When news of the war in Xiliang came and the emperor dispatched the three schools of the Northern Army, a curfew was imposed in the capital.
Now that the queen is funeral, the streets are even quieter at night.
The sound of the hooves of the imperial guard's heavy horse was particularly loud. Through the night and the courtyard wall, it could be heard more and more clearly in the Fifth Prince's Mansion.
Accompanying the fifth prince's fury, the men surrounding him seemed to be furious and threw their torches to the ground.
The whole ground seemed to be on fire.
"Your Highness, have you really made up your mind?" one of the leaders asked.
The fifth prince looked at the burning fire and said with grief and anger: "My brother and my mother were killed, what am I going to do alive alone!"
Growing up, his mother told him that his brother was his dearest person in the world and that he must protect him with his life.
He failed to help his brother several times, and now both his brother and his mother have been killed, and they still want to let him escape.
Without his brother and mother, he doesn't know how to live.
"Either live together or die together!" he said word for word.
The leader gritted his teeth and said good-bye: "The prince has treated us with great kindness, and we don't want to leave him and live. As His Highness the Fifth Prince said, we must either live together or die together."
People around him immediately started shouting that they should live together and die together.
Now that you have made up your mind, things will be easier to do.
"Your Highness, didn't His Majesty send someone to arrest you? We will take the opportunity to follow you into the palace." The leading man said, "Enter the palace and kill Chu Xiurong so that Your Majesty can resume his status as the crown prince."
The fifth prince sneered: "You have come to this point, and you only resume the status of prince? My father is so confused that he fell into Chu Xiurong's plan and killed his brother. Then he should abdicate as soon as possible to take care of himself."
Killing a prince, forcing the emperor, and making such a fuss, of course, if you want to survive, you must change the emperor.
The leading man looked at the dim night and listened to the sound of horse hooves becoming increasingly clear.
"Okay!" He whispered, "Then let us escort His Highness the Fifth into the palace and save the Crown Prince!"
Following his words, the people around him lifted off the black cloth behind them, and the burning torches revealed several heavy crossbows.
"Not bad." The fifth prince came over to take a look and nodded with satisfaction, "You have brought in all the important weapons in the army."
The leader smiled proudly: "I didn't expect it to go so smoothly, but just in time for the invasion of Xiliang, the Northern Army was rioting, and the capital was in a mess - Zhou Xuan is a young man after all, and he can't control the scene. He is everywhere.
Omission."
"Yes." Another person couldn't help but say, "If General Iron Mask is still there, let alone the heavy crossbow, we won't be able to get in."
So General Iron Mask really deserves to die.
The fifth prince laughed loudly: "What does this mean? It means that the prince is the destined emperor!" He grabbed a heavy crossbow, "No one can stop him!"
...
...
In addition to the imperial guards running out of the palace, the streets were now filled with soldiers and horses patrolling the city.
"Be vigilant." The leading general shouted in a deep voice as he rode around on horseback, "Xiliang is no longer evil. Although it is stopped outside Xijing, there may be spies who sneak into the capital and catch up with the queen.
Funerals must be strictly investigated and guarded."
The soldiers and horses agreed in unison and were divided into four teams to go to different places. Behind them there was the sound of horse hooves, and a team of soldiers and horses came galloping towards them.
"The Marquis of Zhou asked us to increase our troops," the leading general said, raising his command flag and waving it.
The previous general recognized the flag and nodded. Zhou Xuan was not assigned to go to Xijing to fight the Xiliang people this time. The emperor asked him to guard the capital because of his trust. After all, the capital has been troubled recently.
"Let's go to the new city." The general who came for reinforcements continued, "The inner city will be left to you."
The previous general said goodbye, took back the group of soldiers and horses that were to be separated, and watched the group of soldiers and horses go to the new city.
The new city is already very prosperous now. Due to the curfew, stores are closed, and the streets are deserted. Although many people have their lights on, they are all trapped in their houses. The streets are almost dotted with darkness.
As the troop of soldiers and horses walked through a street, orders suddenly sounded on the street, and there were men and horses wearing iron armor in the darkness.
"Who?" the patrolman shouted.
