Joy of Life

The sounds of killing shook the heavens. Abruptly and completely, countless riders carrying the smoke of Dingzhou began to carry out an attack on the Qin family from all directions of the square. A group of about a thousand riders were like a sickle as they swept sharply across the foot of the Palace walls. The scaling towers high on the walls were immediately severed with a crash at the root like ripened grains in a paddy field. The ears of wheat were heavy, so there were a number of rebel soldiers bravely climbing them upward. They had not thought that their comrades would attack from below. The defenses below the scaling ladders had also not considered this problem. All the three-part scaling ladders leaned in from the two sides and fell down wretchedly. The rebel soldiers on them gave tragic cries as they fell.

Many fell to their deaths, sending up a spray of blood and internal organs as they were crushed beneath the heavy scaling ladder. The rebel soldiers who had already surmounted the walls abruptly felt there was something wrong behind them and couldn’t help but be afraid.

On the contrary, the remaining imperial soldiers and Overwatch Council officials on the walls realized there had suddenly been a great change to the battle situation below. Seeing their last chance of survival, courage immediately flooded into their chests. The people defending the Royal Palace charged forward. They surrounded and separated the rebel soldiers who had mounted the walls, forcing the trapped Qin soldiers into a helpless situation.

Some rebel soldiers had already broken through the main gates of the Royal Palace to carry out surprise killings. They had no idea what was happening behind them.

Two Ye family riders approached from the west, the direction of Taiping square. After sweeping through the scaling ladders, they didn’t slow down. They directly rode their horses into the dark hole in the Palace gate and began to carry out an attack on the rebel soldiers at the back.

On the square, the Dingzhou army, which had already taken an advantageous position, had long begun a countdown toward the Qin family’s counterattack. Too many of the Qin family’s upper-level generals had died. In addition, things happened suddenly. For a moment, they were unable to organize an effective defense and counterattack.

On the battlefield, it was often the instant the battle began that decided victory and defeat. The Dingzhou army generals talentedly carried out the secret order the Commander left behind before they entered the palace. Striking suddenly like thunder, they caught the Qin army by surprise. The rebel soldiers suffered heavy casualties. The scales of victory fell toward the Dingzhou army.

Why the scales tipped toward that direction was not understood by everyone, particularly the imperial soldiers and Black Knights. They had experienced four hours of desperate killing, were exhausted to the extreme, and just about to meet their deaths. They stared with wide eyes. It was clear they were somewhat confused.

The Great Prince, who was covered in blood, stood with Jing Ge, who had his head down, and watched in shock at sounds of killing around them, the black smoke, knife light, and sword shadow. He listened to the muffled grunts on the battlefield, the tragic calls, and sorrowful cries. He realized the long knife in his hand was very heavy.

At this time, the rebel soldiers began to fight internally. The Qin family could not ensure their own safety. The Dingzhou army purposely avoided the center of the square. The Great Prince and people protecting the Royal Palace stood in a daze on the empty land unsure of what had happened.

A moment ago, they were fighting desperately for their lives against others. In the next moment, it seemed they had become spectators. What was happening in Jingdou seemed to have nothing to do with them.

The Great Prince glanced at the injured Jing Ge and furrowed his brows. As the Commander of the Western Expedition Army, he knew how important reactions were on the battlefield. Regardless of what went wrong within the rebel army, if he wanted to use this opportunity, he had to give an order immediately to gather the almost 2,000 people inside and outside the Palace.

However, his eyes were a bit vacant. Above and below the Palace walls had already been divided into a number of battle areas. If the imperial soldiers wanted to form into a line, it was essentially impossible. Furthermore, the Great Prince did not want these subordinates, who had reached the top, to once again leave temporary safety and throw themselves into the flames of battle.

He had to see clearly why the Dingzhou army had suddenly changed sides. Did the Second Prince want to use this opportunity to get rid of the Crown Prince and take the throne to become Emperor? Why did the Dingzhou army purposely keep away from this group of imperial soldiers, and why were they working hard to protect the Royal Palace? He suddenly thought of everything Fan Xian did and said in the morning. His heart thudded loudly.

Did Fan Xian know the Ye family would make a move? He given those orders so he could create a good opportunity for them? An imperial soldier suddenly rushed to his side and said a few things quietly by his ear. He briefly recounted the events that someone had noticed earlier in the rebel army camp.

The Great Prince’s eyes lit up slightly. He looked at the Dingzhou soldiers shuttling back and forth around him and constantly retreating Qin family troops not far away, as well as the dragon banner that signaled the Crown Prince’s locations. Finally, he relaxed slightly. His admiration of Fan Xian increased a little.

