On our wedding night, my wife acted strangely.

There was finally movement on the city wall, and Zhang Yong appeared behind the battlements.

"Young Master Wang... allow me to say a few more words."

The fat man didn't lower his hand, but he also didn't give any orders.

"explain."

"This humble general is the commander of the Imperial Guards, and I eat the food of the royal family. His Majesty has ordered this humble general to defend the capital to the death, and this humble general cannot disobey."

The fat man frowned.

Zhang Yong continued, "But I am not stupid. I understand that three thousand Imperial Guards cannot defeat one thousand Divine Machine Battalion soldiers. If this battle breaks out today, all those who die will be my own men, other people's sons. Therefore, I have a request."

"explain."

"This humble general will not open the door, but neither will he order the arrows to be fired. If Young Master Wang wishes to come in, he may do so himself. My men will not lay a hand on you, but this humble general himself will not surrender!"

The fat man was stunned for a moment after hearing this.

What does that mean?

You can do whatever you want, I won't stop you, but I won't kneel either.

Is that so?

The fat man glanced back at the formation behind him, then at Zhang Yong on the city wall, and a smirk appeared on his lips.

"Commander Zhang, you're a real man, you bastard."

The fat man lowered his hand, turned to the messenger and said, "Go tell the brothers with the battering ram to break down the gate. No need for the eight-ox crossbows anymore, so we don't collapse the gate tower and bury people again."

The messenger responded and spurred his horse to gallop away.

A moment later, a huge log covered with iron was carried up by twenty strong men.

thump—

thump—

thump—

On the third strike, the Xuanwu Gate burst open with a deafening roar.

A gust of cold wind blew in, carrying with it the dust and the smell of rust from outside.

Upon seeing this, the Imperial Guards standing on both sides turned pale, but none of them raised their weapons.

Zhang Yong said they wouldn't make a move, so they didn't.

Of course, even if Zhang Yong hadn't said that, they wouldn't have dared to make a move.

The armored phalanx of the Shenji Battalion surged in through the gate, their footsteps perfectly synchronized. Each soldier held his spear level, the tips pointing forward, forming a dense forest of spears.

The Imperial Guard soldiers automatically moved aside, standing close to the wall, heads bowed, not daring to look.

The fat man rode his mule at the front, and after entering the city gate, he looked up at the city tower.

Zhang Yong stood on it, his hand on his sword, and suddenly let out a sinister laugh.

"Kill them all!!!"

"What? What? What?!" The fat man was dumbfounded, thinking to himself, what happened to the trust between people? Didn't we agree not to fight?

"Zhang Yong, you son of a bitch, you dare to lie to your Fatty!"

"Form ranks to meet the enemy!"

The Shenji Battalion soldiers immediately dispersed and surrounded the fat man in the center.

Zhang Yong continued to roar, "Kill him! What are you all looking at! You are His Majesty's guards, how can you be so cowardly! Kill him!!"

No one moved; everyone stared at him like he was an idiot.

Zhang Yong roared, "You bunch of cowards! Now is your golden opportunity to make a name for yourselves! Kill him and avenge His Majesty!"

"..."

Seeing that the Imperial Guards were itching to rush up and beat Zhang Yong to death, the fat man laughed: "Hahahaha, Zhang Yong, I respected you as a man, but I didn't expect you to go back on your word! You Imperial Guards, listen up, capture Zhang Yong alive! Past transgressions will be forgiven! Otherwise, I'll slaughter you bastards!"

"Ah..." This fatso has killed quite a few people.

He said he wanted to massacre, and who dared not believe him? So immediately, the Imperial Guards rushed forward. Zhang Yong was no match for their numbers and was quickly tied up.

The fat man shouted, "Make this bastard kneel at the palace gate! I'll deal with him when I get back. Damn it, he dared to lie to me!"

After saying that, the fat man made a hand gesture and led the Shenji Battalion to continue walking into the palace.

Along the way, all the Imperial Guards they encountered gave way to them.

Some put their weapons on the ground, while others squatted down against the wall with their hands behind their heads.

No one resisted.

The fat man, riding on a mule, looked at the Imperial Guards squatting on the ground and shook his head.

"This guy calls himself a soldier? He's not even as tough as Tang San from my brother's family, damn it."

The Shenji Battalion advanced very quickly.

It took less than 15 minutes to open up the bridge from Xuanwu Gate to Jinshui Bridge.

All the sentry posts along the way were taken over, and the Imperial Guard soldiers were disarmed and made to squat in an open space.

When the fat man reached the Jinshui Bridge, he reined in the mule and looked back.

Black banners stretched from Xuanwu Gate all the way, one every fifty steps, fluttering in the cold winter wind.

"Pass down the order: Donghua Gate, Xihua Gate, and Meridian Gate to be taken over simultaneously. Anyone who resists will be warned first; if they still refuse, they will be killed on the spot. No more talk!"

"yes!"

The messengers rode off in different directions.

The fat man dismounted from the mule and stood on the Jinshui Bridge, glancing towards the Hall of Mental Cultivation.

It should be almost done over there too.

......

On the square in front of the Hall of Mental Cultivation, more than two hundred Imperial Guard reserves were in complete disarray.

