Shipin Dalizheng

Rong Tang cracked his whip and said expressionlessly, "Attack the city."

Three thousand soldiers immediately took action. The city guards were terrified and hurriedly urged their superiors to open the city gates. The gate officer reluctantly agreed, but still said unwillingly, "The Earl of Annan always passes through the west gate. Why must he embarrass me..."

Rong Tang cursed, "You bastard, there are civilians at the West City Gate."

The city gate officer now understood that if the west gate was not opened and the Earl of Annan attacked the city, the people would have no time to escape.

The city gate opened, and three thousand elite soldiers rushed in instantly. The first two hundred-man teams took over the guarding of the city gate. Not only did they confiscate the weapons, they also took down the city walls.

"Behave yourself, take off your coat, and pretend to be an ordinary citizen."

The guards at the city gate probably didn't expect to let them go so safely and smoothly. They were very afraid of retaliation. Even if they were not killed, they would definitely be tied up, beaten and scolded.

Three thousand soldiers and horses poured into the city like a tide, like a clear stream flowing in, dispersing in both directions like leaf veins to maintain order in the imperial city. Every street and alley echoed with the same message, "Go home, close your doors and windows, and do not leave unless summoned by the Earl of Annan."

Frightened, every household hurriedly closed their doors. Those who were wandering outside found a place to hide nearby. Those who had no home or yard huddled together in the narrow alleys.

Rong Tang galloped forward, leading two hundred-man teams straight towards the imperial palace. He shouted as he galloped, "Annan Baron Rong Tang is here to rescue the king. Anyone who tries to stop him will die."

At the gate of the palace, the imperial guards were blocking the way with swords and knives, and the two sides were on the verge of a fight.

Old Tan led the crossbow corps in the vanguard, their momentum unstoppable, their advance swiftly slashing the enemy in their wake. Rong Zhan and the others' Tang swords were wielded with such force that they couldn't match ordinary swords. At best, their weapons were broken, at worst, their heads chopped off. One side was unstoppable, their momentum unstoppable, while the other, timid and emaciated, retreated step by step, their momentum unstoppable.

Rong Tang dismounted and strode towards the palace. He didn't want to kill anyone, but there were always people willing to sacrifice their lives.

"The Earl of Annan is here to rescue the king. If you surrender your weapons, I will spare you, but those who resist will be put to death."

After another round of slogans, one of the guards finally gave way, dropping his weapon and running. They always feared being the first to do something, and once someone did something, others would follow suit. In no time, half the guards had retreated.

Rong Tang looked at the remaining people sternly, "Are you really looking for death?"

Someone timidly said, "Guarding the palace is our duty."

"Guarding the Imperial Palace is your duty, but guarding His Majesty is not? Whose subjects are you, His Majesty's, or the Marquis of Yong'an?"

"Who... who knows you, are you a traitor?"

A small number of guards were forced to retreat, but they remained stubborn and unyielding.

Rong Tang sneered, "How ridiculous! Shouldn't you report whether I'm a traitor to His Majesty and ask him if he's willing to see me? I think you're the traitors. Kill them all, and don't spare a single one."

Empress Sun, upon hearing the news, came over, supported by her personal maid, and shrilly said, "They are the rebels! Don't let them in."

Rong Tang stared at this ridiculous woman, "Empress Sun, you are only called Empress in this little palace. Once you leave the palace, do you think anyone in the world will recognize you as Empress? The country is about to be shattered, and South Vietnam will be reduced to ashes, yet you are still dreaming of wealth and glory. Aren't you really afraid of being shattered along with your son?"

Empress Sun screamed. How could she not be afraid? She was very scared, but she had no choice. Struggling might still give her a glimmer of hope. If she didn't fight, she would die soon. Even if she could only linger on, she wanted to live a little longer.

"Help, help..."

She was also surrounded by loyal maid guards, who were protecting her nervously. Rong Tang was too lazy to talk nonsense and was about to give an order when an old eunuch came running from the other direction.

"Stop, everyone stop, His Majesty wants to see Earl Annan."

