Guiyi Fei Tang

Chapter 275 Dazhong Ends
"His Majesty?"

"His Majesty!"

At midnight on the seventh day of the eighth month in the thirteenth year of the Dazhong period, in the Daming Palace in Chang'an City.

When screams of fear were heard from the Purple Palace in the palace, Li Zi, Ma Gongru and others rushed into the side hall.

Within everyone's sight, three copper basins filled with warm water had turned yellow-red.

Li Yuanbo and his companions had already removed a carbuncle on Li Chen's back that was the size of a baby's fist, and the wound on Li Chen's back had also been sutured with medicine.

Obviously everything had been done, but at this moment Li Chen was unconscious and had a fever.

"Your Majesty, what's wrong?!"

Ma Gongru questioned Li Yuanbo and his men, and Li Yuanbo hesitated and said, "The evil from the pus has entered the body and infected the fever. Your Majesty is afraid..."

"Asshole!!"

Ma Gongru pushed Li Yuanbo down, then knelt outside the dragon couch and held Li Chen's hand tightly:

"Your Majesty! Your Majesty!"

Suddenly, Ma Gongru felt Li Chen's hand moving, and he hurriedly called out: "Your Majesty, I'm here! King Kui is here too!"

After he finished speaking, he turned around and looked at Li Zi: "King Kui!"

"Aye, I am here."

Li Zi quickly knelt beside the dragon couch and held Li Chen's hand tightly.

Feeling the warmth from his palm, Li Chen, who was barely breathing, opened his eyes with all his strength. He was so weak that he could not utter a word.

The officials of the Northern Division who were kneeling around the dragon couch couldn't help but shed tears when they saw the dragon's body gradually weakening.

Regardless of whether they were sincere or not, this made Li Chen feel a lot better.

"The will..."

Li Chen uttered these two words with great effort. When Ma Gongru, who was kneeling in the front, heard them, he immediately understood Li Chen's last concern.

"Your Majesty, everything has been arranged, please rest assured."

Ma Gongru leaned forward and whispered in Li Chen's ear.

Li Chen, who was holding on, loosened his hands after hearing these words, exhaled a breath, and no longer reacted.

"His Majesty?"

Ma Gongru asked tentatively, and seeing that Li Chen did not respond, he bravely reached out and placed his hand on Li Chen's neck.

Although the skin was still warm, there was no blood beating as a normal person would have.

Ma Gongru's heart tightened, and he reached out his hand to boldly grasp his pulse. After making sure that Li Chen had no reaction, he looked at Li Zi.

Li Zi had been watching, and when he saw Ma Gongru looking at him in surprise, he immediately understood everything.

“Aye!!”

As Li Zi cried out in grief, the eunuchs around him all bowed their heads and sobbed.

Even if I can't cry, I have to lower my head and pretend to cry.

At the same time, the armored soldiers of the Right Shence Army outside the Zichen Palace looked at each other, and one of them left the team and walked in the dark to the west of the Zichen Palace.

The rustling sound of armor seemed very harsh in the strong wind under the dark moon, but the armored soldiers stationed in the palaces and corridors along the way ignored it and did not report this man.

A quarter of an hour later, as the armored soldiers arrived at a place similar to a city wall, he immediately took out a wooden whistle and blew a few times.

"Gugu...Gugu..."

The whistle sounded low, not as sharp as the one used by the Tangqi.

After a few whistles, flames appeared on the city wall ahead.

Armored soldiers holding torches walked down from the top of the city wall, and more than 20 people responded by whistling in the light of the torches from a distance.

"Gugu...Gugu..."

After confirming the whistle, the armored soldiers who came out of the Purple Palace hurriedly trotted over, followed the twenty or so people onto the horse path, and walked into the city gate tower.

There were hundreds of armored soldiers inside and outside the city gate tower. Qi Yuanshi, the deputy envoy of the Zuo Shen Ce Army, was wearing Ming Guang armor and sitting inside the tower.

"how?!"

Seeing the soldiers from the Zichen Palace arriving, Qi Yuanshi hurriedly began to question them.

"Reporting to the deputy envoy, the Supreme Emperor has passed away. Ma Gongru and others are preparing to summon Zheng Zhang and others to the palace with the will!"

