After being exiled, I led my whole family to rebel.

Chapter 330 Internal and external cooperation
There were about 10,000 people from the Northern Territory. At this moment, several hundred people came down the mountain and gathered on the shore. When they saw Xu Zhenying, they all knelt on one knee and shouted in a deafening voice: "Welcome His Royal Highness Prince Zhao to the Northern Territory!"

Then, the people on the hilltop responded from afar.

"Welcome His Royal Highness Prince Zhao to the Northern Territory!"

These shouts echoed in the mountains and forests, startling the birds in the jungle and causing them to flap their wings and fly away.

Seeing this, Zhou Houfang quickly took out the prepared iron trumpet. Xu Zhenying took it and raised it to his lips. His voice was full of energy and echoed in the mountains and fields, "Everyone, please stand up. Today is a good day for the great integration of the north and the south. From today on, you are my Xu Zhenying's people, and even more my brothers and sisters. You have guarded the northern border for many years, fought bloody battles, shed your heads and shed your blood, and kept the Tartars out of the pass. This credit may not be recognized by the Great Zhou Dynasty, but I do! From today on, you are soldiers of Jinzhou Prefecture, and you will enjoy the same treatment as the soldiers of Jinzhou Prefecture! I, Xu Zhenying, also promise to you that I will never let heroes bleed and cry! I solemnly promise here that as long as I, Xu Zhenying, am in office for one day, your military pay will be paid on time on the 15th of every month, and there will be no delay! A fully paid army should be invincible! I hope that the soldiers in the northern border will also show your unique skills and let the people of Jinzhou Prefecture see how brave and good at fighting our soldiers in the northern border are!"

——Fight! Fight! Fight!

——Fight! Fight! Fight!

Soldiers all over the mountains and plains repeated, shouted, and roared over and over again to express their excitement. They raised their weapons high, and the sound gathered into waves, coming from all directions, almost breaking the eardrums.

Zhou Houfang and his men were also very excited and couldn't wait to pick up their weapons and charge into battle with the soldiers.

It was Elder Lin who slowly walked up to Zhao Yi in the crowd. The old man stroked his beard and said to Zhao Yi with a smile, "General Zhao, it's not a bad thing for you to join our Highness. I have written you more than a dozen letters persuading you to surrender in the past two years, but you never paid attention. Have you finally figured it out now?"

Zhao Yi glanced at Lin Han indifferently.

These two people are old acquaintances.

Both the Lin and Zhao families were considered noble families in Bianjing City. Their ancestors made a fortune and maintained their glory for nearly a hundred years. Speaking of which, Zhao Yi had also stayed in the Imperial College for a year or two, so he naturally knew that the Imperial College's chief priest Lin Han was a lonely, interesting and rebellious old man.

But later he joined the army.

The two did not have much interaction.

I didn't expect that after more than ten years, the two of them would one day share the same mind.

"Your Highness Prince Zhao... is graceful, talented, and cares about the world. He is indeed more capable of ruling the world than the Zhou family."

"Ah. You finally came to your senses—"

There seemed to be a hint of joy, a hint of confusion, and a hint of sadness in Zhao Yi's eyes.

He was glad that he had made the right decision.

Confused about the unknown future.

Sad about the fate of Zhou's family.

After all, they were master and servant, and he really didn't want to fight the Zhou family unless he had no choice. His betrayal was the last straw that broke the camel's back for the Great Zhou Dynasty.

The prosperity of the Zhou Dynasty will eventually become a fleeting dream.

It will be replaced by this brand new dynasty led by Xu Zhenying!
————————————————————

When the news of the peace talks in the north reached the capital, the people were not panicked at all.

Xu Zhenying's reputation spread far and wide. Even in a city as far away as Bianjing, and even though the common people at the bottom of society had never used the expensive new items from Jinzhou Prefecture, things closely related to people's daily lives, such as Lanxian pigs and cowpox vaccines, spread quickly through countless inconspicuous channels such as traveling merchants, teahouses, and newspapers.

As a result, the common people in Bianjing City all knew that there was a powerful rebel in the southwest who had great power and had the potential to be a wise ruler.

Ordinary people's ideas are simple.

As long as the rebels don't burn or loot after entering the city, and they can live in peace, they don't care who becomes the emperor.

No matter who becomes the emperor, it will not affect the people's two meals a day.

When the monthly report that was strictly prohibited by the Great Zhou Dynasty was quietly circulated again, countless people already knew that the peace talks in the north were successful, General Zhao Yi had rebelled, and Bianjing City would soon become Xu Zhenying's possession.

The common people were not in a hurry, and some were even whispering in the teahouse about the female traitor who was about to attack.

——It’s good that he came. Life has been hard these years. Who knows, maybe it would be better if we had a new emperor.

