NFBE Chapter 440 Defeated
Chapter 440 Defeated
King Qi's face twisted and contorted with laughter. After a long while, he gradually stopped his maniacal laughter, suddenly drew the knife from his waist, and looked around frantically. He roared hoarsely, "As long as I kill all your people, no one will know that this edict is fake."
Yun Shang calmly raised his eyes, looking at him with a cold gaze, as if he were looking at a clown: "Does Your Highness think you can win with fewer troops?"
King Qi scoffed, "Young? Once my army enters the city, neither you nor any of your men will survive!"
"A large army?" Yun Shang's face rarely showed a smile, but the smile contained a hint of mockery. "The large army that Your Highness is referring to is the group of troops stationed twenty miles outside the city?"
Upon hearing this, the King of Qi's expression changed drastically, and a strong sense of foreboding welled up in his heart.
"Has it been so long, Your Highness still not noticed that something is amiss?"
King Qi's hand, gripping the hilt of his sword, trembled.
The signal smoke had already given a warning; if a large army were attacking the city, news should have arrived long ago. But now there is complete silence, as if nothing had happened...
King Qi's pupils contracted sharply, his forehead was instantly covered with a dense layer of sweat, and his hand gripping the hilt of the knife turned white from excessive force.
He forced himself to remain calm and said fiercely, "What exactly did you do? Stop playing dumb!"
"Your Highness, if His Majesty anticipated that the aristocratic families harbored rebellious intentions, how could he have been completely unprepared?"
"From the moment you were instigated by powerful families to rebel and attempt to commit treason, you have already fallen into the inescapable trap set by the Emperor."
"The more than 40,000 troops you stationed outside the city were already surrounded by the elite troops secretly dispatched by the Emperor when the smoke signal was given. They are too busy to help themselves, so how can they come to your rescue?"
Upon hearing this, the King of Qi's face drained of all color, turning deathly pale. His hand, which was gripping the knife, fell limply to his side, nearly dropping the blade.
Fortunately, Li Zhuoyue caught him in time, preventing him from falling. "Your Highness, what he said may not be true."
Yun Shang remained calm. "Whether it's true or false, His Highness will soon find out."
King Qi was well aware of this as well.
If his reinforcements arrive, it will prove Yun Shang's words to be a lie, and the truth will be revealed quickly. But if the reinforcements truly do not appear...
King Qi's clenched palms were covered in a fine layer of cold sweat.
No one spoke again, and in the dead silence, a series of hurried and chaotic footsteps came from afar.
A glimmer of hope instantly ignited in the King of Qi's previously dim eyes. He abruptly raised his head, struggling to break free from Li Zhuoyue's support, and staggered a few steps toward the direction from which the sound came.
"They are my men! Reinforcements must have arrived!"
King Qi shouted hoarsely, his face once again showing madness and smugness, his eyes filled with the pleasure of revenge as he looked at Yun Shang.
However, when the group of people came into view, the smile on King Qi's face froze instantly.
The person in the lead was dressed in the uniform of the Imperial Guard, but he was not one of his men.
The Imperial Guard general clasped his hands in a fist salute to Yun Shang, saying, "Lord Yun, I have successfully completed my mission. All the rebels outside the city have surrendered!"
King Qi's legs went weak, and he knelt down, his eyes vacant, muttering to himself, "Impossible... How could this be..."
Li Zhuoyue stood there dumbfounded, her face pale, at a loss for what to do.
Yun Shang nodded slightly, looked at Prince Qi, and said calmly, "Your Highness, now that things have come to this, what else do you have to say?"
King Qi slowly raised his head, his eyes filled with resentment and venom: "Hahaha, I never thought I would lose to you!"
At this moment, Emperor Wenjing, who had been staying in the inner palace, finally appeared.
Liu Haifu bowed and helped him up, and they slowly appeared in front of the crowd.
Yun Shang and the others bowed in unison.
