Zhang's Mansion is also within Luocheng, not far from Prince Yan's Mansion, just two streets apart, so that it is convenient for Prince Yan to summon him to discuss military affairs.
Under the setting sun, the Zhang Mansion was immersed in a sad atmosphere, with white flags, white paper and white lanterns, monks and Taoists gathered together, and the sadness and joy filled the air. The surroundings were heavily guarded, with their heads wrapped in white scarves and cold faces guarding the surroundings. They were the sharp soldiers of Prince Yan's palace. Almost all the people in Youzhou are now soldiers, and after a year of expansion, battle damage, and reorganization, excluding Zhuo and Yi, there are more than 20,000 Mabu troops in the north with Youzhou as the center of defense.
Among so many soldiers, there were more than thirty generals with a command of more than 1,000 troops. In addition to those assigned to garrison at the Wubao in surrounding counties and towns, they all came to the scene to express their condolences according to the ceremony.
"Your Majesty," Zhao Siwan found Zhao Kuangzan in the corner of the courtyard and called.
Zhao Siwan was dressed in chainmail and covered with a mourning cloth, her hand always pressed on the sword at her waist, looking murderous.
Zhao Siwan was originally rewarded by the imperial court and appointed governor of Yongzhou for his contribution to Jifeng Mountain. After following Zhao Kuangzan to the north, he became more important and was worshiped as the commander of the Yamen. He became the first general under Zhao Kuangzan, which can be said to be a spring breeze.
"Have everything been arranged?" Zhao Kuangzan hid behind the gray wall and looked in the direction of the mourning hall. In addition to the constant mourning and music, there was already a lot of noise there.
"Please rest assured, Your Majesty, Ghost Face and Yajun have been arranged. They are absolute confidants. They will not miss important events. They will only wait for the order from the King and the Crown Prince!" Zhao Siwan looked eager to give it a try.
"How many people are still on the list who haven't arrived yet?"
"There are still two commanders. Do you want the general to send someone to invite them?" Zhao Siwan asked.
"No!" Zhao Kuangzan expressed his rejection without hesitation and ordered: "I will send someone else to deal with it. You have to control the Zhang Mansion. People who pass through the mansion tonight will not be allowed to enter or leave without orders. No one is allowed to escape!"
"yes!"
In the front yard of the mourning hall, seven or eight tables of funeral banquets have been set up. All the civil and military officials from Youzhou who are qualified to pass the funeral have taken their seats. Civil and military officials are clearly distinguished, and there are factions among the military officials, each gathering together. The buzz of discussion did not stop, disturbing the seriousness of the scene and showing no respect for the deceased.
"You are dead, and you still want me to suffer this living punishment." Several military generals gathered around a table, mourning silk hanging casually on their bodies, one of them said impatiently.
"The King of Yan asked me to wait, but he came late. What's the point? If you have this skill, you might as well lead troops in the army!" Another person echoed.
People are divided into groups, and these people are basically the targets of Zhao Yanshou's "purge".
"Shut up!" A general with a stern face scolded him lightly, looking quite powerful. It seems that he is the leader of this gang, and that is indeed the case. This man, Zhang Yan, was Fan Yang's most powerful military leader. He was now the deputy commander of the capital in Yanei (the commander of the capital was also appointed by Zhao Kuangzan). He held military power and was ranked among the top five in the Yan army.
With his display of power, the generals and commanders on the table shut their mouths, but only for a moment. Soon, the conversation started again. They are all military leaders. Although they belong to the same camp, who can really restrain whom?
"Judge Zhang is dead. King Yan is ill. I don't know how long he can survive..." A fair-faced and beardless captain next to Zhang Yan lowered his voice and seemed unscrupulous in his words.
"Don't let others hear your words like this." Zhang Yan glanced at the man, looking cautious in a low voice, but he said: "I don't think it will last long."
"I heard that King Yan's condition is getting worse day by day. Look at him recently, he has been fully supporting Zhao Kuangzan in taking power. This is obviously preparing for his funeral!" Bai Mian Duxiao said coldly: "It's impossible to say, when King Yan will also die. How can Zhao Kuangzan control the overall situation of Youyan? General Zhang, we must be prepared, Youzhou has our share and cannot be destroyed in his hands."
