It has just entered April, which is supposed to be the most pleasant spring season in Beijing. However, these days it has been steaming hot and dusty, making people irritated and unbearable. In the evening, dark clouds finally came, and the sky was covered with darkness, but the air was...
It is getting more and more muggy, and the world seems to be stagnant, as if the first heavy rain of summer is brewing...
At this time, every household had its doors and windows open and it was still too stuffy. In Prince Zhao's mansion, the small study room used for discussing secret matters had its doors and windows closed. In addition to Prince Zhao and Wei Wuque, there were also seven or eight of Prince Zhao's confidants sitting inside.
The leader is Meng Xian, the commander of the guards in Changshan. King Zhao is the emperor's favorite son, so he naturally has three guards directly under him, namely the guards in Changshan, the left and the right. Meng Xian is in his forties and has a dignified appearance.
, is King Zhao's wife's uncle. He also followed Zhu Di during the Northern Expedition and is considered experienced in hundreds of battles. Although he is only the commander of the Changshan Guards in name, he is actually in charge of the three guards on the left, middle and right, and is the number one under King Zhao.
general.
Although King Zhao has been stranded in the capital and has not yet proclaimed the vassal, his three guards have been in the Changshan fiefdom. They were transferred to the capital by King Zhao last month in the name of training. These three guards have fifteen thousand soldiers and horses, so naturally they are
His Royal Highness, King Zhao, has the greatest capital for the uprising. However, no matter how unscrupulous King Zhao is, it is impossible to mobilize more than 15,000 troops and horses into the capital. Only Meng Xian's middle guard is now in the city, and the other two guards are stationed outside the city.
Therefore, in this uprising, we cannot rely solely on the Changshan Guards, we must have soldiers and horses from the Shangzhi Guards to join us!
Under Meng Xian was Peng Xu, the commander of the Yulin Vanguard, one of the Twelve Supreme Guards. He had been a friend of King Zhao for many years. It was King Zhao who had carefully planned to push him to this key position quietly.
Peng Xu's army knew the Forbidden Palace well, and after opening the palace door, they led Chang Shanwei, who was unfamiliar with the place, into the palace.
In addition, there are Gao Zheng, the commander of the Yanshan left guard, Ma Shu, the commander of the Changshan left guard, Tian Zihe, the commander of the Changshan right guard, Liu Qiang, the commander of the Xingzhou Houtun army, and Chen Kai, the commander of the Tongzhou right guard. The troops in the hands of these people are:
This is all the power that King Zhao can trust.
As for the newly conquered Jinwu left guard commander General Xiong and others, because time was still short, they did not dare to plot major events with them rashly. They only hoped that once the attack was launched, they would stand still and submit obediently afterwards. His Highness King Zhao would be satisfied.
In addition to these military generals, there is also a civil servant, Qian Yi, the right minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs. He is Zhu Gaosui's literary daring and a die-hard supporter. He is also planning to help King Zhao control the government after the event is completed. Because the civil servant group generally prefers the prince.
, although due to the current situation, they all surrendered to King Zhao, but under the long-term attack, how could King Zhao dare to trust them? So now, only Qian Yi, a civil servant, is supporting the situation.
Fortunately, the current issue is rebellion, not heir apparent, and it relies on the handle of the knife, not the pen...
There was also an incompatible person, King Shecheng of Qintianjian. This king had no soldiers and could not be considered a civil servant, but he was indispensable because he could explain celestial phenomena and convey the "will of heaven."
China has been paying attention to "reception between heaven and man" since ancient times. It is believed that God will give enlightenment or warning to human affairs through the natural changes of heaven and earth. Therefore, whether things succeed or fail, there will be subtle or significant signs of heaven in advance. For example, the Ziwei Emperor Star
When it is dark, it means that the imperial power is challenged; when the greedy star shines, it means that war is about to begin. The official responsible for interpreting celestial phenomena is called Yin Yang Sheng in the local area, and the Qintian Supervisor official in the imperial court.
People of this era firmly believe in this. From Zhu Yuanzhang to Zhu Di, they must observe the stars when facing important events. Especially before Zhu Di's calamity, if Yao Guangxiao, Jin Zhong and others had not repeatedly used various celestial phenomena to encourage them, would they have been able to muster the courage?
Challenge Emperor Jianwen, but there are still two arguments.
King Zhao witnessed the whole process of his father's success with his own eyes. When he decided to replicate the Battle of Jingnan, he naturally would not forget these Qintianjian officials who could greatly incite people's hearts. In fact, when King Zhao was hesitant at first
, so he asked Wang Shecheng to watch the sky at night and see what God said.
Wang Shecheng watched the stars all night in Qintian Monitor, and reported to King Zhao the next day: "Looking at the sky, there will be a change of ownership soon." King Zhao then made up his mind.
King Zhao called Wang Shecheng here again, just to let him repeat what he said before to encourage the people below. It was actually when Wang Shecheng arrived at the palace of King Zhao that he realized that King Zhao had listened to his words and decided to usurp the throne.
, he was so scared that he peed his pants. But King Zhao’s knife was already on his neck. He didn’t want to lose his head, so he had to be obedient...
After everyone sat down in the study, they all looked at Wang Shecheng who suddenly appeared here, wondering what the prince wanted to do by summoning this man.
King Zhao had already bathed, changed clothes and shaved his face, and returned to his usual handsome and clean appearance. Although he was sitting in a stuffy room, he seemed to be in a cool place, with no trace of dryness in his brows. He looked at everyone and slowly said:
"Yesterday, Wang Jianzheng, the Qin Tianjian, watched the stars at night and realized something. King Gu invited him to come and talk to everyone." He looked at Wang Shecheng and said, "Wang Jianzheng, tell me what you saw and the conclusions you drew.
