The Red Mansions

Chapter 1634 Zhen Qing: What Xu Qing means is that what I have done is not enough?



Chapter 1634 Zhen Qing: What Xu Qing means is that what I have done is not enough?

Chapter 1634 Zhen Qing: What Xu Qing means is that what I have done is not enough?

Han Dynasty, the first year of Jianxing

The Han Dynasty suddenly entered the beginning of November. On this day, drizzling rain could be seen in the courtyard, adding a bit of the bleak autumn chill.

There was a vast expanse of rain and fog between the sky and the earth. When I looked up, I could only see a hazy and dim sight.

On this day, the defense of Shenjing City was taken over by the soldiers of Yangwei Camp. The soldiers of Yangwei Camp, wearing black armor and red uniforms, with goose-feather knives on their waists, were walking back and forth on the top of the city with alert expressions.

Early in the morning, Cao Bianjiao led the brave soldiers in the camp out of the capital camp and quickly approached the Shenjing City, along with the people of Shenjing who were pushing wheelbarrows and coming quickly.

At this moment, on the towering top of the city wall, Yangwei Camp Lieutenant General Bao Jiantong held a scabbard sword at his waist, looking at the Han army officers below the city wall, and said loudly to the guerrilla general Xie Mengyang beside him: "Marquis Cao is leading his troops, open the city gate!"

Because Cao Bianjiao was the commander-in-chief of the Beijing camp, in charge of daily training and defense affairs, so from the very beginning, he replaced the officers and soldiers for the defense of Shenjing City with his trusted confidants.

As the two vermilion city gates with faded paint opened wide, Cao Bianjiao, wearing a bright silver armor and a fiery red cloak, holding a Fang Tian Hua Ji, took the lead, his eyes were clear and his divine light was like lightning.

Afterwards, the rhythmic sound of horse hooves "clatter" was heard, and the soldiers behind him were galloping towards the city wall in a mighty manner.

……

……

In the city of Shenjing, the streets paved with bluestone slabs seemed deserted because ordinary people did not dare to approach them, with houses lined up on both sides.

At this moment, the sound of "crackling" of swords colliding was heard coming from outside.

"Clear the emperor's side and punish the thief Jia!"

At this moment, the noisy voices of the officers and soldiers of the Beijing camp filled the streets of the entire Shenjing City in an instant, and the shouts of killing were deafening.

On the open streets outside the Wucheng Bingmasi, the sounds of fighting were also heard one after another. At this moment, Nan'an County Prince Yan Ye led a group of fully armed servants and quickly approached the yamen.

Previously, Li Zan and Xu Lu sent people to persuade Yan Ye, who came out of his former first-class marquis's residence and led his army to cooperate with Li Zan, Xu Lu and others to execute Jia Heng.

"Ping ping pong pong..."

But when the sound of weapons clashing against each other could be heard, the soldiers on both sides clashed with swords, and fierce and violent anger was reflected on their handsome and calm faces.

An officer wearing armor with the Chinese character "山" (mountain) on it walked in quickly from outside the government office, stared at Yan Ye, and said loudly, "Master, all the officers of the Five Cities Military Department are not in the government office."

Yan Ye frowned, and doubts welled up in his heart. A hint of surprise appeared in his eyes. He asked, "How is it possible? Where are the officers of the Five Cities Military Department?"

Yan Ye had a vague feeling of uneasiness in his heart.

At this moment, a military officer's face was filled with doubt, and he said loudly: "Master, I'm afraid there is a fraud in the government office."

"The arrow is on the string and must be shot." Yan Ye raised his thick eyebrows, his eyes were bright and fierce, and he said in a deep voice.

Even if it was really a fraud, the Beijing camp was now on their side, so the matter was already 70% to 80% settled.

At this moment, a rider came quickly from the direction of the city gate. When he came close, he shouted loudly: "My lord, Cao Hou has led his troops into the city."

Yan Ye said: "Send someone to take over the Wucheng Bingma Division, I will go to welcome the Beijing camp army."

The officer beside him responded, and without saying anything else, he ordered the soldiers around him to take over the entire Wucheng Bingmasi Yamen.

Yan Ye, accompanied by a group of personal guards, galloped quickly along the street and ran into Cao Bianjiao who was leading his troops.

"Lord Cao, the Five Cities Military Department has been taken under control by our troops." Yan Ye said in a deep voice with a bit of high spirits on his old face.

Cao Bianjiao's cold eyes flickered under his thick eyebrows. He nodded and said, "Prince Nan'an, you and I will go to Anshun Gate now and attack the city gate."

Yan Ye responded, and without saying anything else, he followed Cao Bianjiao and led the troops from the capital camp to besiege Anshun Gate.

