Chapter 545: 545
The walls of the Royal Palace were thicker than the skin on the Jingdou nobilities' faces . Horses could ride across, and objects could be stored below . Even the Imperial Army's meeting rooms were placed among the giant green stones . In the darkness, it emanated a solemnness . There were only a few flickering lights illuminating everyone's faces and eyes, startling them away .
The Imperial Army generals and officers were exhausted . Ever since the three riders arrived in the capital and reported on the incident at Dong Mountain, a storm arrived in Jingdou . The Royal Palace they were responsible for guarding had become the center of the storm that all factions kept a close eye on . For many days in a row, no leading officer could leave the Royal Palace . Even when they were off duty, no one returned to their manors to rest .
The fire in the Great Prince's eyes became a burning light . He looked slowly at the dozen of generals in the room and said in a cold voice, "Does everyone understand what I said?"
The room was absolutely silent . A general with a heavy face knelt with one knee on the ground and said with gritted teeth, "I don't understand . "
"Do you need me to read the posthumous edict once more?" The Great Prince watched his eyes and asked icily . "The Crown Prince colluded with Northern Qi and Dongyi assassins to kill the Emperor on Dong Mountain in an attempt to steal the throne . Afterward, he framed Sir Fan junior . Since I have already accepted the former Emperor's imperial edict, those who need to be disciplined will be disciplined!"
The general glanced at the thin piece of paper at the Great Prince's side and narrowed his eyes . "Your Highness, who knows whether the so-called posthumous edict is real or fake?"
The Great Prince looked at him coldly . He then slowly took out a box from his clothes and placed it on the table .
The box was opened . Inside it was a small seal . It was the Emperor's Royal Seal that had been missing for many days, preventing the orders from the Palace from being smoothly passed on .
Once the Royal Seal came out, the expressions on the generals' faces changed dramatically . They all knelt on the ground and bowed in the direction of the seal . No one said a word .
"Awaiting Your Highness' military orders . "
"Sir Fan junior is getting rid of the rebels according to imperial orders and has ordered me to help . "
The Great Prince's gaze slowly slid past the faces of the generals kneeling on the ground to read many people's thoughts . Although he had listened to Fan Xian's advice and inserted many of his trusted aides into the Imperial Army after he had settled into the command, there were still many remnants of Yan Xiaoyi's power from when he controlled the Imperial Army . If he wanted to rely on this Royal Seal and posthumous edict, he had to make these people serve him willingly . The corners of the Great Prince's eyes twitched . He laughed mockingly and coldly in his heart . Nothing in the world was that easy .
"Those generals willing to follow me to rescue the country from danger, please, stand up . " The Great Prince spoke calmly . The light from the oil lamps in the corners of the rooms enveloped his face, making it seem like it was gradually filling with blood .
All the generals in the room stood up . Circumstances were stronger than people . At this moment, everyone in the room were the Great Prince's trusted officers . Even the generals who had other thoughts in their hearts did not make things difficult .
The general who came forward to speak tasted bitterness in his mouth . He had always maintained contact with the Eldest Princess in the Palace but had not thought the Great Prince would suddenly rise in revolt and gather all of the generals for a meeting in the secret room . Furthermore, the message had come so quickly, so it did not give him any time to react .
All of the generals of the Imperial Army were in the room . No one had been left out . If the Great Prince chose to kill people, no one would be able to resist . Thus, Yan Xiaoyi's subordinates could only make a pretense of complying for now .
Zhang Hao, Chen Yijiang…" The Great Prince suddenly named five generals .
Their faces turned cold . They met each other's eyes with a feeling of misfortune as they walked out of the ranks . All five were subordinates that had been promoted during Yan Xiaoyi's time .
The Great Prince looked coldly at these five people . After pausing for a moment, he faintly said, "You all know why I have called you out . "
One general's face was the color of dirt . With a thud, he knelt in front of the Great Prince and said, "Your Highness! I swear I follow you blindly and have no other thoughts . "
The Great Prince looked at him and nodded . Gently, he said, "I'll have to ask you to stay in this room for half a day . Is that alright?"
