Ming Dynasty: He was ordered to give lectures in prison, but Lao Zhu eavesdropped and made people nu

Chapter 725 Miao Gu Techniques
Zhu Yuanzhang suddenly sprang into action, smashing the sandalwood table almost to pieces with a single palm strike.

Memorials and secret reports were flying around like snowflakes. One of them drifted to Jiang Huan's feet—a memorial from the Ministry of Works reporting on the repair of Xiaoling Mausoleum, which was stamped with the private seal of the Lin family of Quanzhou.

"What a treacherous bastard!" The emperor grabbed a bronze paperweight and smashed it against the "Ten Thousand Miles of Rivers and Mountains" painting. The moment the screen shattered, three crossbow bolts shot out from behind the painting.

Jiang Huan's embroidered spring knife whirled like a silver wheel, and with three crisp clangs, all the crossbow bolts were cut down. But the fourth arrow took a strange turn, heading straight for Empress Ma's throat!

"Your Majesty, be careful!"

A white shadow swept down from the palace beam. Wang Wenlong drew his iron bow to its fullest extent, and his arrow, though released later, struck first, cleaving the crossbow bolt in two mid-air. He landed somewhat unsteadily, dark red seeping from the gaps in his left shoulder armor—his wound at Juyong Pass had not yet fully healed.

“Protect the emperor!”

With Jiang Huan's roar, twelve Imperial Guards burst through the window. The leader had just raised his rattan shield when he suddenly widened his eyes and fell to the ground—a familiar short sword was embedded in his back, the hilt wrapped with a specially made blue silk rope from the Ministry of War's armory.

"Your Majesty, step back!"

Wang Wenlong drew three armor-piercing arrows with a backhand motion. The moment the bowstrings twanged, six dark figures swooped down from the ceiling. The assassin at the front twisted his body strangely and bit the arrow shaft with his teeth! As his mask fell off, Zhu Yuanzhang's pupils shrank—this face was exactly the same as the Vice Minister of Revenue who had been executed three years ago.

"Playing tricks!"

Jiang Huan swept his blade across, tearing the assassin's mask to shreds and revealing his true face: a distinctive anchor pattern, characteristic of Ryukyu sailors, tattooed on his right cheek. The assassin suddenly grinned, grinding a tooth to powder.

“Hold your breath!”

Empress Ma's soft sword flashed like a silver snake emerging from its hole, precisely decapitating the assassin's about-to-explode head. The stench of decay filled the hall, and as the head slammed against a pillar, countless crimson centipedes crawled out of its seven orifices.

"Crimson Flame Gu?" Wang Wenlong swept his iron bow horizontally, shattering two centipedes that lunged at the emperor. "What, this Miao stuff?"

His words were interrupted by the sudden shouts of battle outside the hall. Through the broken window frames, flames could be seen shooting into the sky from the direction of the Meridian Gate. Even more terrifying, the running guards moved as stiffly as puppets, and an eerie blue light shone from the back of their necks.

Zhu Yuanzhang suddenly smiled. He slowly took out a yellow silk bundle from the inner pocket of his dragon robe, unfolded it to reveal twelve bronze tiger tallies.

"Jiang Huan."

"I am here!"

"By holding my tiger tally, mobilize the Imperial Guards to seal the nine gates." The emperor's voice sounded as if he were discussing tomorrow's breakfast. "Wang Wenlong."

"This subordinate obeys!"

"Take your men to the Ministry of War's armory." Zhu Yuanzhang slapped two tiger tallies onto the general's bloodstained palm. "If you encounter any resistance," he paused, his gaze sweeping over the pool of poisoned blood on the ground, "kill without mercy."

Empress Ma suddenly pressed down on the emperor's wrist: "Your Majesty, look at this." She picked up a piece of unburnt paper from the ashes of the incense burner, on which the two characters "Bingchen" were faintly discernible.

Zhu Yuanzhang's expression changed drastically. Eighteen years ago, during the Battle of Poyang Lake, Chen Youliang's flagship was named "Bingchen"! Before the ship sank, someone saw his advisors carrying more than a dozen iron boxes into the hold.
"Report—" A blood-soaked commander of the Northern Garrison burst through the palace doors. "Before Zhao Dechang committed suicide in prison, he said the Lin family was salvaging a sunken ship!"

When the commander fell to the ground, the fletching of the crossbow bolt embedded in his back was faintly blue—the same type of poisoned arrow used by the assassin earlier. Zhu Yuanzhang pried open his stiff fingers, revealing half a tide map clutched inside. In a place circled in vermilion, the words "Bingchen Remains" were written.

"What a clever feint!" the emperor sneered. "Summon Geng Bingwen!"

The heavy palace doors opened again, and Mu Ying, covered in gunpowder smoke, entered. Several shuriken, typical of Japanese pirates, were embedded in the young marquis's iron armor, and he carried a bloody severed head in his left hand.

"Your Majesty, an urgent dispatch from Quanzhou!" Mu Ying threw down the severed head, its狰狞 (zhengning - ferocious/hideous) face revealing it to be that of the Japanese pirate leader who should have died in Taizhou. "The Lin family colluded with the Shimazu clan, posing as Japanese pirates to plunder the coast, their true purpose being to salvage..."

