country

The prince's stupid and careless assassination act, in his own opinion, just felt that he was full-fledged and could easily get rid of the thorn in his side. Waiting for the first assassin to run away, for this assassination operation, he even drew the map of Xin'an Palace in detail.

The result of the shortfall, apart from the empress dowager's denunciation of his disappointment, is that he is facing a huge political crisis.Leaving aside the characters behind the three excerpts, even the big and small officials in the capital felt disdain and indignation from the bottom of their hearts for such a stupid assassination of the prince. The transition passed silently, and everyone acquiesced to the crown prince's ascension to the throne no matter whether they were willing or unwilling. It was really unexpected that His Royal Highness, who was supported by everyone with all their strength, did not know which muscle was wrong, and actually ignited this political flame. The transitional period that was originally calm and smooth changed its original appearance in an instant, and became fraught with danger.

With regard to the handling of the three scriptures, no matter whether it is willing or not, the imperial court cannot make any gesture of compromise. Although the queen mother is old, her tough temper has not softened with the passage of time. He wrote three zhezi, and severely reprimanded the three owners of the zhezi, claiming that these three are ministers who have always been relied on by the Great Chu Kingdom. Seriously, it really chilled the royal family, the imperial court was furious, and angrily reprimanded the three ministers to submit a letter of guilt, which was decided by the imperial court.

At this time, Kyoto is already covered with dark clouds.

On the night of the fourth prince's disappearance, the prince and the party immediately reminded the prince that Ye's family, the root of the fourth prince, still lives in the capital.After the prince asked the queen mother for instructions, according to the queen mother's order, he immediately deployed the garrison to surround Ye Guogong's mansion in Kyoto. Originally, the prince still maintained his arrogance and dignity as a prince at the beginning, waiting for the Ye family to come out to greet him, but later he found out that they Surrounded by only an empty mansion with no important people, except for the servants and maids, the important people of the Ye family left the capital quietly overnight, leaving no smoke behind.

Not only that, but there was something even more strange that night. The Liu family of Duke Liu, who had never been seen to be biased towards any prince on the bright side, disappeared at the same time like the Ye family on this night, leaving only the empty mansion .

Being able to escape the eyes of the Kyoto Prefecture and the Metropolitan Procuratorate, a large group of people quietly left the capital from under the eyes of the royal family is really amazing news. It can also be seen from this that the two royal families are obviously It has been prepared for a long time.

With His Majesty the Emperor dead, who can control the ambitious royal family?

All civil and military officials noticed that a storm seemed to be about to start after a foolish assassination of the prince.

Although they are firmly supporting the queen mother and the prince, just in case, at the request of Lan Wuqing Shuzheng, a scholar of the Imperial Academy, and a group of upright officials, the purple clothes of the Kyoto Prefecture were sent to control the princes who are still in the capital. Perhaps everyone in the Yongguo Company Tu family is worried in their hearts that the three royal families who have always checked and balanced each other will secretly unite because of the death of His Majesty the Emperor to launch the most powerful military coup since the dynasty.

The Situ family is calm, like a huge stone standing in the capital, quietly.

Although they didn't realize the plan of the Liu family and the Ye family to withdraw from the capital, the spies of the Metropolitan Procuratorate soon found out that, as everyone expected, the Liu family moved into the Beilin Camp which was less than forty miles away from the capital. The family settled in Nanlin Daying, which is only fifty miles away from Kyoto.

Just like the dragon entering the sea and the tiger returning to the mountain, the two royal families who have been keeping calm all this time finally let the world know their strongest cards and their influence on the two garrison troops.

The two garrison armies greeted the arrival of the two royal families just like their emperors. As soon as the royal families entered the barracks, they did not hesitate to carry out a round of bloody cleansing work. The officials were immediately executed within two hours after the arrival of the royal family. The confidants of the royal family hiding in the camp did not hesitate to slash their swords at their usual superiors and companions. At the time of the lecture, there were no "outsiders" they thought of in their army!