"Guard." Someone stepped forward in the darkness and showed his waistband, "Your Majesty has an order to escort the fifth prince into the palace, and everyone else should avoid it."
They should also ask about the emperor's handwriting - this person is holding a belt sign with one hand and holding it on his waist with the other. They haven't received the handwriting yet, so they hope they can get through it if His Majesty doesn't give him a handwriting.
But what surprised him was that the city guards only glanced at the badges from a distance and then backed away.
The person holding the waist badge breathed a sigh of relief, and just as he was about to slowly retreat into the darkness, the sound of breaking through the air came from the depths of the night behind him, mixed with groans, collisions, and shouts of people——
Although these voices were soon suppressed.
but--
The man holding the belt tensed his back again. If these city patrol guards insist on checking——
But the guards patrolling the city didn't seem to care, and they backed away to avoid it.
This surprised a few people who were originally guarding the street.
A person in the shadow couldn't help but ask in a low voice: "The guards under the command of the captain of the city gate have always been arrogant, looking for trouble when they have nothing to do, but now they hear the noise and turn a blind eye."
Those noises, no matter how much they are concealed, a soldier can detect that someone is fighting.
The person holding the waist card understood somewhat and said in a low voice: "The fifth prince is a sinner. Now that the prince is deposed and the queen is dead, they may have misunderstood that the emperor meant something else when he said he was escorted to the palace."
For example, if you ask for guilt, the fifth prince will definitely resist. If there is resistance, there will be conflicts and so on——
No matter how arrogant the city guards were, they did not want to get involved in royal matters.
Sure enough, these city patrol guards quietly retreated to the side, letting the looming sounds of fighting rise and fall in the distance, the night fell into silence, and then the night was broken by the sound of horse hooves——
Dozens of armored guards galloped over, their faces obscured by the night and their helmets, except for the person tied to the horse in the middle who stood out.
He was wearing linen clothes, his hair was a little messy, his face was illuminated by a torch, his face was stained with blood, and he looked fierce.
It was the fifth prince whom I had not seen for a long time.
When the guards patrolling the city saw the fifth prince, they retreated to both sides and allowed them to gallop by.
The two guards at the end of the team looked back quietly and saw that the patrolling guards walked away and continued patrolling after they passed.
They looked at each other and made a sign of success. The torches swayed, revealing their proud faces under their helmets, and they raised their hands to reveal the different clothes under their armors——
This is not their armor, and they are not real guards.
The guards who actually came to escort the imperial guards had just been deceived into the Fifth Prince's Mansion, and were shot instantly by the waiting heavy crossbows. Some died on the spot, while others were hacked to death with last-minute blows, and then their armor and weapons were stripped off and thrown into an empty room.
Next, go through the Imperial City Gate and enter the palace city smoothly.
.....
.....
The Imperial City was not swallowed up by the night. There were burning torches inside and outside, making everything inside and outside the Imperial City look like day.
Standing on the city wall, you can clearly see the soldiers and horses running in all directions near the imperial city.
Zhou Xuan squinted his eyes and looked across the brightness towards the new city. He seemed to see a few twinkling stars, and a smile appeared on his face.
"Let's go." He turned around and said, "I will go guard the palace gate."
Surrounded by soldiers, as soon as he reached the palace gate, Qing Feng came galloping from outside: "Young Master."
Zhou Xuan watched him dismount and rush towards him, frowning: "Didn't I ask you to guard outside the capital?"
Qingfeng looked at him with a complicated expression: "Sir, let me come with you."
"I'm not a three-year-old child." Zhou Xuan said impatiently, "What you have to do now is not to follow me around, but to do things for me."
"But Master, you clearly don't let me do anything." Qing Feng shouted, grabbing Zhou Xuan, "Master, what are you hiding from me?"
Zhou Xuan laughed: "What are you talking about? What am I hiding from you?"
Qingfeng held on to him and got closer: "Then tell me, a group of soldiers entered the city just now. I have never seen them before. Who are they?"
Zhou Xuan looked at him: "There are so many people in the army, I can't even recognize them all. You don't see anything strange about them."
