early morning
Zhao Zun raised his eyes and looked in the direction of Linglong Pavilion. After looking at it for a while, the corner of his mouth curled up, and he left the Prime Minister's Mansion while the sky was still dark.
Three groups of people left the capital city one after another, and rushed to their respective destinations at high speed.
Emperor Dong Ming was not feeling well, so he didn't go to court during this period of time, if there was anything important, he could just go to the right minister and report it, so the three of them disappeared without attracting much attention.
Prime Minister Right took advantage of this east wind to divert everyone's attention to Lincheng. All the imperial physicians worked day and night to finally develop the antidote to the disease. The whole city cheered and breathed a sigh of relief. Now there is no need to worry about the disease. matter.
Yuxiu Palace
"Empress Dowager, Prince Chen is ill."
The queen mother suddenly opened her eyes, clenched her fists tightly, and said coldly, "What's the matter now, don't hurry up and let the imperial doctor go in to take a look, it will delay the illness, Ai's family asked the imperial doctor
Ever since King Chen was imprisoned, there has been no rest. Wave after wave of people came to rob the prison, but they never even touched the edge of the prison.
Even the Empress Dowager still felt uneasy after thinking about it, "Let's go and have a look!
As soon as he reached the gate of Yuxiu Palace, he was stopped by someone, and even the Empress Dowager's face darkened, "Presumptuous, let the Prime Minister come over, Ai's family must see King Chen immediately!"
"Returning to the empress dowager, Xiangye ordered no one in Yuxiu Palace to come in and out. His Highness is fine. Xiangye has ordered the imperial doctor to go and see it." The guard cupped his hands.
Even the Empress Dowager was angry when she heard the words, and her eyelids kept twitching. The Prince Chen must have been tortured a lot in prison. The Right Prime Minister is cruel and merciless, and there is nothing he dare not do. The more she thought about it, the more disturbed the Empress Dowager became.
Seeing that the guards prevented her from going out, it was useless even if the queen mother got angry, so she could only go back to the palace angrily.
"Where is Du Tan now?" Even the queen mother sat on pins and needles, and didn't want to wait any longer.
"Returning to your mother, Lord Du has already rushed to the fief last night. After taking the military power from the prince and reuniting with Prince An, the emperor will definitely let him go."
Even the Empress Dowager sighed and regretted very much, she shouldn't have let Prince Chen return to Beijing, otherwise such a thing would not have happened.
Even the Queen Mother's only hope is King An and Du Tan, and even the Queen Mother has no hope for the Prime Minister at all. Even if the Prince Chen is innocent, with the Prime Minister's ability, he will find ironclad evidence and make the Prince Chen plead guilty!
A few days later, news spread to the capital city that the border of Eastern Chu was in turmoil. Some soldiers of Eastern Chu burned, killed and looted wantonly on the border, doing all kinds of crimes, causing the people on the border to complain.
Among them, riots also occurred in the fiefdom of King Chen. Those soldiers and horses who followed King Chen knew that King Chen was imprisoned. They were indignant and demanded that the court release them.
Chen Wang.
Not only that, those people also incited the people to rebel together, not only the fiefdom of King Chen, but also various problems appeared in the post city, I don't know where the news came from.
It is said that Emperor Dongming deliberately let King An enter the capital for the military power in King An's hands. Not only that, but also killed Princess An and Chao Ren, and now even the younger brother of King Chen is also detained.
It is very chilling to point out that Emperor Dongming calculated brotherhood, listened to the words of treacherous ministers, and killed innocent loyal ministers.
The rumors spread vividly, and these rumors spread back to the capital city as if they had grown wings, making the capital city lively all of a sudden.
The Empress Dowager Lian breathed a sigh of relief when she heard the news, "Right now, there are only two princes, Prince Chen and Prince An, and the first emperor has these three sons left. If there are any accidents, the Ai family will see what the emperor will say!"
There were more and more news, and some people said that Emperor Dongming was a fool, and his dishonesty angered Dongchu, so Dongchu kept harassing Dongming, and only the people in the border town suffered.
