The prince's stupid and careless assassination action, in his own opinion, just felt that he had grown up and could easily remove the thorn in his side. He himself did not expect that Prince Fu would be one of more than ten people.
He escaped from the hands of a waiting assassin. For this assassination operation, he even drew a detailed map of Xin'an Palace.
As a result of his failure, in addition to the Queen Mother's disappointed rebuke, he faced a huge political crisis. Leaving aside the characters behind the three stories, even the officials in Kyoto felt disdain for such a stupid assassination of the prince from the bottom of their hearts.
and indignation, everyone worked hard to prepare for it, just to let the political storm in the Chu Kingdom pass quietly. Whether they were willing or not, everyone acquiesced in the crown prince's ascension to the throne. I really didn't expect that everyone would work hard together.
His Highness the Crown Prince, who fully supported it, somehow made a mistake and actually ignited this political flame, causing the originally calm and smooth transitional period to change in an instant and become perilous.
No matter whether they are willing or not, the imperial court cannot make any compromise regarding the handling of the three documents. Although the Queen Mother is older, her tough temper has not softened with the passage of time. She fought back
He wrote three Zhezi and severely reprimanded the three owners of the Zhezi, claiming that these three were ministers that the Chu Kingdom had always relied on. At this moment, they would believe these nonsense and wasted many years of cultivation and cultivation of the court.
The high regard really chilled the royal family. The court was furious and angrily reprimanded the three ministers to submit a letter of apology, which would be decided by the court.
At this time, Kyoto was already covered with dark clouds.
On the night when the fourth prince disappeared, the prince and his party immediately reminded the prince that the core of the fourth prince, Ye Guogong, was still living in Kyoto. After the prince consulted the Queen Mother, he immediately deployed the garrison to surround him according to the Queen Mother's instructions.
When they arrived at Duke Ye's Mansion in Kyoto, the prince originally maintained his arrogance and dignity as a prince at first, waiting for the Ye family to come out to greet him. However, it was later discovered that what they surrounded was just an empty mansion without important people. Except for the servants and maids,
However, all the important figures of the Ye family quietly left Kyoto overnight, leaving no trace of smoke behind.
Not only that, there was something even weirder that night. The Liu family, who had always shown no apparent preference for any prince, disappeared at the same time like the Ye family, leaving only an empty mansion.
.
Being able to escape the eyes of the Kyoto Prefecture and the Metropolitan Procuratorate, a large group of people quietly left Kyoto under the eyes of the royal family. This is really amazing news. From this, it can also be seen that these two royal families are obviously
Already prepared.
Once the Emperor dies, who can control the ambitious royal family?
Civil and military officials all sensed that a storm was about to begin after the prince's foolish assassination.
Although they firmly supported the Queen Mother and the Crown Prince, as a precaution, at the request of Hanlin Academy scholar Lan Wuqing Shu Zheng and a group of upright officials, the purple-clothed men of Kyoto Prefecture were sent to control Shang in Kyoto.
Perhaps everyone in the Yong Kingdom Company family is worried that the three royal families, which have always checked and balanced each other, will secretly unite together to launch the most powerful military coup in the history of the dynasty because of the death of His Majesty the Emperor.
The Situ family is calm and peaceful, like a huge stone standing in Kyoto, silent and motionless.
Although they were not aware of the plans of the Liu family and the Ye family to withdraw from Kyoto, the spies from the Metropolitan Procuratorate quickly discovered that, as everyone expected, the Liu family was stationed in Beilin Camp, less than forty miles away from Kyoto.
The family stationed at Nanlin Camp, only fifty miles away from Kyoto.
Just like a dragon entering the sea and a tiger returning to the mountain, the two royal families that had always maintained peace finally let the world know their most powerful trump card and their influence on the two garrison armies at this moment.
The two garrison armies were like welcoming their emperors, waiting for the arrival of the two royal families. As soon as the royal families entered the military camp, they did not hesitate to carry out a round of bloody scrubbing work.
The officials were executed immediately within less than two hours after the arrival of the royal family. The royal family's confidants lurking in the camp did not hesitate to slash their usual bosses and companions with their swords. Waiting until Liu Guogong and Ye Guogong arrived in their respective military camps
At the time of the training, there were no more “outsiders” in their army!
