Chapter 1754 - Attack at the Center Gate! Huang Tianzhao!
Chapter 1754: Attack at the Center Gate! Huang Tianzhao!
Translated by: Hypersheep325
Edited by: Michyrr
The Rebellion of the Three Princes… has finally begun! Wang Chong mentally noted.
Even though he had successfully captured King Qi, King Qi’s Penal Court forces and his personal army only made up around ten thousand cavalry, which was nothing compared to the First Prince’s overall forces. The First Prince still held the overwhelming advantage.
Wang Chong turned toward King Qi’s men and coldly said, “Everyone, listen up! King Qi harbored disloyal intentions and sought to rebel. As you followed him, according to the laws of the Great Tang, you are all to be executed!” Waves of killing intent surged off his body.
Harsh examples were needed in times of trouble. The Great Tang was at an extremely important juncture, and if there were still people who insisted on remaining ignorant and continuing to rebel, Wang Chong would show no mercy.
Whoosh!
The mention of execution drained the color from all of King Qi’s men. They had been forced to follow King Qi’s order and intrude into the Imperial Palace, but none of them had any burning desire to rebel.
Now that King Qi had been captured and they were standing in front of the King of Foreign Lands, none of them dared to continue rebelling.
“We surrender!”
“We surrender!”
The soldiers in front of the palace gates quickly got down on their knees.
Wang Chong saw this and nodded in satisfaction. The laws of the Great Tang forbade a subject from holding an army of more than one thousand men, and even after gathering his soldiers from all around, Wang Chong was still severely lacking in manpower. Subduing King Qi’s men would undoubtedly be of great assistance to him.
Whoosh!
Wang Chong suddenly heard a rush of air. Wang Chong turned and saw that the Three Elders of the Northern Sea had suddenly begun to flee.
“Three Elders of the Northern Sea, are you thinking of rebellion?” Wang Chong sternly said, his eyes exploding with murderous intent.
At this current level of strength, he could even defeat the Tianfu Divine Lord of the Celestial God Organization, let alone some trifling Three Elders of the Northern Sea.
Buzz!
Sensing Wang Chong’s energy locking onto them, the Three Elders of the Northern Sea shivered, their faces paling.
The trio hastily turned around and stiffly said, “King of Foreign Lands, spare us! We are willing to follow Your Highness to suppress the rebellion and protect the Sage Emperor!”
After experiencing Wang Chong’s terrifying strength, none of them dared to oppose him. Attempting to escape was certain to result in death.
Upon seeing King Qi’s most favored Three Elders of the Northern Sea bowing in submission, all of King Qi’s men lost any remaining will to fight and submitted.
“We’re willing to follow Your Highness in pacifying the rebellion and protecting the Sage Emperor!”
Rebellion was a capital crime, and they had all realized that the only way to escape this disaster was to join Wang Chong’s men in pacifying the rebellion.
“Xu Keyi, I leave these people to you. Choose three thousand of the strongest and add them to our forces. Another three thousand should guard the gate, as we can’t have it closed. The last three thousand should be split up into two groups to pacify any rebellion and maintain order throughout the capital,” Wang Chong sternly said.
Quality was more important than quantity when it came to soldiers. The majority of this force came from the Penal Court, and they lacked fighting power. Only around three thousand of them would be usable. More importantly, Wang Chong understood that a rebellion in the capital would inflict the greatest losses not on the Imperial Palace, but on the streets where the common folk lived.
When an empire was in turmoil, there would always be scoundrels with ill intentions rising up to take advantage of it. They would use this opportunity to rob and plunder the capital, and once these buds of chaos took root, the turmoil would rapidly spread through the capital and turn the capital into a sea of fire. This was Wang Chong’s greatest concern.
It was only a few moments later that Wang Chong heard a young and energetic voice. “Your Highness, we’ve finished organizing all the soldiers. Please give your orders!”
Wang Chong turned to the young and bright-eyed figure at his side.
Wei Qingge!
This was the most outstanding descendant of the capital Wei Clan’s younger generation. In the force of soldiers Wang Chong had borrowed from the great clans this time, Wei Qingge was one of the leaders. It was also this force that Wang Chong had taken with him into the palace to deal with King Qi.
Although Wei Qingge was young, he was brimming with talent. He lacked the ripeness and experience of Zhang Que and Cheng Sanyuan, but he was extremely efficient and was able to very quickly carry out Wang Chong’s orders.
“Move out!”
Wang Chong immediately gave the order to advance. Speed was paramount in war, and each passing moment was another in which the Sage Emperor was in danger.
Rumble!
