Fu Jinzhan and his group walked through the spacious and magnificent hall.
The light outside after the rain was so bright that she could hardly open her eyes. Perhaps her eyes had not yet adapted to the light after staying in the dim and closed room for too long. She squinted her eyes and looked at the free and sunny world outside. She was dizzy by the dazzling light. In this grand hall, there was no one else except them. At this moment, the hall gave people the illusion that it had been abandoned for a long time. It was just an ancient relic, silently witnessing people's disturbance.
Mother, it hurts, the little prince yelled.
Fu Jinzhan took a deep breath, gently relaxed his little hand, and comforted him with kind words.
She raised her head and chest and took the first step toward the door.
The bright light made her feel like she was walking into a brand new world; in a trance, this scene was just like the mysterious light she saw in Huainan's coma when he was seriously ill. She seemed to be walking through a long dark tunnel, heading towards the unknown light.
Unstoppable steps.
My head seemed to buzz, and a scene that was completely different from the narrow space inside the house immediately came into view.
I saw a rainbow covering the sky next to Xuande Gate. The red, yellow, green and colorful lights were like light and beautiful silk ribbons, embellishing the ancient and magnificent city wall with magnificent tenderness and color.
The sun is blinding.
The rumbling sound of horse hooves and footsteps echoed below the stone steps. The scene of thousands of troops and horses suddenly caught the eye, as if so many people had fallen from the sky, which was very shocking.
There were too many people. Fu Jinzhan looked down and couldn't see where Guo Shao was for a moment. He only saw a flood of armored vehicles, swords and spears like a forest, and flags like clouds.
Suddenly someone shouted "Queen", and more people started shouting. After a while, the thousands of soldiers and horses started shouting, and the shouts gradually became uniform, merging into a roar that resounded inside and outside: Queen is in power, and we are summoned to suppress the rebellion.
Thousands and thousands of people shouted skillfully and with great momentum. The earth-shaking shouts echoed throughout the imperial city and the shouts continued for a long time.
Fu Jinzhan's face gradually showed an excited blush, and a domineering and confident look appeared in her clear eyes. She held her head high and chest out, facing the turbulent scene, as if she was standing on the crest of a stormy wave, and her graceful body suddenly became taller and more majestic.
Fu Jinzhan showed no fear, but excitement. In a short time, she swept away the gloom and timidity, and completely restored her own demeanor and temperament. Even her expression showed that kind of smile that was hard to understand. People around her didn't feel suppressed but felt fear in their hearts, as if all their hearts and eyes were exposed to her clear and penetrating eyes.
The eunuchs and palace maids beside her could not help but bend down and bow to her. Some of them felt their knees weaken and fell to their knees.
The Queen is in charge, and the exciting shouts have not yet completely died down. Everyone is watching the group of people on the steps. A woman in a yellow dress is carrying a child, standing gracefully surrounded by eunuchs and palace maids. The majestic and domineering Jinxiang Palace is behind her, making her more imposing, as if the dynasty's prestige and righteousness are behind her.
Armed soldiers lined up in the square, and horses galloped in front of the formation, which looked chaotic. But the army was not in chaos. They were well organized and lined up in teams. If you pay a little attention, you can see that a group of people and horses outside the main entrance of the hall are facing south. They should be the guards that Qiao Kang temporarily gathered. The others all face the Jinxiang Hall. There seem to be at least five or six thousand people, maybe seven or eight thousand. There are no less than ten large square formations of hundreds of infantry at a glance.
Qiao Kang, who was in charge of guarding the gates of the South Palace of the Imperial City, was temporarily promoted directly from the East Third Class to take charge of the troops. He lacked prestige and experience. The only reason he was hastily appointed as the commander here was that the emperor at that time considered him the most loyal.
Qiao Kang's former direct subordinates were able to be mobilized smoothly, but in a hurry, he was unable to mobilize other troops guarding the imperial city, and only assembled a few hundred people at a time. When the Hujie Army was in full swing in the square, the guards at the various gates did not come.
At this time, a group of heavily armored cavalry came straight north from the main army camp. Fu Jinzhan finally saw that the person in the lead was not Guo Shao. She suddenly felt a spasm in her heart, as if she was hit by something, and her breathing was not smooth.
The feeling was so strong that she felt dizzy again.
Finally, she could see countless chaotic and complicated feelings surging into her heart. She had no time to feel them one by one, let alone look back and think about the mood of death, despair and loneliness that had just been exposed to her. The clearest feeling in her intuition was as if she had been reborn again. It was strong, direct and simple. She just thought she had just come back from hell.
The ups and downs of her mood made her body tremble slightly. She tried to control herself, standing on the high steps and looking down at Shao Ge'er who was approaching.
Guo Shao rode his horse to the front of the palace guards, and a cavalry officer also rode his horse to the front. But Guo Shao thought that he was too low-ranking and ignored him. If it weren't for the queen's dignity, the well-armed troops with more than ten times the strength would have crushed these people into meat paste in minutes.
When he saw the general coming out, he just glanced at him. He thought: If you know what's good for you, change sides quickly. It would be a pity if you are still stubborn later.