The general's expression changed, but he nodded his head in the end and returned back to the side of the wall .
The emotions in the hearts of the other four were complicated . If they were guarded by the Great Prince's trusted soldiers in this secret room, how could they send a message into the Palace?
The four men met each other's eyes . It was the person who had spoken first who opened his mouth, Chen Yijiang . He had been personally promoted by Yan Xiaoyi and was his trusted aide . Knowing that the Great Prince had rebelled, he knew he would not be tolerated . His identity had already been set, so he could not just wait helplessly to be tied up .
Chen Yijiang was silent for a moment ad then said, "Your Highness, at this moment, at least 600 or 700 of the 2,000 imperial soldiers are our subordinates . Dare I ask, Your Highness, how will you suppress these soldiers without our help?"
He abruptly raised his head and smiled coldly . "The Jingdou Garrison could enter Jingdou at any time . The Imperial Army moved a third of its forces to Dong Mountain . What will you use to resist those savage beasts? I dare ask that you consider again so that you won't put your own life in danger . "
Although these words were spoken severely, the silent officers in the room all knew that this was nothing more than Chen Yijiang's weak final struggle .
"I never need to think again about the things I have already decided . "
The Great Prince looked coldly at Chen Yijiang . A sense of murder gradually filled his eyes . It was a cold killing intent that had honed when he had killed Hu people in the West .
Chen Yijiang's heart trembled as hot blood rushed through him . With a roar, he grasped the knife at his waist and pulled it out with a clash before charging toward the Great Prince .
The angry roar was cut off in the middle . The knife fell to the ground . Three long spears pierced with unusual cruelty into Chen Yijiang's body, skewering him and hanging him in mid-air .
Fresh blood sprayed out from Chen Yijiang's mouth . He gazed with dissatisfied hopelessness at the Great Prince a meter away . His body twitched on the long spears as his head drooped and he died .
At the same time Chen Yijiang pulled out his knife and charged, the other three generals Yan Xiaoyi had left behind also pulled out their knives and charged bravely and hopelessly forward . However, the room was filled with the Great Prince's trusted aides . A number of swishes rang out . Knife light flashed under the red lanterns .
The bodies fell to the ground . The stench of blood gradually rose . The four generals of the Imperial Army died sullenly .
The Great Prince calmly looked at the bodies by his feet . He suddenly turned his head to glance at the last general . The man's legs trembled . He did not have the courage to go forward . Involuntarily, he shook his head and quietly cursed something .
"Watch him well . " The Great Prince ordered his trusted aides and then walked out of the meeting room without turning back .
…
…
Walking up to the tall palace walls, the Great Prince stood in a tower building . His hand gently stroked the city-guarding crossbows that were firmly secured . His eyes followed the black light of the crossbow and toward the square outside the Royal Palace, as well as the four streets already controlled by the Imperial Army .
"As per your orders, the 600 people are all off duty right now . " The trusted aide that arranged for Fan Xian to lead a group into the Palace stood behind the Great Prince and reported in a low voice .
Using half a day, the Great Prince made some changes to the Imperial Army's guard schedule . He successfully moved the 600 imperial soldiers out of the Royal Palace without alerting the four already dead generals .
The Great Prince faintly said, "Is everything ready?"
The officer raised his head to glance at the Great Prince and reported with unswerving determination, "One thousand, two hundred people have already surrendered the area and can take action at any time . "
At this moment, imperial soldiers were resting inside the campground as 1,200 soldiers loyal to the Great Prince had snuck in the dark and surrounded the 600 soldiers . Once the order came down, they would raise their knives and clean out the last of the restless faction .
"Those soldiers should still be sleeping . " The Great Prince's expression was a bit complicated . "It should be pretty good to die in one's dream . "
In the past, the Great Prince had personally led tens of thousands of troops on a Western expedition and completed many meritorious feats by Xi Lake . His most commendable quality, which also inspired his troops to be loyal to him to the death, was his love of his soldiers like they were his children . However, kindness could not maintain an army . When it came to matters that implicated Qing Kingdom's future, the Great Prince's heart was like metal .
