Yelu Hanyu frowned and said, "I wonder how she did it? Logically speaking, this is almost impossible. If it were easy, Brother Yeqianxiu would have done it long ago. Are you still waiting for her?"
Yang Peng nodded and said, "This matter has nothing to do with us. What we have to consider now is how to save people!" Na Ren nodded quickly, and Yelu Hanyu said nothing. Yang Peng thought: "Judging from the information obtained so far, Brother Ye Qianxiu and Wang Jun should have completely broken up. The two people were already at odds with each other on how to deal with the princess, and now they are at odds because of the supreme power. There's no way to reconcile the conflict. There's no doubt about that, and I think we can make the most of it."
No one knew what was going on, but Yelu Hanyu thought of something.
Yang Peng thought: "Brother Ye Qianxiu needs to go in and out of the palace frequently, and Wang Jun will often go out of the palace to her villa outside the palace. We have many opportunities."
As night fell, the palace hall was brightly lit. The royal nobles of the Liao Kingdom and foreign envoys all gathered in the hall, toasting to the new emperor's enthronement, and wishing the Empress Dowager happiness, longevity and health. Congratulations suddenly burst out. Echoes echoed in the hall; the king sat high to receive congratulations from everyone, and the Queen Mother sat beside him, while the emperor of Liao, the infant Ye Qian Longxuan, was lying in the arms of the Queen Mother. The king raised his voice and said, "You don't have to be polite!" "Thank you, the Queen Mother!" Then they all took their seats.
The king smiled and said: "Today the new emperor came to the throne, everyone is celebrating. You must have a great time!" Then he stretched out his delicate hand and picked up a jade cup in front of him. The white jade reflected the snowy skin very touchingly. The king said: "I will take this glass of wine on my behalf." Your Majesty, please do it first!" Then I saw her holding the cup in both hands and tilting her head to do it. Two blushes appeared on her pretty face. She was so beautiful that many princes and ministers felt their hearts pounding. The princes, ministers, and foreign envoys stood up with wine glasses in their hands, bowed to the king, drank the wine in their glasses, and then sat down one after another.
Wang Jun put down his wine glass, clapped his hands, and there were two soft pops. Then the sound of music came, the silk and bamboo were melodious, and then dozens of graceful and graceful dancing girls wearing traditional costumes of the Khitan clan flew in like colorful butterflies. In the main hall, dancing. Everyone enjoyed the dance, and familiar friends laughed and chatted with each other from time to time, while the king chatted with several important ministers sitting nearby, creating a very harmonious scene.
At this moment, a eunuch suddenly sang a promise from the gate: "The Generalissimo is here!..." Everyone in the hall immediately stopped talking and looked towards the gate, only to see Brother Ye Qianxiu in military uniform. He strode up to the hall. Everyone else wore gorgeous brocade robes to the banquet. Brother Ye Qianxiu's military uniform looked very eye-catching at the moment, and Wang Jun couldn't help but frown.
Brother Ye Qianxiu walked to the middle of the hall and shouted: "Stop dancing and singing!" The music stopped abruptly, and the dancers also stopped dancing, looking at each other, at a loss. The princes and nobles present all looked sideways, some frowned, and some looked gloating, while the king looked very indignant, stared at Brother Ye Qianxiu and shouted: "Generalissimo, what are you doing?"
Brother Ye Ganxiu ignored the king, turned around and bowed to the baby in the Queen Mother's arms, and then said loudly: "Now that Liao is in trouble at home and abroad, is this the time to sing, dance and have fun? If the new emperor ascends the throne, if he does not work hard to govern, how can he do it? To calm the hearts of the people in the world?" These words were so righteous that many ministers, including Ye Qi Hucheng, nodded their heads. Ye Qianhu said: "Brother Ye Qianxiu is right! The situation in our country of Liao is far from good now. We really shouldn't sing, dance and have fun!"
When the king saw that Ye Qi Hucheng said the same thing, he couldn't scold Brother Ye Qi Hucheng. He said warmly to Ye Qi Hucheng: "Your Majesty, Nanyuan, the reason why the Ai family holds this banquet is because it is the custom of all dynasties. Traditionally, in order to harmonize the relationship between the new monarch and the princes and ministers, how can it be said that it is about singing, dancing and having fun?" Ye Qian Hucheng felt that what the king said was right, and nodded: "The empress dowager's intentions are naturally good! But of course the intention is good! This banquet is too extravagant!" Wang Junwei said yes, but the boss was unhappy in his heart. He felt that Ye Qi Hucheng was really ungrateful and refuted his face in public. As the saying goes, women are narrow-minded, and this is true. Because of this trivial matter, the king hated Yeqi Hucheng.
