Chapter 304 - Petrifying Aftermath (1/2)

“What’s going on?!” ranted the King Yu.

When their clothes caught fire, people within the ring of encirclement, regardless of which side they were on, were all seized by panic and tried madly to put out the fire on them, unable to defend themselves against the enemies’ sabers. The situation was one of utmost disarray, clashes of weapons and burning soldiers’ cries for help resounding around the whole battlefield. Roaring flames surrounded the two armies, pressing on towards them from all sides continuously.

The besiegers were waiting outside the inferno, killing everyone on sight who made it out of the fire.

Standing in the distance, Ling Zhang watched this scene, deeply astounded, wondering where this third army was from.

At this moment, Yuwen Tong returned, carrying the comatose emperor with him. He flicked a gauging look at the battleground and said, “They’re the other half of the Palace Guards.”

Ling Zhang’s eyes dilated. “Aren’t these people under the command of the Gu family? They have orders from the King Yu to defend the imperial palace. Why are them–”

“Clearly the Gu family have turned their coats,” observed Yuwen Tong.

Ling Zhang was amazed.

“Actually this is a good thing for us. It’ll spare us a lot of trouble,” remarked Yuwen Tong flintily, watching the ongoing fight.

‘The mantis stalking the cicada might fall prey to the siskin following in its wake’, as the saying goes. “People of the Gu family are going to be the biggest winner in the end?” asked Ling Zhang.

“They won’t. The emperor is still breathing. I’ve already instructed Yue Qi to inform the Northern City Garrison Battalion and have them enter the city to defend the imperial palace. Now we need to send the emperor back to the palace,” said Yuwen Tong.

Ling Zhang tossed the unconscious emperor a glance, his face taking on a disgusted expression. “Didn’t you say that we couldn’t let him go back unharmed?”

Yuwen Tong lifted his eyebrows. “How do you know he’s unharmed?”

Ling Zhang looked at Yuwen Tong, who leaned over and gave him a kiss. “I’m going back. You stay here and keep watch. Yao Yi will be back in a little while. Keep yourself hidden.”

Ling Zhang inclined his head. “I’ll be careful.”

Yuwen Tong gave a nod and then left with the emperor on his shoulder. Predictably, before long Yao Yi showed up. He wiped the sweat from his forehead and glanced at the mounting sea of flames. “It seems that we’ve got them all in one fell swoop.”

After a few moments, Xie s.h.i.+ and Miao s.h.i.+ba also arrived. The three of them crouched on boughs of trees around Ling Zhang, observing the situation on the battlefield.

This battle caused extremely heavy casualties. Hardly any soldiers of the King Duan’s or the King Yu’s army survived. They were either killed by weapons of the opposing side or burned to death or slaughtered after breaking through the ring of encirclement.

The King Yu also managed to make it out of the inferno and came to realize what was going on at the sight of the other half of the Palace Guards. When his eyes fell on the member of the Gu family in command, he was almost reduced to vomiting blood from fury. “The Gu family actually stooped to back-stabbing?!”

“Winner takes all. You should know this better than anyone, shouldn’t you, Your Highness?” clucked that member of the Gu family, and then at a single motion of his hand, the King Yu and the couple of others who had just struggled out of the sea of fire were ringed. “Kill them.”

…

Before dawn, the fire slowly went out. The air was heavy with fetor, corpses lying higgledy-piggledy right and left.

That member of the Gu family in command had a small group of palace guards stay and clean the battlefield, and then led the others back to the capital city.

He thought that this was a triumphant return, that he would be welcomed as a victorious leader. However, when the city gates came into sight in the distance, he found that they were tightly shut and heavily guarded by soldiers – soldiers of the Northern City Garrison Battalion…

His eyes widened with incredulity. “This can’t be happening!”

“Restrain them!”

At the command of the vice commander of the Northern City Garrison Battalion standing behind the parapet on the city gates, the palace guards led by the member of the Gu family were surrounded.

…

On this day, though it was already late in the morning, residents of the capital city still didn’t dare open their doors to go outside.

The sound of fighting had lasted a whole night, and the entire city was pervaded by the lingering, horrifying smell of blood mixed with stench of charred corpses which was being carried over by the wind.

In the imperial palace, the emperor was lying in bed, breathing feebly. The medication given by court physicians was the sole reason why he hadn’t kicked the bucket yet.

“I hereby stri–strip Zhou Mingyuan of his t.i.tle of n.o.bility… relegate him to a commoner. He is to be executed, and his body is to be thrown to the ma.s.s grave…”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“The Gu family are rebels… All of them are to be beheaded… The sentence is to be carried out tomorrow…”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

All was chaos and confusion in the capital city. All those that had joined the King Duan or the Gu family in the rebellion were without exception condemned to death and confiscation of all their property. They were all beheaded the next day, blood flowing the execution ground like water. Dark clouds gathered in the sky above the capital city and didn’t dissipate for several days, residents in the city consumed with horror and as silent as cicadas in late autumn.

Thus, all adult princes of the Great Yue were dead – even Zhou Mingshen the Sixth Prince under house arrest had quietly died the night the rebellion had broken out, and n.o.body knew how.

The emperor was at his last gasp, medication keeping him from walking through the gates of death; half of the courtiers had been executed for their involvement in the insurrection mounted by the Gu family; the uprising in Cangzhou still hadn’t been suppressed. What with civil strife, the Great Yue was in great peril.

All the other princes were not yet of age, and Yuwen Tong suddenly appeared in the imperial court.

Surprisingly, in this moment of nationwide panic, officials who were at a loss what to do regained their composure at the sight of Yuwen Tong in the imperial court.

In a quick and effective fas.h.i.+on, Yuwen Tong took temporary command of the Northern City Garrison Battalion, and at his command, the garrison eliminated all remaining threats in and outside the capital city, stabilizing the disordered situation.

He didn’t have the authority to detach the Northern City Garrison Battalion, so a lot of courtiers raised objections to it, including Yuwen Zhi.