Murong Xue was on duty in the guard of the forbidden army's tiger and leopard riding, and the boundary was just over the hour when the water droplet leaked in the corner of the wall, and suddenly a palace attendant came to the door, saying that His Majesty had issued a decree announcing that he would enter the palace to meet him.

It is said that with his status and position, he is definitely not qualified to face the saint, so Murong Xue couldn't help but be slightly stunned, and couldn't figure out what was going on for a while. His mind was lively, and after a little hesitation, he smiled and took out a small gold ingot from his arms and stuffed it into the hand of the eunuch who sent the decree: "Public relations, do you know why Your Majesty wants to summon the last general?" ”

The waiter first glanced at the full five taels of gold in his palm in surprise, and then said with a smile on his face: "My lord, you are too polite, how can you afford to do this." Don't tell you what you always say, Your Majesty suddenly summoned you, and the Sprinkle family didn't know the reason, but it's a good thing to think about it, eighty percent of you want to raise your sonar. ”

"Oh? Why did my father-in-law say this? Murong Xue asked with a smile.

The chamberlain looked at no one around, and leaned into Murong Xue's ear, lowered his voice and said: "Your Majesty is holding a royal court meeting, and all the people who come are important figures in the court, if you want to see you at this time, wouldn't there be a great fortune?" ”

Murong Xue's heart moved, and she asked, "Big shot? Who are they? ”

The chamberlain folded his fingers and counted: "Old Man Xu, the Grand Commander of the Qilin Army, Lord Liu Ce, the Young Master of the Crown Prince, and Lord Wang, your immediate boss and commander of the Forbidden Army. There is another one, which is Lord Shen of Shaoqing of Dali Temple. Although this Lord Shen is an official residence, his true identity, I think you must also know it. ”

Murong Xue nodded slightly, and said in her heart: The people who participated in the imperial meeting were all the emperor's confidants and close ministers, and most of them were aimed at Xie Guang. Anyway, with Grandpa Xu present, it will definitely not let me suffer.

Thinking of this, Murong Xue smiled and asked the chamberlain to lead the way, and the two of them quickly left the forbidden army guard and went straight to the Taiji Palace.

As soon as she entered the Taiji Hall, Murong Xue immediately noticed that the atmosphere here was a little unusual.

Emperor Li Chengwu was high in the dragon case, and there were four people with cold faces standing below: Xu Lie, Wang Huan, Liu Ce, and Shen Lie, who had not met for a long time.

Murong Xue followed the rules and etiquette, bowed to the ground from afar, and bowed to Sheng'an.

I only heard Li Chengwu say gently: "Get up, come and meet a few adults." ”

After that, he introduced Murong Xue to everyone: "This doll is called Murong Xue, and now she is the deputy commander of the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry, presumably General Xu and Wang Huan are familiar with it." However, you don't know that he is actually the person left by Nian Jinsong to me. ”

Hearing that Murong Xue was the person left by the Nian Taifu to His Majesty, Wang Huan and Liu Ce couldn't help but be slightly surprised; Shen Lie showed a look that he had already known, and his eyes were firmly fixed on Murong Xue.

Xu Lie still looked like an old dragon bell and trembling, and he secretly winked at Murong Xue while people were not paying attention.

Murong Xue saluted several people one by one according to the order of rank, with a respectful attitude.

I only heard Li Chengwu continue: "Shen Lie's intelligence has always been accurate. It seems that Xie Guang is indeed plotting against him. However, what I didn't expect was that this accident actually involved Bing'er, the child, and what to do next was really embarrassing. I'd like to hear what you guys have to say. ”

Among the people in front of the emperor, Xu Lie's qualifications are the oldest, so he is not like several other officials, who have scruples because of the East Palace. I only heard him ask Shen Lie slowly: "Lord Shen, according to what you said just now, that Xijiang fanzi named Zait confessed that Xie Guang planned to help the prince ascend the throne in advance, what is the original intention of His Royal Highness the Prince?" Or is Xie Guang still stubborn, wondering if the prince is being coerced by him? ”

Shen Lie's expression was as usual, and he replied calmly: "Old general, about this section, please forgive me for not daring to speculate. ”

"Oh, that's right. cough cough cough ......" Old Man Xu also did not have any obvious change in expression: "So, did you Reverse Scale Division notice before that the East Palace had a secret contact with Xie Guang in private?" Ahem......"

