Chapter 381

Chapter 381: Who is the Rebel?

Can a strategist not ascend the throne? Final Volume: The Rise and Fall of Kingly Ambitions, The World United Chapter 381: Who is the Rebel?

The fatal arrow was originally shot from Qiao Yan’s hand.

Although she was still galloping on horseback like the wind, her archery skills were enough to ensure that the arrow hit its target with precision.

And the fall from such a height left him with no hope of survival.

Seeing this scene, Liu Bei was stunned in place.

Wang Yun… dead?

Wang Yun, who had made a declaration to eliminate traitors and restore the Han, and had tried to win him over, was just dead like that?

This was not because Liu Bei was afraid of death, but because he felt a fear of the plan failing and being held accountable.

Even when he was personally confronting Qiao Yan earlier, he thought that if he had to oppose her in such an inappropriate situation, it would be fine even if he died at her hands.

But when he saw Wang Yun fall from the city wall and die under the fatal arrow, Liu Bei inexplicably felt a sense of absurdity returning to reality from unreality.

It was as if at this moment, the central hub of the plan suddenly broke in half, and Liu Bei’s self-deception to accept the plan as flawless was revealed in its most naked and true form, allowing him to finally see the truth of this ambush.

The burning palace, the chaotic inner court, the fallen noble.

This was what he saw before his eyes.

It was these sounds and images that shattered the childish scheme of luring people into the palace to eliminate traitors in this fall.

This was not the end.

Liu Bei watched as Qiao Yan’s personal guards, like her and Lu Lingju, quickly passed through the palace gate where the fire was still raging, as if they were separated into another world.

And in the sudden intensification of the flames, there was a sudden sizzling sound.

The sparks made an unsettling jump.

Liu Bei’s intuition made him suddenly feel an indescribable sense of crisis, and he quickly shouted, “Retreat!”

The high默契 between him and Guan Yu made Guan Yu immediately pull the reins and turn the horse around upon hearing the command.

This decision proved to be correct.

Before they could even retreat two steps, the position on the city gate where the dud explosives were buried suddenly exploded.

Liu Bei had not known before why Wang Yun said that even if they failed to eliminate Qiao Yan within the palace, there was still a fatal trap for her on the city gate that would bring an inescapable blow.

Without亲眼 seeing the effect of gunpowder, no one could imagine that this thing could turn solid bricks and stones into dust, be used to炸开 iron ore veins, and bring an impact that even坚固 shields could not block.

Although the Leping Monthly Report explained the debut of gunpowder in the Yang Province, most people could not understand why Cai Zhaoji used the word “revolution” to describe it in her article.

But in the轰鸣 sound, Liu Bei saw it.

At this moment, the Huayin garrison, the Jinwu guards on the other side of the city wall, along with Huangfu Song who was attracted by the commotion, and even the common people who were not far from the palace and arrived during the time Qiao Yan was being escorted out of the palace, were all shocked to see this scene.

The originally reinforced palace city gate, with the detonation of a large amount of explosives, burst open under a terrifying冲击力.

If the deafening sound made people want to flee at the sight of such a scene, then the subsequent collapse of the palace gate made people feel as if they had become part of the碎石烟尘, and once置身其中, the only result would be四分五裂.

Chang’an had been stable for four and a half years.

This stability made the sudden turmoil and可怕场面 at this moment bring an even more indescribable panic.

In fact, not to mention these围观之人 who were shocked by the scene, even Dian Wei and others who were a step slower than Qiao Yan in rushing through the city gate felt a lingering fear when they looked back at the direction of the explosion.

It was so close.

If Wang Yun and his men had ignited the gunpowder a step earlier, or if the stability of the gunpowder had been ensured so that its most powerful explosion was triggered just as Qiao Yan and her group passed by, then even if Qiao Yan had钢筋铁骨 and wore the best chain mail, she would never have escaped alive.

The splashing bricks and stones even turned the city gate into a堵塞 mess at this moment.

