The sound of killing shook the sky. Suddenly and without any warning, countless riders covered in Dingzhou dust began to attack the Qin family from all directions in the square. A group of about a thousand cavalrymen, like a sickle, sharply swept across the Royal Palace. The scaling ladders that towered up to the top of the Royal Palace were, in a flash, like ripe grains in a paddy field. With a crash, they were neatly cut off at the root.
The ears of wheat were always heavy. There were a number of rebel soldiers bravely climbing up the scaling ladders. They had no idea that friendly soldiers would attack them from below. The defenses at the bottom of the scaling ladders had not considered this problem. So many three-part scaling ladders collapsed miserably from the two sides toward the center. The rebel soldiers on them cried out wretchedly as they fell from high above like grains falling from a harvest.
Many people fell to their deaths on the ground, spilling out blood and internal organs. They were then pressed to the bottom by the layers of scaling ladders that randomly fell to the ground like rice stalks. The rebel soldiers who had already reached the palace walls suddenly felt something strange behind them and couldn't help but feel shocked.
On the contrary, the remaining Imperial Army and Overwatch Council subordinates in the palace walls discovered that the situation on the battlefield below had suddenly changed and found their last chance of survival. Courage immediately surged into their chests. The people defending the Royal Palace charged forward and surrounded the rebel soldiers who had reached the palace walls, forcing the Qin family soldiers, who no longer had a path of retreat, into a hopeless situation.
There were already rebel soldiers breaking through the front doors of the Royal Palace and carrying out a sudden attack. They had no idea what was happening behind them. The Ye family's two groups of riders approached from the west and Taiping Square. After sweeping through the scaling ladders, they did not slow down at all. They rode directly into the pitch-black front doors of the Royal Palace and launched an attack behind the rebel soldiers entering the Palace.
On the square, the Dingzhou army, which had taken an advantageous position, had long begun their counterattack against the Qin family. Too many of the Qin family's upper-level generals had died or been injured. Additionally, the incident had happened suddenly. For a moment, they were unable to organize an effective defense or counterattack.
On the battlefield, what decided victory or defeat was often the moment the battle began. The generals of the Dingzhou army carried out the secret order the Commander had given them before they entered the city. With a thunderous force, they attacked and caught the Qin family's army unprepared. For a moment, the rebel soldiers suffered heavy casualties. The scales of victory and defeat had already tipped toward the Dingzhou army.
As for why the scales were tipped, that was something that not everyone could understand. This was especially so for the Imperial Army and Shadow Cavalry in the center of the square. They had already gone through four hours of desperate fighting and were extremely exhausted. Seeing that they were about to face death, their eyes were wide open and they were clearly at a loss.
The Great Prince, covered in blood, stood together with Jing Ge, who had his head lowered. They looked in shock at the murderous cries around them, the black smoke, the light of the knife, and the shadow of the sword. They listened to the grunts, wretched wails, and sorrowful cries in the square. They discovered that the long knife in their hands was actually very heavy.
The rebel army suddenly began to attack each other. The Qin family was unable to protect themselves, and the Dingzhou army purposely avoided the area in the middle of the square. The Great Prince and the people protecting the Royal Palace stood in a daze on the empty ground, not understanding what had happened.
A moment ago, they were still fighting with their lives on the line. In the next moment, they seemed to have become pure spectators. What happened in Jingdou seemed to have nothing to do with them.
The Great Prince glanced at the wounded Jing Ge at his side and furrowed his brows. As the Commander of the Western Expedition Army, he knew how important one's reaction on the battlefield was. Regardless of what problems were happening within the rebel army, if he wanted to use this opportunity, he had to immediately give the order to gather the nearly 2,000 remaining effective forces inside and outside the Palace.
However, there was a loss in his eyes because the inside and outside of the Palace had already been divided into a number of battle zones. It was impossible for the Imperial Army to band together. Furthermore, from the bottom of his heart, the Great Prince did not want these exhausted subordinates to once again leave this rare moment of safety and throw themselves into the flames of battle.
Thus, he had to see clearly what the Dingzhou army's sudden betrayal meant. Did the Second Prince want to use this opportunity to get rid of the Crown Prince and take the throne himself? But, why did the Dingzhou army purposely stay away from the Imperial Army and work hard to protect the Royal Palace? He suddenly thought of everything Fan Xian had done since the early hours of the morning. His heart thumped.
Did Fan Xian know that the Ye family would make a move? Was that why he had sent out those orders to find a good opportunity for the other party? At this moment, a member of the Imperial Guard rushed to his side and whispered a few words into his ear. He briefly explained what had happened in the rebel army's camp that someone had noticed earlier.
