Chapter 22 third quarter

Yongwang Mansion. Just after the third watch, the night's wind and snow were getting stronger and stronger, almost burying the world.The few solitary lamps hanging outside Prince Yong's Mansion had either been annihilated in the wind, or were on the verge of extinction, dim.The vermilion gate on the triple steps is tightly closed, only in the courtyard somewhere in the mansion, there are faint laughter accompanied by the sound of orchestral music, making people feel in a trance that in the world isolated by the vermilion gate, there are still others. The beautiful scenery has absolutely nothing to do with the desolate wind and snow.

A galloping horse came.A servant almost stumbled and rolled off the horse. Before he could get up, he tripped over another huge monster beside the steps. It was probably a lamp stand built for the Lantern Festival tomorrow. The heavy wind and snow came and stopped early, and most of the lower part had been buried by heavy snow, and even the general shape could not be seen. But the servant didn't seem to have the heart to check what it was, so he scrambled towards the door, grabbed the door knocker, and knocked desperately.It seemed that someone in Prince Yong's Mansion had long been waiting for his arrival. In such a heavy snowstorm, he only knocked twice or three times, and the door opened a crack with a sound of "ah".The servant said something in a low voice, and was ushered into the palace, the gate was hastily closed again, and even the servant's mount was left unattended.

"Your Majesty, the officials... have done their best!" The servant brought a shocking news.I don't know if it was cold or nervous, but when reporting the news, the servant's voice trembled a little.In such a snowy night, when he rushed to Prince Yong's mansion in the snow, his lips were already pale with cold. However, when he raised his head, he saw that King Yong didn't react at all, as if he was stunned by the news.He was even more anxious in his heart, he fell on the ground, and urged: "Put... the villain from the class,... please enter the palace as soon as possible, so as to calm people's hearts."

But Zhao Hao still didn't speak, he seemed to be in a trance. Of course, this was not because of shock. This incident was expected. Zhao Hao had even been looking forward to the arrival of this day, and he had already made thorough preparations.These nights, he hardly summoned any of his favorite concubines to go to bed, and even slept with his clothes on when going to bed, in order to be able to calmly deal with sudden changes.He thought that he had already prepared everything, but he didn't expect that when things really happened, he actually felt uncertain. It's not that he still cares about the brotherhood in his heart, and feels grief over the passing of his always loving brother, but that he felt unprepared somehow: a rare snowy night in Bianjing, on the eve of the Lantern Festival, a The big change that is enough to change his entire family and life has just come!Although it is said to be on appointment, for those who are about to face drastic changes, they will still be involuntarily shocked by the sense of fate that the world is impermanent.

"Your Majesty!" Zhao Hao's silence made the anxious servant even more eager, "Your Majesty wants to enter the palace quickly!" He wished he could get up, grab Zhao Hao's sleeve and leave.He is Shi Deyi's confidant, knowing what happened tonight is related to his wealth and life.However, he also knew that King Yong in front of him would soon be his new master.In any case, he dared not be rude. Zhao Hao finally came to his senses. He quickly calmed down the worried servant with a calm voice, but he still couldn't make up his mind. Is it the most appropriate time to enter the palace?Will it be dangerous to enter the palace?He looked around, but realized that Li Changji hadn't arrived, and it was even more impossible for Lu Yuan, who didn't live in the palace, to come so soon.

"Why is it so slow?" He urged his confidant boy irritably, walking back and forth in the house.Every pointer of the clock in the corner moves very slowly. "Quick, send someone to invite!" Just when Zhao Hao was in a state of confusion, Li Changji finally came in a hurry.The first words he said when he stepped into the room were: "Please enter the palace quickly, Your Majesty!" But Zhao Hao still hesitated: "But Lu..." He had only said two words, but Li Changji had already sensed the hesitation in his heart, and immediately interrupted him: "Mr. Lu's side, the poor Taoist will send someone to inform you. The opportunity is precious at this moment, and there should be no momentary delay. Your Majesty, please speed up." The prince's mansion will enter the palace personally, and the sooner he sees the queen mother, the sooner he can arrive at Funing Hall, so as to determine the overall situation and avoid any changes." He saw Zhao Hao's expression still not made up his mind, and before he could speak, he resolutely Said, "Your Majesty, for the matter of tonight, only if the Empress Dowager sees the King with her own eyes, will she care about the relationship between mother and child. What's more, if all the soldiers don't see the King for a long time, I'm afraid that the hearts of the people will be distracted, and the consequences will be unimaginable! Turtle divination, the hexagram is auspicious, the king should not hesitate any longer."

