Chapter 177

Chapter 177

There were a total of eight gates in the outer city of Luocheng, scattered in the southern, eastern, and northern directions.

That night, the soldiers and civilians inside the city first opened the Yongtong Gate on the southeast side. General Lu Gong led fifty thousand troops to guard this gate.

As soon as the gate opened, Lu Gong led his army into the city to engage in battle, while simultaneously dispatching two messengers to inform Han Zongping and Xiao Mu.

Xiao Mu’s army was stationed on the same side as the Left Route Army, separated only by the frozen Luo River. When Xiao Mu noticed that soldiers over there had begun rushing towards the gate, he summoned his nine commanders.

There had originally been twelve commanders when crossing the Yellow River, but two commanders and twenty thousand troops had been dispatched to attack the Hulao Pass and support Han Zongping’s army. At that time, Xiao Zhen had taken Liao Hongan and three commanders with him. After Han Zongping led one hundred thousand troops to arrive, they were divided into three routes, with five groups of fifty thousand troops attacking Luocheng. The Right Route Army already had fifty thousand men and did not need adjustment, so Han Zongping temporarily assigned Liao Hongan, Xiao Shouyi, Pan Yong, and Jiang Tiankuo to the Left Route Army and Central Route Army.

At present, the nine commanders by Xiao Mu’s side were all young men.

Xiao Mu assigned, “Xiao Yan, Xiao Ye, each of you lead five thousand men to the Huian Gate and Anxi Gate in the north. Strictly guard against any remnants of Dou Guojiu’s party escaping from there. Remember, without my military order, your two units are not allowed to enter the city gates.”

Xiao Ye immediately agreed, but Xiao Yan protested, “Why can’t we enter the city to fight?”

Capturing Dou Guojiu and other treacherous officials would bring great merit. What’s the point of just guarding the gates?

Xiao Mu glared coldly at his two grandsons, “Anyone who dares to defy the military order will be executed!”

Xiao Ye immediately agreed, while Xiao Yan reluctantly accepted the order after holding back his frustration.

Xiao Mu then addressed Tong Sui and Xiao She, “You two will continue to follow me and guard the Upper East Gate.”

Tong Sui nodded. Xiao She realized that, like his third and fourth brothers, he had lost the opportunity to achieve great merit. Although disappointed, given that his third and fourth brothers had been scolded by their grandfather, he didn’t dare to protest.

Xiao Mu continued, “Xiao Zhen, you lead Wen Gong, Sun Dian, Qi Yun, Tong Gui, and Chang’an Changshun to the Yongtong Gate immediately. Remember, just kill the enemies; do not disturb the civilians or fight for merit. Especially when you reach the Imperial City, stay on the outskirts to engage the enemies and do not step into the inner city. This is not a military order. I have no authority to stop you from going for great merit, but I will say this: those who do not follow my words may report their achievements to the General afterward and need not come to see me again.”

Xiao Zhen and the men from Weixian certainly had to listen to their elder. Qi Yun was the only outsider, but he also immediately agreed without hesitation, following the other men.

From Shuozhou to Luocheng, he had followed the elder all the way and had already been convinced by him.

At this moment, the messenger sent by Lu Gong had just arrived at full gallop.

Xiao Mu said, “Go!”

All the generals immediately set out with their troops. Only five thousand troops, including Xiao Mu, remained outside the Upper East Gate.

Xiao She couldn’t help but ask, “Grandfather, why won’t you let me enter the city? I promise I won’t fight for merit. Do you still not trust me?”

He wasn’t like his third brother in temperament.

Xiao Mu smiled and turned to his granddaughter-in-law, “Does Aman know the reason?”

Tong Sui said, “Grandfather believes that our Xiao family has already contributed enough and doesn’t need tonight’s achievements. Instead of continuing to fight for merit and invite jealousy, it’s better to let others have the opportunity, which is why he assigned third brother, fourth brother, and fifth brother to guard the gates and block escaping soldiers.”

Xiao Mu nodded with satisfaction.

Xiao She asked, “Then why let second brother enter the city?”

Xiao Mu replied, “Your second brother’s merits are greater than all of yours combined. Adding a little more won’t enhance his glory, and taking away a little won’t diminish it. But he is the deputy general of our Right Route Army. If he doesn’t participate in the city attack, others might start to wonder and misunderstand that we Xiao family’s grandchildren staying outside is for some ulterior motive.”

