Spring is coming, but the cold rain is coming continuously.
Sitting in the carriage, looking through the window at the spring scenery outside, although the world has turned from cold winter to happy spring, Kyoto has once again fallen into the cold winter of human nature.
The pouring rain has not stopped for two consecutive days since Xue left Hangzhou at midnight. The rivers and creeks on the roadside are also full of water.
Ximen Raizo and other Habayashi guards were all wearing raincoats and riding fast horses to protect the carriage.
Kyoto was right in front, and Xue Poye could even see the outline of the city wall.
"Uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu...!"
A powerful horn sound suddenly sounded between heaven and earth. This horn sound made Xue Poye instantly think of the scene of ordering troops on the battlefield. The rainy weather, quiet and green, but this real horn sound broke the scene in an instant.
Such tranquility.
"What's the sound?" Xiao Shitou was a little panicked.
Xue Poye frowned, but Ximen Lei Zang had already approached: "Sir, no, there is an army!"
"Army?" Xue Poye was shocked.
Soon, they heard the thunderous sound coming from the rear, with armored horses and horns, and it seemed that thousands of troops were approaching.
"Get out of the way first." Xue Poye led Xiao Shitou out of the sedan chair, waved his hand, and led more than a dozen of his subordinates to quickly leave the broad road and move towards the thorn forest next to the road. There was a piece of mud there, but this
At this time, Xue Poye and others no longer cared whether the ground was soft or hard, and forced the horses and carts to drive into the thorn forest.
A dragon-like army appeared amidst the sound of horns, moving quickly towards Kyoto.
This army was all dressed in green armor and blue helmets, with white ribbons tied on the helmets. The white ribbons were fluttering. The fully armed soldiers rushed towards Kyoto in an orderly and murderous manner.
Xue Poye, like his subordinates, all had their eyes wide open. They couldn't believe what they saw before them.
Anyone who knows the military affairs of Da Chu knows that if you want to mobilize such a huge army, no one can do it without the order of the Privy Council and the tiger talisman in the hands of His Majesty the Emperor.
Could this be the army that His Majesty the Emperor transferred to Kyoto?
"Sir!" Ximen Lei Zang whispered in his ear: "This is the army of Nanlin Camp."
"Nanlin Camp?" Xue Poye frowned, and immediately thought that Nanlin Camp was an army controlled by the Ye family. It was loyal to His Majesty the Emperor on the surface, but in fact it was loyal to the fourth prince Liu Zifu.
Xue Poye's hands felt cold, as if he had a premonition of something.
The wet mud was dripping, and the sound of hooves was thunderous. The originally muddy road had been trampled and crushed under the hooves of galloping horses, and then kicked up again, leaving mud everywhere.
The Nanlin army in green armor and green helmets stepped on the muddy road, passing in front of Xue Poye's eyes one after another, with a steady speed, tacit understanding and speed, like a dragon swimming.
The flags were fluttering, and most of them had the words "Chu" and "Nanlin" written on them, and the flags rustled in the wind.
The three Kyoto garrison armies of Da Chu were all equipped with the most elite weapons and equipped with a large number of horses that were scarce in Da Chu. Nearly a thousand cavalry rushed through the army, followed by a large number of infantry.
The old soldiers of the infantry, the archers are sandwiched between the cavalry and the spearmen. They carry long bows on their backs, which is much easier than the spears held by the spearmen. However, the spearmen are not the most tired. The last ones are the swordsmen holding broad swords and shields.
, the four major arms moved forward in an orderly manner, rolling forward like waves.
This was actually an army of over 10,000 people. The lowest estimate was more than 15,000 people.
Xue Poye's face turned pale. He looked at his subordinates. They were all dumbfounded. Even Xiao Shitou had a look of horror on his face.
This was the first time Xue Poye actually saw the so-called thousands of troops. This kind of momentum that shocked the world with thunder and thunder made him understand why people always like to use "thousands of troops" to describe the so-called momentum.
…
…
On March 16, the 18th year of Da Chu Deqing's reign, nine days before Xue Poye returned to Kyoto, Kyoto was shrouded in a dark cloud. The common people may just feel that Kyoto is on heightened alert, and the ghosts of the Metropolitan Procuratorate and Kyoto Prefecture
They began to move around every corner of Kyoto again, vaguely returning to the period when the two princes were fighting each other a few months ago, but ordinary people did not know the reason for the dark clouds.
Not only ordinary people don't know, but even ordinary officials can't figure out the reason. They just fearfully worry about their future and destiny. It may be another large-scale purge of officials.
