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It’s not easy to conquer the imperial city.”

"Could it be that the Prime Minister has other plans?"

"Can the 30,000 Shence Army help you?" Xiahou Yuanzhen asked.

Tang Changgeng was startled at first, and then said in surprise: "Master Xiang, could it be...?"

"That's right." Wen Xitai said: "General Tang, if there were no tens of thousands of soldiers and horses from the Shence Army, how would the prime minister invite you here?"

Tang Changgeng said: "Master Prime Minister, it's not that I don't believe it, it's just that Zuo Xuanji will really cooperate with the Wu-Gui army to attack the imperial city?"

"I can assure you that when you take action, the Shence Army will give you a helping hand." Xiahou Yuanzhen said sternly: "The Shence Army plus the Wu-Gui Army are powerful enough to capture the imperial city."

When Tang Changgeng saw Xiahou Yuanzhen's serious expression, he also understood in his heart that this old prime minister had always been cautious in making decisions. If he was not sure, he would not be so confident.

"I can win over the attitude of the hundreds of officials in the court." Xiahou Yuanzhen said: "Many of the civil and military officials in the court are my former disciples. Needless to say, most of the rest are just waiting and watching. These people

Even if you don't support me, you will never dare to support the rebels in the palace." Fu Xu smiled calmly and said: "They are waiting to see which way the wind will turn. As long as our side gains an advantage, they will all turn to us soon."

Wen Xitai said: "General Tang, the incident at the Forbidden Gate has filled the entire court with civil and military indignation. In fact, most people have already made a decision in their hearts, but it's just not easy to reveal it before the time comes."

Tang Changgeng looked at Wen Xitai, then at Xiahou Yuanzhen, lowered his head and thought for a moment, knowing clearly in his heart that when Xiahou Yuanzhen came to find him, he was already preparing to take the final step. Before that, he must have made many arrangements.

What Xiahou Yuanzhen planned was of course a mutiny.

But the purpose of the mutiny was to rescue the saint. Tang Changgeng knew that Xiahou Yuanzhen was in front of him, so he could naturally raise the flag.

Of course, he knew better that if the mutiny failed, Xiahou Yuanzhen would be the first to be unlucky, and the entire Xiahou family would also suffer disaster.

Xiahou Yuanzhen staked the fate of the Xiahou family and gave it a go. Even if he didn't have an absolute chance of winning, he was at least 80-90% sure.

The Xiahou family has been operating in the government and the public for nearly twenty years. Although Princess Sheyue was once there to check and balance, no one doubts the power of the Xiahou family in the court. If Xiahou Yuanzhen really attacks with all his strength, the entire capital may not have any power.

withstand.

Tang Changgeng thought for a moment, no longer hesitated, and knelt on the ground: "I will obey the prime minister's orders!"

"Okay!" Xiahou Yuanzhen stood up, stepped forward to help Tang Changgeng up, and said with a smile: "Changgeng, after this incident, I will be rewarded heavily."

"Master Prime Minister, when will we take action?"

"New Year's Eve!" Xiahou Yuanzhen looked deeply and whispered: "In four days, it will be New Year's Eve. You know, every New Year's Eve, the officials from the Kyoto Prefecture and the Ministry of Justice will patrol every neighborhood.

To ensure the peace of all the houses in Kyoto." He raised his finger and pointed at Wen Xitai, "One more thing, I will teach you today that Xitai is the grand master of the Taiping Association in Kyoto!"

Tang Changgeng nodded, as if he was not surprised.

He is in charge of the Nine Gates Security Bureau in Kyoto, and the defense of the capital is under his control. The two major gangs in Kyoto, Tsing Yi Tang and Taiping Hui, have been fighting for many years under his nose. If he doesn’t even know who the backers of these two forces are, this martial arts

-General Wei’s work was all in vain.

"On New Year's Eve, the brothers of the Taiping Society were all over Kyoto." Wen Xitai said solemnly: "As long as they are there, there will be no chaos in the houses. If there is a problem in some places, they will cooperate with the night patrol.

The police officer stabilized the situation."

The Taiping Society, like the Tsing Yi Hall, are local gangsters in the capital. People have always been afraid of these two gangs. As long as the Taiping Society's gang members are stationed in every village, ordinary people really don't dare to cause trouble.

Tang Changgeng knew that Taiping would do this to ensure that the Wu-Gui army would have no worries.

After all, the Wu-Gui Army is responsible for maintaining public security in Kyoto. If all troops and horses are mobilized, the security forces of various districts in Kyoto will inevitably be weakened.

As New Year's Eve approaches, every household in Kyoto has pasted couplets and hung up lanterns.

Although the corpse hanging at the head of the imperial city once surprised the people, the calm after that made people think that it was just a special accident. After several days of discussion in teahouses and restaurants, this topic was gradually replaced by other new topics.

People always like to talk about new things, and previous topics can always be replaced by new things, making people gradually forget them.

On New Year's Eve, everyone wants to bid farewell to the old and welcome the new. The Shence Army stationed at the foot of Guyun Mountain in the western suburbs of Kyoto also wants to celebrate New Year's Eve.

Just like every year, the imperial court will send people to bring a large amount of wine and meat. Except for the soldiers on duty who cannot drink, all other officers and soldiers can receive wine and meat. Drink in moderation, but big fish and meat will make you full.

Under the rolling Guyun Mountains, the Shence Military Camp is also the checkout company camp.

The military camp is not as bright as the lights and colorful decorations in Kyoto City, but it is still very lively.

Zuo Xuanji, the general of the Shence Army, was very good at training his troops. He would train his troops strictly throughout the year and abstain from alcohol in the army. Except for a few special days in the year, the officers and soldiers had to abstain from drinking, otherwise they would be severely punished.

