Daqin Zhentiansi

Chapter 531 It turns out it wasn't the Heavenly Guards who were trapped in the Imperial City...

The 25th day of the 12th month of the 22nd year of the Yuankang era.

Heavy snow fell, covering the entire imperial city.

The resounding bugle call echoed for a long time, causing all the people clearing snow in the streets and alleys to turn their heads.

"The Heavenly Guard has dispatched its army."

The old man, whose hair and beard were streaked with snowflakes, spoke softly.

On the long street of Zhuque, snow surged like a dark tide.

"boom--"

When the first black banner with gold patterns bearing the inscription "Zhen Tian" shattered the icicles, snow accumulated on the eaves pelted onto Du Zhaoming's mink cloak.

The Minister of Justice huddled behind a crack in the window of a private teahouse, watching the armored dragon riders' iron hooves crush the bluestone slabs, fear etched in his eyes: "Zhang Qingyang, I hope you never come back..."

“Three hundred years…” An old soldier on the second floor of the tavern across the street, his eyes blurry with drunkenness, poured half a pot of strong liquor onto the Tiger Guard’s warhorse. “The last time I saw the Heavenly Guards set out was when the Great Ancestor was on his northern expedition!”

Before the spilled wine could even hit the ground, it was caught mid-air by the leading general.

The black-clad general tilted his head back and chugged the strong liquor, the sound of the shattering jar mingling with the neighing of his warhorse, creating a thunderous roar: "On this journey to Liangyuan, I will earn my men a title of Marquis of Ten Thousand Households!"

This shout was met with thunderous cheers and applause from the people lining the streets.

"Mother, will the black-armored general be cold in the snow?" The little girl pressed her face against the windowpane, breathing out white breath as she watched the black tide of the army crush the snow.

The tavern owner on the street corner shakily presented three jars of strong liquor, his face covered in snow spray kicked up by the Xuanjia Dragon Riders, yet he still shouted at Tie Xing, "Come back here alive, you bastard! You can pay for the liquor on credit!"

Tie Xing laughed heartily and reached out to grab the wine jar.

At the south alley entrance, Uncle Liu, leaning on his cane, stopped Zheng Kanglin's warhorse and threw the fox fur coat that Sister-in-law Guo had sewn overnight onto the saddle: "If you die in Liangyuan, I'll bury you in the Great Wall of the Northern Frontier!"

Zheng Kanglin nodded emphatically, his gaze falling on the figure standing behind Uncle Liu, whose body was wrapped in a thick cotton robe.

He seemed to see the fervor and paleness of that night, and his face flushed red. He let out a long laugh and spurred his horse forward.

The mansion of the three princes.

The vermilion window creaked open with a crack, and the Third Prince crushed the warm jade in his palm: "What a clever way to win people's hearts... even the Giant Spirit Guard's armor is engraved with a peace-keeping charm!"

He stared at the imposing, armored soldiers standing in the snow.

These soldiers took the rough porcelain bowls handed to them by the veterans who were blocking the street, tilted their heads back and drank them down. Their Adam's apples bobbed, and their blood seemed to boil.

“Marquis Qingyang has been stationed at the border for a long time and is very familiar with how to pacify the people and launch an expedition,” Guo Wenhua said in a low voice.

"Fortunately, the Zhen Tian Si army has left the capital, and the balance of power between the civil and military officials in the city has changed. Your Highness, take some time to visit Mr. Hengqu. You don't need to ask for his support, but at least you should get close to him."

The Third Prince nodded slightly at these words.

As the last Giant Spirit Guard passed through Yongning Gate, a child squatting by a roadside tea stall suddenly screamed.

"That's a giant, woof—"

The scholar in the green robe beside him quickly covered the child's mouth and looked at the tall and strong giant spirit guards in front of him. His eyes searched for them, and a look of surprise appeared in the scholar's eyes.

"Brother Xu, I've brought my nephew to see you off!"

The scholar held up the bamboo basket he had prepared beforehand and carried it forward.

Turning his head, the nine-foot-tall Giant Spirit Guard took the bamboo basket with one hand and handed over a handful of gold beads from his bosom: "Tell the brothers that when I demolish the Ten Thousand Buddha Caves in Liangyuan Domain, I'll come back and build three courtyards for every family!"

"boom--"

Amidst the billowing clouds and flying snow in the sky, thunder roared, and a phantom of a thunder dragon reached out its claws from the clouds.

