"princess!"

Several people in the crowd shouted in surprise.

Princess Zhenbei is a very kind person. She distributes porridge and medicine in the capital. Last winter, the medicine she distributed saved countless lives.

Many people in the capital have benefited from her kindness.

The Princess of Zhenbei has never been famous. It was only when the doctor of Baicaotang let it slip when they heard that the Zhenbei Palace was sealed that they would not have known about it at all.

"Sister Yan?!"

Sheng Xingan was shocked and panicked. Why did she climb so high? What if she fell down?

How could the palace guards just watch her climb up the wall?

Zhang Hen did not take Sheng Xiyan seriously. He raised his hand and waved, and the soldiers surrounding the log were about to break down the door again. At the same time, Sheng Xiyan suddenly raised her arm, and her sleeves seemed to be blown up by a gust of wind. An iron arrow shot out from her sleeves and went towards Zhang Hen's head.

Her movements were clean and smooth, without any hesitation or hesitation.

As everyone knows, Princess Zhenbei is a daughter of a prominent civil official family. No one expected that she would be so heroic.

Sheng Xiyan and Zhang Hen were not far away from each other, and the sleeve arrow was extremely fast. Zhang Hen underestimated the enemy and was unable to dodge. He had to raise his hand to block it. The sharp sleeve arrow pierced his arm and blood gushed out.

"The Zhenbei Palace has been loyal to Darong for generations. The palace has fought on the battlefield for generations, and has sacrificed countless children for Darong."

"Half of the prosperity of the Darong Empire was created with the blood of the Zhenbei Palace."

"Could it be that Darong can no longer accommodate my Zhenbei Palace?"

Sheng Xiyan stood on the wall, unafraid, and spoke every word with power and force, almost touching the hearts of the common people and students, who were all deeply moved.

The Zhenbei Palace sacrificed too much for the great glory.

Now there is only this lineage left, but can't the emperor tolerate even the remaining lineage of the King of Zhenbei?

Zhang Hen covered his injured arm and blurted out in anger: "Chu Yuanchen is a traitor and has committed treason. In compliance with the Emperor's decree, all members of the Zhenbei Palace must be killed without mercy, and all nine generations of his clan must be exterminated!"

As soon as these words were spoken, all the imperial guards holding bows raised their longbows, bent their bows and put arrows on them, aiming at Sheng Xiyan who was standing on the wall.

The arrow emitted a cold light.

Everyone present heard the words "The emperor has issued an order" and was shocked.

They had only guessed before, but now...

It turns out that the Emperor cannot tolerate the Zhenbei Palace!

really!

Sheng Xiyan was full of righteousness and said proudly:

"If the ruler wants his subjects to die, they must die."

"But enough people from my Zhenbei Palace have died for the Darong Dynasty."

"This time, we will never sit still and wait for death!"

"If we die here, it will only be God's will, but we in the Zhenbei Palace will never accept our fate!"

"It's Darong who is sorry for us!"

Many people felt deeply moved by these words.

They thought of the Lingnan Palace and the Pingliang Palace that no longer existed, and also thought of the achievements of the Zhenbei Palace over the years, and felt a chill in their hearts.

Someone shouted loudly: "Zhenbei Palace is innocent!"

"Shoot!"

Seeing that the people around him had been incited, Zhang Hen was secretly annoyed and ordered his men to shoot arrows. At least he remembered to leave her alive, so he added, "Shoot her hands and feet!"

"Sister Yan!"

Sheng Xingan screamed and rushed in without caring too much.

However, when the arrows were shot, the people standing on the wall had disappeared, and all the hundreds of arrows had missed their target.

The crowd erupted in laughter, and some even deliberately mocked him: "Are the Imperial Guards stupid?"

"Who will stand on the wall and wait for them to attack."

"Princess Zhenbei is not that stupid."

'"In my opinion, the imperial guards are useless. They are kept in the barracks all day long, and they are fed with good food and drink, which makes them stupid. In order to support these idiots, the court increases taxes every year. My father died of illness because he had no money to see a doctor due to the tax increase! My father's life money was used to support these useless people!"

"What's the use of the Imperial Guards? If they were useful, would Yizhou still be plagued by bandits? You're talking about waste and yet you still promote them."

"They only know how to bully women and children."

…

All these mocking words fell into Zhang Hen's ears, and his face looked a little unhappy.

A ball of rage rose up in Zhang Hen's heart, and he wished he could break in immediately and let those ignorant people in the Zhenbei Palace know how powerful he was.

"Collide!"

