Overnight, many people died, and the news was like the first frost in early autumn, which immediately made those conspirators and followers who were originally in high spirits faint.
After the battle to the death of civil servants in the Taiji Hall, the successive deaths in the night finally made these people understand that there is no reason to end gently when it comes to disputes involving society, let alone Mr. The black water of the Overwatch Council—if such a person is not caught for a day, no one can think about their own life of glory and wealth.
But the queen mother and prince in the palace understood that this was the attitude expressed to them by Fan Xian, who was hiding in the dark. Regarding this attitude, the queen mother and the prince were naturally very angry, because this attitude waited for Fan Xian to stand in front of them and say blatantly: I have the ability to kill anyone who wants to kill, and I am threatening you.
This is an extremely rogue terrorist approach, threatening the queen mother and prince not to move for the time being, not to move the Fan family, not to move the dozens of ministers in the prison, otherwise, if they really move, who can kill them? who
From a certain point of view, Fan Xian's method of intensifying conflicts was most likely a stupid choice. Because how could people in the palace be threatened by a minister? If the Empress Dowager really played tricks, both sides would be hurt, and she would lead troops into Beijing, what would Fan Xian do? The Overwatch Council can only exert its magic power in the dark, and once it encounters a truly powerful army, it still has no choice but to retreat.
The wonderful thing is that, for some reason, the queen mother and the prince chose to remain silent for the time being, and did not launch the strongest counterattack.
…
…
In the next two days, the forces of the eldest princess gathered together, and they were still in the streets and alleys of the capital, trying to catch Fan Xian's trace. With such a powerful action force, in the end, it only destroyed a few dark thorns of the Overwatch Council, killed seven swordsmen in six places, but still failed to catch Fan Xian.
Part of the permanent staff of the garrison in Kyoto Prefecture and the city immediately surrounded Yanfu. But after entering the mansion, they only caught some of the servants in Yan's mansion, not Yan Ruohai, not even the shadow of Miss Shen, let alone the one who helped Fan Xian communicate secretly in the capital. Master Xiaoyan from the old department of the Overwatch Council.
The army hadn't entered the capital yet, so the forces on that side could only surround the Fangzheng building next to Tianhe Avenue from a distance and watch it, but they dared not and were unable to enter the headquarters of the Overwatch Council. They just ensured that Fan Xian and Yan Bingyun could not enter the Overwatch Council.
The siege and surveillance of Prince Jing's Mansion was stepped up, but no one dared to lead troops into the mansion, because everyone was afraid of Fan Xian's eyes lurking in the dark night.
In just one night, most of the spy officials of the Overwatch Council received a secret order from Shangfeng, stopped going back to the Yamen to work, and disappeared into the crowds of the capital. They hid their strength and maintained their own safety. In the dark of habit.
A total of more than 600 people disappeared like this. The disappearance of these Overwatch Council officials is the most direct threat to the nobles in the palace.
…
…
There was no follow-up news about the rumored crown prince's enthronement ceremony. Although the palace guarded the news tightly, more than 40 ministers were arrested and imprisoned. How could such a shocking thing be kept hidden.
Gradually, the people in Kyoto began to realize the truth of the matter and knew that there was a big disturbance in the palace. The common people do not have the power to change history, and at least in front of them, they do not have the courage to do so. They were forced to face all this calmly, closed their businesses, hoarded enough food, and hid in their humble houses. After getting into the bed, he folded his hands together, praying to the God Temple to solve this matter quickly.
It doesn't matter who is the emperor, but someone must be the emperor.
The avenues of Kyoto present an unprecedented solemnity and desolation. Even though it is only a curfew now, there are not many citizens who dare to go out in broad daylight.
Originally according to the eldest princess's plan, the crown prince who should have become the new emperor of the Qing country at this time has already felt the uneasiness among the people. The cause of the current chaos is only accumulating within the capital, if it spreads out of the capital and extends to the prefectures and counties, then Qing Kingdom will really be in chaos.
So he must stabilize all this in the shortest possible time. But to be stable, he had to find Fan Xian and kill him.
The prince looked at the mountain of memorials beside him, smiled wryly, and was speechless for a while. In just three days, more than 1,700 memorials have been submitted by counties and prefectures in the Qing Kingdom. In the past, these memorials were all contested by several academicians from the Ministry of Education under his sect, and important matters were left to His Majesty to decide. The remaining small items are distributed to various departments for processing.
However... now the great scholars are all in prison, the officials of various ministries are also in chaos, people in the capital are in panic, the government is getting more and more difficult, and the government affairs are in chaos.
After taking down the few memorials on the top of the hill, the prince glanced at it for a while, his pupils gradually became confused. The latest of these memorials was the documents sent by the governors of the other six roads besides Dongshan Road after they learned the news of His Majesty's assassination.
