The Bad Guys: Everyone, let’s revive the Tang Dynasty together!

Chapter 522 Standing atop the First Peak of Wu Mountain (Part 3)
At the end of the Yin hour, nearing dawn, the rain showed no sign of stopping; on the contrary, it became even more dense, pattering against the tiles, stone slabs, and the layers of corpses piled up in the streets and alleys.

Blood mingled with rainwater, meandering across the uneven ground like crimson streams, seeping into the cracks between bricks, overflowing the fallen flags and broken weapons, staining the entire long street a shocking crimson.

The long street between the imperial city and Xu Wen's residence is no longer in good condition.

The doors and windows of the shops on both sides were shattered, and the signs hung askew. Corpses were piled up, leaving almost no room to step. Severely wounded soldiers, not yet dead, lay on top of their comrades or enemies, emitting suppressed groans, which were immediately drowned out by the shouts of battle.

Li Xingyun leaned on his sword, panting, a deep gash on his breastplate nearly tearing through the lining. Rain streamed down his forehead, blurring his vision. He wiped his face, his hand sticky with a mixture of blood and rain.

Zhang Zifan leaned against a broken hitching post beside him, his white robe beneath his armor stained with blood, his left arm hanging limply as if it had lost its strength. The edge of his iron fan was also curled, no longer possessing its former brilliance.

Led by hundreds of palace guards and elite members of the Bad Guys, they initially broke through Xu Wen's army's defenses with their courage and skillful surprise attacks, advancing to within a hundred paces of the Xu residence's outer perimeter, with the outer walls already in sight.

However, Xu Wen and Zhang Hao had been managing Yangzhou for many years and had a large army under their command. Once they realized what was happening, they immediately relied on the streets and houses to set up defenses layer by layer. Furthermore, archers occupied the rooftops and attics on both sides, and arrows rained down like locusts, causing continuous casualties to the breaking-out troops. In the end, for every step the palace guards took, they had to step on several or even a dozen corpses.

"Wang Geng...why hasn't he made a move yet?" Zhang Zifan asked, panting heavily. According to the original plan, Wang Geng, who was lurking in the Black Cloud Longsword Capital, should have made his move long ago to coordinate an attack from within and without, but there was no news of him at the moment.

Li Xingyun shook his head, his gaze sweeping over the enemy's shield formation that was closing in again and the forest of spears behind it. His eyes darkened: "I don't know. The signal was sent long ago, but..."

Before he could finish speaking, a dense rain of arrows came down, and the soldiers in front of the two hurriedly raised their shields to block, the sound of arrows flying incessantly.

The most crucial element of the plan was delayed, like a dull knife slowly grinding at their hearts. Li Xingyun dared to break out of the palace precisely because he had the confidence to coordinate from within and without, preventing him from blindly throwing his life away.

However, if the Black Cloud Longsword Capital's inside man fails to arrive on time, their less than a thousand men will be trapped here and will eventually be worn down and die on this muddy street.

Shi Yao gracefully descended from the left eaves. Her sleeve was torn, revealing a section of her snow-white forearm, where a bloodstain was slowly seeping out. "Another squad of crossbowmen came up on the right flank. The pressure was too intense. Li Sixiao led his men to hold them off, but his internal energy has been greatly depleted..."

Her breathing was a little unsteady, and her rain-dampened hair clung to her cheeks, making Shi Yao's face appear even paler, yet adding to her tragic beauty.

Li Sixiao, as the Heavenly Fierce Star, truly lived up to his reputation. Just now, he parried a stray arrow shot at Li Xingyun by Zhai Hu, the commander of Xu Wen's personal guard, and withstood more than ten sword blows from the enemy with his shoulder armor, yet his charging momentum remained undiminished. At this moment, he was leading dozens of men in a fierce battle with a group of enemy soldiers at the right-hand street corner. Blades flashed and blood rained down, and roars thundered as they forcefully thwarted the enemy's attempt to encircle them.

