At this time, the entire Qingyang City was still unaware that a series of changes had occurred in the parade ahead. It was still singing and dancing in peace and harmony.
Doctor Ling Huo Jun and his nephew Bus Commander Huo Ping boarded the tower of Qingyang Palace for routine inspections. Huo Ping was the youngest son of Huo Zheng. Although he worked under the command of Wei Wei Gao Zhong, it was actually the left prime minister Huo Zhengan who intervened in the south. Among the military palace guards, it is impossible for Zuo Prime Minister Huo Zheng to completely entrust the 10,000-strong Southern Army Palace Guards to Wei Wei Gao Zhong, an important candidate who is under surveillance. After all, his surname is not Huo, so his family members are more reliable for key positions Compose some music.
Now that Wei Wei Gao Zhong is following the Eastern Patrol to Guandong, the 10,000 palace guards of the Southern Army are temporarily under the command of Lang Zhongling Huo Jun. Only when the Eastern Patrol is over will Wei Wei Gao Zhong return to take control of the Southern Army. It can be said that today's Qing Dynasty In Yangcheng, the doctor Ling Huo Jun alone has the final say.
After Huo Jun and Huo Ping made a tour, the palace guards were on tight alert.
Huo Jun said with emotion: "The east patrol team has been out for more than a month, and I don't know where brother and the others are."
Huo Ping followed Huo Jun closely and said after hearing the words: "Second uncle, I estimate that with the speed of the east patrol team, they should be near Cai County. The Tangqi who reported the news tomorrow should have received a letter."
Huo Jun hummed, his face solemn and silent.
Seeing his second uncle like this, Huo Ping asked, "Second uncle, what's wrong with you? Are you worried about your father?"
After hearing this, Huo Jun came to his senses and said, "I don't know why, but I've always been restless these days. I always feel like something big has happened."
Hearing this, Huo Ping comforted Huo Jun and said, "Second uncle, there is a third uncle in charge of the lieutenant army, and the emperor's honor guard is under my father's applause. Nothing big will happen, right?"
Hearing this, Huo Jun nodded slightly and said, "That's right. I hope I'm overthinking it. My eldest brother often reminds me that our Huo family seems to be prosperous now, but it's also in danger. We must act cautiously. You can leave the palace to you for the time being." Inspection, I will go to the outer city to inspect."
Huoping said: "Okay."
Since all the lieutenant troops were transferred, the left prime minister Huo Zheng dispatched another 10,000 county soldiers to assist in the defense of Qingyang.
The doctor's order, Huo Jun, went all the way to the outer city to inspect the city defenses. He first inspected the arsenal, and then took his retainers to the gates of Qingyang's outer city to inspect the city defenses and arrange work. He had been doing this since the emperor's eastward tour, inspecting at least three times a day. One day of slacking off.
After the patrol, Huo Zheng summoned the captain who was specifically responsible for the defense of Qingyang City and said: "Captain Lu, your Majesty is traveling far away with all the civil and military officials. At this critical time, you must fulfill your duties and wait until your Majesty returns to the capital from his patrol eastward. , I am the one who makes the decision, and I will say a few kind words for you in front of the emperor. In the future, I may not be able to serve as your minister in the same palace."
Captain Lu was overjoyed when he heard this. He bowed his hands to Huo Jun and said, "Don't worry, Mr. Huo, I will do my duty faithfully. As long as I am here, all gates in the capital will be safe."
Hearing this, Huo Jun nodded with satisfaction and said, "Very good."
Huo Jun saw the soldiers standing upright on the city wall, patrolling back and forth with one sentry every five steps and one post every ten steps. He nodded with satisfaction, felt a little at ease, and returned home with his retainers.
The city defense captain was originally temporarily recruited from other places to assist in the defense of Qingyang. Now everyone in the government and the public understands that the new king's succession is too short. The court still has the final say of the left prime minister Huo Zheng, and his brother Lang Zhongling Huo Jun's promise , which is equivalent to a promise from Prime Minister Zuo, and he will naturally perform well.
Late at night, there was a curfew in Qingyang City, but Captain Lu was still fully armed, patrolling back and forth between the city gates. Not long after, when he had just inspected Guang'an Gate, a scout knight came to report: "Captain Qi, Donghua Gate An envoy from the imperial court has arrived."
