Zhao Junsheng and Hua Mulan separated from Lai Daqian in Pinggang, and Lai Daqian took a team of more than 12,000 people to escort the coffins of the emperor and the ministers of the army all the way west to Chicheng to enter the customs, while Zhao Junsheng and Hua Mulan led the army to enter the customs through Beigukou.

It is much faster to enter the customs through the Beigukou than to enter the customs from Lulongsai, and Zhao Junsheng has a large amount of property and important transportation, so it is not very convenient to go to Lulongsai.

After entering the customs at Beigukou, Zhao Junsheng immediately sent Cao Jiao to lead an army of 3,000 to the east.

Hua Mulan was puzzled by this, "Brother Junsheng, what are you going to do with Cao Jiao taking three thousand people to the east?" Are you worried that the Yan army is chasing from the coastal road? ”

"No, isn't Jieshi Mountain occupied by the Southern Dynasty Sailors? It is a dangerous place, if it is occupied by the Yan army, the Yan army can advance, retreat and defend, which is extremely disadvantageous to my Youzhou, so I must take it down! Zhao Junsheng explained.

Mulan nodded and said, "Yes, that place is indeed quite important!" However, the 3,000 people Cao Jiao brought were all cavalry, could he take the Jieshi Mountain captured by the Southern Dynasty sailors in a short period of time? ”

Zhao Junsheng said with a smile: "It's not really attacking, it's just to scare the officers and soldiers of the Southern Korean Water Division, now that our army has withdrawn from Liaodong at full speed, it is not necessary for them for the Southern Korean Water Division to continue to occupy there, Cao Jiao led the troops in the past is nothing more than to make a show, they will definitely withdraw!" ”

"What if they take possession and do not withdraw?" Mulan asked.

"That's impossible, the grain and grass they brought can't be eaten for a lifetime, and a sailor can carry 3,000 people, how much grain can it carry? They can't stay a day without food! ”

"That's just as well!"

Zhao Junsheng remembered something and said to Mulan: "Mulan, I believe that there will definitely be a period of chaos in the imperial court in the future, I am afraid that it will not be too safe for you to go to Pingcheng, so it is better to stay in Youzhou, right?" I sent someone to Wuchuan to pick up my mother-in-law and Xiaoxiong to live! ”

Hua Mulan thought for a while and turned her head to Zhao Junsheng and said, "Brother Junsheng, I know you don't want to be separated from me, and I don't want to!" But we are all people with responsibilities, how can we forget our responsibilities for the sake of our children's personal interests? Besides, if I stay, what will happen to the more than 2,000 soldiers of the Right Wing Army? It is not in accordance with the rules to let them stay in Youzhou, and they themselves will be uncomfortable! If I stay, it would be too irresponsible to let them Pingcheng by themselves, what will the world think of me Mulan? ”

Speaking of this, Hua Mulan pulled Zhao Junsheng's hand and put it in her palm, "Brother Junsheng, didn't you say that if the relationship between the two is long, how can it be in the morning and twilight?" When the three-year filial piety period expires, I will ask the court to resign and come to Youzhou to marry you, but I don't know if you will be as good to me as before? ”

"Of course, I will always be good to you, always!"

Zhao Junsheng knew that he couldn't stop Hua Mulan from leading the troops back to Pingcheng, both of them were responsible people, and it was impossible to give up everything for the sake of their children's personal affairs.

Subsequently, Zhao Junsheng wrote a letter to record the course of the Eastern Crusade in detail and sent people to Pingcheng on a fast horse.

Pingcheng, Jiaofang Palace.

After Concubine Yi Yue quietly listened to Zong Ai tell the news of the emperor's death and the tragic death of the ministers accompanying the army, she suddenly realized something, and her expression became uncontrollably excited.