The Nanlin camp has a strong military force, and now the Liu family's Beilin camp and the clown-like but terrifying Monzhou camp army are added, with a total strength of over 70,000. This is a force that scares the entire Kyoto.
No one knows how these three armies were connected in the first period, nor when they formed an alliance. Since the leading figures of the three armies jointly signed the letter, it is natural that they are working together.
It's just a camp trip in Minzhou. The Ye family may have many ways to bribe them, not to mention the majesty of the fourth prince, but Liu Guogong of the Liu family is also involved, which is something that many people can't think of.
In the eyes of many people, the open confrontation between the Crown Prince and the Fourth Prince will ultimately be a showdown between the Nanlin Camp and the Shenwu Camp. But now, the Shenwu Camp is silent, while the Beilin Camp is in trouble with the Nanlin Camp.
A piece, this... is really thought-provoking.
Could it be that the Liu family, which has been doing nothing for many years, has been secretly supporting the fourth prince Liu Zifu?
In this way, the Liu family is so well-established that for so many years, not even the spying inspectors and the Kyoto Prefecture have found out anything about it.
However, the apology letter did not arrive. Instead, the court waited for a concise letter from the other party!
"There are demons in Kyoto, get rid of them and protect Chu!"
…
…
While the Queen Mother was temporarily in charge of the court, the civil and military officials in Kyoto, wearing white mourning in honor of His Majesty the Emperor, had to leave the Tao Te Palace where the Emperor's crystal ice coffin was placed and discuss matters in the Qianlin Hall.
The content of the discussion is very simple, just because of such a simple letter.
The rain is coming and the wind is blowing!
"They rebelled!"
After seeing the letter submitted, all the wise ministers knew the true meaning of this sentence.
In the hundreds of years of history of the Chu Kingdom, local turmoil is naturally inevitable, and even some palace coups occurred in Kyoto. This is an unavoidable event and experience for all dynasties. But to be fair, since the founding of the country, the Chu princes established the Chu Kingdom and established Kyoto.
As a capital city, in the long history of so many years, Kyoto itself has not suffered the baptism of war. It is located in Kyoto in the south and north of the Great Chu Kingdom. Although the history is not rich, the famous prosperity it has created is definitely no less than
any dynasty of the previous dynasty.
Perhaps...the city of Kyoto, which had never experienced war in the Chu Dynasty, would have to endure the baptism of war this time.
The Queen Mother behind the curtain already looked very old. The departure of His Majesty the Emperor had given her a taste of the sorrow of a white man sending a black man. Now the useless prince had given the royal family an excuse to rebel. The entire Kyoto was facing a huge disaster.
, an old man had to stand up at this time. In order to continue the orthodoxy of Da Chu, she had to face everything that was about to happen, and she had to have the courage and method to deal with it all.
At this time, the ordinary ministers truly realized why the Emperor was so afraid of the three royal families. Their foundation in the army was really deep-rooted. At this moment of real showdown, the imperial court turned out to be very weak.
Thinking of the troops that could reach Kyoto in half a day, the court hall fell silent.
"These traitors... shameless traitors...!" The prince twisted uneasily and angrily on the supervisory seat next to the dragon throne. His face was not only because of anger but also because of fear, which made him look quite pale.
Lan Wuqing immediately came out and said: "His Royal Highness, as the crown prince, you should avoid talking about it."
When the prince heard the words, he was about to get angry. When he saw that it was Lan Wuqing who played it, he suppressed his anger. Even the arrogant and stupid prince was quite afraid of this upright Hanlin Academy scholar, so he tried his best to keep himself calm.
His tone was calmer: "Grandmaster Lan, you said that I should be taboo. Where do you start talking about this?"
Lan Wuqing said seriously: "Your Highness, Duke Liu and Duke Ye are our important ministers of Chu after all. Although they behave suspiciously, so far, after all, they have not made any rebellious words to the imperial court openly, let alone acted rebelliously.
It’s quite inappropriate to call them traitors at this time!”
The prince's face twitched, but he did not refute.
A soft sigh came from behind the curtain, and the Queen Mother's vicissitudes of voice slowly sounded: "Prince, you are young and frivolous, so you should not say some things easily. Academician Lan is right, Liu Guogong and Ye Guogong are my great friends.
How can the words "loyal minister" and "traitor" be applied to them... But dear friends, you have read the letters they responded to. Can anyone understand the meaning? I would like to know how to explain this sentence.
.”
This is a sensitive period. Ordinary ministers come to the court just to show off. It is not an exaggeration to call it a decoration. They do not dare to express any opinions easily.
However, the censors at the Yushitai were able to occupy a place in the court because of their mouths that dared to speak.
"Reporting to Her Majesty the Queen Mother and Crown Prince, I believe that when the Holy Dragon passes away, it is a time when the whole country is mourning. At such moments, there will always be some twists and turns. In order to make the twists and turns invisible, the court must be more tolerant." So Sima Feng.
Chuban said bluntly: "The crown prince of the prince's country is naturally broad-minded. At this moment, I think that the prince should send people to the Nanlin Camp and the Beilin Camp to meet the two princes and even the fourth prince.
, explain clearly, only in this way can this misunderstanding be resolved."
Immediately, several censors came out and all claimed that it was true. One of the ministers said: "The Holy Emperor has just collapsed. It is the time to strive for the stability of Kyoto. It is not appropriate to be at war with each other. Only by turning conflicts into jade and silk can the great Chu be lucky."
The courtiers immediately started talking, apparently hoping that the prince would deign to send someone to compromise with the Duke and the fourth prince.
Although the prince was stupid, he was not stupid enough to be an idiot. He sneered and said: "Sima Yushi, do you mean to ask me to send someone to make peace? Hehe, since the fourth child united the three families to submit a letter and sounded arrogant, then naturally
Are they not taking the imperial court seriously? Once they send someone to make peace, they will become even more unscrupulous. They think the imperial court is afraid of them. By then, it will only be more detrimental to Kyoto?" He looked at Sima with disdain.
Feng glanced: "Don't you understand what the fourth child is thinking? Now that my father has passed away, his ambitions have been completely exposed. Maybe he just wants to take this opportunity to seize my throne...!"
"Shut up!" The Queen Mother couldn't help but yelled from behind the curtain: "Prince, what are you talking nonsense about?"
The prince was startled. He was scolded by the queen mother in front of all the civil and military officials in the court. Although he was extremely embarrassed, he did not dare to show any unwillingness to this old lady and just kept his mouth shut.
The Queen Mother pondered for a long time and then slowly said: "What Sima Yushi said is absolutely true. Since the two princes asked us to give an answer, we will send people to give them an answer and explanation. And we also need to ask them.
He said that there are demons in Kyoto, who are these demons?" He snorted coldly and said in a solemn tone: "I want to let the people of the world see clearly that the imperial court is not denying them a chance, nor is the imperial court sorry for them... If
They want to take risks and do things that will last forever, and I am willing to accompany them!"
The old Queen Mother's voice was resounding. Although she was old, the power of her words lifted the spirits of every official who sincerely supported the imperial court.
"Good ministers of Da Chu, you don't need to worry...!" The old queen mother gave the ministers the last and most important safety precaution: "The sky will not fall. The army of King Qin of the Five Routes is marching to Kyoto. I have a hundred thousand soldiers, and the world will not fall.
fear!"
These words made those ministers who were still hesitating even more excited. They had been afraid of the arrival of the royal army. For Kyoto, it would be a disaster. With Kyoto's army of less than 25,000 people,
There is almost no ability to withstand the well-trained Kyoto garrison. Now that the old queen mother has a hundred thousand soldiers and a five-pronged army, what does she have to worry about?
Only a few people know that the Queen Mother's words are actually... she is really deceiving herself and others!
Li Zifu of the Metropolitan Procuratorate and the senior officials of the Privy Council knew very well that the document signed by the Privy Council was stamped with a jade seal by King Qin, and the secret agents of the Metropolitan Procuratorate were sent out of Beijing with the document to the nearby prefectures to order all the prefectures to prepare for the camp.
To ensure that the documents were delivered smoothly, two spies were sent to each route, and a total of nearly twenty spies were sent out of the capital. However, until now, none of the twenty spies have returned to the capital.
The Metropolitan Procuratorate, who is well versed in the ways of darkness, immediately judged that if nothing unexpected happened, the royal family would have already laid a dragnet around Kyoto, and the elite spies sent out would probably have fallen into the royal family's trap.
In other words, the royal family was fully prepared for rebellion and immediately cut off the connection between Kyoto and the outlying state capitals.
Of course the Queen Mother knew about this situation. Although she did not raise the flag, these towering figures in the Chu Kingdom knew that the royal family was ready for rebellion.
Perhaps when His Majesty the Emperor started vomiting blood in the palace, the royal family began to have ambitions. From that time on, they began to plan something and make some preparations.
After the court meeting, the Yushitai discussed and sent two brave censors with sharp mouths like knives to the two military camps to lobby Liu Guogong and Ye Guogong.
Although many people know that this is just a formal struggle, the royal family cannot put their planned actions in vain just because of the court's few words. Moreover, in the royal family's mouth, they are definitely not rebels. After all, there are four princes who are Their flag, in terms of ability alone, the fourth prince is definitely more qualified to inherit the throne of Chu than the prince, but the court has to take this seemingly low-profile action.
In the city of Kyoto, the garrison has climbed to the top of the city, and a large number of arrows have been placed on the high city. What's more, Xuanyuan Chou, as the commander-in-chief of the garrison, has ordered his subordinates to start gathering large pots. Once the war breaks out, The boiling water is enough to turn the siege soldiers into roast suckling pigs.
In addition to Kyoto City being actively prepared to respond, the majestic Imperial Palace in the city has also begun to be on guard. The fully armed Habayashi Guards guard the nine gates of the palace. Any nobles and courtiers who enter the palace, with the permission of the Queen Mother, All must undergo strict inspection by Habayashi Guards.
It's just that Kyoto City has not experienced a dangerous moment for too long, so the sudden clouds this time made the people and soldiers very uncomfortable.
The common people were trembling with fear, but the soldiers were also a little confused. Not knowing the real reason, they stood on the high city wall and looked at the peaceful land around Kyoto. They really didn't know why the court was so prepared.
March 24, the 18th year of Dachu Deqing's reign.
The imperial censor who was sent to the two major military camps returned to Kyoto in disgrace, and brought back only one answer.
The royal family believed that the prince was fierce and stubborn by nature, and he planned to assassinate his brothers just after the death of the emperor. How could such a tiger-like heart be able to shoulder the century-old foundation of Chu? The fourth prince was benevolent, righteous and filial, and was the most suitable candidate for the royal family. The heir to the throne, the two royal families of Liuye and Liuye tried their best to support the fourth prince as the new king. He will rule the world, benevolent to the world, and benefit all nine states.
This is already considered a declaration of rebellion.
No matter how restrained the Queen Mother was, no matter how much she didn't want the situation to get serious, no matter how much she didn't want the nightmare she was always worrying about to come true, she still had to issue a stern edict, and even ordered the two princes and the governor of Minzhou to go to the court to plead guilty.
April 25, the eighteenth year of Dachu.
The Nanlin Camp was divided into two routes, advancing into Kyoto from the east and south roads. At the same time, the Beilin Camp's 20,000 troops advanced into the north gate of Kyoto, and the Mzhou Camp's 18,000 elite troops advanced into the west gate of Kyoto. The armies of the four routes, with With great momentum and under the banner of the four princes, they began to besiege Kyoto.
Four armies, totaling 70,000 people, armed with Chu's most advanced siege weapons, prepared to capture the city of Kyoto, which had not been baptized by war in the past century.
The Kyoto garrison of 20,000 men was divided into four gates, using the weak to resist the strong, and was barely prepared for the attack.
On the same day, fires and assassinations occurred continuously in Kyoto. Many princes and party officials were found dead in the streets during the assassinations. Many mansions were in flames, and the people of Kyoto remained silent.
This is a sabotage action carried out by the royal family and the remaining forces of the four princes in response to the peripheral troops in Kyoto City.
The Kyoto Prefecture and the Metropolitan Prosecutor's Office had no choice but to devote their energy to stabilizing the internal situation in Kyoto.