Patrol Captain

At this time, in the dark, on the main street leading to Longting, sedan chairs came out from all directions. All kinds of exotic beasts and horses pulled the carriages and galloped on the long street. In the distance, the magnificent outline of Longting was looming in the night mist. The gargoyles of the Golden Palace pierced the sky, accompanied by the incessant sound of bells.

The court meeting is about to begin!

At three quarters past the hour of Mao, the morning mist had not yet dissipated, and the sound of the night watchman's drum from the corner tower of the imperial city pierced through the many deep palace gates of the Dragon Court.

Each of the mighty and strong warriors, with veins bulging on their arms, beat the huge drum with all their might.

"Boom"

"Boom"

"Boom"

After passing through layers of palace gates, there is a huge square. At the end of the square, a palace paved with golden glazed tiles rises high into the sky, as if standing in a sea of ​​clouds.

Below, the white marble steps connecting heaven and earth are like a ladder to heaven, with a total of 365 steps. The Jinwu Guards, dressed in golden armor and looking like sculptures, stand on both sides of the steps, holding golden melon-shaped axes in their hands, looking solemn and dignified. The ceremonial peacock feather fans and coiled dragon flags flutter in the wind.

In the Golden Palace, the sound of drums from the corner tower startled the birds perched on the Chiwen, and they fluttered over the plaque "Jianji Suiyou". The large gilded characters exuded a solemn and majestic aura against the faint light of the sky, making people dare not look directly at them.

"Silent Whip——"

Following a long shout from the official of the Honglu Temple, a ten-foot-long whip hit the ground heavily, and three crisp sounds suddenly rolled over the square like thunder.

At this time, two long dragons were arranged in the square, even extending to the archway in the distance. A group of civil officials and military officers stood in awe according to the ancestral rules of Wudong and Wenxi.

Daqian was founded on military power, and the status of military generals was slightly higher than that of civil officials. This was true both at the local level and in the imperial court. This was the ancestral system.

On the west side, all the official uniforms are embroidered with flying birds. Civil officials of different ranks hold white jade tablets in front of their chests. The first-rank officials have lifelike cranes, the second-rank officials have phoenix-like golden pheasants, and the third-rank officials have peacocks. The official robes are the most valuable in red and purple.
On the east side, some military officers wearing armor or official robes lowered their eyes. The five-clawed python robe was the best, followed by the Qilin robe.
Among them, the officials of the Ministry of Rites held the gold-inlaid ceremonial album, the Hanlin scholars held the imperial edicts, and the musicians of the Jiaofang Bureau stood with their heads bowed under the bronze chime frame.
At this time, a ray of golden sun broke through the eastern skyline, shining on the gilded imperial roof, reflecting a dazzling golden light, piercing through the sea of ​​clouds, as if the chaos of heaven and earth was opening.

A high, shrill voice sang over the square.

"Your Majesty—arrives—"

As the sound fell, a dragon roared, and the world was rippled with mighty power. A brilliant golden light broke through the sea of ​​clouds, and then a huge chariot pulled by nine golden dragons rushed straight to the golden and brilliant Golden Palace. A corner of the black dragon robe could be vaguely seen, rolling with the majesty of the emperor.
As the chariot rushed into the Golden Throne Hall, all the civil and military officials in the square knelt on the ground in unison, their official hats and crowns falling like inky wheat waves, and their tablets knocking on the ground in unison: "Long live the emperor, long live the emperor, long, long live the emperor!"

The sound resounded through the sky.

At this time, the court meeting was officially about to begin. The musicians from the Jiaofangsi began to strike the chimes. Amid the sounds of Huangzhong and Dalu, the civil and military officials stepped over the white marble steps one by one, climbed up the ladder to heaven, and went to the Golden Palace together. It was a grand scene.

During this time, the officials of the Ministry of Rites began to play a memorial in a rhythmic voice, reading aloud: "Your Majesty, you have received the favor of Heaven and the saintly virtue of the universe..."

Amid the sound of reports that roamed the heavens and the earth, a group of officials entered the solemn and magnificent Golden Throne Hall and lined up like a formation of geese. On the high platform of the hall, the current Emperor Wu sat on the supreme throne. There was light behind him and his face was covered by a crown, so people dared not look directly at him. He looked like a celestial emperor.

Inside the hall, all the civil and military officials were solemn, with their hands hanging down and their heads lowered.

At this time, the Minister of the Honglu Temple called out the names loudly: "By order of the Emperor Daqian, the Tongzheng Envoy comes forward to make a report!"

An old minister in a scarlet robe stepped out of the line, coughed, strolled forward, then knelt three times and kowtowed nine times before unfolding his memorial.

This person was one of the six people who had just gone to the Prime Minister's Residence.

"Your Majesty, I, Zhao Tianming, respectfully report this to you."

"The Ministry of Public Administration received a total of eighty-three memorials from both the interior and the exterior today, covering forty-three matters concerning the six ministries. The Censorate, respectfully presents these to Your Majesty!"