——It’s incredible. I heard that the female rebel has a million-strong army. With just a wave of her hand, heavenly soldiers and generals will come down to help.

——Nonsense! I don’t know about the rest, but my cousin from Jinzhou Prefecture said that the common people there eat pork belly every day. Pork is as cheap as it can be. He also said that Jinzhou Prefecture is several times more prosperous than Bianjing City, and the common people there are well-off!

——More prosperous than Bianjing? That's impossible. Bianjing is at the foot of the emperor. How can there be a place more prosperous than Bianjing? If you say Jiangsu and Zhejiang, I might believe it. Jinzhou Prefecture is not far from Qianzhou, but it is a poor and remote place with no birds!
——Brother, you don't know this. I was lucky enough to go to Lan County once, and it was like a paradise on earth. I won't mention the clocks, cement roads, and Lan County pigs. The streets there were crowded with horse-drawn carriages, but there was not a single speck of dirt. Even on rainy days, shoes and socks would not get dirty. It was as clean as a palace!
Everyone burst into laughter, mocking the man who was speaking for being worldly-wise.

Everyone knows what the streets of Bianjing City look like.

During festivals or when it rains, the old mud and excrement will be washed onto the streets. Not to mention whether it looks beautiful or not, the smell alone is enough to make people unbearable.

What street can be as clean as a palace?
This is too exaggerated.

"I don't know the rest, I only know that this female rebel never kills innocent people. Every time she captures a city, her subordinates behave themselves and never disturb the people. Anyone who takes the opportunity to cause trouble will be beheaded immediately!"

"That's true. Don't do what happened six years ago when the princes came into the city, killing people, setting fires, and taking advantage of the chaos to rob and steal. As long as she enters the city quietly, it doesn't matter to us who becomes the emperor."

"Hush, don't say that, or you'll be caught by the Imperial Guards!"

"Oh, now they still have time to catch us ordinary people? Let me tell you something big. My cousin who is a member of the imperial guards said that almost everyone in the palace has fled in the past few days! Those eunuchs and palace maids are also cruel. Many of them stole the gold and silver jewelry from their masters and ran away!"

The people around were startled. "Where are the guards? Normally, the palace is guarded so tightly that not even a fly can fly out!"

"The guards..." The man had heard it from someone else, and now when he was questioned, he could only stammer, "The guards ran away too. Everyone knows that the female rebel king is coming to attack our Bianjing soon. They knew they couldn't win, so they had no choice but to run away. If you don't believe me, go to the Meridian Gate and see if there are eunuchs and palace maids running away every day!"

Right now is a time when everyone is wary of enemies, but the people in Bianjing City are not afraid. They hide in teahouses to watch the excitement and discuss state affairs. This is an unprecedented situation!
Although Bianjing City is located in the center of the Great Zhou Dynasty, the people are naturally more noble, but they are also more likely to see big scenes. In the past, whenever there were things like succession struggles, palace coups, and usurpations of the throne in the palace, the people of Bianjing would have heard about it early and hid in their houses, and they had to close their doors and impose martial law throughout the city.

If anyone died in the riot, all one could say was, it was bad luck.

But the rebels who came back this time are different!

It is said that not only does he not kill people, he also likes to discuss political affairs with the people.

At this moment, there was a commotion on the street. Not far away, a group of soldiers in silver armor passed by with guns in hand. The leading general rode a horse and quickly passed through the crowd.

"Oh, this seems to be His Majesty's army——"

"What are you looking at? Why don't you go home and hide! Be careful not to get hurt innocently!"

"Yes, yes, yes, stop watching the fun and go home quickly. The traitor in Jinzhou Prefecture doesn't kill people, but some people may not! Just wait and see, this Bianjing city is about to get into chaos—"

In Jingpin's palace, her originally deserted palace became even more deserted because of the rumors in Bianjing City.

Originally, these concubines of the previous emperor should have either been buried alive with the emperor or moved to the east to live. However, Zhou Mian was overwhelmed by the affairs of Jinzhou Prefecture, and Zhao Yi's stab in the back completely dumbfounded the people of the previous dynasty, and they didn't know what the situation was at the moment.

The emperor probably doesn't have the energy to deal with these concubines.

Wang Qiu Shuang had a total of six palace maids and six eunuchs under her command. Ever since the news of the victory in the northern negotiations spread throughout the streets and alleys of Bianjing City and even reached the palace, Wang Qiu Shuang had already clearly noticed that people in the palace were unsettled.

These palace servants were obviously not concentrating on their work. They were either in a daze alone, or whispering in groups of three or five, or running around without any rules, as if they were gathering information.

Wang Qiu Shuang naturally turned a blind eye and hid the valuables without making a fuss.