"Awaiting your orders, Commander . " The trusted aide didn't know what the Great Prince was thinking and was a bit worried . He thought to himself, Sir Fan junior already entered the Palace . If His Highness's heart suddenly turned soft at this point, no one knew what would happen tomorrow .
The Great Prince smiled self-mockingly and pulled his gaze back from the private residences in the dark to turn his head and look at the Royal Palace enveloped by a dark night .
He watched for a long time . He still did not give out the order because the rear of the Palace was so quiet .
"It is not my decision for when we move . " The Great Prince gently patted the heavy city-guarding crossbow under his palm . "If we act first, we may surprise the people in the Palace . Fan Xian will decide when it is time to make a move . "
He looked at the silent Palace and couldn't help but shake his head . He actually had a lot in common with the city-guarding crossbow on the palace walls . Although he had great power, he was bound, hand and foot, by specific and illusory things . He could only point the crossbow toward the outside and not allow it to be pointed inside the Palace .
…
…
The entire Royal Palace was split into three areas . At the very back were the Cold Palace, autumn gardens, and little buildings . Barely any nobility lived there . It was basically a forgotten corner . The area the wall at Junling Square encircled ws a group of stately buildings that included Taiji Palace, where the Qing Emperor and officials discussed and decided all Qing Kingdom matters .
The place the concubines lived was behind Taiji Palace and made up of countless Palaces . Internal guards and eunuchs from the internal court were responsible for managing and guarding it . It was usually called Harem or rear palace .
Many people thought that once they entered the Royal Palace, they could successfully enter the rear palace . They seemed to have forgotten how much a strange masculine creature like the Emperor cared about his territory and female companions .
Generations of emperors had placed high importance on this matter because they had too many women . No matter how talented and well-endowed, it was inevitable that many would be neglected . Naturally, the Emperor became the easiest person to wear a green hat .
In order to not wear the green hat, the emperors invented eunuchs and built a tall wall between the rear and front of the Palace, scattering large numbers of trusted guards . Thus, in history, the perverts who had some illicit relationship with the concubines in the rear of the Palace were always guards, imperial doctors, or eunuchs .
Although the tall wall could not stop these illicit affairs, they successfully stopped many people who wanted to rebel .
History had long proven this point . A hundred years ago, during the Wei Kingdom rule, there had been a civil official who wanted to rebel while the Emperor was far away on tour . Like Fan Xian, he only brought a thousand people into the Royal Palace . He mysteriously passed through the Imperial Army's defenses and was about to succeed . Suddenly he was blocked outside the Palace doors by the empress, who had been left in the rear palace, leading a large group of guards, eunuchs, and serving girls who successfully keep the rebellious soldiers out .
In the end, the daring civil official discovered hopelessly that the women, youth, and eunuchs were actually more powerful than the Imperial Army . They kept him out of the Palace for three days .
In the end, this rebel died to conclude the matter . Other than the empress' calm bravery and the hearts of the eunuchs, serving girls, and guards in the Palace, the most important factor in successfully preventing this rebellion was the tall wall the Emperor used to keep his women locked away . It was truly too strong .
However, where there were walls, there had to be a door . People did not like to climb in and out of windows, so they always had all kinds of doors .
If there were doors, then there was someone to open them . When deciding whether or not a place is easy to attack, what was important was not how thick the door was or whether or not the door frame was made of metal . Rather, it was whether or not one controlled the person who opened the door .
Fan Xian dared to exceed expectations and attack the rear palace because he controlled the person who opened the door .
Two hundred "imperial soldiers" followed the usual path, patrolling silently and nervously above the tall walls of the Royal Palace toward the west . Just as they were about to reach the bright star, a cloud suddenly blew by . The starlight gradually faded, making the wall grow dark . The soldiers followed the return stairs down .
There was not a single light in Taiji Palace . Occasionally, one could see a few guards holding lanterns on their patrol and the eunuchs, with their bodies bent over, who were responsible for sounding the night watches .
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