Surrounding them was a light mist, a thick stench of blood, and a faint, almost imperceptible, terrifying smell of burnt flesh. The entire capital was in chaos. Besides the imperial palace and its immediate vicinity, it was uncertain where the fighting and slaughter were not taking place. The sounds of battle echoed continuously.

The Second Prince frowned handsomely, gazing blankly at the indistinct scene above the imperial city. He lowered his voice and said softly, "They can't hold out. It's just a matter of how long they can last... My aunt's arrangements for the outer perimeter of the capital, all the messengers have been killed. There's no possibility of reinforcements arriving. With Fan Xian's temperament, knowing it's a dead end, why would he fight so bravely? If it were any other time, he would have run away long ago."

Ye Zhong's armor was somewhat old, reflecting a dim light. This important figure in the Qing Kingdom's military glanced at his son-in-law, his eyes flickered slightly, and he slowly said, "There are so many people in the palace, how could he run?"

Everyone agreed that if Fan Xian had seen the situation was unfavorable and fled with the people from the Overwatch Council, it would be extremely difficult to dig him out, even with so many soldiers under the Princess Royal's command in a capital city of hundreds of thousands. Everyone recognized Fan Xian's formidable strength and ability to escape.

Ye Zhong paused for a moment and said, "And since Fan Xian isn't running, he must have something to rely on."

The Second Prince's expression calmed down. This scion of the imperial family listened to his aunt's advice, temporarily suppressed his ambitions, and stood behind the Crown Prince, waving the flag and shouting support. However, the strings in his heart had been plucked countless times. It was just that the situation was not yet settled, and he would not do anything too reckless, especially since he feared Fan Xian's existence even more than the Crown Prince.

Fan Xian's impact on the Second Prince had not only been in terms of strength but had also caused him immense mental damage. The Second Prince took a deep breath and said, "Fan Xian, this person, always pulls out his trump cards when you least expect it. I never underestimate him..."

Ye Zhong suddenly interrupted him coldly, "However, we can no longer afford to conserve our strength... The First Prince is leading several thousand imperial guards to defend the imperial palace, and with the Overwatch Council secretly assisting, their strength is much greater than we initially anticipated. If we don't attack Taiping Ward with everything we have, I fear there will be unforeseen changes if we drag it out."

The Second Prince slowly lowered his head, pondering something in his heart. This time, the Qin and Ye families formed a rebel army to besiege the palace, ostensibly to support the Crown Prince's succession. But everyone knew that, at least for now, the Ye family of Dingzhou was under his control... Therefore, in the several attacks since morning, the Ye family had not exerted its full strength. In the main attack direction of Taiping Ward, they were particularly cautious, fearing too much damage to their own strength.

It was precisely because of this that the rebel army's offensive seemed insufficient. And all of this had been tacitly approved by the Second Prince.

Ye Zhong glanced at his son-in-law and said calmly, "I believe Fan Xian has already seen this. I think he will soon use this to sow discord between you and the Crown Prince... At this crucial moment, Your Highness, please put aside your past thoughts for the time being and first help the Crown Prince enter the palace."

The Second Prince took a deep breath, a gentle smile appearing on his face. He nodded, "Father-in-law is right. We can't give Fan Xian any opportunity to exploit. If the Crown Prince and I are suspicious of each other at this time, it will only make the three brothers in the palace happy."

He turned his head and looked at Ye Zhong, saying seriously, "Let the Crown Prince and Old Master Qin attack with confidence... I will go to the central camp to ask the Crown Prince for any instructions."

Ye Zhong frowned slightly, knowing that the Second Prince was preparing to use himself as a hostage, using his safety to ensure the unity and will of the tens of thousands of rebel soldiers at this time, not giving Fan Xian a single opportunity to exploit.

"It's too dangerous." The commander of the Dingzhou army slowly closed his eyes and said, "As the deputy general, I should go to the central camp to receive military orders. I will take a few personal guards over there. The Dingzhou army is entrusted to Your Highness's disposal. As for all siege matters, military orders will be issued by the central camp, so there won't be a situation where military orders are difficult to deliver."

