Chapter 255: Chapter 255: Rebellion 5
Western City, Kyoto Capital Guard Mansion.
Over ten thousand Kyoto Capital Guard officers gathered at the training field, murmuring amongst themselves. The Kyoto Capital Guard banner fluttered fiercely in the wind, the atmosphere oppressive. Xie Zhang and Feng Shu’s wedding had just taken place, and Xie Xun had entrusted all operational matters of the Kyoto Capital Guard to Zhang Boxi. The guards were on duty around the clock, with the streets stretching from the Feng Mansion to the Marquis Mansion under strict lockdown, preventing any onlookers from disrupting the welcoming procession.
After the bridal sedan entered the Marquis Mansion, the Kyoto Capital Guard continued safeguarding the city’s security. A thousand officers rotated shifts, with 6,000 guards deployed daily. On Xie Zhang’s wedding day, the Kyoto Capital Guard went all-in. Both the Feng Mansion and the Marquis Mansion held a three-day-long feast. When Zhang Boxi arranged the night shifts, the Forbidden Army sealed off the streets, ordering the Kyoto Capital Guard to disperse.
Thousands of Forbidden Army soldiers barricaded the streets in Southern City. The Kyoto Capital Guard, consisting mainly of unruly mercenaries who had roamed the Capital City for years, were intimately familiar with the local officials’ gossip, the shifting dynamics of the Imperial City’s defenses, and the Forbidden Army’s operational style. They immediately sensed something significant had occurred and instinctively regrouped at their headquarters.
The Kyoto Capital Guard Mansion was a mere three miles away from the Northern Iron Cavalry Camp. When Xie Xun led the Iron Cavalry toward the Southern City, they passed by the street adjacent to the guard mansion. Zhang Boxi quickly realized that a major upheaval was imminent in Kyoto, dispatching scouts to gather information. Upon learning that the young Marquis had led the Northern Iron Cavalry to the Marquis Mansion, it became clear that trouble had arisen.
As the Iron Cavalry faced off against the Forbidden Army, the Kyoto Capital Guard watched from a distance. Zhang Boxi dispatched people to investigate the six major city gates, only to discover that all gates were occupied by the Forbidden Army and the Jinyi Guard.
The political unrest in Kyoto carried one message: the Marquis Mansion was in peril.
After tonight, the Xie family would either face total annihilation, or... raise an army in rebellion!
Hundreds of thousands of Ningzhou Iron Cavalry soldiers were stationed at the border, loyal only to the Marquis Zhenbei’s command. As long as one of the four Xie family father-and-son members lived, they would become the Iron Cavalry’s new leader, and Ningzhou would surely revolt!
Zhang Boxi’s heart raced madly. He closed the mansion’s gates, gathering all Kyoto Capital Guard officers at the training field to await developments.
The Kyoto Capital Guard was unlike any other faction in the city. Though nominally a patrol force, it had always been undervalued—a troop of unruly militia. After driving out a group of aristocratic scions, Xie Xun replenished the ranks by recruiting able-bodied young men from Western City and Northern City. These later recruits were fiercely loyal to Xie Xun and possessed exceptional vigor and strength.
Following the Capital City’s devastating winter storm, Xie Xun’s prestige cemented deeply within the Kyoto Capital Guard. Everyone obeyed him without question, even Zhang Boxi. Now, as chaos unfolded at the Marquis Mansion, the future of the Kyoto Capital Guard hung in the balance.
Zhang Boxin and Zhou Liyu did not attend the wedding banquet at the Marquis Mansion. Though members of prominent families, their status and position were far below that of the Marquis Mansion. Instead, Zhang Boxin, Zhou Liyu, and Cai Wensen attended the banquet at the Feng Mansion. After Feng Changqing and Su Yuejiao left with their troops, they too arrived at the Kyoto Capital Guard Mansion.
This group of Kyoto Capital Guard officers included nearly 500 members from aristocratic families. Among the nearly ten thousand officers, most were vigorous young men from Kyoto, with those from Northern City accounting for nearly half. Many sons of military families, unwilling to be sent to Ningzhou, were incorporated into the Kyoto Capital Guard. Xie Xun had once saved lives in Northern City, earning the unwavering loyalty of these young men.
What now, then?
"I want to follow the young Marquis!" Amid the crowd, a Kyoto Capital Guard officer uttered hesitantly, his voice light, as if testing the waters or lost in indecision. "Marquis Zhenbei has served the nation loyally all his life on the battlefield; how could he end up like this?"
"Silence! Are you insane? Stop spouting nonsense! This has nothing to do with the Kyoto Capital Guard—don’t go courting death!" an aristocratic officer snapped fiercely. "Do you still care about your family’s lives?"
"My parents are deceased, and my grandmother passed away from illness during the winter storm. It was the young Marquis who sent people to handle her funeral arrangements," another Kyoto Capital Guard member spoke up. "I might not be highly educated, but I understand the principle of repaying kindness tenfold. Moreover, Marquis Zhenbei is a pillar of integrity and a hero of Yanyang; how could he be humiliated, assassinated, and die with his eyes open in anguish?"
"I want to follow the young Marquis too!"
"The Marquis Mansion shouldn’t be reduced to such a plight!"
"All of you are mad! The Forbidden Army and Jinyi Guard have stationed 40,000 soldiers in the Capital City, and the gates have been sealed. How can 5,000 Iron Cavalry officers break through? All your hot-blooded intentions will only lead to death!" Zhang Boxi’s voice rose sharply. "This matter has nothing to do with us—Kyoto Capital Guard. Close the mansion gates and wait for dawn!"
No matter who emerged victorious, the Kyoto Capital Guard would remain neutral, unshaken.
For aristocratic families with far-reaching branches and intertwined roots, following Xie Xun made sense while he was merely the young Marquis of the Marquis Zhenbei Mansion, a principled commander capable of bringing glory to the Kyoto Capital Guard. He offered opportunities for merit and honor, granting them the status to walk proudly in the Capital City, earning the respect of others.
But if the young Marquis rebelled!
Who would dare to follow?
Their families’ intricate connections within the Capital City meant one mishap could threaten their very survival. Rebellion would condemn them to the destruction of nine generations—who would dare stand with the young Marquis now? They could only wait for dawn.