The log hit the gate again.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Time and again, the red lacquer door shook more and more, and it could be knocked open at any time. Sheng Xingan was terrified. He gritted his teeth and rushed over, shouting: "Stop! The Zhenbei Palace is a great hero!"

As soon as he said this, the anger of the people was immediately ignited:

"right!"

"If the imperial guards have the ability, go and suppress the bandits. How shameless of you to attack the women and children of the Manchus!"

"Let's go in together."

The imperial guards guarding the street drew the swords at their waists, and pointed the long swords with a cold glow at the people. One sword was even pointed directly in front of Sheng Xingan.

Sheng Xingan was startled instinctively. He should have been afraid, but for some reason, he thought of the dream again. The dream he had on the night Yan Jie'er got married.

In the dream, Sister Yan died, strangled to death with a thin rope.

After waking up from the dream, he breathed a sigh of relief when he thought that nothing had happened.

But now...

Sister Yan is in critical condition.

If the imperial guards break in, both Yan Jie'er and Wei Xiu will be in trouble, and even their lives will be in danger.

He has never done anything for his wife and children in his life.

In the past, he was successful at a young age and was young and frivolous. He never paid much attention to either his first wife or the two children. In the blink of an eye, he missed out on everything.

At this age, looking back, I realize that most of my life has been a mess.

"I am Sheng Xing'an, the Minister of Rites!"

Sheng Xingan forced himself not to be afraid. His legs were shaking, but his face showed no sign of it. He said, "Let me in!"

"The Zhenbei Palace is innocent and should not have suffered this disaster!"

"stop!"

The sword in the imperial guard's hand moved forward a little more, but Sheng Xingan did not retreat. He rushed forward headfirst, almost aiming his chest at the tip of the sword.

He was a third-rank official in the imperial court.

Now the common people and scholars are already indignant about what happened to the Zhenbei Palace, but they still lack the final push. If he dies here, they will surely rise up in anger.

By stirring up public anger, perhaps the imperial guards would be forced to stop.

He has no other skills, so he has to do something for his children in this life!

The imperial guards were also stunned. After all, they were imperial guards, not bandits. It would be impossible for them to kill an imperial official for no reason.

Zhang Hen heard the report, turned his head and glanced coldly, then said: "Anyone who dares to break in will be killed without mercy!"

Then, the long sword was aimed at Sheng Xingan's chest again, without any hesitation or wavering.

Sheng Xingan was relieved. He shouted, pushed away the guards blocking his way, and rushed in. Without saying a word, the guards raised their swords and swung at him from behind.

"careful!"

Some people screamed in fear, and were about to be shed blood on the spot. Many people did not dare to look anymore. At this moment, a long arrow broke through the air and pierced the wrist of the imperial guard.

"ah!"

The imperial guard screamed and hugged his wrist. The sword missed and left a bloody mark on Sheng Xing'an's arm.

The wound was deep and long, and it was obvious that the imperial guard had used ruthless force. If Sheng Xing'an had not been blocked by this arrow, he would have died on the spot.

The people were totally outraged.

Everyone is afraid and scared, but when the blood is rushing, these fears will be replaced by anger.

What's more, this is for the Zhenbei Palace!

This is for the King of Zhenbei!

They rushed towards the encirclement of the imperial guards.

The imperial guards' formation was suddenly thrown into disarray, and they subconsciously swung their weapons at innocent civilians.

whoosh whoosh whoosh!

Several arrows were fired from the walls of the Zhenbei Palace, killing all the imperial guards who had drawn swords against the people on the spot. After a short while, several corpses were lying on the ground.

Standing on the wall was a tall and handsome young man, holding a longbow, looking very heroic.

There was an impassioned cheer from the people, and they rushed in even more unhesitatingly.

Mu Bai held a longbow in his hand and shot several arrows in succession. With his own strength, he forced the imperial guards to retreat.

He glanced down and said with a smile, "Don't worry, you don't have to come over."

The people were deeply moved. They had never expected that even at this point, the Zhenbei Palace still cared about them and was afraid that they would suffer losses.

"Master Sheng, I am sorry to trouble you."

Sheng Xingan understood a little after hearing this. Maybe the Zhenbei Palace had already prepared for the imperial guards. If they went there, they would only destroy the layout of the Zhenbei Palace...

Bang!

The door was broken down.

"Charge!"

Zhang Hen gave an order and the imperial guards surrounding the mansion rushed in without a word, wanting to take the first place in the victory.

However, as soon as they entered the palace, they were met with a hail of arrows.

