Chapter 208: Yellow Robe Out of Place, History Changed

Chen Bridge Station.

The evening sun's afterglow stained the horizon a sheet of blood red, and also draped the station located beside the Yellow River ford with a layer of dim yellow halo.

Inside and outside the station, banners fluttered, voices shouted and horses neighed; tens of thousands of the Later Zhou Forbidden Army had set up continuous camps here, cooking smoke curled, and the air was filled with the mixed scent of food and fodder.

Within the central command tent, however, the atmosphere stood in stark contrast to the outside clamor, carrying a suppressed excitement and restlessness.

Zhao Kuangyin sat upright in the chief seat, his fingers unconsciously tapping the tabletop.

His core commanders—Wang Shenqi, Shi Shouxin, Li Chuyun, and others—stood in two rows to either side, each with gleaming eyes and slightly heavy breathing.

Moreover, there was one man, stalwart of build, fierce of visage, like a wicked wolf lurking in the shadows—none other than Wang Yansheng, who had been ordered to command the Nether Shadow Elite and was responsible for the outer perimeter interception.

"Gentlemen," Zhao Kuangyin surveyed the tent, his voice low and powerful, with a barely perceptible tremor.

"News from Bian Liang: the young lord is clueless, Empress Fu's womanly views dominate court affairs, and the government is held by scholars like Fan Zhi and Wang Pu—dark, weak, and incompetent!"

"Now the beacon fires rise again in Bei Jing, the state is perilous as a stack of eggs—this is precisely the moment for us warriors to rise and support the state!"

He paused, observing everyone's reaction.

Wang Shenqi immediately stepped forward, his voice impassioned.

"A state cannot go a day without a master! The Inspector (referring to Zhang Yongde) has already requested to resign, leaving the army leaderless and the troops anxious and confused!"

"Now within our army, only you, Chief Commander Zhao, possess illustrious prestige and outstanding merit; you ought to be the lord of the three armies!"

Shi Shouxin also jumped to his feet.

"Quite right! With a young sovereign and a doubtful state, how could we pacify the realm? My troops wish to support Chief Commander Zhao as the Son of Heaven!"

"Exactly! May we establish Chief Commander Zhao as the Son of Heaven!"

"Please, Chief Commander, follow Heaven's mandate and the people's will, ascend the great throne!"

The officers inside the tent all rose to their feet, the crowd's sentiment "indignant fury," the sound waves almost lifting the tent's roof.

All this appeared chaotic and spontaneous, but in fact it had been secretly rehearsed countless times.

Zhao Kuangyin's face showed "panic" and "helplessness," and he repeatedly waved his hands.

"Gentlemen! Please do not do this! What virtue or ability do I, Zhao, possess to dare commit such a grave treason? This would drag me into disloyalty and injustice!"

Just then, a even louder clamor suddenly came from outside the tent, mixed with the clash of weapons and brief cries of anguish!

"What's going on?" Zhao Kuangyin's face darkened, his heart inexplicably tightened.

A personal guard came tumbling and crawling into the great tent, his face deathly pale, his voice trembling with fear.

"Report! General, it's bad! A cavalry unit, though small in number, is extraordinarily fierce—it has already broken through the outer defenses and is charging straight for the central command!"

"What?!" The officers inside the tent all started in shock.

This is the core heartland where tens of thousands of troops are stationed—who could possibly break in so easily?

Wang Yansheng's eyes flashed with a murderous glint as he abruptly turned his gaze to Zhao Kuangyin.

"General, it must be that scoundrel Chen Wen! I'll go kill him!"

Zhao Kuangyin's heart jolted violently, a chill surging from his soles to the crown of his head.

"Chen Wen? How could he be here? Shouldn't he be in Chan Zhou? How dare he? How dare he directly assault the central command of tens of thousands of troops?!"

"Stop him! At any cost, stop him!" Zhao Kuangyin roared sternly, his voice distorted by shock and fury.

Wang Yansheng said no more, turning and darting out of the great tent like a leopard.

Yet, as he had just burst out of the tent flap, the sight before him caused his pupils to contract sharply.

He saw a cavalry of no more than a hundred, like a red-hot iron slicing into butter; wherever they passed, the soldiers trying to block them were thrown from their mounts, and there was not a single match for them!

