Chapter 316 The Final Chapter of Chaos

For this battle, the Powerful Families had brought out their trump cards. The elite among the death soldiers they had raised for many years, combined with the armor they had kept in private, possessed astonishing combat power.

The battle soon neared its end. Yang Dingguo led his men into the grounds of Bao'en Temple, surrounding the remaining Zhao clan members and their families within the main hall.

As the saying goes, a cornered beast will still fight. People driven to a desperate situation are often capable of unleashing astonishing combat power. Yang Dingguo sent an elite squad to lead the charge, but unsurprisingly, they were beaten back.

It happened once, then twice. After several failed attempts, Yang Dingguo grew annoyed. He gritted his teeth and gave the order:

"Set it on fire! Set it on fire for me! I don't believe these rebels won't come out!"

At his command, the soldiers quickly brought firewood and doused it with lamp oil. Soon, a raging fire began to burn and spread rapidly, immediately filling the air with thick smoke.

The Meatball was stunned by the scene before him. He shrank trembling behind his Imperial Uncle, and asked in a shaky voice:

"Imperial Uncle, Imperial Uncle, what do we do? I don't want to be burned to death!"

The middle-aged man was also bewildered. He could no longer stand the Meatball beside him and kicked him away.

"You don't want to be burned to death? That's simple. Then lead the charge and run out! See if those rebels outside will spare you!"

With no one to lead, naturally, no one moved. Everyone huddled together, leaning on each other and embracing while trembling. All eyes turned to the leading middle-aged man.

Even tough bones have weaknesses, let alone these people who were not tough bones at all. Faced with the oncoming flames and thick smoke, some could not hold out any longer. Disregarding any sense of unity, they rushed straight out of the main hall.

Yang Dingguo felt he had made an extremely correct decision. He just waited at the two entrances, watching as those formerly high-and-mighty Zhao clan members ran out one by one, becoming turtles in a jar.

Looking at the people constantly walking into his trap, Yang Dingguo nodded with satisfaction and beckoned one of his subordinates over.

"You take some men and keep watching. I'm going to report this good news to Chancellor Xiao and the others."

But he did not know that he would soon regret his decision to rush off to claim credit.

Not long after Yang Dingguo left with the Yulin Guard, chaos broke out in Bao'en Temple. It turned out that those fleeing guards had quickly found a unit of troops stationed nearby.

Soon, this army, led by a captain, killed their way back, prepared to rescue the Zhao clan members. In the darkness of the night, a chaotic battle erupted between the two sides.

Both sides soon became blinded by bloodlust. Coupled with the darkness of the night, no one cared whether you were surnamed Xiao or Zhao. As long as you weren't on their side, they would slash at you.

Pitiably, these three hundred or so Zhao clan members died inexplicably in the chaotic fighting. By the time Yang Dingguo arrived, only a few female relatives remained, each of them barely clothed, clearly having suffered some ordeal.

Xiao Yu was not afraid of struggles or even war between the two sides. After all, once the new emperor ascended the throne and issued an imperial decree, none of this would be a problem.

But the current situation had changed. It had become a case of Xiao Yu, Cui You, and others colluding with Yang Dingguo to slaughter the imperial clan members. This was a grave charge; if it got out, these Powerful Families would become the targets of public anger.

Looking at the corpses littering the ground and the few trembling women, Xiao Yu and Cui You felt a headache coming on.

At this moment, Gu Zheng leaned in toward the two men.

"My two Chancellors, we cannot leave any survivors. Otherwise, once word of this gets out..."

The two immediately understood. These women could not be left alive; leaving them would only invite disaster. Xiao Yu immediately signaled to Yang Dingguo.

Yang Dingguo understood and immediately raised his butcher's knife. Following that came a chorus of pleas for mercy, immediately succeeded by the sound of sharp blades slicing through flesh and a few women's screams.

The matter was cleaned up, and Xiao Yu, Cui You, and the others nodded with satisfaction.

"The Zhao clan members were fleeing together when they encountered mountain bandits and were all killed. Although General Yang annihilated the bandits, it was already too late. General Yang and everyone, you have worked hard. We will bestow rewards after the new emperor ascends the throne."

