer crossed his usually calm face. He then shouted, "Do you believe that while the Emperor will die if he goes to the palace gate, hiding in the underground palace will save him? If so, I will not stop you from escaping! However, I must make it clear here: the most important task for all the palace guards right now is to protect the Emperor. Naturally, there are no extra guards to protect you. Furthermore, if fate allows Prince Chen to break in, do you think he will let you go? Even if you are lucky enough to be spared, your cowardly behavior, which disregards your former master, will not earn you the trust of the new monarch, and will only make you the derision of the people! This is all I have to say. I will no longer question your actions."
After he finished speaking, Prince Duan no longer looked at anyone's expression, but led the imperial guards out of the hall and walked towards the direction where Emperor Yugan had just disappeared.
Seeing this, Yun Xuanzhi and Wen Xie followed immediately. Both of them had calm faces and solemn expressions. Although they were scholars, they carried a murderous aura that made people tremble with fear.
When the remaining ministers saw that several important ministers had left, and thought about Prince Duan's last words, they felt that they made a lot of sense, so they followed suit and said no more.
The closer they got to the palace gate, the clearer the sounds of killing outside became. Everywhere they looked, they could hear the unarmed palace servants begging for mercy. They could even hear the sound of blood splattering on the palace walls, and the sound of weapons clashing was even more deafening.
After leaving the inner palace, the strong smell of blood hit everyone's face, making everyone frown. It seemed that King Chen was really going on a killing spree.
"The rest of the people, divide them into four teams and go to support the four gates respectively. No one is allowed to enter." Xia Ji carefully divided the less than 30,000 guards into four teams. He himself protected Emperor Yugan and led a team of guards towards the Duanmen.
But before Xia Ji could get close to the Duanmen Gate, he saw that it was about to be breached. Xia Ji hurriedly ordered the guards behind him, "Quick, get the wooden stakes. We must hold up the palace gate and don't let Prince Chen set foot in the palace."
As long as they could hold the palace gate, they might still be saved. But if the palace gate was breached by King Chen, these less than 80,000 men would be no match for him. By then, King Chen would have caught them in the trap, and no one in the palace would be spared.
"Yes!" A column of one hundred people immediately separated from the main force and went to support the guards who were defending the palace gate.
"Go up to the palace tower." Emperor Yugan was filled with hatred. He stepped onto the steps of the palace tower without any fear of the arrows shooting from all directions.
Seeing that Emperor Yugan was already extremely angry and had gone up to the palace tower regardless of his own safety, Xia Ji was frightened by Emperor Yugan's action and his heart skipped a beat. Then he led several deputy generals behind him and followed Emperor Yugan up to the palace tower.
Prince Duan and the others saw Emperor Yugan ascending the palace tower from afar. They were all anxious and rushed to the tower, lifting the hems of their robes. Only when they stood behind Emperor Yugan did they breathlessly salute him, "Your Majesty."
"No need to be so polite." Emperor Yugan's attention had long been focused on the countless Chen Wang's army outside the palace. Looking at the Chen Wang's army standing outside the palace in a black mass, and seeing Jiang Muchen in armor sitting upright on horseback and calmly commanding the army to attack the palace, Emperor Yugan felt his blood flowing backwards, and he had long been unable to bear it any longer.
Prince Duan and his entourage also looked outside the palace. Looking down from their high vantage point, they saw Prince Chen personally leading the army to attack Duanmen.
Duanmen is the main gate of the imperial palace. If Duanmen is breached, the east, west and north gates will also be breached. Therefore, the mission of the imperial guards now is to defend Duanmen and never let Prince Chen breach it.
A stream of arrows shot in from outside the palace gate. Xia Ji didn't care about the dignity of his dragon body. He pulled Emperor Yugan with one hand and stood in front of him alone. He not only blocked the sight of King Chen and others from discovering Emperor Yugan, but also protected Emperor Yugan's safety.
"Your humble servant, Xia Ji, the deputy commander of the Imperial Guard, pays homage to His Highness Prince Chen. I don't understand why His Highness Prince Chen led his troops to attack the palace so late at night? Could it be that His Highness Prince Chen wants to rebel?" Taking advantage of the gap when Prince Chen's army retreated from the first wave of attack, Xia Ji loudly questioned Prince Chen who was riding on horseback. Every word he said could put Prince Chen to death.
Hearing the voice, Jiang Muchen looked up slightly and saw Xia Ji standing on the palace tower. A sneer flashed in his cold eyes and he spoke in a deep voice, "Tonight, the Sea King mutinied. I heard about this in the Imperial Mausoleum and was deeply worried. I immediately rushed back to the capital to protect the emperor. But why did Deputy Commander Xia try so hard to prevent me from entering the palace? Do you want to put the emperor in danger? Or are you colluding with Hai Quan to murder the emperor?"
Jiang Muchen's question made Xia Ji furious. He shouted angrily, "Prince Chen, you are slandering me. I am loyal to the Emperor. How could I do such a thing as betraying my master? Don't try to avoid my question by talking about other things."
"Whether it is slander or not depends on whether Deputy Commander Xia opens the palace gate." Prince Chen kept on holding on to this topic, trying to provoke Xia Ji with words and make him open the palace gate for him.
"Hmph, Your Highness, do you think I will be fooled by such a trick? The Emperor knows clearly how loyal I am, so Your Highness does not need to worry about it. Now there are Your Highness's city defense troops outside the capital and the imperial guards inside. Even if the Sea King rebels, the King of Chu has led his troops to denounce him and will capture the Sea King alive soon. Your Highness should go back to Prince Chen's Mansion and wait for good news." How could Xia Ji lose his mind because of Jiang Muchen's few words? He swallowed his anger at being wrongly accused and treated it calmly, not being fooled by Jiang Muchen at all.