When Brother Yeganxiu saw Yegan Hucheng speaking on his side, he couldn't help but become more aggressive and said loudly: "I think the banquet should end here! If you want to drink, let's have a good time when the new king comes of age. Drink enough!" His words irritated the king even more, because they made it clear that he did not recognize the king's regent status. The king said with a sullen face: "The new king will hold a banquet to entertain all the princes and ministers. This has been done since ancient times. Already! Although the Grand Marshal has a noble status, you cannot withdraw at your own discretion. Do you think you are the emperor? In your eyes, where do you place His Majesty? Brother Ye Qianxiu and Wang Jun are competing against each other, which is full of gunpowder. , all the princes and ministers kept silent, for fear of accidentally getting angry. The foreign envoys were basically gloating about the misfortune. Only one person looked worried, and that person was the envoy sent by the Xixia Kingdom, the princess. Li Qingxia traveled a long distance and came to the capital of the Liao Kingdom without avoiding hardships. She wanted to form an alliance with the Liao Kingdom and plot a way to deal with Yan Yun. However, the situation in the Liao Kingdom made her extremely worried. The Queen Mother, who was holding the emperor, faced The situation in front of me was very scary and I didn’t know what to do.
At this moment, Ye Qian Hucheng shouted at Brother Ye Qianxiu: "Brother Ye Qianxiu, how can you be so impudent? The Empress Dowager was regent by imperial edict, and she can be said to represent the late emperor. How dare you speak to her like this, and still Don’t kneel down!”
Brother Ye Qianxiu protested: "She is a Korean, how can she be the regent of our Liao Kingdom! How can we Khitan people be inferior to the Koreans? This is ridiculous!" As soon as these words came out, it immediately attracted people. There was a buzz in the main hall, and the king clearly saw that many ministers had been persuaded by Brother Ye Qianxiu, and their faces seemed to show dissatisfaction. He couldn't help but feel a chill in his heart, and said to Brother Ye Qianxiu with a cold face: "Although I was born in Goryeo, I have been a Khitan since I served Emperor Taizong!" He glanced at everyone, "Don't you think that Emperor Taizong's Is the imperial concubine a Khitan?" The princes and ministers were startled, thinking that what she said was right. How could Emperor Taizong's imperial concubine not regard her as a Khitan?
Brother Ye Qianxiu snorted coldly, stared at the king and said, "There is a saying among the Han people that people who are not from my race will have different hearts! I will never believe you!" He glanced at the princes and ministers and said, "You are willing to be ruled by a foreign race? , I, Brother Ye Ganxiu, am an extremely noble Khitan, but I don’t want to lower my noble head!” After saying that, he strode away.
All the princes and ministers looked at each other in confusion, not knowing what to do. The king was so angry that his face was livid, his whole body was shaking, and he couldn't help but want to get rid of brother Ye Qianxiu.
Prime Minister Han Derang smoothed things over and said: "The Generalissimo is just too sad about the death of the late emperor. Please don't take it off, the Empress Dowager, the Queen Mother, and Your Majesty. Please forgive him for his past merits!"
The Queen Mother was a woman without her own opinion. She didn't know what to do. She looked at Wang Jun. Wang Jun's face instantly returned to normal, and he smiled and said: "The Generalissimo is heartbroken over the death of the late emperor. It is human nature to be a little rude. I will not blame him." Yes!" Han Derang said, "The Empress Dowager is wise!"
Wang Jun raised his voice and said: "The singing and dancing continue, and everyone continues to drink." Then the music started again, the dancers danced again, and the princes and ministers started drinking again. However, in Wang Jun's eyes, the feeling just now was completely gone. In the joyful atmosphere, it seemed that everyone was harboring evil intentions, and it seemed that everyone was secretly laughing and despising her. The king was so angry that he wished he could capture Brother Ye Qianxiu and cut him into pieces right now. Although she was thinking so fiercely in her heart, there was no expression on her face.
A luxurious banquet where everyone had their own concerns was finally over, and many people were relieved. When the king returned to the palace, he suddenly burst out of emotion and threw a precious vase to the ground. It smashed into thousands of pieces with a clang. The palace ladies and eunuchs were so frightened that they all remained silent and did not dare to express their anger.
