But he said that Jian Shuo hurriedly ran back to transfer troops and sent generals, and laid down five hundred knives and axes at the gate of the North Palace.

He Jin didn't dare to slack off after receiving the notice from Xiaohuangmen, and after dressing up, he prepared to enter the palace with a carriage and horse, but not long after he went out, a horse galloped over, but he sent a secret letter.

He Jin was shocked after opening it, and hurriedly rushed back to the General's Mansion, summoning the lord Bo Chenlin, Yuan Shao, Cao Ying, Yuan Shu, Han Fu, Wang Kuang and other henchmen to discuss the matter, and shouted: "The Son of Heaven and the eunuch party want to kill me, what should I do?" ”

Everyone was shocked, and hurriedly asked the reason, He Jin said: "I have a friend from the same township who served as Sima in the army of Jian Shuo, the captain of the military academy, according to this person's message, the Son of Heaven came forward to summon me to meet, Jian Shuo and the ten permanent servants and others have already ambushed the knife and axe, and they will be killed once they enter the palace!" ”

Chen Lin frowned and said: "Most of this matter was done by the eunuchs, the general can not enter the palace under the pretext of illness, and he should first find the queen to find out the truth before making a decision!" ”

He Jin felt that it was reasonable, and he didn't enter the palace at the moment because of his illness, so he sent his henchmen to the East Palace to ask for a meeting with Queen He, and asked her to inquire about the movements of the Son of Heaven.

The next time, He Jin and the others were anxious and uneasy in the mansion, and there was no news from Queen He, so at this critical moment, another secret letter was sent from Xiaohuangmen, and it was Pan Yin who sent someone to deliver the letter again.

He Jin said angrily after reading it: "It turns out that the Son of Heaven died yesterday, Jian Shuo, Zhang Rang and others did not mourn secretly, they just wanted to use the name of the Son of Heaven to try my surname, which is very hateful!" Ben is going to immediately lead his troops into the palace and kill all these eunuchs! ”

Cao Ying hurriedly stood up when he heard this, hugged his fists and said: "The general is angry, the momentum of the eunuchs, starting from the time of the two emperors of Chong and Qian, extends very wide in the court, it is by no means an overnight trend, let alone an overnight killing, if it is not good to leak out, I am afraid that it will be harmed, please think twice!" ”

He Jin has been angry with eunuchs for a long time, and now he has most of the Yulin Army in his hands, how can he be afraid of a group of eunuchs, and said at the moment: "My mind has been decided, no need to say more!" You are willing to enter the palace with me! ”

Yuan Shao got up and said: "General, the thousands of forbidden troops in the palace are all under the command of the military academy captain Jian Shuo, I'm afraid that the ambush has already been stopped at this moment, if I go forward, I'm afraid it won't be possible!" ”

Cao Ying also persuaded: "The original words are very reasonable, and today's plan should be to correct the throne first, and then ask for the thief." ”

He Jin thought for a while and said: "The words of the two are exactly what I want, who dares to ask for a thief with this great general, Zhengjun!" ”

Yuan Shao hurriedly bowed: "I am willing to lead 5,000 elite soldiers, cut the pass in, establish a new monarch, kill the eunuchs, sweep the court, and calm the world!" ”

He Jin laughed and said: "With the help of the beginning, I don't have to worry about the future!" Thou shalt immediately raise an army to kill the eunuchs, and thou shalt summon all the ministers and appoint a new king! ”

However, it was said that Yuan Shao led the 5,000 Yulin army straight to Beigong to kill, and soon he fought with Jian Shuo's 3,000 forbidden army at Beigong Gate [***]. Jian Shuo knew that the matter was exposed, and while sending people to ask for help from Empress Dowager Dong, the biological mother of Emperor Ling, Jian Shuo personally commanded the forbidden army to resist Yuan Shao's onslaught.

