The commanding officer responsible for guarding Changle Gate, the southernmost gate of Chang’an, had also attended Emperor Qingping’s banquet that day.
These senior officers from Qinmen Pass were all trusted confidants of Xu Zonglun. Military commanders were different from civil officials. They had to fight enemies together while remaining completely obedient to their superiors. Over time, the relationship between commander and subordinate could easily become unbreakable.
What was more, Xu Zonglun had always been an exceptionally capable commander.
Qinmen Pass was unlike either the frontier garrisons or the ordinary commanderies. Commanders stationed on the distant frontier enjoyed considerable freedom, since the Emperor’s authority could hardly reach them. The garrisons in the commanderies, meanwhile, had relatively light military duties and enjoyed a much more comfortable life.
Their position was awkwardly in between, and theirs was the hardest life of all.
Before Xu Zonglun arrived, they had lived in poverty and hardship. There was little more to say about it.
But once Xu Zonglun took command of Qinmen Pass, the situation changed.
He appeared to be a gentle, refined man with a mild disposition. He was educated and treated his subordinates reasonably well. More importantly, he knew how to placate the officials sent from the capital to inspect the garrison. When his officers embezzled money or claimed pay for nonexistent soldiers, he generally turned a blind eye.
At first, only a few officers tentatively skimmed a small portion of the funds. Gradually, everyone realized that as long as they did not go too far, General Xu would not stop them from making their lives more comfortable.
The commanders at Qinmen Pass were therefore more or less deeply grateful to General Xu. Over time, several were singled out by Xu Zonglun and became members of his faction.
So, before His Majesty summoned them to the palace this time, General Xu gathered these men and told them his plans. The commanders immediately voiced their support. Not a single one was unwilling.
Previously, they had merely followed their general in lining their pockets at Qinmen Pass. Once his grand undertaking succeeded, they would have every opportunity for promotions and noble titles. Why would they still need to remain at that insignificant pass, counting the days until retirement?
The commanders were all eager to see what lay ahead.
And the events of the past several days had thoroughly confirmed their expectations.
They were stationed outside Chang’an, and all they had to do was guard the eight city gates. They did not need to concern themselves with anything else. The people inside the city were already intimidated by the sight of such an enormous army and did not dare make any rash moves. Meanwhile, officials and wealthy merchants, afraid that fighting might break out, were making plans for their own futures. They tried every possible means to curry favor with the soldiers and bribe them, stuffing silver into their pockets.
Within just a few days, the men had already tasted considerable benefits.
At the same time, General Xu had shown his appreciation for them.
Chang’an was extraordinarily wealthy. The empire had enjoyed more than a decade of peace, with no major wars to drain its resources, and the imperial treasury was exceptionally full. Over the past few days, General Xu had repeatedly sent provisions and rewards to the troops outside the city. Once distributed, even the lowest-ranking soldiers received several qian in reward money. And at the military camps, the smell of meat rose from the cooking fires every day.
Even during the New Year celebrations at Qinmen Pass, they had never enjoyed such a life.
Without having to do anything, they were receiving generous rewards. Even the commanding officers had grown considerably more relaxed after just a few days.
That was exactly what was happening outside Changle Gate that day.
By the time the commanding officer got up, the sun was already high in the sky. He made a few simple preparations, inspected the soldiers guarding the gate, and then leisurely climbed up to the gate tower.
Apart from the soldiers currently on duty, the rest were waiting at the camp for their turn to stand guard. But there were more than ten thousand men stationed outside each city gate. No matter how large a gate might be, it could not accommodate that many soldiers on duty at once. By this point, not even one full rotation of the troops had taken place.
Now, with noon approaching and little to occupy them, the idle soldiers had set up cooking pots outside their tents and begun lighting fires to prepare their meals.
The commanding officer settled into a seat on the gate tower.
When his deputy saw him sit down, he came over to make conversation.
“General, have we received any news from the palace about when His Fourth Highness will ascend to the position of Crown Prince?” he asked.
The commanding officer glanced at him lazily.
“What’s the hurry?” he replied.
The deputy chuckled.
“How could I be in a hurry?” he said. “Life has been so easy these past few days that I’m in no rush at all. I only wish I could live like this for the rest of my life.”
The commander burst out laughing.
“That won’t do either,” he said. “If you spend every day standing guard here, how are you supposed to get promoted?”
The deputy’s eyes lit up at once.
“That’s true,” he said. “But I certainly don’t want to get promoted only to be sent back to Qinmen Pass.”
The commander glanced at him and gave a mocking snort.
“Qinmen Pass?” he said. “How big is Qinmen Pass? What sort of general could it possibly accommodate?”
The deputy immediately understood what he meant.
“General, are you saying…?”
Seeing the question on his face, the commander nodded.
“General Xu promised us long ago,” he said. “Once the plan succeeds, he certainly won’t send us back to Qinmen Pass and leave it at that.”
With nothing else to do, the deputy grew interested and continued asking, “Did General Xu say where he intends to send us?”
The commander paused without answering.
This promise had been made privately, when General Xu first revealed his plans to them and asked for their cooperation. At the time, General Xu had said that once everything was accomplished, His Majesty would certainly deal with the entire Duke of Yongning’s household. By then, the family of the Duke’s wife would have no place left in the empire either.
The elder brother of the Duke of Yongning’s wife was the commander of Yumeng Pass.
Yumeng Pass was a major frontier stronghold that connected directly to the Western Regions. Not only had it enjoyed peace for years, but several prosperous trade routes also passed through it.
General Xu had promised that after the Shen family was dealt with, the vacant command at Yumeng Pass would be handed over to them.
Every one of the commanders understood this arrangement, but they also knew that they absolutely could not let the secret slip before the plan succeeded.
The commander hesitated.