As he spoke, someone behind him presented a pile of memorials, and then an old eunuch beside the emperor under the podium came forward to receive them.

At this moment, a voice suddenly sounded among the officials.

"Your Majesty, I have something to report!"

In the third row of civil servants, an official wearing a crimson official uniform and with a gray beard stepped out.

As this person stepped out of the line, many eyes turned to him, many with strange expressions.

I heard that the Junior Secretary of the Taichang Temple received a secret order to go to Shu, and he came back yesterday night, and he was also with him, the General of the Household of Shu!
The news from the court spread quickly, and many officials already knew that the General had arrived in Beijing yesterday!
Some people turned their heads away, some raised their eyebrows and continued to lower their eyebrows, and some seemed to know something and showed a little interest.

"I want to report that Lord Zhao from the Ministry of Public Administration may have missed a memorial. Yesterday at noon, the Shudi..."

Xu Liang held the white jade board in front of his chest and bowed his head to play.

At this moment, an unhappy shout suddenly interrupted Xu Liang's speech.

"Xu Shaoqing!"

"The memorials received by the Tongzhengsi are collected by the Six Departments' Censors. There are so many of them, how could there be any omissions? Lord Xu, I haven't seen you for a long time. Today in court, you accused me of doing something wrong. I cannot bear this blame." A civil servant with a small mustache in the fourth row jumped out. He served as the Six Departments' Censor, an auxiliary agency of the Tongzhengsi. If he found any violation or error in the memorials within his authority, he could reject them to ensure that the documents submitted to the Tongzhengsi were compliant.

The man narrowed his eyes, flicked his sleeves and snorted coldly.

Xu Liang frowned and wanted to speak, but he heard the Minister of the Honglu Temple, who was in charge of the court etiquette and rules, speak.
"No noise is allowed in the court."

As he said this, he glanced at Xu Liang calmly.
"Xu Shaoqing, without His Majesty's permission, we cannot mess up the order. It's not your turn yet, please step down."

Seeing this, Xu Liang didn't say anything else. His face returned to calm and he returned to the queue.

At this point, the expressions of the other officials in the hall became intriguing.

Judging from what Xu Shaoqing said, the words he had not yet finished should be about the memorial submitted by the General of the Central Army of Shu, which was not reported.

There are two possibilities for not reporting it. One is that it was detained by the Ministry of Public Security. The other is that the Six Departments’ Secretaries received the memorial and rejected it at the beginning.

Everyone standing in the Golden Palace was a shrewd man. They could naturally see that someone didn't want this General to have an easy time, so humiliation and embarrassment were inevitable.

Mr. Zhao, the Minister of Public Administration, is in the Prime Minister's camp, while Mr. Jieshizhong belongs to the Grand Censor.

The most important thing is that no one saw that our Majesty, who was sitting on the dragon throne, did not speak.

This reveals a lot!

Your Majesty, don’t you know?
Obviously, His Majesty does not want to meet the reckless general who rushed out from the remote border!
The patrolling angels and the imperial heavenly soldiers were killed, and there must be something serious going on.

No one wanted to touch this bad luck, so they pretended they knew nothing, looked at each other with their eyes and their hearts with their noses, and no one spoke a word.

Then, the court meeting in the hall continued.

After Zhao Tianming, the Minister of Public Administration, submitted his memorial, the six ministries began to make their own memorials. When it was the turn of the Ministry of War, an official stepped forward to make his memorial.
"Your Majesty, Beihai has replied that Marquis Weiyuan led the imperial army to fight against the giant monster of the North Sea and won a great victory. He will return to the court soon!"

As soon as the news came out, all the officials in the court changed their expressions and whispers were heard.

"My Lord, you are a great martial artist. You have made new achievements. You are truly the pillar of our Daqian." "I heard that a dragon's nest appeared in the North Sea. It has been a turmoil for a while and has never been quelled. The Divine Marquis came out to suppress it. It took less than half a year to quell it."

"."

The Weiyuan Marquis mentioned by these officials is a great general in the Divine Capital. He was awarded the title of marquis for his military exploits and had never been defeated in his life. He was known as the Invincible Divine Marquis. He had outstanding military exploits and enjoyed a very high reputation among military generals. The most special thing about him was that he was the commander-in-chief of the Jinwu Guard and guarded the Dragon Court, which held a special status.

When the civil and military officials heard that this divine marquis had achieved a great victory in the North Sea, they more or less gave him some face and spoke well of him in front of His Majesty.

"it is good!"

"Big reward, pass on my order"

On the high platform, the Emperor Wu of the dynasty was very pleased and began to issue decrees to reward people, his voice as loud as thunder.

Afterwards, the court officials continued to make responses.

When the six ministries have finished reporting on their affairs, other officials can make their own reports freely.

Xu Liang and Xu Shaoqing wanted to step forward, but some officials were always one step ahead, leaving them no chance to speak.

