“Today, Consort Qing and Consort Miao have given birth, and it’s another princess!”

“What’s going on? How has our Great Yu Imperial Family been continuously bearing princesses?”

“Nine now! Nine princesses!”

“This, this… if this goes on for long, the dynasty will be in jeopardy!”

“Could it be because the Imperial Palace is too dominated by Yin Qi, and only Your Majesty possesses Yang Qi…”

“Fortunately, Noble Consort Cui is also pregnant, but it’s unknown if she will give birth to a prince or a princess.”

“If it’s another princess, then that would be ten princesses!”

“Hiss…”

“Your Majesty is approaching the age of thirty, and if there are still no princes…”

“Indeed, as long as a prince is born, he would be the Crown Prince and heir, and the state’s foundation would be secured!”

“If it’s a girl…”

“Shh! Keep your voice down, what of a princess? Your Majesty is still young and can still have more children…”

“But if all are princesses?”

“I’ve heard that this might be a curse from the ancestors because Your Majesty was disrespectful to previous emperors!”

“Nonsense, Lord Lin! Don’t speak of ghosts and gods!”

“Truly! A few days ago, Xia Pass was preparing to go to Celestial Longevity Mountain for an outing and to pay respects to the former emperors, but found all the roads to the mountain blocked by the Imperial Guard, declaring it a ‘military restricted area’, and no one is allowed without command from Your Majesty!”

“What exactly is Your Majesty doing?”

“I later asked the local villagers, and they said they’ve often heard deep beast roars from Celestial Longevity Mountain recently…”

“Hiss… is it true?”

“As the Assistant Minister of the Ministry of Rites, I feel I should find a way to secretly investigate Celestial Longevity Mountain!”

“Celestial Longevity Mountain houses the tombs of past emperors, there must not be any mishaps…!”

In the Imperial Court, numerous officials were whispering, their tones tense and their eyes filled with fear.

Especially the leading Cabinet Ministers, who were gathered together.

“Prince Bing, has Your Majesty been well these days?”

Lu Xiangqing quietly asked the only Royal Prince among them.

Zheng Zongbing replied, “Your Majesty is well in all aspects, Lord Lu, I understand what you mean. The birth of boys or girls is predestined by the heavens. That Your Majesty has begotten nine princesses in succession might be an auspicious sign from the heavens!”

Lu Xiangqing furrowed his brows slightly and said, “But no matter what, a prince is the foundation of the state. Please, Prince Bing, take time to advise Your Majesty to visit other consorts’ palaces more often.”

“If Your Majesty dislikes them, another selection of concubine candidates can be conducted.”

Zheng Zongbing said, “It’s been less than three years since the last selection of concubine candidates; we’ll discuss this later.”

Wang He suddenly spoke quietly, “Have you all heard about the change at Celestial Longevity Mountain?”

Their expressions changed slightly, having evidently heard various rumors.

Only Zheng Zongbing frowned and asked, “What’s the news? Celestial Longevity Mountain is certainly the mausoleum of past emperors…”

Li Yuanhao said, “Villagers first heard continuous thunder sounds from Celestial Longevity Mountain, and when they tried to investigate, they found their way blocked by the Imperial Guard.”

“According to the Imperial Guard, the entire Celestial Longevity Mountain has been designated as a military restricted area, and no entry is permitted.”

“There’s a rumor that Your Majesty’s actions have angered the heavens, with the thunder at Celestial Longevity Mountain and the birth of only princesses serving as warnings!”

“Lord Li, silence!”

Zheng Zongbing frowned and said, “Your Majesty possesses great virtue and is a paragon among men, having not only pacified refugees and suppressed rebellions but also expelled the Wu Country, breached the Black Mountain Pass, and even conquered two prefectures of the Wu Country.”

“Such martial prowess is not at all inferior to that of the founding ancestors, Emperor Wen, or Emperor Tianqi, especially in expanding the realm.”

“I ask the esteemed lords to stop speaking of heavenly warnings.”

“Mere rumors amount to nothing.”