From Qiao Yan’s side, it was not clear, but from Liu Bei’s side, it could be clearly seen that a piece of brick and stone was掀飞 out by the sudden爆发力道, directly burying Wang Yun who had fallen not far from the city wall.

This was originally the ending he had chosen for Qiao Yan, but now it became his restless归路 after death.

It was only after a long time that the余波 of the explosion completely subsided, returning the palace gate of Chang’an’s inner palace to平静.

But looking at the city wall again, where was the previous simple yet dignified appearance?

Whether it was because of the断壁残垣 scene or Wang Yun’s actions that更能带给人一种心绪激荡的哑然, in the surrounding silence, only the occasional流沙滑落 from above still made a few扑簌簌 sounds.

This made Qiao Yan’s words, though not loud, clear enough for everyone present to hear.

“原来, 这才是… 赤气贯紫宫.”

As soon as she said this, it immediately drew everyone’s attention back from the explosion.

This explanation… this explanation sounded absurd at first, but upon细想, it really made sense.

Wang Yun’s various performances on the city wall were enough for Huangfu Song, who arrived late, to guess most of the current situation.

What was he doing?

He was risking the crime of rebellion to围杀 Qiao Yan here!

This疯狂到了要在最后点燃了炸毁宫门火药的举动, made people毫不怀疑一个事实, if there was anyone in Chang’an who would directly attribute the “赤气贯紫宫”天降异象 to Qiao Yan, Wang Yun must have been one of them!

Or rather, it was most likely him.

But in all the things everyone witnessed today, where was Qiao Yan doing anything冒犯于王庭尊严?

Her actions over the years could hardly be called凌迫天子.

But Wang Yun was different!

He was实实在在地便在进行一出近乎于逼宫的举动.

From the fact that Xianyu Fu, the卫尉, was imprisoned and guarded in his mansion, it was not hard to guess that the actions of Wang Yun, Liu Yang, and Xianyu Yin were绝不可能出自天子的授意, otherwise Xianyu Fu, who was loyal to Liu Yu, would not have become someone they needed to guard.

And when the palace city gate was炸裂垮塌 under the gunpowder, just like when Yuan Shu set fire to the north palace gate of Luoyang, the already摇摇欲坠的体面 of the Han was荡然无存 at this moment.

Where did Wang Yun still regard the天子 as anything!

No matter what his original intention was in doing this, whether it was just to eliminate Qiao Yan, the Grand Marshal, but in the face of the current facts, his so-called “doing what should be done” could not explain his actions, nor could it掩盖种种举动之下的僭越!

This made Qiao Yan’s killing of Wang Yun without Liu Yu’s edict not even count as越权.

Who made her position as Grand Marshal indeed凌驾于王允的司徒之上!

赤气贯紫宫…

The fire burning on the palace gate of Chang’an’s inner palace and the subsequent explosion, how could the color displayed not be considered赤色?

And this惊变发生在宫闱内院之中, accompanied by the unknown safety of the天子 Liu Yu at this moment, was诚然是对天子居所的威慑.

Although it had been said in the昌言 that天象之变不必联系到人事的变化上, but thinking of Qiao Yan’s previous baseless accusations, her returning this sentence now only made people feel大快人心, rather than落井下石 on someone already dead.

Moreover, she显然也并未被这出王允身死的结果混淆此刻的重点.

In just a moment, she had already brought herself back from this喃喃自语的感慨, immediately pointing towards the city wall, “Capture Prince Yang, find out how much gunpowder they have, and绝不能 let this thing remain hidden!”

Huangfu Song also suddenly felt紧张.

The gunpowder that Qiao Yan had mentioned in court appearing in Wang Yun’s hands was already an意外, and thinking that Wang Yun wanted this thing to be the阻断 Qiao Yan’s final retreat, it was绝不可能只是设防布置在这一处城门.

If the gunpowder in other places was ignited, who knows what irreparable consequences it would cause.

