Song Nan smiled and said, "What's the matter?" ”

Wang Yong said solemnly: "If you can't do anything, please forbear for the time being, don't force those people to be red-eyed, and leave the green mountains without worrying about running out of firewood." ”

Song Nan laughed and said, "I didn't expect you Wang Yong to be able to say such things, you have no confidence." ”

Wang Yong said: "It's nothing to be lowly yourself, it's not a pity to die in a lowly position, but the life of an adult is precious, if you fall into an isolated and helpless situation, please spare your life." ”

Song Nan smiled and didn't answer, his eyes looked at the tall city tower of Daming Gate that was gradually approaching in the distance and was silent.

Wang Yong sighed and said: "I know that the adults are unwilling to compromise, and it is useless to say it, in short, it is to protect the adults with all their lives." The lord insisted on entering the palace to see the emperor, but the emperor is now in a dying state, and the edict cannot be confirmed. ”

Song Nan turned a deaf ear and thoughtfully, and suddenly said: "Brother Wang, some things are not what they see on the surface, I naturally do this for a reason, you will know later." ”

Wang Yong was stunned: "What? ”

Song Nan smiled, pointed to the front and said, "Daming Gate has arrived, hey, so many soldiers and horses are here, our face is really not small." ”

Wang Yong looked up, but saw that on the square in front of the Daming Gate Palace, dense soldiers stood quietly, silently watching the two people who were gradually approaching, Wang Yong exhaled a long breath and said loudly: "Song Nan, the prince of Daming Town, entered the palace to see the driver, please get out of the way." ”

One right away. The general waved silently, and the soldiers separated a passage, and at the end of the passage was the palace gate that was wide open, and the two palace attendants stood in the palace gate as usual and waited to see the palace waist card.

Song Nan turned over and dismounted, did not squint, and strode towards the palace gate.

……

The bell rang loudly, in front of the Fengtian Palace, the civil and military officials gathered in twos and threes, this was the first court meeting in the past month, after the emperor was seriously ill, the early dynasty became a passing scene, and everyone went to the court only to bow down to the empty dragon seat and then dispersed to return to the government.

After the emperor became seriously ill, there were many rumors in the court, and the question of the selection of the new emperor was the focus of discussion, and even the fact that the imperial army was fighting to the death with the rebels was put on the second seat; Many rumors with noses and eyes are even depicted in detail, but as one of the few important ministers of the court who know the inside story, they remain silent.

Empress Dowager Zhang sat on the throne with a solemn expression, watching the ministers salute herself, her face was joyless and sad, she sat on the throne where her seriously ill son sat on weekdays, but in fact, she did not have the slightest desire for power, she just thought about how to make the Ming Dynasty continue; Although her seriously ill son made her mother's heart very uncomfortable, this feeling was only a short moment of time.

It is a luxury to talk about family affection in the royal family, she needs to suppress her emotions, get through this time, and wait for a new suitable person to sit on the throne, she will complete her mission, and she will be able to face her dead husband calmly in the future.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the Queen Mother is coming to court today, and she has a major event to announce." Yang Ting was talking to the column, and there was still a small grass stalk in his hair that had been glued to the ground when he was lying on the ground at the city gate just now.

"As you all know, the emperor has been sick for many days, and in recent days, water and rice have not been eaten, and our courtiers are all burning in their hearts, and they can't wait to replace him." Yang Tinghe's eyes were a little red, and many officials in the court began to wipe their tears.

"Tinghe knows that your lords are uncomfortable, but the Queen Mother is more uncomfortable than us, Tinghe on behalf of the civil and military officials asked the Queen Mother to take care of her body, life and death are the right and right of heaven, and manpower has no power to return to heaven."

"Queen Mother, take care!" Qunchen said.

Empress Dowager Zhang nodded slightly, and said in a low voice: "The mourning family knows." ”

Yang Tinghe turned his head and looked at the ministers and said: "The emperor is seriously ill, you must be concerned about the selection of the emperor's heir, this matter has been discussed with you many times, and with the approval of the queen mother, the candidate has finally been selected." The country can not be without the king of the main affairs, this matter is already imminent, this morning the court and the emperor to meet the emperor, and the emperor talked about this matter, although the emperor can not speak, but the minister can see that he agrees with the minister's construction. Originally, today's holy decree on the selection of the new emperor was to be announced as a testament, but the queen mother and the old ministers both thought that it was better to announce it earlier, so as not to suspect the rumors in the court, but to give people with ulterior motives the opportunity to stir up chaos. ”

Most of the officials were not surprised at all, but they were only surprised by the officials who were far from the center of power, or who could not even touch the skin, and they were extremely excited.

