noveltune Chapter 5529 Night Raid on the Palace
Chapter 5529 Night Raid on the Palace
Chapter 5529 Night Raid on the Palace
A light rain was falling, and the night was as dark as ink.
Inside the courtyard, Li Jingye, clad in full armor, sat by the window, a sheathed sword lying beside him. On the table sat a pot of fine wine, which he sipped slowly. The air was cool, but his heart was burning with passion.
With the mission imminent, he had to go and take charge, but he didn't know if his uncle could successfully get his father drunk. He felt both excited about the upcoming important event and apprehensive about the unpredictable changes.
Shortly after, hurried footsteps could be heard from inside the courtyard.
Du Qiuren, dressed in leather armor and with a sword at his waist, strode over. Through the open window, he saw Li Jingye drinking wine by the window. Excitedly, he raised the fish bag in his hand and whispered, "Please, young master, come out of the mansion!"
There were no pure "literati" in the Tang Dynasty. Scholars were not weak and helpless. The Six Arts of a Gentleman were the foundation of one's character. In particular, the sons of noble families who studied from a young age would diligently practice swordsmanship and archery, and rise at the crowing of the rooster to practice martial arts. "To become a general or a prime minister" was their lifelong pursuit.
Li Jingye suddenly stood up, grabbed his sword with one hand and his helmet with the other, tucked it under his arm, and strode out the door.
"Has Father gone to sleep?"
"Yes."
"Will there be any unexpected events?"
"A special drug was added to the wine, the dosage of which can make a person sleep until dawn. With the Vice Minister of the Imperial Guard personally accompanying him in the study, there is absolutely no possibility of an accident."
Li Jingye was finally relieved. Although he had no other choice, he couldn't risk his father's life...
He nodded and walked out, saying in a deep voice, "Is everything prepared in the palace?"
"With careful planning, everything went smoothly!"
Du Qiuren responded immediately, then hesitated slightly before saying, "Actually, there's no need for you to personally go and preside over it; I can do it for you."
This is not about vying for credit.
The saying goes, "Man proposes, God disposes." Is there anything absolute in this world?
No matter how detailed the plan or how meticulous the arrangements, oversights may occur unintentionally. Once an unforeseen event occurs, it means the operation has failed, and the consequence of failure is utter ruin.
As the core figure of their group, Li Jingye should have stayed out of the situation and taken charge, so that even if things failed, there would be room for maneuver and a chance to make a comeback, instead of putting himself in danger with no way out.
Li Jingye disagreed, striding towards the courtyard gate with a firm tone: "Why should someone who is going to do great things begrudge his life? He should go all out and accomplish the task in one battle. If he fails, he will die for his country!"
Influenced by his emotions, Du Qiuren also felt a surge of adrenaline to change the course of history and create a new era. He nodded emphatically: "Dalang is brave and fearless, just as he should be!"
As they spoke, they reached the courtyard gate. Li Jingye stepped out and saw his personal guards waiting there with their horses. He took the reins and turned to ask Du Qiuren, "Is everything ready in Huating Town?"
"They are all elite assassins. They are well-prepared to catch the unsuspecting, so the probability of success is very high."
Li Jingye mounted his horse, put his helmet on his head, and looked around. The entire mansion was pitch black. "Let's go!"
They headed straight for the side gate.
Dozens of personal guards followed closely behind.
Before they had taken more than a few steps, a quarrel broke out ahead. One of them shouted angrily, "What are you all doing? Why aren't you lighting lamps in the dark? Why are you blocking my way? Get out of my way! My whip doesn't discriminate!"
Du Qiuren's heart tightened, and his face turned pale: "Oh no, it's your uncle!"
As expected, there are always unexpected events. Who would have thought that Li Siwen would suddenly return to the manor when everything was arranged properly?
Although he has now relinquished his official seal as the Crown Prince's Six Commanders and taken up a post at the Ministry of Agriculture, Li Siwen and Fang Jun are close friends and staunch supporters of the Crown Prince's faction!
Li Jingye, however, remained calm and composed, saying, "No need to panic!"
The arrow is already on the string; how can it be held back because of some unexpected event?
