Zhao Mingting followed Xu Hou in panic, and Niu Gengru and others rushed to the front hall.
Prince Yang Yuanwo and Wen Muqiao, as well as the young eunuch Chen Xingmo and others were personally watching here.
Seeing Empress Xu and others coming over, Yang Yuanwo came out in a panic and said, "Empress, my father has passed away!"
"Why are you panicking? The old thief is dead, don't you just inherit the throne?" Empress Xu frowned slightly, stared at the bewildered Crown Prince Yang Yuanwo, and walked straight to the bedroom.
Zhao Mingting saw Wen Muqiao frowning at Niu Gengru, and thought that with Wen Muqiao's sophistication, he probably secretly felt that the situation at this time was much more complicated than they expected, and it was very tricky. If he didn't handle it well, the good situation would be ruined.
Will it collapse?
Zhao Mingting followed him and walked in. He saw His Majesty lying flat on the brocade couch in the inner palace with a gray face. There was a piece of black blood on the yellow silk embroidered dragon quilt. There was no movement of breathing.
The sunken eye sockets were tightly closed, and he must have been dead. However, the corners of his mouth were slightly raised. It looked like a strange smile, which made Zhao Mingting shudder. He really couldn't guess what was going on in His Majesty's mind when he was about to die.
Queen Xu's skinny body stood in front of the dragon couch, as motionless as a sculpture.
Zhao Mingting, Niu Gengru, Wen Muqiao, Prince Yang Yuanwo, Chen Xingmo and others stood behind Empress Xu. They saw the flesh on the back of Empress Xu's cheeks twitching slightly, and they didn't know if she was looking at His Majesty's face after his death.
This weird smile made me angry.
They did not dare to step forward to test whether His Majesty's breath was really completely cut off.
After a long time, Xu Cai turned around and said with gritted teeth: "In passing on my decree, I said that the traitorous concubine, the royal wife, secretly communicated with Changhou Li Pu. When the scandal was exposed, she jumped over the wall and colluded with Xinchang Hou Lipu, both internally and externally, to harm His Majesty and escape from the palace..."
Niu Gengru and Wen Muqiao looked at each other, thinking that the other would be the first to spread the word to the world, so they could only continue to muddy the waters and confuse the public.
"Master Wen, go see Yang En in person and tell him that the old thief has passed away. Ask him if he wants to see the heads of the Yang family's children in Jinling City fall to the ground one by one. If he doesn't want to, the Ai family won't force him to do anything, as long as he
He just needs to go back to the house to drink and recite poems for the Ai family, and don't jump out to cause trouble for us." Empress Xu said, "Master Niu, you can send Shi Yandao and Yang Tai to the palace again. If they are willing to assist,
Wo'er helped prepare for the enthronement ceremony. After the sixth division, Shi Yandao will continue to be commanded, and the affairs of the clan will continue to be controlled by Yang Tai. If they are unwilling, their wives, concubines, nephews, and grandchildren will be arrested.
In front of them, kill them one by one until they are willing to bow their heads - Zhao Mingting, you escort me out of the city to meet Zhenyuan Marquis Yang Jian!"
"..." Wen Muqiao and Niu Gengru were both shocked and advised, "Yang Jian took his children out of the city in the afternoon. Even if he did not collude with Han Daoxun, Li Pu, and Wang Wenqian, he has made his attitude clear by closing the camp..."
"What can he do, kill an old woman like Aijia who is about to die?" Queen Xu's cloudy old eyes suddenly became sharp at this time, staring at Wen Muqiao, Niu Gengru said, "If we could have thought of this situation,
We should have taken action long ago when Shen He was poisoned and died, instead of delaying it for another three or four months, giving that bastard three or four more months to prepare in Tanzhou..."
Wen Muqiao and Niu Gengru did not dare to refute.
After thinking about it, they were extremely unwise to delay for three or four months, so that many things were out of their control. But if they had no choice, who would kill the king and usurp the throne? And since ancient times, regicide and usurper of the throne can have
How many ended up well?
Wen Muqiao and Zhu Gengru looked at each other in confusion. After thinking about it carefully, whether they could win over Yang Jian, the Marquis of Zhenyuan, at this time was indeed the key to determining the future direction of the situation in Dachu.