Zhang Yan raised his eyebrows, looked at the lantern in front of the mourning hall, and was fascinated by the word "Dian", and said lightly: "This is not the place to discuss this matter!"
"clear!"
Finally, people didn't have to wait too long. When the patience of the military leaders was almost exhausted, King Yanshou Zhao Yanshou finally appeared. Wearing black clothes and white robes, he came solemnly in plain clothes and walked steadily. From his appearance, there was nothing unusual about him, as if he was as healthy as ever.
Bringing civil and military personnel into the mourning hall. The scene of Zhao Yanshou personally expressing condolences was naturally much more solemn. The literary official held the album and read aloud the Shinto inscription written by Zhao Yanshou himself for Zhang Li. Zhao Yanshou himself had good literary and poetic talents, and the memorial poems he wrote were sincere and sincere, touching those who understood them, while the warriors present felt drowsy after listening to them.
Until the condolences were over, the civil servants dispersed one after another, and the generals followed the orders of King Yan and moved to other courtyards.
"General Zhang, something is wrong." After entering the other courtyard, Colonel Bai Mian stared at the guards standing around. Many of them had scars on their faces.
"They are from Ghost Face Capital. There are so many Ghost Face Army hidden in Zhang Mansion!" Zhang Yan's expression suddenly became extremely solemn.
His eyes flickered for a few times, and without hesitation, Zhang Yan left the team and was about to return to the front courtyard. Colonel Bai Mian seemed to have thought of something and followed closely, but was stopped by the sergeant in front of the courtyard.
"How dare you stop me?" Zhang Yan shouted harshly.
The sergeant on guard paid no attention to him and just stopped him and refused to let him go.
Before Zhang Yan got angry, a somewhat sarcastic voice sounded in his ears: "What does General Zhang want?"
Hearing the sound, his body tensed, Zhang Yan squinted his eyes, looked at Zhao Siwan's ugly face, and felt suddenly panicked. He made an excuse casually: "I feel uncomfortable in my stomach and would like to make an excuse."
"General Sun is not feeling well too?" Zhao Siwan smiled ugly and glanced at the white-faced captain.
"I......"
Not listening to his words at all, Zhao Siwan said to Zhang Yan directly and coldly: "The general understands that it is inconvenient for General Zhang, but the king of Yan summoned him, so he can only aggrieve the general."
"Please tell General Zhao to report to King Yan. I will be here later!" Zhang Yan said perfunctorily and started to rush out.
Being stopped again, Zhang Yan suddenly became angry when facing Zhao Siwan who was blocking the way: "Zhao Siwan, you are a small commander, how dare you rush into Shangguan?"
Seeing his arrogance, Zhao Siwan didn't say much, but just put his hand on the handle of the knife, with a cold light in his eyes. He had long disliked his immediate superior.
Seeing this, Zhang Yan couldn't help but look at each other with the principal named Sun, and both could see the worries and worries in their eyes.
The two people were almost escorted into the other courtyard, and in the meantime, all the passages were occupied by Sergeant Ghost Face. If you don't understand what is going to happen in this scenario, you are hopelessly stupid.
"The king has arrived!" Accompanied by a shout, Zhao Yanshou and his son appeared and stood on the steps.
"Your Majesty, if you want to receive us, why do you need to start such a battle? Do you want to treat us, the generals, as prisoners?" Looking up at the father and son, Zhang Yan was full of resentment, and went straight out of the queue to take the lead in questioning Zhao Yanshou.
After scanning a circle, Zhao Yanshou sighed and said: "You are all heroes of Youyan and the backbone of the Yan army. I want to go to the New Year, and I will go hand in hand with you and fight bloody battles to regain Youzhou and drive away the Khitan. Now, In just one year, people's hearts have become so disorganized. I think I have tolerated you enough. However, recently, some people have deceived the public and disrupted the morale of the army, which has led to the moral turmoil of the army. Youzhou has reached a very dangerous point. For Youyan Shi Tens of thousands of soldiers and civilians, please forgive Zhao, we can no longer tolerate this!"
"What does King Yan want to do?" Zhang Yan asked nervously.
"Take it!" Without any further words, Zhao Yanshou waved his hand, and the surrounding soldiers pounced on him like wolves and tigers.
