Outside the imperial city, there is a hunting ground in the western suburbs.
This place is very close to the imperial city, and it only takes half an hour to get there by car and horse. But it occupies a very large area, with a radius of nearly seventy miles, and is home to many wild animals. It is the closest place for recreation and entertainment for the royal family members.
However, June is obviously not a day for hunting, because many wild animals are feeding at this time, which is against the rules.
If the prisoner on death row is a woman and is pregnant with a child, the execution will be postponed until she gives birth to a child, let alone these beasts? Leave it to nurse the cubs so that there will be game to hunt for next year.
However, this year was strange. The emperor had a sudden idea and not only chose this unconventional time for hunting, he also invited almost all the dignitaries in the imperial city to join him.
What is even more imaginative is that there was no news about this invitation before, and the ministers were not given any time to react, and they were not even given a chance to refuse. They directly sent people to the house to invite them early in the morning, and even said "they will be there soon". No, you must follow the palace guards who came to invite you and come to the palace immediately without delay.
This makes people feel uneasy, and it always feels like this is not an invitation, but rather a confinement.
What does the emperor want to do?
Everyone entered the palace with doubts and trepidation, and then stayed in the main hall until dawn. After that, they set up a hunting ground with the emperor, accompanied by a total of 5,000 palace guards and 20,000 elite imperial city guards. The scale of this kind of guard was also rare and strict when the emperor usually left the palace. Even some sharp-eyed people noticed that there were many monks with golden swords hanging on their waists in the casual team.
Are there so many Golden Sword monks here? !
"Is that old man the old prince?!"
"That's right! It's his old man!"
"I didn't expect his old man to come out. Didn't I hear that his old man is cultivating in Fenghong Villa?"
"I don't know. But being able to see his old man makes this trip worthwhile."
Old prince? He is talking about Yang Xiu Sheng, the uncle of Emperor Yang Jian. The king was granted the title of "Eternal Victory". Now in charge of Fenghong Villa, he is the leader of the Golden Sword cultivators. Over the years, when he has rarely been out and about, ordinary people regard him as the most powerful person in the Jingji Dynasty, the kind who can control the country's destiny.
[Interesting] I never thought that I would see this legendary figure in an already strange safari team today.
Yang Xiu Sheng did not ride a horse, but rode in the same carriage with the emperor until he arrived at his destination. He seemed to be personally guarding the emperor's safety.
In addition, some interested people also discovered that the black robe that usually occupies the eyes is not among the team. Why isn't the guy who is privately called the "Emperor's Hound"? Is the emperor more distant from each other or is there another reason?
The unusual "taste" stimulated the vast safari team, and they all knew that this trip was definitely not simple.
Then after arriving at the hunting ground, the emperor didn't mention the hunting at all, and went straight into the tent without seeing his face. Only some royal family members are still organizing everyone to play arrows, but no one is in the mood.
When the sun comes up, everyone will know why the emperor invited everyone here this time.
"The Black Flag Battalion of the Xuanqing Guards attacked dozens of key members of the Jingxi Army and the Border Army last night!"
What is this for? !
Everyone was shocked by the news. The Xuanqing Guards have always been neutral and do not deal with the situation or the person. It is not unusual for them to attack the army, and it is not the first time. But this time the situation is different. The troops in the south are about to rise. At this juncture, they actually attack the border troops? ! And he also stabbed the Jingxi Army, taking dozens of key members of the army in one breath?
In addition, after contacting the safari that the emperor invited the ministers to, and Pang Ban, who was not in the team, everyone understood that this was a game, a game in which the emperor personally went out to help set up a trap.
Definitely a big move!
While watching the show, the civil servants used the Thousand Miles of Musical Notes to greet their subordinates outside, asking them to pay close attention to the progress of the incident. At the same time, he also gloated over the misfortune as he watched the fellow military officers huddled together in a circle. However, he did not see the two biggest heads of the military profession, Yang Yansi and Xu Hong.
This is a normal reaction. It is not convenient for Yang Yansi and Xu Hong to come forward for the time being, because the matter has just happened and has not yet fermented. If they go to the emperor now, they will appear to be unable to calm down and will give people a feeling of "guilty". But everyone can guess that these two people are probably already scolding each other, right?
Haha, what a good military department, but the tiger left and the monkey became the king. The people placed by the emperor turned the world upside down and turned into a pot of porridge. Not only did it not play the role of protecting one's own people, but it became a handful handed by the emperor to Xuanqingwei. Even if a knife is used to cut one's own body, it will cause blood.
Is this still a mess?
Although it happened suddenly, there are not a few people who have thoughts on this matter. Regardless of whether there is any grudge or not, as long as there is a fight between Junwu and Xuanqing Guard, they are happy to see it.
The happiest group is naturally the civil service group represented by Left Prime Minister Ye Lansheng. They are now actively persuading the emperor to deal with the barbarian problem with the attitude of "conquering people with virtue". As long as they can suppress it and not start a war, they can continue to trample the troops under their feet without worrying about being backlashed by the opponent's rise.
It would be even better if you could also take advantage of the opportunity to play Xuan Qingwei while watching the excitement. Therefore, civilian officials are no less enthusiastic about external news than military officials who have already been on the gridiron.
The next day, that is, on the morning of June 19, another breaking news came in from outside. Now even those who were pretending to play with arrows could no longer pretend, and everyone looked at them with different expressions and thoughts. To the emperor's big account and to the military officers Yang Yansi and Xu Hong's big account.
"What do you think Xuan Qingwei wants to do this time? How dare they raid Xu Hong's residence!?"
"I still don't quite believe this news is true."
"The huge Xu Mansion is considered a conspicuous high-level sect in the imperial city. It was surrounded by a group of Xuanqing guards early in the morning. Everyone in the family, men, women, old and young, and even the slaves were strung up on ropes. How many You can see it with both eyes, how can you say it’s fake?”
"No, that's not what I meant, I just couldn't believe it, you know? That's Xu Hong! How dare Xuan Qingwei..."
"Shhh! Shut up. Xuanqingwei has always been very courageous. There is no one they dare not touch. What's more, this time, His Majesty has helped them to find out. If it were you, you could do anything."
"That's right. It stands to reason that if the Xuanqing Guards directly searched Xu Hong's home, they must have obtained some extraordinary evidence, and Xu Hong must be finished. I just don't know what happened."
"It probably has something to do with the border army and the Jingxi Army. I don't know if Zuo Yuliang will be implicated."
"Zuo Yuliang? Humph, whether Zuo Yuliang is implicated or not is another matter. Didn't you see that Yang Yansi was also invited by His Majesty to go on a hunting trip this time? I see, maybe Xu Hong is just a side dish. The fun is yet to come!”
