Yang Fan and Tu Shanyue dismounted from their horses and stood behind Wang Chengen. Zhang Zhiji also dismounted.
Wang Chengen opened the imperial edict solemnly: "The imperial guard Zhang Shize accepted the edict."
When Zhang Shize saw Wang Chengen and his father coming, he quickly stepped forward and knelt down to receive the order.
"Yang Fan, a member of Qianhu Jinyiwei, led the Xinghe Regiment newly admitted to Jinyiwei to train troops and take over the four gates of the imperial city. Together with Zhang Shize, the head guard, he is responsible for guarding the imperial city. Zhang Zhiji is stationed at Zhengyang Gate to supervise the troops in the inner and outer city. I admire this."
"Your Majesty Zhang Shize accepts the order"
"Haha, officer in charge of the bodyguard, you should arrange the defense of the four gates with Mr. Yang now. I will also take Mr. Yang into the palace to face the saint."
"Yes, I will write an order immediately and take it with me to take over the other three gates." Zhang Shize then arranged for someone to take him to the other three gates to convey the order.
Yang Fan said to Huang San: "You stay here with a hundred people to meet the large army led by Zhang Geda. As soon as the large army arrives, it will take over the entire imperial city."
Yang Fan turned around and asked Wang Chengen: "My lord, in which direction is the greatest threat?"
Wang Chengen said: "The capital camps inside and outside the city are under the control of the nobles, so nothing will happen. The main threat comes from the twenty-four yamen, especially the Royal Horse Supervisor. The Wei thieves have an internal military force stationed in the west of the inner city.
Jishuitan in North Point.”
Yang Fan asked: "How many people are there?"
"Twelve thousand people."
Yang Fan knew that Nei Cao was an army of eunuchs, a weird thing created by Wanli.
At first, after the imperial attack occurred, Wanli was frightened.
A mentally ill patient could actually start at home and brandish a jujube stick, and go all the way to the imperial city, the Forbidden City, and finally the East Palace and the prince's bedroom, where he beat the prince with the stick.
This is a collective warning from the civil servants to the emperor. Today a mentally ill man can come to the palace and beat the prince, but tomorrow a madman will come to the Qianqing Palace and beat you.
Wanli didn't want to fall into the water like Wu Zong, so he was desperate to find an army that he could fully control to defend himself. So the internal eunuch army was born.
But this army, which the emperor trusted most, failed to protect the emperor.
Taichang was inexplicably killed by Hongwan within a month. Apocalypse fell into the water inexplicably again and followed Wuzong's old path.
"How is their equipment?" Yang Fan asked the question he was most concerned about.
"Half of the people wear armor, mainly chainmail. They are mainly equipped with waist knives and crossbows."
"Aren't there any firearms?" Yang Fan asked.
"There are three thousand bird cannons, but they are rarely used. They are all made by the Ministry of Industry and can explode powerfully."
"Is there any artillery?"
"The Xiao Fo Lang machine has ten doors, a range of three hundred steps, and nothing else."
Yang Fan was relieved. This kind of small cannon was useless against the strong walls of the imperial city. Yang Fan gave the order to Huang San and asked him to give it to Zhang Geda.
Then Wang Chengen took Yang Fan and Tu Shanyue and the veterans of the Three Hundred Regiment and went straight to Donghua Gate.
The east gate of the Imperial City, Dong'an Gate, and the east gate of the Forbidden City, Donghua Gate, are in a straight line. This road is only 400 meters long. Standing at Donghua Gate, you can see Dong'an Gate clearly.
At this time, in the Qianqing Palace, the young emperor was walking back and forth, feeling restless.
We have just received the news that Wei Wei ordered the nine gates to be under martial law and strictly ordered soldiers and civilians not to enter or exit. Based on the messages that King Chengen kept sending, this time was exactly the time to arrive at Chaoyang Gate.
Chongzhen understood that the news was still leaked. There were many spies from Jinyiwei and Dongchang in Beijing and Tianjin, and Wei Wei had infiltrated these two departments like a sieve, making it really difficult to guard against them.
