"The rebels have surrounded Funing Palace. Let's go directly to Funing Palace. It's important to save the official family."
After half an hour of ink-writing with the rebel general guarding the door, the door was opened peacefully.
It is not without any benefits. At least it is convenient to obtain information and confirm that Zhao Zongquan is resting in Funing Hall tonight and does not rest with any concubines.
"Zhong Huai, the rebellious party has made a lot of money, so the civil and military officials and their families have entered the city. This will prevent the rebellious party from pushing the officials out during the battle. I will go and rescue the officials."
After entering the imperial city, Sheng Changbai was no longer prepared to stay with King Huan and Gu Tingye.
Under the eyes of the two people, Sheng Changbai thought about any small inconvenience.
It was impossible to shoot Zhao Zongquan in front of two people.
He just used the excuse of saving Baiguan to separate from two people.
I also really went to look for someone. I didn't meet my father-in-law's family along the way. They probably really entered the palace.
"Commander Sun, take some people with you and go with Yushi Sheng to rescue people."
Regardless of the ink marks, Sheng Changbai directly assigned a commanding force to Sheng Changbai.
"Zecheng, rescuing the Guan family is the most important thing. We have to rescue the Guan family first. You can find hundreds of officials here. If there are not enough manpower, just delay. We will send people to help you after we rescue the Guan family."
After a simple explanation, Gu Tingye hurried to You Changqing Gate.
Entering the imperial city from Xuandemen, the first thing you face are the various yamen of the imperial court.
It is still quite far away from Funing Hall, the harem where Zhao Zongquan lived.
Wende Hall, where Zhao Zongquan usually likes to hold court meetings, is already located in the middle of the imperial city. To get there from Xuandemen, you have to walk a short distance.
There is also a Chui Gong Hall separated between Funing Hall and Wende Hall, which is a hall located behind and further behind Wende Hall.
After the large troops who were watching went with King Huan and Gu Tingye, Sheng Changbai prepared to take action:
"Commander Sun, let's go, let's rescue the officials."
The emperor confirmed that he was in the Funing Hall, but the officials still didn't know where they were being controlled.
He needed to find someone first, and running fast was of no use, so Sheng Changbai let Prince Huan and Gu Tingye's men pass first.
Although Baiguan does not have a specific position, there is a general range. Baiguan naturally has a place where Baiguan should stay.
Officials will not go to the harem, and the rebellious party also wants to be the emperor, so they will not violate the palace prohibitions and take people to the harem unnecessarily.
Sheng Changbai also led people to follow Gu Tingye's army, including the Menxia Province, the Zhongshu Province, the Privy Council, the Zhongshu Menxia, and the Bachelor's Academy.
Find these places one by one.
Everywhere you go, you will gain something, and you can rescue a few officials who were on duty in the imperial city at night.
"Father-in-law, the rebels didn't make things difficult for you, did they?"
In the end, it was the Prime Minister's office, under Zhongshu's door, who found the large group of people who had been deceived into the imperial city.
The rebellious party had a good idea and forced Zhao Zongquan to write an imperial edict to pass the throne.
With the support and recognition of hundreds of officials here, the throne can basically be regarded as legitimate.
"Fortunately, they have only controlled our freedom, and no one has come to trouble us yet. Zicheng, why do you have troops in the imperial city?" Hai's father-in-law replied.
In addition to listening to his father-in-law's explanation, Sheng Changbai himself was also observing.
Except for a few of the officials who looked panicked, embarrassed, with bruised noses and swollen faces, most of the officials were in pretty good condition.
The situation was not bad, except for the fact that some stupid young people might have wanted to resist and suffered some severe beatings.
Not many people have been persecuted, and it has not yet reached the stage where the rebellious party forces officials to submit.
"King Huan and Gu Tingye led troops into the city to rescue him. I followed them into the imperial city."
"Prince Huan and Gu Tingye, the two of them?"
When my father-in-law heard about these two people, he was also confused.
One of these two should be in the northwest and the other should be underground. Why did they suddenly appear from Bianliang?
"Things are a bit complicated, and I haven't figured it out yet. They have gone to rescue the officials, and I have to go there too. Father-in-law, you and a few other adults, please stay here to appease the officials. I will leave Commander Sun behind to protect you."
Although Sheng Changbai thought that he understood most of the situation.
But at this time, there was no time to explain.
Although it is important to save hundreds of officials, these can also be regarded as the imperial examination elites of the Zhou Dynasty for decades.
But the most critical thing is Zhao Zongquan. Without a normal leader, saving these people will not be effective.
"Censor Sheng, I (we) will go with you to rescue him."
Among the dozens of people, there were still a few loyal ministers of Zhao Zongquan, or they were optimistic about Zhao Zongquan and wanted to go with Sheng Changbai.
