Prince Ning Has Rebelled

"Urgent message, give way to all unauthorized personnel."

"A messenger has been sent to the capital; make way immediately!"

"Urgent military intelligence! Clear the way immediately!"

Dust billowed along the official road outside the city.

A courier galloped wildly into the city.

With feathered twigs tucked into his back and copper bells at his waist that vibrated so loudly the entire street hummed.

It roared incessantly.

People on the street and vehicles scattered in panic at the sound.

Shops and vendors on both sides hurriedly packed up their stalls.

The entire street was cleared in an instant, creating a passageway.

Horse hooves pounded the bluestone pavement.

We headed straight for the Imperial City gates.

Royal Palace

Hall of Heavenly Worship.

"You unfilial son, you wretched creature! How could I have raised such a heartless, disloyal, and unfilial beast?"

"How dare they rebel and treason, leading their troops to massacre the city, coveting my empire! They completely disregard the blood ties between father and son, and the proper etiquette between ruler and subject. This is utterly rebellious and intolerable to Heaven."

At this moment, Liang Emperor was like an enraged lion, exuding a terrifying and ferocious aura that chilled people to the bone.

The prince and his officials were instantly in an uproar, whispering among themselves, their faces filled with shock.

The Prince Ning's rebellion was a momentous event.

Although the entire court had a premonition, when this actually happened...

They were still shocked.

Is Prince Ning mentally disabled?

A vassal Princes guarding the border only had 50,000 border troops under his command, and the territory he truly controlled was no more than Zhenning Prefecture and a dozen or so surrounding prefectures and counties.

What right does he have to rebel?

What gives him the audacity to rebel?

There's not even a need for the imperial court to send a large army to quell the rebellion; a single imperial edict from His Majesty is enough to bring down the loyalist armies of the surrounding regions and various Princes.

Previously, there were only rumors that Prince Ning harbored rebellious intentions and intended to usurp the throne.

But from the emperor down to the officials, no one in the court took it seriously.

Because Prince Ning's resources and influence were simply insufficient, there was absolutely no chance of success.

Otherwise, they wouldn't have only sent Xiao Wenhan to serve Assistant Prefect of Dingzhou, and to keep an eye on the situation and movements of Prince Ning.

But they never expected that...

Prince Ning has actually rebelled.

You should know your father isn't dead yet.

Not only did they openly raise an army in rebellion, but they also ordered the massacre of an entire county.

Oh my god!!

What kind of outrageous and bizarre move is this?

You should at least wait until your father dies before talking about this.

Are you really in such a hurry? So impatient?

You lack the right timing, the right location, and the right people—you have none of them.

This is hardly a rebellion or treason.

This is clearly just child's play.

All the officials and civil and military officials in the court

Who isn't exceptionally intelligent and far-sighted?

No matter how hard they racked their brains, they couldn't understand Prince Ning's series of bizarre and outlandish actions.

Tyrannical, cruel, and stupid.

Disloyal and unfilial, unkind and unjust.

If it were their descendants, they would probably be so angry they'd die.

Fortunately,

They are the offspring of His Majesty the Emperor.

His Highness and his officials were even thinking,

Was His Majesty the Emperor angry because of Prince Ning's rebellion, or because of his own son's foolishness?

Never mind,

To harbor resentment towards the emperor is a grave offense of disrespect.

Don't think about it, you can't think about it.

Let's think about something else then.

The secret memorial delivered to the Ministry of War by express courier, traveling 800 li in an urgent manner, also mentioned that person.

Immortal.

One sword slays a thousand riders.

Upon first hearing this, the assembled dignitaries found it utterly absurd and nonsensical.

However, the Prefect of Dingzhou Prefecture personally recounted in a secret memorial the events that occurred in Heyang County.

It not only describes how Prince Ning's iron cavalry attacked Heyang County and massacred the entire city's inhabitants.

It also describes in detail the terrifying scene in Heyang County today: the corpses of rebel soldiers are strewn across the land, rivers of blood flow, half the city is frozen, and the other half is engulfed in flames, as if a natural disaster has struck and divine punishment has descended upon the world.

