Chapter 559
The stray arrows passed in front of the sky, but they were more to instill a sense of intimidation . Under the Crown Prince's forcefully suppression, the rebel army did not aim a terrifying rain of arrows at the palace walls . Thus, the pressure on the imperial soldiers defending the Royal Palace was immediately reduced . Although the sounds of killing rocked the heavens, it did not cause any damage to the Imperial Army . On the contrary, it was the imperial soldiers stationed in the direction of Taiping Square that faced the greatest danger .
Near the Royal Palace's front gate, the rebel army had the advantage of numbers . The thousands of rebel soldiers below the palace walls had split into three lines . They came wave after black wave .
Muffled sounds rang out continuously from the four towers in the Royal Palace . Each sound moved the people's heartstrings . The entire Palace shook a little . The powerful shaking symbolized the strength of the city guarding crossbows .
Like a streak of black light, the giant arrow pierced through the sky and plunged mercilessly into the group of rebel soldiers . Countless blossoms of blood exploded out . The ground was covered in sticky flesh . However, there were only four city guarding crossbows and only two facing the main square . How many people could it kill? The rebel army's threefold wave continued to charge quickly without obstruction to the foot of the palace walls .
The city guarding crossbows' main target was the military tools the rebel army was going to use to attack the city, especially the sharp and heavy carriage they were going to use to break down the thick palace gates . Above these carriages were fireproof tarps made from leather . The front was a giant piece of sharpened wood . It was heavy . Once it reached a high speed, it would crash heavily against the palace gates .
An arrow accurately struck one of the battering rams . The sharp arrow easily tore through the seemingly solid leather and ruthlessly pierced the battering ram . Although the battering ram was solid and unable to be shattered by a giant arrow, the city guarding crossbow contained a powerful charging force . It caused the carriage to jump abruptly like a beetle on the ground that had fallen to the ground shaking . It flipped over and crushed a number of the rebel soldiers beside the carriage to death .
The three waves of rebel soldiers charged forward with a dozen heavy battering rams filled with murderous intent . When the attack started, the two city guarding crossbows fired with all their might and successfully destroyed three of the rams . However, the city guarding crossbows reloaded too slowly . The rebel army charged too quickly . In a moment, most of the battering rams had passed through the city guarding crossbows' target area and come close to the three main gates .
The rebel army gave a uniform cry of "Kill!" and courageously pushed the battering rams forward .
After a series of loud teeth-aching creaks, the battering rams succeeded in striking the thick palace gates . The gates of the Royal Palace were thick . Under such a powerful strike, they still shook violently . The door posts creaked like they were about to fall apart . The four giant bolts up and down the gates warped in shape from the strike .
The thick wooden bolts held up against this powerful strike . The creaks near the door frame gradually fell silent . Other than a giant dent in the Royal Palace's front gates and a dozen fallen copper nails, everything was fine .
At least in this attack, the gates of the Royal Palace still appeared to be impenetrable .
None of the rebel soldiers had a strange expression . Amidst the strict yelling from their superiors, they pulled the first wave of battering rams away from the gates with surprising speed . The second wave of battering rams had already passed through the scattered arrows from the imperial soldiers on the Palace walls . It had escaped the giant city guarding crossbows, which moved with the speed of an old person, and had charged against the palace gates .
There was another giant crash . This time, the palace doors were finally irreparably damaged . The entire gate began to shake . It gave one the sense that it was on the verge of collapse .
The elite imperial soldiers behind the door holding their horses and awaiting their orders watched this sight coldly . Although their expressions were calm, worry flashed through their eyes and revealed the true emotion in their hearts .
Separated by a thick gate, the rebel soldiers risking their lives for a powerful attack saw a glimmer of hope that they could break through the palace gates . Immediately, their morale rose . They shouted in a loud voice as they charged forward again .
The third wave of troops arrived . The rebel army lost hundreds of lives under the Imperial Army's merciless attacks of arrows, giant rocks, and rolling logs from the palace walls . Finally, they successfully attacked the palace gate for the third time .
With a crack, dust flew into the air . It was like a smoke-filled leather satchel had been popped by a naughty child .
The dust settled slightly, letting the field of vision clear . In the square, countless rebel soldiers looked at the giant hole punched through the middle of the thick palace gates and involuntarily gave a cheer of joy .
The elite soldiers closest to the palace gates did not cheer . The excitement on their faces was immediately replaced with shock and anger . They could clearly see that although a massive hole had been punched through the palace gates and exposed the thick wood shards inside, the entire palace gate showed no sign of falling over .
The ground was covered in golden copper nails . Behind the hole, all they could see was a thick layer of rock and mud without a gap to be seen .
The people in the Royal Palace had blockaded themselves . Did they not think to leave themselves a way to escape? At this time, what difference was there between the Palace and a giant tomb?