"it is good!!"

Hearing this, Qi Yuanshi immediately looked at the two generals in their forties with white faces and no beards in the crowd:

"Yang Xuanyi, Yang Xuanjie!"

"The general is here!"

The two generals responded in unison with a bow.

"You two lead the elite cavalry out of Daming Palace and go to Sancheng Posthouse, seven miles north, and tell the lieutenant what happened in the palace!"

"Yes!!"

The two of them responded solemnly, and Qi Yuanshi also said sternly:

"If this matter is accomplished tonight, you and your descendants and families will be rich and prosperous!"

Under his command, the two brothers Yang Xuanyi led more than fifty elite cavalrymen out of the Zuoyintai Gate and rushed to Sancheng Posthouse seven miles away.

In less than a quarter of an hour, they saw fire in the distance.

Thousands of elite soldiers of the Zuo Shence Army, wearing armor and armed with sharp weapons, were waiting here, while Wang Zongshi was sitting in the post station waiting for news.

The post station chief and his subordinate Zhibai had already been beheaded.

By the time the two Yang Xuanyi brothers arrived, all the blood had been drained from the bodies of these people.

"how?!"

Seeing the familiar faces of Yang Xuanyi and the other man, Wang Zongshi subconsciously stood up and questioned them.

The two bowed solemnly and said in unison: "The Supreme has passed away. The left silver platform door is already open. We are just waiting for the lieutenant to enter the Daming Palace!"

"it is good!"

Wang Zongshi could not hide his excitement and immediately ordered: "All troops should break camp and follow me to the palace to see the emperor!"

The military orders he issued at this time were basically tantamount to forcing the emperor to revolt.

Without saying a word, the emperor gathered his troops and prepared to break into the palace to see the emperor.

With this kind of situation, even if the emperor was not dead, he would be scared to death.

However, Wang Zongshi has already taken control of the Daming Palace. As long as Wang Maoxuan does not turn against him, he will never fail!

Soon, thousands of elite left army troops from Sanchengyi began to rush towards the left Yintai Gate of Daming Palace.

At the same time, the sixteen kings' residences in Chang'an City were also taken over by Wang Zonghui and Zhang Huaiding.

Of the 500 patrolling soldiers of the Right Shenwu Army, except for the 100 who were patrolling outside the city block, the remaining 400 were guarding the Prince Yun's Mansion.

It was not until this time that Wang Zonghui told Zhang Huaiding about their plan.

"Bastard!"

Outside the main hall of Prince Yun's Mansion, Zhang Huaiding grabbed Wang Zonghui by the collar. He didn't expect that he would be involved in such a big thing.

If this matter does not end perfectly, he alone will harm the entire Zhang family.

"If the yamen guards don't want to stay here, they can just go back to the street."

Even though his collar was grabbed, Wang Zonghui's expression remained calm, even with a hint of mockery.

He had seen through Zhang Huaiding. To put it bluntly, he was just a reckless man whose ability and ambition did not match.

Things have come to this point, Zhang Huaiding and they are already in the same boat, so there is no need for him to hide it.

As long as Zhang Huaiding is not stupid, he should know what he needs to do now.

"You guys..."

Zhang Huaiding really wanted to punch Wang Zonghui in the face, but he didn't.

At this moment, he couldn't help but think of the "suppression" inflicted on him by his own father.

I am the legitimate son of Zhang Yichao, who liberated Helong. Why can Zhang Huaishen and Liu Jilian control one side, but I can't?
Thinking of this, he slowly loosened his hand, and the smile on Wang Zonghui's face became more obvious.

He adjusted his collar, then chuckled and said, "Don't worry, sir."

"After tonight, you will be the general of the Shenwu Army, commanding the left and right Shenwu Army!"

"If you do not wish to stay in the army, except for the important places such as Xichuan and Dongchuan, the remaining military governors and inspectors of various towns will all be your seats."

Zhang Huaiding narrowed his eyes at Wang Zonghui's words, and then said in a cold voice:
"If the plan changes, I will use your head to appease the wrath of the Supreme!"

