Zhutian: Starting from the Space-Time Merchant

Chapter 569 The Runaway Prince, the Desperate Emperor, and the Desperate Consort

'Whoosh whoosh~'

‘Bang bang! ’

"Kill them!"

"He who captures the tyrant will be granted a title of nobility!"

"Protect the Emperor! Protect the Emperor!"

Centered on Iron Net Mountain, tens of thousands of troops engaged in a frenzied battle.

The rebels shouted and brandished their swords, spears, halberds, and shields, bracing themselves against the defenders' powerful crossbows and muskets. They rushed outside the camp to fill in the trenches, pull out the deer antlers, and remove the barricades.

They stabbed each other through the fence.

Blood splattered everywhere, and life vanished rapidly.

"Your Majesty!"

A rebel general rushed up to Shui Rong and complained loudly, "There are too many muskets on the mountain, we can't get up there!"

If crossbows could still be blocked by iron shields and armor, then muskets were unstoppable.

Even the bravest warrior cannot withstand the barrage of musket fire.

This kind of blow is extremely damaging to morale.

In the era of cold weapons, low morale basically guaranteed defeat.

The general looked up and met Shui Rong's bloodshot eyes.

"We can't get through."

Shui Rong gritted her teeth and said, word by word, "We all have to die!"

He gasped for breath, glancing around at the crowd.

"Think it through, all of you!"

"We are rebelling!"

"It's not just my own life, but the lives of my whole family and my entire clan!"

"Think carefully about what will happen to us if we let that old scoundrel return to the capital!"

All the generals looked solemn.

They were mostly from privileged backgrounds, so they knew the consequences of a failed uprising.

The entire family will be doomed.

He had a large family, with distant branches even in places like Jiangnan.

After all, not everyone is as powerful as Wei Xiaobao, who not only couldn't find his own whereabouts, but also his entire family.

The morale of the group improved, but the problem remained unresolved.

"The dog emperor must have already received the news, which is why so many musketeers are stationed in the camp."

"We can't make it by just charging in."

"Even if we build a temporary shield vehicle, it's difficult to push it to the front of the camp due to the steep slope."

"What can we do?"

At this moment, Shui Rong smiled.

I have always believed in an old saying.

"Money can make the world go round!"

“Once the reward is offered, there will be those who are not afraid to risk their lives.”

"I refuse to believe that the emperor's musketeers, with their gunpowder, could kill all these tens of thousands of people!"

As dawn broke, one heavy box after another was carried to the front lines.

Upon opening the box, gleaming silver ingots were tilted and poured onto the ground, piling up like a mountain.

The surrounding rebels all breathed heavily.

"Chargeers!"

"Twenty taels per person for departure expenses!"

"Whoever kills an armored soldier will be rewarded with one hundred taels of silver and promoted one rank!"

"Whoever kills the guerrilla general will be rewarded with five thousand taels of silver and the rank of guerrilla general!"

"Slay the adjutant!"

"Slay!"

"Kill the bandit king, Zhongshun Wangzhe, and you will be rewarded with 100,000 taels of silver and a title of nobility!"

"Whoever kills the tyrannical emperor will be rewarded with 500,000 taels of silver! He will be made a king! The empress and imperial concubines will also be granted such titles!"

"Kill them all for the sake of the Emperor Emeritus!"

Ordinary soldiers had no contact with emperors or princes.

They were facing officers of all ranks.

The military training of all dynasties was essentially about turning soldiers into killing machines that only obeyed orders.

The soldiers would only obey their superiors' orders.

When their superiors said the retired emperor wanted to depose the emperor, they had no choice but to follow suit.

Following in the footsteps of rebels is a habit, but what truly motivates them to risk their lives is the generous reward.

Embezzlement and misappropriation of military pay, exploitation of soldiers for personal gain, and other such practices also existed in the Great Zhou capital garrison.

Therefore, their income is not high.

Twenty taels of silver is enough for a family to live a good life for two years.

One hundred taels of silver could buy a house in the south of the city.

If it's five thousand taels and I can still become a general, then my family genealogy will be opened separately!

For these soldiers who would never have the chance to rise in social class in their entire lives, the titles of emperors and princes were completely out of their reach.

Naturally, there would be no loyalty to speak of.

When the opportunity for upward mobility arises, the morale of the rebels immediately soars.

Seeing a large number of soldiers step forward to receive their silver, their morale was visibly boosted.

Shui Rong finally felt a little relieved.

He even had the inclination to make a few teasing remarks to Lin Dao.

"Thanks to that great traitor! If it weren't for his generous donation, we wouldn't have the morale we have today!"

"This credit... hmm, he deserves a proper burial!"

Shui Rong couldn't help but burst into laughter when she thought about how Lin Dao had shamelessly declared his desire to become emperor during their previous meeting.

"How dare a mere peasant aspire to the supreme position?"

"Only someone of my noble birth is qualified to hold this position!"

"Pooh!"

Shui Rong only remembered that he was a noble prince, but forgot that his ancestors were just peasants when the country was founded.

Iron Net Mountain Camp, Grain Depot.

On the top of one of the grain depots, Lin Dao, holding a high-powered telescope, was surveying the surroundings from his vantage point.

"The Mengwu tribe is quick to run."

"If you dare to stay, we'll send you to keep the Tartars company on the journey."

It's acceptable for the emperor and nobles of the Great Zhou to fight amongst themselves, but it's not acceptable for the barbarian Tartars to try and take advantage of the chaos.

He withdrew his gaze and began to focus on the battle outside the camp. He was very familiar with the noisy battlefield environment and was quite used to it.