The Nanlin camp is strong, and now with the addition of the Liu family's Beilin camp and the clown-like but terrifying Muzhou battalion, the total strength exceeds [-]. This is a force that makes the entire capital feel panic.

No one knows how these three armies were connected in the first phase, nor when they formed an alliance. Since the top figures of the three armies jointly signed a letter, they naturally got together.

It's nothing more than a camp in Wuzhou, the Ye family may have many ways to bribe them, not to mention the majesty of the fourth prince, but the Liu family and Liu Guogong are also involved, which many people can't think of.

The face-to-face confrontation between the crown prince and the fourth prince, in the eyes of many people, will eventually be a duel between the Nanlin Camp and the Shenwu Camp. One piece, this... is really intriguing.

Could it be that the Liu family, who has been doing nothing for many years, has been secretly supporting the fourth prince Liu Zifu?

In this way, the characters of the Liu family are really rich. For so many years, even the inspectors and the Kyoto government have not found a trace of the news.

It's just that the letter of guilt did not come, but the court instead waited for a concise letter from the other party!

"There are monsters in Kyoto, get rid of them and protect Dachu!"

……

……

When the Empress Dowager was temporarily in charge of the prince, the civil and military officials in Kyoto wore white filial piety in honor of His Majesty the Emperor, but they had to leave the Moral Palace where the emperor's crystal ice coffin was placed, and discuss matters in the Qianlin Hall.

The content of the discussion is very simple, just because of such a simple letter.

The rain is coming from the wind!

"They reversed!"

Seeing the letter submitted, all ministers with a little wisdom know the true meaning of this sentence.

In the long history of the Great Chu Kingdom for a hundred years, local turmoil is naturally inevitable, and even some palace coups occurred in Kyoto. This is an event and experience that cannot be avoided in all dynasties.But in all fairness, since the founding of the state of Chu and the founding of the Great Chu State, and the establishment of Kyoto as the capital, in the long history of so many years, the city of Kyoto itself has not suffered from the baptism of war. Thick, but the degree of fame and prosperity created is definitely no less than that of any previous dynasty.

Perhaps... the capital city of the Great Chu Dynasty, which has never experienced war, will be baptized by war this time.

The queen mother behind the curtain is already very old and old. The departure of His Majesty the emperor has made her feel the sorrow of white people giving black people away. Now the ineffective prince has given the royal family an excuse for rebellion. The whole capital is facing a huge disaster. However, an old man had no choice but to stand up at this time. In order to continue the orthodoxy of Da Chu, she had to face everything that was about to happen, and she had to have the courage and methods to deal with it all.

At this time, the ordinary courtiers really realized why His Majesty the Emperor is so afraid of the three royal families. Their foundation in the army is really deep-rooted. At this moment of real showdown, the imperial court turned out to be very pale and powerless. Thinking of the troops that could reach the capital in half a day, the court was silent.

"This group of traitors...shameless traitors...!" The crown prince writhed restlessly and angrily on the governor's seat next to the dragon seat, his face was pale not only because of anger but also because of fear.

Lan Wuqing immediately went out to play and said: "His Royal Highness, you are the crown prince, so you should refrain from speaking."

As soon as the prince heard the words, he was about to get angry. Seeing that it was played by Lan Wuqing, he forced himself to suppress his anger. Even the arrogant and stupid prince was quite afraid of this upright scholar of the Hanlin Academy, so he tried to let himself His tone was calmer: "Brother Lan, you said that I should refrain from talking, so... where do you start?"

Lan Wuqing said seriously: "His Royal Highness, after all, Duke Liu and Duke Ye are important ministers of our Great Chu. Although they behave suspiciously, so far, they have not made any rebellious words against the imperial court, let alone any rebellious actions. Calling them traitors at this time is quite inappropriate!"

The prince's face twitched, but he didn't refute.

