Duanmu Huai had caused no small amount of trouble in the Western Martial World and the Northern Martial World before, but none of it could compare to this.
He had killed the emperor.
Perhaps some people found it strange. The land outside was already engulfed in war, with Rebels rising everywhere. Everyone knew that Yang Guang's reign was over. Whether he died sooner or later made no difference, so why didn't they wonder why the various Rebels, who each had their own experts, hadn't sent someone to kill Yang Guang?
The reason was simple. As long as Yang Guang remained on the throne, he was still the emperor in name, and thus still had some power to restrain the court. Even people like Yuwen Huaji, no matter how anxious they were to rebel, had to take Yang Guang's prestige into account.
But once Yang Guang died, it was as if all the dogs that had been tied up had their leashes removed at once. The whole world fell into complete chaos.
First was Sima Dekan. After learning that Yang Guang was dead, he decisively raised an army on the spot, seized Yangzhou City, and announced the rise of a new Rebel army.
Yuwen Huaji was no pushover, either. Although Yang Guang's death had been quite unexpected, Yuwen Huaji had made considerable preparations for his rebellion. He immediately sent out his troops and fought a great battle with Sima Dekan, retaking Yangzhou City and Facing-River Palace, along with Yang Guang's gold, silver, treasures, and consorts. He then attempted to head for Chang'an and seize control of the capital.
But halfway there, Li Mi ambushed him at Liyang. The two sides fought a great battle, and Yuwen Huaji was defeated, fleeing north with only twenty thousand remnants of his army.
The gold,