His words were interrupted by a sudden earthquake. The bronze chime bells, over ten feet tall, at the corner of the palace, suddenly toppled over, and countless gold ingots tumbled out of their bodies with a "clatter"—each inscribed with the words "Made by Chen Youliang of the Great Han Dynasty" in intaglio. "So that's how it is," Empress Ma said, using her soft sword to pick up an ingot, revealing seaweed clinging to it. "They used the Japanese pirates to lure the navy, then seized the opportunity to steal Chen Youliang's military funds."

Zhu Yuanzhang suddenly grabbed a secret memorial from the table and smashed it against the ceiling. Amidst the flying pages, a dark figure screamed and fell to the ground—it was an official from the Imperial Observatory dressed in black! The jade pendant at his waist was exactly the same as that of the Vice Minister of Works.

"Your Majesty! The Meridian Gate has fallen!" A messenger, his body ablaze with flames, burst into the hall. "Those possessed guards are impervious to swords and spears!"

As if to confirm his words, three guards with blue glowing necks burst through the door. Wang Wenlong shot three arrows through their throats in quick succession, but these "people" only swayed before dragging their severed limbs and lunging forward again.

Jiang Huan's Embroidered Spring Blade traced a strange arc, and a head flew high into the air. There was no blood—what gushed from the cavity was a viscous blue liquid, which congealed into spiderweb-like threads upon landing.

"Puppet Gu!" Mu Ying swept his longsword horizontally, severing two blue threads that were binding the emperor. "Miao witchcraft combined with Japanese ninjutsu... this is..."

With a deafening crash, the entire ceiling of the palace collapsed. Amidst the flying wood chips, twelve men in black, wearing masks of former Chen Han generals, swooped down from mid-air. What they shot from their sleeves weren't concealed weapons, but rather living, crimson centipedes!
Empress Ma wielded her soft sword, creating a curtain of light as the severed centipede corpses sizzled and smoked on the blue brick floor. Zhu Yuanzhang, however, stood motionless, until the first centipede was about to bite his face—

"boom!"

The deafening cannon fire shook the beams and pillars. The assassins who rushed towards the emperor suddenly exploded into a bloody mist, and through the smoke, three pitch-black tiger-shaped cannons appeared outside the palace gate, their muzzles still emitting blue smoke.

"Your Majesty, I have arrived too late!"

Geng Bingwen's white beard was covered in gunpowder residue, and behind him, the musket squad stood in three rows. The old general pointed his iron spear, and a second volley of fire blasted the remaining assassins into pieces. Blue poisonous blood splattered onto the "Ten Thousand Miles of Rivers and Mountains" painting, corroding it and creating countless holes.

Zhu Yuanzhang walked out of the palace through a pool of blood. At this moment, the Forbidden City had fallen into bizarre chaos: half of the guards were chasing after their comrades, the distinctive sound of conch shells from the direction of Chengtian Gate could be heard, and the dragon flag of the Chen Han dynasty was flying in the southeast sky!
"Geng Bingwen."

"Your old minister is here!"

"Take the Divine Machine Battalion to the Meridian Gate." The Emperor untied his jade pendant and tossed it to the old general. "Kill anyone you see displaying a fish-shaped tally."

"Mu Ying."

"This subordinate obeys!"

"Lead your light cavalry straight to Quanzhou." Zhu Yuanzhang took out a secret edict from his sleeve. "If you encounter any of the Lin family's ships..." He made a throat-slitting gesture.

As the last general took his orders and left, the emperor turned to look at Empress Ma.

The moment their eyes met, Empress Ma suddenly used her soft sword to open the front of her dragon robe—a tiny hole, the size of a pinhole, had appeared on the lining, and the surrounding fabric had turned blue.

"The Crimson Flame Gu Poison." The Empress's voice was eerily calm. "It's lethal upon contact with blood."

Zhu Yuanzhang laughed three times, then suddenly drew Jiang Huan's embroidered spring knife and slashed his palm. The blood that flowed out was an eerie purplish-black! He let the poisoned blood drip onto the gold bricks, each drop etching a small pit.

"I've ingested more poison in my life than they've ever seen food." The emperor flicked away the blood, took a porcelain bottle from his robes, and drank it all in one gulp. "Tell the Imperial Hospital to prepare an antidote for three hundred people."

Suddenly, a tidal wave of battle cries erupted outside the palace. The southeastern sky was illuminated by firelight, and the large banner bearing the character "Tang" could be faintly seen fluttering atop the city wall. Just as Jiang Huan was about to breathe a sigh of relief, he saw the emperor's face grow even more grim.

"What a clever diversionary tactic!" Zhu Yuanzhang stared at the corpse of the first messenger to fall. "The victory at Taizhou was a lie, the Japanese invasion was a lie, even Tang He..." He suddenly kicked over the gilded incense burner. "It was all a lie!"

Empress Ma suddenly clutched her chest and staggered back two steps. The soft sword in her hand clattered to the ground, and its blade reflected a familiar figure outside the palace—Wang Wenlong, who should have been at Juyong Pass, was now leading a squad of "Golden Guards" rushing towards the Wuying Hall!

The real killing move has only just begun to reveal its fangs.

(End of this chapter)