When a baby tiger pounced on its prey, it would not approach and observe carefully like a mature tiger, looking for the best opportunity to make a fatal pounce. It would make its move when it wanted to pounce on its prey. In reality, Li Longji did not have much time to think because Princess Taiping was about to make her move. He had to respond immediately.
In the afternoon of the next day, Li Longji was still in the Hall of Martial Virtue dealing with government affairs. It was quiet outside the golden hall. In the spacious and empty palace, people rarely moved under the scorching sun. There were only a few soldiers standing listlessly by the stone steps, hoping that the sun would quickly move to the west and let the shadow of the palace shine over.
"Bang!"
A loud noise suddenly came from afar. By the time it reached here, it was already not loud, but a drowsy palace guard holding a halberd still heard the noise. He squinted his eyes in surprise and looked into the distance against the glaring sunlight. He was surprised to find that the Gate of Martial Virtue was actually closed.
Because the retired emperor was still in the Hall of Taiji, the emperor was in charge of government affairs in the side hall, the Hall of Martial Virtue. This Gate of Martial Virtue was originally a side door, but now, like the Gate of Heaven, it had become a path that all the civil and military officials had to pass to go to court every day. Therefore, it was usually not closed.
It was now afternoon and the court had long been dismissed. However, the emperor was still reading memorials in the Hall of Martial Virtue. There were often officials from various departments going in and out. Therefore, the Gate of Martial Virtue was still open and would only be closed when the palace gates were closed.
Before he could come to his senses, he saw hundreds of soldiers with shining swords and spears charging in from the Gate of Martial Virtue. The ones charging at the front were the Yulin General Chang Yuankai and Li Ci who were guarding the Gate of Martial Virtue today. This palace guard shivered and his hair all stood on end.
"Rebellion! Someone is rebelling! "
This palace guard was scared out of his wits. He immediately ran towards the Hall of Martial Virtue. He ran along the long stone steps for more than a hundred steps, but before he could rush into the main hall, he heard an orderly battle cry. He hurriedly turned his head and saw that the door between the Hall of Taiji and the Hall of Martial Virtue, the Gate of Qie Hua, which was usually closed, suddenly opened. An orderly group of Imperial Guards charged out from the Gate of Qie Hua and intercepted the rebel army.
It was obvious that this sudden army was well prepared. Their formation was neat, and all of them wore leather armor. The brown armor and bright red helmet tassels formed a sharp spear that pierced towards the snake-like rebel army.
There were about three hundred people in the rebel army, and they were rushing toward the Martial Virtue Hall with all their might. Because some of them ran fast and some of them ran slow, the entire army was dragged into a messy line. There was no formation to speak of. When this army that suddenly appeared out of nowhere rushed in, they were quickly inserted, cut off, and surrounded.
This palace guard was stunned for a moment before he came to his senses. He was about to run into the palace to warn when a tsunami of shouts suddenly sounded from the direction of the Hall of Martial Virtue. Countless brightly armored imperial guards swarmed out like a tide from the main gate, side gate, pillars, and gable walls. They came from the back of the Hall of Martial Virtue and the rear hall.
This palace guard was stunned and stood there in a daze. He saw the first batch of guards rush out, and they rushed all the way to the seventh stone step before suddenly stopping. Their long halberds pointed forward in an orderly fashion. Behind them, countless soldiers quickly swarmed over and covered the stone steps behind them as well as the ground above them, forming a steel spear formation made up of armor and large halberds. It was dense and strong like a mountain.
A young and tall eunuch stood in front of the troops with a sword in his hand. This palace guard recognized him. That person was the inner palace eunuch Gao Lishi, Eunuch Gao, who was extremely favored by the Emperor.
On the wide and flat square between the Gate of Martial Virtue and the Hall of Martial Virtue, the rebel army that had been cut into two by the soldiers from Qianhua Sect were fighting desperately. Suddenly, they realized that countless soldiers had rushed out of the Hall of Martial Virtue to protect it. Their resistance immediately stopped in shock. Everyone was stunned. At this point, who didn't understand that the Emperor was already prepared?