Wars broke out in the three places, and many people in the fief advocated the side of the Qing emperor, so that Emperor Dongming must release the king of Chen, and they intend to move closer to Eastern Chu.
All the ministers panicked immediately when they heard the words, and went to find Emperor Dongming one after another. Emperor Dongming could not survive his illness, so all the ministers simply knelt outside the hall and begged Emperor Dongming to release the king.
Emperor Dongming raised his eyebrows, "Hey, if this group of ministers are wise enough, I don't have to be restrained for many years. It hasn't happened yet, these ministers are in a hurry, and they all shrink their heads during the epidemic. The tortoise would rather be poked in the spine than stand out, and when something happens, it can run faster than anyone else."
Emperor Dongming was really disappointed with these ministers, but thinking about it carefully, one right minister is enough to be frightened.
"Where is Xiangye?" Emperor Dongming raised his eyebrows and looked at Eunuch He.
"Returning to the emperor, Master Xiang is already on his way."
Emperor Dongming closed his eyes again when he heard the words, he didn't intend to get angry at all, he just acted as a hands-off shopkeeper, and handed over all matters, big and small, to the right minister.
As soon as the right minister came, without a word, he asked people to go to the prison to beat the king of Chen violently, and then announced in public that the Minister of the Ministry of household should immediately prepare food and horses.
All the ministers were stunned, "Master Xiang!"
Prime Minister on the right raised his eyebrows and looked at the ministers, "If the matter of fiefdom is not obstructed, and others are allowed to speak, the court will retreat step by step, and everyone will follow suit in the future, who will be afraid of the court!"
Prime Minister on the right glanced away, and everyone was so shocked that they couldn't tell, they just felt that the eyes were too sharp.
"The truth of this matter has already been discussed with the emperor. The two princes should not have held military power and endangered the emperor. This matter has been decided. All the ministers must not have any objections. From now on, all officials above the third rank will have a family member." The famous son will accompany the army, if not, then all the ministers will take the lead in person."
Saying that, Prime Minister Right didn't even give the ministers a chance to refute, and directly entered the inner hall, leaving the ministers looking at each other in blank dismay.
That being said, the Prime Minister is determined to fight to the end.
Even the Empress Dowager smashed the vases in the room to pieces, her chest heaving non-stop, "It's unreasonable, Xiao Wei has gone too far, and she intends to fight Aijia!"
Taking away the sons of the ministers, the ministers have restrained them, how dare they refute the right minister, they must actively cooperate with the right minister.
Otherwise, swords have no eyes on the battlefield, and the right minister is determined to deal with a person, and nine out of ten he will die.
"For so many years, Xiao Wei has never backed down on his ability to handle people. The Ai family has really underestimated him. Hmph, if you don't make a name for yourself through the ages, if you insist on going against the Ai family, the Ai family will fulfill you!"
"Empress Dowager, but His Royal Highness Chen Wang is still in the hands of the Right Prime Minister, if you offend the Right Prime Minister..."
Even the Empress Dowager's back tightened, her face turned pale, and she glared angrily at the maid who had just spoken, but the maid immediately shrank her neck and fell silent.
Even the Empress Dowager's eyes flashed a ray of light, and it was fleeting.
In the afternoon, the news came that King An and Du Qin had successfully united, and together they had 350,000 soldiers and horses, which was really scary.
The Right Prime Minister made up his mind, and led fifty ministers' sons, as well as 150,000 troops from the capital to attack King An and Du Tan.
Soon there was news that Eastern Chu had intentionally sent troops to help King An fight against the imperial court. All the ministers were concerned, three hundred and fifty thousand against one hundred and fifty thousand. , not to mention the support of Dongchu's soldiers and horses, isn't this going to die in vain
As a result, all the ministers hated the right minister, especially those who only had one son, the right minister just carried the lifeblood of the person on his body, and if he was a little careless, the incense would be cut off.
