(Arrived home last night, truly exhausted, a bow and a bow.)

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The imperial city walls were even thicker than the faces of the capital's dignitaries, suitable for riding horses above and storing goods below. Even the imperial guards' meeting rooms were situated within those large slabs of bluestone, shrouded in darkness and radiating an air of grimness. Only a few flickering lights illuminated the faces and eyes of everyone in the room, jolting them awake.

These imperial guard generals and captains were indeed weary. Ever since the three riders returned from the capital, reporting the events of Da Dong Mountain, an ominous storm had been brewing over the entire capital. The imperial palace, which they were responsible for guarding, had become the eye of the storm, closely watched by all factions. For several days, no general had been able to leave the imperial city; even during their shifts, no one dared to return to their residences to rest.

The flames turned into burning brilliance in the First Prince's eyes. He gazed somberly at the dozen or so generals in the room and said in a cold voice, "Did everyone hear what I said clearly?"

Silence filled the room. One general, his face grim, knelt on one knee and said through gritted teeth, "This humble general is not clear."

"Do you want me to read the imperial edict again?" The First Prince stared into his eyes and said in a chilling tone, "The Crown Prince colluded with assassins from Northern Qi and Dong Yi to assassinate the late Emperor on Da Dong Mountain, plotting to usurp the throne. Afterwards, he framed Lord Fan Xian. Since I have received the late Emperor's edict, those who deserve to be punished shall be punished!"

The general glanced at the thin piece of paper beside the First Prince, his eyes narrowed slightly, and said, "Your Highness, who knows whether the so-called imperial edict is genuine or not?"

The First Prince looked at him coldly, then slowly took out a box from his bosom and placed it on the table.

The box was opened, revealing a small seal inside. It was the imperial seal, which had been missing for several days, preventing imperial decrees from being smoothly transitioned... the Emperor's Traveling Seal!

The faces of the generals in the room changed drastically at the sight of the Traveling Seal. They knelt down one by one and paid their respects to the jade seal, no longer daring to say another word.

"We humbly obey Your Highness's military orders."

"Lord Fan Xian is executing rebels on imperial orders, instructing me to assist him."

The First Prince's gaze slowly swept across the faces of the kneeling generals, discerning the thoughts in many of their minds. Although he had followed Fan Xian's advice and focused on leading the imperial guards, having installed many confidants within their ranks, the residual influence left by Yan Xiaoyi, who had previously commanded the imperial guards, was still substantial. To make these men wholeheartedly serve him solely based on this Traveling Seal and the imperial edict...

The corner of the First Prince's eye twitched. He sneered mockingly to himself, thinking, "There's never been anything so simple in this world."

"Generals who are willing to follow me to save the country from this perilous situation, please stand up." The First Prince said calmly. The light emanating from the oil lamps in the corner of the room enveloped his face, making his complexion seem to be stained with blood.

All the generals in the room stood up. Might makes right; at this moment, the room was filled with the First Prince's personal soldiers and captains. Even if the generals had other thoughts in their hearts, they dared not openly defy him.

The general who had spoken out first tasted bitterness in his mouth. He had maintained contact with the Eldest Princess in the palace, but he had not expected the First Prince to suddenly launch this attack, gathering all the generals into a secret chamber for a meeting. Moreover, the speed of the summons was so fast that it had not given him a moment to react.

All the imperial guard generals were in the room, with no one left out. If the First Prince chose to kill, no one could resist. Therefore, those who were originally subordinates of Yan Xiaoyi had no choice but to feign compliance for the time being.

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...

"Zhang Hao, Chen Yijiang..." The First Prince suddenly spoke, naming five generals.

The faces of the five generals turned cold. They exchanged glances, sensing an ill omen, and stepped out of the ranks. These five were all subordinates promoted by Yan Xiaoyi during his tenure.

The First Prince looked at these five coldly, paused for a moment, and then said somberly, "You know why I called you out here."

One general's face turned ashen. He plopped down on his knees before the First Prince and said, "Your Highness! This humble general will absolutely follow Your Highness's lead and has no disloyal intentions."

