The sky was already bright, and there were gradually more pedestrians in Wanqiu City, Zhang Xun led the soldiers along the main road to the direction of the palace, and the closer they got, they could already see the cornices on the top of the palace's high platform.

Zhang Xun divided a hundred people and whispered to the centurion: "This palace has a total of two gates, the main door faces south, and the back door faces north, you take a hundred people to the north from this alley, and you will soon see the north gate of the palace. ”

"Whoa!" The centurion received the order and led a hundred men to divide his troops.

Zhang Xun led the remaining 300 people to continue to march towards the main gate of the palace, and when he turned a street corner, Zhang Xun suddenly saw a patrol coming this way.

"Quick! Run! Zhang Xun shouted to the soldiers behind him.

The soldiers hurriedly followed Zhang Xun and ran forward, and when they encountered the patrol, the patrol suddenly stopped Zhang Xun, and the leading captain asked, "Stop!" What do you guys do?! In front of it is a forbidden place of the Imperial Palace, and no one is allowed to approach it! ”

Zhang Xun motioned for everyone to stop, and stepped forward to answer: "Nonsense! What do you say? Guarding the palace, of course! ”

Wu Chang looked at Zhang Xun and said suspiciously: "Guarding the palace?" Why don't you go to the city gate to defend?! ”

Zhang Xun shouted: "The city gates have fallen!" You're still hanging around here! I rushed to the palace to defend on the order of the general, and the people of Wu will come over in a while! In case the palace is lost, how many heads do you have enough to cut off?! ”

Hearing this, Wu Chang was startled and exclaimed, "Huh? The gates are broken? How could it be so fast? At dawn, the brothers who defended the city sent a message saying that the people of Wu had only beaten the drum all night and had not come to attack the city for a long time, so why did the city gate suddenly fall? ”

Zhang Xun angrily reprimanded: "As soon as the morning dawns, the eighteen building cars of Wu State drove in at the same time, and the five thousand troops broke the city in one fell swoop, and now the city gate has fallen, and the general is organizing troops to block in the city, and it will not take long for the Wu army to hit the palace!" I was ordered by the general to return to the inner city to guard the palace! What are you still doing in a daze?! Go to the city gate to help! ”

"Oh! Oh! Let's go! Captain Wu panicked and hurriedly called a patrol to the direction of the city gate to support.

After getting rid of the patrol, Zhang Xun continued to lead the soldiers towards the palace, and Jie Yin asked, "General, why do you speak with a Chen accent?" ”

"I am from Shen Guo, Shen Guo and Chen Guo used to be neighbors, the capitals of the two countries are only separated by more than a hundred miles, and the accent is extremely similar.

"I see."

However, at this moment, not far behind him, a person riding a fast horse galloped along the street, while shouting loudly: "There may be a spy of the Wu State in the city!" Attention everyone! There may be Wu spies in the city! Attention everyone! ”

Zhang Xun turned around and saw that the commander just now stopped the man on horseback. Zhang Xun knew that the matter would inevitably be revealed, so he took out a red cloth belt from his sleeve, wrapped it around his left arm, and shouted to the three hundred soldiers: "Brothers! Kill! Capture King Chen alive! ”

As soon as the order fell, three hundred Wu soldiers tied red cloth belts on their left arms, and they drew their weapons and followed Zhang Xun to the palace that was close at hand. Even though there were Praetorian Guards in front of them and city defenses chasing them behind, life and death were imminent, and they had only one battle to the death.

Wanqiu City was suddenly in chaos, the palace guards resisted in a hurry, although the Praetorian Guards were brave and good at fighting, but in the face of sudden changes, many people had been killed by Wu soldiers before they understood what was going on.

Zhang Xun charged forward, fighting all the way, and Jieyin also drew his sword and guarded Zhang Xun's side. Suddenly, a Praetorian Guard swung a spear and stabbed at Jieyin, and when Zhang Xun saw this, he jumped up and kicked him to the ground, and then stepped forward to kill him.

Zhang Xun pulled up Jieyin and ordered: "Go to the rear army to give orders!" Let the brothers fight and advance! Don't fall in love with the war, we must hurry to the palace! Only by taking the palace gate can there be time to hunt down King Chen! ”

"Whoa!" Jieyin received the order and immediately rushed to the rear.

Soon, Zhang Xun led people to kill the palace gate, this palace is really small and pitiful, although the wall is tall, but dilapidated, the palace gate is also in disrepair, the paint peels off, revealing mottled rotten wood.

In front of the palace gate, twenty Praetorian Guards stood tall with weapons and stood in battle.

The shouting and killing behind him was getting closer and closer, time was pressing, life and death were hanging by a thread, Zhang Xun didn't have time to think about it, he rushed forward desperately, and three hundred Wu soldiers also swarmed up, and killed the guards guarding the door in an instant.

"Crash! Knock the door open! Zhang Xun roared angrily.

The Wu soldiers roared in unison and slammed the door with their bodies, and after dozens of impacts, the bolt was broken and the gate was opened in an instant. Everyone poured into the palace, and several Praetorian Guards who were blocking the door were also swallowed up by the torrent in an instant.

"Quick! Come on in! Zhang Xun held the gate and shouted to the soldiers behind.

Soon, most of the Wu soldiers rushed through the door, but the pursuers behind them had already been killed. Jieyin rushed to the door, pushing the soldiers into the door, and shouted to Zhang Xun: "General! Close the door! Otherwise, it won't close! The rest of our fraternity will hold the outside! Come on! ”

"I can't throw you to death!"

"General! Don't hesitate! ”

Seeing the pursuers spreading like flames, and the brothers outside the gate dying one after another, Zhang Xun gritted his teeth hard, almost making up his mind, but when he put his hand on the gate, he couldn't exert any strength, he couldn't give up these brothers who were born and died together after all.

