Early on the Double Ninth Festival, the cheerful festive atmosphere inside and outside Luoyang could no longer be suppressed. Although there were many changes in the country this year, including the loss of troops in the south, the loss of territory one after another, and the emperor's indirect illness, but for the general public, life still needs to go on. As long as you are still alive and there is still tomorrow, people can't help but cherish the hope of success. The desire to live better. So people hung up lanterns in the morning, and festive decorations could be seen everywhere on the streets from Xixiang in the east to Shanglinyuan in the west.
But when it comes to Double Ninth Festival activities, the most important thing is to climb high. The Double Ninth Festival is counted as ninety-nine, and is considered by mortals as the festival of ascension to immortality. Legend has it that on this day, the pure air rises and the turbid air sinks, and those who have attained the Tao will ascend to heaven on this day, and heaven will also react to mortals. Therefore, not only the literati will climb high and look far away on this day, but also the general public will take their families for outings after worshiping their ancestors. Both the elderly and children will have picnics on the lakeside mountain trails, and then wish each other birthdays. It’s just that there are no deaths this year, so there are more people climbing the top of the mountain than in previous years. In places such as Beimang Mountain, Longmen Mountain, Kongtong Mountain and other places, there is an endless stream of people worshiping at the top of the mountain, playing drums and pipes, and burning incense. Sacrifice, hoping to get a response from the spirit in heaven.
As for the nobles in the court, they were all summoned into the palace early in the morning. According to the practice in previous years, the emperor will hold a Chongjiu banquet in the palace after offering sacrifices to the ancestral temple today. This year is no exception. Although due to financial constraints, this year's banquet is much simpler, but after all, it is a rare leisure time. Nobles The mood for the festival is still very high. The musicians then played "The Wooden Wings Are Falling", and the palace maids then danced the "Lonely Glory" dance. The guests held yellow flowers in their hands and watched the dancing girls having fun while appreciating and composing poems. It can be said that this is a rare literary event in a year. grand event.
Happy times are always easy to pass, and it passed noon in a blink of an eye. After the bell rang twice for the dismissal of the meeting, all the nobles said goodbye to the Queen Mother and the Emperor. Since it was late autumn, the sky was getting dark quickly. When the officials left the palace, there was only a trace of purple like a gauze left in the sunset, and the waning moon had already hung on the mountains. However, Luoyang is still very popular at this time. As the people who went hiking returned, the lights of the night market also turned on. The men and women who were not tired yet came to the market outside Luoyang to play. Some people were making hidden hooks. During the play, some people enjoyed the fun of throwing pots. Due to the large number of people coming and going, Luoyang at night seemed as bright as day.
Under this situation, the guards guarding the city seemed to be slacking off and did not carefully check the people coming and going. As long as they had a pass and did not carry any obvious contraband, they could travel freely inside and outside the capital. It was at this time that Pingyang King Liu Dan disguised himself and entered the Taifu's mansion, preparing to implement the big plan that had been prepared for more than a month.
As soon as he stepped into Zhong Yao's house, Liu Dan asked Zhong Yu who was welcoming him: "Is everyone here?" Zhong Yu was obviously very worried. He glanced behind Liu Dan and made sure that no one was following him. Immediately closed the door, and then said: "Your Highness, except for Mr. Yang Shijun and Handan Zhengli, the rest of the people are waiting for you." Of course, Mr. Yang Shi was talking about Henan Yin Yangdan, and Handan Zhengli was Luoyang Ling. Handan Chun. According to the plan, they were patrolling the city gates and secretly gathering the gate soldiers.
Liu Dan followed Zhong Yu towards the mansion, bypassing several small courtyards, and then entered a dark room among the bamboo forests, where the gathering was held. When I opened the door, I saw that there were already sitting inside were Taifu Zhongyao, Taichang Xingyi, Weiwei Gaotanglong, Guangluxun Fanxian, Shangshu Konggui and other high-ranking officials in the court. In addition, there were Wu Zhi, Chen Yi and other senior officials of Liu Dan. When they saw Liu Dan arriving, all of them, except Zhong Yao, immediately stood up and saluted him. Liu Dan, on the other hand, remained calm. After pressing his hands, he sat directly next to Zhong Yao and asked him, "How is the situation over there, Taiwei?"
Zhong Yao whispered: "Xiaozhi is staring at Xuanwu City. As long as our actions go smoothly and the signal is sent, he will immediately take the edict in hand to appease the Shanglin army." After that, he closed his eyes slightly and looked directly at Liu Dandao. : "Your Highness, is there anything strange when you come here?"
Liu Dan said with a smile: "I have been in Gucheng for half a month, and the convoy with the substitute has arrived at Tongguan. Everyone is here that I am about to leave the feudal clan. Who could have guessed that I will return to Luoyang?"
His confident tone somewhat infected everyone present. Zhong Yao smiled and asked, "Have His Highness's dead soldiers already entered the city?"
Wu Zhi on the side replied: "The dead soldiers have entered the city in ten batches, and they have all entered the twenty mansions prepared in the south of the city. As long as the agreement is reached now, the military remonstrance can be implemented immediately."
Hearing that the dead soldiers had entered the city, the morale of everyone in the meeting was greatly increased. Only the guard Gao Tanglong was hesitant. He said: "I was on the road today to observe the palace confinement, and I did not find Deng Shizai and them. The prime minister did not come to attend the meeting today. Did the prime minister notice it? What has changed?" It turned out that just the day before yesterday, Chen Chong reported being ill at home because of an occasional cold, and did not come to attend the Chongjiu banquet on that day. The image of Chen Chong as a wise man has become deeply ingrained. For his enemies, any disturbance will inevitably make people panic.
