Chapter 346 - 346: A Killing Blow
Time was running out, and it was really not the time for them to put on a show.
Fortunately, the two of them also stopped while they were ahead. Wiping away their tears, they held hands and went to find Sikong Xiao.
Now Sikong Xiao had already arranged his troops and set up a formation outside the palace. However, the Royal Guards guarding the palace gates were shocked. They didn’t know much and thought Sikong Xiao was going to rebel. If you didn’t rebel, why did you block the palace with a large number of troops? The gates of the Imperial Palace were tightly shut. Zheng Zhi was promoted to Wei Wei. He was afraid that he was not of high enough rank, so he even pulled Prince Jiang Xia over to command. He gathered archers around and waited.
When the Prince of Xin ‘an and the Prince of Huaiyang arrived, it was already late at night.
Jiankang City was in chaos. There was no night watchman at all, and no one knew the exact time. It was probably after midnight.
With the Royal Palace as the boundary, the two sides started to curse before they even started fighting. Sikong Xiao was not trying to show off his eloquence. In the past, when he was fighting on the battlefield, he would slash with his knife and cut the Gordian knot. However, this time, it was not the same.
The first thing they wanted to fight was the Emperor’s Royal Guards. If they didn’t explain the truth clearly, not to mention the Royal Guards who were fighting with them, the courtiers who were watching from afar, even their own soldiers might not be united.
First of all, they had to fight public opinion. The main body of public opinion was not just the Royal Guards on the opposite side, but also their own soldiers. They had to let them know that they were not rebelling. They were standing on the side of justice.
Sikong Xiao’s mouth was not good, but he had a mouth. In war, there were people who were specially responsible for coming to the door to scold. Every word was said to the point, and they were full of energy.
But the people in the palace wouldn’t listen. You’re a traitor no matter what you say.
Would a traitor admit to it?
Of course, he would say whatever was glorious and whatever was dark in the palace. It was useless to talk nonsense. Entering the Imperial City was a sin.
Outside, they were cursing the empress for killing the king and usurping the throne, while inside, they were cursing the traitors outside for not dying well.
The two sides were cursing happily.
Sikong Xiao planned to create public opinion first and wait for Xie Xian to give the order to start attacking the city. At this time, it was not the right time to stop. They had to race against time. Giving time to Empress Wang would be throwing her life into someone else’s hands. The first to strike was the stronger, and the last to strike would suffer.
The Prince of Huaiyang did not come in vain. He was here to switch sides and attack.
If he was stubborn to the end, he would be the first to die before the two sides started fighting.
Moreover, if he had been a tough nut to crack, he would have been tough enough when he found out that Emperor Yu Heng had died an unnatural death. He would not have gotten a job as a trusted aide and taken the position of general of the army.
Zheng Zhi was in charge of the inner palace, and King Huaiyang was in charge of the outer city guards. What a good chess game. When the time came, if they attacked from both inside and outside, wouldn’t Xin ‘an King Xiao Sikong and the others die completely?
Who knew that the Xin ‘an King’s side would react so quickly. The deployment of manpower and personnel was simply too fast. He had not even left the city, but the Xin’ an King had already lined up tens of thousands of troops into the city. It was so grand that they raised their hands and lit up the entire sky.
If they really fought, blood would flow like a river.
Although Prince Huaiyang’s body was fat and heavy, his brain was flexible. His body was also soft. When it was time to be soft, he would definitely be soft. When it was time to be hard, he would also be hard.
He immediately shouted,
“I am the King of Huaiyang. Everyone, listen to me first!”
Their voices were loud, but unfortunately, no matter how loud they were, it was only a matter of hundreds or thousands of people scolding each other. In fact, other than the first few sentences, one could still hear the number. After that, they were just talking happily. In the end, they didn’t even know what they were scolding.
Prince Huaiyang’s words were instantly drowned out by countless curses.
At this moment, the curses inside suddenly died down, followed by a dense rain of arrows.
Fortunately, Sikong Xiao was prepared. The front row of the entire team, which was the cursing area, was lined with shields that were almost as tall as a person.
With this attack, the scolding battle between the two sides finally came to a stop.
Prince Huaiyang was fat. He hid behind two shields and shouted,”
“I am the King of Huaiyang, the former Wei Wei! The emperor has already passed away. This king proves that it was the empress who killed the unconvinced courtiers. It was this king who adapted to the situation and escaped! Guards, you must not help the wicked!”
Bala Bala, he shouted until he was hoarse.
The problem was, they didn’t believe Sikong Xiao and Prince Xin ‘an’s words, but how could they not believe Prince Huaiyang’s?
Half a year ago, Prince Huaiyang was still their direct superior, and he had nothing to do with them. Later, although he was replaced by Prince Jiangxia, Prince Jiangxia did not like directors and did not get involved with them. Changing people did not change the morale of the army. Others might not be able to say it, but they really listened to Prince Huaiyang’s words.
Moreover, the Prince of Huaiyang had just left the palace an hour ago. Many pairs of eyes were watching him.
He turned around and said,” All of you here are trash.”
No, they were all traitors.
They were still scolding him, so why were they chasing them away?
The rain of arrows slowed down, and even when they were shot out, they did not shoot at people, but at the open space.
The Prince of Huaiyang’s words had shaken the hearts of the Royal Forest Guards in the city.
This was the fundamental reason why Xie Xian wanted Prince Xin ‘an to win over Prince Huaiyang. As long as Prince Huaiyang switched sides, it would be the most powerful killing blow to Empress Wang. She would no longer have any chance of winning.
“Pass on the orders of His Highness Xin ‘an Prince. Those who open the palace gates and surrender now will not be investigated!””Whoever takes Zheng Zhi’s head will be rewarded with a thousand taels of gold,” Xie Xian said to Qing Feng.”
“Whoever opens the palace gates will be rewarded with a thousand taels of gold. Those who capture the Crown Prince and Empress Wang alive will be rewarded with ten thousand taels of gold!”
The Xin ‘an King nodded.” That’s it.””
Qing Feng passed on Prince Xin ‘an’s order to the soldiers who were cursing. They were all feeling stifled. They also thought that those Imperial Forest Guards inside could get a thousand taels of gold just by opening the door!
Such a good job!
Capture a Crown Prince or Empress alive, and any one of them would not have to worry about food and drink for the rest of their lives!
Zheng Zhi gritted his teeth so hard that they were about to fall out. Prince Xin ‘an’s idea was too wicked. The eyes of the Royal Forest Guards around him turned green!
The already wavering Kingsguard… He would not waver. He would stand firmly on the side of Prince Xin ‘an. With Prince Huaiyang as a guarantor and Sikong Xiao eyeing him from outside the palace, it would be better to switch sides. Not only would he not be held accountable, but he would also have a chance to become a winner in life.
They didn’t believe that there was only gold. That was meritorious service. They couldn’t escape a promotion and a raise!
In less than ten minutes, the palace gates were opened from the inside. The sounds of fighting shook the sky, and it was already a mess inside.
Sikong Xiao’s mouth twitched. It was not his turn yet, but it seemed that the tone of victory had already been set.
Not long after, a Royal Guard had already grabbed Zheng Zhi’s head and brought it in front of the Xin ‘an Prince. Blood dripped as he walked.
Zheng Zhi’s eyes were wide open. He had clearly died with his eyes wide open. Never in his dreams would he have thought that his head would be chopped off by his subordinates before he could even taste the flatbread that Empress Wang had drawn for him…
Where was he going to reason with her?