The pavilions and inns on both sides of the river are decorated with rows of white lanterns.
The lights and moonlight interweave, adding to the desolation and solemnity.
The emperor passed away, and the entire Qianyuan Dynasty was in mourning for the emperor.
This is a "national mourning" and is an orthodox procedure.
The emperor has not yet been buried, but there are already storms and disputes in the city of God.
As night falls, there is a curfew in Shendu, and all entertainment venues are closed.
The people all stayed at home and were not allowed to come in or out at will.
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Divine Capital City, General's Mansion.
General Yang Ming returned from the palace wearing mourning clothes.
The servants in the mansion immediately came forward to lead the master's horse to catch the wind.
"Everyone is here?"
Yang Ming was wearing a heavy cloak.
Winter is still here, the temperature in Shendu City is not high, and it snowed a few days ago.
The snow has just melted and the ground is a little wet.
He walked quickly through the pavilions.
Among the snowy trees, gray-white buildings stand silently.
Gray walls, red tiles, bluestone paving, and deep winding paths.
"Squeak——"
He pushed open a courtyard door. In the courtyard house, several people were sitting around a brazier making wine. When they saw Yang Ming arriving, they all stood up to greet him.
"General!"
"General..."
All of them have the air of being in high positions.
Yang Ming stretched out his hand and motioned for everyone to sit down.
Someone immediately brought a chair, and he took off his black velvet cloak. After the waiter hung up the cloak, he exited the room and closed the door.
The master is about to start talking about something, and he doesn't like his servants to listen. They still have some sense.
As the servant exited the house, everything inside and outside the house seemed quiet.
Only the fire in the brazier was left burning, making some "crackling" sounds from time to time.
"In three days, there will be a big burial."
In addition to him, there were six other people in Yang Ming's house, all of whom were important officials of the imperial court and were very close to Yang Ming.
Some of them have always worn a pair of pants, while others have recently rejoined Yang Ming's camp.
At the court today, the camp of hundreds of officials, headed by General Yang Ming, was in a confrontational situation with the group of internal servants, headed by the eunuch Wang Xian.
"These castrates are really abominable. Before the burial, there must be some kind of memorial ceremony."
"Now that the late emperor has passed away, it is really chilling that the eunuchs want to get their hands on the golden staff."
At the time of the burial, officials of the ninth rank and above, princes and below, princes, concubines, princesses, and people from various departments of the imperial court need to go to the main hall to pay homage to the late emperor's appearance and perform the ceremony of placing the emperor into the coffin.
After the burial ceremony, the late emperor’s coffin needs to be kept for a period of time.
Next to Yang Ming, Guo Shengxiong, the Minister of War, is the second-ranking figure in the group.
He shook his head and sighed: "Since ancient times, we have established the elders instead of the young. Today, the eunuchs are so arrogant that they insist on doing the opposite. This is called not following common sense and disregarding the laws of the country."
"The eunuchs attempt to control the throne and are despised by everyone in the world. We must not sit back and watch the eunuchs abandon their elders and establish their young!"
All the important officials below were very angry.
In the eyes of everyone, the eunuch is nothing. He used to be nothing more than a dog beside the emperor.
Relying on the emperor's favor, he became arrogant, committed evil acts, and became the king and hegemon in the divine capital city.
Now that the emperor is gone, the eunuchs still want to maintain their favored status and begin to compete with ministers for power.
Deep down in the hearts of many ministers, they still despise the eunuchs.
There is a sense of complete superiority.
Damn it, you don’t even have chickens, how dare you challenge them?
It's similar to this mentality.
Yang Ming shook his head and sighed, putting his hand on the edge of the brazier to keep warm.
"You guys, please keep your mind at ease."
"Everyone inside and outside the government is watching the matter of eunuchs. Smart people know how to take sides."
"Whether it is a eldest child or a child, it is not up to these eunuchs to decide."
"So what if there is some military power from the Forbidden Army and the Third Division? How many people in this army are loyal to the eunuchs?"
Yang Ming first gave the people below him a reassurance.
The struggle has not yet fully begun, but when the storm is about to come, it is when people's hearts are unstable.
As the leader of the group, Yang Ming's first priority is to stabilize people's hearts.
Guo Shengxiong laughed loudly and said: "The general is right, it is true."
"The Eunuch Party insists on setting up young men. This is a disgraceful act. There are only a handful of generals in the government and the public who are devoted to the Eunuch Party."
There are still some people who are relatively close to the Eunuch Party, but most people will not get close to the Eunuch Party.
In fact, Yang Ming's identity is not good, and he has a little bit of the glory of a foreign relative.
But Yang Ming himself is a general. He has been operating in this position for many years and has many disciples. In the divine capital, the Yang family has completely become a famous family.
Comparing the two, the people on Yang Ming's side are more righteous.
Yang Ming set his sights on Qin Hu and asked in a deep voice: "Ahu, have all the Forbidden Army officers who were transferred from abroad been recalled?"
The Forbidden Army has an army of 300,000, and the Eighth School Lieutenant is well-known. However, in the past few years, there have been many wars, and the army under the Eighth School Lieutenant has also been fighting abroad.
