Block left, kill right!

Zhang Xiaowu opened his bow left and right, and the war horse under his crotch who didn't know who it was was also boiling with blood, and rushed to the other war horses frantically, and at this time, the rest of the Royal Forest Army also went from shouting at the beginning to being calm and then scared, and in a dazzling eye, only ten of the twenty-seven people were alive, and this person killed seventeen of them in less than fifty breaths!

"Run!"

Someone immediately shouted, and the survivors fled on horseback, and some even fled too fast and fell when they turned their horses' heads.

Zhang Xiaowu immediately laughed when he saw this, these people are really negligent in the battle formation and don't know the real battlefield, the most taboo thing for cavalry is to throw their backs to their opponents, and their equestrian skills are unfamiliar, where is Zhang Xiaowu's opponent. Although Zhang Xiaowu's horse was not his favorite horse, he soon became familiar with the character and temper of the war horse, chased after the horse, and smashed it off the horse with a sword.

Even those who resist only accelerate their own journey to death.

"Poof!"

The last Imperial Forest Army on horseback was killed by Zhang Xiaowu, and he was finally able to take a few gulps of cold air with the smell of sulfur, and the rest of the eunuchs were waiting to die, but when they looked up again, they saw corpses all over the ground, and they couldn't believe their eyes.

Zhang Xiaowu's face was covered with blood, and he ordered: "Come to Xi, get on the horse, and take me to see the emperor!" The rest gathered all their horses, weapons, boots, and clothes for me, and immediately took them to the star-picking platform. ”

Laixi said: "There is an ice cave there, why don't you throw the corpse into it?" ”

Zhang Xiaowu dragged over a horse, then picked him up and put him on the horse, and said, "It's too late, how can I have time." You take me there immediately. ”

The two of them hurried to the island in the middle of the lake.

When the water level is high, there is only one stargazing platform exposed on the water, and when the water level is low, there is a palm-sized willow forest guarding the stargazing platform. When Emperor Dade drowned, the island in the middle of the lake was full of willow forests and stargazing platforms on the water. At this time, the lake is frozen, the willow forest still exists, and hundreds of willow trees just block the sight of outsiders, plus there is no fire here, which is conducive to hiding.

When Zhang Xiaowu arrived at the island in the middle of the lake, he suddenly rushed out of the woods with more than 20 royal forest troops, Zhang Xiaowu immediately brandished his sword and rushed to kill, but fortunately, Laixi shouted: "Misunderstanding!" They are loyal to Your Majesty's Royal Guards! It's not the Guards out there! Don't come up, he is Lord Shaobao, Lord Shaobao has entered the palace and saved His Majesty. ”

A commander of the Imperial Forest Army asked, "But Zhang Shaobao?" ”

Zhang Xiaowu said: "Exactly, ghost general, Zhang Xiaowu." ”

"Great!"

"The ghost is coming, and we are saved."

"Hurry up and see Your Majesty!"

"Come with me, come with me."

Because the woods were pitch black, outsiders couldn't see the road inside, and Zhang Xiaowu really relied on them to lead the way. Fortunately, the school face on the island in the middle of the lake was white, and the starlight on the twenty-ninth day of the new year was exceptionally bright, and everyone carefully walked through the willow forest and came to the star-picking platform.

The Star Picking Platform is a three-story tower, but the ladder is not inside the tower, but outside the tower, and the stone steps circle around the tower upwards to finally reach the highest star picking platform. Due to the age, the original guardrail outside the spiral staircase is gone, because no one wants to come here to watch the stars, if you want to see the stars, you can go to the Wentianyuan Stargazing Terrace to see, where the position is high, magnificent and comfortable.

At this time, Emperor Dade sat on the steps under the star-picking platform, wrapped in a thick quilt, and then looked at the collar of the clothes that he slept on weekdays. He raised his head suddenly, saw Zhang Xiaowu walking with blood all over, and said excitedly: "First, you really came, I didn't mistake you!" ”

Zhang Xiaowu knelt down on one knee and said, "Your Majesty! It's too late! It's too late for help! ”

Emperor Dade said with tears in his eyes: "It's not too late! Not too late! Just in time, just in time! He was shivering with cold and his face was ugly, and he was clearly not out of the fright.