All around were the hurried sounds of military orders. Smoke filled the sky. Various powers all gathered to charge together. The Great Prince, along with 200 people who had the great fortune to meet up with the imperial soldiers returning from Taiping Square, slowly pressed toward the Royal Palace.

In the distance, one could faintly see the yellow dragon banner, covered by smoke, leaving the field.

The entire square had become a massacre field. Although the Qin rebel soldiers had suffered great casualties and injuries, they had many more people than the Dingzhou army. Although the military order did not go smoothly, the natural talents of the Qing soldiers and qualities of individual soldiers still made the Dingzhou army pay a great price.

The situation was chaotic. All of the Qing Kingdom soldiers had formed into countless small groups and were killing together. All along the walls were battles happening. There were people dying and crying out wretchedly in all directions. The autumnal sun hovered in the sky and finally shone a clear light on everything through the smoke surrounding the Royal Palace. Puddles of blood lay on the ground, particularly the three sides where the Royal Palace was surrounded by a moat.

The blood had already seeped into the river. A number of dead and injured soldiers had tragically fallen into the river. Some barely alive rebel soldiers were woken by the icy cold moat water and had no energy to struggle to the shore. With great misery, they struggled weakly and sank toward the bottom of the lake. It looked like there were countless water spirits in the moat were pulling on their ankles.

Faced with the Dingzhou army’s abrupt attack, the Qin family barely managed to hold out for a while before finally retreating in defeat. A few generals escorted the Crown Prince and led the returned troops away from the square. Along the Jingdou streets, they began to retreat toward the city gate guards they still controlled.

The dragon banner retreated. The army situation worsened. The Dingzhou army cheered together and charged forward bravely. The battlefield immediately extended out from about 3 li outside the Royal Palace and once again extended toward Jingdou. Chased and those being chased, killer and those being killed, feathers flew wildly as spears stabbed out ruthlessly. Jingdou began to shake knowing it was about to deal with a chaos and bloodiness that had not be seen in 16 years.

…

…

A series of hoof beats sliced through the remaining smoke and fog on the ground. With the general on the back of the horse, he appeared in front of the Imperial Army and Black Knights below the Royal Palace in a corner the rebel soldiers seemed to have forgotten.

Countless sounds of metal crashing together rang out. No one gave an order. There was no need for orders. The already exhausted imperial soldiers and heavily injured Black Knights abruptly exploded out with boldness, changing their array with remarkable speed. They surrounded the general and soldiers behind him within their formation.

The color on the faces of the soldiers behind the general changed dramatically. They drew their knives in unison.

The Great Prince slowly walked out. Looking at the familiar figure on horseback, he raised his eyebrows and maintained his silence.

Ye Zhong slowly raised his right arm. The dozens of soldiers cautiously and slowly pulled back their knives but remained nervously watching these remaining soldiers, who had once brought them countless mental assaults. Earlier in the square, these hundreds of riders had attacked twice and sent the rebel army into chaos. They had stabbed Qin Heng, and killed countless soldiers. They were truly too terrifying.

“I am moving 3,000 soldiers to help Your Highness guard the Palace.”

Ye Zhong looked at the blood-covered Great Prince in front of him. A glimmer of admiration flashed through his eyes. However, his tone remained calm. “Gong Dian will arrive shortly. He will help Your Highness control the situation.”

The Great Prince looked at him and still did not open his mouth. Ye Zhong had already reached into his clothes and taken out a token. From a distance, he threw it toward the Great Prince.

The Great Prince raised his sore right arm and caught it in his hands. Looking at it, he found that it was the token Fan Xian had just taken from his subordinate’s hand the previous morning. Involuntarily, he furrowed his brows and raised his head to look at Ye Zhong’s figure, which sat as steady as a mountain on his horse and asked, “Father…”

He had only said this one word when Ye Zhong cut him off. He knew what the Great Prince wanted to ask, but he had no idea how to answer.

There were not many idiots in the royal family. When Ye Zhong showed his identity, as well as having Fan Xian’s token as an item of trust, the Great Prince clearly understood the role Ye Zhong played in this rebellion. He knew that someone at the level of Ye Zhong could not be persuaded by Fan Xian. Thus, his father must have already made arrangements for the Dingzhou army, which came with false intentions to present prisoners of war before he left the capital.

The Great Prince took a deep breath and didn’t ask anything more. He just gave an order and said, “Give chase.”