"Ha ha……"

Wang Zonghui only felt a chill on his neck. After laughing awkwardly twice, he and Zhang Huaiding waited quietly in the yard.

Half an hour later, as thousands of elite soldiers of the Zuo Army "broke into" the Zuo Yintai Gate, Wang Zongshi's figure also appeared in front of Qi Yuanshi.

"Lieutenant!"

Qi Yuanshi raised his hand to bow, and Wang Zongshi held him up with his hand and said, "If this is done, the position of Lieutenant of the Left Army will be yours!"

As soon as he finished speaking, he ignored Qi Yuanshi's excitement and said, "The Zuo Shen Ce Army has taken over the palace ban. Anyone who disobeys the order... will be killed!"

As his military order was issued, more than 5,000 Zuo Shence troops began to take action.

Wang Zongshi himself also led 500 elite soldiers and hurried to the Purple Palace.

There was no obstruction along the way. Wang Zongshi entered the palace from the Zuo Yintai Gate openly and swaggeringly, and did not have any conflict with the palace guards at all.

Because the passage was so unobstructed, when Wang Zongshi brought the Left Shence Army to the Purple Palace, Ma Gongru, Wang Guichang, Wang Jufang and others were still by Li Chen's bed, waiting for Zheng Zhang and others to arrive.

Even though the armor continued to make noises, they had no doubts until the sound got closer and closer...

"Damn it! How dare you murder His Majesty!!"

The shouting and cursing was like thunder out of the blue. Ma Gongru and others who had thought they had won the victory all looked outside.

The Purple Palace had been surrounded by armored soldiers, and when they saw Wang Zongshi and Qi Yuanshi, who were wearing armor and were surrounded by forty armored soldiers, everyone present was stunned.

"Wang Zongshi!"

"How will you be here!"

"Shouldn't you be in Tongguan?"

"Wang Zongshi, you disobeyed the imperial order and dared to lead your troops to break into the palace!" Wang Zongshi's sudden appearance caught everyone off guard.

Before Ma Gongru and his men could gather any resistance forces, they were blocked in the hall by Wang Zongshi and were surrounded tightly.

"Where's Lieutenant Wang You?"

Suddenly, Ma Gongru discovered that Wang Maoxuan had disappeared and became panicked.

If it weren't for Wang Maoxuan, they would have no chance to mobilize troops now.

"Stop yelling, why do you think I'm here?!"

As soon as Wang Zongshi finished speaking, Qi Yuanshi, Yang Xuanyi and Yang Xuanjie drew their swords from their waists and pressed forward towards Ma Gongru and the others.

"Wang Maoxuan has switched sides!"

"Lieutenant Wang, what happened before was just a farce."

"That's right, when His Majesty wanted to depose you, we never tried to dissuade him!"

"If Lieutenant Wang is willing to let us go, the credit for supporting him will be yours!"

They were all savvy people who had been in the palace for a long time. Facing the cluster of white swords and spears behind Wang Zongshi, what else could Ma Gongru and others say? They could only beg for mercy with a thick face.

"Where is the will?"

Wang Zongshi spoke in a cold voice. Upon hearing this, Wang Jufang hurried forward and presented the emperor's will.

After presenting the will, Wang Jufang tried to flatter him by saying, "Your Majesty's will states that King Kui will take the throne immediately, and then..."

"Pfft!!"

Without any warning, Wang Zongshi drew his sword and knocked Wang Jufang down, while raising his arms and shouting:

"Ma Gongru, Wang Jufang and others plotted to murder the Supreme, held King Kui hostage, and caused chaos in the palace. They must be killed immediately!!"

"Wang Zongshi, you are a peasant!"

"Fuck your mother's head, Wang Zongshi, you will die a miserable death!"

Ma Gongru and others cursed loudly, while Qi Yuanshi and others rushed forward, and their flesh and blood were chopped by iron knives.

Wang Guichang was unwilling to give up, so he drew out the sword from his armored soldier's waist, roared, and rushed towards Wang Zongshi.

Several elite soldiers of the left army stopped him. Qi Yuanshi kicked him to his knees and before he could react, he raised his knife and chopped off his head.

