The Villain's Counterattack

Chapter 597 Brother 2, Brother 2, tell me whether I should be grateful to you or hate you

However, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling got help from Xiang Yushan of the Baling Gang and were introduced to officials of the Dugu Clan, thus getting the opportunity to meet Emperor Yang Guang of the Sui Dynasty. However, for two consecutive days, Emperor Yang Guang of the Sui Dynasty stayed in the harem and did not summon any external officials. After Kou and Xu entered the palace, they were also under surveillance and imprisoned, and they were not allowed to be free.

Fei Yun, Dugu Sheng, Yu Shiji and others worked together to make this happen, but they didn't expect that their every move had fallen into the eyes of Yu Wenhuaji, who had subdued Sima Dekan early on and was naturally not panicked with the military power in his hands. However, there were many voices within the clan, and he needed an opportunity to force the Yu Wen clan to rebel against Yang Guang and fully support his ascension to the throne.

Delaying Kou and Xu for two days was already the limit. Although he was powerful, he could not cover the sky with one hand. Although this day seemed to him not far away, he suddenly took action.

Sima Dekan led a large army into the palace. Yu Wenhuaji personally beheaded Yang Guang, and then let his soldiers burn and kill, bloodbathing all forces that did not belong to him in the palace. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling seemed to be particularly sensitive to the crisis. Yu Wenhuaji fled the hall as soon as he launched the attack, and fought hard among the rebels to escape.

A group of masters from the Yuwen clan led their troops to attack. There was nothing special in the front half of the palace, and neither the eunuchs nor the palace maids had much ability. However, they encountered a powerful enemy in the backyard. The clueless eunuchs suddenly took out a three-foot soft sword from their waist, and waved it lightly, splashing blood three feet away.

One or two would be fine, but three hundred eunuchs, at least first-rate, with exceptional speed and ruthless, strange swordsmanship, made even Yu Wenzhi's scalp tingle. He was about to use the head of Sui Emperor Yang Guang to intimidate the others, but suddenly a middle-aged man with a magnificent face and a beautiful beard appeared beside Yang Guang's corpse in the hall. He gently put Yang Guang's body back together, his face expressionless, and flanked by more than a dozen awe-inspiring eunuchs.

"Your Highness, the King of Shu!" Sima Dekan's face was startled, and Yu Wenzhi's eyes suddenly narrowed. "King of Shu, Yang Xiu!"

In fact, long before they started the rebellion, the rebels had already discussed how to succeed. Many of them proposed to make Yang Xiu, the King of Shu, a puppet emperor. However, Yu Wenzhi was somewhat reluctant to do so. He wanted to achieve the goal in one go and ascend the throne himself.

However, he never expected that after he easily killed Emperor Yang Guang of the Sui Dynasty, he suddenly discovered that the most powerful person in the palace was King Yang Xiu of Shu, who was demoted to a commoner and imprisoned and seemed to pose no threat.

He carefully arranged Yang Guang's body, and without bothering to clean his blood-stained hands, he slowly turned around. The aura of a senior master gradually increased, and he looked at the traitors opposite him with a calm expression. Yu Wenzhi, Sima Dekan and others met his gaze and couldn't help but feel a little timid.

The Sui officials were all familiar with Emperor Wen's sons, all of whom were considered outstanding. The governor of Yizhou, Prince Shu Xiu, was a man of magnificent appearance, courage, and martial arts. However, they had never imagined that Yang Xiu's martial arts skills were so advanced. How had he cultivated to such a high level under Yang Guang's watch?

Yu Wenzhi took a deep breath, suddenly stepped forward and saluted respectfully. He first listed Yang Guang's crimes, claiming that he had no choice but to do so. Yang Guang had ruined the Sui Dynasty. If not, the Sui Dynasty would have perished. Now he had eliminated the tyrant and asked the King of Shu to ascend the throne and restore order.

Yang Xiu took a deep look at Yu Wenhuaji. He was a man of average ability and a lack of foresight, but he came from a good family and was thick-skinned enough to suppress lies. He was a master at suppressing lies. He summoned the Dugu clan to his side, then spoke to Yu Wenhuaji face to face, saying quietly, "Second brother is a man of exceptional talent and foresight, but his temper is too strong. While our father and mother were still alive, there were still some who could control him. But after ascending the throne, he became too impatient and was deserted by his friends and relatives."

"Second brother, second brother, I have always known that you have great ambitions. I am not even as good as you, so how can I compare with you? However, there are many foreign tribes in Shu, the situation is complicated, and the forces of the martial arts world are huge. As the King of Shu, I hold military power and can only protect myself. I have no choice but to engage in large-scale construction and build a royal palace. On the one hand, it is to develop and build Chengdu for the benefit of the people, and on the other hand, it is to tarnish my reputation and avoid causing taboos among my elder brothers."