Guo Shao bowed on his horse and shouted: "I, the guard, the cavalry and infantry commander, Guo Shao, have been ordered by the empress to lead the army into the palace to rescue you. I am late. Please punish me, empress."
Fu Jinzhan just looked at him, not speaking to him, just slightly side-glancing.
A tall and strong eunuch next to him stepped forward and shouted shrilly: Everyone was in awe of the emperor's instructions.
The eunuch said loudly: The emperor is ill. I heard that the situation in the capital is not peaceful. In order to prevent those with ulterior motives from taking advantage of the opportunity to cause chaos, I ordered the queen to supervise the country and take charge of the imperial seal temporarily until the situation is settled. Recently, I have summoned the court ministers to discuss the selection of the crown prince.
The Queen raised the fourth prince, Chai Zongxun, as regent. The Queen's decree was like an imperial decree. Those who disobeyed it would be punished for disrespect.
The Queen asked the Emperor if it was okay to send the Queen's personal troops to rescue the Emperor. The Emperor nodded three times in a row.
Fu Jinzhan turned around and said something, and the eunuch shouted again: The Empress has issued a decree to secretly order the Imperial Guards, Ma Bu Si Du Yu Hou Guo Shao, to lead the left wing of the Tiger and Swift Army into the palace to take over the defense of the imperial city. Anyone who disobeys the order will be beheaded.
Guo Shao bowed and said: "Your Majesty, Guo Shao will obey your order."
In just a few words, Guo Shao's mutiny immediately became legal, and the forged imperial edict became true.
Unless someone on the spot disowns the title of empress and accuses her of holding the emperor hostage for rebellion, no one dares to think so. Then the words of the emperor's close eunuchs are true, and the empress is in full power.
Guo Shao pointed at the generals in front of him and shouted sternly: "How dare you use force to hold the emperor and empress hostage?"
The soldiers stood there in a daze, not daring to move.
Guo Shao drew his sword from his waist and shouted: In ten seconds, if you are not allowed to enter the palace, you will all be executed for treason.
Suddenly someone in front shouted: "General Qiao, give the order to retreat quickly. Why are we still standing here? It would be better to die in the battle, but dying here will lead to being charged with treason for no reason. Why bother with treason?"
Without waiting for General Qiao's order, most of them spontaneously moved to both sides.
Soon, there were only a few dozen people left around General Qiao. Fortunately, some of them were still there, perhaps his old subordinates, with him. Otherwise, he would be left alone, which would have been even more embarrassing.
General Qiao said at this time: I was ordered by the emperor
Guo Shao pointed his sword at him and interrupted him rudely: I just want to ask you one thing, let him really don't want to waste too much time here.
The cavalrymen around him had already taken their bows and raised their spears, ready to trample them at any time. The sound of horse hooves was heard from behind, and a large group of cavalry followed.
Unexpectedly, General Qiao frowned and continued to talk nonsense: I am not afraid of death, but since the queen has obeyed the imperial edict, I cannot resist. Just now, Eunuch Yang said that he would summon ministers to see the emperor in the near future. I hope to see the emperor too.
Guo Shao said with a wry smile: Okay, of course I will let everyone see the emperor.
He did not think about meeting the emperor for the moment. Anyway, as long as General Qiao dispersed his troops now to reduce bloodshed, it would be beyond his control.
General Qiao waved his hand and said: Get out of the way
Guo Shao said: General Qiao is loyal, but I hope you can guard the imperial city carefully. You didn't do a good job before. We were in a hurry and only had the Queen's decree, so we easily broke through the Xihua Gate. General Qiao was negligent in taking precautions and failed to fulfill his responsibility. What's the use of being blindly loyal
General Qiao was speechless and looked very ashamed.
Guo Shao then put the sword to his waist and slid it into the scabbard. He raised his hand to stop his men and climbed up the stairs alone with his sword in hand. The queen stood there, staring down at him intently, without saying a word.
Guo Shao walked up the stone steps and knelt on one knee in front of the queen in front of thousands of troops: I pay my respects to the queen.
The rising sun shines on the grand hall like a huge spotlight, with bright light and magnificent scenery. On the stone steps, a beautiful lady in a royal yellow dress stands straight with a graceful and noble temperament, holding a child of several years old; a general kneels on one knee in front of her. Because Fu Jinzhan was stunned for a moment, the picture stops briefly at this moment, like a magnificent picture, frozen in this era, as if it is eternal.
But Guo Shao suddenly had an illusion that kneeling on one knee in front of a woman reminded him of the scene of marriage proposal in later generations. In the mood of nervousness, excitement and worry, the crisis has not been eliminated, but tenderness has quietly crept in.
Fu Jinzhan was stunned for a long time. When she stretched out her hand, she did not dare to touch him in public. She calmly made a gesture of supporting him, restrained her trembling voice, and said calmly: General Guo, you have made great contributions in protecting the emperor. Please stand up.
I thank the Queen for her kindness. Guo Shao clasped his fists and bowed again.