"I don't believe it!" The old official became more and more excited: "Your evidence must be fabricated!"
"Prince." Yi Fan emphasized his voice from the side: "Let me take a look at the late emperor's imperial pen. Who in the world dares to forge the imprint of the jade seal?"
The old official felt as if he was struck by lightning. He pulled his hand on the armrest. His fingertips were split due to excessive force and his fingers were bleeding without noticing. He roared: "Then take it out and show it to me."
"Prince." Yi Fan's eyes were slightly cold.
Prince Bao took out a yellowed secret decree from his sleeve with difficulty. Before he could make any move, the secret decree was snatched away by a pair of wrinkled hands. The old official unfolded the secret decree and read it word by word. There were soldiers around him. Surround him to prevent him from doing anything drastic.
It wasn't until the blood flowed onto the secret edict that the old man in a patchwork official robe shook his body, let out a roar and wailed, and said to himself like a maniac: "...actually...it's actually true..."
"The great Chu has mistaken me, the great Chu has misled me!" His old chest was beating like a young man again, crying in despair.
In the crowd, many officials disguised as citizens shook their bodies, their faces pale and heartbroken. They looked at the secret decree in disbelief, it was actually true! The late emperor, the late emperor really once committed treason, so what are these ministers who are still struggling to hold on, and what are the countless people whose families were destroyed by the Turks?
The old official who went out just now was a minister from the late emperor's period. He was not reused. He left the center of the imperial court and spontaneously raised troops to fight against the Turks. His family died. There are many officials like this.
But this is what makes people unacceptable. The crowd broke out with more violent curses than before. The people began to throw stones at Prince Bao. Prince Bao bent down to avoid it, but his head was still bruised. Liu, if he hadn't seen that he was still useful, Yi Fan would have killed this man. Finally, he asked the team to speed up a bit.
He himself was last, looking at the old official, and for some reason he remembered the Chu official who cursed the general and then committed suicide during the Battle of Lujiang.
The old man ran counter to their path. He staggered on the official road, blood spilled from his mouth: "Great Chu."
After shouting three times, the old official suddenly spit out a mouthful of blood, then slowly fell down and died.
Yi Fan looked into the old man's dead eyes, dismounted, reached out and touched his face to let him rest.
He watched for a while, and then asked two soldiers in the team to stay there. After finding out the man's identity, he buried him. Judging from the mending of this man's official robe, his family must not be rich.
Yi Fan looked into the distance and realized that if he were this old official, he would also go crazy. It should be said that no one can accept such betrayal. In the heart of the old man, this is a big mistake.
When it was prosperous and powerful, during the four hundred years of the Qing Dynasty, Jiangnan's laws and regulations were romantic. How could I not love it, and how could I not hate it now.
The general asked Prince Bao to do this, which was simply destroying the backbone of those who still had the will to fight.
At this moment of unity encouraged by the imperial court, it was like a bucket of ice water extinguishing the burning flames.
But the development of this matter was still beyond Yi Fan's expectation. In the next few days, not only the people on the roadside wanted to see it, but also the officials. All prestige is destroyed.
The huge blow even led to a scene of suicide on the road.
Some officials who were old-fashioned in nature and had nothing for the sake of Chu could not accept the imperial court's betrayal of them. They even scolded the late emperor's court and finally committed suicide.
At the end, Prince Bao, who had always been sitting in the chariot, got off the chariot. He looked at the people who were loyal to Da Chu, staggering around in circles, his sleeves shaking, and tears streaming down his face: "What are you doing? What are you doing? "
Prince Bao lay on those corpses and cried loudly, for himself and for Da Chu.
Great Chu!
By the time he arrived in Xiangyang, Prince Bao was already unconscious. He still held the late emperor's secret edict in his hand, which was covered with dried blood. Countless people had seen the secret edict, but he could not tear it up because his family members Xiao Shen's wealth and life are all in Zhou Youzhou's hands.
"Kill me, kill me." Prince Bao knelt at Zhou Youzhou's feet. At this moment, he just wanted to die. If he died, he would not have to watch the destruction of Da Chu. He was a sinner of Da Chu and had no mercy. Can be forgiven.
Zhou Xu sat on the chair and took the blood-stained secret decree. He looked down at Prince Bao, and for once he looked kindly to Prince Bao.
"Prince, why should you rush to seek death? Great wealth and wealth are still waiting for you. Wouldn't it be a pity to die now?"
Prince Bao was like a dead dog, his expression was desperate, he collapsed like a madman, and kowtowed to Zhou Youzhou: "What else do you want from me? What else do you want from me? I am already a sinner of Da Chu, Zhou Youzhou, just let it go. Me."
Zhou Xu spread his fingers, held down the head with grey-haired scrawls, and turned it around to look in the direction of Chang'an.
Zhou Xu grinned, ferocious and bloody.
"The foolish king is in power, and I shall take his place."
Chapter 321
On June 25th, Zhou Xu officially launched his army, but before the military parade, he went to Yizhou next door for friendly consultations. He held a military parade with the results of Yizhou's obeisance, and issued an order in front of many generals in Yizhou. The most severe order.
