Ask the mountains and rivers

Chapter 380 Internal Strife (Part Two)

General Zhang, who had been stabbed, had blood gushing from his chest like a spring.

In the face of death, General Zhang became even more ferocious than usual. Ignoring his mortally wounded state, he shouted, "Kill them all!"

The Bohai Navy soldiers outside the door, hearing the commotion, broke down the door and pounced on the enemy like wolves.

The powerless eunuch Shen was soon brought to his throat by a long knife.

"Where is the Emperor?" General Zhang clutched his chest wound, his expression twisted like a vengeful ghost.

Eunuch Shen trembled slightly and gritted his teeth, saying, "You traitorous scoundrel, everyone has the right to kill you."

General Zhang's gaze grew increasingly fierce, gesturing with his eyes. A flash of light, and Eunuch Shen's arm fell to the ground, accompanied by a bloodcurdling scream.

"Where is the Emperor hiding?" General Zhang asked again in a cold voice, enduring the excruciating pain.

Eunuch Shen was in so much pain that he almost fainted, and he couldn't utter a word. He just spat out a sound.

General Zhang had no patience to argue with him any longer. He gave another look, and the blade flashed again. This time, what rolled to the ground was Eunuch Shen's head.

The head rolled several times on the ground before stopping, its eyes still open.

More than a hundred men against fifty of the emperor's personal guards—an overwhelming advantage. In no time, the imperial study was stained red with blood.

The imperial physician, pale with fright, was brought over and hurriedly bandaged and treated General Zhang's wounds.

General Zhang could no longer move, so he simply lay down on the dragon bed and squeezed out two sentences: "Send five thousand men from outside the palace into the palace to clean up the court and find out the emperor's whereabouts!"

The trusted guards accepted the order and left.

What happened that night was a common occurrence in the chaos of dynastic changes, and would probably be just a fleeting sentence in history books.

However, in the present moment, it means real bloodshed.

Five thousand Bohai soldiers brazenly entered the palace, and the emperor's personal guards immediately drove them away, resulting in a swift and fierce battle. Unarmed eunuchs and palace servants perished under the blades.

The cries of agony were incessant.

The ground was stained red with blood.

The palace lanterns, swaying precariously in the cold wind, cast dappled shadows, too painful to illuminate this human tragedy.

By midnight, General Zhang's men had completely taken control of the palace.

Emperor Jian'an, now dressed in the clothes of a eunuch, was finally found. He had been hiding in Eunuch Shen's room the whole time.

General Zhang had been stabbed in the chest; his wound was extremely severe, rendering him unable to get out of bed or move. He glared angrily at the deathly pale Emperor Jian'an and uttered a few words: "You want to kill me?"

When the moment comes that soldiers clash, words seem pale in comparison.

Emperor Jian'an's lips moved as if he had something to say, but for some reason, he didn't utter a single word.

General Zhang, lying on the bed, was breathing rapidly and violently, while Emperor Jian'an, standing before the bed, was deathly pale and trembling. These two, once inseparable uncle and nephew, were suddenly about to face each other in life and death.

General Zhang let out a few heavy breaths, then squeezed out another question: "Why?"

why?
How dare you ask why?
Emperor Jian'an laughed bitterly: "Is there any emperor more pathetic than me? Over the years, I have listened to the General and obeyed his every word. The General is arrogant, domineering, and intolerant, but I have tolerated it all."

"But why did you kill the old woman Pei? Why did you force Pei Qinghe to send troops?"

"The Pei family army is right outside the city and has been besieging it for nearly two months. At this rate, it's only a matter of time before Bohai County falls."

"I won't kill you, but once Pei Qinghe enters the city, she'll kill me. I'll use your head to save my life, why can't I?" "I've lost, I have nothing to say. Just have your men kill me!"

Emperor Jian'an finally showed some backbone and closed his eyes to await his death.

General Zhang's eyes were bloodshot. With just one order from him, Emperor Jian'an's head would roll on the ground.

Suddenly, a woman's crying voice rang out from outside the door: "Let me in!"

Zhang Jingwan, her face deathly pale, stepped over the mangled corpses scattered on the ground and entered the bedroom. She immediately saw her father lying on the bed with a large bloodstain on his chest, and then she saw her husband with a long knife pressed against his neck.

Tears streamed down her face like a spring.

"Father, please don't kill him." Zhang Jingwan cried, her words broken and fragmented: "Just spare his life for your daughter's sake."

General Zhang was too weak to speak; he could only glare fiercely at Zhang Jingwan.

Zhang Jingwan knelt down with a thud, pleading, "Father, spare his life. The throne and the empire will be yours. All I want is a house so I can stay with my cousin."

The dragon throne? The empire?
The Pei family army is about to invade; what empire will remain?
A thought suddenly flashed through General Zhang's mind. He narrowed his eyes and slowly uttered four words: "I will not kill him."

Zhang Jingwan was overjoyed and kowtowed three times.

Emperor Jian'an, who had narrowly escaped death, stood with his head held high, his forehead dripping with cold sweat. The next moment, however, he closed his eyes, unwilling to face General Zhang's icy gaze.

General Zhang whispered a few instructions to his personal guards.

The guard nodded and accepted the order, then unceremoniously escorted Emperor Jian'an, who was dressed in eunuch's robes, out of the palace.

Zhang Jingwan was horrified and tried to chase after him, but was stopped by swords. Behind her came her father's cold voice: "I won't kill him, let Pei Qinghe do it!"

……

"General, something's not right on the city walls today!"

Tao Feng, who had gone to the city walls to provoke a verbal battle, rode around for a while and soon returned with a strange expression: "There are no soldiers guarding the city today, only one person standing on the city wall."

"I couldn't see the person's height or appearance clearly from a distance. However, I had a feeling that this person was quite unusual."

Pei Qinghe's gaze sharpened: "I'll go take a look."

Pei Qinghe rode forward and stopped just outside the maximum range of the arrows. At this point, he was about a thousand meters away from the city wall, and the lone figure on the wall was only the size of a finger. He couldn't make out the person's face at all.

But that bright yellow outfit was really eye-catching and glaring.

Could this person be...?

A thought flashed through Pei Qinghe's mind, and her brows furrowed suddenly.

Another figure appeared on the city wall, shouting loudly: "The Emperor is here! The Pei family army is not allowed to attack the city! Retreat immediately!"

Countless soldiers joined in shouting, "The Emperor is here! The Pei family army, retreat immediately!"

The sounds converged like thunder, resonating in everyone's hearts.

"That's so despicable!" Pei Yan was the first to shout angrily, "They've even resorted to such a despicable method! Bah! So shameless!"

“We’re so far away, who knows if it’s real or fake?” Pei Yun was much calmer. “Maybe General Zhang sent someone to impersonate the emperor to force us to retreat. We’ll just send troops to attack the city! If that unlucky guy impersonating the emperor dies under a hail of arrows, that’s his fate.”

Pei Qinghe glanced at Pei Yun: "No rush, let's find out the situation first."

(End of this chapter)