Jiuxi

Chapter 959: Fire

The palace no longer had the peace it once had.

When riots broke out in various parts of the city, a large number of unexpected chaos also occurred in the palace. Some people set fire to the corners of the palace, some took the opportunity to kill people in the harem, and some tried to assassinate the Crown Prince Wu Yan.

Fortunately, in addition to the Heza warriors under Jiao Lu, Emperor Jing also deployed a large number of expert guards around Wu Yan, which prevented the assassins from succeeding.

Even so, Wu Yan looked quite embarrassed at the moment.

Because the first fire in the palace was in Yongfu Palace where he was.

"Jiaolu, the Qingyu clan has rebelled."

Wu Yan's face was full of stern expressions. News from outside the palace came one after another. The sixth prince Wu Lie, the eighth prince A Hu Dai, the ninth prince Zong Yan and other adult princes had all died. The Nine Gates Garrison Divisions were killing each other. To be more precise, the troops loyal to the royal family were under siege.

Shangshu Ling Zhao Siwen and more than a dozen important ministers turned pale. If they had not entered the palace in time, they would probably have turned into corpses by now.

But now the order in the capital has been completely destroyed and the court is almost paralyzed. These civil officials who always talk about the saints no longer have any power. At least they can't do anything until the situation stabilizes.

"Your Highness, the chaos in the palace has gradually subsided. No matter how chaotic the situation is outside, it will not affect the palace."

Jiao Lu was able to remain calm, because as long as there was no chaos in the palace and the prince was not in danger, the foundation of the country would not be shaken.

Of course the capital must be pacified, otherwise the situation will become increasingly dangerous, so he said loudly: "Your Highness, please allow me to lead the troops to quell the rebellion."

"General, be careful!"

Zhao Siwen couldn't help but say, "General Jiaolu, now that the princes and the royal family are being plotted against, the most important thing is to protect His Royal Highness the Crown Prince. As long as the Hezha warriors under your command are here, those traitors will not be able to threaten the palace. No matter how chaotic it is outside, when the royal army arrives, the enemy will be crushed to pieces!"

"The army to support the king?"

Jiao Lu frowned and said, "Minister, since the Qingyu clan dared to take such a risk and caused the capital to be in such chaos in just a few hours, it means that they must have been preparing for many years, waiting for the day when Your Majesty dies. If we don't clear out the rebels in time and let them control the capital, do you think the Hezha warriors alone can defend the palace? By the time the army arrives, the palace will probably have been reduced to ashes!"

Zhao Siwen was speechless.

Prince Wu Yan said in a deep voice: "Jiao Lu, how many troops do you need?"

Jiao Lu pondered for a moment, then said sternly, "Your Highness, there are more than 11,000 warriors in Hezha. Tian Jue took away 2,000 of them before, and I still have more than 9,000. I left more than 5,000 people to guard the palace to protect Your Highness. I only need to take 4,000 elite soldiers out of the palace to wipe out the 20,000 guards at the nine gates. As long as we control the nine gates of the capital, even if there are rioters in the city, it will not affect the overall situation! When that time comes, Your Highness will let Tian Jue conduct a thorough investigation and kill all those traitors!"

"it is good!"

Wu Yan said sternly, "I order you to take 4,000 warriors out of the palace immediately and eliminate the rebels in the city from near to far. Anyone who resists will be killed without mercy, and their property will be confiscated and their families will be exterminated without a single one left alive!"

"I accept the decree!"

Jiao Lu bowed and then strode out.

About a quarter of an hour later, Jiao Lu personally led 4,000 men through the Chengtian Gate of the imperial city. What appeared in his sight was the capital city in chaos in the night.

"Target the East Gate!"

Jiaolu roared, and the Hezha warriors spurred their horses forward, rushing straight towards the east gate where the chaos first broke out.

When they arrived, the East Gate defense area was almost covered in blood, and countless soldiers loyal to the royal family fell in a pool of blood.

"General, here!"

A Hezha warrior in front shouted, and Jiaolu rode forward immediately. The next thing he saw was a dying general on the ground.

"North... North Gate..."

Alihedaoning raised his hand with difficulty, blood constantly flowing out of his mouth.