Those cavalry moved as swiftly as phantoms, their strength astonishing, their coordination perfect to the extreme; ordinary troops before them were as helpless as children.

Leading them was one man in a cyan robe and black armor, eyes like lightning—who else could it be but Chen Wen?

In his hand a spear like a black dragon emerging from the sea, each sweep bore an irresistible, overwhelming force, clearing away any obstacle and the soldiers alongside it.

"Chen Wen! Prepare to die!"

Wang Yansheng let out a roar, the power within him, strengthened by "Tempering" and Nether Energy Crystal Ore, erupted explosively as he swung a heavy wolf-tooth club, bringing a shrill, evil wind down upon Chen Wen's head.

From the shadows behind him, dozens of phantom-like Nether Shadow Elite appeared simultaneously, their dark-blue blades carving lethal arcs, striking from various tricky angles at Chen Wen and his personal guards.

This was the killing move prepared by the Iron Crow Army, capable of beheading a general and seizing a banner amid ten thousand troops!

Faced with this sudden deadly encirclement, Chen Wen's eyes turned icy, without the slightest evasion.

Within him, the boiling Fortune Momentum vortex surged into operation, resonating with the "Conferred 16-fold Concentration" effect bestowed upon his hundred personal guards.

"Break!"

A low shout, like a spring thunderclap exploding.

Chen Wen's spear, though launched after, arrived first, striking with pinpoint accuracy at the weakest point of Wang Yansheng's wolf-tooth club's force!

"Clang——!"

"A deafening crash of metal on metal!"

Wang Yansheng felt an indescribable immense force travel along the wolf-tooth club, his tiger's mouth instantly splitting, his entire arm going numb and weak, the finely forged wolf-tooth club actually flying from his grasp!

He himself, as if struck heavily, felt his chest suffocate, blood spouting wildly as he flew backward, crashing hard to the ground, alive or dead unknown.

At the same time, those hundred personal guards also moved.

Their movements were so swift they left only afterimages, their weapons turning into streaks of deadly light.

The Nether Shadow Elite's eerie footwork and vicious attacks appeared utterly pale and powerless before their absolute speed and strength.

The dark-blue blades were easily parried and cut apart!

Attempts to conceal their forms were precisely seized and pierced through!

Miserable cries rose and fell; after just a single encounter, more than half of the dozens of Nether Shadow Elite had already fallen, the remainder retreating in panic as if they'd seen a ghost, no longer able to form an effective encirclement.

Silence!

Deathly silence!

Zhao Kuangyin and his followers, who had rushed out of the central command tent, together with the large numbers of ordinary soldiers startled and gathered around, all stared dumbfounded at this scene.

The notorious Wang Yansheng was defeated in a single encounter?

Those mysterious and powerful 'Yinying' were slaughtered like chickens and dogs?

Is this Chen Wen, and his hundred men, even human?!

Chen Wen reined in his warhorse, his gaze sweeping past the shocked Zhao Kuangyin and over the growing crowd of ordinary soldiers whose faces showed bewilderment and fear.

His voice was not loud, yet it clearly reached every ear, carrying a strange, soothing power.

"Comrades!"

"The alleged northern invasion is pure fabrication! This is a scheme by treacherous men to lure the tiger away from the mountain and throw the court into chaos!"

"Now the treacherous villains even seek to usurp the throne; you, who are loyal and brave in service to the state, how can you follow the crowd and commit this disloyal, unjust act that will leave a stench for ten thousand years?!"

His words were like cold water dropped into hot oil, instantly exploding throughout the army.

Many lower-ranking officers and soldiers who had been kept in the dark and merely followed orders showed faces of uncertain surprise.

"Is the military situation false?"

"Usurpation?"

"This..."

Seeing the troops' morale wavering, Zhao Kuangyin grew frantic, his voice harsh but his heart weak, and he shouted.

"Chen Wen! Stop spreading heresy here! You barged into the central command and attacked your comrades—that is the true……"

Before he could finish, his words were cut off by a louder, more impassioned voice.

"Brothers! Don't you see it yet?"

A mid-level officer stepped forward from the crowd, pointing at Chen Wen, his voice trembling with excitement.

"Who does not know the achievements, prestige, and benevolence of Commissioner Chen?"

"He saved the sovereign at Gaoping, crushed the enemy on the northern front, and brought peace and prosperity to the people under his rule—this is truly the Mandate of Heaven!"