"We are here to defeat the treacherous official Duan Shoucheng and his gang of traitors who are threatening the emperor to bring disaster to the world. Anyone who dares to dissent and mislead the public with evil words will be a barbarian for the three tribes!"
When the officials of Yizhou Prefecture and County were pale and the two groups were fighting, Zhou Xu formally launched his army.
"Execute the Duan party and clear the emperor's side!"
Xie Wanjun listened to the oath of the three armies at the high platform. The thunderous wave almost drowned him. Naturally, he also heard Zhou Youzhou's oath. Naturally, his words were not meant for the Youzhou soldiers, but for those who had recently surrendered and wanted to share the benefits. Warlords large and small, in the name of justice, Zhou Youzhou made it clear that the attack on Luoyang Chang'an was only to clear the emperor's side, not to rebel.
Of course, such words can only be heard.
As a senior figure in the royal family and the uncle of the current emperor, Prince Bao listed a series of evidence of the crimes of Duan Dang in the imperial court. Under this useless and cumbersome procedure, he turned Zhou Youzhou into a positive figure who was loyal to the emperor.
Xie Wanjun looked at all this. With Zhou Youzhou's threat, Duan Dang should no longer be eager to cause trouble for the Xie family, but would be unable to protect himself.
The Holy Emperor has been balancing Zhou Wei, but now, will he push out the Duan Party members to calm Zhou Youzhou's anger? Xie Wanjun thought about it carefully and shook his head, no, because Wei Gong is now the main force. In the fight against the rebels in Youzhou, the Chang'an garrison was not only looked down upon by Xie Wanjun, but even the emperor did not trust them.
After having been arrogant and extravagant for a long time, once they meet the fighting frontier army, the whole army will probably collapse. Even if there are any that can be used, they will probably all be stored in Tongguan.
On the second day after the army was launched, Jingxiang sent troops to Nanyang for the Northern Expedition to attack Luoyang.
The war broke out in an instant.
Under the mobilization of the supreme commander, Xuzhou Jin Ben led troops to march westward, with the participation of all Jianghuai counties, and went straight to Luoyang. The rear was guarded by Cui Shizi, Xu Huaicai, Tian Jian, Gao Chongying, Dai Chenggong and others. Dali, Lin Wenjue and Tuobamu went on the expedition with the coach.
"I heard that Dong Hun, who is guarding you, Zheng Erzhou, is very powerful. When the time comes, my lord, please let me see you first." Hu Dali said with a naive smile.
Zhou Xu is setting out for Wancheng at the moment. There are four barriers in Luoyang, but in his opinion, holding on to the barriers everywhere is no different from ventilating everywhere when the war comes. Defense on all sides means being surrounded by enemies on all sides, which means the need for heavy defense with a large number of troops. , but the hinterland is limited, so this time, his troops divided into two groups and advanced together.
Xuzhou is led by Jin Ben, Jing Xiang is led by him, and the rest are divided into small groups to harass and confuse the enemy. In short, he wants to make the opponent feel that there are enemies everywhere and they are unable to do anything.
Wancheng has always been the southern gate of Luoyang, bordering Xiangyang in the south. Although it is surrounded by mountains, the distance between the mountains is too large, and there are too many holes to connect the four passages. It is like a thatched hut with leakage in all directions. There is no danger to defend the surrounding area. , Zhou Xu naturally chose Wancheng.
Zhou Xu was riding on the horse, looking at Tuoba Mu who was fighting the enemy bravely, with a calm expression. Then he looked up in the direction of Luoyang and ordered the army to continue advancing. Everywhere he passed was blood and bones. Sometimes, Zhou Xu really didn't want to kill anyone. , as long as you surrender, don't make small moves behind him, thinking of revolting and sneak attacks, he has always been very tolerant.
But some people just didn't give him this chance.
Zhou Xu could only kill them. He knew in his heart that most of the people stationed in the Heluo area were from Wei Yanshan, and there might be people from the imperial court. He didn't care, but it made no difference to him.
Luoyang.
The flames of war spread quickly.
When Xiao Luolan learned about Youzhou's attack on Luoyang, he learned it from Master Cunzhen. Master Cunzhen had been very worried in the past few days and took advantage of no one around to tell what the rebels were doing in Jianghuai. When Xiao Luolan learned that Wang An, Prince Bao, and the late emperor had been ruined among the people, she felt very happy. Such people who supported the enemy and treason were the most hateful, and they would be infamy in the history books for thousands of years.
Master Cunzhen was sitting in the tea room, discussing Buddhism with Princess Youzhou. He also brought many Buddhist classics. Dongxue came in and gave the princess some sliced sweet pears.
Then exit the tea room.
The teahouse windows are wide open, and the birds are singing endlessly.
After Cunzhen talked for a while, he noticed that Princess Youzhou lowered her eyelashes and was as quiet as a jade statue, and said, "Aren't you worried about your own situation?"