Xiao She blinked and finally scratched his head, deciding not to think about it anymore.

Inside Luocheng.

In addition to forty thousand troops guarding the eight city gates, over one hundred thousand troops stormed into the city. Among them, fifty thousand troops attacked the gates from inside to clear out the surrendering defenders, ten thousand troops were sent to surround the mansions of the treacherous officials, and the final forty thousand troops charged towards the Imperial City in the northwest corner of Luocheng.

Dou Guojiu and his five thousand personal guards were there.

They would rather die than surrender, but there were still eunuchs and palace maids residing in the palace. With so many doors in the Imperial City, a fearful eunuch could casually open a door, allowing generals like Feng Ji, Lu Gong, and Fan Zhao to enter. As for Han Zongping, he was persuaded by two scholars to stay outside the city, as it was difficult to defend against hidden arrows in the dark, and at this critical moment, Han Zongping could not afford to take risks, lest Dou Guojiu find an opportunity.

“Two generals, you capture this treacherous official. I will go protect the Emperor!”

Fan Zhao handed Dou Guojiu over to the two generals and, leading a force of ten thousand troops with his blade in hand, rushed towards the palace.

The palace consisted of many buildings, and the soldiers searched room by room. The palace maids, eunuchs, and imperial concubines were all ordered to kneel outside. Anyone who dared to resist was immediately killed.

Soon, Fan Zhao found Empress Dou, guarded by five hundred imperial guards in the Western Palace. Empress Dou was still holding a child who seemed to be asleep.

At the age of thirty, Empress Dou was a stunning beauty. To support her elder brother Dou Guojiu’s absurd lie that the old emperor had been angered to death by Han Zongping, she wore plain mourning clothes that night, with only a white jade hairpin in her thick black hair.

Empress Dou did not have her brother’s great ambition. Perhaps because her powerful brother enjoyed a status that other concubines could not match, or because her brother had dealt with some palace women who had opposed her, or perhaps because she had been unable to conceive and had harmed other pregnant concubines, she was ultimately just a weak woman who relied entirely on her brother and had no strength to resist.

At that moment, Empress Dou, hiding behind five hundred imperial guards, was trembling as she held the child, but she still tried to maintain the dignity of an empress, rebuking Fan Zhao, “Bold! The child in my arms is the Son of Heaven. Han Zongping claims to want to assist the young sovereign. What do you intend by entering the palace with weapons? Withdraw immediately!”

Fan Zhao smiled and wiped the blood rolling down his face, saying to a row of soldiers behind him, “Show respect to the empress and the young sovereign. Kill those treacherous lackeys first!”

“Yes!”

In no time, the five hundred imperial guards became five hundred corpses, and the shouts startled the child in Empress Dou’s arms. The young emperor looked around and burst into tears.

Fan Zhao frowned and ordered his subordinates, “The young sovereign has been disturbed. Quickly remove these lackeys. Do not approach without my command.”

A group of tiger-like soldiers swiftly dragged away the corpses.

Inside the palace, only Fan Zhao, Empress Dou, the child, and a few eunuchs and maids kneeling on the ground, trembling with fear, remained.

Fan Zhao, holding his blade in one hand, reached out to Empress Dou, “Give me the young sovereign.”

Empress Dou dared not give him up. If she did, she would lose her bargaining chip, and this man might kill her without a second thought.

She shook her head and backed away until Fan Zhao cornered her, with no way out.

Fan Zhao reached out to grab the young emperor.

Empress Dou clung tightly to the child, refusing to let go.

Fan Zhao shifted his grip to seize the little emperor's neck. Empress Dou, thinking he was going for the boy's shoulder, instinctively raised her hand. To her shock, it was grabbed by Fan Zhao, who then used her own hand to cover the young sovereign's mouth and nose.

Trembling with fear, Empress Dou looked at Fan Zhao.

A mocking look flickered in Fan Zhao's eyes as he said, "Give me the young sovereign, or I'll take action!"

Tears streaming down her face, Empress Dou shook her head.

Fan Zhao, using his broad figure, completely shielded Empress Dou from view and continued, "You wicked woman, would you rather see the young sovereign die with you than let go?"

