The sound of horse hooves heard from Xihua Gate was the sound of cavalrymen who had just arrived at Xuande Gate.
The first to arrive at Xuande Gate in the south of the imperial city were the Third Army's Du Yuhou Dong Zunxun and the Cavalry Commander Deng Fei. The two led 800 elite cavalrymen to the crossroads in front of Xuande Gate and immediately turned west. A large stream of horses formed a curve and galloped rapidly. The battle of hundreds of iron hooves seemed to shake the world, and there was no obstacle along the way; facing the aggressive and well-armed cavalry, only a fool would try to stop them.
The Imperial Guards Office was located next to the Zuoye Gate of the Imperial City, next to the Xuande Gate. At this time, some people were already standing at the gate of the office, watching from afar. But Dong Zunxun and the others ignored the Imperial Guards Office and rushed straight to their destination.
The imperial city was roughly square, slightly longer from north to south, with a side length of more than two miles. Dong Zunxun's troops advanced westward from Xuande Gate to the southwest corner tower of the imperial city and then headed north, a total distance of about two miles. He led his troops to Xihua Gate in just over a minute.
A huge square flag fluttered in the wind on the horse, with four bold characters on it: "We are summoned to fight against the rebellion." Dong Zunxun rode a very tall pure-blooded red horse from the Western Regions, wearing double-layer heavy armor all over his body, like an iron man, with only his two eyes showing, and even his mouth and chin were covered with a piece of finely forged iron with multiple holes.
The rumbling sound of horse hooves was deafening
Dong Zunxun led the way and was the first to rush to the Xihua Gate. Seeing the palace gate wide open, he was overjoyed and rushed forward. At the same time, he had a bow and arrow in his hand. When he looked up, he saw that the gate was in chaos and some soldiers and women had been killed on the ground. The first drop of blood had been seen, so what else could he say
The bowstring sounded, and a heavy arrow flew out at an angle, hitting the face of a soldier who was besieging Luo Yanhuan. Before the man fell, there was another sound of the bowstring, and another person was hit in the chest, ten steps away.
Luo Yanhuan was overjoyed when Xiao Dong was covered in blood. You are finally here.
General Luo Dong Zunxun responded and told his men to get out of the way.
Before he finished speaking, Dong Zunxun had thrown away his expensive carved bow, and with a flash of cold light, his fine cavalry sword was unsheathed from his back. It was long, thick and narrow. Dong Zunxun's warhorse had already rushed directly into the crowd of people with spears. While swinging the sword with his right hand, he held the unsharpened blade at the back of the long sword with his left hand, breaking through the armor directly. The sound of metal collision and screams sounded at the same time.
A moment later, his personal soldiers also rushed forward without caring about their own lives, and the cavalrymen hacked and hacked at him desperately. A personal soldier on the left wing had no one to protect him, and was immediately killed by several spears stabbing at him, and blood flew everywhere. Dong Zunxun was hit by several arrows in the chest, and his horse was also injured, so he fell off the horse. Seeing this, many cavalrymen behind him abandoned their horses and walked up, holding long and short weapons to protect him.
More cavalrymen abandoned their horses and crowded in. Hundreds of cavalrymen were blocking the outside of the palace. The cavalry could not run away and took up too much space, so the soldiers abandoned their horses and fought on foot. Bowstrings snapped and arrows flew in the air.
The newly arrived reinforcements at the city gate were weak in strength, and their generals seemed to have been killed by Luo Yanhuan. The soldiers and horses were in chaos, and were chased by Dong Zunxun's troops in an instant. The defenders fled in defeat. But everyone was already blood-thirsty, and the crazy soldiers rushed forward to kill, regardless of whether others surrendered or begged for mercy.
Some of the defenders were squeezed into the corners, and the soldiers stabbed them with long and short weapons without stopping, leaving corpses everywhere in the gatehouse. Except for some soldiers who fled to the small door in the inner wall in panic, the remaining defenders in the not very spacious space were all slaughtered, and many of them were stabbed and cut dozens of times, and were killed to pieces.
Luo Yanhuan spat out a mouthful of blood and pulled out the arrow in his chest. His face twitched in pain. He shouted: "Defend this place in battle formation. Fight to the last soldier. My army on the left wing will be here soon."
When he looked back, there were corpses and blood everywhere on the ground. Many of the survivors were struggling and screaming. There were also many dead women with painted faces. The only weapons of those women were short swords. They had no protection and were hit to death. Their white dresses were stained with blood. But Luo Yanhuan didn't see Cao Tai at this time, so he shouted: Eunuch Cao!
At that moment, he felt that Cao Tai had helped a lot and it was a pity that he died, so he searched the corpse on the ground. At this time, behind the dozens of surviving women, an eunuch came out and said: "Eunuch Cao went through the small door to the front hall." Zajia saw him go there with his own eyes.
Before long, before the reinforcements from the palace could be seen, the sound of horse hooves outside sounded like thunder.
Thousands of troops poured into the streets outside Xihua Gate like a flood. The army that came so quickly could only have set out from Zhuque Gate on the left wing, and it had been less than an incense stick of time since then; for an unprepared military camp, it would be difficult to gather even one commander in an incense stick of time.
Sure enough, a large flag soon appeared in people's sight. The flag with a tiger pattern embroidered on it made the soldiers feel very familiar. The soldiers on horseback were all infantrymen. Some of them rode two people on one horse. When they arrived at the place and heard the generals shouting, they dismounted. The generals at all levels waved their swords, cursed loudly, and organized their troops to form a square formation. There was a commotion outside. Except for the horses, there were only people.
The soldiers guarding Xihua Gate breathed a sigh of relief. Dong Zunxun clasped his fists and said: General Luo has made the first contribution. My uncle Guo will definitely pay extra attention to him. I am really envious.
