We have fought to the Arctic Circle, and you want me to inherit the throne?

Wang Bi, the head of the Wang family, was awakened by the sound of fireworks exploding.

The sound penetrated the courtyards and exploded in his ears.

Wang Bi jumped up from the bed with a start, and the two concubines in his arms screamed in fright.

"what sound?!"

A sense of foreboding gripped him instantly. This was definitely not an ordinary movement!

Then, more noises were heard.

The sound of warning gongs and drums, the faint cries of killing, and the continuous sound of popping beans...

Musket!

There are a lot of muskets firing!

"Someone come! Someone come!" Wang Bi jumped out of bed barefoot and put on his outer robe carelessly.

The housekeeper crawled into the room, his face equally pale.

"Master! It's bad! There seems to be a fight outside!"

Wang Bi glared at him. "You're not even telling me that! I'm not deaf! Who's hitting me?!"

Wang Bi was both shocked and angry. There had been internal strife in Chang'an City, but it had never caused such a big commotion.

"No...I'm not sure. It seems to be coming from the direction of several city gates."

Wang Bi frowned and looked inside the palace.

The entire mansion was in chaos, the servants and guards gathered in a hurry, and the women were crying.

Wang Bi's feeling of uneasiness grew stronger.

At this moment, a servant came running in hurriedly: "Master, there is a man outside the door who wants to see you. He claims to be a servant of the Du family and has an urgent matter!"

Du Mansion?

Wang Bi's heart tightened.

The Du family is the leader of the Chang'an family. Sending people at this time...

"Quick! Bring it in!"

Soon, a servant with a face covered in soot was brought in. When he saw Wang Bi, he knelt down and said very quickly:

"Prince, this is bad! The royal family members who support Prince Feng in the city have suddenly started a rebellion!"

"They have somehow colluded with the defenders and have already captured the Jinguang Gate and Jingyao Gate. They are now heading towards the residence of our aristocratic family."

"what?!"

Wang Bi was shocked. How dare the royal family take direct action and even attack the city gate?!

The servant continued anxiously, "My master has risked his life to come here to inform you, Your Highness, please take your family and take shelter in our Du family compound!"

"The walls there are high and deep. My master has already sent people to inform the other family heads to gather at the Du Mansion to discuss countermeasures!"

Wang Bi was in a panic and didn't realize anything was wrong.

After all, the Du family is powerful and naturally becomes the backbone at this time.

Gathering at the Du family and working together to protect themselves seems to be the only option at the moment.

"Quick! Gather all the guards and servants, take the ladies and the young masters, and go out through the side door immediately!" Wang Bi gave the order in a hoarse voice without any hesitation.

Similar scenes were taking place simultaneously in the mansions of several aristocratic families in Chang'an City.

The servants sent by the Du family used almost the same words to lead the panicked heads of the Wang family, Liu family, Cui family and other families to the Du family mansion.

The aristocratic families have a strict hierarchy, and as the leaders, the Du family naturally has a strong appeal in emergencies.

No one thought deeply about why the Du family was so well-informed and acted so quickly and in unison.

When Wang Bi hurriedly stepped into the vermilion lacquer gate of the Du family with his servants and crying family members, he felt something was wrong.

It's so quiet.

As the most aristocratic family in Chang'an, the Du family should have been heavily guarded and had a large number of servants in their mansion.

But at this moment, the front yard was empty.

Only the lanterns hanging in the corridor swayed in the night breeze, casting unsettling flickering light and shadows.

Fortunately, the servant leading the way was still there, leading them through the front yard and straight to the main hall. Wang Bi felt a little relieved.

"Master! The prince has arrived!" The servant called out from outside the hall. Without waiting for a response from inside, he said to Wang Bi, "Please come in, prince. The other family heads are waiting in the hall."

Wang Bi suppressed the strange feeling in his heart and stepped into the hall.

When the other family heads saw Wang Bi arrive, they immediately came forward to greet him:

"The prince has finally arrived. I wonder what's going on in the city?"

"Has the prince ever met Lord Du? Why hasn't Lord Du come out to meet him?"

"Did the prince pass by Xiuchun Tower when he came? My son didn't come home at night, so I'm afraid he went to Xiuchun Tower again!"

Listening to the chaotic figures around him, Wang Bi felt more and more anxious.

But he couldn't get angry at all the family heads, so he could only bow and say, "Please be patient, everyone. I came here after being awakened, so I don't know much about the situation."

When everyone saw that Wang Bi didn't know what was going on, they dispersed.

Wang Bi walked into the hall with his family and felt a little short of breath.

He looked around, but found that there were only a few lights on in the huge hall, and the light was extremely dim.

There seemed to be a faint fishy smell in the air that had not yet dissipated.

