Covering the sky: Starting with the holy body, the immortal Taoist comes to attack

Chapter 176 Assassination and the Great Purge!

"This is a golden opportunity, and we can't afford to delay any longer!"

"Can't you see that they've already put a knife to your throat?"

"At a time like this, who cares about being a king? It's either you die or I die!"

in the secret room.

In the dim, flickering light, a sinister figure spoke, his tone filled with intense killing intent.

His outrageous words drew nods or murmurs of agreement from almost all the conspirators present.

"The best course of action now is to divide our forces into two groups."

"The first route involves planting explosives at the intersection of Wanggongchang Road, which is the only way back to the palace."

"Once the tyrannical king's chariot has passed, immediately ignite the explosives."

"The second route is to go to the palace and take control of the Queen Mother, the Queen Dowager, and others."

"This journey is of utmost importance and cannot be taken lightly; otherwise, it will be difficult for us to gain the support of the people if we want to establish a new king."

However, some people have expressed doubts about this.

"The royal guard general, Gong Xin, is a trusted confidant personally appointed by that foolish king. How can our men bypass him?"

Without hesitation, the sinister speaker turned to look at a well-to-do old man beside him.

"It's alright, my Yang family naturally has spies hidden among the imperial guards."

"At that time, the Yang family will be in charge of the route to the royal palace."

The well-to-do old man had a kind and benevolent face, and looked like a kind and honest elder from next door.

At this moment, he spoke calmly and slowly, with an indescribable confidence and composure.

Upon seeing that it was this person who spoke, the people in the secret room felt much more at ease, and most of their previous doubts were dispelled.

This wealthy old man was of extraordinary status, as he came from the powerful Yang family.

One of his specific roles was as the chief steward of the Yang family's residence in the capital.

The so-called Yang family was undoubtedly a powerful and influential clan in the Great Zhou Dynasty. For hundreds of years, they prospered and multiplied, with as many as eight members holding the rank of one of the Three Dukes, and their disciples and former officials were all over the world.

Even powerful families like the Sima clan, who were once powerful ministers, formed marriage alliances with prominent families like the Yang clan during their usurpation of power, and ceded considerable benefits to them.

Even in the year or so since Gu Xuan assumed power, he has not made any rash moves or taken action against the Yang family.

The portly old man's words were like a final decision, making the planning in the secret room proceed more smoothly.

And time was precious, and before long, everyone finally reached a roughly complete plan!

Their plan was direct and violent.

That is, first use a large amount of gunpowder to kill Gu Xuan, the iron-fisted and powerful King of Zhou, and then disguise this assassination as a counterattack by the remnants of the Sima clan.

Then, another group of people took control of the Queen Mother and others in the palace, preparing to enthrone a new king.

Of course, this new king must be young and easy to control.

In this way, the power of the entire Great Zhou Dynasty would once again fall into the hands of various powerful clans, allowing them to continue their lofty and superior status.

In fact.

In the eyes of these conspirators, such a drastic measure was a last resort.

Among them were imperial guards generals who had been stripped of their military power by Gu Xuan, and civil officials who had been sidelined.

Regardless of their identities, they were essentially representatives of powerful families in the imperial court, and some were even born into prominent families themselves.

However, they had been careful enough beforehand and had not gotten too involved with the Sima family, nor had they committed any unforgivable crimes.

Therefore.

Gu Xuan could only temporarily remove these people from the center of power, but could not physically eliminate them without any reason.

In that case, Gu Xuan would truly become a tyrant, disrupting the court and frightening the people who should have been his allies.

But for these conspirators, those disgraced powerful clans, losing power and status was worse than being killed.

And that's not all.

While there are many spoiled brats among the powerful clans, there is also no shortage of shrewd and resourceful individuals.

Some of them had already been able to vaguely guess the true scheme of King Xuan of Zhou from some clues.

That is, to completely eliminate the powerful clans!

It's somewhat unbelievable!

However, all indications suggest that His Majesty the King of Zhou's many actions are moving toward this goal!
Realizing this, these powerful clans and elites naturally wouldn't sit idly by and would definitely launch a counterattack.

Therefore, after Gu Xuan destroyed the Sima family and pacified the Jie tribe,

Ultimately, they will have to confront the behemoth that is the powerful clans and aristocratic families head-on!
This is an inevitable result that cannot be changed by people's will!