Dozens of guards armed with bows and arrows stood on the high ground on both sides, drawing their bows and shooting arrows. The arrows flew like crazy like rain. The soldier walking in front was pierced through the chest before he could react in time and fell to the ground immediately.

One wave of attack directly took away hundreds of imperial guards.

"Back off! Back off!"

…

Hearing the sound coming from inside, Sheng Xingan's face showed obvious joy.

It was obvious that the Imperial Guards had suffered a setback.

The imperial guards have been accustomed to having everything go smoothly these years, and they treat the Zhenbei Palace as an easy target.

When I bit it, my teeth broke.

Sheng Xingan heaved a sigh of relief, and his whole body became paralyzed. He felt weak, but more importantly, relieved!

No, it's too early to feel at ease now!

Most of the imperial guards withdrew, reorganized, and led by the shield soldiers, rushed into the palace again.

“Break through!”

When I rushed in again, I found that everyone was gone.

Zhang Hen: “…”

Just now, Princess Jingle and Princess Zhenbei were standing in front with their guards, looking like they were ready to fight them to the death. Where are they now?

Run away?

A rain of arrows can only attack when the enemy is unprepared. Since the imperial guards are on guard, it is impossible for them to stay here.

Previously, in order to gain Zheng Zhongming's trust, most of the guards in the palace were indeed transferred to Qingjing Temple.

Zheng Zhongming was a suspicious person. If he had not discovered the ambush of the Zhenbei Palace near Qingjing Temple, he would not have believed it.

For Zheng Zhongming, missing an opportunity is not a big deal, but once he is plotted against, the outcome will be irreparable, so he will just be extra careful.

True and false, real and fake.

Therefore, when Sheng suggested to Wei Xiu that he take Sheng Xiyan to Qingjing Temple alone, Sheng Xiyan simply asked the guards of Zhenbei Palace to ambush, just to make him believe that the palace was unguarded and let him take action.

Therefore, the palace is indeed not well guarded now.

However, Zheng Zhongming wanted to use the Zhenbei Palace to control the Zhenbei Army, and they would not be in danger until the matter of the garden was resolved. As long as the matter of the garden was resolved, regardless of whether Zheng Zhongming won or lost, he would immediately attack the Zhenbei Palace.

There were only a few dozen guards left in the palace, while there were a thousand imperial guards surrounding the palace. In order to capture them as quickly as possible, more imperial guards would be dispatched.

All they have to do is stall for time.

Sheng Xiyan stood on the wall not only to shoot the arrow and say those words, but also to provoke the imperial guards. When people are furious, they will not remain rational and will be easily ambushed.

A wave of arrows hit the morale of the imperial guards, and while the imperial guards were reorganizing, everyone in the palace retreated to Zhenghui Hall.

This is the main hall of Zhenbei Palace.

Unlike other palaces, the main hall of the Zhenbei Palace was built by the lake, with an open front and several crossbows and heavy shields already placed there. There were also guards holding bows and arrows on the trees on both sides of the main hall.

The Imperial Guards could not break in from the rear, they only needed to guard the front gate.

Sit back and wait.

Neither Jingle nor Jiuyang hid in secret passages or dark rooms. The people of Zhenbei Palace always led by example, which also avoided the need to allocate some of the already scarce guards to protect them.

"Sister-in-law."

Jiuyang pulled Sheng Xiyan's sleeve, holding a sword in his other hand, and said, "Jiuyang will protect you."

Sheng Xiyan smiled and said, "Okay!"

"And you!" Jiuyang turned around and looked at Wei Xiu again, "Sheng Yan is not here, you follow me, and I will protect you too."

Wei Xiu nodded and said, "Okay." His expression was serious.

Jingle looked at them with a smile. She and Sheng Xiyan looked at each other. Both of them had calm eyes. Even though the situation was already so tense, there was no sign of anxiety on their faces.

Sheng Xiyan had already put the hidden arrows in her hand back into the quiver. She stood in front of the window and looked ahead with a telescope. She turned around and said, "Mother, the imperial guards are coming."

The imperial guards are heading this way.

Not only Sheng Xiyan, but the guards in the palace also had the Thousand-Li Mirror in their hands.

The range of a crossbow is longer than that of a bow. Once the imperial guards were within range, several crossbows fired iron arrows at the same time...

whoosh!

The night grew darker.

It was already curfew time, but there were more people on the streets. At first, people didn't dare to walk around during curfew, but when they saw that even the Five Cities Army didn't care, gradually more people came out.

The students struck the drum again and again, raising their arms and cheering.

