The prime minister, the head of all officials, had already knelt down to apologize, so naturally there was no reason for the other officials to stand. They all lifted up the corners of their robes and knelt down, knocking their heads against each other's shoulders, making a "bang bang" sound, but no one spoke.
Emperor Zheng Rong saw that the situation had stabilized, and his nervous mood finally calmed down. He stretched out his right hand and said, "No need to do this, everyone. Stand up."
Just as he finished speaking, Zheng Rong suddenly caught a glimpse of a thin red line appearing on his arm. He quickly retracted his right hand and touched the thin line with his left hand. He felt a sudden pain and opened his left hand to see—it was blood!
It turned out that it was Sun Hao's right hand holding the spike, which was cut by Yuchi Lianghong and then slashed down, just hitting the emperor's hand. It was just because the emperor was frightened by the sudden change in front of him at that time, so he didn't feel the pain and didn't realize that he was injured.
The officials had not stood up yet, their eyes fixed on the dirt and stones on the ground, and they did not see that the emperor was injured. Only Qiu Yizi, who was beside Zheng Rong, saw it clearly. She wanted to shout for the imperial physician to come over, but she was afraid of alarming the emperor, so she hurriedly whispered in Zheng Rong's ear: "Your Majesty, you are injured. Do you want to call the imperial physician to see you immediately?"
The injury on the arm didn't seem too serious. Zheng Rong didn't care and said, "This is just a minor injury. It's not a big deal. Don't call the imperial physician. Once the imperial physician comes, it will cause a lot of trouble in the city. People outside believe everything they hear. It's hard to say what the news will be..."
Qiu Yizi frowned, shook his head and said, "Don't worry that the emperor will dislike my words. This matter can be big or small. At the beginning, Li Shengjie's father, Li Zhi, was injured by an assassin, but the assassin's knife was poisoned... Poor old ship owner Li Zhi, even his injured leg was cut off, but the injury was still not healed..."
Zheng Rong was panicked when he heard this, but fortunately he was able to remain calm in such a situation. He did not respond to Qiu Yizi's words, but said to Yuchi Jiming: "Well, little girl from the Yuchi family, stop holding Sun Hao, bring him over, I want to talk to him."
At this time, the civil and military officials who were crawling on the ground had stood up. Seeing the blood flowing from the emperor's arm, dyeing a large area of the bright yellow dragon robe red, they had already guessed that the emperor was injured. The emperor's dragon body was injured, and the officials were of course very terrified - they were afraid that the supreme ruler who had the power of life and death would get angry and vent his anger on them, but they had to admire the emperor - they admired that he was injured, but he pretended to be fine, and even had the mind to say a few words to Sun Hao, who was assassinating him.
Qiu Yizi, who was standing by, knew the whole story and understood that the emperor wanted to find out whether Sun Hao had actually stewed poison on the thorns so as to have peace of mind.
Unexpectedly, Yuchi Jiming pushed Sun Hao, turned him over, sniffed his breath, and said with embarrassment: "Your Majesty, Sun Hao is dead..."
Zheng Rong was shocked when he heard this, and quickly turned his attention to Sun Hao's face. He saw that his face was covered in bruises and his entire expression was distorted. However, his pair of old eyes were wide open like longans and staring at him, which looked very scary.
Seeing the dead Sun Hao's angry eyes, Zheng Rong felt a tremor in his heart. He also thought that since Sun Hao was dead, he would not know whether the weapon he used to assassinate was poisoned. Thinking of this, Emperor Zheng Rong felt more and more dizzy and almost suffocated. He managed to calm down and said tremblingly: "Sun Hao is dead? Forget it! I am also tired. You can go back to your work. You can consult Mr. Zhongli on relevant matters. If you are undecided, you can also ask for permission."
After saying that, Zheng Rong tried to stand up with difficulty, but after struggling twice in his seat he still couldn't stand up, and his face became paler and paler.
Qiu Yizi observed carefully from close up and saw that the emperor seemed very weak, but now he was in front of everyone and didn't know what to do.
Zhongli Kuang was quick to see the opportunity and stepped forward and said, "Didn't you hear? The emperor wants you to handle affairs according to your respective duties. All the generals shall discuss and divide the garrison areas according to the positions currently occupied by the troops. The civil officials shall immediately draft and post a notice to reassure the people. All warehouses in the city shall be sealed and not be used. Although Jinling City has been captured by our army, the remnants of Lingnan are still there and cannot be underestimated. I have said in advance that if anyone neglects his duties or disturbs the people, I, Zhongli Kuang, will be the first to impeach him! Do you understand? Why don't you kowtow and thank me quickly? I will go down to do the work now!"
Normally in the court, Emperor Zheng Rong would show kindness to his subjects and sometimes speak politely and gently. However, Prime Minister Zhongli was strict and solemn in everything he did, and was extremely rigorous and careful in his work. Therefore, all the civil and military officials in the court were often more afraid of this iron-faced prime minister than the emperor.
Therefore, after Zhongli Kuang finished speaking, all the civil and military officials knelt down immediately, bowed to the emperor several times, shouted "Long live the emperor" in unison, and then stood up and went back to their respective duties.
Qiu Yizhi only thought that the emperor was almost out of control because he was injured or even poisoned, so when he saw that everyone had dispersed, he immediately leaned over and said to the emperor: "Your Majesty, is your dragon body healthy?"
Zheng Rong sat in the chair for a while, and his energy had recovered a little, so he replied: "It's fine, but I need to rest. Li Shengjie's boat is too shaking. You are familiar with Jinling City, do you know if there is a good place to go in a quiet place in the bustling city?"