Zhang Xiaowu said: "Your Majesty, what the hell is going on?" How did it suddenly catch fire? I don't think the fire was lit naturally, but it was deliberately set on fire. ”

Emperor Dade smiled bitterly, sighed, and said, "Gou Delu, you will listen to him." ”

Zhang Xiaowu said: "The more detailed the better, I want to know everything, including what you see, see and hear after I leave, I want to know." I want to peel off the cocoon and find the truth, Father-in-law Lu, I must not hide it. ”

The eunuch in charge, Gou Delu, bowed and replied, "Lord Hui Shaobao, don't dare to hide it!" Because tomorrow is the thirtieth year of the Chinese New Year's Eve, after you left the palace with King Zhao in the afternoon, His Majesty took the old slave to the Empress Dowager of the West Palace, originally wanting to get close, but did not expect that the Empress Dowager and her old man would not want to see His Majesty. His Majesty went back to the Palace of Nourishing Heart in a fit of anger, and later the queen also came, saying that she couldn't see the queen mother these days, and her old man should be angry. His Majesty had supper with the Queen, and the Queen went back, and Her Majesty was a little sleepy after dealing with the twists and turns, so he rested. The old slave also took the opportunity to prepare to rest and rest, and as soon as he walked out of the Heart Cultivation Palace, he saw a fire burning in the direction of the West Palace. Lord Shaobao also knew that the palace had a fire not once or twice, it was a fire in the past, and if it didn't kill the Imperial Forest Army, the eunuchs themselves extinguished the fire. Who thought of the strange and strange burning of today's fire, this fire was like a fire dragon, rushing out from all over the West Palace, and burning the entire West Palace at once. And tonight, the northwest wind is still hanging, and this fire will not be extinguished by everyone. ”

Zhang Xiaowu asked again: "What about the Imperial Forest Army after entering the palace, what did they do?" ”

At the mention of this, Gou Delu cried: "After Li Canglan brought the Imperial Forest Army into the palace, the old slave wanted them to come to save the emperor, but when my old slave saw that they entered the palace, they did not carry fire-fighting tools, but carried knives and guns, and they were alert. They asked the old slave where the emperor was, and the old slave tricked them into going to the West Palace to save the Queen Mother, and Li Canglan took people to the West Palace, and the old slave took the opportunity to escape, so he reported it to the emperor. The old slave thought to himself, this Li Canglan must be unfavorable to the emperor, otherwise why did they bring soldiers into the palace, then where is the firefighting, they are going to rebel. ”

"The Imperial Forest Army—" Zhang Xiaowu frowned.

Gou Delu suddenly said: "In addition, the Imperial Forest Army brought by Li Canglan is not our Royal Forest Army, I see that many faces are very unfamiliar, they should be anti-thieves, yes, they are anti-thieves." ”

Lai Xi added: "They just asked where our majesty was, and none of us said anything, so the old man and Le Cai were killed by them. ”

Gou Delu said: "In the final analysis, the most loyal to Your Majesty is ultimately us eunuchs. ”

Emperor Dade's eyes lit up, and he thought deeply, in order to prevent eunuchs from disturbing the court, the Holy Han Dynasty strictly stipulated that eunuchs were not allowed to leave the imperial city, and even those who entered the eight ministries and six courtyards also needed strict registration. However, the eunuchs who were dedicated to protecting the emperor were more loyal than those who were castrated from a humble background.

"Is the supervision of eunuchs too strict, and the supervision of the scholars too lax?" Emperor Dade thought to himself.

Over there, Gou Delu heard that a few eunuchs were killed by the Imperial Forest Army who entered the palace, and cried even more, although they usually have some private calculations, but after all, they are still a group of people, which Cheng thought that those "Imperial Forest Army" would do such a thing, slaughtering eunuchs and raping palace maids, it is simply indignant.

"Don't cry." Zhang Xiaowu was annoyed when he heard this, and said: "These people should not be the Royal Forest Army, the Royal Forest Army is selected from the children of Longdu, most of them are from the clan branch or concubine, and they are innocent within five generations, so the Royal Forest Army should not do such a rebellious thing, and the only explanation is that these Royal Forest Army who entered the palace are fake." But where did so many people come from? Weird, weird! My silver-clothed guard is unaware, is it true that the golden-clothed guard is also unaware? ”

Gou Delu immediately shouted, "What if the Golden Guards are also involved? ”

Emperor Dade's face turned pale, he never doubted Jin Yiwei, and after putting Jin Yiwei on the suspicion list, it seemed that all the truth was revealed.

Gou Delu said: "Jin Yiwei colluded with Li Canglan, they are the center on weekdays, but they actually attacked at this time, and everyone was caught off guard." If it weren't for Lord Shaobao and thousands of silver-clothed guards, I'm afraid we would have no chance of winning. ”

Zhang Xiaowu said: "Your Majesty, the minister has ordered the silver-clothed guards to assemble, but they were blocked by the Royal Forest Army. I also ask Your Majesty to issue an edict and send my little father-in-law, who thought he was going to die, to spread this decree to the outside world. And he said unto his subordinates, If I do not come out in two hours, they will attack the city. But the minister feared that within two hours, they would find His Majesty. ”

Emperor Dade said with a bitter face: "I came out in a hurry, and I didn't carry the jade seal, and the jade seal was already in the sea of fire." ”

"Do you have a certificate?"

"None."

