It snowed heavily all night.
The next day, early in the morning, Jia Heng opened the window and looked at the vast world covered with white snow. His brows furrowed and a trace of worry flashed through his heart. For some reason, this worry lingered.
Put on the official uniform and plan to go to the Five Cities Military and Horse Division.
Suddenly, a servant from outside came to report that Qu Lang, a member of Qianhu of Jinyi Mansion, had arrived at the flower hall to wait for him, saying that he had something urgent to report.
Jia Heng was stunned for a moment, his heart moved, and he quickly headed to the flower hall.
Seeing Jia Heng enter the flower hall, this man in brocade clothes suddenly stood up from his seat, with a solemn expression on his face, and said urgently: "Sir, something happened in Beijing camp!"
Jia Heng asked in a deep voice: "What's going on?"
"Two guerrilla generals and six thousand households were frozen to death in Yaowu Camp this morning, as well as one or twenty generals..." Qu Lang said in a deep voice and quickly told what happened.
It turned out that at midnight last night, Luo Kai and Pan Qing, the guerrilla generals of Yaowu Camp, led Qianhu Heyuan and more than ten middle- and low-level generals who had been laid off, and entered the central military barracks of Yaowu Camp to ask Li Xun for an explanation. .
Li Xun, who was having a drink with his cronies, was shocked and then angry when he heard about it. After a few words with him, he immediately mobilized the soldiers of the Central Guards to arrest him. Each man was beaten with thirty army sticks and tied up outside the camp gate. Then Li Xun turned around and continued drinking. , in the middle of the night, he was very drunk.
But just before dawn the next day, everyone from the guerrilla general Luo Kai on down was frozen to death.
This incident shocked everyone in Yaowu Camp, but because of Li Xun's intimidation, everyone dared to get angry but did not dare to speak out.
Qu Lang said anxiously: "The army has been organized so far, but there has never been such a tragic incident. I am worried that it may trigger a mutiny!"
Jia Heng's eyes were dark and he said: "This... we need to be prepared in advance."
Once this matter spreads, it will definitely cause an uproar.
Qu Lang's face was filled with worry and he said: "Sir, when I came to this humble post, I just checked the report. Luo Kai's brother Luo Rui is the general of the Liwei Camp. He has a lot of military support. He used to lead the three thousand cavalry of the Shenshu Camp. Today, Taking turns to garrison the west city, I thought I would never give up!"
In order to facilitate the reorganization of the army, Wang Ziteng confiscated the orders of the regiments, camp generals and guerrilla generals in advance, and separated the troops. However, there were still soldiers from the regiments and camps garrisoning at the four gates of the capital, so they could only temporarily give them Ling Fu, sent an errand, Liwei Camp Commander Luo Rui has been guarding the west city for the past three days.
When Jia Heng heard this, his expression changed suddenly and he said: "Immediately have the four gates closed. I will go to the Nancheng camp and take over the city defense."
His own brother was frozen to death, which is a deep hatred.
Besides, it snowed heavily last night, which made it very difficult for Yu Pangshi to lead his cavalry to suppress the mutiny.
While talking, he stood up and wanted to go out.
However, at this moment, a servant from outside hurried into the flower hall and said, "Uncle Dong is here."
Jia Heng was slightly startled when he heard this, and had a bad premonition in his heart.
At this time, Dong Qian suddenly came over...
Not long after, Dong Qian walked quickly into the hall, raised his hands and said: "Sir, the soldiers from the capital camp of Xicheng just drove away the soldiers from the Five Cities Soldiers and Horses Department, saying that they were ordered by the Ministry of War to take over the defense of Xicheng, three miles away from the city gate. You are not allowed to approach with troops. I don’t know why this happened, so Chief Fan asked me to come and ask you about it.”
"Sir, this is..." Qu Lang's expression changed drastically and he said in shock.
Jia Heng's face was as frozen as ice and he said coldly: "This is preparation for rebellion!"
How could the Ministry of War like the art of checks and balances issue such an order?
Then it goes without saying that this must be a forged order.
The censor patrolling the city, who was used to control the guards in the west city, was probably killed.
