Datang: Just been appointed as the crown prince, the counterattack system is here

Chang'an, the garrison of the six guards of the Eastern Palace.

The somber atmosphere spread like a plague.

As Li Shimin issued secret orders to all directions, a purge was launched in Chang'an with lightning speed.

Musketeer Guard Garrison.

Pei Xuan had just finished his morning drills and was discussing the deployment of the new type of firearms with several captains.

Suddenly, the gate of the garrison was violently smashed open, and a large contingent of Northern Army soldiers, dressed in bright armor and carrying long halberds, filed in, instantly surrounding the training ground.

A leading eunuch in a scarlet robe unfurled a yellow silk ribbon and announced the imperial decree in a shrill voice:
"By imperial decree! Pei Xuan, commander of the Musketeers, is suspected of colluding with traitors. He shall be immediately dismissed from his post and sent to the Court of Judicial Review for trial!"

"All musketeers' weapons are sealed up. No one is to move them without authorization. They are to await further orders!"

Pei Xuan's face turned deathly pale instantly, but he did not resist. He simply took a deep breath and shook his head at the furious and shocked deputy generals around him, signaling them not to act rashly.

He calmly removed his helmet and sword, handing them to the approaching Imperial Guards. His gaze swept over the musketeer guards he had spent every day with, and his voice was steady:

"His Majesty's decree cannot be disobeyed. You must all diligently perform your duties and refrain from causing trouble."

He knew that any resistance at this moment would bring annihilation to the entire Musketeer Guard.

We can only endure and wait for things to change.

……

The Wolf Fang Guard's garrison.

The Turkic leader, Yugushya, reacted much more strongly.

When the imperial guards stormed in with the imperial decree, he was shirtless, wrestling with his warriors.

Upon hearing the decree, his eyes, as large as copper bells, widened instantly. He shoved aside the imperial guards in front of him and roared in broken Chinese:

"Bullshit! I am utterly loyal to the court! His Majesty must have been deceived by treacherous officials! Who dares to touch me?!"

His Wolf Fang Guards were mostly composed of warriors from tribes such as the Turks and Khitans. They were arrogant and unruly. Upon seeing this, they drew their scimitars and confronted the Imperial Guards, creating a tense atmosphere.

Seeing that the situation was not good, the general who came to deliver the imperial edict shouted sternly:

"Yugushe! Do you want to rebel?! Disobeying the imperial decree will result in your execution!"

Yu Gushe was panting heavily, his chest heaving violently.

He looked at the dense array of imperial guards' crossbows around him, and finally slammed his scimitar to the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust, letting out a beast-like growl:

"I refuse to accept this! We'll settle this when His Highness the Crown Prince returns!"

Although he was reckless, he knew that fighting head-on was pointless, so he could only suppress his anger and be disarmed and taken away.

……

The Iron Pagoda's garrison.

When Commander Wang Haibin received the order, he was polishing his signature lance.

After hearing the imperial decree, he remained silent for a moment, then slowly lowered his lance and said calmly to his adjutant beside him:
"Pass down the order: everyone disarm and submit to storage. No conflict with the Imperial Guards is permitted."

"General!" the lieutenant exclaimed urgently.

Wang Haibin raised his hand to stop him, his eyes deep: "General Xue entrusted the Iron Pagoda to me so that I could lead this elite force well, not let it be destroyed by internal strife."

"His Majesty's decree has been issued; resistance is futile. Remember, the spirit of the Iron Pagoda lies on the battlefield, not in the prisons of Chang'an."

He saw further than Pei Xuan and Yu Gushe, knowing that preserving the structure and core of this heavy cavalry was far more important than pointless bloodshed.

……

Black Armor Guard's Garrison.

Commander Liu Xuan, as the second-place finisher in the martial arts examination and a young general personally selected by Su Dingfang, is facing the greatest pressure at this moment.

The Black Armor Guards are mostly composed of fierce soldiers and death squad members, and their loyalty is extremely high.

