After Dongfang Shuo entered the main hall, he was taken to the way he left the main hall before, but this time he did not leave the main hall, but came to the side hall.

In the side hall, there is a royal study.

When Dongfang Shuo entered the imperial study, the emperor was sitting behind the table, carefully studying a book.

"Knock on Your Majesty. ”

Dongfang Shuo wanted to salute.

But before his knees touched the ground, the emperor did not raise his head, but raised his hand first and said, "Don't be formal, give me a seat." ”

Immediately, a eunuch supported Dongfang Shuo and guided him to the side.

When he sat down, the emperor put down the book in his hand and looked at him.

"Dongfang Aiqing, what do you want to report?"

The emperor asked.

Dongfang Shuo paused, then opened his mouth.

But before he could speak, a eunuch hurried in.

At this time, the eyes of the emperor and Dongfang Shuo fell on the eunuch together.

"Your Majesty. ”

"What?"

"Your Majesty, the son of the ruler outside the palace, Yin Sima Xiang of the Sword Halberd Mansion knelt and begged to see Your Majesty. ”

"The father is finally gone, and the son is coming again, which is interesting for father and son. After the emperor smiled, he stopped and said, "The widow knows, go down." ”

So, the eunuch obeyed the order and withdrew.

At this time, Dongfang Shuo asked, "Your Majesty is missing?"

"Dongfang Aiqing's matter is more important. The Emperor smiled at him.

And when the words fell, the emperor gave a look, and the eunuchs accompanying him withdrew one after another.

At this time, in the imperial study, only Dongfang Shuo, the emperor, and Luo Yang, who accompanied the emperor, did not say a word.

Looking at the imperial study that was emptied by the emperor at this moment, Dongfang Shuo's heart couldn't help but chuckle.

"I haven't said anything yet, how does Your Majesty know that my affairs are more important?"

Dongfang Shuo asked.

The emperor smiled: "Dongfang Aiqing led troops to guard the palace, and pulled a group of ministers to accompany him to meet him, it should be a big deal, right?"

At this time, Dongfang Shuo breathed a sigh of relief.

The matter has come to this point, Dongfang Shuo finally made a decision after thinking about it again and again.

"The minister has to report that His Royal Highness the Second and Fourth Highnesses have raised troops in the north, and they will be under the imperial city this afternoon. ”

Oriental Shuo Road.

The emperor's face showed a look of surprise: "You mean, the second and fourth children rebelled?"

"Quite possibly. ”

Dongfang Shuo nodded.

"Oh. After a pause, the emperor continued, "Is it possible that they are here to protect me, just like Dongfang Aiqing today?"

These words made Dongfang Shuo tremble.

Short words, there are two interpretations.

One of them is that they are literally here to protect the Imperial City. And this, too, is true.

Second, it is the implicit meaning, 'the same as Dongfang Shuo', if Dongfang Shuo said that they were raising troops to rebel, then wouldn't Dongfang Shuo also rebel?

His Majesty's words are reasonable, but there are some doubts. ”

Oriental Shuo Road.

The emperor asked, "Where is the suspicion?"

"First of all, if they really come to protect Your Majesty, they should first send a letter to inform Your Majesty. Secondly, there is no military rebellion in the four seas of Shengping in the empire, why does Your Majesty need protection?" Dongfang Shuo said, "On the other hand, the second prince and the fourth prince, it doesn't matter if they secretly gather troops, and even the army is bypassing the main roads of the city, doesn't this make it clear that they don't want Your Majesty to know?"

The Emperor frowned.

Dongfang Aiqing's words are reasonable and well-founded. At this point, the emperor changed his words and said, "In that case, what is Dongfang Aiqing's opinion?"

"The minister is only here to inform His Majesty, and any action will be decided by His Majesty, whether it is to the two princes to be punished heavily, or to be dismissed lightly because of the love between father and son, the minister will only obey His Majesty's arrangement. Dongfang Shuo said.

"In that case, let the widow think about it. ”

As soon as the words fell, the Emperor stood up.

He walked to the edge of the windowsill and looked out the window at the palace and the temple, and was silent for a long time.

