A few hours ago, the moment Song Nan stepped into the gate of the palace alone, the fifty guards sent to protect the Zhenguo Mansion on Caishi Street also arrived in front of the Zhenguo Mansion, originally Li Daniu was going to personally lead the team back to the Zhenguo Mansion to explain the reason, but he was anxious to see Zhang Lun to move the rescue troops, so he ordered the flag officer Zhang Rui to rush with his brothers, and he went straight to the British Mansion north of the Temple of Heaven and Earth.

Zhang Rui is no stranger to the Zhenguo Mansion, when Wang Yongshang was Song Nan's personal guard, Zhang Rui was often stationed in the Song Mansion as an ordinary personal guard, so he rushed to the Song Mansion with a familiar car; The situation was not too bad, perhaps because of the lack of preparation for Song Nan's return to Beijing, and the foreign army did not have time to take measures against the Song Mansion; Or maybe it was because Yang Ting and they disdained to do anything to the women and children's families, in short, the Song Mansion was safe and quiet.

Zhang Rui's arrival surprised the Song Mansion, because they were all Song Nan's personal guards, and they were originally following Song Nan on the expedition, and they came back, which meant that Song Nan was also back. But the strange thing is that Song Nan is not among them, which makes them very confused and anxious.

The little county lord Ye Fanggu and others let Zhang Rui enter the hall to report, Zhang Rui told Song Nan about breaking into Yongding Gate and entering the palace to meet him, and the women were stunned one by one with their small mouths open; In the past few days, the situation in Beijing has changed greatly, although everyone is in the house, they have also got some news; Although Zhang Lun did not say it explicitly, he sent dozens of palace guards to the Song Mansion to strengthen the guards, which also showed that there was a major event in the capital. Now his husband has rebelled and returned to Beijing, not to lead the army back triumphantly, but to be stopped outside the city and have to break into the capital.

However, although Zhang Rui is a personal guard, his knowledge is very limited, and the first qualified criterion for being Song Nan's personal guard is that he is not allowed to inquire and inquire, as long as he executes orders, Zhang Rui has long been accustomed to being obedient, and he will not ask what happened at all.

After the little county lord asked Zhang Rui a few words and found that he couldn't ask anything, he took the girls back to the back house to discuss the matter, and speculated about what happened.

Although the little county lord was from a noble family, he had no idea about these things, so he only stomped his feet anxiously and said: "This is strange, you tell me what is going on." ”

The women were silent, frowning one by one, thinking about the strangeness of this matter, no one could guess the reason, the little county lord stomped his feet and said: "One by one, they are clever on weekdays, and they don't have a clue at the critical time, it's really useless." ”

In the face of the eldest woman's accusation, everyone didn't take it to heart, their hearts were all on Song Nan's return to Beijing, who would care about this.

"Sister, don't worry." Someone spoke quietly, but it was Zhu Fengtong, who only came to the house yesterday as a guest.

After the news of the victory of the counterinsurgency spread in the capital, it also meant that Song Nan was about to return to Beijing, so the careful Dai Suer specially invited Zhu Fengtong and Yang Ko'er to stay here, just to let her be among the wives and concubines who welcomed Song Nan, because Song Nan's family banquet before leaving had actually named Zhu Fengtong and Yang Ko'er to be members of the Song Mansion, and Dai Su'er did this to close the relationship in advance. After all, it is the status of a concubine, and it is better to have a boudoir alliance in the future, and the status in the family can continue to be consolidated.

"Sister Zhu, how can I not be in a hurry? Isn't that strange to you? How can there be a dignified prince who is victorious in a foreign battle, but is turned away? The little county lord shouted.

Zhu Fengtong frowned and bit his lower lip for a long time, and finally said, "If you want me to see it, I'm afraid this matter is not a good thing." ”

"Huh? Are you saying something is going to happen to your husband? ”

"Sister Zhu, don't scare us."

They know Zhu Fengtong's identity, the royal county lord is well-informed and has a lot of experience, her words have weight.

Zhu Fengtong said quietly: "The slave family doesn't dare to scare you indiscriminately, but this matter is really strange, Song ...... Nan returned to Beijing in triumph, and it was normal for the cabinet to send people out of the city to greet him, but it was unreasonable to say that he would not be allowed to enter the city. Zhu Fengtong wanted to call Song Lang, but suddenly found that he hadn't really married into the Song Mansion, so he hurriedly changed his words.