Lei Hao pointed his fingers like a sword, tearing open the sky, and the Milky Way formed from the condensed thunder spread straight out beyond the imperial city.

As Zhang Yuan rode his horse across the ice bridge, Qiu Han's sword remained unsheathed, yet its intent cleaved the snow-covered landscape in two.

Half of it was the accumulated power of the imperial city, untouched for five hundred years, and the other half was the overwhelming frenzy unleashed by three hundred thousand elite soldiers.

"So it wasn't the Heavenly Guards who were trapped in the imperial city after all..."

"But they've been lying in wait all along." The old beggar, huddled at the foot of the city wall, watched the army march forward, crushing through the snow, and muttered to himself, his cloudy pupils reflecting the demon-suppressing patterns leaping on the bronze pillars.

He shakily pulled out half a moldy tiger tally, a relic he had picked up from the Eastern Frontier battlefield three hundred years ago.

As the first rays of sunlight pierced the thunderclouds, the mottled tiger tally resonated and trembled with the twenty-eight bronze pillars, piecing together half a long-lost Qin seal script on the snow—

"Great Qin, Tiger Warriors."

At the Vermilion Bird Gate, Duke Lu Jun of Cheng stood on the city tower with his hand on his sword, watching the army march out of the city, stretching endlessly, his eyes revealing a deep gaze.

"The black horse's hoofprints are three inches deep, indicating it's carrying a 300-pound heavy crossbow made of black iron... Zhang Qingyang even brought city-breaking siege weapons?"

"What exactly is he going to do in Jiujiang Prefecture...?"

As his gaze swept across the area, he saw the Thousand Illusions Guardian transform into countless phantoms and sweep across the rooftops, leaving not a single footprint on the snow.

Political Hall.

The officials, wrapped in fur coats, huddled in the warm chamber. Sima Qingguang tapped his fingertips on the windowsill: "I wonder if it was right or wrong for the Zhen Tian Si army to leave the city."

Beside him, Wang Anzhi and the others exchanged glances, their expressions complex.

They did not want to confront the Zhen Tian Si directly, so they did not stop the Zhen Tian Si's army from leaving the city.

But when they actually saw the army leaving the city, the magnificent momentum and the scene that made their blood boil were uneasy.

The Heavenly Guard is located in the Imperial City, like a fierce tiger trapped in a gate.

But what will happen when the Zhen Tian Si army leaves the capital?
do not know.

The Western Garden of the Imperial Palace.

Emperor Yuankang pushed away the hand warmer offered by Consort Qi, letting the snowflakes fall all over his dark cloak.

"Your Majesty, the Zhen Tian Si army's campaign against Liang Yuan will surely be a resounding success; there is no need to worry," Consort Qi said in a low voice.

Emperor Yuankang nodded, his face still tense.

"These are all sons of my Great Qin, and this is the foundation of my Great Qin."

Emperor Yuankang clenched his fists so tightly that his finger bones appeared pale.

There is probably no one in the world who can understand his feelings at this moment.

The departure of the Heavenly Guards from the Imperial City is merely the beginning of the grand scheme of things in the Nine Provinces!
Outside the south city, several wooden carriages were parked by the roadside.

In the lead carriage, Meng Haoran, sitting with his sword across his body, opened his eyes and looked out the window.

His cultivation at the peak of the Free and Unfettered Realm combined with his sword intent, seemingly condensing into a cyan longsword.

"Zhang Juzheng?"

He placed his hand on his longsword and whispered.

As one of the world's top sword cultivators, his sword is incredibly sensitive.

In the rear carriage, Zhuang Moxuan, dressed in a green robe, looked at the imperial city bathed in golden light, and then at the shadow of the army whose blood and qi stained the sky red, and a look of emotion appeared on his face.

"This is the imperial city of Qin, this is the true army of Qin..."

His words caused the expressions of the other passengers in the carriage to change, their eyes filled with longing.

They were conscripted to serve as officials in the Qin capital, and would become Qin officials in the future.

As people of Qin, who wouldn't feel their blood boiling at this moment?

North city gate.

Gongsun Jingguan, dressed in a blue cotton scholar's robe, suddenly reined in his horse and looked back.

Zhang Hengqu, the headmaster of the Imperial City Academy, led his disciples to stand on the city wall, their righteous aura transforming into golden armor that covered the soldiers passing through the city below.

(End of this chapter)