Empress Dou cried, denying the accusation, trying to pull her hand free, but Fan Zhao held her tightly.

It seemed like an eternity, or perhaps just a few moments, before Fan Zhao finally stepped back.

The eunuchs and maids kneeling nearby, both fearful and curious, dared to peek up. They saw Empress Dou holding the young emperor, both collapsed on the ground. As they fell, the young emperor slipped from the Empress's arms and lay still on the floor. A child that age should have been crying or fussing, but the young emperor lay motionless, his face...

Fan Zhao suddenly roared, "You wicked woman, how dare you kill him!"

With that, he lunged forward, his broad blade rising and falling in one swift motion, and Empress Dou's head rolled to the ground.

The nearby eunuchs and maids immediately pressed their foreheads to the floor, shivering in fear as the general, like a judge from hell, paced in frustration, muttering to himself:

"General Han ordered me to rescue the young emperor without a single hair harmed, but now look what's happened. What am I going to do?"

"Ah, General Han was always loyal to the late Emperor. Will he blame me for failing and kill me?"

"But I'm innocent! The wicked woman was trying to take the young emperor with her to the grave. If I pulled too hard, I was afraid of breaking the young emperor's arm, but if I didn't use force, the wicked woman would take the opportunity!"

Fan Zhao paced around the room like a trapped animal, then suddenly stopped, grabbing a young eunuch's shoulder as if it were a lifeline, his fierce eyes staring directly into his. "You all saw it, right? You can testify for me, right? It was Empress Dou who killed the young emperor, not me!"

The young eunuch had never seen such large eyes so close to his face; the bloodshot veins terrified him!

"Yes, yes, it was Empress Dou, it has nothing to do with General Fan!"

Delighted, Fan Zhao let him go and turned to the others kneeling nearby. "You can all testify for me, right?"

"Yes, yes, we are willing to testify for you, General!"

With a crazed laugh, Fan Zhao rushed out.

---

Outside Dingding Gate, Han Zongping had already dismounted his horse and was waiting anxiously for news.

Wei Qi and Song Lan stood like tall pines beside him.

The two advisers had privately discussed what to do with the young emperor. Should they support the General's self-rule, or use the emperor to command the vassals?

But how many vassals were left?

The rulers of Dongling and Xiliang had already declared themselves emperors and would not answer to the imperial court anymore. The generals in the northern regions had expressed their support for the General, so there was no need for him to use the young emperor to command them. As for the people in the north, they had long suffered under the corrupt royal family and the treacherous Imperial Uncle Dou. They were eager for a good man to become emperor; it was what the people wanted. If the General continued to support the young emperor, it would only disappoint the soldiers and the people.

Most importantly, General Han was sincere in his support for the young emperor and would never use him as a puppet to command the vassals. Once the young emperor grew up, General Han would surely step down. But would the young emperor tolerate a general who had almost replaced the royal family? Would he tolerate those who supported the General?

Certainly not.

So, for the sake of the northern people, for General Han, and for themselves, the young emperor could not be allowed to live.

Outside the city, it was pitch black, while inside, the city was lit up, the sounds of killing echoing endlessly.

Han Zongping and the others stood guard at Dingding Gate, which led directly to the Luoshui River. Crossing the bridge, the other side was the southern Ruan Gate of the imperial city.

The three men gazed down the wide avenue, known to the people of Luoyang as "Heavenly Street."

With flickering lights, deserters occasionally rushed onto the street, only to be chased down and cut down by soldiers behind them. What was once a bustling and prosperous street had become a hellscape tonight.

Han Zongping stood still, tears rolling down his face.

Through his blurred vision, he saw a fast horse charging through the chaotic soldiers, heading south towards him.

Han Zongping turned to wipe away his tears.

The horse finally stopped in front of him, and Fan Zhao, disheveled, jumped down, stumbling as he fell.

Han Zongping asked eagerly, "How is the Emperor?"

Fan Zhao crawled to Han Zongping's feet, weeping. "General, I'm useless! The Emperor was smothered by Empress Dou!"

Han Zongping staggered back in shock, his eyes now fixed on the direction of the imperial city, unable to hear anything else Fan Zhao was saying.