"In fact, after the Meng family made the decision, they sent someone to notify the queen to cooperate. The queen said that she was under house arrest in the palace and that such a big thing might not be possible. Only the elders of the family would personally intervene to make her feel at ease. Gongsun Xi twitched the corner of his mouth and gave a wry smile, "The queen thought at the time that she was just framing Wu Anbo for having an affair with the palace concubine. Who knew that Prince Gaomi was so eager for his son to become a dragon that he not only brought the prince into the palace to 'catch the adulterer', but also ordered the prince to do it in public?" Kill Wu Anbo!"
"The empress was in a dangerous and embarrassing situation at the moment. I tried to persuade her to join the prince... However, after saying a few words through the palace window, I suddenly thought of something: the prince of Gaomi has always had a reputation for mediocrity, no matter what it is. Neither his literary talent nor his martial arts are outstanding, but when he cut off Wu Anbo's head, he did it very easily, which is really abnormal!"
Gongsun Xi frowned, "So I didn't have time to explain to the Queen, so I went to the main hall to check Wu Anbo's body again, and sure enough I found a flaw: the separation of Wu Anbo's body was as smooth as a mirror, and it was obviously cut off by a magic weapon. This is why Prince Gaomi strikes so easily and neatly!"
"The problem is, according to what I saw in the dark, Prince Gaomi seemingly casually pulled out the saber from the waist of a forbidden soldier nearby and beheaded Wu Anbo!"
"How can an ordinary imperial army possess such a weapon that is regarded as a treasure by all the famous generals?!"
"It must be specially matched for Prince Gaomi to let him perform in public!"
"Therefore, I suspect that King Gaomi's entry into the palace this time to 'catch an adulterer' is definitely not as simple as a struggle to take advantage of the enemy as Eunuch Ge said, but... he is well prepared to force the palace!"
"I'm afraid 80% of the back-ups the late Emperor left for him in the Forbidden Army are already in action!"
"After all, according to King Gaomi's love and protection for the prince, if he was not quite sure, he would never let the prince make such a move!"
"Then I caught up with King Gaomi and his son who had not yet left the palace, and found that King Gaomi and the commander of the imperial army were standing alone in a place talking. The surrounding area was very empty. I didn't dare to get close, so I could only find a place to read lips from a distance, and then It is speculated that their conversation was based on the experience of Ouyang Hu, the former Zuoweiwei general of King Gaomi, who persuaded the commander-in-chief of the Forbidden Army to turn to him and help force the palace!"
"After getting the news, I immediately went to find Brother Meng Guiyu and left the imperial city together before I could finish hearing it... After leaving the palace, the brothers found their own way to Shanglinyuan to report the news. On Meng Guiyu's suggestion, I Come and find the Marquis."
Gongsun Xi finished speaking in one breath and stood with his hands folded, waiting for Xu Zijing to make a decision.
"Their brothers actually don't want you to escort them into Shanglinyuan?" Xu Zijing thought for a while and said, "It seems that they have not been in the Forbidden Army for nothing these days. They have some foundation... Well, it seems that they are I want to compete with King Gaomi for speed, who can grasp His Majesty first?"
"Master Marquis, what should we do?" Gongsun Xi asked anxiously, "This is a serious matter. Once King Jianzuo of Gaomi..."
Xu Zijing was calm: "Even if Gaomi Wang Jianzuo wanted to secure his position, it would not be that easy! Don't forget, even if Wu Anbo died in the hands of the Gaomi Crown Prince, Gaomi King would still be able to kill Zheng Hou and Cheng Yangbo at the same time. , but Meng Boqin, the mainstay of the second generation of the Meng family, is now far away in northern Xinjiang and still holds military power!"
"Although the Forbidden Army's supplies, armor, weapons, etc. are all treated the best, don't you think about it, how many years has it been since Chang'an had no war? This kind of army has never seen blood at all, even if it is usually rigorously trained, its combat effectiveness is as good as ever. The Northern Xinjiang army fighting against Ruru is incomparable!"
"Except for the soldiers, the generals of the Forbidden Army have never seen a real war, even if they have family backgrounds!"
"So even if King Gaomi succeeds in ascending the throne now, he may not dare to kill Zheng Hou and others!"
"He dared to kill Zheng Hou. Meng Boqin has no control and may send his troops south at any time to fight against Chang'an!"
