The atmosphere in the hall suddenly solidified.
Ding Yitu has obviously turned his back. The Rising Sun Escort Bureau has a large number of people, and Ding Yitu is an expert. If he really wants to take action, the Kyoto Prefecture will not be able to get any advantage at all.
There was tension inside and outside the hall.
Tie Zheng stared at Ding Yitu with cold eyes, and suddenly he laughed. His smile was quite abrupt. Ding Yitu frowned and found that Tie Zheng actually exchanged a look with the middle-aged man, and his heart trembled. , knowing that something was fishy, the middle-aged man and Tie Zheng came to the Rising Sun Escort Agency one after another tonight, and it turned out that there was something fishy.
At this moment, he heard several screams coming from the distance. Ding Yitu's body was shaken, and he stood up abruptly, with a look of horror on his face, and said in a voiceless voice: "Tune the tiger away from the mountain!" He turned around to leave, but Tie Zheng had already He said sharply: "Ding Yitu, you have to go tonight if you don't want to. Where are you going?"
Ding Yitu said in a deep voice: "Come here, capture them!"
Bai Li had been waiting for Ding Yitu to issue an order. After hearing Ding Yitu's order, Bai Li said in a deep voice: "Take them all down!" He was the first one to rush out and reach out to grab Tiezheng.
He knew that the people in Kyoto Prefecture were led by Tie Zheng. As long as Tie Zheng was captured, the people in Kyoto Prefecture would not dare to act rashly.
Ding Yitu, however, ignored everyone's fighting and took the opportunity to leave.
His body was light and his steps were like the wind. He looked like a ghost in the night. As he walked through the hall, he suddenly saw two people lying in front of him. He went forward and saw that the person lying on the ground was the escort from the escort agency. He was shocked. , knowing that while they were entangled in the front hall, someone had already taken the opportunity to sneak into the escort agency.
Suddenly, he heard the sound of two long and one short bamboo chirping coming from the distance. When he heard the bamboo chirping sound, Ding Yitu changed his face even more.
He runs an escort agency and follows the path of the rivers and lakes. Naturally, he understands the secret codes in the rivers and lakes. The two long and one short sounds are the most common secret signals in the rivers and lakes. They are used to tell people that something has been obtained and to retreat quickly.
Ding Yitu clenched his hands into fists and moved faster. This escort agency is not small, and there are many courtyards. Not only does it have warehouses, but also stables, martial arts arenas, dining halls and dormitories are all very small. Ding Yitu's face was livid, and he walked through the two corridors. After finally reaching the outside of a courtyard, I looked around and saw no one. Then I opened the door and rushed into the courtyard. The courtyard was filled with firewood. It was the firewood room of the Escort Bureau. There were hundreds of firewood in the Escort Bureau. There are a lot of people just eating every day, so the woodshed is huge, and there are chopped firewood almost everywhere in the yard. On weekdays, except for two handymen who come here to move some firewood, almost no one sets foot in it.
Half of the firewood shed is in the open air, and the other half is covered with a raincloth. This is because we are worried that if it rains and gets wet, the firewood will be unavailable. However, if the whole firewood shed is covered with a raincloth, the sun will not be able to fully expose the firewood.
Ding Yitu saw that the courtyard was the same as before, with nothing special. He let out a sigh of relief, suddenly realized something, and said in a voiceless voice: "No...!" He turned around and looked towards the courtyard door, only to see A figure was walking in from outside the courtyard. The figure was graceful and graceful as she moved around. She was wearing night clothes and had a face covering on her face. But even a blind person could tell that the person who came was a woman with an attractive figure.
"It seems that Mr. Ding is not that smart!" The woman twisted her waist and walked in like a water snake. Her voice was seductive: "Xiao Shaozong entrusted you with such an important task. It seems that he is stupider than you!"
Under the imperial city, Xiao Shaozong put his hands behind his back, raised his head to the night sky, and said nothing for a long time.
