Although it is said that the emperor is the supreme of the Ninth Five-Year Plan, all dynasties have paid attention to ruling the world with filial piety, and the Great Wei is no exception. Therefore, the Queen Mother's Yongshou Palace is the best in the entire palace in terms of orientation and location.

At midnight, the Yongshou Palace, which was supposed to be resting, was brightly lit up everywhere, illuminating almost the entire palace.

None of the palace maids and eunuchs in the hall dared to speak casually, but everyone unconsciously showed a panicked look on their faces.

By now, everyone already knows that something big is happening out there.

But no one can say exactly what happened.

I only know that there are countless forbidden troops guarding the palace and other places outside the palace, and anyone who walks around without permission will be killed on the spot.

In this situation of knowing nothing, the atmosphere of panic continued to spread, making people everywhere panic, and no one dared to walk out of the Yongshou Palace easily.

At this time, in the dormitory dedicated to the Queen Mother, the Empress Dowager Ci'an, with gray hair and a wrinkled face, was sitting neatly on a chair with her eyes closed.

If it weren't for the fact that her right hand was slowly turning a string of Buddhist beads, it would have been a bit like she had fallen asleep.

Sitting opposite her was Concubine Xie, who had been favored by the emperor for many years.

There were no palace maids or eunuchs in the dormitory, only the Empress Dowager Ci'an herself and Concubine Xie Guifei were sitting quietly opposite each other.

Concubine Xie is worthy of being a beautiful woman in the palace, even if she is nearly in the middle of her life, but because of her good maintenance, she still looks as beautiful as in her early thirties.

It's just that at this time, Concubine Xie didn't have her usual grace and calmness, her eyes were full of panic, and her face was even more pale.

After looking up at the Empress Dowager Ci'an, Concubine Xie asked in a low voice, "Queen Mother, is the matter really irreparable?" ”

In the face of her question, the Empress Dowager Ci'an did not answer, and continued to close her eyes and recuperate.

Seeing that she was indifferent, Concubine Xie was anxious, and couldn't help but call out again, "Queen Mother, Queen Mother...... Auntie, did you hear that? ”

Concubine Xie Guifei is the concubine of Duke An Guo, and she is the niece of the Queen Mother by blood, but she usually calls the Queen Mother the Queen Mother. Now I didn't react when I saw how the Queen Mother called her, so I had to call back to my original title.

The Empress Dowager Ci'an finally opened her eyes, but her eyes were full of cold eyes, and she stared at Xie Guiji fiercely and said, "Until now, do you still have delusions about him?"

For so many years, that person's favor for you and his preference for Feng'er are all fake, and they are all acting. Haven't you seen it clearly? ”

"But after all, he is the emperor and my husband." Xie Guiji finally shed tears.

"So what, he was helped up by our Xie family. We can lift him up and push him down.

I just didn't expect that our Xie family worked hard to help him into that position, and he was so ungrateful that he wanted to unload the mill and kill the donkey to get rid of our Xie family.

That person is simply a white-eyed wolf, and if you intercede for him again, it is equivalent to sending everyone in our Xie family to death.

Can you afford this responsibility? ”

Concubine Xie was speechless for a moment.

Empress Dowager Ci'an continued: "I didn't expect that I would also have a time when I would lose my eyes, so I chose a white-eyed wolf to be the emperor.

It's really a goose all day long, but I was pecked blind by the geese.

Fortunately, you gave birth to Feng'er, as long as Feng'er takes that position instead of him, our Xie family will have no worries. ”

When Concubine Xie heard this, her heart suddenly cooled. She knew that her aunt was determined to get rid of the emperor and leave no one alive.

Although she also resented the emperor in her heart for deceiving her for so long, she had been pampered by that person for so many years, and she was not a stone, how could she be indifferent.

But when it comes to this, the emperor and the Xie family have no room to turn back, and it is useless to say anything now.

After knowing that the matter was irreparable, Concubine Xie also put away her pleading thoughts and began to plan for herself.

Although the news obtained from outside the palace was that Xie Guogong and a group of Xie clan disciples had taken control of the five military camps and were rushing to the palace.

But she and her aunt Empress Dowager Ci'an are still in the palace.

What if the emperor sees that the situation is not good, and comes directly to the Yongshou Palace to find them to vent his anger?

Thinking of this, Concubine Xie immediately expressed this worry.