She pretended to cry for a while, and then asked with tears on her face: "The purpose of the eunuch coming to Jiaofang Palace late at night to tell this palace about this?" ”

Zong Ai said: "Niangniang, Your Majesty has died, but the country cannot be left without an owner for a day, the ministers plan to choose one person from among the princes to inherit the unification, to say that Your Majesty's heirs, all of them are dragons and phoenixes, but there is only one ······ throne."

When Concubine Yi heard this, she immediately said: "Eunuch, if my son can ascend the throne as the emperor, my son and the palace must be grateful for the kindness of the eunuch, and the palace must let my son be the chief eunuch as the middle attendant and the prince of the country, no, the king, and all the eunuchs and palace maids in the harem are under the supervision of the eunuch, what do you think?" ”

Zong Ai sneered in his heart when he heard this, the palace maid and the eunuch are all managed by our family, so why are you the queen mother?

Zong Ai pretended to think about weighing it, and then leaned over as if she had something confidential to say, Concubine Yi immediately listened, but Zong Ai suddenly took out a dagger from her big sleeve and stabbed Concubine Yi in the chest.

"You ······" Yue Shi opened his mouth, his face lost his blood color in the blink of an eye, his pupils began to dilate, and his body convulsed a few times and fell.

Zong Ai immediately held Concubine Yi's body and asked her to sit sideways and lean on the low table.

He got up slowly, walked to the bed, picked up the sleeping prince Tuoba Ren, and walked to the door of the dormitory.

The door of the dormitory opened, and Zong Ai walked out of the dormitory with the sleeping Tuoba Ren out of the dormitory and instructed the two palace maids standing outside the door: "Niangniang is tired, tell not to disturb, King Le'an comes and opens it directly to let him in, Niangniang is waiting in the dormitory."

"Yes!"

Le'an Wang Tuoba Fan was very puzzled, and slept soundly in the middle of the night, who knew that someone in the palace said that Concubine Yi had something important to invite him into the palace. He wasn't too familiar with this younger sibling, how could she send someone to invite him into the palace in the middle of the night?

Tuoba Fan took a carriage to the palace with doubts, walked through the side door and entered the palace under the guidance of the palace people, and finally came to the outside of the Jiaofang Hall of the Inner Palace in the palace.

"Open the door!"

Outside the door, the two palace maids opened the palace door, and the eunuch who led the way said to Tuoba Fan: "Lord Wang, Niangniang is waiting for you in the inner room!" ”

Tuoba Fan nodded and walked into the hall.

After a while, there was a sound of things being knocked down in the dormitory, and a palace maid outside the door walked in to take a look, and immediately shouted: "Concubine Yi has been killed-"

Hearing the news, the guards standing guard nearby quickly rushed to block Tuoba Fan, who was about to flee.

Tuoba Fan immediately explained: "Concubine Yi was already dead when this king came!" ”

At this time, the guard on duty will come over with a few people and ask, "What's the matter?" ”

The palace people immediately told what had happened, and the general of the guard reached out and held the handle of the knife, looked at Tuoba Fan and said coldly: "Lord Wang, this matter is not trivial, please ask the Lord to go with the last general!" Come on, take away! ”

Tuoba Fan had come back to his senses at this time, feeling that this time was unusual, he was only afraid that he had fallen into a certain trap, and he immediately said: "This is a trap, someone wants to frame this king!" By the way, what about Huang Ziren? Where is the prince? ”

"Lord Wang, the last general only knows that you are suspected of murdering Concubine Yi, please go with the last general, come here, arrest him and put him in the dungeon to wait for His Majesty's verdict!"

A few armorers pounced on Tuoba Fan, who wanted to defend himself, and found ropes to tie him up strongly.

Zong Ai came to Dou's dormitory with the sleeping Tuoba Ren in his arms, and Dou was drinking tea at this time.

"Queen Mother, the matter is done, Concubine Yi was killed by King Le'an in Jiaofang Palace, King Le'an was caught by the guards on duty and patrolling, and all his entourage and guards left outside the palace were taken down!"

