serious man in the red chamber

Chapter 451 The capital is in chaos

The sound of killing in Cining Palace was loud.

Soon, the new soldiers from the infantry yamen retreated like a tide, defeated and in chaos.

Feng Ziying was also injured and stumbled out while being protected by several soldiers.

Feng Tang was riding on his horse, looking at the surging flow of new soldiers with a livid face.

Feng Ziying: "Father, there are actually breech-loaded firecrackers hidden in Cining Palace, at least three to five hundred of them!"

Feng Tang's expression changed immediately.

Feng Ziying: "The Queen Mother and the Chief Assistant are determined to protect Niu Ben."

A cold light flashed in Feng Tang's eyes, and he ordered a general beside him: "Go to the barracks and immediately bring in two cannons!"

The general was stunned.

Feng Ziying was also startled: "Father."

Feng Tang raised his hand and his eyes flashed coldly: "We must kill Niu Ben before the winner is determined at Xiyuan Camp, otherwise Niu Ben will take out the little emperor's edict and we will all kill the nine tribes! Go quickly!"

"Yes!" The general got on his horse, led a group of soldiers and galloped towards the east side of the palace.

Feng Tang looked at the gate of Cining Palace again and gritted his teeth: "Come on again!"

Feng Ziying raised her sword and shouted loudly: "Gather the team! Gather the team!"

All the soldiers in the infantry yamen hurriedly looked for their own teams, and it took a while to form a military formation.

Feng Tang pulled out the long sword from his waist and waved a cold light: "Kill!"

Countless new troops from the infantry yamen roared and charged into Cining Palace!

In front of a stick of incense, Niu Ben led the remaining troops to rush to Cining Palace. After a fierce battle, they eliminated the more than a thousand Jingshan Camp forbidden troops guarding outside the palace gate, and then rushed in and slaughtered the hundreds of unarmed infantry and yamen soldiers.

At this time, there were less than two thousand forbidden troops following Niu Ben. Fortunately, he got the support of his chief assistant Wang Hetang, and then he got the more than three hundred breech-loaded firecrackers that Dai Quan had hidden in Cining Palace and fired. The Bujun Yamen was caught off guard.

Under the eaves of the palace, a row of forbidden soldiers knelt down on the floor tiles with one leg, raised the firecrackers in their hands and fired at the same time!
Fire shot out from each gun, and the soldiers at the front of the infantry yamen screamed and fell down!
A general shouted: "Kill them, kill them from both sides!"

At this moment, the firecrackers rang out again, and then each of the new infantry and Yamen troops who rushed forward fell down again under the light of the fire!

The battle formation at the infantry yamen was in chaos, and a large group of new troops began to rush back outside the palace gate!
There was a thunderous sound of fire and gunfire outside the hall, but it was very quiet inside.

Niu Ben stood outside the bead curtain and looked at the little emperor's edict. His face immediately showed excitement. He looked up into the bead curtain again and knelt down. "Your Majesty, Niu Ben, thanks you for your grace!"

"General Niu, please wake up!" The young emperor's childish and breathless voice came from the bead curtain.

Niu Ben kowtowed again, then stood up and looked at Wang Hetang again.

Wang Hetang spoke: "The edict alone is not enough to kill Feng Tang and his son, we must remove the troops from their hands!"

Niu Ben: "After the imperial troops from Xiyuan Camp defeat the rebels from Jingshan Camp, they will come to reinforce us."

Li Shouzhong asked worriedly: "Can it be blocked from outside?"

Niu Ben smiled: "Basically all the old soldiers in Feng Tang's hands were lost at the Xihua Gate. Now those who are besieging Cining Palace are new troops. They can't break in!"

Li Shouzhong breathed a sigh of relief: "That's good."

At this moment, two cannon shots were heard outside, followed by screams and howls!

Niu Ben's expression suddenly changed and he walked quickly outside the palace.

The maximum range of the cannon can be up to 350 steps. When firing shotguns, one shell contains three to four hundred projectiles, which can block a front of fifty steps wide. It is extremely powerful.

Feng Tang raised his sword high on the horse: "Fire the cannon!"

Fire sprayed from the muzzle of the cannon, and the projectiles sprayed in a fan shape almost covered the entire eaves outside the main hall of Cining Palace. Each of the Imperial Guards screamed and fell down, rolling and wailing in pain on the ground.

A main cannon is equipped with five sub-cannons, and the rate of fire is very high.

