"Your Majesty, there are rumors that someone is going to rebel. Does Your Majesty know?" In the side hall, during the break of dancing, the queen suddenly spoke.
Unexpectedly, the emperor was not angry. He pondered for a moment, then twirled the petals of the flowers on the table and asked jokingly: "Didn't the queen herself say that I am not in a good mood? Don't bother me with some false rumors?"
This is certainly not nonsense.
Last time, the female officers next to the queen were released from the deposed dragon thief. After thinking about it, I felt that the deposed dragon thief was not like ordinary thieves. In addition, they arrived much later than the people here in Jiangdu. I found that Jiangdu didn't know what the situation was outside, so I couldn't help but feel worried and wanted to report it, and the queen agreed.
But the result was that the female official who went to see the emperor was directly beheaded for the crime of "deceiving the public with evil words".
The queen had no choice but to say to the other female officials: "The saint is in a bad mood, so don't disturb him."
From then on, no one in Jiangdu's chamberlain or palace could speak any negative news about the outside world in front of the emperor... let alone rebellion.
"Because this moment is another moment, this is a thing and that is a thing." The queen did not panic at all, she just spoke seriously.
"Oh?" The emperor looked surprised.
"At first, I was talking about how powerful the thieves were outside, but now I am talking about the forbidden troops around Jiangdu. I was talking about that in the hope that Your Majesty would cheer up and re-establish the world. Now I am talking about this because I am afraid that trouble will arise. If we are not careful, Jiangdu and Your Majesty will be in danger. It's hard to say." The Queen spoke sincerely.
The emperor couldn't help but laugh, but he gave the queen face and directly opened the petals and called out: "Who is on duty?"
Zhang Qianda, who was already sweating profusely, turned into the palace in embarrassment, knelt down and kowtowed: "Zhang Qianda in the Zhige Pavilion at the prison gate..."
He only said his name, but he was already so panicked that he didn't know how to continue.
"Zhang Qianda." The emperor thought for a moment. "Aren't you working as General Ying Yanglang to lead the army?"
"The saint knows thousands of miles." When Zhang Qianda heard this question, he regained his consciousness a little. After all, this question had a predetermined answer. "I was indeed leading troops before, but recently because of Sima Zheng leading troops back to the Eastern Capital, there has been some commotion in the army. Because I am an old subordinate of General Sima, I was unable to go back for some reason, which caused a lot of commotion in the army. I became angry... so I went to Xianggong Yu and gave up my military power to serve as an official in front of the emperor."
"Because you did not return to the Eastern Capital due to some strange combination of circumstances, you incurred the resentment of your subordinates in the army? Is that what you meant?" The emperor immediately understood.
"yes."
"The queen said that there are forbidden troops who want to rebel. Is this what you mean?" The emperor continued to ask.
"I dare not hide anything from the saint." Zhang Qianda was obviously nervous. "In the past few years, there have been some commotions back to the Eastern Capital every few months, but this time Sima Zheng took away 30,000 elite soldiers at once. The people above knew that they were succeeding Uncle Cao, and most of them were just talking. The commanders below The Wei Zhiliu team is quite powerful... It is normal for the Queen to be alarmed by this, but it seems that the matter is more than that."
"If you have anything to say, just say it." The emperor was obviously a little impatient again.
"It's a rumor about Tu Wan Chang discussing the old general. It is said that the day before yesterday, Wang Huaitong, the literary master of Jin Dynasty and the Wang family of Taiyuan, suddenly appeared and visited the old general Tu Wan." Although Zhang Qianda was still trembling, he spoke a lot more sharply. . "I really don't dare to deceive the saint. There are many rumors in Jiangdu City. They say that Wang Huaitong was entrusted by the British Gong Bai Hengqiu to persuade him to return to Kansai... And there are many opinions on how to return. There are theories that he left alone, followed Han's example of using bows and troops to leave, and even said that General Tuwan was going to launch a mutiny and lead his army to attack Jiangdu."
The emperor fell silent, and the queen seemed to want to say something, but finally shut up and just looked at the former.
After a period of suppressed silence, the emperor in the side hall spoke again, but he looked at the person who settled the case: "They are all rumors. The queen is overthinking."
The queen nodded.
