Silence. A death-like silence. Perhaps it was very long. Perhaps it was only an instant. Looking back 30 years, looking closer, it was two or three years. The wood shavings and broken pieces of tables and chairs that had been shattered by the zhenqi all around them fell with a rustle. Blood dripped down. Fan Xian slowly pulled out the sharp sword. The blade scraped against flesh and blood, making a wretched sound.
Ye Zhong let go of the pair of iron hands. Gong Dian stood up, coughing up blood. The old Qin Master's eyes were wide open. His body was soaked in blood as he sat by the wall. He had died with his eyes open. His hands were slightly open as if he was grabbing onto something.
This elder figure of the Qing military had finally died. He had died in the most sinister murder that had been planned and hidden for the longest time since the founding of the Qing Kingdom.
Fan Xian was not injured at all, but he felt his body become slightly cold. Raising his head, he glanced at the silent Gong Dian to his right with a strange gaze. He looked at the first official of the guards he had met since he entered the capital at the age of 16. It was like he was looking at a monster.
Then, he turned his head and glanced at Ye Zhong. He looked at Ye Zhong heavily. Coincidentally, Ye Zhong was also looking at him. Their gazes met. There were no sparks, but they each carried a sense of understanding, insight, and probing.
Fan Xian knew that, in some sense, his gamble had already completely succeeded. The reason he dared to gamble on the Royal Palace was not because he already had some inside information. It was because when he had pressed down on the empress dowager's foot, he had thought of his grandmother's words in Danzhou.
The Emperor never fought a battle unprepared. The Emperor's willpower was powerful beyond imagination. The Emperor did not have any weaknesses. When Fan Xian was faced with a desperate situation, he did not believe that the Emperor would not have left any backup in Jingdou. The Emperor clearly knew the situation in Jingdou. How could he still go to Dong Mountain to worship heaven? Fan Xian wanted to gamble. He was gambling that some unexpected changes would occur in the rebel army.
The changes had finally occurred. The Ye family had rebelled. No, it should be said that the most valiant spies in the history of the Qing Kingdom had surfaced.
However, when Fan Xian decided to gamble, he still could not convince himself why the Ye family would suddenly intervene, until he saw those things in Ye Zhong's eyes.
Perhaps this glance only took a second, but it was enough for Fan Xian to understand many things. In the past, all the questions he had once doubted, all the things in the Qing court that appeared strange these four years, which proved the Emperor's paranoia and exposed his flaws, all received a perfect explanation.
Fan Xian only looked at Ye Zhong for a second, but he had already seen through everything that had happened in the past few years, even more than a decade.
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…
A month ago, at the foot of Dong Mountain, Ye Liuyun had come in a boat breaking through the waves. A sword came from beyond the heavens. It broke through the rocks and entered the precipice. Only the hilt of the sword remained outside the wall. At that time, Fan Xian was standing on the reef. He had been wounded by an arrow and had luckily escaped by sinking into the sea.
Last year, in Suzhou, in the Baoyue Brothel, Ye Liuyun arrived wearing a bamboo hat. With one sword, he cut down half the building. For the sake of the Junshang Conference, he forcefully took away the accountant. At that moment, Fan Xian let loose a torrent of curses. He suffered internal injuries, but fortunately, he did not die.
Given Ye Liuyun's abilities and the might of a Great Grandmaster, he had allowed Fan Xian to meet him twice and not die. Using this as a line, it was clear to see the past events of the Qing Kingdom.
Two years ago, while admiring chrysanthemums in the Hanging Temple, Gong Dian strangely left his post. There was a sudden assassination aimed at the Qing Emperor. The building was in chaos, and Fan Xian was heavily injured. Ye Zhong gave chase but failed. The court was shocked, and the Emperor was furious. He stripped Ye Zhong of his position as Commander of the Jingdou Garrison and sent him back to Dingzhou. Gong Dian was imprisoned and luckily returned.
Two years and two months ago, Fan Xian learned of the marriage between the Second Prince and Ye Ling 'er in Shangjing. He was shocked and thought that the Emperor was trying to force Ye Zhong to resign from his post so he would not be involved in the affairs of the princes.
From this, it went back to eight years ago. At that time, Fan Xian was 12. On a cliff in Danzhou, he was bitterly practicing the Tyrannical martial method. At that time, the singer Liuyun had come and used sanshou to compare notes with Wu Zhu.
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After the Hanging Temple incident, Fan Xian and Chen Pingping had a long night of conversation. They both knew that the Emperor had purposely arranged this matter to suppress the Ye family, remove Gong Dian from his position as Deputy Commander of the Imperial Army, and force Ye Zhong to leave Jingdou. At the time, he and Chen Pingping were confused. They thought that the Emperor was too suspicious, but they also thought that this was a struggle between imperial power and the Great Grandmasters, so they did not think about it carefully.
In dealing with the matter of the Ye family, the Qing Emperor had clearly exposed his weakness of being overly suspicious. Although the method he used was obscure, it also lost its righteous style.
At this moment, Fan Xian thought of the singer he first met when he was 12. He had long thought through all of this and finally understood. The Emperor's paranoia, the Emperor's blunder, was purposely showing weakness. Through the alienation of the Ye family, it gave the enemies under heaven the courage to attack.