The Second Prince was taken aback, then said with concern and gratitude, "Father-in-law, be careful."

...

...

As the Second Prince and Ye Zhong had expected, seeing the Dingzhou army conserving its strength, Fan Xian would not let go of this opportunity to sow discord. Standing on the city wall, looking at the rebel army's central camp, he once again began to shout at the Crown Prince.

At this time, the offensive below the city was extremely urgent. The sound of drums was like thunder, and the shouts of killing rose everywhere. Some rebel soldiers were climbing the city wall along the siege ladders, braving arrows and rolling stones. But even in such a tense moment, in such a noisy and dangerous environment, Fan Xian's every word was imprinted in the ears of all the rebel soldiers and the Qin family generals.

He only shouted one sentence towards the imperial city: "Qin, you old thief, so many of your people have died, doesn't it hurt your heart?"

Not a single word mentioned the Ye family or the Dingzhou army. But at this time, corpses were scattered on the square, and the terrifying remains of those rebel soldiers burned into charred pillars were still emitting a nauseating smell. As long as they weren't blind, everyone would see that in these several waves of attacks, the people who died were basically the Qin family's soldiers and the two departments of the Kyoto garrison, while the Dingzhou side had not suffered much damage.

As soon as these words came out, the leaders in the rebel army's central camp were stunned. The Crown Prince smiled and said to the generals beside him, "Only fools would believe such a childish attempt to sow discord."

Yes, such blatant provocation from Fan Xian made his intentions obvious even to the blind. Only fools would foolishly fall for his trick and begin to suspect each other's intentions. Although the Crown Prince and the Second Prince had once fought to the death in court, after the Great Dong Mountain incident, under the Princess Royal's deft maneuvering and forceful suppression, they were forced to unite closely. Neither of the two Li family princes was a fool, and they naturally knew that at this moment, they had to maintain superficial unity and cooperation.

However, even the clearest and simplest schemes, when transformed into direct words and falling into everyone's ears, would naturally have some impact on people's emotions. Especially the Qin family generals, from the old master down, although they knew what effect Fan Xian wanted to achieve, they still couldn't help but feel a trace of anger – the Qin family had been the main force in the siege so far, while the Dingzhou army had basically been watching coldly from the sidelines. How could these Qin family generals feel comfortable?

Since returning after seizing the flag, Gong Dian, who had been standing two horse-lengths away beside the Crown Prince, had begun to look somewhat unnatural, as if he felt a trace of shame. Everyone had seen the Dingzhou army's performance at this time and knew that Ye Zhong and the Second Prince must have been making their own calculations. Although it wouldn't have a major impact on today's events, the Qin family would definitely be extremely angry.

The Crown Prince looked at Gong Dian gently and said, "Fan Xian knows that he has entered a dead end, so he would make such a boring move. What is unusual is not unusual, and the unusual will defeat itself. There are only so many people in the palace. I will overwhelm them with a large army. As long as we don't mess up ourselves, the great event will eventually succeed. I hope everyone will work hard."

"Yes, Your Highness," the generals beside him bowed in unison, knowing that what the Crown Prince said was the right path. Use righteousness to unite, and use surprise to win. If the righteous path is open and powerful, why bother with the unexpected path?

After only a brief mention, the Crown Prince crushed Fan Xian's words and threw them away, and the generals began to busy themselves again. The Crown Prince then said a few words to Old Master Qin in a low voice, and at the same time, they both cast their eyes on the top of the city.

At this moment, a flag-bearing soldier arrived on horseback and reported loudly in the midst of the crowd's surprise, "Vice-Commander Ye Zhong has come to ask for the Crown Prince's orders."

The Crown Prince was slightly stunned, but his eyes lit up. Old Master Qin, who was beside him, suddenly opened his eyes, his cold light fully revealed, but it quickly subsided. At this time, the general situation had been set. Old Master Qin uncontrollably began to think about his only son, Qin Heng, what kind of blow he had suffered under Zhengyang Gate, and why he had not yet returned to the team. So, although Ye Zhong's arrival was sudden, Old Master Qin only had a slight movement in his heart.