When Captain Lu heard this, he wondered, "Why did the imperial court send an envoy here in the middle of the night?"
The Army Sima who was following Captain Lu heard this and said, "Sir Captain, the envoy from the imperial court came to visit in the middle of the night. There must be something important. How about we send someone to the Huo Mansion to inform the doctor, Lord Huo, to come and receive the envoy?"
Lieutenant Lu waved his hand and said: "It's so late at night, Mr. Huo must be resting, so don't disturb him for now. Let's go see what's going on first, and then send someone to inform Mr. Huo."
When the military commander heard this, he had no choice but to retreat angrily.
Captain Lu and a group of officers went to Donghua Gate to receive the imperial envoy. Just as a precaution, Captain Lu climbed up to the city tower and took a look. He saw only dozens of cavalry outside the city gate protecting the imperial envoy. He held the festival banner high in his hand, but he was undoubtedly a messenger.
Captain Lu secretly breathed a sigh of relief and led a group of generals to the city to receive the envoy.
The imperial envoy who traveled thousands of miles to come here was none other than the emperor's confidant Guo Xuan. Next to him was the commander-in-chief of the Northern Army and the military commander Zhou Jian.
When Guo Xuan saw Captain Lu and others coming out of the city gate to greet them, he stepped forward, held up his banner, took out a gold medal, and said: "Your Majesty has ordered that you, at this moment, obey the orders of General Zhou, the captain of the army guard, and be controlled by him. You must not Disobey.”
Captain Lu and others looked at each other in shock when they heard this.
Lieutenant Lu was secretly shocked and didn't know what was going on, but he still stepped forward and asked for orders in accordance with military regulations: "General, please show me the tiger talisman."
Zhou Jian took out the tiger talisman from his arms and handed it to Captain Lu. Captain Lu took the tiger talisman. After confirming that it was correct, he rolled his eyes and stepped forward to explain: "The lower official position is low and I don't dare to make decisions. The lower official is currently a doctor." Please order Master Huo to be restrained. I will send someone first to ask Master Huo to come and meet with you sirs. Please wait a moment, sirs."
Before he finished speaking, the guard captain Zhou Jian sneered and said: "There is no need to invite Mr. Huo, he is no longer a doctor. In a few days, the imperial court will issue an order. Why are you still standing there? Why haven't you opened the city gate yet? ? Do you want to resist the decree and disrespect it?"
Captain Lu was greatly shocked when he heard this. Could it be that the Huo family has lost power?
Seeing Captain Lu's hesitation, the guard captain Zhou Jian waved his hand, and the knight behind him raised a fire as a signal. After a while, the 40,000 troops of the Northern Army lit torches one after another, and the neat formation emerged from the darkness. The army was densely packed, like Like boundless black clouds, they slowly came forward and surrounded Donghua Gate. At a glance, I couldn't even see the end, and I didn't know how many people were coming.
Lieutenant Lu and other generals responsible for guarding the capital changed their expressions greatly, looking like they were about to be in trouble. This was definitely a coup.
Guo Xuan held up the imperial banner and the gold medal, pointed at Captain Lu and reprimanded: "Captain Lu, I immediately ordered the city gate to be opened. Seeing this gold medal is like the emperor's personal visit. Anyone who dares to disobey the decree will be deemed to be complicit in treason. Kill the three tribes.”
When Captain Lu heard this, his face turned pale with fright. He glanced at the endless elites of the Northern Army behind the court envoy. He understood that such an earth-shattering event was not something that he, a small captain, could withstand. , and the other party was obviously well-prepared, with all the formalities such as the festival badges, gold medals, and tiger charms representing the imperial court. He understood that he was an official of the imperial court after all, not a slave of his Huo family, and could not be buried with the Huo family. of.
Afterwards, Lieutenant Lu immediately turned around and ordered: "Open the door!"
Captain Lu gave an order, and the Qingyang Donghua Gate slowly opened.
Seeing this, Captain Zhou Jian of the Military Guard was secretly relieved, and ordered the army to garrison Qingyang and take over the defense of the capital.
