In the sixteenth year of Tianbao's reign (757), on the eighth day of the eleventh month, Liangzhou Palace issued an edict, and three days later a court appearance was held at the Liangzhou official residence, with all the civil and military officials attending.
It's nightfall on the ninth day of November.
Kong You stood in front of the palace gate, looking at the Liangzhou Palace in the night, silent.
Uncle Shen, who was dressed in Mingguang armor and had a horizontal sword on his waist, walked up to Kong You and said, "The two thousand soldiers of the Liangzhou camp have now arrived at the military town outside the north gate."
Following closely behind Uncle Shen was Sun Aying, the leader of the personal army.
He came to Kong You and said: "The Guiyi army, with a thousand light cavalry, detoured from Mobei, avoiding the Liangzhou garrison along the way, and arrived at Baiting to capture and defend it. They gathered together with the five hundred soldiers to form a group.
There are fifteen hundred cavalry troops, less than thirty miles away from Liangzhou City."
Kong You looked into the distance and said quietly: "A few months ago, my lord received the imperial edict to recall Liangzhou. Before leaving, in order to gain control of the Hexi Army and then take over the defense of the Liangzhou Army, I secretly arranged for you two troops
Sneaking back to Liangzhou as a maneuver. Unexpectedly, the emperor actually ignored the war situation in Hebei and took the lead in attacking. He was so comatose that it was beyond the expectations of my lord and I. My lord is currently under house arrest in the palace, and will be stripped of his military power soon.
Therefore, success or failure will be tonight."
Sun Aying: "My Lord is behind bars now. Even if there are mountains of swords and seas of fire ahead of us, we should move forward calmly."
Uncle Shen stroked the beard on his chin and said with a smile: "The old soldier of the Jin family was an abandoned son of the Tang Dynasty before, but now he has the day to enter the palace to collect debts. It is really a trick of fate."
Kong You turned around and said, "There are a total of three checkpoints from outside the city to the palace."
"The first gate is the city gate. At the north gate of Liangzhou City, the generals on duty today are the subordinates of General Wang Sili. When you lead your troops outside the city, use the lights as a signal, and the other side will open the city gate. Once the city gate is opened, you
Then he rushed to the palace at full speed."
"The second pass - the inner city. The inner city gate closest to the north gate of Liangzhou City is Min'en Gate, where eight hundred forbidden troops are stationed. The Liangzhou Battalion is responsible for capturing the city gate, and then guarding Min'en Gate to prevent
Other Tang troops entered the palace. Ah Ying led 1,500 cavalry troops through the hall and went directly to the inner garden to rescue the Lord. General Wang Sili, as agreed, would send troops to control the two east and west camps in the city to ensure that we
You won’t be attacked from both sides.”
Hearing this, Sun Aying couldn't help but ask: "The inner city is strong, the city wall is high, and there are 800 forbidden troops at Min'en Gate. If the Liangzhou camp struggles to attack the city and wastes time, wouldn't it be a bad thing? How about,
Should I ask the Guiyi Army and the Guards to help attack the inner city?"
Hearing this, Uncle Shen laughed and said: "Ah Ying, you underestimate us old people of the Jin family too much. This Liangzhou city is where the Jin family was born and raised. Naturally, we have a way to capture it in the shortest possible time."
Inner city.”
Seeing that Uncle Shen was full of confidence, Sun Aying stopped insisting.
Kong You continued: "Once you enter the palace city, there is the last checkpoint left, which is the Chengyu Hall where the emperor lives. At the end of the side corridor outside the main hall, there is a rear camp of the Forbidden Army, where a guard is stationed all year round.
The elite 500-strong Forbidden Army are all descendants of the imperial family and have considerable fighting prowess. Once the Ming'en Gate is attacked, the 500-person Forbidden Army will inevitably rush to the Chengyun Palace. If you want to control
If we live as emperor, we must defeat this army."
Sun Aying bowed to Kong You and said loudly that he would definitely be able to complete the task.
At the end of the moon, Sun Aying led the cavalry consisting of the Guards and the Guiyi Army, as well as the Liangzhou Battalion led by Uncle Shen, and lurked in the dense forest to the north of Liangzhou City.
When the appointed time came, some soldiers from the Guiyi army picked up lamps and swung them towards the city gate.
Not long after, someone at the city gate responded with lights.
Seeing the city gate slowly opening, Sun Aying breathed a sigh of relief and ordered the entire army to enter the city.
After the Liangzhou camp commanded by Uncle Shen and the cavalry commanded by Sun Aying all entered the city.
Sun Aying took out the palace defense map that Kong You had given him before leaving, and said to Uncle Shen: "Now the first pass is passed. But the second pass, Ming'en Gate, is heavily guarded. If we cannot capture it as soon as possible, we will be trapped."
In a tight siege, defeat and death are secondary, but bringing harm to the master's family is the most serious crime."