"Now treacherous ministers hold sway and the state is on the brink; only Commissioner Chen can reverse the raging flood and support the collapsing mansion!"

"We wish to enthrone Commissioner Chen as emperor, to sweep away the treacherous and restore peace to the world!"

The speaker turned out to be a senior commander of the Palace Front Command who had previously been close to Zhao Kuangyin!

Before his voice faded, several more men rose from the crowd, all mid-level officers of considerable reputation in the army.

"Yes! We wish to make Commissioner Chen emperor!"

"Commissioner Chen is our true sovereign!"

"Please, Commissioner, ascend the throne!"

These voices began as isolated sparks, but quickly, like a prairie fire, they ignited the scales in many more hearts.

Compared to Zhao Kuangyin, whose methods have grown increasingly brutal and who consorts with mysterious forces, Chen Wen's outstanding achievements, sincere treatment of others, and sound governance undoubtedly won him the army's favor!

Especially those from the Chen Prefecture faction or who had fought alongside the Jing'an Army were beside themselves with excitement, raising their arms and shouting.

"Support Lord Chen!"

"Support Lord Chen!"

The sound surged like a tsunami, wave after wave higher, swiftly sweeping across the entire Chen Bridge camp.

Zhao Kuangyin and his core followers turned ashen as paper, as if their spines had been pulled out, incredulously watching the situation reverse in an instant.

They could not understand why their carefully laid plans would collapse so utterly.

Why would the commanders who had secretly promised to support them defect at the critical moment?

They did not know that Wang Pu, Han Tong, and Zhang Yongde had already secretly contacted the factions in the army leaning toward Chen Wen;

they did not know that Qian Gui had already grasped their plans;

and they did not know how tremendous an impact the seething Fortune Momentum, the power springing from the people's hearts, would have at this moment.

Amid the tumultuous cheers that shook the wilderness, the commander who had first stepped forward to support Chen Wen, unknown where he produced it, brought out a pre-prepared bright yellow robe, and, escorted by several officers, quickly walked to Chen Wen's horse.

Before tens of thousands of gazes, he draped the yellow robe symbolizing supreme imperial authority over Chen Wen's shoulders!

"Long live the Emperor!"

The officer knelt on one knee and shouted loudly.

The next moment, a sound like a collapsing mountain and roaring sea echoed throughout the Chen Bridge post, piercing the clouds!

"Long live the Emperor!"

"Long live the Emperor!"

"The yellow robe is bestowed!"

But the one who donned the yellow robe was not the expected Zhao Kuangyin.

but Chen Wen, who appeared out of nowhere, seized the initiative, and with thunderous force turned the heavens and earth!

Watching Chen Wen, surrounded by ten thousand, clad in the yellow robe and shining like the rising sun, Zhao Kuangyin felt his vision darken and a surge of sweetness rise to his throat.

"It's over."

"It's all over."

All his ambitions and schemes, at this moment, came to nothing.

Chen Wen sat upright on his horse, feeling the weight of the suddenly bestowed yellow robe, and within him, the roar triggered by this final coronation burst through the 60% mark of his Growth Progress Bar, rushing straight toward 65%.

The Fortune Momentum vortex, unprecedented in its solidity and brilliance.

He knew that an old era had ended at this moment.

A new era, the era of 'Chen,' began here at the Chen Bridge post, under the gaze of ten thousand.

He slowly raised his hand.

The cries of 'Long live' gradually faded.

Countless gazes focused on him, awaiting the new ruler's first words.

Chen Wen's gaze swept over the dark crowd below, over Zhao Kuangyin whose face was ashen, and over the distant gloomy sky.

His voice, steady and powerful, carried across the wilderness.

"Treacherous ministers have framed the loyal, nearly destroying the realm and the ancestral altars."

"The soldiers have supported and pushed me to this position."

"I, though lacking in virtue, dare not decline."

"Effective today, I abolish the Zhou mandate; the state name shall be—Great Chen!"

"Change the era name… establish the tripod!"

"As soon as the words 'establish the tripod' were spoken, it was as if thunder exploded in the horizon."

A new dynasty was formally born in this chaotic end of days.

【Author's note】

【"History" thus changes, but it will always return to the right track by other means…】

【But if "history" truly changes, what will happen? Please see what follows in the continuation.】