At this moment, on top of the Anshun Gate, Jia Fang, seven feet tall, wearing a helmet and armor, with a goose feather knife on his waist, stood on the city wall. He was wearing black armor and his eyes were bright. When he saw the armored soldiers on the street, he felt a little surprised.

"General Jia, the soldiers from the Beijing camp have entered the city." At this moment, a general walked up to Jia Fang and said with a fist.

Jia Fang pondered for a moment, then instructed the officer beside him, "All troops should be on alert. Report to the palace that there is a mutiny in the Beijing camp and they are planning to rebel recently."

The palace guard answered loudly, then hurried down the city wall and headed towards Kunning Palace.

At this moment, outside the square palace garden, the officers and soldiers of the Beijing Camp were gradually approaching the towering city walls. Their black iron armors were shining brightly under the sunlight, illuminating people's eyes.

"Lord Cao, you are leading the troops to besiege the palace gate, are you planning a rebellion?" Jia Fang, a burly man at this moment, stood on the towering top of the city wall, looking unfriendly at the officers and soldiers of the Beijing camp who were surrounding him below.

Cao Bianjiao suddenly rode on his horse and looked at Jia Fang standing on the towering city wall with warm eyes. At this moment, their eyes met, and they both noticed a subtle fluctuation in each other's eyes.

The Prince of Nan'an took over the conversation and said, "Jia Heng has corrupted the palace and ruined the government. We must now purge the emperor and execute the thief Jia!"

Jia Fang shouted coldly, "Cao Bianjiao, the King of Wei has treated you well, how can you be so ungrateful?"

Cao Bianjiao's face was calm, just like the mysterious water, and he said loudly: "For the sake of the great Han Dynasty, we will always be grateful to them!"

A surge of hostility surged on Yan Ye's resolute face. He stared at Cao Bianjiao and temporarily suppressed the faint worry in his heart.

No matter what, with the brave soldiers of the Beijing Camp by their side, they have already secured victory.

Yan Ye said in a deep voice: "Lord Cao, how about we attack the palace gate right now?"

Cao Bianjiao waved his hand and said, "Prince Nan'an, please be patient. Next, I want to hear what is going on in the palace."

Yan Ye said: "What does Cao Hou mean?"

Cao Bianjiao's face was as dark as water, and he said, "Old Li said before that if the Queen Mother agreed to our plan in the palace, we could save ourselves the trouble of attacking the city."

Yan Ye raised his eyebrows and said, "Lord Cao is right."

Cao Bianjiao responded, his eyes flashing fiercely, and said nothing more.

……

……

Shenjing City, Kunning Palace

Zhen Qing was wearing a dark red dress embroidered with Vermilion Bird. Her bun was beautiful and graceful. As time went by, the plump beauty became more and more graceful and beautiful.

After learning what happened outside the palace from the eunuchs, a look of surprise appeared on her white jade-like face, and she asked, "Did the Beijing troops besiege the palace gate?"

"Your Majesty, the officers and soldiers of the Beijing camp outside are shouting, 'Purge the emperor's side and kill the thieves Jia. '" The female official's frosty face was full of fear.

Zhen Qing raised her beautiful eyebrows, her phoenix eyes as clear as water stared at him, and asked, "Who is guarding the palace now? Where is Lord Li?"

The female official said, "Her Majesty, the palace is guarded by Jia Fang, a member of the Wei prince's clan, and Lord Li is still in Wuying Palace."

Upon hearing this, Zhen Qing's beautiful eyes sparkled under her emerald eyebrows, and she said in a clear voice, "Go to Wuying Palace."

If that bastard was right, Li Zan and others were already ready to cause trouble.

As soon as Zhen Qing said this, the eunuchs and maids in Kunning Palace quickly got busy and headed towards Wuying Palace in a mighty manner.

Shenjing City, Wuying Palace

Li Zan had heard the noise outside a long time ago, or rather, the noise outside the palace gate was also within Li Zan's expectations.

Li Zan was sitting behind a lacquered wooden table at this moment, and his face with deep wrinkles seemed to be covered with an indescribable gloom.

At this moment, a tall and elegant clerk from the cabinet came quickly and said, "Lord Li, the Empress Dowager is here."

As they were talking, a beautiful lady in gorgeous clothes and with a beautiful face came in from outside. As she walked, she was graceful and elegant.

Li Zan's face became solemn, he stepped forward, bowed, and said in a low voice: "Your Majesty, I greet you."

Zhen Qing quickly reached out her hand to support him and said, "Master Li, please get up quickly."

Li Zan responded softly, then stood up without saying anything else.

