Chapter 46 - Forcing the Palace
In the Zhong Ming Dynasty, many great families and officials would more or less keep some armed guards or train some men within their clans to practice martial arts from childhood in case of emergencies. The Wei family and the Ouyang family each raised several armed forces, which was not surprising in the society then; every large clan would have some enslaved people, servants, or tenants. Typically, these people were ordinary laborers responsible for farming, weaving, washing, cooking, and doing all sorts of daily labor; once there was a power struggle, an armed fight, or even a battlefield fight, these underlings would also be organized into a corps of soldiers comparable to an army. Therefore, the imperial power of the Zhongming Kingdom has long been dispersed everywhere. In terms of wealth and absolute power, the imperial family may be less substantial than some clan alliances.
In addition to the Xiao family of the royal family, three other great families in Zhong Ming Country should be considered in terms of financial, material, and human resources. They are the Dongfang family headed by Dongfang Chang, the Marquis of Dingguo, who has long been entrenched in the southern capital; the original family of Marquis of Ping'an Xiao Zhi, emperor's son-in-low harnessed by the side of a team; and the Ouyang family of Ouyang Ming, the newly-promoted first-ranking prime minister. The most powerful among them was Marquis Dongfang Chang, who had yet to show up much. Even if the king's birthday banquet is such a big scene, Dongfang Chang is not happy to see the male favorite princess say not to come but do not come. With such a night banquet current, the two prominent families are missing; only the Ouyang family accompanied the Prince. Some good people speculate that this is to avoid party disputes, but some later recall that it is God's will!
On the evening of April 15th, a vast blood-red full moon, as the best backdrop on this excellent show, unhurriedly hung up to the sky, making it even more apparent that at this time, the palace inside and outside reveals a robust demonic aura and a tense sword. The Wei Family Army and the Ouyang Family Army had long been scattered around the capital. They could rush into the palace's inner courtyard with a single order, while the Crown Prince's armed forces had also long been assembled ten miles outside the city.
The king Xiao Zhan had just ordered the two noble relatives who had filed a complaint against the royal court to be beheaded immediately. He was going to come down hard on those who disobeyed. However, there was a limit to everything, and it was also necessary to see if there was any real hard power. The fact that the country's king was so mediocre and unrighteous lit a fire in the emotions of the court full of civil and military ministers who were already complaining privately. Everyone got up, entirely no longer fearful of whether or not the State Sovereign would order the beheading of a few more people. Everyone set their eyes on the Crown Prince, hoping that this Crown Prince would rid the country of the evils and overthrow the old State Sovereign and the demonic male consort.
How could the Crown Prince let go of such a good opportunity, inevitably rushing to the front, delivering an impassioned speech, and then bringing everyone together to force the palace, forcing the old state ruler to surrender, and forcing the Demon Road Male Consort to thank him with death?
The old state ruler, Xiao Zhan, was so flustered that he kept looking at Imperial concubine Shou Guanghui, praying that he would protect him. Shou Noble Concubine gave a contemptuous sneer and slowly spoke, "You lowly humans, anyone who has eaten the dishes and drinks of this banquet today has already taken my 'Immortal Elixir.' If you don't obediently listen to my words, you will all have to die."
Xiao Su disdainfully returned, "You demonic talk of the demonic path, even now, the matter still dares to speak out in this Golden Palace! There are no ghosts, gods, or monsters in this world, but only your kind of treacherous villain attempts to shake the foundation of my great country of China and the Ming Dynasty. I don't believe you! Today, I will act in the name of heaven and put an end to your arrogance!"
Then Crown Prince Xiao Su rushed in front of King Xiao Zhan, snatched the liquor cup from the hands of the person called father, and was so excited that his voice trembled. "Father, my son has waited for this day for too long. I don't care if you are willing or unwilling; this throne must be mine today!"
Ouyang Zhong shouted, "Your Highness, don't!" However, he doesn't stop Xiao Su from drinking liquor in the cup, symbolizing the king's power.
Then Guang Hui laughed maniacally and began to recite incantations in front of the crowd, summoning hundreds of crows out of thin air in moments. Above the hall, there was a sudden chaos. These crows kept swooping and swooping down on people, and the entire palace hall suddenly became a mess. People were being pecked and swooped by the crows; some people's eyes had already been pecked blindly by the crows, and some of the skin on their faces had already been chewed off; these were the people who had just eaten the food from the palace banquet. Even if there were no crows, some people felt hot and itchy all over their bodies and could not restrain themselves from scratching. Surprisingly, a large piece of skin and flesh fell off when scratched. People screamed, shouted, and cried out. Some of the inner guards, palace people, and chamberlains helped to drive away the crows; some were so scared that they curled up into a ball, and others cried and went crazy running around in the inner courtyard of the palace.
