But if they don't do this, it will be impossible for all of the Queen Mother's party to show up, and it will be difficult for them to destroy the Queen Mother's party in one fell swoop.
Just when they were getting extremely anxious, King Huan Zhao Ceying walked into the hall wearing armor and carrying a sword.
"Father, mother, don't be afraid. I am here to protect you. As long as we hold on for a while, reinforcements will arrive."
The official's eyes swept over the eunuchs around him calmly, revealing a look of panic.
"Prince Huan, the safety of Funing Palace is now in your hands."
Zhao Ceying acted in coordination with his father and said in a deep voice, "Don't worry, father. You are the Son of Heaven and are blessed by heaven. How can these rebels hurt you? As long as I am still alive, I will never let anyone hurt you in the slightest."
After cooperating with his father and mother in acting, he immediately walked out of the Funing Palace and released the fireworks that had been prepared long ago.
Suddenly, a firework shot up into the sky, very clear and conspicuous in the dark sky.
Not far outside the capital, an army was lying in ambush in the darkness. When they saw the fireworks rising into the sky, they immediately took action and headed towards the city of Bianjing.
At the same time, on the other side outside the city, Zhou Chen also saw the fireworks rising into the sky. A smile appeared on his lips, and he waved to the soldiers behind him.
He served as the commander-in-chief of the cavalry for several years and the commander-in-chief of the palace guard for several more years. There was almost nothing he didn't know about the imperial guards inside and outside the capital. Although he couldn't mobilize all the imperial guards at this critical moment, as long as he could mobilize a part of them, it would be enough for him to quell the chaos in the city of Bianliang.
This time, the takeover of the Imperial Guards was not as smooth as the last time. It was only after he killed two generals who were unwilling to obey him that he successfully took over the Dragon Guard Army and the Tianwu Army.
There are a total of 30,000 troops. Even if the government has a backup plan, 30,000 troops are enough to succeed.
"set off!"
…………
Tonight, the city of Bianjing was no longer peaceful since nightfall. The streets were full of imperial guards running rampant, and they kept knocking on the mansions of powerful officials, causing a huge commotion.
Duke Jingguo’s Mansion!
Hua Lan was sitting in the main hall of the front yard, surrounded by guards from the Duke of Jingguo's Mansion. The Zhou family members from each courtyard stayed in their own courtyard and were not allowed to move around without permission.
"Madam, there is chaos outside. Many soldiers are killing and burning people everywhere."
The guard who went outside to inquire about the situation returned to the Duke's Mansion and immediately reported the situation outside to Hualan.
Hualan looked calm because Zhou Chen had already given her a heads-up.
"Inform everyone that you have worked hard tonight, do not rest, guard all the gates of the Duke's Mansion, do not let anyone in, and if anyone dares to break in by force, kill them on the spot without mercy."
Upon hearing Hualan's order, guards Yuancai and Cao Er, who had been prepared, responded loudly.
"Yes."
In the imperial palace, inside the Funing Hall, the emperor looked very unhappy.
"Has the reinforcement not arrived yet?"
Zhao Ceying's face was also filled with sweat and fear. According to the agreement, after he set off the fireworks, the reinforcements should be led by Shen Congxing, General Geng and General Xiao Duan, and quickly enter the city and attack the imperial palace.
But so much time has passed and reinforcements have not yet appeared. I'm afraid that unexpected troubles have arisen along the way.
"Father, reinforcements should be arriving soon. Let's wait a little longer."
It was obvious that Guan Jia was about to give up at this time. Originally, he was fully confident, but as time passed, the reinforcements still did not appear. Naturally, he was very panicked.
You know, he had been planning for this day for a long time. He was about to reap the rewards, but failed at the most critical moment. How could he not be anxious?
Empress Shen was also anxious and frightened, but at this time she could only suppress her nervousness and speak out to comfort the emperor.
"Your Majesty, please wait a little longer. It should be here soon. Your Majesty is the son of destiny. You will surely turn danger into safety."
The official was about to speak when suddenly there was a loud shouting and screaming outside, and then it seemed as if thousands of troops appeared, and the sounds of fighting and screaming were endless.
The official immediately showed great joy: "Here they come, here they come, it must be the prince's uncle and his men."
Queen Shen, Prince Huan and others also showed their joy. As long as Uncle Shen and his army appeared, all the rebellions would be quelled.
However, they did not notice that an eunuch in the crowd had a disdainful sneer on his face, and was watching the inexplicably excited officials and others with cold eyes.
The sound of fighting did not last long, and soon the shouting and killing outside ended. But after the shouting and killing stopped, there was suddenly no sound outside, and it suddenly became extremely quiet, so quiet that it was scary.
"No sound, the fighting is over. Uncle, why haven't General Geng and the others come in yet?"
The official pricked up his ears and listened, but heard no more movement. However, no one came to report or come in, so he became suspicious.
Zhao Ceying said with a serious face: "Father, Mother, please wait a moment. I will go out to see what is going on."
