knife

Chapter 553 Uprising
Xiang Ying stood tall in the main hall.

On the wall of the main hall hangs a life-sized portrait of a person wearing a crown and royal robes.

That was Emperor Renzong of the Great Chu, Xiong Jing.

He was also the father of Xiong He, the short-lived Emperor Xiaowen.

Emperor Renzong died at the age of sixty-one. Before his death, he passed the throne to his son, Crown Prince Xiong He. Xiong Yi and Xiang Ying were the two regents, one a civil official and the other a military officer.

But what no one expected was that Xiong He would die so young, passing away just over two years after ascending the throne.

Initially, it was thought that Xiong He was physically weak and strong-willed, and that he did everything himself, which led to his exhaustion and untimely death. However, when Li Dachui arrived in Danyang, he discovered that the emperor's daily medication contained a slow-acting poison and confirmed that the empress was the descendant of a holy maiden of the Demonic Sect. This almost caused the two old ministers, Xiang Ying and Xiong Yi, to collapse.

What does it mean to fail the trust placed in you by the late king?
This is it.

How could we stand by and watch our nation, which has stood for three hundred years, be taken away by a demonic witch!
Clench your fists and bow at eyebrow level

"Your Majesty, I am determined to set things right today and restore order to my Great Chu. Please bless me!"

He bowed and stood up, then turned and walked out of the hall.
In the courtyard, Xiang Zhuang and Xiang Wu led a fully armed group of Xiang clan private soldiers, filling the square in front of the main hall to capacity.

These people were all Xiang's private guards, totaling just over a thousand.

Xiang Ying mounted his horse, gripped his spear, and shouted, "Raise the flag! Beat the drums!"

Suddenly, the drums sounded, banners fluttered, and the gates of the Xiang family mansion burst open. Xiang Ying spurred his horse and charged out of the gate.

After walking about a hundred paces, the vermilion gate of another high-walled courtyard suddenly swung open, and a warhorse galloped out. The rider, also with white hair, was none other than the former Grand Secretary, Xiong Yi. Behind Xiong Yi, fully armed soldiers filed out in single file.

The two white-haired old men bowed slightly, said nothing, and rode side by side, with the soldiers behind them automatically joining them.

After walking a short distance, the door of another house opened.
Further on, new people joined.
When they left Wutongyi, a town in Danyang where powerful families gathered, Xiang Ying had already amassed an army of five thousand.

The procession no longer marched in complete silence, but instead shouted loudly to the sound of drums and bugles.
Thousands of people chanted slogans such as "Slay the demon queen and purge the court of corrupt officials" as they rapidly advanced toward the imperial city.

Wutongyi is not far from the imperial city. The surrounding area is inhabited by wealthy families, officials, and merchants. This circle can be considered part of Danyang City. The lives and wealth of every family living here are closely related to the imperial court.

One thought can lead to heaven, another to hell.
That's roughly what the current situation is like.

For many, today is the day of uprising, the day of setting things right.
For others, however, today marks the beginning of a calamity.

Many more people will need to make a choice in the time to come.

Under such circumstances, there is no such thing as neutrality, nor is there any room for remaining neutral.

If you don't help me, you're my enemy.

"Report!"

A rider galloped up and shouted to Xiang Ying from horseback, "Apart from servants and maids, there is no one else in the residence of Lin Yunqi, the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of War!"

Moments later, more cavalrymen arrived at full speed.

Apart from servants and maids, none of the household staff or relatives of Mei Fei, the Minister of Revenue, were present in his residence.

This was the case in the household of Gao Gong, the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel.
The same applies to Qiao Duan, the Minister of Works.

These people were all staunch confidants of Empress Jiang Qian.

One person's absence could be considered an accident.

The absence of two people could be attributed to coincidence, but the fact that none of the people we're supposed to kill tonight are present indicates that something is wrong.

Xiang Ying and Xiong Yi exchanged a glance, both showing worry in their eyes.

"Are you sure the Demon Queen has left?" Xiong Yi asked.