The rising sun shone on his body, making the dark dragon robe also exude a bit of black gold brilliance.

In the silent air, it was as if time had frozen.

Dongfang Shuo had already gotten up, but he stood there without saying a word, the silence around him made his heartbeat louder, but only he could hear it.

"How many troops are there in the Imperial City?"

Suddenly, the emperor turned to look at Luo Yang.

Luo Yang said first: "At this moment, near the palace, Lord Shang Guogong has gathered a total of 1,229 soldiers to guard the palace, and with the standing troops of various main roads and city gates inside and outside the imperial city, there should be 5,000. ”

Dongfang Shuo was slightly stunned.

Even he didn't know how many people he had gathered, but Luo Yang had accurate the number of people to single digits, and it was very close to Dongfang Shuo's estimate.

This point made Dongfang Shuo feel pressured.

"Five thousand. The emperor frowned, and then looked at Dongfang Shuo, "How many troops are there for the second and fourth children?"

"These two men gathered about 50,000 soldiers and horses from the northern counties of the empire. ”

"Fifty thousand. ”

The emperor exhaled heavily, "The northern part of the empire is far away from the flames of war, and although there are many soldiers and horses, it is embarrassing to be of great use. In contrast, although the Imperial City was also far from war, its daily drills were no worse. In this way, it should be easy to take one as three. Moreover, the art of war is good at scheming, and the most important thing is to attack the city, so the 5,000 defenders of our imperial city may be able to completely annihilate 50,000 soldiers and horses in the north of the empire. ”

At the end of the sentence, his tone seemed to suddenly brighten.

But Dongfang Shuo shook his head and said: "The minister has also heard that the soldiers and horses of the Third Highness have already set off, and I am afraid that they will arrive tomorrow." If the three princes join forces, the number of troops may exceed 80,000. ”

"Eighty thousand. ”

The emperor's eyes sank, "Although the ancestor is still in retreat, there are still nearly ten masters of the refining period in the imperial city, and the north and the east combined, there are no seven in total, how many are the second, third and fourth children?"

"It seems...... Please move it all. ”

Oriental Shuo Road.

That's natural, if it's a rebellion, maybe you won't move any of them, after all, even in Xuzhou, it's not easy to cultivate to the refining period.

But the purpose of the two princes is to protect the imperial city, and these powerhouses in the refining period will naturally not refuse an opportunity to make the royal family owe favors.

The emperor took a deep breath and said, "Then Dongfang Aiqing thinks, why did they raise troops?"

"I'm afraid it's because ...... His Majesty abolished the matter of the crown prince. ”

"The position of the crown prince is vacant, and they are greedy?"

"Perhaps. ”

"Oh, the widow's son can't resist temptation like this. The emperor said, "Dongfang Aiqing, are you willing to lead the troops to defend the city and stop these three rebels for the widows?"

"The minister commanded. ”

Dongfang Shuo knelt.

At this time, the emperor said: "I am giving you the position of the commander of the imperial city, temporarily commanding all the soldiers and horses in the city, and the widow wants you to arrest those three rebels at all costs!"

The capital is also a fabricated official position.

Dongfang Shuojia was officially knighted, but all the official titles were temporarily fabricated, as if the emperor had specially opened a fast track for him.

The second general, Shang Guogong, and this time the imperial city are all unified, except for Shang Guogong, the others have never appeared in the empire before.

"Yes. ”

But Dongfang Shuo didn't think much about it, and responded in one bite.

"Alright, let's go down. The widow's will will then be sent to all parts of the Imperial City. ”

"Yes. ”

So, Dongfang Shuo retreated.

After exiting the imperial study, he paused and turned back slightly.

The emperor never mentioned that he wanted Dongfang Shuo to replace him, and from beginning to end, he showed that he cared very much about imperial power.

"Ji Zhaoning, it's a pity that you guessed wrong this time. ”

He muttered under his breath.

But this is not important, the important thing is that Dongfang Shuo's purpose today has been achieved.

It is not enough to have military power, but also to have a name.

(End of chapter)