Chapter 315 Chaos!

To the high-ranking officials in the imperial court, the crisis at the border was nothing more than a minor skin irritation, while the opposing army near Hangzhou was the true heart-deep threat. Therefore, in response to the request for aid sent by Zhu Song, Chancellor Xiao and the others replied with only one sentence: "One must pacify the interior before resisting the external."

With no other options, Zhu Song could only treat a dead horse as if it were alive, writing letters to Jiang Huaizhen, Song Ren, and Mao Biao, who were living in retirement, hoping they would come to Huaibei to assist him.

Upon receiving Zhu Song's letter, Mao Biao sat in his bedroom for the entire night.

He had originally made up his mind to take his family and leave Capital City, this place of trouble, to find a quiet place to spend his retirement.

However, the sudden request for aid had stirred up massive waves in his heart, and his blood, which had gradually grown cold, seemed to be churning once again.

He wanted to go!

Seeing his bloodshot eyes, his wife walked over and sat beside him, taking his hand and saying gently, "If you wish to go, then go, my husband. I only hope you can promise me that you will return safely."

Looking at his wife's face, which no longer held the bloom of youth, Mao Biao reached out to touch the wrinkles at the corners of her eyes. At that moment, he made up his mind and slowly stood up. "The Great Qian of today is no longer the Great Qian of the past. I fear that even if I risk my old life, this half of the empire will not last long. Throwing my life away as well will be of no use. Let's go."

Zhu Song did not expect that his few letters would lead to such a result, with Jiang Huaizhen, Mao Biao, and Song Ren all accepting his invitation.

"Is there truly no hope left for the Great Qian?" Standing on the walls of Pengcheng, filled with hesitation, he looked out at the vast land outside the city and fell into an endless silence.

After standing there for a long time, Zhu Song clenched his fist and slammed it hard against the parapet. "Even if it is only me alone, I will hold this line!"

With enemy troops pressing upon the border and the situation becoming critical, the two sides in Capital City, who had been in a standoff and testing each other, felt a sudden sense of urgency.

Soon, both sides began to make their moves. First, members of a small family were accused of colluding with the enemy nation. Not only was the head of the household imprisoned and his property confiscated, but most importantly, the official responsible for the case was in charge of penal prisons.

A penal official might not seem to have much power, but he had nearly two hundred jailers under his command, which was a form of armed force.

Seeing that the Powerful Families had taken the initiative, the Imperial Relatives did not stay idle and immediately took action. They mobilized an unexpected force to enter the city—the Imperial Mausoleum Guards.

This army was often overlooked, but now that they suddenly appeared before everyone, people realized that there was such an elite force near Capital City.

Although these guards were a bit older, they were all veterans who had experienced many battles, and they were well-equipped. Dealing with those jailers, even at a ratio of one to five, would absolutely not be a problem.

Both sides were trying every possible way to gather strength. Those families and factions that had originally been neutral were suddenly thrown into this giant millstone, and anyone who did not obey would be crushed to pieces instantly.

This activity continued for over a month, and soon the annexation work of both sides reached a point of intersection, with the contradictions finally escalating into conflict.

It started with a skirmish between two small squads, but as more and more people joined in, the small-scale skirmish quickly turned into a massive battle that spread across half of Capital City, and in the end, even the Yulin Guard joined in.

The two armies stationed at the border of Hangzhou also received orders to march toward Capital City, and the two sides encountered each other twenty miles south of Capital City.

Neither side wasted any words; they immediately turned their weapons against each other, initiating a meat-grinder mode, and thus a full-scale civil war began.

Just as everything was in chaos, the leader of the secret guards responsible for Capital City received a secret letter from his superior. The content of the letter gave him a shock; he simply could not believe his own eyes.

If this secret letter had not been written using the exclusive codebook of the Yue State secret guards, he would have doubted the authenticity of this order.

