Tiantang Splendid

Chapter 4956: Bloody Battle at Lizheng Palace
Flames flashed and smoke filled the air at the entrance of the main hall. Bullets were as dense as rain. Although the iron armor could block the bullets, it could not cover the whole body. In order to facilitate combat, the defense of the joints was weak. Dense rain of bullets poured down. From time to time, rebels were shot and fell to the ground. The shields wrapped in iron sheets were hit by bullets and wood chips flew everywhere.

Every step forward the rebels make comes at a huge price.

Li Anyan was so blood-thirsty that he ignored the wounded soldiers who fell to the ground and kept urging them to move forward. The rebels also understood that the only way to win the battle was to rush into the hall, as firearms could not be fully effective at close range. Therefore, they charged forward fearlessly and risked their lives.

The "Shenjiying" adopted the latest firearms tactics, emphasizing mutual coordination and division of labor, so the team of more than a hundred people had only fifty or sixty muskets. Although the firepower was fierce, it was difficult to resist the rebels who were fearless and surging forward, and they were gradually forced to approach the main gate.

The morale of the rebels was boosted. Li Anyan was about to command his soldiers to charge into the hall when he suddenly saw more than a dozen black lumps flashing with sparks thrown out of the hall and into the charging crowd. He was immediately horrified and shouted, "Thunder! Get down! Get down!"

Before he could finish his words, the thunder bomb exploded with a loud bang, and black smoke rose into the sky. The energy generated by the explosion of the gunpowder inside tore the cast iron body of the projectile into pieces along the pre-made patterns, and countless shrapnel flew in all directions.

When a thunder bomb explodes at close range and acts on shrapnel, its power is more than ten times that of a musket ball.
Except for the thicker parts on the chest and back, the rest of the armor was unable to block the flying shrapnel and was easily penetrated. The rebels who were about to rush to the main gate fell to the ground, rolling and wailing. Without the cover of the "Armored Army", the muskets fired again, and the rebels following behind were shot one after another, and the offensive was immediately blocked.

Li Anyan's eyes turned red, these were all the loyal warriors he had nurtured for many years, and he had spent countless money and efforts on them, but in the end, they were blocked outside the gate of Lizheng Palace. They were not even allowed to enter the door, let alone coerce the prince, usurp the throne, and take revenge?
"Follow me!"

He held the sword in his hand and gnashed his teeth as he was about to lead the charge himself, but was grabbed by his subordinates behind him. Li Anyan was immediately furious and shouted, "Why are you stopping me? If we can't charge in, you and I will both die without a burial place. We might as well fight to the death! If you are afraid of death, kneel on the ground and surrender, don't stop me!"

"General, calm down. It's not that I'm afraid of death..."

The subordinate pointed back, and Li Anyan looked up, just in time to see a large number of reinforcements rushing over, pouring into the courtyard in front of Lizheng Palace like a tide.

But it was Li Shenfu and other clan members who had gathered their family soldiers and warriors, and they arrived at the most critical moment...

Li Shenfu hid in the back and shouted, "All these people are under the command of General Li. We must attack Lizheng Palace at all costs!"

If he could not storm into the Lizheng Palace and capture the crown prince, it would be of no avail even if Li Chengqian had passed away. All the civil and military officials in the court and the subjects of the world would spare no effort to support the crown prince to ascend the throne, and all his plans would be in vain.

Li Anyan was greatly encouraged and immediately ordered: "Use the dead soldiers as cover to resist the firearms, and follow me to charge!"

He rushed forward, holding the body of a fallen soldier in front of him, and charged forward under the gunfire. The others followed suit, forming groups of three or two, using the bodies of their fallen comrades as shields, and followed Li Anyan as they rushed toward the Lizheng Hall.

A soldier in iron armor was unconscious but not dead. He was suddenly lifted up as a "human shield". He woke up and danced with fear and screamed. The rebels holding him were not moved at all. Because he struggled hard and was difficult to control, someone stabbed him several times with a knife until he was completely dead...

……

Inside the hall, the "Shenjiying" composed of more than a hundred academy students faced rebels that were dozens of times larger than themselves. They fired steadily and in an orderly manner. Even when the rebels rushed to their close, they did not panic at all. They kept firing their muskets and throwing thunder bombs. Cen Changqian also finished reloading the ammunition once again, adjusted the muzzle angle to the lowest, and cut the fuse of the shell to the shortest possible length.

"Tom!"

The propellant pushed the shell out of the barrel and ignited the fuse at the same time. Because the fuse was too short, it exploded violently almost the moment it was fired, with a loud bang more than ten feet outside the palace gate, not only knocking down the charging rebels, but even the students in the palace felt their ears temporarily deaf and their heads buzzing.

Li Anyan was knocked to the ground by the blast. The corpses in front of him could help block the projectiles, but could not withstand the power of the artillery. He spat out the snow foam in his mouth, turned over and got up, shaking his head to offset the dizziness, and looking back, he saw the wounded rolling and wailing all over the ground, which was shocking.

I was terrified by the power of artillery. It was said that the artillery on warships was more powerful, with thicker barrels, larger shells, and more gunpowder. No wonder the navy relied on such weapons to roam the seven seas, beat the foreign countries to the point of ghosts and wolves howling, and was invincible...

"Don't stop! Charge forward! Charge forward!"

Li Anyan felt his legs go weak and he could not stand, so he had to urge his soldiers to charge forward at the risk of their lives.

However, the area several feet in front of the palace gate was like a gate of hell. Muskets, cannons, thunder bombs and other firearms formed a tight defense network. No matter how many desperate charges the rebels organized, they still could not cross the line.