If someone took advantage of the松懈 palace defenses to take it away, that would be an even bigger麻烦!

And it was not just Liu Yang who needed to be captured.

Huangfu Song felt that as the Grand Commandant, he had indeed been包办了 by Qiao Yan in the past few years,加上年龄日长之后的精力不济, he had not noticed such a结盟叛逆之事,简直是天大的失职.

Qiao Yan capturing Liu Bei from the Xuzhou region and sending him to Chang’an, for her, the responsibility she needed to bear was already not much.

Whether it was Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and others being able to participate in the current action, or Xianyu Yin, the都尉, being able to detain his brother, it had to be considered Huangfu Song’s responsibility.

After coming back from the previous shock and hearing Qiao Yan’s arrangement, Huangfu Song also immediately shouted, “Capture the traitors Liu Bei and Xianyu Yin!”

With these two orders, both the subordinates of the Grand Commandant’s mansion and Qiao Yan’s subordinates quickly rushed towards the堵塞 palace gate.

The subsequent explosion made these soldiers passing through the碎石缝隙 couldn’t help but感慨, if it weren’t for Qiao Yan’s惊人气运, Wang Yun and his men’s gunpowder居然是以此种方式存在,只怕方才的那句 “Grand Marshal” 的呼喊里真要带上对 Qiao Yan 的痛惜了.

But they哪里知道,早在 Qiao Yan 抵达 Chang’an 的时候,为了防止 Wang Yun 还能拿出什么让她都来不及防范的杀招,防止 Zuo Ci 在对她已有承诺情况下还做出了什么阳奉阴违的举动,防止出现其他不可预知的意外,比如炸药走火之类的情况,在跨过那 Chang’an 城城门的同时, Qiao Yan 也对着系统做出了一道指令——

将这数年间积攒下来的属性点,全部加在气运之上.

距离 Qiao Yan 上一次调整属性点到如今,已经差不多过去四年了.

在她将 Liu Yu 给扶持上了天子的位置后,她就已因这个 “谋士” 所能达成的最高成就,将自己的所有数值都给点满了,而上限始终是一个问号的气运则变成了 106.

现在这个数值已经到了一个极其可怕的地步.

在身份上, Liu Yu 乃是天子, Qiao Yan 则是作为她下属的大司马.

而这位大司马谋划四方,何止是让这 Chang’an 朝廷的治下处在了太平安定的状态,即便遭逢着这样持续数年的天灾人祸,也始终没有让流离之苦和灾病多艰成为主旋律,更是因益州、徐州、扬州、幽州以及交州的相继入手,将朝廷所能掌控的土地何止是翻了两倍.

因大司马的文臣武将双重属性,让 Qiao Yan 可以轻松地如同汉灵帝在世时候的那样,让自己所做出的种种举措都转换成了系统承认的谋士行动和成就.

一个超过了 150 点的气运数值,在今日的这一出惊变中能起到何种作用?

Qiao Yan 不敢确定她得到的助力是否都因这出改变而起,毕竟她可以确定,她的那些下属对她的倾力相护绝不是因为这等虚无缥缈的数值,而是因为厚积薄发,得道者多助.

但鲜于辅能被快速地在卫尉府邸中搜寻得到, Huangfu Song 能够恰到好处地出现在此地充当起了一个近乎于证人的角色,那宫城上布设的火药也能够以这等最符合她心意的方式引爆,没有出现任何的一点纰漏,却无疑有运气的成分.

相比于 Qiao Yan 的诸事顺利, Liu Yang 便只觉自己已置身于深渊之中,跌坠到了那谷底.

Huangfu Song 的出现、宫门被攻破、 Qiao Yan 突围、 Wang Yun 身死.

这一出出的惊变让他哪里还有一点作为皇子的体面气度,若不是他本就已经是跌坐在地的状态,但凡是看见他此刻样子的人都毫不怀疑,他会不会直接因为失神之中的一脚踩空,步上 Wang Yun 的后尘,一并摔到那地上去!