He and Shi Yao had previously launched several raids on the gate tower overlooking the battlefield, or killed enemy commanders, and had almost succeeded on several occasions.

However, the enemy forces were too numerous. Xu Wen and Zhang Hao had deployed their elite troops, along with a number of skilled martial artists they had recruited. This situation was not something that could be easily reversed by individual bravery.

Zhang Hao had a trusted lieutenant named Ji Xiang, who possessed strength approaching the Middle Heaven Realm. However, he deliberately avoided a direct confrontation with Shi Yao, instead leading his men to deplete her inner energy and snipe at some skilled members of the Bad People.

Chen Tuo, another of Xu Wen's personal guards, was known to outsiders as the "Shield of the Xu Clan." His internal strength was even more profound, and his power was immense. He had just taken a blow from Li Sixiao and only retreated two steps.

Not to mention that Zhang Hao himself was a brave general from Jianghuai who followed Yang Xingmi back then, and his personal martial arts skills were also quite good. Someone like him would know best how to deal with someone with such superb martial arts skills.

It can only be said that there are only a handful of people like Li Maozhen and Zhu Youwen in this world.

Arrows continued to fall from the rooftops on both sides, striking the shields held high by the palace guards. Screams rang out from time to time, indicating that someone had been hit by stray arrows that pierced through the gaps or bypassed the shield formation.

The breakout team was pinned down and unable to advance an inch. Every scream made Li Xingyun's heart sink a little deeper.

……

The atmosphere remained calm on the watchtower of Xu Wen's residence.

Xu Wen stood by the railing, expressionless, looking down at the long street that resembled a meat grinder. Rainwater streamed down the eaves, forming puddles at his feet. His aide tried to hold an umbrella over him, but he casually brushed it aside, seemingly unaffected by the cold.

He only occasionally raised his hand to signal the messenger to wave a small flag, subtly adjusting the deployment of the troops below.

Zhang Hao pressed against the railing, looking somewhat anxious. "Damn it, this kid has some tenacity; he's been gnawing at it for so long and still hasn't broken through."

He spat and looked at Xu Wen: "Why don't I lead my men down and crush them in one fell swoop!"

Xu Wen didn't turn around, but just smiled calmly: "A cornered beast's struggle is just a waste of energy. He can't break through. Brother Zhang, please be patient."

Li Siyuan stood a little further down in the crowd, his slightly oversized robe making him appear somewhat hunched and inconspicuous. His eyes flickered, sometimes staring at Li Xingyun's figure below, sometimes glancing at Xu Wen's back, lost in thought.

A man who looked like a civil official bowed and came to Xu Wen's side and whispered a few words. Zhang Hao, who was watching from the side, frowned and also went over.

Xu Wen didn't seem to mind, he just nodded slightly and said in a low voice: "...Yes, get ready. The Longquan sword is important. As for the edict... first draft it in the name of the King of Wu, use sound wording, maintain a righteous and authoritative position, and reassure the people."

The clerk accepted the order and withdrew.

Just then, a commotion arose at the street corner below. Zhong Taizhang, leading several hundred soldiers, hurriedly crossed the rain and arrived at the outer perimeter of the mansion. He quickly reinforced and strengthened the defenses, causing the palace guards' offensive to weaken and forcing them to retreat slowly towards the palace. Only then did Zhong Taizhang enter the mansion and loudly announce his request for an audience.

Looking up at the tower, Xu Wen remained expressionless.

Upon seeing this, Zhang Hao flew into a rage. Before Xu Wen could speak, he leaned out and shouted angrily, "Zhong Taizhang! Why aren't you guarding the Wu Prince's residence? What are you doing here? You've fallen for their trap and don't even realize it!"

Zhong Taizhang, his face pale, clasped his hands in the rain and said urgently, "This humble general heard that the Prime Minister's residence was under fierce attack. Fearing for the safety of my lord, I came here..."

"Fool!" Zhang Hao roared in fury. "If anything happens to that old man, the King of Wu, I'll skin you alive!"

