There was chaos in the palace.
There were only a few eunuchs in the previous dynasty, so there wasn't much chaos, but the harem was a completely different story.
You must know that the people living here are all palace maids, eunuchs and concubines with little experience. They have not been frightened like this in decades. The battles that appeared one after another in front of the imperial city and the palace gate, as well as the constant screams, Their courage had been frightened, and all they could think about now was running for their lives.
However, the palace confinement is so deep, how can they escape? So, when Sun Tu led his men into the harem, they saw hundreds of eunuchs and maids running around like headless flies, especially when they saw Sun Tu from a distance. After Tu and others barged in like ferocious spirits, they screamed continuously, like rabbits frightened by ghosts, completely out of control.
Seeing this scene, Sun Tu's face became gloomy. As he waved his hand and gave the order, the soldiers behind him rode forward, raised their swords and scolded them. Only then did they control the situation, causing the hundreds of eunuchs to kneel down and not dare to scream again. Voice. But the fear in their hearts only deepened because of this, which made them all kneel and tremble, not even daring to take a breath, especially when Sun Tu came to them on horseback to resist, many of them almost fainted from fear.
This made Sun Tu unable to get the answer he wanted even after asking several people. It was not until the fifth eunuch he pulled up for questioning that he had any reaction.
"Let me ask you, where is the emperor now?"
"Captain, spare your life... I don't know anything about this slave..." This man subconsciously begged for mercy first, and then he seemed to understand the meaning of these words, and stumbled and said: "Your Majesty... Your Majesty has been at the Imperial Ancestral Temple last night. Later, I seemed to have gone back to the palace... "
Sun Tu raised his eyebrows when he heard this. Zhao Ji, who had always had a hard time, actually spent the night in the Ancestral Temple? From this point of view, his judgment was indeed good. He was aware of everything today, or it could be said that the plans of Li Gang and others had his approval. It was only because he was unsure that he went to the Ancestral Temple to see his ancestors last night, hoping that the spirits of the ancestors of the old Zhao family could bless him. But for now, it seems that these ancestors are not powerful enough.
A disdainful sneer appeared on Sun Tu's face first, and then it turned into a frost: "Gather everyone together, watch carefully and don't let anyone go. You, take me to the palace to see the emperor." He pointed. It was the eunuch in front of him who could reply.
To be honest, this was Sun Tu's first time entering the harem. He was extremely unfamiliar with the environment here, and he didn't know where the emperor's palace was. Naturally, he needed to find a guide to lead the way.
"Yes..." This eunuch was quite clever. After calming down for a while, he hurriedly agreed with a smile, and even obediently took the reins of Sun Tu's horse and led him straight forward. The people around him were also forced to stop by the soldiers and stopped running around and screaming. Then many people secretly paid attention to the eunuch with strange eyes, including envy and deep contempt. This was completely It was an act of betrayal against the official family.
However, this eunuch could no longer care about anything else. At this time, he only wanted to please Sun Tu so that he could survive, so he appeared to be extra energetic, speeding up his pace, and even approached Sun Tu like a tour guide.
Tu introduced the purpose of some buildings along the road: "There is the Jingxinzhai, which is the palace where His Majesty usually cultivates his moral character, reads and paints. Behind him is the Imperial Garden, and there... "
Sun Tu followed his instructions and looked around, and found that Zhao Ji was really living a comfortable and comfortable life. Not only did he have a place in the harem where he could write, paint, admire flowers and rocks, there was even a large Cuju and polo ground. , specifically allowing him to have fun with the eunuchs, palace officials, Gao Qiu and other favored ministers in his spare time. He really blossomed in both culture and sports, and nothing was delayed.
From this point of view, Zhao Ji can be regarded as one of the few emperors in the world who knows how to live and enjoy life. The only thing he does not know is how to be a good emperor, and this is also his biggest sin.
"Captain Sun, this is the palace." The little eunuch's words interrupted Sun Tu's thoughts. Following the direction of his finger, Sun Tu saw a beautiful and luxurious palace standing in front of him. .
This palace seems to occupy an extremely large area, more than an acre of land, and the decorative materials are extremely exquisite. The wood of the door beams and pillars are all the finest rosewood, and the bricks and tiles are mainly made of white marble, and are decorated piece by piece. They are all carved and carved, and they are really beautiful to the extreme. From Sun Tu's point of view, the cost of building the palace in front of him was probably in the millions. This did not include the furniture and other items inside, nor did it include the labor costs during construction.
