Murong Xue was on duty in the guardhouse of the Forbidden Army's Tiger and Leopard Cavalry. There was a drop of water in the corner. Just after the hour mark, a servant from the palace suddenly came to the door and said that His Majesty had issued a decree to announce his entrance into the palace.
Ordinarily, given his status and position, he was definitely not qualified to meet the Holy Spirit, so Murong Xue couldn't help but be slightly stunned, and for a while she couldn't figure out what was going on. He was quick-thinking, and after a moment's hesitation, he took out a small gold ingot from his arms with a smile and stuffed it into the hand of the eunuch who delivered the order: "Prince, do you know why your Majesty summoned the general?"
The servant first looked at the five taels of gold in his palm in surprise, and then said with a smile on his face: "Sir, you are too polite, how can the Sa family deserve this? To be honest, your Majesty suddenly The Sa family doesn’t know the reason for the summons, but I guess it’s a good thing, and you’ll probably raise your voice.”
"Oh? Why did father-in-law say this?" Murong Xue asked with a smile.
The chamberlain looked around and saw that there was no one around. He approached Murong Xue's ear in a serious manner and said in a low voice: "Your Majesty is holding a court meeting, and all the important people in the court are here. I want to see you at this time. Isn't it a big deal?" ?”
Murong Xue's heart moved and she asked: "Big shot? Who are they?"
The chamberlain counted on his fingers: "Mr. Xu, the commander-in-chief of the Qilin Army, Mr. Liu Ce, the prince's young master, and Mr. Wang, your immediate superior and commander of the imperial army. The other one is Mr. Shen, the young minister of Dali Temple. This Shen Although your Excellency is a fifth-rank official, you must know his true identity."
Murong Xue nodded slightly and thought in her mind: Those who participated in the imperial meeting were all the emperor's confidants, and most of them were concerned about Xie Guang's matter. No matter what, with Grandpa Xu present, I will definitely not suffer a loss.
Thinking of this, Murong Xue smiled brightly and asked the chamberlain to lead the way. The two of them quickly left the Imperial Guard and headed straight for the Tai Chi Hall.
As soon as she entered the Tai Chi Hall, Murong Xue immediately noticed that the atmosphere here was somewhat unusual.
Emperor Li Chengwu was sitting high in the Dragon Case, with four stern-looking people standing below him: Xu Lie, Wang Huan, Liu Ce, and Shen Lie, whom he had not seen for a long time.
Murong Xue followed the rules and etiquette, prostrated herself on the ground from a distance, and knelt down to pay her respects.
Li Chengwu said warmly: "Get up and come over to meet some adults."
After that, he introduced Murong Xue to everyone: "This baby's name is Murong Xue. He is now the deputy commander of the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry. I believe General Xu and Wang Huan are familiar with it. However, you don't know that he is actually He is the one left to me by Nian Jinsong."
Wang Huan and Liu Ce couldn't help but feel a little surprised when they heard that Murong Xue was the one left by Taifu Nian to His Majesty. Shen Lie looked like he already knew and stared at Murong Xue closely.
Xu Lie still looked old and trembling. When no one was paying attention, he secretly winked at Murong Xue.
Murong Xue greeted several people one by one according to their rank order, with a respectful attitude.
Li Chengwu continued: "Shen Lie's information has always been accurate. It seems that Xie Guang is indeed up to something evil. However, what I didn't expect was that this incident actually involved the child Bing'er. What should happen next? How to deal with it is really embarrassing. As for me, I would like to hear your opinions first."
Among the people in front of the imperial court, Xu Lie is the oldest, so he is not as scrupulous as several other officials because of the matter involving the East Palace. I only heard him ask Shen Lie slowly: "Master Shen, according to what you just said, the Xijiang fan named Zait confessed that Xie Guang planned to help the Crown Prince ascend the throne early. Is this the Crown Prince's original intention? Or is it? Xie Guang’s words are tactful, and I wonder if the prince is being held hostage by him?”
