The Emperor ordered Zhao Tang

Chapter 61 The Emperor's Court

Han Xun was killed in battle, and the morale of the rebel army was greatly reduced.

The saint also pinched his hands lightly and said, I have been waiting for you to do something desperate for a long time!

"Kill!" Someone on the Danfeng Gate Tower shouted first, and the scene exploded.

"Kill these dogs and slaves!"

"If you kill a eunuch, I'm afraid you will be rewarded with a hundred pieces of silk, right?"

“Kill!” Liu Xianyuan, the general of the Longjie Army, rode out on his horse, and the large group of cavalrymen behind him bared their fangs, raised their spears and shouted: “Kill, kill, kill!”

The Danfeng Gate suddenly opened.

In the dark and narrow corridor, densely packed Dragon Knights roared out, like a red-hot knife stabbing into frozen butter.

The infantrymen who followed them from behind also shouted loudly: "Destroy the Shen Ce Army!!!"

Everyone is pampered and well-fed, and the eunuchs feed them with fine clothes and horses, but they don't know how to fight, and they even shout and kill the saints - what kind of people are the Shen Ce Army! The normal supplies and armor are withheld by the eunuchs, but they are forced to face the swords, what kind of people are they!
Let this group of scoundrels never have any offspring.

Bang! The two armies collided, swords and spears stabbed at each other, and the rebels retreated rapidly. There was blood everywhere, and all kinds of debris trampled by horses were scattered all over the floor.

Don’t you guys want to fight to the death?

Behind the shield, Han Quanhui saw that the soldiers below were in chaos and were about to lose, so he could not help cursing. He hurriedly urged the fake soldiers to hold on, shouting: "The tyrant emperor was frightened and fled, and the soldiers bravely moved forward. After the mission is accomplished, the wealth of Daying and Qionglin Treasury will be at your disposal."

"Who said I ran away?" The saint's advice rang out from the Danfeng Gate: "The Shen Ce Army is my minions. Considering that you have been bewitched by the eunuchs, return to the camp and wait for orders. I only kill evil slaves."

Those who were brought here basically knew what they were going to do. The sage did not expect to stir up trouble with just one word, but to stir up their emotions and boost the morale of the defenders - the emperor did not run away.

"Kill--!!!" Rows of warriors from the Zhi army rushed forward, roaring and stabbing with spears.

More than 5,000 Dragon Knights had already rushed into the formation and were fighting with the rebels. The rebels tried their best to maintain their formation, fighting and retreating - it was not that they did not want to collapse, but the enemy had cavalry, and once the team collapsed, they would be like pigs and sheep to be slaughtered.

The more than 2,000 Jin people gathered in groups of three or five and specifically targeted military officers.

Zhu Xiewusi drew his bow and shot arrows at the Danfeng Gate. He fired seven arrows in one breath and knocked down four enemy soldiers.

"Huh..." Looking at Zhu Xie Wusi who was breathing heavily and whose chest rose and fell violently with her heavy breathing, the saint held her hand.

Heroine!

Just as he was about to say something, a sudden loud shout rang out from the direction of the East Square: "The envoys from the Ten Armies and Twelve Guards are here to inspect the military appearance!"

Then, a warrior was heard shouting, "Don't let the rebels run away!"

The one who spoke was Ximen Chongsui's general, Li Yanzhen, the military commander of Shangchen Army, who shot two arrows at the rebels from a distance while riding on his horse. Behind him was a surging black tide and a roar of killing. Countless armored soldiers were coming from the east and west to encircle Danfeng Gate.

Then we saw black smoke rising into the sky outside the Danfeng Gate.

Ximen Chongsui's adopted sons Ximen Xi, Ximen Zhao, Ximen Wuji, Ximen Huan and others were leading a large army to burn down Chengtian Gate and smash the palace gates with loud bangs.

"The military envoy is here too! The three armies of Baoguo, Yousheng and Longhu are here!" The guards, concubines and ministers at the Danfeng Gate shouted in unison.

"The army has arrived!" The crumbling rebels burst into uncontrollable panic.

Following the eunuchs to attack and kill the emperor is a high-return career, but high returns are often accompanied by high risks.

Now, the stakes are high.

Seeing that the butcher Ximen Chongsui had mobilized his troops to surround and kill the rebels, the rebels' morale collapsed. Some of them ran around and were killed, some squatted on the ground and surrendered, and some turned back to look at the eunuchs, but where was the likes of Han Quanhui, Liu Jishou, and Luo Quanguan?
"Close the borders and search the entire city!" Generals Liu Xianyuan, Zhang Jide and others of the Longjie Army ignored the surrounded rebels and immediately ordered Colonels Mo Zangqiqi and others to change horses and take 1000 cavalry to hunt down Han Quanhui and his men.

"We are late in coming to your rescue, and we deserve death!"

Li Yanzhen rode his horse downstairs and clasped his fists to the saint. Seeing that the saint waved his hand and said nothing, he pointed at the rebels and asked, "Your Majesty, how do you deal with the rebellious Shen Ce Army?"

More than 2,000 people were killed and surrounded by the large army. They were terrified. After hearing what Li Yanzhen said, they seemed to see a glimmer of hope and put down their weapons, waiting for the saint's pardon.

