Chapter 450

Accompanied by the Four Great Secret Agents, Zhu Wushi stepped forward with the thirty-six Tiangang of the Protecting Dragon Shanzhuang.

"Elder nephew, how have you been lately?"

The Southern Wang Shizi was also Zhu Wushi's nephew, though not by blood.

At this moment, Zhu Wushi could truly be said to be in high spirits.

Bringing three hundred thousand troops and horses to Great Ming's Jingcheng—such a feat had not occurred since the founding of Great Ming.

Changing the dynasty was, in Zhu Wushi's eyes, a matter of a single sentence.

What he now enjoyed even more was wondering what state of mind those who had once forced him to leave Great Ming were in at this moment.

Were they panicked and uneasy, or full of regret?

"Imperial Uncle! Have you come to usurp the throne?"

The Southern Wang Shizi did not pick up his thread of talk, and questioned him directly.

At this moment, the Southern Wang Shizi was still playing the role of Ming Emperor Zhu Houzhao.

Only he could fool others, but the hardest one to fool was precisely Zhu Wushi.

"Enough! Zhu Heng, you may deceive others, but you cannot deceive Us."

At this moment Zhu Wushi wore a dragon robe, looking every inch the self-proclaimed emperor.

"You have always harbored deep schemes, hiding yourself away in the Southern Wang Fu, all for the sake of quietly erasing that fool Zhu Houzhao."

"And then taking his place!"

"Did you think that Our Protecting Dragon Shanzhuang could not uncover even such a small matter?"

"For all these years, We simply felt that you, a mere minor Southern Wang Fu—even with Ye Gucheng backing you—were powerless to act."

"Who would have known your wild, wolfish ambition would actually collude with the Qinglong Society!"

"Speak! Has the late Emperor Zhu Houzhao already been killed by you?"

How could Zhu Wushi care about Zhu Houzhao's life or death? Besides, he had long known that Zhu Houzhao had long since vanished from this world.

The reason he spoke this way was solely to give his rebellion a righteous cause!

After all, the person the Southern Wang Shizi was now impersonating was Ming Emperor Zhu Houzhao.

Although Zhu Wushi's strength and power at this moment were overwhelmingly superior, he wanted a just cause for his campaign.

"Impudence! Our imperial name—is it something you are permitted to comment on?"

The Southern Wang Shizi could be considered steady enough not to refute his own identity at the first opportunity,

"Who is with Us—seize this treasonous villain."

Cao Zhengchun stepped forward one pace,

"Your Majesty, this servant requests to go!"

It could be said that Cao Zhengchun had spent the greater part of his life's energy struggling against Zhu Wushi.

Now that Zhu Wushi had returned, he also wanted to have a proper fight with Zhu Wushi.

Today's matter was already very hard to end well.

Then having a magnificent battle against the opponent he had first fought with was also excellent!

"Granted."

Now beside the Southern Wang Shizi, apart from the two nation-protecting enshrined deities Liu Bowen and Wang Shouren,

the greatest combat strength was Cao Zhengchun.

Since he was willing to go into battle, it was naturally for the best.

"Treasonous villain Zhu Wushi—do you dare to fight this one?"

Having received permission, Cao Zhengchun flew down directly from the city wall into the air.

"A supreme-level powerhouse! Who would have thought you eunuch-dog Cao had actually hidden your strength!"

With one look, Zhu Wushi deduced Cao Zhengchun's true strength.

"But We are ordained by Heaven's mandate, a ruler of ten thousand chariots—how could We stoop to a commoner's brawl?"

"Four Great Guards—attack together and seize that eunuch-dog Cao."

"Yes, sir!"

The four guards—Heaven, Earth, Profound, and Yellow—upon hearing this, struck out together.

"Good! Let this one finish off these little brats first, then come and meet you."

Cao Zhengchun was not flustered in the slightest. He circulated his Tiangang true Qi and charged straight forward.

He was a supreme-level powerhouse—how could he fear these four?

Among these four, the highest one's Wu Gong was at the Grandmaster level, and the lowest was merely first-rate.

But when the four joined forces, they actually had a coordinated formation.

Once the four joined forces and went up, the formation immediately activated.

Although Cao Zhengchun's Tiangang true Qi was solid in both offense and defense, for the moment he could not break free either.

"How pathetic! You can't even beat Our four subordinates."

Zhu Wushi shook his head, then looked toward the city tower,

"Zhu Heng, since you won't take the step I offer you, then don't blame your Imperial Uncle for not leaving you a way out."

"Ten Great Generals—transmit Our order: attack the city immediately."

"Anyone in the city who aids the tyrant and helps Zhu Heng—kill without mercy."

"Moreover, once the city falls, all resisters shall have their three clans exterminated."

These words of Zhu Wushi's were almost equivalent to issuing an order to slaughter the city.

The words intimidated the defending troops on the wall so much that they did not know what to do.

Help the Ming Emperor defend the city!

But ten thousand against three hundred thousand — the odds of winning really aren't great.

If they lose, what awaits them is the fate of having their three clans exterminated.

Don't help the Ming Emperor defend the city!

Not only would they be stuck with a reputation for being disloyal and unfilial, but the remaining Embroidered Uniform Guard in Jingcheng would likely be the first to come after them.

This is simply a case of fighting means death, and not fighting also means death.

Immediately, these defending soldiers realized.

If they resist to the death, the ones most likely to die are the kin of their three clans.

If they don't resist, it seems only they themselves have to die!

Moreover, long before the siege began, Zhu Wushi had already ordered the secret agents of the Dragon-Protecting Shanzhuang to infiltrate.

At this moment they were all putting on an act, saying things along the lines of how not resisting might let them keep their lives.

The fighting spirit of these remaining ten-thousand-odd defenders plummeted straight to freezing point.

The Ten Great Generals received the order and naturally immediately began deploying troops, preparing to storm the city.

But no sooner had the first wave of scaling ladders been raised onto the city wall than a gust of gang wind swept through.

Destroying every last one of those scaling ladders, the rebel army suffered heavy casualties.

"Good! Zhu Wushi, you actually dare to talk of slaughtering the Great Ming capital!"

Wang Yangming, dressed in a scholar's robe, appeared beside the Prince of Nan's Shizi.

"Dynastic change and imperial infighting are not something a mere subject like me should meddle in."

"But since you dare to openly threaten to massacre the city, with me here today, you will absolutely not break through!"

Wang Yangming ranks thirty-fourth on the Nine Provinces Heavenly Dao Combat Power Ceiling List.

His cultivation is late-stage Heavenly Being!

Although he has not yet reached the supreme Mythical Realm, and cannot truly take on ten thousand troops alone,

With him present, aided by the natural defenses of Jingcheng's city walls,

For Zhu Wushi to break into the Great Ming capital does indeed become far more difficult.

Yet Zhu Wushi's own strength has only just barely stepped into the Earthly Immortal Realm.

To fight Wang Yangming is nearly impossible.

"Wang Yangming, you truly are a fine Guardian Patron of our Great Ming."

"Let me ask you — back when the Qinglong Society colluded with the Prince of Nan's Shizi and Prince Xingxian's Shizi to rebel against the throne,"

"Causing the previous Emperor Zhu Houzhao's whereabouts to become unknown, and when the succession changed, why did you not intervene?"

Zhu Wushi was so furious he burst out cursing, beginning to interrogate.