Tang Chen: Starting from the Xuanwu Gate Incident

Chapter 6 Lakeside Ambush

Seeing that all the people Cheng Zhijie had mentioned yesterday had boarded the ship, Shen Ce turned around and said to everyone, "Be smart in a bit. When His Highness begins his operation, Feng Erhu will send us a message. Linhu Palace is not far from here, so the commotion will inevitably reach us when the fighting starts."

"When the emperor issues the order, he will first go to the nearest Xuanwu Gate to set up camp. Although the garrison commanders are our people, we must not let the order be made public so that ordinary soldiers can know about it."

Everyone knows that the Lord will use various methods to make the soldiers obey him. For example, if the prince is preparing to rebel and murder the saint, the soldiers will naturally rush forward with righteousness in their hearts. However, if the saint's order suddenly appears, the soldiers' will will collapse, and they may either defect or scatter. This would be troublesome for the brothers who are blocking the way outside the city.

"The Imperial Guards on the pleasure boat should take the boat east to shore, and then walk. That's the shortest route," Shen Ce said, taking out a map of the imperial city from his pocket and pointing at it. "Qin Shuanzi, you take three people and circle around to the east side of the lake. Don't wait for the Imperial Guards on the pleasure boat to reach the shore; shoot them directly on the boat."

Few northerners can swim, but a volley of arrows will scare the survivors into the water. Once in the water, they can die however you want.

Qin Shuanzi and the others responded in low voices, "Yes."

Apart from the Northern Army, the only troops the emperor could mobilize were the sixteen guards of the Southern Army, namely the Left and Right Guards, the Left and Right Valiant Guards, the Left and Right Martial Guards, the Left and Right Leading Army Guards, the Left and Right Golden Guards, the Left and Right Gate Guards, and the Left and Right Thousand Ox Guards.

To mobilize them, an imperial edict was required. The edict would then be drafted by the Ministry of Personnel, reviewed by the Secretariat, and finally executed by the Ministry of War. By the time this process was completed, the Crown Prince would likely be dead...

Shen Ce didn't care about that. His military mission was to ensure that no one escaped. As for the procedures for troop deployment, they were not within his consideration. He gestured to the others and signaled them to come forward.

"The Sixteen Guards of the Southern Court are two miles from here. To get there, you need to pass through the Taiji Hall and Chengtian Gate. Lü Bajin, you take four men and call Feng Erhu to keep an eye on the six Imperial Guards on the shore. They are protecting the Emperor's safety and should not be mobilized in full. If you find any unusual activity, shoot the horses first."

"Zhou Can, you come with me."

"No one may fire arrows at the dragon boat without my permission, and the sage must not be informed."

Everyone nodded in response.

As palace guards tasked with intercepting and killing in the palace, their treatment was naturally the same as that of the imperial guards; each of them was equipped with a crossbow. They no longer needed to charge into battle with their swords as before.

Those present were all fierce soldiers; there was no need to give them a meticulous plan or set principles. They would act according to circumstances. After Shen Ce finished making his arrangements, he put away the sketches, looked up at the sky, and thought, "It'll be soon; the Crown Prince should be entering the palace soon."

Not only Lü Bajin, but Shen Ce's hands were also trembling. The heroes who used to charge into battle without thinking were now feeling a little apprehensive.

Shen Ce reached out to steady the crossbow for him and smiled, "What reward would you like after it's done?"

Lu Bajin's dark face managed a rare smile, and without thinking, he blurted out, "Could you give me an ox? My wife has always been the one tilling the land back home. She may be a bit rough, but she can't always be treated like an ox..."

Everyone present was amused by this remark, and Shen Ce grinned as well: "If the King of Qin's reward is not enough to buy an ox, I will make up the difference for everyone."

As soon as someone started talking, everyone began to dream about the future. The group leaned against the earthen slope, gazing at the rising sun, enjoying the last moments of peace before the battle. This battle had no winner or loser, only life and death.

"Bu...gu...bu...gu...bu...gu...bu...gu," a coded signal suddenly came from the woods shortly afterward.

Shen Ceteng sprang to his feet, his eyes fixed on the lake. The King of Qin had made his move! The guards behind him also moved in unison, gripping their weapons tightly.

"Proceed according to the plan," Shen Ce ordered without turning his head.

Upon receiving the order, the men mounted their horses and, using the reeds for cover, disappeared from sight.

A moment later, the imperial guards on the painted boats, which were farther away from the dragon boat, seemed to have heard the commotion. The originally quiet woods were filled with shouts of battle. Flocks of birds that had been circling in the sky and were reluctant to return to their nests quickly raised their flags to signal to the dragon boat. After receiving permission, they immediately rowed towards the dragon boat.

As if given an order, the four imperial guards on the pleasure boat rowed swiftly eastward. Shen Ce was not worried about this. The infantrymen on the boat were no different from lambs to the slaughter. The armor-piercing arrows distributed today were enough to break through their armor.

At this moment, Shen Ce stared intently at the lake. Although it was early morning, his back was already soaked with sweat.

Before long, the dragon boat began to move, slowly approaching the shore. Shen Ce was extremely nervous, and without realizing it, he crushed the reeds in front of him.

The dragon boat stopped about twenty paces from the shore, and a silk scroll was thrown from the boat onto the shore. It was too far away for Shen Ce to hear what it said.

The six imperial guards standing on the shore threw down their spears, grabbed their swords, mounted their horses, turned them around, and galloped south.

Why didn't Li Yuan keep anyone? He sent out all the imperial guards on the shore. Shen Ce was thrown into disarray at this moment.

"Zhou Can, go to Ba Jin's place."

"What are you going to do about that team?"

Shen Ce kicked him in the chest, his voice escaping between his teeth: "Don't worry about me."

Zhou Can bowed, crouched low, and hurried westward.

Shen Ce frowned as he watched the Imperial Guards ride away. He had already made arrangements and had no choice but to trust his own soldiers. He didn't believe that a few Imperial Guards who had been out of battle for a long time could defeat the veterans hidden in the shadows.

With nothing else to do, and taking advantage of the absence of people on the shore, he quietly moved towards the shore along the terrain until he was seventy paces away, at which point he stopped.

He casually plucked a blade of grass from the side and stuffed it into his mouth, but his eyes remained fixed on the front. On the vast South Lake, only the dragon boat now drifted alone. Li Yuan had no appetite at the moment. He led a group of ministers and stood at the bow of the boat, gazing towards the direction of the Linhu Palace, repeatedly shouting, "Why, why is this so?"

Either depose the crown prince and install the Prince of Qin, or disband the Tian Ce Mansion directly. Keeping it hanging like this gives people hope, but hope that lasts too long turns into resentment, Shen Ce replied repeatedly.

Before long, Lü Bajin's secret signal came from afar: Success! None of the messengers escaped.

Shen Ce finally breathed a sigh of relief. At this time, there were no imperial guards around the dragon boat, and all the messengers sent out to deliver the message had been intercepted and killed. Only a few guards remained on the boat, and they could not cause any trouble.

Shen Ce quietly hid behind a willow tree on the shore, watching and imagining how Li Er would reward him.

Out of vigilance, their eyes would occasionally sweep towards the dragon boat. The people on board had no appetite for the feast and all stood at the bow.

At this moment, a member of the Imperial Guard tiptoed out of the cabin, peeked out and looked around. Seeing that no one was paying attention, he hurriedly walked to the stern.

He rummaged in his pocket and took out a long, round iron object.

Seeing this, Shen Ce, who had thought victory was in his grasp, suddenly felt a chill run down his spine.

Damn it, it's a whistling arrow!