In the end, Ma Gongru and others were executed by Wang Zongshi on the charge of falsifying the imperial edict, and Li Zi, the originally designated crown prince, was captured after seeing Ma Gongru and others being killed.

"Lieutenant Wang, I...I..."

Li Zi's face was pale and he was carried in front of Wang Zongshi.

He wanted to beg for mercy, but he couldn't utter a complete sentence for a long time.

"Take King Kui away and keep him under strict guard!"

Wang Zongshi did not kill Li Zi in the end, but chose to put him under house arrest.

There was someone else who decided whether Li Zi lived or died.

Not long after Li Zi was taken away, Wang Maoxuan appeared outside the Zichen Hall with the right army.

He walked slowly into the hall, where Wang Zongshi was arranging troops, preparing to capture Zheng Zhang and others in one fell swoop.

Seeing Wang Maoxuan coming, Wang Zongshi also looked at Qi Yuanshi.

Qi Yuanshi understood what he meant and quickly brought a chair and took out a new will.

"I mean what I say. From tonight onwards, the North Division will be led by you and me!"

Wang Maoxuan took the will, opened it, read it, and nodded before returning it to Wang Zongshi.

They looked at each other, but didn't need to say anything.

Half an hour later, as Zheng Zhang and others hurriedly arrived, this group of ministers who were entrusted by Li Chen with the care of the young emperor were killed by the Zuo Shence Army before they even saw the Purple Palace.

The sky gradually brightened, and the Left and Right Shen Ce Armies took over the city of Chang'an. Even the common people sensed that something was wrong and stayed indoors.

A heavy rain fell, and Li Wen, who was sitting in Prince Yun's mansion, stood and sat down again, and sat and stood again.

When he was feeling very uncomfortable, a pair of hands held his cold hands.

"Don't be afraid, Aye, Aye must live..."

When the childish voice sounded, Li Wen felt a little relieved.

He looked back and saw that it was his daughter. He breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Well, Aye, don't be afraid. Aye must live..."

As he finished speaking, hurried footsteps were heard outside the hall.

Nannan stood in front of Li Wen. When Li Wen turned around, he saw that the person coming was Qi Yuanjian, the envoy of the Northern Court of Xuanhui.

"Congratulations, Your Majesty!"

These four simple words indicated that the overall situation had been decided, and Li Wen instantly felt relieved and sat back in his chair.

"Your Majesty, now is not the time to rest. Please come to the palace and take charge of the situation."

Qi Yuanjian hurriedly stepped forward to invite them, and Wang Zonghui and Zhang Huaiding who were outside the hall also rushed over.

They only heard Qi Yuanjian invite Li Wen to the palace, and just from this sentence, they knew the outcome.

"Zhang Yaya, quickly prepare the carriages and horses to escort His Majesty into the palace!"

Wang Zonghui gave the order hurriedly, but Zhang Huaiding was still immersed in the surprise of his success in following the dragon. It was not until Wang Zonghui reminded him for the second time that he slowly reacted.

"Okay, I'll do it right now!"

Soon, four carriages were ready outside Prince Yun's Mansion, and Li Wen and his concubines and children were escorted onto the carriages.

The carriage, escorted by five hundred Right Shenwu soldiers, headed towards the Daming Palace.

Li Wen glanced outside and asked in confusion, "Why are you heading to Daming Palace from Xiangyou?"

"The left side is too slow, the right side is faster."

After Qi Yuanjian gave a calm explanation, he immediately escorted Li Wen to the Daming Palace and took him to the Hanyuan Hall.

The bloodstains in front of Hanyuan Hall had not been cleaned up yet, but Wang Zongshi and others had been waiting here for a long time.

When Li Wen was brought here, he was taken off his clothes while he was in a daze, and was changed into the crown and robes worn during the grand court meeting.

At the same time, bells and drums were struck in the bell tower and drum tower in Chang'an City. Even the Taoist temples and Buddhist temples were awakened overnight by the soldiers of the Shen Ce Army, and each of them struck bells and drums 30,000 times.

"Dang Dang Dang..."

"Dong dong dong..."

After the sound of bells and drums resounded throughout the various districts, all the officials who had learned that the situation in the city had changed began to count the bells and drums silently.