随后的火药爆炸,对于他来说更是近在咫尺之地发生的情况.

轰鸣的声响经由砖石的传递来到他的面前,让他的脚下都出现了好一阵震颤.

Liu Yang 几乎都要怀疑,自己会不会被卷入这爆炸的范围之中,随同那些被炸飞后落下的砖石一道砸在地上!

他何曾见过这样的场面.

当年在那幽州地界上的兵变,他又没有像是 Liu Yu 以及 Liu He 一样和 Gongsun Zan 处在正面作战之中,是被从后方救援成功,送到那 Chang’an 地界上来的.

他没有经历过兄长那等被流矢命中丢掉了小命的不幸,也没有经历过父亲那险死滨海道的危境,这才对于人人都说他亏欠 Qiao Yan 的救命之恩有着一种近乎漠然的情绪.

可今日的情况不同.

他是真的差一点就要丢掉性命了!

在极度的恐惧中,他几乎是手脚并用地朝着爆炸发生地方的反方向爬行.

直到余波的声音也彻底终止后,他才终于意识到,自己的身体没像是那城门一般变成这等一地狼藉的情况,而是还全部完完整整地长在他的身上.

但还没等他松一口气,他就听到 Qiao Yan 下令将他捉拿的声音.

Liu Yang 想都不想地便脱口而出: “你们不能杀我! 我是陛下的儿子!”

因滚落和逃窜间的落灰,因紧张而冒汗,当 Liu Yang 靠着仅剩不多的力气站了起来,从那宫城的城墙之上探出头来,朝着 Qiao Yan 和那个方向的其他人怒喝出声的时候,简直是要多狼狈有多狼狈.

还滞留在此地围观的群众都难以理解,为何这样的一个跳梁小丑居然会是大汉皇室子弟.

偏偏 Liu Yang 根本没有意识到自己此刻展现在众人面前的到底是何种面貌,只是看着那城下的为首之人.

Qiao Yan 此刻依然端坐在马上,手中握着那柄用来射杀 Wang Yun 的长弓.

虽说在她的手里并没有第二根箭矢,可在 Liu Yang 看来,她可以一言不发地将 Wang Yun 给击杀在当场,在他早已该当算是将 Qiao Yan 给激怒的情况下,她为何不能也将他给杀了?

Liu Yu 这位天子都是被她给扶持上位的,他这个做儿子的也就更加没有多少分量了!

迫切保命的情绪在这一瞬取代了他心中所有的想法,也让他紧接着又冲着 Huangfu Song 高呼了一句, “太尉要放任大司马此种行径不成?”

“行径? 什么行径?” Qiao Yan 冷笑了一声,抢在 Huangfu Song 的面前朝着 Liu Yang 喝道: “没能掉入你等意图将我在这陷阱之中诛杀,反而从重围之中横空杀出的行径吗?”

“也不知道该不该说,你等拿天子病重的由头将我诱骗进宫,明





Ming wanted to kill me but didn’t dare to face me on the battlefield. Did he think too highly of me or too low? When I, Qiao Yan, was fighting the Xianbei in the north, you were still playing with mud in Youzhou!

Her gaze swept over Liu Yang’s terrified face and landed on the equally frightened Xianyu Yin.

When Xianyu Fu appeared and glared at his brother, Xianyu Yin’s legs began to tremble.

At the moment of Wang Yun’s death, only one thought remained in his mind.

He had to quickly drag Liu Yang to see His Majesty.

In the current situation, only His Majesty could save their lives.

But before Liu Yang could be pulled down from the city wall by Xianyu Yin and head to where Liu Yu and Zhang Zhongjing were imprisoned, Qiao Yan suddenly turned her attention to him.

“Commander Xianyu, if my memory serves me right, it was you who delivered His Majesty’s edict summoning me back to Chang’an, wasn’t it? When I asked you why it was so urgent, what did you tell me?”

“You said His Majesty’s health was failing, and there was an urgent matter that needed my consultation, didn’t you!”