"If the king doesn't come, people's hearts will be uneasy! Please enter the palace with the villain!" The servant who reported the letter finally spoke coherently and smoothly this time, urging the suddenly indecisive King Yong together with Li Changji. Li Changji understood Zhao Hao's thoughts best, and said again: "As soon as the king left, Pindao immediately went to find Mr. Lu himself, and together with him, he led the guards from outside the palace to join the king through the Donghua Gate. Nothing will go wrong. Your Majesty, don't hesitate any longer, otherwise you will go against the will of heaven and disaster will never follow you."

At this moment, Zhao Hao gritted his teeth, made up his mind, bowed his hands to Li Changji, and said solemnly with a sense of entrustment: "Gu will enter the palace immediately. For the rest, please entrust the elder!" At about two o'clock in the middle of the night, the gate of Prince Yong's Mansion suddenly opened again, and more than twenty men in white robes led horses and filed out. They mounted the horses outside the gate, led by an servant, and braved the wind and snow, and galloped towards the palace. go. Just after midnight, Kaifeng Mansion. "Father, please change quickly and enter the palace!"

"Enter the palace?" Han Zhongyan glanced outside the door, the Chinese envoy had already returned to the palace to pay the order.Only at this time did he feel a tight pain in his chest, and when he thought of the emperor's kindness to the Han family, his eyes couldn't help but become moist again.It is not yet time to mourn!Han Zhongyan said to himself in his heart, he got up and raised his hand, wiped his tears with his sleeve, looked at his son Han Zhi, and asked, "Why am I entering the palace at this time?" Han Zhi was stunned for a moment, he had just heard his father say "obey the order", and the queen's oral order was also to call Han Zhongyan into the palace immediately.

"Forbidden China has its own ministers to preside over it." Han Zhongyan said lightly, but Han Zhi was so surprised that he opened his mouth wide - the implication of this is not to violate the order? !In fact, it would not be surprising for Han Zhi if others resisted the order, but it was his father who said those words! The father who has always been ridiculed as being inferior to his grandfather Han Qi in everything except his appearance!In Han Zhi's memory, he never had the memory of his father disobeying Shangyi.Could it be that the father was too sad and lost his mind?Han Zhi looked at Han Zhongyan suspiciously.At this time, any wrong move will affect the whole family...