Instead, the emperor rushed to explain: "There are many people outside who want to plot against us, but as long as we don't fall into the hands of the deposed dragon thief, I can always be the empress of the Chen Dynasty and an Anle Gong. You can also imitate the Shen Dynasty of the Chen Dynasty." Queen, feel free to be a duchess."
The queen could only nod.
"Go down." The emperor waved his hand downwards.
Zhang Qianda quickly thanked him, then got up and returned to the outside of the temple to continue patrolling. After a while, he came back to his senses and couldn't help but have subtle thoughts.
Firstly, he was thankful that he had managed to handle this crisis successfully; secondly, he was disappointed that he had not been able to seize the opportunity to divert the trouble to the east and use this opportunity to arouse the emperor's anger at Tu Ten Thousand Comments, but instead he passed away lightly. ; Thirdly, it was this lightness and the emperor's obvious flinch that made Zhang Qianda feel a little relaxed... It turned out that this master who seemed so unfathomable before could be fooled so easily. Naturally, it made him relax a lot.
Zhang Qianda did not think about it. After a small episode in the side hall, he continued singing, dancing and feasting. And when the sun sets and darkens, the singing and dancing ends, and the whole palace is lit with candles, according to the saint's rules in Jiangdu, you should move your position and follow the candlelight avenue to the west of the row of residences to find your concubines in order... This year , especially this saint has been doing this since he recruited many concubines and beauties from Jiangdong and Huainan... Dozens of beauties, one for each person, one per day, visiting one by one, whose turn it is, and responsible for the singing and dancing program during the day , responsible for sleeping at night.
During the day, the queen would often come, and there was a rare chance that the accompanying prince and grandson would come with her. At night, the emperor would go to the beauty's residence alone.
But this time, Cao Che didn't get up in a hurry. Instead, he sat in his seat, lost in thought for a while.
The queen did not leave, but waited on the golden silk couch next to her.
After a long time, Cao Che finally said: "Get the bronze mirror."
The surrounding palace people did not dare to express their anger at first. After hearing this, they felt as if they had been granted amnesty. They quickly found a bronze mirror, placed it on the desk in front of Cao Che, and moved the candlestick closer.
Cao Che looked at himself in the mirror and turned to smile at his wife: "Bai Hengqiu and I are about the same age, only two or three years younger. I saw him in Dongdu with gray hair and a little worried. I felt like this The same happens with age, but now it seems like I’m worrying too much.”
The queen chuckled: "The saint's talent is outstanding, far better than that of others."
Cao Che nodded, looked at his head in the mirror, smiled, and suddenly said: "It's a great head, who should cut it off?"
As soon as he said these words, the originally relieved atmosphere in the palace disappeared. Even the queen, who had maintained her dignity even when she was captured, changed her expression: "Why did Erlang say this? Didn't he just say that he could be An Le Gong?"
Xu was the name that had been called for decades, and when he was called out in this old place, Cao Che actually softened his heart and slowly spoke to comfort him: "The joys and sorrows of the noble and the humble change, just like the three radiances of the wheel, so why worry?"
The queen immediately fell silent.
The emperor also stood up, changed into short clothes in the hall, put on a scarf, and then took a cane. Like a leisurely scholar from the eight great families in Jiangdong, he followed the candlelight out of the side hall and went to the concubine whom he wanted to favor tonight. Go everywhere.
The queen had no entourage. She stayed for a while and then returned to her palace.
Zhang Qianda, on the other hand, patiently followed the emperor to the concubine's residence, watched him go in, and in the twilight of spring, when he arrived at the other straight pavilions who were replacing him, he hurried there, and met his former military guards on the way. The supervisor, Niu Fangsheng, only glanced at him, then tacitly agreed, and together they went to Smadeke's house.
This time, there were more people in the backyard of Smadeke's house, so that several key members simply contacted each other early and decided to hold a small meeting after everyone left.
And sure enough, there were so many people that it was impossible to explain clearly. Everyone was talking about it, and basically everyone had their own opinions. The few topics that were discussed in agreement fell on Wang Huaitong's visit to Tu Wanchanglun... Many people were really tempted. .