Wang Jun stared in front, with an angry look on his face, and murmured: "Brother Ye Qianxiu, I will definitely let you die badly!!" He calmed down and began to plan a way to deal with Brother Ye Qianxiu. After thinking for a while, he She was also angry about how to deal with Yeqi Hucheng. She felt that Yeqi Hucheng also looked down on her and would not obey her orders, so he was also a target that needed to be eradicated. …
In the morning of the next day, all the princes and ministers kowtowed and saluted the baby who was placed on the dragon chair. Everyone felt that it was very absurd in their hearts, but they did not dare to show any slightest behavior. Behind the dragon chair, a bead curtain was pulled up. Behind the curtain sat a graceful figure dimly. It was the Queen Mother and the Queen Mother who were ordered to listen to the government behind the curtain.
After all the princes and ministers had saluted, they stood on both sides according to their rank. The leader in the right column was Prime Minister Han Derang, followed by Ye Qidang Jinglun, followed by the ministers of various ministries and civil servants of the fourth rank and above in Beijing; the left column The first one is Ye Qi Hucheng, followed by Generalissimo Ye Qi Xiu, followed by the fourth-rank or above generals in Beijing, including Han Chang and Xiao Zhanle, Ye Qi Xiu's cronies.
The old eunuch, a close confidant of the king, walked to the jade steps with an imperial edict, opened it, and read it aloud. Most of the content was nonsense. The most important thing was that the positions of all ministers remained unchanged and they were all given first-class titles. Ye Qianhu was promoted to the Protector King and was responsible for the national military affairs. This actually deprived Brother Yeqianxiu of his power in disguise. When Brother Yeqianxiu heard this, he looked very angry, but there was nothing he could do about it. If the king appointed another If a person comes to take over military affairs, no matter who it is, he will come out and firmly oppose it, but for Yeqi Hucheng, he cannot and dare not oppose it. The imperial edict also mentioned the reward for Brother Yeganxiu, who was promoted to King Longxiang and consulted on military aircraft. The four words "consulting on military aircraft" are wonderful, but they are dispensable and ambiguous.
The doctor bandaged Brother Ye Qianxiu's wound, then bowed and retreated. Xiao Zhanle finally couldn't help shouting: "Your Majesty, that woman dared to assassinate your Majesty, we must not just let it go! We have to attack the palace with troops and kill that bitch!!" All the generals agreed one after another, and the crowd was excited. Only Han Chang frowned and remained silent. Brother Ye Qianxiu said coldly: "I didn't want to fight her, but I couldn't bear it. Since she used such methods to deal with me, I have nothing to cherish!"
When Han Chang heard this, he felt very strange: "Why did the general say that?" Could it be that the Generalissimo couldn't see the strangeness of this assassination? Those masked killers in black were extremely powerful. Hundreds of our own bodyguards were all elites on the battlefield, but more than half of them were killed or injured in an instant. The combat power of those killers was unheard of, but how could the Empress Dowager possess such powerful power? With those Koreans who only know how to talk? This is simply a joke! I am afraid that these mysterious killers were not sent by the Empress Dowager. The Generalissimo has always been shrewd, how could he not see it? Oh, I understand, the Generalissimo wants to use this as an excuse to attack the Empress Dowager! '
He only heard Brother Ye Qianxiu say to him: "Han Chang, go to our military camp outside the city immediately, assemble the three armies, and get ready for battle!" Han Chang promised and ran down. Brother Ye Qianxiu said to Xiao Zhanle again: "Gather the guards in the mansion immediately, listen to my orders, and be ready to take action at any time!" Xiao Zhanle responded excitedly and ran down. It needs to be explained here that according to the rules of the Liao Kingdom, no army of generals or princes can enter Zhongjing City. They can only bring their own guards into the city, and the size of the guards is generally only a few thousand people. Brother Ye Qianxiu Although he has a large number of troops, the only troops he can mobilize in the city are his own four thousand guards. The situation is the same in Yeqihu City.
Brother Ye Qianxiu stood up, walked behind the desk, sat down, picked up a pen and wrote a letter, sealed it, and wrote on the envelope the words "Xiao Sali and the general personally signed it" and handed the letter to a A trusted officer ordered him to rush to the city defense general's mansion immediately and hand him over to Xiao Sali to drink.