"Some people are going to say that the emperor is still in the middle of the announcement of the new emperor's candidate is out of place and even a little rebellious, the minister also has this idea, but the queen mother said, this is exactly what the emperor meant, my emperor has been worried about the candidate for the throne, and the earlier announcement is less troublesome, not to mention just announcing, the courtiers naturally hope that the emperor can recover as soon as possible, this section hopes that you will understand in your hearts."

The ministers hummed slightly for a while, someone whispered, Yang Tinghe frowned: "If you have something to say, you can say it, you don't need to buzz in private." ”

The officials hurriedly shut up, Yang Tinghe glanced at the audience with satisfaction, and wanted to get to the point, when he suddenly heard someone say: "Yang Shoufu, I have a question." ”

Yang Tinghe raised his eyes and saw that the person who spoke was Wu Miao, the new Imperial History of the Left Capital of the Metropolitan Procuratorate, this gentleman was recommended by Yang Yiqing to serve in the Metropolitan Procuratorate, and was originally the governor of a state in the northwest, Yang Tinghe was a little difficult to deal with because he was asked by Song Nan about Lu Wan and Liang Chu last time, but he did not jump out to object.

"What questions does Lord Wu have?"

Wu Miao said: "Since such a big event was announced today, all the important ministers in the court should be in the court, didn't Lord Yang find that Lord Yang Yiqing, the secretary of the Ministry of War, and the two princes of the British and Zhenguo did not go to the palace?" In their absence, the decree could not be read. ”

……

The scenery in the palace is the same as before, Song Nan has entered and exited the Daming Gate countless times, but this time, it feels completely different. The familiar red wall and blue tile hall Huayu stood silently, and the brilliant green trees and red flowers in the spring breeze competed for beauty, in front of this appearance full of gorgeous vitality, Song Nan saw the dead silence behind the vitality, and smelled the decay behind the luxury.

The avenue in the palace was lonely, and Song Nan and Wang Yong were walking on the wide road, and the echo of their own footsteps lingered in their ears, which made people feel very bad.

Since he already knew that Zhengde had been moved to the Yangxin Palace, Song Nan no longer went in the direction of the Qianqing Palace, but turned left and went straight to the Yangxin Palace. Yangxin Palace is adjacent to Cining Palace, which is the emperor's resting place, not the official emperor's residence at all. The reason given by the Empress Dowager Zhang for moving the palace was to facilitate her approach to visit, and said that she dreamed of the Bodhisattva's guidance in her dream that the emperor's residence in the Qianqing Palace was not conducive to the recovery of the dragon body, and that the palace of nourishing the heart was the best place to recuperate and recuperate, so the emperor was moved to the palace of nourishing the heart.

Of course, the heart of a loving mother is worthy of respect, and the ministers of the DPRK and China will not object, whoever opposes it does not want the emperor to recover, and with the strong support of Yang Ting, Fei Hong and others, this qiē was implemented by the way.

But Song Nan knew very well in his heart that this was actually putting Zhengde under his nose, so that the seriously ill Zhengde's every move could not escape his control; A large number of eunuchs and guards in the Qianqing Palace are all people around the emperor, and it is better to transfer these people or install their own people to monitor them, it is better to move the emperor directly, and the inner servants in the palace are all appointed by the queen mother, so that Zhengde will be completely isolated from the world. All officials and people who enter and leave the palace must be approved by the Queen Mother, who can turn away all those who do not want them to see the Emperor by saying 'The Emperor needs to recuperate, not to disturb too much'.

After Zhengde moved to the Heart Cultivation Palace, he was actually just a shell with a breath left, and the only suspense was when he would die, whether it was today or tomorrow.

On the outer steps of the Yangxin Palace, more than 20 officials with knives stood hand in hand, and when Song Nan and Wang Yong appeared on the steps in front of the hall, a cadre of people waited as if they were facing a great enemy, holding the blades at their waists and looking at the two of them.

Song Nan stood up and said in a deep voice: "You will send someone to make a sound, and Song Nan, the prince of Zhenguo, asks to see the emperor." ”

A leader with a knife stepped forward and bowed his hand and said: "The queen mother has a decree, and the emperor will not see any guests during his illness." ”

Song Nan shouted coldly: "What's the matter, the emperor is seriously ill, and I won't let me visit?" You can't make the decision, so you went to report to the Queen Mother, saying that Song Nan must see the emperor today. ”

The leader of the sword-carrying officer didn't dare to make his own decision, so he made a look, and the two knife-carrying officers hurriedly went down the steps to the Cining Palace to ask for instructions.

