The shouts of battle outside the door were like crashing waves, one after another, making the entire courtyard seem to tremble.
A look of wild joy appeared on Ba Qing's face, thinking that his guards had finally arrived, and he couldn't help but smile.
Ba Qing straightened his back, his voice revealing a hint of smugness and arrogance: "Chen Zhennan, your death is at hand. Quickly lay down your weapons and surrender, and I might spare your lives; otherwise, kill them without mercy!"
Chen Zhennan and the others' expressions changed slightly. They gripped their weapons tightly, stood back to back, and formed a defensive formation.
"Ba Qing, don't think your guards can save you. Since I dared to come today, you only have one way out: death!"
A sinister smile flashed across Ba Qing's face as he shouted, "What a joke! You traitors and rebels dare to defy the imperial army? Today is your death day!"
Just then, the shouts of battle outside the door suddenly stopped, and were replaced by a series of orderly footsteps.
Ba Qing's face broke into an even more smug smile, believing that his guards had taken control of the situation.
However, when the gate was suddenly pushed open and a group of soldiers in different uniforms rushed into the courtyard, Ba Qing's smile froze instantly.
The leader was a valiant female general who gave Ba Qing a cold glance before turning to Chen Zhennan.
"Ba Qing, you don't actually think they're your guards, do you? They were just putting on an act, and you actually believed it?"
Chen Zhennan chuckled, while Song Yunyang took out a large seal from her sleeve.
"Chen Zhennan, his five hundred guards have all been wiped out, and now the outside is full of our people."
Song Yunyang's voice wasn't loud, but every word struck Ba Qing's heart like a hammer blow.
Ba Qing's face turned deathly pale, his voice trembling: "This...how is this possible? Where are my guards?"
Chen Zhennan took the seal, glanced at it, and then tossed it to Li Can.
"Didn't you hear me? I already said, they've all been wiped out. Ba Qing, Ba Qing, your death is near!"
After saying that, Chen Zhennan took a step forward, gripped his curved blade, and charged out instantly.
Seeing this, Song Yunyang drew her longsword and rushed forward.
The battle began instantly, but Li Can, who was behind, was not worried at all. He knew the commander's fighting strength.
"Send the signal, it's time to act!"
At Li Can's command, his men hurriedly pulled out a firework tube from their sleeves and pulled it forcefully into the dark night sky.
With a "whoosh," a fireball shot straight into the sky, exploding into a bright and dazzling firework at its highest point with a "bang."
In the distance, in a dark and long alley, Zhou Xiang was dressed in all black, with hundreds of people dressed similarly behind him.
"The commander has given us a signal! Brothers, this is it, let's charge!"
At a command, hundreds of men shot off like arrows towards the Lingnan Treasury.
The treasury gate was tightly shut. Zhou Xiang took the lead and cleaved down with his sword. The heavy wooden door was as fragile as paper under the sword and crashed to the ground.
Inside the treasury, a group of imperial guards were busily moving silver, clearly not expecting anyone to suddenly break in.
"Who goes there? Daring to break into the Lingnan Treasury! Kill them!"
Zhou Xiang snorted coldly and slowly raised the long sword in his hand.
"Put down your weapons, and I'll spare your lives!" Zhou Xiang's voice echoed in the vault, like the whisper of death.
"kill!"
With a furious shout, the two sides instantly engaged in a chaotic battle.
"ah!"
One of the guards screamed as Zhou Xiang severed his arm with a single sword strike, blood gushing out.
Zhou Xiang was incredibly fast; his sword moved like a raging storm, mercilessly reaping lives.
His swordsmanship contained boundless fury; each strike was filled with power and speed, leaving the imperial guards like flickering candles in the wind, utterly unable to resist.
"Zhou Xiang, this is treason!" roared a guard who seemed to be the leader, his face filled with fear and anger.
"Stop talking nonsense and prepare to die!"
Zhou Xiang had been suppressing his anger for more than ten days, ever since Chen Zhennan was framed. He had finally waited for this moment and used his longsword to vent his rage.
Under Zhou Xiang's leadership, the battle ended quickly. Apart from a dozen or so wounded and surrendered, everyone else had been killed.
Sheathing his sword, Zhou Xiang looked around and noticed traces on the ground leading to the back door.
Standing at the back door of the treasury, Zhou Xiang stared at the deep tire tracks, his brows furrowed, and a surge of inexplicable anger welled up inside him.
"Bring everyone here!"
A dozen or so wounded imperial guards were brought before Zhou Xiang, their faces filled with fear and their bodies trembling uncontrollably.
"Tell me, where was this silver transported to?" Zhou Xiang's gaze was like a knife, piercing straight into the guard's heart.
The guards all lowered their heads, none of them daring to look Zhou Xiang in the eye.
"This...this was all ordered by Vice Minister Song. We...we didn't know anything about it."
"have no idea?"
Zhou Xiang drew his sword, the blade still stained with undried blood.
"explain!"
"Your Highness, Song Xuan is preparing to swallow eight million taels of silver with Ba Qing. He has already sent five million taels to the Black Stone River."
Upon hearing this, Zhou Xiang's anger erupted like a volcano, and he gripped the hilt of his sword tightly.
"Five million taels of silver! This is the life-saving money of the people of Lingnan! How dare Song Xuan!"
Zhou Xiang's chest heaved, a hint of murderous intent flashing in his eyes. He waved his hand, signaling his men to deal with the prisoners.
"No...don't kill me, Your Highness, spare my life!" the guards cried out in terror, but it was too late.
"Leave ten men behind. The rest of you, come with me and chase after them!"
...
In the Lingnan Prince's Mansion, Chen Zhennan gripped Ba Qing's neck tightly with his hand, his eyes filled with nothing but hatred.
"Isn't it surprising? You, Ba Qing, command an army of 300,000, yet I managed to assassinate you with my men. Want to know why?"
Ba Qing was completely powerless and was at Chen Zhennan's mercy like a dead dog.
"Why?"
Chen Zhennan couldn't help but chuckle, surprised that he could actually ask such a question.
"Shh, be quiet, listen to what's going on outside."
After he finished speaking, the entire courtyard fell silent instantly, and Ba Qing listened carefully.
In the distance, very far away, there were shouts, very dense and continuous.
"Did you hear that clearly? That's the shouts of the people fighting against your government troops! There are 1.8 million people in the thirteen counties of Lingnan. It would be no problem for them to swallow up your 300,000-strong army!"
Upon hearing this, Ba Qing froze instantly, remained silent for a long time, and then began shaking his head frantically.
"No, no! Impossible! How dare these scoundrels? It must be you, it must be the Yan Kingdom's army, you traitor, you must have brought the Yan Kingdom's army!"
Chen Zhennan shook his head helplessly. How could he have taken a liking to him in the first place? He actually recommended him to be the General Who Guards the Capital.
"The people of Lingnan have no idea I'm back. If I hadn't come today, your 300,000-strong army would probably have been wiped out. The people's hearts are with you, and you can withstand the anger of millions of people."
"Millions?"
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