The First Prince looked at him and nodded, saying gently, "Would you mind staying in this room for half a day first?"

The general's expression changed, but he ultimately nodded and retreated to the wall.

As for the other four, their emotions were incredibly complex. If they were guarded in this secret chamber by the First Prince's personal soldiers, how would they be able to send a message to the palace?

The four exchanged glances. The one who had taken the lead in speaking out, named Chen Yijiang, was a close confidant personally promoted by Yan Xiaoyi in the past. He knew that now that the First Prince had rebelled, he would not be tolerated, and his identity also meant that he could not simply surrender.

Chen Yijiang was silent for a moment, then said, "Your Highness, there are currently two thousand imperial guards on the imperial city walls. At least six or seven hundred of them are subordinates of the five of us. May I ask Your Highness, without our assistance, how will you subdue all the imperial guards?"

He suddenly raised his head and said with a sneer, "The Capital Defense Division may enter the capital at any time. A third of the imperial guards have been dispatched to Da Dong Mountain. What will you use to resist those fierce troops now? This humble general dares to ask Your Highness to consider this carefully, lest you ruin your own life."

Although these words were spoken sternly, all the silent officers in the room knew that this was merely Chen Yijiang's last-ditch effort, a bluff with no real strength behind it.

"I never need to think twice about things I've already decided on."

The First Prince looked at Chen Yijiang coldly, his eyes gradually filled with a murderous intent, a cold murderous intent honed from his years of fighting the Hu people in the west.

Chen Yijiang's heart skipped a beat. His blood rushed to his head. With a roar, he grabbed the saber at his waist and drew it with a clang, rushing towards the First Prince.

The roar was cut short, and the saber fell to the ground. Three spears pierced Chen Yijiang's body with extraordinary ruthlessness and brutality, impaling him and suspending him in mid-air!

Chen Yijiang spat out blood, looking at the First Prince three feet away with unwillingness and despair. His body twitched on the spears a few times before his head drooped and he died.

At the same time that Chen Yijiang drew his saber and charged forward, the other three generals left behind by Yan Xiaoyi also drew their sabers and charged forward bravely and desperately. However, the room was filled with the First Prince's confidants. Only the sound of swishing blades cutting through the air could be heard, the blade light flashing a few times in the red lamplight...

The corpses fell to the ground, and the smell of blood began to rise. The four imperial guard generals had died such frustrating deaths.

The First Prince quietly looked at the corpses at his feet, then suddenly turned his head to look at the last remaining general. Seeing that the man's legs were trembling, but he simply did not have the courage to step forward, he could not help but shake his head and mutter a curse under his breath.

"Keep an eye on him." The First Prince ordered his confidants, then walked out of the meeting room without turning his head.

...

...

Walking onto the high imperial city walls, the First Prince stood in the corner tower, gently stroking the fixed crossbow. His gaze followed the large crossbow bolt, which gleamed with a dark light, looking towards the plaza outside the imperial city walls, and the four streets and alleys outside the plaza that had already been controlled by the imperial guards.

"As per the commander's orders, all six hundred men are currently off-duty and resting." The officer who had personally arranged for Fan Xian to lead the team into the palace stood behind the First Prince and reported in a low voice.

By tampering with the imperial guards' shifts for a day and a half, the First Prince had finally successfully transferred those six hundred imperial guard soldiers away from the imperial city, without alarming the four generals who were now dead.

The First Prince said somberly, "Are the preparations complete?"

The officer raised his head and looked at the First Prince, reporting resolutely, "Twelve hundred men have completed the encirclement and are ready to take action at any time."

At this time, twelve hundred subordinates loyal to the First Prince had already infiltrated the imperial guards' resting quarters in the darkness, dividing and surrounding the six hundred soldiers. As soon as the order was given, they would raise their butcher knives and eliminate the last unstable elements within the imperial guards.

"Those soldiers should still be sleeping." The First Prince's expression was somewhat complicated. "Dying in their sleep should be quite good."

The First Prince had personally led tens of thousands of troops on the western expedition in the past, achieving great merits on the border of the Western Hu. The virtue for which he was most praised, and which made the soldiers in the army willing to die for him, was his consistent care for his soldiers like sons. However... one cannot lead an army with compassion, especially when it came to matters involving the future of Qing. The First Prince's heart was as hard as stone.