Everyone was dumbfounded, if it was usually the eunuchs who passed on the message, but at this time, the thieves were like the palace, and there was a fire in the palace, how to convey the message. Gou Delu stubbornly said: "The old slave is willing to gamble with his life to go to the palace gate, let them open the palace gate, and lead the silver guards to protect Your Majesty." If the old slave has three strengths and two weaknesses, he is loyal to His Majesty. ”

Emperor Dade suddenly burst into tears, and with tears and determination in his eyes, Gou Delu turned around and left.

Zhang Xiaowu sighed in his heart, eunuchs are traitors, in history, in memory, they brutalized Zhongliang and persecuted ministers to disturb the court, but there has never been a eunuch in history who killed any emperor, nor did any eunuch rebel, they were at most the emperor's thugs, fighting those ministers who did not listen to the emperor. When the eunuchs have too much power, they will inevitably kill all the opponents in the court, but when the eunuchs have no rights at all, the scholars will instead overthrow the emperor and put the imperial family in a very uncomfortable position.

"Alas—Father-in-law Lu really has a heroic spirit." Zhang Xiaowu sighed.

Emperor Dade arrived: "I have never figured it out, why did Li Canglan rebel?" ”

Zhang Xiaowu said: "Your Majesty, I have interacted with Li Canglan a few times, and when I heard him talk about his family honor, the minister felt that he did not look like a person who killed the king and usurped power, and besides, he was the commander of the Imperial Forest Army, how could he usurp power?" Unless someone is behind him, or even someone promises him heavy profits behind his back. I think this person must have given him a condition that he couldn't refuse. ”

Emperor Dade said angrily: "What conditions can make him make such a debellious act? ”

Zhang Xiaowu smiled bitterly, unable to answer this answer, what are the conditions that make Li Canglan agree to rebel, the imperial Xuanyuan family has been unshakable for more than 300 years, does Li Canglan want to be the emperor himself, not to mention the ministers of the court, even ordinary people do not agree. He thought about it, and there was only one answer, that is, the king of Jin or the king of Chu, and only one of them could replace the emperor.

"Your Majesty, I don't know if I should say a word or not?" Zhang Xiaowu said.

Emperor Dade said: "Say." ”

Zhang Xiaowu stepped forward and asked in a low voice: "King Jin and King Chu, how about as soon as possible?" ”

Emperor Dade lowered his head and said after a while: "One of them is in the Prince's Mansion and the other is in Ping'an County—do you mean they rebelled?" ”

Zhang Xiaowu said: "Li Canglan can't stand on his own as emperor, right?" He must have been bewitched by others, but he should not be forgiven for committing this crime, but it is a pity that he is talented. ”

Emperor Dade smiled bitterly: "I just don't know if we can get out of danger." ”

At this time, the rest of the eunuchs led their horses to the willow forest with armor and clothes, and everyone hid their horses in the woods, and whispered to each other about Zhang Xiaowu's hero just now, how many rebels he had killed, and how heroic he was. On such a chaotic night, Zhang Xiaowu exerted his might and exterminated 27 rebels with the strength of one person, which was really brave and morale-boosting.

Zhang Xiaowu suddenly remembered a detail, patted his thigh and said: "Your Majesty, the minister just killed these rebels, although they are also wearing the armor of the Imperial Forest Army, but they have white silk scarves around their necks, and these Royal Forest soldiers around Your Majesty are not wearing white silk scarves, so the minister dares to guess that these rebels are marked by white silk scarves." Those who wear white silk scarves are rebels, and those who don't wear white silk scarves are real royal guards. ”

Everyone suddenly realized, and Emperor Dade was also happy: "With this discovery, we can identify the opponent, and everyone's fear also stems from this." ”

"It's more than that." Zhang Xiaowu was inspired and said excitedly, "Wait a while, all of us will have white silk scarves tied around their necks and wear the armor of the Imperial Forest Army to disguise their people, so that we can fish in troubled waters and escape from the palace." Your Majesty, you also have to disguise yourself, as long as you can break out, we will win with the army of silver-clothed guards. At that time, I will lead the silver guards to counterattack the palace to help His Majesty regain power, eradicate traitors, and uphold justice! ”

Emperor Dade and everyone were excited, and everyone immediately changed into the armor of the Imperial Forest Army and tied a white silk scarf. Although Emperor Dade was young and wise, he had never experienced this kind of killing night after all, and it was best to obey Zhang Xiaowu's command at this time. And he is not a stubborn person, nor is he a mediocre person who likes to show his power, and then declared: "I can dictate that Zhang Xiaowu will be appointed as the general of the protector of the country, and he will command all the soldiers and horses in Longdu, and anyone in Longdu must stand up and be dispatched, and anyone who violates the order will be killed." ”

All the Imperial Forest Soldiers immediately bowed and saluted, "Obey the order." ”