Shen Lie first glanced at Li Chengwu, and then replied, "Before this, we didn't find any connection between the East Palace and the Shangzhu Mansion. However, recently, because I have just returned to Beijing, I haven't had time to inquire and verify. ”

Xu Lie nodded when he heard this, and turned to Li Chengwu: "Your Majesty, cough cough...... The old minister thought that since there was no ironclad evidence from the Beiya side for the time being, and he could conclude that the East Palace had really been involved, there was no need to draw conclusions too early and put His Royal Highness in the suspicious range. According to the old minister, the top priority should be to temporarily protect His Royal Highness the Crown Prince from being used by traitors. ”

The word "protection" is very well spoken, which can be understood as protection, care, or even detention, and several ministers have tacitly understood it, and no one has said much.

Wang Huan, the commander of the forbidden army, is most concerned about the army: "It's easy to handle the prince's side, but how should the army outside the city deal with it?" ”

Liu Ce frowned, and said in a deep voice: "Judging from the current situation, Menxia Province has not yet issued an official edict, and Xie Guang does not have a military talisman in his hand, so all soldiers and horses will not obey his dispatch and act without authorization." The key is still Xie Guang's own problem, we only have the unilateral confession of the horse bandit Zait, but there is no other more conclusive evidence, if we insist on arresting Xie Guang and asking for the guilt, I am afraid it will be difficult to convince the public, and it will even directly provoke the Xuanjia Legion to mutiny. ”

"And other evidence? Then it's too late! Wang Huan said, "I think what Xu Shuai said just now makes sense, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has a special identity, if he is coerced by Xie Guang, even if he doesn't have a military talisman, he will still make a big mess." I know the army best, don't look at the calm and well-behaved on weekdays, but once the temperament is aroused, it will suddenly become extremely fanatical. The man who licks the blood with the knife head is a pile of dry firewood, even if there is only a little spark, as long as it is pointed in the right place, it will immediately be a skyrocketing fire! ”

Wang Heng's words were loud and sound, and they hit everyone in the hall hard. He was right, the so-called Martian was the crown prince Li Bing. With the identity of the orphan of the first emperor and the current crown prince, and with the power of the sacred covenant, as long as he ascends to the heights and shouts, I don't know how many soldiers will be hot-headed and raise their weapons directly at the imperial capital.

Li Chengwu patted the dragon case lightly, and said in a deep voice: "Someone, hurry up to the East Palace to pass the decree, summon the prince into the palace, and wait in the imperial study." Let's settle this child properly, and then we will slowly discuss the affairs of the legions outside the city! ”

The waiter waiting outside the hall responded when he heard this, hurriedly left the Taiji Hall and ran in the direction of the East Palace.

Li Chengwu sighed, and then asked about the army's countermeasures, Xu Lie and the others expressed their opinions, discussing how to stabilize Xie Guang, how to deploy the Xuanjia Legion, the Long Knife Legion, and the soldiers of various prefectures to prevent accidents. Murong Xue has the lowest position here and the youngest, so naturally she has no qualifications to interject, so she can only stand aside and listen quietly.

Until now, he hadn't figured out why the emperor had called him to participate in such an important imperial meeting, but he vaguely felt that this might be related to Taifu Nian's previous entrustment.

While he was secretly pondering, the attendant who went to the East Palace to deliver the decree suddenly ran back in a panic and knelt in front of the imperial steps with a bang.

"Your Majesty, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince...... His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, he has left the East Palace! ”

Li Chengwu was puzzled when he heard this: "Leave the East Palace? What do you mean by leaving the East Palace, explain it to me! ”

The chamberlain stammered: "Return, back to Your Majesty, the old slave just rushed to the East Palace, and happened to meet the prince and drove out of the palace." The old slave, the old slave pronounced the holy decree, but His Royal Highness ...... But he refused to receive the command, and departed. ”

Refusal? Everyone present was surprised. Li Bing's bold and reckless move, if you want to say that there is no problem, I'm afraid even a fool won't believe it!