After hearing this, the Empress Dowager Ci'an sneered: "I am the Empress Dowager, the Empress of the Emperor's Palace, if that rebel dares to disrespect me, he will be infamous for being a great rebel."

He was raised by me, and I know him a little bit better than you do.

He is actually a person who cares about fame in his bones, and he would never dare to do this.

And even if you take us hostage, it's useless, the Xie family is already ready to fly, and they have to send it. No one could stop the Xie family soldiers from coming to the city.

You can wait with peace of mind, waiting to be the queen mother of Great Wei. ”

Hearing the last sentence, Xie Guifei's heart couldn't stop beating. There is a sense of ambivalence that is both sad and expectant.

……………………

As the Empress Dowager Ci'an said, the Xie family is already ready to send an arrow.

From a small age, this is a personal grudge between the emperor and the Xie family. In general, this is a power struggle between the imperial power and foreign relatives.

No matter which one it is, it can only be a life-and-death situation.

In the early hours of the morning, led by the second prince himself, Xie Guogong and his henchmen followed, leading a total of 100,000 soldiers from the five military battalions, under the banner of counterinsurgency, and forced towards the palace in a mighty manner.

In the camp of the central guard of the government army, the whole camp was brightly lit at this time, and all the soldiers got up, armed with weapons in hand, and the atmosphere was very tense.

Because the soldiers all knew that the various intersections in front of the camp had been sealed off by the five army camps.

If the five military battalions wanted to take advantage of the opportunity to attack, all of them would have nowhere to flee but to fight with their backs.

This is not only the case for the camp of the central guard of the government army, but also the four guards of the other government army: the left guard, the right guard, the front guard, and the rear guard.

In other words, the passage of the entire government army and the five guards has been completely blocked by the remaining 60,000 soldiers of the five military camps.

If you insist on breaking through, you can only give it a go.

In the camp of the main general, there were three people arguing about the matter.

They are Feng Junshan, the commander of the central guard of the government army, Wang Qi, the commander of the left guard of the government army, and Deng Yishui, the commander of the right guard of the government army.

It stands to reason that at such a tense moment, Wang Qi and Deng Yishui, who are the commanders of the left guard and the right guard of the government army, should not leave the guards under their respective jurisdiction for a gathering.

However, the situation was urgent, and they had to do it.

Although all the news outside has been blocked, the three people present are all people who have been in officialdom for a long time, so they can naturally see that there is something strange inside.

First of all, the second prince suddenly came over in the middle of the night with a holy decree, claiming that the eldest prince colluded with Jin Wuwei and Yulinwei to commit rebellion, plotted against him, and even occupied the palace. The second prince asked the five guards of the government army, who were also among the ten guards of the forbidden army, to immediately send troops to rescue and quell the rebellion.

Although Feng Junshan, the commander of the central guard of the government army, saw the holy decree, he did not dare to easily agree to send troops.

Because things are so abnormal.

Wei Taizu himself won the world through rebellion, so since the founding of the Great Wei Dynasty, the imperial court has been very strict in controlling the army.

Any general who wants to use the army must at least have a troop transfer tiger charm.

In the period of Emperor Wu of Wei, the requirements were more stringent, not only to have a tiger talisman, but also to have a holy decree, all of which were indispensable.

The second prince came late at night, only having a holy decree in his hand but no the most critical tiger talisman, which in itself was extremely unreasonable.

In addition to this, the second prince said that the eldest prince colluded with Jin Wuwei and Yu Linwei to make trouble, which was what made Feng Junshan suspicious the most.

You must know that although the Great Wei Forbidden Army has a total of ten guards, the four guards of Jinwu's front guard, rear guard, and Yulin left guard and right guard are the palace forbidden army, and they are the closest army to the emperor.

Therefore, the generals who can enter the four guards have always been the emperor's confidants and cronies, and even ordinary soldiers have to go through layers of review and screening before they can stay inside.

If it is said that the Ten Guards of the Forbidden Army are the emperor's personal soldiers, then Jin Wuwei and Yu Linwei are the personal soldiers of the personal soldiers.

Such a pro-soldier would obey the orders of the eldest prince and make trouble?

Not to mention that the experienced Feng Junshan didn't believe in this kind of thing, and the other generals also found it difficult to believe it.

In addition, it is well known that the eldest prince has always been very close to civilian officials, but I have never heard of him having close relations with any military general.

