The Bad Guys: Everyone, let’s revive the Tang Dynasty together!

Chapter 348 Regent (VI)

In the small building of Anle Pavilion, most of the night had passed and Zhu Wen had at least recovered some of his spirit. However, after a night of turmoil, he was a sixty-year-old man who had overdrawn his body from taking so-called elixirs in the past year. He really could not hold on any longer and collapsed on the bed, sweating profusely.

Liu Xun, who was imprisoned here together, was shocked. Just as he was about to help Zhu Wen up, he heard a deafening noise coming from the southwest and faintly heard the words "Tian Ce".

Liu Xun's face had just changed when he saw Zhu Wen jump up from the bed and run to the window in two steps.

Liu Xun curled the corner of his mouth, glanced at the four soldiers guarding inside and outside the door, walked to the window, and looked to the south with Zhu Wen.

At this time, Zhu Wen no longer cared about the airs of a monarch and his subjects. He wiped the sweat from his forehead and squeezed in with Liu Xun. His face was full of doubt and he asked in a low voice: "Liu Qing, did you hear what the sound was?"

Liu Xun smiled bitterly and shook his head, but after pondering for a moment, he said: "I think this chaos is probably over..."

Zhu Wen was shocked and frightened, holding on to the window bars tightly, and asked hurriedly: "Liu Qing, which side do you think will win?"

Liu Xun was of course unsure, but seeing Zhu Wen's expression, he just said, "From my point of view, Xiao... Since Duke Song has the confidence to stir up this turmoil, I'm afraid he has been prepared for it. Prince Bo was caught off guard this time, so Duke Song has a high chance of winning."

Zhu Wen breathed a sigh of relief.

Compared to Xiao Yan's rebellion and coercion, Zhu Wen was naturally more afraid of Zhu Youwen's success. After all, Xiao Yan was just an outsider, and the Zhu family still had loyal officials and patriots in Daliang. Xiao Yan would not have the opportunity to usurp the throne. At most, he could become a powerful official tonight.

But Zhu Youwen is different. Although he is only Zhu Wen's adopted son, he has been favored for many years. Whenever Zhu Wen went on an expedition or even visited Luoyang, Zhu Youwen would guard Bianliang as the governor of the Eastern Capital. He also had many followers in the court. Whether Zhu Youwen did it intentionally or unintentionally, he was given a push by what happened tonight. If his followers want to go further, Zhu Youwen will have to sit on the throne whether he wants to or not.

If Zhu Youwen defeated Xiao Yan and attacked the imperial city, then Zhu Wen's throne would certainly be lost, which was not what Zhu Wen wanted to see.

But Xiao Yan was different. He was not from the royal family and was only relying on a temporary iron fist to gain power. Zhu Wen believed that with his many years of authority, he could regain power in his hands as soon as he got out of trouble.

In this case, what would happen if Xiao Yan became a powerful official for a few days?
Zhu Wen believed that as long as he could escape from this sea of ​​suffering and reappear in the public eye, he would have the opportunity to demote Xiao Yan to the central government. During this period, an imperial edict, a white silk, and a cup of poisoned wine would be enough to kill this traitor!
Because of this, Zhu Wen was eager to confirm whether Xiao Yan had won, so he asked again in a hurry: "I know that Zhu Youwen, this rebellious son, has many followers. With Xiao Yan's little foundation in the capital, can he really win?"

Liu Xun shook his head, pointed at the soldiers under the small building with his chin, and said, "Your Majesty, since Duke Song was able to secretly summon such a strong army, I'm afraid it's not just a matter of foundation.

As far as I know, Duke Song is good at making money. When he conquered Hebei a year ago, he must have captured a lot of spoils. I'm afraid he has already equipped all of them to his men. Given Duke Song's wealth, it's not impossible for him to have more than a thousand soldiers like this. It's just that the court doesn't know about it..."

Zhu Wen's face looked ugly.

What Liu Xun said was quite straightforward, that is, most of the spoils that Xiao Yan had seized when he pacified Hebei a year ago were obviously put into Xiao Yan's own pocket instead of being handed over to the court, and not even equipped to the Guide Army stationed in Bianliang.

Listening to the Hebei accents of these fierce and fierce warriors, no matter how dumb Zhu Wen was, he could guess that these Hebei men were the ones that Xiao Yan had secretly kept for a long time.