"We await the commander's orders." The confidant did not know what the First Prince was thinking in his heart, and felt somewhat anxious. He thought to himself, "Lord Fan Xian has already entered the palace. If the Prince suddenly has a change of heart at this moment, no one knows what will happen after dawn." That was why he had given such a reminder and a cautious urging.

The First Prince smiled self-deprecatingly, retracted his gaze from the residences in the darkness, and looked back at the imperial palace shrouded in the deeper night.

He looked for a long time, but still did not issue the order, because the inner palace remained so calm.

"When to take action is not up to me to decide." The First Prince gently patted the heavy city-defending crossbow under his hand and said, "If we act first, I fear we will startle the people in the palace... Fan Xian will decide when to take action."

He looked at the quiet inner palace and could not help but shake his head. He himself was actually very similar to the city-defending crossbow on this city wall. Although powerful, he was bound by certain concrete or abstract things, and could only point the arrow at the outside of the palace, but could not bear to point it at the inside.

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The entire imperial city was divided into three areas. The Cold Palace and Autumn Garden Small Building at the very back did not house any nobles and were basically a forgotten corner. The area surrounded by the imperial city walls at the Junlin Plaza was a solemn complex of buildings, including the Hall of Supreme Harmony. The Emperor of Qing and his ministers discussed and decided all matters of the Qing Kingdom in this complex of buildings.

The place where the nobles lived was behind the Hall of Supreme Harmony, consisting of countless palaces, managed and guarded by the imperial guards and the eunuchs of the inner court. We generally call it the inner palace.

Many people thought that entering the imperial city would allow them to smoothly enter the inner palace, but they seemed to have forgotten how much the Emperor, this alternative male creature, cared about his territory and his females.

The emperors of past dynasties had always been very strict about this matter, because they had too many women. No matter how naturally gifted they were, they would inevitably neglect too many, naturally becoming the masters most likely to be cuckolded in the world.

In order to avoid being cuckolded, the emperors invented eunuchs, built high walls along the middle of the inner palace and the front palace, and scattered a large number of trusted guards. Therefore, in history, the perverts who had an affair or a finger with the concubines of the inner palace basically could not escape from the three types of people: guards, imperial physicians, and eunuchs.

However, although the high walls of the inner palace could not stop the palace's adulterous thoughts from stretching outside the walls, they successfully stopped many people who wanted to rebel.

History had already proven this point. More than a hundred years ago, during the Da Wei years, a civil official once attempted to rebel while the emperor was on a distant tour. Like Fan Xian tonight, he only brought a thousand people to kill the imperial city, inexplicably passing through the defense of the imperial guards, and was about to succeed... but was stopped outside the palace gates by the empress, who had been left behind in the inner palace, with a large number of guards, eunuchs, and palace maids.

In the end, this audacious civil official desperately discovered that those women, children, and eunuchs were actually more powerful than the imperial guards, and actually sealed him outside the palace for as long as three days!

In the end, this rebel, of course, ended in death. And what successfully stopped this rebellion, in addition to the empress's calmness and bravery, the unity of the eunuchs, palace maids, and guards in the palace, was actually the most critical reason... the high walls used by the emperor to keep women were really too solid!

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However, where there is a wall, there must be a door, unless it is an underground tomb. In addition, because humans have always disliked crawling in and out of another window opened by God, all kinds of doors will be opened in buildings with strict prohibitions.

And where there is a door, there is naturally someone to open the door, so whether a place is easy to attack depends not on how thick the door is, or whether the door bolt inside is made of fine steel, but on whether you have grasped the person who opens the door.

*** and many great men have said that the ultimate mystery that determines everything - is people.

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Fan Xian dared to attack the inner palace unexpectedly because he had grasped the person who opened the door.

Two hundred "imperial guards" were patrolling silently and nervously, following the predetermined route of the day, moving towards the west on the high imperial city wall. When they were about to reach below that star, a cloud suddenly passed over the sky, the starlight gradually faded, and the top of the city became gradually dark. The imperial guards walked down the stone steps back and forth.