In contrast, Ouyang Zhong, Ouyang Ming, and the others were not annoyed by these crows. Because they didn't touch the food at all. The day before they went to the banquet, Ouyang Zhong and Ouyang Ming gathered everyone involved. They repeatedly urged everyone to avoid touching the banquet's drinks and food, not even a single bite. Ouyang Ming repeatedly reminded the Crown Prince and his attendant ministers not to eat. Unfortunately, due to the arrogance of the prince and the luck of the draw, he won the throne because of their negligence, which was spoiled. Like those who ate the food, the Prince who drank the liquor also began to scratch in all kinds of ways, and the crows kept swooping down on him. He and his guards kept using their weapons to block and kill the crows, but there were just too many of them, and they were losing ground, no longer able to fight.
Guang Hui tried to take advantage of the chaos to escape by holding the state ruler, Xiao Zhan, hostage, only to be stopped by Ouyang Zhong. Ouyang Zhong cut off Guang Hui's left hand with his sword without mercy. Guang Hui fell to the ground in pain, clutching her wrist, and the blood flowing out of it was not the typical bright red color at all but a demonic and ghostly black and purple color.
The state ruler, Xiao Zhan, screamed alarmingly, "Protect me! Protect the King!" Then he ran straight to Imperial concubine Shou's side, utterly inseparable from this demonic path. Unfortunately, no one was willing to protect him anymore, as Ouyang Zhong, Ouyang Ming, and several ministers surrounded the State Sovereign and Guanghui. It was imperative to kill the demonic path and force the State Ruler back. According to the original plan, the protagonist should now be the Crown Prince. Still, unfortunately, he was already blinded by the crows pecking at this time and was prostrate and rolling on the ground. The poisoned people's bodies gradually turned into carrion and were eaten by the crows as food.
Without a protagonist, Ouyang Zhong could only grit his teeth and do this "evil man" of treason and regicide to the end. He looked at Xiao Zhan and shouted angrily, "Foolish ruler! Since you are deeply in love with this demon, I will show you his true colors. Open your dog eyes and take a closer look at what kind of demon you share your bed with every day!"
Ouyang Zhong used a pre-prepared Peach Talisman Sword and violently plunged it straight into Guang Hui's heavenly aura, and after Guang Hui let out a mournful and grotesque scream, he appeared in his original form - a skinned prairie rat without its left paw. Those crows immediately turned into a puff of black smoke and disappeared without a trace because of Guanghui's death.
Xiao Zhan was so scared shitless that he nearly fainted. However, people quickly saw a bizarre change in him. Yu Sun's magic began to work. The presence of poisoned people's skin was white, almost transparent; black and purple blood flowed in the veins, and people seemed to be covered with a black humanoid spider web. As long as there was still a breath of air, they gradually turned into demonic puppets, such as zombies, attacking the ordinary people around them.
The poisoned Xiao Zhan looked straight at Ouyang Zhong like a stern ghost pouncing on Ouyang to strangle him to death. How could this ghostly puppet beat the left guard general who had prepared for it? Ouyang Zhong personally beheaded this pitiful and hateful old ruler, and according to Xuan Mo's previous explanation, the demonic spell could be dissolved by chopping off his head and then sticking a knife in his heart. Then Ouyang Zhong ordered the surviving generals and internal guards present; all the poisoned people inside and outside the temple were made like this in order not to let these living dead become Yu Sun remote control puppet weapons, further endangering the Zhongming country.
The palace hall, which is usually brilliant and majestic, has just become a blood sea casting of the Cultivation Field. There were corpses everywhere, blood and flesh flying on the walls, floors, and beams. Ouyang Ming sighed as he looked at the dead body of Crown Prince Xiao Su. After all the calculations, he missed a move, not realizing that this Crown Prince was too arrogant. He saw it was still close to the last step to ascend to the throne and call himself emperor. Maybe he does not have this imperial life.
As a matter of urgency, Ouyang Zhong, Ouyang Ming, and others must elect a new ruler after counting; surprisingly, only the four-year-old 14th prince Xiao Qing could take on this role. He did not go to the palace tonight to participate in the birthday banquet because his stomach was not feeling well, and the rest of the emperors hung up. Ouyang Ming and Wei family members each gave orders for the family armies inside and outside of the city to disperse on their own, and the armies outside of the town waiting for the Crown Prince's call were also notified of the latest news that they would have to throw themselves on another bright master again.
