Empress Chu

Page 245

All eyes were on Deng Yi.

Deng Yi looked at them silently and smiled.

"Since you told the prince and helped him escape, you must know something." Ning Kun pleaded, "Teacher, who is going to kill the prince?"

"The lord has already sent the prince to the capital as a hostage, and he has also sent [-] soldiers and horses. Now that the frontier army has won a great victory, how could anyone want to harm the lord?" An official in the hall beat his chest and stamped his feet.

This is not a question, it is simply a name.

Deng Yi was too lazy to listen to their noise, and said, "The first emperor."

First Emperor?

This statement caught everyone by surprise.

Ning Kun frowned, and then looked angry and disbelieving: "I don't believe it! Impossible!"

"If the first emperor wanted the prince to die, why would he wait until now?" an official also shouted.

Deng Yi said: "What I mean is that because of the late emperor, today's prince died."

After saying this, he continued without waiting for the people in the hall to ask further questions.

"Do you know that when something happened in the capital three years ago, who did the late emperor designate as the crown prince and inherit the great line before his death?"

"It's the little emperor's grandson." An official blurted out.

Everyone knows, the prince's only son.

Deng Yi looked at the various faces and expressions in the hall, and inexplicably thought of that night overlooking from the palace gate, but this time the girl was no longer in sight.

Perhaps, that was the way it should have been, he had meant to open the door for someone else.

Deng Yi looked at Xiao Xun.

"No." He shook his head, stretched out his hand and pointed lightly, "It's the eldest son Xiao Xun."

Chapter 56 His Words

Today's Zhongshan King's birthday, Zhongshan Palace prepared a lot of surprises for the guests, but they didn't expect that the programs they prepared hadn't started yet, shocking things happened one after another.

King Zhongshan was lying on the ground, his robe was stained with blood.

The prince who was far away in the capital and the high-ranking Taifu Deng Yi suddenly appeared in the Zhongshan Palace.

Deng Yi said that the eldest son is the crown prince appointed by the late emperor.

In other words, the crown prince should have been the emperor!

Although many people were blocked outside the hall, the previous sentence could block sight but not sound. People standing outside heard it immediately, and then it spread even more.

Among them, two father and son looked at each other in astonishment.

When they drove into the city earlier, they murmured that King Zhongshan was more suitable to be emperor than the young emperor, but since the first emperor chose the young emperor, it would be out of courtesy for King Zhongshan to fight for the throne again, and he would be a traitor.

But if the first emperor had chosen Zhongshan Wang's lineage, the result would be different!

King Zhongshan is orthodox!

The officials in the hall obviously thought more clearly, and surrounded Deng Yi for a moment, "What's going on?" "Teacher, what you said is true?" "Oh my God."

King Zhongshan, who was lying on the ground at the time of life and death, was forgotten instead.

It was still the princess who was half shocked and half caring about King Zhongshan, interrupted the noise, wiped her tears and told: "First arrange the prince well, and then invite the Taifu to come in and talk about it in detail."

Only then did everyone get busy. Although they hadn't recovered from the shock, they didn't have the panic they had before. The doctors in blouses and their hands covering their mouths and noses carried King Zhongshan into the bed in the resting place behind the flower hall. The poisoned doctor He was also taken down for treatment, and the guests were not allowed to leave for the time being, but they were placed in the hall and sat down, and hot tea and snacks were also brought over.

Of course, this did not comfort the guests. Everyone sat or stood, whispered to each other, and looked behind from time to time. This time, the house heavily blocked the sight and sound, and they could no longer hear what the people inside said. It doesn't matter anymore, the most important thing is that everyone has seen and heard it.

King Zhongshan was poisoned by the court.

Grand Tutor Deng Yi appeared.

Deng Yi said that the eldest son is the crown prince appointed by the late emperor.

The hall was buzzing.

In the inner room, Deng Yi was once again surrounded by the officials of the princess and palace for questioning.

Deng Yi also gave the answer: "Your lineage of King Zhongshan was once accused by the former emperor as inheriting the throne, so the current emperor does not allow you to exist."

"Teacher, is this true or not?" The princess wiped her tears and asked, "But we never knew."

"That's right, since the first emperor designated the son as the crown prince, why don't we know?" the officials asked.

Someone else went to ask Xiao Xun.

"Does my son know?"

Everyone also recalled that Xiao Xun was in the capital at that time.

After inviting Deng Yi back to the hall, Xiao Xun didn't speak any more. He just stayed beside King Zhongshan, staring at King Zhongshan in a daze, and wiped the blood on King Zhongshan's face with his hand wrapped in an oilcloth, as if cutting off the surrounding area. Everything, until the officials repeatedly asked, he raised his eyes blankly.

"I don't know." He said, "When the capital was in chaos, there was news in the imperial city telling me not to move in the post. I had been hiding in the post, but suddenly the post was also besieged and killed. , Tieying led me to escape."

Deng Yi smiled and said: "Your Majesty doesn't know, because this decree has not been spread to the imperial city." He looked up at everyone in the hall again.

These people have different expressions, some are frightened, restless, nervous and sad.

But how true or false are these expressions for outsiders to see?

Really boring.

However, it is also very interesting, they are all waiting for a word from themselves, and their words are like a gorgeous coat.

In the capital, he has the name of Taifu, and holds the jade seal and tiger amulet in his hand. Many people support him, support him and help him, in order to use him to put on a gorgeous coat of power.

This is the case in the capital, and so is the King's Mansion of Zhongshan.

They needed him, and he gave them what they needed.

No matter who it is, Deng Yi still wants to be the clothes bearer.