There was no light in the Hall of Supreme Harmony. Occasionally, a few guards could be seen patrolling with lanterns, and the eunuchs responsible for striking the hours passed by, hunched over.

This group of imperial guards gathered at the place closest to the inner palace under the imperial city, and then... scattered like the wind!

Fan Xian watched his subordinates coldly, scattering like countless hawks, rushing towards the remaining people and lights in the front palace. In just a moment, those lights came, and a few guards were silently stabbed to death.

He nodded. This two-hundred-man force was a mixed unit. One hundred men were transferred from the five hundred Black Riders, and another hundred were the last batch of assassin troops recruited from the Sixth Bureau. They were indeed ruthless and powerful when acting in the dark.

Jing Ge, the deputy commander of the Black Riders beside him, glanced at him, and then glanced at the high walls of the inner palace about dozens of feet away. He asked in a deep voice, "Attack by force?"

Fan Xian's eyes glanced at an inconspicuous door under the palace wall. He shook his head and said, "We'll go through the door."

"Go through the door?" Jing Ge looked at Supervisor Fan in surprise, thinking that the Supervisor's words were really wonderful. Could it be that he had learned the legendary ability to walk through walls of the Temple after going to Da Dong Mountain?

Fan Xian ignored him, took off the heavy imperial guard armor he was wearing, revealing the tight-fitting black night clothes inside. Using the cover of the trees in the front palace, he approached the door.

Jing Ge made a gesture behind him. The members of the assault team scattered around in the darkness immediately flew back like bats, forming two straight lines with Fan Xian as the center, tightly貼ing against the palace walls of the inner palace.

Jing Ge also followed, standing two zhang behind Fan Xian. He looked up at the wall, thinking that it was not too high, and at least more than half of the two hundred people could climb over it.

At this moment, the clouds in the sky slightly dispersed, and a clear bright moon shone through the light clouds, and the silver moonlight shone on Jing Ge's silver mask, which was very beautiful.

Fan Xian stood in front of the door and gently knocked on the door under the moonlight.

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His knuckles gently landed on the heavy wooden door, making a slight buzzing sound. There was only one sound, and no one responded behind the wooden door, but immediately afterward, there was a slight sound of the door spring moving.

The two hundred black-clothed men lurking on both sides of Fan Xian couldn't help but show shock on their faces. Tonight, they were following Supervisor Fan to kill into the imperial palace according to the late emperor's edict. Although these two hundred men were brave and loyal, they were also sadly prepared to die.

They didn't expect that Supervisor Fan would just gently knock open the door of the inner palace!

At this moment, all the subordinates who had broken into the imperial city immediately felt endless awe for Fan Xian in their hearts, and they were also more confident in the success or failure tonight.

The wooden door of the inner palace was extremely heavy. Obviously, the traitor inside who opened the door was a little struggling. Fan Xian closed his eyes,貼ing his palms on the wooden door, and suddenly frowned. The true energy in his body moved slightly, and the gentle Tiandao true energy was transmitted from the palm of his hand to the door, opening the wooden door about two people wide.

He opened the door very gently, without making a sound.

Fan Xian flashed into the door like a gust of wind, and then glanced at the eunuch behind the door who was looking at him with nervous and frightened eyes, nodded slightly, and said, "Thank you for your hard work."

Eunuch Dai swallowed a mouthful of saliva, and looked at the dark surroundings with some panic, without daring to answer.

I am afraid that the eldest princess did not expect that there would still be someone in the current imperial palace who dared to risk being beheaded to be Fan Xian's traitor. What is even more unexpected is that this traitor is actually Eunuch Dai, who is now no longer as powerful as he was in the past, but just an ordinary and pitiful old eunuch!

Yes, Fan Xian once had great kindness to Eunuch Dai, at least three great favors, but this eunuch helped Fan Xian at such a great risk, not just to repay his kindness. On the one hand, he wanted to regain the power he missed so much after losing it by helping Fan Xian. On the other hand, he had been deeply involved with Fan Xian over the years. If the prince really became the emperor, he would probably not even want to be a washerman, and just wait to die.