Luo Rui seized the city gate, and the next step was to provide support for the rebels to enter the city.
"Deputy Commander Dong ordered Xie Zaiyi, the commander of the East City, to rush to the West City to provide reinforcements. Then with my order, he would have the commanders of the four cities close the city gates and take over the defense! These rebels must not be allowed to enter the city!" Jia Heng responded in a deep voice.
You can make any noise outside Shenjing City, but the military chaos cannot spread to Shenjing City.
Qu Lang's expression changed and he said, "Sir, what should I do now?"
"I will immediately take the Emperor's Sword and go to the Nancheng camp to mobilize troops to quell the chaos. Qu Qianhu, you pass on my orders. The Jinyi Mansion will dispatch Tiqi to support the four cities, suppress the streets, and strictly prevent the eliminated soldiers in the city from responding to the rebellion. In addition, Once the rebellion is confirmed, report it to the palace and the palace door will be locked." Jia Heng said.
Since the Liwei Camp in Xicheng is no longer reliable, who knows whether the soldiers in the other three cities will respond in groups?
Although the probability is very small, we have to guard against it, and if we use the Tiqi guards of Jinyi Mansion and the Five Cities Soldiers and Horses Division to keep an eye on it, we can be foolproof.
Qu Lang also knew that the situation was serious, clasped his fists and said: "I obey my orders."
In the West City, the crenellations of the city gate tower have been covered with a thick layer of snow, and the horse paths leading up and down the city wall have been cleared of snow by soldiers from the Liwei Battalion and are on guard duty.
A group of soldiers from the Liwei camp stood in formation, holding swords and guns.
In the tent not far from the city wall, there was blood dripping on the snow, and the color was dazzling.
After General Luo Kai of Yaowu Camp froze to death, Luo Rui got his family to carry the body to report the news. He was furious at first, and then fearful. His brother was frozen to death. Even if Wang Ziteng had resentment in his heart to prevent him, he would not be able to survive. Military position!
In this case, why not break the sky!
Due to the reorganization of the army in the Beijing camp, the generals are in panic and are worried that they will be the next to disarm and return to their fields!
If one person takes the opportunity to cause trouble, a group of people will surely respond.
In the barracks downstairs of the city gate, the charcoal brazier inside was steaming and warm. Qianhu Cui Jin picked up the cotton curtain and looked at the general wearing a copper helmet and a red cloak who was facing away from him. He said in a deep voice: "General Luo, the people sent by the old thief Wang Ziteng were all killed by our brothers!"
At this moment, the general was holding a pale corpse that seemed to be sleeping, and was speechless for a long time.
Several generals wearing the official robes of military attachés from a thousand households and a dozen or so official robes from a hundred households looked indignant.
Because the soldiers in Liwei Camp have not yet been reorganized, many soldiers are worried about being eliminated.
Luo Rui slowly got up, looked at the two Thousand Households and Hundred Households, and said in a deep voice: "Brothers, the court will not give us a way to survive. The next battalion that is eliminated may not have our turn, and the next one lying here will It’s you and me!”
More than a dozen households were aggrieved and responded.
The remaining two Qianhu looked gloomy. One of them, Qianhu, with gray hair and wrinkles on his forehead, looked hesitant and said: "General Luo..."
Luo Rui frowned and said: "Old Qian, you are not young anymore. The order to select frontiers and reduce troops has been delivered to the camp. Do you think you have hope of staying?"
"But this is a rebellion after all. We still have a family..." Qianhu, whose surname was Qian, said with a wry smile as his lips trembled.
"Who says this is a rebellion! Prince Teng is trying to do evil, and Li Xun is sacrificing human life and extorting bribes from generals. I think this is a traitor to the Qing Dynasty!" Luo Rui shouted.
Qian Hu, whose surname was Qian, was still about to say goodbye, but suddenly he frowned, and felt a pain behind his back. He let out a muffled groan, followed by a puff, and turned around to look, only to see a primary school student who looked like Bai Hu behind him, with an expression on his face. Fiercely, he took out a bloody sharp knife.
This scene also shocked the faces of the hundreds of households in the barracks, and they looked at each other in shock.
