"Yes, we must get an explanation from the Emperor!"
"We cannot let down the spirits of us military officers!"
"Let's go now!"
The suggestion from the vanguard commander Hu Dalin was immediately agreed upon by several drunken Youyun warriors. They all downed their drinks and got up to walk out of the inn.
Over here, Liu Ziyu, who was already quite drunk, wanted to get up and stop the group, but his legs gave way and he sat back down, muttering, "No—"
The next moment, his head tilted to the side and he collapsed onto the table.
I don't know if he was pretending to be drunk or if he was really drunk.
Outside the inn, Hu Dalin and his companions set off immediately, mounting their warhorses and heading straight for the imperial city, intending to enter the palace to meet the emperor and plead for justice for their elder brother, Liu Ziyu.
Even under the cover of night, Nanjing is still brightly lit and bustling with tourists.
After ascending the throne, Emperor Zhaowu Chen Huai'an abolished the curfew system of the previous dynasty. In addition, today is the Lantern Festival on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, and the streets and alleys are crowded with citizens who come to visit the lantern festival, guess lantern riddles and watch fireworks.
"Giddy up, giddy up, giddy up—"
Suddenly, several fast horses charged wildly into the street, showing no regard for the safety of the people out for leisure. The riders whipped their horses while arrogantly shouting in the street, "Get out of the way! All of you, get the hell out of the way—"
The frightened people quickly stepped aside to make way, watching the figure with swords and knives on horseback, but dared not utter a word of anger.
After the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, Hu Dalin and his group of five rode up to the gates of the Jinling Imperial City and pounded on the tightly closed gates, shouting, "Open the gate! Open the gate now!"
"How dare you! Who dares to force their way into the palace gates in the dead of night?"
At this moment, the palace gate was opened from the inside, and a Jinwu Guard general wearing bright armor and a ring-pommel sword at his waist came out, followed by several Jinwu Guard soldiers wearing golden armor.
This man is Wu Feng, the deputy commander of the Golden Guard who is on duty at the palace gate tonight, and one of the thirty-six earls of the Tang Dynasty who were conferred the title of Earl of Guangling at the grand ceremony of conferment in the Tang Dynasty today.
Wu Feng stood blocking the palace gate, glaring furiously at the group of drunkards before him, and shouted, "Who goes there?"
snort!
Hu Dalin, reeking of alcohol, said, "I am Hu Dalin, the vanguard commander of the Southern Expeditionary Army. Open the palace gates immediately! I need to see the Emperor. I have urgent military matters to report to him!"
Um?
Wu Feng raised an eyebrow and immediately saw through Hu Dalin's lie.
He replied coldly, "Hu Dalin, if you've had too much to drink, go back to sleep. This is a forbidden area of the palace, not a place for you to run wild and act crazy while drunk. Get out of here!"
As he spoke, Wu Feng prepared to retreat back into the palace gate.
"You dare—"
As they were talking, Hu Dalin grabbed Wu Feng's arm.
This fellow was a simple-minded, physically strong man, and with the added influence of excessive drinking, he had long since lost control of his words and actions, and all he wanted to do was meet the Emperor to plead for his elder brother Liu Ziyu.
He threatened menacingly, "Listen carefully, I am Hu Dalin, the vanguard general of the Southern Expeditionary Army! Get out of my way, I want to see the Emperor!"
"Get out!"
Wu Feng didn't give him a friendly look either. He flung away Hu Dalin's right hand, which was gripping his arm, and said impatiently, "I am still the Earl of Guangling, bestowed by the Emperor. I am a second-rank military officer of the Tang Dynasty, much higher than your so-called vanguard general!"
Teng!
This one sentence instantly ignited the suppressed anger of Hu Dalin and his entourage, who were drunk and causing trouble.
Hu Dalin took a step back, drew his sword with a clang, and held it directly to Wu Feng's neck, saying in a fierce tone, "You're nothing but a groom who leads the emperor's horse. Do you even deserve the title of earl?"
Clang, clang, clang!
The next moment, upon seeing Hu Dalin, who had broken into the palace gates at night, draw his sword first, the Jinwu Guards behind Wu Feng also drew their swords and attacked him.
Seeing that Hu Dalin was about to suffer a loss, Xiong Kai and the others who were with him also drew their swords.
For a moment, tensions rose between the two sides, and they stood facing each other with swords drawn in front of the palace gates.
As the deputy commander of the Imperial Guard, Wu Feng was naturally not intimidated by Hu Dalin. Instead, he stared straight at him and said with disdain, "Hu Dalin, you have guts! You dare to brandish weapons in the forbidden area of the palace. Are you planning a rebellion?"
"You've got guts, try touching me and see what happens!"
"You fucking want to die!"
Under the influence of alcohol, Hu Dalin's courage and boldness were amplified, coupled with the dissatisfaction that had been suppressed in his heart.
So when he heard Wu Feng provoke him with his words, he inexplicably stabbed Wu Feng and slit his throat.
puff--
The sound of a sharp blade slicing through flesh was particularly jarring outside the silent palace gates.
"you--"
Immediately afterward, Wu Feng instinctively tried to cover the wound on his neck with his hand, but to no avail.
After the carotid artery is slashed by a sharp blade, how can one possibly cover up the gushing blood with their hands?
This sudden turn of events startled everyone present.
In the chaos, everyone could only watch helplessly as Wu Feng collapsed from his severe injuries and died with his eyes wide open.
This Earl of Guangling of the Tang Dynasty lived only three hours from the time he was conferred the title to his death.
Seeing that someone had died, Hu Dalin and his group sobered up considerably and stood there dumbfounded, not knowing what to do, until the Jinwu Guard soldiers who surrounded them disarmed them.
Just then, Xiao Po, the newly appointed Marquis of Loyalty and Righteousness of the Tang Dynasty and commander of the Imperial Guard, arrived with his troops on patrol. He saw Wu Feng, the deputy commander, lying in a pool of blood, and then looked at Hu Dalin and the others, who were reeking of alcohol.
Xiao Po simply said with a gloomy face and no expression, "Hu Dalin, you're in big trouble!"
Then, with a wave of his hand, he shouted sternly, "Take him away!"
......
Inside Kunning Palace.
Emperor Zhaowu, Chen Huai'an, was talking with Empress Liu Shujun.
News of today's investiture ceremony has already reached the inner palace. Empress Liu Shujun was quite surprised that her sworn brother Liu Ziyu was only granted the title of Earl.
Chen Huai'an looked at his newlywed wife and asked with a smile, "Shujun, are you also wondering why I only granted Liu Ziyu the title of Earl in the end?"
Um!
Liu Shujun nodded obediently, her bright eyes looking at Chen Huai'an, as if waiting for a reasonable explanation.
Just as Chen Huai'an was about to speak and tell Liu Shujun the reason why he had bestowed the title of Earl of Wuyi upon Liu Ziyu, hurried footsteps and a palace maid's announcement rang out outside Kunning Palace: "Your Majesty, Marquis of Loyalty and Righteousness, Xiao Po, requests an audience!"
Um?
Upon hearing this, Chen Huai'an frowned slightly, thinking to himself that it was almost midnight, and Xiao Po had rushed over to see him at this time. Could it be that something major had happened?
Then, Chen Huai'an gave Liu Shujun a look that said "wait a moment," then got up, put on his dragon robe, and walked out of the inner palace, ordering, "Let the Marquis of Loyalty and Righteousness in!"
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
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