At this point, Yang Xiu's face was slightly sad. "My childish actions misled Father and hid it from my eldest brother, but I couldn't escape Second Brother's eyes. He captured me early and imprisoned me in the palace."

Yang Xiu seemed to be somewhat moved by what he said. He looked at his bloodstained hands and said, "You didn't kill me, and you treated me well. You even let my wife and children stay by my side. You didn't prevent me from studying literature and martial arts, and you gave me the opportunity to interact with the palace ladies. You just didn't allow me to go out."

"Second brother, second brother, tell me, should I be grateful to you or hate you?" Yang Xiu's voice finally showed a trace of sadness. "I used your resources to secretly train three hundred evil-repelling swordsmen. After ten years of hard work, each of them is first-rate. I also have ten innate masters with outstanding Qinggong skills and strange sword techniques."

"The maids and dancers in the harem are at least third-rate if they're adults. They've never seen battle, but they're definitely not comparable to ordinary soldiers. Although I never leave the palace, I'm fully aware of the outside world's intelligence. I know what you know, and I know what you don't. Even if General Yuwen rebelled today, I knew it all."

"I have summoned all the skilled warriors usually scattered throughout the palace to the harem. Otherwise, how could Sima Dekan's mere twenty thousand ordinary soldiers and horses possibly command the imperial palace? Even the two powerful masters of the clan were sent away by me on pretexts. Second brother, don't blame me for being cruel. Your presence has already severely harmed the interests of the Han people. If you continue to do so, the Han people will suffer."

"Half a step ahead is a genius, one step ahead is a madman. Second brother, you are even more talented than a madman. If you were given five hundred years, the Great Sui Dynasty would last for thousands of years. If you were given a hundred years, the Great Sui Dynasty would prosper and be invincible. Unfortunately, you were in power for only a dozen years. Perhaps you saw too much and pushed yourself too hard, wanting to accomplish eternal achievements during your reign. Unfortunately..."

Yang Xiu gave Yu Wenzhi a deep look and then changed the subject, "I am the son of the founding emperor of the Great Sui Dynasty. None of my five brothers are mediocre. Although I am not as good as my eldest brother, and even less so than my second brother, I am still an extraordinary person. It would be extremely difficult for you to nominate me as a puppet emperor. I am not a mediocre person with nothing. I have many experts under my command and control the inner court of the imperial palace. You can't control me."

"It would be fine if I weren't the emperor, but if I were, you would all be doomed. So..." Yang Xiu paused, shook his head, and said, "Get out of the palace. In three days, I will lead the harem to escort the coffin back to Chang'an. I will take all my own people with me. As for the remaining palace maids and eunuchs, if you trust them, use them. If you don't, don't kill innocent people. Just let them go. After all, most of the talented ones are already in my lap, and the rest are mostly mediocre and cannot be trained."

"Now, get out of the palace!" Yang Xiu shouted loudly. Yu Wenzhi, Sima Dekan and others were shocked. Looking at the suddenly furious Yang Xiu, they were afraid and dared not look at him directly. They hurriedly left the hall and saw from afar that teams of eunuchs holding software were chasing the rebels with white bands on their heads and slaughtering them. Although the rebels were numerous, they had almost no ability to fight back.

Yu Wenzhi urgently ordered Sima Dekan to force the rebels to leave the palace. There were at least three hundred first-rate eunuchs, more than ten eunuchs with innate skills, and countless palace maids with good martial arts skills as guards. There were also masters hiding in the dark to protect the Sui emperor. If a rash melee broke out, there would be no chance of winning. The best strategy was to surround the city with a large army.

After all, not everyone in the rebel army was rational, especially the fools who were blinded by killing and had gained many benefits in the early stage. They ignored Yu Wenzhi's orders and wanted to continue doing evil. They were soon easily killed by the evil-repelling eunuchs who came after hearing the news.

Fei Yun, Yu Shiji, and their close ministers were killed, but most of the Dugu clan's best men survived. Yang Xiu shouted them off. Three figures strolled towards the back of the hall. One of them was wearing a dragon robe, and another was actually King Yang Xiu of Shu. With a look of envy on his face, he said to the last one, "I envy Brother Pei for having such a fine disciple and beloved son-in-law. He's disguised as my own, and he's even more domineering than I am. But how could I not know how much I admire my Second Brother?"

The man in the dragon robe was naturally the Sui Emperor, Yang Guang. He laughed heartily and said, "I have always known your talent, and it was out of helplessness that I imprisoned you so early. Now that I am no longer the Emperor of the Sui Dynasty, I have turned to conquer the world. I beg for your help."