roccoschili Chapter 129 The capital city is hell!
Chapter 129 The capital city is hell!
Chapter 129 The capital city is hell!
On the rooftop next to them, Ma Jinliang, Tan Luzi, Pi Xiaotian, and Iron Claw Flying Eagle surveyed the rooftop.
To see if any had slipped through the net, they went up to the roof with them.
There are actually quite a few smart people like this.
But as soon as they climbed onto the roof, they would be surrounded and attacked by dozens of factory guards, who would force them back down.
Once they landed, they would immediately be attacked by soldiers waiting on the ground with a flurry of swords.
Before they even landed, they were already torn to pieces, unable to even utter a mournful cry.
Those martial arts practitioners who hid in the alleys were like people falling into a meat grinder, and were instantly chopped into mincemeat by the surrounding soldiers.
Some martial arts practitioners, quick-witted as ever, chose to break into the homes of nearby residents to escape this deadly danger.
But this was tantamount to courting death. The imperial guards monitoring the battlefield immediately rushed into the room, trapping them like turtles in a jar.
In the cramped room, they had nowhere to run and were quickly caught up by the factory guards, who chopped them into minced meat.
Throughout the capital, cries of anguish filled the air!
Wherever the 400,000-strong army went, those who defied them all perished!
On the Chengtian Gate, Zhu Houzhao looked at the 400,000-strong army surging in from all directions with a calm smile on his face.
This army of 400,000 swept through the remaining martial arts practitioners in the capital with overwhelming force.
The bustling capital city suddenly fell silent, so quiet that only the sound of hooves and footsteps of the 400,000-strong army advancing could be heard.
Soon, the 400,000-strong army arrived at Chengtian Gate to be inspected by Zhu Houzhao.
Ling Luoshi, Wang Shouren, Qi Jingtong, and Shen Ying walked past the soldiers and came to the front of the group, bowing to Zhu Houzhao.
"Your Majesty, all the traitors and villains in the capital have been executed!"
Zhu Houzhao nodded: "Not bad, I am very satisfied with your performance."
"All soldiers who participated in this battle today will be rewarded with one tael of silver and an additional shi of grain."
Zhu Houzhao knew one thing well: loyalty cannot be obtained, but rather bought.
No one should be treated unfairly, but the army that consolidates his rule should not be treated unfairly!
Sure enough, as soon as Zhu Houzhao finished speaking, the 400,000 troops below the city erupted in cheers.
In an instant, the cheers turned into unified slogans.
"Long live the Ming Dynasty!"
"Long live Your Majesty!"
"Long live the Ming Dynasty!"
"Long live Your Majesty!"
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Looking at the excited soldiers and hearing their resounding shouts of "Long live the Emperor!", Zhu Houzhao felt very satisfied that he had eliminated all the Jianghu rebels who dared to enter the capital.
He nodded with a smile and waved to the crowd below the city gate.
Zhu Houzhao was satisfied, but the faces of the princes around him grew increasingly grim.
In their entire lives, they had never witnessed an army of 400,000 charging together.
Not to mention that this army of 400,000 was charging towards him from all directions.
The earth-shaking aura and the fierce killing intent pressed directly towards them, and many of the vassal kings were so frightened that their legs went weak and their faces turned deathly pale.
Amidst the deafening shouts of "Long live the Emperor!", Prince Ning and Prince Shu staggered backward, their steps unsteady, on the verge of collapsing to the ground.
Fortunately, the King of Min, the King of Jing, and others behind them assisted them, preventing them from falling to the ground.
Zhu Houzhao noticed the unusual activity on the side of the princes, but simply smiled and ignored it.
Among the crowd was a person with a special physique, standing on Chengtian Gate, looking at the 400,000-strong army outside the city with horror in his heart.
This person is Lu Xiaofeng.
As someone who personally experienced the entire chaotic battle that night, he knew best just how terrifying Zhu Houzhao was.
The endless stream of trump cards, the layer upon layer of backup plans, and the ever-increasing power of each one chilled even Lu Xiaofeng to the bone.
That night, he personally experienced the gap between the martial arts world and the imperial court.
He discovered with despair that, despite the martial arts world's usual disparaging remarks about the imperial court, they didn't actually respect it.
But in reality, it was because the imperial court never took them seriously and never really took them seriously.
But this time, when the imperial court got serious and decided to teach the martial arts world a lesson...
The imperial court only needs to employ a simple trick, turning the tables on the enemy, to wipe out these tens of thousands of martial arts practitioners in one fell swoop.
Even highly skilled and renowned masters like Ye Gucheng, Ximen Chuixue, Mu Daoren, Abbess Miejue, and the Dharma King of the Ming Cult could only die on the spot, turning into a pile of minced meat.
They didn't even leave behind a complete corpse.
Before Lu Xiaofeng could recover from his shock, Zhu Houzhao had already given orders to everyone.
"Ling Luoshi, Wang Shouren, Qi Jingtong, Shen Ying, heed my command!"
"Your subject is here!"
The four generals knelt on one knee, awaiting Zhu Houzhao's orders.
Zhu Houzhao loudly ordered: "Arrange manpower to clean up the battlefield in the capital and sweep away the remaining Jianghu forces in the capital."
"Anyone found to be involved in the martial arts world will be immediately killed!"
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
"After the arrangements are made, the four of you will also enter the palace to celebrate the festival with me."
"Yes, Your Majesty, I obey!"
After the four generals acknowledged the order in unison, Ling Luoshi hesitated for two seconds and then said, "Your Majesty, may I bring my daughter into the palace?"