However, Han Zhongyan didn't pay attention to his son's expression, and told a trusted family member: "Han Ping, go and pick out forty strong and brave martial arts fighters from your family, all of them are from Hebei Township, and change into plain clothes. Prepare your sabers, bows and arrows, and your horses without delay!" "Yes!" Han Ping bowed and agreed, and turned to leave without asking any further questions. Han Zhi was even more frightened when he heard this, but the Han family is a big family with strict rules, no matter how many questions he had, he dared not ask; but if he didn't ask, he would never feel at ease.Seeing that his father was about to go in and change his clothes, Han Zhi was quick to think, summoned up his courage, and said loudly, "Daddy, let the child go too!" Han Zhongyan looked back at him in astonishment, but didn't speak, just nodded silently, and then walked into the room. When Han Zhi hurriedly changed into plain clothes and came out with his mount, he saw that Han Ping had already led forty relatives in the yard ready to go.Han Zhongyan had also changed into a white robe, with a seal ribbon on his waist, and was already riding on the horse. Seeing him coming out, Han Zhongyan led the crowd out of the mansion.Han Zhi quickly got on his horse to catch up, and before he went out, a gust of wind blew snow on his face, Han Zhi shivered suddenly, he gritted his teeth, and didn't dare to cry out. Knowing that Kaifeng Mansion is different from other important court officials, the family members live in the Kaifeng Mansion Yamen.At this time, Han Zhongyan and his party left Kaifeng Mansion and turned east to the north of Zhouqiao, but Han Zhongyan did not go north along Yujie Street, but went east all the way to the Daxiangguo Temple. Go straight north.Han Zhi followed the crowd and galloped, but the more he walked, the more strange he became: "Could it be that father wants to enter the palace through the Donghua Gate?" But he looked at the attire of the crowd with bows and swords, but he felt that it was impossible. The crowd galloped all the way, and when they saw that they were near the east corner of the palace, Han Zhi was thinking in his heart, when suddenly, Han Zhongyan in front stopped his horse.Just as he was wondering, he saw Han Zhongyan and Han Ping get off their horses and walk towards a tall building.Han Zhi drove forward, saw clearly, and suddenly realized that this is a watchtower, and downstairs is a military inspection shop. Han Zhi also quickly got off his horse and followed, but he saw that the army patrolling the shop, came out of a box to inspect, and paid homage to Han Zhongyan.Then I heard Han Zhongyan ask: "Is there anything unusual?" The patrol inspector leaned back and said, "I never saw it." "Has the eldest son ever lived?" "Never seen." Han Zhongyan nodded, and said with a serious face: "You must not slack off, so that you can keep watch. You don't have to stop him. If the eldest son passes by before dawn, no matter whether he is a prince or county king, he will be blocked. If anyone leaks, I will kill you!" " The inspector only took orders to go.Han Zhongyan got on his horse again, and the group continued to drive their horses towards the north.Han Zhi didn't know it, but since New Year's Eve, Han Zhongyan ordered the patrols, patrolmen, and officials under the jurisdiction of the ten chambers and one hundred and twenty squares in Kaifeng Prefecture to strengthen their patrols day and night on the grounds of strengthening the maintenance of public security in the capital.He also issued a secret order for the inspection of several important places, ordering them to send people to closely monitor the movements of the clan settlements such as Donghuamen, Gongchenmen, and Xianyifang.In this regard, he has a unique advantage. In order to prevent fires, the nobles of the Song Dynasty often tried their best to ask Kaifeng Mansion to set up fire diving shops near their mansions!At this time, these submerged fire shops happened to be Han Zhongyan's eyes and ears.If there is any movement in any king's mansion in Bianjing, these submerged fire shops can easily detect it. Although they can't use the communication system of Wanghuolou, they can report it quickly. But at this time, Han Zhi had vaguely guessed his father's thoughts, and he let go of a hanging heart.Instead, the blood began to boil.As he drove the mount vigorously, the cold wind and snow hit his face, it was no longer a cold sting, but a sobering stimulation.This was the first time he felt that his father was also the son of his respected grandfather.In the bones of the Han family, the blood of King Zhongxian flows! Han Zhongyan stopped twice in front of Donghuamen and two military patrol shops near Dahuohang Street, and asked about the movement of Donghuamen. Both places said there was nothing unusual, and no clan passed by. He asked again It was time for the army to patrol the store, and it was almost three o'clock at this time, and Han Zhongyan's expression finally eased.Back on the horse, he said to Han Ping: "There is one more thing, I asked Jinglongmen, if there is nothing unusual, then it is safe." That Han Ping was not good at words, he just muttered, but Han Zhi was stunned for a moment, and immediately realized that it was King Yong who his father was guarding against!King Yong lived in Xianyifang, which belonged to the north wing of Xincheng City. To enter the palace, he had to go through Fengqiu Gate and take Donghua Gate, or pass Jinglong Gate and take Gongchen Gate. There is absolutely no reason to go around the Xihua Gate in a huge circle.But it is not convenient for Han Zhongyan to announce these, let alone who he is targeting, but if there is no abnormality after inspecting Jinglongmen, then naturally everything is safe, so you can rest assured.Thinking of this, Han Zhi was even more impressed with his father. Everyone was about to continue heading north to Jinglongmen, when they suddenly saw a snow-covered knight riding a brown horse galloping towards him. When they arrived in front of the military patrol shop, they heard him yell, stopped abruptly, and stopped. Turning