After all, it would be good to go back to Todu. Toto is home, but this home is only a generation and a dozen years old. We are all Kansai people who moved to Toto after being built by the current saint. So now, among the three major forces in the north, the Deposed Dragon Gang has taken over the eastern border and moved towards Hebei; the British government has occupied Jin territory and entered Guanxi; Sima Zheng has entered the Eastern Capital and suppressed Huaixi... Except for the Deposed Dragon Gang, which is obviously an enemy rather than a friend, the other two Which family is not successful?
However, the location of Dongdu is there. If you want to go from Jiangdu to Guanxi, you must either abandon the troops or lead the army alone to take a detour from Xiangfan to the Han River.
The road is not easy to walk on.
After the discussion, most people left. Except for Sima Deke, Sima Jinda, Zhao Xingmi, Zhang Qianda and other key members, only two newcomers, Yuan Lizheng and Niu Fangsheng, stayed.
Of course there is a reason for the two of them to stay, because they are both members of the troops who escaped from Xuzhou after the previous battle and returned to the defense. They belong to the same group as Zhao Xingmi and Zhang Qianda, the core backbones of the rebel group. A small group... More importantly, Yuan Lizheng is now a Zhonglang General in the Jinwu Guard, and is the direct and powerful figure in charge of Sima Deke, another core member of the rebel group. Niu Fangsheng, who was the supervisor of the army at the time, is also now He is from Naishi She, and belongs to Nanya... Both of them have important positions.
Therefore, although these two people were not the initiators of the agitation at the beginning, they were naturally directly absorbed into the core members.
"I'll say it first."
After one person left, Yuan Lizheng said with a dark face. "I came here because I heard that you guys are going to do something big. If you want to do what Xue Wanlun and the others said, and flee directly on March 15th and go north with Tu Wanchanglun, then I will leave now. , looking for someone else to do big things?"
Zhang Qianda wanted to explain.
Zhao Xingmi, who was standing next to him, was quick to talk and asked first, "Isn't what they said okay?"
"What the hell! With a cultivation level named Xue, why are you going to Guanxi? If he were to lead the army, not to mention Zhang Xing and Sima Erlang, he would not be able to get through even upstream Xiao Hui." Yuan Li was cursing loudly. "And if you want to leave alone, with all due respect, they can leave, but we can't! Without soldiers and horses, without this forbidden army to rely on, without people like Sima Erlang occupying a place to stay, we are just lonely ghosts!"
Zhao Xingmi and others were greatly relieved and nodded one after another.
"Well said, we are going to do big things." Sima Jinda even came up to hold hands, which attracted Sima Deke's attention.
When Zhao Xingmi saw this scene, he immediately went to ask Niu Fangsheng, who was silent: "Niu Sheren, you have also seen it. We are going to do something big. Are you willing?"
Others understood and came to see it.
The truth is actually very simple... If they really wanted to leave after voicing endless arguments a few days ago, and they knew that they had a grandmaster they could rely on, they would not be afraid of the fate of the previous escapees, and they would have to directly lead the troops to follow them. Even alone...but now? Now that this rebel group has been established and has its own plan, it is natural to try to achieve certain demands.
And Yuan Lizheng stated the basic pursuit of several backbones here, which is to make their own decisions, control this forbidden army, and use it as capital in troubled times, and then go north.
At this time, the only person who was a little embarrassed was Niu Fangsheng. He had joined the army before, but now he was from Neishishe, and he had nothing to do with military power. And his biological father, Niu Hong, had been serving as a father-in-law in Nanya for many years as a minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs. His disciples and former officials were all over the world... In this case, where was there no future?
"Everyone, everyone." Niu Fangsheng knew it well and shook his head repeatedly. "I know what you mean, but don't doubt me... First of all, although my cultivation level is there, I can only be regarded as a literary cultivator. In these troubled times, dragons and snakes are rising. If there is no boat to escape, any bandit army will You can even kill me with your head; secondly, I have been doing things in the imperial palace since I came back from Xuzhou last time. If I want to escape on my own, it is not the same as you, it will only be more difficult; thirdly, the saint is such a ghost, if I don't do something Whatever happens, we will all die in Jiangdu!"
In the end, I gritted my teeth in anger.
When everyone saw Niu Fangsheng's statement, they felt relieved.
Zhao Xingmi even came to persuade: "Since everyone is in agreement, don't waste time and just talk about things... Although it is noisy today, judging from the situation, the key positions have been acquired, and the public sentiment has risen, so it is time to go down."