Xu Wen raised his hand to stop Zhang Hao's angry outburst and calmly said, "The enemy has limited manpower, and their main force is tied up here. Mi Zhicheng is brave and fierce, and the defenses of the Wu Prince's Mansion are also sufficient. Even if there are sporadic disturbances, there should be no major problems in the short term."

After a moment's thought, he said to Zhong Taizhang, "Taizhang, now that you're here, stay and help us quell the chaos as soon as possible."

Immediately, he turned to his adopted son Xu Zhigao and said, "Zhigao, take my order and lead some of Taizhang's troops back to the Wu Prince's residence immediately to assist Mi Zhicheng in guarding it. If the situation changes... invite the Wu Prince to the residence to temporarily avoid the calamity of war, and make sure that the Wu Prince is safe and sound."

Xu Zhigao understood immediately and calmly replied "Yes." Without further ado, he immediately ordered a group of the men brought by Min Taizhang and turned to disappear into the rain.

……

On the long street, the pressure on Li Xingyun's side suddenly increased. The fresh troops brought by Zhong Taizhang joined the battle, inevitably causing the already weakening offensive to begin to crumble. Shield bearers fell one after another, gaps appeared and were desperately plugged. Casualties increased rapidly.

On the watchtower, Zhang Hao, seeing Li Xingyun's troops showing signs of defeat, could no longer contain himself and exclaimed with delight, "Brother Xu, the opportunity has come! I will personally lead an army to launch a surprise attack and surely capture this villain!"

Li Siyuan hurriedly chimed in, "Situ is wise! We should press on and nip this in the bud!"

Xu Wen pondered for a moment, then finally nodded: "In that case, I'll trouble you, Brother Zhang. Liu Xin and Zhai Hu, you two will lead your troops to join the Situ in the attack. Try your best to capture Li Xingyun alive, and if you can't... then take his head. Also, among the officials who have been coerced, try not to harm them, such as the King of Min and the Prince of Wuyue. They will be useful in the future."

"I've got it!"

Zhang Hao readily agreed, his face contorted with rage. He took the long-handled broadsword handed to him by his personal guard, then immediately mustered a portion of his elite troops, including those assigned by Xu Wen. He roared, "My men, follow me to kill the enemy and achieve merit!" to boost morale, and charged out of the mansion like a tiger descending a mountain. Liu Xin, Zhai Hu, and his fierce generals, including Ji Xiang, followed closely behind, rushing straight towards Li Xingyun's retreating troops.

In an instant, the sounds of battle shook the heavens. Zhang Hao, by nature brave and fierce, though nearing fifty, possessed formidable inner strength; his Mo Dao (a type of long-handled sword) wielded with thunderous force, and those who stood in his way crumbled. Ji Xiang, Liu Xin, and others were also exceptionally valiant, leading their troops in a fierce and relentless charge.

Li Xingyun's troops, already exhausted and retreating, suddenly faced increased pressure, their formation collapsed, and they continued to retreat wildly.

"Protect His Majesty!" Shi Yaoqing shouted, her movements swift as she personally stepped forward to intercept Zhang Hao.

Li Sixiao roared and charged forward, but was desperately blocked by Zhang Hao's personal guards.

In the midst of the melee, Shi Yao and Li Sixiao exchanged a glance, fighting and retreating, but intentionally or unintentionally keeping Li Xingyun and Zhang Zifan at a distance from the large group of palace guards.

"Your Majesty, the enemy's strength is too great; we cannot fight them head-on. Let us avoid their attacks for now, and we will cover their retreat!" Shi Yao said urgently, her sleeves fluttering as she rushed to Li Xingyun's side.

Li Sixiao fought off Ji Xiang and his men's attack, and advised, "Your Majesty, hurry! Retreat through this alley, and you'll be safe!"

Li Xingyun's eyes were bloodshot as he looked at his subordinates who were still fighting desperately around him, and he hissed, "No, how can I abandon you..."