over and jumping off the horse, he shouted: "Quick, quick! Change the horse for Lao Tzu!" Seeing that the man was short in stature but so agile, everyone couldn't help but stop and cheered in unison.The man followed his prestige, said "Ah", but ignored the patrolling soldiers of the army shop, went straight to Han Zhongyan's horse, knelt down on one knee, gave a military salute, and said: "The patrolling horse in the north chamber of Xincheng City Shao, meet Dayin!" Seeing Ma Shao, Han Zhongyan couldn't help but his face changed slightly. He knew that Ma Shao and Wen Dayou had an inseparable relationship with Tian Liewu from the East Palace, so he deliberately transferred the two to the north wing of Xincheng City, just in case, at this time Ma Shao Shao came here in such a hurry, obviously there would be no good news. Sure enough, Ma Shao reported again: "Around two o'clock in the middle of the night, King Yong led more than twenty guards out of the palace." At this time, the wind and snow were in full swing, and Ma Shao deliberately lowered his voice. Only Han Zhongyan and his son and Han Ping could hear his words, but it was this soft sentence, like a thunderclap, that broke Han Zhongyan's expectations. The fantasy of being able to pass the night in peace. Han Zhongyan settled down, and hurriedly asked, "Where is King Yong now?" "Reporting to Dayu Yin, about three o'clock, Xiaguan and Wen Dayou caught up with King Yong about two miles outside Fengqiu Gate. Wen Dayou had blocked King Yong, and Xiaguan rushed to report..." Han Zhong Yanfang heaved a sigh of relief, but Ma Shao didn't finish his sentence: "However, the lower officials also received news from their subordinates that there are hundreds of guards headed towards Jinglongmen, and the inner city is closed before the city gates are opened." The system has long been abolished..." "What did you say?!" Han Zhongyan turned pale. Something big happened! Originally, Han Zhongyan just wanted to prevent King Yong from entering the palace to cause trouble, so he wanted to keep him well in the palace, and when the status of the monarch and ministers was determined, all conflicts could be eliminated invisible.But he never expected that there would be a change in the class guards! "There are hundreds of people in the class..." Ma Shao thought that Han Zhongyan didn't hear clearly, and said again, but before he finished speaking, he saw Han Zhongyan turn his horse's head and said to Han Zhi and Han Ping: "Da Lang , you and Han Ping immediately go to the Imperial Street in front of Xuande Gate. If any ministers or rulers enter the palace, stop them immediately and tell them that King Yong is in trouble, and there may be other changes in the palace. To be safe, ask them to bring troops into the palace guard." "Yes!" Han Zhi was excited, and quickly agreed with Han Ping, and was about to leave when Han Zhongyan stopped him and told him: "Just in case, unless you meet Mr. Sima, you two should not go together See you gentlemen, if there is an accident, the other person will come back to me immediately." Han Zhi chewed on the meaning of these words, and felt a chill piercing his heart, and suddenly he was excited, the little excitement at the beginning had already been thrown out of the sky.On the other hand, Han Ping still lightly agreed, "Don't worry, Da Yin." He quickly said, "Don't worry, Daddy." Han Zhongyan nodded, turned his horse's head again, and said to Ma Shao: "Let's go, let's go to Fengqiu Gate!" After saying that, he swung his whip and drove the horse towards the north.Ma Shao stood up, clasped fists at Han Zhi and Han Ping, and did not wait for the military patrol to change horses, jumped on his horses, and followed Han Zhongyan closely. Han Zhi bit his cold lips, swung his whip vigorously, shouted "drive", and galloped south with Han Ping. When the two rushed to the imperial street south of the palace, it was almost three o'clock.It was already late at night, on such a windy and snowy night, the section of Imperial Street to the south was close to the imperial palace, and most of them were government offices, so there were no pedestrians on this street.Looking up, apart from the scattered solitary lamps in front of the yamen and many unfinished lamp holders, there are only patrolling soldiers. At this time, Han Zhi realized how difficult the task entrusted by his father was.On nights like this, as long as the two of them showed up, they would be spotted by the patrolling soldiers, which would be fine, but at this moment they couldn't take the risk—his father didn't even dare to fully trust the chief executives, these soldiers How do officials know whether it is credible or not? The two of them got off their horses and found a hiding place outside the Imperial Street - here you can see the movements of the Imperial Street clearly, and it is also some distance away from the imperial palace. When the sound came, Han Zhi could see it clearly, but it was the car of Wang Gui, Minister of the Ministry of Officials, passing by. He was about to shout, but Han Ping covered his mouth, and Han Ping whispered in his ear. Said: "Da Lang, wait for the real gentleman." Han Zhi looked at Han Ping in surprise, but Han Ping said in a low voice again: "Da Yin once said that a prince can make a fuss, but has nothing else..." It was only then that Han Zhi came to his senses that they really didn't want to take any risks in the situation before them. He nodded in embarrassment, and saw Wang Gui and his party walking towards the right door, gradually disappearing from sight. The time that followed was so long that Han Zhi and the two waited until the clapper of the fourth watch rang—this is usually the case. Those officials who are going to the early court, if they live in the outer city, should also go to the gate of the inner city at this time. But that night, Han Zhi watched four or five important court officials pass by him, and they couldn't wait for Sima Guang.His whole body was frozen stiff, and he was worried that Sima Guang had already entered the palace, and he was thinking about it secretly, when he suddenly heard the sound of chariots