In the gallery on the side of the palace door, five candidate clans are waiting for the final results.
Zhao Mengqi was a little bored. When he saw Zhao Mengguan sitting opposite him with a slumped face, he couldn't help but smile, "Brother Mengguan, Xiao Wang has a question, can you help me answer it."
Not knowing what Zhao Mengqi wanted to do, Zhao Mengguan suddenly became nervous, "Your Majesty...Your Majesty, please speak."
"Xiao Wang wants to know that you did not hesitate to change your name in order to become a prince, but now that your dream has failed, do you want to change it back?" Zhao Mengqi's question was really unkind.
As the saying goes, you don't slap someone in the face when you hit someone, and don't expose someone's shortcomings when you scold someone. But this Zhao Mengqi had no such scruples at all, and even the other three were shocked.
Zhao Mengguan's face was so red that he almost exploded, "The adoption has been decided, there is no reason to change it again and again. Your Highness must not make fun of it, not to mention the outcome is not certain yet..."
"Hahaha, don't be angry, cousin. I'm just sad for my aunt. After all, I didn't get any benefits, and my only son is gone. It's really like a meat bun beating a dog."
The other three people felt a chill. This loyal king was really damaged. They should stay away from him in the future.
At this time, three banzhi guards came in and saluted Zhao Mengqi first, "Your Highness, I have been ordered to arrest Zhao Mengxi. Please forgive me if I have disturbed you."
After saying that, two guards stepped forward and detained the confused Zhao Mengxi, gagged his mouth and dragged him out.
The other three were frightened, but Zhao Mengqi remained calm and asked the remaining guard, "Has the result been decided, Your Majesty?"
"It has been decided to return to your Highness. The officials have given you the title of Tongping Zhangshi and the governor of Lin'an. The official decree should be given to you later. The officials will ask you to return to the dormitory first."
Although they had expected it, the other three people were still very frustrated after hearing the exact news. In addition, Zhao Mengxi was dragged away inexplicably, which made them even more uneasy.
Originally, those who participated in seizing the throne since ancient times would not have a good end for the losers. What's more, I just saw that King Zhong seemed to be a very vengeful person, which made me even more panicked.
Zhao Mengqi glanced at the three of them, walked over and patted Zhao Heyun and Zhao Mengqi on the shoulders, "Don't be afraid, I won't do anything to you. Maybe we can still make friends in the future."
When Zhao Mengguan saw that he was deliberately ignoring him, didn't he mean that he would not care about the two of them, but would not let him go?
But Zhao Mengqi did not continue to scare him, but told the imperial guards, "You arrange for people to send the three of them out of the palace properly."
"Well, I humbly obey my command."
Looking at the three people leaving, Zhao Mengqi couldn't help but feel a little confused.
Originally, he thought that Zhao Mengxi was Concubine Yan's pawn, and Zhao Mengguan was Concubine Qian's pawn.
So when he set up a back-up plan, he chose Zhao Mengxi for surgery. After all, Zhao Mengguan was Lao Zhao's nephew, and Lao Zhao might not agree.
But judging from today's situation, Zhao Mengxi did not receive any strong support. On the contrary, Zhao Mengguan received support, which seemed to be beyond the capabilities of the Qian family.
It's a pity that he lacks the channels to obtain information, so he can only rely on speculation on many things. If he can't figure it out, he has to give up temporarily.
There is nothing that can be done about it. The only reliable thing around him is Huang Gou. In addition, Chang Geng, Zeng Ba and others who escorted him to Shaoxing last time have surrendered to him, but they are just a bunch of killers and cannot be counted on. Do more for him.
It seems that recruiting cronies is an urgent matter.
"Alang, the younger one is here to take you back to the palace."
Huang Gou came over with several Xiao Huangmen, interrupting Zhao Mengqi's thinking.
Zhao Mengqi walked out of the corridor and looked in the direction of the palace door. It seemed that there was no intention of leaving the court there, so he had to give up the idea of talking to Lao Zhao.
On the way back to the harem, Zhao Mengqi asked casually, "Huang Gou, where can I find someone who is better at inquiring about information?"
"Alang, what do you want to know? Why don't you just ask the younger one?"
"Asking you? Yes, you know half of what's going on in the palace, but what about outside the palace?"
"Um, Alang, why do you care about things outside the palace... Oh, Alang, don't be angry, your bones are strong, don't kick your feet... Actually, Alang, it's easy for you to know what's going on outside the palace."
"Simple? Where to start?"
"Lin Yaban is the one who promoted the imperial city. Didn't he tell you?"