The hustle and bustle in the capital city could be faintly heard even near the city gates.

Du Lin, the captain of the city gate standing on the city wall, frowned slightly and thought to himself: The Zhenbei Palace is really good at inciting the people and coaxing these fools into obedience.

He snorted coldly and looked outside again.

It was a dark night with strong winds. Everything was pitch black. Many torches were lit on the city walls, so I could barely see the surroundings.

When he saw a team of thousands of cavalrymen running towards him, he couldn't help but show joy.

It’s the governor!

The governor is back.

Du Lin was promoted by Zheng Zhongming and was his most trusted confidant. Previously, when Zheng Zhongming was about to hand over the Three Thousand Battalion to Yu Ma Jian, he specially transferred him to the Three Thousand Battalion.

After Xiao Shuo proposed that the Three Thousand Battalion replace the Five Army Battalion to take over the defense of the capital, he took the initiative to request to guard the city gate.

Du Lin looked outside with burning eyes, and in his heart he was extremely contemptuous of Xiao Shuo, thinking: Xiao Shuo really thinks that he can mobilize 3,000 troops just by getting the military token? How naive he is.

Three thousand troops are loyal only to the governor.

By now Xiao Shuo must have been executed, and all the important officials in the court have been trapped in the garden by the governor. Once the governor comes back, they can take advantage of the situation to force the emperor to abdicate.

This is his chance, and this is also the merit he is going to get.

He suppressed his excitement and ordered in a deep voice: "Listen to my orders, and open the city gates."

The gate guard clasped his fists and responded, "Yes!"

Many people on the city wall also noticed the cavalry, and some reported it to Du Lin. Du Lin just said, "Perhaps the emperor has returned to the palace."

The emperor has returned to the palace?

Didn’t the emperor have a stroke? Why is he running around like this after having a stroke?!

However, in the army, everything must be done according to the orders of superiors. Although others had doubts, they did not ask too many questions and continued to guard and patrol the city wall.

The sound of horse hooves was getting closer.

It was too dark and everyone's vision was suppressed to the extreme. It was not until the cavalry was about to reach the city wall that Du Lin realized something was wrong.

The person below doesn’t look like the governor!

His heart skipped a beat and he said in panic, "Bring me a torch!"

Then someone handed the torch to him.

Du Lin personally held the torch and shone it downwards, squinting his eyes and looking angrily. This looked even more wrong!

"no!"

Du Lin blurted out, "Not the governor!"

As soon as these words came out, a chill surged up from the bottom of my heart.

Soon, the cavalry arrived at the foot of the city wall. One of the soldiers raised a flag with a black background and a golden eagle. The soldier waved his arms vigorously a few times, and the flag fluttered in the night wind. The golden eagle on it spread its wings, as if it was about to fly out from the flag.

"It's Chu Yuanchen!"

This is the flag belonging to Chu Yuanchen.

"Chu Yuanchen dared to return to Beijing without permission, attack!"

"Open the gates."

The two voices sounded almost at the same time. Du Lin looked at the soldier beside him and was about to shout at him, but the soldier in guard armor had already taken off his helmet, revealing a strange face under the gray helmet.

No, he was not a stranger. Du Lin had seen him following Xiao Shuo. His name seemed to be Wu Ning! He was from Dongchang!

Wu Ning ordered coldly: "Open the city gate."

"Who dares!"

"Those who disobey the order will be killed!" As soon as Wu Ning's voice fell, the long sword in his hand was unsheathed resolutely, as fast as a snake. Du Lin only saw a flash of silver light before his eyes, and his head fell to the ground.

"The city gate defense will be taken over by Dongchang." Wu Ning said in a sharp voice, "Anyone who refuses to obey will be killed without mercy!"

The soldiers around were all shocked. It was too dark and they all wore helmets. In addition, the Three Thousand Battalion was temporarily transferred to the defense. The Three Thousand Battalion and the guards at the city gate were not familiar with each other and thought they were each other's people.

As they watched Du Lin being chopped to death by Wu Ning's sword and someone taking off his helmet, they noticed that there were many unfamiliar faces on the city wall. Everyone was shocked and afraid, and most of all they were in awe of the Dongchang.

Dongchang had been in Xiao Shuo's hands for a long time and everyone was afraid of him. With Du Lin's death, the three thousand camps were leaderless.

If someone else had seized the city gate, they might have resisted, but this is Dongchang!

Almost all the soldiers on the city wall lowered their heads.

"Open the gates."

After Wu Ning gave the order again, some soldiers came down from the city wall.