Even though Gu Xuan had tried every possible means over the past year, including delaying tactics and hiding behind the scenes, all to give his side more time to develop.

But times changed, and with the increasing spread of the "Great Harmony Society" and the growing power of His Majesty King Zhou.

He could no longer afford to keep a low profile and had to step onto the stage for a showdown!
……

This day.

Because of the Empress Dowager's birthday, His Majesty the King of Zhou, who has been stationed at the Imperial Guard camp for a long time, is finally going to return to the palace.

The carriages glided along, emerging from the military camp outside the city.

Under the escort of hundreds of elite imperial guards, they entered the city through Deshengmen, the north gate of the capital, passed through the North Ward, and along the food street, proceeding at a leisurely pace towards the palace.

Not far ahead is the Wanggongchang section of road.

In the middle of this section of road, there is a flat stone bridge, beneath which flows an inner city moat.

As His Majesty the King of Zhou's carriage was about to arrive at the stone bridge, some people not far away couldn't help but show excited and expectant expressions in their eyes!

however.

Just then, the carriage suddenly stopped and ceased moving.

Upon seeing this scene, those who had been eagerly anticipating it stared wide-eyed, their breath almost stopping!
One breath, two breaths, three breaths...

However, the carriage seemed to have encountered some unexpected event and came to a stop.

And the next moment.

Among the armored soldiers surrounding the carriage, two exceptionally agile individuals appeared out of nowhere. Each carrying two strange water tanks, they arrived at the stone bridge in just a few strides.

As two jets of water gushed out, a dwarf, soaked to the bone and wailing, was captured by the two lightly armored soldiers.

All the onlookers present could clearly see that several firecrackers were wrapped around the little man's body, only they were soaked in water!

"This……"

Everyone gasped.

Could this be an assassin planning to use explosives?

Sure enough, as several other armored soldiers stepped forward and worked together to lift up several stone slabs on the stone bridge, several extremely dangerous gunpowder boxes were revealed!

A great uproar erupted from the crowd!
Gunpowder was far less developed on this land, but even so much of it together was enough to blast out a huge crater!
If the gunpowder had exploded when His Majesty the King of Zhou was crossing the stone bridge, even with the unparalleled martial prowess of his ancestor, he would likely have been killed.

This is a plot to rebel and assassinate the king in the street!

The same thought flashed through everyone's minds. The armored soldiers acted swiftly, quickly wetting the boxes of gunpowder with water, preventing any chance of others launching rockets or igniting the gunpowder in the chaos.

And that's not all.

Almost simultaneously, several groups of elite cavalrymen from the hundreds of imperial guards following the king's carriage swiftly rushed out and captured the dozens of restless noble family servants in the crowd.

These servants were naturally quite skilled in combat, and could be considered adept at taking on multiple opponents for ordinary citizens.

However, when faced with the elite imperial guards, they were like chickens and dogs, and most of them were taken down in just a few rounds. Those who resisted fiercely were also killed on the spot.

At the same time that a shocking rebellion occurred at Wanggongchang.

In other parts of the capital, earth-shattering changes also broke out!

First, at the royal palace, the guard lieutenant who intended to cause trouble and his subordinates were subdued by the royal guard commander and his men, and no incident was stirred up.

Second.

The mansions of those dozen or so powerful families who plotted rebellion were all surrounded by the imperial guards.

After announcing the decree, the leader of the imperial guards waved his right hand and began confiscating the property.

……

With the imprisonment and confessions of those involved, and the detailed disclosure of this major treason case in the official gazette.

The hundreds of millions of people throughout the Great Zhou Dynasty gained a deeper understanding of the insane and depraved nature of the powerful clans involved in this case!

Those involved in this case included prominent families such as the Yang, Yun, and Ma clans, as well as veteran generals like the former commander of the Imperial Guard.

There are also four or five other second-class valves.

But regardless of which one, they were all old aristocratic families and powerful clans that had existed for many years within the Great Zhou Dynasty.

They were all intermarried, their families deeply intertwined, and some even had marriage ties to royalty.

These people knew that His Majesty King Zhou was a peerless warrior, and that ordinary arrows, crossbows, swords, and spears would be ineffective.

Therefore, they secretly obtained gunpowder from the treasury with the intention of assassinating the emperor, and then coerced the Empress Dowager and others to support the young emperor.