He walked towards the gate of Funing Palace, but before he took a few steps, the gate of Funing Palace was suddenly knocked open, and then a group of soldiers rushed into the palace.
After these soldiers rushed in, they quickly surrounded everyone in the Funing Palace, and then stood there, motionless, staring at everyone in the palace with grim expressions.
"Tianwu Army!"
King Huan was also a military general and he often trained his troops in the western suburbs camp. He was relatively familiar with all the imperial guards around the capital, so after seeing the armor and appearance of these soldiers, he quickly recognized their identities.
But it was because of this that his expression changed drastically, because the army led by his uncle Shen Congxing and others was not the Tianwu Army.
Thinking of this, his face suddenly changed, and he quickly retreated to the front of the official and the queen, shouting: "Protect His Majesty."
The few soldiers and eunuchs who existed only hurriedly surrounded the emperor and the queen to protect them.
The emperor also realized that something was wrong, and he nervously asked Zhao Ceying: "Prince Huan, what's going on?"
Zhao Ceying said in a deep voice: "Father, this is the Tianwu Army, not our people."
"What? The Tianwu Army, shouldn't the Tianwu Army be in the western suburbs camp? Without my order, who dares to mobilize them? Who can mobilize them?"
The emperor's face suddenly changed, full of panic. He had already begun planning to take control of the military power, so he was familiar with the imperial guards and troops inside and outside the city of Bianjing. The Tianwu Army was one of the most elite imperial guards of the Song Dynasty. Without his order and the tiger talisman, no one should be able to mobilize it.
But the Tianwu Army appeared here, and he was completely unaware of it, which meant that the Tianwu Army had completely lost control.
"Could it be the Queen Mother? But how could she mobilize the Tianwu Army?"
He knew very well that his purpose this time was to eradicate the Queen Mother's party. Since the Tianwu Army was not transferred by him, it must be related to the Queen Mother. But the Queen Mother had no military power at all, so how could she mobilize the army in the Western Suburbs Camp?
Also, where did the army he arranged, including Shen Congxing, go? Why haven't they appeared yet?
Just when he was puzzled, suddenly he heard a series of footsteps, as if a lot of people were approaching and walking into the Funing Palace.
When the official saw the elegant and imposing woman walking in front, his face turned extremely ugly.
Sure enough, he guessed correctly. These people were arranged by the Queen Mother. While he was plotting against the Queen Mother, the Queen Mother was also plotting against him. But what made him despair was that it now seemed that his plot had failed and the Queen Mother was more skilled.
When the empress dowager approached and was about ten steps away from the emperor and others, she stopped.
Suddenly, a man walked out from the team of eunuchs behind the emperor. It was Li, the eunuch beside the emperor, and also the eunuch beside the late emperor.
He quickly walked to the Queen Mother, knelt down and reported: "My dear Queen Mother, I have fulfilled your orders."
The Queen Mother looked at Li Neiguan, nodded with satisfaction, and stretched out her hand to help him up: "Get up."
"Thank you, Madam."
After Eunuch Li stood up, he walked skillfully to stand behind the empress dowager and looked at the emperor and others with an expressionless face.
The emperor glared at Li Neiguan angrily and said angrily: "I have known for a long time that you cannot be trusted, but I have always given you chances. It seems that you still have not changed."
Li Neiguan said calmly, "I have always been loyal to the late emperor and the empress. Your Majesty, your throne was passed down to you by the late emperor and the empress. But after you took the throne, you repeatedly violated the will of the empress and the late emperor. You are truly ungrateful."
"Bold."
The emperor shouted angrily, pointing at Li Neiguan and scolding: "You are a disabled person, and you dare to say bad things about me, you..."
"emperor."
The empress dowager suddenly spoke, interrupting the official's scolding.
"You are the emperor of the Song Dynasty after all. How can you quarrel with an eunuch? A small family is a small family after all. Even if you become the emperor, you will not be able to rise to power."
The emperor stared at the empress dowager, took a deep breath, and suppressed the uneasiness and panic in his heart.
"Madam, are you going to force the emperor to abdicate today?"
"Forced into the palace?"
The Queen Mother couldn't help laughing out loud: "The Emperor is really good at talking. You laid such a big net, didn't you just want to put me to death? Now that things have come to this, you say that I forced the emperor to abdicate. The Emperor is really good at shirking responsibility."
The emperor's face turned pale. He could not refute the empress dowager's words because they were all true. It was indeed a trap he had set up, but he did not expect that he would not catch his opponent but himself.
"Your Highness is truly a master at foresight. It looks like I lost, but I want to know how I lost and why you were able to mobilize the Tianwu Army."
The Queen Mother said: "Although it is said that every emperor has his own ministers, there are still people in the court who are loyal to the late emperor and me."
As they were talking, a person suddenly walked in from outside and came before the Queen Mother.
"Madam, everyone outside has been controlled."