Yang Jian controls the most powerful navy in Dachu, and his choice will directly determine the future development of Jinling City.
Even if Xu Zhu leads his troops over, there is no guarantee that Qiuhu Mountain can be stormed in a short time. The confrontation may be delayed for ten days and a half.
At this time, Yang Jian led the Lou fleet to help there. Chuzhou soldiers and horses could cross the river as quickly as possible at any time to join the bandits in Qiuhu Mountain, and the third prince's Dragon Bird Army could also go down the river without any scruples.
, it may not even take ten days for tens of thousands of troops to march to Jinling City.
In comparison, it would be extremely difficult for Shouzhou soldiers and horses to cross the river on a large scale.
Winning over Yang Jian will reverse the situation and help them completely control Jinling City. It will be difficult for the Chuzhou soldiers and horses to cross the river, and the Longque Army will not dare to go down the river unscrupulously.
The Yangtze River, which is tens to dozens of miles wide in the middle and lower reaches, is the natural barrier that Jinling City relies on. Even if the situation is extremely bad, it can ensure that Liang Jun will not be able to attack the prefectures and counties on the south bank of the Yangtze River in a short time.
"It's just..." Wen Muqiao and Niu Gengru still felt that it was too dangerous for Empress Xu to go out of the city in person, so they said, "Maybe we can go out of the city for a walk?"
"Just what?" Empress Xu looked at everyone with sharp eyes and said, "If you go, it is impossible to gain Yang Jian's trust. The Ai family cannot go into battle to kill the enemy. If you don't show your face, it will be of no use at all. Wo.
After his son ascended the throne, the Ai family and the ministers made Fen'er the crown prince. This country in Chu is still surnamed Yang. The Ai family went there just to give him this guarantee. Is it possible that Yang Jian really hopes that the Yang family will be exterminated?"
"How should Han Daoxun be dealt with?" Niu Gengru asked.
"Send someone to see him. If he is willing to write a confession and denounce that bitch in Cishou Palace, we will temporarily spare his life. However, I believe he is not afraid of death, so I will bring him a glass of poisonous wine as a gift.
"He," Empress Xu's old face painted with lead powder looked stiff, her eyelids twitched slightly at this time, her cloudy old eyes revealed resentment and ruthlessness, but she said in an extremely calm tone, "No matter how mysterious and mysterious he is,
The plot cannot be used by the Ai family, and staying here can only be a source of disaster!"
Listening to Empress Xu's cold tone, Prince Yang Yuanwo, Niu Gengru, Wen Muqiao, Zhao Mingting and others all felt a chill coming out of their bodies, but they didn't know whether the chill was caused by the resentment in Empress Xu's words or because of the malice in Empress Xu's words.
Han Daoxun's ingenious plan was born...
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The Internal Affairs Department is located in the Banyuan on the east side of Qiuyang Palace, which is used to deal with unruly eunuchs and maids in the palace.
In addition to imprisoning and executing the eunuchs and maids who committed crimes, in the sixteen years since the founding of the Chu Kingdom, as many as 800 eunuchs and maids have been directly executed with sticks in this courtyard.
The blood seeped into the cracks of the bricks on the floor, accumulating over time. Every time Zhou Bin, the official of the Internal Affairs Bureau, walked into the class courtyard, he could feel an unspeakable smell of filth permeating the air. He couldn't help but feel a chill enveloping his heart.
It makes people want to run away; this time is no exception.
In such a place, if someone had not committed a crime and was sent to be imprisoned or tortured, there would usually only be two captains and a dozen young men in green clothes guarding the place. It was very leisurely. After all, the palace was strictly controlled, and not every day
There will be people who dare not open their eyes and commit crimes.
Today, the place is heavily guarded. In addition to the previous commanders and roommates, the courtyard is full of guards and soldiers who have been transferred from Anning Palace and East Palace. The more than 20 cells are also overcrowded today.
More than a hundred eunuchs who were not trusted by Anning Palace were imprisoned one after another in the afternoon, filling every small cell to the brim.
The aging chamberlain and provincial supervisor Zhang Xinchun was sitting in the courtyard of the class courtyard at the moment, with a small quilt covering his thighs. The rising sun was shining on him. The weather was not as cold as in the early morning. He was snoring slightly.