Immediately afterwards, there were two more cannon shots, and the Forbidden Army who fell to the ground was breathless. Even the palace door behind them was shattered into pieces by projectiles. Many of the Forbidden Army soldiers hiding behind the palace door were hit by projectiles and were wailing on the ground. With.

As soon as he walked out of the palace, Niu Ben was stunned.

At this moment, the sound of artillery outside rang again, and the overwhelming projectiles hit the brick floor and burst out countless flames!The Imperial Guards who were lucky enough to survive all withdrew in front of Niu Ben.

"Only kill Niuben. The others should throw down their weapons and withdraw!" Feng Ziying's voice came from outside the hall.

Niu Ben's expression changed.

"You eat food as a soldier, whose food do you eat?" Feng Tang's voice came again.

"Of course it's imperial food!" Feng Ziying's voice came immediately.

"well said!"

Feng Tang raised his voice, "If you are eating the emperor's salary, you have to share the emperor's worries! The Niu family and his son colluded with the Korean Tatars to plot evil. As long as you take him down and put down this rebellion, I will protect the emperor's capital and help you. Please take credit.”

Niu Ben's expression changed drastically and he walked quickly towards the palace.

The Imperial Guards were silent.

In the palace, Jia Yuanchun had led the little emperor out and was looking at Niu Ben who walked in.

Wang Hetang, Li Shouzhong, Dai Quan, Ma Shun, Li Zhong and others all looked closely at Niuben. They only heard the sound of cannons and had no idea what was happening outside.

Wang Hetang spoke: "How's it going?"

Niu Ben ignored him and walked straight towards the little emperor.

"The Concubine"

Dai Quan took a step forward and stood in front of the little emperor, but was pushed aside by Niu Ben.

Before Jia Yuanchun and others could react, Niu Ben picked up the little emperor and strode out.

"Bold!"

"General Niu!"

Everyone reacted, shocked and angry, and chased him out one after another.

"The war at Xiyuan Camp has ceased. All the generals of the Forbidden Army are on their way. I promise that I will only kill Niu Ben."

Upon hearing this, many of the Imperial Guards showed strange expressions, apparently considering their own retreat.

"The Emperor is here!" Someone shouted in a low voice.

Everyone was startled at first, and then knelt down one after another.

Niu Ben hugged the little emperor and walked straight out.

The Imperial Guards looked at each other in shock. Just as they were about to stand up, they saw Jia Yuanchun and others chasing them out, and they quickly fell down again.

Dai Quan was anxious: "Stop kneeling, go and protect His Majesty!"

The Imperial Guards scrambled to their feet and chased out with their knives in hand.

The square of Cining Palace was illuminated by lanterns and torches even brighter than the Lantern Festival.

Although many people have never seen the little emperor, wearing the dragon robe, the soldiers of the infantry yamen immediately guessed that it was the little emperor in Niu Ben's arms. There was a sound of "crash", and thousands of soldiers of the infantry yamen rushed together. He knelt down on the ground.

Only Feng Tang, Feng Ziying, his son and a few soldiers were left standing in the square.

Niu Ben felt relieved, and then shouted to Feng Tang: "Whose food do you, the Feng family, eat!"

Feng Tang gritted his teeth and knelt down on one knee helplessly.

Feng Ziying and several soldiers also knelt down.

Niu Ben showed a proud smile, held the little emperor in one hand, took out the edict from his sleeve, and read aloud: "Fengtian Chengyun Emperor's edict says: Feng Tang, the commander of the infantry yamen, has been favored by the emperor in this world, and has been honored by the late emperor. He is an unusually simple man, and he is ranked in the Taiwan Pavilion. If he dares to communicate with the Korean Tatars for their evil intentions, he will be punished with death. I admire this!"

The air seems to be frozen!

The infantry yamen soldiers looked at Feng Tang and Feng Ziying with surprise in their eyes.

"idiot!"

Wang Hetang stamped his feet and shouted: "Protect Your Majesty quickly!"

Dai Quan and the forbidden troops rushed forward in a hurry!
The sound of running along with the shouts of "Protect Your Majesty! Protect Your Majesty!" came from outside Cining Palace!

The swaying torch light illuminated half of the sky outside the palace!
Niu Ben couldn't restrain his excitement and said loudly: "Your Majesty has a decree. Whoever kills Feng Tang and his son will be rewarded with a thousand gold coins and be promoted to the third level!"

