November 16th, night, Tianjing City.
As a large number of troops walked onto the streets, the noisy Tianjing City instantly quietened down. Although the city was no longer noisy, the fear in the hearts of the commoners was even greater.
In a chaotic world, the weak were always the most helpless and would always be in a dominant position.
East of the city, Yang Xiuqing's mansion.
Within the huge whirlpool, Yang Xiuqing, who was under house arrest, seemed to be uninvolved, but in reality, that was not the case.
There were two big whirlpools in Tianjing City.
Yang Xiuqing was at the center of one of the whirlpools. Although he was under house arrest, many people in Tianjing City had placed their chips on Yang Xiuqing.
In addition to Yang Xiuqing's huge influence in the Heavenly State, there were also the contributions of the Military Intelligence Department and the Black Snake Guards, the two major intelligence organizations.
After working hard in the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom for nearly a year and receiving abundant financial support, both Cobra, the director of the Military Intelligence Bureau, and Black Snake, the commander of the Black Snake Guards, had invested a small part of their energy in this area.
Many of the civil and military officials in the city kept in touch with them. Of course, regardless of whether it was the Military Intelligence or the Black Snake Guard, they all used their identities as great merchants when dealing with them.
Now, it was time to reap the harvest. Previously, when the Dragon Soaring Legion and Leopard Legion were able to silently avoid Hong Xiuquan's eyes, they had played a part in it.
This "big show" in Tianjing City was the end-of-year test for the two intelligence agencies.
"General, I've just received top-secret information. The Heavenly King will eliminate you before he leaves Tianjing tomorrow." The one who spoke was a soldier from the Military Intelligence Department who had been hiding beside Yang Xiuqing.
Yang Xiuqing, who was sitting opposite him, was still expressionless, but a glimmer of light flashed in her eyes.
Tempestuous waves had actually arisen in his heart. On one hand, he was terrified of Hong Xiuquan's ruthlessness, and in the end, Hong Xiuquan was still unwilling to let him live. Secondly, he was fearful of the intelligence of the Jun Family's Intelligence Bureau.
To be able to obtain news of the Sky Emperor Palace in time, just this alone was enough to make Yang Xiuqing look at him in a different light.
One had to know that Hong Xiuquan's guard against the Sky Emperor Palace had almost reached an extreme level. Even a general like Yang Xiuqing didn't know much about the affairs of the palace.
Once the palace maids, eunuchs, and other internal affairs personnel were found to have colluded with external officials, they would immediately be put to death. Even so, they were still unable to stop the infiltration of Shanhai City.
"General, it's time to end this."
Seeing that Yang Xiuqing was still a little hesitant, the soldier had no choice but to emphasize his tone.
Once Hong Xiuquan left Tianjing City, they would not be able to answer to the Marquis. Therefore, no matter what, they had to act tonight and do their best to prevent the evacuation tomorrow.
Silence, deathly silence.
At this moment, even the air seemed to freeze.
Only the people involved knew what kind of stormy waves and bloody storms would be stirred up by the so-called 'ending'.
Once this step was taken, there was no turning back.
After a long while, Yang Xiuqing nodded and said in a deep voice, "Since he is heartless, then don't blame me for being unjust." After saying these words, all the hesitation and apprehension in his heart vanished like smoke in thin air.
Yang Xiuqing knew very well that ever since he agreed to the conditions of the person in front of him that night, he no longer had a way out. The distance between him and the Kingdom of Heaven was already getting further and further, and there was no turning back.
Betrayal was never an easy thing to do in this regime that was founded on religious sects.
Because once he betrayed, he would not only betray the Heavenly King Hong Xiuquan, but also his previous beliefs. The feeling of his beliefs collapsing was even worse than the feeling of being stabbed by a blade or stick.
"Fine, let all this pain end tonight!"
Hong Xiuquan slowly closed his eyes, unwilling to say another word.
Seeing this, the soldier did not say anything, stood up, and left. Next, it was their turn to go on stage.
In the city, the Emperor Palace.
The majestic Emperor Palace stood in the center of Tianjing City, stretching for dozens of li. There were thousands of pavilions and tens of thousands of palaces, and it was filled with endless wealth and beauty, giving it the air of a heavenly family.
Compared to Ouyang Shuo's Protectorate of the Southern Border, which had been expanded several times, it was probably even better.
On normal days, the Sky Emperor Palace was completely silent at night. The thousands of palace maids, eunuchs, and guards in the palace did not dare to make the slightest noise.
Tonight was clearly different.
According to the Heavenly King's orders, the palace was bustling and noisy. The palace maids and eunuchs were busy packing up the valuables in the palace and sending them to the carriages.
Just the personal belongings of the Heavenly King alone were packed into ten large carriages.
In addition, there were the personal belongings of the concubines, antiques, paintings, gold, silver, jewelry, porcelain, silk, and all kinds of ornaments.
The hundreds of carriages were about to be loaded up.
It was already late at night, and the light shone on the Emperor Palace, giving off an indescribable sense of irony.
Hong Xiuquan, who was mentally and physically exhausted, dragged his weary body and slowly walked into the bedchamber.
Hong Xiuquan's previous high spirits were instantly pulled away from his body, becoming empty.
