Nighttime ambush
"In a few days, I plan to write to General Meng, asking him to cooperate in drawing away the palace guards. I'll be going to see Emperor Yun. As for the Fourth Prince and Rong Ji, I'll leave them to you and the Ninth Prince." Lin Siwen pondered for a moment and asked, "Should we leave any survivors?" Tang Feng shook his head. "Leave none alive, including the palace maids. We must act quickly. But... regarding Rong Ji's claim that Pu Yuan is a spy, we must investigate thoroughly before taking any action. There must be no mistakes. The Ninth Prince is impulsive, so I feel much more at ease with you accompanying him." Since it was Tang Feng's idea, Lin Siwen naturally agreed. "Of course, no problem. I'll deliver the message to General Meng, so don't worry about that. However, I have some concerns. When you go to His Majesty's place, will the young marquis accompany you?"
“Ziliang will be in the city to meet General Meng, so he won’t be going.” Hearing this arrangement, Lin Siwen was even more worried. “How can you go to meet His Majesty alone? It’s too dangerous. You should at least bring someone with you…” Tang Feng shook his head. “No need. Just him and I are fine. He has no reason to do anything to me. After all, he’s a smart man.” Tang Feng patted Lin Siwen’s shoulder. “I’ll leave the rest to you. You must remember what I’m saying.” Lin Siwen nodded vigorously. “Of course. This matter is of utmost importance. I will personally go to General Meng to deliver the message. Your status is special now, so it’s not easy for you to leave. How about this, you stay at my Lin residence for now. General Meng and I are superior and subordinate, so our private visits won’t arouse suspicion.”
Tang Feng thought about it and felt that Lin Siwen's words made sense. In addition, he was reliable, so he agreed. Seeing this, Lin Siwen arranged a guest room for Zhou Ziliang and Tang Feng. Lin Siwen walked in front, telling Tang Feng about the things that had happened in Xiling in the past three years, while leading Tang Feng and Zhou Ziliang to the guest room. “Since your accident, Your Highness the Ninth Prince has been staying at the Imperial Mausoleum to reflect on his actions. His Majesty rarely sends anyone to visit him, not even Consort Yun. Although His Majesty has never doubted General Meng's loyalty, Your Highness the Ninth Prince and General Meng have become too close. Therefore, His Majesty has divided the Imperial Guards in two, with one half patrolling the palace and the other half stationed outside the city… But Your Highness need not worry, the Imperial Guards outside the city are all General Meng's trusted confidants.” Lin Siwen thought for a moment, then added, “Actually, going to the Imperial Mausoleum late at night isn't impossible. There aren't many people watching there. I've been there before, but Your Highness the Ninth Prince kicked me out. When you had your accident, General Meng also asked me to persuade Your Highness the Ninth Prince to write a letter to the young marquis and make a final push. But Your Highness refused, saying that you told him to live a quiet life and not get involved in this matter again.” Tang Feng sighed. "I didn't know it would turn out like this... Since the imperial mausoleum isn't heavily guarded, I'll go check on them late tomorrow night. Are Mo Bai and the others alright?" Tang Feng, having returned to Xiling, was naturally most worried about Zhang Mo Bai. He didn't dare return to the Tang residence rashly, so he inquired with Lin Siwen. "Lord Zhang is alright... but he's currently serving His Majesty, so he's quite busy. Lord Yang is too." After careful consideration, Tang Feng decided to meet with Li Yunyu first. "It's good that everyone is safe..." Ever since learning that Tang Zhaonan had been forced to his death by Emperor Yun, Tang Feng felt not only self-reproach but also intense hatred for Emperor Yun's treachery. He had been worried that Emperor Yun hadn't kept his promise to harm those around him, but now it seemed everyone was safe and sound.
Lin Siwen led Tang Feng and Zhou Ziliang into the room and then left. Zhou Ziliang helped Tang Feng unbuckle his belt and hugged him from behind. "What are you thinking about?"
“I’m a little worried. Emperor Yun is too cautious. He’s actually divided the Imperial Guards into two groups. He must still be wary of General Meng. If that’s the case… we’ll have to find someone to open the city gates… After all, Emperor Yun still has the Protectorate. It could be a tough battle.” Seeing Tang Feng’s worried expression, Zhou Ziliang sighed and gently kissed his forehead. “The city gates are easy to deal with. After all, things haven’t reached a certain point, and there’s still plenty of time. We can have the Dingbei Army form small teams, change into disguises, and take out the guards on the city walls in the dead of night. But the Protectorate… is indeed a bit tricky. But, Xiao Feng, I have to ask you, are you going to kill His Majesty?” Tang Feng lowered his head as if making a decision, and after a long while, he said, “I plan to… not kill him.” Zhou Ziliang finally breathed a sigh of relief. Although history can be rewritten, Zhou Ziliang always felt that it was wrong for a subject to choose the emperor’s fate. He feared that once the new emperor ascended the throne, he would be wary of Tang Feng and that this would be detrimental to him. “That’s good.”
“I know what you’re worried about, but I don’t care about that. If it weren’t to prevent the Ninth Prince from being criticized, why would I have spared his life?” Tang Feng’s teeth itched with anger at the thought of Emperor Yun, so why would he want to let him go? He was only doing so out of consideration for Li Yunyu. Zhou Ziliang sighed, not wanting to continue the topic and upset Tang Feng, and then changed the subject, “Let’s go to sleep. You’ve been tired these past few days. Let’s get some rest. Don’t we have to see the Ninth Prince tomorrow?” Seeing that Zhou Ziliang wasn’t going to continue the conversation, Tang Feng nodded and extinguished the candle.