The Great Prince's eyes lit up slightly. He looked at the Dingzhou army shuttling around him, the Qin family troops retreating step by step not far away, and the dragon flag where the Crown Prince was. He finally relaxed a little. His admiration for Fan Xian grew a little stronger.
… …
Urgent military orders rang out from all around them. Amidst the dust and smoke filling the air, the powers of all sides gathered and charged. The Great Prince led the remaining 200 people and the Imperial Soldiers who had returned from Taiping Square. Fortunately, they met up together and slowly pressed toward the Royal Palace. In the distance, hidden by the dust and smoke, the bright yellow dragon flag could faintly be seen leaving the square.
The entire square had become a battlefield of carnage. Although the Qin family's rebel army had suffered heavy casualties, they had more people than the Dingzhou army. Although the military orders did not go their way, they still made the Dingzhou army pay a great price by relying on the Qing army's naturally outstanding individual soldier qualities.
The scene was chaotic. All of the Qing soldiers had become countless small battle groups and were fighting together. This situation had arisen because, at the very beginning, the Dingzhou army had received the Crown Prince's edict and was prepared to change formations with the Qin family. This created the chaos.
Along the line of the Royal Palace, there were battles happening on all sides. People were dying everywhere, and there were wretched cries everywhere. The autumn sun hung high in the sky and finally pierced through the smoke around the Royal Palace, illuminating everything clearly. Blood flowed all over the ground, particularly where there was a moat on three sides of the Royal Palace. The blood had already seeped into the river. Many of the dead and wounded soldiers also fell miserably into the river. Some of the rebel soldiers who had not completely died were soaked in the cold moat water and woke up. However, they were powerless to struggle ashore. Wretchedly and powerlessly, they sank into the river. It looked like there were countless water ghosts in the moat pulling at their ankles.
Faced with the Dingzhou army's sudden attack, the Qin family managed to hold out for a while before finally retreating in defeat. A few generals protected the Crown Prince and led the group that had gathered back away from the square. Following the streets of Jingdou, they began to retreat toward the city gate guards that the rebel soldiers still controlled.
The dragon flag retreated, and the army lost again. The Dingzhou army cried out in unison and charged forward bravely. Immediately, the battlefield once again spread from the three li around the Royal Palace toward Jingdou. Chasing and being chased, killing and being killed, arrows flew wildly, and knives and spears struck out viciously. All of Jingdou began to tremble. They knew that they would face an upheaval and bloodbath that had not been seen in 16 years.
…
…
Thud, thud, thud. A series of heavy horse hooves cut through the remaining smoke on the ground. With the general on the horse, they appeared in front of the Imperial Army and Black Knights below the Royal Palace in this corner that seemed to have been forgotten by the rebel army.
Countless sounds of metal colliding rang out. No one gave an order. There was no need for an order. These exhausted Imperial Soldiers and Black Knights, who had suffered heavy casualties, suddenly exploded with spirit. They quickly changed their formation and surrounded the general and the soldiers behind him.
The expressions of the soldiers behind the general changed dramatically. They all drew their knives from their sheaths.
The Great Prince slowly walked out. Looking at the familiar figure on the horse, he furrowed his brows and maintained his silence.
Ye Zhong slowly raised his right arm. The dozens of soldiers slowly put away their knives with wary expressions. However, they still nervously watched the remaining soldiers who had once given them countless mental blows. Earlier, on the square, these hundreds of riders had charged twice and thrown the rebel army into chaos. Spears pointed at Qin Heng and knives cut through tens of thousands of soldiers. It was truly terrifying.
"I will move 3,000 soldiers to help Your Highness defend the city."
Ye Zhong looked at the blood-covered Great Prince in front of him. A glimmer of admiration flashed through his eyes, but his tone remained calm. "Gong Dian will arrive immediately. He will help Your Highness control the situation."
The Great Prince looked at him and still did not speak. Ye Zhong had already reached into his clothes and took out a token. He tossed it toward the Great Prince from a distance.
The Great Prince raised his aching right arm and caught it. Looking closely, he saw that it was the token that Fan Xian had taken from his subordinate in the early hours of the morning. He involuntarily furrowed his brows. Raising his head to look at Ye Zhong's steady figure on the horse, he asked, "Father …"
He only said two words before Ye Zhong interrupted him. He knew what the Great Prince wanted to ask, but he had no idea how to answer.
There were no idiots in the royal family. When Ye Zhong revealed his identity and had Fan Xian's token as a keepsake, the Great Prince was already certain of Ye Zhong's role in this rebellion. He also knew that a figure of Ye Zhong's level was not someone that Fan Xian could persuade. It could only be said that before his father left the capital, he had already made arrangements for the Dingzhou soldiers who had pretended to come forward to offer up prisoners of war.