The Queen Mother nodded in satisfaction and praised, "Very good, thank you for your hard work, Zhou Qing."
"Your Highness, thank you for your praise. It is my duty to serve you."
Zhou Chen replied very humbly.
That's right, he finally chose the Queen Mother, and tonight he was here to clear the obstacles for her.
The emperor did not trust him, but it was different for the empress dowager. There were not many available people around the empress dowager now. Once he came to the emperor, he would naturally become the most important person around the empress dowager.
In addition, he took refuge with the Queen Mother because she could help him accomplish things that the government could not. Only by taking refuge with the Queen Mother could his next plan proceed more smoothly.
"Duke Jingguo, it's you. Aren't you seriously injured by poisoning and bedridden?"
When Guan Jia saw Zhou Chen, he could not hide his shock, but he quickly reacted.
"You weren't poisoned at all, you were just pretending. You've been in cahoots with the Empress Dowager for a long time, right?"
Zhou Chen replied calmly: "Your Majesty misunderstood. I was indeed poisoned. If I wasn't poisoned, how could I have hidden it from the imperial physician? But my physical fitness is better, so I recovered faster."
The emperor stared at Zhou Chen angrily: "It seems that I really underestimated you, Duke Jingguo, you are really great, but without my decree and the tiger talisman, how can you mobilize the imperial guards?"
"Although I don't have your Majesty's order or the tiger talisman, I do have the Empress's decree."
"How can one control the Tianwu Army with just an imperial decree?"
Zhou Chen said in a deep voice: "With the order of the Grand Empress, we need extraordinary measures at extraordinary times."
Zhao Ceying suddenly roared, "Duke Jingguo, do you know what you are doing? I have always thought that you are a first-class hero in the world, but today you actually did such a disrespectful and treasonous thing."
Zhou Chen said indifferently: "The late emperor and the empress have been very kind to me. I have the status and power I have now because of them. I have always been loyal to them, so I cannot understand what the treasonous act that Your Highness Prince Huan is talking about is."
"you……"
Zhao Ceying glared at Zhou Chen. The appearance of Zhou Chen was something that neither he nor his son had expected. Now he understood that the reason why their reinforcements did not arrive in time was probably related to Zhou Chen. Not only did they encounter trouble here, but something big might have happened to Uncle Shen and his men as well.
"Have you said enough?"
The Queen Mother took a step forward and looked at Emperor Zhao Zongquan and his family with a cold gaze.
"Emperor, you were originally just a military commander of Yuzhou. It was the late emperor who valued you and gave you the opportunity to succeed the throne. But after you succeeded the throne, you did not think of the late emperor's kindness. You repeatedly violated the late emperor's will and political views and attempted to replace the emperor. You are the one who truly has no loyalty to the emperor or the father."
The emperor looked at the empress dowager and asked, "Is it because of this matter that you want to depose me?"
The Queen Mother said coldly: "Emperor, don't make yourself sound so innocent. I want to depose you, but don't you also want to get rid of me?"
The official said in a serious tone: "Your Highness has misunderstood. I have never intended to hurt you. I just want to get rid of those people who gossip around you and have bad intentions."
"Emperor, do you think I will believe you?"
The Queen Mother naturally would not believe the Emperor. He and Zhao Zongquan had no mother-son relationship at all. Ever since Zhao Zongquan ascended the throne, he had always wanted to get rid of her, betrayed her, and even wanted to get rid of her, so she was only dissatisfied and angry with Zhao Zongquan.
The emperor glanced around the Funing Palace, then said resignedly, "The victors take the spoils, now that things have come to this, how does the Empress want to deal with me?"
As soon as she finished speaking, Queen Shen suddenly rushed out and knelt down in front of the Queen Mother.
"My Lady, His Majesty has never thought of harming you. Please forgive His Majesty for the sake of our past. I am willing to bear all the blame."
"Queen, please stop pretending in front of me. I have already seen through what kind of people you two are."
The Queen Mother showed her disdain. She looked down on Zhao Zongquan and also looked down on Queen Shen. She felt that both of them were just pretending, especially the Queen, who pretended to be pitiful and wronged all day long, which made her feel annoyed.
After all, she had been the queen for decades. How could she not see through Queen Shen's thoughts and actions?
Take the marriage of Shen Congxing and Zhang Guifen for example. If the emperor really wanted to win over the Duke of Ying, couldn't he just take Zhang Guifen into the harem as a concubine? Why did he have to let Shen Congxing marry Zhang Guifen? Wasn't it Empress Shen who was interfering for the sake of her own family and her younger brother?
"Zhou Qing, go ahead and take them all down."
(End of this chapter)
Chapter 1175 Decades later, the world returned to Zhou
Zhou Chen waved his hand, and the surrounding soldiers immediately rushed towards the official Zhao Zongquan and others.
The eunuchs and palace maids were so frightened that they pissed their pants on the spot. They knelt on the ground and begged for mercy, allowing the soldiers to control them.
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