Huang Lao's words inexplicably made people's hearts palpitate. They always thought that this assassination was extremely dangerous and that if there was any accident, all their efforts would be wasted. But if they don't seize this opportunity, what's the use of studying hard for ten years?
The mother and children at home were crying for food, and the wife was resentful every day, and she was tormented every day about going to court. His Majesty's move was really heart-breaking. When they were already in panic, they suddenly heard that Huang Laoliu had
After saying this, I felt inexplicably excited.
"What does Mr. Huang mean?" The official thought for a moment, seemed to have thought of something, but shook his head again, and finally wanted to confirm.
"I have an inside job."
Internal response!
As expected of Mr. Huang, I heard that His Majesty has spent a lot of effort on the entourage these days, selecting people, checking people, and giving large sums of money, so that this team can be loyal to His Majesty. Such a strict screening has also been rejected.
Mr. Huang took advantage of the opportunity.
Sure enough, ginger is still old and spicy. If they were talking about it, they would definitely not have thought of arranging such a tactic.
"Huang Laoyingming."
At this time, the official's mind gradually calmed down, and he suddenly felt a sense of respect for Mr. Huang's inner thoughts.
"Whether the assassination can be successful this time actually depends on this person. Although he is serving His Majesty, if he does it, others will never suspect it."
…
The southbound team walked slowly and orderly towards Dongzhimen. Zhu Ling was riding on his royal horse Ji Liangchen, looking ahead, with a sword hanging on his waist. Behind him were Wang Guoxing, Gao Wencai and Wang Chengen.
Some of the Imperial Guards from the front also rode forward. Although this mighty team was not as grand as when the emperor went on patrol, its momentum was still not inferior to theirs.
This trip must be done in secret, but it is unrealistic to say that it is a secret departure. If you don't bring too many escorts, you will be asking for death if you encounter a thief; but if you take too many, it will inevitably attract attention.
Although there are only a few people in the harem, there are dozens of people including the accompanying eunuchs and maids. In addition, there are hundreds of accompanying officials and their families. Eight hundred royal guards are indispensable. This southbound team already has thousands of people.
scale.
Such a high-profile team will definitely attract attention whenever they leave the city, which is what gives Zhu Ling the most headache. But fortunately, with the elite escort of Guan Ningjun, he feels a little calmer.
"Go and call Wang Jiayan, Ni Yuanlu and Wu Linzheng."
Naturally, Gao Wencai was the one to do it at this time. He immediately rode back and soon called the three ministers of the cabinet over.
"You all, ride your horses and come to me. I have a few words to discuss with you."
After hearing this, Wang Chengen and Wang Guoxia naturally stepped back and made room for the three adults.
"Wang Qing, do you know how many people there are in Shandong in the Ming Dynasty? How many people are there in Tianjin?" Zhu Ling was most concerned about the situation in Tianjin and Shandong Province at the moment. Although he had a slight guess that Liu Zeqing still held on to Shandong, and Tianjin did not
It has not fallen, but it would be good to gather more troops.
Wang Jiayan suddenly felt guilty and did not dare to answer, perhaps because he was unsure. Ni Yuanlu and Wu Linzheng beside him seemed extremely calm. After all, this had nothing to do with them.
But he finally said: "Reporting to your Majesty, the Tianjin Prefecture has been providing food, grass, water transportation, and even some soldiers for the Liaodong War in the past few years to fight against the slaves. After so many years, I understand that the number of soldiers stationed there is only a few thousand.
And the number of soldiers stationed in Shandong Province is probably less than 100,000."
"The Ministry of War is a good family. Most of the Ming Dynasty's annual fiscal and tax revenue goes to the Ministry of War. In the end, there was a shortage of soldiers and a lack of military equipment. I really don't know if it is a human problem or other problems."
Wu Linzheng on the side immediately became sarcastic after hearing this. Although he was a little dissatisfied, he was still filled with resentment and hatred for those corrupt officials.
"Sir Wu, what you said is really good. People say that if you are not a member of the family, you will not know how expensive firewood, rice, oil and salt are. In those years, Mr. Wu was only in charge of etiquette and other matters. What's the matter? He became very familiar with the affairs of the Ministry of War within a few days after joining the cabinet?"
Wang Jiayan had a lot of fear in his heart, fearing that His Majesty would blame him as the Minister of the Ministry of War. But he didn't expect that before His Majesty spoke, you, a former young minister of Taichang Temple, dared to speak? Didn't you just become the Minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs?
It’s not your turn to take the position of Chief Minister of the Cabinet! Do you really think you are the head of officials? Ridiculous!
"Okay, we're all heading south, there's nothing to argue about!"
As soon as these people met, they would fight with each other. If this was not the imperial court, Zhu Ling really wanted to organize a competition for fear of losing the court's face, so that these people who argued endlessly every day would fight.
