allonlinenovel Chapter 124 Rebellious Officials of the Former Dynasty 55
Chapter 124 Rebellious Officials of the Former Dynasty 55
Two hundred female guards, clad in light armor, stealthily approached the vicinity of the Prince's Palace sentries.
The next moment, a pair of rough hands covered the sentries, and a dagger slashed across their throats.
The sentry in front of him struggled a few times before collapsing to the ground.
The cuckoo's call, three long and one short, rang out in the air, and the soldiers immediately formed a human ladder on the outer wall of the palace.
Groups of people entered the Prince's mansion silently. Just as they approached the main gate, a sharp whistle suddenly rang out: "Enemy attack!"
Ling Yi's painstakingly trained infiltration unit ultimately bought the invaders less than the time it takes to brew a cup of tea.
But that's enough!
The moment the whistle blew, the soldiers, no longer hesitant to hide, drew their long swords and charged toward the gate.
Bang bang bang!
At the same time, the sounds of banging on the gate and arrows rang out outside the Prince's Mansion.
The people plotting in the study paled upon hearing the sharp whistle.
Xiao Xian stood up in disbelief and looked into the distance.
The shouts of killing and screams reached his ears, making him feel as if the King of Hell was coming to claim his life.
"Ninth Brother!" His expression suddenly changed, his face filled with fear: "How...how could he be?"
The once cowardly Ninth Prince turned against his elder brother with a knife on the very first day he returned to the capital.
For a moment, he even began to doubt whether the Xiao Yao in his memory was a fake.
At this moment, the Prince's guards had completely surrounded the courtyard, fighting hard to repel the intruders.
but……
Useless.
Xiao Yao led more than 800 elite soldiers, along with female guards who were excellent in individual combat. How could the hundred or so guards in the palace possibly withstand them?
The defenses were breached with ease. Before Xiao Xian's advisors could even utter a word of advice to escape, Xiao Yao had already walked up to him.
Facing Xiao Yao, who was dressed in light armor, Xiao Xian sneered repeatedly: "My good ninth brother, it's been a few years, you've really grown up!"
"Third Brother, it's been a long time." Xiao Yao looked at Xiao Xian calmly, showing no emotional fluctuation at all because of his sarcasm, making Xiao Xian look like a clown.
Xiao Xian coldly surveyed the elite soldiers behind him and sneered, "It seems I was too late!"
He had no idea how these people had managed to hide in the capital!
His gaze suddenly shifted towards the palace, and at that moment Xiao Xian wondered: Does Father Emperor know?
Xiao Yao looked at Xiao Xian calmly and said softly, "Third Brother, it has come to this. Please set off on your journey."
He knew that Yi Yi wanted to kill Third Brother.
But he couldn't let Yi Yi take action, because in the glorious annals of history, it would be Xiao Yao who killed his brother and seized the throne, not the empress who plotted against her brother, the emperor.
Xiao Xian's expression suddenly changed: "What do you mean?"
The competition for the throne is brutal, yet it has its limits.
For example, these brothers fought each other to the death, and some even died of depression because of it.
However, none of them were killed by anyone else.
This was the bottom line set by the emperor for them, and also an unspoken understanding between the brothers.
Because no one knows who will ultimately win, everyone wants to leave themselves a way out.
But today, Xiao Yao has shattered that escape route.
When the mansion was stormed, Xiao Xian was prepared to be imprisoned by Xiao Yao for life, but what Xiao Yao did was even more outrageous than he had imagined.
"Now that I have escaped the struggles in the capital, there is no way I can escape back." Xiao Yao took the bow and arrow from his descendant and slowly drew it to its full extent.
"Third Brother, goodbye." He was too busy to chat with Xiao Xian today.
On the day he returned to the capital, the princes without military power would no longer be his match.
He knew about this, and so did his father.
In this life-or-death war, the fact that only Xiao Xian, one of the princes, died was within the limits that the Emperor could accept.
He had to give an explanation to Yi Yi, and he also had to give an explanation to the northern border troops who had followed him to Beijing with their heads in their hands.
Those who owe wages will surely perish!
puff!
Blood splattered as Xiao Xian, clutching the arrow in his throat, looked at Xiao Yao in disbelief before slowly collapsing to the ground.
His staff and subordinates stared blankly at the scene, unable to process what was happening for a moment.
Just fifteen minutes ago, they were thinking of striking first and carrying out a coup to eliminate Prince Rui.
A quarter of an hour later, their master died in front of them.
These dramatic ups and downs in their lives left them unable to even muster anger.
Xiao Yao threw the longbow on the ground and turned his head expressionlessly.
Zhang Qiran grinned: "Arrest them all, and kill anyone who resists!"
He paused, then added, "No one is to be disturbed by the women of the Prince's residence. Anyone who disobeys will be executed without mercy!"
The moment Xiao Yao left the mansion, horses were already quietly waiting outside.
At the moment he eliminated Xiao Xian, he no longer needed to hide anything.
The clatter of hooves echoed through the streets late at night, causing the gates of the mansions of princes and nobles on both sides to close even tighter.
Xiao Yao's second stop on this trip was the Sixth Prince's residence.
As he was politely ushered out, the prince, who was not the most outstanding but had stayed until the very last moment, gave a bitter smile and said, "I knew this day would come!"
When he was being promoted to compete with the third brother, did he ever hope that he could get that supreme position?
Of course, there was such a thing. From then on, he would be above all others, and the world would submit to him. He asked himself if he could resist such a temptation.
But what he understood even more clearly was that his father had never cared for him for a single moment.
The Emperor appointed the Third Prince to such important positions as the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of War, but instead assigned him to the Court of State Ceremonial and the Ministry of Works. Isn't the implication clear?
He once thought that the third brother would be the final victor.
But when Xiao Yao returned to the capital with several thousand troops, he was neither stopped by other border troops nor subjected to a fierce battle by the Imperial Guards, and he suddenly understood.
The emperor, who fought on horseback, never looked down on his princes who schemed and plotted in the capital.
In the past, he had no choice, but when he had a son who could match his former glory, his other sons became mere foils.
Watching coldly as Xiao Yao's guards took over the Prince's mansion, he even laughed out loud: "Even you are better than the third prince!"
He was forced to stand opposite the third prince, ruining his plans countless times. If the third prince were to ascend the throne, he would surely meet a bad end.
Compared to the third brother, Xiao Yao, a brother with whom he had few conflicts, was undoubtedly a better choice.
Xiao Yao watched him ramble on in silence for a while before speaking: "Sixth Brother, please rest at the mansion for the night. It concerns Xiao Xian's rebellion. Father will surely make a decision tomorrow."
The sixth prince was stunned: "He..."
Xiao Yao cupped his hands in greeting and hurried off to the next location.
As dawn approached, he led his soldiers on horseback to the main gate of the palace, where they faced the commander of the Imperial Guards on the high tower.
"Where is the princess?" Xiao Yao squinted as the sun peeked out from behind the clouds.