King Xiang of the Red Chamber

Chapter 743: Sword Pointing at the Emperor
When he arrived outside Guanghan Gate, Zhu Jinghong looked at several generals kneeling beside him to welcome the emperor.

These generals came from the Yiweisi, Qishouwei, Jinyiwei and Longjinwei. There were a total of thirteen people, each responsible for an area.

Among them were three members of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, namely the three chief and deputy chiefs of the North City Chief Office, and Chen Yuntai was naturally among them.

Of course, these troops come from different "services" and are responsible for the defense of different areas.

Guanghan Palace is located on a small island in the lake, with only a winding stone bridge connecting it to the land. The flag bearer guards are responsible for standing guard on the bridge, while the Yiwei Division is responsible for the area outside the sedan chair.

The part across the bridge is under the responsibility of the Jinyiwei and the Longjinwei. The people mentioned above cannot enter the Guanghan Palace.

Apart from the serving eunuchs and palace maids, the only people who could enter the Guanghan Palace were the twenty Qianqing Gate guards, who would stand guard around the emperor's throne.

At this moment, Zhu Jinghong and his wife followed behind Prince Rui and his wife, slowly passing through the winding stone bridge, and they could see Guanghan Gate in front of them.

The Yiweisi, Qishouwei and Jinyiwei all have people from the Crown Prince and Prince Rui, and of course, Zhu Jinghong's people as well.

As for who exactly are the prince and the sixth brother, there were no photos in that era, so Zhu Jinghong could not identify them with the naked eye, but someone could help him recognize them.

For example, Chen Yuntai will personally guard outside the Guanghan Gate. He has prepared twenty elite captains to guard the duty room on the east side of the Guanghan Gate.

As for Xu Guangfu, he has also prepared two hundred soldiers, who will rush to Xiyuan after receiving the order. His mission is to persuade the Northwest Thousand Households to block the stone bridge leading to Guanghan Palace.

Today is the Mid-Autumn Festival. From royal nobles to peddlers, everyone is reuniting and celebrating in their own way.

The Xiuguogong Mansion and the Hou family are no exception. As a dignified duke's mansion, even though it is now in decline compared to its ancestors, it still has more rules than ordinary dignitaries.

All the male members of the Hou family now gathered in the back garden of the mansion to watch the moon with their old man Hou Xiaokang. Hou Jing, as the eldest grandson of the eldest branch, was no exception.

Hou Jing's father died early, so the Hou family poured all their resources into him.

Even so, Hou Jing's development still exceeded the Hou family's expectations. He was appointed commander of the imperial army when he was just thirty years old.

The efforts of the Hou family are certainly important, but a position like the Commander-in-Chief of the Imperial Guard cannot be obtained solely through hard work and talent.

As for who they rely on, those in the Hou family who understand know it, and those who don’t understand certainly don’t need to know.

Hou Xiaokang is already 65 years old and is now serving as the governor of the Front Military Governor's Office, the highest position for a military officer. However, he will have to retire in one or two years.

Talented people emerge in every generation, and the old are replaced by the new. This has been a truth since ancient times.

"Stay as the commander of the personal army for another two years, and then apply for the deputy general of the Beijing camp when you have more experience, so as to avoid being gossiped by others..."

"You must not be anxious now!"

Listening to his grandfather's teachings, Hou Jing naturally agreed one by one. He certainly understood these principles.

He was indeed too young and lacked the qualifications to be the commander of the imperial army. It was only because of his achievements in the northwest last year that he was able to secure his position.

Therefore, in the next two years, Hou Jing will calm down and accumulate capital for further development.

The grandfather and grandson were chatting quietly in the midst of noise when a servant came to their table. After bowing, he reported: "Master, young master... someone came from the Xiangwang Mansion and said he wanted to see young master!"

It was a bit strange that Prince Xiang's Mansion sent someone at this time, but Hou Jing still did not dare to neglect it. He said goodbye to his grandfather and drove out.

At this moment, there were two people sitting in the guest seats in the outer hall of the Hou family, a eunuch and a royal guard.

Such a combination seemed even more strange. Hou Jing was suspicious but still went forward.

"You two are visiting at this time. Does the Thirteenth Master have any instructions?"