Zhen Qing said, "Lord Li, I'm sure you've heard about what's happening outside the palace gate."

Li Zan had a blank expression on his face, but his eyes were piercing as he said, "Empress Dowager, the outsiders in the capital camp said that they want to punish Prince Wei and support the country."

Zhen Qing asked, "Prince Wei has worked hard for the country for many years and is loyal to the country. Why did the capital camp create chaos for no reason?"

Li Zan said in a deep voice: "Your Majesty, this time it was the Beijing camp that caused the turmoil. Perhaps they noticed some rebellious signs of the King of Wei, and the loyal officials and righteous men turned to the Han Dynasty."

Zhen Qing hesitated for a moment, and said in confusion: "Prince Wei has always been law-abiding, how could he have rebellious intentions?"

Li Zan asked, "Does your Majesty think that the Prince of Wei is really law-abiding?"

Zhen Qing looked at Li Zan with eyes as bright as water under her slender and beautiful eyebrows, and whispered, "Lord Li, the Prince of Wei has never shown any signs of rebellion."

Li Zan thought for a moment and said in a deep voice, "I think we should follow his words and strip Prince Wei of his title to calm the people at home and abroad."

Zhen Qing shook her head, hesitated, and said, "This move by Lord Li will only force Prince Wei to rebel."

Li Zan said, "Just strip me of my title of prince, madam. This is the only way to protect me."

Zhen Qing's expression was unpredictable, as if she was undecided.

Li Zan was silent for a moment, then said, "Your Majesty, if you hesitate to make a decision, you will suffer the consequences."

At this moment, a cabinet clerk came in from outside quickly, with a look of panic on his face, and said, "Your Majesty, something terrible has happened. The officers of the Beijing camp have already attacked the palace and are about to enter it."

When Zhen Qing heard this, her snow-white face suddenly changed a little, and she asked, "What's going on?"

Li Zan said, "My queen, the arrow is on the string and must be shot."

The first step was to strip Prince Wei of his title of prince. Then, after taking control of the palace, he forced Empress Zhen and the false emperor to abdicate and return power to the Chen family.

It can be said that until this moment, Li Zan still hoped for a bloodless coup to solve the problem of Jia Heng and Empress Zhen causing harm to the country.

This is actually a case of political immaturity.

Political struggle is not about treating each other to a meal, it is about a life-and-death fight!

Of course, at this time, because there are still a lot of defensive forces on the palace city, if the two sides clash, it will certainly be difficult to capture the palace city in a hurry.

Zhen Qing thought for a while, her beautiful eyes sparkling like water beneath her emerald eyebrows, she opened her red lips slightly and said, "Regarding the reduction of the title of Prince Wei, the cabinet should first draft an edict and issue it to appease the officers of the Beijing camp."

Li Zan adjusted his face and bowed, saying, "The Queen Mother is wise."

Li Zan quickly glanced at the cabinet clerk beside him, and then the cabinet clerk hurriedly drafted the imperial edict.

Zhen Qing asked, "After the prince's title is stripped from Prince Wei, will the officers surrounding the palace city withdraw?"

Li Zan said, "Don't worry, Queen Mother. The officers and soldiers of the Beijing Camp outside the city were originally for the Han Dynasty. However, the followers of Prince Wei are still in the Beijing Camp. Your Majesty, especially the palace guards, the current commander of the palace guards is Jia Fang, who is from the same clan as Prince Wei. He is in charge of the officers and soldiers of the Beijing Camp. Once Prince Wei returns from the capital, he will be unwilling to be punished by the court and will easily take risks."

Zhen Qing frowned her beautiful eyebrows, and in her crystal clear heart, she was already a little alert. She thought to herself, they are indeed coming for the throne of her and Jie'er.

Zhen Qing said: "The palace guards are now under the charge of the young generals of the Jia clan. If they are pushed too far, it will easily lead to chaos."

Li Zan nodded and said, "What your majesty said is not without reason."

Zhen Qing said: "Let's take a look at the situation first."

She had thought about replacing the palace guards before, but she never had the chance.

……

……

Ningguo Mansion, in the study room——

Chen Xiao stood up from the couch under the wing room, his clear eyes flickering as he stared at the Jinyifu officer wearing Feiyu uniform not far away. His expression paused slightly and he asked, "Has the Beijing camp already taken action?"

Qu Lang's face was calm, and he said with a cupped hand: "Princess, the Beijing troops have already reached Anshun."

Chen Xiaocuili raised her eyebrows, her cold eyes flickered, and she asked with a hint of sarcasm, "Has the Beijing camp already started attacking the palace?"

Qu Lang said: "Not yet."