After Guo Zhou and his men successfully entered the city with their soldiers and horses, Zhou Jian turned to Guo Xuan and said, "Fortunately, the captain on this road is aware of the current situation. Our army came in a hurry and did not prepare any siege equipment. If he really doesn't open the door, then what will happen if he doesn't open the door?" That’s troublesome.”
Hearing this, Guo Xuan chuckled and said: "General Zhou, everything is under your control. Before our army returns to the division, your Majesty has already sent three thousand black bird troops under the Qingyi envoy to sneak into the city in advance and lie in ambush. If Captain Lu doesn't open his eyes, , our army should cooperate internally and externally, and it is not difficult to seize Donghua Gate by force."
Zhou Jian was slightly startled when he heard this and sighed: "So that's it. So your Majesty actually has a back-up plan?"
Zhou Jian, the captain of the guard army, was secretly convinced that he was betting on the right thing. Even though he was young, it was really not easy. He was able to secretly train three thousand soldiers of the emperor under the nose of Huo Zheng, an old fox. ?
Guo Jue also secretly thought that this was a fluke. Things happened in a hurry. In fact, the thousand black bird troops brought from Shanpu could only sneak into the city, but only a few hundred people, and they had no weapons. If Captain Lu really didn't open the city, , the most these hundreds of people are doing is creating a little chaos in the city, trying to seize the city gate by cooperating with others, but they may not be able to do it.
Then Guo Xuan and Zhou Jian immediately led their troops into the palace of Lang Zhongling Huo Jun, tied up the sleeping Lang Zhongling Huo Jun, escorted him to Qingyang Palace, and asked him to order the palace gate to be opened and the palace city occupied. By wiping out the remaining members of the Huo family, this major matter will be settled.
In addition to the soldiers and horses controlling the capital, more than 10,000 Northern Army soldiers and horses took advantage of the darkness and rushed to the main entrance of Qingyang Palace. The first people to lead the troops were the guard captain Zhou Jian and the envoy Guo Jue.
More than 10,000 people surrounded the palace. At this moment, Huo Jun, who was tied up with five flowers, looked ashen and defeated. He didn't know what happened to the eastern patrol team, but when he saw the posture today and the commander of the Northern Army, Colonel Zhou Jian Jian was the emperor's confidant Guo Xuan, and he understood everything. His eldest brother might have been killed by the younger emperor through some means. He couldn't figure it out. The third brother Huo Qi had 30,000 elite lieutenants under his command. He thought What I don’t understand is how the little emperor made a comeback?
At this time, the garrison force in the palace, 10,000 Nanjun palace guards, had discovered the anomaly outside the palace city, and quickly called for the person in charge, Bus Commander Huoping.
Huo Ping rushed to the city gate and saw that his scalp was numb. The black army surrounded the main entrance of the palace.
Guo Xuan winked and signaled Huo Jun, who was tied up by Wuhuada, to come forward and shout.
Huo Jun stepped forward and saw his nephew on the top of the city tower. He quickly stepped forward and shouted: "Ping'er, open the door quickly. The angels are ordered to take over the defense of the palace city."
Huo Ping had a determined look on his face when he heard this. He knew that the ten thousand palace guards in the palace at this moment were the Huo family's last trump card. The emperor's family members were also in the palace and could be used as hostages. If he opened the door easily, the Huo family would be in trouble. It's all over.
Huo Ping glanced at his second uncle Huo Jun's unlucky appearance, and shouted to the people in the city: "The imperial court has regulations. No matter what happens outside the palace, the palace doors will be closed at xu and opened at mao tomorrow morning. Anyone who disobeys the order will be executed, even if it is His Majesty himself. If you give an order to open the door, that’s all the official can do.”
Of course Guo Xuan knew the rules in the palace, and he did not dare to push too hard, so he persuaded him nicely: "According to your majesty's decree, do not hurt the innocent people in the palace. As long as you are ordered to open the door, only the first culprit will be killed, and the rest will be ignored."
Guo Xuan waved his hand and brought more than a hundred old, weak, women and children of the Huo family to the palace gate, and said in a solemn tone: "Huo Ping, you see clearly, whether the entire Huo family can survive this disaster depends on you." between."
When Huo Ping saw that his newly pregnant wife was among the crowd, his eyes were filled with tears. He wished he could open the door now. After thinking about it, he called out to Guo Jue and asked, "Lord Angel, how is my father?"