Zhu Houzhao raised an eyebrow, somewhat surprised: "Oh? You brought your daughter with you this time you came to the capital?"
"Yes."
Zhu Houzhao smiled, not taking it to heart: "Then bring them along."
Ling Luoshi bowed and thanked him, saying, "Thank you, Your Majesty!"
Ling Luoshi's daughter, Ling Xiaodao, was in the army at that moment, watching longingly at the bright yellow figure on Chengtian Gate.
Because of the distance, Ling Xiaodao could not see Zhu Houzhao's features clearly.
But from the shadows, Ling Xiaodao clearly knew that the current emperor was a young and handsome man.
They are physically distant, but the gap in their social status is even greater.
Perhaps she will never be able to see Zhu Houzhao's face up close in her lifetime.
But at this moment, things took a turn for the better.
She was also able to accompany her father to the palace to meet Zhu Houzhao.
Ling Xiaodao's mood instantly became tense.
She had no other desires; she simply felt that being able to see Zhu Houzhao was already the greatest blessing from heaven.
After Zhu Houzhao had arranged the 400,000 troops under Chengtian Gate, he turned around but before he could speak, Lu Xiaofeng flashed in front of him.
Lu Xiaofeng knelt on both knees, his face anxious, and earnestly pleaded, "Your Majesty, I have a request, please grant it."
Zhu Houzhao looked calmly at Lu Xiaofeng and asked, "What is it?"
Suppressing his inner panic, Lu Xiaofeng spoke urgently: "Your Majesty, I have a friend in the capital, but he has never shown any disrespect to Your Majesty, nor has he done anything to harm the court."
"I beg Your Majesty not to implicate him, please spare his life!"
The person Lu Xiaofeng was referring to was undoubtedly Hua Manlou.
Hua Manlou stayed in his inn tonight and did not appear or participate in the chaotic battle.
Just now, Lu Xiaofeng heard that Zhu Houzhao wanted to investigate all the martial arts practitioners in the capital and kill them all immediately.
He started to panic.
With Hua Manlou's fate still uncertain, Lu Xiaofeng disregarded everything else and rushed forward, kneeling down to beg Zhu Houzhao to show mercy and spare Hua Manlou's life.
Zhu Houzhao's expression remained unchanged after hearing Lu Xiaofeng's words; he simply stared coldly at Lu Xiaofeng.
"Lu Xiaofeng, I am sparing your life because you have the will to protect me. But protecting me does not mean you can make demands of me."
"Step back."
Zhu Houzhao's cold voice made Lu Xiaofeng feel as if he had fallen into an ice cellar, and his whole body felt cold.
"Your Majesty, I know I have no right to make demands, but he is my best friend. I cannot stand by and watch my best friend suffer an undeserved calamity."
"This humble subject begs Your Majesty for mercy! If Your Majesty would so be lenient, this humble subject is willing to pay any price!"
Lu Xiaofeng spoke sincerely and bowed his head in apology, but only received a cold laugh from Zhu Houzhao in return.
"Lu Xiaofeng, you think too highly of yourself. I have no interest in the price you pay."
Lu Xiaofeng gritted his teeth and stubbornly knelt before Zhu Houzhao, closing his eyes in despair.
But then, Zhu Houzhao said thoughtfully, "Lu Xiaofeng, is this friend you're talking about named Hua Manlou?"
Lu Xiaofeng's heart skipped a beat, and he quickly raised his head: "That's right, it's Hua Manlou."
Zhu Houzhao thought for a moment and said, "I see that you are a person of great loyalty and righteousness, so I can let him go. But from now on, you, Lu Xiaofeng, must return to the court and obey my orders."
"Are you willing?"
Lu Xiaofeng's breath hitched. He loved a free and unrestrained life, but thinking of Hua Manlou's life, Lu Xiaofeng gritted his teeth and said, "Your Majesty, I am willing! Your Majesty, I pay my respects!"
"Haha, that's funny."
Zhu Houzhao smiled and said to Zhuge Zhengwo, "Zhuge Zhengwo, you go with Lu Xiaofeng to find Hua Manlou. I will spare his life."
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
Upon hearing Zhu Houzhao's order, Lu Xiaofeng felt a sense of relief.
After hurriedly thanking Zhu Houzhao, he immediately took Zhuge Zhengwo and headed towards the capital.
After dealing with this matter, Zhu Houzhao turned to look at the group of princes beside him.
"Uncles, the show is over, the moon has been admired, and the fireworks have been watched. Why don't we return to Fengtian Hall and continue our unfinished banquet?"
"Very well! Very well! Everything is up to Your Majesty."
These princes readily agreed to Zhu Houzhao's requests.
"You all go to Fengtian Hall first, I'm going to the inner palace."
Zhu Houzhao waved his hand, took the lead and walked down from Chengtian Gate, and boarded the dragon carriage heading to Yikun Palace.
The remaining princes, led by eunuchs, went to the Fengtian Hall.
Upon arriving at Yikun Palace, Zhu Houzhao dismounted from the imperial carriage and immediately noticed a dense array of guards outside the palace.
Outside Yikun Palace, there were several corpses that had died violently on the spot.
There weren't many of them, and none of them were well-known figures; they seemed to be lost wanderers from the martial arts world.
Or they're just low-class flower thieves trying to take advantage of the chaos in the palace to stir up trouble in the harem.
But without exception, they all met a violent end, dying on the spot; they couldn't even get close to Yikun Palace.