"When did you start?" Yuan Li interrupted and asked.
"The day before yesterday." Zhao Xingmi could only answer like this.
"Is it too fast?" Yuan Li was hesitating for a moment. "I see that everything in the palace is as usual, and didn't you also say that we will launch on the 15th of the month? If we launch on the 15th, but we prepare everything in advance, it will be easy to cause trouble if we waste it in vain."
"Fifteen is the deadline." Zhang Qianda explained. "In fact, it can be done early and there will be no delay."
"Today is the sixth day of the lunar month... When is the earliest?" Yuan Lizheng was a little nervous.
"Looking at the moment, we can start the campaign as long as the Chief Manager Lai and Governor Niu are transferred out, regardless of the specific time." Zhao Xingmi answered frankly.
"I'm afraid this is a bit difficult." Zhang Qianda suddenly spoke, recounting what he had experienced today. "That's what happened... Why do I feel that our saint is so depressed that he doesn't want to care about anything?"
"If this is the case, it will be troublesome." After a dull breath, Smadek felt a little confused. "If he dies there, the chief steward and Governor Niu will also die in this city and the palace. Aren't we going to die too?"
"Then we can only escape alone?" Niu Fangsheng interrupted and asked.
Zhao Xingmi was also a little anxious.
"That's not impossible, but I don't think it's necessarily the case." At this time, Sima Jinda spoke slowly, thoughtfully. "If this guy is so depressed, why did he send cavalry to hunt down the fugitives before? It's not like he doesn't have suppressive means if only one grandmaster wants to defect..."
"What do you mean by General Seven?" Zhao Xingmi frowned slightly.
"He's not that kind of person." Sima Jinda responded coldly. "He is not the kind of person who indulges in betrayal. My eldest brother has been his guard leader for many years. We brothers all know that he is the kind of person who has betrayed the world, but does not allow the world to betray him... What happened today , on the one hand, he is indeed feeling sad. How can he not feel sad at this point? On the other hand, it just shows that he has violated his biggest taboo by talking about it and turning his back on him to join Bai Hengqiu! But he doesn’t know what he cares about. Are you complaining about this veteran and grandmaster, or are you concerned that Bai Hengqiu, who used to be humble and petty in front of him, now dares to covet his world!"
"Then let's..."
"Tomorrow I will publicly complain about the rebellion. Anyway, this matter is not without evidence. Let's see how he handles it!" Sima Jinda gave the order directly.
After he finished speaking, he looked around and reminded again: "Everyone, just take a look at his attitude towards talking about thousands of things. Then you will know what will happen to us if we are timid!"
Everyone couldn't help but be awe-inspiring.
Things were settled and the core group dispersed.
Among them, when Yuan Li was returning to his residence, he was tossing and turning and couldn't sleep peacefully. At dawn the next day, he didn't stay long and went to the palace city early to go on duty in his armor and sword. But when he arrived at the palace, he walked along the palace wall all morning, then turned to Cangcheng on one side, and saw a person in a darkroom here, and then saluted respectfully.
"Master Governor, Smadek is General Huben and is in charge of the Jinwu Guard. I didn't dare to risk entering the palace last night to avoid suspicion." After Yuan Li stood up, he spoke carefully to the person in front of him.
The man was wearing an official uniform and a small crown. Behind him were some carts, hemp ropes and other rough objects. He was actually twisting a bunch of hemp and twisting the hemp rope in his hands. Hearing the words, he raised his head and exposed his chin. With a slightly white beard, he was clearly the number one expert in the palace, a veteran grandmaster, and Governor Niu of Beiya.
Duke Niu nodded, his expression unchanged, and continued to twist the hemp rope: "So, they are really planning to rebel?"
"It depends on what you say." Yuan Li sighed. "For now, I still want to find a lot of people, then break up and escape back to Dongdu... But if you say this is rebellion, you can't say it is wrong."
Duke Niu nodded and continued to ask: "Are there many people?"
"Regardless of whether they are civil or military, almost 70% to 80% of those who enter the palace want to leave, and the people below want to leave even more. There is no way to ask." Yuan Lizheng continued to speak.
"March 15th?"