Jiao Lu felt the rage in his chest bursting out. When he saw Dao Ning's hands hanging down helplessly, he gritted his teeth and said, "These traitors!"

"Go to the north gate. Kill any troops you encounter along the way!"

"Follow the order!"

The sound of horse hooves soon rang out, like muffled thunder rolling across the sky.

They stopped after walking only two miles because a troop of soldiers blocked their way ahead.

On the broad and smooth main street, on one side were the murderous royal Heza warriors, and on the other side were several garrison divisions with blood-stained robes who had just dealt with Ali Hewendun, the defender of the north gate.

Jiao Lu controlled his restless mount, raised his eyes and looked across, his face ashen.

He naturally recognized the four generals leading the troops on the opposite side.

Jie Lie made his mark in the Xiashan army twenty years ago. After many twists and turns, he became one of the commanders of the nine gates of the capital, with three thousand infantrymen under his command.

Huo Yu, born into the Huiluo clan, was in charge of 3,000 infantrymen at the South Gate.

There is also Xiemao, who came from the Zhuntugu clan, and Mo Nian, who came from the Huite clan.

In short, except for the Jiagu clan which had been eradicated, the other four major clans of Jinglian all participated in this rebellion!
Jiao Lu did not waste his breath. Although the enemy's troops seemed to be more numerous, in this special terrain, he had absolute confidence that he could kill all these rebels with only 4,000 Hezha warriors!

Following Jiaolu's order, the Hezha warriors rushed forward like a tide and swept towards the rebels on the opposite side.

After the fighting began, the Hezha warriors quickly demonstrated the powerful strength of the emperor's personal army. Not to mention that the rebels had previously experienced two fierce battles, strangling two troops loyal to the royal family under Daoning and Wendun respectively, and were somewhat exhausted at this moment.

Even if they were at their peak, they could not withstand the extremely sharp offensive of four thousand Heza warriors.

The long street was littered with corpses.

Faced with such an unfavorable situation, the four main generals including Jie Lie did not show any signs of panic.

It was already late at night.

The rebel rear.

"Step aside!"

A roar like that of a wild beast exploded in everyone's ears. The soldiers of the garrison division turned their heads and saw more than a dozen giant men as tall as mountains appear in their sight.

Further back, there were endless crowds of killing gods.

This army exuded a terrifying murderous aura.

The orders came almost at the same time, and the army immediately moved to the sides to make way for the army that seemed to have emerged from the wilderness.

Ah Liudun grinned and said to the tribal warriors behind him: "Kill!"

"Kill!" Under his leadership, three thousand brave warriors rushed forward against the trend, passed through the garrison division's formation, and came in front of the Hezha warriors.

When Jiao Lu saw this horrifying scene, it was as if thunder exploded in his mind.

The Cang people tribe!

Even twenty-five years ago, when the Jing army swept across the world, the Cang warriors were as brave and fierce as the main force of the Jing army.

If Emperor Jingdi had not always intentionally controlled the Cang tribe, forced them to live in the bitter and cold land of the northeastern frontier, and did not allow them to migrate southward to grow and develop, I am afraid that this tribe that lived on fishing and hunting would have already become a thorn in the side of the Jing Dynasty.

The battle situation suddenly changed, and the Heza warriors were unable to withstand the offensive of the Cang people!

Once upon a time, A Liudun was like a slave in front of Emperor Jing, and was often ridiculed and mocked by the Jinglian nobles. He never dared to talk back, like a cowardly and humble waste. However, at this moment, he was charging forward in the battle formation, and the three thousand warriors behind him were not afraid of death at all, and only knew to charge forward!
Jiao Lu knew there was no way out. He tightly grasped the spear in his hand and gritted his teeth, "Kill!"

The two torrents collided, splashing blood like fog!
……

At dawn.

"Report!"

A centurion ran to the front of the crown prince Wu Yan in a panic and said hurriedly: "Your Highness, several of Tian Ti Ling's trusted men escaped back to the palace and reported that they were attacked by Tuoman Wulu and several thousand cavalrymen on their way back to the city. More than half of the two thousand Hezha warriors were killed in the battle. Unfortunately, Tian Ti Ling fell into the hands of the rebels!"