Finally, it even mentions the incident of the head of the Prince Ning's Heir being hung above the gate of the County Yamen office.

This forced all the high-ranking officials and ministers in the court to believe it.

Those weren't bandits and robbers from the mountains, or scoundrels and thugs from the city.

Instead, they were well-equipped, battle-hardened border cavalry.

More than a thousand people

They were all killed by the Immortal with just one sword.

The story of the Immortal saving the emperor with an Immortal Elixir only fueled their curiosity and admiration for this mysterious Immortal.

However, after learning that the Immortal had easily slaughtered over a thousand border cavalry with a single sword strike, they were now filled with more fear and dread.

Their status and position are too high.

They held the power of life and death over the millions of people in this vast empire.

Now suddenly a high and mighty Immortal has appeared, slaughtering them like pigs and dogs.

A sense of unease, panic, fear, and anxiety was growing wildly deep within them.

But what were the thoughts of His Majesty the Emperor, His Majesty of higher status and more exalted position than them?

Looking at His Majesty the Emperor, who stood on the Zichen Terrace, his face contorted with rage and his imposing presence,

His Highness's ministers dared not let their minds wander any further.

The mind of an emperor is unfathomable and ever-changing.

As a subject, one can only remain silent and dare not speculate.

"Zhao Huang, go, go and bring back that disloyal, unfilial, ungrateful, and worse-than-a-dog wretch! I want to personally beat this beast to death!"

When the emperor was enraged, the entire palace fell silent.

Only one cold and aloof voice echoed in the hall.

"Your subject, Xiao Zhaohuang, obeys the imperial decree."

Eldest Princess Xiao Zhaohuang rose upon receiving the imperial decree, her expression completely unchanged.

But this greatly distressed Wang Zitao, the Ministry of Rites. Seeing that the Eldest Princess was about to make a great contribution, he felt even worse than if he were killed. So he frantically winked and made faces at the Imperial Eldest Grandson.

Your Highness, please say something!

The Imperial Eldest Grandson: Aba aba aba.

Xiao Zhaohuang received many such decrees over the course of five years.

He campaigned against the Baiyue in the south, fought against the Göktürks in the north, quelled the Japanese pirates in the east, and attacked the Tubo in the west.

But this was the first time he had received an imperial edict to quell a rebellion by Princes.

His opponent was still his fourth Prince Ning.

Therefore, her inner world at this moment was not as calm as it appeared on the surface.

What troubled her most was...

It wasn't Fourth Brother who rebelled and led his troops to massacre the city.

Rather, it was that mysterious and unpredictable Immortal.

One sword shatters a thousand cavalry, slaughters a thousand armored soldiers.

It's unbelievable, it's horrifying.

Unlike those civil officials,

Having fought for many years and bled on the battlefield, she understood all too well the implications.

This means that as long as that mysterious and powerful Immortal wants,

He could then fly into the Capital openly and legitimately, enter the palace with impunity, and easily remove the emperor's head.

And there is no power that can stop Him.

Whenever He wants,

He can rule the world and govern the four seas at any time.

To Him, the dragon throne representing the supreme ruler and the Imperial Jade Seal symbolizing imperial power were nothing more than a pile of scrap metal.

Because He possesses invincible power sufficient to overturn the world and change the course of history.

He doesn't need these things to prove himself.

Because He Himself is power.

So, does Father really not understand these things?

Do you really not care about these things?

As the Princess Who Guards the Nation decree, the court assembly finally came to a close.

But no one mentions the heroic magistrate of Heyang County sacrificed his life for the country.

Perhaps in the eyes of the emperor and his ministers, a mere seventh-rank county magistrate was nothing more than an insignificant nobody.

They're like pebbles on the roadside, not even worth glancing at.

Only one person,

That was Xiao Wenhan, standing at the very back of the hall, near the entrance, surrounded by people in red and purple robes.

At this moment, his eyes were filled with tears, and he was overwhelmed with grief.

"Brother Huaimin, Brother Huaimin..."