The few lowly agreed, but their eyes were still full of confusion and an unclear gleam.

Soon, a little eunuch walked out quickly.

“Your Majesty is unwell today and will not attend the Great Court. Matters of urgency will be handled by the Cabinet.”

“We obey!”

The civil and military officials bowed and left with reluctance, gathering around the Cabinet members once again.

“Lord Lu…”

“Lord Li…”

“Lord Wang…”

“Prince Bing…”

The group was surrounded by the officials as they walked to the gate of Taihe Hall.

Just then, an Embroidered Uniform Guard hurriedly ran up.

“Urgent military news! A great victory for our army! A great victory for our army!”

“What’s got you in such a rush?”

Wang He stopped him, and the Embroidered Uniform Guard halted, panting as he reported, “To the esteemed lords, our army in Yongzhou has achieved a great victory, having taken Chang’an Prefecture and smashed the main rebel force, killing the rebel leader Li Zhishan!”

“Now, the million rebels in Yongzhou are fleeing in all directions, and our army is in pursuit. The Yongzhou rebellion will soon be quelled!”

“How did it happen so quickly?!”

Many were extremely shocked by the news, with some grabbing the report from the Embroidered Uniform Guard to examine closely.

“It indeed is so!”

“Chang’an Prefecture has returned to Great Yu?”

“Li Zhishan has been killed! But he had an army of a million under his command!”

“A so-called million-strong army! At best, forty to fifty thousand of them were real soldiers; the rest were peasants, how could they fight?”

“The New Army! The New Army that Your Majesty trained is so formidable!”

“Flintlock guns, grenades, and Red Coat Cannons, Thunderbolts… all these are auspicious signs for Great Yu!”

“Hahaha, with these treasures, Great Yu can rest easy!”

Many officials were excited, discussing in low voices.

The rebellion in Yongzhou was suppressed again, with tens of thousands dead, and most landlords and noble families were looted by refugees, leading to a significant number of official positions being vacated.

They talked about how to insert their people into Yongzhou and seize land and recruit tenants with the backing of their resources.

In every war, it’s the common people who perish, but those who benefit in the end are the dignitaries far away in the Capital City!

Meanwhile, Zheng Yi also obtained information regarding Yongzhou.

Moreover, it was more detailed than the battle report received by the court officials!

6th Year of Zhengyong, October 15th.

The First, Second, and Third Divisions of the New Army simultaneously arrived at Wei Pass.

Fortunately, Wei Pass was under the control of the Imperial Court and had not been taken by the rebels, otherwise the New Army would have had to expend manpower and resources to break through Wei Pass.

After a brief discussion, the three division commanders quickly made a decision.

The three divisions would consolidate and march toward Chang’an Prefecture.

Chang’an Prefecture, being the Prefecture City of Yongzhou, is situated on the plains of Yongzhou. Only by occupying Chang’an Prefecture can the three of them use it as a center to launch attacks in all directions.

Additionally, they could recruit defeated troops and consolidate their strength.

Due to the overwhelming force of the rebel army, Lords Miao Xiu and Shi Heilang had abandoned Chang’an Prefecture and were stationed in Wugong County and Yangping County, respectively.

Two days later, the three divisions of the New Army had already arrived at Chang’an Prefecture.

Without any rest, the New Army immediately launched its siege operations.

Nine hundred Red Coat Cannons lined up, aiming at the distant Chang’an Prefecture.

The rebels in Chang’an Prefecture had long detected the movements of the New Army, yet they allowed the New Army to set up formations outside the city.

It wasn’t until noon that refugees began to pour out from the city in panic, charging towards the New Army under the lead of a few million rebels.

The New Army’s infantry arranged themselves into flintlock gun formations, neatly organized row by row, aiming at the chaotic advancing rebels.

“Prepare!”

“Shua~!”

The front row of new soldiers immediately raised their flintlock guns, aiming at the rushing, chaotic rebel forces.

When the rebel forces approached to within three hundred paces of the New Army, the order was given: “Fire!”