"Old man Lin? Promote the Imperial City Department?"
"Yes, he is an old man from an official family. Naturally, such a key position as the Imperial City Secretary must be in the hands of a trustworthy person."
Zhao Mengqi has been here for more than ten days and has probably figured out a little bit of the situation.
To a certain extent, there were three institutions in the Song Dynasty that were the most important to the imperial power. One was the Palace Department, the other was the Guards Department, and the third was the Imperial City Department.
The political structure of the Song Dynasty was first inherited from the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms, and had a strong military government style.
Therefore, the entire Song Dynasty seemed to emphasize culture over military affairs, but military power was firmly in the hands of the royal family. The most obvious feature is that high-level eunuchs and high-level military attachés were actually the same system.
From the name of these three departments, at first glance, it sounds like they are the departments responsible for protecting the security of the imperial city. They don't seem to be anything special.
However, the Imperial Palace Division and the Imperial Guards and Military Division are collectively referred to as the "Two Divisions". The Imperial Palace Command and Envoy Division, a subordinate organization of the Imperial Palace Division, and the Imperial Guards and Imperial Army Command and Envoy Division, and the Imperial Guards and Infantry Division are under the Imperial Guard and Military Division. All commanders and envoys are collectively called the "Three Yamen".
And these "two divisions and three yamen" were the highest command organization of the Song Dynasty's imperial army. The central armed forces of the entire Song Dynasty were all subordinate to these three yamen.
Note, it’s a difference!
The palace's security forces were divided into three divisions. Down below, without the Imperial City Division, they were still divided into three divisions.
For example, for example, the Forbidden Army in Shaoxing, the main force is the fourth general from the southeast. There are nine commanders below, each commanding 500 people. However, these nine commanders are respectively subordinate to the front division, the guard horse army division and the guard infantry army. manage.
This is the idea of balance and restraint in the Song Dynasty. Assuming that a certain military leader wants to rebel, he must first calmly subdue the men and horses of three different systems. You can imagine the difficulty of this.
The two divisions and the three yamen controlled the armed forces, while the Imperial City Division controlled intelligence and surveillance. Together, these three divisions ensured the stability of the imperial power.
This is the lesson that the Song Dynasty learned from the troubled times of the Five Dynasties. The foundation of state power is actually force.
From this perspective, whoever controls the Three Divisions will control the Song Dynasty.
Therefore, it was at this time that Zhao Mengqi realized that the old man Lin who was always invisible was so important.
…
Ciyuan Hall.
In the dormitory, broken porcelain pieces were spread all over the floor.
"Trash! A loser!"
Concubine Yan was fuming. The towering towers in front of her were rising and falling, but no one dared to look at them.
All this stems from the news that just came.
"This Wei Guansun is so incompetent. Out of five people, he is only ranked fourth! As long as he can be of some use, even if he is second, I can speak in front of the officials and give him a chance. Now he is nothing!"
Concubine Yan was furious and said, "There are also those ministers who made good promises, but in the end they all ended up in the same position!"
"Concubine, calm down, your health is the most important thing." Lu Yunsheng lowered his head to persuade, and then explained, "Concubine, speaking of it, our influence on the court is too weak. Those civil servants are all people who are obsessed with saving face. I'm afraid that If you have too much contact with the harem, you will be known as a villain and a treacherous member of the concubine party. It would be great if the Qian family is willing to help..."
This Lu Yunsheng was rejected by the Qian Mansion last time. He had been holding a grudge and took the opportunity to apply eye drops in front of Concubine Yan.
"Damn the Qian family!" Concubine Yan gritted her teeth, "Qian Li asked me to cooperate at the beginning, but turned her back at the critical moment. One day, I will make them pay for it!"
Originally, using the influence of the Qian family would definitely gain more support among the civil servants, and in many matters, the harem could not get involved, but the Qian family could get involved like a duck in water.
Therefore, the Qian family suddenly stopped cooperation, which greatly harmed Concubine Yan.
"I heard that the head of the Qian family intends to show his favor to Prince Zhong..."
"What!? It's just that they have broken off cooperation, but they actually dare to betray their position and lick that fool's feet!? Do they really think they are easy to bully?"
When Lu Yunsheng saw that the heat was coming, a trace of viciousness flashed in his eyes, and he said sinisterly, "My concubine, I have a plan. Not only can I teach King Zhong a lesson, but I can also make the Qian family's plan to surrender to King Zhong abort!"
"What's the plan? Tell me quickly."
"Your Majesty, as long as..."