The next morning, Lin Siwen, having already made arrangements with his superiors and subordinates, invited Meng Lie to his home under the guise of a guest. When Meng Lie saw Tang Feng sitting in the front hall drinking tea, he felt as if he had been transported to another world. A lump formed in his throat, and he knelt to pay his respects, "This humble general greets Grand Tutor." Tang Feng quickly helped Meng Lie up, "General Meng, please rise." Looking at Tang Feng, General Meng felt a pang of sorrow and sighed, "Grand Tutor... I am a military officer, not very cultured, so I won't say anything more! Whatever you say, goes!" Tang Feng was amused by Meng Lie and shook his head, "I didn't ask you to risk your life here, you don't need to do this." He then spread the defense map of Xiling City on the table, "Ziliang's troops are currently at Yaojiashan, only a dozen kilometers from here, but it will still take some time for them to arrive. Ziliang and I will discuss..." "We'll march in batches to the outskirts of Xiling City, making us less of a target, and we'll only march at night. General Meng, could you perhaps pitch your tents in the woods not far from your location?" Meng Lie nodded. "That's not a problem, but what about the city gate? It's difficult to open. I don't even recognize the guards now; they're all His Majesty's own men." Zhou Ziliang pointed to the back gate of Xiling City. "I secretly investigated yesterday, and this is said to be the weakest point. I'll arrange for twenty soldiers from the Dingbei Army to enter the city in disguise during the day and act at night, using three bird calls as a signal. Once they hear it, it means we've already occupied the back gate." Meng Lie nodded repeatedly, then frowned. "What about the Protectorate General's Office? That operation was discovered; they're like a persistent leech."
Tang Feng pondered for a moment, "I met Sima Ru when I was young. He once said that the Protectorate only serves His Majesty. However, if the throne is given to the Ninth Prince, perhaps they will no longer pursue this matter. If possible, you can keep them outside the city, and I will take care of the rest."
The group chatted until curfew. Due to the rules, Meng Lie had to get up and leave the city. Tang Feng also needed to take advantage of the moonlight to visit the imperial mausoleum. After preparing his attire, Tang Feng and Zhou Ziliang headed towards the mausoleum. There were quite a few soldiers along the way, which made Zhou Ziliang somewhat worried. "We must investigate the route of these soldiers tomorrow. We can't let them enter the palace to report to His Majesty, otherwise, if we alarm the Protectorate, it will be difficult to get into the palace again." Tang Feng nodded. "Of course, but we can't let our guard down at the imperial mausoleum either."
The two arrived at the imperial mausoleum, its solemnity tinged with a sense of desolation. Tang Feng ascended the long steps and pushed open the tightly closed gates. He saw Li Yunyu sitting alone on a cushion, gazing up at the memorial tablet on the offering table, and felt an indescribable pang of sorrow. "Your Highness..."
Li Yunyu's body stiffened, then he slowly turned around. His eyes reddened when he saw Tang Feng. He slowly stood up, forcing back tears, and smiled, "Sir... all these years, I've always listened to you..." Tang Feng nodded and rubbed his forehead. "I know... you've done very well. These years... you've suffered." Li Yunyu shook his head and said nothing more, just lowering his head like a child who had done something wrong. Tang Feng smiled silently and rubbed his hair. "It's all in the past. I came to talk to you..." "Let's discuss some matters." Li Yunyu naturally understood Tang Feng's purpose in coming. He nodded and led Tang Feng into the study, lighting a few candles. "Sir, as you can see, there aren't many guards at the imperial mausoleum. I think entering the palace from the mausoleum will save a lot of trouble." Tang Feng was taken aback. How could he have forgotten this? The Empress Dowager had once led him from the palace through the underground palace to the imperial mausoleum. Since the two sides were connected, Lin Siwen, Li Yunyu, and he could simply enter the palace directly from the underground palace. In that case... Tang Feng frowned and took out the defense map. "Ziliang and I just checked the guards near the imperial mausoleum; there aren't many... So, Ziliang, can the Dingbei Army advance to the outskirts of Xiling City the day after tomorrow?" Zhou Ziliang nodded. "Of course. It's not far from Yaojia Mountain anyway; two days should be enough."
Tang Feng looked at the map again. Just as Zi Liang said, we should start from the back gate. After we occupy it, we should open the gate and try to attract everyone into the city. Zi Liang will then send a group of people to enter from the imperial mausoleum with us, and follow the Ninth Prince and General Lin to capture Li Yunheng and Consort Rong. We can't let them escape.
Two days later, after escorting Tang Feng and Zhou Ziliang to the imperial mausoleum, Chen Ke went to meet Meng Lie. Dressed in night clothes, Chen Ke and his men headed towards the rear city gate. The general guarding the rear gate, noticing Chen Ke's suspicious movements, immediately called out, "Halt! Where are you going?" Chen Ke glanced behind the general, who, thinking someone was behind him, turned to defend himself but was instantly killed by Chen Ke's blade. Chen Ke then beckoned to several men behind him, signaling them to follow. They climbed the city wall, drew their bows, and fired arrows at the few remaining guards, quickly eliminating them. Afterward, Chen Ke blew three bird calls and opened the city gate. Hearing the heavy sound of the gate opening, the guards at the front gate sounded their horns, shouting, "Quick! Go to the rear gate! Someone has broken in!"
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