Luo Rui's face remained cold, he narrowed his eyes slightly and asked: "What does Zhang Baihu want?"
I saw the householder surnamed Zhang saying coldly: "General Luo, unless Wang Ziteng is killed, none of us will be able to survive. Without military positions and no land to farm, a whole family, young and old, in this sacred city, will have to survive." Drink the northwest wind! The old man doesn’t understand current affairs, and his humble position can only send him on his way!"
As soon as these words came out, the faces of several hundred households who originally looked frightened changed slightly and looked wary.
The households surnamed Zhang looked around at the generals and shouted loudly: "Brothers, we are not rebelling, we are rebelling against the Qing Dynasty! We killed Wang Ziteng, Fang Ji, Li Xun, Yao Guang, Yue Qing and other traitors, as well as Pang Shili and Ni who were the accomplices. Biao and others!”
Another Qianhu surnamed Xu quickly said: "Yes, Wang Ziteng deceived Sheng Cong, such a treacherous traitor. We, as soldiers of the imperial court, protect the emperor, how can we allow such a coward to run rampant!"
Suddenly, more than a dozen people in the barracks were all talking angrily and cursing Wang Ziteng, Fang Ji and others.
Seeing the morale of the generals aroused, Luo Rui turned to look at Cui Jin and ordered: "Cui Qianhu, you guard the city gate first. I will lead the cavalry into Yaowu camp, kill Li Xun, and then kill him." Take the heads and order the soldiers to slaughter Wang Ziteng and his lackeys!"
As for why he broke into Yaowu Camp?
Because the three members of the disarmament team are all in Yaowu Camp, and Wang Ziteng has stayed in the Chinese Army Camp under Longshouyuan in recent days to show his diligence to Emperor Chongping.
Besides, unless Luo Rui loses his mind and goes crazy, there is no way he can lead three thousand soldiers and horses to attack the imperial city. Otherwise, if he wins the hearts of the army and his soldiers know that this is rebellion, who would dare to become a thief?
The only chance of survival is to take the angry soldiers back to Yaowu Camp, kill Wang Ziteng and his cronies first, use their heads to hold the entire army hostage, and then go to the city to plead guilty and be granted a title.
This is the only way to survive.
The more soldiers there are, the greater the chance of survival.
At that time, the emperor had to forgive his sins and issue decrees to appease him.
From this point of view, Luo Rui is not a fool.
The man surnamed Zhang looked fierce and said: "General Luo, under my humble position, I am willing to lead my troops and break into the house of the thief Prince Teng, so that the Wang family's chickens and dogs will not be left behind!"
As soon as this statement came out, several generals and commanders present angrily agreed with him.
Obviously they all hate Wang Ziteng deeply.
Luo Rui's eyes flashed and he said in a condensed voice: "With such a big fanfare, I'm afraid the Five Cities Military and Horse Division will become suspicious!"
The man named Zhang opened his mouth and said: "That humble position leads fifty riders, that's enough!"
For some reason, Zhang Baihu hated Wang Ziteng very much.
Luo Rui nodded, patted the shoulder of Zhang Baihu, and praised: "What a courage!"
Luo Rui turned to look at the generals and encouraged him: "Brothers, we have no way out! Only by killing Wang Ziteng's cronies and then asking the Holy Lord for forgiveness can we have a chance of survival!"
He was not sure whether he would be able to come back in time to clamor for the whole army, saying that he might not confront Pang Shili, the general of the Yangwei Battalion. He was not too sure.
But we can't delay it any longer. The arrow is on the string and we have to shoot it.
Cui Jin was the first to speak: "General, go away. I swear to live or die with the city gate because of my humble duty!"
Several other generals and colleges responded one after another.
However, while several people were talking, at this moment, soldiers from outside came to report, and the patrolling censor Kang Zhixue arrived.
Luo Rui's expression changed, and he led the generals out of the barracks and looked at the person.
I saw two sedan bearers in the distance carrying a green mud sedan. It was clearly Kang Zhixue, the censor of the city. Under the retinue of six soldiers from the Metropolitan Procuratorate, he landed in front of the city gate tower and got off the sedan.