He was short in stature, but in this square of thousands of people, no one could ignore his presence.
After a long time, he lowered his head, seeming to be meditating on something, and suddenly asked: "What time is it now?"
"Reporting to the prince, it has already entered the ugly hour." Guihe said respectfully: "There are less than two hours until the last hour!"
"Two hours...!" Xiao Shaozong nodded slightly, thoughtfully, and after a moment, he said: "Commander Qin!"
Next to him, Qin Zhong, the commander of the Xuanwu Battalion in gray armor, said respectfully: "The general is here!"
"You watch the time." Xiao Shaozong said: "As soon as the Yin time passes, you can attack the city directly without my order!"
Qin Chong immediately said: "General, I will obey the order!"
"Your Majesty, the general requested to be the first to attack the city!" Lu Xiaochao, the commander of the Tiger God Battalion in black armor behind Xiao Shaozong, couldn't help but said: "The general has already sent siege weapons and issued a military order here. Within two hours , we will definitely attack the main gate of the imperial city!"
Of course, Tiger God Camp will not have heavy siege weapons. The so-called siege weapons are just some ladders brought out from the arsenal.
Xiao Shaozong said with a smile: "Don't worry, Commander Lu, there will always be a time when you make great achievements. This formation should be handed over to Commander Qin's Xuanwu Camp."
Lu Xiaochao was Xiao Shaozong's thorn in the Tiger God Camp. For many years, no one knew that Lu Xiaochao was actually Xiao Shaozong's confidant. This time when Xue Lingfeng was killed, Lu Xiaochao finally played the role that Xiao Shaozong had planned for a long time and became the Tiger God in one fell swoop. The battalion commander holds the three thousand elites of the Tiger God Battalion in his hands.
Xiao Shaozong knew very well that with Lu Xiaochao in charge, Tiger God Camp was a trump card in his hand.
After Qin Zhong took office, although there was a purge of Xuanwu Camp, Xuanwu Camp has been mixed with various forces from the beginning, and it is impossible to eliminate these internal disputes immediately in a short period of time. Compared with the pure Tiger God Camp, The Xuanwu Camp will not reassure Xiao Shaozong. The Xuanwu Camp is needed to attack the city, but the power of the Tiger God Camp will still be needed to control the capital in the future, so Xiao Shaozong certainly does not want the Tiger God Camp to be compromised in the siege battle.
Lu Xiaochao did not dare to say anything.
At this moment, he saw several officials approaching. Xiao Shaozong glanced at him and saw Dou Kui, and said with a smile: "Master Dou, I have worked hard for you today."
Tens of thousands of soldiers and horses besieged the imperial city. Things started in a hurry. At the end of the day, Dou Kui was responsible for the food supply, and Dou Kui did a very good job, which made Xiao Shaozong very satisfied.
"Your Majesty, this is a matter within the lower official's duties." Dou Kui bowed slightly and said respectfully: "If your Majesty has any errands, please give me your instructions at any time."
"You have done a good job." Xiao Shaozong said: "You are also tired, you can go back and rest first."
"I'm not tired," Dou Kui hesitated. He seemed to have something to say. Xiao Shaozong could see it at a glance and said with a smile, "Master Dou, is there anything else?"
Dou Kui thought for a moment and then said softly: "Your Majesty, the Emperor was killed by the traitor Qi Ning. After the imperial city is breached, he will naturally cut the traitor into pieces, but...!" He hesitated and looked around. The other officials around him also looked at each other in confusion. Xiao Shaozong said gently: "If you have anything to say, it doesn't matter."
"Your Majesty, the country cannot live without a king for a day." Dou Kui said solemnly: "Since the emperor passed away, I thought that after the city was destroyed and traitors were produced, the top priority was to have a new king ascend the throne. Only in this way can we stabilize our country. The Qinhuai army is fighting on the front line. If there is no new king at this time, it will not only be useless to the country, but also likely to cause the front line troops to lose their morale, and it may even bring about... a huge disaster. "
"That's right." An official on the side said: "My lord, you are the direct bloodline of Emperor Taizu. Although the emperor has been married, he has not given birth to a prince. Naturally, there is no prince to succeed him. Among the royal bloodline, Only the prince is qualified to inherit the throne...!"