Shen Lie looked as usual and replied calmly: "Old general, regarding this matter, please forgive me for not being able to make any assumptions based on my humble position."
"Oh, that's it. Ahem..." Mr. Xu also showed no obvious changes in his expression: "So, did your Nilin Division notice before that Dong Palace had secret contact with Xie Guang in private? Ahem... …”
Shen Lie first glanced at Li Chengwu, and then replied: "Before this, we did not find any connection between the East Palace and the Shangzhu Palace. However, recently, because I just returned to Beijing, I haven't had time to check and verify it."
Xu Lie nodded when he heard the words and turned to Li Chengwu: "Your Majesty, ahem... I think that since there is no ironclad evidence from Beiya for the time being, it can be concluded that Donggong has really been involved, so there is no need to draw conclusions prematurely and classify His Highness as suspicious. In my opinion, the top priority is to temporarily protect His Royal Highness from being exploited by traitors."
The word "protection" was used very skillfully. It could be understood as protection, care, or even detention. Several ministers understood it tacitly, and no one said anything more.
Wang Huan, the commander of the Forbidden Army, was most concerned about the army: "Everything is easy to do with the prince, but how should we deal with the army outside the city?"
Liu Ce frowned and said in a deep voice: "Judging from the current situation, Menxia Province has not yet issued a formal edict, and Xie Guang does not have military symbols in his hands, so the soldiers and horses will not obey his orders and act without authorization. The key still remains It's Xie Guang's own problem. We only have the unilateral confession of the bandit Zait, but there is no other more conclusive evidence. If Xie Guang is arrested and questioned, it may be difficult to convince the public, and it may even directly arouse the mystery. Legion A mutinied.”
"Waiting for evidence? It's too late!" Wang Huan said, "I think what Xu Shuai just said makes sense. His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has a special status. If he is kidnapped by Xie Guang, even if he doesn't have military symbols, he will still cause a big mess. I know best. The army, despite being calm and orderly on weekdays, can suddenly become extremely fanatical once its temper is aroused. A man with a knife licking blood is like a pile of dry firewood, even if there is only a little spark, as long as he clicks the right The place immediately burst into flames!"
Wang Heng's words were resounding and hit the hearts of everyone in the hall. He was right, the so-called Martian was none other than Prince Li Bing. Relying on the identity of the former emperor's orphan and the current crown prince, and relying on the power of the sacred covenant, as long as he ascends to the top and shouts, I don't know how many soldiers will be hot-headed and raise their weapons directly against the imperial capital.
Li Chengwu patted the dragon case gently and said in a deep voice: "Come here, hurry up to the East Palace to convey the order, summon the prince to the palace, and wait in the imperial study. First, put the child in a proper place, and then we can discuss it slowly. The affairs of the legions outside the city!"
The chamberlain waiting outside the hall responded after hearing the words, and hurriedly left the Tai Chi Hall and ran towards the East Palace.
Li Chengwu sighed, and then asked about the army's countermeasures. Xu Lie and others expressed their opinions and discussed how to stabilize Xie Guang and how to deploy the Black Armor Army, the Long Sword Army and various government troops to prevent unexpected events. Murong Xue had the lowest position here and was also the youngest. Naturally, she was not qualified to interrupt, so she could only stand aside and listen quietly.
Until now, he has not figured out why the emperor called him to participate in such an important imperial meeting. He just vaguely felt that it might be related to the previous instructions of Taifu Nian Jinsong.
While he was pondering secretly, the chamberlain who went to the East Palace to convey the order suddenly ran back in a panic and knelt down in front of the imperial steps with a grunt.
"Your Majesty, His Highness the Crown Prince... His Highness the Crown Prince has left the East Palace!"
Li Chengwu was immediately confused when he heard this: "Leave the East Palace? What do you mean by leaving the East Palace? Please explain it to me clearly!"
