Early in the morning, the head of the Northern Qi official, Yang Fan, was hung high on the city gate as punishment. To the side was a notice from Tang Lan. The laws of the Empire were the same in Hundred Ling City. Those who killed without permission had to pay with their lives. Even if they used the Heavenly Book to kill, they had to pay with their lives!
…
Clang!
A heavy palm landed on the golden silk wood table. The nearly 60-year-old Northern Qi Eagle's face was full of anger. He was a member of the Heavenly Book family in Yihe Kingdom and the only person in Yihe Kingdom who could write the Heavenly Book. With his cultivation of the second tier of the Heaven realm, how could he endure such humiliation? With a face full of anger, he said in a low voice, "The Northern Qi Prefecture and the Empire are irreconcilable! Lin Muyu killed my son, Northern Qi Huan. Now, Tang Lan has gone too far and killed Yang Fan of the Northern Qi Prefecture. It is truly despicable! "
To the side, the eldest son, Northern Qi Ao, said, "Father, don't be angry … hmph, Tang Lan only has less than 10,000 soldiers in his hands. After dividing them among the four city gates, he will only have a few hundred people he can use. The Northern Qi Prefecture's private army has 2,000 people and hundreds of Heavenly Books. Do we need to be afraid of a mere Tang Lan? As long as you give the order, I will immediately lead the guards and the private army to the Zhennan Prince's manor, kill Tang Lan, and chase these dogs of the Empire out of Hundred Ling City! "
As he spoke, the corners of Northern Qi's mouth twitched. "Father, the Commander is trapped in the Sword Pavilion, but Marshal Long Qianlin is already on his way back. Once he receives the Commander, he will certainly point his vanguard directly at Hundred Ling City. If at this time, the Northern Qi Prefecture can use the power of the prefecture to take Hundred Ling City and offer it to the Commander, then the Northern Qi Prefecture can be said to be the most meritorious service in Yihe Kingdom. What do you think, father?"
"Ao'er, you still haven't thought deeply enough."
The Northern Qi Eagle smiled coldly. "Tang Lan, that old thing, why do we need to do it ourselves to finish him off? We only need to move our mouths and spend Jinyin coins to have Tang Lan deliver his own head to the city gate tower! "
"Oh? What does father plan to do? "
"We only need to do this …"
…
At noon, a large group of Yihe Country's civilians surrounded the Prince of Zhennan's Mansion. Everyone's face was filled with righteous indignation. They waved their fists and loudly cursed the soldiers who were holding shields and looking flustered in front of the mansion's gate. At the same time, they wrote a line of words in red ink with a long white cloth — "The empire's dogs have no conscience, and I will live and die with Yihe Country!"
Not only that, these thousands of people even waved their arms and shouted in unison, demanding an explanation from Tang Lan. Otherwise, they would continue to cause trouble and surround the Prince Consort's residence, leaving Tang Lan unable to advance or retreat.
It wasn't until the afternoon that the gates of the palace finally opened. Tang Lan walked out wearing a brocade robe with a three-star purple flower insignia on his neck. He stared coldly at the people causing trouble outside the palace and said, "All of you, quiet down. Tell me, what do you want?"
In the crowd, an old man walked out and said with a trembling voice, "This old man greets Your Highness, the Seven Seas Monarch!"
"You don't have to be so courteous. Tell me."
The old man nodded and said, "The Yihe Nation has always promoted equality and benevolence. But now that the Empire has taken over our city and killed our comrades, the cruelty of the Empire's soldiers has angered both men and gods. Your Highness, Seven Sea King, you have killed Yang Fan and many of the people of the Yihe Nation. Everyone says that Empress Qin Yin is benevolent, but now we don't see any benevolence. How are you different from beasts for committing such atrocities?"
"Yang Fan killed people privately, so he deserved to die," Tang Lan said coldly.
"This is the territory of Yihe Country, so we should follow the laws of Yihe Country. Killing people with the Heavenly Book is not against the law."
"How dare you!" Tang Lan's eyes turned cold. "Bailing City has been the empire's territory for thousands of years, so we should follow the empire's laws. A life for a life, there's no need to say anything more."
The old man gritted his teeth. "Your Highness, you can't distinguish between right and wrong. It's really disappointing. We are all free people of Yihe Country, and we are definitely not willing to be slaves of the empire. Since Your Highness is stubborn, we can only fight to the death!"
"You!"
Tang Lan's eyes turned cold. He spread his fingers and said, "Tang Bi, form an offensive formation and seal off the entrance of the imperial residence. Kill anyone who dares to block the entrance!"
"Yes!"
Tang Bi led a group of Tang Clan's soldiers and rushed forward, killing several people directly. Blood directly dyed the stairs of the imperial residence red. Many people were already scared out of their wits when they saw the corpses. However, there were a few people in the crowd who picked up bricks and smashed them randomly at the Tang Clan's soldiers. Tang Bi was instantly enraged. He raised his steel blade and said, "Kill these unruly people!"
"Yes!"
Everyone started a massacre. Arrows were shot randomly, and in the blink of an eye, a large number of troublemakers were killed. The eyes of the soldiers were also bloodshot. They raised their weapons and rushed out of the imperial residence, and even killed people into the streets.
"Murder! Murder! The empire's dogs are going to massacre the city! "
Some people shouted. At this time, it was afternoon business time in the Hundred Ridge City. Countless merchants and pedestrians on the streets were so scared that their faces turned pale. Especially when they saw the Tang Clan's soldiers killing people in the distance, they were scared out of their wits and ran away. In the blink of an eye, the streets were already in chaos.