"Really? Deputy Commander Xia is truly loyal. But I insist on going to the palace to see the emperor today. Concubine Yuande was ordered to go to the imperial mausoleum to guard the tomb of the late emperor, but was stabbed in the mausoleum. I would like to ask the emperor why he did not ensure the safety of the concubine? Why is Concubine Rongxian protected by thousands of guards in Puguo Temple, while Concubine Yuande has no one beside her except an old nanny? Where does the emperor put us mother and son? Does he hope that Concubine Yuande will be buried in the imperial mausoleum?" The sharp question made the sporadic fights that had been going on just now suddenly quiet down. Jiang Muchen looked at Xia Ji on the palace building with a cold expression, and his hawk-like eyes were filled with strong hatred and coldness.
"Your Majesty's actions have completely chilled the hearts of our soldiers." At this time, someone in the team behind Prince Chen shouted loudly.
This sound immediately alerted the others. Everyone held up spears and shields, denouncing Emperor Yugan in the palace. King Chen's side was very powerful and furious, and there was a tendency for him to attack again.
Xia Ji frowned. Although he knew that King Chen was a difficult person, he didn't want to actually fight him. It was so troublesome.
"Your Highness, have you investigated this matter thoroughly? To show his respect for the Concubine Dowager and Your Highness, the Emperor has already ordered Prime Minister Han and the Minister of Justice to accompany you. Your Highness's actions now are hurting the Emperor's feelings, and also hurting the brotherhood between the Emperor and Your Highness?" Xia Ji's mind was working very fast, trying to delay time as much as possible.
"Xia Ji, you are Emperor Yugan's man, so naturally you speak for him. To be fair, did Emperor Yugan send Han Che and Qu Changqing to accompany me to the imperial mausoleum to investigate the injury of the Concubine Dowager? He just sent two spies to keep an eye on me to prevent me from making any moves. He is really going too far. He even sent people to monitor me when I was visiting my mother. Does he care about the brotherhood between him and me?" Jiang Muchen sneered at him, and there was an unmeltable coldness in his eyes when he looked at Xia Ji.
"Prince Chen, do you have the guts to repeat what you just said to me?" Unexpectedly, Emperor Yugan was already furious at Jiang Muchen's distorted words. However, he also knew that the more angry he was, the better it would be for Jiang Muchen. Suppressing his anger, Emperor Yugan pushed Xia Ji aside and demanded in a cold voice, his eyes piercing Jiang Muchen with an unwavering hostility and murderous intent.
For a moment, both sides in the confrontation fell silent.
Especially Prince Chen and others, who could have imagined that Emperor Yugan would come to the palace tower at this time, and even hide behind Xia Ji, waiting to find loopholes in Prince Chen's words.
Under the moonlight, the bright yellow dragon robe of Emperor Yugan stung Jiang Muchen's eyes. He could see a faint red bloodshot under his eyes, and he sneered, "Why has the emperor become so timid? Hiding behind the deputy commander of the Imperial Guard. If this scene gets out, the emperor's majesty will probably become a laughing stock."
As he spoke, Prince Chen glanced coldly at Ning Feng from the corner of his eye, as if hinting at something.
"You have evil ambitions, but you are biting me back. Prince Chen, you have a good plan. You actually deceived me, and now you want to frame me for mistreating you and your son. You are so cold-blooded and heartless, aren't you afraid of retribution?" If he could, Emperor Yugan wanted to eat Prince Chen alive, and the long sword in his hand chopped the bricks and stones of the city wall with force, treating the cold stone as if it were Prince Chen to vent his hatred.
"Hmph, do I need to explain how the emperor treats my mother and me? My mother and I have lived under the shadow of the emperor's oppression for many years, and we are worried every day, afraid that we will make a mistake and be caught and sentenced to death. Isn't all this thanks to the emperor? The emperor even forced me to marry that crazy woman as his principal wife in order to humiliate me. How does the emperor treat me? Can't others see it?" Jiang Muchen sneered, and then loudly told everyone his suffering, not giving Emperor Yugan an inch of face.
"Okay, okay, you are really amazing. You have hidden all the grievances and grudges in your heart with a cold face, and took advantage of the Haiquan mutiny. You are really worthy of being Jiang Muchen! But why haven't you ever thought about it, if you and your son hadn't pressed me step by step, why would I be on guard against you all the time?" Emperor Yugan laughed in anger, and his sharp eyes swept across the army behind Prince Chen downstairs in the palace. His clenched fist made a series of crisp sounds of bones.
"Seventh brother, why are you so persistent? Do you want Haiquan to laugh at our royal family?" Prince Duan also stood by the city wall at this time, looking coldly at Prince Chen below. When his sight fell on the army under Prince Chen's command, Prince Duan's heart turned cold, and a slight wrinkle appeared between his brows.
"My eldest brother still cares so much about face." Unexpectedly, Prince Duan's persuasion was met with only sarcasm from Prince Chen.
In the dark night, outside the palace, a cold light flickered and disappeared, hiding in the King Chen's army of more than 100,000 people with danger.
"Your Majesty, be careful..." Unexpectedly, Xia Ji, who was originally guarding Emperor Yugan, suddenly pounced on Emperor Yugan and knocked him to the ground.
Prince Duan was also pulled back by a guard...
At the same time, a sharp arrow whizzed past the position where Emperor Yugan and Prince Duan had just stood, and pierced straight into the column behind them...
Emperor Yugan was so angry that he stood up and was about to rush forward, but was stopped by Prince Duan.
Prince Duan approached the city wall cautiously and looked down, only to find Prince Chen sitting upright on his horse with a sneer on his face, as if the murderous intent just now was just a trivial matter.
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