Gao Liangcheng was shocked. This was a rebellion. When he saw that it was Gao Xuantai and others standing in the Yellow Dragon Hall, his heart suddenly turned cold: My clansmen are trying to harm me.
The guard commander Ba Le led his men to block the entrance of Chengqi Palace, and Gao Liangcheng was trapped.
It would have been fine if someone else had betrayed him, but he never expected the person to betray him would be his most trusted subordinate, Ba Le. Gao Liangcheng had single-handedly promoted Ba Le, so it was no exaggeration to say that he treated him like his own son. Otherwise, Gao Liangcheng wouldn't have entrusted him with such an important task as guarding the palace.
In name, Bale was the commander of the imperial guards, guarding the palace. In reality, Gao Liangcheng was keeping the emperor under house arrest and monitoring the emperor's personal guards. But how could he have imagined that Bale would betray him?
"Shameless man!" Gao Liangcheng pointed at him angrily. "I've dedicated my life to cultivating you, and you actually teamed up with these people to betray me!"
Ba Le blushed a little at his words. He clasped his fists and said, "Prime Minister, surrender. Your people have betrayed you. You are playing with fire. Dali cannot defeat the Song Dynasty."
"Hu! All of you deserve to die! Without me, you wouldn't be where you are today. You've enjoyed all the glory and wealth with me, and now you're betraying me! Capture all of you!"
Gao Xuantai stood up tremblingly. "Liangcheng, we're all on good terms with you. But if you want to lead Dali to destruction, we won't allow that. The only way out is to ally with the Song Dynasty. You've destroyed the peace between Dali and the Song Dynasty, and you must pay the price for it!"
"Old thing! It's you. You made my people betray me. I should have killed you long ago!" Gao Liangcheng pointed at him angrily.
Gao Xuantai was the patriarch of the Gao clan, a position of immense power. The clan leader's dignity was inviolable, and yet Gao Liangcheng had actually called him an old man, prompting others to immediately shout and rebuke him. Tensions quickly mounted between the two sides.
Bale waved his hand and said, "Put down your weapons. Those who surrender will be spared!"
There was no effect. Gao Liangcheng's personal guards were no pushovers. His rise to the position of Prime Minister wasn't just luck; these five hundred-plus personal guards were Gao Liangcheng's diehard loyalists. Even when surrounded, none of them surrendered.
An officer beside Gao Liangcheng stood in front of him and said, "Prime Minister, I'll help you fight your way out! Everyone, charge!"
So, these five hundred warriors began their assault, their target the main gate of Chengqi Hall. Only by breaking through the main gate could they escape the palace. Once they reached the palace, Gao Liangcheng would no longer be afraid. He could return to the barracks and mobilize his army to crush the palace to the ground.
The Gao family members were a little scared. Gao Xuantai shouted: "Don't let them escape, shoot arrows!"
Ba Le saw that things were not going well. If Gao Liangcheng rushed out, they would all die. So he quickly ordered his men: "Shoot!"
"Swish, swish, swish..." The palace guards' archers began to shoot arrows. The archers were very brutal, and all the soldiers who rushed to the gate of Chengqi Hall were shot dead. The personal guards gathered around Gao Liangcheng, blocking the arrows with their weapons and using their bodies to protect Gao Liangcheng from harm.
History always has its share of bizarre events, even in wars between two factions. During the attack on Chengdu Prefecture, Gao Liangcheng's army was vulnerable, likely ready to collapse at the first blow. But now, his five hundred personal soldiers charged forward fearlessly, risking their lives.
This wasn't hard to understand. Attacking Chengdu was a wanton provocation. No civilian, not even ordinary soldiers, wanted to fight, especially an unjust war. But now, they were being forced into this. If they couldn't defeat the palace guards before them, if they couldn't escort the Prime Minister out of the palace, they would be the ones to die.
Gao Liangcheng's soldiers had nothing to lose. They were going to die anyway, and their only hope of survival was to break out of the palace. So, everyone rushed towards Chengqi Hall fearlessly and fought fiercely.
The same thing happened to the palace guards of Bale. If the enemy were to break out of the palace and call in a large army, they would be the ones to die. Therefore, these palace guards also fought for their lives.
Gao Xuantai and his men were so frightened that they retreated to the Yellow Dragon Hall one after another, with a look of terror on everyone's face. These soldiers were like crazy, the battle was unprecedentedly brutal,
Countless bodies fell, and the entire palace compound was filled with corpses. Some were Gao Liangcheng's personal soldiers, and some were palace guards. People were so bloodthirsty that no one cared about protecting the Gao family members and the ministers in the court.
Then some people suffered. The Minister of Revenue was hacked in half. The Commander-in-Chief of the Imperial Guards, Gao Xingming, was hacked to death. Gao Xuantai's grandson, Gao Lan, was also killed in a pool of blood. For a time, the Dali Imperial Palace was flooded with blood.
Ultimately, Ba Le's guards had the upper hand; they had set up an ambush beforehand. They also had a slight advantage in numbers, and the two sides fought from early morning until noon, leaving Gao Liangcheng with only a few men.
At this moment, most of the palace guards on Bale's side were killed or injured. There were only a few dozen Gao Liangcheng left, and the outcome was very uncertain.
Gao Liangcheng was also covered in blood, his back and right leg wounded by arrows. Both sides temporarily stopped fighting, as they were both at the end of their strength.
"Your Majesty, Your Majesty! A fight has broken out in the palace!" An eunuch had already hurriedly run to the Seven Stars Hall in the harem to inform Emperor Duan Yu.
Duan Yu was reading in the Seven Star Hall. He was reading "Zizhi Tongjian" by Sima Guang of the Song Dynasty. He was startled when he heard the eunuchs come to report. He listened carefully and heard the sound of killing in the palace.
"What's going on?" Duan Yu frowned. He had the aura of an emperor who was not afraid of danger.
Zhao Huan also possessed this aura. Why? When you've been in a high position for a long time, you naturally develop an aura of indomitable spirit. After all, he was an emperor, and in his eyes, everyone was but an ant.
"Your Majesty, Gao Liangcheng was defeated in his attack on Song. The prime minister was still unwilling to give up and wanted to send more troops. So the ministers, Gao Xuantai, the head of the Gao family, and Bale, the commander of the guards, conspired to rebel, wanting to kill Gao Liangcheng and bring back Your Majesty." The eunuch answered truthfully.
Duan Yu simply said "Oh" indifferently. He seemed to have expected this. "Come on, take me to the outside of the Yellow Dragon Palace to take a look."
The eunuch was startled: "Your Majesty, no! It's dangerous outside. It's safer for Your Majesty to wait here until the thief Gao Liangcheng is captured."
Duan Yu's eyes were stern: "Take me there!"
The eunuchs dared not speak again. Duan Yu had just reached the door when he was stopped by several guards. These guards had been sent by Gao Liangcheng to imprison Duan Yu. They had likely heard about the rebellion and fighting within the palace, but seemed hesitant to release the emperor from the Seven Star Hall without permission.
Duan Yu hadn't left the Seven Stars Hall since his imprisonment. Today, he walked to the hall's entrance and coldly looked at the guards, "What? Do you want to be destroyed along with Gao Liangcheng? Gao Liangcheng is already surrounded by guards, and his destruction is imminent."
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