"Just now, the pro-guard flag officer said that Song Nan was blocked again outside the Zhengyang Gate, and finally had to leave the pro-guard camp and Lord Wang into the inner city, which is even more unusual. There have been many rumors of accidents in the city in the past few days, but in the past, when major events occurred in the city, the gates of the inner and outer cities were never closed, and even people with the status of the prince of the town were not allowed to bring soldiers and horses into the inner city, which was obviously unreasonable. Zhu Fengtong frowned.

"Yes, the husband is still the commander of the Jinyi Guard, where is the place where the Jinyi Guard can't go to the eighteen squares in the inner and outer cities? Even if something happens, Jinyiwei can go unimpeded. Dai Su'er nodded.

"He was in a hurry to enter the palace, and he was even willing to go alone, either because his safety would not be threatened, or because he had to do it as a last resort. I think the latter is more likely, because he called fifty Jinyi guards to come to the mansion to protect us, which means that he is very worried about the safety of the Song Mansion, which is to prevent someone from being unfavorable to the Song Mansion. ”

All the women nodded one after another, and the rest was fine, Song Nan sent people back to the house to protect his family, obviously because he was afraid that someone would be unfavorable to the family, what kind of situation would make Song Nan so worried? Relating to what is happening, it is clearly unusual.

Ye Fanggu said slowly: "According to this, there was a big incident in the court, and the husband was turned away from the city and had to break in, and was finally allowed to enter the palace alone, coupled with the husband's move of sending someone back to the house to protect it, it shows that the whole thing is related to the husband; Miss Feng Tong said that her husband would be in trouble, which made sense. ”

Zhu Fengtong nodded slowly, and the women looked at each other, each seeing worry and panic in each other's eyes; If there is one thing in this world that can make Song Nan worry about the safety of his family, then this matter is obviously beyond everyone's imagination.

"Who dares to be unfavorable to her husband? I went to my brother and asked him to lead the troops to the inner city to see what was going on, and if anyone touched Song Nan's hair, I asked my brother to kill his whole family. The little lord suddenly jumped up, raised his feet and walked out.

Ye Fanggu hurriedly grabbed her and said, "Don't come nonsense, it's just speculation now, and the conclusion has not yet been determined, isn't it self-defeating for you to make such a fuss?" ”

The little county lord said: "What should I do then?" What are we doing here? If someone is not good for the husband, it will be too late for us to know, and we must do something. ”

Zhu Fengtong said softly: "What Sister Fang Gu and Sister County Lord said is reasonable, the husband didn't come back, we can't move around, otherwise I'm afraid it will bring trouble to the husband; But we can't wait, we have to send someone to find out the news, so let's go to Zhengyang Gate to see if I can enter the inner city, even if I can't get in, we can also listen to some news. You are waiting here for news from me. ”

Everyone had already ignored Zhu Fengtong's address to Song Nan, and said one after another: "I'll go too, I'll go too." ”

Zhu Fengtong waved his hand and said: "You can't go, your identity will be recognized, I am not from the Song Mansion, I have been taking care of business in the capital in the past few years, and I have also known a few businessmen with a face in the capital. Song Nan often said that we should be calm, bold and careful, and we need to be calm as usual at this time, and not make any abnormal moves. ”

The women felt that it was very reasonable, although the little county lord was frizzy, but listening to what Zhu Fengtong said was reasonable, he no longer insisted; Zhu Fengtong took the maidservant Qingluan out of the corner gate of the Song Mansion, and went all the way to the Zhengyang Gate like an ordinary man's master and servant shopping.

The daughters of the Song family waited anxiously in the house, an hour after an hour passed, this half day was the most difficult half day of their lives, and the back house fell into a dead silence, and they didn't even have the heart to eat lunch, they only comforted each other and said that no news was the best news. In the afternoon, there was a sudden rumbling sound in the silence, and the women listened carefully, Lu Qingli and Yang Ko'er heard that it was a beating. The sound of the cannon made everyone suddenly nervous.

The little county lord didn't say a word, stretched out his hand and beckoned Ruhua Ruyue, and the two rushed out, and the women also realized that if the city began to fight. Cannon, that's not trivial, so they all followed out of the back house to the front hall, and when they reached the second entrance, they saw Zhu Fengtong's master and servant coming in a hurry; Everyone hurriedly stepped forward to ask, Zhu Fengtong's face turned pale, and his body was shaky; Dai Su'er hurriedly pulled her into the back house to drink saliva before talking, Zhu Fengtong drank a few sips of hot water, and his breathing was a little even, and then he told all the information he saw and the news he had found.