When someone passes by, speak in his ear in a voice that only one person can hear.
"Xu Shaoqing, why bother? His Majesty doesn't want to hear it."

Xu Liang did not say much. He naturally disliked these guys who colluded with each other. He could naturally see what these people were thinking, but he knew that it would be best to let the Ninth Mountain General meet the emperor as soon as possible, so as not to give some court officials enough time to react and make trouble, and then have the Martial Temple behind the Taichang Temple mediate.

The longer it takes, the more variables there will be.

He traveled with Chen Zhonglang and went to Shu in person to investigate the relevant facts. After gaining a better understanding, he was willing to lend a hand at this critical moment.

After all, he was the only person Chen Zhonglang knew in the court.

The other one, the Third Deputy Inspector Gou Yue, was lowering his head in the ranks of generals. He sent a message to the other party, but the Inspector did not respond.

But obviously, there was no chance to speak in the court at this time. The people from several camps seemed to have discussed it beforehand, and they talked one after another, and in the blink of an eye, it was time for the court meeting to end.

Xu Liang knew that he might not have any chance today.

Just as the meeting was about to end,

However, in the second row of the military team, a general wearing purple fish-scale armor stepped out with a sword in hand, and to the slight surprise of all the officials, he stepped forward to make a statement.

He was allowed to enter the palace with a sword, so his identity must be noble. He was the commander of the Shendu Army. The Jinwu Guard was in charge of the Dragon Court, while the Shendu Army was responsible for protecting the security of Shendu. He had hundreds of thousands of elite soldiers under his command.

This person usually does not speak in the court, after all, his identity is sensitive.

"I have something to report!"

"Quasi 1"

"According to reports from my subordinates, at noon today, at the prime minister's residence and the imperial censor's house, someone was found placing more than a dozen heads in front of the doors of several high-ranking officials in the court. The treatment was horrific and appalling."

The commander used a bland, almost mechanical tone to talk about a "big case" that had occurred in the early morning. He recounted what had happened and then said nothing more. He did not mention any details or what to do afterwards. He just reported it to His Majesty.

As soon as these words were spoken, there was an immediate commotion in the court, and the faces of all the officials changed color and became extremely strange.

Someone actually dared to place a bloody head in front of the government offices of the three highest officials in the imperial court.

They are Huangfu, Meng family, and Gongyang family.

What courage this requires!
Moreover, the amount of information contained in it is not small. It takes extraordinary ability to place the head in front of these three government offices full of powerful people without being noticed.

Obviously, there is a lot of grudges among them!
Many officials were startled. Could it be that?

In the sight of everyone, in the front row of officials, there were three figures wearing red and purple official robes, embroidered with five-clawed pythons or fairy birds. One of them opened his sleepy eyes, and a cold light flashed in them, another's face shuddered, but quickly returned to normal, and another one looked at the commander with a slightly gloomy expression.

They clearly blocked the news because they didn't want it to be spread out, so how did the commander know about it?
Is it your Majesty's eyes?
The three important court officials seemed calm on the surface, but they had a lot on their mind.

I feel a little annoyed. I think after the court meeting, this news will spread throughout the streets and alleys of the capital, which will be a slap in the face of the three families.

Inside the hall, as the emotions of these three important court officials changed, the atmosphere in the hall became somewhat depressing.

At this time, on the high platform, the current Emperor Wu did not show any emotion after hearing the news. He lowered his eyes under the crown and pearl curtain, and gave an order in a light tone, asking the commander to capture the murderer.

Subsequently,

"I am tired today, so I will stop here."

As he said this, he stepped down from the dragon chair.

"Long live the emperor!" All the civil and military officials knelt down immediately and shouted in unison.

"Retreat—"

A sharp shout was heard from the court, and then the whip exploded again.

The civil and military officials slowly stood up, and then retreated in order of rank, until they were out of the palace gate. At this time, the ceremonial guards on the square began to collect their flags, and the musicians from the Jiaofang Bureau disappeared into the corridors. Only the copper bells on the eaves were still tinkling in the wind, and then the bells and drums sounded to signal the end of the court.

At this time, the Hanging Temple was dozens of miles away from Longting.

In a side room, Chen Yuan looked at the returned greeting card on the table, then looked towards the Golden Palace on the skyline outside the mountain. When he heard the floating bell sound, his eyes narrowed slightly.

"General, this is the bell to adjourn the court!"

At the back, Gongsun Yang bent his body slightly, his tone revealing some suppressed anger.

The general was not summoned by the emperor, and even his letter of greeting was returned. The clerk who returned said that the format was wrong and needed to be rewritten, as they had clearly written it according to the format.

He was so angry that a minor official dared to behave like this in front of the general. He was about to explode, but was stopped by the general.

"That's their trick!"

"Don't mess up your own formation first!"

“That’s how you fall into these people’s trap.”

Chen Yuan stood with his hands behind his back, looking at the Dragon Court in the distance. The golden light in his eyes turned into ink dots, and he sneered.
"I think those three families have seen the gift I sent!" (End of this chapter)