Only a very small number of people deep in the palace and close to the highest power had a vague understanding of what was going on.
The assassination of His Majesty the Emperor seemed to be nothing at the time, but in fact he was poisoned. The poison was so strong in the past few days that he vomited blood and passed out twice in a row in the court hall. It was known to all the ministers. Since then, the ministers have never been able to do anything again.
Met their emperor.
In the Emperor's Qianqing Palace, the doctors who had gone through numerous inspections came and went. No one knew what their emperor was like, and these doctors were unable to release the news. They were not allowed to leave the palace and could only stay in the Qianqing Palace.
The illness was being discussed in a small room. The empress dowager's decree was not spelled out clearly, but the meaning was clear. If something happens to His Majesty the Emperor, more than 20 imperial doctors in the Qianqing Palace will accompany His Majesty the Emperor to heaven.
It was the custom of the Great Chu Dynasty that when the emperor was ill and Kyoto was under martial law, no one was allowed to walk on the streets once night fell, unless there was a signed document from the Kyoto Prefecture Yamen.
Stability, everything must be stable.
Of course, Lord Hou Jingzong of the Simen Admiral's Mansion shoulders important responsibilities. This is a very strange yamen, and its importance is usually not shown.
When the country is peaceful and the people are safe and the monarch is wise, this yamen may not have any important errands for more than ten years. To use the words of those who violate taboos in private, the Simen Admiral Yamen is just a watchdog-style yamen, and the Simen Admiral is just a watchdog.
The leader of the guard dogs.
However, once things change in Kyoto, the four admiral's offices are the most critical government offices. Without them guarding the gate, who can guarantee that outside threats will not deal a fatal blow to Kyoto.
His Majesty the Emperor is seriously ill, and undercurrents are surging in Kyoto. The ghosts and purples of Kyoto Prefecture and the Metropolitan Procuratorate are doing their best to stabilize the situation inside Kyoto, using all means, both bright and dark, to nip any changes in the bud.
The four gates of the Admiral's Mansion were heavily guarded by troops. In Hou Jingzong's words, even if the gates were pushed open, corpses would be used to block any rebels who dared to break into Kyoto.
No one doubts Xuanyuan Chou's loyalty to His Majesty the Emperor. The Kyoto garrison under his sole control was also completely alert at this time, with heavy troops surrounding the city, as if facing a formidable enemy.
Regardless of whether there will be a so-called mutiny or not, these responsible people must do their errands well.
In the early morning of March 18th, the 18th year of Deqing in Dachu, the nobles with eyes in the Qianqing Palace finally understood one thing. The emperor of Dachu, the cold and talented Emperor Deqing, with his unfinished thoughts Many things went away quietly.
This was certainly a major event that could shock the world, but the spread of this event was only effectively controlled within the ears and eyes of a very limited number of nobles in the palace.
Everyone knows that once it is determined by outside forces that His Majesty the Emperor has passed away, the disputes between what should be and what should not be are like a scourge, rolling up in an instant.
There is no doubt that a group of dragons without a general will be the source of chaos. In this case, a new leader must be determined, a new Great Chu Emperor.
In an extraordinary period, the Queen Mother stamped the emperor's jade seal on an edict. This was a very special edict. There were only two meanings among the not many edicts.
1. The prince who was under house arrest was released from house arrest at one time.
Second, if there is any change in His Majesty's imperial edict, the crown prince should immediately ascend the throne. The civil and military officials of the Manchu Dynasty will refute it and kill him in the name of a rebellious party. Nine of them will be killed.
clan.
This was an edict written by the Queen Mother on the night of His Majesty the Emperor's death, so His Royal Highness the Prince was released that night. The forbearing Prince and his party members also rose from hell to heaven at this moment. After the Prince confirmed that His Majesty the Emperor was indeed Immediately after his death, with the support of the Empress Dowager, he summoned Hanlin Academy academicians Lan Wuqing and Shu Zheng, the four admirals Hou Jingzong, the Kyoto garrison Xuanyuan Qiu, the Kyoto governor Wei Shantai, and the imperial envoy to the right capital Li Zifu. A group of powerful figures in Kyoto gave a brief explanation.
These people all vaguely knew about the death of His Majesty the Emperor, but this matter was extremely vague. So far, there was no news in the palace about the death of His Majesty the Emperor. This summons was jointly summoned by the Queen Mother and the Crown Prince, at least in the eyes of the Queen Mother and the Crown Prince. , this group of people is still a controllable force. Under the changes in Kyoto, if the prince wants to be as stable as Mount Tai, these people have to be gathered together.