Feng Tang's eyes showed murderous intent. He caught a glimpse of the two cannons in front of him, stood up suddenly, grabbed the torch from the soldier's hand, and lit the fuse without hesitation.

In fact, it was only a moment when Dai Quan snatched the little emperor back from Niu Ben. Just as he turned around, he heard two cannon shots behind him. Dai Quan felt a pain in his back and flew out. At the moment of flying, Dai Quan saw the little emperor. Blood came out of the emperor's chest, and then he closed his eyes.
"Your Majesty!" "Your Majesty!"

"emperor!"

Jia Yuanchun, Wang Hetang and others rushed over like crazy.
This scene happened to be seen by the Forbidden Army who rushed in, and all the Forbidden Army soldiers were covered there.

"Kill all the traitors!" Someone yelled.

The roar of killing immediately rang out in the Cining Palace Square
The snow in the capital finally stopped, and the long-lost sun came out.

The warm sunshine has dispelled the coldness of this winter, but it cannot dispel the gloom in Baiguan's heart!
The sound of cannons and shouts of death in the imperial city last night were heard in the outer city, and the outside of the Meridian Gate was crowded with officials who came to look for the news.

A group of imperial soldiers stood in two rows in front of the Zuoye Gate with swords on their backs, blocking the officials from the door.

After a while, the left door clicked open.

Yang Dayong came out wearing military uniform and sword.

All the officials swarmed up:

"General Yang, what happened in the palace?"

"Tell us about it."

"General Yang, what's going on? The second assistant and the chief and deputy officials of the Sixth Ministry and Nine Ministers were assassinated, and the imperial army blocked the palace gate to prevent them from entering. The Sixth Ministry and Nine Ministers have so many official affairs, no one is taking care of them! The first assistant Do you know? Does Your Majesty the Queen Mother know these things?"

"What on earth do your military want to do?"

Yang Dayong neither spoke nor became angry, but quietly looked at the passage leading to the distance.

The sound of hooves and squeaking wheels came from a distance, and everyone turned their attention.

A carriage surrounded by guards gradually approached.

In the carriage, Jia She was sitting with his eyes closed, and Jiao Da's excited voice echoed in his ears: "It's done! It's finally done! Sir, the little emperor died in Feng Tang's hands, and the royal family is extinct."

Jia She opened his eyes suddenly, with a wry smile on his lips. Jia Yuanchun's son was still dead.
At this time, the carriage slowly stopped.

Yang Dayong's voice came from outside the car window: "Master."

Jia She adjusted his emotions, opened the carriage door and walked out.

Yang Dayong smiled: "I can take a carriage in."

Jia She said calmly: "You still have to abide by the rules." After saying that, he walked straight to Zuoyemen.

Yang Dayong quickly chased after him.

Even though they had two big pots of charcoal fire, Wang Hetang and Li Shouzhong, who were sitting around the brazier, still felt cold. They were sitting there wearing thick fur cloaks, their eyes were bloodshot, and their faces were full of tiredness.

Since the death of the little emperor, the entire palace has been in chaos. The imperial army first killed all the people in the infantry yamen, and then completely lost control. If several generals arranged by the Jia family had not gathered some troops to guard Cining Palace, they would have He had already gone with the little emperor.

Jia Yuanchun fainted on the spot, and the two old men stayed outside the palace that night, not daring to leave.

It was not until the end of the Mao period that the troops from the Beiting Protectorate entered the palace to quell the rebellion.

When they saw these Mongolians wearing Zhou army uniforms, they all understood.

There was a sound of footsteps, and the two looked up and saw Jia She walking in slowly.

Li Shouzhong stood up.

But Wang Hetang sat there motionless, staring at Jia She closely.

Jia She walked to the brazier and stopped, looking at the palace door, "Is the Queen Mother okay?"

"It's nothing good or bad, it's just that my son died." Wang Hetang looked very excited as soon as he spoke.

Jia She was stunned, then slowly turned around and looked at Wang Hetang.

Wang Hetang sneered: "What, you want to kill me too?"

Li Shouzhong spoke: "Okay, okay. This is all because of Feng Tang, the traitor. Enhou did not expect that Feng Tang would collude with the Korean Tatars to rebel." After saying that, he dragged a chair from the side and reached out to do it. A "please sit down" gesture.

Jia She nodded his thanks, sat down, and then took out a confession from his sleeve and handed it to Li Shouzhong: "It was not just the Feng family and his son who colluded with the Korean Tatars."

