After the western and northern gates were blasted with dynamite, the defenders of the royal capital at the walls were scared out of their wits, and the combat consciousness of the defenders at both places disintegrated, and the soldiers of Ulsan entered the royal city basically without encountering much resistance. However, the situation was different at the eastern and southern gates, where the defenders were all private soldiers of Kang Dae-dae, who were loyal to the feudal lord and had not seen the power of the dynamite blasts with their own eyes, and their sense of resistance was strong.
When the Ulsan cavalry came to occupy the two city gates and prepared to open the gates to let the Ulsan army outside enter, they were intercepted by Jiang Dafu's private soldiers, and the Ulsan cavalry with fewer numbers suffered a lot of casualties, and Zeng You, who was the leader of the Ulsan cavalry, could only order the cavalry to retreat for a certain distance, and use bows and arrows to return the fire, and wait for the arrival of the infantry and then fight together. For a while, the battle underneath the two city walls was a stalemate.
After sunset, the army of Ulsan withdrew from the bow and arrow range of the city wall to rest for supper. Thinking that the day's siege was to come to an end, Kang Dae-ho handed over the command of the defense to his inner circle, and rode into the king's palace by himself to report on the state of the battle to Ri Ji.
When Dr. Jiang entered the inner palace, he only saw palace attendants and maids carrying things in and out.
"What are you carrying?" Dr. Kang grabbed the attendant who had walked past him.
"Your Honor, it's the boxes and chests in the inner treasury." The attendant's face was covered in sweat, and the man looked tired, looking like he had been doing physical labor for a long time.
"The inner treasury's chest and suitcase?" Dr. Jiang froze, the boxes and chests of the inner treasury of the king's palace are filled with gold and jewels, what does Ri Ji mean by placing the treasures of the inner treasury in her palace now? The Azure Mountain army had only surrounded the royal capital today, and according to the strength of the royal city's high walls, the number of defense equipment, and the food stored within the city, there was no problem at all in defending the city for half a year. Ripple Ji is now raising the inner treasury jewels from the harem, could it be that she is preparing to abandon the royal capital and flee to another land?
As Dr. Kang mulled it over at the entrance to the palace, Ri Ji was fuming at the attendant.
"The Jade Treasury Concubine has disappeared?"
"Little man has searched the inner palace several times without finding it." The attendant kneeling on the ground was aggrieved.
"Go find it again, take it down on the spot if you find it, and bring all the jade artifacts in the artifact vault after taking the key." However, in a few days time, Ripple Ji's originally plump face rapidly slimmed down, and after the plumpness of her face disappeared, her cheekbones became too high, and her entire facial expression took on a kind of ferocity.
"Yes!" The attendant led the way, climbing up and backing out.
"Empress Dowager! Doctor Zuo seeks an audience." The attendant had just gone out when the personal maid came in to inform.
"Quickly, please come in." Yi Ji calmed her anger and adjusted her expression, Dr. Jiang was in her biggest dependence in the royal capital.
"Empress Dowager, what is the reason for moving the inner treasury belongings here?" Dr. Jiang hurriedly bowed to Yi Ji and couldn't help but voice his question in the face of the boxes and chests all over the palace.
"The Huben have worked very hard to defend the palace, the mourning family wanted to reward them with belongings and put them here for easy access." Ri Ji faintly explained.
"Oh, that's right." Dr. Jiang was still puzzled, the inner treasury wasn't that far from the bedchamber, right? Don't take half an hour to walk.
"What is the status of the defense of the royal city? How many people are there in the Azure Mountain rebel army?" Ri Ji brushed aside the topic.
"Less than 20,000 attacked the city, the walls are tall and strong, the rebel army is not strong enough to attack the city and is not to be feared." This was the feeling of Dr. Jiang after a day of observation.
As soon as Dr. Jiang's words fell, he heard several loud sounds from outside, and the ground of the palace shook.
"What is this sound?" Ripple Ji was shocked, she did not care about the etiquette, a few steps and rushed to the outside of the palace, looking out from the palace wall, only to see the western and northern city gates flashing with fire and smoke, and the sound of the wind vaguely came from the mournful cries.
"There's a fire at the city walls?" Dr. Jiang muttered as his face appeared alarmed.
"Doctor go take a look!" Ri Ji stomped her feet anxiously.