Qiu Yizhi thought for a moment and replied, "The prefectural government office has just been through a war, so it is definitely not habitable. It is too late to set up a temporary headquarters or build a temporary palace. I have thought of two places to live. One is the Qingya Temple where Yin Chengliang used to live, and the other is Lin Shuhan's manor. Both places are very quiet. Your Majesty can choose one to stay for a few days, and then choose a site to build a temporary palace. How about that?"
Zheng Rong pondered for a while and said, "Although it is said that 'All lands belong to the king', it is not good for me to occupy the magpie's nest. I'd better choose 'Qingya Temple'."
According to Qiu Yizi, although "Qingya Temple" is a good place, it is the old residence of the deceased Yin Chengliang. It seems a bit unlucky and gloomy. It is not as grand and comfortable as Lin Shuhan's manor. But since the emperor has spoken, he naturally has nothing to refute or explain.
So Qiu Yizhi ordered Zhao Chengxiao and others to mobilize their troops, and specially found the green wool sedan chair used by the governor from the Jiangnan prefectural government office that had been breached. He personally helped the emperor into the sedan chair, and escorted him to the "Qingya Temple".
Halfway through the journey, Zhao Chengxiao slowly walked to Qiu Yizhi's side and said to him: "Sir, when I was looking for the sedan just now, I found the imprisoned officials of Jiangnan Road in the government office. The governor Qian Feng and the governor Liu Qing were also inside..."
Qiu Yizi was stunned when he heard this - there was no need to talk about Qian Feng and others. Remember, when Liu Qingcheng was captured, didn't he die together with the Lingnan Army? How could he still be alive
So Qiu Yizhi asked doubtfully: "Liu Qing? Isn't Liu Qing dead?"
Zhao Chengxiao replied: "Alive, but my hands and feet are injured. I can only lie on the ground and can't turn over. The skin on my back is rotten..."
Qiu Yizhi knew that Zhao Chengxiao was a steady person and had met Liu Qing in person many times, so what he said must be true, so he said: "I didn't expect that Liu Qing's fighting ability was average, but he was lucky. Since he is a blessed person, God will not abandon him, so you must be careful to treat him and not go against God's will. Brother Zhao, you can send someone to ask the best military doctor in the army to treat Liu Qing. There are also several other imprisoned adults, who must be properly placed. I will make any arrangements after asking Prime Minister Zhongli and the emperor."
Zhao Chengxiao agreed and retreated.
Qiu Yizi also hurriedly dismounted and walked to Zhongli Kuang, telling the prime minister what Zhao Chengxiao had reported and his own temporary solution.
Qiu Yizhi's handling of the situation just now was originally what was expected in the question. Zhongli Kuang couldn't think of anything that needed to be corrected or improved, so he nodded in agreement.
As they were talking, the green velvet sedan chair carrying the emperor had already arrived in front of the Qingya Temple. Qiu Yizhi hurriedly ordered his men to open all the gates, but it was still too small for the eight-man sedan chair to enter, so he simply ordered his personal soldiers to tear down the gate immediately.
Qiu Yi's men were all strong and powerful. After hearing the order, they dismantled the originally flimsy gate of "Qingya Temple" in less than a cup of tea, and then carried the emperor's sedan chair into the temple.
After entering the "Qingya Temple", Qiu Yizi discussed with Zhongli Kuang and chose a sunny and secluded side hall. He immediately sent people to clean and tidy up the house and let the emperor live in it.
Emperor Zheng Rong was indeed very tired and fell asleep peacefully in a short moment.
Seeing this, Zhongli Kuang and Qiu Yizi, who had been busy for most of the day, exchanged glances with each other, slowly exited the hall, gently closed the door, and walked out.
Qiu Yizhi breathed a sigh of relief, and hurriedly called Zhao Chengxiao over, saying, "This is a forbidden area now. The emperor has already appointed you as a guard. You must strictly control your brothers and not make any mistakes. Do you understand?"
Zhao Chengxiao was about to agree when he heard Zhongli Kuang say, "Not appropriate. Although the troops led by General Zhao are the guards appointed by the emperor when he leaves the capital, it seems that only these two hundred people are not enough to guard such a large garden. I suggest that General Zhao stay and ask Yuchi Lianghong to select two hundred officials from the Ministry of Justice to go south. I will select six hundred of the original imperial guards, a total of one thousand people to guard here. All orders must be obeyed by the emperor. The emperor is temporarily unable to manage affairs, so I will be responsible for the defense here first."
Just as Zhongli Kuang finished speaking, Qiu Yizhi was still thinking about it when he heard Zhongli Kuang say to him, "Yizhi, it's not that I don't trust you or General Zhao Chengxiao. It's just that the responsibility here is too great and we can't afford to make any mistakes. The troops are not subordinate to each other, so they can check and balance each other and spread out some of the responsibilities. Yizhi, don't you think this makes sense?"
Qiu Yizhi heard that Zhong Likuang's tone was less severe and more gentle. He also heard that he wanted to help her share the responsibility. She was moved and said, "Thank you for your guidance, Master!"
As he spoke, he recalled how his adoptive father, the emperor, had inexplicably attacked him several times in the past few days. Now, he suddenly felt rare warmth from his master Zhongli Kuang. His eyes became moist and he almost cried.
Zhong Li Kuang sighed and said, "Yizhi is a smart man. You must understand my thoughts. Well, you are tired, so go back and rest. Remember to report here tomorrow. Now the three princes of the emperor are not here. You are the closest to the emperor. You also understand military affairs. The emperor cannot do without you to assist him in military affairs."
After hearing this, Qiu Yizi hurriedly bowed to Zhongli Kuang, then bowed towards the room where the emperor was, and then withdrew.