Jiuxi

Chapter 861 859 [Entering the Capital]

July 29, the second year of Dingzheng in the Great Qi Dynasty.

At the beginning of the Si hour, the soldiers guarding the east gate of the capital began to change their guard as usual.

When the sound of muffled thunder came from afar, most people subconsciously looked up at the sky.

However, the sky was clear and the weather was sunny without even a trace of dark clouds, so there was no possibility of a sudden thunderstorm.

This cannot be blamed on the carelessness of the imperial guards, but rather it is difficult for people to be sufficiently vigilant against unfamiliar things. If it were soldiers from the border army stationed on the city wall at this moment, they would definitely react immediately, as this was a precursor to a rapid attack by a large group of elite cavalry.

When the torrent came into view, the defenders on the city wall felt their heartbeats quicken, and someone immediately shouted, "The Sharp Warriors Battalion! The Sharp Warriors Battalion is coming!"

At this point in time, besides the Sharp Warriors Battalion, which other cavalry could suddenly break into the city?

"Why panic!"

Qiao Shan shouted angrily, and then ordered: "All units should be prepared to face the enemy, and no action should be taken without my order!"

This was a very reasonable order. Although the cavalry outside the city was coming in full force, the advantage of cavalry was their high mobility. Climbing and attacking cities were not their strong points. Moreover, the Yongjia City was more than 20 feet high. Could these cavalry fly up directly?

Therefore, after the initial shock, the defending soldiers quickly calmed down.

No one noticed that an ordinary-looking flag had been erected on the top of the corner tower, and it could be seen from far away outside the city.

Not many people would think of one question: Wasn't the Ruishi Camp trapped by the Jinwu Camp? Could it be that these 3,000 cavalrymen could defeat the 50,000 Beijing troops without any damage?

Qiao Shan naturally thought of this problem, but he just put his hands on the parapet, staring at the border cavalry rushing towards him, with cold sweat on his back. Xi Jun followed Lin Xi's instructions and closely protected the deputy commander.

In the blink of an eye, the flood was approaching the city. The defending soldiers looked at the 3,000 cavalrymen marching in unison and couldn't help but feel shocked.

In their eyes, this cavalry looked like an army of thousands with a terrifying momentum, and also like an iron curtain sweeping over. When had such a magnificent formation appeared in the Jiangnan area?

"wrong……"

Some soldiers noticed something unusual. The cavalry of the Ruishi Battalion did not slow down and began to change their formation during the charge.

Their formation changed from wide to compact, as if a giant axe powerful enough to split the world turned into an extremely sharp sword.

"General, request an order to stop the enemy!"

A general shouted from afar.

At this time, the Sharp Warriors Battalion had entered the shooting range of the defending soldiers. The archers drew their bows and aimed their arrows. Because of Qiao Shan's previous order, they could only wait patiently. However, Qiao Shan seemed to be intimidated by the terrifying momentum of the cavalry outside the city, and remained silent for a long time.

At this moment, a horrifying scene appeared in the sight of the defending soldiers.

The East Gate Suspension Bridge slowly descends!

Suddenly there was a shout from below the city, and then everything returned to silence. The next moment the extremely heavy and solid city gate slowly opened!

The cavalry of the Ruishi Battalion outside the city not only did not slow down, but accelerated rapidly, and rushed towards the fallen suspension bridge in a flash!

When everyone was in a panic and shock, Xi Jun quickly said: "General Qiao, you have two choices now. Either I hold you hostage to save your reputation, or you set things right and follow me to do great things for my country!"

In fact, he had told Qiao Shan about this a few days ago, but Qiao Shan had been hesitant.

There was no time to delay any longer. Qiao Shan glanced at Xi Jun's half-drawn sword, gritted his teeth, and roared, "Soldiers of the Left Army, listen to my orders! Minister of Personnel Li Shizhi teamed up with the aristocratic families to kill the emperor and usurp the throne. Duke Qin has sent troops into the city to suppress the rebellion. You all should follow my orders and remove the emperor's entanglements and rectify the government!"

Xi Jun's long sword was never unsheathed.