Faced with Qiao Yan’s questioning, Xianyu Yin dared not give any answer other than “yes.”

The forged imperial edict was still in Qiao Yan’s hands. Anything he said now would only make him a laughingstock, so what was the point?

It was better to play the role of a subordinate forced to follow Wang Yun and Liu Yang’s orders, hoping for leniency.

He wasn’t blind to Liu Yang’s furious glare when he said “yes,” nor to the complex expressions on the faces of the onlookers when he admitted to deceiving Qiao Yan into returning to Chang’an.

He only knew that this was his only chance to turn things around in this already lost battle.

A chance to save his life!

But the next moment, he saw Qiao Yan reach out to Lu Lingju beside her.

Instinctively, Lu Lingju handed her bow and arrow to Qiao Yan.

What Xianyu Yin received was not leniency, but a thunderous arrow that pierced his throat.

He struggled, grasping at the air, but caught nothing, and collapsed onto the city wall.

In his final moments, as he looked down, he saw only pity on Xianyu Fu’s face.

It was his brother’s response, knowing he couldn’t plead for him but still showing compassion.

But he could give no reply.

In his last moments of consciousness, he faintly heard Qiao Yan say to Liu Yang, “If you say I arbitrarily executed a court official, that’s one thing, but if you say I acted improperly by returning to Chang’an under His Majesty’s edict while knowing the enemy was nearby, I will argue with you!”

“Seize him and let His Majesty decide his fate!”

What if Liu Yang is a prince of the Han!

One of Emperor Ling’s sons is under her control, almost completely reshaped in mind and spirit, becoming one of the common people. The other, though still sitting on the throne in Ye City, is her enemy and only receives the title of Prince of Hongnong from her.

Liu Yang is inferior to both, yet considers himself the heir apparent, trying to eliminate her. Why should she spare him any face?

The only mercy she shows him now is leaving his punishment to Liu Yu.

But perhaps it was Huangfu Song’s错觉, when Qiao Yan mentioned “His Majesty,” there was an inexplicable sense of sorrow and heaviness.

How much help the Son of Heaven has given her, his loyal subject, is hard to say, but his son tried to kill her.

This “His Majesty” above makes loyal ministers and generals feel such sorrow!

Seeing Liu Yang subdued and taken away by her subordinates, Qiao Yan walked through the cleared palace gate. Huangfu Song followed her and said, “His Majesty likely didn’t know about this beforehand, as seen from the situation with the Guards. His Majesty is already seriously ill and may be waiting for our help. Yueshu, you really don’t need to be so troubled by the actions of those villains…”

And so burdened in heart.

“Villains?” Compared to her earlier questioning tone towards Liu Yang, Qiao Yan’s voice was now softer, but still carried an indescribable sense of grief and indignation. “General Huangfu, if even Minister Wang, who holds the title of Duke, can be called a villain, if Commander Xianyu, a close minister of His Majesty, can be called a villain, and if even Governor Liu, who once received a petition from the people of Xuzhou, can be called a villain, how many in this world can be called gentlemen?”

How many are there who intend to target her and bring her down?

Huangfu Song wanted her to treat these events as the actions of a few and move on, but when she had already stirred up such a storm, she could not possibly respond in such a way!

As Qiao Yan spoke, she fully stepped through the palace gate.

While she was talking with Liu Yang and Xianyu Fu, Dian Wei, Zhao Yun, and others had already charged into the palace, attacking Liu Bei and Guan Yu.

If Liu Bei had still been surrounded by his old troops from Xuzhou, he might have been able to use his command skills and the palace’s terrain to hold them off.

But unfortunately, he wasn’t!

He had even been forced to change mounts due to Dian Wei’s attack and accidentally lost his weapon, leaving him with no way to escape this final capture, even with the valiant Guan Yu by his side.

When Qiao Yan walked up to him, Liu Bei was already pinned to the ground.