Gao Lishi took two steps forward with a murderous look on his face. He shouted in a stern voice, "The Saint has ordered! Chang Yuankai and Li Ci are plotting against the Emperor. Kill without mercy! All of you soldiers have been deceived. Those who immediately abandon their weapons and surrender will not be punished. "
Chang Yuankai's face was pale. He held his saber and shouted, "Brothers, don't listen to his nonsense. As long as we rush into the Hall of Martial Virtue …"
"Boom! Boom! Boom! "
Before Chang Yuankai could finish speaking, there was suddenly a violent sound of the ground being pounded. The ground trembled, startling him so much that he stopped speaking. He quickly turned his head to look. With just one glance, the light in his eyes immediately shrank to the size of a needle.
As far as the eye could see, there was no end to it. The dense forest of spears was like a mountain! Innumerable Yulin Guards covered the entire palace like flowing lava. With every step they took, the earth trembled. In front of such a dense formation of spears and sabers, wherever the army came, men and horses would be crushed. There was nothing that could stop them. The only choice was to hope for the wind and escape.
However, did they have a way out? The Gate of Martial Virtue behind them was already locked. On the right was a tall and thick palace wall. In front was the Hall of Martial Virtue. However, below the steps of the hall were also endless imperial soldiers, protecting the palace impenetrably. Even if they fought to the last drop of blood, could they kill their way in?
Wang Maozhong, clad in Radiant Armor, walked majestically in front of the endless army. He waved his saber and shouted, "Disarm and you will be spared!" The countless Imperial Guards behind him didn't say a word. They only used their uniform footsteps and the murderous aura that caused the entire palace to tremble to cheer for their general.
"Clang!" It was unknown who dropped his weapon, but immediately after, there was the sound of weapons hitting the ground. Many of the soldiers who had abandoned their weapons were so frightened that their faces turned pale. They lay on the ground and trembled, not daring to raise their heads. Chang Yuankai and Li Ci looked at each other, their eyes filled with despair.
…
The two Prime Ministers, Xiao Zhizhong and Cen Xi, attempted to imitate Zhang Jianzhi's actions in the past. They used the Prime Minister's seal to write an official document for mobilizing troops and rushed to the Southern yamen. After the two Prime Ministers broke into the Southern yamen, they immediately beat the drums and gathered the generals. They loudly announced, "The Emperor intends to kill the Retired Emperor. The Retired Emperor orders the Prime Minister to mobilize troops to the Southern yamen!"
After Xiao Zhizhong finished speaking, all the generals in the tent stood solemnly without a word of doubt. Xiao Zhizhong and Cen Xi thought that this lie had fooled the generals and secretly exchanged glances. Cen Xi grabbed the arrow of command and shouted, "The Right Thousand-Ox Guard's General Lin Hai, come forward and listen to the order!"
The tent was quiet and no one answered.
Cen Xi frowned and swept his eyes over the generals in the tent. He shouted, "Where is the Right Thousand-Ox Guard's General Lin Hai?"
The generals in the tent looked straight ahead and still did not say a word.
Xiao Zhizhong asked curiously, "Lin Hai did not arrive on time? Where is the Left Guard's General Guo Nu? "
The dozens of generals in the tent were still standing straight like mountains and still did not say a word. Xiao Zhizhong and Cen Xi's expressions gradually changed. Xiao Zhizhong forced himself to calm down but he could not suppress the trembling in his voice. He pointed at a person and asked, "You … which guard's general are you from? Tell me your name!"
The general that he pointed at looked like he was made of iron but his face did not change at all. He calmly looked forward as if he did not hear Xiao Zhizhong's words and did not see him.
At this time, a burst of laughter came from behind the tent. Xiao Zhizhong and Cen Xi hurriedly turned around and saw a young general wearing a helmet and armor with a long sword at his side. He walked out from the tent valiantly and was surrounded by a dozen burly warriors. Xiao Zhizhong and Cen Xi's faces turned ashen when they saw this person and cried out in shock, "King Song?"
Li Chengqi's smile vanished, and he shouted sternly, "Men, behead these two traitors who have deceived the emperor and rebelled against their superiors!"
A group of wolf-like and tiger-like soldiers immediately rushed forward. Regardless of whether they were the courteous Prime Ministers or not, they raised their steel sabers and blood splattered everywhere. The two Prime Ministers were slaughtered like pigs on the spot.