Li Chengwu was so angry that he only shot the dragon case, and scolded the waiter: "Idiot! Are the forbidden troops around you all eating dry food? Why don't you stop the prince?! ”

The chamberlain replied with a crying voice: "Your Majesty, it's not that the old slave doesn't stop it." On the street outside the Fanglin Gate of the East Palace, there are all Xuanjia soldiers standing densely, and even the entire Vermilion Bird Street has been blocked! The old slave took those dozen people, and it was useless at all......"

The Xuanjia Army has entered the city?!

Li Chengwu could no longer hide his frightened expression, and looked at Old Man Xu. Twenty years ago, the scene of King Jin's rebellion was terrifying only for those who witnessed it. At that time, the rebel was just a prince, and the strength in his hands was only a legion under his command, but now, standing opposite was the blood of the former emperor and the prince of the Holy Tang, and he didn't know how many main legions there were!

"Ladies and gentlemen," Li Chengwu tried to suppress the turmoil in his heart, and tried to keep his voice as calm as possible: "The Xuanjia Legion suddenly entered the imperial capital, which means that the situation has reached a very serious point, you say, what should I do now?" ”

Liu Ce's face was grim, and he asked to himself: "This is also too strange, how could the Qilin Army, which is responsible for the defense of the imperial capital, still enter the city by Xie Guang's people?" ”

Without waiting for Old Man Xu to answer, Shen Lie snorted coldly: "Needless to say, someone must have been bought by the other party and has the ability to block Suzaku Street, and the strength of Xuanjia to enter the city is at least more than 10,000 people." ”

Wang Huan arched his hand and said loudly: "Your Majesty, let Weichen go!" I rode with tigers and leopards, drove those black crows out, and then captured the traitor Xie Guang alive! ”

Li Chengwu did not rush to agree to the proposal of the commander of the forbidden army, but asked Xu Lie: "Old general, what do you say?" ”

Old Man Xu coughed twice, but still said slowly: "Xiao Huan, don't worry. As a general, you can't mess up when you encounter something. The task of the forbidden army is to guard the palace city and protect the safety of His Majesty, if you take the troops out, who will take care of it here? ”

Liu Ce continued: "General Xu is reasonable, Xuanjia enters the city, the next step is likely to threaten the safety of the palace, Commander Wang must sit here to escort, and the tiger and leopard must not leave easily!" It's better to do this, please Your Majesty immediately issue an edict to urgently dispatch the army Qin Wang from all walks of life outside the city, and suppress the Xuanjia Legion no matter what, and not let them continue to act arbitrarily. ”

Shen Lie shook his head when he heard this: "I'm afraid this move will be difficult to do." Lord Liu, ladies and gentlemen, according to the judgment of the lower officials, since Xie Guang's people have already controlled the East Palace and Suzaku Street, it is very likely that they have also blocked all the main roads leading from the Imperial Palace to the outside world, and His Majesty's will may not be able to be sent out in time. If an edict in the palace can change the situation, Xie Guang will not dare to act rashly. He is a general in command of the army and has a wealth of combat experience, so it is impossible for him to leave us a chance. So the most likely situation at the moment is that no one can easily get out of the palace gate. Besides, we don't know what the situation of the soldiers and horses outside the city is now, once we break out into a large-scale fierce battle with Xie Guang's soldiers and horses, the imperial capital will immediately become a Shura hell, and the consequences are unimaginable. ”

Old Man Xu agreed with his statement: "Shen Lie is right. Your Majesty, although the current situation is critical, it has not reached the point where it is completely out of control. No matter how crazy Xie Guang was, he didn't dare to immediately send troops to attack the palace, so the two sides were at most armed confrontation. But once the war starts rashly, the Xuanjia Legion will inevitably jump over the wall in a hurry and treat the imperial capital as a battlefield. ”