"Yes." Yuan Li was cheering up a little. "I asked them if they had any plans to feint a shot and then some people to leave early or do something... What they meant was that if they wanted to escape, leaving early would attract attention and end up with those who were caught up and executed by the Huai River. The end result is that they will disperse in a hurry."
"Let's break up." Niu Dugong repeated, still twisting the hemp rope. "Any more?"
"Yes." Yuan Li said seriously. "Actually, these people don't dare to guarantee that things will work out, because Tu Wan Chang Lun's incident has greatly exceeded their expectations. Many people want to follow Tu Wan Chang Lun and go to Bai Hengqiu..."
"Tell me a long story." Niu Dugong muttered to himself, slowly muttering several names, and finally stopped with his hands. "Talking about thousands of things...Wang Huaitong...Zhang Bofeng...Sun Siyuan...Bai Hengqiu...Zhang Xing...Sima Zheng...Xiong Bonan...Li Ding...Cao Lin...Zhang Shizhao...Wang Zhuo...it's really Things have changed, people have changed, everything has turned upside down.”
"That's right." Yuan Li was slightly moved in his heart, but his face remained unchanged and he just agreed on the spot. "There have been so many masters in recent years, it's so scary... But does the Governor already know the context of this matter? Will General Tuwan really rebel?"
"It has been difficult to predict people's hearts since ancient times. Who knows?" Niu Dugong shook his head and twisted the hemp rope again. "Go and do your work! I'll be here morning and night. Come over anytime you want."
Yuan Lizheng hesitated for a moment and couldn't help but ask: "Aren't you going to ignore it now? Are you taking a long-term view to catch the big fish?"
"What are you paying attention to?" Mr. Niu didn't even raise his head. "Arrest 70% to 80% of the civil and military officials in the city? Go ahead."
Yuan Li nodded and hurriedly retreated.
On the morning of the seventh day of the lunar month, suddenly an officer of the Forbidden Army came from Liyang. He claimed that he had told his troops openly and ordered his troops to pack up and prepare to march west to Huainan. They took the road to Nanyang and returned to Guanzhong. However, they did not see the relevant official documents, so they risked their lives. Report. The general on duty, Zhao Xingmi, did not dare to neglect and hurriedly submitted a report to Sima Jinda, the General Staff Officer of the Forbidden Army. Sima Jinda further forwarded it to Sima Huada, the general of Zuo Yiwei, the Duke of Zhu and Rui.
Sima Huada did not dare to neglect, so he could only transfer the matter to Nanya in a hurry while Sima Jinda hurriedly washed his face and came to see the pilgrim saint.
After struggling for a long time, the saint finally conveyed the decree and the important officials from Jiangdu gathered to discuss the matter.
To be honest, we haven't seen this kind of occasion for more than half a year... The last time we discussed setting up a palace in Jiangning, it was only then that everyone realized that there seemed to be a hidden dragon and a crouching tiger in the court.
Sima Jinda stood inside the door with his head half lowered, his eyes scanning from the farthest end, that is, the innermost side:
Prince Qi's face was pale, and he only stood in the uppermost position with his hands bowed. If he hadn't seen His Highness's sharpness in the past few years, Sima Jinda would almost have thought that he was a waste... but it seemed that he would become a waste in the past few years;
After King Qi came the two grandsons... This surprised Sima Jinda, and then he keenly realized that the two accompanying grandsons had actually grown up in the past few years and were no longer young men;
After the emperor's grandson is his brother. Although his face has been washed, the smell of alcohol on his body can still be smelled from a distance. He seems to be a loser... But after all, he is his eldest brother and the head of the Sima family. , is Erlang's biological father...of course, he is also the number one person in the Forbidden Army, and is his biggest backer for actually assuming power in the Forbidden Army;
After the elder brother, there were three other generals and generals in charge of the First Guard. Among them, Smadek immediately winked at him when he saw him. The other two nodded slightly when they saw him, but they didn't know that they were hinting. What, still saying hello casually;
As for the last person, he was as tall as a giant and occupied half of the queue. Suddenly, the general manager of Jiangdu came to fight. This grandmaster who was born in Jiangdu didn't talk to the others, but just lowered his head in a daze;
Opposite this row of people, the one at the back was none other than Mr. Yu Changji... Frankly speaking, Sima Jinda still felt a little guilty towards the man who independently supported Nanya in Jiangdu, even though he had just witnessed his excessive greed the night before. ;
It was the uncle Xiao Yu who acted as the target of Xianggong Yu. Now his face is expressionless and he doesn't know what he is thinking. There really aren't many other decent people. It's just that some of Xianggong Yu's deputies need a little attention, such as the two internal historians. , one is Feng Chang, who is from Bohai and the real right-hand man of Xianggong Yu, and the other is Niu Fangsheng;
In addition to these people, there are two groups nearby. One is a few people standing behind the throne, including Fu Baolang Xu Hong; the other is two pavilion officials standing outside the palace, one of whom is Zhang Qianda. .
