Corpses have piled up in the square outside Xuanhui Hall, and the wind carries a strong smell of blood, but the fighting is still going on.
The princes and concubines had all hid in the palace, not daring to disturb the sick Emperor Tongxu, so they could only hide in the corner and cry silently.
Li Yanchang's vision had begun to blur and he could not see clearly in the distance, but he could hear the sound of killing.
Li Jifeng knelt down next to him, "Seventh brother."
Li Yanchang's blood was almost gone, and he made a roaring sound in his throat, "Help...save me..."
"You are finally afraid of death." Li Jifeng laughed, "I thought you were really not afraid of death."
Li Yanchang was not afraid of death originally, but he slowly tasted the taste of death in the passage of blood and time. He saw that there was no afterlife, only endless darkness, so he began to be afraid.
Shen Yu's goal was achieved, she wanted to prolong his pain indefinitely.
"You have calculated everything, and what you got is today's result." Li Jifeng glanced at his neck and sighed twice, "This knife was really neat. I didn't expect that she would dare to strike at that time."
The Forbidden Army guarded the steps to prevent the rebellious Forbidden Army from attacking, but they were still at a disadvantage in terms of numbers.
The rebel Imperial Army was gradually shrinking the encirclement.
"Kill——" the deputy commander made Sha's eyes red, "We will win soon!"
Li Zhaonian did not retreat into Xuanhui Hall, he wanted to remember today clearly.
He wanted to figure out in the fishy wind what the purpose of all this was? Is it worth it?
I don't know who set up the bow and shot an arrow towards Li Zhaonian.
Just as he was about to hit, he was cut into two pieces in mid-air.
Li Zhaonian: "Ninth brother, you..."
"Just to survive." Li Jifeng threw away the knife he picked up from the ground.
Li Zhaonian was just stunned for a moment, and his eyes were filled with relief.
Everyone in the palace is wearing a mask, the emperor, the concubines, even the eunuchs and maids. They have two faces in front of them, one is for themselves, and the other is for survival.
Li Jifeng took out the handkerchief to wipe his hands and asked, "Brother Xi, why don't you hide inside?"
Li Zhaonian glanced sideways at Li Jifeng, "Where can I hide?"
"You don't seem worried at all."
Li Zhaonian looked in the direction of the palace gate, "I believe her."
"But she has left." Li Jifeng reminded.
"But she left a way for everyone to survive." Li Zhaonian said, "Wait a little longer."
Amidst the loud shouts of killing, Li Jifeng faintly heard the sound of marching.
"Deputy Commander!" A Forbidden Army shouted: "The people from the Five Cities Soldiers and Horses Division are here!"
"What?" The deputy commander felt a chill in his heart. He put aside the sword of a forbidden soldier and retreated hastily, "No, retreat!"
"I can't retreat anymore, I've already entered!"
"Where's Jiang An? He left us and ran away? Don't you understand this, don't you want to pursue him?" The deputy commander spit out a mouthful of blood.
"Brothers, hold on for a while longer. When Marquis Xuanping's army enters the capital, we will be the first to win!"
The Forbidden Army suffered more than 2,000 casualties, and half of the troops were taken away by Jiang An, making it impossible to stop the reinforcements.
The imperial troops all retreated to the palace gate, but were pressed back by soldiers and horses from the five cities.
"Is this her back-up plan?" Li Jifeng smiled slightly, "It's a pity that she came a little late."
Li Zhaonian said: "It's not too late, it's because the battle lines were drawn too early. My father's order to capture Lao Qi was far ahead of the plan. The original plan was to capture Li Yanchang and Jiang An's rebellion at this moment. The troops from the five cities arrived just in time to defeat the rebels." The imperial army surrounded and killed him inside the palace gate, but the first change came from my father."
"That's because my father was so angry with Lao Qi that he couldn't stand it anymore." Li Jifeng said.
Li Zhaonian sighed, "The second variable is me. I didn't make arrangements for the harem women and the rest of the brothers, so someone took her hostage and held her back."
Li Jifeng thought for a moment, "Then the third variable is Xie Tingzhou."
"Yes." Li Zhaonian said, "She is holding Li Yanchang hostage. If the stalemate can last for a while, the troops from the five cities may be able to arrive."
"But she didn't predict that Xie Tingzhou would come back, and she was willing to risk her life for her." Li Zhaonian's eyes were far-reaching, "This is her variable, and it is also our variable. There is no foolproof strategy in this world, only a desperate fight."
Li Jifeng crossed his arms, and his enemy still looked as leisurely as before, "She could not have been in a hurry to kill Li Yanchang, she could have delayed it a little longer."
"For Xie Tingzhou." Li Zhaonian whispered: "She is afraid that once reinforcements arrive, Xie Tingzhou will not be able to leave."
The soldiers and horses of the five cities soon surrounded the remaining soldiers of the Forbidden Army.
He commanded Qi Ping to gallop his horse to the front of the palace, turned over and dismounted, "Your Highness, the general's rescue has been late. I hope Your Highness will forgive me."
Li Zhaonian looked at the square filled with blood and said, "Leave it to you, Commander Qi."
"Yes! The general has taken the order." Qi Ping turned around and said, "The soldiers and horses of the five cities all obey my orders! Kill the rebels and the imperial guards without mercy!"
Li Jifeng said: "Let's go in and see our father."
Li Zhaonian stepped through the gate first and said to the prince and his family members who were huddled in a corner: "Go back, go back to your own palace."
The people in the palace retreated until only the two brothers and Emperor Tongxu were left.
Li Zhaonian knelt in front of the dragon bed and called softly: "Father."
Emperor Tongxu gradually opened his eyes, "Is it solved?"
"The soldiers and horses of the five cities have taken control of the situation."
"Where's Lao Qi?"
Li Zhaonian and Li Jifeng looked at each other and said, "He intended to murder his son and was executed at the door."
Emperor Tongxu: "Shen Yu..."
"She is still needed outside." Li Zhaonian lied without looking into his father's eyes.
Whether it was hiding the person who killed Li Yanchang or lying to Emperor Tongxu, he wanted to protect her.
"That's good, just stay here." Emperor Tongxu reached out and grabbed the hands of Li Zhaonian and Li Jifeng, "I leave your brothers and this mess to you."
Li Zhaonian's eyes turned red, "Father, don't worry, I will definitely do my best."
Emperor Tongxu nodded slightly, looked at Li Zhaonian and said: "Don't let it, don't let the country be ruined in your hands, never, never..."
Li Zhaonian felt the hand holding him loosen.
He raised his head and saw Emperor Tongxu's eyes open, lifeless, filled with his unfulfilled ambition and unwillingness in his life.
The bell tolls and the wails blow.
Emperor Tongxu reigned for 19 years and ended his life in the sound of war.
……
