Munitions Empire-Chapter 1107 - 1029 Imperial Capital in chaos

"Understood, understood, brother, I understand it all... But today... you have to die!" Having said that, the Guard pulled out his gun and fired a shot at the warehouse keeper.

The bullet hit the other person’s chest, who instinctively looked down at the bleeding hole, and the cigarette wedged between his fingers fell to the ground.

"For the Fifth Prince!" The Guard shouted, and the people around him also pulled out their guns one after another, killing the few colleagues who were not on their side.

In the midst of the gunfire, these people pulled open the doors of the armory in the Patrol Officer’s building, taking out more ammunition as well as pistols and bolt-action rifles.

After receiving the news that Zhao Kai was seriously ill and neglected state affairs, the Fifth Prince could no longer contain his throbbing heart: He was afraid that when Zhao Kai was truly on his deathbed, he would recall Zhao Ji back to the Imperial Capital.

Now, he must seize this excellent opportunity when Zhao Ji was away from the Imperial Capital to carve out a future for himself! A wonderful future that bears the coveted title of Emperor!

Suddenly, a number of Patrol Officers began to mobilize; they were all men of the Fifth Prince, and this action was to take control of the Imperial Capital and support the ascension of the Fifth Prince.

Meanwhile, the private armies of some nobles and some guards of government agencies also began to assemble and march, brandishing the banner of quelling the disturbances and supporting the Sixth Prince as the new Emperor of the Empire.

The sound of gunfire continued to echo through the streets and alleys, and soon the news reached the Imperial Palace. Having heard this news, Zhao Kai, lying sick in bed, immediately issued the order to suppress the rebellion.

To be honest, Zhao Kai was not too surprised; he had long known that his two useless sons had been forming cliques and gathering power, secretly preparing to cause trouble. Therefore, he was prepared and promptly ordered his confidant Li Mingshun to take action.

Li Mingshun, worthy of being Zhao Kai’s confidant and the General who had long been in charge of military power in the Imperial Capital, immediately began his operation upon receiving Zhao Kai’s orders.

He first took control of the northern and southern airports outside the city and then ordered the Imperial Guards stationed outside the city to enter and suppress the two mutually combative rogue forces.

Since the Imperial Guards had armored vehicles and heavy firepower, after a day and night of fierce fighting, Li Mingshun quickly cornered both rebel groups and was ready to wipe them out at any time.

At this point, the Fifth Prince actually panicked; afraid of being executed, he commanded the supporting Patrol Officers to establish defenses while already considering plans for a breakout and escape.

The Sixth Prince was not faring any better at this time; he cried and made a scene at the temporary headquarters, shouting that he was going to die, angering the nobles who supported him so much that they wanted to shoot him dead themselves.

Everything was still under Zhao Kai’s control at this time, but a sudden piece of news disrupted all of Zhao Kai’s arrangements: Zhao Jie had led troops back to the Imperial Capital!

As a General of the Empire and the actual controller of the million-strong southern front, Zhao Jie led his most elite 2,000 Guards, riding a train that sped back to the outskirts of the Imperial Capital.

These two thousand Guards were all brave warriors; upon arrival, they quickly seized an airport and swiftly captured the southern gate of the Imperial Capital, killing their way into the city.

The situation suddenly became very tricky: Since Zhao Jie brought only the vanguard troop, and more reinforcements were continuously following, Li Mingshun couldn’t figure out Zhao Jie’s intentions for the time being and thus did not dare to recklessly counterattack Zhao Jie.

After all, Zhao Jie was flying the banner "Purge the Imperial Side" and claiming to return to assist Emperor Zhao Kai in suppressing the rebellion — since the city had indeed experienced rebellion before his arrival, many forces couldn’t clearly discern the situation and were easily wrapped up into becoming Zhao Jie’s army.

Li Mingshun, who dared not engage readily, immediately returned to the Imperial Palace and reported to Zhao Kai about Zhao Jie’s sudden return to the Imperial Capital, merely wanting to ask if he should eliminate Zhao Jie as well.

"Your Majesty! Zhao Jie is after all a Prince of the Royal Family; without an imperial decree, I dare not make a decision on my own. Please issue your command..." Seeing Zhao Kai’s pallid face and that he did not speak for a long while, Li Mingshun could only stiffly repeat the question he had just asked.