Unexpectedly, Liu Dan smiled and said, "Don't worry, Sir Gaotang. I have been buried in a secret room in the prime minister's house. Although I am not allowed to participate in government affairs, I can still observe his daily life. According to his report, the prime minister has indeed been infected with wind and cold in the past two days." , he was locked in his home for two consecutive days, and no one was allowed in except his wife Cai, who was bringing food boxes. This cannot be faked."
Everyone was shocked when they heard that Liu Dan also hid a spy in the Prime Minister's Palace. They looked at King Pingyang in confusion for a moment before they straightened their expressions. Liu Dan was calm and composed, finalizing the plan.
The plan of Liu Dan and Zhong Yao is not complicated. It is mainly divided into two routes. With the internal and external response of Shaofu Liu Bao, Liu Dan directly cooperates with the guards Gao Tanglong and Guang Luxun Fan Xian to lead the dead soldiers and Su. The guards entered the palace, closed all the gates of the palace, and killed Jiang Wei, Deng Ai and others who were affiliated with Chen Chong. Then Liu Dan met with the Queen Mother and the Emperor respectively, and asked them to retreat temporarily, clearing out Chen Chong's party members in the palace, and deposing Chen Chong, Wei Yan, Pang Tong and others. On the other side, Zhong Yao, Fazheng, Yang Dan, and Handan Chun led the city guards to guard Taichang Street, making sure not to allow the Shanglin army in Xuanwu City to enter the city. Although Chen Chong has many old troops, they do not have much prestige among the new army. Therefore, as long as Zhong Yao can occupy Taichang Street, great things will happen. Once Chen Chong pleads guilty and is removed from office, his members will scatter like birds and beasts.
As for the time for the coup to be launched, it was naturally set at the break of dawn. At this point in time, the people in the night market should have gone back to their houses due to fatigue, and the soldiers of Shanglin Army have not yet woken up. This is the moment with the highest chance of success.
After the discussion, everyone in the secret meeting began to take their places. But Pingyang King Liu Dan was not in a hurry to leave. Instead, he stayed in the Mingtang of the mansion, packing his clothes and short weapons while waiting for dawn. After all, there were still several hours before dawn, and after midnight, he lay on the ground and fell asleep. On the eve of the coup, Wu Zhi and others were originally a little afraid, but seeing their master being so calm, they communicated and encouraged each other: "Only such a king can revitalize the Han Dynasty."
But in the middle of the night, Liu Dan suddenly shouted loudly and sat up from the ground, startling Kong Gui and others around him. He held his forehead and remained silent for a long time, and then asked, "What time is it?"
It turned out that just now, Liu Dan had a dream. He dreamed that he was flying through the clouds and mist, towards the middle of the sun. Unexpectedly, when he was approaching the red sun, a one-eyed red dragon suddenly emerged from the clouds and spit fire at him. When the flames burned his body, he suddenly woke up. Seeing his frightened appearance, the staff quickly asked what happened, but Liu Dan couldn't open his mouth. This dream was really a bad omen. Once he told it, people would probably lose heart immediately, so he excused himself and said that he didn't remember it either. .
At this time, dark clouds had filled the sky, covering the waning moon in the first half of the night. Silence fell into silence inside and outside the city. Even the chirping of insects was completely silent. Only sparrows and owls were still humming in the trees. There was still some time before the action, and when Liu Dan woke up, it was difficult to fall asleep again. He just raised his head and clasped his hands to his ancestors and prayed: "My ancestors, help me to eradicate the evildoers and get what I want!"
Suddenly Liu Dan thought that the ancestors of the Han Dynasty also included his eldest brother Liu Xie, and he felt a little disgusted. Next he put on the leather armor, then put on the court clothes outside, and then put on the court crown to show his noble status. He had no appetite, only drank a little meat porridge, and then set out on the road. He raised his head and glanced at the position of the sunrise, and thought to himself: "If I fail in today's matter, I will definitely not be able to escape the death penalty. I must not fail." Then he turned around and went to the door. Wu Zhi and others followed behind him, and they went to the south to ambush the dead soldiers. Went somewhere.
Xing Yi, who was in the south of the city, had already gathered the dead soldiers on the street. When Liu Dan came over, more than two thousand dead soldiers were covered in darkness on the streets. At this time, they all put on the armors transferred from the arsenal. Obviously There was no moonlight, and the knives in their hands reflected the cold light. After Liu Dan arrived and stood in front of everyone, he didn't say much. He just lit a torch, waved it twice, and then illuminated his face.
That was the signal for them to agree to take action.
Liu Dan held the torch in his hand and immediately rode towards the palace. The dead soldiers followed closely behind him. The sound of armor clashing sounded like waves filling the night.
On the other side, in front of Xuanyang Gate, Gao Tanglong was summoning his guards. He ordered his direct line to be divided into two groups, one to guard in the front and the other to supervise from behind. Once any of the guards disobeyed the order, these people would be killed. They will immediately launch an attack and kill those who stand out to establish their authority. Not only him, but the other conspirators are also working intensively.
Everything seemed to be going extremely smoothly, and when all the soldiers and horses gathered together, it was time to take action.