For example, the Changshui Xiaowei Camp where Cao Su was located was divided into several parts due to the Xizhou Rebellion.
Cao Su's replacement of Feng Yuchan as the de facto leader of the Forbidden Army in Xizhou has already attracted the attention of several central ministers.
"The generals have been notified to return to the capital of the gods."
"Pingxi General Cao Su has raised his troops and returned, but he is too far away. Although he has elite cavalry under his command, it will not be until February at least before he reaches the divine capital."
Cao Su's name is well known to everyone.
In addition to Cao Su's outstanding activity on the Xizhou battlefield, the late emperor's poem is also impressive.
Everyone raised their heads unconsciously.
There happened to be a word hanging on the wall of the meeting hall.
Those were the words written by the late emperor to everyone, and they were listed by Yang Ming and placed here.
"The Xia Ming Sword is bowed and shining on the frost, and the horse is riding out of Huaiyang in the autumn wind."
"Until the emperor takes over the land of Hehuang, he has no intention of looking back at his hometown."
Loyal minister!
Everyone admired slightly, but they didn't know who they were talking about as a loyal minister.
"The elites under Cao Su's command are as good as ten. The more than 20,000 cavalry are not comparable to the ordinary Forbidden Army. They are also among the elite among the Forbidden Army."
Qin Hu briefly introduced Cao Su, although Cao Su was not under his control now.
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! However, Cao Su had a close relationship with him, so Qin Hu spent a lot of effort to recruit Cao Su into the capital of the gods.
"Cao Su's army is not in a hurry. The arrival of his 20,000 cavalry in the capital can only slightly change the situation, but it will not have much effect."
"Our main focus must still be on the current Forbidden Army and Yulin Army."
"The Forbidden Army is better. It can at least win over half of the captains, but the Yulin Army..."
As everyone talked, they also felt that it was a bit tricky.
The attitude of the Yulin army guarding the imperial palace is unclear, and they seem to be more inclined towards the eunuchs.
"Also, it's hard to tell Yuan Zong now..."
Qin Hu's face became a little stiff when he talked about Yuan Zong.
Yuan Zong was very surprised before that there were only a few remnants of the Wanping Army left, but he couldn't get rid of them no matter what.
Now, the emperor has passed away, and Yuan Zong happens to have a hundred thousand elite iron troops in his hands. He has become the most powerful person in this troubled world, and has become the object of everyone's attention and struggle.
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Divine Capital City, Imperial Palace.
In a side hall, Wang Xian, the eunuch in charge of etiquette, summoned many internal servants to discuss matters.
Now in the entire palace, the servants obey Wang Xian's instructions.
Some of the Yulin Army were also completely controlled by Wang Xian.
Wang Xian took control of the palace, and many of the former emperor's concubines, princes and daughters became in Wang Xian's hands.
It is said that the emperor is held hostage to control the princes. When the late emperor died, it is the same as holding the family of the late emperor hostage.
In the eyes of everyone, now that the late emperor has passed away, the first thing they want to hear are the many concubines.
Among these concubines, one was named "Concubine Yu".
Concubine Yu was the most favored concubine by the emperor after Empress Yang. Although she never gave birth to a son, she had a distinguished status and regarded herself as a queen, and she had the support of many eunuchs.
The eunuchs intended to honor Concubine Yu as the Queen Mother first, so that they could better control the name and issue orders.
Wang Xian is in his fifties, with a pale face and a gloomy appearance.
He sat in the main seat of the side hall and asked in a deep voice: "How is the matter of liaison with the foreign general being handled?"
Liaison with foreign generals was one of Wang Xian's greatest concerns.
Wang Xian was also smart and knew that after the death of the late emperor, apart from grasping the "great righteousness", it was necessary to have sufficient military power to protect him. Therefore, the Eighth School Lieutenant and the Yulin Army were also the targets of Wang Xian's struggle.
However, as Yang Ming said, things did not go smoothly.
All the eunuchs were trembling, but no one answered.
Wang Xian frowned and said, "What? In an empire as big as ours in Qianyuan, we can't even find a few truly loyal ministers?"
Wang Xian was a little dissatisfied. He had gradually gained power in the palace, and the Yulin Army had won a small share.
The Yulin Army is equivalent to the emperor's personal soldiers, and is the wealth directly left to the concubines, princes and daughters.
These soldiers were loyal to the emperor, and some even chose to be buried as martyrs after the emperor's death.
Wang Xian had already paid a huge price to win over half of the people.
Only the Yulin Army can only control the palace. If the imperial army cannot win over it, it will have to look at Yang Ming in the future.
Now that Wang Xian's ambitions were growing, he didn't want to let Yang Ming control the situation at all, so he sent many internal servants to contact foreign generals, win over those who wanted to surrender, and lured them with fame and fortune, and in turn gained more military power.
One of the eunuchs suddenly spoke.
This is the Huangmen servant in front of the palace, and his position is not low.
Xiao Huangmen opened his mouth and said hesitantly: "Father, I know a general of the Forbidden Army. He is young, loyal to the late emperor, brave in battle, and has many elite men under his command. It seems that I can win over him."