And on the second day, three people disappeared from her palace. Wang Qiu Shuang was actually very curious. Although the palace was in a state of panic, patrols were still going on everywhere. How did these people disappear?

Is there a tunnel in this palace?

However, Wang Qiu Shuang didn't care about the stay or departure of her subordinates at this moment. She had already taken refuge with Jinzhou Prefecture, and now Jinzhou Prefecture was about to attack. Her future was about to come, so how could she care about these people?
It's okay to leave.

Now that she is gone, she will be safer in the palace and it will be easier to talk to her.

However, she did not miss any information that needed to be found out.

She sent away the remaining absent-minded palace servants, leaving only Eunuch Yang by her side, and then the two of them went to open the door to the inner room.

Feng'er hasn't left yet.

At this moment, Feng'er didn't want to leave anymore.

Seeing the two people come in, Feng Er sat there, her expression unchanged, "What's the situation now?"

As soon as the news of the negotiations in the North reached the palace, Wang Qiu Shuang immediately told Feng'er, and at the same time showed her loyalty without making a sound, suggesting that if Feng'er had any difficult problems, she could just send her to do it.

At this moment, Wang Qiu Shuang has completely become Jinzhou Prefecture's secret agent in the imperial palace.

And now, she, a concubine, was willing to be humble to Feng'er.

"Friends, as soon as the news of the negotiations in the North came in, everyone in the palace was in chaos. Three people have already escaped from my palace alone. I guess everyone is trying to save their lives right now."

Feng Er nodded, and looked at Eunuch Yang with a pair of sharp eyes, "Is there any movement from the previous dynasty?"

Although Eunuch Yang is a eunuch, he can move more easily, so his ears and eyes are smarter.

"Yesterday, His Majesty summoned all the ministers to the palace to discuss the strategy against the enemy. Only about a quarter of the people showed up. The others either claimed to be sick or simply closed the door to refuse visitors. Those who came were all old ministers of the Great Zhou. They discussed for half a day. The argument in Baohua Palace was very loud. The servants did not dare to get close, so they did not hear any specific news."

"You have done a great job. The first thing to do when getting information is to protect yourself." Feng'er affirmed their work. Sure enough, Eunuch Yang's brows relaxed, but Concubine Jing on the side was a little anxious.

She has taken refuge in Jinzhou Prefecture, so why does she feel that she is less useful than a eunuch?
This sense of gap made Jingpin feel depressed and even anxious.

"Zhou Mian is just fighting desperately." Feng Er slightly curled her lips, "These ministers are also very interesting. They want to be fence-sitters, the typical want-it-all. Yang Sheyou, are there any officials who can be won over? For example, those who don't reject Jinzhou Prefecture and show that they are willing to get close to us?"

Eunuch Yang was embarrassed for a moment, "Friend Xu, we are of low rank and our words are not taken seriously, so we dare not have too much contact with people from the previous dynasty."

"Oh, I forgot that the harem here cannot interfere in politics." Compared to Eunuch Yang's nervousness, Feng'er didn't care much and asked, "Do you know anyone among the guards or the imperial army?"

Wang Qiu Shuang's heart tightened, and she immediately asked, "Do the members of the club want to join forces with Wu Jiang to coordinate internal and external forces?"

Feng Er stared at Wang Qiu Shuang seriously, "In your opinion, how likely is this?"

Wang Qiu Shuang couldn't explain it. She was originally a woman in the deep palace, but she was quite proud of her talent.

But since she joined the Datong Society, they organized study sessions together every now and then. Wang Qiu Shuang realized that her skills were only useful within the harem. When it came to government affairs, she was still very immature.

Fortunately, this member Xu was always encouraging. Even though she could see clearly that many people in the club stuttered and could not form complete sentences, this member still praised them and then taught them gently, like a great scholar.

But since Xu Sheyou asked, Wang Qiu Shuang did not hide her incompetence and said directly, "If it was in the past, it would be almost impossible. But now the northern negotiations have been successful, and the next step is to attack Bianjing City. The people in the city are panicking. If we unite with prestigious generals, it is not impossible."

"That's right. I thought so too. Your Highness is on his way to Bianjing City now, and I believe he will arrive soon. If we can seize Bianjing City before Your Highness arrives, unite the civil and military officials, open the city gates and welcome Your Highness into the city, do you think this great achievement can guarantee the prosperity and wealth of the three of us for the rest of our lives? Will our names be included in the history books of the founding of the country?"

These words made the other two people's faces change immediately!
Wang Qiu Shuang was even more excited!
Yes, if we could directly capture Bianjing City and let His Highness enter the city, what a great achievement that would be! This would probably be enough to be written into the history books, right?