No matter what, there are people of his own in all directions, which makes Sima Jinda, the planner of today's events, even more confident.
Just as he was thinking about it, the saint, wearing short clothes and a scarf, entered with a staff. Everyone quickly bowed down and saluted.
After the ceremony, Sima Jinda raised his head and saw a person behind the saint. He was shocked, but he had nothing to say... because that was none other than Duke Niu, who had not been seen for a long time.
"Everything is known, what do you mean?" The emperor sat casually and spoke casually. He did not ask Sima Jinda to report the situation at all.
"Reporting to your majesty, I thought I could call General Tuwanlao over for testing." One person came out immediately, it was his uncle Xiao Yu. "To avoid hurting innocent people or causing misunderstandings."
"You have a kind heart, but you are also impatient." The emperor sneered and looked at the others again. "King Qi, what do you think?"
"I think what my uncle said is not necessarily undesirable." King Qi raised his head, his face flushed a little.
"You are kind-hearted and impatient... When General Tuwan comes, Jiangdong will be yours, right?" The emperor sneered again.
"My son, I didn't have any ulterior motives, I was just worried that the situation would get out of control." King Qi lowered his head, and the color on his face disappeared.
"Reporting to Your Majesty, I think it is indeed possible to invite General Tuwan to Jiangdu to ask questions...but to prevent this from backfiring and to ensure that he cannot seize the opportunity to slip away, we must send someone who can keep an eye on him." At this moment, Sima Jinda decisively raised his hand and spoke. "If he really wants to rebel, he will be suppressed; if he is not rebelling, he will just come to Jiangdu to replace him... I recommend him to be the general manager and lead the troops."
"It's quite appropriate." The emperor thought for a moment and then went to see Lai Zhan'er again. "Come on, sir, just take a trip!"
Lai Zhan'er hesitated for a moment and then stepped out of the queue: "I am not afraid of war, but I am a little worried about the situation in Jiangdu..."
"The situation in Jiangdu?" the emperor immediately spoke. "What's the situation in Jiangdu? Yu Changji?"
"Report to Your Majesty." Yu Changji immediately came out. "The morale of the military has fluctuated a bit, and there are rumors that the entire army will return north on March 15th."
The emperor was stunned for a moment, then looked at Sima Huada again: "Mr. Rui Guo."
"Hui Sage, this is what happened." Sima Huada's face turned red. "But this kind of rumors come up every now and then... I don't dare to hide it. The reason why it's a bit serious this time is precisely because there are other rumors there, and they are put together, so they appear to be more powerful than before."
The emperor frowned slightly, looked past Sima Huada and looked at another trusted general: "Sima Deke."
"I'm here." Sima Deke quickly stepped out and handed over. "Your Majesty, it is indeed true. There have always been rumors, but this time they are so powerful. It was caused by Taiyuan Wang Huaitong's meeting with General Tuwan a few days ago... So, these two things are actually the same thing."
"I knew it." The emperor sneered again and looked at Lai Zhan'er again. "Come on, manager, do you hear me? If you don't bring Tu Ten Thousand Long Lun, there will be chaos here... That's what Tu Ten Thousand Long Lun means!"
"I didn't refuse, I was just worried about your majesty's safety." Lai Zhan'er spoke sincerely. "If I'm not here, if chaos breaks out in Jiangdu and your Majesty makes a mistake, I will die without mercy."
"It doesn't matter, Duke Niu is here." The emperor pointed to the person behind him. "Go!"