Perhaps because he had now freed himself from his earlier confusion, he did not struggle against the restraint, maintaining the last dignity of a man who had once risen to power.

He did not blame anyone for his deception, nor did he mention the forged blood letter from Liu Yu that had drawn him into this, nor did he try to use his connection with Lu Zhi to gain favor. He only sighed deeply when Qiao Yan said, “Xuande, you have truly disappointed me.”

Yes, from Qiao Yan’s perspective, Liu Bei had indeed disappointed her greatly.

Because of the people’s petition in Xuzhou and Liu Bei’s actions there, she had taken a great risk, disregarding his past enmity with her and the Chang’an court, to spare his life.

Not only did he survive, but he was also given an official position in Chang’an.

It was this appointment that gave him the opportunity to interact with Liu Yang and Wang Yun.

Whether it was her shooting herself in the foot or trusting the wrong person, the fact that Liu Yu was also a victim of this farce made Liu Bei an undeniable criminal!

Now this criminal was back in captivity.

Qiao Yan looked at his face, still bearing the mark of a hero, and felt a pang of regret for the inevitable opposition due to their differing loyalties to the Han.

Although Liu Bei’s involvement was not directly her doing, her decision to bring him to Chang’an had such intentions. Now that she had outmaneuvered him, she couldn’t simply lump him together with Wang Yun and the others.

Unfortunately, this was not a reason to pardon Liu Bei.

She said, “As a member of the Han imperial family, I cannot touch you, but someone will decide your fate.”

Liu Bei heard no mercy in her words and knew her stance.

He replied, “The Grand Marshal is right. His Majesty will give a fair judgment… and so will the people.”

He had truly taken the worst step!

But at this point, any further excuses would be against his own conscience.

He was wrong, and there was no excuse about Qiao Yan’s overbearing authority.

The only regret he had left was one thing.

He slowly turned to Guan Yu, who was also detained, and thought of his past in Zhuo County.

Back then, there was no Governor Liu, only a young man from Youzhou gathering knights-errant and wandering the streets, funded by two merchants from Zhongshan to recruit heroes. Among them, the most outstanding were Zhang Fei, Guan Yu, and Jian Yong.

But now, Zhang Fei had already perished in the battle of Xuzhou, fulfilling a general’s destiny, while Guan Yu and Jian Yong…

Given the current situation, they would likely follow him to their deaths.

But when he met Guan Yu’s eyes, he saw no resentment, only unwavering loyalty.

The meaning in that gaze needed no explanation. Whether as a subordinate or a brother, Guan Yu held no grudge against Liu Bei’s choices.

Even now, facing this end, there was no exception.

Liu Bei suddenly laughed heartily, “Grand Marshal, please take us away first.”

Qiao Yan waved her hand, granting his wish.

She watched his figure disappear from sight before turning back to Huangfu Song, “Let’s go, General Huangfu. Accompany me to see His Majesty.”

In this hastily launched and swiftly concluded rebellion, Liu Yu seemed almost like an outsider.

Even Huangfu Song, who had told Qiao Yan that His Majesty was unaware of the upheaval, couldn’t help but feel some resentment.

Could Liu Yu really have been completely unaware of Liu Yang’s confidence, even to the point of recruiting Wang Yun and others as accomplices?

During the Liangzhou campaign in the Guangxi era, Huangfu Song had personally seen Liu Yu, under Yuan Shao’s influence, come to Liangzhou to try to stop Qiao Yan’s rapid advance on Chang’an.

Although this was a manifestation of Liu Yu’s benevolence, his indecisiveness, inappropriate actions, and inability to act decisively were already evident then. In fact, if he hadn’t left Youzhou without proper arrangements, Gongsun Zan wouldn’t have had the chance to plunder the region, setting the stage for the subsequent conflict in Youzhou.

Back then, he couldn’t resolve the rumors Yuan Shao spread in Youzhou, leading to an outcome unfavorable to everyone. Now, he couldn’t resolve the rumors in Chang’an about Qiao Yan’s ambition to seize power, allowing the situation to develop to this point.

