Chapter One: The Ancient City's Cannon Roar

  "Wait, Lord Sun, the jade seal on this imperial edict is different! Don't bully me just because I'm not well-read, okay? Even if I don't recognize the meaning of these characters, I can still tell that these two jade seals are completely different!" Yang Feng said with a bewildered expression as he looked at the imperial edict in his hand.

  Cixi could not sit and wait for death, since she couldn't find the little dog, she simply drafted an imperial edict herself. The meaning was nothing more than to let Yang Feng off in Guangxu's tone, telling him that he didn't need to go to Beijing and could withdraw directly to Taiwan. However, Guangxu had taken his usual imperial seal with him into hiding. But this did not stump Cixi - there were over twenty jade seals, weighing several dozen kilograms, so it was impossible for Guangxu to have taken them all away. Therefore, she simply picked one from the remaining seals and used it to stamp the edict. She probably thought that Yang Feng was just a martial artist who had grown up in a barbarian land and definitely didn't know about these things.

  But she never expected that her opponent was a monster who had mixed up more than one time and space, the Qing dynasty imperial jade seal had long been Yang Feng's private collection in the Republic of China era. Now, except for the eunuch in charge of the jade seal in the palace, probably no one is more familiar with this thing than him, so he took a glance and saw that it was a sacrificial seal, which would never be used normally, let alone appear on a sacred edict to mobilize troops.

  He was stunned by the number one favorite of Cixi, who came to deliver the edict, Grand Minister Sun Yuwen. He never thought that this rough and vulgar guy actually knew the difference between jade seals.

  "Your Excellency Yang, the previous imperial decree was mostly too hasty, so I used the seal that I carry with me, which doesn't conform to the rules. This time it's the real thing." The old man still tried to deceive Yang Feng.

  "Lord Sun, are you insulting my intelligence? You bring a decree with the imperial seal of sacrifice and claim it's the Emperor's will to mobilize my 10,000 troops. Shouldn't I ask you for the crime of forging an imperial decree? Guards, take Lord Sun away first, and wait for me to see the Emperor to investigate the truth before making a decision." Yang Feng sneered and waved his hand, and two black-clad bodyguards immediately stepped forward and lifted up the already stunned Sun Yuwen.

  "Yang, Lord Yang, this is the Empress Dowager's decree. It has nothing to do with me!" Sun Ruoqing cried out as she kicked her legs in mid-air, her voice growing fainter and fainter.

  "This guy is really muddled, one moment it's an imperial edict, the next moment it's the empress dowager's will, it seems that he indeed needs to be taken to a place to sober him up." Yang Feng said helplessly.

  Yuan Shikai smiled but said nothing beside him. He was now more and more finding that this Commander Yang was mysterious and unfathomable.

  Sun Yuwen was locked in a latrine at Tongzhou Barracks with an iron chain, and then Yang led one million troops forward in an armored car. Before noon, they had already arrived outside Chaoyang Gate. At this time, the city inside was completely chaotic, and all kinds of rumors emerged. Some said that Yang Feng rebelled, some said that Yang Feng was ordered to defend the capital, and some said that Yang Feng colluded with foreigners to destroy the Qing Dynasty. Haven't you seen those black devils in his troops? In short, the idle people in this city fully exerted their imagination.

  "Open the gate! Taiwan General Yang Feng, Sichuan General Song Qing. Zhengding Town General Xu Bangdao, Named General Jiang Zikang, Xinjiang Army Commander Yuan Shikai has been ordered to enter the capital!" Yuan Shikai rode on a white thoroughbred horse given by Yang Feng, holding the imperial edict in one hand and a gun in the other, shouting towards the city tower across the moat.

  "The Empress Dowager has issued an edict, the Holy One is ill. All troops are ordered to temporarily halt outside the city and not enter the city to disturb the residents." A eunuch shouted in a trembling voice, because he found that the soldiers in the distance had already started setting up the cannons.

  "The imperial edict clearly states that the Japanese army will enter the city immediately after their arrival, and no one is allowed to stop them. Anyone who dares to resist will be beheaded without exception. If you don't open the gate now, don't blame us for being impolite later." Yuan Shikai shouted loudly while holding up the imperial edict. At this time, the defending soldiers on Chaoyang Gate also became somewhat disordered. Those generals with binoculars could almost clearly see the imperial edict in Yuan Shikai's hand, and they were certain it was genuine.

  At this moment, with a clear head, he had already somewhat understood what was happening today. One by one, thoughts began to stir, and at this time, the eunuch gave a slight nod to a general, who slightly nodded in response. A soldier next to him quietly extended his gun, took aim for half a day, and suddenly pulled the trigger. With a sudden gunshot, the imperial edict in Yuan Shikai's hand was shattered into powder, and immediately afterwards, the muzzle turned and another shot hit his chest.

  Yuan Shikai was directly knocked off his horse by this massive force, but immediately flipped over and got up, then in a stunned gaze, he sternly shouted: "This official has the sacred decree in hand. Under the protection of the imperial power, how can you petty thieves harm it? Destroying the sacred decree is a crime of great irreverence, similar to treason. Since this is the case, how can my loyal and righteous army just sit back and watch? If you don't open the city gates and surrender, don't blame me for having my soldiers carry out heavenly punishment!"

  He finished speaking with a pretentious tone, and quickly turned his horse's head to run back. When he came back, he saw everyone staring at him in shock, including himself, who found the bullet hole and looked at Yang Feng with a bewildered expression.