Li Zifu is the Imperial Envoy to the Right Capital of the Metropolitan Procuratorate. Everyone knows that he is the Queen Mother's closest minister and her most loyal servant. His two major secret service agencies, the Iron No. 1 Battalion and the Iron No. 2 Battalion, were instantly destroyed on this day. Became a subordinate of the prince.
Lan Wuqing and Shu Zheng, the most prestigious and influential figures among the civil servants of Dachu, controlled the direction of public opinion in Kyoto.
As for Hou Jingzong, the most important admiral of the four sects at this time, guarding Xuanyuanchou in Kyoto, His Majesty the Emperor was sworn to be loyal to His Majesty the Emperor to the death. Now that the Queen Mother can produce the Emperor's edict with the jade seal, no matter how the Emperor's dragon body is now, as a His Majesty the Emperor's mother has enough qualifications and influence to make them swear allegiance.
There were just two oddities that made the Queen Mother very unhappy and the Prince very unhappy.
Tan Ziqing, the censor of Zuodu of the Metropolitan Procuratorate, and Teng Xifeng, the chief guard of the Yulin camp!
Everyone knows that these two people, secretly and openly, control the two most terrifying forces in Kyoto. However, after His Majesty the Emperor began vomiting blood in the court, these two ministers unexpectedly fell ill at the same time. According to rumors, The two adults saw that His Majesty the Emperor's body was weakened, and he was so sad that he was hurting his body. He was bedridden and seemed unable to even stand up.
Naturally, it was impossible to hide such deceitful lies, which even children did not believe, from the Queen Mother and the Prince.
Although they were very angry, at this time, the Queen Mother and the Prince did not react too much. They just sent people to the mansion to pay their respects.
When the overall situation is determined, it will not be too late to deal with these old guys!
Seeing that it would only take a few days, when all the situations in Kyoto were under control and no accidents occurred, the Empress Dowager would announce to the world that Emperor Deqing of Chu was overworked and had passed away, and the crown prince would take over the throne.
The Queen Mother is mature and prudent, and the Prince is even more high-spirited.
Although Lan Wuqing and other ministers had their own concerns, and even some ministers felt that the prince's character was really unworthy of being a king, firstly, with the support of the Queen Mother, and secondly, for the stability of the Chu Kingdom, the ministers had no choice but to think in their hearts.
Deep down, I forced myself to accept this decision that was about to become a reality.
Even though Prince Fu and his troops are now weak after the battle with Prince Yin, Prince Fu intends to cause some trouble at this moment, but having the Queen Mother preside over it is not popular, but it is
The overall situation was almost stable. Although Prince Fu was extremely upset, at this moment, he did not dare to cause trouble.
"The prince is a loser." Prince Fu always thought like this: "I will deal with him after the queen mother ascends to heaven."
This is Prince Fu's innermost thoughts. In his opinion, in a secret battle of wisdom, the prince's pig brain is no match for him, and his conspiracy methods are no match for him. In the open, at least he has the Ye family's 30,000 Nanlin army behind him.
, if the prince wants to attack him openly, he must think carefully.
But Prince Fu seems to have underestimated his brother. Although his brother may not be very smart, his stupidity can make him do many cruel things that others would not expect.
On March 22, the eighteenth year of Da Chu Deqing's reign, in the seemingly peaceful Kyoto, in the sacred and majestic palace, in addition to His Majesty the Emperor being buried in the dragon coffin, an appalling thing happened.
Late that night, Xin'an Palace suddenly broke into more than a dozen first-class assassins with the intention of assassinating the fourth prince Liu Zifu. They killed more than ten maids and eunuchs, and even set fire to Xin'an Palace. The Yulin Guards fought to the death and killed the big brother.
Some of the assassins and the remaining assassins actually escaped under heavy pursuit.
After putting out the fire in Xin'an Palace, people discovered that the fourth prince Liu Zifu who lived in Xin'an Palace had lost his trace. However, in the fourth prince's bedroom, a large white silk hanging on the wall had a sentence written on it.
"The prince is unkind and I am unjust", this is a sentence with a quite aura of the world, but the content on the white silk silk quickly spread throughout the palace, so everyone vaguely knew that this assassination operation would probably take place five days later.
This was done by the prince who was about to ascend the throne.
Of course this is just a private rumor.
The prince even personally went to Xin'an Palace for inspection that night, leading a large number of soldiers, saying that he wanted to ensure the safety of the fourth prince. However, after searching the Xin'an Palace, not a single hair of the fourth prince was found. The prince smashed several items at hand at that time.
Antique name.ware.