Xiao Luolan came back to her senses. She put down the scriptures in her hands and respected Master Cunzhen very much. Although he looked younger than her, she said: "It's useless to worry. It's better not to think about it. Now my heart The knot has been resolved, and the master no longer needs to come every day.”
She was worried that Master Cunzhen would be implicated.
Cunzhen said: "Donor, why should you deceive yourself? It's obvious that you can't feel at peace in your heart."
The flying flowers were blown onto the tea table by the wind, and one of them floated to the scripture. Xiao Luolan did not speak, but after a while she whispered softly: "Everything will pass."
She will heal on her own, it just takes a little longer.
Seeing that today's meeting was about to end, Cunzhen said: "He Jin has something he wants to give you, but the monk has not agreed to it for a long time." Cunzhen sighed. He was in a dilemma between loyalty and righteousness. Governor Shi treated him very well, and Cunzhen had a deep heart. Not wanting to betray him, being able to take in He Jin was already his biggest concession.
Seeing that Princess Youzhou didn't ask anything, Cunzhen knew that she really didn't want to implicate him.
After Master Cunzhen left, Xiao Luolan sat alone in the tea room. The little girl from the Xie family was kept far away from Xiyuan, and she visited her from time to time.
Dusk fell quietly, and Xiao Luolan sat here all afternoon without knowing it.
When the tea room door was opened again, she just raised her eyes.
Wei Yanshan placed a secret edict on the table.
Xiao Luolan looked at Ming Huang's imperial edict, took it, glanced at it, and then remained unmoved.
"Princess, you don't want to go?" Wei Yanshan has not rested for half a month. Prince Bao's signature is so vicious that it made the emperor of Chang'an jump and curse regardless of his manners. It also made Wei Yanshan angry with the court. He would have killed him if he didn't think of a way. Prince Bao.
Xiao Luolan's expression was elegant and her face was cold: "Isn't it the Duke's decision whether I go or not?"
Xiao Luolan read the secret edict just now. The emperor asked Wei Yanshan to send her to Chang'an as a hostage and to use her as a shield. It was obvious that the emperor of Chang'an was afraid.
Wei Yanshan burned the secrets under the candlelight. There were deep wrinkles between his brows, making him look haggard, but it did not damage his grace.
"The emperor thought that if the princess was in his hands, Zhou Xu would throw a tantrum and not attack Chang'an." Wei Yanshan said: "What a ridiculous fantasy."
"In front of the hegemony, what do women mean?" Wei Yanshan said.
Xiao Luolan ignored Wei Yanshan's occasional madness.
"My troops have arrived at Longmen Ferry." Wei Yanshan said coldly: "If Luoyang really cannot be defended, I will not let Zhou Xu get any benefits. Luoyang will be burned down by then, and the princess will return to Taiyuan with me."
Xiao Luolan then looked at Wei Yanshan and said with hatred and disgust.
"I think you are really crazy."
Chapter 322
Luoyang Xiyuan.
The war was raging outside, and Xiao Luolan clearly felt the increasingly tense war atmosphere in Luoyang Palace. Wei Yanshan did not ban her, but she could not enter and leave the front hall of Luoyang Palace at will. She could only linger around the Xiyuan and the back hall. After a while, because the old housekeeper often looked at her, even when Master Cunzhen came over, the old housekeeper would search her carefully.
He was a very cautious and loyal old man, which was not a good thing for Xiao Luolan.
For several days, Master Cunzhen did not come.
Xiao Luolan feels uneasy just thinking about what Wei Yanshan said last time. A person like him can't do anything. Once Luoyang might fall, he can really do something like burning down the eastern capital, or for To delay the enemy, or to prevent the enemy from getting any supply benefits from Luoyang.
Xiao Luolan was walking on the garden path, with the scorching sun hanging high above her head. The weather was very hot this year, and Dongxue was holding an ice basin behind her, walking freely.
There is an ice basin in Xiyuan to cool off the heat, but it will be hard for the Xie family's little lady. The princess found that the Xie family's little lady's cheeks were red from the heat, her hair was sticky with sweat, and she was in low spirits. She was afraid that she would get sick from the heat. When the weather got hotter, I gave her an ice basin every day to cool off the heat, and she came back several times a day.
The old housekeeper in the backyard didn't care about the young lady of the Xie family who was imprisoned in the small courtyard. The house was facing the sun, and it was as hot as a steamer in the hot summer. Xiao Luolan walked to the front of the small courtyard. There were guards guarding the door of the courtyard, and one of them carefully I checked the ice basin in my hand for winter snow before carrying it in.
The old housekeeper watched them closely from behind.
Xie Qingwu looked at the opened door of the small courtyard, gave Princess Youzhou a blessing, and said obediently, "Thank you, Princess."
"Go to the shade of a tree, don't dry yourself in the doorway." Xiao Luolan said warmly. The little lady of the Xie family has lost a lot of weight since she was imprisoned here. Her beautiful face is often worried, and it is difficult for her to understand her when others are present. .