After realizing this, Zhu Wen could no longer keep his composure. His face immediately turned pale and he cursed in a low voice: "This traitor, this villain! I didn't even notice his evil ambitions! It's a pity that I value him so much! I only regret that I didn't see it earlier, otherwise I would have torn this guy into pieces!"

Liu Xun was startled, and hurriedly said with a pale face, "Your Majesty, please be careful with your words! The Duke of Song's followers are outside, and you must not disturb them..."

Zhu Wen's face also changed, and he suddenly covered his mouth. Fortunately, the two of them did not notice any reaction from the soldiers inside and outside, so they breathed a sigh of relief.

Liu Xun then whispered, "Your Majesty, no matter what, we have to wait until you are out of trouble before we can talk about anything else. After all, in addition to Prince Bo's party, there are also people from the Xuanming Sect in the city. We don't know what these people are thinking. Your Majesty can only appease Xiao Yan first to ensure your own safety. After you are out of trouble, Your Majesty will personally lead the imperial army to quell the rebellion. I will present the head of Xiao Yan to Your Majesty to appease your anger."

Zhu Wen sighed, his face moved, patted Liu Xun's hand, and said with emotion: "As the saying goes, a friend in need is a friend indeed. Liu Qing is loyal to me, and I will not let you down!"

Liu Xun was also feeling emotional. After seeing Zhu Wen's unruly appearance last night, he actually no longer believed that Zhu Wen had any authority. However, he was trapped here and knew that he had offended Xiao Yan, so he had no choice but to accompany Zhu Wen all the way to the end.

Now we can only pray that Zhu Youwen will be defeated, and that Zhu Wen will escape successfully and regain power.

The emperor and his minister were huddled together by the window in an untidy manner. After Zhu Wen had a conversation, perhaps because his nervousness had eased a little, he regained some energy. After scolding Xiao Yan, he scolded Jing Xiang.

"Jing Xiang really misled me. If he hadn't protected Xiao Yan several times, how could I not investigate this villain's ambition? He was the envoy of Chongzhengyuan, and I gave him power. He actually let the wolf into the house and almost disrupted my Daliang country! From now on, I must be diligent in government affairs and use more loyal people like you, Liu Qing. Giving power to a scholar like Jing Xiang really misled me a lot!"

Liu Xun curled the corner of his mouth. Zhu Wen did not have this attitude when Jing Xiang received the imperial edict last night. If you are in a hurry to pass the responsibility to Jing Xiang, why don’t you take a closer look at what Zhu Wen has been like over the years?
But he was just thinking about these words. He just felt disappointed for Jing Xiang, who had been working diligently for the Daliang country. He also understood that the so-called Emperor Zhu Wen was actually old and confused, and did not have any of the heroism he had in his youth. Or maybe it was just that his character had always been like this, and it just showed up now.

After Zhu Wen finished cursing, he muttered to himself for a while, and then said nervously: "I hope this villain can really put down the rebellion and lead the imperial guards into the city. If so, I will give him a decent treatment in the future, so what's the harm?"

Although Liu Xun also hated Xiao Yan to death, he was just thinking about it at this moment.

The two of them looked out the window for a long time, and then sat there for a while, thinking that the chaos had not yet been settled, but suddenly they heard the sound of horse hooves from the south, and then there was a faint sound of the rebel army that had been surrounding Anle Pavilion becoming agitated.

Zhu Wen's face suddenly changed. He forced himself to stand up, but he didn't have the courage to speak. He just looked at Liu Xun in horror.

Liu Xun was also nervous, so he immediately calmed down and asked the four soldiers guarding the door in a friendly manner: "Courageous men, can you go and see what happened outside for your Majesty?"

The four soldiers glanced at Liu Xun and ignored them.

Zhu Wen's face trembled with anger.

Liu Xun was also somewhat embarrassed, but he just lowered his tone and said gently: "You are all soldiers of Daliang. Even your Marshal Xiao must be loyal to His Majesty. How can you not be loyal to the emperor? What Marshal Xiao can give you, His Majesty can also give you, even ten times, a hundred times, a thousand times. All we need is for you to be more convenient. Don't you really want to think about it carefully?"

The four soldiers each held their swords, looked at each other, and at the same time looked at Zhu Wen, which was a very rude action.