"Good!" Dr. Jiang agreed and tried to leave the palace.
"Slow! How many men did Righteous Father bring with him to the King's Palace?" Yi Ji suddenly dragged Jiang Dafu by the sleeve.
"Two thousand men." Dr. Kang didn't think twice.
"Righteous father left them at the palace to protect the king!"
"Huh?" Dr. Kang hesitated.
"Without the Great King, we have nothing." Seeing Jiang Dafu's hesitation, Yi Ji hastened to explain her reasoning. "As long as we have the Great King, even if the city breaks down, our idea to stand out and go to the border to take over the Huben army, we can just as easily kill our way back to the king's capital and quell the rebellion."
"Take over the Border Huben?" Dr. Kang was even more hesitant, would the Border Huben follow their command?
"The king has the Jade Seal of Wu and the Tiger Talisman in his hands to order the three armies, and the families of the two Secretaries of State who are in charge of the army at the border are also at the royal palace." Ri Ji is very sure that if the king's capital is captured by the Ulsan army, she will take her son and the king's palace belongings to the border, because of this idea, Ri Ji ordered people to move the inner treasury belongings, and today she only had time to move the gold chests and trunks from the inner treasury.
South Sima and East Sima are loyal to the King of Wu, there is a jade seal and tiger symbol left by the King of Wu can sway them, and take the two men's family members together to go, those two men consider the lives of their family members even more have to follow orders.
"I'll go out of the palace first to check the situation, if the city is really broken, I'll gather soldiers to protect the Great King and the Empress Dowager to break out." Jiang Dafu's heart didn't increase in solidity when he heard Ripple Ji finish the back way.
"Righteous father go and return quickly, mourning family will first summon the royal palace Huben to protect the driver." The firelight by the city wall in the distance reflected Ripple Ji's face as it flickered.
When Dr. Jiang saw that Ripple Ji was only concerned with urging him to gather soldiers to protect him, but did not care about the deaths of the people of the Jiang Mansion, he could not help but open his mouth.
"Righteous father go quickly, now the rebels even if they attacked the city, they will not be able to stand their ground, breaking out is the right opportunity, any further delay will be bad."
Ri Ji stomped her foot when she saw Dr. Kang dawdling.
"As you wish, humble servant!" Dr. Jiang looked deeply at Yi Ji and bowed to leave.
Dr. Jiang hurriedly came to the inner palace gate, handed over the two thousand soldiers he brought to the attendants who followed him, and took only two dozen household servants out of the inner palace gate. Just after leaving the inner palace gate, he saw a cacophony of noises at the side halls, with attendants and maids holding their heads in disarray.
"What's a cheap slave running around for?" Dr. Jiang grabbed a maid and scolded her.
"Da... People, the King's Palace Huben... Huben has rebelled!" The maid shivered terribly, her voice stuttering.
"The King's Palace Huben has rebelled?" Dr. Jiang was alarmed.
"The guards watching the side halls were all killed by the rebel Huben, and the two Sima's families were also taken." The blood of the slain guards was stuck on the maid.
"It's over!" Jiang Dafu's heart fell into the abyss, the shouts of murder getting closer and closer in the distance told him that the city had been captured, and the chips that Ripple Ji thought could reverse the tide had been robbed, without hostages to control the two Sima, where else could Ripple Ji and he find the capital to turn the tide? Ripple and he have reached the end of the road.
Dr. Jiang let go of his grip on the maid's hand and staggered back a few steps, he looked back down at the inner palace and then at the fire in the distance, the shouts of murder on all sides caused him to shiver several times in a row. The scene of bloodshed one night more than two months ago reappeared, only this time he would be the one being slaughtered.
"Go back to the mansion!" Jiang Dafu gritted his teeth, rolled onto his horse and turned around. There are still more than a thousand guards in the Jiang Mansion, he decided to go back to the mansion and bring his family to take advantage of the chaos to escape from the royal capital, there is money on his fiefdom that has been collected for many years, up that money to escape to other vassal states to take refuge, relying on this wealth, he and his whole family can live a luxurious life as well.
The shouts of murder that carried into the palace grew louder and closer, and Ri Ji stood on a high building, the nails of her clenched fists sinking into the palms of her hands.
"Go, escort all the families of the two Secretaries into the inner palace." The protection of the king's palace, except for the lack of trenches, the palace walls were tall and sturdy no worse than the city walls.