Seeing his expression, the deputy realized that he knew the answer but did not feel comfortable revealing it.
The deputy smiled. “What are you afraid of, General? I’ve always been good at keeping my mouth shut. Besides, the Fourth Prince’s accession is already a foregone conclusion. What is there left to fear?”
The commander knew there was some truth to that.
The deputy continued, “Besides, we’re stationed right here. Not even a fly can get into Chang’an. There’s no chance anything will go wrong. Just tell me, so I can have some idea of what awaits us. I won’t tell a third person, I promise.”
The commander began to waver.
“Then you’d better keep your word,” he said.
The deputy nodded repeatedly.
“General Xu said that once everything is accomplished…”
His words abruptly cut off.
The deputy’s eyes widened.
He watched as a sharp arrow tore through the air, shattering the peaceful scene before anyone could react.
The arrow suddenly pierced the commander’s throat, driving him hard against the stone wall of the gate tower.
He had not even had time to close his eyes before his life was gone.
Almost simultaneously, sounds of blades cutting into flesh, hurried footsteps, frantic fighting, and screams rose from below the gate tower.
The deputy stared blankly toward the city gate.
He saw a force of soldiers clad in black armor. They were not particularly numerous, and they made no battle cries. As they advanced, the only sound was the clatter of their armor. They moved like ghostly soldiers emerging from the underworld—silent, swift, and merciless in killing.
Meanwhile, the military camp not far away had somehow caught fire.
Flames soared into the sky as soldiers fled their tents in panic. Some tried to fight back against the black-armored army, but before they could even bring their blades down, they were already dead beneath their enemies’ swords.
In scarcely any time at all, most of the soldiers in the camp had been captured. The two armies had barely begun a proper engagement, yet the battle already seemed to be nearing its end.
The deputy stared into the distance.
There, more than a dozen zhang away, stood a man on horseback.
He sat quietly atop a black horse, wearing a dark-ink brocade robe. His figure was tall and imposing.
A bow was strapped to his back. Anyone could tell at a glance that he was the one who had just killed the commander with a single arrow.
Only then did the deputy seem to come to his senses. He hurried down the gate tower.
The sounds of fighting continued below. After taking only a few steps, he encountered a wounded soldier climbing the stairs to deliver a report.
“General!” the soldier cried urgently. “There are far too many of them! We can’t hold them back!”
The deputy hurriedly asked, “What about the other gates? Our camp is at the southernmost gate, so we were probably the first to be attacked. Find a few men immediately and break through the encirclement to warn the other gates!”
But the soldier shook his head repeatedly.
“General, someone from the western gate has already arrived!” he said. “As for the other seven gates… they were all silently taken over by the enemy half an hour ago. They didn’t even have time to send up a signal!”
The deputy froze.
“Who is leading the army?” he asked dazedly.
The soldier wiped his face.
“They say… it’s the Prince of Guangling, leading the Yanyun Cavalry!” he replied. “The other seven gates are already completely under their control. According to the messenger, the Prince of Guangling must be planning to enter the city through Changle Gate… and march straight into the imperial palace!”
In barely an hour, all eight gates of Chang’an had fallen.
The soldiers from Qinmen Pass had not fought a war in years, and they had grown even more lax over the past several days. When the Yanyun Cavalry attacked that day, the men were actually preparing their midday meal ahead of schedule.
The Yanyun Cavalry launched their assault from the northernmost gate. They first seized the gate and locked it shut, trapping the Qinmen Pass troops outside the city like turtles caught in a jar. After capturing the first gate, they split into two forces and attacked the gates on either side. Eventually, the two forces converged outside Changle Gate, killed its commanding officer, and took the gate with astonishing ease.
The battle report was delivered to the Fourth Prince’s desk at the earliest opportunity.
His hands trembled uncontrollably.
“…Lord Xu.” After a moment, he raised his head and looked at Chancellor Xu, who was standing in the imperial study. “They’ve reported that Xue Yan has reached Changle Gate.”
Xue Yunhong knew that Xue Yan had not entered through any of the other seven gates. It was not because those gates had managed to stop him. Rather, Xue Yan had deliberately sealed them off, intending to trap them inside Chang’an.
For a moment, Chancellor Xu said nothing.
Xue Yunhong abruptly rose to his feet.
“How could Xue Yan have received the news? And where did he get an army?” he demanded angrily. “Lord Xu, you assured me that your plan was flawless, that there would be absolutely no oversights!”
Chancellor Xu silently endured Xue Yunhong’s fury.
What had happened today was beyond his expectations as well. He had never truly intended for the soldiers from Qinmen Pass to accomplish anything substantial. They were merely supposed to serve as a deterrent.
…But instead of deterring anyone, they had attracted a real wolf to their doorstep.
Chancellor Xu knew perfectly well that no one could save them now.
They had taken a desperate gamble, and their conflict with Xue Yan could only end with one side dead and the other alive. Now that Xue Yan had broken through their plan, it was naturally their turn to die.
Xue Yunhong understood this, too.
He drew several heavy breaths before finally speaking again.
His voice had gone hoarse.
“Lord Xu, I cannot die,” he said. “I cannot die at Xue Yan’s hands.”
Chancellor Xu understood that perfectly.
The man standing before him was the child his daughter had left behind, the only bloodline connecting the Xu family to the imperial house.
As long as he lived, the Xu family still had a chance. If he died, the Xu family would be driven to its final dead end.
“…I will make the arrangements immediately,” he said. “I will ensure Your Highness can leave Chang’an safely.”
Xue Yunhong nodded, but immediately afterward, he shook his head.
“That is not enough,” he said.
“Now that we’ve reached the final moment, I don’t merely want to survive. I want Xue Yan’s close followers, the Jun family, and the Jiang family—all of them—to die as well.”