Qiao Shan's order caused further chaos among the defending soldiers. Many people obeyed subconsciously, but some knew that if they were not careful, they would lose their heads and their whole family would be affected, so they dared not do anything. For the cavalry of the Rui Shi Camp who were rushing over, this was obviously the best case scenario.

Because at the city gate, Lin Xi has led hundreds of core members of the Seven Star Army to control this place.

Three thousand cavalrymen rushed in!

Under Qiao Shan's command, the defending soldiers did not clash with the elite battalion that entered the city. Both sides certainly did not trust each other at the moment, and they were clearly on guard against each other, showing a strange situation. However, compared with the two, the defending soldiers were obviously the more nervous side.

Lin Xi had already rubbed off her disguise and restored her original appearance. She said loudly: "General Qiao, please lead your soldiers to stay at the east gate and provide support for our army. I will never let you down today!"

Qiao Shan was in a state of confusion, but he also knew that he would not be able to gain the other party's absolute trust in a short period of time. Being able to get the promise of the Duke's wife in person in front of everyone was already the best result. He immediately bowed and said, "I will obey your command!"

Lin Xi looked at Ye Jitang, the captain of the Ruishi Battalion, and said sternly, "Captain Ye, send him to the palace immediately."

"Follow the order!"

Ye Jitang agreed and asked, "Madam Lin is not going with you?"

Lin Xi said calmly: "I have to go to the Duke's Mansion first to prevent anyone from taking advantage of the situation."

Ye Jintang did not ask any more questions, and the two separated. Lin Xi led the elite Seven Star Army to the Duke of Qin's Mansion, while Ye Jintang led three thousand cavalrymen all the way south and headed straight for the imperial palace.

At this time, the imperial guards were mainly distributed in the imperial palace and the nine gates of the capital. There were no obstacles set up everywhere in the city. At most, dozens of soldiers were left behind to patrol at some important hubs. But how could these people stop three thousand cavalrymen?

The Sharp Warriors Battalion swept past like a gust of wind, and quickly rushed towards the palace under the horrified gazes of countless people.

It was like a whirlwind sweeping away all the remaining clouds, shaking the whole city!
……

Some time earlier, at the west gate of the capital.

Li Lang, commander of the right army of the imperial guards, stood under the city wall, looking at the convoy outside the city that was getting closer and closer.

"General, the enemy hasn't revealed his identity yet. Should we fire an arrow to warn him?"

A captain looked at the convoy with many followers, his expression slightly solemn.

Li Lang shook his head.

When the convoy got closer, the captain saw that the leading knight was holding a flag with a single Chinese character "Li" written in silver and iron. In the spacious and stable carriage in the middle of the convoy, an old man in his seventies had his eyes slightly closed, as if he was resting.

There was also a young boy in the carriage who was gradually losing his childishness.

"In the past few years, I have been wondering what your uncle wants to do. Maybe I have already noticed something, but I still can't believe it. I think he won't be so stupid."

The old man slowly opened his eyes, and his vicissitudes of life tone could not hide his melancholy.

Young Li Gongxu felt the same way. Seeing the guilt in the old man's eyes, he comforted him softly, "Grandfather, don't blame yourself."

Li Daoyan laughed at himself and continued, "I have been patching things up all my life and I am unwilling to give up anything. In the end, I am not as clear-sighted as Lu Chen, a young junior. I originally thought that your uncle would be satisfied with the position of the leader of the Jiangnan clan and the prime minister of Daqi. So even though I knew he had done a lot of things in secret, I still did not make up my mind. I just warned him from time to time. I didn't expect that he is no longer the Li Shizhi of the past. How could he take me seriously?"

Li Gongxu remained silent.

He could feel his grandfather's mood at the moment, which was a mixture of anger at being a good person and desolation at feeling hopeless.

This is obviously a very cruel thing for an old man who has worked hard all his life and is nearly 70 years old.

After a moment, he mustered up the courage to ask, “Grandfather, how would the situation change if you did nothing?”

Li Daoyan looked at him meaningfully and said slowly: "Lu Chen has obviously been waiting for my decision these days, otherwise the border cavalry would not be so honest. The Dingbei Army and the Feiyu Army are almost reaching the southern border of Xinzhou, and the Seven Star Army may have been hiding in the capital for a long time. If even I disappoint Lu Chen, I am afraid that in the end there will be bloodshed and the rich land of Jiangnan will be devastated, like a purgatory on earth."