As soon as the Right Prime Minister left the capital city, the Empress Dowager immediately sent someone to inquire about the news of the Prince Chen, and the guard hurriedly reported back, "Go back to the Queen Mother, the Prince Chen is no longer in prison."
Even the Queen Mother stood up abruptly, her complexion suddenly changed, "What, didn't Aijia let you stare at him, why did he suddenly disappear?"
Even the empress dowager gritted her teeth with hatred, it was the right minister, it must be the right minister who hid him, even the queen mother hated it, "Look, I must find it for the Ai family, even if the entire capital city is turned over, I must also find it. Someone found it!"
"yes!"
There was a war in Dongming, and people panicked. After finally solving the epidemic, there was another rebellion.
The Prime Minister on the right rushed to the post city with great fanfare, and the news had already reached Du Tan's ears.
Du Qin sneered, "I'm really not afraid of death. I dare to come to my door to die with hundreds of thousands of people. I'm overestimating myself!"
Five days later, news came that King An was unfortunately taken away by bandits from Eastern Chu during a patrol and was seriously injured.
Hearing this, Du Qin quickly appeased the soldiers, "This must be a misunderstanding. How could Dongchu be in trouble with us at this moment? Someone must have provoked us. We must not fall into the court's tricks."
Du Tan and An Wang have a good relationship with Weng-in-law. An Wang also trusts Du Tan very much, so he often takes Du Tan by his side, and Du Tan has built up a lot of prestige in the army. Everyone has no doubts, and they are only anxious to send An Wang rescued.
For three days in a row, the border post city was harassed by Eastern Chu, and even the families of many soldiers were brutally killed by Eastern Chu bandits.
"Report!"
Du Tan's eyelids twitched, "Say!"
"Returning to the general, someone sent a brocade box just now. When I opened it, it was the prince's head." All the soldiers were furious when they heard the words, "Dongchu went too far, actually killed the prince, this debt I have to report it!"
Du Qin absolutely did not believe that the Eastern Chu sent people to do this. Prime Minister You came to the post city with such a gesture that he was not in a hurry. It turned out that he was planning to use countermeasures.
"You have all misunderstood Dongchu. Yesterday, the prince of Dongchu specially sent someone to deliver a letter. Not only were we harassed by bandits, but other small countries were also harassed by people pretending to be."
Du Tan sneered, such indiscriminate methods are very similar to the temperament of the right minister, but the right minister also underestimated himself too much.
Du Tan tried his best to persuade all the soldiers to work together to fight against the right minister, and can no longer tolerate the right minister's misconduct.
For a while, everyone supported Du Tan, so the military power that originally belonged to King An naturally fell into Du Tan's hands.
Three hundred and fifty thousand soldiers and horses were all under his control, Du Tan couldn't hide his excitement, and sent someone to find out where Prime Minister Right was.
Counting the days, the right minister will arrive at the post city in at most three days. Du Tan asked people to make some arrangements.
That night, the guards rushed to report, "The general is not well. The west and north were attacked and surrounded, and those lying in ambush in the east and south were also attacked. There are not a few people who come here, and they are on par with us."
Du Qin sat up straight and frowned tightly, "How is it possible, the right-hand man has only 150,000 soldiers and horses, and he still arrives at the post city, so how can he be evenly matched?"
Du Tan's eyelids twitched, feeling an ominous premonition, and he frowned tightly, "Call all the generals!"
"yes!"
Wave after wave of news came, and the entire post city was surrounded by people. Du Qin stood at the gate of the city and looked out, his eyes widening in disbelief.
How could Shen Yi and Qin Yu bring soldiers to the Post City? It is absolutely impossible. Du Tan rubbed his eyes, he saw right, it was indeed these two people!
what on earth is it
"General, Eastern Chu's support cannot come through. The Eastern Chu army has been intercepted in the border town, and the two armies are at war."
Hearing this, Du Tan frowned and clenched his fists tightly, unable to believe what was happening before him.