Nan Di had not appeared in public for a month. Some people thought he had died long ago, some thought he was under house arrest, and some thought he was seriously ill and unable to get up.

The person who came was Cao Daban, the most trusted eunuch of the Southern Emperor. As soon as he opened his mouth, no one thought he was lying.

Empress Sun panicked, "Eunuch Cao, His Majesty has been unconscious for a long time. He won't give any orders at all."

Eunuch Cao said sternly, "Empress, do you want to hear what you are saying? Don't you know exactly how His Majesty fell into a coma? Are you allowed to poison His Majesty and force him into a coma without allowing him to wake up?"

This immediately exposed the Empress Sun's conspiracy to kill the emperor and her husband. It was a crime that the Empress Sun could not bear. Her face turned pale and she said, "You are talking nonsense."

Cao Daban sighed, "Right and wrong cannot be determined by law. His Majesty is now sober. Whatever he wants to say to the Earl of Annan, the Queen and the people of the world will listen."

"no no……"

How can Empress Sun make the Southern Emperor speak again? Now that the truth is revealed, how will she and the Second Prince deal with it?

However, at this moment, no one paid attention to her cries. No matter what the palace guards thought before, they had to be loyal to the emperor once Cao Daiban came out.

Empress Sun and her gang were quickly subdued, and Rong Tang strode into the Southern Emperor's bedroom with a knife.

The hall was deep and dark without any lights on. The Southern Emperor was half lying on the dragon bed, his cheeks sunken, as if he didn't have much time left. It had only been half a year since they last met, but he already looked like he was about to die.

The Southern Emperor uttered two huh sounds, "Annanbo..."

Rong Tang didn't bow. He took two steps forward and looked closely at the Southern Emperor's expression. "Your Majesty is not in good condition? Cao Daban, why don't you call the imperial physician for His Majesty?"

Before Cao Daban could say anything, Rong Shen grabbed him and walked out. Cao Daban struggled, "What are you going to do?"

Rong Shen said expressionlessly, "I'll go with my father-in-law to find the imperial physician."

Cao Daban felt bitter, and realized that he had let a wolf into the house, but he was completely unable to resist.

Rong Tang's behavior alerted the Southern Emperor. His lifeless eyes widened, "You...you are also a rebel..."

Rong Tang looked at him with amusement, "It's not me who's rebelling, it's you, you and your eldest son. There were many things I couldn't understand before, but when I heard that you were poisoned by Queen Sun, I suddenly figured it out."

Nan Di was a little nervous. "What did you figure out?"

Rong Tang didn't answer but asked, "Where are your dragon guards?"

The Southern Emperor remained silent.

"Did your eldest son tell you that your Southern Dynasty couldn't hold out much longer, and that instead of waiting for the country to be destroyed and die, why not find another way to try your luck? You gave him all the Dragon Guards and let him take away all the resources of the imperial city. Maybe he even planned to occupy the southern border and become a small-time emperor on the border. I have to say, Your Majesty, although you are not good at governing the country, you love your son deeply. But that's not right. You don't love your son, but your status as the eldest son. You claim to be the eldest son of the royal family and the first heir to the throne, but you didn't successfully ascend the throne and didn't even have the support of your biological mother. You are very disappointed and very unwilling. You dote on your eldest son just to prove that you are a person who respects the ancestral etiquette and law, that you are orthodox, and you value orthodoxy."

The Southern Emperor made a hoarse sound, and saliva flowed from one corner of his mouth.

"You, who are you?"

Light and shadow flickered at the door, and a person came in. Emperor Nan squinted his eyes to see the person. She was dressed in white, like an immortal, with beautiful eyebrows, big eyes, and red lips, as if she were in a dream.

His breathing suddenly became more rapid, "You...you..."

When the person walked up to him, the facial features were not exactly the same, except for the big, misty eyes that made people unable to look away.

"You are not her, who are you..."

The Southern Emperor's dazed eyes flickered, and a long sword was across his neck.

Feng said softly, "I am the one you have been longing for, Xie Wan's daughter."