Southern Ming Rebel Army

Chapter 590: Destruction

The distance from the study to the mansion gate was very short, but Wu Wenxian and Yan Keyi felt that the road was so long today. They pretended to be calm and walked out of the mansion gate.

At this time, the personal guards of Wu Wenxian and Yan Keyi were all on full alert. As long as there was any movement in the mansion, they would rush in and rescue their commander.

As soon as Yan Keyi got on the horse, he said in a low voice: "Let's go!"

Wu Wenxian got on his horse and realized that his lining was soaked with cold sweat. He did not dare to stay, and left the place with his personal guards, following closely behind Yan Keyi.

Wu Wenxian and Yan Keyi galloped away with their personal guards. The sound of their horses' hooves hitting the road made a crisp and rapid sound, as if knocking on everyone's tense nerves, because everyone knew clearly what they were doing.

At the same time, Li Chengdong's mansion was still immersed in the order of the past. The servants were busy coming and going, and the guards were standing guard and patrolling at their respective posts, without noticing anything unusual.

Yan Keyi had already contacted his confidants, who were just waiting for Yan Keyi's order to take action. As the order was conveyed, the confidant in charge of the East Gate took action first.

The leader's henchman shouted, "Go!" His men rushed forward and quickly closed the city gate. The other guards were caught off guard and didn't know what to do. Yan Keyi's men announced loudly, "The commander has been assassinated by the thieves. To prevent the thieves from escaping the city, seal the city gate immediately!"

There was no fighting at the South Gate and the West Gate either. Many people were holding weapons and on high alert. Only the commander of the North Gate believed that this was a rebellion and ordered the defenders to surround and kill the rebels.

For a moment, shouts and the sounds of weapons clashing echoed at the north gate. As the sounds of fighting began, the people nearby were all panicked and fled back home.

At the same time, scouts from both sides urgently reported to Li Chengdong and Yan Keyi that something went wrong at the north gate.

In Li Chengdong's study, everything still seemed calm. Suddenly, a soldier who came to report the news rushed into the house in a panic.

Many servants looked at the impatient sergeant in surprise. The sergeant rushed into the study and shouted, "General, there are thieves rebelling at the north gate!"

But the soldier who reported the news waited for a moment, but there was no echo in the room. The scene was extremely strange, which made the guards next to him look sideways, because they all saw the marshal enter the study and did not come out.

The soldier looked at the guards on his left and right again and again, then gritted his teeth, plucked up the courage to step forward, pushed open the door, but after taking a look, he staggered and almost fell to the ground.

Then the soldier's face was filled with fear, and he shouted in a trembling voice: "Oh no! The Marshal... The Marshal has been assassinated!"

This piece of news was like a bolt from the blue. The guards outside the study were struck by lightning and rushed towards the study where Li Chengdong was like a swarm of bees.

When they rushed into the inner room, they saw the tragic scene of Li Chengdong lying in a pool of blood. The blood had stained the carpet under the desk red, and his clothes were covered in blood.

Li Chengdong's eyes were wide open, and he died with his eyes open. People gathered around his body, some were panicked, some were filled with grief and anger. The entire mansion instantly fell into great panic and chaos.

"The Marshal is dead! The Marshal was assassinated!" The news spread quickly in the mansion like wildfire. The servants were frightened and panicked. Some wanted to escape from the mansion, while others hid in their rooms, trembling.

Although the guards were in confusion, some of Li Chengdong's confidants reacted quickly and blocked the gate of the mansion, prohibiting anyone from entering or leaving.

The several guards outside Li Chengdong's door had been controlled at this time. They all said that the only two generals who had entered and left the Marshal's house during this period were Generals Wu Wenxian and Yan Keyi.

It is already clear who the murderer is. Combined with the incident at the city gate, this is a classic mutiny.

When Li Chengdong's side was in chaos, Yan Keyi and Wu Wenxian had rushed to the north gate for support. Yan Keyi's prestige was second in the army. As soon as he arrived, he controlled the rebellious general. Then Yan Keyi said that the marshal had been assassinated and the murderer was in the mansion.

After controlling the four gates, Yan Keyi immediately sent people to the camp outside the city to announce the news of Li Chengdong's death, and expressed his intention to support the Marshal's eldest son, but anyone who disobeyed would be killed!

When the news of the sudden change came to the camp, everyone became uneasy. Then, the people that Wu Wenxian had secretly contacted spoke out in support of Yan Keyi. With someone taking the lead, more and more people came to support him.

Although the commander of the main camp was Li Chengdong's confidant, Li Chengdong was already dead, and the situation was already hopeless, so he did not speak out against it.

As a burst of urgent trumpet sounds, the soldiers in the camp outside the city were urgently assembled. Seeing that the situation was settled, Yan Keyi rushed to the camp himself and mobilized more than 2,000 soldiers from the camp to rush into Thang Long City.

At this time, the city was in great chaos. Some ruffians even took the opportunity to rob merchants and steal property, making the place a mess. However, Wu Wenxian and Yan Keyi had no time to care about it. Instead, they led their troops straight to Li's house.

Wu Wenxian had already been in the city to meet the call. When he saw Yan Keyi coming, he urged his horse closer and whispered, "The situation has been decided, but the most urgent task is to resolve the matter of Li's house!"

Yan Keyi's face was gloomy, his eyes were fierce, he turned around and shouted: "The thieves who assassinated the Marshal must still be hiding in the mansion, we must not let them escape!"

After a secret discussion, the two men immediately led their soldiers straight to Li's house. When they arrived at Li's house, the house was in chaos both inside and outside.

Some of Li Chengdong's personal guards were still trying to organize a defense, while others tried to join Wu Wenxian. Wu Wenxian's cousin, in particular, tried to win over everyone. As a result, a conflict broke out between the two sides. Wu Wenxian's brother was killed, and the rest scattered like birds and beasts, fleeing in all directions.

Yan Keyi dismounted and drew out his long sword, the blade flashing coldly in the dim sky. He shouted to the soldiers behind him: "The thieves who assassinated the Marshal are in the mansion, don't spare a single one, kill them all!"

When the soldiers received the order, some hesitated, but by this time, the arrow was on the string and had to be fired, and a large number of soldiers rushed into the palace.

The resistance in Li's house was simply difficult to maintain under the attack of so many soldiers. The soldiers chopped down the enemies they met without mercy.

The soldiers searched every room in the mansion, leaving no corner untouched. Anyone they encountered in the mansion, regardless of gender, age or status, was killed without mercy. For a time, the Li residence was littered with corpses and blood flowed like a river.

Some of Li Chengdong's family members hid in the corner and trembled, trying to escape, but they were caught by the soldiers and ruthlessly beheaded. Their screams and pleas for mercy echoed in Li's house for a long time.

Yan Keyi stood outside Li's house, looking coldly at the bloody scene inside the house and the screams that lingered for a long time, but there was no mercy in his heart.

Wu Wenxian stepped forward and looked at Yan Keyi. They both understood that this bloody purge was not only to eliminate the remaining forces of Li Chengdong, but also a stepping stone for the two of them to be promoted. As for supporting Li Chengdong's son, that was just empty talk. When the time comes, they can just say that he was accidentally killed by thieves and that's it.

At the end of the hot August, Li Chengdong, who was once invincible in the Annan region, died in a mutiny by his subordinates, ending his controversial and bloody life.