The old master guessed why Ye Zhong had come, but he was not worried that Ye Zhong would steal any of the Qin family's credit. The so-called following the dragon, the Qin family's merit in helping the Crown Prince to the throne, could not be erased by anyone. As long as the Crown Prince ascended the throne as emperor, the Qin family could at least guarantee decades of peace after the old master's death.

The Crown Prince's hint of surprise and joy was due to other thoughts. He knew that Ye Zhong had come because he did not want Fan Xian's words to affect today's plan to raise troops. However, this respect for himself and the importance he placed on the overall situation made the Crown Prince seem to see another ray of light.

Today, Fan Xian placed the spirit tablets of the Empress Dowager and the Empress on the top of the city, and the Crown Prince and Old Master Qin had a fierce conflict. Although the Crown Prince forcibly suppressed the Qin family generals' thoughts in the end, some other thoughts arose in his heart—thoughts that Fan Xian wanted him to have.

Since a few days ago, the Crown Prince and the Empress Dowager had plotted several times and had not made up their minds to let the Qin family lead troops into the capital, fearing that the military would become too powerful in the future. Looking at the situation today, the Crown Prince knew that he was not his father after all, and his influence over the military was still too small. He had to find some means of balance.

And at this time, Ye Zhong's sudden arrival allowed the Crown Prince to find a glimmer of possibility—yes, Ye Zhong was the Second Prince's father-in-law, and logically speaking, he should be the role that the Crown Prince was most wary of. But the Crown Prince did not think that alliances in this world would last forever. Everything was related to interests, and had nothing to do with feelings or kinship—he was the rightful Crown Prince and would soon ascend the throne. It would be more beneficial for the Ye family to support him than to support the Second Prince.

Of course, he did not dare to expect the Ye family to suddenly turn to his side. These things had to be considered a long time later, but he had discovered this possibility.

Li Chengqian thought with a bitter feeling in his heart, the people under the city were all rebellious and immoral people. What could they not do?

Ye Zhong entered the ranks, saluted the Crown Prince solemnly, and reported on the war situation in Taiping Ward. His personal guards were kept far away outside the central camp. Although the Qin family would not guard against him, they would not allow him to bring his personal guards in.

Old Master Qin squinted his eyes and nodded slightly to Ye Zhong, which was considered a greeting. Ye Zhong's face was slightly dark, extremely calm.

...

...

The siege continued. Stray arrows flew around, and the shouts of killing never stopped. The imperial guards had begun to suffer significant casualties, but the imperial city was tall and majestic, and the palace gates were filled with rocks and mud, so they could still hold on.

Fan Xian squinted his eyes and watched the deaths that were happening before him, not knowing what it tasted like in his heart. At this time, the First Prince had already tidied up his light armor, took down the long sword from his waist, took the long saber he used on the battlefield from the hands of his personal guards, and silently walked past him.

Fan Xian suddenly reached out and grabbed his shoulder, saying in a deep voice, "Let me go."

"I admit you're strong, but leading troops in a charge is not an assassination," the First Prince frowned and said, "It's better for me to do this kind of thing. You keep an eye on the top of the city. My mother's life is entrusted to you."

Fan Xian was silent, knowing that he could not persuade this brother who was about to go into battle.

The First Prince looked at him and suddenly said, "I suspect I'm crazy. I don't know anything, but I'm going to lead these few hundred people to charge into the enemy camp..." He smiled bitterly and spat on the ground, "If I die, if you can escape, remember to burn some paper money for me every year."

Fan Xian smiled wryly, knowing that the customs of the old Li family's place of origin were to burn paper money. Hearing this, he couldn't help but pat the First Prince's shoulder. After a long while, he didn't say anything, but squeezed out a sentence: "Brother, be careful."

