69novels Chapter 880: Assault, target Lu Zhi!
Chapter 880: Assault, target Lu Zhi!
"Do it!"
With his disguise exposed, the assassin leader knew there was no room for maneuver and immediately launched an attack. He suddenly pulled out a poisoned dagger from his bosom, deflected the longsword at his neck, and simultaneously sent a signal to his accomplices behind him.
In an instant, the "attendants" who had been pretending to push the carts tore off the curtains covering them, revealing their hidden weapons. The previously silent palace gates were suddenly filled with cries of killing, and the flashes of swords and sabers ripped through the tranquility of the night.
Almost simultaneously, the assassins, who had been approaching from the other side in the darkness, appeared like hungry tigers pouncing on their prey, forming a pincer attack on the guards. A bloody battle erupted around the east gate of the harem in the night of this thousand-year-old palace.
"There's an assassin! Catch the assassin!!"
A shrill roar, like a ripping silk, ripped through the silence at the east gate of the Xianyang Palace's rear garden, like pouring cold water on boiling oil, instantly setting it ablaze! The guard who had shouted, eyes bloodshot. Almost on instinct, as Ge Kai's blade struck first, he summoned all the strength in his chest to raise the alarm. The sound clashed violently and echoed off the towering palace walls, carrying far away.
With this alarm, the dozen or so personal guards stationed at the east gate displayed the qualities that had earned them their selection for this defense. Without a moment's hesitation, not a single flinch. "Clang clang—" a tooth-grinding sound of metal rubbing echoed. In the flickering light of the torches, dozens of ring-handled swords were unsheathed simultaneously, their icy blades reflecting the resolute expressions of the men. Far from defending the gate to the death, they formed a simple yet solid assault formation with astonishing tacit understanding. Like a rock, they charged forward, charging back at the oncoming wave of assassins!
Seeing their disguise exposed, the assassins tore off all pretense. In the darkness, figures swarmed; it was impossible to tell how many there were, only to sense that enemies were pouring out from every direction. They let out a deep, frantic howl, their eyes gleaming with the ferocity of desperate men. With no escape, they could only press forward, fighting their way through with blood!
The battle reached a fever pitch the moment they engaged. Gao Yao's personal guards were truly elite, supremely skilled. Clad in fine iron armor, ordinary swords proved impervious to attack, and the ring-handled swords they wielded carried immense power, each slash a shriek that ripped through the air. Often, a single parry from a personal guard would deflect an assassin's attack, and a sharp counterattack, a swift upward thrust or a direct thrust, would send an assassin sprawling to the ground. The muffled thud of blades piercing flesh, the howling of the dying, and the sharp clashing of blades instantly woven into a symphony of death.
Just as the captain of the imperial guards had predicted, in a head-on fight, these assassins were no match for the imperial guards, even three against one. Their martial arts were disorganized, more like the wild ways of the Jianghu, lacking any coordination in battle formations.
However, a good tiger can't stand up to a pack of wolves!
The assassins were too numerous, far exceeding initial estimates. They emerged from the shadows seemingly endlessly. They disregarded their own casualties, attacking with a haphazard, almost mad-dog tactic of trading life for injury, injury for life. Several even ignored the blades striking them, clinging to the arms and thighs of the personal guards, creating openings for their comrades behind them to strike. Others, completely oblivious to the struggle, charged like a black, turbid current, frantically against the heavy bolts and structure of the east gate, attempting to force open this final barrier. More than a dozen formed a circle, trapping five or six personal guards at the core, their blades like a net, constantly shrinking their space.
"Quick! Find a way to break out! Notify all patrols! Quick!" The captain of the imperial guards fought bloody battles, his armor covered in knife marks and splattered with blood. He used his sword to block three or four simultaneous thrusts of short spears while roaring hoarsely at a younger imperial guard behind him. The young imperial guard's face was splattered with the blood of an unknown individual. He nodded vigorously at the words, ducked suddenly to avoid a sweeping knife, and tried to force his way out through the gap on the flank.
But just as he was about to break free from the battle group, a sinister crossbow bolt shot silently from the darkness! With a "puff," it accurately penetrated his unprotected thigh. The young soldier groaned, staggered, and nearly fell. The escape route was instantly filled with more assassins. Hope, as if ruthlessly extinguished by this arrow.
At the same time when fierce attack and defense were going on at the gate and the personal guards were being entangled, divided and surrounded by the enemy with absolute superiority, a fatal loophole appeared!
With all attention focused on the outlaws in front and the enemy attempting to open the door, over thirty of the most agile assassins, lurking in the shadows further out, seized this fleeting opportunity like ghosts! They didn't even join the melee at the doorway. Instead, they capitalized on the chaos and distraction created by their companions' lives. Like a flood bursting through a dam, they silently yet swiftly slid along the shadows on either side of the doorway, successfully infiltrating the east gate!
Once across this threshold, the interior opened onto a relatively open plaza and corridors leading to various palaces. The dozens of assassins who had successfully infiltrated did not pause, not even glancing back at their companions still fighting bloody battles for them at the gate. Under the command of a leader, their goal was crystal clear. They immediately split into several groups, like hungry wolves scenting blood, following the fastest routes, heading straight for the depths of the harem—the palace where Lü Zhi resided!
Their footsteps echoed through the empty palace grounds, rapid and dense, each step beating to the drumbeat of a death countdown. The shouts and clashes of weapons still echoing at the doorway now seemed to become the cruel background music of their farewell.
At this time, Lü Zhi in the palace had not rested yet, and had even been working late into the night. On the table were various situations in Xianyang City, as well as news from carrier pigeons. Although she had Li Zhao's help, it was still very troublesome for Lü Zhi to handle so many government affairs.
This is completely different from the time in history. In history, when Lu Zhi really intervened in politics and began to manipulate things, the Han Dynasty was officially established and Lu Zhi ascended to the throne. There was another important reason why Lu Zhi was able to manipulate things, that is, Liu Bang was entering his twilight years and was in poor health, and the Lu family, as an external relative, had considerable influence both in the court and in various places, becoming one of the most powerful political groups in the Han Dynasty at that time.
With the support of the maternal relatives and Empress Lü's position, they gradually began to interfere in state affairs and gradually became familiar with state affairs, which led to the so-called ruling from behind the throne.