"Brother Li!"

Zhang Zifan suddenly grabbed his arm, but he had regained his senses before Li Xingyun. He said urgently, "If you die, who will avenge the Empress and Miss Lu? Who will save Prince Wu? Who will clean up this mess! Listen to me, let's go!"

After saying this, without waiting for Li Xingyun's response, Zhang Zifan immediately gave a signal to several trusted bodyguards. The men then stepped forward and practically half-carried, half-dragged Li Xingyun backward.

Li Xingyun struggled for a moment, but finally gave up in despair, letting them drag him away from the main battlefield. He only glanced back at the muddy battlefield, his eyes filled with pain and resentment.

Seeing them leave, Shi Yao and Li Sixiao seemed to breathe a sigh of relief. They then led the remaining palace guards back and charged towards Zhang Hao's army like madmen, fighting hard to hold off their main force and buy time for Li Xingyun's retreat.

Zhang Hao, caught up in the excitement of the battle, roared repeatedly upon seeing Li Xingyun's figure disappear, and led his troops in a fierce attack, relentlessly pursuing Shi Yao and the others who were covering their retreat.

Shi Yao and Li Sixiao managed to hold off the enemy for a short while, but could only lead their remaining troops in a fighting retreat towards the palace gate, drawing away Zhang Hao's main force. Zhang Hao's army pursued relentlessly, their momentum unstoppable. The remaining troops led by Shi Yao and Li Sixiao found it increasingly difficult to resist; their formation became scattered, and men were constantly falling behind and being swallowed up. The sounds of rain, battle cries, and screams mingled together, creating utter chaos in the streets.

After chasing for about a mile, his men were quite far from the Xu residence, and some even confusedly chased into the alleys.

Just as Zhang Hao's troops were stretched thin due to the street fighting, several fireworks suddenly burst through the rain curtain from several secluded corners of the city, rising straight into the sky and exploding into several clusters of light that were particularly eye-catching even in the gloomy rainy day.

Upon seeing the fireworks explode, not only was Zhang Hao suddenly stunned, but even Xu Wen, who was preparing to clean up the mess at the mansion, was belatedly surprised.

But the moment the signal sounded, something unexpected happened.

The soldiers of the Black Cloud Longsword Capital, who were originally fighting in Zhang Hao's army, suddenly turned their eyes sharply and almost without hesitation turned their weapons to slash fiercely at Zhang Hao's main force, who were caught off guard.

"Kill Zhang Hao! Cleanse the court of corrupt officials!"

"By imperial decree, we quell the rebellion!"

A roar suddenly erupted, instantly throwing the original pursuit formation into chaos as people began to fight amongst themselves. Screams, curses, and the sounds of weapons piercing flesh filled the air, and the scene quickly spiraled out of control.

Zhang Hao was shocked and reined in his horse: "What's going on?! How dare you rebel?!"

Upon seeing this, the palace guards under Shi Yao and Li Sixiao were greatly encouraged and immediately turned around to launch a fierce attack, coordinating with the Hei Yundu who had turned against them.

This sudden defection plunged Zhang Haojun into extreme chaos.

The swords of their own men were far more terrifying than those of the open enemy; many soldiers fell in pools of blood before they could even react. Generals Ji Xiang and Liu Xin, filled with shock and rage, tried to quell the unrest, but were instantly overwhelmed by the chaotic crowd and attacks from both sides. The former was pierced by several spears, while the latter was dismembered in a flurry of blows before they could react.

Zhang Hao, protected by his personal guards, his eyes blazing with fury, brandished his long-handled sword and slashed down several traitorous soldiers, roaring hoarsely, "Traitors! How dare you do this!"

However, he was nearly fifty years old after all, and his strength was already exhausted after a long battle. His internal energy was greatly depleted. At this moment, his anger and frustration made his moves increasingly chaotic. Not to mention, the Black Cloud Longsword was used by heavily armored infantrymen. If their internal energy was insufficient, ordinary people would find it difficult to even break through their defenses.

