The Tyrant of the Great Qian Dynasty: Not only will I refuse to arrange a marriage alliance, but I w

The night was deep, engulfing the entire capital city.

The deafening shouts of battle that had filled the daytime had ceased, but the shadow of war had not dissipated; on the contrary, it seemed even more intense in the darkness of night.

Inside a villa in the city that had already been sealed off, the lights were still on.

This place was once a secret stronghold used by the former Prime Minister Zhao Kang to raise his retainers and assassins.

In the previous city-wide raids, this place was deliberately "overlooked" by those with ulterior motives.

In a secret room deep within the villa, a dozen or so figures were gathered together.

Their faces all wore a complex expression that was a mixture of fear, resentment, and greed.

The leader was a middle-aged man with a sinister face.

He is Zhao Qin, the younger brother of the former prime minister Zhao Kang, who is now the vice minister of the Ministry of Personnel.

The elder brother's head is still hanging high above the north gate, exposed to the sun and wind, for the soldiers and civilians of the whole city to "pay their respects".

This was a great disgrace to him and to the entire Zhao family.

A middle-aged man, resembling a retainer, said anxiously, his face full of worry. "My lord, you saw what the Ninth Prince did during the day. He even dared to imprison his own sister, and he kills without batting an eye. If we act now, what if... what if we fail? Our Zhao family will truly be doomed!"

He was terrified by Su Zhe's ruthless methods during the day.

In his view, Su Zhe was a madman who didn't play by the rules, and going against a madman would not end well.

"Snapped!"

A crisp slap rang out.

Zhao Qin slapped the retainer hard across the face, the force of which sent him sprawling to the ground, half of his cheek quickly swelling and turning red.

"Womanly compassion!" Zhao Qin's voice was shrill, filled with barely suppressed hatred. "Do you think the question now is whether we'll lay a hand on him or not? It's whether that little beast will let us go!"

He pointed towards the north of the city, his eyes bloodshot, and roared, "My brother's head is still hanging there! Do you think he'll take pity on us and spare hundreds of members of the Zhao family if we back down now?"

"dream!"

Zhao Qin's eyes were colder than a scorpion in the night.

"The more ruthless he acts, the more guilty he is! He's trying to cover up his lack of troops with slaughter! The three major camps in the capital are already rotten to the core; all he can rely on are those few thousand elite troops of dubious origin! As long as we set fire to his city, leaving him unable to attend to both ends, he'll be doomed once Huyan Ba's army arrives!"

These words calmed the previously fearful atmosphere in the secret room somewhat.

Yes, they have no way out.

Either watch Su Zhe settle scores with them one by one, or fight to the death for yourself and your family, hoping to gain merit in the process of becoming the new emperor.

At this moment, another aide, thin and with a goatee, spoke up.

His voice was hoarse, like two pieces of sandpaper rubbing together.

"The Vice Minister is right. There's no turning back once the arrow is released. However, we received a secret order from the Great Chanyu to open the South Gate at midnight. But the general guarding the South Gate is Zhang Hu, whom that old eunuch Wei An promoted himself. It's said that he's extremely loyal and impervious to reason. Our men can't even get close to him. How are we supposed to open this gate?"

This is the most critical and also the most difficult problem at present.

If they fail to open the city gates on time and anger Huyan Ba, they will not fare well even if the city falls in the future.

Upon hearing this question, Zhao Qin's violent expression transformed into a strange smile.

He slowly took out a small white porcelain bottle, no bigger than a thumb, from his bosom and gently placed it on the table.

"Who said we were going to force it?"

His voice was low and sinister, sending chills down one's spine.

"I've investigated Zhang Hu, the garrison commander of the South Gate. He's a very filial son. He has an elderly mother who is bedridden and needs medicine from a pharmacy called 'Jishetang' in the city every day to keep her alive."

Zhao Qin's fingertips gently tapped the small porcelain bottle.

"And this Jishetang happens to be an asset that my Zhao family established many years ago."

The breath caught in their throats. They vaguely guessed what Zhao Qin was about to do.

