The Ming Dynasty began from Sarhu

Chapter 361 Regicide
Wang Chengen was shouting outside.

"What happened to the Protector of the Country? What happened to the Protector of the Country?! Chase them! We can't let an assassin escape! Kill them all!"

Eunuch Wang, accompanied by a group of powerful Han generals, strode in as if they were in an empty space.

When he reached the door of the living room, he was stopped by Zhao Yuanzhi and Lin Yu.

Pei Dahu waved his hand, signaling to let the eunuch in.

Wang Chengen walked into the main hall and saw Liu Zhaosun leaning against a pillar with his eyes slightly closed. His hands and face were covered in blood. He also saw the corpse of his wife lying on the spot and immediately burst into tears:

"God damn Li Xianzhong, God damn Donglin Party! God damn Rakshasa ghosts! God damn White Lotus Sect! How dare they murder the Protector of the Country! I didn't even have the chance to see the Protector of the Country for the last time, and he and his wife were both killed. General Liu, I'm too late, I'm guilty..."

The wailing that echoed throughout the living room suddenly stopped.

Liu Zhaosun, who was leaning against the pillar, blinked his eyes and roared like a beast from deep in his throat.

Liu Zhaosun burst into tears and cried loudly.

"Madam, I was wrong! I only knew how to train soldiers, fight wars, confiscate property, and kill people. I told you not to eat the big pig's trotters given by the emperor, but you insisted on eating them and even gave them to me, saying they could nourish my brain. You said I was not in good health and needed more nourishment. Now you are gone! Who will remind me to eat in the future? If you die, what will happen to Liu Kan? He is only one year old!"

Wang Chengen wiped away the non-existent tears from the corners of his eyes, stepped forward and patted the Duke of Huguo on the shoulder, about to comfort him.

Liu Zhaosun's eyes were bloodshot and he had gone mad.

"Thieves killed my wife, I will kill them all! Kill! Kill! I am the Protector of the Country! I am the God of Killing!"

Zhao Yuanzhi and Pei Dahu clenched their blades tightly, waiting for the order to chop Wang Chengen into minced meat.

Wang Chengen stepped forward quickly and helped Liu Zhaosun up:
"Duke Protector of the Country, you are still too young. You shouldn't have killed the Donglin Party and the nobles as soon as you came to the capital. Now you are targeting the censors and raiding their homes, leaving them no chance of survival. These civil servants are ruthless and cruel. Every family keeps assassins. They are coming back to take revenge on you!"

As Wang Chengen spoke, he took out a handkerchief and wiped the tears of the Duke of Huguo. The dagger hidden in Liu Zhaosun's sleeve trembled slightly.

"Don't cry! Lord Protector, don't cry. Your wife is gone. You must mourn. Take care of yourself. The Ming Dynasty cannot be without the Lord Protector. Don't cry! The Emperor, mindful of the Lord Protector's overwork, has summoned General Zhang to the capital to take over the defense of the capital. Lord Protector, don't worry. Where is the Imperial Physician?! Imperial Physician! Summon the Imperial Physician quickly! Look, the Lord Protector's hands are shaking so badly! Check him out quickly. Is his old illness coming back? Prescribe some medicine immediately!"

"Duke Protector of the Country, the medicine cannot be stopped!"

The imperial physician, who was beaten half to death, dared not answer. Seeing that no one came up, Wang Chengen took out a red pill from somewhere and stuffed it forcefully into the mouth of the Duke of Protectorate.

Liu Zhaosun grabbed Wang Chengen, pressed the eunuch's neck, lifted the eunuch with one hand, and strangled Wang Chengen's neck with a snap.

Everyone rushed out together and hacked the surrounding big men and generals to death with their swords.

"Wang Chengen, the Chief Secretary of the Imperial Household Department, colluded with the White Lotus Sect in rebellion and plotted to murder the Imperial Madam! He plotted to assassinate me and deserves death! I will go to the Qianqing Palace and report this to the Emperor."

After saying that, the Duke of Protectorate pointed at Wang Chengen who was lying unconscious on the ground due to the poison.

"Drag this traitorous eunuch out! Behead him for half an hour! Chop him into pieces and offer them as a sacrifice to Madam Zhang!"

"Have the Royal Guards arrived? Follow me into the palace to meet His Majesty! Send two hundred soldiers to protect Madam Jin and Madam Yang!"

Liu Zhaosun looked around,
Qiao Yiqi came back sweating profusely and said anxiously:

"Zhang Chun of Hejian Prefecture has arrived with his troops, claiming to be under imperial decree to defend the city and has already approached Desheng Gate. Many former officers from the Wucheng Military Command are clamoring for the gates to be opened, but the Kaiyuan army is unable to suppress them."

"Good! Put them in, just in time to kill them!"

Liu Zhaosun suddenly laughed.

"You ignorant fools, I've put up with this bunch of beasts time and again, but they're determined to get me killed. Today, I'm going to fight to the death and kill them all."

Liu Zhaosun picked up Wang Chengen with one hand and threw the body out like a shot put. The body flew several meters in the air, hit the ground with its head, and hit the bluestone slab heavily.

"Go find the emperor first!"