Zhang Rang, Zhao Zhong, Guo Sheng and more than a dozen other people saw it in their eyes, and they were anxious, and they were busy hiding in the corner to discuss countermeasures. Zhang Rang said: "Now that the matter is revealed, He Jin will definitely kill us in order to help Liu argue for the throne, and the first emperor favored Jian Shuo, Jian Shuosu and the Empress Dowager Dong became friends, and we can only survive if we plant all this matter on Jian Shuo's head!" ”

Everyone thought so, and Zhang Rang said again: "We should unify our speeches, and take the head of Jian Shuo and rush to Queen He, and now only Queen He can save my life." ”

Guo Sheng said: "Jian Shuo is good friends with us, if he is unprepared, it is easy to take his surname, just invite him to act at the opportunity!" ”

"Exactly!" After more than a dozen people finished discussing, while preparing the dagger, they sent someone to call Jian Shuo, who commanded the forbidden army, over, and poor Jian Shuo was cut into pieces by more than a dozen people as soon as he stepped into the threshold. Zhang Rang and the others took the head of Jian Shuo and immediately ran to Queen He for refuge. As soon as Jian Shuo died, the 3,000 forbidden army was commanded by no one, and they were immediately defeated, and most of the dead were absorbed by Yuan Shao.

After He Jin entered the palace, he immediately set up a spiritual hall in the Deyang Hall, and at the same time announced the news of the death of the Son of Heaven to the public, and the Chinese military officials of the dynasty rushed to mourn in white silk and perform three bows and nine bows! A group of concubines, including Empress He, Empress Dowager Dong, Liu Li, Liu Wei, Liu Xie and Liu Hong, were all present.

After the ceremony, Yuan Shao whispered: "General Qiyu, the outer court has been cleared, and the inner court does not dare to invade. Now why not take this opportunity to punish the eunuch party! ”

Cao Ying objected: "General, I think that for today's plan, we should first set up a new monarch, and then eradicate the annihilators!" ”

He Jin nodded and said: "Meng De is reasonable, the country cannot be said to be without a king, and the monarch should be the first to be on the throne!" After that, he lifted up his shirt and went straight to Liu Wei, approached to bow down and salute, hugged his fists and said: "The minister invites the prince to ascend the throne and succeed to the throne as soon as possible!" ”

The civil and military officials below also echoed and said: "Please ask the prince to ascend the throne and succeed to the throne as soon as possible!" ”

Liu Wei is Liu Hong's eldest son, because Liu Hong did not have a prince during his lifetime, and now Liu Wei is the legitimate heir to the throne, and no one can find the slightest fault. Only Liu Hong's biological mother, Empress Dowager Dong, knew the inside story of this matter, but now that Jian Shuo is dead, and there is no edict from the Son of Heaven to name Liu Xie to succeed to the throne, she is also more than willing to do it.

But he said that Ma Chao walked slowly all the way and approached Luoyang, and it was three days later when he heard the news of the death of the Son of Heaven. The march was accelerated, and finally came to the outside of Luoyang City on the fifth day after Liu Hong's death. He Jin saw that Ma Chao only brought 2,000 cavalry, although he didn't care, but he only let him bring more than 100 people into Luoyang City.

Ma Chao didn't have time to meet his parents, so he first ran to Deyang Hall to mourn the emperor, after all, he was Liu Hong's concubine, and according to the etiquette at that time, he had to perform the half-son ceremony, at least he had to wear linen and wear filial piety and guard the spirit. After the condolences were over, he wanted to meet the new monarch again, and obediently bowed three times and bowed nine times to Liu Wei, calling him the Son of Heaven.

He Jin saw that Ma Chao did not have the slightest dissent, and he was relieved in his heart, and said: "The hard work champion is marquis, the first emperor is unfortunately immortal, although there is a prince to argue for the succession of the unification, but after all, he is still young, and I and other important ministers in the court must work together to assist the young master!" ”

Ma Chao said: "What the general said is very reasonable, but the general will be busy governing the state and crusading against the Black Mountain bandits, I am afraid that he will not be able to stay in the land of the Beijing division for a long time, plus he is young and shallow, and the auxiliary government has to rely on General He and Yuan Taifu and other highly respected ministers, and the general is still good at leading troops to fight, but he doesn't know anything about the senate and politics!" ”

He Jin was overjoyed, he was worried about Ma Chao's participation in court politics in advance, and even opposed Liu Wei's succession, so he had secretly sent someone to keep an eye on Ma Teng's mansion, intending to make Ma Chao jealous by controlling Ma Teng. But now it seems that Ma Chao is very acquainted, not only did he not have the slightest intention of objecting, but also offered not to participate in court politics.