Shi Yao's figure swept in like smoke, her palm wind brushing past Zhang Hao's ribs, causing him to stagger. Li Sixiao was exceptionally fierce, rushing forward and slashing his long sword handle hard. The shock caused Zhang Hao's tiger's mouth to split open, and blood flowed freely.

"Situ, run!" Zhai Hu, the commander of Xu Wen's personal guard, was covered in blood as he desperately protected Zhang Hao and retreated.

After a chaotic battle, countless men under Zhang Hao were killed or wounded, their armor and weapons scattered. Only a few men fled in disarray toward the Xu residence, desperately calling for Xu Wen to save them.

However, at that moment, a troop of cavalry suddenly rushed out from another alleyway to the side, their hooves trampling through the mud and corpses with fierce momentum, clearly heading straight for Zhang Hao's call.

The leading general, riding a white horse and wearing silver armor, held a long spear that gleamed coldly, and his face was exactly the same as Li Xingyun's.

Zhang Hao and his group, who were retreating, saw that the cavalry had not stopped blocking their way. But when they saw the man's face, they were all shocked.

The fake Li immediately locked onto Zhang Hao, and without hesitation, spurred his horse forward, shouting, "Traitor, prepare to die!"

The sound arrived as quickly as the horse and the spear. Zhang Hao was breathless and dazed, caught off guard. He saw a cold glint rapidly enlarging before his eyes and instinctively raised his longsword to block, but he was a second too slow.

"Pfft."

The spear pierced through the breastplate without any resistance and emerged from the body.

Zhang Hao's eyes widened in disbelief as he looked down at the spearhead piercing his chest. He then abruptly looked up, staring intently at the fake Li's face—a face identical to Li Xingyun's—his eyes filled with shock, rage, and overwhelming resentment. He hissed out a few words: "Li...Xingyun...how...could...you...kill..."

Before he could finish speaking, the fake Li flicked his wrist, retracting his spear. Zhang Hao coughed up a mouthful of blood, collapsed to the ground, and died, his eyes still wide open, staring at the sky.

Even in death, Zhang Situ believed he had been killed by Li Xingyun, and died with his eyes wide open in disbelief.

The fake Li reined in his warhorse, flicked his spear, and blood splattered down.

He leaned forward and used the tip of his spear to pry open Zhang Hao's armor sash, lifting the burly corpse high into the air. Then, gathering his inner strength, he let out a long, resounding roar towards the watchtower of Xu Wen's residence:

"Zhang Hao has been executed! The one who beheaded this traitor is Li Xingyun!"

……

Almost simultaneously, in another direction.

Xu Zhigao and his troops had just arrived at the outer street corner of Xu Mansion when they encountered another group of people.

Zhang Xuanling, his Taoist robe stained with blood and wielding a long sword, was seen escorting the terrified and trembling Prince Yang Wo of Wu and several members of the royal family towards them. Jing Xinmo, with a large number of armored soldiers and disciples of the Celestial Master's Mansion, followed closely behind, clearly having just gone through a fierce battle.

The two sides met unexpectedly at this chaotic street corner and were about to engage in a bloody battle.

But immediately, the shouts of the fake Li carrying Zhang Hao's corpse came, and everyone was stunned.

Yang Wo looked up and saw his son-in-law carrying Zhang Hao's corpse, displaying a horrifying scene of triumph. He was first startled and then, as if he had found his backbone, he broke free from his support, pointed at Xu Wen on the watchtower, and cried out in a trembling voice, tears streaming down his face: "Xu Wen! Xu Wen, the traitor! He imprisoned me, the king, disrupted the court, and harmed loyal officials. This is intolerable! Your Majesty! Your Majesty, please do justice for me!"

The other members of the imperial clan also found an outlet for their anger and joined in, accusing Xu Wen of his crimes.