At this time, Dou Huaizhen was still sitting in the Political Affairs Hall. Initially, he wanted to wait for the two sides to succeed before sitting in the Political Affairs Hall to issue fake edicts and quickly pacify the situation. However, he did not expect that before he could wake up from his sweet dream, the 'military parade' in front of the Martial Virtue Hall had reached his ears. Dou Huaizhen knew that the matter had been exposed and he hurriedly opened the back window and escaped.
At this time, the entire palace was on high alert. How could they possibly escape? If Li Longji hadn't been worried that they would be alerted in the beginning, and if it wasn't for the fact that he wasn't afraid that they would escape from the palace once the attack was launched, Tu Huaizhen wouldn't even be able to escape from the Political Affairs Hall.
Dou Huaizhen fled in panic and dived into a drainage ditch. Seeing the muddy water rolling away, he did not know how to swim, nor did he know how long the underground waterway was, or how many hidden iron bars were along the way to prevent people from sneaking in. In despair, he took off his belt and hanged himself on a sluice gate.
At the same time, Li Longfan, Li Longye, and a few of Li Longji's trusted generals each led a group of imperial guards to arrest Wang Jin, Cui Shi, Hui Fan, Jia Yingfu, Li You, and the other members of the Taiping Party.
Li Dan heard the movement of the army from Taiji Palace and hurriedly climbed the Gate of Heaven to take a look. Seeing the army gathered at the Martial Virtue Hall, he could not help but turn pale with fright. He quickly summoned the Minister of War, Guo Yuanzhen, to see him.
Guo Yuanzhen had already been informed by Li Longji in advance and knew the entire plan. As soon as he saw Li Dan, he immediately bowed and said, "Don't be alarmed, Retired Emperor. This is a rebellion by Prime Minister Dou Huaizhen and the others. The Emperor is currently mobilizing troops to suppress the rebellion and was afraid that the Retired Emperor would be worried, so he did not report it in advance. Now, the masterminds of the rebellion have been executed. "
Li Dan was stunned. "Dou Huaizhen and the others rebelled?"
Thinking about it, Li Dan suddenly turned pale with fright. Since there were people who rebelled and betrayed the current Emperor, they must have someone else to support. Who would Dou Huaizhen support? He was the Prime Minister recommended by Ling Yue. Could it be … could it be that San Lang was mobilizing troops to make a move against his aunt?
Li Dan flew into a rage and shouted, "Where is San Lang? Quickly summon him to see me!"
At this time, Li Longji had just arrived at the Gate of Heaven. As the son of a noble family, Li Longji only needed to create a false impression that he was at the Martial Virtue Hall. Why would he personally act as bait? As soon as he saw Li Dan, Li Longji immediately knelt on the ground and said, "Father, this son did not inform Imperial Father in advance of the capture of the rebels and alarmed Imperial Father. This son has sinned."
Li Dan's face was ashen as he said in a deep voice, "San Lang, what do you want to do to your aunt?"
Li Longji saw that his father had already guessed that Princess Taiping was involved and did not hide it. He smiled bitterly and said, "Imperial Father, it is not that this son wants to do to my aunt, but what my aunt wants to do to this son. Imperial Father, please take a look."
He took out the informant letter from his bosom and presented it to Li Dan. Li Dan was dispirited as he read it and was speechless for a long time. Although he had deep feelings for his sister Taiping, he loved his son just as much. Now that his sister wanted to kill his son and his son wanted to deal with his sister, what else could he say?
After a long time, Li Dan asked in a trembling voice, "Then, how do you plan to deal with your aunt?"
Seeing the tears in his father's eyes, Li Longji's heart trembled. He did not dare to meet his father's eyes again and could only lower his head. He replied in a low voice, "Father, I … I'm afraid I can't deal with my aunt now."
Li Dan's heart tightened and he hurriedly asked, "Why is that?"
Li Longji replied in a low voice, "Because … the one leading the troops to Princess Taiping's residence is my second brother."
Li Dan's heart immediately sank. Among his five sons, Li Chengyi was the one who did things the most without scruples. If it was Li Chengqi, Li Longfan, or Li Longye, they might have some scruples because of Taiping's identity. However, Li Chengyi was different. He respected his father and loved his siblings, but he did not have the same deep feelings for his relatives.
Li Dan turned around in a daze and walked over to the city walls with heavy steps. Leaning against the wall, he gazed in the direction of the Princess Taiping Residence. Tears streamed down his face as he muttered to himself, "Lingyue, you … you're no longer here?"
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