In this case, how can the eldest prince command Jin Wuwei and Yu Linwei to rebel?

This kind of suspicion made Feng Junshan, who was the commander of the central guard of the government army, not dare to easily agree to the request of the second prince to send troops to besiege the city.

So he refused the second prince's request to send troops on the grounds that he did not have a tiger talisman.

The commanders of the four guards, the left guard, the right guard, the front guard, and the rear guard, also had the same suspicions, and therefore refused to send troops on the same grounds.

Although the second prince left angrily, the matter did not end there.

The generals of the five guards of the government army soon discovered that the way out was blocked by the soldiers of the five military camps, and they could not get out at all.

The reason why Wang Qi, the commander of the left guard of the government army, and Deng Yishui, the commander of the right guard of the government army, came here secretly tonight was to discuss with Feng Junshan whether they wanted to unite the five guards of the government army, and then rush out of the encirclement to the palace to rescue the driver.

After listening to Wang Qi and Deng Yishui's opinions, Feng Junshan was silent for a long time.

After a while, he said in a bitter voice: "It's not that I, Feng, am greedy for life and afraid of death, and I really can't do anything.

Do you know why I only called the two of you here, and didn't call Du Bin and Wang Linqiao, the commanders of the vanguard and rear guards of the Shangfu Army?

That's because those two are likely to be people from An Guogong. ”

As soon as these words came out, Wang Qi and Deng Yishui were all shocked.

"What you said is true, are they really An Guogong's people?" Deng Yishui hurriedly asked.

Although Wang Qi didn't make a sound, he also looked at it very nervously.

Feng Junshan smiled bitterly: "Do I still joke at this time?"

I have already checked that Du Bin's father was originally a hundred households in a guard post of the Southwest Army, and later died of a sudden illness in the south.

After Du Bin joined the army, he has been working under his father's original Qianhu. Later, because of his meritorious service in the war, he was transferred to the Fifth Military Battalion as an official, and a few years later he was transferred from the Fifth Military Battalion to the front guard of the government army as governor.

Then he rose all the way, and only ten years later, he became the commander of the avant-garde of the government army.

And Wang Linqiao's grandmother was originally the nurse of the prince of Anguo, that is to say, Wang Linqiao's father and the prince of Anguo were brothers.

Later, after the Wang family was separated from the Guogong Mansion, the relationship between the two families has not been interrupted.

Wang Linqiao entered the border camp at the beginning, and it didn't take long for him to be promoted from an ordinary soldier to a chief. Then, in just a few years, he rose from the chief to the general manager.

Later, he was transferred from the border camp to the guard of the government army and served as the governor, and a few years later he was promoted to experience. It also took only ten years to rise to the position of the commander of the guard of the government army.

These two people are inextricably linked to the Anguo Mansion behind them. To say that they are not An Guogong's people, I really don't believe it. ”

Wang Qi couldn't help but ask: "If they are really the people of An Guogong, then why would they refuse the second prince's request to send troops like us?" ”

"You still haven't figured it out? They are the two dark chess pieces placed in the five guards of the government army.

Once the three guards of our government army, the center, the left guard, and the right guard, are dispatched together, then the front and rear guards of the government army controlled by these two people are likely to encircle us, together with the 60,000 soldiers of the military camp outside.

When the time comes, they will be united from the inside and outside, and how can we, the three battalions, be only 36,000 men, withstand their siege? ”

Wang Qi and Deng Yishui's faces suddenly changed greatly.

Feng Junshan sighed and said, "So it's not that I don't want to send troops to rescue the driver, but I really can't do anything."

As the commander of the central guard of the government army, I can't just take more than 12,000 soldiers to die in vain.

Besides, this is a battle between the flesh and blood of the Heavenly Family, what qualifications do we outsiders have to get involved? ”

Wang Qi and Deng Yishui suddenly had nothing to say.

Feng Junshan continued: "The only thing we can do is to prevent our soldiers from joining this brutal infighting.

No matter which side wins, as long as the person sitting on it is still surnamed Zhao, then we are still the courtiers of Great Wei, and this will not change.

That's all I have to say, and if you have other plans, then feel free to do so. ”

After Wang Qi and Deng Yishui were silent for a while, Wang Qi also sighed and said, "You're right, this is a battle between the heavenly families, and we outsiders are not qualified to get involved."