Xu Wen, watching from the watchtower, saw that the King of Wu had been rescued and that he appeared at the street corner outside the mansion almost simultaneously with "Li Xingyun," who had just killed Zhang Hao. His expression changed drastically again, and he could no longer maintain his composure. He looked at Zhong Taizhang, who was also at a loss, with great surprise and suspicion.
"Where is Mi Zhicheng?! How could they possibly rescue the King of Wu?! Didn't Li Xingyun just flee in defeat?!"

Just as Xu Wen was in shock and flustered, Li Siyuan suddenly stepped forward from behind him and said urgently:
"Xu Xiang, be careful! This is not the real Li Xingyun! This person is a double that Yuan Tiangang, the leader of the Bad Guys, has been training for Li Xingyun for many years. The real Li Xingyun has long since been defeated and his whereabouts are unknown! This is an internal power struggle within the Bad Guys, a scheme to substitute one person for another! Don't be fooled by him!"

Xu Wen abruptly turned his head, his gaze sharp as a knife as he shot at Li Siyuan, then looked down at the fake Li on horseback, and then at the wailing King Wu. His mind was in chaos, and for a moment he could not make sense of the complicated situation.

Downstairs, when the fake Li saw Li Siyuan leaning close to Xu Wen, his expression instantly darkened.

Li Xingyun and Zhang Zifan, who had already fled the battlefield and were about to hide in the alley, also heard that imposing shout. They both turned around in surprise. Although they couldn't see the person's face clearly, they could clearly see the fake Li's figure on horseback. Zhang Zifan murmured in disbelief, "Who...who is that?"

Li Xingyun stared intently at the knight, a strange chill suddenly rising from the bottom of his heart. In that instant, many of his previous doubts seemed to have been answered, but he was suddenly plunged into even more confusion.

However, before he could even process the series of shocking events, another shock came his way.

Woo——woo——woo——

A distant, deep horn sound suddenly began to come from the north, initially faint, but soon becoming noisy and chaotic, until it sounded quite deep.

Immediately, the alarm bells on Yangzhou City were also frantically rang, which, together with the horns from the north, grew louder and louder, eventually forming a huge roar that covered the sky and the earth, suppressing all the shouts of battle within Yangzhou City!

Everyone who was fighting, confronting each other, feeling terrified, or bewildered—whether it was Xu Wen, Li Siyuan, the fake Li, Li Xingyun, Zhang Zifan, Shi Yao, Li Sixiao, or ordinary soldiers in the chaotic army—involuntarily stopped what they were doing, looked up in astonishment, and followed the sound of the bugle to the north.

In the far western suburbs of the city, Xu Huan and his two companions, who were talking with Zhu Jin and Zhao Congyi, seemed to sense something as well. They all reined in their horses and stopped their carriages, looking back to the north with either elation or astonishment.

Lu Linxuan instinctively gripped the car window and looked up to the north.

Inside the car, Shangrao, pale-faced, also anxiously grabbed Lu Linxuan's arm.

Everyone, no matter where they are or what they are doing, can't help but subconsciously raise their heads and look towards the northern horizon.

In the distance, thick, black smoke signals rose into the sky, one after another, spreading rapidly along the south bank of the Yangtze River like wildfire, stretching as far as the eye could see.

The billowing smoke, like countless ferocious black dragons, broke free from the shackles of the rain and surged forward one after another, forming a continuously spreading black curtain on the horizon, as if to completely cover the entire sky.

The sky was ablaze with the smoke of war.

On the north wall of Yangzhou, an old soldier on lookout duty and all his comrades on the wall stared wide-eyed, stunned for a moment, and then began to tremble.

Despite the distance and the obstruction of view by rain and mist, a heart-pounding, immense pressure, as if accompanied by the faintly audible bugle calls and the imagined sails stretching for thousands of miles, swept across the vast river, enveloping the entire Jiangnan region.

"Beacon...beacon fire..."

"Jiangbei... is engulfed in flames."

"The Northern Dynasty army... marched south in full force."

(End of this chapter)