Chapter 868: Sharpening the Knife

The Imperial City is a forbidden place, so the so-called forty red shops on the rotation of the pro-army are also arranged according to the Quartet. Since it is the last line of defense to guard the palace ban, only the guards of the twenty-two guards here are transferred in turn to be on duty, usually ten people per shop. But now that it is a critical pass, the guards have increased several times, and some of the Imperial Horse Guards' troops are directly stationed on standby in the north of the grass fence, and the guards are by no means ordinary strict.

The area between the Wumen Gate, the Left Gate of Que, the Chengtian Gate, the Right Gate of Que, and the Left and Right Gates of Chang'an is guarded by the officers and soldiers of the Qishou Guard, Jiyang Guard, Jeju Guard, Fujunwei, Huben Left Guard, Jinwu Avant-garde, Yanshan Avant-garde, and Yulin Avant-garde; The area between Donghua Gate, Dongshang North Gate, Dongshang South Gate, Dong'an Gate, and Dongshang Middle Gate is guarded by Jinwu Left Guard, Yulin Left Guard, Fujun Left Guard, and Yanshan Left Guard; The area between Xihua Gate, Xishang North Gate, Xishang South Gate, Qianming Gate, and Xi'an Gate is guarded by the Jinwu Right Guard, Yulin Right Guard, the Fu Army Right Guard, and the Yanshan Right Guard; The area between Xuanwu Gate, Beishang West Gate, Beishang East Gate, Beishang Gate and Bei'an Gate is guarded by the Jinwu Guard, the Fujun Guard, the Tongzhou Guard, and the Daxing Left Guard.

In this way, the 20 guards of the Jingwei pro-army performed their duties and settled in their own positions, and only one was led by the Governor's Office of the Five Armies every day, plus a thousand households with a knife and a hundred households with a knife, who were on duty in Ouchi, and also managed to count the sergeants of each guard. After all, now that it has been a long time since the founding of the country, there are a lot of vacancies for military households to flee, and it is said that they are rotated in turn, but many soldiers on duty in the Inner Imperial City have not been rotated for a month or even a few months. In the first year of Hongxi, Zhu Gaochi once sympathized with the soldiers who were not allowed to go home for months, and took turns with the scattered guards and pro-army, but after all, he could not do it under the advice of the ministers.

Because they did not go to the court, most of the ministers of the six departments followed the emperor to the north, and there were fewer people in the cabinet, and there were naturally very few officials who entered and exited through the noon gate. Even if the officials of the General Administration Department who occasionally pass by to deliver documents, they will be infected by the neat and uniform footsteps, and unconsciously take exactly the same steps, and the peculiar rhythm of falling one foot at a time is so infected that the sergeant guarding the noon gate is a little drowsy.

"Heh......"

A yawn was only half played, and the sergeant suddenly woke up with a spirit, and when he found that there were no nobles, no bosses, and no idle people waiting to pass by, he was relieved, and at this time, a low voice floated next to him: "Da Niu, be careful, the temper above has not been good these days, and it is boring to grab and beat the military stick!" ”

The companion's kindness reminded the sergeant that he naturally knew, and nodded quietly. It was easy to get through this period of sleepiness, and he finally saw the person who came to take over the shift. The two sides silently handed over their shifts, and the pro-soldiers who were replaced did not dare to move their heads, arms and legs, but walked back to their own red shop with steps similar to the pace of those rangers.

The so-called red shop, that is, the guard straight room, is actually just an inconspicuous room shaped like a pigeon cage, scattered among the various internal and external official offices in the outer imperial city. It's a bit bitter, but being a pro-army is always better than being in a local guard, and in addition to the usual rice money every month, there are additional rewards, which is always enough to support the family.

Only the winter rotation is a first-class drudgery, the wind comes and goes in the snow, and now I return to the straight house with only one brazier, and it is already the evening when the sun sets, for the warmest seat, there is no shortage of quarrels between each other.