Uncle Shen nodded and said with a smile: "I and the Jin family's military guards are all old people in Liangzhou City. I know every brick and wood in this city by heart. The Ming'en Gate is bound to be won, so you don't need to worry."
The two men led the army and marched quickly along the long street until they arrived in front of the Min'en Gate of the Inner Palace.
Looking at the dozing garrison on the city tower, Uncle Shen took advantage of the darkness and led a group of soldiers to the bottom of a virgin wall.
Uncle Shen commanded his soldiers and tapped the bricks on the city wall with wooden sticks.
When a hollow echo came from knocking on a place, Uncle Shen nodded and signaled his men to start removing the bricks.
A group of soldiers knelt on the ground, used sharp tools to pry into the cracks in the stone, and then carefully drove in wooden wedges. After gently prying it back and forth, they removed the heavy bricks one by one, revealing the hollow passage at the bottom of the city wall.
Uncle Shen said to Sun Aying who was standing aside: "This official residence in Liangzhou City was built for the Hexi Jiedushi envoy five years ago. The Hexi Jiedushi envoy at that time was An Sishun, who was the same as the Lord.
They look good but have ulterior motives. When the city walls and official offices were first built, both craftsmen and servants were hired from local people. And those local craftsmen all came from Liangzhou Neifang. Therefore, when building the official offices,
Several stewards of the Jin family and I, after obtaining the consent of the Lord, deliberately buried a secret passage here. The purpose is that one day, if the Liangzhou official residence falls into the hands of others, we can attack it if we advance and escape if we retreat."
Sun Aying nodded lightly. No wonder Uncle Shen showed no pressure at all when he mentioned attacking Liangzhou Palace. It turned out that he had reserved such a move as a back-up.
In less than half a quarter of an hour, a low passage was opened under the city wall.
The two soldiers, who were fully clothed, crawled into the passage at the same time, and then got into the city without feeling any burden.
Uncle Shen watched the soldiers from the Liangzhou camp enter the city one by one along the passage. He turned to Sun Aying and said: "I will lead the troops to capture Min'en Gate later and then open the city gate. You lead the cavalry,
Don’t worry about the fighting at the city gate, just rush into the inner garden, rescue the master of the family as soon as possible, and then control the emperor, don’t lose your way.”
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! Sun Aying patted the defense map on his chest and said to Uncle Shen: "There are spies in the palace, and all the residences in the inner city have been marked.
After I figured it out and drew it into a diagram, I will never lose my direction."
Uncle Shen nodded in agreement, and then followed his subordinates into the city wall.
Sun Aying returned to the road outside the palace city and ordered his sergeants to be ready to rush into the city once the city gate was opened.
Ban Weizheng, the leader of the cavalry, looked at the city gate in the night, rubbed his hands, and whispered to Zhang Yanling and Wang Hong behind him: "We will rush into the city later. Don't be too eager to fight. Follow closely."
I."
Zhang Yanling held the weapon in his hand and couldn't hide the excitement in his heart: "A man will make great contributions today. As long as we can rescue the Lord, we have made a great contribution and we will definitely be reused in the future!"
Wang Hong had a calm personality and said in a low voice: "Once the city gate is opened, it takes about half a stick of incense to go from Min'en Gate, go around the cloister and inner hall, and then ride a horse into the inner garden. Therefore, the key to this battle is
It all comes down to one word - quick. As long as we can rush into the inner garden before the enemy returns to defense, the battle will be half successful."
Ban Weizheng waved his hand, signaling Zhang Yanling and Wang Hong to be silent.
The three of them listened intently, and suddenly a loud shouting of murder came from the originally silent Ming'en Gate.
Accompanied by the loud noise of weapons clashing, chaos broke out inside the palace gate. The fighting was so intense that the three of them could clearly feel it even from across the city gate.
In about a quarter of an hour, the Liangzhou camp led by Uncle Shen captured Min'en Gate.
When the city gate was wide open, Sun Aying got on his horse, drew his sword again, and shouted to his subordinates: "The whole army rushes to rescue the Lord!"
Fifteen hundred light horses passed through the city gate, and the horses' hooves stepped on the bluestone slabs of the palace street. They were heavy and dense, like an earthquake, causing the entire inner palace to shake.
Along the way, the palace maids, chamberlains, guards, etc. had no idea what was going on and were running around like headless flies.
Sun Aying ignored these people and rushed directly into a small courtyard marked on the map.
The imperial troops guarding the courtyard gate turned pale when they saw a large number of light cavalry attacking them. Before they could form their formation, they were shot to death by arrows one after another on the spot.
Looking at the gate of the small courtyard, Sun Aying got off his horse and got down to the ground. He knelt on the ground again and shouted: "Your Majesty! Aying is here!"
The door of the small courtyard was gently pushed open. Zhou Jun walked outside the door, looked into the courtyard, and smiled happily: "We are finally here."
Sun Aying stood up, took a piece of armor from his subordinates, and helped Zhou Jun put it on.