"Sir, I will be with you on the first day you enter the military camp!" Qingfeng shouted. The young guard who always had a playful face now had a sad look on his face. "There is no soldier who can hold your order that I don't know."
Yes! Young Master, what are you doing? The soldiers and horses around you have been changing and changing these days. Where did these soldiers and horses come from? "
Zhou Xuan looked at him and seemed a little annoyed: "Really, I can't hide anything from you." He was helpless, "Okay, I'll tell you -"
When he said this, Qing Feng couldn't help but listen, but at this moment, Zhou Xuan's hand suddenly raised and hit him on the back of the neck. Qing Feng's body went limp and he fell on Zhou Xuan.
Zhou Xuan straightened his body and his expression returned to dullness.
Qing Feng spoke loudly just now, and Zhou Xuan knocked Qing Feng unconscious. No matter whether it was the soldiers standing beside him or the soldiers and horses standing on both sides of the palace gate, they seemed not to see or hear anything.
It wasn't until Zhou Xuan said, "Send him to the military camp and lock him up." The soldiers agreed.
Two people stepped forward to support Qing Feng and try to drag him away. Zhou Xuan's figure also moved. He looked down and saw that Qing Feng's hand was hooked on his belt - as if he was unwilling to let go.
Zhou Xuan glanced at Qing Feng. He once had many companions, but since his father's death, he has become a single person. Speaking of which, Qing Feng has been by his side for so many years——
Qingfeng, Zhou Xuan reached out and pulled his hand away. I can only blame you for being unlucky. You have been his follower for so many years in the army, and you have no chance to gain military merit despite your abilities. In the end, you will be implicated——
After tonight, I wish you good luck and survive.
The thought flashed through his mind, and Zhou Xuan added another sentence: "Tie him up and lock him up."
The two soldiers responded and dragged Qingfeng away.
Zhou Xuan looked away, looked at the soldier next to him, and then looked at the guards at the city gate. Qing Feng was right, these were soldiers and horses he didn't recognize, because these were the soldiers and horses hidden by the old King of Qi at that time.
When he defeated the King of Qi, he did not kill the King of Qi. The King of Qi gave him the hidden troops and horses - of course, the King of Qi had some spy agents among them, but after several cleanings, most of the troops and horses are now
It already belongs completely to him.
Since the death of General Iron Mask, he has taken control of the military and slowly transferred it so that these soldiers can come to guard the imperial city in tense and critical moments.
In other words, the imperial city is now under his control.
Zhou Xuan put away his sigh and took out a command talisman: "The capital is under martial law and no one is allowed to enter or leave."
The soldier responded, took the command talisman and turned around to deliver the order.
More soldiers and horses came galloping towards him. Zhou Xuan looked over and saw the fifth prince among them. He raised his voice and called out, "Ah Mu."
The fifth prince looked at him coldly and spat.
Zhou Xuan spat unceremoniously and pointed with his hand, "Get off your horse, you criminal!"
There was no need for the city defenders to step forward. The guards had immediately dismounted and pulled the fifth prince off—for fear of being too late and being approached by the city defenders.
"Zhou Xuan, don't be too proud of yourself." The fifth prince cursed angrily.
Zhou Xuan smiled half-heartedly: "I have not been deposed as a commoner, why can't I be proud?"
The fifth prince looked like he wanted to pounce on him and bite him, but was helplessly caught by the guards.
Fortunately, Zhou Xuan also knew that now was not the time for bickering, so he stopped talking and signaled them to enter the palace. He didn't even check the handwriting, and he didn't care whether the number of escorting guards had increased.
The guards felt relieved again, straightened their backs and escorted the fifth prince in without looking away.
Zhou Xuan looked at their backs with a hint of ridicule on his lips.
The palace door slowly closed behind him, and the show began.
However, before watching the show, there is one more thing.
Zhou Xuan strode towards the imperial city and quickly and smoothly arrived at the location of the Criminal Division.
The place is as dark as before, even darker than before, and it seems as quiet as no one else.
It is indeed a deserted place.
Zhou Xuan stood in the cell, holding a lit torch and looking at the empty room, his face ashen.
