The mother died, but the son didn't even move. It was a blessing to die at this time.
Since the death of the empress and the eldest prince, the empress dowager's health has deteriorated day by day. When the princess got married and married in Mongolia, the empress dowager was already seriously ill and unconscious. These days, she has been hanging on herself with ginseng.
It’s not easy to survive until today.
The mother who gave birth to and raised him was destroyed at the same time as the dynasty he created. You can imagine the impact on Zhang Shicheng's heart. He stood up and whispered: "Come on, I'm going to the Great Bao'en Temple."
The eunuch replied: "Your Majesty, there is no peace outside the city..."
Only then did the emperor want to go. Now the territory he could control was limited to the capital. Beyond the city walls was the territory of the Han army. Going out for a walk became a luxury.
Got it, please step back." The emperor stood up unsteadily and walked towards the harem. As soon as he left the Fengtian Palace, the dazzling sunlight shone on his face. The silver on the emperor's temples was particularly dazzling. In just a few days,
By this time, the emperor had turned gray.
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The Han army has not yet attacked the city, which makes people feel uneasy like a sword hanging over their heads. Ordinary people don't care. The key is the officials of the Zhou Dynasty and the emperor's die-hard troops such as Jinyiwei Neichang. No matter how new they are,
The imperial court will not let them go, and they will die when the city is destroyed.
Some discouraged and desperate people have committed suicide, and some unwilling people are jumping up and down to organize resistance. University scholar Yang Feng is the most active one.
As the youngest prime minister of the dynasty, he had too many unwillingnesses. Why did God give him everything, but then took it away in a hurry? Unwilling to do so, he carried his sword and his entourage, inspecting the city defenses and making arrangements.
Soldiers, horses, money and food, and incompetent officials were killed on the spot, but one person's efforts could not turn the tide, and everything was irreversible.
The sedan chair of Yang Feng, the cabinet scholar, passed by on the street. At this time, the streets of Beijing were in a state of depression. Houses were closed everywhere, faded wine flags were swaying in the wind, and yellow leaves were floating all over the street. The traces of the military riots many days ago were still everywhere.
, all the grain shops and restaurants have been closed, and I don’t know how long this siege will last, so I’d better stock up on goods and insurance.
Although the imperial court has food and grass, it must give priority to supplying the army, and the people can just let them fend for themselves. There is no one to blame for this, because who asked them to live in the imperial capital.
Yang Feng's sedan hurriedly passed through the deserted Taimiao Square, entered the Meridian Gate, and arrived at the Wenhua Hall. The cabinet courtyard was deserted. Those minor officials ran home without even asking for leave, and the court could do nothing to them.
Yang Feng frowned slightly, and when he came to his case, he found that according to the usual practice, there was no official document sent from the Sixth Department. He had no time to think about it, so he handed several official documents about the allocation of military pay to his attendants for him to get.
The Supervisor of Ceremonies went to use the seal.
A quarter of an hour later, the entourage came to report that the Chief of Ceremonies had already been in chaos and could not find the palm eunuch. Yang Feng lamented and was about to enter the palace in person when suddenly a loud noise came, shaking him so much that he almost sat on the ground.
"Where's the gunfire?" Yang Feng asked pretending to be calm. The sound of the cannon came too close, so I'm afraid it wasn't the cannon of the Han army outside the city.
Not long after, the entourage frightened and inquired about the news from outside and reported: "Master Yang, the artillery fire was from the west, and the Imperial Army is attacking Xihua Gate."
Yang Feng was shocked. He had just passed the Superintendent of Ceremonies to approve ammunition and equipment for the Imperial Army, and they turned against him. This was a big deal!
I hurriedly boarded the turret of the Forbidden City, and sure enough I found a crowd of people in the direction of Xihua Gate, smoke filled the air, and the Forbidden Army was exchanging fire with the imperial guards guarding the palace.
On the tower of Xihua Gate, Cao Shaoqin is directing the soldiers to fight. Below the city are their former comrades, the Forbidden Army of the Beijing Camp. All forces in the capital are intertwined. The Jinyi Guards of the Inner Factory and the Military and Horse Division of the Jingzhao Yinjiu Gate have the least status.
, the most unattractive one is the Beijing Camp Forbidden Army, even their President Qian will nod and bow down when he sees the little flag of the Jin Yiwei. Unexpectedly, he will straighten up his back, and brazenly rebel and attack the Forbidden City, saying that he wants to clean up the emperor and kill the eunuchs.
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Although Wen Hai and Cao Shaoqin have many conflicts, they are like grasshoppers on a rope at this time. Once the Xihua Gate is broken, there will be no distinction between the inner factory and the Jin Yiwei. It will definitely be a mess.
The Royal Forest Army was nominally the most elite army of the Great Zhou Dynasty. In fact, it was staffed by the sons of the powerful. It had a glamorous appearance but was not very effective in combat. It just relied on the tall walls of the Forbidden City to resist desperately. However, the Forbidden Army acted normally and advanced and retreated in a controlled manner.
Unfortunately, there were not many people, and the battle entered a stalemate.
Yang Feng waved his sleeves and left the turret. There had been quite a few conflicts between various government offices in the capital in the past few days. The old grudges in the past were conveniently vented at this opportunity, but they were not as big as today.
Under this kind of chaos, the capital city will definitely not be able to defend itself. The only feasible way at this time is to gather a force to protect the emperor and break out. As long as the emperor's banner is there, there will be no chance of a comeback.