The Great Prince took a deep breath and didn't say anything more. He directly gave the order, "Give chase."
He knew that Ye Zhong was waiting for his order. Although the Qin family had already been defeated and the sounds of killing still lingered in the square, the Ye family's Dingzhou army had, in reality, already controlled the entire situation in Jingdou. Yet, Ye Zhong still wanted to see him. He needed him, the Commander of the Imperial Army, the eldest son of the royal family, to give Ye Zhong an order.
Given the current situation, the power in his hands already allowed Ye Zhong to control Jingdou. However, he didn't want and didn't dare let anyone have this kind of speculation after the fact, so he was particularly respectful toward the Great Prince.
…
…
The flames of war had already spread into Jingdou. Unavoidably, it affected the commoners who had closed their doors for a day and night. There were tragic battles happening everywhere. The Dingzhou cavalry had already chased after the Qin family's main camp toward the nine city gates of Jingdou.
However, the Crown Prince was not below the dragon flag. This young man, who was about to break into the Royal Palace and become the new monarch of the Qing Kingdom, had suddenly been struck across the waist. His dream had been shattered in front of his eyes. His expression had long become ghastly. Fortunately, the Qin family's loyal generals reacted quickly and led the remaining soldiers to carve out a bloody path.
Li Chengqian didn't want to retreat because he knew that he only had the Qin family's army in his hands. If he left Jingdou, although the world was large, where would he find shelter? Probably even his aunt had not thought that the Ye family would betray him. A bitter smile rose to the corners of the young Crown Prince's lips. The jolting of the warhorse beneath him did not cause his frozen expression to change at all.
Earlier, he had been thinking about how to win the Ye family over from the side of the Second Prince after he ascended the throne and become a true Emperor. He was also thinking about how to resist the pressure of his aunt, mother, grandmother, and old Qin Master and pardon the civil officials on the city walls who were determined to oppose him, particularly the scholars Shu and Hu.
Who would have thought that the Ye family would betray him like this?
His aunt probably still didn't know this shocking news. His mother and grandmother were still trapped on the city walls, and the old Qin Master was already dead.
The Crown Prince felt a sharp pain in his chest. He almost couldn't stand straight on his horse. At his side, a rebel general said with tears in his eyes, "Your Highness, as long as we get out of the city and gather soldiers, Xiao Mountain, and our people, we can charge straight north and meet up with Governor Yan. The matter will definitely succeed."
These words were reasonable, but Li Chengqian didn't really believe it. Fan Xian had returned alive, Governor Yan was probably also dead. Since the Ye family had betrayed, Great Uncle Liuyun was probably … Ah, Li Chengqian sighed in his heart. Following the horse toward the city gates, he didn't know what kind of waves were surging in his heart.
Below the city walls, one of the main conspirators of the rebellion, the Second Prince, was looking at his father-in-law with a venomous and hopeless gaze. Before Ye Zhong personally led the Dingzhou army in pursuit, for some reason, he had returned to his camp and glanced at his son-in-law.
"If you want to live, you have to remember everything the Dingzhou army said today."
The Second Prince's entire body was restrained. He stood wretchedly under his horse. He raised his head and looked fiercely at Ye Zhong as he spat. He knew what Ye Zhong's words meant. The Dingzhou army's final betrayal was nominally because he wanted to avenge his father and carry out his father's posthumous edict. However, he knew that was not the case.
Of all the people involved, the one who felt the most hopeless, shocked, and angry was the Second Prince. He had no idea that on Dong Mountain, the Qing Emperor had specifically said to Fan Xian that if possible, he should leave the Second Prince alive. At such a moment, the Second Prince had never thought he could survive.
What made him most angry was that he seemed to have planned for a long time. In the end, he was the stupidest person. Everything that he had done now seemed so ridiculous, so comical!
His eyes were filled with anger. His usually gentle expression appeared particularly dark and cold. "Father-in-law, you are truly a good dog. However, if father truly dies, what will you do?"
Ye Zhong didn't say anything. He slowly turned his horse around. The expression on his face became somewhat dim. Behind him, the Second Prince yelled, "You bunch of liars!"
At this moment, a heavy object suddenly fell from above the Royal Palace walls and struck viciously against the hard stone tiles with a muffled thud. The person who fell was wearing beautiful and luxurious clothing. Having suffered such a heavy blow, all the bones in her body were broken. Blood flowed freely. She had long died. However, her head was perfectly preserved, revealing a dignified and haggard face filled with despair and madness.
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