, but the moment Zhou Bin walked into the class courtyard, Zhang Xinchun, who looked like a sick cat, suddenly opened his eyes and looked over, with a sharp flash of light in his eyes, like a hungry beast that was about to pounce at any time.
Zhou Bin knew that Zhang Xinchun was the truly powerful figure around Empress Xu, but he was too old in the past two years, like a beast with all his teeth.
Zhou Bin didn't know why Zhang Xinchun, who was nearly eighty years old and too old to walk, could give him such a strong sense of oppression. His eyes revealed a majesty and fierceness that seemed to be able to tear people into pieces at any time.
Zhang Xinchun served three generations of Xu family heads.
When the Guangling Jiedushi Mansion was merged into Huainan, Emperor Tianyou had not yet had the habit of using eunuchs privately in the inner palace. Later, Zhang Xinchun led the eunuchs privately supported by the Guangling Jiedushi Mansion to assist Empress Xu in bringing eunuchs to the Huainan Jiedushi Mansion.
The inner government supported it.
Zhang Xinchun can be said to be the most central backbone of Anning Palace besides Empress Xu.
Zhang Xinchun has been frail and sickly in recent years, and has become very old. His body has been squeezed dry by the ruthless years, and it seems that he will fall to death at any time, but he is able to survive.
Except for the occasional report to Anning Palace, Zhang Xinchun rarely inquired about palace affairs. However, Emperor Tianyou could never ask Zhang Xinchun to step down from his post as chamberlain and provincial supervisor, so that he could retire peacefully.
After the palace change, Zhang Xinchun did not have the energy to run around. He gave him the opportunity to serve Empress Xu and the prince and brought out several apprentices who were now high-ranking imperial servants. He himself stayed in this prison.
The prisoner's squad house is personally in charge.
Zhou Bin also knows the importance of guarding this place.
They can replace all the guards in the palace, but they cannot replace all the maids and eunuchs in the more than 8,000 palaces.
The vast majority of low-level eunuchs and palace maids follow the trend and are usually under the absolute command of mid- to high-level eunuchs.
Therefore, more than 400 middle- and high-level eunuchs with official status were imprisoned in the Banyuan in the afternoon. If one of them complained about the God Blessed Emperor and escaped, it might cause some trouble.
Keeping all unreliable mid-level and high-level eunuchs in tight custody is the key to ensuring that no accidents happen in the palace; Zhang Xinchun doesn't have the energy to run around, so he guards here personally.
"Attendant Zhou," Zhang Xinchun opened his eyes, stood there and raised his hands to Zhou Bin as a courtesy. He saw two young eunuchs in green clothes behind Zhou Bin holding wine bottles and wine glasses on the trays. He stood up lazily and said,
"You come here to see Han Daoxun on his way?"
"I came here to do something at the Queen's command. With Sir Zhang's persuasion, is Han Daoxun willing to be used by the new emperor?" Zhou Bin asked.
"..." Zhang Xinchun smiled slightly, and did not say whether he had tried to persuade Han Daoxun before, but said, "How can there be such a person in this world who has such a complete plan and clever plans? According to me, an old fool, most of you are
You are scaring yourself, but if you can get rid of him as soon as possible, you will also save yourself a lot of nightmares at night - he is imprisoned in the room on the upper left. Attendant Zhou, you can take the others there yourself, I won't accompany you."
When Zhang Xinchun said this, Zhou Bin motioned to the eunuch behind him to follow him with a drink.
Zhang Xinchun hesitated for a while and said to Zhou Bin: "Zhou Changjie, please wait a moment. Han Daoxun is also considered the number one figure. Even if he was killed quietly in the palace, it seems that he was not able to kill him."
The effect comes into play - you wait here for a while, I will come as soon as I go."
Zhou Bin was slightly startled. He didn't know what kind of tricks Zhang Xinchun wanted to play. Was he going to drag Han Daoxun out and kill him in the city?
Zhou Bin kept his identity and stood there and said: "Everything is as ordered by Mr. Zhang." He signaled the eunuch behind him to stand in the yard with a wine bottle, waiting for Zhang Xinchun to run to Chongwen Hall to see Empress Xu.