Soon, these secret guards who had been lurking all along began to take action. A third force thus appeared in Capital City, becoming a powerful force that would change the situation.

Yang Dingguo strode hurriedly into Xuande Hall, waving a piece of paper in his hand. "Found them, I found them! I have found the location of those rebel leaders!"

Hearing this voice, the eyes of the group of old foxes, which had become increasingly clouded due to lack of rest, instantly brightened, and they all stared fixedly at the letter in Yang Dingguo's hand.

Yang Dingguo did not play games anymore and directly handed the letter in his hand to Xiao Yu.

Everyone knew the principle that to shoot a man, one must first shoot his horse, and to capture the rebels, one must first capture their leader. Therefore, as soon as the war began, Xiao Yu and the others took their families and hid inside the imperial palace, which meant that even if the other side knew where they were, they could not easily succeed.

Unable to capture Xiao Yu and his group of old foxes, the Imperial Relatives had no choice but to find ways to protect themselves and avoid becoming a breakthrough point for the other side.

Xiao Yu and his group searched for a long time but could not find these members of the Zhao imperial clan. It was not until the secret guards intervened that a piece of information was passed to Yang Dingguo through various channels.

"Dingguo, has this information been confirmed?" Xiao Yu looked at the intelligence in his hand, then looked up at Yang Dingguo.

"Rest assured, Chancellor Xiao. This humble general has already confirmed it. Those rebels are currently in the Bao'en Temple in the west of the city."

"Good!" Xiao Yu slapped the table and stood up, scanning the crowd. "Success or failure depends on this one move. I hope everyone will not hold back."

Everyone knew that this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, so they no longer held back their strength. They each brought out their family's last resort of death-sworn warriors, and together with the three hundred Yulin Guards led by Yang Dingguo, they left the imperial palace under the cover of night.

In Bao'en Temple, a ball of flesh dressed in fine clothing walked into the main hall. Looking at the middle-aged man sitting in the main seat with his eyes closed, he asked in a muffled voice, "Imperial Uncle, how long are we going to keep hiding?"

The middle-aged man slowly opened his eyes, a trace of helplessness revealed in his gaze. "Now that the main army's entry into the capital is blocked, and those old foxes are hiding in the palace, I fear that..."

The ball of flesh threw himself onto a reclining chair, panting as he complained, "I cannot stay in this wretched place for even one more day."

The middle-aged man was somewhat annoyed, but he quickly suppressed the anger in his heart and comforted him gently, "Just endure it a little longer. Once you ascend to the throne of the Son of Heaven, what kind of women will you not have?"

"Imperial Uncle, there won't be any issues with the people you sent to assassinate Zhao Xun, right?"

"Rest assured, it is foolproof. Those are trusted confidants that I have cultivated for many years."

Just as the two were chatting, an army suddenly appeared outside the temple. They remained silent, rested briefly, and then charged toward the temple.

The guards protecting the temple immediately discovered these murderous people and immediately picked up their weapons to meet them. For a moment, the shouts of battle shook the sky.

Meanwhile, inside the imperial palace, a young Eunuch walked into the sleeping quarters carrying a bowl of sweet soup that Zhao Xun liked.

Seeing his favorite food, Zhao Xun immediately beamed with joy, picked up his spoon, and ate it in large mouthfuls. Before long, the large bowl of sweet dessert was down his throat.

Not long after the young Eunuch left with the empty bowl, Zhao Xun, who had been playing and laughing foolishly, suddenly collapsed to the ground, clutching his stomach and rolling around in pain. This terrified the palace maids and nannies attending to him.

Before long, black blood began to flow from Zhao Xun's mouth and nose. The palace maids finally realized that something terrible had happened, and they immediately fell into chaos.

The imperial palace was in chaos, and outside Bao'en Temple, the ground was already covered in blood as the guards gradually fell into a disadvantageous position.

In the panic, some members of the Zhao clan tried to escape from other directions, but they encountered the chaotic army and were killed on the spot.