“Bang!”

“Bang bang bang!”

In an instant, blue smoke rose from the front of the New Army’s formation, while in the originally chaotic rebel ranks at the forefront, immediately over a thousand unlucky individuals fell down screaming.

To ensure the power and accuracy of the flintlock guns, the soldiers had to be arranged in flintlock formations for shooting.

This not only maximized the power of the flintlock guns but also maintained the soldiers’ morale and fighting spirit.

“Reload!”

The first batch of New Army soldiers immediately crouched down, reloading bullets as quickly as possible.

“Second row, fire!”

“Bang!”

“Bang bang bang!”

Another round of firing resulted in another thousand unlucky rebels being hit by bullets, falling down screaming, covered in blood.

This time, the rebel formation became even more chaotic.

Many refugees, shielding their heads, scattered in all directions, trying to escape the range of the bullet rain. However, there were more refugees behind them, soon crowding together.

The New Army, however, ignored this chaos and continued firing.

In the flintlock gun formation, more than twenty thousand people were arranged in three orderly rows.

Each volley ensured that seventy thousand bullets would sweep into the rebel ranks.

In just half an hour, the rebels suffered heavy losses, with over ten thousand people either dead or injured, their screams unending.

The chaotic mass of at least a hundred thousand rebel forces were frantically retreating towards Chang’an City.

Those orderly flintlock gun formations were their nightmare!

What kind of weapon is that!

Each was like a fire stick, yet it could emit firelight that easily tore through bodies.

It shot further and was more lethal than arrows.

And it seemed much easier, not as laborious as archery!

The refugees quickly collapsed, and the rebels on the city wall were shouting commands to guide the refugees into the city.

They planned to use the solid walls of Chang’an City to defend against the encirclement by the Imperial forces.

“Fire the cannons!”

“Fire the cannons!!”

Suddenly, behind the formations, came a series of high-pitched roars.

Soon after, the nine hundred Red Coat Cannons finally revealed their power.

One after another, flashes of fire burst forth, and instantly the walls of Chang’an City, the buildings within, were blasted apart and scattered by the explosions, debris flying, and numerous bodies soared into the sky with the shockwave of cannonballs.

Even with just one volley, several huge breaches were blasted into the east city gate of Chang’an City.

Many refugees screamed as they fell from the city walls, either dead or wounded.

The main gate of the East City was also blasted to pieces, exposing the panicked crowd within.

Qu Bo, Tian Yiguang, and Yao Song looked at the rebels who were fleeing in disarray, their eyes full of surprise.

“These rebels can’t withstand the cannon fire at all, this is only the first round…”

Tian Yiguang chuckled, “How about another round, let these rebels experience the might of our Red Coat Cannons!”

“No!”

Qu Bo immediately refused, “Your Majesty requires a complete Chang’an City, and besides, we need to use Chang’an City as a hub for our campaigns, who will repair the walls if we blow them all up, you or me?”

Tian Yiguang shrugged, “Up to you.”

Among the five divisions, the person he liked the least was the First Division Commander Qu Bo.

Young, yet fanatically loyal and passionate for Your Majesty, with a somewhat perverse dark aura about him.

His closest ally was the Fourth Division Commander Xu Hu, but unfortunately, he was reassigned to Shuzhou. If not, fighting alongside him would have been a great joy in life.

The Third Division Commander Yao Song, observing Chang’an City through a telescope, said, “Let the whole army charge, the rebels are already scared out of their wits, there’s not a single defender at the East gate, not even attending to the wounded.”

“Let the cavalry detachment advance first, seize the city gate, and the rest follow up with shooting.”

“Important!”

“By order of Your Majesty, we are to only kill the armored rebels, let the coerced refugees go if possible, indiscriminate killing is not allowed.”

“Got it, Old Yao, how many times have you said that!”

Tian Yiguang laughed loudly, mounted his horse, and with a sharp slap to its flank, he shot out like an arrow leaving the string.

“Sons, charge with me!”

“Whole army, charge!”

“Attack!”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep