"Your Majesty, there are rumors that someone is going to rebel. Does Your Majesty know?" In the side hall, during the break of dancing, the Queen suddenly spoke.
Unexpectedly, the emperor was not angry. He pondered for a moment, then twirled the petals of the flowers on the table and asked jokingly: "Didn't the Queen herself say that I am not in a good mood? Please don't bother me with some false rumors?"
This is certainly not nonsense.
Last time, the female officers around the Queen were released from the thieves. After thinking about it, I felt that the thieves were a bit different from ordinary thieves. In addition, they arrived a long time later than the people here in Jiangdu. They found that there was no such thing as Jiangdu.
Not knowing what the situation was outside, I couldn't help but feel worried and wanted to make a report, and the queen agreed.
But the result was that the female official who went to see the emperor was beheaded for the crime of "deceiving the public with evil words".
The queen had no choice but to say to the other female officials: "The saint is in a bad mood, so don't disturb him."
From then on, no one in Jiangdu's chamberlain or palace officials said any negative news about the outside world in front of the emperor... let alone rebellion.
"Because this is the time, the other is the time, this is the same and the other is the same." The queen did not panic at all, she just spoke seriously.
"Oh?" The emperor looked surprised.
"At first, I was talking about how powerful the thieves were outside, but now I am talking about the forbidden troops around Jiangdu. I was talking about that in the hope that Your Majesty would cheer up and re-establish the world. Now I am talking about this because I am afraid that trouble will arise. If we are not careful, Jiangdu will be safe, and Your Majesty will be in danger.
It's hard to say." The queen spoke sincerely.
The emperor couldn't help but laugh, but he gave the queen face by opening the petals and calling out: "Who is on duty?"
Zhang Qianda, who was already sweating profusely, turned into the palace in embarrassment, knelt down and kowtowed: "Zhang Qianda in the Zhige Pavilion at the prison gate..."
After only saying his name, he was already so panicked that he didn't know how to continue.
"Zhang Qianda." The emperor thought for a moment. "Aren't you working as General Ying Yanglang to lead the army?"
"The saint knows thousands of miles." Zhang Qianda regained his consciousness a little after hearing this question. After all, this question has a predetermined answer. "I was indeed leading troops before, but recently because Sima Zheng was leading troops back to the east capital
There was some commotion in the army. Because I was an old subordinate of General Sima, I could not go back for some reason, which aroused resentment in the army... Then I begged to Xianggong Yu and gave up his military power to serve as a servant in front of the emperor.
.”
"Because you did not return to the Eastern Capital due to some strange combination of circumstances, you incurred the resentment of your subordinates in the army? Is that what you mean?" The emperor immediately understood.
"yes."
"The queen said that there are forbidden troops who want to rebel. Is this what you mean?" The emperor continued to ask.
"I dare not hide the saint." Zhang Qianda was obviously a little nervous. "In the past few years, there have been some commotions back to the Eastern Capital every few months, but this time Sima Zheng took away 30,000 elite soldiers at once. The above
The person who entered the palace knew that he was succeeding Uncle Cao, but most of them were just talking about it, and the following team generals and captains have become quite powerful... It is normal for the Queen to be alarmed by this, but it seems that the matter is more than that. "
"If you have anything to say, just say it." The emperor was obviously a little impatient again.
"It's a rumor about Tu Wan Chang discussing the old general. It is said that the day before yesterday, the master of literary studies in Jin Dynasty, Wang Huaitong of the Wang family in Taiyuan, suddenly appeared and visited the old general Tu Wan." Although Zhang Qianda was still trembling, he spoke a lot more sharply. "The ministers really dare not deceive the saint. There are many rumors in Jiangdu City. They all say that Wang Huaitong was entrusted by the British Gongbai Hengqiu to persuade him to return to Kansai... and there are many opinions on how to return. , he left alone, imitating Han's lead of bows and troops to leave, and there are even theories that General Tuwan planned to launch a mutiny and lead his army to attack Jiangdu."
The emperor fell silent, and the queen seemed to want to say something, but finally shut up and just looked at the former.
After a period of suppressed silence, the emperor in the side hall spoke again, but he looked at the person who settled the case: "They are all rumors. The queen is overthinking."
The queen nodded.
Instead, the emperor rushed to explain: "There are many people outside who want to plot against us, but as long as we don't fall into the hands of thieves, I can always be the empress of the Chen Dynasty and an Anle Gong. You can also imitate Empress Shen of the Chen Dynasty. Feel free to be a father-in-law."
The queen could only nod.
"Go down." The emperor waved his hand downwards.
Zhang Qianda quickly thanked him, then got up and returned to the outside of the temple to continue patrolling. After a while, he came to his senses and couldn't help but have subtle thoughts.
Firstly, he was thankful that he had managed to handle this crisis successfully; secondly, he was disappointed that he had not been able to seize the opportunity to divert the trouble to the east and use this opportunity to arouse the emperor's anger at Tu Ten Thousand Comments. Instead, he passed away lightly. Thirdly, it was this lightness and the emperor's obvious flinch that made Zhang Qianda feel a little relaxed... It turned out that this master who seemed so unfathomable before could be fooled so easily. Naturally, it made him relax a lot.
Zhang Qianda didn't think about it. After a small episode in the side hall, he continued singing, dancing and feasting. When the sun set and darkened, the singing and dancing ended, and the whole hall was lit with candles. According to this saint's rules in Jiangdu, it was time to Move your position and follow the Candlelight Avenue to the west of a row of residences to find the concubines in order... This year, especially since the saint recruited many concubines and beauties from Jiangdong and Huainan, he has always done this... Dozens of beauties, each with their own house, visit one by one every day, and whoever's turn it is is responsible for singing and dancing during the day and taking care of the bed at night.
During the day, the queen would often come, and there was a rare chance that the prince and grandson would accompany her. At night, the emperor would go to the beauty's residence alone.
But this time, Cao Che didn't get up in a hurry. Instead, he sat in his seat, lost in thought for a while.
The queen did not leave, but waited on the golden couch next to her.
After a long time, Cao Che finally said: "Get the bronze mirror."
The surrounding palace people did not dare to express their anger at first. After hearing this, they felt as if they had been granted amnesty. They quickly found a bronze mirror, placed it on the table in front of Cao Che, and moved the candlestick closer.
Cao Che looked at himself in the mirror, then turned to smile at his wife: "Bai Hengqiu and I are about the same age, only two or three years younger. I saw him in Dongdu with gray hair, and he was a little worried. He felt that he was like this
The same happens with age, but now it seems like I’m worrying too much.”
The queen chuckled: "The saint's talent is outstanding, far better than that of others."
Cao Che nodded, looked at his head in the mirror, smiled, and suddenly said: "It's such a good head, who should cut it?"
As soon as he said these words, the originally relieved atmosphere in the palace disappeared. Even the queen, who had maintained her dignity even when she was captured, changed her expression: "Why did Erlang say this? Didn't he just say that he could be An Le Gong?"
Xu was a title that had been called for decades, and when he was called out in this old place, Cao Che actually softened his heart and slowly spoke to comfort him: "The joys and sorrows of the noble and the humble are changing, just like the three radiances of the wheel, so why worry?"
The queen immediately fell silent.
The emperor also stood up, changed into short clothes in the hall, put on a scarf, and then took a cane. Like a leisurely scholar from the eight great families in Jiangdong, he followed the candlelight out of the side hall and went to the concubine whom he wanted to favor tonight.
Go everywhere.
The queen had no entourage, so she stayed for a while and then returned to her palace.
Zhang Qianda, on the other hand, patiently followed the emperor to the concubine's residence, watched her go in, and in the twilight of spring, when he arrived at the other straight pavilion of his replacement, he also hurried there, and met his former military guard on the way.
The supervisor, Niu Fangsheng, only glanced at him, then tacitly agreed, and together they went to Sima Deke's house.
This time, there were more people in the backyard of Smadeke's house, so that several key members simply contacted each other early and decided to hold a small meeting after everyone left.
And sure enough, there were so many people that it was impossible to explain clearly. Everyone was talking about it, and basically everyone said their own things. The few topics that were discussed in agreement fell on Wang Huaitong's visit to Tu Wanchanglun... Many people were really tempted.
Already.
After all, it would be good to go back to Dongdu. Dongdu is home, but this home only lasts for a generation or more than ten years. We are all Kansai people who moved to Dongdu after the current saint built it. So now the three major cities in the north
The forces in the east moved toward Hebei; the British occupied Jin territory and entered Guanxi; Sima Zheng entered the eastern capital and suppressed Huaixi... Except for the gang, which is obviously an enemy rather than a friend, which of the other two families can't do it?
However, the location of Dongdu is there. If you want to go from Jiangdu to Guanxi, you must either abandon the troops or lead the army alone to take a detour from Xiangfan to the Han River.
The road is not easy to walk on.
After the discussion, most people left. Except for Sima Deke, Sima Jinda, Zhao Xingmi, Zhang Qianda and other key members, only two newcomers, Yuan Lizheng and Niu Fangsheng, remained.
Of course there is a reason for the two of them to stay, because these two people were both members of the army who escaped from Xuzhou after the previous battle and returned to the defense. They belong to the same group as Zhao Xingmi and Zhang Qianda, the core backbone of the rebel group.
A small group... More importantly, Yuan Lizheng is now a Zhonglang General in the Jinwu Guard, and is the direct and powerful figure in charge of Sima Deke, another core member of the rebel group. Niu Fangsheng, who was the supervisor of the army at the time, is also now
He is from Naishi She, and belongs to Nanya... Both of them have important positions.
Therefore, although these two people were not the initiators of the agitation at the beginning, they were naturally directly absorbed into the core members.
"I'll say it first."
After one person left, Yuan Lizheng said with a dark face. "I came here because I heard that you guys are going to do something big. If you want to do what Xue Wanlun and those guys said, you can just flee on March 15th."
I'm going north together with my long talk, so I'm going to leave now and find someone else to do great things?"
Zhang Qianda wanted to explain.
Zhao Xingmi, who was standing next to him, was quick to talk and asked first, "Isn't what they said okay?"
"What the hell! Does a cultivator named Xue want to go to Guanxi? If he were to lead troops, not to mention Zhang Xing and Sima Erlang, he would not be able to get through even upstream Xiao Hui." Yuan Li was cursing. "And if he goes alone,
With all due respect, they can leave, but we can't! Without soldiers and horses, without this forbidden army to rely on, without people like Sima Erlang occupying a place to stay, we are just lonely ghosts!"
Zhao Xingmi and others were greatly relieved and nodded one after another.
"That's right, we just want to do big things." Sima Jinda even came up to hold hands, which attracted Sima Deke's attention.
When Zhao Xingmi saw this scene, he immediately asked Niu Fangsheng, who was silent: "Niu Sheren, you have also seen that we are going to do something big. Are you willing?"
Others understood and came to see it.
The truth is actually very simple... If they really wanted to leave after voicing endless arguments a few days ago, and they knew that there was a grandmaster they could rely on, they would not be afraid of the fate of the previous escapees, and they would have to directly lead the troops to follow them.
He even followed alone... But what now? Now that this rebel group has been established and has its own plan, it naturally wants to try to achieve some kind of demands.
And Yuan Lizheng stated the basic pursuit of several backbones here, which is to make their own decisions, control this forbidden army, and use it as capital in troubled times, and then go north.
At this time, the only person who was a little embarrassed was Niu Fangsheng. He had joined the army before and was now a member of the Internal Affairs Bureau. He had nothing to do with military power. And his biological father Niu Hong had been a minister in Nanya for many years as a minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs. He was a disciple.
There are so many officials all over the world... In this situation, where can I go without a future?
"Everyone, everyone." Niu Fangsheng knew it well and shook his head repeatedly. "I know what you mean, but there is no need to doubt me... First, although my cultivation is there, it is only a literary cultivation. In these troubled times, dragons and snakes
If there is no boat to escape, any bandit leader can kill me; secondly, since I came back from Xuzhou last time, I have been working in the Imperial Palace and want to escape on my own. Unlike you, I just have to
It will be even harder; thirdly, the saint is such a ghost, if we don’t do something, we will all die in Jiangdu!"
In the end, I gritted my teeth in anger.
When everyone saw Niu Fangsheng's statement, they felt relieved.
Zhao Xingmi even came to advise: "Since everyone is in agreement, don't waste time and just talk about things... Although it is noisy today, judging from the situation, the key positions have been acquired, and the public sentiment has risen, so it is time to go down."
"When did you start?" Yuan Li interrupted and asked.
"The day before yesterday." Zhao Xingmi could only answer in this way.
"Is it too fast?" Yuan Li was hesitant for a moment. "I think everything in the palace is as usual, and didn't you also say that it will be launched on the 15th of the month? If it is launched on the 15th, but you are fully prepared early, it will be wasted in vain.
It’s easy to get into trouble.”
"Fifteen is the deadline." Zhang Qianda explained. "In fact, it can be done earlier and there will be no delay."
"Today is the sixth day of the Lunar New Year... when is the earliest?" Yuan Lizheng was a little nervous.
"Looking at the moment, we can start the campaign as long as the Chief Manager Lai and Governor Niu are transferred out, regardless of the specific time." Zhao Xingmi answered frankly.
"I'm afraid this is a bit difficult." Zhang Qianda suddenly spoke, recounting what he had experienced today. "That's what happened... Why do I feel that our saint is so depressed that he doesn't want to care about anything?"
"If this is the case, it will be troublesome." After a dull breath, Smadek felt a little confused. "He died there without moving, and the manager and Governor Niu also died in the city and palace.
Here, aren’t we going to die too?”
"Then we can only escape alone?" Niu Fangsheng interrupted and asked.
Zhao Xingmi was also a little anxious.
"It's not impossible, but I don't think it's necessarily the case." At this time, Sima Jinda spoke slowly, thoughtfully. "If this guy is so depressed, why did he send cavalry to chase and kill the escapees before? Only a grandmaster can do that.
Departure, it’s not like he doesn’t have the means to suppress it…”
"What do you mean by General Seven?" Zhao Xingmi frowned slightly.
"He is not that kind of person." Sima Jinda responded coldly. "He is not the kind of person who indulges in betrayal. My eldest brother has been his guard leader for many years. We brothers all know that he is the kind of person who has betrayed himself.
People in the world, but they don’t allow people in the world to betray him in the slightest... One thing about today’s incident is that he is really sad about the situation. How can he not be sad when it comes to this? The second thing is that it just means that he has turned away from him after talking about it for a long time.
Bai Hengqiu violated his biggest taboo! But he doesn't know whether he cares about Tu Wan Chang Lun, the veteran and grandmaster, or whether Bai Hengqiu, who used to be humble and petty in front of him, now dares to covet his world!
"
"Then let's..."
"Tomorrow I will publicly complain about the rebellion. Anyway, this matter is not without evidence. Let's see how he handles it!" Sima Jinda gave the order directly.
After he finished speaking, he looked around and reminded again: "Everyone, just take a look at his attitude towards talking about thousands of things. Then you will know what will happen to us if we are timid!"
Everyone couldn't help but be awe-struck.
The matter was settled and the core group dispersed.
Among them, when Yuan Li was returning to his residence, he was tossing and turning and could not sleep peacefully. The next morning, he did not wait much, and even went to the palace early to go on duty, donning armor and holding a sword. As soon as he arrived at the palace, he walked along the palace wall.
Early in the morning, he turned to Cangcheng on one side and saw a person in a darkroom here, and then he saluted respectfully.
"Master Governor, Smadek is General Huben and is in charge of the Jinwu Guard. I did not dare to risk entering the palace last night to avoid suspicion." After Yuan Li stood up, he spoke carefully to the person in front of him.
The man was wearing an official uniform and a small crown. Behind him were carts and thick objects such as hemp rope. He was actually twisting a bunch of hemp and twisting the hemp rope in his hands. Hearing the words, he raised his head and exposed his chin.
With a slightly white beard, he is clearly the number one expert in the palace, a veteran grandmaster, and Governor Niu of Beiya.
Duke Niu nodded, his expression unchanged, and continued to twist the hemp rope: "So, they really want to rebel?"
"It depends on what you say." Yuan Lizheng sighed. "For now, I still want to find a lot of people, then break up and escape back to Dongdu... But if you say this is rebellion, you can't say it is wrong.
.”
Duke Niu nodded and continued to ask: "Are there many people?"
"Regardless of whether they are civil or military, almost 70% to 80% of those who enter the palace want to leave, and the people below want to leave even more. There is no way to ask." Yuan Lizheng continued to speak.
"March 15th?"
"Yes." Yuan Li was cheering up a little. "I asked them if they had a false shot, and then some people planned to leave early or do something... They meant that if they wanted to escape, leaving early would attract attention.
, and ended up being chased and executed by the Huai River before, and they had to disperse in a hurry."
"Scattered in a hurry." Niu Dugong repeated, still twisting the hemp rope. "Is there any more?"
"Yes." Yuan Li said seriously. "Actually, these people can't guarantee that things will work out, because Tu Wan Chang Lun's incident was beyond their expectations. Many people want to follow Tu Wan Chang Lun and go to Bai Heng.
Autumn……"
"Speaking of ten thousand long theories." Niu Dugong muttered to himself, muttering several names slowly, and finally stopped with his hands. "Speaking of ten thousand long theories...Wang Huaitong...Zhang Bofeng...Sun Siyuan...Bai Hengqiu...
…Zhang Xing…Sima Zheng…Xiong Bonan…Li Ding…Cao Lin…Zhang Shizhao…Wang Zhuo…things are really different and the world is turned upside down.”
"That's right." Yuan Li was slightly moved in his heart, but his face remained unchanged, and he just agreed on the spot. "There have been so many masters in recent years, it's so scary... But does the Governor already know the context of this matter? General Tuwan
Will it really be the opposite?"
"It has been difficult to predict people's hearts since ancient times. Who knows?" Mr. Niu shook his head and twisted the hemp rope again. "Go and do your work! I will be here morning and night. Come over anytime you want."
Yuan Lizheng hesitated for a moment and couldn't help but ask: "Aren't you going to ignore it now? Let's take a long-term view to catch the big fish?"
"Why bother?" Governor Niu didn't even raise his head. "Arrest 70% to 80% of the civil and military officials in the city? Go ahead."
Yuan Li nodded and hurriedly retreated.
On the morning of the seventh day of the lunar month, suddenly an officer of the Forbidden Army came from Liyang. He claimed that he had told a long story and openly ordered his troops to pack up and prepare to march west to Huainan, passing through Nanyang and returning to Guanzhong. However, they did not see the relevant official documents, so they risked their lives.
Report. Zhao Xingmi, the general on duty, did not dare to neglect and hurriedly reported to Sima Jinda, the General Staff Officer of the Forbidden Army. Sima Jinda then forwarded it to the Zhu Kingdom, and the Duke of Rui Kingdom, Zuo Yiwei General Sima Huada.
Sima Huada did not dare to neglect, so he could only hurriedly transfer the matter to Nanya while Sima Jinda hurriedly washed his face and came to see the pilgrim saint.
After struggling for a long time, the sage finally conveyed the decree and gathered Jiangdu's important officials to discuss the matter.
To be honest, we haven't seen this kind of occasion for more than half a year... The last time we discussed setting up a palace in Jiangning, it was only then that everyone realized that there seemed to be a hidden dragon and a crouching tiger in this court.
Sima Jinda stood inside the door with his head half lowered, his eyes scanning from the farthest end, that is, the innermost side:
Prince Qi's face was pale, and he only stood in the uppermost position with his hands bowed. If he hadn't seen His Highness's sharpness in the past few years, Sima Jinda would almost have thought that he was a waste... but it seemed that he would become a waste in the past few years;
After King Qi came the two grandsons... This shocked Sima Jinda, and then he keenly realized that the two accompanying grandsons had actually grown up in the past few years and were no longer young men;
After the emperor's grandson is his brother. Although his brother has washed his face, the smell of alcohol on his body can still be smelled from a long distance away. He seems to be a loser... But after all, he is his eldest brother and the head of the Sima family.
, is Erlang's biological father...of course, he is also the number one person in the Forbidden Army, and is his biggest backer for actually assuming power in the Forbidden Army;
After the elder brother, there were three other generals and generals in charge of the first guard. Among them, Smadeke immediately winked at him when he saw him. The other two nodded slightly when they saw him, but they didn't know that they were hinting.
What, still saying hello casually;
As for the last person, he was as tall as a giant and occupied half of the queue. Suddenly, the general manager of Jiangdu came to fight. This grandmaster who was born in Jiangdu did not speak to the others, but just lowered his head and stared blankly;
Opposite this row of people, the one at the back was none other than Mr. Yu Changji... Frankly speaking, Sima Jinda still felt a little guilty towards this Mr. Yu who independently supported Nanya in Jiangdu, even though he had just witnessed his excessive greed the night before.
;
It was the uncle Xiao Yu who acted as the target of Xianggong Yu. Now his face is expressionless and he doesn't know what he is thinking. There are really not many other decent people. It's just that some of Xianggong Yu's deputies need a little attention, such as the two internal historians.
, one is Feng Chang, who is from Bohai and the real right-hand man of Xianggong Yu, and the other is Niu Fangsheng;
In addition to these people, there are two groups nearby, one is a few people standing behind the throne, including Fu Baolang Xu Hong; the other is two pavilion officials standing outside the palace, one of whom is Zhang Qianda
.
No matter what, there are people of his own in all directions, which still gives Sima Jinda, the planner of today's events, a little more confidence.
Just as he was thinking about it, the saint came in wearing short clothes and a scarf, holding a staff, and everyone quickly bowed down and saluted.
After the ceremony, Sima Jinda raised his head and saw a person behind the saint. He was shocked, but had nothing to say... because that was none other than Duke Niu, who had not been seen for a long time.
"Everything is known, what do you mean?" The emperor sat casually and spoke casually. He did not ask Sima Jinda to report the situation at all.
"Reporting to your majesty, I thought I could call General Tuwanlao over for testing." A person immediately came out, it was my uncle Xiao Yu. "To avoid hurting innocent people or misunderstanding."
"You have a kind heart, but you are also impatient." The emperor sneered and looked at the others again. "King Qi, what do you think?"
"I think what my uncle said may not be undesirable." King Qi raised his head, his face turning red.
"You are kind-hearted, but also impatient... General Tuwan is here, Jiangdong is yours, right?" The emperor sneered again.
"My son, I didn't have any evil intentions, I was just worried that the situation would get out of control." King Qi lowered his head, and the color on his face disappeared.
"Reporting to Your Majesty, I think it is indeed possible to invite General Tuwan to Jiangdu to ask questions...but to prevent this from backfire, and to ensure that he cannot seize the opportunity to escape, we must send someone who can keep an eye on him."
At this moment, Sima Jinda decisively raised his hand and spoke. "If he really wants to rebel, he will be suppressed; if he is not rebelling, he will just come to Jiangdu to replace him... I recommend him to be the general manager and lead the troops."
"That's fine." The emperor thought for a moment, then went to see Lai Zhan'er again. "Lai Qing, just take a trip!"
Lai Zhan'er hesitated for a moment and then stepped out of the queue: "I am not afraid of war, but I am a little worried about the situation in Jiangdu..."
"What's the situation in Jiangdu?" the emperor said immediately. "What's the situation in Jiangdu? Yu Changji?"
"Report to Your Majesty." Yu Changji immediately came out. "The morale of the army is a little fluctuating, and there are rumors that the entire army will return north on March 15th."
The emperor was stunned for a moment, then looked at Sima Huada again: "Mr. Rui Guo."
"Hui Sage, there is such a thing." Sima Huada's face turned red. "But this kind of rumors come out every now and then... I dare not hide it. The reason why it is serious this time is precisely because there are other things in the long discussion.
The rumors are all gathered together, so they appear more powerful than before."
The emperor frowned slightly, looked past Sima Huada and looked at another trusted general: "Sima Deke."
"Your Majesty, I'm here." Sima Deke hurriedly stepped forward and handed over his hand. "Your Majesty, it is indeed true. There have always been rumors, but this time they are so powerful. It was caused by Wang Huaitong of Taiyuan going to see General Tuwan a few days ago... So
, these two things are actually the same thing.”
"I knew it." The emperor sneered again and went to see Lai Zhan'er again. "Come on, manager, did you hear that? If you don't bring the Tu Wan Chang Lun, there will be chaos here... The Tu Wan Chang Lun is
This hole!"
"I didn't refuse, I was just worried about your majesty's safety." Lai Zhan'er said sincerely. "If I'm not here, if chaos breaks out in Jiangdu, and your majesty makes a mistake, I will not give up even if I die."
"It's okay, Duke Niu is here." The emperor pointed his finger at the person behind him. "Go!"
"Then your Majesty wants to promise me something." Lai Zhan'er raised his chin, looked past almost everyone in the hall, and looked directly at the emperor. "Before I came back, there was a huge chaos and all kinds of calculations, including what happened to me.
No matter what the problem, we can’t let Duke Niu leave Jiangdu City... Otherwise, I would rather resist the order than go to Liyang!"
Everyone in the palace had different expressions, and they all looked at the mountain of Lai Zhan'er, and so did the emperor.
After a while, the emperor nodded: "Then go back quickly! Take the Jiangdu soldiers! Don't go to Liuhe Mountain, go around from the north and block the passage!"
"I will go to see General Tuwan first, and the soldiers and horses will go north on their own." Lai Zhan'er changed the emperor's plan again, and then kowtowed and retreated on the spot without waiting for a reply.
As soon as the person left, the emperor also left, the meeting dispersed, and everyone went to their respective places, drinking when they should, and doing duty when they should... But among them, several key members of the rebel group who participated in the meeting all had the same reaction, that is, they were like mourning their concubines.
, at a loss.
There was nothing they could do, no matter what they were afraid of, no one expected that before Lai Zhan'er left, he actually came and killed Duke Niu and left him in Jiangdu City.
In the afternoon, Lai Zhan'er had already hurriedly led some elites to set off first. As soon as they left, several backbones of the rebel group who could not hold themselves back had already gathered in broad daylight at Sima Jinda's residence... However, these people gathered together
It was useless to do it all together. One afternoon, they only confirmed one thing, that is, if they ask Niu Du Gong to leave Jiangdu at this time, no matter what the reason is, it will make the emperor suspicious and it will be invalid. If Niu Du Gong does not leave,
, it means that the emperor has an old master bodyguard to protect him in the palace, which makes everyone intimidated.
In the evening, due to the change of location, most of the people who had been attracted before went to Smadeke's mansion to gather together. They were probably even excited by Lai Zhan'er's departure. However, when Sima arrived here, only a few people happened to be there.
When people arrived, the quarrel and confusion amplified.
However, amid the chaos, the situation gradually became clearer, because there seemed to be only one way.
"One grandmaster can only watch three Chengdan. If four or four are not enough, we must mobilize the masters in advance to form a formation. Moreover, we are unprepared and he cannot protect the saint. Once the saint is eliminated, Lord Niu will not resist." Sima
Jinda was the most determined. "Are we going to retreat at this time?"
"I also agree." Zhao Xingmi was panting. "I also agree, we can't shrink from the battle... Do it tonight, do it now, contact the experts in the army, and then launch the plan to go north to the Xuanwu Black Gate that day."
Smadek also nodded.
These three nodded, naturally it was time to reach an agreement.
Immediately, Zhang Qianda gritted his teeth and responded: "Then do it!"
"You really can't retreat at this time." Niu Fangsheng actually didn't retreat.
"I am someone close to the saint. If you want to start something, just tell me. I will temporarily pass on the imperial edict to see if I can trick Mr. Niu away." Fu Baolang Xu Hong, who was in the right place, simply offered his advice. "What if it happens?"
, always a good thing.”
"I also have an idea." Zhang Kang, the imperial doctor, was also there, but he didn't flinch. "I treated the concubines in the harem, and I knew there were several concubines. The palace people hated the saint for kidnapping them... without telling them in advance.
, go ahead and ask them to cooperate with Xu Hong to falsely spread the imperial edict, maybe they can shake Du Gong Niu."
"Okay!" Sima Jinda nodded immediately. "Anything is fine!"
At this time, Yuan Lizheng, who had been relatively quiet tonight and was more like observing everyone's attitude, suddenly stood up: "Everyone, I have a question! Is Lord Niu really loyal?"
Everyone was surprised for a moment.
Yuan Lizheng simply showed his hands: "Weren't we loyal before we came to Jiangdu? What about now? We came to take charge of Zhongxin because he, like the emperor, has lived in Jiangdu for a long time and has no such grievances... But what about Niu Du Gong?
"
"So what if Duke Niu's family is in Dongdu? He is a father-in-law, and I have never heard that he imitated other governors and took concubines outside." Niu Fangsheng was a little puzzled.