Although the governors spoke respectfully, the meaning of the sword hidden between the lines was very obvious.
The crown prince sighed, thinking helplessly, when did the civil servants of the Qing Kingdom become so spineless? He suddenly thought of the dozens of ministers in the prison, headed by the two academicians Hu Shu, who stayed in the prison for two days and three nights, but none of them let go!
The palace couldn't wait any longer, so torture was used since yesterday, but the bones of those ministers still haven't been polished. I even heard that starting at noon today, Master Shu began to take the lead in a hunger strike!
The prince rubbed his temples, feeling extremely headache. Is it really necessary to kill all these ministers according to my aunt's wishes? But... what if we kill them all? Who will handle the court affairs, do you want me to be a real loner
At this time, Eunuch Hou suddenly walked into the imperial study room with a face full of panic without asking for a pass. The prince raised his head to look at him, narrowing his eyes slightly. He knew that Eunuch Hou was a close friend of his aunt and a trustworthy person.
Eunuch Hou whispered a few words in his ear, his face turned pale.
The prince was startled suddenly, and slapped his palm on the desk, causing the memorials to fall to the ground. He gritted his teeth and said coldly: "The third brother was assassinated! Who gave you the courage!"
Eunuch Hou was shocked, and quickly lowered his body and mourned: "It has nothing to do with the little one, it has nothing to do with the little one."
"It's irrelevant!" Prince Hanhan stared into his eyes, "Now you are in charge of this palace. Without you reaching out, how could an assassin go to Chenlang?"
"It really has nothing to do with slaves." Eunuch Hou hurriedly begged for mercy and said in a low voice.
The prince calmed down his anger after a while, waved his sleeves and walked into the harem. Yes, he wanted to be emperor, and he wanted to kill Fan Xian. He knew that his third brother was Fan Xian's student and his greatest enemy to the throne, but he still didn't think about killing the third brother. Because in his eyes, the third child is still a child.
If something really happened to the third child, who knows what will happen to the already turbulent imperial palace and the capital? Walking all the way to the harem, the prince thought with a livid face. Who actually wanted to kill the third child? Is it because the aunt used the death of the third child to force herself to be more ruthless? Is the second brother using the death of the third child to intensify the conflict between himself and the world
But he knew that no matter how he looked at it, the third child couldn't die.
The prince prayed secretly in his heart.
※※※
Yes, Li Chengping is the third prince, his death and life have too much influence, so we need to be cautious. However, the officials in Kyoto do not have such good treatment, not to mention those great figures who are very powerful ministers. Some of those officials are also living a very miserable life.
There are no consular ministers in the Ministry of Education under the sect, but the officials of the six departments are still working hard to maintain the operation of the country. Although the memorials temporarily approved by the prince in the palace did not go through the transfer of Xingxi, most officials acquiesced to the prince's authority.
Fan Jian, Minister of the Ministry of Households, took refuge in Prince Jing's mansion, and Yan Xingshu, Minister of the Ministry of Officials, was busy arranging new officials to fill the various ministries, laying the foundation for the crown prince's ascension to the throne, while the other four ministries were running in panic. .
As for those officials whose positions are unstable or who have inherent problems, they have naturally been excluded. Those who had the deepest ties to Fan Xian's family were even stripped of their official positions and put in prison for trial.
The dungeon couldn't fit anymore, it was already filled with the group of loyal fans left behind by Fan Xian's father-in-law. However, Fan Shangshu's relationship in the court was relatively secret, and the eldest princess had not dug out all of them for a while. Fan Xian himself did not have much support in the court, so logically speaking, there should be no major problems.
Even the four sons of the Fan family who are well known in the world. Among them, Hou Jichang still shouldered the risk of his life, watching the movement of the navy in Jiaozhou, secretly communicating with Xu Maocai, ready to strike at any time. Cheng Jialin was arranged by Fan Xian in Suzhou, and Su Wenmao and Su Wenmao took control of the internal treasury. Yang Wanli has been building a levee on the southern river for a year. Shi Chanli should be in the Song Kingdom at this time, continuing his journey as the world's number one tortoise.
Even if the Eldest Princess wanted to do something to Fan Xian's four students, she would not be able to stretch her hand that far when the situation in Kyoto was uncertain, the crown prince could not ascend the throne, and the attitude of the six governors was ambiguous.
But unfortunately, it was early autumn at this time, just after the summer flood season, and after the levee was repaired by the Governor of Water Transport, as usual, he would send people back to Beijing to ask for money. This year, the person sent back to Beijing to ask for money was none other than Yang Wanli. He was placed by Fan Xian in the Department of Officials in Dushui, and he devoted himself to repairing the embankment, and was well appreciated by the water transportation yamen. In addition, he knew his family relationship with the Minister of the Ministry of Households, so he was naturally selected to return to Beijing.
