Night had fallen, and the capital was pitch black. No one dared to light any lamps, for fear of attracting unnecessary trouble.
It was very late at night, but the emperor and several ministers were still awake. They sat quietly, their brows furrowed, at a loss for what to do.
Just then, someone came to report.
"Your Majesty, the Fourth Prince has arrived."
The emperor was first startled, then overjoyed.
"Quickly, invite them in."
There was no need to invite him; the Fourth Prince had already entered, but his appearance surprised everyone.
At this moment, the Fourth Prince was soaking wet, with mud on his clothes and even more mud on his shoes, giving off an unpleasant smell.
"Your Highness, where did you come from?" The emperor's surprise turned to doubt.
"To save His Majesty, I crawled in through a rat hole. If word gets out, my reputation will be ruined. But to save His Majesty's family, I'm willing to risk everything."
The Fourth Prince's words made the Emperor even more puzzled.
"Your Majesty, do you still remember the rumor from many years ago that there was a passage in the palace leading to the outside of the city?"
"Of course I remember. It happened forty or fifty years ago. At that time, we princes were all young, and you were the most restless. You often went to find that legendary passage by yourself."
Unable to find a passage in the palace, you slipped out and searched the capital city, eventually disappearing into a sewer and not emerging for a whole day.
The Empress Dowager was frantic and searched the entire city. Finally, she found you in the sewers. If she hadn't known you had this peculiar habit of searching for passageways, she really wouldn't have been able to find you.
The emperor was filled with emotion as he recalled the past.
"I didn't expect the Emperor to still remember this matter. Because of this, the Emperor was even punished by the Empress Dowager."
This matter has caused His Majesty to be punished, and I am deeply saddened. From this day forward, I will never again search for that passage.
"Yes, I was the eldest prince at the time, and I had a responsibility to take care of you younger brothers and sisters. I did have a responsibility then, and I deserve to be punished."
The emperor was stunned before he could finish speaking.
"Your Highness looks like you came from that passage, doesn't he?"
"Your Majesty is absolutely right. I did indeed come from that passage."
I remember back then, when I was searching in that sewer, I found a hole that was blocked. I was too young to open it.
But I have always kept this matter in my heart.
Today, the south gate of the capital was opened by the treacherous Zhang Debang, who let the foreign soldiers in. I was so angry that I almost died. I took my sword and went to find Zhang Debang, determined to cut him into a thousand pieces.
But I hadn't gone far when I encountered a large number of barbarian soldiers, and I fought them.
I killed more than ten barbarian soldiers in one go, but the more I killed, the more soldiers appeared, and gradually I began to lose my strength.
I know I am doomed to die today, so I might as well kill a few more barbarian soldiers; at least I won't lose money.
Just then, several guards from the Prince's Palace rushed over and rescued me.
We arrived at a remote place in the capital. I began to think, I can't just die like this, I must find a way to rescue the Emperor.
Suddenly, I remembered the time I was searching for a passage when I was a child. That blocked exit in the sewer might just be the passage to the palace.
Thinking of this, I led a few guards to the sewer and groped along it for half an hour before finally reaching the blocked entrance.
At this point, we had no choice but to start trying to open the sealed opening. After much hardship, we finally managed to open it.
We followed the hole forward, eventually entering a sewer. When we emerged from the sewer, we discovered that we were actually in a royal palace.
"So the Fourth Prince really did find the legendary passage. It seems we are saved," the Emperor said excitedly.
"I had a few guards clear the passage, and I estimate it's almost done. We can leave the palace from here. There are no foreign soldiers patrolling the city right now, so we can escape."
However, we need to discuss now where we should go after leaving the capital.
This was indeed a problem. The group immediately discussed it and soon came up with a plan: the Left Chancellor Wu Gang would lead the emperor's family to the direction of Guzhou for refuge, and select some guards to protect them.
The Emperor and several ministers then headed to Narcissus Village to find Zhao Shaofu. Once the Emperor arrived at Narcissus Village, everything would be safe.
The palace guards could not possibly leave through the passage, so the Fourth Prince stayed behind, preparing to lead these more than 10,000 guards to break through before dawn and head to Tongyu Pass to join the army there.
In this way, the Fourth Prince would have the opportunity to hold back Sullivan's army and wait for the right moment to retake the capital.
Everything proceeded quietly until the emperor and his family had all left through the passage, at which point the Fourth Prince finally breathed a sigh of relief.
The passageway has been cleared and is much easier to walk through than when we came in, but the smell isn't very pleasant.
It should take less than an hour for these people to leave the capital. By daybreak, they should have traveled quite a distance.
As long as the foreigners don't know their whereabouts, they won't be in too much danger. Hopefully, the royal family members can escape this calamity.
There are still more than two hours before the breakout time. The Fourth Prince told the soldiers to rest well, have a meal in two hours, and then break out of the city and head to Tongyu Pass.
At this time, Sullivan was also in the capital. They surrounded the palace like an iron barrel, so that not even a bird could fly out of the capital.
Sullivan set up camp not far from the imperial city, and at that moment he was drinking and having a great time with Zhang Debang.
"Prime Minister Zhang, capture the emperor tomorrow and immediately make him issue an edict to abdicate the throne to you."
If he refuses to do so, I will immediately depose him and install you as king. As for those former officials of the old dynasty, you can use them as you see fit; I will not interfere.
“It’s not appropriate for Your Majesty to order me to declare myself emperor immediately,” Zhang Debang said.
"What's wrong with that? Anyone who dares to say 'no' will have their head chopped off. Besides, after you become emperor, you still have many important things to do, do you know that?"
"Of course I know. After becoming emperor, I will immediately form an army to quell the rebels in various places. I will ask for your strong support, Your Majesty Nanyuan."
"Don't worry about that. Our three-nation allied forces still have hundreds of thousands of troops. We will definitely help you eliminate the rebels in various places."
In their extreme excitement, the two drank more than usual, eventually succumbing to the alcohol and collapsing to the ground, falling into a deep sleep.
Meanwhile, back in the palace, the Fourth Prince wanted to get some sleep and have someone wake him up later, but he just couldn't fall asleep. He stared wide-eyed out the window until the eastern sky began to lighten.
"Your Highness, dinner is ready," a guard called to him.
The Fourth Prince jumped to his feet and began issuing orders:
"Eat first, then break through."
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