And inside the Xiwei Palace.
Murong Jie was explaining to the Queen Mother why he did not mobilize troops.
"Mobilize troops. This war is inevitable. Our soldiers cannot start a war in the capital unless it is necessary. If I do not move my troops, I will give them an illusion that there is a trick here, so that they dare not move easily. I guess that the Grand Tutor will not wait, but Prince Nan Huai dare not move. He is still afraid. His total power is not in the capital. If I do not underestimate him and the people around him, he should choose to watch the fire from the other side of the river. Then the Grand Tutor will be left alone. The old lady and the people of the Xiao family are enough to watch the palace gate until the emperor's fake skin is ready and appears again. Then the Grand Tutor will be finished."
"Don't you think it's too risky to do this? If you predict wrongly and they attack in advance, the ghost face sore on the emperor's arm will be gone, but there will still be red spots on his face. You know, the ghost face sore is not just caused by the parasitic fetus." The Queen Mother said worriedly.
"The more this happens, the more we must be cunning and not mobilize our troops all the time. The lives of our soldiers are precious and can only be used to defend our country. Unless necessary, I will not mobilize troops. Even if the Grand Tutor attacks in advance, I will be able to protect him. Don't worry, mother."
"Do you have any other plans?" asked the Queen Mother.
Murong Jie smiled slightly, "I have already arranged for Lao Jiu to lurk around the imperial city."
The Queen Mother breathed a sigh of relief, "That's good, as long as Old Nine is willing to come forward."
"How dare this bastard not show up?" Murong Jie snorted coldly.
"Don't talk about him all the time, he is just like that. And over the years, when you needed him, he always came to help you. The last time you got married, wasn't it him who helped you kidnap Zi'an..."
"Shh, shh!"
The conversation between the two naturally reached Zi'an's ears. While she was busy, there was a big golden roar in her heart.
The calmness here makes the situation over there seem tense.
Taifu Liang knew that whether he retreated or attacked today, there was no way out, because he had already told Taijun Chen that the emperor was suffering from ghost face sore and wanted to abdicate and let others take over.
Therefore, he was not as patient as King Nan Huai.
After discussing with Concubine Liang, he also discussed with Prince Nan Huai.
"Whether to advance or retreat, it's up to Your Highness to decide." The Grand Tutor said decisively.
Nan Huai Wang received Sun Fang'er's advice, so he naturally didn't dare to act rashly. Just as he was about to speak, Sun Fang'er stepped forward and said, "Your Highness, attack."
Prince Nan Huai was stunned for a moment, but then recovered as usual, "Grandmaster, at this point, there is no retreat, attack."
The Grand Tutor felt heavy in his heart and said, "Okay, we will mobilize the troops and attack immediately."
"Okay, I will go and mobilize the troops myself!" said King Nan Huai.
Taifu Liang said, "Okay, in two hours, the troops will gather at the South Gate and attack from there."
"Okay!" King Nan Huai said with a determined look, then turned around and left.
When Prince Nan Huai wanted to leave, no one tried to stop him. Lady Chen glanced at him and actually stepped aside to let him ride away.
"Father, what did he say?" Concubine Liang and the Crown Prince stepped forward.
Taifu Liang gritted his teeth and said, "That bastard has backed off."
"Backed off?" Liang Bin was stunned for a moment, "But didn't you two have a good conversation just now? He seemed to have nodded, could it be that he was not going to mobilize the troops?"
Taifu Liang said in a deep voice: "He left and will not come back."
The prince said angrily, "He lied to us?"
"He saw through the trick." Taifu Liang looked unhappy. He regretted his rash actions today. The situation was unclear and he shouldn't have taken action.
"A trick? What trick is there? Father really has the ghost face sore." The prince patted his chest and assured, "I saw it with my own eyes."
Marquis Wu'an also stepped forward and said, "Grandmaster, we can't retreat now. We can only force our way in. If everyone sees with their own eyes that the emperor has a ghost face sore, he will have to retreat even if he doesn't want to."
Taifu Liang sighed softly and looked at Marquis Wu'an, "My Lord, this time you and I are both risking our lives. If we succeed, you and I will remain famous forever. If we fail, your entire family will be executed."
Marquis Wu'an sneered, "Even if the whole family is executed, it is better than now. The emperor and Murong Jie don't like me and have suppressed me many times. If I don't rebel, there will be no hope for my Lu family."
Marquis Wu'an expressed neutrality to the outside world, but in fact he had already formed a private alliance with the Grand Tutor.
He didn't ask for much, just wanted to get rid of the Chen family and the Xiao family. These two families had been suppressing their Lu family. If they didn't get rid of them, they would have no chance of success. Therefore, his condition for cooperation was not wealth and glory, just wanting to get rid of the Chen family and the Xiao family.
Of course, if we get rid of the Chen family and the Xiao family, his Lu family would stand out.
Liangpin said: "Now that Prince Nan Huai is gone, there is no guarantee that he will not show up again with his men after we force the emperor to abdicate. How will we respond then?"
"His troops are outside the city, and there are not many of them. I can order the city gates to be closed first." said the prince.
"However, the order to close the city gates was issued without Murong Jie's order and without any reason." Taifu Liang frowned.
"Isn't this simple? Just say that an assassin was found in the palace and escaped. I can also issue an emergency order to close the city gates." The prince was no longer confused now.
"Okay, tell someone to do it right away. I will mobilize the troops and force their way into the palace in two hours." The Grand Tutor said with a desperate attitude.
If you want to force your way into the palace, you have to go through a bloody fight. This is a road of no return. You either win or lose miserably.
The Grand Tutor was completely forced into this position this time, and all his previous plans were of no use.
In fact, some smart people have already seen the weirdness of this matter, and some have already started to back off.
However, there are still optimistic people who believe that the prince will definitely be able to ascend the throne this time, and the emperor must abdicate because he suffers from ghost face sores.
The Grand Tutor mobilized three thousand soldiers and contacted some of the imperial guards, preparing to attack.
The Chen family, the Xiao family, and Prince An's people combined only have a few hundred people, so it would be difficult for them to handle this tough battle.
Chen Taijun stood on the horse and looked at Liang Taifu, "Taifu, are you really going to rebel?"
Taifu Liang sneered, "If you want to accuse someone of something, you can always find a pretext. You can say whatever you like."
"You gathered troops to besiege the South Gate. Aren't you trying to force a confession of rebellion? How have I wronged you?" Lady Chen was still talking nonsense.
"The emperor has contracted a ghost face sore, which means he has lost his moral integrity and must abdicate. This is an unwritten ancestral rule. Lady Chen has repeatedly obstructed him, which is against the will of heaven."
"Well, if you want to force the emperor to abdicate, you have to step over my dead body." Lady Chen raised the whip and said in a stern voice.
At the same time, Lord Xiao and Prince An also rode their horses ahead, and a battle was about to break out.
Taifu Liang raised his hand and stared at Lady Chen. Before he could even utter the word "attack", he heard someone running out at high speed, saying, "The Emperor has issued an order!"
Taifu Liang was startled and stared at the person running towards him. It was none other than Eunuch Lu who served the Emperor.
He ran all the way out of the palace, holding up the imperial edict in his hand, "The emperor has issued an order, all officials shall receive it!"
Taifu Liang and Concubine Liang looked at each other, both a little surprised.
However, since the emperor has issued an order, we cannot act immediately. Perhaps, his order is to abdicate
(End of this chapter)