I, Emperor Chongzhen, have extended the life of the Ming Dynasty by five hundred years.

The night was as dark as ink, and the starlight gradually dimmed.

Several lights were on at the camp south of the city, as if they were preparing for something.

Zhao Yong led a troop of soldiers at breakneck speed, and the soldiers on duty rushed forward to intercept them.

"Who goes there? Halt immediately!"

"I am Zhao Yong, the detachment commander of the central army camp's outpost, here to deliver an order. Who is in charge here?"

Upon hearing the words "Imperial Decree," the guard dared not delay and hurriedly returned to report.

The general stationed here was named Liu Jinfeng, one of Chen Yan's confidants. Hearing that Zhao Yong was coming, he already had a feeling about it.

"General Zhao, what brings you here so late at night?"

Liu Jinfeng tried to remain calm, but his eyes betrayed his panic.

Zhao Yong held the imperial edict high in his hand: "By order of His Majesty, Chen Yan has rebelled, and all his military orders are hereby abolished. You must await further instructions and are not to act without authorization! Those who disobey will be treated as treasoners and executed without mercy!"

Upon hearing this, Liu Jinfeng's expression changed drastically, but he quickly regained his composure.

"General Zhao, where is His Majesty? And how did this imperial edict come about?"

Zhao Yong replied, "His Majesty is in the camp. The imperial edict is stamped with His Majesty's personal seal. If you don't believe me, come and see for yourself!"

Liu Jinfeng, feeling suspicious, asked, "General Zhao, may I have the imperial edict to look at?"

Zhao Yong, expressionless, tossed the imperial edict over.

Under the torchlight, Liu Jinfeng examined it carefully and, sure enough, the signature was stamped with the Emperor's Seal.

He had already received word that the Shun army would enter the city tomorrow, and from then on, the Ming army would be renamed the Shun army.

Unexpectedly, His Majesty left the capital at this crucial moment.

The current situation is such that the arrow is on the bowstring and must be released, so we have no choice but to disobey the imperial decree!

"General Zhao, there is a problem with this imperial edict. Please forgive me for not being able to obey."

Zhao Yong gripped the hilt of his sword and asked, "Do you intend to defy the imperial decree?"

"General Zhao, please don't misunderstand!"

Liu Jinfeng waved his hand and said, "The imperial edict does not have the cabinet's signature. I am a rough man and do not know many characters. It is too late at night to distinguish between the real and fake. Let's wait until dawn and hand it over to Chief Minister Chen for identification before making a decision."

"I just made myself very clear: Chen Yan plotted a rebellion, and His Majesty issued a temporary decree, which was naturally an imperial edict!"

In the Ming Dynasty, imperial edicts were not something the emperor could issue at will; a complete process was required.

To put it simply, when the emperor had an idea, he would first consult with his trusted ministers, who would then raise it in court. After discussion and reaching a consensus, the cabinet would draft a proposal, the Directorate of Ceremonial Affairs would approve it, and then it would be promulgated and implemented.

This was done for the sake of the overall situation. If the emperor himself had proposed it but failed to gain approval, it would have inevitably led to a situation where the emperor and his ministers were at odds.

If the suggestion were made by a courtier, even if no consensus was reached, the proposal would simply be rejected, and the emperor would not be offended.

The imperial edict, on the other hand, is completely different. It refers to an edict issued directly by the emperor without going through the drafting process of the cabinet.

Such imperial edicts naturally had much less authority, and the cabinet and the six ministries had the power to reject them, refusing to execute them and returning the edict intact.

Liu Jinfeng seized upon this loophole, refusing to comply, yet no one could find fault with it.

"General Zhao, this matter is of great importance. Please allow me to discuss it with the other generals before making a decision."

Zhao Yong wasn't about to give him that chance, and suddenly said, "I think you're trying to stall until the Shun army enters the city!"

"You... Zhao Manzi, stop talking nonsense!"

"snort!"

Zhao Yong sneered and continued, "Chen Yan has committed treason and rebellion. If you continue to be obstinate, you will be making enemies of the imperial court!"

Seeing this, Liu Jinfeng knew that he would not be able to let the matter rest tonight.