As long as we don't see the Tiger Talisman and the Holy Decree for a day, we should neither send troops nor send troops. ”

Deng Yishui sighed with a gloomy expression: "Obviously they are biological father and son, and they are connected by flesh and blood, why did they become like this?" ”

Feng Junshan sneered: "Why? And not because of the chair. ”

Wang Qi and Deng Yishui didn't speak again, and they both felt very heavy and depressed.

Because they can imagine that countless young soldiers on the side of the imperial city must die in this meaningless royal infighting.

They didn't guess wrong, at this time, on the side of the imperial city, a big battle was breaking out that shocked the entire capital.

On both sides of the battle were the 100,000 soldiers of the 50,000 military camp led by the second prince and An Guogong and others.

On the other side, there are five guards in total, each with 12,000 people per guard, a total of more than 60,000 people, who are responsible for protecting the imperial city, the left guard and the right guard of Yulin, and the tiger guard who has just arrived.

Although the Ten Guards of the Forbidden Army are the main force of the Gongwei Jing Division, all of them are elites. However, the officers and men of the Fifth Military Battalion are also elite and strong generals selected from all over the country, and they are not much worse than the forbidden army.

And in terms of numbers, it is obvious that the five military battalions have an advantage.

At this time, there was still a long time before dawn, and it was dark everywhere, and it could only be lit by torches, and it was not even clear to see a little farther away, which was very inconvenient for the two armies to fight.

But that's what An Guogong wants.

Because he is holding the banner of saving and quelling the rebellion, if it is delayed until dawn, if the emperor climbs on the city wall and loudly accuses An Guogong and others of being rebellious ministers and thieves, it will definitely have a great impact on and shake many ordinary soldiers who do not know the truth.

Therefore, this matter must not be delayed, and it is necessary to enter the palace before dawn to solve all problems.

In order to end the battle as soon as possible, he also sent another henchman to the border camp to transfer troops to increase his troops.

Although the combat effectiveness of the soldiers in the border camp is not strong, at this time, many people will share their strength.

There are only more than 60,000 people in charge of protecting the palace, and even if it is worth exchanging five border camp soldiers for one soldier of the forbidden army.

As long as he can win, he will not hesitate to kill many people.

Unless it really comes to the point where there is nothing to be done, An Guogong will never transfer back the soldiers of the six soldiers and five military camps who guard the five guards of the palace.

Because the only variable in this war is whether the five guards of the palace will really send troops to support the palace.

In fact, Feng Junshan, the commander of the central guard of the government army, guessed a little wrong, among the two people, Du Bin, the commander of the front guard of the government army, and Wang Linqiao, the commander of the guard, only Wang Linqiao was the person of An Guogong, and Du Bin was not.

Although Du Bin served as a soldier in the southwest, he was a person who was loyal to the court and had a bottom line, and he was unwilling to accept the co-optation of An Guogong.

The reason why he rose so quickly was that the emperor intended to cultivate a group of young generals who were both capable and neutral, so that he could take over the military power in the northwest and southwest when the matter was fulfilled in the future.

In order not to arouse the suspicion of An Guogong, the emperor did not deliberately maintain close contact with these young generals, but was very careful in selecting candidates. Only select those young soldiers who are loyal to the imperial court and do not have a clear side of the line, and give them the green light on the road to promotion.

Therefore, among the five guards of the government army, except for the guards controlled by Wang Linqiao, the other four guards are the most likely to send troops to support the palace.

As a veteran of the battlefield, An Guogong knows that on the battlefield, any force that suddenly joins may change the entire battle situation.

In order to prevent these four guards from taking action, An Guogong was forced to send 60,000 soldiers from the military camp to block the passage for them to send troops.

And he also gave the general who commanded the 60,000 soldiers and the commander of the government army guard Wang Linqiao to death, once the other four guards really moved, they would immediately encircle and kill them, and they must not be let out.

This is a life-and-death battle that will decide the fate of the emperor and the Xie family, An Guogong does not dare to relax in the slightest, and must go all out.

No matter which side there is, there is no way out, whether it is life or death, just give it a go.

Although the leader was led by the second prince, the one who was really responsible for commanding the army was the experienced An Guogong himself.

When all the 100,000 elite soldiers of the five military camps arrived near the palace, An Guogong immediately ordered the siege of the city without even the slightest hesitation.

As a result, the battle of the imperial city, known as the Jing'an Mutiny, began.