He rode forward and saw Li Siwen being stopped by several guards, who was throwing a tantrum in the front yard.
Upon seeing Li Jingye arrive in full armor on horseback, Li Siwen was taken aback: "Father has lifted the imprisonment and allowed you to leave the manor?"
He immediately sensed something was wrong and demanded sharply, "Li Jingye, what do you want to do?"
Li Jingye had no time to waste with him. With a wave of his hand, more than ten personal guards pounced on Li Siwen, who was unarmed and caught off guard, and pinned him to the ground, leaving him to struggle in the mud. They quickly tied him up with ropes and stuffed rags into his mouth.
"Waaaaah!"
Unable to speak, Li Siwen glared at Li Jingye with eyes bulging with rage.
Li Jingye instructed, "Choose a room to settle Second Uncle in, keep him safe and secure, and do not harm him in the slightest!"
"Here!"
Two guards carried Li Siwen quickly into the central courtyard.
Li Jingye ignored them and rode out of the gate with his personal guards, heading straight for the imperial city.
*****
Since ascending the throne, Li Chengqian had faced two rebellions by Changsun Wuji and Li Zhi, both of which were extremely dangerous and on the verge of collapse. Although the rebellions were eventually quelled, he was still deeply concerned about the safety of Taiji Palace. He not only strengthened the guards at all palace gates, but also implemented a "joint defense" strategy at night. Every gate to the palace was guarded by the Imperial Guards, the Hundred Cavalry, and the eunuchs. After the key was locked, entry and exit were strictly controlled to prevent any unforeseen events.
Even though Li Jingye was the commander of the "Hundred Cavalry Division," the emperor's henchman, and the chief general guarding the palace, there was absolutely no way he could enter the palace through the various gates after the night was locked.
So he led his men through the streets and alleys on a rainy night, exiting the city through Fanglin Gate, and heading east along the inner wall on the north side of the palace, stopping at the Water Gate.
The Qingming Canal was built in the early years of the Kaihuang era of the Sui Dynasty. It draws water from the Yu River from the Huangzi Weir in the southern suburbs, flowing northwest through the north of Ducheng, Niutou Temple, Weiqu, and Qubei Village, before entering the city west of Anhua Gate. After entering the city, it flows through the east street of Da'anfang, turns east to the southwest corner of Anlefang, then turns north, flowing west through nine wards: Anle, Changming, Feng'an, Xuanyi, Huaizhen, Chongde, Xinghua, Tongyi, and Taiping.
It then flows northwest through Buzhengfang and east into the Imperial City. Within the Imperial City, it passes north of Dashe, flows east to the west of Hanguang Gate, and then north through the Shangshi Bureau, Jiangzuojian, and Neishisheng, specifically supplying water to the government offices on the southwest side of the Imperial City.
Entering the palace city through Guangyun Gate, the canal water eventually flows into the South Sea Pond, West Sea Pond, and North Sea Pond within the palace city. When the ponds overflow, the water is discharged through the water gate on the north side of the palace wall, flowing into the Yong'an Canal that exits the city through Jingyao Gate and continues northward into the Wei River.
At this moment, Li Jingye dismounted and sneaked into Taiji Palace through the water gate leading out of the city via the Qingming Canal.
The water gate leads directly to the bottom of the water through a dense iron fence, but now a gap wide enough for one person to swim in and out has been opened.
Wearing armor, Li Jingye struggled to swim through the water gate and landed near the Shanchiyuan area inside the palace. Dozens of people followed in single file, cautiously, not daring to make a sound so as not to alert the guards at Xuanwu Gate not far away.
Then, without stopping, they passed through several palace complexes, along the South Sea Pond and the Golden Water River, bypassed the inner courtyard of the Imperial Kitchen, and arrived directly at Foguang Temple north of the East Heng Gate, which is just across the street from the "West Palace" composed of Wanchun Hall, Lizheng Hall, and Daji Hall.
Foguang Temple was inherited from the Sui Dynasty. However, the three emperors of the Tang Dynasty did not believe in Buddhism, so although the buildings here are magnificent, they have been in disrepair for many years and are rarely visited.