While people were cleaning up the mess and preparing for the next matter of the new ruler's ascension to the throne, a fast horse quickly darted to Zongcheng City.
"Report! Beiwang City's eight-hundred-mile expedited military secret report!" The messenger who reported the news came with the latest information about the war at the border.
The Dingling Clan's large force had already begun to migrate southward, and it was overwhelmingly loud and powerful. The hundreds of thousands of soldiers and generals led by Wei Kongji in Beiwang City alone were not enough to counteract it. Sending Wei Kongji to Beiwang City in the first place was a stopgap measure. He thought he would be able to deploy more soldiers and horses to assist in the battle, but as a result, not only did he fail to deploy a single soldier, but the Zhongming Imperial Clan suffered a massive blow at the moment. Many of the great clans were also seriously injured or killed at the banquet. Even if all the armed forces in the city had been mobilized and sent to Beiwang City at that moment, time was running out, and it was already too late.
Ouyang Zhong regretted a lot, always saying that to make a fuss, but did not think this internal security was to be achieved. To make a fuss is even more underestimated the speed and means of the Dingling Clan.
"What to do? God is going to kill me, Zhongming Kingdom?" Although Ouyang Ming is sometimes cunning, sometimes overly pedantic, sometimes arrogant and snobbish, and sometimes bullying, he is still loyal to his country and clan. He was willing to follow his son to rebel against the palace, but also because if he let the previous ruler continue to act recklessly, this good dynasty would be cut short. Now, one wave has not yet subsided, and another wave has arisen. What should be done?
Ouyang Ming pondered momentarily and hurriedly discussed with the few surviving courtiers around him. In less than an incense stick, a few people finally concluded that another method might be to preserve Zhongming Kingdom - abandon the city and move south. Abandoning the vertical city and moving south to the southern capital, the young king of the kingdom could ascend the throne in the new capital city. Three days later, the whole town moved south, the several great clans gave up all the usual hooking up, and at this moment, they must unite together to accomplish this critical task together, to preserve the royal lifeline of the Zhongming Kingdom and to avoid Zhongming from being a country that will not be able to survive, and the people will not be able to live in peace and prosperity.
When Ouyang Zhong heard this news, he knew this might have been the last resort. The population was the most critical capital and property of this country. If the foreign invaders killed all the people, this country would also perish. Keeping the most people was the only way.
The country of Zhongming was divided into five administrative levels: states, counties, prefectures, townships, and li. Zhongming has five states of different sizes; the vertical city is in the center, and the northernmost state and county belonging to Beiwang City has the smallest population. The further South and East, the more the population is, the more affluent it is, and the faster the country recovers from its devastation. Moving south could save most people's lives, and the Zhong Ming Kingdom would still need to be quickly extinguished.
The smallest Li governs 100 households, based on the population of three to five people per household at that time. The northern counties had a population of less than one million. In contrast, the total official population statistics of Zhongming Kingdom were close to ten million people. It is said that human life is of paramount importance, but at this moment, no matter how you choose, you have to be stained with blood.
Ouyang Zhong's heart was very heavy. At this moment, he suddenly remembered the original Linghu Xian's words: "Because I have to swear to protect the people, ah!"
His duty in the Imperial City had been completed, killing the demonic path, overthrowing the dim king, and, most importantly, ending Yu Sun and Tuoba Cheng's treacherous plans. But he was clear that he was the left guard general. Although he was forced to join the army at the border in the first place, he had taken a public oath to protect his family, his country, and the people of Zhongming at the very beginning of putting on this military uniform. He himself is the border garrison guard and can not stand by and watch the northern counties and counties of the people, so in the case of unknowing, he was born to give up. He had to go back!
Father Ouyang Ming grabbed his son's hand, not wanting him to go to his death again. But Ouyang Zhong shook his head and said, ''Father, I have grown up and must take up my responsibilities. Defending the country and rescuing the people is my responsibility. My son will try to notify the officials and people in all the counties and villages so that they can move south together. When I arrive at Beiwang City, if I can help General Wei block the enemy's iron cavalry for one more day, it will also buy one more day for everyone to relocate southward and fight for a ray of hope for my Zhongming Kingdom."
Before Ouyang Zhong left, he glanced at the crazy Princess Jiao Yang. He was surprised that the symptoms of the other poisoned people's poison attacks were utterly different from hers; she was just crazy, but the poison on her body did not flare up again. In theory, she should have been beheaded as well, but Ouyang Zhong still didn't lay his hands on her. He entrusted the home housekeeper to send the county princess to her father, Marquis Ping'an, to take good care of her. Even if they were not loved husband and wife, he could not abandon her as a nominal husband.
