hiss!
Liu Ziyu gasped, and a fleeting look of lust for power flashed across his eyes as he looked at his godfather, Liu Xinwu.
One was a third-rank military officer in the imperial court, and the other was the brother-in-law of the founding emperor. Liu Ziyu was well aware of which of the two was more important.
Furthermore, with the reigning emperor Zhao Gan raising the sickle to purge former officials, Liu Ziyu, as the adopted son of the Prince of Wuning, would inevitably become a target of the purge sooner or later.
The presence of the Red-Clad Guards, who have been frequently seen outside the General's Mansion recently, monitoring his every move, is a good example of this.
If it weren't for the previous rampage by the Turkic barbarians, which required the emperor to guard Wuzhou, and now with the great battle to quell the rebellion imminent, the emperor wouldn't have had the time to deal with him, and he probably would have already been stripped of his third-rank military officer position.
If the emperor is in a good mood, one might be able to retire from the military and live out one's days in peace.
If the emperor is in a bad mood, he may end up in prison and die unjustly in jail.
Even though his adoptive father, Prince Wuning, did not risk coming to Wuzhou to summon him, Liu Ziyu had already begun to plan for the future of himself and his family.
The arrival of his godfather, Liu Xinwu, only accelerated the time it took for him to make a choice.
Liu Ziyu made his decision after only a few seconds of consideration.
He looked at Liu Xinwu with a firm gaze and said, word by word, "Father, I owe everything I have today to your support."
"Back then, when I followed you in raising an army in Changshan County, I swore an oath that the direction you pointed would be the battlefield where I would fight!"
"Even now, my attitude remains the same!"
With that, Liu Ziyu knelt straight down in front of Liu Xinwu with a thud, and continued, speaking firmly, "Father, please tell me what to do!"
"Your son and the two thousand personal guards of the General's Mansion are entirely at your command, Father!"
Ha ha!
Seeing this, Liu Xinwu, who was sitting upright in his chair, burst into laughter. Then, he waved his hand domineeringly and said, "Ziyu, my son, I have not misjudged you!"
After saying that, Liu Xinwu pulled Liu Ziyu, who was kneeling in front of him, up and whispered a few instructions in his ear.
Liu Ziyu listened and nodded repeatedly.
Finally, Liu Xinwu instructed, "Ziyu, this is a matter of great importance. You must personally lead the troops to handle it. There must be no mistakes. Do you understand?"
Liu Ziyu nodded heavily and said, "Father, don't worry, I understand!"
Liu Xinwu said, "Alright, I'll be waiting for your good news at home!"
"Father, I'm leaving!"
......
The hour of Hai (9-11 PM).
The city of Wuzhou was quiet, with only the monotonous, repetitive gong of the night watchman echoing through the silent streets.
The Great Xin Dynasty implemented a curfew policy, and the important border town of Wuzhou strictly enforced the curfew policy. Once the hour of Xu (7-9 PM) arrived, the streets and alleys of the city were deserted.
Of course, the curfew only applies to ordinary people.
For the city's high-ranking officials, wealthy merchants, and powerful figures, the night was the beginning of their exciting day.
In the inner city, there were brothels that operated all night, catering to the pleasures of the upper class.
Clearly, the Red-Clad Guards, who served as imperial attendants and henchmen, naturally belonged to the upper class in Wuzhou City.
While keeping an eye on Liu Ziyu, the military commander of Wuzhou, he also couldn't help but visit brothels to relax and unwind.
Tonight, a cold wind blows through Wuzhou City, and dark clouds gather.
The first snowfall of the year is just around the corner.
In the inner city of Wuzhou, in a brothel called "Yanyu Tower," the charcoal fire in the copper stove was burning brightly. Several women dressed in light clothing were playing the zither, the flute, or dancing.
What a scene of revelry and decadence!
The officer in charge of stationing in Wuzhou and monitoring the every move of Liu Ziyu, the military commander of the Wuzhou Tiger Army, was a centurion of the Red-Clad Guard.