Li Gongxu woke up suddenly.

He finally understood why his grandfather had suddenly given the order the night before, and a large number of experts launched an attack with thundering force to wipe out all the spies that Li Shizhi had deployed inside and outside Jinlin County.

Afterwards, Li Daoyan brought him and his trusted followers to the capital.

It turned out that his teacher had been prepared for the chaos in the capital, and tens of thousands of elite cavalry from the border army had already secretly crossed the sea and headed south.

Just as Li Daoyan said, if even he condoned and supported Li Shizhi's wrongdoings, then Lu Chen would no longer tolerate it, and he would definitely lead the border troops to fight his way out of the chaos.

How could Li Daoyan bear to see that scene?
Even if Lu Chen did not make a clear request, he had to make a decision.

The convoy slowly stopped, Li Daoyan stood up and walked out, and Li Gongxu hurriedly helped him.

Stepping out of the carriage, the tall and solid city wall was right in front of him, and Li Daoyan immediately looked up.

On the city wall, Li Lang shouted, "It's the old prime minister! Open the city gate quickly!"

The soldiers under him would not have the slightest hesitation, even though the palace had already ordered that no one was allowed to enter or leave. But Li Daoyan was different, he just stood there, and all the imperial guards had no courage to stop him.

Li Daoyan nodded slightly and returned to the car.

The wheels rolled forward.

The old man's mind had already flown to the palace, and he could even guess the current situation in the palace.

Just as he expected, the atmosphere in Duancheng Hall was tense and tense.

The tied-up palace lady Jin Qiaolan stood in the center of the hall. Under the angry gaze of the civil and military officials, she told the truth about how she was bribed by Lu Chen a few years ago, how she won the trust of the late emperor, and how she was instructed by Lu Chen to murder the emperor.

"Traitors should be executed!"

"He is a traitor!"

"Wolf-like ambitions, despicable and shameless!"

"He is so cruel, how can I thank the world if I don't kill him?"

"Kill him!"

In a flash, the angry roars of civil and military officials filled the hall, drowning Lu Chen like a violent storm.

Queen Ning's face was pale, and she held Li Daoming's hand tightly, as if she was on the vast ocean.

Until this moment, she still didn't believe that Lu Chen would commit regicide and treason, but the conflict between Lu Chen and Li Zongben was known to everyone. The conflict over the past six months was not false. Today, there were so many clues pointing to Lu Chen, especially Jin Qiaolan's public accusation, which was undoubtedly the final nail in the coffin.

Queen Mother Xu slowly stood up. She looked coldly at the three dukes, and finally her gaze fell on Lu Chen's face.

Lu Chen seemed to sense something and raised his head calmly, meeting the gaze of the Empress Dowager Regent.

This calm expression made Queen Mother Xu feel even more resentful. Just when she was about to have someone capture Lu Chen, a general in armor rushed over and asked in public: "Duke Qin, do you really want to rebel?!"

This sudden change stunned everyone, and the noise in the hall suddenly subsided.

Li Shizhi suddenly turned his head to look at Shen Yulai, the commander of the imperial guards, who had barged in without even having time to salute the empress dowager. His heart suddenly hung in the air.

Empress Dowager Xu could not help but clench her hands and asked loudly, "What happened to Mr. Shen's family?"

Shen Yulai was anxious and angry, still staring at Lu Chen and said, "Reporting to the Queen Mother, 3,000 cavalrymen from the Ruishi Battalion entered the city from the east gate and rushed straight to the palace. Now they are in the square outside the Hening Gate!"

"Wow—"

There was an instantaneous loud bang in the hall, almost blowing the roof off.

"Thief!"

Queen Mother Xu was furious. She pointed her finger at Lu Chen and said sternly, "Mr. Shen, capture this traitor for me!"

……

……

(Thanks to the book friend "You and I are both the nine o'clock sun" for giving me a tip! I came back late today, and will update tomorrow. There will be another chapter tonight.)
(End of this chapter)