Zhu Wen was not annoyed. He just tried to straighten his big belly and smiled gently at the few people.

Seeing this, Liu Xun took a few steps forward and said kindly: "I see that you are all first-class warriors. Don't you know that traitors can have a few good endings? Your Majesty is in control of the Central Plains and has the power to conquer the world. There are more than tens of thousands of loyal ministers and patriots.
Even if Xiao Yannai or someone else gained power in this turmoil, how long could they maintain it? At that time, the patriots of the world led the army to defend the king in Bianjing, and any traitors would be defeated in an instant. But you are different. You are all sharp warriors, but you are deceived. Your Majesty is kind and has always loved warriors. As long as you are willing to abandon darkness and join the light, and protect Your Majesty and join the imperial army, you will all be granted titles and heavy rewards. These are not what Xiao Yan can give. "

As soon as Liu Xun finished speaking, Zhu Wen hurriedly said, "Yes, General Liu Jie is right. If you are willing to be my escorts, I will reward you four with titles of nobility after I settle down, so that you can bring honor to our family!"

Liu Xun forced a smile and just stared at the four soldiers.

The soldiers guarding the door looked at each other again and were silent for a while. Liu Xun was delighted and thought that he had an opportunity. However, before he could try to persuade them again, he heard someone laugh.

"This is... Liu Jieshuai, right?"

The soldier glanced at Liu Xun, then shifted his gaze to Zhu Wen and said, "And the emperor, what are you talking about, loyalty to the king, we don't want to listen, and we are too lazy to listen."

As he said this, he ignored the two people whose faces suddenly turned ugly and said directly: "We are all from Hebei. Youzhou Dingbadu, you have heard of it, right? If it weren't for General Xiao who defeated the Liu family father and son a year ago, we would probably still be eating the Liu family's food. If it weren't for General Xiao, how could you have the opportunity to say that we are the generals of Daliang?"

The soldier laughed and spat, "Bullshit! Without General Xiao, could you, General Liu Jie, have entered Youzhou? Also, when that scoundrel Li Zhen wanted to split up our Hebei troops in Youzhou a year ago and didn't allow us, Ding Badu, to enter the city, why didn't anyone say that we were soldiers of Daliang?"

Zhu Wen was furious.

But the soldier was not afraid of him at all. He held the scabbard tightly and stared at Zhu Wen without blinking: "If you, the emperor, had not listened to the slander and wanted to set up some checks and balances in Hebei, hindering General Xiao from leading us to deal with the Jin people happily, do you think General Xiao is willing to waste his time to clean up this mess?!"

"Loyal to the king, loyal to the king, loyal to the king!" The soldier sneered, "Ding Badu is Ding Badu from Hebei, he is only loyal to General Xiao!"

Liu Xun's face turned pale.

The three silent soldiers next to him also said, "Daliang is a mess. It looks prosperous on the surface, but it will fall apart at the slightest provocation. Even without General Xiao, your Zhu family will sooner or later end up like the Liu family. The Jin people are almost at your doorstep, and you are still thinking about internal fighting. If you don't perish, who will? We are all from Hebei, and we don't owe you, the emperor, anything. What General Xiao can give us, you, the emperor, may not be able to give us!"

As they spoke, several people sneered: "To support the king? With General Xiao leading us, even if there are troops coming to support the king, we have to see if there is anyone in Daliang who can defeat General Xiao!"

These few truthful words from the soldiers from Hebei actually left Zhu Wen and Liu Xun speechless, especially Zhu Wen, who had no place to vent his anger.

Zhu Wen had figured out that these soldiers probably really wanted to stab him, the emperor, to death and directly support Xiao Yan to ascend the throne!
It was for this reason that even though Zhu Wen was so angry that his lips were shaking, he did not dare to lose his temper. If these bastards really rushed over and killed him, who could Zhu Wen turn to for justice?

Damn it! When I regain power, I will kill all of Xiao Yan's followers!
During this brief conversation in the room, the sound of horse hooves approaching and countless voices were heard outside. It was unknown how many people had entered the imperial city.

Zhu Wen was frightened again and hurriedly called out in a low voice: "Liu Qing, Liu Qing!"

Liu Xun suppressed his panic, calmed himself down a little and was about to comfort Zhu Wen when he heard loud cheers coming from outside.