He knew Ye Zhong was waiting for his order. Although the Qin family had already been defeated, the sounds of killing remained in the square. In reality, the Ye family’s Dingzhou army already controlled the entire situation in Jingdou. Yet, Ye Zhong still had to come see him because he wanted the Commander of the Imperial Army, the eldest son of the royal family, to give him a verbal order.

In the present situation, Ye Zhong could control Jingdou given the power in his hands, but he didn’t want, or dare, to have anyone develop any suspicions. Thus, he was particularly respectful toward the Great Prince.

…

…

The fires of battle had already extended into Jingdou and to the common people who had already shut their doors for a day and a night. There were tragedies of war everywhere. The main portion of the Dingzhou cavalry was chasing after the Qin family’s main camp in the direction of Jingdou’s nine city gates.

However, the Crown Prince was not below the dragon banner. The young man who was just about to charge into the Royal Palace and become the new monarch of Qing Kingdom had abruptly been blindsided. His dreams had shattered in front of his eyes. The color of his face had long become unbelievably dismal. Fortunately, the loyal generals of the Qin family had reacted with remarkable speed and opened up a bloody path with their remaining soldiers.

Li Chengqian didn’t want to retreat. He knew he only had the Qin family’s army in his hands. If he retreated out of Jingdou, even though the world was vast, what place would tolerate him? Even his aunt had not expected that the Ye family would defect, right? A bitter smile rose to the corner his lips. Even the movement of the warhorse below him did not have any effect on his frozen expression.

He had been thinking about how he would win the Ye family from the Second Prince’s side after he took the throne so he could be a proper Emperor. He had thought about how to resist pressure from his aunt, mother, grandmother, and old Qin master. He had thought about how he was going to pardon the civil officials on the Palace walls who had set themselves up determinedly against him, particularly the scholars Shu and Hu.

He never thought the Ye family would betray him like this.

His aunt probably didn’t know of this shocking news. His mother and grandmother were still bound on top of the Palace walls. The old Qin master was dead.

A wave of pain washed through the Crown Prince’s chest. He almost couldn’t hold himself up on his horse. A rebel soldier at his side said, with tears in his eyes, “Your Highness, as long as we can get out of the city, we can gather more soldiers. There are still our people in Mount Xiao. When the time comes, we can charge up North and meet up with Governor Yan. Everything will work out!”

These words made sense, but Li Chengqian didn’t really believe them. Fan Xian had come back alive. Governor Yan had probably also died. Since the Ye family had defected, Uncle Liuyun was probably… Li Chengqian sighed in his heart. No one knew what kind of waves were rocking around in his heart as he bounded toward the city gate on his horse.

Below the Palace walls, another main conspirator of the rebellion, the Second Prince, was gazing at his father-in-law with a resentful and helpless gaze. Before Ye Zhong personally led the Dingzhou army in pursuit, for some reason he had come to this camp to have a look at his son-in-law.

“If you want to live, you have to remember what the Dingzhou army said today.”

At this time, the Second Prince was completely bound and stood desolately below the horse. He raised his head and looked with hatred at Ye Zhong and spat. He knew what Ye Zhong’s words meant. The Dingzhou army’s final betrayal was, nominally, because he wanted to avenge his father’s death and carry out his father’s posthumous edict. However, he knew that this was not actually the case.

Of all the people present, it was the Second Prince whose feelings were the most helpless, shocked, and angriest. He had no idea that on Dong Mountain, the Qing Emperor had told Fan Xian that, if possible, he should leave the Second Prince his life. At such a moment, the Second Prince did not think that he would be able to survive.

What made him the angriest was that it seemed that he had planned for a long time. But, in the end, he was the stupidest person. Everything he had done now looked to be absurd and funny.

There was great rage contained within his eyes. His usually warm appearance appeared particularly cold. “Father-in-law, you are truly a good dog… However, if father is truly dead, what are you going to do?”

Ye Zhong didn’t say anything. He only turned his horse around slowly. The expression on his face dimmed slightly. The Second Prince cried out behind his back, “You are all liars!”

A heavy object suddenly fell from the Palace walls and landed forcefully against the stone pavement with a muffled crash. A person had fallen. It was a woman wearing beautiful and extravagant clothing. Having suffered a heavy blow, all the bones and tendons in her body broke as fresh blood flowed out. She had long died, but her head remained perfectly preserved, revealing a sallow and dignified face filled with helplessness and mania.

Watching the dragon banner leave, the helpless Empress finally weakly threw herself to her death.