These two people were the ones who came to Hou's house to deliver the message as scheduled by Zhu Jinghong.

Again, only by scheduling tasks at the last minute can the risk of leaks be minimized.

The eunuch sitting in the front stood up and said, "General Hou, we are here to deliver a letter to you on the king's orders!"

"Deliver a message?"

Although he was confused, Hou Jing still walked forward and took the envelope from the eunuch.

After opening the letter on the spot, Hou Jing was shocked by the contents.

But in fact, the letter only mentioned the word "turmoil" and did not say what the turmoil was.

At the end of the letter, Zhu Jinghong gave instructions, which were to return to the military camp secretly and wait for his next instructions.

At the end of the letter was Zhu Jinghong's seal, but it was not the seal of the Prince Xiang's Mansion, but a rarely used private seal.

The purpose of doing this is to prevent counterfeiting. After all, many people have seen the seal of the Prince Xiang's Mansion, but private seals cannot be recognized except by close people, let alone guess the contents of the seal.

For example, this seal of Zhu Jinghong has the words "Fuck you" engraved on it. Who in normal life could have thought of this?

It just so happened that Yin Houjing had seen him. To be more precise, everyone who should have seen him had seen him.

Therefore, this was indeed Zhu Jinghong's warrant, not a forgery.

While Hou Jing was thinking, the leading eunuch said, "General Hou, the prince said that if you feel embarrassed, just pretend that we have never been here!"

Putting away the letter, Hou Jing said solemnly: "Please tell the Thirteenth Master that all the soldiers of the Huben Zuowei are ready to be dispatched by His Highness at any time!"

"General Hou, the prince was right about you!" said the leading eunuch with a smile.

"I'm going to say goodbye to my family and go to the military camp right away!"

"General Hou, don't let the news leak out!"

"I know what to say!" Hou Jing replied.

"The prince also said that this letter should be burned after reading it!"

"it is good!"

Hou Jing went to his grandfather and told him that there was something to deal with in the army. After Hou Xiaokang thought about it for a while, he let him go without asking any more questions.

The situation that Hou Jing encountered was similar to what happened in more than a dozen mansions or military camps inside and outside the capital at almost the same time.

With this one skill alone, he controlled nearly 30,000 soldiers inside and outside the capital.

Since Emperor Taizu, the Imperial Guards and the Beijing Camp have always been responsible for important combat and combat readiness tasks, so they are always fully equipped and staffed, with a combat force of approximately 300,000.

Now there are troops deployed in the northwest, the nine borders and the southwest. In addition to the casualties in the previous battle in the northwest, there are only about 120,000 to 130,000 troops left in the capital.

In other words, Zhu Jinghong actually controlled nearly a quarter of the troops in the capital. Even the emperor himself found it difficult to deal with it, and the fourth and sixth sons would not be able to handle it.

When Zhu Jinghong and his entourage entered Guanghan Gate, they sat down at tables according to the rules.

Although Zhu Jinghong was a prince, he was seated about ten meters away from the emperor because of the presence of concubines in the harem. The prince and Prince Rui's families were a little closer.

At the beginning of the Xu period (19:), the banquet in Guanghan Palace officially began.

For the royal family, this was just one of countless family dinners, and it seemed that this was the most important thing.

But for the various departments in the inner court, this banquet is a big test, which is related to the honor and disgrace and even life and death of all practitioners.

After confirming that the Mid-Autumn Festival banquet would be held, all the musicians, singing girls, and dancers began intensive rehearsals.

These people already had solid basic skills, and coupled with their hard work in rehearsing during this period, they immediately received unanimous praise from the concubines.

This was a rare moment of relaxation for the royal family after the Queen's death, so everyone present was extremely engaged, and the atmosphere was beautiful with the clinking of glasses.

The scene was still led by the prince, who toasted the emperor three times with wine. Each cup had a unique saying, which showed that he had prepared carefully.

Zhu Xianming was in a good mood. At this moment, he temporarily forgot the pain of losing his wife and felt that life was not so bleak.

After the collective toast, everyone performed individually, but generally in order of closeness, first the concubines and then the princes.

Of course Zhu Jinghong also went and said normal auspicious words, but Zhu Xianming asked him one more question.