"Du Tan, you have done all kinds of bad things. You deliberately let someone pretend to be a bandit to kill King An and seize the soldiers and horses in King An's hands, just to rebel!" Qin Yu raised his eyes and glanced at Du Tan contemptuously, "The King Chen was just killed by King An. Involved in a case, the emperor never said that he wanted the life of King Chen. Why did you deceive the people to work for you? You deceived the queen mother, and you have already defected to Dongchu secretly. Wife, what qualifications do you have for an unfaithful person like you to lead my Dongming army."
"Nonsense!" Du Tan's heart tightened, and he looked at Qin Yu coldly, "Stop trying to confuse people here, if the emperor has no dissent, how did you two appear here and quietly bring so many soldiers with you?" Horse, really hateful!"
"Du Qin!"
At this time, a person suddenly stood up, and Lian Yu pointed at Du Tan, "It is clear that you have evil intentions and deliberately instigated everyone to rebel. King An has already regretted it. You killed King An on purpose, and you dare to quibble. The eldest son is the only son of the father, and he should hand over the military power to this son due to emotion and reason. What are you, everyone, please don’t be fooled by this person. The father is fine, and he is coming back now on the way."
Du Qin never expected that Lian Yu would stand up, but he also came, it must be the right minister's trick!
Lian Yu is the most beloved son of Prince Chen, and he has been following Prince Chen, so many soldiers know Lian Yu. As soon as Lian Yu stepped forward, many people were already shaken and looked at Du Tan vigilantly.
Du Qin clenched his fists tightly, glanced at the crowd, and said in a deep voice, "Don't be fooled by him, maybe he has been threatened long ago. If we surrender, we will be traitors, and the nine clans will be implicated."
Everyone nodded in agreement after hearing the words, so the two armies fought that night, blood flowed like rivers overnight, and both sides were evenly matched.
In the early morning of the next day, a tall figure stood under the city wall, looking at the messy ground full of corpses, his long and narrow eyebrows were frowned.
"Before noon tomorrow, those who put down their weapons and surrender will forget their past. If they continue to follow Du Tan and commit treason, the whole family will be executed!"
After the words fell, Prime Minister Right asked people to set up camp within a hundred miles. Du Tan looked at Prime Minister Right on the city wall, and his mouth twitched. Du Tan was already content to have this opportunity to fight to the death with Prime Minister Right. Besides, he might not lose.
"General, there are many people from the land of King Chen standing at the three gates of south, north and north. These people are the family members of the soldiers. Many people have already been shaken."
Du Tan's face changed drastically when he heard the words, "Despicable! Pass on the order, if anyone dares to shake the morale of the army, he will be executed!"
Prime Minister on the right was not in a hurry, and glanced at Qin Yu, "Take 150,000 troops to support Lord Zhao tonight."
"Yes!" Qin Yu nodded.
Du Tan angrily opened the gate of the city and fought to the death with Prime Minister Right, but Prime Minister Right refused to fight, retreating again and again, the two began to play a game of chasing.
Du Tan had no choice but to go back to the city, not daring to leave the army for too long, he gritted his teeth angrily, thinking he had no choice but to take the right chancellor.
Soon it was dark, and the folk songs of the fiefdom were sung outside the city, surrounded by all sides. From night to dawn, Du Tan had already beheaded many soldiers and suppressed them by force.
The night was like ink, and suddenly it rained heavily in the city, like splashing ink. At first, no one cared, but soon someone exclaimed.
"It's palm oil!"
After a while, one after another fires rushed towards them, and the flames spread and rose along with the wind. Soon it was a monstrous fire, and the people in the city panicked. Mixed with palm oil, the more the fire spreads, the more it will be uncontrollable.
Soon there were endless screams, and the city was in complete chaos. Hundreds of thousands of people were running around like headless flies in the city.
There was no way to avoid it in the city, and if he stayed any longer, he would be burned to death sooner or later. The corners of Du Tanqi's mouth twitched violently, and his eyes were ruthless.
"Open the city gate!"
As soon as the gates on the four sides were opened, countless arrow feathers ushered in immediately, and waves of people fell one after another, followed by a devouring fire, a dilemma, either they were burned to death, or they were not shot to death.