Even though he was the new commander appointed by Su Dingfang, the Black Armor Guards did not completely obey his orders.

Even when the Imperial Guards surrounded the camp, many of the black-armored soldiers already had fierce glints in their eyes and their hands on the hilts of their swords.

Standing on the reviewing stand, Liu Xuan looked down at his restless subordinates and the menacing Imperial Guards, and suddenly burst into loud laughter:

"Hahaha! Good! Good! His Highness the Crown Prince just left, and someone is already eager to make an example of us?!"

His laughter ceased, his eyes sharpened like an eagle's, and he shouted to his soldiers:

"Put your knives away, all of you! How can we, as his subjects, disobey His Majesty's decree?!"

He stepped down from the command platform, took off his sword, and tossed it to the Imperial Guard commander, his gaze sweeping over each of the black-armored guards:

"Remember! The Black Armor Guards' blades are only for cutting down foreign enemies, never for shedding the blood of our own people! Today's events will be judged by public opinion!"

"All of you, stay put! Anyone who dares to move will be court-martialed!"

He appeared compliant, but in reality, he stabilized morale by saying "I will not shed the blood of my compatriots" and "public opinion will prevail," thus avoiding the worst-case scenario of infighting.

……

Military Academy.

The atmosphere here is even more oppressive.

Thousands of students were surrounded by heavily armed soldiers of the Sixteen Guards in the academy square and school buildings.

These young students, mostly from commoner backgrounds, filled with admiration for Crown Prince Li Chengqian and harboring dreams of strengthening the military and serving the country, now had anger, confusion, and a hint of fear written on their faces.

The academy director, Di Zhixun, was roughly dragged out of his duty room by two imperial guards and taken to a prison cart.

He remained calm, merely straightening his torn scholar's robe.

As the prison van passed through the dormitory area, the window of one of the rooms was suddenly pushed open.

A two-year-old boy, with adorable features, leaned against the windowsill, blinking his large, bright eyes, watching his father being led away with curiosity, and called out in his childish voice:
"Father? Where are you going?" It was Di Renjie, the youngest son of Di Zhixun.

Di Zhixun was shocked. Looking at his son's innocent face, his eyes were filled with endless sorrow and worry.

But he forced a gentle smile, his voice a little hoarse:
"Jie'er, be good. Daddy's going to take care of something. I'll be back soon. You must listen to your mother..."

Before he could finish speaking, the prison cart had already been pushed away.

Young Di Renjie peered out the window, watching his father's departing figure, his brows furrowed slightly, as if sensing an unusual atmosphere.

But he still didn't understand what kind of turbulent waves lay behind this ordinary farewell.

As for the Embroidered Uniform Guard, its headquarters in Chang'an was already deserted when Li Chengqian left.

……

Liaodong, Pyongyang Governor's Office.

The atmosphere here is completely different from the oppressive atmosphere of Chang'an; it is filled with the ruggedness and desolation of the frontier.

Inside the hall, Xue Rengui sat in the main seat, with the imperial eunuch who had come from Chang'an and several guards standing below him.

The eunuch unfurled the imperial edict, his shrill voice echoing in the empty hall:
"Order Xue Rengui, the Governor-General of Pyongyang and General of the Right Guard, to immediately relinquish his military command and return to the capital to report on his duties. His troops will be temporarily placed under the command of the Deputy Governor-General..."

The imperial edict had not yet been finished being read.

"Qiang——!"

A bright, white blade flashed past like a bolt of lightning!

The eunuch delivering the imperial decree abruptly stopped.
He looked down in disbelief at the blood spurting from his chest, then slowly looked up at Xue Rengui, who was still sitting upright with a cold and iron-like expression, and the commander of his personal guards beside him, whose sword had been sheathed at some point and whose eyes were indifferent.

"You...you dare...defy the imperial decree...and kill the angel..."

The eunuch made a gurgling sound in his throat, uttering a few broken syllables, before collapsing to the ground with a thud.