The most important thing is that Eunuch Dai knew that his nephew had actually been under Fan Xian's surveillance. And Eunuch Dai was still counting on his nephew to take care of him in his old age.

Eunuch Dai looked around in fear. He was actually a little puzzled as to why he opened the door so smoothly, and why the guards staring around did not find him.

"Sir, this servant will lead the way for you..."

After the palace door was opened two people wide, black-clothed men kept pouring in. These black-clothed men were extremely fast, and soon all of them rushed into the inner palace, and each chose a terrain to hide their figures. Eunuch Dai watched this scene, trembling with fear, knowing that this was the subordinate that Supervisor Fan used to mess up the palace, but looking at it...there seemed to be too few people?

"Find a place to pretend to be dead."

Fan Xian said softly to Eunuch Dai, the meaning of determination in his eyes gradually became stronger. His familiarity with the terrain of the imperial palace was something that no one could imagine, because from the first time he broke into the Hanguang Hall to steal the key, he didn't know how many times he had calculated the killing and retreat routes in the palace in his mansion.

Opportunity always favors those who are prepared.

When Eunuch Dai heard the words, he quickly hunched over and disappeared into the darkness, listening to Supervisor Fan's words and finding an inconspicuous place to pretend to be dead.

And the two hundred night walkers here had also made their final preparations. Fan Xian glanced at Jing Ge, his thin lips opened slightly, and he uttered an extremely cold word: "Charge!"

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...

The mission had been arranged long before entering the palace. Having eyeliners in the palace that others could not guess, and having various channels to help Fan Xian understand, he was very clear about the layout of the palace, dividing these two hundred people into four groups, the most crucial of which were the two groups led by him and Jing Ge.

Fan Xian will lead the Sixth Bureau's assassin swordsmen and rush straight into the Hanguang Hall, and must rescue Ning Cai'er, Yi Guifei, and the Third Prince from the empress dowager's personal care before the palace people can react!

This is the top priority. The First Prince dared to lead the imperial guards to rebel because he believed that Fan Xian could rescue his mother. Fan Xian naturally could not let his brother who trusted him so much be disappointed.

Jing Ge mainly leads the single-rider masters in the Black Riders, and will rush straight to the Guangxin Palace with a force of surprise attack, striving for a one-hit kill.

Because the Eldest Princess is in the Guangxin Palace, Fan Xian will always feel that there is a poisonous snake staring at him if he does not kill this woman.

Fan Xian had already found out that Wan'er and Da Bao were in the Guangxin Palace, but he did not personally go to the Guangxin Palace. On the one hand, the Hanguang Hall was more important, and on the other hand... I don't know if it was subconsciously that he was also afraid of facing that kind of situation, so he simply let Jing Ge lead the army?

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Two hundred black-clothed people are like two hundred ghosts. Under the dim moonlight, they are divided into countless lines, following the arrows, and rushing to various places in the inner palace.

Fan Xian was rushing forward at top speed in the direction of the Hanguang Hall, passing flowers, trees, lakes, pavilions along the way, and then met a few guards.

"Bing-level knife-wielding guards."

Fan Xian didn't even look at these guards standing beside him, but just said in his heart, "The guards responsible for taking turns patrolling this area are Bing-level guards." It seems that the kid didn't fail.

The reason why he didn't even look at these guards was because these guards along the way could no longer move!

Whether they were poisoned or suffered some kind of curse, the eyes of these guards responsible for the inner palace guard rolled around in horror, but they couldn't make a sound. The whole person's body was also a little stiff. No wonder Eunuch Dai opened the palace gate for Fan Xian so smoothly!

This scene was very strange. A few guards responsible for the inner palace guard were watching the black-clothed men floating in front of them, but they couldn't react!

With a few swishing sounds, the last two Sixth Bureau swordsmen of Fan Xian's team pulled out the iron awl and划ed it cleanly on the throats of these guards, killing them and finally getting rid of this nightmare-like emotional trouble.

Passing trees, passing flowers, passing lakes, passing pavilions, the Hanguang Hall is close at hand.