"Then your Majesty has to promise me something." Lai Zhan'er raised his chin, looked past almost everyone in the hall, and looked directly at the emperor. "Before I come back, no matter how big the chaos, all kinds of calculations, including any troubles on my part, I can let Duke Niu leave Jiangdu City... Otherwise, I would rather resist the order than go to Liyang!"
Everyone in the palace had different expressions, and they all looked at the mountain of Lai Zhan'er, and so did the emperor.
After a while, the emperor nodded: "Then go back quickly! Take the Jiangdu soldiers! Don't go to Liuhe Mountain, go around from the north and block the passage!"
"I will go to see General Tuwan first, and the soldiers and horses will go north on their own." Lai Zhan'er changed the emperor's plan again, and then kowtowed and retreated on the spot without waiting for a reply.
As soon as the person left, the emperor also left, the meeting dispersed, and everyone went to their respective places, drinking when they should, and doing duty when they should... But among them, several key members of the rebel group who participated in the meeting all had the same reaction, that is, they were like mourning for their concubines. , at a loss.
There was nothing they could do, no matter what they were afraid of, no one expected that before Lai Zhan'er left, he would actually come and bite Du Gong Niu to death and leave him in Jiangdu City.
In the afternoon, Lai Zhan'er had already hurriedly led some elites to set off first. As soon as they left, several backbones of the rebel group who could not hold themselves back had already gathered in broad daylight at Sima Jinda's residence... However, these people gathered together It was useless to do it together. One afternoon, they only confirmed one thing, that is, if they ask Niu Du Gong to leave Jiangdu at this time, no matter what the reason is, it will make the emperor suspicious and it will be invalid. If Niu Du Gong does not leave, , which means that the emperor has an old master bodyguard to protect him in the palace, which makes everyone intimidated.
In the evening, due to the change of location, most of the people who had been attracted before went to Smadeke's mansion to gather together. They were probably even excited by Lai Zhan'er's departure. However, when Sima arrived here, only a few people happened to be there. When people arrived, the quarrel and confusion amplified.
However, amid the chaos, the situation gradually became clearer, because there seemed to be only one way.
"One grandmaster only has three Cheng Dan to guard him. If he can't do it with four, he can mobilize the masters in advance to form a formation. Moreover, we are unprepared. He can't protect the saint. Once the saint is eliminated, Lord Niu will not resist." Sima Jin Da was the most determined. "Are we going to retreat at this time?"
"I agree too." Zhao Xingmi panted. "I also agree, we can't shrink from the battle... Do it tonight, do it now, contact the masters in the army, and then launch the Xuanwu Black Gate to the north that day."
Smadek also nodded.
These three nodded, naturally it was time to reach an agreement.
Immediately, Zhang Qianda gritted his teeth and responded: "Then do it!"
"You really can't retreat at this time." Niu Fangsheng actually didn't retreat.
"I'm someone close to the saint. If you want to start something, just tell me. I'll temporarily pass on the imperial edict to see if I can trick Mr. Niu away." Fu Baolang Xu Hong, who was in the right place, simply offered advice. "It's always a good thing if it happens."
"I also have an idea." Imperial physician Zhang Kang was also there, but he didn't even flinch. "I treat the concubines in the harem, and I know that there are several concubines and palace officials who hate the saint for kidnapping them... If I don't tell them in advance, I tell them beforehand, and let them cooperate with Xu Hong to falsely spread the imperial edict. Maybe Can sway Duke Niu."
"Okay!" Sima Jinda nodded immediately. "Anything works!"
At this time, Yuan Lizheng, who had been relatively quiet tonight and was more like observing everyone's attitude, suddenly stood up: "Everyone, I have a question! Is Lord Niu really loyal?"
Everyone was surprised for a moment.
Yuan Lizheng simply spread his hands: "Weren't we loyal before we came to Jiangdu? What about now? We came to take charge of Zhongxin because he, like the emperor, has lived in Jiangdu for a long time and has no such grievances... But what about Niu Du Gong? "
"So what if Duke Niu's family is in Dongdu? He is a father-in-law, and I have never heard that he imitated other governors and took concubines outside." Niu Fangsheng was a little confused.