Emperor Wenjing raised his hand, looked at Prince Qi, and his eyes were filled with only disappointment and heartache:
"Over the years, powerful families have controlled the government and disrupted the order of the court. I have endured this for many years, waiting for an opportunity to uproot them completely. Not only do you not appreciate my good intentions, but you have also been used by them and become their pawn. This truly chills my heart!"
"I have never treated you badly. I have given you land, treasures, and power. Why did you have to listen to the slander of the powerful families and commit this treasonous act?"
Upon hearing this, the King of Qi gave a bitter laugh, his resentment only intensifying: "Even at this point, Father, are you still going to feign benevolence and righteousness?"
"If what you said before is true, then why not make me the crown prince first? If you had made an heir first, why would I have rebelled?"
Emperor Wenjing's gaze deepened. "Is that so?"
"If you were already the Crown Prince, you probably wouldn't be forcing me to abdicate, but rather trying to make my death so that I could make room for you."
King Qi's face stiffened.
"I can no longer tolerate aristocratic families. No matter your status, if you are tied to an aristocratic family, you are going against me."
Emperor Wenjing's voice was icy, "Liu Haifu, convey my decree—"
"King Qi, together with Li Chongyi and other powerful families, plotted to rebel and murder the emperor. His crime is unforgivable. Effective immediately, all of King Qi's titles and ranks are stripped, he is demoted to a commoner, and imprisoned in the imperial prison to await further judgment."
"The rest of the group will be imprisoned in the dungeon to await trial. Anyone who resists arrest will be killed without exception!"
Upon hearing this, the King of Qi remained silent and made no move.
Li Zhuoyue looked anxiously, "Your Highness, I can escort you out. We must still have a chance..."
King Qi threw away his knife, looked up at Li Zhuoyue, and said, "Things have come to this, what chance is there left?"
He turned to Emperor Wenjing, knelt down, and said in a hoarse voice, "Father, the idea of forcing the emperor to abdicate and rebelling was entirely my own. My mother knew nothing about it from beginning to end. I beg you, Father, to spare my mother's life."
Emperor Wenjing looked at Prince Qi, a hint of pity flashing in his eyes, but he quickly regained his imperial majesty: "Since you still care about your mother, why do you commit such an unfaithful and unjust act?!"
A hint of pain flashed in the King of Qi's eyes, and he lowered his gaze, remaining silent.
The victor is king, the loser is villain; he lost, so there's nothing more to say.
Emperor Wenjing took a deep breath to calm his emotions, then turned to Yun Shang and said, "Minister Yun, you have made great contributions in suppressing this rebellion. You should start by cleaning up the remaining factions and investigating those officials who colluded with powerful families. I want to thoroughly clean up the court and restore order to the world."
Yun Shang bowed and said, "Your subject obeys the decree and will do his utmost to live up to Your Majesty's trust."
The King of Qi had already surrendered, and his troops had also laid down their arms and surrendered.
However, just as everyone relaxed, Li Zhuoyue's gaze suddenly fell on Emperor Wenjing, and a hint of murderous intent flashed in her eyes.
Taking advantage of everyone's momentary lapse in attention, he suddenly drew a dagger from his waist and pounced on Emperor Wenjing like a ghost.
Yun Shang's expression changed drastically.
Emperor Wenjing was so startled by this sudden turn of events that he momentarily forgot to react.
King Qi was shocked and horrified that Li Zhuoyue would suddenly attempt to assassinate the emperor. "Li Zhuoyue, what are you doing?!"
Li Zhuoyue ignored him and thrust the dagger directly into Emperor Wenjing's heart.
He was incredibly fast; in the blink of an eye, the dagger was only a hair's breadth away from Emperor Wenjing.
Just as the dagger was about to pierce Emperor Wenjing's heart, at the critical moment, Yun Shang suddenly pushed Emperor Wenjing away!
The dagger that was originally meant to strike Emperor Wenjing's heart pierced his left shoulder. Li Zhuoyue was stunned for a moment, then quickly tried to pull out the dagger and strike again.
But in the brief moment he was stunned, Yun Shang had already swung his sword at him!