Fan Xian甩ed his hand, and an arrow shot out, nailing to death a night watch eunuch who had discovered him and opened his mouth to call out!

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...

Fan Xian needed speed. He needed the feeling of a surprise attack brought by this speed. He needed this feeling to shock everyone in the palace, so he didn't care about his figure being exposed.

Medicines can only be used on a team of guards, and can only ensure that the guards discover themselves later. He never奢望ed that he would lead two hundred people to rush into the imperial palace until he stood in front of the Empress Dowager's bed, and still no guard could find him.

Being discovered was only a matter of time.

The Hanguang Hall was less than thirty zhang away from this group of black night killers who were shooting out like arrows!

And a distant place in the rear suddenly came a scream, and several sounds of swords colliding and metal intersecting. Fan Xian did not look back, but also heard that it was not in the direction of the Guangxin Palace, but should be the other two teams preparing to摸黑 to confuse the guard's驻厢地.

His heart tightened, and a drop of cold sweat渗ed out on his forehead, knowing that the traces had finally been discovered.

"Release, scatter!"

Fan Xian's figure did not stop, but his right hand握緊ed his fist, and then scattered quickly. Seeing this instruction, the well-trained Sixth Bureau swordsmen of the Supervision Department scattered from behind him, and along the curved lake on the side of the Hanguang Hall, turned into countless curves, bypassing the road, and by the cover of trees,掠ed towards that deserted palace.

The Supervision Department swordsman拖 in the rear suddenly stopped, the iron awl刺ed into the ground, took out a small tube from his arms,眯ing his eyes and looked at the bright moon in the sky, and then tore it hard!

Fireworks rushed straight into the sky, and in an instant, this quiet and dark imperial palace was照耀ed clearly, and the most clear signal was sent to the people hiding in all directions in Kyoto.

Hiding has come to an end, and officially entered the surprise attack.

...

...

A knife flew over and斬ed into the right shoulder of the Supervision Department swordsman. This swordsman was still holding fireworks at this time and did not dodge, and blood bloomed out. But after a snort, his left hand反拔ed the iron awl on the ground, and fought with the two guards who撲ed over next to him.

Fan Xian was only ten zhang away from the Hanguang Hall at this time. He did not look at the fireworks, and had no time to pay attention to the life and death of the loyal subordinate. He just stared coldly at the Hanguang Hall, and found that there was already movement inside, and his heart became gradually寒. The reaction speed of the defense force in this inner palace was really higher than his estimate.

Faster, faster!

Guards seemed to have reacted everywhere, and Fan Xian was facing the Hanguang Hall at this time,眯ing his eyes, and releasing all his killing intent. The overbearing true energy in his body was raised to the extreme that the meridians could容纳 in an instant, and then he stepped on the stone railing on the side of the palace!

The stone railing was completely碎!

By the huge反震 force, Fan Xian's people flew up, like a big black bird, coming to the top of the Hanguang Hall in a rude and arrogant posture under the moonlight,展露ing his determination!

At the highest point, the true energy gradually缓, and the body had a tendency to fall. He snorted, and his right hand橫 slapped down, and with the momentum of a big coffin, he drove his body to横 shift a third, and拍ed on the glazed tiles of the Hanguang Hall.

With one拍, the tiles flew乱, flying乱 in the moonlight, giving people the feeling that the entire Hanguang Hall seemed to be拍ed and shaking at this moment!

No one could be as fast as Fan Xian at this time, and no one dared to resist such an unstoppable momentum. Under the moonlight, he borrowed the power of one拍 and flew up again, like a big bird展翅,临 on the top of the hall, and then transported his whole body's energy,堕下!

With a loud bang, the Hanguang Hall was生生的砸ed out of a big hole by him with the overbearing true energy of his whole body!

Just as the palace maids in the Hanguang Hall were点ing on the first palace lantern in fear, Fan Xian, dressed in black, fell on the floor of the back hall of the Hanguang Hall like a stone. He was surrounded by碎瓦灰土, and under his feet was the bluestone floor that was踩的寸寸裂.

In his hand was the Emperor's Sword.