But no matter how expensive and luxurious the palace is, it cannot protect the people inside at this time. Sun Tu only raised the reins and controlled the horse to nimbly walk up the steps and arrived in front of the closed palace door. Following his gesture, the soldiers beside him who were also looking in amazement quickly pounced on them and bumped their shoulders. In just a few bangs, the door of the dormitory, which was not designed to be secure, was slammed open, revealing He saw the more luxurious and dazzling furniture and ornaments inside, and also made the men and women inside who had been frightened for a long time scream in shock.
After Zhao Ji learned about the chaos in the imperial city early this morning, he hurried back to the harem from the Ancestral Temple and hid in this palace designed by himself. Around him were seven or eight of his favorite concubines. Without knowing what was going on outside, these people had been hiding here, shivering, and begging their ancestors for blessings.
And now, as the palace door was knocked open, Zhao Ji's heartstrings were finally completely broken. Amidst the screams of the women around him, he also screamed in surprise. His body softened and he fell directly from the large and soft imperial couch. He was really in an extremely embarrassed state, and how could he still be a king at all? decent
And when he struggled to look up and met Sun Tu's faint eyes, Zhao Ji was so frightened that his whole body trembled, and he couldn't even say a complete sentence: "You... you..."
In fact, Zhao Ji had already guessed who would win in the end from the moment the palace door was knocked open so rudely. But when the truth turned out to be what he thought, the impact was still so shocking that it almost scared his courage. At this time, he only had one thought in his mind, and that was regret. If he had known this, he might as well have been a puppet and lived in the palace. At least this way, he would not have to worry about his life, and his life would be pretty good. As for whether he has real power, it is nothing compared to his life.
heart
The fear and regret made Zhao Ji weak, and he just collapsed on the ground. He didn't even have the courage to look up at Sun Tu in front of him, as if such evasion could protect him. However, the sound of horse hooves broke his last illusion, and Sun Tu rode his horse directly into the palace.
This was something that had never been done before. Even the emperor Zhao Ji and his ancestors had never tried to ride a horse in the harem, let alone ride a horse directly into the palace. Moreover, there were still some blood stains on the hoofs of the horse, so as it walked along, it left red and black hoof prints on the white floor of the palace, which was breathtaking.
Just when Sun Tu was about to arrive in front of Zhao Ji, looking down at his king in a condescending manner, this moment was like the moment when the identities of the two parties were exchanged, a woman suddenly stepped forward and stopped in front of the trembling emperor and everyone. He looked hard at Sun Tu and shouted: "Sun Tu, you are so brave! As a minister of the Song Dynasty, you dare to break into the palace and intimidate the emperor. How can you behave like a minister?"
Dayi Lingran's words were spoken loudly by a petite woman, but after all, their power was much less powerful. But this is the only one in the palace who dares to stand up and accuse Sun Tu and weaken his spirit. The other women are so frightened that their faces turn pale and they bury their heads deeply, not daring to make a sound.
Sun Tu looked at this bold woman with some surprise, and after a moment, he laughed again.
In fact, this woman's eyes were full of fear, but for some reason, she had the courage to stand up. This alone made her stronger than everyone else present, including the lofty Emperor of the Song Dynasty.
At the same time, he also understood that the other party was pretentious and wanted to use the distinction between monarch and minister to put pressure on himself, so that he would not dare to do more extreme things, or even directly step down and plead guilty because of certain concerns. After all, this kind of drama has happened before. Even now, Zhao Ji is still the king. As a minister, he feels a little in awe in his heart.
It's a pity that her wishful thinking was destined to fail, because Sun Tu didn't have the respect for the emperor's power that other officials did. He didn't even get angry because of it. He just smiled softly and waved his hand, and soldiers came up. Come and drag this bold concubine aside. Then, he rode his horse closer to Zhao Ji again, until he was almost close to Zhao Ji, then he stopped and looked at him, staring at him: "Your Majesty, I have only one thing to ask when I enter the palace today."
Feeling the overwhelming momentum like a mountain, Zhao Ji's body trembled even more violently, like a dry leaf in the autumn wind. Two rows of teeth kept chattering and fighting. After a long while, he asked in a trembling voice: "You... what are you asking? ?”
"I just want to ask Your Majesty, why did you rebel?" Sun Tu asked an extremely ridiculous question word for word, but no one at the scene dared to raise any questions about it.
When the emperor rebels, isn't this his own rebellion? This is obviously an extremely absurd paradox. But today, Sun Tu's question was so correct and natural, and at the same time, Zhao Ji was completely unable to give an answer for a while.
His face was full of panic, and the atmosphere in the palace became tense again, as if winter had suddenly arrived!