Luo Yanhuan said: The key to opening the palace gate is the eunuch surnamed Cao. I thought I was going to die here. He tightly grasped the hilt of the sword dripping with blood. The guard is a novice and does not know how to guard the city gate. He is hesitant and has no way to defend. Otherwise, we will fight to the death even if we can hold on for half an incense stick.
He was still nervous and kept saying: First the eunuchs opened the palace gates, and I frightened him and argued with him to delay time; then the guards came up to fight. But the guards were unsure of me and didn't dare to use their weapons easily, so it took a long time.
Later, the movement of the army was too obvious, and the guard finally came to his senses and shouted to close the city gate immediately. I killed him on the spot. He and dozens of other people were blocking the gate. How could the guards close the gate? They had to fight. Those women were not afraid of death. They took out their daggers to help block the gate, but nearly half of them died in vain; daggers were useless in battle. The guards used bows and arrows and long weapons. They couldn't rush to block the gate with daggers, so they could only act as a flesh wall and couldn't reach others.
At this time, Guo Shao also came. He approached a woman wearing armor and looking heroic. It was Jingniang. Guo Shao walked forward and took a look at the scene of Xihua Gate. Then he walked forward and held Luo Yanhuan's palm with both hands, and said with a moved face: General Luo, you have made a great contribution.
Luo Yanhuan, who was still working in the Qingshui government office in Tokyo two years ago, may not have understood the concept of extraordinary achievements for a while. He said in a daze: I have fulfilled my mission and finally completed the task.
Guo Shao said: The most difficult part of this battle is the Xihua Gate. If we can't break through quickly, the time will be delayed if we force the attack, which will greatly increase various unpredictable variables. This is why I sent you, the general, to come here in person.
Luo Yanhuan hurriedly said: Thanks to the Marshal's proper planning, the eunuch was able to open the city gate as an insider.
Guo Shao looked back at the troops who were reorganizing the ranks and said: Opening Xihua Gate is halfway to success. We must make a concerted effort and recount our achievements when we celebrate our success someday.
He sighed again, turned around and said in a deep voice: "As for the bodies of these women, ask your personal soldiers to find a place to put them first. They died for our great cause at a critical moment, and they should be treated no less respectfully than the fallen soldiers."
Outside the Jinxiang Palace, Qiao Kang was anxiously ordering reinforcements to be assembled from all gates. The soldiers were in a state of chaos in a hurry. Of course, he would not pay attention to the eunuch running away with a whisk. The palace was short of many people, but not eunuchs.
Cao Tai huddled his body, holding the whisk in his arms, and walked into the Jinxiang Palace with his head down.
After he entered, an eunuch finally recognized him and stopped him: "Eunuch Cao, where are you going?"
Cao Tai said: I have important matters to discuss with Eunuch Yang Shiliang.
The eunuch's power and position were not as strong as Cao Tai's. When he heard that Cao Tai wanted to see the eunuch of the same rank, he said, "Eunuch Cao, please come with me." At this critical moment, how to deal with it was a matter for the higher-ups, so as not to offend anyone and not to take any risks.
They passed through the main hall, walked aside, and entered the back hall. Soon they saw Yang Shiliang, whose face was pale, and took Cao Tai into a room.
The sound of horse hooves outside the imperial city had already echoed in the front hall not long ago. Hearing that a fight had already broken out at Xihua Gate, Yang Shiliang asked the eunuchs who came from there, and they said that they were fighting with the Tiger Flag and the Tiger Swift Army.
Before Cao Tai could speak, Yang Shiliang asked anxiously: "The one coming from outside is Guo Shao's Tiger Army Left Wing."
There is also the right wing. Gao Huaide of the right wing also followed Guo Shao to raise an army. Guo Shao was the savior of Gao Huaide's sister and the commander of Gao Huaide's nephew. He controlled the entire Hujie Army. Cao Tai glared and said, a total of more than 20,000 people, sweeping across most of the capital, just broke through the Xihua Gate, and the army is about to enter the imperial city.
Yang Shiliang frowned: Guo Shao is planning a rebellion
Cao Tai said: Why would he rebel? The queen's sister is his legitimate wife. Guo Shao and the Fu family are relatives. He is not qualified. Why would he rebel with his head on the line if he doesn't want to sit back and enjoy the glory and wealth of the queen
That's true. Yang Shiliang nodded continuously.
Cao Tai said in a deep voice: "Eunuch Yang knows best what the emperor's situation is. He definitely can't get out of bed. Can you still make it clear?"
Yang Shiliang said: It has been worse since yesterday. He can only say one or two words and needs to rest for half an hour. However, he is still conscious and can hear other people talking. As long as you speak in front of him, he will nod or shake his head slightly.
Cao Tai said: Eunuch Yang, do you think the emperor can be good? Besides, 20,000 troops have marched into the imperial city. Will they slowly watch the emperor shake his head or nod
Yang Shiliang remained silent for a long time.
Cao Tai said calmly: Wang Zhong looks miserable, but he is still alive. If he is not dead, good or bad luck is hard to predict. Wang Zhong had made plans early, but the risk was too great. Eunuch Yang is not in any danger now, so why not sit back and enjoy the benefits
How can I sit back and reap the benefits? Yang Shiliang asked.
The emperor can no longer govern, and there is also the prince; the prince's mother is the empress, who is a crony of the empress. The army has entered the city. Eunuch Yang, you have to think carefully about who will be in power in this court. It is not an obvious thing, Cao Taidao.
Yang Shiliang suddenly knelt down in front of Cao Tai and said: "Eunuch Cao, please, for the sake of our long-term friendship, please help me introduce you to a few good words."