He put away the binoculars and took out a handheld camera to carefully record the event.

With their morale greatly boosted, the rebels launched a fierce attack, supported by some artillery that had been painstakingly transported up the mountain.

The emperor's camp also had cannons, more than the rebels'.

However, the number of rebels was far greater than previously estimated.

The emperor, who had been prepared in advance, now had a grim face and paced back and forth with his hands behind his back, demanding, "When will Feng Tang and the others arrive?!"

He was indeed prepared.

Not only were a large number of elite armored soldiers stationed inside the main camp, but border troops led by Feng Tang and others were also deployed on the periphery as support.

However, the size of the rebel army exceeded expectations, and now the camp is clearly indefensible. The only hope is reinforcements.

"Probably~"

King Chungsun, who was constantly wiping away sweat with a handkerchief, tried to appear calm and said, "We should arrive before noon."

This time, they really messed up.

He originally planned to use himself as bait to lure out the rebellious nobles, and then eliminate them in one fell swoop with their help.

In this way, the problem of the nobles who had plagued the imperial power for many years could be solved.

I never expected the rebels to be so large!
Of the twelve battalions of the Beijing Garrison, more than half have rebelled.

Many of those who didn't rebel also sat on the sidelines watching the fight, guarding their camps and refusing to come out.

It's all because of those strange noises last night. So many Beijing garrison officers were called out by name; they had no choice but to rebel.

Thinking of this, Prince Chungshun glanced at the emperor discreetly and sighed inwardly.

"Brother, your reputation for being harsh and ungrateful over the years is the death knell for you today."

'The generals who were named, we can't believe it!'

"Your Majesty," King Chungshun rose, "your younger brother is going to oversee the battle!"

As the emperor watched Prince Chungshun's departing figure, his eyes were filled with gloom.

King Chungshun did go to supervise the battle, but he only shouted a few times.

"Hold on!"

"Hold on~~"

Seeing that things were not going well, and that the rebels had already fought their way into the camp, they immediately turned around and ran away.

They naturally didn't go to the emperor's palace, as it was the main target of the rebels; going there would have meant certain death.

He rushed into the granary and hid in an inconspicuous warehouse.

Despite his chubby appearance, King Chungshun was quite clever.

The camp contained a lot of wealth, but the value of the grain was the lowest.

But food is an important military supply, and it wouldn't be burned by the rebels.

Hiding here offers the best chance of holding out until reinforcements arrive.

King Chungshun huffed and puffed as he carried the heavy sacks of grain, making a gap in the sack so he could hide inside.

But there was a noise coming from above.

He subconsciously looked up and was astonished to see a fully armored figure leap down from the top of the granary and land right behind him.

King Chungshun broke out in a cold sweat.

The newcomer was tall and burly, clad in finely crafted armor, and wore a menacing bronze mask.

From a pair of holes in the bronze surface, sharp eyes, like knives, fell upon King Chungshun.

After staring at each other for a moment, the armored man turned around and walked out of the granary.

King Zhongshun collapsed to the ground, clutching his chest and breathing heavily.

He was genuinely terrified; his heart was pounding.

After a while, the sounds of fighting outside grew closer and closer. King Zhongshun struggled to get up and continued carrying grain sacks, making himself a hiding place.

Lin Dao walked through the palace.

The fishing in Tiewangshan takes place roughly every three years.

This place naturally contains the emperor's imperial palace and camp.

Although it cannot compare to the imperial palace, it is still quite large.

By this time, the rebels had already stormed into the palace and were engaged in the most brutal street fighting with the defending troops.

When they encountered Lin Dao, both the rebels and the garrison would actively attack him.

However, they were all just courting death.

No one could withstand even a single bullet from Lin Dao.

After going around in circles, they finally arrived at the place where the emperor was.

There were no more armored soldiers outside the gate, and even the palace maids and eunuchs had scattered and fled.

Here, Lin Dao also unexpectedly encounters Xia Shouzhong, the eunuch of the Six Palaces, who is disguised as a palace maid.

Lin Dao glanced at Xia Shouzhong, who was fleeing with a heavy bundle on his shoulder, and chuckled without stopping him.

The rebels, who had survived countless battles, were most averse to wealth and women.

Xia Shouzhong will not be able to escape, and his fate will be terrible.

Upon reaching the half-open door, one could hear shouts and commotion from inside.

The screams of women rose and fell.

Inside the room just a door away, the emperor, wielding a sharp blade, slashed at a concubine.

The screams were extremely piercing.

He had practiced martial arts for a period of time when he was young, but unfortunately he turned to using power and intrigue, and had long since abandoned his skills.

Now, wielding the Emperor's Sword, he finds even killing women difficult.

The concubines who came with them to Tiewang Mountain have mostly collapsed, some injured and some dead.

Only the Empress and Jia Yuanchun, who was lying on the ground trembling, remained.

"His Majesty!"

The queen trembled as she raised her head.

She closed her eyes, tears streaming down her face. "Cut it here!"

"Zitong!" The emperor exclaimed, tears welling in his eyes. "You go first, I will follow shortly!"

The sword flashed, and the empress clutched her neck and collapsed to the ground, coughing up blood.

The emperor, his eyes bloodshot with rage, gasped for breath as he approached the trembling Jia Yuanchun, sword still dripping blood.

At this point, Jia Yuanchun was so frightened that she couldn't get up.

She screamed in despair, "I don't want to die!"

"Someone, please save me!"

"I'd be willing to be a slave or a maid!"

"Save me~~~"

'Boom! '

The door was kicked open!

(End of this chapter)