In eight years, Fan Xian had never seriously thought about why of the four Great Grandmasters, the first one he saw was Ye Liuyun. He had also never thought about why Ye Liuyun, traveling the world, would go to Danzhou and so easily find Uncle Wu Zhu, whom many people wanted to find but could not.
Where was Wu Zhu? No one under heaven knew, but some people knew that wherever Fan Xian was, Wu Zhu would be there. At that time, the only people who knew Fan Xian's true identity were the Emperor, Chen Pingping, and Fan Jian.
Analyzing to this point, he understood everything. Ye Liuyun had gone to Danzhou because someone had told him that Ye Qingmei's son was in Danzhou. Naturally, Wu Zhu was also in Danzhou.
The person who had told him all of this was the Emperor.
In other words, the Emperor had solemnly asked Ye Liuyun to go to Danzhou and see his illegitimate child with a strange background.
Naturally, such a person was the Emperor's most trusted person.
How could such a person betray the Emperor?
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The Emperor's paranoia, the Ye family's alienation, the marriage between the Second Prince and Ye Ling 'er, and Ye Liuyun's sudden change in direction. All of this was actually just an illusion, or perhaps it was a price that had to be paid. These were just the details that made up a perfect Infernal Affairs.
This plan had probably been constructed for a year, two years, three years. If one thought of Ye Liuyun's identity as a guest of the Junshang Conference, the time this plan had probably begun was more than a dozen years ago.
Using such a long time and paying such a heavy price to hide it from everyone under heaven, including himself and the Eldest Princess's eyes, it could be said that this was the most terrifying Infernal Affairs in the history of the Qing Kingdom.
Compared to this, what did the Overwatch Council's Yan Ruohai and Yuan Hongdao count for?
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In just a second, countless images flashed through Fan Xian's mind. He withdrew his gaze and looked at the calm Ye Zhong. His body suddenly felt a chill as if he had fallen into an icehouse. Even Chen Pingping probably did not know of this plan. The Emperor's willpower was truly too terrifying.
He looked at Ye Zhong. His lips were dry. From his clothes, he took out his special token and handed it over. In a trembling voice, he asked, "Is the Emperor still alive?"
At that moment, Ye Zhong was also looking at the young duke. His emotions were complicated. When he had first attacked the old Qin Master, he had not thought that Fan Xian on the Palace Walls would be able to mobilize the power to cooperate with him. His heart was also filled with shock. Had the Emperor already told Sir Fan junior the entire plan?
When Fan Xian opened his mouth, Ye Zhong asked at the same time, "Is the Emperor still alive?"
The exact same two questions shocked Fan Xian and Ye Zhong at the same time. Looking into each other's eyes, they felt a chill. Only now did they know that no one in Jingdou, regardless of whether it was Fan Xian, whom the Emperor trusted incomparably, or Ye Zhong, the most important person in this plan, did not know whether the Emperor was alive or dead.
"Where is Li Yunrui?"
"Taiping Courtyard."
The two of them stopped talking. Ye Zhong accepted Fan Xian's token. Gong Dian picked up the old Qin Master's body and quickly left in the direction of the square, where the sounds of killing had already shaken the heavens.
Only a moment had passed since the assassination of Qin Ye. The people involved thought a lot. However, the formal conversation only consisted of these two sentences. The first sentence from both sides had already explained too many problems. Everyone was only a pawn in a large chessboard. They just had to do their part. Man proposes, God disposes. For now, they didn't know the situation at Dong Mountain and didn't need to think about it.
Fan Xian took a few heavy breaths and forcefully suppressed the irritation brought about by the Tyrannical zhenqi and medicine in his body. He dispersed some of the coldness in his heart and did not notice the small hole in the wall.
For such a plan, the Emperor had planned it for such a long time and exhausted so much energy. Naturally, the plan was great. Eliminating all opposition within the Qing Kingdom was one part, but the Emperor's true goal was probably far from that.
Using Chen Pingping's words, in this world, only the Emperor stood at the highest and saw the furthest. Given the Emperor's gaze, during these decades, he had always looked at the beautiful and elegant sights of the world, particularly the lands and people that temporarily did not belong to him.
The main target of the Ye family's seamless plan was probably Northern Qi and Dongyi. Ku He and Sigu Jian were both present on Dong Mountain, but Ye Liuyun was the Emperor's underling. The entire situation of the world had probably undergone a world-shaking change on that mountain.
However, there were still some things Fan Xian did not understand. Even though Ye Liuyun had abruptly turned against him at Dong Mountain, Ku He and Sigu Jian were extraordinary figures. With the four Great Grandmasters at Dong Mountain, even if Ku He and Sigu Jian were at a disadvantage, how could they be taken in by the Emperor?
Fan Xian furrowed his brows. It looked like the Emperor had chosen Dong Mountain as the place to gather the overall situation. Most importantly, he was counting on Uncle Wu Zhu to take action. He knew Uncle Wu Zhu's personality. He would probably disappoint the Emperor.