"But Duke Niu has always been very kind to the servants and palace people below." Yuan Li explained seriously. "The palace and the chamberlain also respect him, and the palace and chamberlain, including Duke Niu himself, if they have a home, it is in Xiyuan and Ziwei Palace... They also want to go back. And don't forget, Da Some of the servants and palace people were separated in Huaixi, and Wang Dugong became a rebel and joined the Deposed Dragon Gang. I don't believe that Niu Dugong didn't resent the saint because of this."
"You want to win over Governor Niu?" Zhao Xingmi looked slightly uneasy.
"We can't win him over in advance, it's too risky." Yuan Lizheng explained calmly. "But just like Zhang Yizheng said, you can go to him before launching the attack to sway... My idea is that when the time comes, our troops will be divided into multiple groups, and Fu Baolang and I will go to Niu Du Gong to falsely spread the imperial edict, and take a look by the way. Can you persuade him? The imperial doctor is looking for those concubines and palace servants, asking them to falsely pass on the imperial edict to gather together the few servants in Jiangdu, and then take them as hostages and attack from inside and outside, maybe they can shake the Duke Niu... At the same time... , we still need to contact the experts and gather an elite group that can deal with the Grandmaster when necessary."
"It's feasible." After thinking for a moment, Smadek responded first.
"When will it be launched?" Zhang Qianda asked upon seeing this.
"At this time, there is no need to rush." Zhao Xingmi immediately made arrangements. "Contact and screen the people carefully, and don't look for someone who is too loyal... Just start spreading rumors on the 11th for the time being, and start on the 12th."
"Why is it the twelfth day?" Zhang Qianda was too late to ask.
"Because Lai Zhan'er is leaving today. Either he will talk a lot about you and not come back with him. You will always have seven or eight days to spare, and you can do it before the fifteenth day. Or you can come back as soon as possible, which will be tomorrow or the day after. Then we will wait for him to come back immediately. To promote the execution of Tu Wan Chang, and then to rob the prison, please call the old General Tu Wan to make the decision and open this stall together!" Zhao Xingmi's logic is clear and strict.
"Okay." Sima Jinda also gritted his teeth and agreed. "From tomorrow onwards, the few of us will only talk here with me, and win over the others to Sima Huben's place."
In this way, as the situation changed, everyone became firmer.
The next day, the eighth day of the lunar month, the situation was stable. As expected, Lai Zhan'er did not return. Everyone just followed the plan to find masters in the armies and win over the elites. The only disturbance was that Yu Jieluo from Jiangning sent a letter asking Lai Zhan'er about sending troops. No one cares about anything.
That night, the backbone of the rebel group gathered at Sima Jinda's house. They found that the search for the master was going very smoothly, so they had to rest for a day and start preparations the next day.
However, at the third watch, just when everyone was about to disperse, suddenly a strong south wind came, howling like winter. Not only were the flowers and leaves outside, but the branches were blown off and the tiles were blown down.
What's more, when several rebel backbones were stunned, a strong wind crossed the corridor and swept into Sima Jinda's study with the light of the double moon from the window, blowing the papers and calligraphy on the wall like snow.
Leaning slightly, the strong wind outside was still roaring, but the hall had calmed down a little. However, Sima Jinda was lost in thought as he looked at the broken Chinese characters that were carried into his hands by the wind.
Several people came back to their senses and were puzzled by the situation. They gathered around to look at the candlelight that was still there, but they saw that there were only two sentences left on the scrap of paper:
"It's a shame that the strong wind is empty. It comes at dawn and at night, but it blows them all away."
The signature turned out to be Yu Changji.
After watching it for a while, some people understood, some didn't, and some misunderstood and thought they understood, but for some reason, they were all out of breath.
"I have made up my mind, and the weather is irreversible." Sima Jinda suddenly and coldly tore up the remaining half of the article. "Tomorrow dawns, if the wind is still there, we will use the power of the Red Emperor Empress to connect and stir during the day, and then start at three o'clock in the evening! By the morning of the tenth, life or death will be insignificant! Why bother? If you don't move forward, are you worried about a master?!"
The others were about to speak when the strong wind started blowing again outside. Everyone was excited, but they nodded one after another.
At dawn, which was the ninth day of March, the neatly dressed Huben General Smadek pushed the door open and found that the strong wind had been howling all night, and sure enough it was still there.
(End of chapter)