Wang Yong whispered in Song Nan's ear: "My lord, you have to notify Wan Zhi quickly to prevent accidents." I'm not right with this shape. ”

Song Nan nodded slightly and said: "Yes, this is exactly what I need you to do, but it seems that they are very well prepared, Wan Zhi and Jinyi Wei Dahan General Camp were transferred to Xiyuan, I am afraid that it is heavily guarded along the way, I am afraid that you will not be allowed to go to Xiyuan, and you will be blocked halfway." ”

Wang Yong gritted his teeth and said: "If you can't go, you have to go, and if you want to kill a bloody road, you have to go." ”

Song Nan shook his head and said: "That's not possible, this is the palace, once you do it, give them a reason to kill you, and if you can't do it, you will lose your life in vain." ”

Wang Yong stomped his feet and said, "What should I do then?" ”

Song Nan said: "You go to Shouning Palace to see Princess Kangning immediately, I have a written letter here, you give it to the princess, and she will try her best to send you to Xiyuan; However, you have to be careful of the people you keep an eye on on the way to Shouning Palace, otherwise I'm afraid they will be on guard. ”

Song Nan reached into his sleeve and stuffed a folded letter from all over the world into Wang Yong's hand, Wang Yong quickly stuffed the letter into his arms, and whispered to Song Nan: "My lord, be careful, I am left alone, and I am very uneasy in my humble heart." ”

Song Nan waved his hand and smiled: "One more of you doesn't guarantee my safety, whether I can see Wan Zhi is the key, go ahead." ”

Wang Yong didn't say anything more, raised his feet and walked upstairs. The leader of the knife-bearing officer in front of the palace saw Song Nan and Wang Yong muttering for a long time and stretched his neck to eavesdrop, but the two of them were too quiet to hear what they were saying; But seeing that Wang Yong suddenly turned around and left, the leader of the official with the knife knew that there must be something wrong, and waved his hand slightly and made a gesture behind the bushes on the side of the hall.

Song Nan glanced at the corner of his eyes, only to see several figures appear from behind the shadow flower bed of the tree, chasing Wang Yong's back, Song Nan was secretly surprised in his heart, in order to deal with his arrival, the Queen Mother and Yang Tinghe did not know how many people were secretly watching according to the arrangement, which can be described as thoughtful and painstaking.

……

The two sword-carrying officials who went to Cining Palace to report the news came in a hurry, and whispered a few words in the ear of the leader of the knife-carrying officials, and the leader of the knife-carrying officials nodded, turned his head and arched his hand towards Song Nan and said: "Grandpa Guo, the Queen Mother just went to Fengtian Hall to meet the ministers, and this edict cannot be invited; Without the permission of the Queen Mother, the inferior rank cannot let you in. ”

Song Nan was surprised in his heart, the Queen Mother went to Fengtian Hall to meet the ministers, obviously related to the edict, it seems that she wants to announce the edict in advance in front of the ministers, this hand is called chasing ducks on the shelves, the edict is announced, and it will be a foregone conclusion after announcing it to the world.

Song Nan said coldly: "I went back to Beijing from afar, I didn't drink a sip of tea, and I heard that the emperor was seriously ill, so I was even more worried; Entering the palace is nothing more than to see the saint, which is actually very common. Since the Queen Mother has no time, you will let me in to see the emperor first, and I will leave when I see it, and if the Queen Mother blames it afterwards, I will take it for you. ”

The leader of the official with the knife shook his head and said: "That's not possible, the Queen Mother Yizhi said, if you don't have the permission of her old man, let people in casually, disturb the emperor's recuperation, and our brothers will all lose their heads." ”

Song Nan looked at him sideways and said, "Then you don't plan to let me in?" ”

The leader of the official with the knife arched his hand and said: "Please forgive the prince of Zhenguo, there are also hardships for the lowly rank." ”

Song Nan sighed and said: "That's it, you forced me, this matter is a secret matter, I can't say it, but you do everything you can to stop it, I can't do it, knowing this secret is not good for you, if you lose your head because of this, don't blame me for being unpredictable." ”

The leader of the official with the knife was a little clueless, looked at Song Nan and said with a smile: "Don't scare me and others, we are just ordered to do things, if you want to meet the emperor, you can go to Fengtian Palace in person to ask the Queen Mother to give her an order, and we will naturally let you go." ”

Song Nan's face turned cold and beckoned: "You come here." ”

The leader of the officer with the knife asked suspiciously: "What are you doing?" ”

Song Nan said, "What's your name?" ”

The leader of the official with the knife said: "Zhenguo Gong, the villain knows that he offended you today, but the villain can't do anything, please take care of it." ”

Song Nan said quietly: "You are Chang Sheng, the chief knife officer of Cining Palace, right?" ”

The leader of the officer with the knife was taken aback, nodded and said, "It turns out that Zhenguo Gong knows the villain. ”

Song Nan said: "Chang Sheng, come here with your ears, I'll tell you a reason why you have to let me in, if you don't listen, I'm afraid I'll regret it for the rest of my life, not only will you lose your head, but your parents, wives and children, relatives and friends will lose your head." ”

Chang Sheng and the officers with knives looked at each other suspiciously, and one of the officers with knives said in a low voice: "Brother Chang, go and listen to what he says, it doesn't hurt to listen to it anyway, if it's an alarmist, let's ignore it." ”

Chang Sheng frowned hesitantly, and finally came down the steps to Song Nan, Song Nan beckoned: "Come here with your ears, I don't want this secret to be heard, if you know this secret, the more people who know this secret, the chance of losing your head is one point greater." ”

Chang Sheng frowned and said: "Zhenguo Gong can't joke with the lowly rank, the lowly rank is just an errand." As he spoke, he tilted his head sideways.