Hearing the word "brother," the First Prince laughed loudly and said, "At the time of death, it's not bad that you suddenly admit that I'm your brother."

The First Prince knew that Fan Xian was unwilling to recognize even his father, but he was willing to recognize himself as his brother, and there was real emotion in it.

Fan Xian looked back, watching the First Prince and those daredevil imperial guards who were ready to go further and further away, watching them gently stroke the remaining two hundred-odd war horses in the palace, his eyes gradually softened. He knew that if he lost this gamble, he might still have a chance to turn things around, but these people and most of the people in the palace would pay for his gamble with their lives.

"If you die, I will spend several years killing all the people in the old Li family to avenge you."

Fan Xian said this to himself in his heart, his gaze slowly swept across the top of the city, across the bottom of the city, across the imperial guards who were bravely resisting the rebels, watching the Overwatch Council confidants who were stationed at the city crossbows, responsible for contacting various places, watching the two great scholars, Hu and Shu, who were standing in front of the imperial city with pale faces, but insisting on standing there.

Shu Wu's white beard was flying in the wind, disheveled. Fan Xian's heart was slightly darkened, not knowing if it was the last time in his life that he would see these people's fresh faces.

He lowered his head and explained something to the Third Prince Li Chengping. He slapped his palm and flipped over, standing on the three coffins on the imperial city.

At this time, autumn was approaching its zenith, but it was pierced by suddenly floating dark clouds. The three coffins on the imperial city were painted completely black, and Fan Xian was also dressed in all black, standing calmly on them, facing the cool wind, watching everything that was troubling.

Everyone above and below the imperial city saw this scene. The soldiers who were fighting bloody battles did not have the leisure to pay attention, but the people in the rebel army's central camp, seeing the black-clothed man standing in the wind on the imperial city, could not help but feel a chill in their hearts.

————————————————————

Since the start of the war, Fan Xian's small tricks had not played a big role. However, after Ye Zhong met with the Crown Prince, there were finally some small changes in the rebel army's central camp. The entire rebel army's formation began to change slowly and systematically.

The Dingzhou army had to take over from the old Qin family and bear part of the responsibility of the rebels. This was the scene that Fan Xian wanted to see. He watched all this and found that although the Qing Kingdom's army was well-trained, the Ye and Qin families rarely cooperated. During the formation change, the entire front finally revealed several gaps.

At this time, the Dingzhou army had not yet moved into place, and the Qin family still occupied the central location. It was just that the several spiderweb-like streets in the upper left revealed their entrances.

Fan Xian had no military skills, but he also knew that he could not use those gaps. He could only pray silently in his heart that the good luck that had accompanied him for twenty years could shine brightly at this moment.

It seemed that there was providence in the dark, and providence listened to Fan Xian's prayers in his heart. Just as the rebel army was changing its formation and there was a slight chaos, the sound of rapid hooves containing murderous intent finally came from the long street at the gap.

Fan Xian's spirits were lifted, and he looked intently, but his eyes turned cold.

It was not reinforcements, but Qin Heng!

...

...

After experiencing the cruel ambush at Zhengyang Gate, Qin Heng, this general who had personally experienced the Nanzhao war and was from a military family, finally relied on the powerful five thousand cavalry to break through the joint ambush of the Overwatch Council and the imperial cavalry from the front. After a delay of an hour, he finally arrived at the imperial palace!

In an instant, Qin Heng's cavalry could be seen rushing to the street entrance. The bloodstains and scars on the cavalrymen's bodies could be seen, and only nearly three thousand of the five thousand cavalry were left at this time. One could imagine how tragic the ambush under Zhengyang Gate was.

Fan Xian's heart was pricked like a needle. He knew that his most loyal Overwatch Council subordinates had suffered heavy losses under Zhengyang Gate. He didn't know how many people had died or were injured. As for the imperial army sent by the First Prince, it must have been completely wiped out.

A bitter, bloody taste rolled between his lips and tongue. After two coughs, Fan Xian stared with blood-red eyes, knowing that the domineering Ephedra pills were forcibly enhancing his realm while also deeply damaging his heart veins.

