As the applause died down, those soldiers who were originally part of the Sixth Prince's forces took the opportunity, while the other side had yet to react, to massacre the remaining troops in the blink of an eye. Even Minister Lin and the garrison general were not spared.
Blood spattered all over the grand hall, terrifying the ministers who crumpled to the ground in shock. Some even fainted on the spot, and some even left little yellow stains on their robes.
The Sixth Prince's homeground had become the Third Prince's territory.
"So you've been using me from the very start?" The Sixth Prince stared at the Third Prince in disbelief, his eyes red with fury. He gnashed his teeth and growled, "Is that it?"
"What else could it be? Every time I saw you and your mother's condescending, patronizing faces, I wished I could tear you apart. Oh yes, your mother always said my mother was a cheap whore who seduced the King. I wonder if she's 'enjoying' the same treatment now." The Third Prince looked at the Sixth Prince with bloodlust in his eyes and said softly.
"What did you say?!" The Sixth Prince lost his temper. "I'll kill you!" He charged at the Third Prince like a wild beast, only to be pressed to the ground by the surrounding soldiers.
The Third Prince ignored him and turned to King Ye, "Father, I once naively thought that when I grew up and gained power, you would finally notice me. But that was just my wishful thinking. Even an idiot like the Sixth Prince can attend court, while I was chased out of the palace like a fly, exiled to that godforsaken prince's residence. Scorned by the world."
"On what basis do you look down on me just because I was born to a palace maid? All of you - from you exalted princes, grandsons and sons, to the lowliest servant - can freely humiliate and trample us. If you don't like me, why bring me into this world? Why should I bear the consequences of your mistakes?"
"I resent you. And you too." The Third Prince said, pointing at King Ye and the Crown Prince.
"And all of you." He continued, glaring at the ministers and eunuchs and maids in the hall.
"If you had no compassion, don't blame me for being merciless. I will make every single one of you taste what it's like to be trampled underfoot." The Third Prince seemed to recall his humiliating past, his face twisted in anger as he bellowed at everyone in the hall.
"My dear Father, present me with the imperial jade seal now. I will grant you all a quick death." After he finished, a eunuch walked over deferentially with a tray holding a written edict.
King Ye swept the tray aside in anger. "Do you think seizing the throne by force will silence the people?"
"If they can't shut up, kill them all!"
"You madman! You are utterly deranged!"
"Yes, I went mad long ago, driven mad by all of you!" The Third Prince was losing patience. "I have no more time to waste with you. Hand over the seal immediately!"
"In your dreams."
"Very well. Kill all the guards!"
"Yes sir!"
The grand hall once again descended into a scene of carnage. Although the troops were led by Lang Tong, the second best warrior of the Dayi Dynasty, they were severely outnumbered. In the end, only a handful survived.
"Well?"
"Savage! Even in death I will not let Dayi fall into your hands."
The Third Prince signaled to a deputy by his side. Understanding his intention, the deputy hauled a minister over and separated his head from his body with one swift motion. The minister collapsed heavily to the ground.
"Gasp!" The ministers shrank back in terror.
"My patience is limited. For every minute you dawdle, I will kill one of your loyal subjects. Let's see how thick your skin really is." The Third Prince threatened King Ye.
"You-"
Outside the capital city gates, Gong Xiaohua had already arrived with her troops during the standoff between the Sixth Prince's men and the palace guards. She was joined by garrison forces from nearby cities that rushed over when they heard the news.
Earlier when she spoke to Qin Chuyuan, Gong Xiaohua sensed something amiss about the Lin Family secretly dispatching forces towards the capital. She reported this intelligence to the Crown Prince, who had already covertly mobilized garrison troops from nearby cities. He hid them in the mountains 10 li from the capital city. His order was to ambush and kill any forces dispatched by the Lin Family midway, then continue on to the capital city gates.
The counter rebellion this time was led by General Chen, one of the Crown Prince’s trusted aides. The three other armies, including Gong Xiaohua’s Xiyuan Army, were under his command. General Chen was the Crown Prince’s nephew by marriage. As one of the Crown Prince’s most trusted confidants, he was entrusted with a secret map of the capital city. This included access points to covert tunnels leading into the city located outside the suburbs. These were different from the tunnels marked on Qin Chuyuan's map, which were privately built by the Qin family. However, both sets of tunnels were quite narrow, allowing only one person through at a time.