"Confirmed, Xiang Zhuang personally witnessed the Demon Queen and Li Dachui boarding the boat and heading upstream along the Dan River!" Xiang Ying said with certainty, "No matter the reason, Li Dachui will not let Jiang Qian return smoothly."

Xiong Yi took a deep breath and said, "No matter what, let's take the palace first and protect His Majesty before worrying about anything else! As long as we can bring His Majesty back, we'll have won half the battle! When will Na Wei's main force arrive?"

"It's noon today. They should have arrived at Yangjialing by now, and they're only about thirty li away from Danyang City! Na Wei quietly left the camp last night and joined up with his main force!" Xiang Wu, who was following closely behind the two, shouted loudly, "Na Wei's vanguard of the Southwest Wolf Soldiers consists of five thousand wolf soldiers, and they are accompanied by twenty giant elephants."

"Good! As soon as they arrive, the Tiger Legion left behind in Danyang will be too busy to attend to anything else and won't have time to come back to the palace!" Xiang Ying said happily. "Prime Minister, don't worry, everything is under our control. As long as that vixen doesn't return, we can maintain control of the situation."

Xiong Yi nodded silently.

There's no turning back once the arrow is released. This time, it's either success or the Xiang family and my own family will be wiped out. At least three generations of the Xiang family will be exterminated. I am a member of the royal family, so the empress can't exterminate them all, but I'm afraid that apart from the emperor's direct line, the rest will also suffer.

Thousands of soldiers roared and charged toward the imperial city.

At the Zhu family mansion, Zhu Cheng was as anxious as an ant on a hot pan. Inside the mansion, more than two hundred servants were fully armed, but judging from their posture, they were not preparing to go out and help in the battle. Instead, they were in a defensive stance. Under the wall, tall wooden frames were filled with people, each holding a bow and crossbow, and thick sacks were used to block the gate.

Hearing the shouts fading into the distance outside, Zhu Cheng stamped her foot and rushed into the inner courtyard.

Zhu Chi, the eldest son of the Zhu family, recently left Danyang with a new wave of merchant ships and returned to Beiting. Now, Zhu Cheng is in charge of Danyang, but the real power in the family still lies in the hands of the old patriarch.

However, the order given by Old Master Zhu was that they were not allowed to step out of the house even once.

Last time, the Zhu family made the wrong choice.

The Zhu family, which was originally considered a first-class family, was immediately in dire straits. The Zhu family had no choice but to pay a price of several million taels of silver in order to get Jiang Qian to let them go.

In the following years, the Zhu family began to show signs of revival after Zhu Chi gained access to Beiting and opened up maritime trade routes.

But the peaceful days didn't last long, and they had to face another choice.

"Father, are we really not going out? This time it's General Xiang and Chief Minister Xiong working together. If they win, we might not be able to get up!" Zhu Cheng, who had run into the house, was so anxious when he saw his grandfather lying on the bed that he was jumping up and down with worry.

"Second son, your old man is already seventy-three this year!"

"I know, Father!"

"As the saying goes, at seventy-three and eighty-four, even the King of Hell won't invite you, you'll go on your own!" Old Master Zhu, lying in bed, suddenly threw off the covers.

Zhu Cheng's heart skipped a beat; the old master Zhu on the bed was actually dressed in his burial clothes.

"Father, what's wrong...?"

Old Master Zhu chuckled: "I'm going to die today, so I couldn't join General Xiang and Chief Minister Xiong in their grand celebration. It's really quite unfortunate. You'll have to send someone to inform them of my death later!"

"Father, please take care of yourself..." Before he could finish speaking, Zhu Cheng froze, suddenly understanding what the old man meant.

“If General Xiang wins, he naturally won’t be able to target the Zhu family again. If they lose and the Empress Dowager wins, then it will be Old Master Zhu who, outraged by the rebels’ treason, will fight bravely and die!” Old Master Zhu chuckled. “No matter who wins, with my life as a safety net, and your elder brother and the others need it, they won’t make things difficult for the Zhu family.”

"It's worth it to exchange my life for the safety of the Zhu family!" Old Master Zhu adjusted to a comfortable position and closed his eyes.

"Father!" Zhu Cheng knelt down with a thud and burst into tears.

(End of this chapter)