"Why... Sheng'er hasn't come yet?" Zhu Jinghong replied: "This... Sheng'er was in Kunning Palace when I left. She said she would come later!"

"It's time for this to come!"

Zhu Xianming muttered to himself, then asked the eunuch to go and take a look. He always felt that something was not perfect without his youngest daughter.

Zhu Jinghong wanted to leave, but the emperor said, "It's not appropriate for you to live in Siling after all. You should return to Beijing!"

Without rushing to agree, Zhu Jinghong said bluntly: "My son plans to stay for a full 100 days before returning to Beijing!"

With a sigh, Zhu Xianming said no more. If he were not busy with government affairs, he would have also wanted to visit the mausoleum, and even wanted to go into the underground palace to take a look in person.

"Go!"

"Yes!"

When Zhu Jinghong returned to his seat, he saw two people sitting next to Baochai. They were Princess Qingyang and Princess Jinghai, and they were chatting animatedly.

After observing the positions of all the suspicious people and looking at where the prince was, Zhu Jinghong knew that the chaos would last for a while, so he started chatting with Zhu Jingchun.

Outside the imperial city, a staggering figure appeared outside Dong'an Gate.

This man was wearing the uniform of the Jinyiwei, and although he looked extremely embarrassed, his identity badge was clear and correct. In addition, the guards at the gate recognized him and allowed him to enter the imperial city smoothly.

Zhu Jinghong's guess was correct. Being injured and falling into the water does not necessarily mean death, such as Fan Rong who was returning to the imperial city at this time.

The reason was that Fan Rong's injuries were not fatal, and he was lucky enough to jump into the reeds, then he broke off a reed and dived, so Zhang Wanan was unable to find him.

After soaking in the water for more than an hour and making sure that there was no one around, Fan Rong climbed out of the water. At this time, he had lost too much blood, so he immediately bandaged himself.

After resting for several hours and recovering some strength, Fan Rong quietly returned to the imperial city.

Logically, he should go to the Northern Pacification Office or the Northern City Thousand Households Office, but because the ones chasing him were the Embroidered Uniform Guards, he didn't trust his so-called own people at all at the moment.

He entered the imperial city at this moment in order to rush to the East Factory and explain the whole situation clearly to prevent any major changes from happening next.

At this time, he was basically certain that it was Prince Rui who wanted to rebel and usurp the throne, so he ordered Zhang Wan'an to kill him.

The East Factory was just outside the Donghua Gate. When Fan Rong arrived outside the East Factory, he happened to meet Zhu Yunsheng and his wife leaving the palace and planning to go to the West Garden for a banquet.

In theory, it is closer to go to the Western Garden through the Xihua Gate, but that place is mainly for the passage of the dead. The royal family and officials all go through the Donghua Gate, and of course they also go through the side door of the Wumen Gate at certain times.

Zhu Yunsheng and his companion's convoy had not gone far out of Donghua Gate when they heard howling coming from outside the East Factory.

"I have something important to report. Someone is planning a rebellion!"

"Eunuch, I have something important to report. Someone is trying to rebel and usurp power!"

The man was captured by the Eastern Depot's men before he could even shout a few words. After all, he shouldn't say such taboo things.

Zhu Yunsheng became suspicious, so he ordered his maid to go and see what was going on.

Liang Yi couldn't sit still, so he went there in person.

After a while, Liang Yi came in person and repeated what Fan Rong had said.

"So this Fan Rong said that Sixth Brother was going to start an uprising in Xiyuan and rebel and usurp power?" Zhu Yunsheng was extremely surprised.

Liang Yi nodded, and then said: "Although I don't believe it, but I always feel that... this matter can't be wrong!"

"What right did Sixth Brother have to usurp power? Has he gone insane?"

Hearing this, Liang Yi replied: "Maybe it was arranged in advance!"

"Do you believe this, too?"

Liang Yi replied slowly: "Nothing is surprising in the royal family!"

Rebellion and treason are not just four words, but a bloody reality.

Before the Queen passed away, she specifically instructed Zhu Yunsheng to do more to reconcile and ease the relationship between his father and his brothers.