Such a crazy scheme could have resulted in a huge loss if Gu Xuan hadn't already established the National Guard and kept a close watch on those disgruntled and idle Imperial Guard generals.

Amidst the extensive reports in the official gazette.

Immediately, the entire dynasty was filled with fervor.

Even some prominent families felt that these traitors had gone too far.

of course.

In the south, where the power of aristocratic families is most terrifying, the recent publication of the official gazette has been suppressed.

As a result, not many people know about this major case.

However, in the north, near the capital, after several purges, the power of the aristocratic families was no longer as strong, and the masses were mobilized to a greater extent.

Against this backdrop.

Taking advantage of the momentum, the "Datong Society" group, led by Gu Xuan, finally launched its initial operations.

On the one hand, they formally and extensively published various articles in the official gazette.

This includes exposing the various crimes committed by powerful and aristocratic families, and their erosion and harm to the entire country.

Gu Xuan specifically requested that one sentence be added to the last paragraph.

"The fundamental characteristic of the era of powerful clans was the closure of upward mobility channels."

This somewhat unrefined and colloquial statement, seemingly out of step with the local writing style, is straightforward and clear, allowing the majority of the population to deeply understand its meaning.

This is also an obvious fact.

Even an illiterate adult can see this point through the phenomenon of "the poor and honest are as muddy as mud, while the high-ranking generals are as timid as chickens".

Also.

The official gazette also continuously published various programs of the "Great Harmony Society," clearly demonstrating its vision of building a fair and just Great Harmony society.

The publication of these articles was almost equivalent to a battle manifesto by the "Datong Society" led by Gu Xuan!

They unequivocally announced the battle cry to the large landowners, powerful clans, and aristocratic families who had ruled this land for thousands of years!
no doubt.

These actions caused a huge uproar throughout the entire Great Zhou Dynasty!
For a time, the people in many prefectures and counties in the north were restless, and there was a rather turbulent atmosphere.

Meanwhile, the stronghold of powerful clans in the south was showing signs of breaking away from the central government.

In fact.

All of this was within Gu Xuan's expectations.

However, he still chose to do so, and now the time is ripe. Continuing to focus solely on development is no longer suitable for the current situation.

Now that his base has developed to a certain extent, he can start taking action.

first step.

Gu Xuan thoroughly reformed the central government in the capital.

Many officials who held positions without performing their duties were purged, and some who were found guilty of crimes were imprisoned.

Among these people, a small number came from humble backgrounds, but the vast majority were scions of powerful and influential families.

They all said that their role in their posts was negligible, and even had a negative impact.

After stabilizing the situation in the capital.

The second step.

Gu Xuan dispatched special task forces, each under the protection of a number of imperial guards, to conduct a unified purge of the powerful clans in various prefectures and counties in the north.

More than half of the powerful clans had already had their criminal evidence investigated by the secret guards dispatched in advance.

Crimes such as canal transport gangs, mining thugs, violent loan sharking, and the cunning seizure of fertile land are numerous and countless, and are all means by which major families in this land make profits.

Under the powerful attack dispatched by Gu Xuan, it was like launching a campaign that swept across the north, spreading to various prefectures and counties.

This naturally included violent resistance from these criminal gangs, as the servants kept by these powerful families were all vicious and ruthless.

However, they were no match for the fully armed and well-coordinated elite Imperial Guards and Cavalry, and were quickly wiped out one by one.

of course.

Among the powerful clans, there were naturally some families that did not commit crimes, but due to years of accumulation, they were wealthy and had a large population, making them a powerful force in the local area.

But as time goes by, these so-called law-abiding families will naturally develop into the powerful clans that existed before.

This has been the established practice for thousands of years, and it has never changed!

For these large families, Gu Xuan's approach was to relocate them to Maoling, which is located near the capital.

The purpose of doing this is, of course, to fundamentally eliminate these local tyrants who are difficult to eradicate, and to uproot them from their established spheres of influence.

The seemingly mild aspect was that it allowed, but forced, local powerful and cunning individuals to migrate with their wealth to areas closer to the capital.

This approach facilitates both supervision and centralization, while also freeing up space for local authorities.

Local tyrants and those with relatively high assets were uprooted, thus dismantling the organizational networks they had established in the region. This created opportunities for the lower classes to rise in society, and the country became more dynamic.

For more than six months, the entire northern part of the country was in turmoil.

But in the South, the scene is completely different!
(End of this chapter)