At the same time, the situation outside the palace is also very serious.

Cao took advantage of Liu E's will to lead the 30,000 officers and soldiers of the Privy Council to ambush near the altar of sacrifice in the southern suburbs together with Liu Mei's Dragon Shenwei Sixiang Army.

Five miles outside Qingcheng is the altar of the heavenly ceremonies, although the distance is close, Cao Yu has to hide in the woods in the distance.

However, on the first day of the ritual of sacrificing to the sky, he received a message from General Liu Mei of the Sixiang Army: "It is necessary to prevent the Khitan dead soldiers from ambushing the ceremonial guard of honor along the road." ”

Cao Yi frowned: "How did the Khitan army sneak into the territory of my Great Song Dynasty?" ”

But before Cao could prepare, there was a report from Tanma: "Report!" Smoke and dust rose from the woods in the south outside Bianliang City, and a large number of military horses seemed to be galloping. ”

"What?!" Cao Yu was shocked, "What General Liu Mei said is true!" ”

Cao Yu immediately ordered: "The whole army is assembled and on standby, and the formation of the square team is changed into a long snake formation, and the captain is sent every hundred zhang to absolutely ensure the safety of the march of the heavenly sacrifice procession." ”

He turned his head and instructed his right-hand man: "Send a scout horse to reconnoitre!" ”

Cao Yong waited anxiously in the army, but the waves of scouts sent out disappeared without a trace, and none of them came back to report.

Cao Yong's lieutenant general Wu Jiang said: "Cao Shu's envoy, could it be that those Tanma were captured by the Khitans?" Let me personally find out where the main Khitan forces are. ”

Cao Yu nodded and said, "You bring ten shrewd and capable subordinates with you." Remember, go and go back quickly, no matter what the other person is, you must come back before dark. ”

Wu Jiang had to order a big tent.

Cao Yi couldn't sit still, pacing back and forth in the military tent, but the time of a pillar of incense passed, half an hour passed, an hour passed, and Wu Jiang did not come back.

Cao used his attendants to persuade: "Privy envoy Cao, you use some food first, Captain Wu is shrewd and capable, and he will definitely be able to bring back the exact news of the Khitans." ”

Cao frowned tightly and didn't say a word. He has been on the battlefield for a long time, has personally experienced the battle of Lanyuan, and fought against the Khitans.

"How do you know how powerful the Khitans are?" Cao Yu thought to himself in his heart. Although he was anxious, he couldn't show it in front of his subordinates.

In the first year of Jingde, Cao Yong followed the emperor to conquer the city of Lanzhou, he stood at the head of the city and looked down, 200,000 Khitan iron cavalry came to the city, the Khitan heavy armored cavalry was powerful and strong, and the momentum was compelling, and there was a kind of snatching gaze in their eyes, which made people dare not look at each other.

Cao Yu shuddered when he thought about it now.

In the battle of Lanyuan, if it weren't for the great Liao general Xiao Tzu Rintuo, who personally observed the enemy situation at close range, and was killed by an arrow shot by Zhang Huan, the crossbowman of the Song army, it is difficult to say what the outcome of the battle in Lanzhou would be.

Cao Yu personally went to the Liao army camp to negotiate, and he saw that the Empress Dowager Chengtian had a strict army under the account of the Empress Dowager and a strong general. Even the Empress Dowager Chengtian herself, her majestic demeanor also left a deep impression on Cao Yu.

If it weren't for the fire in the backyard of Da Liao, and Xiao Hulin, the sister of the Empress Dowager Chengtian, established herself as king in Kedun City and attacked Shangjing, the outcome of the negotiations would still be unpredictable.

Cao Yu let out a sigh of relief when he thought of this, "Alas! ”

He himself escaped death, and after his return, he strongly persuaded the first emperor to "make peace rather than war", and signed the "Yuanyuan Alliance" with 200,000 yuan of annual coins as a transaction, maintaining peace for 20 years.

Cao Yong has also changed from the prime of his thirties to an old man with gray hair.

"If Emperor Zhao Zhen really united with the Khitans and ambushed and captured the Empress Dowager Liu E in the middle, the ceremony of sacrificing to the heavens was interrupted, his army would not be able to take care of itself, and he would be sentenced to be beheaded for rebellion, this is terrible!" Cao Yu thought to himself.