While Zhou Jun was putting on his armor, he asked Sun Aying: "Your Majesty, do you have any arrangements?"
Sun Aying nodded and said: "Eight hundred cavalry have been divided and are attacking the Chengyu Palace where the emperor is. However, the defense there is tight and we have not yet been able to capture it."
Zhou Jun: "Did you bring a map?"
Sun Aying: "Take it with me."
After saying that, Sun Ah Ying took out the defense map from his arms and unfolded it for Zhou Jun to see.
Zhou Jun found a location on the map, tapped it gently with his hand, pointed there and said: "Send a hundred horses to capture all the people here and bring them to me. The rest of the people will all mount their horses and follow me.
Go to Chengyu Hall to meet the Holy Spirit."
Sun Aying cupped his hands and said "Hey."
Zhou Jun got on his horse, took one last look at the small courtyard where he was under house arrest, then turned around without hesitation and rode towards the palace where Li Longji was.
A group of people rushed into Chengyu Hall.
Under the guard of his soldiers, Zhou Jun walked into the palace gate and saw that the only entrance leading to the apse was sealed with a shield wall by hundreds of forbidden troops, and bows and crossbows kept coming.
The leader of the cavalry army who was responsible for directing the attack ran over and knelt in front of Zhou Jun and said: "Commander, the back hall is narrow and can only accommodate dozens of people. The enemy troops are arrayed with large shields and covered with crossbows.
It is difficult for us to deploy our troops, so the battle has been delayed until now."
Sun Aying looked at the entrance to the apse and said to Zhou Jun: "My lord, this place is easy to defend but difficult to attack. I'm afraid it's a bit tricky."
Before Zhou Jun could speak, Ban Weizheng stood up and said, "I have a way to defeat these defenders."
Zhou Jun asked: "What can you do?"
Ban Weizheng: "Before I entered the army, I once committed burglary in the market..."
Sun Aying frowned and interrupted: "What nonsense are you talking about? Military is not a child's play."
Zhou Jun saw that Ban Weizheng was confident, so he nodded and said, "Go ahead and give it a try. If you can break through the defenders here, I will credit you with your success."
The squad guard Zheng was overjoyed and quickly took Zhang Yanling, Wang Hong and other soldiers with him, ran out of the hall, and climbed up to the roof of the hall along the side pillars with eaves using both hands and feet.
After they reached the roof, Ban Wei Zheng and a group of soldiers took off the crossbows on their backs, then lifted up the bricks and tiles, aimed at the imperial guards below, and fired at random.
The Forbidden Army was caught off guard, suffered heavy casualties, and was in chaos.
Sun Aying took advantage of the situation and led his troops, charging and killing, and the last line of defense in front of the apse collapsed.
Stepping over the corpses of the imperial soldiers, Zhou Jun led a group of soldiers and rushed into the back hall.
At this time, all the palace maids, chamberlains and other servants had already fled.
There was only one person standing in the huge apse courtyard, facing off against the incoming army.
Zhou Jun looked at Gao Lishi not far away. Although the latter's face was pale and his arms were fighting, he stood there without any intention of retreating.
Gao Lishi tried his best and shouted to Zhou Jun: "Mr. Zhou, His Majesty, regardless of your humble background, promised you a consort and gave you a title. Why do you want to repay kindness with enmity?"
Zhou Jun stared at Gao Lishi and said in a deep voice: "There are many reasons, one of which is that I am not Wang Zhongsi, so I can't learn and sit back and wait for death!"
After saying that, Zhou Jun shouted towards the back hall: "It's time to come out!"
As soon as he finished speaking, under Gao Lishi's disbelieving gaze, Fan Jinian walked out of the back hall holding a brocade box, and came to Zhou Jun in fear.
Zhou Jun opened the brocade box and found six imperial seals lying quietly inside, namely the emperor's official seal, the emperor's official seal, the emperor's letter seal, the emperor's official seal, the emperor's official seal, and the emperor's official letter seal, which are called the "Six Seals of the Emperor".
Zhou Jun took out the imperial edict that he had already written from his arms, stamped it with the imperial seal, nodded to Fan Jinian and said: "Take this imperial edict and rush to Min'en Gate immediately to order the Tang troops in the city to return to their camps. Without the imperial order,
Don’t leave without permission!”
After saying that, Zhou Jun turned to Sun Aying and said: "Aying, you go with Mr. Fan, and you can't make any mistakes on the way!"
Seeing Fan Jinian leaving the palace with a false imperial edict, Gao Lishi turned red and cursed loudly.
Zhou Jun ignored him and shouted to the palace again: "Your Majesty, will you come out on your own, or shall I go in to find you?"
After a long time, the door to the back hall opened. Li Longji, who was walking tremblingly, stood in front of the door with the support of his chamberlain and looked at Zhou Jun angrily.
The monarch and his ministers were just looking at each other from a distance, and the air in the entire hall seemed to be frozen.