A rebel officer gave a wild cry and led the soldiers behind him into that opening . Although there wasn't much space, they would open this palace gate even if they had to dig through it . Military orders were as immovable as a mountain . The soldiers of Qing Kingdom were never cowards afraid of death .
Suddenly, a long black spear poked out from the only gap in the stone wall and shot forward like lightning . It struck the officer in the throat and sent up a bloody spray .
…
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At the foot of the palace, 10 steps behind the long palace gate filled with rocks from the rock garden, 300 imperial soldiers coldly and tensely watched for any movement in the gate . Their head officer had already taken a small group into the gate . At this time, they had taken an advantageous position, so there was no reason to allow the rebel soldiers to push through so easily .
On top of the palace walls, the Great Prince coldly watched as wave after wave of rebel soldiers, each stronger than the last, came forth . He raised his right arm before bringing it down viciously . His trusted aide beside him took the order and quickly waved the yellow flags in his hands . Along the front of the palace walls, the hundreds of imperial soldiers on the Palace walls moved at the same time . They lifted the hemp bags at their feet and carefully ripped them open . They then poured them out onto the heads of the rebel soldiers no longer within range of the arrows .
Slightly yellow powder scattered downward like a snowfall of not very clean snow . In an instant, the thousands of rebel soldiers closest to the Royal Palace were enveloped in it .
The general of the rebel army's face paled quickly in shock . Thinking that it was the Overwatch Council's poison, he ordered his subordinates to be careful .
…
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It was not poison . The Third Bureau was not Fan Xian's personal workshop and did not have the capability to produce so much poison . This yellow powder was coarse gunpowder that had been taken by the imperial soldiers, on Fan Xian's earlier orders, from below the square building .
The Royal Palace had never made preparations for handling the attack of a powerful military . At this time, there was not hot oil prepared or many things to burn . If the Fan Xian was not standing on their side, the battle today would probably progress with unusual gloom .
The Great Prince glanced at Fan Xian, who had been calmly gazing at the distant rebel army camp, and gently nodded his head .
"Release!"
The trusted aide beside the Great Prince had a vicious expression on his face . He shouted out the order in a loud voice to all the soldiers on the walls .
A sudden explosion of the densest rain of arrows since the beginning of the battle came down from the walls where previously only a loose formation had fallen . This rain of arrows carried a red light that was like the inauspicious color Qin Heng's bravest general had seen before he died .
The fire arrows fell to the foot of the palace . There was no need for precision . They only had to land among the powder .
The sky was beautiful . The autumn sun had already risen, and the morning wind had already faded away . The powder poured down was not scattered by the wind . Fan Xian was not worried they would be blown back onto the palace walls . It formed a large cloud and enveloped the thousands of rebel soldiers below . Looking at the beautiful morning scenery of willows beside the river, one could faintly see shadows within moving in a panic .
The fire arrows entered the fog and began to burn at a terrifying speed . Countless flames burned vigorously and quickly connected together to form a sea of fire . It was like a fire dragon stretched out across the foot of the Royal Palace . It was also like a golden sun shining down on a calm lake of water as great waves gradually formed and began to roll . It was bright and burned hot . It even covered up the light from the sun in the sky .
As for the people in the fog, They cried out tragically and burned, turning into countless pitiful flaming bodies . They struggled to run out of the fog . Was a blaze this size something normal life forms could endure?
Countless flaming people ran wildly in the square . Their tragic cries rose to the heavens . The scene appeared to be uncommonly horrifying .
Not a single burning rebel soldier managed to run back to their own camp . Most of them turned into charred bodies at the foot of the Palace while the rest only had time to run to the square before falling with a splat on the ground, twitching continuously with what was left of the fire and rising white smoke .
The rebel soldiers in the distant streets were in a panic . Even the Qing troops famous for their strict discipline still felt fear . No one had thought that the imperial soldiers would have such terrifying tactics .
The Crown Prince's face was ashen . The old Qin Master looked coldly at the top of the palace walls and slowly said, "Only Fan Xian would use such cruel tactics . "
The smell of burning disturbed everyone's state of mind . Even the imperial soldiers on the walls felt a glimmer of fear and helplessness . Looking at the terrifying sight below, some soldiers' lips turned white as they wondered to themselves if those charred bodies had been killed by them .
After this destructive attack, the first wave of rebel soldiers entering the Royal Palace returned gloomily to camp . There were not many who returned . The Royal Palace was protected against all odds . The rebel army did not carry out a second round of attacks .
It was clear that both those guarding the Palace and those attacking it had been shocked by this bloody and terrifying fog of fire . They all needed a moment to digest this and steady their military hearts . Fan Xian, the one responsible for this evil act, had an unusually calm expression . He looked at the distant rebel camp and pressed his lips together without saying a single word .
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