Upon hearing His Majesty's scolding, the two of them immediately stopped talking. On the other hand, Ni Yuanlu's expression remained unchanged and she still sat on the horse calmly.
"You are all important ministers of the Ming Dynasty and bachelors in the cabinet. What's the use of arguing every day? Does it show that you literati like to argue? If you don't have time to argue, why don't you think about it carefully for me, and see Chuang when you leave the city?
How about a thief?"
Since His Majesty has already mentioned this, several of them could not continue. They each thought about ways to deal with the enemy, but this was not something they could just think of. After thinking about it for a while, they all thought about it.
His brows were furrowed.
I glanced back and saw how uncomfortable they were, so I stopped forcing them.
"I have a way."
…
While Zhu Ling and the others were discussing important matters, a young eunuch was walking with his head lowered. He suddenly raised his head and looked around, as if he was waiting for something. His hands were folded in his long sleeves and he was sweating a lot.
When the team walked around a corner, the huge team was obviously no longer close, but a little loose. But at this moment, the Jin Yiwei in front of Zhu Ling opened a slight distance from him. Although it was not much, it was almost
The only time such a long distance.
Some assassins who were ambushing in the surrounding houses also noticed this immediately. They knew that they could not wait any longer. They were about to arrive at Dongzhimen, where a large number of troops gathered. If it were any later, there would be no chance of winning.
The leading assassin slowly pulled out the long knife, took out a handkerchief and wiped the blade. Some kind of medicine was immediately attached to it. He stared at Zhu Ling who was riding a horse, and was extremely happy in his heart. They really didn't expect that the emperor would be like this.
Are you brave enough to ride a horse instead of a chariot?
This also greatly made it easier for them to carry out assassinations.
"Brothers, get ready!"
He stood up slowly, and the tip of the knife showed its sharp edge under the moonlight. At that moment, he immediately jumped down and said, "Kill the Dog Emperor!"
As soon as he moved, dozens of assassins around him killed him from different directions at the same time.
At that moment, Wang Guoxing and Gao Wencai also felt chills on their backs. Their eyes moved and they almost immediately noticed the assassin who had ducked down. They were frightened, pulled out their swords, and shouted: "There is an assassin! Protect Your Majesty!"
As soon as the words came out, the team stopped instantly. As the assassins flew down, they took out their crossbows and shot some of the imperial guards who were guarding Zhu Ling on the spot. Then everyone rushed towards Zhu Ling's place without hesitation.
place.
At the same time, the Jin Yiwei on both sides immediately drew out their long swords and fought with the assassins. However, due to the sudden attack, it was dark at the moment and they could not see people clearly. The frustrated Jin Yiwei had no choice but to wave their long swords and quickly kill His Majesty and the assassin.
Three adults were guarding the center.
When the assassins saw that these imperial guards did not fight with them, but instead protected the emperor, they all tried desperately to kill them again. However, Wang Guoxing and Gao Wencai immediately joined the battlefield.
And these assassins were just domestic servants with some martial arts skills on weekdays. When they confronted real masters, they immediately fell into decline, and several assassins were killed on the spot one after another.
The Jin Yiwei in front and behind heard the movement and rushed over immediately. A large number of teams gradually surrounded the place, and some smart people lit torches to provide light for the fighting adults.
Zhu Ling was immediately protected by Wu Linzheng behind him. Seeing Wu Linzheng's eagerness to protect his master, Wang Jiayan seemed not to be outdone and also rode his horse to surround Zhu Ling behind him.
"Your Majesty, this is sudden, please hide behind you!"
In fact, Zhu Ling only panicked for a moment, but when he saw that Wang Guoxing and Gao Wencai had dismounted to intercept them, and the surrounding Jinyi guards immediately surrounded them, he was not so afraid.
At one point, he even wanted to pull out his sword and kill the assassin, but Wu Linzheng and Wang Jiayan defended him tightly, but they seemed to be restrained.
The assassins gradually became unable to withstand the encircling Jinyi guards. In a matter of seconds, only a dozen of them were left, and almost thirty of them were killed! Despite such a disastrous defeat, the assassin leader still insisted on killing in the direction of Zhu Ling.
, but was directly stopped by Wang Guoxing.
Seeing that this man's martial arts skills were different from those of the assassins, and that he hardly lost points when fighting against him, Wang Guoxing became interested and confronted him personally: "Assassination of your majesty and the execution of nine tribes! Do you know?"
He didn't reply, even if he was going to die, he still persisted. Because he knew that they were facing the Jin Yiwei, and failure was doomed. But on the other hand, their real purpose today was not to assassinate. Without any hope, the real
The purpose is to delay time!
[Author's digression]: In fact, the last chapter is not a pause, nor is it procrastination. It is specifically to stop the climax today, and also to give this month a good start!