Seeing that the sky was already dark, Cao Yu couldn't wait any longer, he suddenly stood up and ordered: "Hold the armor for me, and wait for me to go out of the tent to investigate in person!" ”

Cao used his lieutenant generals Ge Hong and Meng Cheng to persuade him: "General Cao must not be impulsive!" At this time, it is about to get dark, the enemy is in the dark, we are in the light, how can General Cao, as the commander of the first army, risk danger? ”

Cao Yong said: "I led 5,000 troops to attack the Tartars, whether he was false or real, I will give him a fatal blow." As he spoke, he didn't wait for others to say anything, and set off directly.

Before leaving, he instructed Ge Hong and Meng Cheng, "You two take good care of the big tent, I will definitely come back before dawn." ”

"Yes!" The two said in unison.

Cao used Tima to lead the troops away, but Ge Hong and Mengcheng looked at each other and smiled, silent.

------

Looking at the endgame in the Baoci Palace, at this time the east has been white, the bang drum is beating five times, the fifth watch is the day, today is the day of worship.

The Empress Dowager Liu E walked into the inner room, and Pearl and Coral changed into a dress for her.

Looking at the dark cyan gown embroidered with crests, Liu E had mixed feelings in her heart.

For this dress, she gave her life.

She did whatever it took to do this, and for this reason, she consumed the love in her heart, the kindness in her heart, and even destroyed people's hearts.

She didn't dare to think about it, she didn't have that much time to think about it. Although she burned the "Picture of the Empress Wu in the Dynasty", the image of Wu Zetian was already deeply engraved in her mind.

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Facing the one-person-tall large bronze mirror, Liu E stroked the white hair on her sideburns.

"How am I like you? The Empress Wu is in the dynasty, right and wrong, good and evil are left to future generations to say! ”

Liu E adjusted the crown on her head again, and the colorful beads hanging in front of her eyes blocked her tired face.

Coral tidied up the hem of Liu E's gown and said, "The Queen Mother is really deceitful. ”

Pearl said, "Your Majesty is Long Wei Yanjaw." ”

Coral knew that he was speechless, and quickly bowed his head and saluted, "Your Majesty Longwei Yan Jaw." ”

Liu E smiled slightly and ordered, "Let's go!" ”

Liu E walked out of the Baoci Hall with her head held high, and Pearl, Coral, Linglong and others also changed into the clothes of the female official and followed behind.

Hundreds of officials gathered in the Daqing Palace, Liu E and Zhao Zhen both boarded the Da'an Ran, still the Queen Mother An Yuan in front, and the Emperor Yuan in the back.

The civil officials got on the sedan chair and the military attache got on the horse, and the team of hundreds of officials plus the ceremonial guard of worship to the heavens rushed out of the Nanxun Gate to the altar in the southern suburbs.

The altar of the southern suburbs is a mound altar, the altar is a hundred zhang wide, and no houses are built on the platform. There are seven groups of gods in the altar, and each group of gods is made of azure satin.

The front of the god is set up in the main shrine, that is, the tablet of "Haotian God". In front of the shrine, there are a large number of offerings such as jade, silk, whole cattle, whole sheep, whole pigs, etc.

On the east and west sides of the south steps of the mound altar, there are chimes, bells and other Zhonghe Shao music, which are arranged neatly, solemn and magnificent.

When the guard of honor arrived, they waited in the sacrificial hall.

As soon as the auspicious time arrives, the prime minister Lu Yijian reads out the text of the sacrifice to the heavens, the hundred officials kneel on the east and west sides of the altar, the musician plays the "Fengping Chapter", and the singer dances the "Dance of the Dry Qi", and then it should be the first sacrifice of the main priest.

At this time, the ritual music had stopped, and everyone quietly waited for the emperor to offer the first sacrifice.

I saw Liu E wearing an imperial crown and slowly walked up to the altar, and the hundreds of officials kneeling around the altar saw Liu E's makeup, and they were so frightened that they all bowed their heads and said nothing.

Liu E was like an emperor, kneeling three times and nine times in front of the main shrine, and went to the throne to offer a knighthood.

The uneasy emotions in the hearts of the hundred officials spread like a tide, and the loyal ministers had already knelt up straight, glaring at Liu E angrily.

After the ceremony was over, Liu E walked back to the sacrificial hall. She knew that everything in the temple was ready.

When she sits on the dragon throne, the prime minister Lu Yijian should lead the hundred officials to worship, and the courtiers she placed in the hundred officials will take the lead in kneeling down and supporting her as the emperor.

Cao Yong's 30,000 soldiers will appear outside the sacrificial hall, the dragon guard will surround the ministers, and the little emperor Zhao Zhen will also be controlled by the soldiers led by Liu Mei, where is there still a person who is not convinced?