After Zhu Fengtong left the Song Mansion, he first went to Zhengyang Gate, when the Jinyi Guards were assembling, Zhu Fengtong realized that the situation was wrong, but she wanted to find out what was going on, so she went around to inquire about the situation, and finally pieced together to know the origin of some things. Zhu Fengtong, who was in the palace house, naturally understood what the change of throne would bring, and she also understood why Song Nan broke into the capital, even if she was alone, the reason why she had to enter the palace to see the emperor must be for the selection of the new emperor in the future. Ordinary people don't know the trick, but Zhu Fengtong knows it clearly, whoever elects the new emperor can ascend the throne, who will take the throne in the future as a matter of course, Song Nan is so urgent, hurriedly returned to Beijing, and forced into the city, it must be the candidate for the throne who has a result he does not want to see, which means that his struggle is about to come to naught, and it is impossible for him not to be in a hurry.

When Zhu Fengtong returned to Zhengyang Gate again, she saw the scene she didn't want to see, a large number of soldiers and horses gathered up and down Zhengyang Gate, the elder brother of the little county lord, the British Duke was also there, the Beijing camp, the regimental camp, and the soldiers and horses of the Jinyi Guard were all gathered here, and the guns under the city were facing the city, and the bows and crossbows and guns on the city were facing the city, and the battle was about to break out.

Zhu Fengtong hid from a distance and watched this qiē, she secretly prayed that Song Nan would be fine in the palace, if there was nothing in the palace, the tense battle outside would not be able to fight, on the contrary, once the fight broke out outside, it was Song Nan who had an accident in the palace.

When the roar of fire guns sounded in the palace, it was heard clearly outside the Zhengyang Gate, and Zhu Fengtong's heart suddenly rose to his throat; Obviously, there is a change in the palace, and the battle outside is about to begin, and the only thing she can do is to pray for Song Nan, hoping that he will be safe.

Zhu Fengtong hoped that Zhang Lun's soldiers and horses would soon capture Zhengyangmen, and then enter the palace to rescue Song Nan and end this qiē; However, she found that the battle was evenly matched, and Zhang Lun's soldiers and horses could not break through the city wall at all, which meant that Song Nan would be alone in the inner city palace.

Under Qingluan's reminder, Zhu Fengtong had to go back to the Song Mansion to deliver a letter, she really wanted to bring good news to everyone, so she had been paying attention to the battle situation in a dangerous place, but in the end she had to tell everyone this disappointing news.

The silence of the half-dead in the room, the feelings of panic and worry and even some despair filled the air, and although Zhu Fengtong's tone of voice was as calm as possible, everyone felt a great crisis from the words she narrated.

Before Song Nan set out on the expedition, there were only a few words about the competition for the imperial heir in the DPRK and China at home, although Song Nan adhered to the habit of not talking about official business at home, but the major events in his heart were often inadvertently revealed, and between the closest people, he couldn't hide anything.

Whenever they saw Song Nan's brows tightened, all the women could do was to comfort them silently, and comfort Song Nan very gently, but they couldn't help them, they all thought in their hearts that no matter what happened, Song Nan would always solve it satisfactorily. Just like all previous crises, this time the battle between the emperor and the heir, Song Nan will definitely find a solution.

But now, they suddenly realized the severity of the matter, taking advantage of Song Nan's expedition, other people in the court had already done something behind their backs, and the reason why their husbands returned to Beijing in a hurry even seemed to be a little reckless and reckless, which shows that Song Nan was not prepared for this matter.

