I Am Truly Not a Treacherous Minister Your Majesty

Chapter 74: Rebellion

Rongsheng King’s Mansion.

At this moment, King Rongsheng, Xia Yun, was standing on a high platform.

Below him, the training ground of the mansion was filled with soldiers wearing blue scarves.

They stood neatly together, their eyes full of anticipation.

Xia Yun gazed at his loyal warriors below, his heart filled with bitterness.

These were the soldiers he had painstakingly trained, willing to follow him, and now, after nurturing them for so long, it was time to bring out this hidden strength.

He took a deep breath and then spoke to the soldiers below:

“Everyone, you have followed me for many years. Thanks to your trust, I still have you as my support. Our Great Xia has a history of thousands of years, with many wise and heroic rulers, among whom there were extraordinary people in both civil and military affairs. But now, our Great Xia’s land is occupied by a woman and a treacherous minister, which is truly a disgrace to our nation!”

“The late emperor once said he wanted to pass the throne to the crown prince, but the crown prince was deposed. How can this be justified? The crown prince did nothing wrong, showed no negligence, and was deposed merely for not adhering to etiquette. This must be a treacherous plot by Duke An!”

“Today, I ask you to join me in storming the palace, forcing the emperor to abdicate in favor of the crown prince. The crown prince and General Du will set fire to the west of the city first, drawing the imperial guards to reinforce there, while our forces will directly attack the palace and force the emperor to abdicate!”

At this point, Xia Yun raised his arm and shouted:

“Success or failure depends on this action. Everyone, advance and retreat with me!”

The deafening shouts instantly drowned out his voice. Then, this well-prepared force of over a thousand men, led by two hundred cavalry, marched grandly towards the palace.

Meanwhile, on the other side of Tai’an City, five thousand soldiers led by the former crown prince and General Du were also quickly heading towards the palace.

General Du originally thought that, counting the soldiers of the generals who supported him, he would have tens of thousands of troops. But reality was harsh; many generals could not mobilize their troops without orders from the Grand Marshal’s Office, leading to a significant reduction in the coup forces.

Fortunately, he was still able to gather over three thousand men, and with the former crown prince’s secretly raised personal guards, they managed to assemble over five thousand men. Additionally, more than two thousand men outside the city were responsible for distracting the outer Tai’an City troops, delaying and blocking the reinforcements of the Great Xia army.

This was a coup that had been planned for a long time.

The troops swiftly passed through each street. When the citizens saw a group of armored soldiers passing by, they almost all realized what was happening and hurriedly hid in their homes to avoid being caught up in the coup.

When Rongsheng King’s army was a few miles from the palace, a team of imperial guards spotted them from afar.

“Something’s happening!”

The imperial guard captain on patrol saw the enemy’s banners raised and shouted.

“Prepare for battle!”

Facing over a thousand elite soldiers, the imperial guards, though only a dozen strong, held their weapons and charged into the crowd!

In an instant, the shouts were deafening. These dozen imperial guards seemed insignificant against the thousand-strong coup force, but they continued to wield their weapons amidst the crowd.

After just a minute, the rebels continued to march forward in their armor, leaving behind a mess of corpses, some of the imperial guards and some of the rebels. However, time was running out for the rebels.

Someone had seen a young imperial guard crawl out from the pile of dead bodies during the melee. He ran frantically while no one noticed him, and by now, the people in the palace were likely aware of the coup.

Indeed, as the imperial guards advanced towards the palace, the young guard had stumbled his way into the palace.

He informed everyone of the rebels’ approach, causing chaos in the palace, with various departments preparing to evacuate.

This news also reached Xia Yuxiao’s ears.

Upon hearing this, Xia Yuxiao was not surprised.

In fact, she had long anticipated the possibility of the fifth prince rebelling. There were indeed spies from various factions within the palace, and her brother certainly had his own.

The number of imperial guards and dragon guards in the palace was not large, as the main purpose of the Tai’an City imperial guards was to maintain the palace’s security, with fewer than a thousand men. However, to prevent such a rebellion, Xia Yuxiao had long prepared enough weapons and equipment in the palace, quickly arming her guards.

But then, her “foolproof” plan encountered a problem.

Thick smoke billowed from the fire in the west of the city, making even firefighting difficult. At this moment, intelligence reported that at least five thousand men were coming from the west of the city, also heading straight for the palace.

At this point, Xia Yuxiao could no longer remain calm.

No way, is the Crown Prince really this brave?

Originally, she thought the Crown Prince had been behaving himself with no major demands, but now faced with the temptation of benefits, the Crown Prince still decisively chose to join the Fifth Prince…

How should I put it, those people really never give up their treacherous intentions.

“Deploy the Black Armored Cavalry from the city to the west. There’s no need to win, just hold them off,” Xia Yuxiao said, turning her head, “General Bai, what about your troops?”

General Bai had previously returned with his troops.

“Your Majesty, I am doing my best to gather those soldiers, but Your Majesty, if we rely on my troops, it may be difficult to achieve. Now, outside the palace, there are rebels everywhere in the city. The soldiers on leave are scattered throughout the city, making it extremely difficult to gather them. Moreover, their armor is not with them. If we rashly gather them, even if we manage to form a sizable force, they will likely be quickly annihilated.”

“Your Majesty, if there’s no other way, please call upon the Celestial Masters and cultivators in the palace. Although they are few in number, I believe they can certainly stop the rebels.”

General Bai suggested.

The ministers present all agreed. The court supports these Celestial Masters and cultivators for emergencies like this. Now, it’s better to call them over. No matter how strong the six or seven thousand rebels are, they cannot defeat the Celestial Masters.

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“Celestial Masters… I cannot use them lightly.”

Xia Yuxiao said softly.

Celestial Masters cannot be used unless absolutely necessary. For Xia Yuxiao, this was something she knew even before she knew she would become the emperor. When the late emperor fought in the north and south, even during the most brutal battles with over 800,000 troops, he never relied on the power of the Celestial Masters.

What to do…

Just as the ministers were discussing, suddenly, someone rushed in from outside.

“Your Majesty! Your Majesty!”

“Speak quickly, what’s the matter!”

An official nearby hurriedly asked.

It was a soldier, but from the blood and dust on his body, it was clear that this soldier had just been sent from the front lines to deliver a message.

“Our army, our army fought bravely, with heavy casualties… but the Duke of An has arrived!”

As soon as these words were spoken, the entire court exploded.

“The Duke of An! I didn’t expect him to actually come!”

“How many troops did he bring? Can he break the siege of the rebels?”

“In any case, his arrival is good news!”

The Duke of An, usually criticized as a traitor, now seemed to become the reassurance for everyone present. Xia Yuxiao also breathed a sigh of relief and sat back in her seat.

Finally, he has arrived…