"Listen up, everyone in the Tiger Leopard Battalion! Chai Xiyun is dead. The repeating rifles you hold are out of ammunition, making them no better than fire pokers.
Surrender your weapons immediately, or you will all be charged with treason and rebellion!
Think of your families and loved ones. Do you want them to be reduced to pariah status for the selfish ambitions of the Lan family?"
With the help of a mounted loudspeaker, Lu Qingwan's voice boomed throughout and beyond the Grand Tutor's mansion.
Seeing Chai Xiyun dead, the Tiger Leopard Battalion soldiers were already feeling demotivated. Lu Qingwan seized the opportunity.
"I do not know you, nor will I register any of you as prisoners.
If you surrender now, no one will know who was involved in the Lan family's treason. Would you rather continue to receive the imperial salary in the Tiger Leopard Battalion, or will your entire family be relegated to the status of slaves for generations to come? Think about it..."
In the Great Qin dynasty, the populace was divided into various ranks, not just the nobility in the court.
Anyone involved in treason, even if not the main instigator, would have their family members relegated to the lowest social strata. They would be barred from official examinations, forbidden from owning their own farmland, and prohibited from engaging in trade.
They would be forced to undertake the most menial of jobs.
Those who could join the Tiger Leopard Battalion generally came from families of decent standing and had some worldly experience. Hearing Lu Qingwan's words, their resolve began to waver.
Just then, a voice emanated from within the Grand Tutor's mansion, "Do not listen to this woman's deceitful words! Who would take seriously the pronouncements of a mere woman?
You have already participated in the rebellion. Even if you surrender, your lives might be spared, but you will not escape punishment.
It is better to fight to the bitter end. When the Grand Tutor achieves his goals, you will all be newly appointed nobles with the merit of supporting his rise..."
As he spoke, the man emerged and, raising his hand, fired a shot at Lu Qingwan.
The repeating rifle possessed considerable power, and the distance was short, leaving no room for evasion.
Just as Lu Qingwan was about to twist to avoid the vital point, a soldier from the Crown Prince's mansion immediately stepped in front of her. Lu Qingwan raised her hand and fired a shot, hitting the man in the shoulder.
Then, she called out, "Where is the medic? Quickly, save him!"
The soldier from the Crown Prince's mansion was tall and broad, shielding her completely, while he himself took a direct hit.
The bullet from the repeating rifle exploded upon entering his body, leaving a large gaping wound.
A gush of blood exuded a pungent, fishy odor, and the smell of burnt flesh was nauseating. Lu Qingwan, however, ignored her psychological trauma and urgently began to dress the wound.
Unfortunately, before the wound could be fully bandaged, the man had already breathed his last.
Jia Ping helped him up and said with grief, "Your Highness, he is dead!"
"I know."
Lu Qingwan closed the young soldier's eyes. "There is no need for further words. Anyone who continues to resist will be killed without exception.
The rest will be fed to the pigs. The Grand Tutor's mansion will be under my sole command. No one is to disturb me until I emerge!"
With that, she picked up her steel whip and charged into the Grand Tutor's mansion.
Upon entering, she realized that the number of rebels within was surprisingly small.
Lu Qingwan did not even need to lift a finger herself. Jia Ping, Shuang Yue, and the others were capable of clearing out the rebels inside the mansion.
Lu Qingwan grabbed a soldier from the Tiger Leopard Battalion and said coldly, "Take me to the armory."
"Bitch, I am a soldier of the Grand Tutor's mansion..."
Before he could finish speaking, Lu Qingwan swiftly sliced his throat with a blade.
Turning, she grabbed another soldier. "You will lead the way."
The man hesitated slightly. Lu Qingwan, without a moment's hesitation, struck him down, his head rolling to the ground.
This time, Lu Qingwan did not bother grabbing anyone else. She turned to the surrounded rebels and said, "Lead the way, or die?"
One of the soldiers hastily raised his hand. "I will lead the way! I will lead Your Highness!"
Lu Qingwan snorted. "You refuse the offered toast and insist on a penalty. The rest of you, drag them out and execute them!"
The individuals she had brought with her were ostensibly from the Crown Prince's and Prince Qin's retinues, but a considerable portion of them were actually from the Black Armored Army, who had shared secrets with her on the snowy mountains and had jointly killed Chai Xihan's rebel forces that morning.
By this point, they had become battle-hardened. The only reason they still exercised some restraint was to avoid causing trouble for Lu Qingwan.
Upon hearing Lu Qingwan's order to kill, they became greatly agitated.
"As you command!"
Hundreds of voices responded in unison, and they immediately dragged out the resisting rebels and executed them on the spot, in full view of the Tiger Leopard Battalion.
Meanwhile, Lu Qingwan followed the soldier who had narrowly escaped death into the armory.
A mechanism lock, as large as a table, was mounted on the vault door, which was constructed of granite mixed with molten iron. It stood like an impartial gatekeeper.
Several people were currently in a state of panic, hunched over the mechanism lock, trying to figure out how to open it.
The orderly footsteps of Lu Qingwan's soldiers startled the men. Upon seeing Lu Qingwan, their expressions changed immediately.
"Haven't you opened it yet, everyone?"
Lu Qingwan said sarcastically, "When Lan An sent you to steal ammunition, did he not mention that the armory's gate had complex mechanisms and was difficult to open?"
While engaging in idle chatter with Chai Xiyun earlier, she had already used her clairvoyance to survey the entire Grand Tutor's mansion.
The facts proved that Lan An's preparations for rebellion were far from complete, and could even be described as hasty.
Such a crucial location as the armory was guarded by fewer than a thousand men, and not a single one of them understood firearms.
Even the person in charge of the armory's locking mechanism had been killed in the chaos, a clear case of self-destruction.
The vast armory had fallen into her hands with surprising ease.
Lu Qingwan waved her hand gracefully. "Take them all down!"
The few craftsmen who had been coerced into opening the lock were not people she would necessarily kill.
However, "Everyone, guard this courtyard strictly. Without my command, no one is to leave."
After saying this, she called out, "Chen Tianhe, Han Tongguang, you two, come and assist me."
The men arrived upon hearing the summons. Looking at the massive mechanism lock, they were at a loss. "Your Highness, what should we do?"
"Turn the outer wheel of the rudder lock seven gears to the left."
Chen Tianhe and Han Tongguang were both lieutenants in the Black Armored Army's Heaven character division, and at that time, they were also Lu Qingwan's personal guards. Both were tall and strong.
Upon hearing this, Chen Tianhe strode forward. As his hand reached for the handle of the rudder lock, Lu Qingwan said to Han Tongguang, "I called you here to watch the fun. Both of you, come on!"
Chen Tianhe immediately wore an expression of insult, his tanned skin flushing a deep red.
"Your Highness, do not underestimate me. It is merely a lock. Although it is a bit large, I came from the Black Armored Army. I am not incapable of opening a lock."
Han Tongguang chimed in, "Yes, Your Highness. It is just a lock. Although we do not understand mechanics, you have already provided the solution. We only need to move it. Surely, it does not require both of us to come together?"
Lu Qingwan looked at the four personal guards she had summoned. She had clearly intended for all four of them to work together.
But then again, this was why some people, having not experienced the harshness of the world, were so naive!