I don't know if Wang Cheng'en and the others can enter the city. If Wei Wei takes the risk, it won't take much time for the 12,000 soldiers from Jishuitan to rush over.
Feeling uneasy, he panicked a little at this time. The bet this time was a bit big, but he still took the plunge.
The front three palaces and the back three palaces are loose on the outside and tight on the inside to strengthen the defense.
At this time, a young eunuch ran in and said loudly: "Your Majesty, Wang Gonggong has taken Yang Fan to Donghua Gate."
Chongzhen was filled with ecstasy and clenched his fist fiercely.
Done!
Chongzhen immediately thought that he could not lose his composure.
The joy flashed across his face. A king should not show joy or anger on his face. He calmed down his emotions and said slowly: "King Xuan Cheng'en led thousands of households in royal robes and guards, Yang Fanqian, to come to Qingmen for an audience."
Yang Fan asked Mo Zhuo to wait outside Donghua Gate with three hundred cavalry. He and Tu Shanyue followed Wang Chengen into the Forbidden City.
Tu Shanyue found that Yang Fan didn't seem to be entering the Forbidden City for the first time. Yang Fan was not nervous or surprised at all. He looked very interested.
Tu Shanyue herself couldn't get enough of the sight along the way. Especially when she entered the Huangji Palace (Taihe Palace) square, she was stunned by the majestic main hall.
Yang Fan smiled narrowly, which earned Xiao Niangpi a good look. Xiao Niangpi knew that Yang Fan was laughing at him for being a country bumpkin who had never seen the world. She stepped on his foot again angrily.
Yang Fan and others passed by the Huangji Hall. They were not qualified to go to Danbi or above.
Yang Fan discovered that this Huangji Hall was very different from the later Taihe Hall, and they should not be the same building.
This Huangji Hall is a whole circle larger than the Hall of Supreme Harmony, and can encompass the entire Hall of Supreme Harmony. It seems that after Li Zicheng burned down the Forbidden City, the Qing Dynasty rebuilt a smaller version. After that, it should be the location of the Hall of Preservation of Harmony in later generations. , there is a small platform.
This is a famous place, and this is the famous platform to summon the right people.
It turns out that this is the platform, where Yuandudu deceived the emperor for five years.
After leaving the first three halls, he saw a crowded figure standing at the Qianqing Gate from a distance. Yang Fan knew that it was the protagonist he was going to meet today, His Majesty the Emperor Zhu Youjian of the Ming Dynasty.
After entering the Qianqing Gate, Wang Chengen took Yang Fan to salute the emperor.
The emperor looked very happy, took Wang Chengen's hand and said, "My eldest companion, please get back on your feet. You have done a good job. I will reward you heavily."
Wang Chengen cried and said: "I don't want a reward. I just want to be by your side every day. This is the greatest reward for me."
"Okay, okay, I know your loyalty. Get up quickly."
Wang Chengen then stood up and stood behind the emperor.
The emperor looked at Tu Shanyue and said with a smile: "Bing Chan, get up too. You and I are also old friends, so we don't need to be polite. I haven't seen you for more than half a year since we parted ways during the Mid-Autumn Festival last year, and the queen was still talking about you to me two days ago.
You can also go see the Queen later."
The little girl responded obediently: "Yes, Your Majesty."
Yang Fan learned for the first time today that Xiao Niangpi actually has a word, the word "ice toad". It sounds pretty good. The ancients usually chose words related to their names. This ice toad is one of the beautiful names of the moon.
It turns out that the emperor's family and Xiao Niangpi know each other, and they seem to be quite familiar with each other. No wonder they trust their regiment so much, just because they are Tu Shanyue's subordinates.
"This is Yang Fan Qianhu, right?" The emperor turned his eyes to Yang Fan. The emperor looked at Yang Fan with a strange look, and then looked at Xiao Niangpi, which seemed a little narrow.
The little girl blushed.
Yang Fan felt that the emperor seemed to know about his affair with his little girl.