Putting his almost frozen hand on the brazier and roasting, a middle-aged sergeant didn't care about the back of his hand that was cracked and opened, but just exhaled with satisfaction, and then asked in a low voice: "You say, this time it will really be the bad luck of King Jin?" ”

"That's still fake, it was said by Gonggong Luo, every inch of land in the Jin King Mansion was copied and inspected, but the key people were not caught, but even so, there was still a big stack of documentary evidence. Look, if that's the case, King Jin will be the second King of Han! ”

"King Han? King Han has fought before, there are many elite soldiers under his hands, and there are still people who are willing to die for him, but what is King Jin? To put it mildly, it is just one or two ancestors! The imperial court sent a minister over, and he might immediately surrender with tears and tears! ”

Several sergeants by the brazier all nodded in agreement, and some laughed ambiguously. On duty in the palace, don't talk about those dignitaries on weekdays, even the eunuchs with a higher status of the twenty-four yamen can also point fingers at them, and now I heard that there is a vassal king who is going to be unlucky, who is not happy to see jokes? After laughing for a while, someone took off their boots that had been frozen hard, although others immediately shouted in protest, but soon, one person took off all the boots, leaning on the brazier to warm their stiff feet, and an indescribable smell suddenly wafted in the room.

"Da Niu, Zhao Da Niu!"

Hearing a shouting outside, a stout sergeant who was cooking in the room couldn't help but turn around, and immediately put on his boots and stood up and went out. He had always been a dull and silent person, so as soon as he left, others didn't care, and even immediately occupied the brazier position that belonged to him. And when he walked out of the house, he saw that the person nodded at him, made a quick gesture, and then turned around and left without saying anything, and he immediately walked in the other direction.

After several adjacent red shops, Zhao Daniu came to an inconspicuous courtyard behind the Bao Qian Division. The twenty-four yamen of the internal officials, to say that the most humble and inconspicuous, except for the capital governor who is only in charge of cleaning and other heavy work, is the treasure money division in charge of thick and thin papyrus. Therefore, all the high-ranking internal officials and officers will not come here, and the eunuchs in their own positions will not be able to climb the high branches, and they will not go out when they are idle, it is actually a deserted place.

He familiarly entered the east wing of the courtyard, and when he saw that there were already a dozen or so people here, he didn't make a sound at the moment, and silently chose a corner to sit down. After a while, three or four more people arrived one after another, the cotton curtains rose and fell again and again, and the old door opened and closed again and again, and inevitably made a creaking sound. There was only one oil lamp burning in the dimly lit room, and the flame was beating up and down by the wind brought in by the opening and closing of the door, as if it would be extinguished at any moment. After a few more moments, the door creaked again, and a man wrapped in a black cloak raised the curtain and stepped over the threshold, closed the door with his backhand, and finally bolted it with his hand.

After silently counting the people, he nodded in satisfaction, and passed through the dozen or so people to the front. Although he arrived in the house, he didn't take off the hood on his head, but coughed lightly: "Everyone is here, then I won't talk nonsense." In the past two years, everyone has suffered so much, it is easy to stand on their heels, and success or failure depends on the present! Since the collapse of the Holy Religion and the disappearance of the Buddha Mother, we have been driven around like rats. ”

His high-pitched and thin voice suddenly became more sharp: "It's that Zhang Yue!" But, there's still that dog emperor! If it weren't for the fact that he was still the emperor's grandson at that time, he had been standing up behind, how could Zhang Yue have been able to kill our brothers and sisters! Right now, the Dog Emperor is outside, and some people are dealing with him, and there are some soft-footed shrimp in the Jingshi, which is the time for us to get into trouble! Kill into the palace and redefine the sun and the moon! The Mother Buddha is gone, but we still have the Son of the Buddha! ”

"The Ming Emperor is destroyed, and the Buddha is reborn!"

The people in the room recited these eight words in a low voice, and as they repeated over and over again, the originally wooden and dull face gradually revealed the color of fanaticism and conviction, and after a while, the man with his back to the oil lamp, his face completely covered by the hood, and the whole person was shrouded in shadow, stretched out his hand and pressed it gently, and said in a categorical tone: "That's right, as long as everyone can keep reciting these eight words, you will be blessed by heaven and invulnerable!" ”

Looking at the people with their faces full of conviction, he waved his hand, and suddenly, a ball of fire miraculously jumped into his hand, and suddenly the light was so bright that it completely overshadowed the dim light of the oil lamp. Everyone around them stared blankly at the flames, and involuntarily fell down in unison, muttering strange scriptures in their mouths.

I don't know how long it took for the fire to be extinguished all at once, and even the oil lamp in the room seemed to be blown by an invisible wind and lost its light all of a sudden. When someone stumbled up and lit the fire, it was found that the man in black was gone, and only a yellow post on the wall was left, on which was a strange talisman painted with cinnabar.