The royal palace had two defenses, one was the outer palace wall with three thousand Huben defending it, and the other was the inner palace, which was guarded by more than a hundred attendants and the two thousand private soldiers left behind by Doctor Jiang. The families of Dong Sima and Nan Sima were Ripple Ji's last resort, and Ripple Ji had to put them on her side to feel at ease.
"Yes!" The personal maid led the order to leave.
In a few moments, however, the valet returned with a pale face.
"Empress Dowager! The big event is not good! The Huben of the Royal Palace have rebelled, and the families of the two Simas have been robbed by them."
"What?" Ripple Ji was about to roll down the stone steps of the high-rise if it wasn't for the help of her personal maid.
"Huben actually betrayed the Great King?" Ri Ji muttered to herself refusing to believe it.
"Doctor Zuo, that Doctor Zuo..." The personal maid lowered her head and swallowed.
"What happened to Dr. Zuo?" Ri Ji leaned against the stone railing, staring intently at her beloved to force the question.
"Zuo Daifu went straight back to his house after he left the inner palace knowing about the Huben rebellion."
Jiang Dafu's private soldiers were mainly at the east and south city gates, and instead of going to the east and south direction after leaving the palace, Jiang Dafu ran in the direction of the Jiang Mansion in the northwest with his family members, obviously not to gather private soldiers to the royal palace to protect Ripple Ji and Gongzi Yong.
"Hehe, is this a big trouble flying separately?" Yi Ji suddenly laughed miserably, even the most trustworthy doctor, Dr. Jiang, had fled for his own life, who else could help their mother and son in this Wangdu?
"Empress Dowager, there are still more than a hundred loyal attendants in the inner palace, as well as the two thousand soldiers left behind by Zuo Daifu, Empress Dowager and the Great King should lead them to break out." The personal attendant knelt down and suggested, she was Ripple Ji's most trusted confidant and was loyal to Ripple Ji.
"Breakout, where to go after the breakout?" Ripple Ji is at a loss, without a hostage, the border army can not grasp, without a large army to rely on, in Wu can not stand, and she is familiar with the vassal neighboring countries are only Tang, this Tang King is what virtue, Ripple Ji very well understand, with the money to take refuge in the words of, in addition to the money to be the King of the Tang to be misappropriated, she and her son will also be the King of the Tang to be put up for sale.
"Empress Dowager, let's break out first." The maid was anxious, now there were shouts of murder on all sides outside the royal palace, if we didn't leave, we wouldn't be able to leave.
Yi Ji gently stroked the railing carved out of white jade Rishi, outside the royal palace, where is there such an exquisite building? Where are the tall buildings and pavilions? Where are the thousand kinds of delicacies, where are the beautiful silks and satins? Where are the tens of thousands of treasures and gold? And especially where is the supremacy of the king?
No! She couldn't leave this place, it was her territory and she would never allow anyone to take it away from her.
"Go and fetch the attendants and guards, the mourning family has something to say to them mutually." The panic was gone from Ri Ji's face, and she once again looked subdued.
"Yes, sir!" The maid saw her master calm down and immediately felt backed up.
The head of the inner palace's attendants and the head of Dr. Kang's private army were brought before Ri Ji.
"You two have worked hard, the rebels in Ulsan have rebelled, Dr. Jiang has already left the palace to dispatch troops to quell the rebels, the East Secretary and South Secretary have led tens of thousands of Huben back to the capital to rescue the king, and the feudal lords of various places have already set off to raise troops to serve the king when they see the beacon fire burning. As long as you hold out until tomorrow, reinforcements will arrive, and by then, the 10,000 rebels will be captured. If you all have been successful in protecting the king, the king will reward you heavily, and each of you will be promoted to the third degree of the title, and will also be granted a fief."
With a grin on her face, Rikki counted the empty reinforcements.
The leader of the attendants and the head of the private soldiers were confused by Ri Ji's calmness, thinking that there would really be many reinforcements in a day, and were excited at the thought that they could be honored if they held out for just one day.
"Here are two chests of gold, you two take them down to reward your subordinates first."
Ri Ji pointed to the two boxes and chests next to her, signaling her personal attendant to open them.
When the chest was opened, it was yellow with real gold.
