Emperor Xiu divided his troops into four routes, with himself leading the army to attack the south gate, while the other generals dispersed to the east, west, and north gates.
After conquering the Flame Kingdom and giving the Canglan Kingdom a few thrashings, they've now turned back to attack their own capital. This experience is undeniably thrilling.
The Southern Expeditionary Army should now be called the Rebel Army. The rebels lacked food and supplies, and relied on relief from the cities and counties along the way, and occasionally went hunting, to make it back alive.
The rebels were short of supplies; their only two advantages were their rich combat experience and large numbers. Meanwhile, the Imperial Guards in Zhaodu were well-equipped and had no shortage of food and drink. Logically, dragging things out should have been disadvantageous for the Southern Expeditionary Army.
However, after two days of fierce fighting, some fearless grain merchants sent more than a dozen boatloads of grain by water, relieving the rebels' urgent need.
However, the Anyang prefectural garrison, which should have arrived in as little as three days, was nowhere to be seen.
The emperor's complexion worsened day by day, and the court officials felt as if they were walking through a minefield every day when they went to court. Every day, some people would walk out sideways, including historians and some veteran officials.
On the fourth day, the Wu family made a move. The head of the Wu family angrily denounced the emperor and urged the court officials to depose this tyrant.
No one in the court or among the people spoke up for the emperor. Even the eunuchs who were lucky enough to survive could only sigh and lament, closing their eyes and remaining silent, clearly very disappointed in him.
The censors of the Censorate were forced to back down after being beheaded, and for a time they pretended to be deaf and dumb.
Most of the imperial guards were defending the city, and the emperor left 10,000 guards to guard the palace. Of these, half had unknowingly fallen into the hands of the Wu family. Seeing that the situation was hopeless, the remaining half, except for a small number who were loyal to the imperial power, all laid down their weapons.
The head of the Wu family took control of the emperor and ordered the imperial guards to arrest the Prince of Duan's family. Then, he summoned the empress and other court officials, and they walked to the south gate, opened the city gate wide, and took the initiative to welcome the rebel army into the city.
The fighting seemed to be paused, and the news quickly spread to three other places, bringing the rebellion to an abrupt end.
At the South Gate, the Empress looked at the handsome young man before her with complicated emotions. She took two steps forward and bowed respectfully: "General Wei, Emperor Jiande has abdicated and sent us to welcome you to Zhaodu."
The emperor was still alive and was using the reign title, which is currently Jiande.
The Wu family patriarch looked at Di Xiu with a very complicated expression. He was still preparing to rebel, but someone had already been forced into rebellion by Emperor Jiande.
Emperor Jiande and Mu Ruoling are truly like father and daughter. Emperor Jiande used to seem quite capable, but he made a series of foolish moves when he encountered Consort Chen and Mu Ruoling. Now that both of them are dead, he has started to let himself go.
Whether to seize military power or punish Wei Zixiao for deceiving the emperor, anyone with a clear head would know to wait until the other party enters the city before taking action. However, he actually overturned the table just as the other party returned victorious and had military power in hand.
The head of the Wu family, unwilling yet forced to abandon his ambitions, presented the object wrapped in bright yellow brocade with both hands: "General Wei, this is the Imperial Seal of the State."
The attendant took out an imperial edict and had just read aloud, "Wei Zixiao, receive the edict," when he asked unhurriedly, "Does this mean that Emperor Jiande is going to abdicate in favor of me?"
The Chamberlain and the head of the Wu family were taken aback, not understanding the meaning of his question. Wouldn't this make his ascension to the throne more legitimate?
The Chamberlain nodded in agreement.
Di Xiu flicked the blood off his sword, sheathed it, looked at them again, chuckled, nodded slightly, and said with a cold and arrogant expression: "I only accept surrender, not abdication."
The empress and her ministers all paled.
"What I want is this land beneath my feet...to completely change the dynasty."
Otherwise, what kind of rebellion would it be?
The Empress and her brother exchanged a glance, then knelt down. The Chamberlain's eyes dimmed, and he suddenly rushed to a soldier beside him, drew his sword, and committed suicide.
"I am loyal only to the Heavenly Saint."
With Di Xiu's skills, stopping him would have been easy, but he didn't.
After the dust settled, he instructed the new Minister of Rites: "Give the Grand Secretary a grand funeral with state honors."
Emperor Xiu led his army into the palace. Consort De, who had disappeared for five days, was brought before him. When she learned that he was He Ming, that he was not dead, and that he had even rebelled, she was still filled with disbelief.
"Heming, you...you really are Heming?"
"Yes, Auntie has suffered."
Di Xiu ordered his men to escort her back to the Wei residence. She noticed something was amiss and hesitated before asking, "The concubines in the palace are innocent. Would He Ming really let them go?"
"I know what I'm doing."
Emperor Xiu didn't immediately pay attention to the concubines, nor did he even have time to see Emperor Jiande. He began to clean up the mess that Emperor Jiande and Zhao Yuning had made of the court.
The Empress summoned all the concubines to her palace, embraced Mu Ruoyin, comforted the poor women, and awaited the verdict.
The two princes were nowhere to be found. Their mothers cried until they almost passed out, but they also knew that with the establishment of the new dynasty, these heirs of the old dynasty could not be allowed to live. They were not even sure what their fate would be as former imperial concubines.
Some of the concubines were already pregnant, and the Empress summoned the imperial physicians to administer the medicine to them, regardless of their wishes. Those who had been frequently favored by the Empress in recent months also voluntarily went to collect the medicine.
Given Emperor Jiande's incompetent rule, none of these people would truly love him or be willing to die to preserve his bloodline.
Emperor Xiu spent more than ten days reorganizing affairs, determining the country's name, changing the era name, rewarding meritorious officials, and granting a general amnesty...
He appeased those who needed appeasement, killed those who needed to be killed, and recruited those who needed to be recruited. He mobilized all the three provinces and six ministries, and placed virtuous and capable officials whose character had been found and verified by Mu Ruoling. Xuan Yan was brought back from the countryside and placed in the position of Minister of Revenue.
The day after he entered the palace, the Anyang County garrison arrived in Zhaodu and immediately submitted to him.
Yanling's letter was delivered to Di Xiu along with the news of victory, essentially reminding him not to forget what he had promised.
Emperor Xiu asked the eunuch beside him, "Where are the concubines and princesses of the previous dynasty?"
"Reporting to the General, they are all in the Phoenix Palace."
Preparations for the coronation ceremony will take time, as will the making of the dragon robe. For now, everyone is referring to him as General.
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