"Long live the emperor! Long live the emperor!" This time, not to mention Zhu Wen, even Liu Xun was stunned for a moment.

------

When the crowd arrived in front of Anle Pavilion, Li Mang, Shi Hongzhao, Ding Zhaopu and others who had been guarding here all night hurried over to greet them. However, even these three were stunned after seeing the large number of people coming.

However, among the hundreds of bloody armored cavalry, there were hundreds of generals and officials in different uniforms who came together in a messy manner. These people looked completely lacking in confidence and did not utter a word all the way.

At the front of the team, of course, was Xiao Yan.

Li Mang and his men were overjoyed and no longer cared about the imperial guards and court officials who were like prisoners. They just bowed to Xiao Yan one after another.

"Greetings, my Lord!"

No one here knows about Xiao Yan's forged imperial edict at Zhuque Gate, so of course, they still address him according to the customary address.

The countless rebel troops gathered on all sides, that is, the so-called royalist army composed of corvée laborers, naturally just looked at Zhu Youzhen and the officials behind Xiao Yan. They did not discuss too much, but their eyes were not too respectful.

Zhu Youzhen was feeling a little angry, but since Xiao Yan in front of him didn't say anything, how could he say anything? He just couldn't help but put on a cold face, not wanting to give those peasants a good face.

"Shi Hongzhao."

At the front, Xiao Yan gave the order: "Now that the matter has been settled, the so-called loyal army should be disbanded on the spot, but the army's contribution overnight must be rewarded. You will immediately lead the entire army to station at the Suzaku Gate and wait for my arrangements. During this period, you will count the candidates who are willing to join the army and train them into a camp. The generals in the camp will be temporarily arranged by Li Mang, and they will be assigned to the imperial army in the future. The military title will be selected by me."

Shi Hongzhao was overjoyed. With just a few words from Xiao Yan, he became a general of the imperial army. He immediately kowtowed and said, "I dare to die for you, my lord!"

Li Mang knew what was going on. He knew that these thousands of corvées were ultimately a mob. He met Xiao Yan's gaze and saluted: "I will obey your command."

Ding Zhaopu next to him was a little nervous and didn't dare to interrupt.

Xiao Yan pointed at him and said, "Eunuch Ding, follow me up."

Ding Zhaopu was a little surprised, but when he heard that Xiao Yan was still willing to use him, he was immediately overjoyed: "I am willing to be at your service."

Xiao Yan said no more, and was surrounded by several armored soldiers and jumped off his horse. He walked into Anle Pavilion with his sword in hand, and then saw Miao Chengtian and his men coming out to greet him. He just smiled at them and went straight up to the small building without stopping.

On the small building, Zhu Wen and Liu Xun heard the clanging sound of someone climbing the stairs, and their faces tensed. Then, when they saw the four armored soldiers at the door bowing and clasping their fists towards the stairs, they breathed a sigh of relief.

But as the sound of the armor leaves got closer, the two of them began to breathe rapidly again. Now that Xiao Yan was in power, and the soldiers under this traitor were so domineering, what should they do?
Under the unblinking gaze of the two, Xiao Yan slowly walked into the room again.

However, after just a few hours of not seeing each other, Liu Xun felt that Xiao Yan's aura was different now. Xiao Yan at night was still just domineering, but at this moment he seemed to be more calm and had the aura of a hero who controlled the world. The way he glanced around, he was already intimidating without even being angry.

Liu Xun felt an inexplicable chill down his spine, and he actually had an urge to prostrate himself before Xiao Yan.

What exactly happened?

Liu Xun didn't dare to think about it, nor did he dare to ask. He just looked at Xiao Yan who was looking at him indifferently.

Zhu Wen, who was standing beside him, seemed to have noticed Xiao Yan's subtle change. He forced a dry laugh and was about to stand up to comfort him: "Xiao Qing, what's going on..."

Unexpectedly, Xiao Yan ignored him and said directly: "The rebels have all been executed, and those who were captured have revealed the truth. Liu Jieshuai is also a member of Prince Bo's rebels. The rebels have also revealed everything about Liu Jieshuai's secret meeting at Prince Bo's mansion yesterday."

Liu Xun's face turned pale instantly.