"At that time, the prince of the county can sit on the mountain and watch the tiger fight and reap the benefits!"
"Then if the King of Gaomi does not kill Zheng Hou and others, how can Meng be willing to surrender to him given his reputation throughout the years in both the government and the public?! Others will sit in that seat by then, but how many people will take the so-called edict seriously? What’s going on is a problem!”
"According to what the Marquis said, even if King Gaomi succeeds in forcing the throne this time, his future will be bleak?" Gongsun Xi asked in surprise, "Then why does he still do this?"
Xu Zijing said: "It has never been convenient for me to inquire about this information, so I don't know much about the prince's situation. My guess at this moment may not be true. But in my opinion, after the Gaomi King succeeded in forcing the palace, the best choice That is to quickly kill the Meng family, preferably the Queen Mother, and then immediately issue an imperial edict as the new monarch and establish the prince from afar as the crown prince!"
"In this way, not only does the prince belong to his side in terms of title, which increases his momentum, but he also restricts the prince, making him unable to deal with him, at least on the surface!"
"At the same time, he tactfully coerced the prince to deal with Meng Boqin for him!"
Gongsun Xi heard this, his eyes darkened, and his voice was a little cold: "Then, after the prince helps him deal with Meng Boqin, he should deal with the prince, right?"
"He is the biological father of the county king." Xu Zijing said calmly, "The county king can use this advantage to pry Zhao Shi away from him. Of course, he can also use this relationship to plot against the county king... Since there is no one in the Tian family, In family relationships, especially between father and son, in order to fight for position, what means should not be used? It just depends on the level of the means."
"...Then we just watch the prince being plotted?" Gongsun Xi rubbed the dagger on his waist impatiently, "And the Meng Guiyu brothers are cunning. What if they achieve something after entering Shanglin Garden?"
Xu Zijing said: "It's not that we are watching Mi Zhen being plotted, but we should not act rashly at this moment: King Gaomi is the beloved son of the late emperor, and the late emperor gave him 80% backup in the Forbidden Army, and now he has convinced the commander of the Forbidden Army "Brother Meng Guiyu was cultivated by the Shu sisters, and they are also generals in the Forbidden Army. Now that they have gathered in Shanglin Garden to compete with each other, what are the identities of you and me? Without a summons, we cannot even step into Shanglin Garden openly!"
"Now the news of King Gaomi's rebellion has not yet spread, and there has been no edict to protect the emperor from Shanglin Garden. We act rashly, not to mention whether anyone will pay attention to us. It is said that everyone in the world knows our relationship with the prince. Maybe I thought that the king of Gaomi also had a hand in forcing the palace! Doesn’t this ruin the reputation of the king in vain? "
He pondered for a moment and said, "So the plan for now is to wait!"
"If the King of Gaomi wins, he should know that the imperial army alone cannot stop Meng Boqin, so there is a high possibility that he will make the prince his crown prince against his will!"
"Until then..."
Xu Zijing sneered, "As the legitimate lord of the East Palace, as long as King Gaomi and his son die, Jian Zuo will naturally ascend the throne! Even if the prince is not in Chang'an, he still has full status!"
"What are we going to do? Needless to say?"
Gongsun Xi understood the idea and said in a deep voice: "I have no other talents, only the art of assassination, and I have a few skills!"
"I don't necessarily need you to go." Xu Zijing shook his head and said, "You have had too much contact with Eunuch Ge, and you have attacked the concubine this time. Both your identity and your skills have been exposed too much. When I retreated from Northern Xinjiang, Just in case something unexpected happens, I have left a few undercover talents in the dark, planning to protect my family if something unexpected happens after I return to Chang'an. Although they have been useless over the years, their skills have not fallen behind. When the need arises, , but it’s readily available!”
He also said, "If the King of Gaomi wins but remains stubborn to the end and refuses to establish the prince as the crown prince, then if he kills Zheng Hou and others, we will secretly rescue the disciples of the Meng family who are suitable as guise, and use their Flag, gather the forces of the Meng family and those in the Forbidden Army who are unwilling to support King Gaomi, and prepare for the prince to send his troops to Chang'an!"
"If King Gaomi doesn't kill Zheng Hou and others, then we will help him kill them!" Gongsun Xi nodded and said, "Unless those two old guys die, the Meng family will have the backbone and will not be used by us!"