On the other side, the Queen Mother and the Queen Mother took a phoenix chariot to the Grand Marshal's Mansion under the protection of hundreds of palace guards to visit Brother Ye Qianxiu. Just as they were halfway through the journey, the confidant palace maid who had been sent to the Generalissimo's Mansion to express condolences to Brother Ye Qianxiu rushed over anxiously and reported: "Mother, it's not good, the Generalissimo, he sent people to mobilize troops outside the city. , and gathered the guards in the mansion to prepare to do harm to the empress!"
The king was shocked when he heard this. Without thinking about it carefully, he quickly ordered to return to the palace. As soon as he returned to the palace, the king immediately summoned the palace guard general, Li Chonglong. This man was actually a Khitan with Korean descent. He was promoted to the position of the palace guard general by the king yesterday. He was one of the king's confidants. .
"The general will pay his respects to the Empress Dowager!" Li Chonglong paid homage to the king with utmost respect. Wang Jun said quickly: "General Li, there is no need to be polite!" Li Chonglong thanked him, stood up, and stood respectfully below. The king hurriedly asked: "General Li, how many soldiers and horses are there in the palace guard?" "Reporting to the queen, there are five thousand guards in the palace, including four thousand infantry and one thousand horse troops!"
The king lowered his head and frowned and said: "With only five thousand troops, I'm afraid I can't withstand Brother Yeqianxiu's thousands of battle-hardened troops!" He immediately said to Li Chonglong: "General Li, the situation is urgent now. Brother Yeqianxiu There may be a rebellion, so go down immediately and gather the palace guards to prepare for it!" Li Chonglong was taken aback, responded and ran down.
The king then ordered a close maid beside him: "Immediately go and order the city defense army to close the city gate and strictly prohibit anyone from entering or exiting, and also order him to mobilize troops to defend the palace in front of the palace! Tell General Xiao Salihe, if you can do it at this moment, After he has made great achievements, I will promote him to the king and regain control of the army!" This Xiao Sa Lihe has appeared more than once in the previous article. He is one of the famous generals of the Liao Kingdom. He has made great achievements in attacking the Northern Song Dynasty, but later Xiao Sa Lihe was defeated one after another in the battle with Yanyun's army, losing his troops and losing ground. In the end, he only escaped Yanmen Pass with 20,000 to 30,000 remaining soldiers. Originally, according to the military law of the Liao Kingdom, Xiao Salihe was going to be executed, but at that time The Emperor of the Liao Kingdom finally exempted him from the death penalty because of his great contribution to the country, and was demoted to the garrison general of Zhongjing City to be responsible for the defense of Zhongjing City. The huge gap between the front and the back is self-evident. However, under the current situation, Xiao Salihe has undoubtedly become a hot and key figure.
The maid took the order and left. The king was worried and said to a confidant of the palace maid: "Go out of the city immediately, rush to our military camp, and order General Jin Tongtian to assemble the army and prepare for battle, especially beware of Brother Ye Qianxiu's army outside the city!" After saying that, he took off a jade pendant from his waist and handed it to the palace maid. The palace maid came forward, took the jade pendant respectfully, and hurried out of the hall.
Wang Jun thought carefully about whether he had any flaws, and felt that everything he had to do had been done, and he couldn't help but feel relieved.
At this time, footsteps sounded. The king turned around and saw the young queen mother coming over with the emperor in her arms, with a look of worry and fear on her face. He came forward, bowed to Wang Jun Yingying, and then asked nervously: "Madam, I heard that Marshal Ye Qianxiu brother rebelled?" Wang Jun smiled slightly, with a calm expression and a confident look, " You don’t have to worry, as long as I’m here, no one can touch a hair on your mother and son!” The Queen Mother couldn’t help but feel relieved when she heard this, and said: “Everything depends on the Queen Mother!” Wang Jun nodded, "You go back and stay in peace, don't worry!" the Queen Mother responded, and then left with the emperor's son in her arms.
The smile on Wang Jun's face disappeared, and his brows wrinkled again on her beautiful face. Although she had said it was easy to the Queen Mother just now, in fact, she was not sure about the matter in front of her at all. If she had no confidence in Ye Qianxiu, If I was confident, I would have used thunderous means to destroy Brother Ye Qianxiu long ago, and I would not have waited until now. The king thought: "Brother Ye Qianxiu has four or five thousand guards in the city, and I have five thousand palace guards. He has 80,000 troops outside the city, and I have one hundred thousand troops. It seems that I have an advantage. What are you afraid of him doing? ' Then she thought of Xiao Salihe. What she is most worried about now is Xiao Salihe's attitude. The current situation is like a balance in balance, and Xiao Salihe is a key weight. He is Whichever side you turn to will give you a huge advantage, and the results are self-evident.