This was clearly the behavior of an incompetent emperor.

It was only because Huangfu Song’s family had long been favored by the Han that he chose to advise Qiao Yan to stop.

But when he saw Liu Yu again, he couldn’t bring himself to criticize him further.

After Wang Yun’s death and Liu Yang’s capture, without any need for threats, Wang Yun’s subordinates had already revealed Liu Yu’s location.

So while Qiao Yan and Huangfu Song were delayed with Liu Bei, Liu Yu had already been brought out from the palace where he was imprisoned.

When Huangfu Song saw Liu Yu, he was shocked to see how poor his mental state was.

Even without seeing Liu Yu’s earlier attempts to recuperate and counterattack, as Zhang Zhongjing had, Huangfu Song had to admit that in just a few days, Liu Yu had become almost unrecognizable.

The failure of the rebellion and his speculations about the Han’s future had drained the last bit of spirit from him.

It was as if all his vitality had been sucked away in an instant, leaving him aged and despondent.

Huangfu Song even thought that Liu Yu looked so frail that a gust of wind might blow him away, appearing so pitiful.

He raised his pale face, and when he saw Qiao Yan approaching with her usual vigor, he finally showed a faint smile and let out a long sigh.

Before Qiao Yan could bow to him, he spoke, “Yueshu, my unfilial son has caused you great trouble.”

Qiao Yan stood still, giving no response.

But no one present could blame her.

Everyone had seen the power of the explosives and the attitudes of Liu Yang and the others. Even when the conspiracy was exposed, they still wanted to accuse Qiao Yan, hoping Huangfu Song would finish what they had started.

Such behavior even overshadowed Qiao Yan’s execution of Wang Yun and Xianyu Yin.

And now, with Liu Yu’s words, was he seeking justice for Qiao Yan or pleading for leniency for his only remaining son?

Without hearing Liu Yu’s clear answer, they couldn’t be sure.

If it was the latter, it would be truly disheartening.

But before Liu Yu could continue, a rider suddenly galloped towards Qiao Yan from the direction of the palace, dismounted, and hurried over to whisper a few words to her.

They couldn’t hear what was said, but they saw Qiao Yan’s brow furrow immediately, and she issued a couple of urgent orders.

Liu Yu couldn’t bother with Liu Yang anymore. Whatever had caused such a reaction from Qiao Yan was clearly urgent military news.

“Yueshu, what’s happened?”

Qiao Yan hesitated for a moment before replying, “Shi Sunrui, stationed in Right Fufeng, has responded to Prince Yang’s call to arms and is marching towards Chang’an. Grandee Secretary Chunyu Jia joined him two days ago. Scouts have reported their movements to Chang’an, and I’ve sent Zilong to quell the rebellion.”

Shi Sunrui’s uprising?

These words struck like a thunderclap among the crowd gathered around Liu Yu, especially in Liu Yu’s already troubled heart.

Though she didn’t elaborate, Liu Yu could easily infer the implications.

Why would Shi Sunrui mobilize troops from Right Fufeng, with Chunyu Jia in his ranks to relay messages and strategize?

Clearly, Liu Yang had hoped to kill Qiao Yan in the Chang’an palace and then dismantle her remaining influence in the city, hence mobilizing such a force to Chang’an!

Thus, this military coup followed the palace coup!

But why would Shi Sunrui comply with Liu Yang’s absurd plan, disregarding the lives of the soldiers and civilians?

What would the world think if Chang’an were besieged in such a manner? Had they never considered this?

No… not just them.

Who else had never understood the situation?

Liu Yu’s emotions surged uncontrollably.

He had thought himself a wise man, a man of clear vision, but due to his choices, he had allowed himself to fall into anxiety and dilemma, forcing himself to retreat and avoid, living in confusion.

But it seemed he had never truly understood the complexities of the Guanzhong region!

At this realization, Liu Yu suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood and collapsed.

“Your Majesty—!”