"My lords, you have to stay in the palace to rest. With King Huan and Gu Tingye here, it's not time for you to go into battle to kill the enemy."
Seeing these veterans, all of whom were at least forty years old, and some of whom had hair turning white, Sheng Changbai decisively refused.
There may be some people who just shout slogans and simply sell well for Zhao Zongquan.
It's not easy to expose Sheng Changbai. He is so ignorant that he takes people there.
Leaving Commander Sun behind to protect these officials and their family members, Sheng Changbai became a single-handed man again.
Now that you have more freedom to move, continue to the north of the imperial city.
After passing Chui Gong Hall and arriving outside Funing Hall, you can see that King Huan and Gu Tingye have led troops to break through the gate of Funing Hall.
The counter-insurgents were already fighting with the rebels, and the rebels were still at a clear disadvantage.
Zhao Zongquan has secured his position, and the throne has actually been recognized by the world.
Even if Zhao Zongquan did not perform well, the people all knew that Zhao Zongquan was a legitimate emperor.
It is not that easy to incite too many troops to rebel against Zhao Zongquan.
"Surrender and avoid death; kneel down and avoid killing."
It is actually a little easier for the rebels to level up.
The rebel army was at a disadvantage in terms of numbers and strength, and they did not have the high ground morally.
I saw Gu Tingye again, the original number one military giant.
They were already being killed and retreated steadily. After the counter-rebel forces persuaded them to surrender, their morale was suddenly shattered. Many people knelt down and surrendered.
"Kill me, you rebellious officials and traitors actually dare to attack me. Do you know who I am? I am the uncle of the new emperor."
"Stop it, everyone. Do you know who I am? I am the mother of the new emperor and the future queen mother. How dare you be so presumptuous..."
After kneeling down for a long time, we saw the real leader of this rebellion.
They are a middle-aged general and a middle-aged woman. The man is a deputy commander of the Forbidden Army, and he is also Ma Hui, a high-ranking military official in the Great Zhou Dynasty.
The girl is Zhao Zongquan's beloved concubine Liu Guifei, who has a prince, Liu Qi.
These two are brother-in-law and sister-in-law. Ma Hui is also considered a relative and a member of Zhao Zongquan's Yuzhou gang.
Although Ma Hui is not as good as Gu, Shen, Geng, and Duan, he is in the first echelon of Zhao Zongquan's trust and reuse.
But after all, Ma Hui is also the brother-in-law of Zhao Zongquan's concubine, and the two of them can be considered not serious brothers-in-law.
In a situation where no one could be trusted and no one could be used, Zhao Zongquan regarded his brother-in-law as someone who trusted and valued him quite a lot. Not only did he get promoted to a higher position, but he also allowed his brother-in-law to command a battalion of troops and horses.
It is not surprising at all that it was Zhao Zongquan's brother-in-law and his concubine who joined forces to cause trouble and wanted to drive Zhao Zongquan out of power.
Since Zhao Zongquan was the one who held the military power the hardest, except for Zhao Zongquan's Yuzhou gang, it was not easy for anyone else to mobilize the troops of the first battalion.
Even those old nobles like the British Duke were able to mobilize the Forbidden Army by virtue of their huge prestige in the Forbidden Army.
But after these people rebelled, they could not ascend to the throne, nor could they gain much benefit.
The old Zhao family has been on the throne for decades and has passed through several generations. The rule has been deeply rooted in the hearts of the people. It is not as easy to change dynasties and occupy the magpie's nest as in the troubled times during the Taizu period.
The only people who benefit the most from rebellion and rebellion are the members of the old Zhao family.
It's not surprising that these two people jointly conspired to rebel. What's surprising is that the counter-rebels have already reached the entrance of the palace, and the real master Zhao Zongquan has not come out of the imperial city.
Sheng Changbai was very unhappy and wanted to take advantage of the chaos to see Zhao Zongquan off, but no one even saw him.
Wishful thinking makes a lot of noise, but without seeing the rightful owner, the calculation cannot be made.
What Ma Hui and Liu Guifei said really shocked the soldiers. The soldiers just surrounded the two people and did not dare to take action.
"What kind of new emperor is there? With my father on the throne, how can there be a new emperor, where is my father, my father!" King Huan shouted excitedly, and then ran into the palace.
"Your Majesty, how could you leave us orphans and widows and just go away like this!"
After King Huan opened the palace door, bursts of crying and howling could be heard from inside the palace.
It was noisy with the fighting just now, and the door of the main hall was closed, so you couldn't hear the movement in the hall, but now you can hear it.
"Tie these two up for me."
Hearing the commotion inside, Gu Tingye also had some bad guesses. In anger, he directly ordered the concubines to be tied up, and then followed them into the palace.