In the silence, Lu Qingli said in a low voice: "Sister Zhu, do you mean that the eldest brother is trapped in the inner city?" Outside, the soldiers and horses of the British Duke and the Jinyi Guard were blocked outside the Zhengyang Gate, and they couldn't get in? So if Zhengyangmen can't be broken, isn't the eldest brother in danger? ”

Zhu Fengtong nodded lightly and said, "Although I don't want to admit this, I'm afraid that's the case; I don't know what happened in the palace, but at this time, it must be related to Song Nan's entry into the palace. The soldiers and horses of the Outer Court Cabinet and the Governor's Mansion of the Five Armies were obviously ready, and in this case, the shape in the Imperial Palace in the inner city must be extremely dangerous, because there were not many soldiers and horses available to Song Nan in the inner city. ”

Ye Fanggu stomped her feet and said, "What should I do then?" The husband is also too impulsive, knowing that it is a tiger's den, why did he break in alone? Don't you know that it is better to follow the triumphant army back to Beijing with some forbearance? ”

Dai Su'er shook her head and said, "My husband must have a reason to do this, but we don't know." The problem now is that the husband is very dangerous in the inner city, and the British prince's men and horses can't attack the inner city, and if it drags on, it will be extremely unfavorable to the husband. ”

Lu Qingli said anxiously: "But what can we help with the war?" There are only less than 200 guards and guards in the house, and Grandpa Zhang can't break through Zhengyangmen with tens of thousands of people, so it's useless for us to send them. ”

The little county lord jumped up and walked out, Ye Fanggu hurriedly stopped her and asked, "Where is my sister going?" ”

The little county lord turned pale and gritted his teeth and said: "I'm going to help my brother attack the city, and I'm going to take all the people in the mansion with me, one more person will have more strength, it's better than waiting here for bad news." If something happens to my husband, I will die with him, so I will simply break the net. ”

Ye Fanggu bit her lip and said, "It's okay, I'll go with you, I haven't touched my sword for a long time, so I don't have to wait any longer at this time." ”

With that, he stepped forward and grabbed the little county lord's arm, and the two of them raised their feet and walked out.

The women were stunned, although they felt that it seemed useless to help in this way, but they could not refute it, if Song Nan was unlucky, what was the point of these people living?

Lu Qingli also got up and chased after her, shouting, "Cousin, wait for me, I'll go too." ”

Zhu Fengtong got up and shouted, "You are not allowed to go." ”

The little county lord turned around in astonishment, and said coldly: "Sister Zhu, don't forget that this is the Song Mansion, you are not from the Song Mansion, you naturally don't care much about the life and death of the husband, but for us, the husband is our sky, the sky falls, and we can't live." Sister Zhu still hurried back to her house, this matter has nothing to do with you. ”

Zhu Fengtong's dignified face turned slightly pale, and he said quietly: "Sister, I have to stop you from saving Song Nan, but you can't actually help you when you go; There are old ladies and children in the house, don't you even care about them when you go? Even if you die for Song Nan's martyrdom, what will the old lady do? What about the kids? Taking 10,000 steps back, even if something unexpected happens, the first priority is to protect the safety of the old lady and continue the blood of the Song family. ”

The little county lord's face was flushed, and he wanted to be angry but couldn't be angry, so he held back for a long time and suddenly kicked on the flower fence by the door, kicking a pot of blooming begonias into a pot of broken soil, and the ground was in shambles. Tears welled up in his own eyes.

The women couldn't hold back either, and suddenly cried.

In the midst of grief, someone said softly: "Sister Zhu, you just said that the reason why Zhengyangmen can't be attacked is because the firearms of the British grandfather are not fierce enough, and the walls of Zhengyangmen are too thick, right?" ”

It was Yang Qian'er, who had been silent, who had been silent, and there were tears in her big round eyes, but her expression was quite calm.

Zhu Fengtong wiped the tears from the corners of his eyes and nodded: "I watched from a distance, the little grandfather's artillery bombarded the city wall, but it had no effect. There were many, many soldiers and horses at the head of the city, and they were repulsed after several hard attacks, and many people died. The other side is ready, and although I don't know how to fight, I can see that I can't attack it at all. ”

Yang Kou'er pondered: "The city wall is strong, and the Zhankou General Cannon of the Shenji Battalion is indeed difficult to work, even our rocket artillery is useless, and the power of the cannonball is too small." But...... Sister Qingli, isn't there a ...... in the arsenal cave in Shilizhuang in the south of our city?"

Lu Qingli's eyes widened, and he suddenly jumped up and interrupted Yang Qian'er's words: "Do you mean that iron chariot?" ”

Yang Ko'er nodded slowly and said, "Exactly." ”

Lu Qingli said: "What do you mean, to get it to assist in the siege?" ”

Yang Ko'er nodded slowly, "Maybe it can work." ”

Everyone was puzzled, and the little county lord frowned and asked, "What are you talking about?" ”