Soon, the heavy door was opened, and the soldiers watched helplessly as the cavalry rushed into the city.

This cavalry consisted of 3,000 men. After entering the city, they immediately split into two teams. One team followed Chu Yuanchen towards the Zhenbei Palace, while the other team needed to control the four gates and city defenses of the capital in a very short time.

This was something the Zhenbei Army was used to doing, and there was no need for Chu Yuanchen to give any additional instructions or commands. His entire attention was focused on the palace.

Mom, Ayan is still proud.

Chu Yuanchen flicked the whip in the air, and the black hooves were in tune with his intention, and they ran wildly on all fours.

After Chu Yuanchen led his troops out of the capital, Zheng Zhongming had people following them.

The 20,000 people he brought out must not be brought back. The noise would be too loud to be concealed. And if he eliminated the spies first, it would be like telling Zheng Zhongming clearly that there was something fishy going on.

Fujian is a must-go place.

And these three thousand cavalrymen were arranged early on.

At first, these 3,000 cavalrymen first arrived in the capital, set up ambushes and captured Wangqing River. After the Zhenbei Army arrived, these 3,000 people were not actually incorporated into the Zhenbei Army, but remained independent.

The 20,000 Zhenbei troops, led by Ji Mingyang, continued to go to Minzhou. Chu Yuanchen quietly sneaked back to the capital at the right time, joined up with the 3,000 cavalry, and counterattacked back to the capital.

All the plans were seamless.

But neither he nor his elder brother could know all of Zheng Zhongming's actions and thoughts in advance. All they could do was to adapt to the situation.

"Wu Ti, faster!"

The black hooves snorted and the speed increased again. Chu Yuanchen and the soldiers behind him instantly opened up a gap of several horse lengths. Then, he took the lead and galloped away.

The dark horse galloped like the wind on the streets of the capital.

until……

He finally saw the Zhenbei Palace and the huge crowds of people in front of it.

"The prince is back!"

Some people also saw him and shouted in surprise.

At this time, more and more people had come to the vicinity of Zhenbei Palace, and Sheng Xingan was trying hard to persuade them not to conflict with the imperial guards.

Sheng Xingan heard the voice and turned around in disbelief: "Achen?!"

"Father-in-law, the Zhenbei Army will be here soon."

Chu Yuanchen didn't have time to say anything more to him. He rode his horse straight towards the palace, and the people spontaneously made way for him.

There were still a few imperial guards guarding the palace, but before they could react and block the attack, they were knocked to the ground by the crow's hoof.

Sheng Xingan felt relieved and said quickly, "Let's all disperse first. The Zhenbei Army is coming! Let the Zhenbei Army enter the palace!"

Otherwise, when the Zhenbei Army arrives, with so many people surrounding this place, it will only delay their time.

Chu Yuanchen just passed by so quickly that many people didn't even hear what he said. They couldn't help but show their joy when they heard his words.

The Zhenbei Army is back. The Zhenbei King is back!

Their eyes followed Chu Yuanchen's back with burning gazes, as if they had won a great victory, and then they spontaneously retreated from the street. As soon as they retreated, they heard the sound of countless horse hooves galloping towards them.

It's the Zhenbei Army!

Chu Yuanchen rode his horse into the palace and ran straight towards Zhenghui Hall.

The imperial guards had not yet been able to break into the Zhenghui Hall. Not only that, they had also suffered heavy casualties. Hundreds of corpses lay on the ground outside the hall, and the air was filled with a faint smell of blood.

Zhang Hen was furious at the killing of the Zhenbei Palace. He said viciously: "Pour the kerosene and light it! I don't believe they can hide..."

The corners of Chu Yuanchen's mouth slightly curved up, he picked up the heavy bow placed on the horse, bent the bow and put an arrow on it.

A feather arrow flew through the air.

whoosh!

Zhang Hen heard the sound and turned around. The moment he saw Chu Yuanchen, he was shocked. The next moment, a feather arrow pierced through his chest.

He barely reacted, his eyes wide open, and he fell backwards without a sound.

Killed with one arrow!

"Captain!"

"It's the King of Zhenbei!"

The imperial guards cried out in shock, and were at a loss for a moment. Chu Yuanchen had already galloped up to them on his horse. He skillfully placed his heavy bow on the horse's back and drew his long sword, becoming invincible.

"Sister-in-law, it's brother!"

Jiaoyang shouted happily.

Ever since Chu Yuanchen appeared, Sheng Xiyan's eyes have never left him. A faint smile appeared at the corner of her lips, and she stared at that figure intently.

Watching him coming towards him.