I thought it would be easy for Yang Wanli to go back to Beijing and ask the court for money, but he didn't expect that His Majesty would be assassinated. Yang Wanli's teacher, Fan Xian, had already been beaten as an assassin.
So, as soon as Yang Wanli joined the Ministry of Industry, he asked himself to go in.
He had been imprisoned in a dark room on the side road for two days. He had suffered countless tortures during the two days, and his body was covered with scars. It's just that the people from the Ministry of Punishment couldn't pry his mouth open, and there was no way to obtain a statement about Fan Xian.
Of course Yang Wanli was innocent, he didn't believe that his master would do such an evil thing, and he had no way of knowing where Fan Xian was.
At dusk, the inner court sent people to detain him. Although his rank was far from being worthy of the Heaven Prison, the Empress Dowager gave him this honor because of his teacher-student relationship with Fan Xian.
Yang Wanli squinted his blurred eyes, supported his waist like an old farmer, and walked out of the dark room. He felt pain everywhere in his body. The bloody scars on his fingers had formed and ruptured, and blood began to ooze again. .
His heart was full of despair, knowing that once he was imprisoned in the sky prison, he might not be able to see the sky again.
Two inner court guards escorted him, cursing and walking outside. The officials of the Ministry of Industry that were seen along the road saw this tragic scene, but they did not dare to look sideways. They could only turn their heads and pretended not to see it.
The officials were all aware of what happened in the Tai Chi Hall two days ago, so they were not surprised at the handling of Iron and Blood in the palace. When the crown prince wants to ascend the throne, these officials always bow their heads and give in. The prince is always unwilling to kill all the court officials until the last step. But in two more days, the prince can't wait any longer... so what
…
…
Walking out of the Yamen of the Ministry of Industry, boarding the prison car, and passing a certain street corner, the prison car suddenly stopped. A guard frowned and looked up. His head just stuck out of the car curtain, and then fell off with a bang.
The whole thing fell off!
Looking at the headless body that fell in front of him, and seeing the blood gushing out of the cavity, Yang Wanli's face turned pale suddenly, and his empty stomach was very uncomfortable, acid water gushed up, and he wanted to vomit.
The other guard beside him was shocked and wanted to call for help, but his voice was silenced by an iron rod pierced from outside the car.
The car curtain was lifted, revealing Fan Xian's ever calm and handsome face. Fan Xian looked at Yang Wanli who was still in shock and smiled, and asked, "Do you want to come out?"
Yang Wanli burst into tears, looked at the teacher and nodded repeatedly, and said in a trembling voice: "Teacher... it's too risky. Wanli is not worth it for you."
Impatient to listen again, Fan Xian grabbed him directly and got into the ordinary carriage specially made by the Overwatch Council. After a while, he disappeared in the quiet streets of Kyoto and came to a certain secret contact point.
"Heal your wounds. I didn't save you on purpose, I just passed by..." Fan Xian looked at Yang Wanli, who was seriously injured, and sighed, "Of course, if you really die, I'll probably be sad for a while."
Fan Xian was not being hypocritical, he was indeed passing through the Yamen of the Ministry of Industry, and his destination was further away, so he came to this secret contact point. Looking at Yan Bingyun in front of him, he asked, "Is everything confirmed?"
"Eldest Princess, Empress Dowager, Crown Prince Shu Guifei... are all in the palace." Yan Bingyun looked at him and said, "It's all confirmed. As long as the palace is under control, the big things will be settled."
"The Queen Mother really trusts the First Prince so much?" Fan Xian frowned, "If I were her, I would have replaced the First Prince with a member of the old Qin family."
"Perhaps the Empress Dowager thought that no one could rescue Ning Cairen under the combined efforts of the inner court eunuchs and guards."
"I can." Fan Xian said with a smile: "Tonight I will rescue all relatives and lock up other relatives."
Yan Bingyun smiled, but the smile was a bit bitter.
Fan Xian saw that his expression was unnatural, and asked with a frown, "What's going on in the palace? Or something happened to Lord Yan?"
"Father doesn't have to worry, he is probably in the Qin family at this time." Yan Bingyun lowered his head and said, "There is something I think I should tell you before you enter the palace."
Fan Xian looked at him.
"The third prince was assassinated." Yan Bingyun raised his head and looked at him, "You didn't give me the channel in the palace, so I can't check the result of this assassination, but I advise you to think of the worst... After all, he It's just a child, and Concubine Yigui doesn't have much power to protect him."
"You mean... Taiping was assassinated?" Fan Xian's eyes narrowed, and he didn't speak for a long time, but his fists gradually clenched and his knuckles turned white and blue, revealing his true inner feelings.
After a while, he said in a deep voice, "The prince didn't do it."
