13: Chapter 13 Li Jinglong: The War God of Xuanwu Gate!
Eastern Palace, Wenhua Hall.
This was the place where Imperial Grandson Zhu Yunwen daily studied and handled government affairs.
But at this moment, the hall was in complete chaos.
"What is going on? What on earth is going on outside?!"
Imperial Grandson Zhu Yunwen was wearing bright yellow sleeping robes, his face pale as paper, as he grabbed a young eunuch who had just run in from outside, his voice cracking.
The young eunuch was so scared he was about to wet his pants, stammering as he replied: "Your... Your Highness... It's a rebellion! A rebellion! Duke of Liang, General Lan Yu... has brought men and fought his way in through Xuanwu Gate!"
"What?!" Upon hearing the name "General Lan Yu," Imperial Grandson Zhu Yunwen felt as if he had been struck by lightning; his body swayed violently, and he nearly collapsed to the ground.
"General Lan Yu? How dare he? How dare he!"
"Mother! Quickly, go get Mother!" He looked like a drowning man clutching at the last piece of driftwood, his voice shrill as he looked around in a panic.
"Why the panic!"
A cold reprimand came from behind the hall; Lady Lu, dressed in a phoenix robe, walked out quickly surrounded by a crowd of palace maids. Although her complexion was also pale, her eyes remained forcedly calm, revealing a sense of dignity.
"Imperial Grandson Zhu Yunwen, you are the Grand Imperial Heir of the Great Ming, the future monarch! To be so panicked and flustered, what kind of decorum is this!"
"But Mother..." Seeing Lady Lu, Imperial Grandson Zhu Yunwen felt as if he had found his backbone, and he threw himself at her with a crying voice, "That scoundrel General Lan Yu has rebelled! He has brought men and fought his way in; he wants our lives!"
"A mere General Lan Yu, what is there to fear?" Lady Lu snorted coldly, a hint of ruthlessness flashing in her eyes, "How many men can he have under his command? There are fifty thousand Imperial Guards in the palace; a single mouthful of spit from each of them could drown him!"
She turned to the trusted eunuch beside her and ordered at high speed: "Immediately convey my decree, command Imperial Guard Commander General Chen Heng, at any cost, to kill the rebel army on the spot! Tell him that after the matter is accomplished, I will guarantee his whole family three generations of glory and wealth!"
However, just as her voice fell, a blood-covered Imperial Guard captain stumbled in from outside the hall.
"My Lady! Your Highness! It's bad!"
The captain fell to his knees with a "thud" and wailed: "General... General Chen Heng... he has fallen in battle!"
"What?!"
This time, even Lady Lu could not maintain her composure. Her body swayed, and she grabbed the table beside her, the color draining from her face instantly.
General Chen Heng is dead?
General Chen Heng is dead? How is that possible! How long has it been since the rebellion started? Is General Lan Yu a god descended to earth?
"It... It is the Third Imperial Grandson!" The captain gasped for air, his eyes full of the fear of having survived a disaster, "It is the Third Imperial Grandson! He... he wore the late Crown Prince's armor, rode alone, and smashed through our army of three thousand men. With one slash... one slash, he..."
Buzz!
Crown Prince Zhu Yuntong!
These three words were like a bolt of lightning striking the top of Lady Lu and Imperial Grandson Zhu Yunwen's heads.
How is he still here?
That cowardly waste who was barely surviving in a corner of the Eastern Palace and could be bullied by everyone?
That wretched seed whom she had sent people to hold under a water vat three days ago, who should have already been dead?
"Impossible... This is absolutely impossible!" Imperial Grandson Zhu Yunwen muttered distractedly; he could not accept this fact.
Lady Lu's body began to tremble violently, and a bone-chilling coldness surged into her heart. She suddenly remembered what that young eunuch said when he returned to report three days ago.
"My Lady, the Third Imperial Grandson... seems to not be completely dead..."
At the time, she didn't pay attention, just assuming that the waste had a lucky life.
Now it seems...
She was wrong, outrageously wrong!
No! Must leave immediately!
...
On the watchtower of Xuanwu Gate, Duke of Cao felt like he wanted to die. He crouched behind the shooting hole of the watchtower, looking at the dense mass of Imperial Guards below, the cold sweat in his palms never stopping, wetting and drying, drying and wetting.
"A-San, are you sure this gate is foolproof?" Duke of Cao turned his head and looked at Zhang San, whose face was green with anger beside him.
Zhang San felt even more like he wanted to die; he was originally a proper Imperial Guard captain, but now his entire clan was on the register of the King of Hell. He rolled his eyes and pointed to the gate tunnel below: "Duke of Cao, unless they blow up Xuanwu Gate, otherwise, within an hour, not even the King of Heaven can get in."
"That's good, that's good." Duke of Cao patted his chest, muttering, "If the gate opens, I will chop you up first and feed you to the dogs."
Zhang San rolled his eyes again and ignored this bastard.
Under the city wall, the offensive of the Imperial Guards was stronger wave by wave.
"Shoot arrows! Shoot arrows!" Duke of Cao jumped up, pulled out his precious sword, and waved it wildly.
He had never fought a war in his life, and his command was without any method, but fortunately, the two hundred death soldiers left by Crown Prince Zhu Yuntong were all veterans, and without him needing to say anything, they spontaneously organized an effective defense.
"Lord Duke, this is not a way to go." Zhang San looked at the battering ram gathering in the distance, his brows locked tightly, "They have started to get serious. If they climb up from the west wall, our few people cannot hold it."
Duke of Cao looked in the direction he pointed and indeed saw a group of Imperial Guards carrying scaling ladders rushing towards this side.
"Damn it, fight!"
A madness appeared in Duke of Cao's eyes; he took out a night-luminescent pearl from his bosom again and held it high, shouting, "Brothers! Do you see this? This is a reward from His Highness! As long as we hold this gate, everyone will get one of these treasures! If we can't hold it, our whole family will die! Are we doing this or not?"
Under heavy rewards, there must be brave men, not to mention these death soldiers had no way out.
"Kill!" A roar erupted from the watchtower.
Duke of Cao didn't know where he got the strength, but he hugged a piece of wood and smashed it down at the scaling ladder below.
"Bang!"
Several Imperial Guards screamed and fell.
"Awesome!" Duke of Cao laughed out loud, that bastardly energy of a playboy coming up, "You grandson! Your grandpa is here! If you have the ability, come up!"
While swearing, he commanded the soldiers to pour fire oil down.
For a time, the fire blazed into the sky under Xuanwu Gate...