Youzheng three quarters should have passed the time to feed, but Zhang Yue came back from Beijing in the afternoon and went to the Governor's Mansion of the Five Armies, and had a verbal argument with several governors, and then with one of them went to the household department to talk about money and food, which finally restored the usual practice of rotating every half month after the last guard in the imperial city - more than 50 years have passed since leaving the country, although people must call the ancestral legal system, but these rules that should be dead have long been abolished. It's just that in the eyes of a small number of well-intentioned people, Zhang Yue went from the Beijing camp to the Governor's Mansion of the Five Armies and then to the household department on this day, and the continuous rotation of the shaft can be regarded as a reason, no matter what, he breathed a sigh of relief, and he didn't care that Zhang Yue bumped into Jin Ying, the eunuch of the ceremonial eunuch, at the door of the yamen of the Ministry of War, and the two talked about it as if chatting.

It's just that when he crossed the three gates of the yamen of the military department, entered his three rooms, and smelled the smell of lily incense coming to his face, he had just come over along the way and was angry at those soap scribes with a straight face, and his gloomy expression as if he was venting his anger disappeared immediately, and was replaced by a tired color that could not be concealed. In any case, it is never an easy experience to talk to those adults who are twice as old as you are, even if you have the intention to show others.

Therefore, seeing Hu Qi standing up and saluting, he simply waved his hand: "That's it, just say what you have gained." ”

Because the military situation in Liaodong and the north is nothing important now, and there is also a written inscription, Hu Qi said straightforwardly: "The guards of the Ten Princes' Mansion are much stricter than before, so it is inconvenient to send people there, and the subordinates only let people keep an eye on the periphery." Xu is the matter is so big that no one goes in and out during the day, and even the shopping stops, after all, the vegetables, vegetables and meat in those mansions are enough for at least ten days. However, after the change of guard at night, someone from Liang Wangfu came out, and the Yanshan avant-garde who changed the guard seemed to have not seen it, so they let them out. ”

"Is it King Liang?"

Zhang Yue was stunned when he heard this, but he didn't feel much surprise, but felt that this candidate was too smooth. King Zheng is violent, the second son of Zhu Gaochi, and his identity is more than half a cut; King Xiang of Yue is the son-in-law, but Zhu Zhanji leads the army outside, and there will be countless army Qin kings with a single order, and the Jingshi will become a lonely city, in fact, there is no hope; And only King Liang, who has the hatred of losing his mother in the past, and the pain of losing his brother in the back, it is not surprising if he goes crazy. In addition, Guo Xuan, Marquis of Wuding, was originally his uncle, so it was natural for him to be able to command Guo Cong. However, how old is King Liang now?

A sixteen-year-old boy, unlike Zhu Di, who was as wise as the Daoyan monk who was close to the demon back then, and couldn't exude the aura of a tyrant everywhere, how could he do such a thing!

"My lord, his subordinates have already made people keep an eye on him and found a place for them to stay."

"Without further ado, find a way to intercept him, either to inform the Terracotta Division, or to inform the others......"

Before he finished speaking, a soapy voice came from outside: "My lord, you are here to deliver food at home!" ”

When is this, why does Du Juan still let Jingguan run around, so he is not afraid of accidents? Zhang Yue stood up suddenly, and when he saw Hu Qi getting up, he didn't say much, but only told him to stay first, and then went out of the house. When he got outside, he didn't have time to ask who the person was, and the soap Li said to Ai Ai, "My lord, your family said that it was the old man who came......

Boss? It's the father?

Zhang Yue didn't dare to delay, and immediately walked out. When he got out of the gate, he saw a carriage parked against the wall, and the attendants and coachmen on the side were indeed his own family. When he got to the car, the driver quickly put on a small stool and opened the curtain a little. Zhang Yue stepped on the stool and got into the carriage, and the curtain behind him was lowered, and he found that a windproof glass lamp was lit in the carriage.

"Daddy......"

"This is a letter from Wan'er to you, you take it first, originally she planned to come by herself, thinking of piercing her eyes, so I can only send it on her behalf." Zhang Zhuo stuffed a letter into Zhang Yue's hand, paused, and said, "Your Uncle Yuan asked me to remind you again, it is enough for you to handle the affairs of the relatives and the King of Zhao and Han for a while, this time don't be a villain yourself." It must be known that the clans are in the same spirit, if you do it again and again, the clan of the vassal king will inevitably be jealous, if you seize the opportunity to rebound in the future, but it is not something you can afford. ”