Therefore, the only time the officers and soldiers can really have a good meal is on New Year's Eve.

The large tent of the Chinese army was not only spacious, but also warm as spring because of several stoves.

There was a large long table in the tent, filled with wine and meat. Surrounding the long table, there were more than thirty people sitting, all in one tent.

Sitting in the middle at the top was none other than Zuo Xuanji, the general of the Shence Army.

On New Year's Eve, all the generals gathered together to eat meat and drink wine. This became Zuo Xuanji's unchanging habit for many years after he took office.

Almost all the above-mentioned generals in the Shence Army, including the captain, gathered here.

In addition to the generals in charge of night patrol tonight, headed by the general of Shence Army, three deputy generals, eight lieutenant generals and about twenty famous lieutenants, according to their status, sat around the long table, laughing and chatting, it was so lively

.

Zuo Xuanji was a eunuch, fair-faced and beardless, over fifty years old. He was not wearing armor tonight, but was dressed in casual clothes, looking quite elegant.

After the saint ascended the throne, the generals of the Shence Army were always served by eunuchs.

For the arrogant generals of the Shence Army, having a eunuch riding on their head was certainly an unacceptable thing.

Therefore, at the beginning, several generals who came from the palace could not convince the officers and soldiers of Shence, and they could not enforce the orders and prohibitions at all. For this reason, the Shence army was in a state of chaos for a time.

It wasn't until Zuo Xuanji took office that the situation began to improve. The reason why Zuo Xuanji was able to convince the public was actually very simple. Compared with the previous terms, he had served as a supervisor in four towns in the north, and he had served as a supervisor when Tusun's 100,000-strong army marched south. At that time, he personally went into battle to kill the enemy. Although most of the Tang army's troops were defeated and retreated, Zuo Xuanji led a few troops to win several battles and boosted their morale.

Although Zuo Xuanji looks handsome, he is brave and good at fighting on the battlefield. He has served as a military supervisor for many years, is familiar with the art of war, and understands military affairs.

Such a person, compared with most of the supervisors and even generals who came from the palace, is naturally outstanding.

The most important thing for the officers and soldiers of the Tang Army was their military exploits. Zuo Xuanji's military exploits against the Tusun people were enough to earn him the respect of most officers and soldiers in the Shence Army.

Moreover, Zuo Xuanji is good at controlling people. From now on, the entire Shence Army will naturally obey Zuo Xuanji's orders.

It's just that in order to better control the Shence Army, the palace tacitly agreed with Zuo Xuanji and placed many eunuchs into the army as generals. As a result, the Shence Army naturally gave birth to two major factions. One faction was naturally a military faction with military background, and the other was a military faction. One faction is the eunuch faction who came from the palace.

Although the two sides are not fighting to the death, they are fighting openly and secretly to check and balance each other. However, because of this, the Shence Army has maintained a delicate balance, and the situation is extremely stable.

On the wine table, people were drinking and drinking.

At the New Year's Eve banquet, there were naturally much less restrictions. Many generals were giving orders using guessing skills, and the atmosphere was really lively.

Only when Zuo Xuanji raised his hand and the generals saw it, did the voice gradually calm down. Then they saw Zuo Xuanji staring straight at the tent door. Everyone couldn't help but follow Zuo Xuanji's gaze, but they saw something unknown at the tent door. When did a few more figures appear?

The first person was tall and tall, wearing brown armor, and behind him were several attendants with swords. Just looking at the attire of those attendants, it was clear that they were not members of the Shence Army.

After a period of silence, the lieutenant general Qiao Ruixin stood up first, stared at the visitor, and shouted in a deep voice: "You are so bold, who are you, how dare you break into the big tent without permission?"

Qiao Ruixin was born in the palace and was promoted by Zuo Xuanji to become the lieutenant general of the Shence Army. She can be regarded as Zuo Xuanji's confidant.

During the Jiangnan Incident, Zuo Xuanji sent Qiao Ruixin as the general of the vanguard battalion to follow Xia Houning to Hangzhou. He originally wanted to take advantage of the situation and seek huge benefits for the Shence Army, but in the end he was forced by Qin Xiao to withdraw from Hangzhou and failed. Return.

The visitor took two steps forward, bowed his hands to Zuo Xuanji, and said respectfully: "Wen Xitai, the commander of the guards of the Prime Minister's Mansion, comes to see General Zuo!"

Qiao Ruixin was startled, and her originally cold expression suddenly softened.

Since the other party is from the prime minister's house, he is not considered an enemy.

At least during the Jiangnan Rebellion, the Prime Minister was very close to the Shence Army. Zuo Xuanji even directly dispatched a team of soldiers led by Xia Houning to quell the chaos in Jiangnan. This incident alone showed that the two sides were not friends.

, and are definitely not enemies.

Moreover, the Prime Minister of the Tang Dynasty was the chief and assistant minister who was under one person and outnumbered by ten thousand people. The so-called third-rank official in front of the Prime Minister's door. Since the person who came was the commander of the bodyguard of the Prime Minister's Mansion, he was certainly not an ordinary person and would not be easily offended.

Zuo Xuanji was calm and composed, showing a faint smile and said: "It turns out to be Commander Wen. Tonight is New Year's Eve, and every family is getting together for New Year's Eve dinner. Commander Wen did not reunite with his family, but came to the Shence Army. What advice can you give me?"

Most of the generals present also looked at a loss, thinking that the commander of the bodyguards of the Prime Minister's Mansion suddenly came. And at this time, of course, they would go to the Three Treasures Hall for nothing, but they didn't know that the Prime Minister sent his commanders of the bodyguards to come to Shence.
Chapter completed!