The two people never thought that a eunuch and a palace concubine would have the opportunity to leave their names in history!
There is no room for anything else in the minds of these two people. It is said that fortune and honor are sought in danger. Even if the current situation is unclear, they are willing to risk their lives and give it a try!
Feng'er caught the changes in the expressions of the two people from the corner of her eye.

Your Highness is right.

You have to give with sincerity, have routines, and draw the pie.

Now she didn't believe that these two people were not completely devoted to her.

Eunuch Yang was the first to speak up: "If that's the case, I can ask more about the military commanders. Recently, everyone in Bianjing City is in a state of panic. I'm sure there are many military commanders who want to earn a share of the credit for following the emperor, but perhaps they haven't found a way yet."

"Okay, but you must protect yourself and never expose yourself on the eve of success. Contact more officials in the court to see how many are willing to surrender to Jinzhou Prefecture. It is said that a single tree cannot make a forest, and it is not feasible for one person to seize Bianjing City." Feng'er looked at Wang Qiushuang again, "Is it possible to deliver the letter now?"

Wang Qiu Shuang immediately said, "People are strictly checked at the city gate, but the letters should be fine."

"Okay, I wrote a letter." Feng Er took out a letter from her bosom and handed it to Wang Qiu Shuang, "Find someone to deliver it to a young man named Ah Hui in Zhao's manor on the outskirts of the city."

Wang Qiu Shuang immediately knew that this young man named Ahui must be very unusual.

She quickly took it respectfully with both hands.

Then he heard the man ask again: "Where are the Queen and the Crown Prince? Is the Crown Prince still in Huaici Palace?"

"Yes, the Crown Prince is firmly in the hands of the Queen Mother and the Emperor. They hold the Emperor hostage to control the other princes, so naturally they have to keep the Crown Prince firmly under their control. The Queen still lives in the Qifeng Pavilion, and there are guards outside the palace."

"Holding the emperor hostage to control the princes?" Feng'er laughed softly. The woman had delicate features and her every move gave off a sense of mastery. "The princes have been beaten almost to pieces. What's the point of holding the emperor hostage? Zhou Mian is really confused. Now that the army has been defeated, if I were him, I would have packed up and fled overseas long ago."

Eunuch Yang said, "I think the emperor has gone insane. There are only three prefectures left standing around Bianjing City, and he only has 100,000 troops, yet he still dreams of taking back the Zhou family's kingdom. With His Royal Highness Prince Zhao approaching step by step, I'm afraid that within a few days, everyone in the palace will run away. What kind of emperor is this without an army and power?"

Even Wang Qiu Shuang said, "The Emperor is indeed confused. Isn't he afraid that these people will rush in and chop off his head to seek credit from the Jinzhou government?"

"Perhaps it's because he has many loyal servants protecting him, so no one can get close to him. But this won't last long. Once the cavalry from Jinzhou Prefecture arrives, the servants around the emperor will be useless."

Feng Er sighed, "These people won't release their eagles until they see the rabbit. Bianjing City is already in danger, and I don't know what to expect now. The real thing is to seize the opportunity to make meritorious deeds."

Feng'er frowned, as if she had thought of the key point, and her eyes lit up.

Thinking back to when they were in Zhangjia Village, His Highness raised his arm and called out, and countless like-minded people responded. If Feng'er imitated His Highness today and waved her hand in the Imperial City, would anyone respond?
"Friend Wang, where is the queen? Can we see her?"

Wang Qiu Shuang shook her head. "I'm afraid it won't be easy. The people outside the Qifeng Palace are all the people of the Emperor."

"Is it possible to break in from the inside?"

Wang Qiu Shuang shook her head, "I'm afraid the Queen doesn't have anyone from our side."

However, the eunuch Yang next to him hesitated to speak, so Feng Er looked at him and said, "Friend Yang, if you have anything to say, just say it. The three of us should trust each other more at this moment."

Eunuch Yang smiled, "That's not the case. It just occurred to me that when I was a young eunuch, I was responsible for sweeping the Fengqi Palace. There is a place in the backyard of the Queen's bedroom that can be entered and exited, but..."

Eunuch Yang stared at Feng Er with some embarrassment, "It's just that the passage is only wide enough for one person to enter and exit, and it's shaped like a dog hole—"

Feng Er laughed, "I thought it was something else, it turns out to be a dog hole."

Eunuch Yang pretended to cup his hands and said, "Excuse me, Your Excellency."

"What's wrong with crawling through a dog hole? We in Jinzhou Prefecture don't care about that. Who hasn't crawled through a dog hole when they were a kid? Being able to get things done is better than anything else."

Seeing that Feng Er really didn't care, Eunuch Yang was relieved. "Does the club member want to see the Queen?"

"That's right." Feng'er looked serious but relaxed, "After it gets dark, we'll go through the dog hole together—"