"When the first emperor wanted to deliver the decree." Deng Yi said slowly, "Chu's daughter and Xie's private soldiers were kidnapped."

The room froze for a while, and then there was an uproar.

……

……

There are soldiers and horses stationed outside Zhongshan County from [-] prefectures, all transferred from various places. Their task is to strictly guard Zhongshan County.

Standing on the first Minggang Tunbao, looking out, you can see the barracks on the opposite side.

Since the First World War a year ago, Zhongshan County has not concealed its military strength, and the King of Zhongshan has blatantly raised private soldiers.

"There are no horses and carriages on the road today." The general next to him said in a low voice, "My good fellow, celebrating Zhongshan King's birthday is even bigger than the battle for the new emperor's enthronement."

"When the new emperor came to the throne, Zhongshan County was still wearing sackcloth and filial piety, without any congratulatory gifts." Another general whispered.

The captain interrupted them with a light cough: "It doesn't matter if there are many people from Zhongshan County going in to congratulate, as long as there are not countless people from Zhongshan County suddenly rushing to the capital to give gifts, that's fine."

Both generals know what this sentence means. They don't believe that the King of Zhongshan will send congratulatory gifts to the imperial court. He has already sent it once before. In the end, the emperor went to fight in person. If the queen hadn't entered Zhongshan from the border county in time The county trapped King Zhongshan. At this moment, I don't know what's going on in Daxia.

It's a scuffle inside and out.

"But—" a general could not help but whisper, "sooner or later—"

He stopped talking here, but the other two knew what he meant, and the stalemate between the court and Zhongshan King would not last forever.

Now that the imperial court has achieved a great victory in Yunzhong County and solved Xiliang, it has the energy to deal with King Zhongshan.

At least the king of Zhongshan will not be allowed to hold another [-] soldiers and horses, and Zhongshan County will not be ruled as if it were splitting the ground.

The three of them stood on the castle and looked into the distance, thinking about each other, when suddenly a group of people appeared in their sight.

This is about 30 soldiers and horses, obviously coming from the barracks of Zhongshan County, getting closer, getting closer——

Until the guards here shouted, "The imperial court is a place where soldiers and horses are heavy, don't get close."

The 30 soldiers and horses stopped, and the hoofs of the horses pawed on the ground, making a noisy sound, which made the generals standing not far away watching this scene slightly nervous.

"I'll wait for the emperor's decree, come here to meet the talisman." The leading soldier shouted loudly, holding an imperial edict in his hand.

Imperial decree?The captain on the castle was startled.

"The imperial court's team to present King Zhongshan's birthday just entered." A general said in a low voice.

Maybe they brought it over.

The captain nodded and signaled to the guards, who had already taken the edict and galloped forward. The captain checked and saw that it was an order to mobilize soldiers and horses. Although the order was a bit puzzled, the jade seal was correct.

In addition to the jade seal, there is also half a tiger talisman.

The Tiger Talisman is also correct.

It doesn't matter whether the soldiers and horses of Zhongshan Wangjun obey the orders of the court, but they must listen.

The school lieutenant signaled to let the 30 people come over, and returned the edict and the tiger talisman.

"General Anton is in the main camp." He said, pointing to the rear.

The leading general raised his hand to salute, without further words, he led his troops through the fort and left.

……

……

At the same time, the closed city gate in Zhongshan County opened.

Although it was not as crowded as when they entered the city, there were still many horses and chariots driving out.

They have officials, aristocratic families, soldiers, and Confucian scholars. They ride different horses and chariots, and gallop to different places.

……

……

Post stations in many states and counties outside Zhongshan County also ushered in new post reports.

"Is this going to Jiangzhou?" In a post station, the postman took the post letter and looked left and right, and then looked at the group of post soldiers, "Where are you from? Do you have a letter from the official waist card?"

It is natural to verify the identity of the post station to convey the post letter.

This group of post soldiers did not declare their identities, nor did they show their official badges, but only a letter of order.

"We are waiting for the emperor's secret order." The leader of the post said, "There is the emperor's jade seal."

Yicheng looked at the letter, of course he recognized that the seal on it was indeed the emperor's jade seal, anyone who could hold such a letter could be called an envoy of the emperor.

But instead of respectfully saluting and backing away as before, he hesitated and took out an imperial edict.

"The imperial court has an edict from the empress." He said, "Strictly investigate the order of the emperor, so please show your official badges."

This line of post soldiers looked at each other, then suddenly raised their hands and drew their swords——

"Come on—" the Yi Cheng had been on guard for a long time, shouted, and stepped back at the same time.

Accompanied by his shout, the soldiers who had been hiding around rushed out.

"The thief catcher—"

"There are spies—"

……

……

And some post soldiers who successfully passed the post battle and entered the city with the edict did not all go smoothly.

Zhizhou looked at the edict handed over, and took it with one hand, but did not open it or obey the edict, but also took out an edict.

"The imperial court has just issued the queen's edict, saying that the matter is confidential, and issued a wrong emperor's edict." He said, looking at the few people in front of him.

Several soldiers looked gloomy, and shouted: "Bold, you are ignoring the emperor's edict! How do you know if the queen is a false edict?"

Zhizhou is a scholar, neither anxious nor annoyed, nor panic, said: "It's not ignoring, we don't know the truth, and no one dares to defy."

As he spoke, his eyes swept over these people.

What about the emperor's edict?The emperor is still a baby now, not as big as the empress.

Who knows who issued this edict, Grand Tutor Deng Yi?Relative Xie?If it was issued by them, who is higher and who is lower than the Queen's edict.

"So, we will send the edict and you all to the capital, and after confirming the authenticity—"