Chapter 211
Lin Qingyuan only felt a bloody smell in his throat. Tonight was New Year's Eve. The originally bustling streets had returned to silence. The streets were unusually quiet. The sound of horse hooves could be heard in the distance. He could only hide in the alley in the dark and continue on his way after everyone left.
He rushed to the armory at the fastest speed in his life. He had to go faster because his eldest brother said that if he didn't see fireworks after the hour of Hai, it would mean that something had happened in the palace.
There is still no fireworks until now. It seems that the Ding family can't wait any longer. The eldest brother and Axuan are still in the palace. If the Ding family takes action, the two will definitely be in danger.
He took a breath and continued running towards the armory.
At this moment, someone suddenly called out, "Mr. Lin."
Lin Qingyuan's heart skipped a beat, his legs feeling a little weak from the long and intense exercise.
"It's me." The person said softly.
The light from the street lanterns flickered, and Lin Qingyuan finally saw that it was He Qingran. "Lord Lin asked me to wait for you here. Xiangli has already gone. We have to hurry."
"Brother arranged for you to help me?" Lin Qingyuan let out a long sigh and asked in a low voice.
He Qingran nodded, and in a blink of an eye, the two of them arrived at the armory.
The armory was heavily guarded, with soldiers patrolling at night keeping watch back and forth. The two men swallowed their saliva.
When the soldiers heard the noise, they shouted, "Who dares to trespass into the armory?"
Lin Qingyuan took out a sign from his bosom, picked it up and said, "There is a change in the palace. In compliance with the imperial decree of His Majesty, we are transferring gunpowder from the warehouse to suppress the rebellion."
When the soldiers saw the token, they all knelt down and said respectfully, "May I ask if you are the young master of Doctor Lin's mansion? Young master, please come this way. The gunpowder in the armory is a serious matter and needs to be personally confirmed by Zhang Lingcheng before it can be transferred."
"Zhang Lingcheng is here." someone shouted.
Lin Qingyuan looked back and saw that it was Xiangli Gu and Zhang Lingcheng, followed by Old Zhang who looked anxious.
"I told you that Young Master Lin had the emperor's token, but you insisted on arguing with me. Hurry up, hurry up. What will happen if you delay something important?" Old Zhang paced back and forth anxiously.
It seems that the news of the palace coup has not yet spread out of the palace, but the city was suddenly under martial law. Zhang Lingcheng saw these people coming to get gunpowder, saying that they wanted to quell the rebellion, and he muttered in his heart that something might happen.
"Come with me in." Zhang Lingcheng said.
Old Zhang took the lead and led the soldiers behind him to rush in to move gunpowder and muskets.
Lin Qingyuan followed him into the armory and asked Lao Zhang in a low voice, "Has Erlang entered the palace? What's the situation in the palace?"
Old Zhang also whispered back: "My Lord has already led his troops to fight with the soldiers of the Weiwei Mansion. Unfortunately, we don't have much gunpowder. Alas, it's troublesome in Yandu. If it's in the northwest, will Lord Lin let us be without gunpowder?"
"There are constant shouting and killing sounds inside the palace walls. The Ding family has already started. Your Majesty also has guards. They will definitely be able to hold out until you get there. Lord Lin and Madam Lin will be fine." Old Zhang saw that Lin Qingyuan's head and face were covered in sweat in the middle of winter and he was still a little panicked, so he comforted him.
Lin Qingyuan also said: "I also believe that they will be safe." Big brother and A Xuan are so smart, they will definitely be fine.
"Hurry up and move it. I'll have someone transport it out." After Lao Zhang comforted Lin Qingyuan, he asked Xiang Ligu, "Where is the most powerful batch?"
Xiangli Gu's mouth twitched and he pointed in a direction. Zhang Lingcheng looked at these people like bandits, who seemed to be determined to move everything away, and his heart suddenly sank.
"That should be enough, right? Are you going to blow up the Imperial City?"
Old Zhang grinned. They were going to blow up the imperial city. "Zhang Lingcheng, why are you so worried? With Xiangli here, are you still worried about not having enough gunpowder?"
