Douluo Continent: Starting from Awakening the Vermilion Bird Martial Soul

"Don't worry, I'm one of His Highness the Crown Prince's men." Di Hong removed his armor.

"His Highness the Crown Prince's men?" The soldiers looked at each other in bewilderment.

At this moment, a young military officer stepped forward and saluted Di Hong with clasped hands.

"Wang Shen, centurion of the Imperial Guard, greets Your Excellency."

Di Hong nodded slightly.

"His Highness the Crown Prince sent me to infiltrate Tiandou City to investigate the situation. Tell me about the current situation."

"Yes, sir." Wang Shen saluted.

Afterwards, they entered the mansion behind them.

When the door opened, chaos erupted inside; some even tried to escape, but a dozen soldiers were prepared to resist.

"Don't panic." A female voice came, and it was as if a shot of adrenaline had been given to everyone, instantly calming the panicked people down.

Upon seeing that person, Di Hong was taken aback.

"Princess?"

The Crown Princess did not attend the hunting competition, and Xue Ye did not allow her to accompany him. After all, in his view, this hunting competition was for suppressing a rebellion, so there was no need to bring the Crown Princess along.

On a snowy night, the Crown Princess, dressed in women's armor with her long hair tied up and holding a sharp sword, looked incredibly heroic, just like a female general.

"Di Hong." Upon seeing it was Di Hong, the Crown Princess breathed a sigh of relief.

With Di Hong around, she was safe.

"Greetings, Crown Princess." Di Hong stepped forward and clasped his hands in greeting.

Then, puzzled, he asked, "Why isn't the Crown Princess at the Crown Prince's residence?"

This residence is quite a distance from the Crown Prince's residence. Why didn't she stay at the Crown Prince's residence and instead came here?

The Crown Princess shook her head.

"The Crown Prince's residence was breached by the rebels, and I had no choice but to flee here. If you hadn't arrived in time, I might have been captured alive."

Fortunately, Di Hong returned.

However, she also had doubts.

"How did you get into Heaven Dou City?"

"I infiltrated here; I wonder what the situation is like in the city now?"

The Crown Princess didn't waste any words and told Emperor Hong about the current situation in Tiandou City in detail.

Through the Crown Princess, Emperor Hong also learned about the current situation in the city.

Now, Tiandou City has little resistance left; apart from the imperial palace, it has basically fallen.

"Is the palace still resisting?" Di Hong caught the most important information: the palace was still resisting.

“That’s right.” The Crown Princess nodded.

"But I can't hold out for long, otherwise I wouldn't have fled here."

Just as Emperor Hong and the Crown Princess were discussing what to do next, Xue Yu received a report from Yin Xuan on the other side.

"Father has fallen into a coma." Xue Yu was somewhat taken aback.

"Yes." Yin Xuan nodded.

"His Majesty has fallen into a coma and is on the verge of death. He is only being kept alive by a Soul Master."

"That's great!" Xue Yu exclaimed excitedly, stamping her foot.

"That's great."

"Immediately spread the news that the Crown Prince plotted a rebellion on a snowy night and kidnapped the Emperor. At the same time, notify the armies in various regions to come to Tiandou City to defend the Emperor."

He knew very well that the armies from various regions would not come to the emperor's aid, which meant that the generals who supported Xueye would not come with their troops either. Since the emperor was unconscious and unable to issue orders, he only needed to seize the initiative, and then Xueye would be accused of treason.

Who could blame them when the emperor was caught in the snow and fell unconscious?

If the emperor were still lucid, he wouldn't have done that.

After that, he issued several more orders.

After all the orders were issued, another piece of good news arrived: the palace had been captured.

One piece of good news after another made Xueyu extremely excited.

Chapter 73: Blackmail

Chapter 73 Blackmail

The fall of the palace signifies that Tiandou City has been completely occupied by Xue Yu, and the emperor's coma gives him even more room to maneuver.

He began spreading rumors that the emperor had been kidnapped on a snowy night and that the emperor's life was in imminent danger. At the same time, he gathered all the noble families and ministers who remained in the city into the palace, and these people were now his hostages.

He then relayed the order to the armies in various regions to come to the aid of the king.

His goal would be achieved if he could stabilize the armies in various regions and prevent them from making any rash moves.

Local troops are poorly informed, and even if they suspect Xue Yu's orders, they will not obey Xue Ye. Under these circumstances, who would they dare to listen to, a prince or a crown prince, unless there is an imperial edict?

Xueyu grasped this point: the emperor was in a coma and could not issue decrees, and if Xueye issued them on his behalf, the local army would not obey.