"Thank you Empress Dowager for the reward, I will definitely guard the inner palace to the death!" The two chieftains couldn't take their eyes off the gold.
After the leader of the attendants and the head of the private soldiers left carrying the boxes and chests, Ri Ji stood up and gently instructed her minders, "Go and bring the Great King here."
"Empress Dowager!" The attendant looked up hesitantly, she felt a wave of uncertainty. Although Ripple's composure infected her, what Ripple had said to the leader of the attendants and the head of the private soldiers wasn't true, and the attendant vaguely guessed what her master was going to do next.
"Go, when the Great King arrives, we'll go on the road together, and with all this treasure inside the palace, we can be honored wherever we go." Yi Ji touched her beloved's face and said softly.
"Aye! Slave obeys!" The maid's eyes reddened as she kowtowed towards Ripple Ji to cover her face and exit.
Gongzi Yong was fidgeting within his palace, but he didn't dare to leave his chambers without his mother consort's orders.
"Your Majesty! The Empress Dowager is summoned!" Just when Gongzi Yong was about to hold back, Ri Ji's personal maid came to fetch him.
"Why is there so much shouting and killing outside, are the thieves fighting their way in?"
"Don't worry, Your Majesty, the walls of the royal palace are high, the thieves can't get in." The maid tried her best to keep a smile on her face.
"Oh." The maid's comforting words caused Gongzi Yong's lifted heart to drop slightly.
"What is Mother Consort's business in summoning Orphan now?" At this time it was already the hour of the night, Gongzi Yong wondered if his mother had summoned him when the palace was very safe, could it be that she had summoned the ministers late at night to deliberate?
"The Great King will know when he goes." The maid walked ahead to lead the way, never looking back.
Gongzi Yong entered Ri Ji's palace and found Ri Ji sitting in the main hall in full dress, with a table of wine and food in the main hall.
"Yong has met Mother Consort!" Gongzi Yong bowed respectfully towards Yi Ji.
"Yong came to sit beside mother consort, mother consort made a few dishes with her own hands today, Yong came to taste it and see if mother consort's handiwork is rusty." Yi Ji's look towards her son today was particularly loving.
"Mother consort is a great cook, when father was around, he liked to eat mother consort's dishes the most." Gongzi Yong rejoiced, Ripple Ji had not personally cooked for nearly a year.
"Come and try this bowl of soup, it's a specialty of mother consort's hometown." Yi Ji personally served a bowl of soup and handed it to her son.
"Mother consort rarely talks about her childhood, where is mother consort's hometown?" Gongzi Yong took the soup and slowly drank it.
"Mother Consort's home..." Yi Ji suddenly realized that her memory of her poor hometown was blurred, because she wanted to deliberately forget it, but she actually did forget it.
"Has Mother Consort forgotten?" Gongzi Yong was disappointed, he had always wanted to know where his foreign home was, but Yi Ji never said.
"Well, mother consort forgets, almost nothing." Yi Ji looked down at the soup pot in front of her, everything was a blur, only the Broken Intestine Grass in this soup pot had always remembered, she relied on the unique poisonous grass in her hometown to eradicate the roadblocks, and also because this grass didn't poison Gong Ziguang all at once, so that it left behind a handle, allowing Gong Ziguang to find an impostor brother to break her dream.
'Bam', Gongzi Yong suddenly fell to the ground, his body curled up. "Mother consort, Yong's abdomen hurts!"
"It doesn't matter, it won't hurt anymore in a while!" Ri Ji crouched down and hugged her son, holding him tightly in her arms, as if this would ease his pain.
"Ouch! It hurts too much! Mother Consort... Mother consort, save Yong!" Gongzi Yong's face was pale, his lips were blue, blood gradually overflowed from the corners of his mouth, his eyes began to blur, but the pain in his abdomen intensified, as if his internal organs were broken by inches.
"Yong, not afraid, mother consort will be here with Yong soon." Yi Ji pressed her face close to her son's forehead and murmured comfort.
"Mother consort..." Gongzi Yong came to his senses, he called out softly and was silent again.
The inner palace was attacked by the Hussar General himself with his soldiers. The guards guarding the inner palace resisted stubbornly, but when the inner palace palace was set on fire, the guards' sense of resistance weakened at once, and the Hussar General commanded the men and horses to use the ladder to finally break through the inner palace gate.