Zhao Kai sat on the bed, his breath churning in his chest, as if it was tearing through his blood vessels and guts.

He truly hadn’t expected Zhao Jie, that bastard, to return to the Imperial Capital; he truly hadn’t expected Zhao Jie to betray him at this time! After all, he had promoted Zhao Jie and Zhao Chen for the sake of the Zhao clan, for the kinship of the Royal Family.

Who could have imagined that it was Zhao Jie, the Zhao Jie he trusted most, who would betray him at this crucial moment! To deliver him the most ruthless stab!

How he hated! How he seethed with anger! All this unwillingness and heartache converged in his heart, leading Zhao Kai to lose his sanity. He was always hot-tempered, often burning with anger.

Now, his body no longer permitted him to be agitated to such an extent. So when he began to rage, the barely functioning systems of his body collapsed in an instant.

He strained to order Li Mingshun to immediately suppress the rebellion. But when he opened his mouth, no words came out. After trying twice, he suddenly realized he might never be able to speak again. A moment of fear overwhelmed him, nearly causing him to pass out and fall from the bed.

The attendant by his side was quick to react, reaching out to hold Zhao Kai, patting his back to help him catch his breath. Zhao Kai then felt slightly better, regaining some control over his body.

He attempted to speak again, only for a large mouthful of fresh blood to surge out when he opened his mouth. The blood was spat out so dramatically that even Li Mingshun, who was accustomed to seeing blood, was startled.

Blood splattered all over the floor of the room, even some splashing onto Li Mingshun’s feet. When Li Mingshun looked up at his Emperor again, Zhao Kai was already blinking in the arms of the attendant.

"Kill... kill... kill..." After struggling to form words for a while, Zhao Kai could only mumble this one word unclearly. The attendant heard it clearly, but Li Mingshun could not.

The attendant hurriedly signaled Li Mingshun to come closer to the bed. Li Mingshun leaned in and barely made out the word ’kill’.

"Your Majesty, I understand! Kill Zhao Jie!" Li Mingshun was not slow-witted; he immediately grasped Zhao Kai’s intent.

Zhao Kai nodded faintly, then strained again and spat out a word: "Ji! Ji!"

Once again, Li Mingshun nodded: "Your Majesty means to wait for the Crown Prince to return and inherit the throne?"

"Retreat..." What Zhao Kai said last was either an agreement or an order to retreat, nobody knew for sure. He only uttered an unclear syllable, probably ’agree’ or the word ’retreat,’ and then he closed his eyes.

Forever, he closed his eyes.

The Emperor of the Dahua Empire, Zhao Kai, enraged by Zhao Jie’s betrayal and spitting blood, died on his sickbed. With all his unwillingness and defeat, he left the stage of history.

"His Majesty has passed away!" An attendant cried out in sorrow, as everyone in the room, including the servants and Li Mingshun, knelt and burst into tears.

The situation began to spiral completely out of control: Li Mingshun’s troops launched a fierce attack on the southern gate of the city, while Zhao Jie held his ground, even managing to pull out three hundred elite soldiers to launch a surprise attack on the unprepared Fifth Prince.

As a result, the Fifth Prince was shot dead by Zhao Jie’s soldiers, and his Patrol Officers were absorbed by Zhao Jie’s forces.

The Sixth Prince, unaware of what had transpired, was intimidated by Zhao Jie and Li Mingshun and feared that the Nobility supporting him might turn traitorous. In a critical moment, he set fire to create a diversion, hoping to escape from the city.

However, it turned out that the Sixth Prince’s abilities were truly inadequate: his arson was successful, but while escaping, he ran straight into the Nobility that supported him. frёeweɓηovel.coɱ

They had intended to gain favor by declaring their support, but what they found was a completely ineffective leader. Enraged and humiliated, the Nobles killed the Sixth Prince then and there.

Surrendering to Li Mingshun was definitely not an option, as that would likely mean losing their heads. After careful consideration, the Nobles concluded that surrendering to Zhao Jie was a much better choice.

So they switched their allegiance to Zhao Jie, once again boosting his strength.