Later that night, the purple men from Kyoto Prefecture began to appear in every corner of Kyoto. They were obviously following Li Zifu's orders to find the whereabouts of the fourth prince for the prince.
The prince is stupid, but the queen mother is not stupid.
In the Cining Palace, the prince was slapped more than a dozen times by the queen mother. The old man was panting, but could not suppress the disappointment in his heart. He kept saying "stupid, stupid, stupid"!
On March 23, the 18th year of Deqing's reign in Dachu, two days before Xue Poye returned to Beijing, Japan issued an order in the name of the Queen Mother to announce the death of Emperor Deqing, and also announced the date of the appointment of a new emperor.
.
According to the royal rules of Chu, when the emperor dies, he should be kept in a crystal ice coffin for half a month, and then a grand national funeral will be held amidst the grief of the whole country, and the emperor will be sent to the imperial mausoleum.
However, that day, the Shang Shufang received three urgent petitions at the same time, namely from Duke Ye Guogong, Duke Guo Liu, and the governor of Minzhou, which is closest to Kyoto.
The contents of the excerpts are surprisingly consistent. They all ask why the prince sent someone to assassinate the fourth prince. The book states that the fourth prince is benevolent, filial and trustworthy, and he is a man of noble morals, but he has to be treated so unfairly by the prince. This matter is all over the world.
We all know that the prince is fierce and stubborn, how can he be the king of Chu? The book seems to be pleading, but in fact it forces the court to come up with an explanation, asking the queen mother to punish the prince, and the ministers to meet in court to choose a new king.
The Queen Mother was keenly aware of the huge crisis facing Kyoto.
Following the founding of the Chu lords, the three royal families conquered the world from the dragon. After the founding of the country, they obtained the throne and power they deserved. The ancestors of the three royal families were naturally loyal to the Chu lords, so throughout the ages, most of them
The Chu royal family has always included women from the three major royal families as concubines to increase the closeness between the royal family and the three major royal families.
But in the past hundred years, as time progressed, the royal family suddenly felt uneasy. They suddenly realized that although they were the highest ethnic group in Dachu and the nobles at the top of the tower, their own safety and decision-making were sometimes at stake.
There are ups and downs under the influence of the three major royal families. Perhaps intentionally or unintentionally, the influence of the three major royal families on the royal family has exceeded the limit of the royal family's tolerance.
So starting from Emperor Yangwu, the royal family began to secretly weaken the influence of the three major royal families. However, it was impossible to abolish the century-old foundation. Until the current era of Emperor Deqing, after three generations of hard work, the influence of the three major royal families
Licai was greatly weakened and controlled, and Emperor Deqing even cut off the nominal connection between the three garrison armies in Kyoto and the three major royal families.
The highest commander of Shenwu Camp is General Huxiang, the highest commander of Nanlin Camp is General Huyi, and the highest commander of Beilin Camp is General Huli. The three generals used to be held by family members of the three royal families, and even the commanders under their jurisdiction were also members of the royal family.
However, Emperor Deqing was promoted and demoted secretly, and all members of the royal family were removed from these official positions.
In addition, Emperor Deqing even reduced the number of troops. In the early days, the three garrison armies totaled nearly 100,000 troops. However, after the reduction of troops, the largest Nanlin camp only had less than 30,000 troops left, and the Beilin camp only had less than 30,000 troops.
There are less than 25,000 people in the camp, and the Shenwu camp has more than 15,000 people. The three armies combined only have an army of nearly 70,000 people.
Although they resorted to heavy tactics, the three royal families never really let go of their control over the three armies. They knew that to ensure the prosperity of their families, these three armies were the trump cards in their hands. Once
Without them, the three major royal families would not be able to survive.
The royal family and the royal family mutually acquiesced in this tacit situation, but deep down in their hearts, the royal family always thought about eradicating the three major royal families in one fell swoop. The three major royal families checked and balanced each other, but also relied on each other to confront the royal family.
This time, under the seemingly peaceful Kyoto, there are turmoils. The prince, a stupid guy, assassinated the fourth prince, and finally turned the nightmare that the royal family had long worried about into an imminent reality.
The Queen Mother knew very well that the four princes must have fled Kyoto, and they must have already discussed the three details presented in this document, which was like a forceful warning to the court.
This storm is about to come, but the Queen Mother and her ministers understand that at this moment, the news of His Majesty the Emperor's death cannot be announced to the world, lest it cause greater turmoil.
Less than two hours after receiving the three warnings, the four gates of Kyoto pressed hard, and the garrison was ready. The Metropolitan Procuratorate sent spies to various states, ordering them to be ready to serve the king at any time.dd