They heard the sounds of banging on the gate and shouts of killing coming from the direction of Xuanwu Gate, and they were all in a panic.

Some wanted to run forward to provide support, some wanted to run back to protect the emperor, and some simply stood still, unsure of what to do.

The leader was a centurion, in his thirties, his face covered in sweat.

"Don't panic! Form ranks!"

Nobody listens to him.

Even Zhang Yong couldn't organize it, let alone him.

Just then, a crossbow bolt fell from the sky and embedded itself in the ground three inches in front of his feet.

Baihu suddenly looked up.

On the rooftop, fifty gray-brown figures stood up simultaneously.

The crossbows were aimed at everyone in the square.

"Don't move." Zhao Dongqing's voice came from the rooftop: "Put down your weapons, put your hands behind your heads, and crouch down. Anyone who moves will be killed!"

The square was quiet for a few seconds, then with a clatter, spears and shields were thrown all over the ground.

More than two hundred Imperial Guards squatted down in unison, clasping their hands behind their heads.

That centurion was the last one to squat down.

Before crouching down, he looked up at the figures on the roof and muttered, "Where the hell did these come from..."

Zhao Dongqing jumped down from the roof, made sure everyone was behaving themselves, and then gave Ma Xiaohu a hand gesture.

The latter, along with several others, jumped down and began collecting weapons and binding prisoners.

Zhao Dongqing then led the rest of the group and quickly walked towards the main gate of the Hall of Mental Cultivation.

The main gate was tightly shut, and four eunuchs stood at the entrance, each one trembling more than the last.

Zhao Dongqing walked to the door and glanced at them.

"Open the door."

The four eunuchs exchanged glances, and one of them, the bolder one, stammered, "This...this soldier, His Majesty is inside..."

Zhao Dongqing didn't repeat himself. He reached out and pushed, and the palace door opened with a bang.

Zhao Dongqing led his men into the front courtyard of the Hall of Mental Cultivation, lined up on both sides of the hall's entrance, and then turned to face outwards, waiting for the prince to arrive.

......

The communications soldier ran out of Xuanwu Gate and gestured to Lin Yi, who was standing on a tall building not far away.

The target area is under control with no casualties. Awaiting further instructions.

Lin Yi's lips twitched slightly, but it wasn't exactly a smile. He turned to the messenger beside him and said, "General offensive."

The messenger raised the command flag and waved it three times forcefully.

From the direction of Xuanwu Gate, the black banners of the Shenji Battalion began to advance at an accelerated pace.

At the same time, the sound of banging on doors came from the directions of Donghua Gate and Xihua Gate.

The entire palace was breached on three sides simultaneously.

Lin Yi mounted his horse and, with a dozen or so personal guards, entered the palace through the Xuanwu Gate.

Along the way, there were Imperial Guard prisoners and Shenji Battalion soldiers on guard duty everywhere.

Upon seeing his horse approach, the soldiers of the Shenji Battalion clasped their hands in salute, but no one uttered a sound.

Lin Yi rode his horse all the way to Jinshui Bridge, where he dismounted.

The fat man came up to him: "Big brother, everything's taken care of. All four gates are under our control. More than 2,800 Imperial Guards have been disarmed, with no casualties. As for Zhang Yong... I ordered his men to tie him up."

Lin Yi nodded and said, "Never mind him, tie him up first."

"Alright."

Lin Yi strode towards the Hall of Mental Cultivation.

The fat man followed behind, and after a few steps, he couldn't help but ask, "Big brother, how's Zhao Dongqing doing?"

"It's under control."

"Damn, those guys are fucking fast." The fat man clicked his tongue. "I hadn't even broken down the door from the outside yet, and they were already sneaking in?"

Lin Yi didn't reply, but kept walking.

After crossing the Jinshui Bridge and passing through the Qianqing Gate, the Yangxin Hall is right in front of you.

Zhao Dongqing led fifty special forces soldiers to line up in the square in front of the palace. When they saw Lin Yi coming, they all knelt down on one knee.

"Reporting to Your Highness, the Hall of Mental Cultivation is now under complete control. All 213 members of the reserve force in front of the hall have been disarmed, and the 17 eunuchs and palace maids inside the hall have been taken into custody. All personnel have returned to their posts without any casualties."

Lin Yi stopped in front of them and nodded lightly: "It's alright."

The gates of the Hall of Mental Cultivation were open at this time.

The candlelight inside the hall was tilted to one side by the draft, and the light and shadow flickered on the ground.

Lin Yi stepped over the threshold.

The hall was warm, and the charcoal brazier was burning brightly, but there was an indescribable smell in the air.

When people are extremely afraid, they emit a sour, foul odor, which Lin Yi has smelled countless times on the battlefield.

Nangong Xiong sat on the dragon throne, his lips blue, his eyes fixed on the palace gate.

Sun Fu stood beside the dragon throne, bowing.

When Lin Yi entered, there were several eunuchs in the hall, all kneeling on the ground with their heads bowed low.

One step, two steps... until Lin Yi stood in the center of the hall, and then he met Nangong Xiong's gaze.