"Father... Your Majesty, I have arrived too late to save you..."
Seeing this, Lu Xuan couldn't help but inwardly complain. He really should let those young, handsome actors of later generations see the Crown Prince's acting skills. This Crown Prince was indecisive and mediocre in his dealings with others. But when it came to acting, he was a natural-born talent. His tearful, snot-and-snot-drama-covered performance was so convincing that Lu Xuan couldn't bear to watch.
At this moment, the person with the most complex emotions was actually Li Longji. He never dreamed that, at this final juncture, the first to come to his rescue would be the very son he had so carefully guarded against.
Given the Li family's tradition of rising to power, Li Longji's vigilance towards Li Heng was extremely strict. Even Li Linfu's various attacks on the Crown Prince were deliberately tolerated by Li Longji. But now... for the first time, Li Longji felt that he owed the Crown Prince far too much.
"Get up quickly, Heng'er, you're very good, very good..." Li Longji said with emotion as he helped Li Heng up.
Li Heng stood up and saw the arrow in Li Longji's chest. A strange glint flashed in his eyes, but it quickly turned into an indescribable terror.
"Father, what's wrong with you? Quickly summon the imperial physician..." the crown prince roared frantically.
At this moment, Chen Xuanli's Longwu Army finally arrived. They seized the opportunity to stop the fleeing rebels. Afterwards, Chen Xuanli, like the Crown Prince, rushed over, stumbling and crawling.
"Your Majesty, Your Majesty..."
Lu Xuan: "...What His Majesty needs most right now is the imperial physician."
"I brought the imperial physician." Chen Xuanli was meticulous; before coming, he had already considered the possibility that Li Longji might be injured. He had casually brought an imperial physician from the capital. This at least earned him some points.
Although everything that happened tonight had little to do with him, the fact that it had nothing to do with him is the biggest problem. He seriously neglected his duties.
However, Li Longji waved away the imperial physician who tried to help him up. Then he took a deep breath and spoke.
"Crown Prince Wei Luxuan accepts the decree."
"Tonight you repeatedly protected me, displaying unparalleled loyalty and bravery, which I witnessed firsthand. Now I ask you, are you still capable of fighting?"
"Your Majesty, I can still fight for another three days and three nights."
"Good, good, good... I hereby appoint you as the Grand General for Suppressing the Rebellion, in command of all the Imperial Guards in Chang'an. Go and bring back Li Linfu's head to me."
"Yes, sir!" Lu Xuan accepted the order.
"Heng'er, I'm handing over your Crown Prince Guard to Lu Xuan as well. Come back to the palace with me." After saying this, Li Longji, supported by Yang Taizhen, got into the carriage and headed to the capital to recuperate.
Lu Xuan looked around and saw that everyone's eyes were focused on him.
"All soldiers, heed my command! Follow me... and vanquish the enemy!!!"
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Chapter Ninety-One: Facing Li Linfu (Second Update, Please Subscribe!)
In a courtyard deep within Pingkang Ward of Chang'an City, the Turkic wolf guards who had failed in their assassination attempt on Li Linfu were busy at work.
They tied buckets of kerosene to horse-drawn carts and coated them with another layer of kerosene. They clearly understood that kerosene needed to be heated to be effective.
Outside the door, several Han Chinese men were on guard for them. But then, another man rushed over and whispered something to them.
"News has come from the watchtower. The Crown Prince and his men have made their move."
"Then aren't these Turks useless?"
"That's right, watchtower order: clear immediately."
Upon hearing this, the gatekeeper whistled softly a few times. A large group of young men quickly emerged from the surrounding streets. These were the unregistered armed forces secretly trained by the Bad Guys. Those Turks had never truly escaped Lu Xuan's control.
Even after their first failure, Lu Xuan arranged for someone to contact them and deliver the remaining oil from the ants. He planned to use these Turkic assassins in their oil-fueled chariots to storm Li Linfu's hometown, a classic case of relieving the siege of Wei by attacking Zhao, if the Crown Prince didn't act quickly enough. However, although the Crown Prince hesitated, he ultimately kept his promise. These Turks, of course, were rendered useless.
Cao Poyan was the first to sense the danger, but before he could warn anyone, a crossbow bolt flew from the wall and struck him squarely in the throat. The remaining wolf guards were startled and were about to retaliate when more crossbow bolts rained down on the entire courtyard. Dozens of men fired continuously from the wall. After five rounds, not a single Turk remained in the courtyard.
..............
Meanwhile, General Lu Xuan, the commander-in-chief who was suppressing the rebellion, was gathering Chen Xuanli's Dragon Martial Army, the Crown Prince's Guard, and some of the rebels who had defected. They formed a force of a thousand men and headed straight for Li Linfu's hometown.
On the way, they received a message from the watchtower.
"It's news from Chen Yunqiao; he's already with Li Linfu."
"Hehe... It was all too rushed after all. I feel bad for our Right Prime Minister."
In front of Li Linfu's house.
Hundreds of Right Valiant Guards remained stationed here. It must be said that Li Linfu's control over the Sixteen Guards was truly beyond imagination. After the thousands who besieged the Imperial City Guard scattered, nearly a thousand remained in his hometown to protect him. Keep in mind, this was Chang'an during the Lantern Festival. Within two hours, he could mobilize thousands of men from the Sixteen Guards to follow him. If he had been prepared beforehand, even someone as extraordinary as Lu Xuan might not have been able to defeat him in one fell swoop.
But now, it's over.
"Li Linfu plotted a rebellion, intending to assassinate the Emperor. The rebels have been killed on the spot by this general. You all should think carefully: do you want to be executed along with the defeated, or lay down your weapons and beg His Majesty for forgiveness? His Majesty has decreed that only the ringleader will be executed tonight."
One of the Right Guards shouted after hearing this.
"Don't listen to his nonsense. It's the Crown Prince who's plotting a rebellion, and now he wants to kill the Right Chancellor. All soldiers, follow me..." Before he could finish speaking, a general from the Imperial Guard beside him suddenly drew his sword and beheaded him.
Just as the other generals were about to make a move, Chen Yunqiao's personal guards were prepared. They rushed forward, pinned the generals to the ground, tied them up, and threw them to the front of the battle line.
The remaining rebels were stunned. They looked at each other, bewildered. The turn of events had been too rapid; some of these largely illiterate soldiers couldn't quite process it. But now it seemed their superiors were bound. There was probably no need to fight anymore...
Chen Yunqiao sheathed his sword and knelt on one knee.
"Chen Yunqiao, the General of the Imperial Guard, was ordered to arrest the Turkic assassin. He knew nothing about the Right Chancellor's rebellion."