However, he just stared at the gap, watching the cavalry led by Qin Heng, carrying smoke and dust, with bloodstains, appearing in everyone's sight.

"Do it."

He covered his lips that were oozing blood, saying vaguely. Although the order was vague and the voice was extremely low, the members of the Qinian group who had been guarding beside him did not hesitate at all. They raised their right arms and pulled hard. The command arrow in their hands soared into the sky, blooming into a beautiful firework in this gloomy sky.

The second firework in Kyoto since last night.

...

...

As soon as the firework command was issued, strange noises rang out in the houses behind the square in front of the imperial palace, attracting the attention of many people. And in the middle of the three streets on the left front, a burst of rapid hooves suddenly rang out.

Qin Heng's cavalry had arrived, so where did these hooves come from? Who were these firm, rapid cavalry, even faster and more murderous than Qin's bloody cavalry?

Like two winds destined to meet, the cavalry advancing to the imperial palace square along two roads at the same time finally met at the intersection of the two streets and collided violently and suddenly!

This hidden cavalry was not large in number, but it carried a momentum different from that of the general Qing army, not just murderous, but also a kind of indifferent and extremely gloomy taste. They were all in black armor, as if they would not reflect even a trace of light, but were just as dark as ink to the extreme.

The Black Knights of the Overwatch Council, the cavalry with the strongest assassination ability in the legendary Qing Kingdom, but not many people had ever seen their combat methods and powerful strength. Within the Qing Kingdom's military, there were many people who showed disdain for the Black Knights, thinking that how could Chen Pingping, this old black dog, train iron-blooded knights.

However, today, this mysterious Black Knight force finally collided with the Qing Kingdom's elite cavalry, and told everyone with blood-like facts that in terms of cavalry quality alone, the Black Knights... were always the strongest.

...

...

The sudden appearance of the Black Knights was beyond everyone's expectations. Old Master Qin, who had a flash of excitement in his eyes at the beginning, was the first to notice the problem, and another cold light flashed in his eyes again.

No one knew how Fan Xian had hidden this cavalry unit in the continuous houses behind the rebel army, and no one knew how this all-black, gloomy cavalry had managed to make not a sound.

Qin Heng led the cavalry quickly past the street entrance, and then saw the... those black, palpitating cavalry shadows that were obliquely killing from another road beside him!

This Black Knight unit was too small, only two hundred people. If the First Prince were still on the top of the city at this time, he would definitely guess that this was the team that Fan Xian had sent out of the palace last night, the team led by the Black Knight Deputy Commander Jing Ge, which had disappeared silently for a long time.

Although there were only two hundred people, this group of Black Knights was like two thousand people... no, it was like one person was fighting. The leading general wore a silver mask, clenched a long spear, and was like the sharpest point on the blade, rushing to the front with extremely fast speed!

And the two hundred cavalrymen behind him were like the sharp blade and the solid hilt behind the dagger, maintaining a tight formation, supporting with extremely high riding skills, and following the silver-faced Jing Ge closely, stabbing hard into the front of Qin Heng's two thousand cavalry!

...

...

Using two hundred to fight two thousand, only the Black Knights would have such determination and courage, because decades ago, the Black Knights' predecessors, led by Chen Pingping, had raided three thousand miles north, deep into the territory of the Great Wei Kingdom, captured the Great Wei's Tiqi leader Xiao En alive, and then retreated completely!

Raiding three thousand miles, the Black Knights could do it, not to mention this mere three hundred zhang. Only those who remember history will understand that the Black Knights are the most powerful cavalry in the world, and will understand why the Qing Emperor always forcibly ordered Chen Pingping to limit the number of Black Knights to within a thousand people!

The black-clothed Fan Xian stood on the black coffin, watching his black cavalry carrying out a dark raid, his lips were dry, and he did not say a word. He knew that the counterattack would begin from this, and the Black Knights' raid was just the prelude to his gamble.