When the bells and drums sounded more than a hundred times, all the officials changed into official uniforms and rushed to the Daming Palace.

Half an hour later, when most of the officials from the Southern Court arrived, they discovered that there was blood in front of the Hanyuan Hall, and many faces were missing from the ranks of officials.

Linghu Tao, Xiao Ye, and Jiang Shen all frowned, while hundreds of officials in and outside the palace were also silent.

Soon, the rustling sound of armor was heard in the hall, and more than a hundred Shen Ce soldiers walked into the hall and stood in two rows.

The situation of the Shen Ce Army entering the palace made all the ministers nervous, and Linghu Chao and others remained silent, fearing that they would get into trouble.

In this situation, Wang Zonghui appeared and walked towards the golden platform.

"Enter the class!"

As he sang the salute loudly, all the officials breathed a sigh of relief. At least this showed that the situation had not yet degenerated into a war.

"Where's Erlang?"

"I don't know..."

In the team, Zhang Yitan frowned and looked behind Zhang Yichao, but he only found Zhang Huaiquan and his brothers, but not Zhang Huaiding.

Faced with his inquiry, Zhang Yichao responded hurriedly, feeling nervous.

He naturally knew that the place where the Right Shenwu Army patrolled last night was the Sixteenth Prince's residence, and Wang Zonghui was not qualified to appear on the Golden Stage.

Wang Zonghui is so high-profile, and behind him are people who support Prince Yun.

In addition, Zhang Huaiding patrolled the Sixteen Princes' residences last night, and Prince Yun was living there...

Gradually, Zhang Yichao's mood became gloomy and he even felt uneasy.

"Sing!"

"Tens of millions of years old..."

As soon as Wang Zonghui opened his mouth, all the ministers subconsciously began to sing the salute.

It was just as the singing ceremony ended that everyone felt something was wrong.

Because the person who walked onto the Golden Stage was not Emperor Dazhong Li Chen who was supposed to appear, but Prince Yun Li Wen who was wearing a crown.

Behind Li Wen were Wang Zongshi, Wang Maoxuan, Qi Yuanshi and Qi Yuanjian.

All the ministers were panicked, but Li Wen sat on the high seat of the Golden Platform with blatant composure.

Without waiting for the ministers to speak, Qi Yuanjian, the envoy of the Northern Court of Xuanhui, stepped forward and sang:

"Privy Councillors Ma Gongru and Wang Guichang, Xuanhui Southern Court Director Wang Jufang, and Imperial Hospital Director Li Yuanbo conspired to murder the late emperor and wanted to forge an imperial edict to establish Prince Kui as emperor."

"Fortunately, it was discovered and exposed by the Left and Right Lieutenants of the Shen Ce Army, Wang Zongshi and Wang Maoxuan."

"The four have already confessed their crimes and have been executed. Now, in compliance with the late emperor's will, we will support our eldest son, Prince Yun Li Wen, to ascend the throne as emperor!"

After Qi Yuanjian finished speaking, the Shen Ce Army on both sides of the officials began to take action.

"Wang Zongshi! You plotted to murder His Majesty and forged an imperial edict to make Prince Yun the emperor! You will not die a good death!"

"You damned peasant! I am the minister appointed by His Majesty, how arrogant you are!!"

"Lieutenant Wang! I didn't know what Ma Gongru and the other thieves were planning! I didn't know!"

"His Majesty……"

Shouts, pleas for mercy and wails were heard one after another, but none of them could stop Wang Zongshi's determination to eliminate dissidents.

At one time, nearly 40% of the hundreds of officials inside and outside the palace were dragged away. Those who were left were either those who supported Prince Li Wen of Yun or those who were neutral during this period.

Facing the remaining officials, Wang Zongshi said in a cold voice: "Read the will!"

At this moment, it no longer matters whether the will is true or false. After all, the emperor is dead, and the Kuiwang faction has fallen. The people in the Southern Court do not have the power to fight against Wang Zongshi and Wang Maoxuan. This is the only way.

In front of all the ministers, Qi Yuanjian stepped forward and opened the so-called will:

"On the day of Guimao on the eighth month of the thirteenth year of Dazhong, the imperial edict was announced..."

(End of this chapter)