, tell everyone everything, don’t make any lies.”
"Yes." Wang Jianzheng picked up the white handkerchief on the table to wipe his sweat, and then said: "Xiaguan watched the stars last night, and saw only the Yinghuo star attacking the Ziwei star, and the Emperor star changing its position. This indicates that in recent days
There is a change of imperial power, Your Majesty..." At this point, Wang Jianzheng was fighting with each other and was sweating profusely. However, under the gaze of King Zhao, he could only say tremblingly: "Your Majesty, it has only been these few days.
There is a new king taking over..."
"Hiss..." Everyone present gasped, truly shocked by the news.
"Then..." King Zhao asked calmly: "Who should be responsible for this sign? The prince or the grandson?"
"It's... not..." Wang Jian was sweating like rain, and stammered: "Judging from the celestial phenomena, it should be on the prince's body." What he said before is still true, but starting from this sentence, it is all true.
King Zhao forced him to make it up.
"Ha!" After hearing this, Meng Xian and others were overjoyed, slapping their thighs and getting excited: "Sure enough! Our prince is the real Dragon Emperor!"
"Well, Wang Jianzheng, I have no enmity or enmity with you," King Zhao pretended to say, "Why do you blame this hard work on me?"
"Your Majesty, God has given me this gift, so I will definitely suffer the consequences." Wang Jian was feeling sick in his heart, but he also tried to persuade him: "Please, Your Majesty, make a living for the common people, and you must not back down!"
"Hey, astrology is not accurate!" King Zhao waved his hand resolutely: "Sir, please step aside and rest in my palace for the next few days. Don't spread such rumors everywhere."
"My lord, please think twice..." Wang Jianzheng was sitting on pins and needles for a long time. After hearing this, he hurriedly retreated.
As soon as Wang Jianzheng left, Meng Xian and others hurriedly persuaded: "Your Majesty! As he said, God does not give you anything, so you have to take the blame! God has made you the emperor, and if you push back, you will definitely regret it later.
and!"
"Hey!" King Zhao nodded and said in a deep voice: "Of course I know that my eldest brother regards me as a thorn in his side. If he becomes the emperor, I and you will inevitably follow in the footsteps of my second brother and others...
..." He said with a sad face and said: "It's just that this kind of thing must be done at all costs. If you are half-hearted, you will definitely fail." As he said, he looked at the crowd and said: "Are you ready?"
"It's done! Don't worry, Your Majesty!" Meng Xian and others clapped their chests and said excitedly: "If a man dies and a bird looks up to the sky, he will not die for tens of millions of years! We have been waiting for Your Majesty to make up his mind!"
Qian Yi also curled up his beard and nodded: "Yes, Your Majesty, now both inside and outside the court, there are people who are devoted to Your Majesty. As the saying goes, what everyone expects will come to an end. If Your Majesty takes action at this time, he will succeed immediately!"
King Zhao pretended to be deep in thought, stood up and walked for a few steps. Fang nodded heavily and said, "Okay! I can't let you down!" After saying that, he looked at everyone with happy faces and said, "After the matter is completed, you will be my king."
The hero of the king's peace!"
"We are willing to die for the prince, no matter what!" Everyone was filled with enthusiasm. They followed the king of Zhao for this reason! The ministers and nobles of the Ming Dynasty all came from the founding of the country and Jingnan, and they all followed the emperor.
Rebellious ministers! There is a chariot in front and a rut in the back. Those of them who did not catch up with Jingnan naturally yearn for it and want to do it again!
After everyone calmed down their excitement, they began to discuss specific actions. In fact, King Zhao already had a good idea of how to take action. At this moment, he just wanted to weigh his subordinates and see if they had the ability.
However, after listening to their chattering and talking for a long time without getting to the point, King Zhao couldn't help but feel secretly disappointed. He said to himself that his accumulation was indeed too poor, and the talents around him were not as good as those of his eldest brother, or even his second brother. If it weren't for
Now that heaven and earth are working together, everything will be done, and I really don't dare to act rashly.
Seeing that King Zhao was silent, everyone knew that the prince was not satisfied, so they gradually stopped talking and waited for his opinion.
King Zhao could only rely on these materials at the moment, and he had to say kindly: "What you all said is good. I will sum up a few points based on your opinions, which will be our action strategy."
"Your Majesty, please speak!" Everyone was secretly proud, saying in their hearts that it seems that Your Majesty is still very satisfied with us.
"First of all, the whole city is now under martial law, which is very convenient for us, but it is still necessary to strengthen the vigilance to prevent the news from leaking, or someone unwilling to fail and causing trouble." King Zhao said, looked at Gao Zheng and Ma Shu, and said solemnly:
"The two generals are responsible for the inside and outside of the imperial city respectively. During the operation, no one is allowed to walk on the streets. Any trespassers will be shot to death!"
"Yes!" Gao Zheng and Ma Shu stood up to accept the order. The latter asked again: "Your Majesty, when will our army enter the capital?"
"Before the incident, I will open the city gate and let your General Hotan's army enter the capital." King Zhao said calmly.
"Yes." Ma Shu nodded and stepped back together with Gao Zheng.
"General Meng, General Peng," King Zhao looked at Meng Xian and Peng Xu again, and said in a deep voice: "When the palace door opens, you two will lead your troops and follow me into the West Garden, surround the dormitory, and no one will be allowed to approach!
"
"Yes!" Meng Xian and Peng Xu said with fists clasped.