Lin Qingyuan also helped transport the gunpowder out. Seeing that the gunpowder had been carried out in batches, Lao Zhang bowed to everyone and was about to leave.
At this moment, the token on Lin Qingyuan's waist suddenly fell to the ground with a "pop". Zhang Lingcheng was close and carefully picked up the token. "Young Master Lin, be careful... Wait, this token was given to you by Lord Ruan? No, no, the armory is different from other official residences. It requires an imperial decree from His Majesty..."
"Oh, stop talking so much. Lord Ruan is His Majesty's confidant. His opinion is His Majesty's opinion. The situation in the palace is urgent and we can't waste any time." Old Zhang registered his name in the book. "Look, I've signed my name. Do you think I want to lose my head?"
"No, no." Zhang Lingcheng shook his head.
Xiangli Gu and Lao Zhang looked at each other. They could wait, but the palace could not.
Suddenly, there was a "bang" sound, and Old Zhang opened his mouth wide, staring at Zhang Lingcheng fainting on the ground in amazement. Lin Qingyuan, who was holding a porcelain bottle behind him, shouted, "Hurry up and leave."
"Oh, okay, let's go." Lao Zhang immediately ordered the soldiers to ride away with the gunpowder in a hurry.
The whistling sound of the wind cleared up Lao Zhang's confused mind a little. This Young Master Lin is really great. He is worthy of being Lord Lin's younger brother.
The night was as dark as ink. Xie Chen raised his spear tip and killed the soldier in front of him. He said coldly, "We are following the order of His Majesty to enter the palace to suppress the rebellion. Why don't you retreat?"
The general of Shougong City was Ding Dang. He saw in the light of the fire that it was Xie Chen. He was so scared that he broke out in a cold sweat, "This... are you a human or a ghost?"
He Xin said: "As the saying goes, if you don't do anything wrong, you don't have to worry about ghosts knocking on your door. Hurry up and open the city gate, otherwise when we enter the city, you rebels will suffer."
The general narrowed his eyes and looked at him for a while, then he said angrily: "Xie Chen? It's fine if you're just playing tricks, but you actually led troops to besiege the imperial city. This is a serious crime of treason."
He Xin laughed out loud. Ding Dang wanted to accuse others of treason. "Sir, it seems that we have no choice but to attack by force."
"Old Zhang hasn't come yet?" Xie Chen asked.
"Here it comes, here it comes, sir, I have delivered the gunpowder and muskets." Lao Zhang shouted at the top of his lungs.
"You've come just in time." Xie Chen changed to a handy musket, rubbed the gun body a few times, and lit the gunpowder. The smell of gunpowder mixed with the sound of a sword being unsheathed rushed straight towards the palace wall.
A scream was heard immediately from above the city wall. The general collapsed to the ground, gasping for breath. "Hold on! Don't... don't let them in."
"Yes, sir." The city gate guard said loudly.
For a moment, arrows and shells flew into the air like rocks. The smell of blood and gunpowder became stronger and stronger along with the sound of fighting. Xie Chen wiped the blood off his face and stabbed the gatekeeper with his spear.
Cai Xing and his soldiers were desperately ramming a corner of the city gate. The gunpowder they had just thrown out had smashed a hole in the gate. He was very strong and shouted, "One, two, one, two, the gate is about to break, come on, everyone."
Finally, the city gate collapsed with a loud bang. Xie Chen put away the musket in his hand, picked up his spear and rushed into the city alone.
When Lao Zhang saw Xie Chen rushing into the city gate, he was overjoyed and said, "Brothers, charge!"
The soldiers behind him rushed forward and finally broke into the palace.
"Sir, the two rebel groups under Ding Yanhe have surrounded Yunfu Palace. I'm afraid Lord Lin and his men are not in good shape."
Xie Chen lowered his eyes and glanced at A Xun who came to report the news, "What should I tell you?"
"The master asked me to protect Lord Lin's safety at all costs." A Xun said.
Xie Chen guessed that it must be Lin Shuge who sent Axun to report the news, so he didn't want to care about his mistakes at this time, "Get up, and follow me to kill the rebels."
"Yes, sir."