Everything is done seamlessly, and she Liu E will be the second female emperor in history after Wu Cao!

Thinking of this, Liu E unconsciously quickened her pace.

But the moment Liu E entered the sacrificial hall, she froze.

I saw that at this time, the official Zhao Zhen had already sat on the emperor's throne in the center of the main hall.

"The Queen Mother performed the gift of sacrificing to the heavens for me, announcing to the world that my Great Song Dynasty is prosperous and the country is strong, it is really hard!" Zhao Zhen said calmly and majestically.

Liu E's mind was blank, and she looked around for Lu Yijian, Cao Yu, Liu Mei and others, but there was no trace of them among the hundred officials.

Zhao Zhen saw Liu E's hesitant expression, and said, "The Queen Mother is looking for Prime Minister Lu and Cao Shu's envoy?" I have ordered them to go back to the city first to put things in order. ”

Zhao Zhen said to the ministers again: "Today's sacrifice ceremony has ended, all the ministers will go back to Qingcheng to rest and rectify, and they will return to the capital tomorrow!" ”

"Your Majesty is wise!" Fan Zhongyan led the ministers to kneel and bow to Zhao Zhen, kowtow and shout.

Liu E's heart suddenly cooled, and she instantly understood that she had failed.

But how did she fail? She didn't understand, how could the little emperor Zhao Zhen, whom she had always looked down on, sit on the throne one step ahead of herself?

He is just a puppet who loves to cry, has poor health, and is obedient to himself, and Ye Pei, the most proud person by his side, has also been subdued by himself. Is there anything else he can really do for himself?

No, it can't be, it's all impossible!

Liu E's heart was chaotic, as if a huge stone suddenly pressed her, Liu E had a dull pain in her chest, and suddenly coughed violently, her eyes were dark, and she almost fainted.

"The Queen Mother is overworked for the country, and the female official quickly helped the Queen Mother to the palace to rest!" Zhao Zhen saw Liu E spurting out a mouthful of black blood, and hurriedly ordered Pearl and others to help Liu E down to the palace.

When Liu E came to her senses, she found that she had been controlled, there were only two people left around her, Pearl and Coral, all the dragon guards were nowhere to be seen, and Lu Yijian, Cao Yong and Liu Mei never showed up.

Liu E held Pearl's hand and tried to sit up from the bed, "How come?" Pearls, how so? ”

Pearl was almost in tears, she hugged Liu E and said, "Queen Mother, take care of the phoenix!" ”

Liu E couldn't stop coughing, but she still struggled to sit up. "What's your name? cough cough cough ......"

"Niangniang, everything has passed, the official family said that the past is not to blame, you should stop arguing with the official family......"

"Smack!" Liu E slapped Pearl in the face, "You traitor!" What did you say?! ”

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Pearl's tears fell like beads with broken threads: "The Queen Mother ......"

The coral beside Liu E also knelt down and persuaded: "Queen Mother, don't be obsessed!" ”

"All of you go down!" The official Zhao Zhen walked into the matching hall.

"Yes!" Pearl and Coral saluted the official Zhao Zhen and withdrew from the matching hall.

"Zhao Zhen! You ......" Liu E pointed at Zhao Zhen with her finger and sat down on the bed.

"Auntie, don't be angry, when you return to Ouchi, I will let the Imperial Doctor take care of your body."

Liu E glared at Zhao Zhen angrily, and she said in a low voice, "How can you win?" You're just a yellow-mouthed kid, how can you fight with me? ”

Zhao Zhen said to Liu E gently: "The eldest lady only remembers that the child loves to cry and is weak, but the child has grown up unconsciously. ”

"Even Kou Zhun and Ding Wei are not my opponents, what are you?!"

"I remember when the eldest lady first taught me to play chess, I told me that I should take advantage of small profits and gain momentum, and I also said that the enemy's key points are my main points, and I have all these in mind."

Liu E said: "You really work hard! ”

Zhao Zhen said quietly: "At that time, I always worked very hard, for fear that the eldest lady would be disappointed in me. ”

Liu E gasped and said, "You are so well disguised, it really made me look at it differently!" cough cough cough ......" as she spoke, Liu E couldn't stop coughing again.