Ouyang Zhong took five hundred elite soldiers carrying the military order stamped with the jade seal and rushed towards the direction of Beiwang City in the early hours of the next day, scattering messages along the way to let people move south as soon as possible. Inside Zongcheng City, there is order in the chaos; the few remaining royal families and various large and small clans cooperate, quickly organize the family belongings, and gather the people's army; three days later, the whole city moves south.
After reading the urgent documents from Zongcheng City, Wei Kongji was so shocked that he couldn't say half a word for a long time.
The country's king was poisoned by a demon, and several princes almost died at the banquet. The new king is only four years old, and to preserve the lifeblood of Zhongming, he even wants to move the country south and set up another capital city.
What shocked Wei Kongji even more was that the imperial aristocracy had completely abandoned Beiwang City and several towns in the north.
No reinforcements were sent, and no food supplies were provided. The entire Beiwang City, in addition to the more than 100,000 defenders led by Wei Kongji, had 100,000 ordinary people, of whom more than half were old and weak women and children. Inside and outside, less than 300,000 people could only be used as human shields for more people to escape the road to sacrifice.
At this moment, the great king of the Dingling Clan had already led the entire Dingling tribe of one million men to press their way in. According to the scouts' report, they had trodden across the frozen lake in great numbers and were only less than ten days away from Beiwang City.
Wei Kongji looked up at the sky in despair. This is God who wants the lives of their entire city's army and people! He angrily slapped a table with his hand to vent his anger and resentment. There were only two paths in front of him, one was to bring all the city's generals and strong men together to fight the enemy army of Dingling to the end, not surrendering even to the last man, and to defend the city and the lives of the ordinary people to the death. Even though this is just a mantis, and the result will be a crushing defeat, there is always honor in death.
The other one is to follow those royal nobles, the high-classmen clan, and the subordinates to escape to the South. Although they do this against their conscience, they at least save the lives of these soldiers who have been following their battle for many years, the so-called green mountain in the not afraid of no wood to burn. After all, the speed of the army to escape is far faster than that of ordinary people several times, and it is just a matter of his order.
However, what kind of fate would the ordinary people left behind face? It was to be burned and looted by the Dingling clan and the city bloodied. Men as enslaved people, women as prostitutes, the elderly directly buried alive and sunk in the lake, and young children ... children will be treated as chickens, sheep-like livestock into the rations of the enemy army.
Wei Kongji was in a dilemma; he hated his teeth fighting, he hated his incompetence, and not saving all the people, but he also hated the high and mighty rulers of the Middle Ming State who only cared about their own lives; they no longer care about their deaths and lives. After Linghu Xian recovered from her injuries, she still disguised herself as Xuan Mo's assistant to advise Wei Kongji and the others. So, at this moment, she was equally worried when she saw General Wei in a dilemma.
Scouts would come to the general's tent every one or two hours to report the latest situation. This time, the scouts took an arrow with a small leather pouch tied to it and presented it to the great general. Wei Kongji opened the bag, and a few words were written on it: Hand over Linghu Xian, and Bei Wangcheng will not die!
Wei Kongji was startled and looked up at Xuan Mo and Linghu Xian standing aside. What is the meaning of this? Why could Linghu Xian alone be worth the lives of hundreds of thousands of people in the entire city?
Wei Kongji asked the scout, "Where did this skin bag come from?"
The scout reported, "Great General, this pouch has just been shot from outside the city onto the wooden pillars of the city wall, but we didn't see the person who shot the arrows. It's extraordinary."
Xuan Mo received this leather pouch, put it on the tip of his nose, and sniffed it. His heart basically realized. It seems that Yu Sun and Tuoba Cheng are asking Linghu Xian to make a deal. They are doing this because they have taken advantage of the fact that Linghu Xian will definitely sacrifice himself. It's time to meet them. Xuan Mo turned to look at Linghu Xian. Linghu Xian and Xuan Mo looked at each other for a moment and nodded.
Linghu Xian stepped forward to salute the Great General and said: ''Great General, this skin may be a ploy or a deal. Although I, Hu Cangcang, am a small person, I am willing to personally try to protect the entire city's generals and people. If they can honor their promise and not harm the city's people, Cang Cang will die for nothing. However, the Dingling people are cunning, treacherous, and ferocious, so if they return to their word, the Great General still needs to think long and hard and take more precautions. If I can buy a few days for the whole city's army and people, the Great General might as well lead everyone to escape to the South..."