"But Mr. Niu Dugong has always been very good to the chamberlains and palace people below." Yuan Li explained seriously. "The palace servants and chamberlains also respect him, and the palace people and chamberlains, including Niu Dugong himself, would not have a family if it were not for him.
, that is also Xiyuan and Ziwei Palace... They also want to go back. And don't forget that most of the servants and palace people were separated in Huaixi. Wang Dugong became a rebel and joined a gang. I don't believe Niu Dugong.
There is no resentment against the saint for this matter."
"You want to win over Governor Niu?" Zhao Xingmi looked slightly uneasy.
"You can't win him over in advance, it's too risky." Yuan Lizheng explained calmly. "But just like Zhang Yizheng said, you can find him before launching the attack to sway... My idea is that we will have more troops by then.
Lu, Fu Baolang and I went to see Duke Niu to pretend to preach the imperial edict, and see if we could persuade him. The imperial doctor was looking for the concubines and palace servants, asking them to pretend to preach the imperial edict and gather together the few internal servants in Jiangdu.
Taking him as a hostage and attacking from both inside and outside may be able to destabilize Lord Niu... At the same time, we still need to contact the experts and gather an elite group that can deal with the Grandmaster when necessary."
"It's feasible." After thinking for a moment, Smadek gave the first reply.
"When will it be launched?" Zhang Qianda asked upon seeing this.
"The more time it is, the less urgent it is." Zhao Xingmi immediately made arrangements. "Contact and select people carefully, and don't look for someone who is too loyal... Let's start spreading rumors on the 11th for the time being, and start on the 12th.
"
"Why is it the 12th?" Zhang Qianda couldn't ask further.
"Because Lai Zhan'er is leaving today. Either he will talk a lot and not come back with him. There will always be seven or eight days to spare, and it can be before the fifteenth. Or he can come back as soon as possible, which will be about tomorrow or the day after. Then we will wait for him to come back immediately.
To promote the execution of Tu Wan Chang, and then to rob the prison, please take the initiative, General Tu Wan, to open up this stall together!" Zhao Xingmi's logic is clear and strict.
"Okay." Sima Jinda also gritted his teeth and agreed. "From tomorrow on, the few of us will only talk here with me, and win over others to Sima Huben's place."
In this way, as the situation changed, everyone became firmer.
The next day, the eighth day of the lunar month, the situation was stable. As expected, Lai Zhan'er did not return. Everyone just followed the plan to find masters in the armies and win over the elites. The only disturbance was that Yu Jieluo from Jiangning sent a letter asking Lai Zhan'er about sending troops.
No one cares about anything.
That night, the backbone of the rebel group gathered at Sima Jinda's house. They found that the search for the master was going very smoothly, so they had to rest for a day and start preparations the next day.
However, at the third watch, just when everyone was about to disperse, suddenly, a strong south wind came, howling like winter. Not only the flowers and leaves outside were withered, but the branches were blown off and the tiles were blown down.
What's more, when several rebel backbones were stunned, a strong wind crossed the corridor and swept into Sima Jinda's study with the light of the double moon from the window, blowing the papers and calligraphy on the wall like snow.
Leaning slightly, the strong wind outside was still roaring, and the hall had calmed down a little. Sima Jinda was lost in thought when he looked at the broken Chinese characters that were carried into his hands by the wind.
Several people came back to their senses and were puzzled by the situation. They gathered around to look at the candlelight that was still there, but they saw that there were only two sentences left on the scrap of paper:
"It's a shame that the strong wind is empty. It comes at dawn and at night, but it's all blown away."
The signature was actually Yu Changji.
After watching it for a while, some people understood, some didn't, and some misunderstood and thought they understood, but for some reason, all of them were out of breath.
"I have made up my mind, and the weather is irreversible." Sima Jinda suddenly and coldly tore up the remaining half of the article. "Tomorrow dawns, if the wind is still there, I will use the power of the Red Emperor Empress to join forces during the day to encourage , start at the third watch in the evening! By the morning of the tenth, whether you are alive or dead is insignificant! Why hesitate to move forward and worry about a master?!"
The others were just about to say something when the strong wind blew again outside. Everyone was excited, but they nodded one after another.
At dawn, which was the ninth day of March, the neatly dressed Huben General Smadek pushed the door open and found that the strong wind had been howling all night, and sure enough it was still there.