There was confusion on a chubby face, and he said: "General Luo, what's going on? I heard someone from the Wucheng Army and Horses Department say on the way, you... hmm?"
At this moment, smelling the bloody scent of hunting, he looked around and saw the blood stains and dead bodies behind the trees in the corner of the city wall. His face turned pale, his eyes showed fear, and he said, "What... is going on?"
Luo Rui's face was livid, he sneered, and pulled out the wild goose feather sword of a soldier beside him, and strode towards Kang Zhixue, the censor of the city. The two sets of footprints behind him were on the snow, like those of the god of death. The footsteps are approaching.
"what are you up to?"
Seeing the ferocious gaze of the military commander opposite, Kang Zhixue's expression suddenly changed. He said in fear, and wanted to turn around and leave. However, he saw soldiers with sneers on their faces had gathered from all directions, blocking the way. Six officers from the Metropolitan Procuratorate The soldiers, who had never seen such a formation before, were so frightened that they trembled all over and did not dare to pull out the sword in their hands.
"Are you going to rebel?" Kang Zhixue's face changed slightly and he shouted.
Then the word "rebellion" undoubtedly brought death to the censor. Luo Rui frowned and raised the knife in his hand. However, he heard a scream of "ah" and blood spattered on Luo Rui's face. As he stood up, he became increasingly ferocious and ferocious.
After killing the censor patrolling the city, he turned to look at the general behind him and said loudly: "Brothers, this censor and Wang Ziteng are also in the same group!"
After saying that, without further words, he summoned his generals and divided them into 1,500 horsemen. They all mounted their fine horses and fought towards the Yaowu Camp seven or eight miles away without sacrificing their horsepower on the snowy road.
The words were divided into two parts. Inside the barracks of Yaowu Camp, the charcoal fire was burning brightly. The generals were gathered together and seemed to be discussing something, but the atmosphere was full of tension.
Li Xun sat in the middle, and two generals, Yao Guang and Yue Qing, sat beside him.
Fang Ji, the chief of marching, was sitting on a chair on the other side. General Ni Biao of the Central Guard Army led a group of generals to stand behind Fang Ji. Xue Pan, also wearing military uniform, stood in the crowd and watched.
Fang Ji's face was livid, and he naturally came to ask for help.
Fang Ji was handling military affairs in the Chinese army camp of Wang Ziteng in Longshouyuan early in the morning. Suddenly, someone came to report that something had happened at Yaowu Camp, and two guerrilla generals and a dozen thousand households had frozen to death. Hundreds of officials immediately left the Chinese army camp without stopping and came to inquire.
Fang Ji asked: "In the case of Li Qian, the commander-in-chief has stated many times that generals and generals are not to be killed indiscriminately in order to prevent the death of rabbits and foxes in order to reorganize the military. How did he take this step? He killed two guerrilla generals and more than ten generals in a row." "
Li Xun argued: "Mr. Fang, you don't know that those people were surrounding the barracks and making noise. The general had no choice but to give each person thirty military sticks as a punishment, in order to warn the whole army not to do it again. , I didn’t expect that there was a heavy snowfall last night, but they were able to hold on and freeze to death, who would have thought that.”
This statement is of course evasive.
Fang Ji frowned and said: "Li Qian, someone is dead now. This is completely against the commander's original intention. There are still six battalions that have not yet been reorganized. Acting so violently may trigger a mutiny."
With the whole army going smoothly, Wang Ziteng did not want to go on a killing spree to avoid triggering a backlash from other subsequent battalions.
Therefore, if you do not hold the troops and incite the soldiers to cause rebellion, they will mostly be eliminated and persuaded to retreat.
Li Xun said dissatisfied: "Master Fang, I am now under the command of the Commander-in-Chief and in charge of overall military reorganization. How can we tolerate these people who dare to attack the Chinese army? It's time to rectify the law on the spot and serve as a warning to others! Otherwise, the attack will The affairs of the Fifth Army Commander's Office and the Ministry of War's Yamen Office are likely to happen one after another."
This was a reference to some of the side effects brought about by the recent rectification of the Beijing camp. The eliminated generals and soldiers went to the Fifth Army Governor's Mansion and the Ministry of War to cause trouble. Of course, because the chief minister praised Wang Ziteng, no one saw these.
