Chapter 1282 I'll give you this—with a legitimate reason!
Instead of having her men shout "Xiao Yuansui has rebelled," she pointed directly behind him. He was leading the Thousand Bull Guards, which belonged to the Crown Prince's Eastern Palace. Such shouts echoed throughout the entire Vermilion Bird Avenue, and not only the two nearby markets heard them, but people in even more distant areas probably heard them as well.
Even the emperor, behind those layers of palace gates and in those nine-tiered halls, will hear it soon!
At that time, what the emperor heard was probably not "The Crown Prince's Thousand Bull Guards are causing trouble, and the Qin Prince's Women's Army is suppressing the rebellion," but rather "The Crown Prince is rebelling, and the Qin Princess is suppressing the rebellion!"
At this moment, although the situation was critical and all the soldiers were already under the enemy's swords, Xiao Yuansui couldn't help but curl the corners of his mouth slightly. A mocking smile appeared on his handsome and indifferent face as he looked at Shang Ruyi.
Shang Ruyi, if I win today, you will reward me with a great achievement;
If you win, I'll give you—a just cause!
Thinking of this, his gaze turned completely cold. Looking at the situation before him, which seemed to be a trap with no way out, he realized that resisting at this point would be like crashing into the tightly closed Vermilion Bird Gate, which would only add more blood to the glaring crimson and would not be of any use. But he still swung his sword and shouted, "Thousand Bull Guards, follow me!"
At this moment, the soldiers of the Thousand Bull Guard were terrified.
In fact, after Xiao Yuansui killed Shang Shoufei at Taolin Pass last night, some people had already realized what he was going to do. These people were timid and afraid of getting into even greater trouble, so some of them fled overnight. On the way back to Chang'an, many more deserted and ran away. They also lost some men during the attack on Mingde Gate. Although a large number of men were still left, they were all like frightened birds. Even with swords in hand, their morale was low and they had no fighting spirit.
But by this point, they had long since run out of options.
Hearing Xiao Yuansui's shout, everyone could only grit their teeth and charge forward.
Just as the two armies were about to collide, Zhao Tiesheng, who was blocking the other side of the long street, seized the opportunity and shouted to the soldiers following him, "Fire arrows!"
At his command, a hail of arrows immediately rose into the air.
This group of archers were all those who had previously guarded Mingde Gate and followed Zhao Tiesheng to fight their way here. They never let go of their bows or arrows, and even when they got close to Zhuque Gate and saw the women's army, they all drew their bows and nocked them, already fully charged. So this rain of arrows was almost impenetrable, and when they fell, they were sharp and pierced the wind, flashing with cold light, directly causing the soldiers to close their eyes.
Then came screams that rose and fell as soldiers, already squeezed in the middle of the long street, were hit by arrows and fell to the ground, while those around them retreated and dodged.
This threw their ranks into disarray.
This is the perfect opportunity!
Shang Ruyi didn't have many men here, and in order to ambush them, she abandoned the advantage of cavalry and didn't equip them with horses; but Xiao Yuansui didn't have many cavalry either, and he had lost a lot of them when he entered the city. The few dozen cavalrymen who were left were wiped out by a rope and trampling by their own men. Both sides were infantry facing each other.
When infantry clashes with infantry, the battle comes down to formation and firepower.
At this moment, their formation had been disrupted by Zhao Tiesheng, while Shang Ruyi's soldiers were in neat ranks and strict guard. These men were all carefully selected and well-trained, equipped with full armor and fine steel swords. Each of them was also highly skilled in martial arts, capable of fighting ten men against one in the army. Now, facing the Qianniu Guards whose morale had been completely shattered, they had completely overwhelmed them.
Just as the rain of arrows stopped and the men were filled with terror, the women's army seized the opportunity to charge forward!
These people stood in neat rows, with no gaps between them, forming an iron shield. Their long swords were drawn, their sharp blades gleaming coldly. Hundreds of them marched heavily towards the center of the long street. The oppressive feeling made the Thousand Bull Guards, who had originally wanted to resist, feel a chill and involuntarily take a step back.
However, the people behind them were still struggling and crashing around in a chaotic manner.
Just like the chaotic stampede earlier, with one retreat and one advance, the outermost members of the Thousand Bull Guards were thrown into disarray, unable to even grip their swords tightly, and frantically dodging.
From the crowd, someone shouted—"Kill!"
At this command, a deafening roar was heard. The women soldiers raised their swords and charged forward, slashing down in unison. A series of perfectly synchronized, almost seamless flashes of cold light appeared, and blood gushed into the air. The outermost layer of the Thousand Bull Guards fell to the ground in droves.
In an instant, the sounds of battle shook the heavens, and blood splattered everywhere.
Upon seeing this scene, Xiao Yuansui's eyes turned blood red in an instant.
He was already at the northernmost end of the long street, and had just avoided the chaotic stampede. In addition, he had wielded his sword with the speed of the wind, naturally avoiding the rain of arrows shot by Zhao Tiesheng and others. However, he never expected that Shang Ruyi's "women's army," which sounded almost laughable, would be so powerful. They had almost instantly disintegrated his remaining troops. Although there were still several hundred men left on the long street, their morale was low, they were terrified, and they had completely lost their fighting ability.
No, he couldn't, and he didn't want to give up like that.
Just as he was about to spur his horse forward, his eyes suddenly swept towards the bright red Vermilion Bird Gate to the north. Amidst the blood-red hue, a slender figure slowly turned around, as if about to leave.
And behind her, it seemed...
"Shang Ruyi!"
Xiao Yuansui murmured to himself, instinctively reaching out to follow.
But just before he spurred his horse, he glanced back. The long street was in complete chaos. The women's army, which had just been advancing in formation, had pushed the Qianniu Guards to the point where they had no way to escape. As the guards began to scatter and flee, the women's army finally broke up their formation and began a melee with them.
However, on one side, there was an overwhelming momentum and a murderous aura, while on the other side, there was a series of defeats and a complete rout.
Screams echoed throughout the entire Vermilion Bird Avenue.
Xiao Yuansui gritted his teeth, slapped his horse's rump with the back of his sword, turned his horse around, and followed.
"princess!"
Zhao Tiesheng and the women's army had been working together seamlessly, and after repeated attacks, the group that had followed Xiao Yuansui into Chang'an City was almost wiped out. Just as they were preparing to launch their final attack, they suddenly saw Princess Qin turn her horse around and run eastward toward the Vermilion Bird Gate, and Xiao Yuansui actually wielded a sword and rode after her.
Could it be that he intends to kill the Princess Consort of Qin?
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