At this moment, the commander of the Red-Clad Guard was embracing two disheveled young women on his left and right, drinking and making merry, thoroughly enjoying himself.
Although his Red-Clad Guard lackeys didn't enjoy the same pleasures as their superior, each of them had a beautifully dressed woman in their arms, and they were all busy groping her.
Completely unaware, the area outside the Misty Rain Pavilion was already surrounded by a dense sound of footsteps.
Liu Ziyu, the military commander of the Wuzhou Tiger Army, personally led a thousand personal guards to surround the brothels. The soldiers were all armed to the teeth, clad in armor and carrying swords.
Seeing that the time was almost up, Liu Ziyu, dressed in bright armor and holding a ring-pommel dagger, waved his hand, and his personal guards immediately sprang into action, kicking open the doors of several brothels in the red-light district.
Boom!
As the wooden door was kicked open, the biting north wind rushed into the Misty Rain Pavilion.
Immediately afterwards, countless armored and sword-wielding Tiger Legion soldiers poured into the Misty Rain Pavilion, and every man in the brothels and pleasure quarters was arrested on the spot without exception.
"ah--"
What are you doing?
"I am the magistrate of Wuzhou County, how dare you resort to violence!"
In an instant, the once peaceful and bustling Yanyu Tower was filled with women's screams, men's angry shouts, and the banging of things being overturned and broken.
"You audacious scoundrels! I am Cai Shouyi, a centurion of the Red-Clad Guard. I possess a waist token bestowed by the Emperor himself. Seeing this is as if the Emperor himself were here. You traitors, why don't you kneel down at once!"
As they were talking, Cai Shouyi, a centurion of the Red-Clad Guard who was originally embracing two courtesans, suddenly jumped onto the table, took out a waist token symbolizing his Red-Clad Guard identity, and shouted back several Tiger Legion soldiers who were about to step forward to detain him.
Taking advantage of this opportunity, several of Cai Shouyi's lackeys hurriedly pulled out their embroidered spring knives from under the table and, acting like bullies, confronted the Tiger Warriors.
"Oh dear, isn't this General Liu? The flood has washed away the Dragon King's temple!"
At this moment, the heavily made-up madam of the Misty Rain Pavilion also hurried over, swaying her plump waist, fanning herself with a handkerchief in her delicate, orchid-like hand.
"General Liu—"
Clang!
Before the madam could even finish her enthusiastic pleasantries and rush to Liu Ziyu's side, she felt a flash of white light before her eyes, followed by a cold, stinging pain in her thick neck.
It was the ring-pommel dagger in Liu Ziyu's hand, the blade already pressed against the madam's neck.
The madam's face turned deathly pale, and she said in a tearful voice, "General Liu, the person standing behind this Misty Rain Pavilion is the man of Prime Minister Qin of the Imperial Court. What you are doing is going against Prime Minister Qin!"
snort!
Liu Ziyu snorted coldly, completely ignoring the madam of the Misty Rain Pavilion, and instead walked past her, heading straight for Cai Shouyi, the commander of the Red-Clad Guards who was trying to resist.
Over here, Cai Shouyi, who was quite drunk, finally recognized the person.
He immediately rebuked, "You Liu Ziyu! I've known for a while that something was wrong with you, and I'm sure you really are a scoundrel. You're rebelling!"
Liu Ziyu sneered, "Cai Shouyi, you're right. This general is indeed rebelling. What can you do about it?"
"Liu Ziyu, you—"
Standing on the table, looking down at Liu Ziyu, Cai Shouyi, a centurion of the Red-Clad Guards, was speechless for a long time, his legs trembling.
Without wasting words, Liu Ziyu gave the order: "Leave no Red-Clad Guards alive, kill them all!"
"The rest of you, those who submit to the King of Jin will prosper, those who oppose him will perish!"
"Understood!"
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