The army quickly split up into three parts. One was sent to keep order in the capital, one guarded the gate, and the last followed Wang Chong to Taiji Palace.
The rumbling of hooves was constant in the darkness. Wang Chong now had a force of eight-thousand-some people.
“Kill!”
Cries of fighting and tongues of flame came from the direction of the Imperial Palace, and Wang Chong’s men moved as quickly as lightning bolts toward them.
Nervous tension hung in the air.
“Zhang Que, mobilize all our birds. No matter what price we have to pay, we have to find out what’s going on in the Imperial Palace. We must guarantee the Sage Emperor’s safety!
“Miyasame Ayaka, we’re suppressed in the skies, and Zhang Que has taken command of all our remaining birds. You, the Wind, Forest, Fire, and Mountain Teams, and the spy team are responsible for relaying messages!
“Xu Keyi, Cheng Sanyuan, take command of your armies and get ready for combat! And prepare the ballistae!
“Tell Ju-Que and Tai-A to be on standby for my orders!”
Wang Chong rode through the palace, the winds howling around him, as he issued a string of orders. With each order, a few people would leave the formation.
“Kill!”
As he was issuing orders, the earth suddenly quaked, and then a great din appeared in front of him, fire shooting into the sky as two armies clashed.
“Reporting!”
At this moment, a horseman rode over.
“Your Highness, we’ve been ambushed at the Center Gate! General Xu and the others are in the middle of combat!”
The Imperial Palace was the center of political power in the Great Tang, and Taiji Palace was the Sage Emperor’s residence. To reach it from the palace gates, one had to pass by numerous other buildings and countless checkpoints.
The most important of these were the Qian Gate, the Center Gate, and the Kun Gate. One had to pass through these three gates to reach Taiji Palace.
But all three of the gates were located in narrow avenues and heavily guarded. Trying to get through these chokepoints was no easy task.
Whoosh!
At this moment, a rush of wind carried brazen laughter into Wang Chong’s ears.
“Haha, King of Foreign Lands, this Huang has been waiting here for you on the orders of His Highness and the Ghost King for some time!”
A vast wave of energy swept toward him, and as Wang Chong turned to look, he immediately spotted a familiar figure standing atop a forty-some-meter-tall palace wall.
Torches burned all around him, and formidable Golden Guards and imperial household servitors manned the walls. There were even fully-armored master archers taking aim.
Huang Tianzhao!
Wang Chong’s pupils constricted. Huang Tianzhao had been the only Grand Marshal who had not fought in the Imperial Army competition, but he was also the earliest to join the First Prince. Wang Chong had not expected that Hou Junji would assign him to guard the Center Gate.
“Fire!”
Huang Tianzhao smugly smiled and swung his arm down. Bowstrings vibrated as loudly as thunder, and arrows exploded downward.
“Ah!”
In a flash, the area beneath the walls was awash with blood and screams, numerous men falling to the onslaught of the master archers.
This sight instantly made Wang Chong pale.
……
At the same time, deep within the Imperial Palace…
“Kill!”
Fierce flames blazed in various parts of the palace, and the rumbling of hooves indicated that numerous soldiers were charging toward this location.
The light of the fires outlined their savage faces and murderous figures.
“A rebellion! They’ve really rebelled! But how could they dare?!”
“It’s the First Prince! To think that he would commit such a treasonous act…!”
“What do we do? The Imperial Palace is no longer safe. What do we do?!”
“Mistress, I spotted many soldiers coming this way. We must leave at once!”
Although it was late at night, no one in the harem was sleeping. They had long ago sensed that the mood in the capital wasn’t right, and now, the sounds of fighting had awakened the consorts and concubines from their restless slumber.
Their maids and eunuchs were curled up together, fear and panic on their faces.
The Great Tang had been at peace for several decades, and the Imperial Palace was the most protected place in the realm. No one had ever imagined that something like this would happen.
“Li Ying! Li Ying! He’s grown too bold! Is His Majesty in danger?”
The consorts and concubines were alarmed and afraid, but before they could do anything, thundering hooves swept over the harem.
“Your Majesties, His Highness has decreed that the Imperial Palace is now under martial law. It is hoped that all consorts and concubines will remain in their rooms and not make any reckless actions. This subordinate will be forced to be discourteous to those who break this decree!”
A cold voice and the clattering of armor penetrated through the walls and windows. The cold flash of blades outside made all the concubines, consorts, and their servants turn ghastly pale.
Within Yuzhen Palace, the bead curtain rustled in response to the sounds of fighting. Consort Taizhen, wearing a white dress, her skin as fair and tender as ever, slowly emerged from behind the curtain.