The empire's hegemony was gone in an instant.
In the span of a night, Hong Xiuquan seemed to have aged more than ten years. Wrinkles appeared on his forehead, and even his hair was beginning to turn white.
This was the feeling of a dead man's heart.
Hong Xiuquan knew that even if he retreated to Guilin County, he would only be able to live in peace for a while.
In the vast wilderness, there was no longer a place or stage for him. For Hong Xiuquan, who had been reborn, the blow was too great. It was so great that he could not bear it.
As the saying goes, the greater the hope, the greater the disappointment.
Hong Xiuquan's current mood was the best portrayal of falling from the sky.
Only because of this, he hated Yang Xiuqing to the bone. Even if he had to retreat, he was not willing to let Yang Xiuqing live in peace. He had to get rid of her.
Because in Hong Xiuquan's understanding, it was the defeat of the Southern Army that triggered the chain reaction in Heavenly State. He had never reflected on what would have happened in Heavenly State if he had listened to Yang Xiuqing's suggestion and retreated from the Mulan Fortress.
At the very least, he would not have ended up in such a state.
In the end, Hong Xiuquan still had a knot in his heart.
The debt of sin from his previous life still haunted him in this life, making him unable to feel at ease.
From time to time, Hong Xiuquan would worry that when he woke up one night, Heavenly State would change dramatically. Yang Xiuqing would lead hundreds of thousands of troops and suddenly turn the spear to kill him in the palace and replace him.
To be honest, being able to tolerate Yang Xiuqing's command until now was the result of Hong Xiuquan repeatedly overcoming his inner demons.
With such a breadth of mind, how could he be qualified to lead a regime and stand in the wilderness? With such a Heavenly King, the defeat of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom was only a matter of time.
When Hong Xiuquan walked into the bedroom, he found that it was not Concubine Xiao who was serving him tonight, but Concubine Chen who should not be here. Not only did he frown, but his face was already filled with anger.
After appearing in the wilderness, Hong Xiuquan married ten concubines. Hong Xiuquan did not completely forget his character in his previous life. He specially made a schedule, and every day, there would be a fixed concubine waiting for him to go to bed.
Therefore, Hong Xiuquan had a clear idea of who was serving him every day.
"Why is it you? Where is Concubine Xiao? "
Hong Xiuquan stared at the delicate Concubine Chen. There was not a trace of warmth in his eyes, but an indescribable coldness. In his eyes, the role of women was nothing more than reproduction and a tool to satisfy his lust.
Even to his concubines, Hong Xiuquan did not really treat them as human beings. Although they were called concubines, in fact, their status was not much different from that of palace maids.
As an ancient scholar, although Hong Xiuquan failed many times and later founded the God Worshipping Society according to the teachings of the West, he still inherited the stubbornness and bad habits of pedantic scholars.
Concubine Chen did not dare to show a trace of disrespect and carefully replied, "Reporting to the Heavenly King, Concubine Xiao fell ill during the day, and the Empress arranged for me to serve the Heavenly King."
"Is that so?"
Hearing this, Hong Xiuquan's expression slightly relaxed.
Even so, he still arranged for someone to go to Concubine Xiao's place to confirm.
Hong Xiuquan was not worried about anything else, but he could not tolerate the concubines in the harem playing tricks to gain extra favor from him.
In fact, he did not have to do this.
Which concubine was not trembling with fear when it was their turn to serve the Heavenly King? How could they have the mood to play tricks and compete for favor with each other?
Hong Xiuquan was really interesting.
Even if he was reborn, he still unconsciously thought that he was the center of the people. He was the God of the people, the Heaven of the concubines, and the ruler of the fate of all mortals.
"Rest!"
In such a situation, Hong Xiuquan naturally did not have any interest. After asking Concubine Chen to help him change his clothes, he prepared to go to sleep.
"Yes!"
Concubine Chen's worried heart finally relaxed.
After a while, the candlelight faded, and the Heavenly King's bedroom fell into darkness.
The surroundings of the entire palace fell into absolute silence when they saw this. Even the palace maids and eunuchs who were still sorting out items had to take a detour.
Concubine Chen, who was sleeping next to Hong Xiuquan, did not fall asleep, and a cold light flashed in her eyes.
This woman, in addition to her identity as a concubine, had another secret identity. She was the highest-level secret agent that the Black Snake Guards had placed beside Hong Xiuquan.
She was also the top existence among the Snake Guards.
Among the Snake Guards, there was a special type of secret agent called the Death Guard. Every Death Guard was only responsible for one mission in their life. This was because the missions they were responsible for were all very dangerous, and once they were completed, they would basically die. If they were lucky enough to survive, the Black Snake Guards would also arrange for them to retire and live a comfortable life.
In order to let Concubine Chen be chosen by Hong Xiuquan without a trace and be accepted into the palace, the Black Snake Guards had put in a lot of effort. It could be said that Concubine Chen, this chess piece, was the core existence that the Black Snake Guards had placed in Tianjing City.
After several times, several Snake Guards had been replaced, and they finally succeeded when it was Concubine Chen's turn. It was also because of this that the Black Snake Guards had the confidence to set off huge waves in Tianjing City. (To be continued.)
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