Xiao Salihe met Brother Ye Qianxiu and Wang Jun's envoy one after another. He couldn't help but be in a dilemma. He was in a dilemma as to which choice would be more beneficial. Now is undoubtedly a great opportunity for him to rise again, but this is an uncertain multiple-choice question. If he chooses the right one, he will regain his previous power and glory, but if he chooses the wrong one, the consequences will be unimaginable. Yes, he will be shattered into pieces along with the losing side.
Just when Xiao Sali was in a dilemma, his trusted subordinate Da Buye hurried in and said anxiously: "General, the King of the South Campus and the Prime Minister are here together!" Xiao Sali was surprised. He quickly raised his head and saw Yeqi Hucheng in military uniform and Handerang in civilian clothes coming hand in hand. He quickly stood up to greet them: "I didn't know that the King of the South Campus and the Prime Minister were arriving, so they were not far away to greet them!" Yeqi Hucheng stood up. Waving his hands, "Stop saying these polite words! The Prime Minister and I came to you to ask you to immediately send an order to close the city gates! Go and give the order immediately!"
When Xiao Salihe heard this, he thought to himself: "It seems that the King of the South Campus and the Prime Minister are on the side of the Empress Dowager!" As soon as he thought of this, he quickly said: "The general will give the order immediately!" Then he said to Dabuye: "Immediately give the order to the four gates to close the city gates! No one can come in or out!" Xiao Dabuye responded and ran down.
Xiao Sali invited Ye Qihucheng and Han Derang to take a seat. Ye Qihucheng said: "The situation is urgent now, so we won't sit down!" Han Derang said: "General Xiao Salihui, the current situation is extremely critical, and it affects us. The rise and fall of the Liao Kingdom, the honor and disgrace! We hope you will guard the city strictly and not sway to any side!" Xiao Sali was stunned and said to himself: 'Is it possible that these two are not trying to help the Empress Dowager? 'This thought only flashed through my mind, and I quickly bowed and agreed. Han Derang said: "I have discussed with the King of the South Campus. After the situation calms down, the two of us will recommend you to stay on Tokyo Road. I hope you will not disappoint us!" "Thank you, Prime Minister, thank you, the King of the South Campus, General. You will definitely live up to your trust in serving the country with loyalty!" Han Derang nodded and said to Yeqihucheng: "Let's go, we have to go to both sides to appease you!" Yeqihucheng nodded, turned and walked outside. Handerang followed closely behind. Xiao Sa Li shouted and sent the two of them out of the gate before returning.
Xiao Sali returned to the hall with a thoughtful look on his face and tapped his fingers unconsciously on the desk. At this time, Xiao Dabuye came back, clasped his fists and said: "General, I have given orders to go down!"
Xiao Sa Li turned around and asked, "Tell me, what is going on with the Empress Dowager and the Grand Marshal?" Xiao Dabuye sneered, "What else could it be? They are just fighting for power and profit!" Xiao Sali frowned and nodded, "Then in your opinion, who will win this battle in the end?"
Xiao Dabuye thought for a while and shook his head, "This subordinate can't see it!" Xiao Sali sat down and said, "If you say so, we can only listen to the King of the South Campus and the Prime Minister. !" smiled and said, "The Han people have a saying, which is called 'sit on the mountain and watch the tigers fight'. We might as well 'sit on the mountain and watch the tigers fight'. When whoever has the upper hand, we will help him without delay. In this way, we can immediately In an invincible position!" Dabuye sighed: "The general is really far-sighted!"
Yegan Hucheng and Handerang acted separately. Handerang rushed to the palace to appease the Empress Dowager, while Yeganhucheng rushed to the Generalissimo's Mansion to appease brother Yeganxiu. I don’t know whether it was the appeasement of Yeqi Hucheng and Han Derang that had an effect, or whether King Yeqi Xiu had other plans. Until night, the situation remained calm, and armed conflicts occurred. However, rumors are already spreading in the capital, making people panic and everyone is in danger. Although Yeqi Hucheng and Handerang found that someone seemed to be deliberately adding fuel to the flames, at this moment they did not dare to be distracted at all. All their attention was on Wang Jun With brother Ye Qianxiu.
After all, what happened next will be explained later.
