Chapter 1268 - 1263: Falling Into the Trap
"Now all General Cui Shanzhong can do is send Li Tianjiao out of the Imperial Palace. If General Cui Shanzhong learns that the secret passage is in this palace, he might send Li Tianjiao back! We can lie in wait here, but... I suspect Li Tianjiao, as the Emperor, might not be willing to leave because of her pride."
Bai Qingqi, clad in blood-stained silver armor, led a squad inside from the grand hall, holding a silver spear dyed red with blood in one hand and a sword he reclaimed from a Xiliang General... Bai Qingyu’s sword, in the other.
He saw his fifth brother standing together with the Ninth Prince of Yan, both seemingly having just endured a fierce battle, their breathing heavy.
Bai Qingqi’s eyes were red as he decided to reprimand his audacious brother later; he casually tossed the sword in Bai Qingyu’s direction.
Bai Qingyu raised his hand to catch it and looked toward his third brother, whose lips were pressed into a thin line, and spoke, "Third Brother, we need to take control of several palace gates now! I’ll handle Li Tianjiao!"
Indeed, controlling several palace gates is crucial at present. It can prevent Li Tianjiao from escaping and also cut off the Xiliang soldiers who might abandon guarding Yunjing’s gates to rescue Li Tianjiao.
However, capturing the confidants around General Cui Shanzhong is also significant!
Now, the Eldest Young Lady has already stationed troops along the Yan Kingdom’s borders. Regardless of how they, Zhou and the Yan Kingdom, collaborate during this siege, there will undoubtedly be a battle between Yan and Zhou in the future. If the Eldest Young Lady chooses the timing of this great battle after Xiliang’s downfall, then Bai Qingqi needs to pave the way for its legitimacy.
Someone in the Yan Kingdom is conspiring behind the Ninth Prince of Yan and General Cui Shanzhong’s back. Even if the Yan Kingdom admits it and executes a General Chu because of it, Zhou still needs solid evidence, ensuring they can either attack Yan or negotiate terms with them.
The confidants around General Cui Shanzhong are the most crucial witnesses.
Bai Qingqi saw Xiao Rongyan beside Bai Qingyu give a faint nod, seemingly indicating he would take care of Bai Qingyu, so Bai Qingqi nodded and urged Bai Qingyu, "Be careful!"
"Don’t worry, Third Brother!" Bai Qingyu said, forcing himself to maintain a composed demeanor.
As soon as Bai Qingqi left, Yue Shi noticed a silver mask lying across Li Tianjiao’s table.
Recognizing it as Bai Qingyu’s, Yue Shi stepped forward to retrieve the mask and handed it to Bai Qingyu with both hands: "Fifth Young Master, this is yours!"
"No need!" Bai Qingyu glanced at the mask, shook his head, and ordered, "Get our people to quickly clean up the battlefield here, lie in wait!"
The sound of battle continued outside the hall, and upon hearing that they were to lie in wait, the Bai family army and Xiao Rongyan’s forces rushed out to fight shoulder to shoulder with their comrades once more.
And Xiao Ruohai’s Bai family army, having secured control of the north gate under the banner of Zhou, also charged over.
Xiao Rongyan sheathed his longsword, tore off a swaying bright yellow drape from within the hall, and walked over to Bai Qingyu with the fabric in his hand: "Your hand..."
Bai Qingyu lifted his gaze to meet Xiao Rongyan’s deep eyes behind the mask, switching the sword to his other hand. Earlier, when he grabbed the Hidden Guard’s blade with his bare hand, the deep sword cuts in his palm were so severe they exposed the bone, with the flesh severed and blood continuously oozing out.
Xiao Rongyan pulled out a white jade bottle of hemostatic powder from his chest and roughly poured it into Bai Qingyu’s palm, using the cloth to tightly bind Bai Qingyu’s hand. In the meantime, Xiao Ruohai led the steaming Bai family soldiers over, shouting as they fought, "The Imperial Palace of Yunjing City has fallen. Surrender, and you won’t be killed! Surrender, and you won’t be killed!"
The robust voice of Xiao Ruohai, penetrating and powerful, stirred the blood of the Bai family soldiers and the Yan Kingdom soldiers, while the Xiliang Imperial Army, seeing the enemy advancing, panicked. Someone shouted in Xiliang language, "The enemy has broken in! Run!"
The Xiliang army, already under attack from all sides, fell into chaos immediately.
The Xiliang General leading the desperate defense of the Xiliang Imperial Army executed a Xiliang soldier who had thrown down his sword to surrender and shouted loudly, "Anyone who dares to retreat will be executed on the spot!"
That Xiliang General was out of breath, and his sword was becoming too heavy to lift.
The troops Xiao Rongyan brought were all elite, not to mention that the Yan Kingdom’s spies, who had been lurking early in the Imperial Palace, had poisoned, drugged, and used anesthesia in as many wells as they could find in the city!
Bai Qingyu’s people and Xiao Rongyan’s acted separately, some wells were even poisoned twice. Xiliang’s soldiers were made of flesh and blood, how could they withstand this?
Some Xiliang troops couldn’t be awakened, and some couldn’t even stand after their bowels were loosened. How could they possibly wield a sword to support the defense?
The Xiliang General watched helplessly as his soldiers fell one by one, with no Imperial Army reinforcements in sight. Even a few reinforcements showed up, their expressions were all agony, for reasons unknown, and they were quickly dealt with. He glanced towards the hall and shouted loudly, "Charge into the hall, capturing Bai Qingyu alive is our only path to survival, charge!"
Yue Shi and the Yan army, along with the Bai family army, were prepared outside the grand hall.
Bai Qingyu and Xiao Rongyan also tightened their grip on their longswords, ready to engage at any moment.
·
Li Tianjiao, who had been escorted to the rear hall, finally met with General Cui Shanzhong.
General Cui Shanzhong originally planned to enter through the North Gate of the Imperial Palace, but as he reached it, he was met with a barrage of arrows. His deputy shouted that General Cui Shanzhong was returning to the palace, yet the arrow barrage from the city walls only intensified.
Having realized the Xiliang army had been poisoned with laxatives, General Cui Shanzhong immediately understood the North Gate had fallen and decisively entered the Imperial Palace through the East Gate.
Upon learning that the palace where Li Tianjiao was located had already fallen into fierce battle, General Cui Shanzhong immediately sent people to rescue Li Tianjiao, while rearranging defenses in the rear hall for a retreat route, dispatching troops to guard the west gate of the Imperial City, intent on first rescuing Li Tianjiao, and if all else failed, escorting her out of the city.
"Whether it’s the city guard or the Imperial Army, many have been affected! Those poisoned with laxatives are doubled over, unable to even stand, some drugged with anesthesia can’t wake up, those with laxatives have fouled everywhere... there’s simply no way for anyone to come and protect the throne!" the deputy reported the current state of the Xiliang army to General Cui Shanzhong.
General Cui Shanzhong’s face turned ashen, incredulously asking again, "Even the Imperial Army was affected?!"
The deputy wiped the sweat from his forehead and nodded, "Those not affected have gone to the gates to resist the enemy, we must hurry and send His Majesty out of the city!"
Carelessness! Sheer carelessness!
How many people had Zhou placed in Yunjing City, how many within the palace? Everything was fine during the evening meal, yet suddenly soldiers were poisoned, drugged with anesthesia and laxatives!
Moreover, what General Cui Shanzhong hadn’t anticipated was that after he met with Xiao Rongyan, Xiao Rongyan had, under the cover of night, personally led troops into the city, aided by spies from the Yan Kingdom, entering the Imperial Palace.