Yan Bingyun glanced at him, a little surprised, not understanding why he was so sure that the mastermind of this murder in the palace was not the crown prince.
"Blood is already seen." Fan Xian looked up at him, "The original plan is to enter the palace tonight, there is no need to advance it, and we will do it according to the original plan."
"With the help of the capital, the black knights dispersed into the capital, a total of 400 people." Yan Bingyun knew Fan Xian's mood at this time, so he didn't misunderstand his extraordinarily indifferent expression, but said calmly: "Since you We have already decided to give up our efforts on the City Gate Division, so tonight's actions in the palace must be caught in one go, and none of them can be missed."
"Which one of the nine city gates can I control?" Fan Xian said with a wry smile, "With insufficient troops, we can't fight head-on. We can only take risks."
"Of course, I believe neither the queen mother nor the eldest princess thought that I dared to enter the palace by force..." He stood up and said with a smile: "People who are used to the emperor's mind often forget such things as courage. A drunk may be out of his mind. Clear, but holding a kitchen knife is still very powerful."
"Everyone says my mother-in-law is crazy. I want to know if I will make her scold my mother angrily if I attack her so unaesthetically."
"This is not a strong attack." Yan Bingyun said: "At least the Imperial Army will not stop you. But we only have 400 people, and the manpower of the other seven places must be set up outside the palace... The palace is so big, we are short of manpower, if To ensure that all are captured, it is necessary to know exactly where the targets are.”
He looked at Fan Xian, and said slightly sadly, "Shooting directly into the middle camp is a big taboo in the art of war. It means too much gambling. I don't know where your confidence comes from."
"Among the enemy camp, there are my people." Fan Xian said with a smile, and then touched his smooth cheek.
Ever since he knew that the third prince had been assassinated, he hadn't exchanged a word with Yan Bingyun on the matter, and just calmly arranged the assault at night. However, in the end, Fan Xian couldn't help but slowly lowered his head, feeling sad in his chest, secretly praying that nothing would happen to Taiping.
"You can't die." Fan Xian seemed to be saying to himself, but also to the third prince who didn't know life and death: "You will be the emperor in the future."
※※※
Let us advance the time by an hour to see a court murder event that may change history and many people—the second major event that alarmed the palace after the assassination of Emperor Dadongshan in Qing Dynasty.
The target of this murder is the third prince. The third prince's surname is Li Chengping, and his mother is a concubine Yigui who was born in Duke Liu's family. In the middle of the year, the heir to the throne supported by the bright banner.
And the main messenger in this murder was not known until a long time later. Because no matter how you look at it, the third prince is not an important target at this time. Although everyone knows that this ten-year-old boy has had a great impact on the succession of the prince, but this impact is mainly based on Fan idle support.
The third prince himself does not have any surprising magic power or powerful influence.
So even if the prince was worried about his little brother causing trouble, he would only think of killing Fan Xian, and would not do anything to the third prince. The death of the third prince at this time does not do any good to the prince, except that the opposition from the court officials will be more violent, and Fan Xian's rebellion will be more crazy.
What's more important is that with Fan Xian as the scapegoat, the matter of Dadongshan may always be hidden behind the truth, and if Li Chengping dies in the palace, the prince who is now the owner of the palace...how can he convince the little girl of history
The prince, like his father, was a person who cared a lot about his reputation in history, that's why he was vacillating between killing the ministers, so it was impossible for him to send his men to murder the third prince. It was concluded that the mastermind was not his reason.
Then who wants to kill Li Chengping
Under the Chen corridor of the imperial palace, the young Li Chengping was full of horror and ran wildly, thinking about this question in his heart.
It's a pity that this is not Hanguang Palace, the queen mother can't save his life. He was calling for help, but Chenlang was too quiet, no one heard his cry for help. Li Chengping was desperate, thinking that if he stayed in Hanguang Palace honestly, he would definitely not die at this time, and he shouldn't have been fooled before and ran to Chenlang.
But... the other party said that the teacher had something to explain to him, and he showed him the token, so he was fooled, secretly hiding from his mother, and hiding from the eunuchs and maids in Hanguang Palace, and quietly came to the Chen Dynasty by himself. gallery.
Go run wild, boy.
However, how could the child run faster than the adults? Li Chengping fell to the ground panting, looking at the two eunuchs who were advancing step by step, his face was pale and he gritted his teeth vigorously.
These two eunuchs are not Lianjiazi, but they have obviously received some kind of training, the training of killing people, it is too easy to deal with a child who is powerless.
It was so simple that the two eunuchs already regarded Li Chengping as a dead person, stomped him on the ground with one foot, and reached into their arms to get the knife with the other hand.
When the eunuch stabbed at Li Chengping with a knife, Li Chengping's mouth became dry, and he touched the dagger in his boot with his right hand, screamed, and finally... pulled it out, and stabbed it!