After thinking for a while, he bowed and said: "Your Majesty, the champion Hou has worked hard and made great achievements, and has repeatedly quelled rebellions in the past year, and the land of the state has also been governed in an orderly manner, so he should be rewarded!" ”

Liu Wei nodded and said: "What the general said is reasonable, and the champion Hou listens to the seal!" ”

"The minister is here!"

"I will immediately crown you as a hussar general, a false festival, lead the state pastor, and specially allow you to return to the state to guard the soul of the emperor and fulfill your filial piety!"

"Thank you, Your Majesty!" Ma Chao's face was expressionless, He Jin wanted to drive him out of Luoyang, and the title of hussar general was just a false name, in fact, it was no different from the hussar general. However, he was also happy to agree, staying in Luoyang would only disrupt the situation, in case He Jin and the eunuch party did not fight with all their might, the Han family would really not be chaotic in a short time.

Ma Chao received the seal of the hussar general, and after a few polite words, he left the Deyang Hall to go to meet his parents. As soon as he walked out of the Deyang Palace, a small yellow door suddenly came closer, bowed down and saluted: "I have seen the hussar general, the empress dowager is invited!" Please also ask the general to move to Yongle Palace! ”

Ma Chao was depressed for a while, this old lady Dong had no military power and had to fight against He Jin's brothers and sisters, isn't this looking for death? In history, after the death of Emperor Ling, Empress Dowager Dong named Liu Xie as the king of Chen Liu, and his younger brother Dong Zhong as a hussar general, trying to control the government to deal with He Jin's brothers and sisters. As a result, he annoyed the He brothers and sisters, and He Jin directly sent him back to his hometown in Hejian in the name of the Son of Heaven, and then poisoned him halfway, and Dong Chong also committed suicide.

But Empress Dowager Dong is Emperor Ling's biological mother, Liu Li's own grandmother, no matter what Emperor Ling says, he is also quite kind to himself, and it is not good to see death and not save him, so after thinking about it, he changed his route to Yongle Palace.

When I came to Yongle Palace, I saw a graceful and luxurious old woman sitting in the first place, about fifty years old, with a sad face. Princess Liu Li stood on one side, her eyes were full of shame, the two had not seen each other for more than a year since the last time, and the fifteen or sixteen-year-old girl was at the age when her love first began, and it was inevitable that she would be lovesick. In addition, there are Zhang Rang and Zhao Zhong waiting on the side.

Ma Chao didn't dare to be rude, so he hurriedly bowed down and bowed, and said respectfully: "The minister Ma Chao has seen the Empress Dowager, the first emperor died, and the minister is a big Han concubine but failed to fulfill his filial piety by the side of the first emperor, and I hope that the Empress Dowager will forgive her sins!" ”

"Champion Hou doesn't have to be polite, please get up quickly!" Empress Dowager Dong was still extremely satisfied with Ma Chao, and said: "It's rare that you have a filial piety, and it is not in vain that the first emperor promised you the princess Wannian as his wife. ”

Ma Chao got up and said: "Empress Dowager Qiqi, the little minister has already set off on the road, but the war against the Black Mountain thieves over there in Cangyan Valley is tight, and the young general, as the main general, does not dare to leave without permission, so it has been delayed for a few days." Unexpectedly, the first emperor ascended to heaven first, and he failed to see the last side, so that he regretted it for life! ”

Empress Dowager Dong said: "The He Jin brothers and sisters relied on the power in their hands to completely ignore the last wishes of the emperor, and actually took the first step to argue that the prince was the emperor, what do you think about this?" ”

Ma Chao said: "The prince is the eldest son of the first emperor, and inheriting the throne is a legitimate thing. ”

"Ridiculous! Ridiculous! Empress Dowager Dong shook her head and sighed: "Although the prince is the eldest son, his demeanor is frivolous and his face is not dignified, and he has always been disliked by the first emperor. The first emperor had long intended to appoint the prince as the crown prince, and Zhang Changshi and Zhao Changshou can testify! The captain of the military academy Jian Shuo was killed by He Jin because of this incident, since you are a minister valued by the first emperor, you should try your best to fulfill the last wish of the first emperor! (To be continued.) )