The group quickly defined the nature of these events, attributing a great merit to Yang Dingguo and his men, which also effectively sealed their lips.

Just as they were planning how to distribute the benefits after supporting Zhao Xun's ascension to the throne, a piece of tragic news came from the palace: Crown Prince Zhao Xun had passed away.

Most crucially, Crown Prince Zhao Xun did not die of natural causes; he was poisoned. This made the situation very serious.

The group quickly adjusted their strategy, announcing to the outside world that a group of clan members led by the Imperial Uncle Zhao Quan had poisoned the Crown Prince and had been executed. This quickly turned the charge of slaughtering clan members into the suppression of rebels.

The narrative was set, but what followed made everyone begin to worry.

Zhao Xun had been poisoned, and those Zhao clan members had no survivors left; by now, they had likely already drunk Meng Po's soup and crossed the Naihe Bridge.

In the entire Capital City, and even in all of Hangzhou, there was not a single Zhao clan member left, not even a woman.

As for whether there were any Zhao clan members in other places, it was unknown, but for now, the Zhao-Qian imperial clan was considered completely extinct on the small territory of Great Qian.

Xiao Yu, Cui You, and the others issued widespread orders, commanding all regions to search for someone who could inherit the throne. After much searching, they actually found one. This person was named Li Sangou, who looked seventy percent like Zhao Changluo, and was a ruffian from Tingzhou.

Without caring too much, they renamed him Zhao You and claimed he was Zhao Changluo's illegitimate son who had been living in exile. Just like that, they supported him as he ascended the throne, and quickly posthumously conferred upon Zhao Changluo the title of Emperor Ai.

Under the banner of the new emperor, these people quickly consolidated the forces and armies left behind by the Zhao clan, and subsequently launched a large-scale purge, clearing out those who opposed them.

Although Xiao Yu and his group were restrained, not endlessly expanding the scope or resorting to lethal force, hundreds were still dismissed and imprisoned, over a hundred officers were expelled, and thousands of soldiers were discharged.

Added to the casualties among the soldiers during the chaos, in just half a month, Great Qian had lost over two hundred key officers and nearly twenty thousand troops, which could be said to be a severe blow to their vitality.

Just as the situation was about to stabilize, a voice from the outside suddenly reached them, causing them to collapse.

Duke of Yue Gao Yuan issued a manifesto in Panyu, claiming that Xiao Yu, Cui You, and others had poisoned the Crown Prince, slaughtered the clan members, and supported a puppet emperor. As a noble of Great Qian and the husband of Princess of Yue Zhao Xiyao, he firmly refused to recognize the puppet emperor Zhao You and vowed to act in the name of Heaven to suppress the rebels.

Only now did many people realize with horror that there were not truly no Zhao clan members left in the world. Wasn't there still the Princess of Yue, Zhao Xiyao?

Although she was a woman, she was, after all, of legitimate royal blood. She also had a son who inherited her bloodline and carried the surname Zhao. Most crucially, she was already a Prince; what was the problem with taking a step further and ascending the throne?

In truth, if she were just an idle noble, it would be one thing, but Zhao Xiyao had spent these years resisting foreign aggression and expanding the territory. Her merits were higher than a mountain, and her prestige among the common people surpassed everyone else's.

This left Xiao Yu and the others in a panic. Regardless of whether everyone could accept a female emperor, once Zhao Xiyao and Gao Yuan raised their banner, they would definitely gain the recognition of a portion of the people, which would naturally disperse the power of the Powerful Families.

Faced with the battle-hardened Yue army, they didn't have much chance of winning to begin with. If more of their strength was drawn away, they would have even less of a chance.

Moreover, Gao Yuan was a man of action. Not long after the manifesto was issued, in the third month of the first year of Qiande, Gao Yuan personally led the Central Corps, splitting his forces into three routes to cross the Qitian Ridge, Mengzhu Ridge, and Dupang Ridge, invading Hengzhou and Chenzhou.