Dou didn't have much joy, she knew that this was just the beginning, just knocked down a King Le'an, and there were many objections to follow.

"Zong Ai, how much can you control the guards in the palace?"

Zong Ai said: "The composition of the palace guards is too complicated, the slaves and maids can only control half of the ones on duty tonight, and the three lang towers will step six guli and the feather forest towers will pull out the thirsty marquis who is a slave and maid!" ”

Dou Shi frowned and asked, "Is General Yulin Tuoba Shoule on duty in the palace tonight?" ”

"It should be there!"

"Good! Qiuyue, call someone to call Tuoba Shoule to come over to see the mourning family! ”

"Yes, Queen Mother!"

An hour later, a melodious bell suddenly sounded in the palace, and the whole city was alarmed, which was the bell that urgently summoned the minister of civil and military affairs to enter the palace.

All the civil and military ministers are very puzzled, it stands to reason that only the emperor can give an order to ring the bell to gather the ministers into the palace to discuss matters, everyone knows that the emperor is leading troops to attack Yan State, is there something wrong in the palace?

Soon, all the civil and military ministers came to the palace gate, a large area of black pressure, I am afraid that there are not hundreds of people, officials and generals are talking to each other about what happened, but no one knows.

After the palace gate was opened, the ministers lined up to enter the palace according to the size of the official position, and it didn't take long to come to the Taiji Palace.

The emperor deals with military affairs in Yong'an Palace every day, but if there is a holiday ceremony or every big or small court meeting, he asks for politics in the Taiji Palace, so the ministers all come to the Taiji Palace.

Some ministers also took the opportunity to ask the eunuchs who were standing guard inside and outside the door, but the eunuchs did not know anything.

The chatter of the ministers in the Taiji Hall was like a vegetable market, and suddenly said: "The Queen Mother has arrived——"

The hall suddenly quieted down, and the ministers saw the Empress Dowager Dou walking in from the side in a grand dress, and behind him Zong Ai hugged the prince and a team of eunuchs and palace maids wearing filial piety clothes, and the ministers suddenly felt bad.

Tuoba Jian did not set up a queen, and the concubines in the palace competed for favor, but no one could manage the inner palace justifiably, after all, the name was not justified, and now the emperor was out on the expedition, if there was a major event, only the Empress Dowager Bao was qualified to preside over the overall situation.

"The ministers knock on the Queen Mother!" The ministers were pressed and knocked to their knees.

Dou walked to the throne and looked at the ministers and raised their hands: "All the ministers are exempt!" ”

"Empress Dowager Xie!" The ministers shouted and got up and retreated to their sides.

Dou's tone was calm: "Tonight, I summoned Zhuqing to come and announce two things: first, King Le'an entered the palace late at night to meet Concubine Yi privately, and the two seemed to have a dispute, Concubine Yi was killed by King Le'an, and now King Le'an has been controlled by the guards and arrested and imprisoned!" ”

"Ahh

Someone among the ministers suddenly shouted: "This is impossible, the ministers are very clear about King Le'an's character, and the prince is not this kind of person!" ”

Dou said angrily: "Presumptuous, the palace maid and eunuch in Concubine Yi's palace saw it with their own ears, King Le'an was captured by the guards on the spot, can this be fake?" ”

The gossip in the hearts of the ministers suddenly rose, and they whispered to each other one by one, and several ministers belonging to the faction of King Le'an's forces all showed anxious expressions, how is this good?

Before the Minister of Civil and Military Affairs had time to digest the matter of Le'an Wang Tuoba Fan's private meeting with Concubine Yi, Dou ran out of a heavy bomb: "Only eight hundred miles of fast horses sent a secret report, Your Majesty was betrayed by Zhu Xiuzhi, the general of Yunzhong Town, in attacking the Dragon City of Yanguo, Zhu Xiuzhi led his troops to attack the palace, and His Majesty unfortunately died······"

The ministers of civil and military affairs are dumbfounded, this ······ How can it be?