Chapter 863

"I, Great Sui!" Xiahou Wuming raised his right arm, swung his arm and shouted loudly.

"Mighty!" The countless soldiers besieging Sui Du from all directions shouted in unison. They raised their weapons, and countless weapons emitted strange lights, forming a vast sea of light that filled the heavens and earth, sweeping in all directions.

Such momentum, such power.

How many years has it been since such a massive army gathered near Sui Du?

180,000 years ago, a strange troop from the Northern Monster State launched a surprise attack on Sui Du—has that ever happened?

240,000 years ago, the Three Great Demon Lords of the Eastern Demon State invaded Sui Du—has that ever happened?

490,000 years ago, the enemy states of the four directions, disregarding consequences, each sent an elite force to fiercely assault Sui Du—has that ever happened?

Or perhaps even earlier?

None have ever occurred.

Whether it be the strange troops, the Three Great Demon Lords, or the suicidal assault of the four states' elite soldiers, the garrison troops stationed within Sui Du alone would resolve every crisis invisibly.

But today, countless soldiers surround Sui Du.

There are feudal lords' private armies, prefectural troops, the county and militia forces used to maintain peace in various commanderies and counties, and even a large portion originally belonging to Sui Du's standing garrison forces.

They stood outside Sui Du's city gates, responding to Xiahou Wuming's call, shouting "Mighty!"—they wanted to storm the city… to kill the emperor!

Feng Rong stood on a cloud mass, arrogantly looking down upon the boundless sea of soldiers stretching in all directions.

"You are nothing but provisions!"

Feng Rong laughed, a "hehehe" chuckle, as he flipped his palm; delicate black crystal sheets flew from his hand, swaying in the wind and instantly transforming into disc-shaped secret treasures several zhang in diameter, soaring into the sky.

These pitch-black disc-shaped secret treasures left no trace in flight; in an instant they shot straight into the heavens, plunged into the thick cloud layer, and soon reached the utmost heights of the firmament where even ordinary Divine Manifestation Realm cultivators cannot reach.

During this process, Sui Du's city-defense grand formation, as well as the national grand formation built when the Sui Dynasty was founded—and continually expanded and reinforced at great cost by each generation of Sui Dynasty Divine Emperors—both formations trembled simultaneously, as if wanting to attack.

Yet on these black disc-shaped secret treasures, each personally empowered by Feng Rong, the imprint of the Sui Dynasty's Heirloom Jade Seal shone brightly.

Thus, these disc-shaped secret treasures hung safely above Sui Du, like a single evil eye flashing with sinister gloom, staring down hungrily at the boundless sea of troops below.

Within Sui Du, bugles sounded repeatedly.

Crowds of eunuchs gestured and barked orders, urging large numbers of garrison troops to run about, replacing the original gate-defending city defense forces and taking over the defense of all four city gates.

Feng Rong hovered in midair, casually writing; edict after edict spread throughout Sui Du.

Unlike Xiahou Wuming, who fled with his family, the civil and military officials who remained in Sui Du, along with the great clans, were all conscripted by a single edict, their entire families mobilized; regardless of age or weakness, anyone with even a bit of cultivation was sent to the city walls to prepare for a death battle.

All the commoners within Sui Du, regardless of gender or age, who possessed even a trace of cultivation, were also fully conscripted and organized into units of the "Loyalist Righteous Army," ready at any moment to block the gates, man the walls, and fight to the death against the "rebels" in the streets and beyond the city.

Even within the Imperial City, those eunuchs and palace maids who had any cultivation, regardless of age, were ordered to fully arm themselves and join the war effort.

Those residing in the mansions of civil and military officials, those in the mansions of great clans, and those commoners—all likewise needed to arm themselves.

Feng Rong continuously issued edicts, ordering officials of all bureaus to open the wartime armories, take out stored armor, weapons, warships, bows and crossbows, talismans, formation disks, puppets, elixirs, and so on, to arm the populace of Sui Du, preparing for a mortal battle.

The gates of the armory stood wide open……

The weeping and wailing of Feng Rong's trusted old eunuchs shook heaven and earth.

"Your Majesty, it's terrible—the storehouses have been emptied… not a single blade or arrow remains… those damned killers!"

Feng Rong's body trembled: "Investigate quickly!"

Thus, mournful cries rose and fell continuously from every corner of Sui Du.

"Your Majesty, it's terrible—the granaries have been emptied… not a grain of rice or a speck of salt remains… those damned killers!"

"Check again for me!"

Your Majesty, it's terrible, the treasury has been completely emptied…… not a single gold ingot, not a piece of silver left…… this bunch of damned bastards!

Where else? Where else?

Your Majesty, it's terrible, the inner storehouse has been completely emptied…… not a bolt of cloth, not a foot of silk left…… this bunch of damned bastards!

Empress Dowager, Empress Dowager, it's terrible, your private treasury has also been completely emptied…… not a speck of rouge, not a box of powder left…… this bunch deserves death by a thousand cuts, extermination of nine clans…… how did they manage to do this?

Your Majesty, you, your private treasury has also been completely emptied…… nothing left, not even grain, oil, salt, gold, silver, jewels, divine weapons, rare treasures and spiritual medicines, all have been carried away, not a trace remains…… Heaven above, this bunch of thieves, how did they open the treasury, how did they break the seals, without a single stir, not a trace at all!

Your Majesty, this, this, this shouldn't be…… your private treasury, this, this, this, apart from the Retired Emperor and you, no one can open it!

The old eunuchs wailed as if they had lost their parents.

Feng Rong's body swayed, and finally a mouthful of blood spurted out: "You damned old ghost, you just dote on the second son, even before passing the throne, you've told him all the arrangements of the secret treasury? You, you, you……"

Feng Rong finally came to his senses.

Those state armories, grain storehouses, money vaults, and so on—if one were to say that Xiahou Wuming and his cohorts could still collude inside and out, easily making off with things by exploiting the opportunities of troop transfers and supply movements, the fact that the private treasury belonging solely to the Sui Dynasty's Divine Emperor was also emptied can only prove that, before he seized the throne, Feng Zhen had already told Feng Shang everything about the private treasury.

And Feng Shang naturally couldn't keep it from his own son, so Feng Qian had known everything about that private treasury from a very early age.

Within the imperial city, there must certainly be a large retinue left behind by Feng Shang—palace maids, eunuchs, miscellaneous laborers, the imperial guards, and even among the Elders who serve the imperial clan, there are surely Feng Shang's people; otherwise, how could they possibly have emptied this private treasury, which is touted as the strongest in the Sui Dynasty's security forces?

"All I see are traitors, not a single loyal subject!" Feng Rong only felt his limbs go weak, his gaze becoming extremely dazed and powerless.

"You lot, all of you are national traitors!" Feng Rong screamed hysterically.

"Your Majesty, this servant is loyal to you with all my heart!" Standing beside Wa Qingluan, Qing Wu, who had once been beaten to death by Feng Qian with a punch but somehow came back to life, bowed humbly and respectfully to Feng Rong.

"Perhaps, only you!" Feng Rong gave Qing Wu a deep look and murmured: "Yes, you are my only loyal subject. I will absolutely not let you down; once I have exterminated these rebels and restored order to the court, I will grant you a princedom."

Qing Wu gave a faint smile, twisted her body coquettishly: "Then, thank you for Your Majesty's grace!"