There was a soft sigh from behind the curtain, and the empress dowager's vicissitudes of life sounded slowly: "Prince, you are young and frivolous, and there are some things that you should not say out of your mouth lightly. University scholar Lan is right. Liu Guogong and Ye Guogong belong to my great Chu family." Loyal ministers, traitors, how can they be used on them... But, dear friends, you have read the letters they replied, who can understand the meaning? I would like to know how to explain this sentence .”

This is a sensitive period, and ordinary courtiers come to the court, just to put on a show, it is not an exaggeration to call it a display, they dare not express any opinions easily.

However, the censors of Yushitai can occupy a place in the court because of their mouths that dare to speak.

"His Royal Highness the Empress Dowager, I believe that the death of the Holy Dragon is a time of mourning for the whole country. There will always be some twists and turns at such moments. If the twists and turns are to be invisible, the court must be more magnanimous." So Sima Feng Leaving the class, he said bluntly: "The crown prince of the prince's country is naturally broad-minded. At this moment, I think that the prince should send people to the Nanlin camp and the Beilin camp to meet the two princes, and even the fourth prince." , explain clearly, only in this way can it be possible to resolve this misunderstanding."

A few censors came out immediately, Qi claimed it was true, and some officials said: "The new collapse of the Holy One is just the time to strive for the stability of the capital. It is not appropriate to draw swords and bows. Only by turning hostility into friendship is the great Chu's fortune."

The courtiers immediately discussed, obviously they wanted the prince to condescend and send someone to compromise with the Duke and the Fourth Prince.

Although the prince is stupid, he is not stupid enough to be an idiot. He sneered and said, "Sima Yushi, what do you mean, you want me to send someone to negotiate a peace? Hehe, since the fourth son joined the three families to write a letter with an arrogant tone, it is natural Is it because they didn't take the imperial court seriously, once they send someone to make peace, they will become more unscrupulous, thinking that the imperial court is afraid of them, and by then, it will be even more detrimental to the capital?" He looked at Sima with disdain Feng glanced at him: "Don't you understand the fourth brother's thoughts? Now that the father has passed away, his ambition is completely exposed. Maybe he just wants to take this opportunity to seize my throne...!"

"Shut up!" The queen mother couldn't help shouting behind the curtain: "Prince, what are you talking nonsense about?"

The prince was stunned, and was scolded by the queen mother in front of all civil and military officials in the court hall. Although it was extremely embarrassing, he didn't dare to show any dissatisfaction with this old lady, and just shut up obediently.

The queen mother pondered for a long time before slowly saying: "What Sima Yushi said is very true. Since the two princes asked us to give an answer, we will send someone to give them an answer and explanation. And we still have to ask, they He said that there are monsters in Kyoto, who are these monsters?" He snorted coldly, and said in a solemn tone: "I want to let the world see clearly that the imperial court is not giving them a chance, nor is it that the imperial court is sorry for them... If They want to take the risk and do something that will last forever, and I am willing to accompany you!"

The old queen's voice was resounding. Although she was old, the power in her words lifted the spirits of every official who sincerely supported the imperial court.

"Good ministers of Great Chu, you don't need to worry...!" The old queen mother gave the ministers the last and most important safety: "The sky will not fall, and the army of King Wuluqin is heading to the capital. I have a hundred thousand soldiers. fear!"

These words made those courtiers who were still hesitating even more rejoiced. They had been afraid of the arrival of the royal army. For Kyoto, it was a disaster. It is not capable of resisting the well-trained Kyoto garrison. Now that the old queen has 5000 soldiers and a five-way king's army, what is there to worry about?

Only a few people know that the Queen Mother's words are really... really deceiving themselves!

Li Zifu of the Metropolitan Procuratorate and the senior officials of the Privy Council knew very well that the King Qin document signed by the Privy Council was affixed with jade seals, and the secret agents of the Metropolitan Procuratorate were sent out of Beijing with the documents to the nearby state capitals to order the prefectures to make preparations. To ensure the smooth delivery of the documents, two spies were sent to each route, and a total of nearly twenty spies were sent out of Beijing, but until now, none of the twenty spies has returned to Beijing.