For an entire afternoon, the news spread through the streets and alleys of the city. No one knew who spread the news that Tang Lan was going to massacre the city, but almost the millions of people in the Hundred Ridge City knew that Tang Lan was going to wield the butcher's knife!
When night fell, the city gates were attacked again and again. Countless citizens requested to leave the city. Under the situation where the guards refused to open the gates, many mercenaries and warriors of the House of Chivalry chose to attack. This night was destined to be a night of turmoil.
…
The next morning, Tang Lan didn't sleep at all. His hair was completely white.
"Your Highness …"
Tang Bi's expression was pale as he said, "Last night, the guards at the south gate lost more than 300 people. The north gate lost even more. They lost nearly a thousand people. We don't even know who killed them. How sad … as soldiers of the empire, we should have died on the battlefield. Now, we are going to die under the knives and swords of these despicable people!"
"Tang Bi."
Tang Lan's gaze was devoid of emotion as he looked at this old friend. "I, Tang Lan, have always been skilled in scheming. Now, I am going to die under the schemes of others. I cannot accept this …"
Tang Bi said, "Your Highness, who do you think this group of people are?"
"Who they are is no longer important." Tang Lan seemed to have aged decades. "Qin Yin wants me dead. Qin Yi also wants me dead. Lin Muyu, Feng Jixing, Su Muyun, and the others all want to skin me and eat my flesh. Now, even these wicked people of Yihe Country want me dead … Northern Qi, oh Northern Qi, I, Tang Lan, have roamed the world my entire life. When have I ever been afraid of such lowly people? But now … I have to rely on others and be controlled by the Northern Qi government."
"Your Highness …" Tang Bi's heart ached. "We still have at least 5,000 people in our hands. There is no need to be controlled by the Northern Qi government. They have Tian Shu, and so do we. What is there to be afraid of?"
Tang Lan slowly shook his head, "It's useless … it's useless. The blame lies solely on me, Tang Lan, and not on you. Tang Bi, immediately gather your men and bring these five thousand people to break out of the city. Her Highness Yin only ordered me to defend the city, so … let me, Tang Lan, defend the Hundred Ridge City alone. Whether I live or die, it's up to fate."
"No!"
Tang Bi gritted his teeth. "I will not abandon Your Highness. If we die, then we die together. I will gather everyone to defend the manor!"
"Ah …"
Tang Lan sighed. "Why must you do this?"
Tang Bi smiled. "This is my last act of loyalty as a Tang family general. Please, Your Highness, give me this opportunity. Let me die with you on the battlefield. The Yihe Country's traitors will be killed by both men and gods. Fighting against them, I will die without regrets."
"Okay!"
…
At noon, Tang Lan's army gave up on the four city gates and gathered all 5,000 people in the manor. It seemed that Tang Lan was already fighting against the entire military power of Yihe Country.
Amidst the sound of horse hooves, a row of riders galloped forward and faced Tang Lan's army from afar.
"Who are they?"
Tang Lan asked the person beside him, dressed in armor and holding a steel knife.
Tang Bi said, "They are mercenaries, Yihe Country's mercenaries."
"Oh?" Tang Lan couldn't help but smile. "Yihe Country actually spent money to hire mercenaries to kill me?"
"Looks like that's the case." Tang Bi laughed bitterly.
At this time, a mercenary wearing a high-ranking military rank urged his horse forward. He had a face full of beard and held a heavy battle axe in his hand. He smiled and said, "You old men … which one of you is Tang Lan?"
Tang Lan urged his horse forward. "I am."
The mercenary laughed heartily. "So it's you. Looks like you can't even withstand a blow from my axe … Tang Lan, listen carefully. I am the president of the Yihe Country's Vanguard Mercenary Guild. My name is Li Dalei. Remember my name. The people of Northern Qi have offered 20 million Jin Yin coins for your head. As long as we get your head, we will not have to worry about food or clothing for the rest of our lives."
Tang Lan laughed coldly. "So my head is so valuable. Li Dalei, if you want my head, then come and take it. If you have the ability!"
"Cut the crap. Charge and kill!"
Li Dalei gave the order and the mercenaries immediately charged.
"Get into formation, defensive formation!"
At Tang Bi's command, a group of old soldiers immediately moved with shields in their hands. Although they were old, in terms of fighting ability, they were tens of thousands of times stronger than this motley crew of mercenaries.
Shields were erected in great numbers and spears were thrust forward. Three consecutive lines of spears were formed, rendering the charge of the mercenaries useless. Soon, the mercenaries became meat skewers on the tips of the spears.
"Damn it!"
Li Dalei flew into a rage. "Everyone, charge!"
Nearly 2,000 mercenaries charged forward, and a bloody battle began in front of the Prince's residence.
…
On the 23rd of February, the Vanguard Mercenary Guild was completely annihilated. Tang Lan's army also lost nearly a thousand men.
Early in the morning, another group of people began to attack the Prince's residence. They were provincial soldiers from the counties under the jurisdiction of Bai Ling City. There were more than 4,000 of them, and they were well-equipped. After a few volleys of arrows, they killed hundreds of Tang Lan's men. At this time, Tang Lan's army was also showing signs of fatigue.
However, there were more and more soldiers outside the mansion, and the flags of the Yihe Nation were joined together.
At noon, the crowd parted. The leader of Northern Qi, Northern Qi Ying, walked out in a long robe. He cupped his fists and smiled. "Tang Lan, Duke Lan, Your Highness, I have come to send you on your way!"
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