The wretched cries of killing came from behind him and pulled him out of his complicated emotions. It reminded him that he was still beside the battlefield. The situation in Jingdou had not been settled. There were still countless people spilling hot blood for a plot that had been woven for many years.
He took another deep breath and temporarily stopped thinking about the problem of Dong Mountain. Breaking through the wall, he disappeared into the heavy cover of private residences. In the instant before he moved, he suddenly felt a wave of sorrow.
He suddenly felt sympathy for the Eldest Princess, the Crown Prince, the Second Prince, and the Qing soldiers fighting desperately in front of the Royal Palace. He also began to feel sympathy for himself. For the battle in Jingdou to reach such a level of ferocity, how much damage would it do to the Qing Kingdom's national strength? Had the Emperor, whose life and death was unknown, really not calculated?
The four Great Grandmasters were at Dong Mountain. Even if the power of a sleeve or a finger was enough to shake the heavens and earth, could the Emperor still be alive?
Why did he take such a great risk and expend so much energy to do such a thing? Was it really to unify the world? Was it just for the title of Master of the World?
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At the same time that Ye Zhong, Gong Jie, and Fan Xian were assassinating the old Qin Master, the middle-ranking Dingzhou generals, who had been silent the entire time, all met each other's eyes. They saw the determination and confusion in each other's eyes. It was not until the moment they entered the city that these generals had secretly received Commander Ye and General Gong's secret orders. In order to keep it a secret, it was impossible to mobilize the lower-ranking soldiers.
However, the Ye family's Dingzhou army had to attack. They had already seen the strange scene in the rebel army's camp. However, soldiers were not robots that only listened to orders. For any army, when they were about to turn on the battlefield without any pre-battle mobilization, they would all appear confused.
A moment ago, they were preparing to attack the Royal Palace. In the next moment, they suddenly had to turn their spears toward their own comrades. No matter how strict the military discipline of the Dingzhou army was, their battle power would probably drop to a very low point.
Fortunately, the Dingzhou army's outstanding deputy generals and the middle-ranking generals who knew the inside story were talented enough to partially solve the problem of who they were fighting for.
They isolated the Second Prince's trusted aides outside and surrounded the Second Prince. In a loud voice, they yelled, "The Second Prince has an order! The Crown Prince has killed the Monarch and his father. He is worse than a pig or a dog. Any Qing Kingdom soldier can rise up and attack him. Kill! "
It was not until now that the Second Prince realized something was wrong. His face immediately paled. He didn't know why these generals, who had always been respectful and courteous, had surrounded him. He also didn't know why they had suddenly given such an absurd military order.
Did his father-in-law see that the Royal Palace had opened and wanted to use this opportunity to get rid of the Crown Prince and help him ascend the throne? The Second Prince comforted himself like this in his heart. Only when he saw his trusted aide being shot down by the Dingzhou army and tied up on horseback did his heart grow cold. He knew that a change that neither he nor the Crown Prince had expected had occurred.
Once the military order came out, the common soldiers of the Dingzhou army reacted quickly and attacked the Qin family's troops. Perhaps a portion of them actually believed this military order and thought that the Crown Prince's assassination plot had finally been exposed. The Second Prince had learned from his painful experience and decided to avenge the previous Emperor. Most of the common soldiers thought that it was the Second Prince who had decided to take advantage of this opportunity to attack the Crown Prince.
As for the latter judgment, all of the common people seemed to think this way.
The attack of all of the Dingzhou soldiers finally succeeded in overcoming the most important problem of military morale among all the defections. Confident and confident, they began to attack the Qin family as a matter of course.
Of course, such a hurried defection would not be able to demonstrate the true power of the Dingzhou army. Fortunately, the Qin family still had a large number of soldiers. However, the old Qin Master had suddenly died, Qin Heng had been stabbed to death by Jing Ge's spear, and a few generals had escorted the Crown Prince to the back of the camp. Of the eight generals on the front lines, five had been killed and three wounded. It could truly be said that they were a group of dragons without a leader.
For an army with slightly more stable morale to attack an army without a leader to command them, victory or defeat was not difficult to predict.
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On the chaotic battlefield, other than the Dingzhou army, not many people heard the military orders of the Ye family generals. There were still many people fighting with all their might. Even if it wasn't to kill the enemy, it was to protect their own lives.
Covered in blood, the Great Prince brandished the long knife in his hand and opened a bloody path. Although he was unable to charge into the rebel army's camp, he successfully met up with the remaining Black Knights. In the fierce battle, he did not see the scene of Fan Xian, Ye Zhong, and Gong Dian attacking at the same time. He thought he had reached the end of his road.
Fresh blood dripped from his hand, but his expression was solemn. As a prince of the Qing Kingdom, he had fought for the Royal Palace until now without a glimmer of regret in the depths of his heart.
A thunderous sound of horse hooves rang out. The Dingzhou cavalry, which had been resting, finally charged over.
The Great Prince narrowed his eyes slightly and glanced at the already exhausted Jing Ge. Tightening the knife hilt in his hand, he was about to chop down.
However, the Dingzhou cavalry swept past in front of them and did not attack at all. Instead, they charged ruthlessly toward the Qin family army.
"Kill!"
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