Zhao Zhen didn't say anything anymore, "Auntie, take a good rest, and we'll go back to the palace early tomorrow morning." ”

When he was about to walk to the door, he suddenly said again: "Auntie, the child forgot to tell you one thing, Liu Mei died of illness, Cao Yu tried to rebel, and he was already controlled by the guards, and he committed suicide in the army!" ”

"What?! cough, cough, cough ......" Liu E pointed at Zhao Zhen and coughed uncontrollably.

Zhao Zhen left the side hall with the attitude of a victor, and Liu E's uncontrollable coughing sound came from behind him.

It turned out that although Ye Pei was transferred away by Liu E with the strategy of "diverting the tiger from the mountain", Zhao Zhen already had his own arrangements.

He asked Xiao Shinan, the prince of Khitan Nanping, to set up an ambush in the woods near the southern suburbs of Bianjing, of course, not thousands of dead soldiers, but more than a dozen fierce horses dragged branches to gallop back and forth in the forest, and from a distance, the smoke and dust were everywhere, like thousands of troops and horses, attracting the attention of Cao.

There was also the fog that Ye Pei sprinkled on Liu Mei before, and Cao Yu quickly got the flying pigeon to pass the book, so he naturally believed it.

He was afraid that Da Liao would send troops to destroy the ritual of sacrificing the heavens, so he sent waves of scouts to spy on the military situation, but they were all captured by Xiao Shinan, and none of them succeeded in replying. This made Cao Yu even more eager, so he had to attack himself.

Xiao Shinan's martial arts are outstanding, the thief captures the king first, Cao Yu is of course not an opponent, and he was captured by Xiao Shinan as soon as he went into battle. And the 30,000 sergeants held by Cao Yu had already been collected by Han Qi, who was holding the holy decree, into the military tent.

Cao Yong's two lieutenants, Ge Hong and Mengcheng, had already taken refuge in the official family, and when Cao Yong left, they surrendered. Xiao Shinan joined Han Qi and escorted Cao Yong to the army.

Cao Yu knew that he could not escape the death penalty and did not want to be insulted, so he committed suicide directly in the army.

Liu Mei's body deteriorated, and she was unable to lead troops in terms of ability and physical strength. This time, he also led the Imperial City Division and Shenlongwei to control the capital, stabilize the situation, and wait for the queen mother to return smoothly after ascending the throne.

It's a pity that as soon as Di Qing and the others arrived, those internal Ying Ying who had already been installed in the Imperial City Division absorbed the Imperial City Division and the Shenlong Guard in one fell swoop.

Liu Mei was terminally ill, and when she heard such news, she couldn't breathe, and she died directly to Huangquan.

Prime Minister Lu Yijian is even more cunning, he has long seen that the situation is not right, and informed the official Zhao Zhen of Liu E's plan early.

The official Zhao Zhen may promise that after the heavenly sacrifice ceremony, Lu Yijian's official position will not be affected in any way.

Besides, among the hundred officials, although many people are inclined to the Empress Dowager Liu E, there are old and serious ministers such as Yan Shu and Fan Zhongyan who raise their arms and shout, and everyone will naturally not be enemies of the emperor.

There are more loyal ministers and virtuous ministers who have been oppressed by Empress Dowager Liu for many years, and feel that they finally have a bright future, so they immediately help Zhao Zhen lobby others.

Those courtiers still have a loyal and patriotic heart in their bones, and they originally thought that women could not be emperors, but they dared not speak out because of the majesty of the Empress Dowager Liu E. Seeing that the official Zhao Zhen was in power, he naturally defected.

Liu E originally united the forces of Western Xia, Uighur and other countries to support her as emperor, but unfortunately Zhao Zhen and Ye Pei contacted the countries one step ahead of her, and Yeli Honglong directly reorganized and brought back the 8,000 soldiers borrowed by Zhao Yunxi to Western Xia. The Uighurs had Yu Supu to support Ye Pei, so they naturally did not move.

As a result, all the forces that supported Liu E to become emperor were collapsed, and she lost everything, completely lost.

When the celestial honor guard returned to the capital, the guards and soldiers all commanded Cao Cong to greet him at the Vermilion Bird Gate.

Back in the palace, Ren Shouzhong and Ling Yun led a group of eunuchs and palace maids to Chengtianmen to kneel to greet them.

At this time, Di Qing had already rectified and purged the Bianjing Imperial City Division and the Imperial Forest Army, and Liu E's remaining remnants were wiped out in one fell swoop. In front of the mansions and yamen of officials at all levels, they were all guarded by the emperor's bodyguards and pro-army.

The speed and intensity of this action made everyone see the determination and ability of the official Zhao Zhen.

(End of chapter)

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