The hall was deathly silent, save for the sound of blood flowing.

Xue Rengui slowly stood up. His tall figure was like a mountain, exuding a suffocating sense of oppression.

He didn't even glance at the corpse on the ground; his gaze swept over the generals in the hall, and his voice was like the clanging of metal, powerful and resonant:
"His Highness the Crown Prince has shown us immense kindness and trust! Now, treacherous officials are in power, framing the Crown Prince. How can we obey such a chaotic order?!"

"Pass on my orders!"

"All departments under the jurisdiction of the Pyongyang Military Governorate shall immediately enter a state of combat readiness! Block all roads leading inland, strengthen city defenses, and reorganize internal affairs!"

"Without the orders of this general and His Highness the Crown Prince, not a single soldier is to move, and no imperial envoy is to be allowed to set foot in Liaodong again!"

"Those who disobey orders will be killed!"

"As you command——!"

The generals in the hall roared in unison, their voices shaking the roof tiles.

They were all proud and fierce generals who had fought alongside Xue Rengui and Li Chengqian in Liaodong and Goguryeo, and their loyalty to the Crown Prince was ingrained in their very bones.

……

Naniwa-kyo, Japan.

The sea breeze, carrying a salty, fishy smell, rushed into the main hall.

After reading the imperial edict, Su Dingfang casually tossed it aside, a cold sneer on his face.

"Relinquish military power? Return to the capital to report on your duties?"

He sneered:
"Is His Majesty senile? Or has his brain been damaged by the parasites in Chang'an?"

Having said that, he strode to the high platform outside the hall, looking down at the forest of warships moored in the harbor below and the soldiers training. His voice echoed like the tide:

"Brothers! An imperial decree has arrived from Chang'an, ordering us to surrender our warships and weapons and go back to become cowards!"

"Will you agree?!"

"No way—!"

A deafening roar erupted from below as countless naval officers and soldiers brandished their weapons, their emotions running high.

Su Dingfang suddenly drew his sword and pointed it straight at the sky:

"I won't agree to that!"

"This Japanese island was conquered by His Highness the Crown Prince, who led us to victory with every sword and spear! This navy was built up by His Highness the Crown Prince with all his heart and soul!"

"Without His Highness the Crown Prince's order, even if the Heavenly King himself came, he wouldn't be able to touch us in the slightest!"

"Order! All ships to enter combat readiness! Blockade the port!"

"No ship from the Imperial Court may approach without the double confirmation of this Governor and His Highness the Crown Prince! Any vessel that forcibly approaches shall be regarded as an enemy and sunk!"

"Furthermore, send a fast ship north to contact General Xue Rengui and find out the exact whereabouts of His Highness the Crown Prince!"

"Tell all the high-ranking officials in Chang'an!"

Su Dingfang's eyes flashed with a cold light:
"I, Su Dingfang, and my tens of thousands of naval soldiers are His Highness the Crown Prince in life and in death ghosts of the Tang Dynasty's coastal defenses! You think we'll cut off our own arm? Dream on!"

With his command, the massive war machine of the Japanese Island Governor's Office immediately began to operate efficiently, demonstrating a resolute stance of standing up to the Chang'an court.

The news spread like wildfire, reaching Chang'an and the direction Li Chengqian was heading in stealthily.

Although the Crown Prince's six guards were suppressed in Chang'an, their backbone remained intact and their hearts were not broken.

The blatant defiance of orders by Xue Rengui and Su Dingfang, two powerful figures in the border towns, was like two resounding slaps to the face of the Chang'an court.

This also demonstrates to the world that Crown Prince Li Chengqian's power cannot be easily dismantled by a single imperial edict.

The internal strife in the Tang Dynasty, which started as a scheme and plot in Chang'an, has officially escalated into an armed confrontation that has spread to the borders and affected the whole country.

The flames of war have already been ignited simultaneously in the heartland and on the frontiers of the empire. (End of Chapter)