Zhao Xu, though deeply ashamed of his great-grandfather, felt he had no right to voice his disapproval as a great-grandson.
So, he fabricated a lie, "Forgive me, Great-Grandfather. Your grandson meant that he should go and beg forgiveness from the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors~"
Zhao Guangyi found himself unable to refute this. Emperors throughout the ages were indeed supposed to worship the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors, as they were figures akin to ancient sages.
Li Shimin waved his hand and strode towards the palace gates.
"Whether he begs forgiveness or not is unimportant. I just want to go in for a cup of tea~"
"Xie Bi'an, Fan Wujiu, step forward and clear the path. I have no time to explain our origins to them!"
The two individuals guarding his sides heard the command, bowed, and then stepped forward, kicking the palace gates.
It was the time after the morning court, and the palace gates were already open. The imperial guards, seeing them approach, instinctively tried to close the gates, but were sent flying by the kick.
"The Emperor of the Great Tang is here. Anyone who dares to block the imperial procession will be slain without blinking!"
Xie Bi'an shouted, pointing his spear at the imperial guards.
Although their entrance was certainly impactful, it didn't prove the truth of his words.
However, having witnessed Qin Hui being almost riddled with holes, and coupled with Han Shizhong's earlier guess that these people were here for Yue Fei, the imperial guards readily parted the way.
These guards were all veteran soldiers who had retreated from the front lines.
They knew what kind of person Yue Fei was, but their own voices were too insignificant, and with treacherous officials dominating the court, they had no opportunity to stand up for Yue Fei.
Therefore, they were more than happy to see someone step forward to do what they wished to do but couldn't.
After the group passed through the palace gates, they saw only patches of bloodstains and the bullet craters left behind on the ground. Qin Hui, whose arm had been nearly severed, was nowhere to be seen.
The Lin'an Imperial Palace was built according to the regulations of the Kaifeng Imperial Palace.
Although it was smaller in area, it was a complete entity, and was even more exquisite and luxurious than the Kaifeng Imperial City.
Fang Er walked up to an imperial guard, stared into his eyes, and asked, "Where is Marshal Yue imprisoned? Quickly lead me to rescue him!"
Upon hearing this, the imperial guard's eyes lit up. "You are truly here to rescue Marshal Yue?"
Fang Er didn't answer him but instead berated, "The more nonsense you speak, the more suffering Marshal Yue will endure in prison!"
"Yes, yes, yes, I will lead you there immediately!"
The imperial guard nodded repeatedly and led Fang Er towards another side of the imperial palace.
"Wang Xuance, Xue Rengui, follow me. Ge Luoyang, take your men to protect His Majesty and the Princess Royal!"
Yue Fei was imprisoned in the Dali Temple, along with his eldest son Yue Yun and his trusted subordinate Zhang Xian, who were also held in custody.
Lin'an city, being west of the West Lake and east of the Qiantang River, was not built squarely but was a long and narrow city from north to south.
The imperial palace was in the southern part of Lin'an city, while the Dali Temple was in the northern part, in the same district as the Changping Granary and the Renhe County Office.
The commotion they had created outside the palace gates was considerable. On their way, they encountered dozens of troops heading to the imperial palace for guard duty.
With the imperial guard leading the way, although their hairstyles and clothing differed from those of the Song people, few bothered to investigate.
At this moment, the prison guards guarding the Dali Temple were all standing at a high vantage point, looking towards the imperial palace with curiosity, wanting to know what had happened.
Seeing the tightly shut main gate of the Dali Temple before him, Fang Er curved his lips into a cold smile and waved his right hand in the air.
Xue Rengui and Wang Xuance suddenly saw darkness before their eyes, as if something had blocked the sun, and even the ground seemed to tremble in an instant.
Soon, they stared at the colossal object before them, too shocked to speak.
Appearing before them was the first public unveiling of the Caterpillar 797 mining truck.
The entire vehicle was 7 meters high, 14.8 meters long, and 9.75 meters wide, with a terrifying curb weight of 260 tons!
Fang Er grabbed a handrail and climbed up. Seeing the two still stunned, he urged them, "What are you staring at? Get up!"
Only then did the two believe they weren't hallucinating. Xue Rengui, dazed, nudged Wang Xuance.
"Brother, have you ever seen this behemoth?"
Wang Xuance wiped the sweat from his forehead. Who had ever seen such a thing?
Aircraft carriers were large, but they floated on water, and no one could live on the sea every day.
But if this thing were to drive out, it would undoubtedly be a more imposing existence than a T-90!
He patted Xue Rengui's shoulder and said, "Never seen it. Not only have I never seen it before, but we haven't seen it today either, understand?"
After saying that, he pulled the dazed Xue Rengui onto the truck's steps.
As for the guiding imperial guard, upon seeing this colossal machine, he was so terrified that he bolted!
Such a thing appearing out of nowhere, it was a testament to his courage that he wasn't scared to death!
"Holy shit! It's a monster~~"
"A monster is attacking the city! Quickly inform the Minister of Dali Temple!"
"Where is the Minister of Dali Temple anymore? Master Xue was dismissed from his post for pleading for Marshal Yue."
"Then, then what should we do? Right, there's also the Vice Minister. Hurry, hurry!"
"Boss, Vice Ministers Lord Li and Lord He have also been dismissed from their posts due to this matter~"
The guard leader finally remembered that the officials who had presided over the Dali Temple were now all dismissed from their posts because they could not bear to see Yue Fei framed.
He frantically thought of a solution, and after a long while, slapped his forehead and shouted to his subordinates.
"Quick, fire the signal flare to summon the imperial guards for support!"
"I remember someone from the palace came to interrogate Marshal Yue today. Hurry and send someone to inform them, don't let that son of a bitch die under our watch!"
Those who came from the palace were certainly Qin Hui's cronies. No matter who it was, if he died in the Dali Temple, he and his brothers would surely be held responsible!
The guards descended into utter chaos. The citizens on the street outside also retreated far away the moment the truck appeared, afraid of being swallowed by this massive monster.
Inside the Dali Temple, in the prison, Wan Qixie...
Mo Qixie, already in a bad mood because Yue Fei refused to cooperate, immediately pointed at the jailer who rushed in and cursed when he heard his surname mispronounced.
"Presumptuous! Ignorant wretch, my surname is Mo Qi, it's a double-barreled surname. If I hear you spouting nonsense again, don't blame me for pulling out your tongue!"