His biggest worry now is that the emperor might suddenly wake up.

Now, Xue Yu's task is not to fight Xue Ye, but to negotiate with him. He must keep the emperor under his control to feel at ease.

After capturing all the noble families, the ministers who remained behind, and their families and bringing them to the palace, Yukiyu sent an envoy to the hunting grounds the next day to negotiate with Yukiyuki.

Xue Ye might not agree, but it's different for his men. Their families are all in Tian Dou City, and they can't afford to fight to the death.

While sending people to negotiate, Xue Yu was not idle either. The Crown Princess Xue Ye was still in the city. Someone had rescued her last night, but now her whereabouts were unknown.

Furthermore, all factions within the city need to be appeased, and the city gates must be strictly guarded to prevent anyone from colluding with outsiders to open the gates and let Xueye in.

The Earl's mansion where Di Hong lived was deserted. According to reports from his spies planted there, Tang Yuehua had been taken away by the Power Clan and was currently at their stronghold.

Tang Yuehua definitely cannot be arrested, after all, she is a member of the Haotian Sect. Arresting her would be tantamount to offending the Haotian Sect. The Haotian Sect's affiliated sects are still in the city, and Titan, the patriarch of the Power Clan, is not easy to deal with.

He's a Soul Douluo now, and he only has two Soul Douluos under his command. With Titan's strength, taking on two at once is no problem.

After discussing with the Crown Princess, Di Hong quietly returned to the Earl's Mansion, but the mansion was empty. He wasn't worried, because he knew that Tang Yuehua was not in the mansion and must have gone to the Li Clan.

As one of the affiliated sects of the Clear Sky Sect, the Power Clan is extremely loyal; otherwise, they wouldn't have immediately submitted to Tang San when he revealed the Clear Sky Hammer.

Once he was sure Tang Yuehua was alright, he felt relieved and prepared to leave Tiandou City to report the situation to Xueye.

Inside the hunting grounds.

Upon receiving the conditions proposed by Yuki, Yukiyo was furious.

"Too presumptuous."

He paced back and forth in the tent on a snowy night, his hands behind his back, his expression filled with anger.

"This traitor actually used the families of the city's ministers, nobles, and soldiers to blackmail me."

"He actually wants me to hand over my father."

"He even claimed that I was a traitor."

He was so angry he almost laughed.

"For a rebel to call me a traitor is a joke that will last for ages."

"Your Highness, please calm down." Ning Fengzhi quickly reassured her, knowing that Xue Ye needed to remain rational at this moment.

"Our top priority is to appease the nobles, ministers, and soldiers in the hunting grounds and ensure they stand firmly on our side."

Now that his family is in Xue Yu's hands, even if those nobles and ministers support Xue Ye, they would never joke about the lives of their family members. If Xue Ye disregards the lives of those people and launches a strong attack on Tian Dou City, he can certainly take it down.

But the problem is that if Xue Yu goes all out and carries out a massacre in the city, killing all their families, what should be done then?

Even if Xueye wins, they will gain nothing; instead, their entire family will be killed.

People in the hunting grounds are restless now, and some are even thinking of surrendering. Their homes have been stolen, and their families' lives are in the hands of the enemy. Anyway, this is an internal struggle within your royal family. No matter who wins, the emperor will be someone from your Xue family. They can go about their business.

However, some people firmly stood on Xueye's side, because in their view, Xueye's chances of winning were still very high, even though they were currently at a disadvantage.

They also believed that Xue Ye wouldn't abandon their family, otherwise he would have attacked Tian Dou City long ago.

Faced with the current passive situation, Xueye quickly calmed down and tried her best to stay calm.

Now Xue Yu is spreading rumors everywhere that he has kidnapped the emperor and has preemptively summoned local troops to defend the emperor. The local troops will not listen to Xue Yu, and naturally they will not listen to him either, including the generals who support him.

After all, they are locals and do not understand the true situation in Tiandou City. Who knows if they will become rebels if they rashly send troops?

Therefore, it is better for them to remain still and not follow the example of those generals and city lords who joined Xue Yu in occupying Tian Dou City.

The situation in Tiandou City hasn't spread far yet, as the times here limit information transmission.

Although Xueyu issued the order to come to the aid of the king in advance, it did not mean that Xueye would not issue one. It was just a matter of being a step later. He also wanted to keep the troops in those places inactive so that he could continue to maintain his advantage over Xueyu.

In his view, the Royal Guard and the Royal Knights were sufficient.