Now that she knew that her sixth brother might rebel, Zhu Yunsheng became extremely anxious, and then she felt that she had to stop it.

There are two approaches to preventing this.

One is to go to Xiyuan to stop Lao Liu from doing stupid things, and the other is to kill those who know about this, so that no one will know about Lao Liu's plan.

Looking at Liang Yi outside the car window, Zhu Yunsheng said slowly: "Go take that man away and deal with him!"

Surprised at his wife's cruelty, Liang Yi was reluctant but still went with a few eunuchs. But he turned back after a while.

"So fast?" Zhu Yunsheng asked in surprise.

Liang Yi replied, "Just now, that man was taught a lesson by the people from the East Factory. I went to rescue him and questioned him. I will go back after I finish talking to you... That man has been taken to Kunning Palace. The guards outside said that it was ordered by Eunuch Cheng!"

As the chief eunuch in charge of the East Factory, at such an important moment as tonight, Cheng Ying chose to stay in the East Factory official office so that he could handle any situation quickly.

Cheng Ying was indeed overly cautious when he just took over the East Factory, which led to him meeting Fan Rong.

Here, Fan Rong was invited into the East Factory, while Zhu Yunsheng outside had sped up his pace, trying to rush to Guanghan Palace before the sixth brother started the rebellion, to prevent the tragedy from happening and maintain family harmony, even if it was only superficial harmony.

Her mother's last teachings kept coming to her mind at this moment, making Zhu Yunsheng more and more anxious.

Furthermore, at the banquet, Zhu Jinghong was already leaning against Baochai, and taking the opportunity to chat with everyone, he kept moving closer to the emperor's throne.

There are many guards around the emperor's throne, so the security here is undoubtedly higher.

But Zhu Jinghong knew that several guards had been targeted and would be dismissed on the spot if something happened. Only the area around the emperor's throne was safe.

He was moving, and the prince and his wife were also moving. At this time, they were opposite the emperor, right at the Guanghan Gate on the south side.

More than twenty eunuchs had quietly gathered around the Crown Prince and his wife, but no one at the scene noticed them.

What everyone hadn't noticed was that Lao Liu had disappeared, but Zhu Jinghong knew that this guy was hiding, after all, there might really be a fight in a while.

The sound of dance and music continued, and it was almost time for action. When the dance ended, several musicians jumped up and shouted, "Tonight is the night to make a difference!"

"Tonight is the night to accomplish your mission!"

With a shout, the rebels in various places moved at the same time. The eight guards of Qianqing Gate who were farther away were knocked to the ground by the eunuchs on the left and right. The prince was "held hostage" by the rebels, and Guanghan Gate was closed from the inside.

Then, dozens of musicians, eunuchs, and guards rolled up their sleeves, drew their swords, and headed towards the emperor's throne, where Zhu Jinghong and his wife were also.

The concubines, princes, princesses, and counties at the scene were so frightened by this scene that they were stunned at first, and then they started shouting and running around after a while.

The Guanghan Palace was large in area with many rooms. Upon seeing the chaos, all the royal family members present, as well as the musicians, dancers, and others, fled away, and soon the courtyard became empty.

Only a dozen people approached the throne of the emperor, including the families of King Qingyang and King Jinghai.

"Escort, escort!"

This was Zhu Jinghong's shout. He was more excited than anyone else about the start of the show. At this moment, he personally stood in front of the emperor, with the Qianqing Gate guards standing on his left and right.

As for Baochai, she hid behind the throne with several clan wives and concubines, and four guards holding knives were guarding behind the throne.

There were a total of twenty Qianqing Gate guards stationed in the Guanghan Palace. Eight of them were squeezed out when the incident happened just now, and now there are only twelve left.

Four of them guarded the rear, while the remaining eight held swords in front. Even though they were all well-armored, they were still trembling with fear when facing the sixty or seventy bandits in front of them.

The guards of Qianqing Gate have the highest status and are all royal relatives. It is a place for gilding and gaining experience, so it is normal for them to have a bad mentality when facing such a situation.

On the throne, Zhu Xianming had a stern expression. This scene seemed familiar to him, but he did not expect it to happen to him.

"Who are you? Who do you work for?" Zhu Xianming asked coldly.

(End of this chapter)