At Desheng Gate, the sprawling camps sank into endless silence.
One man galloped forward, a vast host of heavily armored Imperial Army soldiers behind him, like the most savage black tide beneath the dark clouds and rain.
Wang Ziteng stood at the front, the muscles in his face twitching. Behind his back, his hands clenched tightly, then loosened helplessly.
The young man drew closer, his hair disheveled and his body smeared with blood. He reined in his horse, looked down at Wang Ziteng, and cupped his hands.
"Jia Huan of the Northern Commandant Office greets the Nine Gates Commander."
"May I ask, Commander, whether I am entitled to enter the Capital's Three Great Camps?"
Wang Ziteng said nothing.
Jia Huan tossed him the Grand Secretariat's document and the Passage Warrant from the Ministry of War Office, then asked calmly:
"Am I entitled to enter the Capital's Three Great Camps?"
Wang Ziteng forcibly swallowed his anger and growled:
"Yes!"
Jia Huan leaped off his horse, handed him the Imperial Edict, and asked again:
"Am I entitled to speak with you?"
Wang Ziteng knew perfectly well that Jia Huan had come to humiliate him. But faced with an Imperial Edict penned by the emperor himself, he could not show the slightest anger. He said coldly:
"Yes!"
Jia Huan smiled, his gaze indifferent.
"The Embroidered Uniform Guard enforces the law under imperial power. Nine Gates Commander, please step aside."
Wang Ziteng's face turned livid. He led the Capital Camp Military Officers back inside the camp gate.
Jia Huan swept his arm forcefully and thundered:
"Arrest them by imperial command! Kill anyone who resists!"
At his order, over ten thousand Imperial Army soldiers stormed into the Five Army Camp from every direction, shaking the ground for ten li around.
The emperor had issued his