Imperial Palace, Imperial Study Room.
Zhuge Weiming is restlessly waiting for news from Pingyang City.
"Report" A soldier hurried in and said to Zhuge Weiming with a look of joy, "Your Majesty, Pingyang has been defended, and King Zhao and others have retreated."
Upon hearing this, Zhuge Weiming immediately stood up from his chair happily, "Really?"
Upon hearing this, the soldier immediately bowed and said, "It's true. The second prince of the White Tiger Kingdom arrived with his army in time and surrounded King Zhao and his army, forcing them to retreat."
Zhuge Weiming heard a flash of light in his eyes, this time he owed Xuanyuan Hao a favor.
A young eunuch walked into the royal study and bowed to Zhuge Weiming and said, "Your Majesty, General Yang Qiong, who is with the second prince of the White Tiger Kingdom, would like to see you."
Zhuge Weiming narrowed his eyes slightly when he heard this, frowned and said, "Xuan."
"Yes." The little eunuch bowed and retreated after hearing this. Not long after, he led a burly general in.
The general walked with a dragon's pace and a tiger's stride, without squinting, and walked straight towards Zhuge Weiming.
Zhuge Weiming looked at the majestic face of the general and couldn't help but frowned. Yang Qiong was Xuanyuan Hao's most capable general. It was also because of him that Xuanyuan Hao was able to bring out a hundred thousand troops from Xuanwu. This man was not as he appeared. He looks so big and thick.
Yang Qiong walked up to Zhuge Weiming, bowed slightly to him and said, "See Regent Xuanwu."
Zhuge Weiming looked at Yang Qiong, coughed slightly and said, "Why does General Yang come to see this king at this time, but the second prince is busy?"
Hearing this, Yang Qiong bowed and replied, "Your Majesty, our second prince has something to say to His Majesty."
When Zhuge Weiming heard this, he frowned suddenly, a flash of displeasure flashed in his eyes, "What are you talking about?" There was a hint of anger in the cold voice.
Sensing Zhuge Weiming's displeasure, Yang Qiong still said in a neither humble nor overbearing tone, "Our second prince, please don't forget the promise you made."
Upon hearing this, Zhuge Weiming had a cold expression on his face and snorted coldly, "I have kept my promise, but you two princes are too petty to judge a gentleman's heart. What's more, I have given him the imperial edict, so what else does he have to worry about."
Upon hearing this, Yang Qiong immediately lowered his eyes and said, "Your Majesty, don't get me wrong. Our second prince has no intention of disbelieving your Majesty. We just want to remind him."
When Zhuge Weiming heard this, the anger in his eyes deepened. He, Xuanyuan Hao, was worthy of reminding him. If he didn't see that he was still useful, how could he bear this bird's breath
Zhuge Weiming took a deep breath, calmed down his emotions, looked at Yang Qiong and narrowed his eyes slightly, "Go back and tell you, the second prince, that I have recorded this Pingyang matter, and I will never forget his contribution. , let him guard Pingyang with peace of mind. When this king succeeds, it will also be the time for him to return to White Tiger."
Hearing this, Yang Qiong bowed again and said, "It's so good, I'm going to leave at the end." Yang Qiong said, turned around and strode away.
After Yang Qiong left, Zhuge Weiming was so angry that he swept everything on the desk to the floor. Damn Xuanyuan Hao, damn Xia Houxun, damn Lian Taichu, all of them dared to climb on his head and shit, really Since Zhuge Weiming is easy to bully, it seems that he must ascend the throne as soon as possible. When he takes the throne, he must kill them all.
In the Ruyang meeting hall, Xia Houxun sat at the top, followed by Lian Taichu, Fang Pengyuan, and a group of generals.
Xia Houxun looked at Fang Pengyuan, who was sitting in the first position on his left, and said, "Military advisor, we can find out who is leading the strange army."
Fang Pengyuan stood up immediately after hearing this and said, "Prince Qi, according to the information investigated by my subordinates, it was Xuanyuan Hao, the second prince of the White Tiger Kingdom, who helped Zhuge Weiming last night."
Xuanyuan Hao? Xia Houxun frowned when he heard this, and there was a flash of worry in his eyes. If someone from the White Tiger Kingdom intervenes, then this matter will be complicated. Now the White Tiger, Suzaku, and Qinglong are connected together. If they all help Zhuge Weiming, Then he has no chance of winning.
Lian Taichu was also confused when he heard this, "Why did the second prince of the White Tiger Kingdom want to interfere in the affairs of our Xuanwu Kingdom?" There has always been no conflict between the four kingdoms. Why did they, the White Tigers, suddenly intervene in the Xuanwu civil strife? Could it be that the little emperor attacked him last time? White Tiger was angry with the White Tiger King, so he sent the second prince to Xuanwu to take revenge? Lian Taichu suddenly broke out in a cold sweat thinking about it.
Seemingly sensing Xia Houxun and Lian Taichu's worries, Fang Pengyuan explained, "According to the news from the spies, this Xuanyuan Hao was expelled by the White Tiger Kingdom some time ago for murdering the country's leader and usurping the throne. He is no longer the leader." What about the Second Prince Baihu? He came to our Xuanwu this time to take refuge with Zhuge Weiming, and my subordinates speculate that the two people must have reached some shady agreement."
Xia Houxun was slightly relieved after hearing this. It was not just Bai Hu who wanted to intervene.
Suddenly thinking of something, Xia Houxun looked up at Fang Pengyuan and said, "How many people does Xuanyuan Hao bring in total?"
Fang Pengyuan immediately replied after hearing this, "Not many, only one hundred thousand."
