Martial Arts Crossover: It All Started with Hijacking Li Canghai

Before the sound of horses' hooves reached them, the firelight arrived first.

Outside the ruins, countless torches lit up simultaneously on both sides of the street in the distance.

The firelight reflected on the ruins, illuminating the entire wasteland.

Footsteps surged from all four streets simultaneously, accompanied by the clanging sound of armor clashing.

The first row that emerged were not ordinary Eight Banner soldiers.

He was a musketeer.

The house is divided into three rows, with the front row squatting, the middle row half-squatting, and the back row standing.

They were all dressed in military uniforms, wearing iron helmets, and the muskets they held were much more sophisticated than the old-fashioned arquebuses of the Plain Blue Banner.

The barrel was longer, the gun heavier, and the black hole at the muzzle was aimed at the center of the ruins.

Six hundred strokes.

Qin and Han roughly counted them.

Behind the musketeers were the Imperial Guards.

Clad in bright yellow armor and adorned with dragon-patterned battle banners, three thousand men lined up there, blocking ten streets around Aobai's residence so tightly that not even a dog could squeeze through.

These are not temporary reinforcements.

The deployment was orderly, the positioning was meticulous, and the musketeers' postures were uniform.

These guys have been training for at least six months, and they've been waiting for tonight.

Chen Jinnan reacted quickly. As the leader of the rebels, he was a master at winning people's hearts and soon saw through Kangxi's scheme.

Emperor Kangxi was fully aware that the Heaven and Earth Society was planning to assassinate Ao Bai during his birthday banquet.

He hasn't come out for so long; he's just been sitting in the Forbidden City waiting for someone to finish fighting so he can send a large army to clean up the mess.

Those who died were Ao Bai and the rebels; the survivors were all imprisoned.

The credit goes to the emperor, while the blame falls on those who opposed the Qing and sought to restore the Ming.

"What a brilliant plan!"

For the first time, Chen Jinnan sensed that this young emperor was no ordinary person and might be even more difficult to deal with than Ao Bai.

Yue Buqun's face turned green. The Heavenly Gate Taoist and the other sect leaders had already run away, but he was the only one left to watch the show.

I really shouldn't have stayed to watch the show.

Qiu Chuji stood beside Ma Yu with his sword in one hand, while the five Quanzhen disciples exchanged glances.

Unless someone can forcefully create a breach, they can't escape.

It was completely sealed off on all four sides.

Even with the best agility, you'll still get shot a few times. The area covered by six hundred guns firing simultaneously is not something one or two people can dodge by leaping.

"His Majesty has arrived!"

A hoarse voice came from the east.

The musketeers parted to make way for each other.

A bright yellow palanquin was carried out from behind the crowd.

The sedan curtain was lifted.

Emperor Kangxi.

The young emperor, not yet twenty, wore a bright yellow dragon robe and a dragon-patterned court hat, his youthful face displaying a composure beyond his years.

He stepped down from the sedan chair and onto the broken bricks.

Twelve imperial guards stood close behind him, with Duolong at the front, his hand on the hilt of his sword and his face tense.

Besides admiring the emperor, he was also afraid that someone might be desperate and try to harm him, especially that shirtless man.

Kangxi stepped forward, his gaze first falling on Ao Bai's corpse on the ground.

The headless body lay on the ground, its head rolling in a pile of broken bricks three steps away, its lifeless eyes staring blankly at the sky.

Kangxi stared at that head for three breaths.

A slight smile played on his lips; he finally felt a sense of relief.

The long-planned scheme has finally come to fruition, and all the calculations have yielded results.

His expression hardened, he raised his hand and shouted.

"You traitors dared to assassinate a high-ranking official of the court! You have absolutely no respect for the court, and no respect for me!"

Chen Jinnan felt his blood rush to his head. He thought to himself, "The Forbidden City was too quiet. It turns out they were waiting for us here."

Use someone else to do your dirty work!

This young emperor is both patient and ruthless; at least Ao Bai was open and honest.

Kangxi did not deploy a single soldier from beginning to end, but had everyone do things for him, still using the anti-Qing and restoration of Ming as a weapon.