More than a hundred assassins filed out of the temple, all with their faces covered by black cloths, their figures lithe and agile. Some carried swords, others bows and crossbows, but none had firearms.
A palace attendant trotted over from a distance and bowed to Li Jingye.
Li Jingye asked in a deep voice, "What is the situation inside Wanchun Palace?"
The eunuch said, "There are more than thirty imperial guards, more than ten eunuchs, and more than ten maids."
"Have you been keeping a close eye on things these past two days? Have any unfamiliar faces entered Wanchun Palace?"
Even with the arrow already on the bowstring, Li Jingye still felt that it was best to be cautious, after all, the Eastern Palace had a "Divine Machine Battalion" that was determined to protect the crown prince to the death.
He was able to transport the assassins and weapons into Taiji Palace and hide them in Foguang Temple without anyone noticing. Who knows if the Crown Prince had already taken precautions?
He was deeply wary of the fighting power of the "Divine Machine Battalion".
The eunuch shook his head: "I've been watching, and I haven't seen any unfamiliar faces enter, or even get close."
Li Jingye took a deep breath, clenched his left fist, gripped the hilt of his sword tightly with his right hand, and looked around at the assassins: "I don't care where you come from, but you must have received orders before coming here to kill the Crown Prince and cleanse the court!"
With over a hundred elite warriors and dozens of personal guards standing motionless and silent in the darkness, they would never do something as foolish as making a loud, resounding reply that would shake the palace.
Li Jingye concluded by rallying morale: "You are all fearless in the face of death, and so am I. This time, regardless of status or official rank, I will fight alongside you to uphold imperial authority!"
"Charge in! Leave no survivors!"
With a clenched fist, he swung his left hand fiercely, and nearly two hundred people, without uttering a sound, instantly passed through the East Hengmen on the east side of Hengjie Street and charged towards Wanchun Palace.
……
The layout of Taiji Palace follows the principles of ancient palace architecture, adopting a typical "front court and rear palace" structure. The front court is further divided into the outer court and the middle court. The outer court is mainly composed of the palace gate Chengtian Gate and the east and west halls, and is the place for holding grand ceremonies and consulting on public sentiment.
Taiji Hall was the core of the central court. The emperor mainly held court here, met with his ministers on the first and fifteenth of each month, and it was also the place where grand ceremonies such as enthronement, investiture, and banquets for tributary envoys were held.
The Taiji Hall had offices on the east side and offices for the prime minister and the emperor's close advisors on the west side, which facilitated the emperor's consultation and the drafting of documents and edicts.
North of the Liangyi Hall lies the inner court, but between the Liangyi Hall and the Ganlu Hall, there is a cross street separating the inner and outer areas. North of this cross street are the residences of the imperial concubines...
More than two hundred people dressed in black and wearing black headscarves rushed into Wanchun Palace through Hengjie Street under the cover of rainy night. The imperial guards on duty outside the palace quickly discovered the group of people. When they sounded the alarm with a gong, more than ten crossbow bolts pierced through the rain and came straight at them. They fell to the ground with screams.
However, the Imperial Guards responsible for guarding Wanchun Palace had already been alerted and quickly organized their forces to deploy in defense.
Under Li Jingye's leadership, more than two hundred elite soldiers kept running and quickly tested their arrows as they ran. The arrows flew like locusts through the rain, but most of them failed to hit vital parts and could not break through the armor of the imperial guards.
Li Jingye strode forward, leaping several times to reach the Imperial Guards. He brandished his sword, slashing and thrusting, sending several men crashing to the ground with screams of pain, none of them able to withstand a single blow. Behind him, his elite assassins swiftly arrived, scattering the clearly outnumbered Imperial Guards. After inflicting casualties, they did not linger in battle, but surged towards the gates of Wanchun Palace like a tidal wave.
Li Jingye took the lead, kicking open the palace door, but immediately lowered his head, stopped, turned around, and rolled to one side of the palace door.
"boom!"
A musket roared from within the dark hall, its orange-red flames illuminating the figures of the assassins who rushed into the hall afterward.
Ping Pong Pong!
Gunfire erupted inside the Wanchun Palace.