Song Nan smiled and said: "I understand, this secret is ......" Song Nan's voice was suddenly lowered, Chang Sheng couldn't hear it clearly, and involuntarily brought his head and neck closer, and suddenly felt that the wind around his neck was suffocating, and his instinctive body jumped back to dodge, but he was half a beat slower, and one arm was already tightly wrapped around his head and neck.

The officers with swords are all strong martial arts people, their heads and necks are strangled, but they are not chaotic, and their hearts have already flashed seven or eight moves to get out of trouble, the most effective moves are subconsciously used, one hand grasps the arm on the neck and twists, and the next moment is the reverse grappling move of the short body and flipping the enemy's arm.

However, after using half of the strength of his hand, he suddenly froze, because there was a cold object on his left temple, and at the same time, Song Nan's cold voice sounded in his ears: "As soon as you move, I will smash your head, see if your head is hard or the steel ball in my fire gun is hard." ”

The double-barreled firearm equipped with Jinyiwei has long been famous all over the world, its power is known to the world, and Chang Sheng has naturally secretly seen the power of the firecracker, and he doesn't have to think much about the question of whether his head is hard or the steel ball is hard, the answer is obvious.

After a short period of consternation, the officers with knives on the steps reacted one after another, drew their blades and rushed down from the top of the steps, surrounding Song Nan.

Chang Sheng raised his hands and shouted, "Grandpa Guo, what is this for?" The humble rank has never offended you, and the humble rank is only ordered to guard the Heart Cultivation Palace, but there is no disrespect for the grandfather of the country. ”

Song Nan said coldly: "Of course I know that you are acting under orders, and the order you received is probably not to let me Song Nan see the emperor, I don't want to bother with you, so I have to take you hostage." ”

Chang Sheng shouted: "Grandpa Guo, what is the use of you taking me?" They still won't let you in, you are trespassing into the emperor's bedroom, this is a great crime of rebellion. ”

Song Nan pushed his head with a fire hammer and shouted: "Nonsense, how can I break into the emperor's dormitory privately, I am on the emperor's secret order, but someone wants to stop me from seeing the emperor." ”

Chang Sheng said: "Grandpa Guo, why do you bother to make up this lie to deceive us, you are in the south to quell the rebellion, the emperor moved to the Heart Cultivation Hall more than ten days ago, the emperor is seriously ill and can't speak, how can he give you any secret decree?" ”

Song Nan said: "I knew that it was in vain to talk to you, and you wouldn't believe the reason, so I took you hostage; You should know that Gonggong Zhang has been out of the palace for a few days, but what did he do? ”

Chang Sheng was strangled out of breath, and said in a hoarse voice: "It is rumored in the palace that Zhang Yong and the traitor Zhu Chenhao colluded, and I heard that the rebels were exterminated and absconded. ”

Song Nan scolded: "Phew, I knew that I would detain the basin, Zhang Yongke is not afraid of crime and absconded, he went to pass on the secret decree to me on the order of the emperor, and someone insisted on planting him to confuse him, that is to create rumors to confuse the public." I know that it is in vain to tell you this, but since I promised to tell you this secret, I must tell you, and now I will get out of the way for me, I will meet you by the emperor's holy decree, and whoever dares to stop it will resist the decree, and the first one to die will be your victory. ”

Although Chang Sheng and the others had doubts in their hearts, Song Nan said that he had a nose and eyes, and Zhang Yong did come to see the emperor before he disappeared, could it be that he was ordered by the emperor that day? No, it is said that the emperor can't speak, and he didn't say a word to Zhang Yong, how can he issue a secret decree?

Song Nan didn't have time to rub shoulders with them, and walked to the Palace of Heart Cultivation with Chang Sheng in tow, the two attendants on duty at the door had already disappeared in fright, and there were also shouts and footsteps in the Heart Cultivation Palace, obviously the guards in the hall were also coming; Song Nan ignored it, and rushed to the palace with Chang Sheng in his arms, shouting in his mouth: "The Duke of Daming Zhenguo is in the emperor's secret order, and those who obstruct it will be punished for rebellion, and they will be beheaded all over the house and kill the nine clans." ”