In front of the Duke of Huguo's mansion, Liu Zhaosun's eyes were slightly red. The 14th Army of the Guards, which had just arrived, was in neat uniforms and had serious expressions.

"The Imperial Madam was murdered, and I was nearly killed. We have now discovered that the mastermind behind this is within the palace! Guard the entrance to the palace and do not allow anyone in or out. The Central Army Guards will follow me into the palace to capture the culprit."

~~~~~
The Forbidden City was empty. Liu Zhaosun, Zhao Yuanzhi, Pei Dahu, Lin Yu, and eunuch Du Xun led the way.

The five people walked for a long time, but did not see a single eunuch or palace maid.

Looking around, the solemn and majestic palace is particularly creepy today.

Liu Zhaosun was fully clothed in armor and held a goose-feather knife in his hand, returning to his bloody days as a servant.

The five people came to the Huangji Palace, but the palace was empty.

"Duke Protector of the Country, go to the Cining Palace! The Emperor might be there."

Liu Zhaosun angrily said to Du Xun:

"Don't call him Your Majesty anymore! He is Zhu Youjian!" Du Xun nodded repeatedly.

The morning light shines through the Qianqing Palace and the haze, and the view becomes wider.

Liu Zhaosun was walking in front. The palace maids and eunuchs who were coming towards them saw this group of people with murderous intent and quickly avoided them.

Liu Zhaosun quickened his pace, his leather boots making a tapping sound as they stepped on the mirror-smooth bluestone slabs.

Suddenly, the footsteps on the bluestone slabs became chaotic.

Seven or eight people dressed as eunuchs were walking towards us, each holding a package in their hands, and no one knew what was inside.

"Lord Protector, be careful."

Pei Dahu shouted from behind.

Du Xun hurriedly took two steps forward and asked loudly:

"Which department is this eunuch from? Why are you so ignorant? When you see the Protector of the Country, you still don't..."

Before Eunuch Du could finish his words, two heavy arrows flew towards him with bangs and pierced Du Xun's body. Eunuch Du flew out as if he was hit by a hammer.

Are these the assassins Zhu Youjian has recruited?
Liu Zhao looked back at Pei Dahu, Zhao Yuanzhi and Lin Yu. Four against eight, the chances of winning were 50-50.

But today, someone from the Central Army Guard is going to die here again.

There was a sound of chaotic footsteps behind them, and eight soldiers wearing mandarin duck battle jackets, holding swords and with fierce looks on their faces, rushed towards the four people.

The eight eunuchs in front began to exert their strength and attacked from the front and back together with the assassins behind.

"Four against sixteen!"

Liu Zhaosun took a large arrow from Zhao Yuanzhi and drew the bow with skillful movements.

The distance was less than thirty steps, and the four men in mandarin duck coats behind him showed no intention of stopping, and their speed was getting faster and faster.

A killer took out a hatchet from a package and threw it towards this side using the momentum of running.

Gunshots rang out, and the assassin in the front was shot and fell to the ground. The arrow pierced through his protruding throat and shot out from the back of his head, almost cutting off half of his head.

The man fell to the ground, twitching a few times on the bluestone slab, deader than dead.

Flying axes, bone clubs, and spears came at him. Liu Zhaosun dodged and a short axe flew back past his nose.

A pistol followed the sharp axe and flew towards Liu Zhaosun. He blocked it with the goose-feather knife, and the spear's force was slightly reduced, and it pierced into his chest with a whistling sound.

The pistol pierced through the chain mail and penetrated the chest muscle of the Protector of the Country, but was finally blocked.

There was a loud bang, and the four eunuchs who rushed to a distance of fifty steps let out screams that were not like human voices.

Lin Yu, like a giant beast, roared and charged towards the four people.

The four eunuchs raised their shields, trying to block the violent beast with them, but it was in vain.

The shield shattered and four people were knocked away.

～~～~
"Who sent you!"

The last assassin vomited blood and fell to the ground, dying. Liu Zhaosun hit his calf with a goose-feather knife, and the assassin lost his ability to move.

However, the more fatal damage came from Lin Yu's heavy sword. The blade hit the chest, revealing the white bones underneath.

"Hahahaha! Lin Yu is worthy of being the second best in the Central Army Guard!"

Liu Zhaosun finished speaking and stared at the knife wound on the assassin's chest:
"Lingchi death!"

When the assassin heard he was going to be executed by slow slicing, he quickly confessed:
"I'm a Liaocheng transport soldier, I know some martial arts, don't do my thing, it's all Zheng Tianxing's idea. My parents, wife and children are in Zheng Tianxing's hands. If I don't obey him, my family's lives will be in danger!"

Liu Zhaosun was well aware of the difficulties faced by the grain transport soldiers, so he was prepared to make great efforts to reform the grain transport and try to improve the lives of the grain transport soldiers. He never expected that the person who would assassinate him in the end was the very person he wanted to help.

"Please spare my life, Lord Protector of the Country. I have an eighty-year-old mother at home.

"That's not a reason!"

The knife came down with a slash of his hand, and blood splattered onto the fish scale armor.

"All the lines are the same. The old mother is always eighty, not seventy-nine or eighty-one."

(End of this chapter)