Before Xiao Shaozong could speak, Dou Kui had already sneered: "Lord Lu, is it treason to lead an assassin into the inner palace without permission? Is it treason to assassinate the emperor?"
"That's natural." Lu Xiao nodded and said, "What I'm asking is why he rebelled."
"Then you should ask Qi Ning." Dou Kui said: "Who knows how evil this person is." He then bowed his hands to Xiao Shaozong and said: "Your Majesty, the emperor has been killed. This matter cannot be publicized for the time being. In this time of crisis, I also ask the prince to take charge of the overall situation and stabilize the world."
Immediately there were many officials nearby saying: "I beg you, Your Majesty, to take charge of the overall situation!"
Xiao Shaozong sighed: "Little Wang is stupid, but now our country is in crisis. Little Wang is the direct bloodline of Emperor Taizu. In times of national calamity, in order to preserve the country left by our ancestors, it is naturally our duty to do so." He cupped his hands and said to the officials: "My lords, in this time of crisis, please help me with my little king and tide over the difficulties together."
"Your Majesty, I am willing to go over and persuade Qi Ning." Yuan Laoshang wrote: "I will tell you with reason and move me with emotion. Even if I cannot persuade him to surrender, I will definitely persuade him to hand over the emperor and queen."
Xiao Shaozong shook his head and said: "Absolutely not. The old minister is an important minister of Chu State and an important weapon of the country. As the saying goes, a gentleman cannot stand under a dangerous wall. Since Qi Ning dares to kill the emperor, he is already crazy. Now Yulin camp is under his control. Deceived, if the old minister goes there in person, if something goes wrong, then...!"
"Old minister is already at this age, why should he cherish this body of withered bones?" Yuan Laoshangshu said sternly: "The palace is in danger, and as a minister, how can I care about my own life." He pushed Yuan Moxian away who was supporting him, and did not care. Xiao Shaozong objected and went straight to the city gate. Xiao Shaozong shook his head and then said in a deep voice: "Protect the boss!"
The shield soldiers protected Old Shangshu Yuan. Yuan Moxian saw that Old Shangshu was faltering, but he still followed him. He knew that his old father was strong, so he did not reach out to help him at this time, but followed closely.
On the top of the city, Qi Ning saw the old minister, of course, and there was a trace of joy in his eyes. He said to Yu Biegu beside him: "Below the city is the old minister Yuan. If you pass on the order, no one can act rashly."
The old minister walked to the bottom of the city, then raised his head and said loudly: "Qining, why do you want to rebel?"
Although he tried his best to speak loudly, the imperial city was extremely high. He was old and weak, so the soldiers at the top of the city couldn't hear clearly. Fortunately, Qining had deep internal strength and amazing hearing, but he could hear very clearly. Yuan Moxian was worried Qi Ning couldn't hear, and was about to send a message when he heard Qi Ning already said: "Sir, I can't tell right and wrong now, but the emperor is definitely not harmed by the younger generation."
"In the forbidden area of the palace, you led people into the palace. Is this a lie?" Lao Shangshu asked again.
Qi Ning sighed: "It's true."
"If it's true, then what is it but rebellion?" The old minister said angrily: "The two generations of marquises of the Jinyi Qi family were pillars of the empire. They were loyal to Chu and made countless contributions. As a member of the Qi family, you The descendants, who did not want to serve the imperial court, actually committed regicide and rebelled. Now I want an answer, why did you do this?"
Qi Ning looked down at the old minister, silent, and said after a moment: "If I said that I entered the palace to be loyal to Da Chu, no one would believe it."
The old minister sighed and said: "On top of the city is the Yulin Army of our Da Chu, and below the city is the Xuanwu Camp and the Tiger God Camp. These are our warriors of Da Chu. Do you really want our warriors of Da Chu to fight against each other?" Massacre? Are you determined to persist in such a thing that makes relatives grudge and enemies gratify?" Pointing to the north, he said loudly: "The Qinhuai Army is fighting bloody battles on the front line. There is such a turmoil in the capital. Do you really want to destroy it with one hand? Are you going to kill me?"
Qi Ning sighed: "What does the old minister want me to do?"
"If you still think that you are a descendant of the Jinyi Qi family, and you still think that you are a minister of Dachu, tie yourself out of the city now." The old minister said: "You can explain clearly what happened in front of all the civil and military officials."
Qi Ning smiled bitterly and said: "My lord, Xiao Shaozong is trying to usurp the throne. Now he has troops and horses. If I leave the city at this time, wouldn't I be asking for death?"
"What evidence do you have for saying that the King of Huainan usurped the throne?" Lao Shangshu said: "If you have real evidence, show it now. I believe that the eyes of the civil and military officials in the dynasty will be sharp."
Qi Ning shook his head and said: "Boss, the situation is stronger than that of others. Even if you have sharp eyes, what will happen? Xiao Shaozong wants to kill me and then quickly. If I don't die, he will be uneasy. No matter whether I am justified or not, he will not give up. .”
"Of course I want to kill you." Xiao Shaozong's voice came over. He had already mounted his horse. Under the protection of the shield soldiers, he came not far behind the old minister. He looked up at Qi Ning at the top of the city and said expressionlessly: "I am Taizu. The emperor's descendants, no matter who wants to bring trouble to Chu, I will not be merciful."