and horses galloping, the noise was far louder than what he had heard before. Han Zhi was refreshed, and looked intently, but saw that the people coming from the imperial street were at least three chariots driving them—from soldiers to officials, there were as many as one or two hundred people!He observed carefully again, but he couldn't tell which three prime ministers it was. "I can't care about this much anymore!" Han Zhi turned his head and whispered to Han Ping, "I'll report the letter later, you wait here." "Da Lang, it's better for the villain to go." Although Han Ping was a little worried, he knew that there was no time to delay. Han Zhi shook his head and said with a wry smile, "It's not that I'm trying to be brave, but look at me, I won't be able to run on a horse later. This matter is of great importance, and I can't be ashamed of my ancestors." Seeing the car driving more and more He couldn't wait for Han Ping's reply, so he ran out. Fourth watch, Funing Hall. Ren Duobaozhong was covered in blood, and rushed to the corridor: "Master, I can't hold it any longer!" Hu Yanguo and Gao Shu beside him were also covered in blood, and there was a broken arrow stuck in Huyanguo's right arm, but the two Still following Ren Duo Bao Zhong closely, not leaving for a moment. Shi Yue stood in the corridor outside the main hall of Funing Hall with a livid face. "When did the Imperial City Division learn how to fight?!" Shi Yue snapped, "You are a famous general in the party for being benevolent and loyal!" "There are too many traitors." Ren Duo Baozhong also lost his composure at this time, the entire force of his men, including squadrons and servants, is only more than 600 people, most of which have already been lost by this time.Although Empress Dowager Gao was in Funing Hall, the leader of those rebels was not an idiot. He quickly sealed off the area around Funing Hall.It has been more than an hour since Funing Palace was surrounded, and there is actually an endless stream of Banzhi guards who came to King Qin, but most of them are without a leader, fighting on their own, at least three or five people, at most no more than fifty people at a time, although they are loyal and brave. Jia, but in fact it does not help, but kills in vain.It's no wonder that the guards of the squadrons are slang-talking people in the army. In order to prevent treason, the guards of the squadrons in the palace are particularly strict in this aspect. The guards of the squadrons often don't know each other, let alone trust each other. They are organized by prestigious people, and they can only die loyally.On the other hand, the number of rebels is increasing. Obviously, rebels from other places have come to support one after another.Based on the experience of benevolence and loyalty, there are at least 1,400 to 500 rebels outside, almost five times the number of our own! What made Ren Duo Baozhong even more frustrating was that although he was very frugal, he was almost out of arrows. Several times he wanted to send people out to ask for help or go to the arsenal to bring back some arrows, but was repelled by the rebels.He came up with the idea more than once, wanting to ask Empress Dowager Gao to come out and shout a few words to break the enemy's morale, but every time Shi Yue vetoed it.Shi Yue could stand in the corridor outside the main hall and kiss Mao Shishi with everyone, but he would never take risks with Mrs. Gao later.Even the Empress Dowager Gao wanted to leave the hall, but Shi Yue sent Li Xiangan to stop her without any discussion. There was a shortage of arrows and no reinforcements, but Ren Duo Baozhong finally saw a weakness of the rebels. Although there were many soldiers in the Imperial City Division, they were afraid of close combat.He took advantage of this weakness of the rebels, and Li Shunju and Li Shunju took turns leading the surviving Banzhi guards to attack the rebels again and again, which scared the rebels into fear, and no matter what, they did not dare to get too close to Funing Palace. But this is not a long-term solution.After all, the rebel army was powerful, and every time he rushed for a while, he didn't dare to leave the Palace of Funing too far.One's own physical strength is gradually exhausted, and both sides are fighting hand-to-hand, casualties are inevitable, and the casualties of the subordinates are also increasing, while the rebel forces are becoming more and more powerful.This cruel situation cannot but make Ren Duo Bao Zhong more and more desperate. But Shi Yue just said coldly: "It's already the fourth watch, and the bandit soldiers are at the end of their strength!" At the end of the battle? !Ren Duo Baozhong was almost furious, who is the last one?We are the end of the line!He almost wanted to yell at Shi Yue, but looking at Shi Yue's calm eyes, he finally gritted his teeth angrily, and sneered loudly: "Commander Shi, great advice!" He shouted: "Follow me if you are not afraid of death! Go out and kill for a while!" But he didn't know that at this moment, the calm and cold Shi Yue behind him was also twitching with nervousness.Why haven't reinforcements come yet?Apart from the Imperial City Division, were there any other troops involved in the rebellion?He has not heard any report about Shi Deyi, what is he doing?Counting the time, Zai Zhi who was called into the palace will soon arrive at the palace, will anyone notice something is wrong?Also, how is Sixth Brother?What about Hu Yanzhong? ... Shi Yue had too many doubts and worries in his heart, but he could only hide them in his heart and never dared to show them. Shi Yue knew very well in his heart that it was Ren Duo Baozhong, Li Shunju and those Banzhi guards and internal servants who were fighting in Funing Hall, but at this moment, as long as he showed the slightest wavering, these people would collapse instantly. This is also a war of wills! And what supported Shi Yue's will were two things - King Yong hadn't shown up at this time, which made him suspicious; and he didn't see the heads of Hu Yanzhong and Yang Shifang with his own eyes, which made him more and more convinced that the turning point was coming .