Guo Xuan said: "Don't worry, Mr. Zuo Prime Minister is safe and sound. Mr. Prime Minister is upright and upright. He has returned to the throne of His Majesty. Huo Ping, I will give you one night to think carefully. We will wait outside the palace gate until dawn. If you dare to resist, I won’t show mercy.”
Hearing this, Huo Ping cursed secretly, you are holding a shining knife, how dare you say that your father returned to power peacefully as the little emperor? I wouldn't believe it even to death.
As soon as Guo Jue finished speaking, Huo Jun also hurriedly stepped forward to persuade him: "Ping'er, 40,000 elite Northern Army troops have taken control of the entire Qingyang. Your father and your third uncle have been placed under house arrest. The situation is over. You have to think about it. The life of my second uncle and the entire Huo family depends on your thoughts."
Huo Jun knew that his nephew was a bit stubborn, so he asked him to think clearly about the pros and cons.
Huo Ping took a deep look at his family members outside the palace gate. He had no choice but to use the procrastination trick first to see if he could wait until dawn. He could not imagine that his wise and decisive father would He lost everything so quickly and inexplicably. He didn't believe it. He still had some luck in his heart. Maybe at dawn, the tens of thousands of lieutenants under Third Uncle's command would be able to come back.
During the long night, Huoping had no sleep at all. He held his sword tightly and led his guards to repeatedly inspect each palace gate. He could not slack off at all.
Two hours later, the sky gradually turned white, and the sound of cockcrows could be heard from outside the imperial city from time to time. Huo Ping felt irritated. He knew that daybreak was coming, and he had to give an explanation to the outside world.
Patrolling to the main gate again, the guarding officer looked panicked when he saw Huo Ping coming, as if he was hiding something.
Huo Ping's expression changed slightly and he scolded: "What are you hiding? Hand it over?"
The officer had no choice but to hand a hidden wooden slip to Huoping. Huoping looked through it and found that it was a letter from home. His heart skipped a beat. It was broken. The letter from home must have been thrown in from outside the city.
Many of the family members of the officers and soldiers guarding the imperial city live in nearby counties or in the city. They did not expect that the Northern Army outside the city was so well prepared. At this moment, the morale of the Southern Army was already unstable. The Southern Army soldiers considered themselves It is impossible for his family to follow their Huo family all the way to the dark side.
Thinking of this, Huo Ping immediately issued an order: "All soldiers, listen to the order. No one is allowed to secretly collect family letters. If family letters are sent in from outside the city, they are not allowed to be viewed. They will be destroyed on the spot. Otherwise, military law will be engaged."
"No." Although the soldiers were resentful, they did not dare to disobey Huoping's order.
Finally, the hour has arrived, and Zhou Jian, the captain of the military guard outside the city, shouted: "General Huo, the time has come, what are you waiting for? The emperor's order is here, why don't you open the palace door quickly?"
Huo Ping poked his head out from the tower and shouted: "You traitors, taking advantage of His Majesty's eastward tour, fake the emperor's orders and commit treason. It is impossible to open the palace gate, unless you are the ones like you." All those who have caused trouble must leave the city."
When the messenger Guo Xuan heard this, he pointed at Huo Ping from a distance and angrily said: "You Huo Ping actually resisted the decree and disrespected it. Aren't you afraid of annihilating the three tribes?"
Huo Ping said: "Lord Angel, I'm sorry to obey, but what if you kill my whole family? It's my humble duty to guard the palace. It's your duty. The palace is your majesty's family. If you and other rebels rashly enter the palace and disturb the inner court, it will be a serious crime. The humble office will not open its doors unless His Majesty comes in person.”
Huo Ping turned to comfort the soldiers of the Southern Army and said: "Brothers, it is our duty. We must not open the palace gate. If the treacherous ministers and traitors are trying to deceive us, wouldn't we be aiding the evildoers?"
When the soldiers of the Southern Army guarding the palace heard Huo Ping's remarks, they also felt that it made sense. What if someone took the opportunity to fish in troubled waters? Now almost all the big leaders in Qingyang City have followed the emperor on his eastward tour. If they cannot guard the palace, they and their families will be implicated, and they will not be able to escape the punishment of the court.