Qi Ning raised his finger and pointed at Xiao Shaozong and said with a smile: "Xiao Shaozong, I am right in front of you, you can attack now!"
"You seem to have underestimated my determination to attack the imperial city." Xiao Shaozong sighed: "The imperial city is destroyed and can be rebuilt. If the rebellion is not eliminated, there will be endless troubles. I just don't want my Da Chu soldiers to shed too much worthless blood. .”
Qi Ning nodded and said with a smile: "Do you believe what you said? But why have you ever cared about the bloodshed and sacrifice of others?" After a slight pause, he said: "Old Minister, Xiao Shaozong wants to get rid of me. , I naturally can’t let it be slaughtered, but I don’t want to implicate the nobles in the palace. I want to ask you something, I wonder if the boss will agree? "
"you say!"
"The queen is still in the palace." Qi Ning sighed: "If we really want to fight, I'm afraid it will disturb the queen and the nobles in the palace, so... I can let the queen leave the palace, but you have to promise me, queen After leaving the palace, you must ensure their safety and not let anyone harm them."
The old minister immediately said: "You want the queen to leave the palace? That's very good. I can guarantee that after the queen leaves the palace, they will be properly placed and no one will be able to harm them."
"I'm not afraid of others, I'm just worried that Xiao Shaozong is going crazy." Qining sighed.
Xiao Shaozong smiled faintly and said: "Are you trying to use this as an excuse to deliberately delay time? But even if you delay some time, so what? Could there be other rebels coming to help you?"
The old minister turned around and said: "My lord, let the queen leave the city first to prevent the queen and the nobles from being frightened. This... is naturally not a bad thing."
Xiao Shaozong nodded and said: "What the boss said is absolutely true." Xiang Qining said: "There is still more than an hour before dawn. Before dawn, you must respectfully send the queen out of the city, otherwise I can only order an attack on the city."
Qi Ning didn't talk nonsense, but Xiao Shaozong had already turned around and returned to the military formation.
However, the old minister did not go back to the military formation, but said loudly: "I will welcome the queen here!"
Yuan Moxian's lips moved slightly, as if he wanted to say something, but in the end no words came out.
Qi Ning glanced at Yu Biegu and said, "Captain Yu, I'll leave this to you. I'll go to Fengyi Palace to ask the queen to leave the city."
Yu Biegu cupped his hands and said, "Follow the order!"
Qi Ning got off the city, and Chi Danmei followed closely beside him, frowning and saying: "Why do you want to let the queen out of the city? Do you have any plans?"
"The Queen wants to leave the city, and you have to leave the city too." Qi Ning's expression became serious: "As you said, the city is besieged with heavy troops. Once Xiao Shaozong orders the siege, it will not last long, and Xiao Shaozong has obviously controlled the situation. Once the city is broken, I really can’t think of any other way to turn things around.”
"You asked me to leave the city?" Chi Danmei was startled and frowned: "You asked the queen to leave the city just to let me blend in and leave safely?"
Qining smiled and said: "I can't really let you die in the city with me."
Chi Danmei shook her head and sighed: "I won't leave. Since I said I want to live and die with you, I naturally won't leave you alone."
Qi Ning stopped, thought for a moment, and then said: "I just thought of one crucial thing, which is also Xiao Shaozong's only loophole. In other words, this only loophole may be our only chance to turn the situation around."
"Loophole?"
"Your Majesty!" Qi Ning said solemnly: "Xiao Shaozong has a paranoid temperament, and he is destined to leave me the last chance because of this. He usurped the throne just because in his heart, the Chu throne should belong to him, and both the late emperor and the current emperor are He has occupied his throne, so he wants the emperor to see him take the throne back with his own eyes. For this reason, he will not kill the emperor before he ascends the throne."
Chi Danmei Bingxue is smart. When Qin Ning said this, she immediately understood the meaning and asked in a low voice: "You mean that finding the emperor can solve the current situation?"
"As long as the emperor is rescued, the power in Xiao Shaozong's hands will disappear instantly." Qi Ning sneered: "The methods Xiao Shaozong used from beginning to end were all shady plots, and they did not really gather all the troops. Although he now holds great power, his foundation is But it is not reliable. If the civil and military officials and soldiers see that the emperor is still alive, then the rumors he spun will be self-defeating and everything will collapse."
Chi Danmei thought for a while and then said: "Xiao Shaozong left the emperor, and of course he knew that was the only weakness he might have. This is like martial arts practitioners, they all have deadly shields, and they will naturally not hesitate to fight with others. Protect the gate at all costs. The emperor is Xiao Shaozong's gate, so he will naturally try his best to protect it. If the emperor is not in the palace, will he definitely be in the capital? Is it possible that he has been sent out of the city by Xiao Shaozong and is far away from the capital? ?”
"Of course it is possible." Qi Ning nodded and said: "But I believe that the emperor is still in the city. Xiao Shaozong has performed such a big drama, and of course he hopes it will be staged under the eyes of the emperor, so he should not send the emperor away. Capital City.”
"Even if he is really in the capital, where is the emperor?" Chi Danmei frowned and said: "There are millions of people in the capital, many markets, and countless houses. If you want to hide one person in the capital, even if you mobilize thousands of people Even if you search the capital from beginning to end, you may not be able to find it...!"
"I've been thinking about it." Qi Ning was thoughtful, silent for a moment, and finally said: "There are only two most likely places!"