These few words stunned Wu Yan so much that he was dumbfounded, and more than a dozen important officials beside him turned pale as paper.

Before they could recover from the shock, another centurion strode into the hall and said in panic, "Your Highness, General Jiaolu led his troops to encounter the rebels on the main street of the North City. At first, our army had the upper hand, but thousands of Cang soldiers rushed out from behind the rebels, and our army... our army was defeated! General Jiaolu's life or death is unknown, and the rebels are now heading towards the palace!"

Zhao Siwen, who seemed to have aged ten years that night, shook violently and fell backwards when he heard this.

"Shangshu Ling! Shangshu Ling!"

Several civil servants nearby hurriedly supported Zhao Siwen.

Wu Yan's eyes widened, and after a moment he realized his current situation. He turned his head to look at the three generals standing next to him. They were Jiao Lu's deputy generals, responsible for commanding more than 5,000 Hezha warriors guarding the imperial palace.

"Your Highness, we are willing to fight to the death!"

The three generals knelt on one knee without any hesitation.

"Okay, I'll leave the safety of me and Da Jing in the hands of the three generals."

Wu Yan helped them up one by one and watched them walk away. At this moment he felt as if he had fallen into an icy cave.

Let’s not talk about whether more than 5,000 people can stop the rebels outside. Even if there is no worry today, what about tomorrow? What about the day after tomorrow?
After an unknown amount of time, faint sounds of killing were heard from outside, and the civil servants in the hall began to tremble uncontrollably.

The sounds of killing were getting closer and clearer.

The fear on Wu Yan's face gradually faded away.

He looked outside the hall and saw a bright spot in the sky.

"Your Highness!"

One of the generals who had been ordered to go out earlier returned to the palace. His face was dirty and his robe was stained with blood. His left arm hung limply. He said with grief and guilt, "I am incompetent. The rebels have already attacked the palace. Generals Wu Lei and Du Ding have both died for their country!"

"Do not blame you."

At this moment, Wu Yan seemed particularly calm, and said slowly: "How many Hezha warriors do you have under your command?"

The general bowed his head and said, "Less than two thousand!"

"Let's all withdraw."

Wu Yan stepped forward and said, "Let them guard in front of this Daqing Palace. The palace is too big, there is no need to make unnecessary sacrifices."

"Your Highness!"

"Your Highness!"

"Your Highness!"

There were exclamations from all around.

Wu Yan held the Emperor's Sword left to him by Emperor Jing in his hand, and walked out of the Daqing Hall without fear, ignoring the dissuasion of these important ministers.

The sky is slightly bright.

The night finally faded away.

That night the flames of war spread across the capital. Countless people died in the chaos, and the front half of the palace was littered with corpses.

Nearly two thousand Heza warriors who were still loyal to the royal family fought and retreated, gradually gathering around the Daqing Hall.

At this moment the rebels finally revealed their complex composition, roughly speaking there were four groups.

The first was part of the Nine-Gate Garrison Division, the second was the three thousand brave and fierce Cang warriors, and the third was the private soldiers raised by the Jinglian nobles who participated in the rebellion.

The fourth group consisted of thousands of old soldiers who were around 30 or 40 years old. They had no uniform armor and weapons and looked disorganized. However, in this long night of fighting, they performed more fiercely than the Cang warriors.

There is no doubt that this is the spark that Qing Yugong had spread twelve years ago.

Nearly 20,000 people poured into the palace and surrounded the Daqing Hall.

Wu Yan came out with a sword in his hand, stood on the edge of the imperial steps, and looked calmly at the fierce rebels.

He shouted loudly: "Where is Qing Yu Huai Jin?"

The field was dead silent, with only the cold wind whistling past in the early morning.

Soon, several rebels stepped forward.

Wu Yan looked from afar and recognized several familiar figures. They were representatives of the Huiluo, Juntugu, Huite, Dingbai and Tongyu clans.

The figure standing among these people was wearing traditional attire representing the leader of the Qingyu clan.

A ray of sunlight appeared on the horizon, shining on her body.

Dazzling and sparkling.

(End of this chapter)