Wang Bi frowned slightly, thinking that given the size of the Du family, they shouldn't be too concerned about the few wax coins.

Are you trying to hide something by not lighting the lights?

Wang Bi's gaze was fixed on the ground, and several stains that had not yet completely dried came into view.

That's... blood?!

Wang Bi's scalp exploded instantly, and a chill rushed from the soles of his feet to the top of his head.

"No! It's a trap!" He roared and turned around to rush out.

However, it was too late.

The moment he finished speaking...

click-

boom!

The intricate and gorgeous caisson patterns on the ceiling of the hall slid open to both sides, and the tall carved window lattices around it exploded inwards at the same time.

Ghostly black figures suddenly appeared, like bats swooping down for food in the dark night!

Night watchman!

They were covered in matte black, fine soft armor, and had hoods on their faces that only revealed their cold eyes, like messengers from hell.

Each of them held a pepper shaker pistol with a cold glow in their hands, pointing the muzzle at the private soldiers and family members of the noble families huddled together below.

"Put down your weapons and kneel down. You will not be killed. Anyone who disobeys my order will be killed without mercy!"

A bone-chilling voice came from above.

Wang Bi looked up in horror.

On the corridor on the second floor of the hall, a handsome general stood like a statue, his eyes fixed on the ground below.

The private soldiers of the noble families suddenly fell into chaos, with screams of fear everywhere.

Most of them are just thugs guarding the house. How could they have ever seen such a scene?

But there were also desperate criminals and loyal people among them. Some of them subconsciously raised their bows and crossbows and tried to resist.

boom! boom! boom!

There was almost no aiming process, and it was even unclear who fired the shot. Several crisp and deafening gunshots broke out at the same time.

The private soldiers who tried to raise their bows and arrows instantly had balls of blood bursting out of their bodies. Without even a groan, they fell straight back and hit the ground heavily.

The prelude to the killing begins in the most direct way!

"Open fire!" Yue Yun gave the order.

The next moment, the sound of gunfire like popping beans rang out densely.

The night watchmen worked in groups of three, cooperating with each other to the utmost tacit understanding, and their firepower was covered alternately with almost no gaps.

The sound of gunfire continued, white smoke quickly filled the entire hall, and the pungent smell of gunpowder covered up the smell of blood.

Bullets poured down like a torrential rain. The leather armor on the private soldiers of the noble families was torn apart easily like paper at such a close distance.

This is not a battle at all, it is a completely unequal massacre!

Wang Bi's eyes were bloodshot. He waved the sword in his hand and wanted to command the private soldiers beside him to fight back.

In a blink of an eye, he found that his people were falling down one by one like cut wheat, and he was completely unable to organize any effective resistance.

A dark shadow approached his side silently like a ghost.

Ying Bu struck Wang Bi's wrist with the hilt of his sword fiercely. The latter felt a sharp pain in his wrist and the sword flew out of his hand.

Before he could react, he was hit hard on the knee again and fell to the ground involuntarily.

Then two night watchmen rushed over and pressed their knees against his back, tied his arms behind his back, and tied him up tightly.

The heads of other families were even worse off. They were so frightened that they collapsed to the ground and were easily captured by the night watchmen like dead dogs.

Just a minute or two, maybe less.

The gunshots gradually became less frequent and eventually stopped.

The thick smoke slowly dissipated, and the hall, which had been full of people just now, was now littered with dead and wounded.

The night watchmen began to clean up the scene and examine the bodies in silence.

Li Che walked out slowly from the shadows on one side of the hall. The corners of his dark robe were not stained with a speck of dust. He glanced coldly at the pale-faced heads of the aristocratic families.

"Who are you?" Wang Bi's eyes widened. "You are King Feng!"

Li Che smiled calmly: "Wang Bi, right?"

"You're quite courageous. You're the only one among this group who dares to fight to the death. Your family isn't completely rotten after all."

"You! How dare you... How dare you come to Chang'an?!"

Li Che said coldly, "Under the whole heaven, all land belongs to the king. Chang'an City is a place of great celebration. Why can't I come?"

At this moment, Du Fuji walked quickly in from the side door and came to Li Che.

The moment they saw Du Fuji, the family heads became even more excited.

"Traitor! Traitor!"

"Du Fuji, you are unworthy of being the head of the Chang'an Du family. All our ancestors are brought shame upon by you!"

"Your brother is still in the imperial capital, and you actually defected to Prince Feng?"

Du Fuji just glanced at them with a dead look in his eyes, then lowered his voice and said beside Li Che:

"Your Majesty, the heads of the major families in the city are basically here, but... the Wei family has not come."

Li Che's eyes suddenly focused: "The Wei family hasn't arrived yet?"