The rebel army of more than 3,000 people launched a frontal attack on the Lizheng Palace. The "Shenjiying" of more than 100 people relied on the defensive terrain and the power of firearms. The attack and defense were temporarily deadlocked and neither side could do anything to the other.

*****
When the first cannon shot was fired in Lizheng Hall, it shook the entire Chang'an city.

Although Li Chengqian had been on the throne not long ago, he had already experienced two mutinies. Each time, the rebels broke into the Taiji Palace. The imperial power was in jeopardy and on the verge of crumbling. Although the rebellion was eventually suppressed, the throne was not stable.

At this moment, cannons were fired in Lizheng Palace. Everyone knew that although the battle had begun in the East Palace, the target of this mutiny must be Li Chengqian in Taiji Palace.

When this Tang monarch was a prince, he was in danger of losing his position and was almost deposed several times. Now that he has ascended the throne, he still rebels one after another. It is really hard to complain...

All the civil and military officials were surprised and immediately got up from their beds, put on their clothes, walked out of the house with their servants, and headed straight for the Taiji Palace.

Zheng Rentai had already prepared himself with helmet and armor on. When he heard the cannon fire, he immediately ordered the blockade of Fanglin Gate to Anfu Gate Street, and personally led his troops into Anfu Gate and directly to Chengtian Gate. Before the arrival of the Left Leading Army Guard, the entire Tianjie was put under martial law, separating it from the imperial city in the south.

Take control of Yanxi Gate more quickly.

Many officials who stayed in the imperial city on official business looked at Chengtian Gate across the street and listened impatiently to the roar of cannons and dense gunfire in the East Palace, but they were blocked by the soldiers of the Right Guard under Zheng Rentai and could not get close.

"Zheng Rentai, do you want to rebel?"

"Quickly let us into the palace!"

"As the general of the Right Guard, you did not enter the palace to rescue the king when the palace was in turmoil. Instead, you delayed us from entering the palace. What is your intention?"

"I heard that His Majesty is critically ill. I don't know whether it is true or not. I'm afraid there must be something I can't bear to say!"

"Zheng Rentai must have colluded with the traitors and committed treason. He deserves to be cut into pieces!"

Facing the officials' various discussions, scolding and cursing, Zheng Rentai sat on his horse with a steely face and said in a deep voice: "The situation in the palace is still unknown. Before the arrival of His Majesty's order, no one is allowed to step into Chengtian Gate. Those who disobey the order will be killed without mercy!"

"kill!"

The guards of the left army drew out their swords at the same time, the sword lights flashed like a forest, and with a loud roar, many officials were frightened and took half a step back, looking anxious but helpless.

"Report! Marshal, the Left Army Guard has arrived outside the Yanxi Gate and demands that the Yanxi Gate be opened so that they can enter the Imperial City!"

"Report! The Right Jinwu Guard entered the Imperial City through the Suzaku Gate and is approaching the Chengtian Gate!"

"The Left Jinwu Guard has already left Xing'an Gate and headed straight for Zhide Gate. It looks like they are planning to go straight into the East Palace to rescue the Crown Prince!"

Battle reports arrived one after another. The Left and Right Jinwu Guards and the Left and Right Leading Army Guards that were guarding Chang'an City had all been dispatched. The entire Chang'an City was in turmoil and tension was high. A major battle was about to break out!
Zheng Rentai was a famous general in the Zhenguan period. He remained calm and unmoved in the face of chaos. He asked in a deep voice, "Where is Fang Jun now?"

"I don't know."

Chongrenfang, where the Fang family lived, was in the east of the city and was not under the jurisdiction of the Right Guard, so Fang Jun's whereabouts were unknown.

Zheng Rentai looked at the heavy snow in front of him and listened to the faint sound of gunfire coming from his ears, and fell silent for a while.

If his guess was correct, Fang Jun had already entered the East Palace to rescue the prince.

Zheng Rentai had no doubts about Fang Jun's ability and the combat effectiveness of the left and right Jinwu Guards under his command. However, Li Shenfu and others had been preparing for today's uprising for a long time, and naturally they would take every aspect into consideration. If they launched a full-scale attack, would Fang Jun be able to rescue Lizheng Palace in time?

There is no doubt that although Li Shenfu attacked Lizheng Palace fiercely, he must have attacked Your Majesty beforehand, and the chance of success is very high, otherwise how would he dare to rebel?

If Li Shenfu captures Lizheng Hall and takes control of the Crown Prince, and something unexpected happens to His Majesty in Wude Hall, the imperial power will fall into the hands of others and the outcome will be decided.

If Li Shenfu fails to capture Lizheng Palace before Fang Jun arrives, resulting in the prince being rescued by Fang Jun, then the prince will be able to ascend the throne smoothly after Your Majesty is in trouble. With Fang Jun's support, no one can usurp the throne and rebel, and the overall situation can also be determined.

Therefore, the key to the entire situation at the moment lies in the gains and losses of Lizheng Palace.

Zheng Rentai weighed the pros and cons again and decided not to take any risks. He would lead his troops to isolate Taiji Palace and let the fighting inside the palace turn upside down. He would be loyal to whoever won in the end.

In this way, you may not have the chance to "follow the dragon", but you don't have to take huge risks.

Of course, he isolated himself from Taiji Palace and refused to go to the palace to rescue the king, which to a certain extent showed his position...

"Tell Liang Jianfang that the Right Army Guard has taken over the Imperial City. Instruct them to guard against possible riots in the East City and not to enter the Imperial City at all!"

"Here!"

"Marshal, the Right Jinwu Guard is already charging over here!"

Zheng Rentai looked to the south and saw that in the dark imperial city, an army was rushing along the streets like a tide.