As Xiao Yan finished his words, two soldiers at the door strode in, holding their knives and staring at Liu Xun, but when they saw that the latter was just surrendering stupidly, they stepped forward and captured him.

At this time, Zhu Wen finally reacted. However, even though he knew that Xiao Yan was blatantly trying to clip his wings, he did not dare to say a word. He just stared blankly at Liu Xun being escorted out with his Adam's apple moving.

Liu Xun's voice came over after he left the door: "Xiao Yan, without my help, you can't hold on to this position, and you can't control the imperial guards. I can..."

The man's voice quickly faded away, and Xiao Yan's expression did not change from beginning to end.

Zhu Wen's face twitched as he looked at him and Xiao Yan, who were slumped on the bed with pale lips. He could not help but stare at the latter and asked in a trembling voice, "Xiao Qing, Xiao Qing, what do you want to do..."

Xiao Yan took two steps forward, smiled, and looked down at Zhu Wen: "What do you think I'm going to do?"

Zhu Wen forced out a dry laugh, as if crying: "Xiao Qing... wouldn't you kill the king?"

Xiao Yan didn't answer, but just squinted at Zhu Wen.

Zhu Wen's whole body froze, and then his legs softened, and he slid off the bed, and then said angrily: "You dare to kill the king, you will be punished by the whole world!"

Xiao Yan laughed, lifted her skirt, sat on the table, leaned forward towards Zhu Wen, and said calmly: "When you killed the king in the past, why didn't you think that you would be punished by the whole world?"

Zhu Wen had been trying to show off his imperial majesty, but after hearing these words, he could no longer hold back. Tears immediately flowed from his eyes, and he begged, "Xiao Qing, Xiao Qing, I know I have let you down. I will issue an edict of repentance and protect your power. Why do you want me to die..."

As he spoke, he crawled forward and continued to beg, "From now on, Xiao Qing wants to do anything, I will support you with all my strength. Xiao Qing can be a prince, the commander of the whole country, the commander of the army, the governor of Hebei, and the governor of Kaifeng Prefecture! Xiao Qing, Xiao Qing, I will do whatever you want me to do. From now on, I will share the world with Xiao Qing, how about it?"

Xiao Yan leaned forward and calmly watched Zhu Wen crying and sobbing. His performance was no worse than Zhu Youzhen's. He listened quietly until the end and then suddenly laughed.

"Sharing the world together does not mean you own the world. You are greedy for the throne, aren't you just thinking about having a chance to chop me into pieces someday?"

Zhu Wen froze for a moment.

Xiao Yan looked down at him and said calmly, "From now on, just be content with being the emperor, and don't think about anything else. Pack up, go downstairs, and prepare to perform the abdication ceremony without losing any dignity."

Zhu Wen's mind went blank, his fingers trembled a little, and he pointed at Xiao Yan and said, "You, you dare to depose the emperor?"

As he spoke, he suddenly shouted, his voice a little sharp: "I am the Son of Heaven! The throne belongs to me! I am the only Son of Heaven in this world. Abdicate? Hahahaha, I will never compromise with you, you thief. You want to kill the emperor? Come on!"

The man was extremely emotional, and was waving his hands and pointing at Xiao Yan and shouting at him. The soldiers outside all held down the hilts of their swords.

Xiao Yan had an indifferent expression on his face, not even bothering to raise his eyelids, and slapped Zhu Wen in the face.

The sharp sound stopped instantly.

Zhu Wen stood there in astonishment, stunned.

Xiao Yan twisted his wrist, pressed the knife and stood up, smiling faintly: "I, I, I, dog-foot I. Do you really think I dare not kill you?"

Zhu Wen's Adam's apple twitched, and the red marks from the five fingers on his face were clearly visible. The burning pain was extremely obvious, but he didn't even dare to cover it.

"I'm not discussing whether or not to do this respectably."

Xiao Yan leaned forward and stared at Zhu Wen, smiling and said, "If you don't come downstairs in an hour, I will send a knife up to you. You will be the emperor in the underground for a thousand years. You dare to kill the king, but I don't dare to do it."

Having said that, he sneered and walked away.

But before he reached the door, he heard Zhu Wen's trembling voice from behind.

"I... I will listen to you, Mr. Xiao. I only hope you will give me a few more years..."

Xiao Yan couldn't help but laugh, and without even turning his head, he just strode out.

(End of this chapter)