Wei Xiaobao was in the underground gunpowder depot, unaware of the situation outside, waiting for Qin Han to give him the signal to detonate it.

In other words, he was unaware of the current situation outside; otherwise, he would have been shocked to know that the young emperor had this trick up his sleeve.

Because he hadn't heard a thing beforehand.

When was the Shenji Battalion established?

Six hundred musketeers?

How were they trained?

Three thousand Imperial Guards bypassed the Nine Gates Commander's orders and set out directly.

Who approved it?

Although Emperor Kangxi could talk to Wei Xiaobao on ordinary days, an emperor is still an emperor, and he would never confide in a minister or a eunuch.

This young emperor was more secretive than anyone else; Wei Xiaobao's visit to offer birthday greetings was actually a sacrifice.

"Everyone, lay down your weapons and kneel down to be bound!"

Duolong drew his sword and shouted loudly from beside Kangxi.

Six hundred muskets were loaded simultaneously, their clicks echoing in unison.

Mu Jiansheng gripped the knife tightly in his hand.

He and Liu Dahong had just rescued Fang Yi and the others from the Ministry of Justice prison, and before they could even catch their breath, they were surrounded again.

"My lord!"

Liu Dahong lowered his voice, "A direct assault won't work. These muskets are firing in three volleys; you won't get more than twenty paces."

Mu Jiansheng gritted his teeth and didn't say anything. He naturally understood this principle. There were still three thousand Imperial Guards outside. How could they escape?

Chen Jialuo, clutching his left chest where Hong Antong had injured him, could barely stand, his head already reaching the limit.

He and two brothers were the only ones left in the Red Flower Society. He could barely stand, let alone charge.

Qin Han scanned all of this.

Six hundred musketeers, three thousand imperial guards, plus an emperor who dared to play this game, a boy not even twenty years old.

This is truly a case of one trap within another.

Ao Bai thought he was a hunter.

The Heaven and Earth Society believed themselves to be assassins.

In the end, everyone is just a pawn.

A true chess player sits in the Forbidden City from the very beginning.

At this moment, Kangxi looked at Qin Han with great attention.

In the firelight, a bare-chested, blood-stained figure stood with a black and gold dragon pattern winding across his chest and a severed head at his feet.

Kangxi raised his chin and looked the man up and down.

"You're Ye Wudao?"

The Qin and Han dynasties looked back on the past.

A young emperor with a childlike air about him.

A ruthless warlord with dragon patterns coiled around his body.

The two men stared at each other across the broken bricks and blood on the ground.

Qin Han's lips twitched slightly.

"The Emperor himself is closing the net, such a grand operation..."

He kicked Ao Bai on the head and, seeing this scene, roughly understood Kangxi's plan.

After the death of Emperor Shunzhi, the Qing Dynasty appointed four regents to jointly govern the country: Sony of the Plain Yellow Banner, Suksaha of the Plain White Banner, and Ebilun and Oboi of the Bordered Yellow Banner.

Sony was old and ailing, and he was afraid of trouble and wanted to avoid disaster.

Ebilun was weak-willed and relied on Aobai, making Sukesaha his only rival.

After Suksaha was framed and killed by Aobai, Aobai succeeded him as the de facto chief regent, monopolizing the power of regent, controlling the Bordered Yellow Banner, and winning over the Plain Yellow Banner.

Ao Bai was the core leader of the Bordered Yellow Banner, and all his officers, soldiers, and bannermen obeyed him.

The Plain Yellow Banner, being a former member of the imperial family, shared interests with the Bordered Yellow Banner and mostly supported Oboi. The military strength, personnel, and finances of both Yellow Banners were entirely under Oboi's control.

Emperor Kangxi could kill Ao Bai, but he absolutely could not execute him on charges of treason, because doing so would cause unrest in the court and the military, who would wonder if the emperor would settle scores with them one day.

Therefore, Ao Bai could only be a loyal minister, and could only be killed by a rebel!

And that's how this whole thing happened.

Even the Qin and Han dynasties had to admire this young emperor.

"That's quite a grand gesture."

Emperor Kangxi's expression was cold and somber.

The six hundred muskets behind him all pushed forward half a step.