On the contrary, some people are preparing to impeach Jia Heng, who was promoted to the Five Cities Military and Horse Division, for dereliction of duty.
General Yao Guang smoothed things over and said, "Master Fang, you don't know how dangerous it was last night. These people were so vicious that they used knives and guns to surround the barracks. If the guards hadn't come to the rescue in time, they would have been killed. I'm afraid our lives are in danger,"
Fang Ji looked worried and said in a deep voice: "The matter has come to this, it is useless to talk more. These generals who died from the cold need to be compensated to calm the resentment of the generals in the camp."
Li Xun frowned and said, "Mr. Fang, the camp still owes wages and money, so there is no money left for compensation. Besides, they deserved their crime. Allowing their families to take back the body is already a sign of the general's concern for his former friendship." .”
Nowadays, Li Xun has regarded himself as the number one general under Wang Ziteng, and he has become more courageous. He also has less respect for Fang Ji, a scribe who only knows how to play tricks.
At this moment, Xue Pan was listening quietly, looking at the evil look on Li Xun's face, and couldn't help but feel a little envious in his heart.
This is the courage of the Governor Yijun. When will he have such dignity?
Seeing Fang Ji's cold expression, Li Xun added: "Luo Kai and Pan Qing are so audacious that they dare to fight against the imperial court. How dare they..."
"Luo Kai?" Fang Ji murmured, his eyelids twitching, and something suddenly occurred to his mind. The day before yesterday, he heard from Ji Min, who joined the army, that there was a man named Luo Rui, who seemed to be serving as a general in the Liwei camp.
General Liwei Camp...
While he was thinking about it, suddenly there was a cry of killing from outside the camp, accompanied by screams and the sound of swords clashing.
"Where's the killing cry?" Fang Ji's heart sank, he stood up and asked urgently.
"My lord, it's bad, the Liwei camp has rebelled..." At this time, a small school with a hundred households entered the barracks with a frightened face and said anxiously to everyone in the room.
Everyone in the barracks changed their expressions and raised the curtains one after another to leave the barracks. They saw that the outpost of Yaowu Camp was in chaos at this moment. Countless cavalrymen rushed in, ran rampant and fought with the soldiers of Yaowu Camp who were blocking them.
Fang Ji turned pale and said in a trembling voice: "Is this... the reverse!?"
It's almost unbelievable.
At this moment, the entire Yaowu camp was filled with the sounds of killing, with people roaring and horses neighing.
General Luo Rui took the lead and rushed into the camp. The sound like a bell rang in the military camp and said: "Brothers, I will establish my authority in the camp General Luo Rui. Your Majesty has been deceived by the treacherous minister Prince Teng. You will not wait for me." The way to survive is that I will lead the troops to clear the emperor's side and kill Wang Ziteng! Brothers who are willing to follow, cut off the red cloth of the shirt and tie it to the left arm! Follow a certain family to kill the traitor Li Xun! If the two don't help each other, abandon the troops and return to the camp!"
This scene of Liu's left-handedness was almost the most recognizable. Some generals who were already dissatisfied began to act accordingly.
Of course, there were also those who did not help each other and returned to the camp.
The outpost was instantly in chaos!
Everyone in the barracks suddenly changed their expressions when they heard these words from a distance. Xue Pan looked at the bloody people fighting in the distance, his legs were trembling and his face turned pale.
This mother-in-law is going to kill her!
Ni Biao pulled Fang Ji and Xue Pan over and said urgently: "Mr. Fang, things are urgent in Xiaoyanei. The general will escort you two away and go to the camp to mobilize troops to put down the rebellion!"
In fact, what Luo Rui didn't know was that Wang Ziteng went to the Ministry of Household Affairs to discuss salary early in the morning and was not at the Chinese army camp in Longshouyuan at the moment.
Fang Ji looked ugly and said: "Blow the horn, General Pang Shen will be here in a moment, I just need to wait for a while..."
At this moment, Xue Pan grabbed Fang Ji's arm and said urgently: "Mr. Fang, hurry back to the city to find your uncle..."