Yang Feng got off the corner tower and was about to enter the palace to meet the Holy Spirit. Suddenly someone came to report that it was Mr. Hu Xiangye who had arrived.
Hu Weiyong? This mediocre old minister had already handed in his resignation and gone home to rest. Why did he pop up again at this time? There must be some good way to bring him back to life. Yang Feng's heart moved and he hurried towards the Meridian Gate.
When they arrived at the Meridian Gate, they found that all five gates were closed. The imperial guards told Yang Feng that something was wrong. When Yang Feng climbed to the top of the city and took a look, he was also shocked.
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In front of the Meridian Gate, there were hundreds of sedans, large and small, ranging from eight-carriage sedans for first-rank officials to two-carriage sedans for seventh-rank petty officials. Hundreds of officials gathered in front of the door, all wearing black turbans.
Sha, wearing court clothes, looking serious, and Hu Weiyong stood at the forefront of them.
Yang Feng asked loudly: "Master Hu, why are you leading all the officials here?"
In the past, Hu Weiyong always looked like a submissive and good man, but today he turned out to be impassioned and heroic, with his gray beard fluttering in the wind, and a look of righteousness on his face. He shouted loudly to the tower: "We are here to persuade the emperor to abdicate and save the emperor."
All peoples are between water and fire.”
It turns out it’s a forced labor!
Further away, there is a dense crowd, including Jing Zhaoyin's officers and soldiers of the Forbidden Army. The dense crowd is standing in the Ancestral Temple Square. They are clearly prepared. They are polite first and then attack. If the emperor refuses to abdicate, he is afraid that he will be remonstrated with troops.
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Hu Weiyong, an old boy who usually pretends to be deaf and mute, keeps a low profile, but shows his strength at critical moments. Needless to say, he must have contacted the Han army outside the city and reached some kind of agreement, and then he would brazenly gather all the officials to carry out the war.
After being forced into the palace, Yang Feng saw to his surprise that the officials from the six ministries were among them. These fat-headed and sophisticated old guys usually obeyed his words, but at this time they all turned against him.
The Forbidden Army rebelled, and hundreds of officials also rebelled. At this moment, the entire system of the Zhou Dynasty collapsed. The imperial court was gone, and the emperor's decrees were limited to a corner of the Forbidden City. This was the real rebellion. Yang Feng gritted his teeth and cursed Hu Weiyong and the officials. The second minister is shameless, but the people below are eloquent and impassioned. They talk about the people's livelihood and speak loudly. They refute Yang Feng and leave him speechless. Their awe-inspiring appearance makes Yang Feng furious and gives orders. The imperial guards fired artillery to kill this scum.
But the Imperial Guards looked at each other, and none of them took action. Originally, the Imperial Guards of the Great Zhou Dynasty were run by the sons of powerful men. Many of the sons of the civil and military ministers outside were serving as errands in the Imperial Guards, asking them to fire cannons to kill their fathers and brothers. How could it be possible? Besides, the imperial court was in a state of decline. , who wants to kill people needlessly?
The Imperial Guards were motionless, and Yang Feng had no choice but to sigh and went down to the tower to find the emperor. The back half of the palace was still impregnable. The imperial guards guarded the Qianqing Gate tightly, with their bows and arrows drawn in full vigilance. Cao Shaoqin was at the door in person. When the guard saw Yang Feng approaching alone, Cao Shaoqin sighed to himself, this kid is really a loyal minister.
Yang Feng entered the Qianqing Palace. The emperor was sitting alone in the empty palace. All the tall and heavy boxes, cabinets and screens had been used to block the door. The Qianqing Palace was lonely, empty and extremely miserable.
Yang Feng still bowed and kowtowed three times to meet the emperor. When he raised his head, he found that the emperor's face had changed somewhat. There were white bushes under the golden crown, and the beard on his chin was black, but it was much sparser than before.
As soon as his hair turned white, he looked much older. When the emperor saw Yang Feng coming in, he smiled happily: "I have made many mistakes in my old age, but I have done one thing right, and that is to use you."
Yang Feng burst into tears and cried: "Your Majesty, the two princes are still in the north. We in Zhou Dynasty still have more than 100,000 soldiers to fight. I am not talented, but I am willing to protect your majesty to break out of the encirclement and reorganize the country."
The emperor waved his hand gently: "It's too late. I know it in my heart. This is God's will."
Yang Feng kowtowed again, and his black gauze hat fell to the ground, and there was blood on his forehead. The emperor remained unmoved. He just took out a brocade box from under the throne and said: "This is my imperial seal and an imperial edict. It has been decided that the second child is too impatient and cannot bear the responsibility. The throne should be passed on to the fourth child, Taiping. Yang Feng, please be the Minister of Gu Ming and pass on my decrees on my behalf."
After all, the emperor still had arrangements. Yang Feng felt reassured and asked puzzledly: "Eunuch Cao is still here, why not entrust him with a big responsibility?"
The emperor said: "A eunuch is a eunuch. It's okay to be a guard dog for me. To do big things, we need talents like you."
Yang Feng's eyes filled with tears. He had no regrets in his life to be so appreciated and valued by the emperor. He took the brocade box solemnly, kowtowed three times to the emperor, and walked out of Qianqing Palace resolutely.
Behind Yang Feng, the Qianqing Palace slowly closed its door under the setting sun. On the eaves of the main hall, a crow that had been perched for a long time was startled, and suddenly flew towards the blood-red sky with its wings flashing and screaming.