If they wanted to enter the capital city quickly, traversing the tunnels would take days. Time was not on their side. The best approach was to send a small team through the tunnels disguised as city guards. When the city came under attack, they could coordinate with the external force and open the gates from within. The fewer who knew about the tunnels the better. General Chen only sent people he trusted most implicitly through the tunnels.
As for the Qin family tunnels, Gong Xiaohua did not inform anyone else. She only instructed Li Zichen to use them to covertly notify the Gong and Li families to prepare to flee the capital city at any sign of trouble, in case the Lin Family later sought revenge against them.
There were originally 40,000 horses garrisoned outside the capital city suburbs. 30,000 were drawn into the Sixth Prince's coup and deployed in the royal palace (20,000 men), at the city gates (5,000 men) and to control the capital's government offices and noble households (5,000 men).
Led by General Chen, the four armies formed a 20,000 strong impromptu force gathered at the city gates.
"You treasonous villains, open the gates immediately or we will show no mercy!" General Chen shouted.
"Ha ha! How ironic for traitors to accuse us. If you dare force your way in, don't blame us for being ruthless!" The other side retorted falsely.
General Chen could no longer be bothered with useless arguments. They had to breach the palace defenses as swiftly as possible before things escalated irretrievably.
Shield bearers, siege ladder teams, and battering ram crew charged ahead at the vanguard, followed closely by wave after wave of soldiers - thousands upon thousands - assaulting the city gates. Arrows rained down like a tempest from the ramparts, and the battle for the capital began in earnest.
The besiegers attacked relentlessly with no thought for their own lives. As the frontline fell, the ranks behind them surged forward. Blood dyed the city gates a scarlet red.
Outnumbered and outmatched, it was not long before the city gates were breached.
The troops poured towards the royal palace. Time was against them still, and General Chen gave the order to storm directly ahead.
"Hey boss lady, there's barely a thousand of us from the Xiyuan Army. If we get caught up in the fighting, won't we just be cannon fodder?" He Lianyu sidled up to Gong Xiaohua and muttered.
Gong Xiaohua gave him an incredulous look, "What, you scared?"
Although it was just a taunt, He Lianyu felt his pride take a huge blow. "As if! When have I, the great one, ever known the meaning of fear?"
He rolled up his sleeves, ripped out a strip of black cloth from his waistband, and dramatically tied it on his forehead. "The great one barely got his fill at the city gates just now. Brothers! Follow me, it's time to really let loose!"
His rallying cry was met by a chorus of acknowledgement as they unsheathed their weapons and charged wildly into the palace, Gong Xiaohua leading with twin swords flashing.
Despite the Xiyuan Army's short training time, they fought with no less ferocity than the rest.
Eyes bloodshot, they hacked their way forward. For each comrade that fell beside them - each brother they had shared food and trained together with - their resolve only grew stronger. The responsibility they felt as soldiers overrode all thoughts of life and death. The more they killed, the braver they became.
Midway through the battle, Gong Xiaohua encountered Guo Fan, who she had promoted earlier at the borders. Realizing they were here under orders to rebel, Guo Fan immediately turned his fiercely loyal men to join Gong Xiaohua's side.
Bolstered by Guo Fan's defections, Gong Xiaohua's squad was the first to penetrate the inner perimeter. They raced towards the doors of the grand hall where court was held. The ground before the doors was soaked red with blood and scattered with corpses.
"Chuyuan!"
A cry rang out from within the hall.
In the blink of an eye, Gong Xiaohua rushed into the great hall with a speed that even surprised herself. The scene before her made her heart almost stop - a big knife was about to fall on Qin Chuyuan's head.
Gong Xiaohua kicked off and shot forward, quickly pulling out a dagger from her ankle in the process. With immense power, she knocked the big knife about to chop Qin Chuyuan into pieces. The opponent stumbled back several steps before regaining balance, deeply shocked by the force of the thrown dagger.