He pondered, "But if King Gaomi fails..."
Xu Zijing sighed and said, "Then we have to change our strategy to protect him!"
"If you fail to force him into the palace, it would be extremely difficult to save him?" Gongsun Xi actually wanted to say that this was impossible, because no matter how much Emperor Xuanjing indulged in wine and sex, facing a brother who wanted to kill him and replace him, it would be difficult for him to do it again. No chance
In particular, there was no deep brotherly relationship between Emperor Xuanjing and King Gaomi: when they were young, one was the eldest son of a concubine whom the late emperor wanted to kill with his own hands, and the other was the son of his beloved concubine whom the late emperor loved like a treasure... In view of the late emperor's attitude, How could the two brothers be sincere
Not to mention the Meng family will never let go of this opportunity to eradicate the Gaomi King faction!
Xu Zijing narrowed his eyes: "So, let's not worry about Shanglinyuan now. We should pay attention to Zhenghou Mansion and Uncle Chengyang first!"
"Wu Anbo has already died in the palace. As long as these two also die, even if King Gaomi can't survive... everyone is leaderless in Chang'an, right?"
Gongsun Xi stood up suddenly: "I'm going to Zhenghou's Mansion right now!"
"Don't worry too much when you go." Xu Zijing said, "I guess the reason why you and Brother Meng Guiyu escaped from the imperial city so easily was probably not because the commander of the Forbidden Army reacted too slowly, giving you an opportunity to take advantage of. It’s because King Gaomi and Eunuch Ge had no intention of keeping you in the palace!”
"What does the Marquis mean by these words?" Gongsun Xi was slightly startled.
Xu Zijing sneered: "Of course it's to kill someone with a borrowed knife... Look, aren't we planning to eradicate Marquis Zheng and Uncle Chengyang first no matter what? You also said that your assassination skills are very good, and you are from Tortoiseshell Island and have practical experience. Extraordinarily rich, I’m afraid there are no talents like you under King Gaomi. After all, he has been fighting with the Meng family for many years, and he has used many methods of the court, but he has rarely killed people when he disagreed!"
"In this way, I try to get you to take action on my behalf. Firstly, I will have greater control. Secondly, I will draw Meng Boqin's hatred towards the county king, so that the county king will not form an alliance with Meng Boqin and kill him first and then decide the outcome!"
"So when you go to assassinate Marquis Zheng, not only will King Gaomi not stop you, but he might even help you!"
"But after you complete the assassination, when you retreat, there is a high probability that he will kill him!"
Gongsun Xi raised his eyebrows and said: "The three thousand Northern Xinjiang elite meng Boqin did for the Meng family can't stop me, let alone the Imperial Guard soldiers who the Marquis said are far inferior to the Northern Xinjiang army?!"
Xu Zijing was born in the military and was used to doing things neatly. He didn't say much at this moment and directly called for his son Xu Baomo. He asked Xu Baomo to take off the soft sword from his waist and handed it to Gongsun Xi: "I don't have any good ones here." The dagger, this soft sword, is the best weapon in the house, you should bring it with you in case of any eventuality!"
After Gongsun Xi clasped his fists and left in a daze, Xu Baomo, who was confused, asked: "Dad, is that Ah Xi? Isn't he in Northern Xinjiang? Why did he suddenly come to our house? You asked the child to give the soft sword to What happened to him?"
Xu Zijing ignored his son's series of inquiries and simply gave a brief instruction: "Go back to Mo Caixuan immediately, take your wife and your two younger sisters, go to Sheng Mansion to call for the three children of the Sheng family, and quickly go to the north of the city! As for what you are going to Place, I’ll ask the butler to show you the way later!”
"Something happened?" Xu Baomo's heart skipped a beat and he said immediately, "How could the child leave you and your mother? And your grandparents..."
"Without you juniors getting in the way, I don't know how neatly I can do things!" Xu Zijing slapped him impatiently, "Not to mention that this is just to prevent accidents, our old Xu family has not been reduced to the point of ransacking our homes, okay?! You If you keep talking nonsense, believe it or not, I will beat you to death?!"
Xu Baomo was about to argue, but at this moment, a servant rushed in and said with a strange expression: "Master Marquis, Your Majesty, the man just now is back again!"