The Metropolitan Procuratorate, who is well versed in the ways of darkness, judged in no time. If nothing unexpected, the royal family had already laid a net around the capital, and the elite spies sent out may have fallen into the net of the royal family.

In other words, the royal family was fully prepared to rebel and cut off the connection between Kyoto and the outer state capitals for a while.

Of course the Empress Dowager knew about this situation. Although she didn't open the banner, these tower peak figures in the Great Chu Kingdom knew that the royal family was ready for rebellion.

Perhaps when His Majesty's Palace began to vomit blood, the royal family began to have ambitions around the corner. From then on, they began to plan something and make some preparations.

After the court meeting, Yushitai dispatched two brave censors with sharp mouths like knives to the two major military camps to lobby Liu Guogong and Ye Guogong.

Although many people know that this is just a formal struggle, it is impossible for the royal family to waste the planned actions because of the court's few words, and in the mouth of the royal family, they are definitely not rebels. After all, there are four princes. Their banner, in terms of ability alone, the fourth prince is definitely more qualified to inherit the throne of Da Chu than the crown prince, but the court had to make this seemingly low-profile action.

In the city of Kyoto, the garrison has already boarded the top of the city, and a large number of arrows are placed on the high top of the city. What's more, Xuanyuan Chou, the general of the garrison, has ordered his subordinates to start gathering large pots. The boiling water is enough to drench the siege soldiers into roast suckling pigs.

In addition to the active preparations made by the capital city, the majestic imperial palace in the city has also begun to be on guard. The heavily armed Habayashi guards guard the nine gates of the imperial palace. All have to go through strict inspection by Habayashi Guard.

It's just that the capital city has not passed through a dangerous moment for too long, so the sudden cloud this time made the people and soldiers very uncomfortable.

The common people were unavoidably trembling, but the soldiers were also a little dazed. They didn't know the real reason. They stood on the high city wall and looked at the peaceful land around the capital. They really didn't know why the court had to be so strict.

Da Chu Deqing March 18, 24th year.

The censor sent to the two major military camps returned to the capital in disgrace, and brought back only one answer.

The royal family believed that the prince was stubborn by nature, and that the prince was planning to assassinate his own brothers when he was newly deceased. With such a tiger-wolf heart, how could he be responsible for the century-old foundation of the Great Chu, and the fourth prince's benevolence, righteousness and filial piety are the most suitable for the royal family The heir to the throne, the two royal families of Liu and Ye tried their best to recommend and support the four princes as the new king.

This is already a declaration of rebellion.

Even if the queen mother is more restrained, even if she doesn't want the situation to become serious, even if she doesn't want the nightmare that she worries about all the time to become a reality, she still has to issue a stern order, even ordering the two princes and the governor of Mozhou to go to the court to plead guilty.

April 18, 25th year of Dachu.

Nanlin Daying was divided into two groups, advancing from the East Road and South Road to Kyoto. At the same time, [-] troops from the Beilin Daying Camp advanced to the North Gate of Kyoto, and [-] elite troops from the Wuzhou Camp advanced to the West Gate of Kyoto. With great momentum, under the banner of the Fourth Prince, they began to besiege the capital.

The four-way army, with a total of 7 people, armed with the most advanced siege weapons of Dachu, was preparing to capture this capital city that had not been baptized by war for nearly a hundred years.

The 2 defenders of Kyoto guarded the four gates, resisting the strong with the weak, and barely prepared to attack.

On the same day, there were continuous fires and assassinations in the city of Kyoto. Many princes and party officials died on the streets in this assassination. Many mansions were in flames, and the people of Kyoto were silent.

This is a destructive action by the royal family and the remnants of the four princes in the corresponding peripheral troops in the capital city.

The Kyoto Prefecture and the Metropolitan Procuratorate had no choice but to devote their energies to stabilizing the internal situation in Kyoto.

……

The war seems to be imminent!