Today is a dark day and the moon cannot be seen all night.
That red firework was like a starting bomb, making the previously quiet Bianjing City tense to the extreme!
The lights in Prince Lu's Mansion were brightly lit, and Zhao Zongshi, who had been 'bedridden', was pacing quickly in the study at this moment. There was no sign of illness on his body. He was the most anxious person tonight, because everyone else was kept in the dark at first.
Only he, his wife and Meng Yang knew what would happen tonight.
Naturally, he also had spies, and he agreed to deliver the message as soon as possible. However, he waited and waited, but instead of receiving a signal from his own people, he saw the fireworks.
"This must be Zhao Shu's people reporting the news." After hearing the report, Meng Yang suddenly opened his eyes and said: "Dare to risk such disgrace, it means that the official family is no longer good!"
"Well!" The April night was still cool, but Zhao Zongshi was sweating profusely. He wiped his forehead with a handkerchief and said, "Then, let's go according to plan."
"Haha." Although Meng Yang felt like he was beating a drum in his heart, he still squeezed out a smile to calm down the prince, "These matters will be arranged by Han Xianggong and Wang Shuxiang later. They don't need to worry about it. You don't need to worry about it."
Just act like your dutiful son."
"It's okay..." Zhao Zongshi's smile was worse than crying. He smiled like a night owl and said: "His father and son finally lost to my father and son, haha..."
Meng Yang sighed softly, Zhao Zhen's death today was thanks to the old prince. It turns out that a dead person can be more powerful than a living person!
After waiting for a cup of tea, Zhao Zongshi frowned and said, "Then why doesn't the old woman come and ask me to enter the palace?"
"Maybe Zhao Zhen hasn't died yet..." Meng Yang analyzed calmly: "It's not poison after all. He should just be in a coma now."
"Then is it possible for him to wake up?" Zhao Zongshi asked in surprise.
"No way." Meng Yang shook his head and said, "It's a miracle to wake up the second time. This is the third time..."
"..." Zhao Zongshi pressed his beating heart and said tremblingly: "That's good."
At this time, the servants of the house brought in Han Qi, Wang Gongchen, and Wu Kui. They were all woken up from their beds. Seeing the prince calling him late at night, they knew that something big was going to happen. But when Zhao Zongshi announced that Zhao Zhen
Even though they were already unconscious and would never wake up, the three of them were still shocked and speechless.
In order to keep it as secret as possible beforehand, Zhao Zongshi did not know several of his husband-in-laws, not even his brothers, so he could hide it from Chen Ke!
Han Qi was the first to react and asked in a hoarse voice: "May I know the details, Your Majesty?"
One sentence left Zhao Zongshi speechless. How could he talk about it? Wouldn't he admit that he was the regicide?
"That's right." Meng Yang quickly answered: "It was the informant in our palace who risked his life to report it!"
"Is it that firework?" Wu Kui asked.
"Yes." Meng Yang couldn't care so much anymore and nodded: "That's it."
"That's it..." Seeing that Zhao Zongshi refused to tell the truth, Han Qi fell silent. It was obvious that the prince was to blame for the official's death. Do you want to help him to the end? You must assess the risks... After all, Xianggong Han will never die again.
In terms of integrity, it is inappropriate for him to be a traitor and traitor. Even if Zhao Zongshi succeeds in ascending to power, he will still leave a stain in the history books.
Wang Gongchen and Wu Kui were excited, "This is really God's vision. It shows that the prince is a man of destiny, and no one can disobey him!"
"I just don't know if the official family has left any posthumous edict..." Han Qi said quietly.
"Uh..." Everyone seemed to have been poured cold water on them.
"It doesn't matter if there is any legacy or not!" Meng Yang said categorically: "At this time, two things are fundamental. One is Empress Cao. After the emperor dies, she has the final say in this country. Even if there is any legacy, she can still be abolished.
Get rid of that one and re-establish the British Lord! The other one is the army. Whoever has the army and controls the capital has the final say!"
His almost crazy remarks made Wang Gongchen and Wu Kui break into cold sweats. They had to do it with their heads raised!
"The palace gate has not been opened until now. It seems that it will not open before dawn." Meng Yang said solemnly: "The top priority is to control the capital!"
"The defense of the capital... is in the hands of Di Qing and his son." Wu Kui said with a wry smile.
When it comes to the defense of the capital, it naturally includes three aspects: one is the garrison inside the city, the other is the garrison outside the city, and the third is the force to guard the city gate. Bianjing City has 240,000 garrison troops, which are divided into three divisions of the Imperial Guard. The Dianqian Division
The imperial army under its jurisdiction is basically stationed in the capital. The troops guarding the infantry division and the horse army division are stationed in the military camps outside the city to protect the capital.
As for the city gate guard, it is the responsibility of the Imperial City Division, and the imperial guards are also under the jurisdiction of the Imperial City Division.
It is obvious that the Imperial City Department and the Imperial Palace Department are the key to the defense of the capital. Whoever controls these two institutions can control the capital and even decide whether to abolish the throne!
What's terrible is that these two yamen are actually in the hands of Di Qing and his son! And the relationship between the father and son with Zhao Zongshi, Han Qi, and Wang Gongchen is really... couldn't be worse.
The causes of the past lead to the results of today. If we had not single-handedly created the chaos in the palace back then, how would we be facing this situation today?