Sheng Changbai also rushed to the front, followed Gu Tingye, and entered the palace. Then he saw Zhao Zongquan, who was already cold. It was Empress Shen crying bitterly in front of the emperor's bed.
"Father, I'm late." King Huan looked pained and followed Queen Shen to kneel down in front of Zhao Zongquan's bed.
"Your Majesty, my rescue is late."
When Gu Tingye saw this situation, he knelt down with a sad face.
There were even tears in his eyes. Although Sheng Changbai didn't see it in person, Gu Tingye probably wasn't so sad when Gu Tingyan died.
Zhao Zongquan did not treat Gu Tingye badly, and was much gentler to Gu Tingye than Gu Yankai.
"His Majesty……"
Sheng Changbai could only cry in mourning for Zhao Zongquan.
Since Zhao Zongquan died at the right time, Sheng Changbai was willing to mourn for Zhao Zongquan.
Of course, Sheng Changbai really meant it.
Not only was Sheng Changbai not sad, he also wanted to celebrate with singing and dancing that Hun Jun was finally dead.
Zhao Zongquan walked over without having to do anything himself. This was the best result Sheng Changbai expected.
"Prince Huan expresses his condolences. Now is not the time to be sad. The country of Zhou Dynasty still needs you to inherit it. The empress and the princes and princesses also need your care."
After all, this is the royal family. After the death of the father, there is not much time for people to grieve. The most important thing is the issue of inheritance.
"Mother, why did your father come to Bintian?"
After hearing Sheng Changbai's words, King Huan stopped crying, but he was not in a hurry to inherit. He first asked about the cause of Zhao Zongquan's death.
"It's Ma Hui and Liu. They forced your father to abdicate and pass the throne to Zhao Qi. If your father didn't obey, they humiliated him in every way. Your father was so angry that he relapsed and refused to give him any treatment. Your father's death was caused by the imperial doctor's treatment." After regaining her composure, Empress Shen still couldn't calm down and said while crying.
After all, the two of them can be considered a poor and humble couple, and their relationship is deeper than that of the average emperor and empress.
Queen Shen's explanation can be summed up as saying that the rescue troops arrived too late.
Zhao Zongquan fell into the hands of Ma Hui and Liu Guifei for too long and was tortured to death.
"Bring me Ma Hui and Concubine Liu!"
King Huan shouted with red eyes, basically roaring.
It was also because Zhao Zongquan was not originally the heir to the throne and belonged to an ordinary family.
King Huan, who grew up in such a family, also had great affection for Zhao Zongquan.
It's not colder than the ordinary royal family relationship, it really has a certain father-son relationship.
"They also took away the jade seal and wrote an imperial edict. Fortunately, Your Majesty, you came in time." Empress Shen continued to preach.
"No wonder the two of them were shouting like that outside." Gu Tingye responded.
"Let me go. My son is the emperor. How dare you do this to me? It was the Queen Mother, the Queen Mother who did this. Zhao Zongquan has no virtue and incompetence. He should be abolished and established. The Queen Mother promised to establish him. My son is The emperor’s.”
After Concubine Liu was brought in, she still kept shouting.
To be fair, with the support of the Queen Mother, it is not considered a complete conspiracy by both of them, and it can be considered to have a certain basis.
The attitude of the Queen Mother of the Great Zhou Dynasty was no joke, and she definitely had certain rights to abolish and establish emperors.
Especially when Zhao Zongquan was still a cheap and unfilial adopted son.
But this time is not the time to discuss etiquette.
Now that we are at war with each other, it is time to compete with each other to see who has the bigger fist.
As long as King Huan comes back and Shen, Gu, Geng, and Duan all side with King Huan, then King Huan has the greatest power.
"You are a vicious woman, you have wasted your father's favor on you, how dare you murder him." King Huan angrily scolded his father's concubine.
"It's not that I want to kill him, I just want my son to ascend the throne, otherwise I would do this. At your age, you have been recognized by so many courtiers, how can it be possible for my son to ascend the throne."
King Huan had begun to threaten Zhao Zongquan's status. He was bullying his younger brother by fighting for inheritance rights.
Since he was a legitimate, virtuous and elder brother, his underage brothers had no chance of competing with King Huan.
"The devil is obsessed with the mind, and the desire for profit is clouding the mind."
"Ma Hui, my father trusts you so much. You are just a commoner. My father gave you a title and promoted you to a general. How do you repay my father like this?"
"Shen Congxing is your uncle, and Gu Tingye has made great achievements many times. The two of them are above me in power and position. I have nothing to say. But Geng, Duan and others who were originally guardians of the hospital are all in power and position above me. How could Zhao Zongquan treat me so poorly?"
This unruly brother-in-law had obviously been dissatisfied with Zhao Zongquan for a long time.
With the Queen Mother's promise, when my nephew had the chance to become emperor, he chose to take the chance.