When the people in Yunfu Palace heard the news that Xie Chen came to rescue the emperor, they immediately felt hopeful. Captain Xie was actually still alive. They secretly watched Emperor Yongyuan and Lin Shuge. Could it be that this was all a plot by His Majesty? Want to take advantage of this opportunity to catch all of Ding's gang in one fell swoop?
Thinking of this, some smart people started to get excited. Captain Xie was a rare general who defeated the Huns. With him around, there was no need to worry about not being able to wipe out the rebels. If they didn't show their loyalty now, would they have to wait for His Majesty to settle the score in the future and eliminate them as part of the Ding Party?
Ding Yanhe was anxious and angry. Xie Chen was not dead. They were ganging up on him. "The remnants of the Xie family brought troops into the imperial city without permission. Come on, kill them. Except for Your Majesty, all the rebels in the palace should be eliminated."
Emperor Yongyuan said to the soldiers in the palace: "I know that you did not intend to follow the Ding party to rebel. I am willing to give you a chance. If you lay down your weapons, I will not pursue your faults."
"If you are stubborn and refuse to change, the crime of treason will bring disaster to your family. I don't know if you deserve it."
The soldiers listened to the sound of two armies fighting outside the hall. The words of Emperor Yongyuan were full of temptation. Seeing that Captain Xie was about to lead his troops to attack, how could they be Captain Xie's opponent? Besides, they had seen the power of gunpowder before.
Ding Yanhe also noticed that the soldiers' morale was wavering. "Don't listen to his nonsense. If we fail today, how can I let you go?"
"I am the ruler of a country. How can I go back on my word?" Emperor Yongyuan said again.
The soldiers hesitated. The current situation made their already wavering hearts even more unstable. Lin Shuge made a prompt decision, "Everyone, there are not many opportunities left to make achievements."
There was a "puff" sound, which was the sound of a sword piercing into flesh and bone. Everyone looked in the direction of the sound and saw that an official picked up a knife and stabbed the Ding party official next to him to death.
A single stone can cause a thousand ripples. The frightened officials here immediately found a way to gain merit and actually sharpened their knives and went towards the officials of the Ding Party.
Ding Wenbo shouted angrily: "Whoever dares to take another step will be killed." As he said that, he stabbed a woman to death and turned around to put the knife against Mrs. Ruan's neck.
"Madam." A shrill cry suddenly rang out in the hall.
"General, the enemy's attack is too strong. We can't hold on any longer." A soldier came in to report.
"We have to defend it even if we can't," otherwise all our efforts will be wasted.
The shouts and screams were getting closer and closer, and the stalemate in the palace was still going on. Ding Yanhe said, "Your Majesty, if you want Madam Ruan to live, you have to exchange the little prince for her."
"Add Lin Shuge." Ding Wenbo added that Xie Chen was leading the troops outside the palace, and if Lin Shuge was there, everyone's lives would be saved.
"Your Majesty, this..." Ruan Qingyun hesitated.
"Your Majesty, the young prince is related to the country and the people. I hope Your Majesty will be cautious."
"Yes, Your Majesty. At this critical moment, Your Majesty, please do not be soft-hearted and let the rebels do what they want."
Emperor Yongyuan was extremely conflicted. He looked at Madam Ruan who looked sad, and then forgot to glance at the tired little prince who was sleeping peacefully in Ruan Qingyun's arms. He was in a dilemma.
"Your Majesty, protecting the prince is the most important thing," said Mrs. Ruan as she was about to rush towards the knife.
Ding Wenbo had just suffered a loss at the hands of Lin Xuan and was concentrating on the hostage in his hand. Seeing that Madam Ruan was about to commit suicide, he quickly pulled the knife back, but the blade still grazed Madam Ruan's neck, leaving a bloody mark.
"My beloved, Ding Yanhe, please don't hurt Madam. Let's talk about what you want slowly."
Ding Wenbo snorted coldly. They could talk slowly now. This would drag on until Xie Chen rushed in.
Suddenly, everyone heard Lin Shuge say in a loud voice: "Sima Ding, I will be the hostage. Release Madam Ruan."
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