The chamberlain responded stammeringly: "Back, back to your Majesty, the old slave just rushed to the East Palace, and happened to meet the prince driving out of the palace. Old slave, the old slave announced the imperial edict, but His Highness... he refused He took the order and left."
Refuse to accept the order? Everyone present was shocked. Even if Li Bing said that there was no problem with such a bold move, even a fool would not believe it!
Li Chengwu was so angry that he only took pictures of the dragon case, and cursed at the chamberlain: "Idiot! Are all the Imperial Guards around you just doing nothing? Why didn't you stop the prince?!"
The chamberlain replied with a cry: "Your Majesty, it's not that this old slave didn't stop me. On the street outside the Fanglin Gate of the East Palace, there were densely packed black armor troops, and even the entire Zhuque Street was blocked! The old slave took the A dozen people are useless at all..."
The Xuanjia Army entered the city? !
Li Chengwu could no longer hide his frightened expression and looked at Mr. Xu. Only those who witnessed the scene when the King of Jin rebelled twenty years ago will know the horror of it. At that time, the rebel was just a prince, and his power was no more than a legion under his command. But now, standing opposite is the flesh and blood of the late emperor, the crown prince of Shengtang, and those who follow him are still I don’t know how many main legions there are!
"My dear friends," Li Chengwu tried his best to suppress the turmoil in his heart and kept his voice as calm as possible: "The sudden entry of the Xuanjia Legion into the imperial capital shows that the situation has reached a very serious stage. What do you think we should do now?"
Liu Ce looked serious and asked to himself: "This is too strange. How come the Qilin Army responsible for the defense of the imperial capital still lets Xie Guang's people enter the city?"
Without waiting for Mr. Xu to answer, Shen Lie snorted coldly: "Needless to say, someone must have been bribed by the other party and has the ability to block Suzaku Street. Xuanjia's troops entering the city must be at least ten thousand people."
Wang Huan cupped his hands and said loudly: "Your Majesty, let me go! I will take the tiger and leopard cavalry to drive out the group of black crows, and then capture the traitor Xie Guang again!"
Li Chengwu did not rush to agree to the proposal of the commander of the Forbidden Army, but asked Xu Lie: "Old general, what do you think?"
Mr. Xu coughed twice, but still said slowly: "Xiao Huan, don't worry. As a general, you can't mess up your position when things happen. The task of the imperial army is to guard the palace and protect His Majesty's safety. You If we lead the troops out, who will be here to take care of them?"
Liu Ce continued: "What General Xu said makes sense. Xuanjia enters the city. The next step is likely to threaten the safety of the palace. Commander Wang must stay here to protect him. The Tiger and Leopard Cavalry must not leave easily! How about this? Your Majesty, please immediately I issued an order to urgently mobilize all the troops outside the city to suppress the Xuanjia Army no matter what, and not allow them to continue to act arbitrarily."
Shen Lie shook his head when he heard this: "I'm afraid this move will not work. Mr. Liu, everyone, according to my judgment, since Xie Guang's people have controlled the East Palace and Zhuque Street, it is very likely that they will also control the various arteries from the palace to the outside world. They are all blocked, and His Majesty's decree may not be sent out in time. If an edict from the palace can change the situation, Xie Guang will not dare to act rashly. He is a general in command and has rich combat experience, and there is no way he will leave us a chance. .So the most likely situation at the moment is that no one can easily walk out of the palace. Furthermore, we don’t know what the situation of the soldiers and horses outside the city is now. Once we and Xie Guang’s soldiers and horses break out, In a fierce battle on a large scale, the imperial capital will immediately turn into a hell of Shura, and the consequences will be unimaginable."
Mr. Xu agreed with his statement: "Shen Lie is right. Your Majesty, although the current situation is critical, it is not completely out of control. No matter how crazy Xie Guang is, he does not dare to immediately send troops to attack the palace. Therefore, the two sides are at most an armed confrontation. But once a war starts rashly, the Xuanjia Legion will definitely jump over the wall and treat the Imperial Capital as a battlefield."