"The contents of this bottle," Zhao Qin's smile grew even more smug, "are colorless and odorless. Just add a single drop to the medicine he delivers, and his old mother's illness will 'take a sharp turn for the worse,' beyond even the help of a miracle worker."

"Then, our people will tell Zhang Hu that the antidote is something only we have in the whole world. If he wants his mother to live, he should obediently open the city gates at midnight."

Zhao Qin grinned, revealing a set of gleaming white teeth.

"Even just opening a crack just wide enough for one person to pass through would be enough."

This scheme is as insidious as striking the heart. It uses no weapons, yet it is sharper than any weapon, because it targets the softest and most vulnerable part of the human heart—family ties.

Everyone was shocked by the ruthlessness of this plan.

One of the younger retainers turned pale and his lips trembled as he listened.

He couldn't help but stand up, his voice trembling as he said, "Your Excellency, this...this is far too vicious! To even use an old lady on her deathbed..."

He hadn't finished speaking.

Zhao Qin's eyes suddenly turned extremely sinister.

Without any warning, he pulled a dagger from his boot and appeared before the young retainer in a flash.

A flash of cold light!

"Pfft!"

The sharp dagger pierced the young retainer's heart with lightning speed.

The young retainer's eyes widened as he looked down at the wound on his chest from which blood was gushing, his face filled with disbelief.

He tried to say something, but in the end he only spat out a mouthful of blood and collapsed limply.

Warm blood splattered on the faces of several people around them, and the hot, pungent sensation made their bodies stiffen like statues.

Those who achieve great things do not concern themselves with trivial matters.

Zhao Qin took out a silk handkerchief and slowly wiped the blood off the dagger, his expression calm and composed, as if he had just slaughtered a chicken.

He slowly swept his cold eyes over everyone present.

"Anyone who dares to undermine morale will face this fate!"

Inside the sealed room, no one dared to make a sound.

Everyone lowered their heads, silent and trembling, afraid that they would be next.

The threat of death is far more effective than moral condemnation.

Zhao Qin was very satisfied with the result. He put the dagger back into his boot and began assigning tasks.

"Go to Jishetang and deliver this bottle of 'medicine' there, and explain clearly what to do."

"Once the drug takes effect, contact Zhang Hu. You know what to say, right?"

"You few, go and prepare the men. Once the city gates open, create chaos throughout the south of the city, burn the granaries, and draw the defenders' attention to buy time for the main army to enter the city!"

He looked at the greed in everyone's eyes, suppressed by fear, and then threw out the final bait.

"Once this is accomplished, we will be the founding heroes who assisted the Great Chanyu in conquering the Central Plains! At that time, all the wealth and power of the Great Qian Dynasty will be at our disposal!"

Driven by both the threat of death and the promise of the future, a renewed fervor reignited in everyone's eyes.

"Yes! We obey!"

Everyone accepted the order and dispersed to prepare to carry out this wicked plan.

Everything is arranged properly.

A man in black, carrying a porcelain bottle containing a specially made "medicine," left the courtyard and nimbly disappeared into the night of the capital, heading towards Jishetang.

The entire plan was meticulously crafted, insidious yet highly efficient.

In Zhao Qin's and others' view, this was simply flawless and foolproof.

None of them noticed.

Shortly after the man in black left the villa, a figure quietly appeared in the shadows of a pavilion across the street.

He watched silently in the direction the man in black had gone, then looked up at the still brightly lit courtyard, a cold smile playing on his lips.

This person was one of Wei An's most elite Shadow Dragon Guards.

He turned and disappeared into the deeper darkness.

A moment later, a well-trained homing pigeon flew out of the attic, with a small bamboo tube tied to its wing.

The carrier pigeon did not fly towards the palace, but instead flew towards another inconspicuous house in the city.

That courtyard was the temporary residence of the old eunuch Wei An.

The note inside the bamboo tube contained only a few words, yet they were enough to explain everything:

"South Gate, Zhang Hu, Mother, Medicine."