Xiao Shaozong frowned and said: "The traitor has not been eliminated. Is it too early to discuss this matter at this time? Moreover, I only want to eliminate traitors for the country. If you are a successor, you can always find him."
"Your Majesty, in this time of crisis, only Your Majesty stepped forward." Dou Kui said seriously: "Your Majesty has the courage and talent to determine the future of the world. What Mr. Liang said is true. Your Majesty is the direct bloodline of Emperor Taizu. This successor Your Majesty, no one other than the prince can shoulder this important task."
"Why did Mr. Dou suddenly mention this matter?"
Dou Kui said: "Just now many of our officials were discussing over there. As courtiers, we naturally have to work for the country. Everyone is also worried that after Qining is wiped out, the capital will still not be peaceful, so everyone feels that the country cannot live without a king for a day. , in times of crisis, someone must step forward to shoulder the responsibility of the country." After a pause, he handed over his hands and said: "The official told everyone that the prince should inherit the throne, and all the officials also felt that the prince was the most suitable candidate. . I am in charge of the Ministry of Household Affairs. If I want to perform the ceremony of enthroning the throne, the Ministry of Household Affairs must allocate a sum of money to arrange the matter with the Ministry of Rites. We cannot delay at this time, so it is best to make preparations early, so... I am going to talk to Yuan Shangshu. Let’s discuss this matter. I wonder what the prince’s opinion is?”
Xiao Shaozong pondered for a moment and then said: "What does Mr. Yuan Shangshu mean?"
"Old Shangshu is old and is still resting for the time being. He has not gone to disturb us." Dou Kui said in a low voice: "But except for a few people with ulterior motives, most of the officials support the prince's ascension to the throne."
"Anyone with ulterior motives?" Xiao Shaozong looked calm: "Who are Master Dou talking about?"
"The group headed by Lu Xiao." Dou Kui whispered: "That group of people were gathering together just now to be sneaky and didn't know what they were discussing. Just now we talked about the prince's succession, but Lu Xiao said After the city is defeated, he will first welcome the queen into the palace. As for who will inherit the throne, he said that it is not time to discuss the matter yet." He sneered and said: "This man has evil intentions. He has formed a clique with the people of the Ministry of War for personal gain and has been demoted. I think we should investigate this person carefully.”
Xiao Shaozong smiled lightly and said: "Master Lu is not wrong, but this is not the time to discuss the successor."
"Your Majesty, except for the Ministry of War, all the officials from other ministries are very supportive of Your Majesty." Dou Kui said softly: "I just saw Hu Bowen, the Minister of Rites, and when I talked about this matter, looking at what Minister Hu meant, he seemed to think that the Prince should do it. Inheriting the throne, Hu Bowen's status in the Ministry of Rites is second only to that of Yuan Lao Shangshu...!" He lowered his voice and said: "Old Shangshu Yuan is already old, and I'm afraid he will retire soon. After Lao Shangshu becomes an official, Hu Bowen is the most qualified to take over. As the Minister of Rites, since he supports the prince, then the entire Ministry of Rites naturally supports the prince."
"Extraordinary things are done at extraordinary times." Mr. Liang next to him said: "Your Majesty, at this extraordinary time, I think that after the city is broken, we will immediately summon all the civil and military officials to enter the Chengtian Palace. Then we will all support The prince ascends the throne to avoid long nights and dreams and other troubles."
Dou Kui immediately said: "What Mr. Liang said is absolutely true. If anyone dares to object at that time, they have ulterior motives. Even Qi Ning's accomplices can be detained and imprisoned on the spot!" There was a fierce look in his eyes.