"General! Lock the door! The brethren were overwhelmed at once! Jie Yin covered the sword wound on his chest, struggled to break through the chaotic crowd, squeezed to the door and said to Zhang Xun: "General, those who have achieved great things must not be trapped by goodness!" ”

With that, Jieyin grabbed the door knocker with both hands and pulled the door back with all his might, the gap between the two door panels became smaller and smaller, and the gradually shrinking space cut off the boundary between life and death, and also ruined the hope of survival.

"The general is very gracious, I will report it in the next life!"

Finally, with a muffled sound, the door was shut. Zhang Xun's eyes were red, and he was extremely sad, he gritted his teeth, held back his tears and ordered: "Bolt the door!" ”

The soldiers used weapons as deadbolts to re-lock the gate. Zhang Xun immediately reorganized the team and said to everyone: "Brothers! In a group of 10 people, don't let go of a corner! After the search, everyone gathers at the high platform, and if you find a man, be sure to bring them all! You can't let go of the eunuchs when you meet them! Remember! Don't kill except the Praetorian Guard! ”

After that, Zhang Xun left fifty people to guard the gate. The others were led by Wu Chang and searched for King Chen in different directions.

Zhang Xun personally led two groups of soldiers around the high platform and searched along the way to the north of the palace. Located in the center of the palace, this high platform is the centerpiece of the entire palace and the place where King Chen and his ministers discuss state affairs. The high platform looks quite old, the cornices on the top floor are damaged, the paintings are dull, and it is clear that it has not been repaired for a long time. There are a number of huts and pavilions scattered on both sides of the high platform, and behind the high platform is a small lake surrounded by several mansions, which are the bedrooms of King Chen.

Zhang Xun pointed to the dormitory and said to the two groups of soldiers: "King Chen must still be resting in the dormitory at this time!" One of you will search from the left, and the rest of you will search with me from the right! ”

"Whoa!" The crowd responded in unison.

So, Zhang Xun led the soldiers to search room by room, there were only some palace maids and eunuchs in the palace, but there was no man, and when he searched to the north gate, Zhang Xun saw the centurion sent before, and asked: "Can someone escape from here?" ”

"General! As soon as the city was in turmoil, I led people to capture the north gate of the palace, and I have been defending it until now, and no one has escaped from here. ”

"Good! If you can't hold it for a while, retreat to that high platform! Zhang Xun pointed to the high platform and said to the centurion.

"Whoa!"

Zhang Xun then led the soldiers to continue the search, but after searching repeatedly, he did not see a man, and in desperation, Zhang Xun had to retreat to the high platform.

At this time, the other commanders also retreated to the high platform, and everyone reported: "Report to the general!" No man found! ”

"I didn't find this either!"

"Neither do I!"

Zhang Xun chuckled in his heart, what he was worried about really happened, Zhang Xun couldn't hide his disappointment, grabbed one of the Wu Commanders and asked, "You are in charge of searching the high platform, but what did you find?" ”

The captain replied, "I didn't find it, not even a figure." ”

Zhang Xun raised his head and stared at the old high platform, feeling a little desperate in his heart, perhaps it was because of his risky decision that the four hundred brothers followed him into a dead end.

Now, he is very skeptical of his decision, is the victory really that important?

Perhaps, life and death are more important than anything else.

Seeing that the palace gate was about to be broken, he hoped that he could find that damn King Chen, after all, capturing King Chen alive was their only hope. But where is King Chen? He was reluctant to admit it, but hope may have long since ceased to exist.

Zhang Xun slowly stepped onto the high platform and entered the inner palace, where only the throne, a symbol of power, was opposite him.

Zhang Xun smiled bitterly and said to himself: "The princes attacked, fought against each other, the soldiers died in battle, and the people were displaced, hehe, for the throne under this ass." ”

As he approached the throne, he saw that it was delicately carved with dragon motifs, and the armrests of pure gold were inlaid with two dragons with huge mouths. Suddenly, Zhang Xun felt that the shape of this throne was very familiar, this was the structure he had learned!

Zhang Xun hurriedly stepped forward, observed around the throne, and then squatted down behind the throne, he pressed a hidden mechanism, only to hear a "click" sound from inside the throne. Then, Zhang Xun grabbed the pure gold dragon mouth on the two armrests with both hands, pressed the mechanism inside the dragon mouth hard, and turned the throne vigorously. The throne rubbed against the ground, slowly turning, and the back of the back was twisted back, and in a few moments, a secret door half a man high was revealed, large enough for one person to pass through.

This is exactly what Zhang Xun is most worried about. Before entering the tunnel, he had said nothing to Jieyin, in fact, the thing he was most afraid of was that there might be a secret passage in the city. Originally, he hoped for a surprise attack, but he was discovered by the Chen people, and with such a delay, the time for them to enter the palace was enough for King Chen to escape.

Now, the secret door behind the throne has become Zhang Xun's last hope, maybe he can find King Chen below!

Zhang Xun no longer hesitated, and jumped into the secret door behind the throne, only then did he realize that there was really a secret passage under the throne, the secret passage that was one person high and two people wide was inclined downward, and a light was burning every dozen steps on the narrow wall.

Although the light of the fire was faint and dim, it was enough to indicate the direction, and Zhang Xun walked softly along the secret passage. After walking for a while, the secret passage no longer sloped downward, but became gentle, and Zhang Xun expected that this place was no longer under the high platform, but the exact direction was unknown. He continued to move forward, and suddenly heard a coughing sound at the end of the secret passage, Zhang Xun was ecstatic, as if it was the voice of hope, he drew his saber and ran quickly towards the depths of the secret passage, the sound of footsteps was particularly clear in the dark secret passage.