Zhu Tian: A journey of spiritual practice starting from Joy of Life

Chapter 204 Kyoto's Preparations for War
Upon hearing this, Li Chengru quickly replied, "The Imperial Guards number a total of eight thousand, of which the three thousand most elite soldiers were taken away by Father Emperor. There are still five thousand Imperial Guards available."

"That's it?"

Upon hearing this, Leng Feibai frowned.

In his previous life, the imperial guards of those feudal dynasties numbered as many as 10,000. Even in the Northern Qi Dynasty, the number of imperial guards was around 15,000. He never expected that the imperial guards of the Qing Kingdom would be less than 10,000.

Prince Jing saw the thought in Leng Feibai's eyes and said irritably, "The Imperial Guard originally numbered 30,000, but later, with the arrival of Grandmaster Hong Sixiang, and the fact that the number of concubines in the Emperor's harem was less than two hands, a large number of Imperial Guards were disbanded."

Hearing Prince Jing's explanation, Leng Feibai's lips twitched, and then he asked, "Besides the Imperial Guards, how many troops are available?"

After a quick thought, Prince Jing said in a deep voice, "I still have a thousand soldiers in my household guards. Adding Chen Pingping and Fan Jian's Black Riders and Red Riders, we should be able to gather about two thousand men."

"Seven thousand against ten thousand!"

After considering the situation for a while, Fan Xian's brows remained furrowed. "We are still at a disadvantage, and the Black Riders and Red Riders are also greatly limited in their mobility while fighting inside the city. Our combat effectiveness will inevitably be affected."

"Where are the Kyoto garrison troops?"

Leng Feibai couldn't help but ask, "And what about the troops stationed near Kyoto? They should be able to be mobilized by now..."

"It can't be adjusted!"

Prince Jing said helplessly, "After the Ye family was demoted, the capital's garrison was placed under His Majesty's personal command. As for the troops stationed near the capital, they can only be mobilized with His Majesty's military tally. Without the military tally, let alone us, even Qin Ye's order cannot mobilize a single soldier."

"I go!"

Leng Feibai couldn't help but ask, "Fan Xian, when you came back, His Majesty didn't give you the military tally?"

"No, should we go ask Eunuch Hou? Wait a minute..."

Fan Xian suddenly remembered something, took out a token from his pocket and said, "Is this the military tally you're talking about?"

Upon seeing the golden token, the pupils of everyone except Leng Feibai shrank.

Li Chengru couldn't help but say, "Father really gave you the military tally. Why didn't you take it out sooner?"

"I didn't know it was a military tally."

Fan Xian said speechlessly, "This was given to me by His Majesty when I was in Jiangnan, when he ordered me to mobilize troops to destroy the Ming family."

Hearing Fan Xian's words, Prince Jing and Li Chengru exchanged a glance, already guessing Emperor Qing's intentions.

Li Chengru quickly said, "Since the military tally is in the capital, I will immediately mobilize the capital's garrison to go out of the city and capture those two bastards."

After saying that, Li Chengru took the token from Fan Xian and was about to leave.

But just then, Hong Zhu's voice suddenly came in from outside.

"Something's wrong! Something's wrong!"

Everyone looked in the direction of the sound and saw Hong Zhu stumble in from outside, falling flat on his face. He cried out to the people inside, "Something terrible has happened! His Majesty, His Majesty has passed away!"

As soon as these words were spoken, the expressions of the people in the room changed drastically.

Fan Xian stepped forward and helped Hong Zhu up, asking, "What nonsense are you talking about? What's wrong with His Majesty?"

Hong Zhu, still with a mournful face, hurriedly said, "It's news from the procession that accompanied His Majesty to the sacrificial ceremony. His Majesty and Eunuch Hong fought fiercely against Si Gu Jian and Ku He, and both died in battle. Ku He and Si Gu Jian were seriously injured and on the verge of death, and were taken away from Mount Da Dong by their disciples!" Everyone present, except for Leng Feibai, felt as if their heads had been hit by a sledgehammer, and their whole bodies became dizzy.