Chen Xiao looked thoughtful and said, "Let's go, transfer the Jinyifu guards and prepare to enter the palace."

At this time, we just need to see what Li Zan and others do, and ignore everything else for now.

It can be said that all the soldiers and horses in the entire Shenjing City were cooperating with Li Zan, Xu Lu and others, allowing the two to perform.

And there were indeed new changes in the Wuying Palace.

When Zhen Qing agreed to Li Zan's request and borrowed the cabinet to draft an imperial edict, the Beijing troops outside the Anshun Gate palace still did not retreat at all.

Under Zhen Qing's emerald eyes, she stared at Li Zan with a cold and sparkling gaze and said softly, "Lord Li, I have already drafted my order. Why haven't the soldiers of the Beijing camp outside the palace gate withdrawn yet?"

Li Zan said, "Your Majesty, the officers outside are worried that Prince Wei will come back to Beijing to settle accounts with you, and they have also contacted the palace guards to threaten the safety of Your Majesty and the young emperor."

Zhen Qing's flawless white face showed a trace of worry. She said, "The replacement of the palace guards concerns the safety of me and Your Majesty. How can we change them so easily?"

As she spoke, Zhen Qing suddenly looked at Li Zan suspiciously from under her long, narrow eyebrows. She was surprised and asked, "How did Lord Li know what the rebels outside were thinking?"

When Li Zan heard this, his face changed and he was speechless for a moment.

Zhen Qing looked Li Zan up and down with her narrow, clear eyes and asked loudly, "Could it be that Lord Li has had any contact with the rebels outside? Or are they even in the same group?"

"Yes, the leader of the rebellion, Cao Bianjiao, was recommended by Lord Li." Zhen Qing paused for a moment and asked in a cold voice, "Lord Li, what exactly are you going to do?"

Li Zan calmed down and said righteously, "Empress Dowager, I am concerned about the country and everything is for the sake of the Han Dynasty. Prince Wei has monopolized power and is ambitious. His rebellious intentions are obvious. I want to prolong the Han Dynasty. I hope that while Prince Wei is away from the capital on official business, you can strip him of his title of prince."

Zhen Qingxiu frowned and said, "Although the Prince of Wei has taken over some of the power, he has always been respectful and dedicated to state affairs. Why is Lord Li so persistent?"

"Even if I have some strange thoughts, I am not afraid with Lord Li and the ministers in the court here. So what is Lord Li afraid of?" Zhen Qing pretended to be ignorant and spoke up for Jia Heng.

In her heart, this is also the case. Can't the civil officials in the cabinet check and balance the King of Wei? It will be fine after her son Jie ascends the throne.

Li Zan said, "My queen, the prince of Wei now has a large army under his command, and his military power needs to be delegated."

At this moment, Xu Lu finally couldn't hold back and said righteously: "Your Majesty, the officers of the Beijing camp believe that as long as Qingfu is alive, the trouble in Lu will not end. The King of Wei should not only be stripped of his title, but also be confined to his mansion."

Upon hearing this, Zhen Qing looked at Xu Lu standing beside her and asked in surprise, "Mr. Xu, do you mean that what I have done is not enough?"

I'm afraid that after that bastard is caught, these civil officials will turn against her.

Xu Lujun's eyebrows were furrowed, his eyes were blazing, and he said in a deep voice: "My queen, the King of Wei is a man of unparalleled wisdom and strategy. If he is not restrained, I am afraid he will be a threat to the country in the future."

Zhen Qing said in a cold voice: "Mr. Xu, the King of Wei is not a soft persimmon that can be manipulated by others. If you force him so hard, it will easily force the King of Wei to rebel."

Xu Lu cupped his hands, his expression paused, his eyes pointed, and he said loudly, "I have no such intention."

At this moment, a young eunuch came running in from the outer room, his face full of panic, and said urgently: "Madam, the rebels outside the palace gate have begun to attack the city."

Zhen Qing's flawless face was covered with a frost-like color. She asked loudly, "The siege has already begun. Lord Li, are you really going to start a war?"

At this moment, Li Zan's thin and resolute face showed an uncertain expression. He was silent for a moment and said, "My queen, the rebels outside the city must have other ideas."

Zhen Qing's flawless white face was as cold as frost. She said in a deep voice, "Come here, come with me to the top of the city wall. I want to see what these people are going to do."

While speaking, she called the maidservants and eunuchs around her and went to the outer room. At this moment, Zhen Qing would undoubtedly not avoid the arrows and stones for the sake of her son's throne.

As the saying goes, women are weak, but they are strong when they become mothers.

Li Zan and Xu Lu looked at each other with fierce eyes. Without saying anything else, they quickly followed Zhen Qing's steps.


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