"Oh?" Li Shouzhong took a look at the confession and his expression immediately darkened.

After reading it, Li Shouzhong handed the confession to Wang Hetang: "It's Hongzhou's confession. Ma Ruifang not only helped Hongzhou connect with the Feng family and his son, but also helped him bribe the eunuch in charge of the Ordnance Bureau and stole the technical drawings of the rear-mounted gun. .The Korean Tatars are ready to attack Liaodong."

Wang Hetang couldn't help but frown. He took the confession and read it, then handed it to Li Shouzhong calmly.

Jia She looked at him: "The court cannot be in chaos now."

Li Shouzhong immediately nodded in agreement.

Jia She continued: "Except for King Ning, whoever takes the seat in Fengtian Palace will cause the Zhou Dynasty to fall apart and the Central Plains to fall into war!"

Wang Hetang pondered for a moment, then sighed helplessly and said: "The Wu family has extinct heirs."

At this time, Li Shouzhong coughed: "The Queen Mother also has a princess who is half a year older than Prince Ning."

Wang Hetang was reminded and immediately said: "The edict of Zen can be issued, but our princess must be the Crown Princess of Ning!"

Jia She: "Concubine."

Wang Hetang's face turned red: "Can't a stable dynasty even get a princess? Besides, our princess has half of the Jia family's blood!"

"I made the decision just because she has the blood of the Jia family."

Jia She sighed and said, "Even if the Jia family is willing, the generals under King Ning will not agree."

Li Shouzhong continued: "I heard that King Ning arranged several marriages for the crown prince. They are all the legitimate daughters of the generals under King Ning's command. A princess from the previous dynasty is the crown prince's concubine or crown princess. This is harming her!"

Wang Hetang had nothing to say, so he could only reply: "Okay."

Li Shouzhong hesitated for a moment and asked: "The country where your Majesty died?"

Jia She waved his hand: "There is nothing to hide. Directly notify the officials in Beijing and ask them to enter the palace to keep watch for His Majesty. As for the provinces, the south has fallen into the hands of the rebels and has not been issued. As for the north, together with the abdication edict If they all attack together, whoever dares to rebel will be directly defeated by the troops of the Beiting Protectorate.

Rebel! "

Wang Hetang sighed, looked at Jia She, and said, "How do you plan to deal with me? To tell you the truth, I wrote private letters to Li Chengyang, Liu Fang, and officials in Liangjiang, asking them to cooperate with each other to weaken Prince Ning's strength."

After Li Shouzhong heard this, he looked at Wang Hetang in disbelief.

Jia She smiled: "I will be the chief minister, and you will help me. After Prince Ning ascends the throne, you can choose to stay in the cabinet, or you can retire and return home."

Li Shouzhong: "I will be your witness!"

Jia She: "Okay."

Wang Hetang felt relieved when he heard this and glanced at Li Shouzhong gratefully.

At this moment, Baoqin walked out of the palace and said to Jia She, "Master, the Queen Mother invites you in."

Jia She stood up and said, "You guys can discuss it first." After saying that, he walked towards the palace.

Wang Hetang silently looked at Jia She's back disappearing through the door, and said in his heart: "My kingdom in Zhou Dynasty!"

As soon as he stepped through the door, Jia She was stunned.

The little emperor's body was placed in the center of the palace, and Jia Yuanchun was sitting on the edge with his back to the palace door.

Jia She was stunned for a moment, then walked over lightly: "Queen Mother."

Jia Yuanchun did not look back, but responded habitually: "Yes."

After a moment of silence, Jia She said: "Yuan Chun, you still have a daughter, so take care of yourself."

Jia Yuanchun moved slightly, and after a while, he spoke: "Uncle, if there was no such conspiracy, would my prince be able to grow up safely?"

Jia She sighed and said, "No one in the Jia family has ever thought of harming you mother and son. Your father has a saying that is right. The Jia family owes you a lot."

After a period of silence, Jia Yuanchun said: "You all go out and let me be alone."

Baoqin, Ma Shun, Li Zhong: "The Queen Mother."

Jia Yuanchun waved his hand: "Go."

Jia She sighed, shook his head at them, turned around and walked out.

After walking less than three or five steps, Jia Yuanchun's cry came from behind.
"Boom~"

Less than half a year later, the palace rang the Jingyang Bell again.
(End of this chapter)