  Yang Da boss innocently yawned, the lead bullet of the black fire Yao rifle could shake the dragon scales, that would be a fantasy. Yuan Shikai was someone who needed protection, going out to do such a dangerous job without adding some protective measures? But for now, it can't be said yet, this kind of mysterious thing is very useful for undermining the military spirit of this era.

  Yuan Shikai immediately understood what was going on, and without a word, he stepped aside, brewing his emotions to continue pretending to be majestic. At this time, not only the Qing soldiers guarding the city opposite him but also the soldiers of the Expeditionary Force looked at him with reverence in their eyes.

  Since the other side didn't open the gate, Yang Feng couldn't be blamed for taking action. With a wave of his hand, the thirty-six Type 75 rapid-fire guns that had been set up in advance opened fire simultaneously, and the Chaoyang Gate was instantly engulfed in the explosion's flames. The defenders on the city wall were already uneasy from the previous incident, and now with the cannons' thunder, one-third of them immediately ran away, while the rest crouched behind the parapet, covering their heads and screaming.

  The defense of Chaoyang Gate was led by Fu Zhen, the commander-in-chief of the Plain White Banner and the son-in-law of Daoguang. Originally a relatively neutral figure within the imperial family, he now hastened to order the raising of the white flag without even considering the stern urging of the eunuch beside him.

  "Unbelievable? You're surrendering so quickly?" Yang Da Boss said in surprise, but since the other side had raised a white flag, he naturally didn't need to waste any more ammunition and immediately ordered a ceasefire. Next, someone was lowered down from the city wall with a basket, requesting verification of the authenticity of the imperial edict.

  "What are you playing with me? You've already torn it to pieces and now you're coming to inspect, what's the point of that? Go ask the Emperor yourself and you'll know. Yang Feng wordlessly handed over the remaining half of the imperial edict to him, this helmeted and armored general looked at it and was also stunned, it had become a rag, indeed there was no way to verify, but telling them to go ask the Emperor was equally impossible, the Empress Dowager had already given orders, the Emperor was seriously ill and no one was allowed to see him."

  "I'll take it back and examine it carefully later." The goods said with a smile.

  "It's no good." Yang Feng shook his head.

  "Can you, sir, leave your troops outside the city and enter the palace with the other generals to pay homage?" he asked again.

  "No, the imperial edict has been issued, the entire army must enter the city, and it must be done before nightfall today." Yang Da Boss continued to shake his head, do you think I'm stupid? Not learning from Fu Gui Gong's lesson of placing cannons on top of the Forbidden City is definitely not allowed to enter the city.

  "I'll give you half an hour. If the city gate is still not open after half an hour, don't blame me for being impolite." Yang Feng said with a sly smile.

  This guy rushed back to report to Fu Zhen, and Fu Zhen decided to personally rush to report to Empress Dowager Cixi. To be honest, Fu Zhen really wanted to ask Guangxu for clarification at this time, but Cixi forbade anyone from seeing Guangxu, so he had no choice. At this time, the city was already in chaos, and Beijing hadn't heard cannon fire in years. Looking up, one could see the smoke billowing into the sky above Chaoyang Gate, and the streets were filled with panicked civilians running wildly in all directions. It took Fu Zhen a full half hour to finally meet with Cixi.

  "I made it very clear, the Emperor did not issue a sacred decree to summon Japanese troops into Beijing, Yang Feng and others forged the decree with ulterior motives. Do I need to say it again?" Cixi scolded Fu Zhen severely, frightening him so much that he quickly ran out of the palace. By then, he had already figured out what was going on - the large army outside the city must have been summoned by Guangxu to seize power from Cixi, and judging from their combat strength, they were likely to succeed greatly. Since that was the case, there was no need for him to rush to his death. This guy quickly made a gesture with his eyes to the guards beside him, then fell off his horse.

  At this time, Guangxu was worried about how to get out. Cixi quickly guessed that he was hiding in the Gongwang Mansion. Although it wasn't easy to send someone to search for him, mainly because there was no reason, she told outsiders that Xiaogou (Guangxu's nickname) was ill and couldn't possibly say that he had gone missing. However, trapping him in the Gongwang Mansion was very easy. This old lady mobilized a total of 2,000 trusted followers to surround the entire Gongwang Mansion, telling outsiders that she feared the chaotic soldiers would scare away the foreign devils, without knowing how the cannon fire at Chaoyangmen could possibly scare away those at the Gongwang Mansion by Shichahai.

  These two thousand people sealed off all the exits of the Gong Wang Fu, not even a dog was allowed to come out. Guangxu, Zhen Fei and Weng Tonghe were trapped inside, anxious like ants on a hot pot, especially after the cannon fire started, even the six foreigners couldn't sit still. A group of people sighed at Yang Feng's loyalty while frowning and researching various escape plans.

  Yang Feng didn't have the mood to care about the intrigue and infighting in the city, so after an hour of confirming that the opposing side had no intention of opening the city gate, he immediately ordered the start of the attack. First, they used the 75mm cannon to continue bombarding Chaoyang Gate, followed by mortar fire with toxic gas shells. This time it was the real deal - mustard gas. The poor Eight Banner soldiers on the city wall had never seen anything like this before. They were already panicked and when the toxic gas hit them, they couldn't take it after just a few minutes. One by one, they fled Chaoyang Gate in terror, wailing and howling. Yang Feng shook his head speechlessly and waved his hand. Three trucks loaded with prefabricated wooden planks immediately moved forward. This simple floating bridge vehicle was quite primitive, but it was enough for the 50-meter-wide moat.