Emperor Qing died just like that, killed by two grandmasters from an enemy country.

"Everyone!"

Leng Feibai looked at the dazed crowd and coughed lightly, using the Heavenly Demon Sound.

As soon as the sound wave was emitted, it was as if a thunderclap had sounded in the ears of the dizzy crowd, instantly waking them up.

Leng Feibai quickly asked, "Hong Zhu, has the news been blocked?"

Upon hearing this, Hong Zhu quickly replied, "I just received the news and rushed over. I didn't dare to shout along the way, but I don't know if anyone else has spread the news!"

Upon hearing this, Leng Feibai felt a sense of foreboding and turned to Li Chengru, saying, "Your Highness, leave the military tally behind and lead the Imperial Guards to seal off the four gates of the capital. This is to prevent the news from getting out and letting Li Chengze and Li Chengqian know that they might take the opportunity to start a rebellion!"

Li Chengru nodded after hearing this, immediately returned the token to Fan Xian, and hurried out.

Upon seeing this, Fan Xian immediately left the palace and led Wang Qinian in two separate groups.

He took the token and went to the garrison of the Kyoto garrison to mobilize troops to reinforce the four gates of Kyoto.

Wang Qinian, carrying his official badge, mobilized all personnel from the Censorate in Beijing to maintain order and stability on the streets, lest anyone take the opportunity to cause trouble.

"Godfather, Prince Jing!"

Leng Feibai cupped his hands in greeting to Prince Jing and said, "I've also gone to help at the city gate. I'll leave the safety of the palace to you!"

Fan Jian and Prince Jing nodded after hearing this, indicating that the palace was in their hands and that the children didn't need to worry about it.

The next morning, at the south gate of Kyoto, Leng Feibai stood on the city wall, looking at the large camp that had been set up overnight not far away. The figures inside the camp were none other than the five thousand private soldiers under Li Chengze's command.

Such a camp also appeared in the east of the city, where five thousand private soldiers brought by Li Chengqian and Qin Ye were stationed.

Leng Feibai looked at the distant camp and then at the soldiers around him. He gathered stones, logs, molten gold, bows and arrows on the city wall, but his heart was extremely calm.

Seeing this, Li Chengru explained to Leng Feibai, "The defensive supplies prepared in the city have all been transported to the four city gates, with the most at the south and east gates! Although there are also people assigned to the west and north gates, there are only a few hundred guarding them. However, I think those two city gates should be fine!"

Leng Feibai nodded and said, "They don't have many troops at their disposal, so concentrating on one city gate and taking a steady approach is the safest option. Dividing their forces to attack all four city gates is also quite risky. By the way, who has been assigned to the other three city gates?"

Li Chengru recalled for a moment and then began to explain, "Fan Xian, along with Shadow and Gao Da from the Surveillance Bureau, guarded the East Gate; Yan Ruohai and Yan Bingyun, along with the people from the Fourth and Third Bureaus, guarded the North Gate. The two heads of the Second and Fifth Bureaus guarded the West Gate together. Director Chen, along with the remaining two heads of the Seventh and Eighth Bureaus, maintained order in the city!"

After listening, Leng Feibai gazed into the distance and couldn't help but say, "Now let's see who gets here first, Li Chengzhe or Li Chengqian."

Seeing this, Li Chengru said nothing more, but couldn't help but let out a sigh.

"You're feeling sorry for them!"

Seeing the gloom on Li Chengru's face, Leng Feibai spoke up and saw through his thoughts.

"I guess so! Brother Leng, you told me about your childhood with Fan Xian before. Today, I'll tell you about what we were like when we were kids."

Li Chengru sighed and said, "Back when we were kids, we were pretty close brothers. The second and third brothers, I mean the Crown Prince, were also good brothers who would share a snack. Although I wasn't well received in the palace because of my bloodline, I got along well with those two and Wan'er."

(End of this chapter)