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"It doesn't matter, the father and son are just dogs on a chain." Meng Yang looked at Wang Gongchen and said: "Without the troop mobilizing talisman in the hands of the prime minister, no matter how many troops he has, they can't move! And the infantry commander Si He, who is the bodyguard of the infantry, cannot move.
All the commanders of the Cavalry Division are from our side. As soon as daybreak, the two divisions of forbidden troops stationed outside the city were mobilized to enter the city..."
"Do you want to get angry?" Wang Gongchen immediately shook his head and said repeatedly: "Those generals are all slippery and will not listen easily."
"One moment and another," Meng Yang sneered: "My prince is supported by Empress Cao, and Zhao Shuyuan is in Hebei. There is no suspense about the throne of the Song Dynasty! Do they want to make a contribution to the dragon, or will they be settled by the Queen?
It all depends on your performance at this juncture!"
"And the possibility of a conflagration is very slim," Wu Kui also nodded and said, "Di Qing is as timid as a mouse and is most afraid of being regarded as a traitor. He will most likely step aside and let us take over the city defense."
"Well, the Prime Minister might as well give him an order to keep his two armies stationary," Meng Yang nodded and said, "You can test out his quality right away!"
"Okay..." Wang Gongchen also thought clearly at this moment. Meng Yang's words just now were actually meant for him. Once the prince ascends to power, the ups and downs of the next few decades will all depend on his performance today.
.If you don’t sacrifice your life now, you will risk your life in the future...
"But there is one army, but be sure not to transfer it to the capital." Meng Yang thought for a moment and said, "It's the Dongchuan Army, which is now called the Zhongwu Army!" The order of the Forbidden Army in the Song Dynasty was not fixed. Sometimes some troops were sent to the capital because of need.
And some local elites who have made military exploits who have been transferred away from the capital will be promoted to the Forbidden Army and transferred to the capital to be stationed.
The Dongchuan Army is in the latter case. Because of their bravery in fighting in the southwest, they were divided into two. One half will still be garrisoned in Dongchuan City, and the other half will be named the Zhongwu Army, incorporated into the Infantry Division of the Guards, and stationed in Bian.
In the old camp of Jinmingchi outside the capital.
For Zhao Zongshi's side, this full force of 20,000 people is definitely a disaster!
"Just transfer them away," Wu Kui said.
"It's too late. It's not that easy for the army to move out." Wang Gongchen shook his head and said: "Besides, those southern barbarians have two opinions on whether they will listen to the instructions or not. At this juncture, if a mutiny is triggered, it will be troublesome. The best way is
Just ignore them first, wait until the overall situation is decided, and then make random decisions?"
"Yes." Meng Yang nodded and said: "As long as we keep them outside the city, there is no threat. If they dare to attack Bianjing City, they are traitors and traitors. We can justifiably destroy them!"
After the plan was completed, the three of them all looked at Han Qi. In the final analysis, this was their backbone. Han Xianggong's surprising silence made them feel very uneasy.
"In the final analysis, it still depends on whether you can master the city defense." Han Qi has already figured out that he has been on this boat for too long and can no longer get off. Besides, Zhao Zongshi still has a great chance of winning. If he loses the chain at this time, he will be as good as before.
All the investments were in ruins. No matter what, we have to let Zhao Zongshi win!
Thinking of this, he gathered his emotions and pulled himself together and said: "Now is indeed a good opportunity to turn defeat into victory. We must do everything possible to stabilize the situation and not mess up. The most important thing now is Di Hanchen. His father and his son control an army of 100,000 people.
He is also in charge of the defense of the capital and the Ouchi guards. Without his support, everything is in vain." He paused and said, "Even if Di can remain neutral, we can win this battle."
"Yes," Wang Gongchen thought for a while and said honestly: "But his father and son are close confidants of the official family, and they always listen to the official's advice, so I can't control it. What's more, their father and son have a close personal relationship with Chen Ke.
Well, I'm just afraid that they will do bad things."
"You don't have to worry about Di Hanchen, I'll deal with it." Han Qi said slowly: "You still have to do another thing, and that is to get rid of Chen Ke!"
"Ah! This is a tough guy, and he is soft-spoken. He can't speak in the palace, and he doesn't have an army." Wu Kui frowned and said, "Why don't you wait until the prince ascends to the throne before you can control him."
"Yeah..." Zhao Zongshi was very interested in slowly ravaging Chen Ke.
"Your Majesty, what you said is wrong!" Han Qi said coldly: "He is the soul of Zhao Shu's party. Zhao Shu is not in the capital, so all the power is mobilized by him. Killing him will abolish Zhao Shu's party.
Leader, even if they counterattack, they will fight on their own and it will not work. By the time Zhao Shu returns, the overall situation has already been decided, and they can only surrender obediently. "
"But this person is very difficult to deal with." Meng Yang had a good understanding of Chen Ke's toughness and said, "There are so many masters around him, I'm afraid the assassination will fail."
"Are you still using such despicable methods at this time?" Han Qi snorted coldly: "Just accuse him of treason and send the army to destroy him!"
He said it calmly, but it made people frightened when they heard it. The four of them looked at each other and said to themselves that they really had to let Mr. Han make the decision. This is the real commander-in-chief!
There is a lovely book friend who blames me for not asking for a monthly pass. Alas, there is really a reason why I can't ask for it. I am a person with some integrity and don't do things that dazzle others...