After a moment's thought, I made a decision.

His actions were already a capital offense.

Since there's no way out, we have no choice but to start the uprising ahead of schedule!

"Hahaha……"

Liu Jinfeng suddenly burst into laughter and said, "Zhao Yong, you're just a mere lieutenant general, yet you dare to swagger in front of me? Soldiers, listen to my command! This man is falsely conveying an imperial edict and plotting a rebellion. Seize him!"

"Traitor, prepare to die!"

Zhao Yong was prepared. He pulled out his spiked club with his backhand, gripped the horse's belly tightly with his legs, and charged forward.

Liu Jinfeng didn't dare to delay and quickly shouted, "Someone, stop him!"

boom!

Zhao Yong swung his spiked club in a wide arc and smashed it into a soldier's chest.

The pawn flew through the air and crashed to the ground without uttering a sound.

Liu Jinfeng realized something was wrong. Although this barbarian was simple-minded, his fighting ability was genuine.

Seeing the enemy charging straight at him, he was so frightened that he quickly retreated and ordered his personal guards to intercept them.

Wielding a spiked club, Zhao Yong killed anyone who stood in his way, leaving screams of agony filling the air. Seeing this, the others retreated hastily.

boom!

Liu Jinfeng was fleeing when he was struck squarely on the back.

He flew far away like a kite with a broken string, crashing heavily to the ground, spitting out blood.

At this moment, he was extremely annoyed. He had prepared for so long, but he never expected that a barbarian named Zhao would suddenly rush out and start fighting without any reason!

We were careless; we didn't take any precautions beforehand.

"Those who resist the decree will die!"

Zhao Yong raised his spiked club and slammed it down hard.

"No, no... don't kill me! I even treated you to a meal!"

boom!

The skull was shattered, and brain matter and blood splattered everywhere.

Zhao Yong wiped the blood from his face and shouted, "By order of His Majesty, you have been deceived. If you lay down your weapons, we will forgive and forget!"

"If you disobey to the end, this will be your fate!"

The rough voice echoed in the night sky, and everyone looked at each other, completely at a loss.

In fact, not everyone participated in the rebellion.

Apart from Liu Jinfeng and a few high-ranking military officers, most of the others were kept in the dark.

Seeing that Liu Jinfeng had been executed, the crowd naturally dared not make any rash moves.

Soon, Zhao Yong led his men in and stormed in, taking control of all the high-ranking officers and binding them tightly with ropes, making them look like rice dumplings.

During this process, some people still resisted, but they met a terrible end, just like Liu Jinfeng.

"Listen up, all of you!"

In the candlelight, Zhao Yong, covered in blood and wielding a spiked club, looked like a god of death.

"I, Zhao, have come here overnight on His Majesty's orders!"

"Chen Yan plotted a rebellion, and Liu Jinfeng was one of his confidants. Considering that you were deceived by him, you are hereby exempted from punishment and will not be treated as accomplices!"

"The Emperor's entourage has arrived in Baoding. From now on, everyone must act according to the imperial decree!"

"Anyone who harbors ill intentions and informs the thieves will be treated as a traitor and their entire family will be executed!"

Everyone turned pale; some knew beforehand, while others did not.

However, judging from His Majesty's words, it seems that as long as one draws a clear line with Chen Yan and Liu Jinfeng in time, past transgressions can be forgiven.

"We're all brothers-in-arms, I don't want to kill everyone!"

"However, if you remain stubborn and insist on going down this dark path, don't blame us for turning our backs on you. Do you all understand?"

Upon hearing this, everyone quickly nodded in agreement, not daring to utter another word of nonsense.

Zhao Yong nodded in satisfaction, then ordered, "Two men, stand guard here. If there's any disturbance, kill them all!"

"yes!"

The two soldiers agreed and then drew their swords, their blades gleaming coldly.

The crowd grew anxious, and one of the commanders asked, "If the soldiers outside rebel, will they kill us too?"

"right!"

Zhao Yong stared at him, wide-eyed, and asked, "Is there a problem?"

"No...no problem, that makes perfect sense!"

"That's right!"

Zhao Yong nodded in satisfaction, then turned and left.