Xia Houxun nodded slightly when he heard this, thinking that a fallen prince who had lost power would not have many troops.
Xia Houxun frowned and pondered for a moment, then turned to look at the people below and said, "Everyone has seen the situation last night. Do you have any good countermeasures?"
Everyone looked at each other in confusion after hearing this, and soon a general stood up and bowed, "I think we still have to find a way to capture Pingyang. As long as we occupy Pingyang again, the prince will accomplish great things."
Xia Houxun nodded when he heard this. He didn't say yes or no, but turned to Lian Taichu aside and said, "What do you think, General Lian?"
Lian Taichu stood up after hearing this and said, "My subordinates think that the prince should return to the imperial city as soon as possible. With Zhuge Weiming's temperament, he may ascend the throne early."
Xia Houxun frowned when he heard this, and a look of solemnity flashed in his eyes. He must not let Zhuge Weiming ascend the throne, otherwise everything he did would be meaningless.
Fang Pengyuan heard this and said, "My subordinates think that what General Lian said is very true. The prince should return to the imperial city as soon as possible to prevent Zhuge Weiming from ascending the throne. As for the matter of Pingyang, the prince can leave it to General Lian."
Xia Houxun nodded when he heard this, stood up and bowed slightly to Lian Taichu, "In this case, the matter of Pingyang will be left to General Lian."
When Lian Taichu saw this, he immediately moved away, bowed slightly to Xia Houxun and said, "I will do my best."
The next day, early in the morning, Zhuge Weiming went directly to the Xuanwu Hall in his dragon robe.
The faces of all the civil and military officials in the Xuanwu Hall changed drastically when they saw Zhuge Weiming, who was wearing a dragon robe, and they all began to whisper.
"Are my eyes blurred? Why is the regent wearing a dragon robe?"
"This regent is too bold. He used to wear the python robe every day, but now he even dares to wear the dragon robe."
"It's treasonous and unethical. It's treasonous and unethical."
Listening to the whispers of the civil and military officials, a flash of displeasure flashed in Zhuge Weiming's eyes. He coughed lightly and said loudly, "Everyone knows that the emperor has been missing for many days. Yesterday, the king received news that the soldiers on the northwest border have found him. The emperor’s body.”
When everyone heard this, they immediately exploded.
"Is what he said true? Has the emperor really passed away?"
"Is it true? How could the emperor just say no and be gone?"
"It might be true. Didn't you hear that the Queen Mother fainted a few days ago
Listening to what everyone said to each other, Zhuge Weiming winked at the little eunuch next to him, and the little eunuch immediately understood and quietly exited the Xuanwu Hall.
After a while, two young eunuchs carried a stretcher into the Xuanwu Hall. The stretcher was covered with a layer of white cloth. Under the white cloth was a person who looked to be only eight or nine years old.
The two young eunuchs gently carried the stretcher to the jade steps and bowed out.
Everyone looked at the stretcher and looked at each other in confusion.
Suddenly, Zhuge Weiming knelt down towards the stretcher and said, "Your Majesty, I can't forgive you and didn't save you in time." The sad voice was slightly choked, making it difficult to tell whether it was true or false.
When all the ministers saw Zhuge Weiming kneeling, they all knelt down too.
The emperor really died.
The emperor is only eight years old, how pitiful he is!
The emperor dies, what will the Queen Mother do, and what will Xuanwu do
The ministers kneeling on the ground had different thoughts. Some showed their true feelings with sad faces, some were pretentious, wiping away tears and pretending to cry, and some had doubtful faces and gleaming eyes.
After crying for a while, Zhuge Weiming stood up, looked at the ministers, and said with a sad face, "I have a great responsibility for the death of the emperor. I am ashamed of the late emperor's entrustment. As the emperor's uncle, I I have the responsibility to protect Xuanwu for the emperor. The country cannot live without a king for a day, so I decided to ascend the throne on that day."
As soon as Zhuge Weiming finished speaking, the officials became excited again.
After hearing this, Prime Minister Fang Ye, who was at the top of the list of officials, stood up and looked at Zhuge Weiming and said, "The words of the regent, I think it is inappropriate. The emperor has just passed away. What we need to do most now is to find out the cause of the emperor's death and to take good care of him." We are dealing with the emperor’s posthumous affairs, and there is really no rush in choosing a new emperor.”
A cold light flashed in Zhuge Weiming's eyes when he heard this. Before he could speak, the Minister of Rites stood up and said, "What the Prime Minister said is absolutely true. Although the Emperor is young, he is still our Xuanwu Emperor. He must not end it so hastily."
"The matter of ascending the throne is of great importance. Wei Chui thinks that it needs careful discussion before deciding who will ascend the throne." The Minister of Rites was followed by the Minister of War.
When Zhuge Weiming heard this, he immediately became angry, "How dare you, Mr. Qin, do you mean to say that this king is not qualified to inherit the throne?" This Minister of War turned out to be Lian Taichu's deputy general. He used to be neutral and did not join any team. Now Lian Taichu followed Xia Houxun, who was also quick on his feet.
The Minister of War lowered his eyes as he listened to Zhuge Weiming's roar, without any fear on his face.
Seeing that Zhuge Weiming was angry, the Minister of Rites immediately came out to smooth things over and said, "Regent, please calm down. I think the new emperor should not be hasty when he ascends the throne. He has to choose a date anyway. It is too hasty to ascend the throne in such a hurry."
"Prince Zhao has arrived!" Just when the atmosphere in Xuanwu Hall was solemn, the eunuch's singing voice sounded outside the door.