Seeing that the rebels were discarding their weapons one after another, the saint made a prompt decision, waved his sleeves, and turned around!
"Kill!" So the soldiers of Baoguo, Longhu and Yousheng armies marched in neat steps, stabbing with their spears. At the same time, a rain of arrows like locusts was thrown out from the formation, and the rebellious Shen Ce army was slaughtered like chopping melons and vegetables.

Blood flowed like a river at Danfeng Gate, broken limbs and arms covered the bluestone slabs, and heads were everywhere. The howling, begging for mercy, and cursing were deafening, much more harsh than the noise of the battle just now.

"Your Majesty, the overall situation has been determined. We must resolve the crisis as soon as possible." Taiwei Du Rangneng reminded.

Now Han Quanhui and his men have fled after being defeated, losing the trust of the army, and have made a big mistake. Ximen Chongsui is also ill in bed, and the Northern Division is leaderless. All it takes to reorganize and take back power is an imperial edict. At this moment, the attitude of the saint is particularly critical.

The saint's attitude depends largely on Ximen Chongsui.

Over the past six months, Du Rangneng and others have understood the complex feelings of the Saint, who both love and hate Ximen Chongsui. If the Emperor still wants to use Ximen Chongsui's power to resist foreign enemies, then Du Rangneng will of course use soft words - punish the main evil, and ignore the rest, to prevent Ximen Chongsui from feeling grief and fear, and being wary of the Saint.

If the saint decides to set up his own faction and no longer look at Ximen's face, then the court officials will have to hunt down the Northern Department relentlessly, uproot the eunuchs who organized the rebellion, and liquidate all of their followers, cutting out this piece of rotten meat that is endangering his lungs.

"Your Majesty..." the ministers called softly.

The sage quickly weighed the pros and cons in his mind - since Han Quanhui could incite the Shen Ce Army to rebellion with just one word, and Ximen Chongsui could also make his own troops stir up trouble, the old pigherd must not be irritated by this matter.

Even if the old pig herder didn't have the same idea as Han Quanhui and the others, he still had to treat it with caution. Moreover, the civil strife had caused tens of thousands of casualties, and it had consumed the vitality of the court as a whole.

Therefore, unless it is absolutely necessary, the saint is unwilling to go against Ximen Chongsui - the court can't stand a few more internal fights. Zhu Wen unified the Central Plains and was about to occupy Xu, Yun, Qing, and Ji. Li Keyong suffered a series of heavy losses in Hebei and would soon be beaten black and blue by Zhu Wen. Yang Xingmi swept across the south of the Yangtze River, and the Shu Wai Zhailang and Wang Jian killed each other in a bloody battle...

There isn't much time left for him.

He must try to gain all the strength he can and look outward as soon as possible.

As for being upset and frustrated.

Compared with the suffering of the common people, and the rise and fall of the country, personal honor and disgrace are really insignificant.

Thinking of this, he quickly expressed his position in front of the ministers present: "Today's matter is for self-protection."

Then he summoned three scholars from the Hanlin Academy, Dugu Sun, Han Wei, and Zhao Guangyi, and asked them to bring writing materials, ink, and seals to Junrong Mansion and ask the old pig herder to deal with the rebellion. After getting their opinions, he would draft an edict on the spot. This was tantamount to giving the power of life and death to the old pig herder, and letting the head of the Northern Division clean up the mess on his own.

How far Ximen Chongsui is willing to go depends on how important the saint is in his heart.

Upon hearing this, Cui Yin, the assistant minister of the Ministry of Personnel, could not help but whispered: "Eliminate all evil, otherwise the inner chariots will strike back..." Before he could finish, the sage raised his right hand to stop him: "The court is under the control of the emperor——"

Upon hearing this, all the ministers fell silent. This was an implicit expression of dissatisfaction and rebuke.

"I am confused." Cui Yin sighed and withdrew - it seems that the eunuchs' evaluation was correct, the saint's ambition for independence was ready to take action.

In order to make up for the shortcomings, the sage never refused to make suggestions, but this did not mean that he had to argue with the ministers about everything. He fully understood what Cui Yin meant, and he also understood it very well - the Southern Court and the Northern Court had been fighting for a hundred years, and the hatred was as deep as the sea, so it was normal to want revenge.

But at this juncture, when his foundation is not yet so solid, advising him to kill all the eunuchs is not the act of a loyal minister.

Shunzong ignored the situation and promoted the Eight Simas, which led to his violent death. Wenzong listened to the night opinions of Zheng Zhu and Li Xun and was imprisoned until his death. This is also the reason why Liu Zongyuan, Wang Shuwen, Zheng Zhu, Li Xun and others were identified as treacherous ministers.

If a minister is not discreet, he will lose his chastity, let alone involving his king and father?
"Saint..." Looking at Li Lang, who was as gentle as water, giving orders in an orderly manner with a serious face behind the curtain, Zhu Xiewusi smiled silently - very good.

But this also made her worried - a king who was too strong would be bad for Hedong... Although the current saints were quite low-key for various reasons, they would still inadvertently reveal an air of autocracy - for example, as he said just now, the court was controlled by the emperor.

……

In Yanshouli, the military inspector of the ten armies and twelve guards, Ximen Chongsui, was stationed at the government office.

The old swineherd was ill and was attending the meeting. Yuan Gongxun, Xi Tingyu, Zhang Chengye, Liu Xicai, Jia Hui and other eunuchs were present.

When Ximen Chongsui saw the three Hanlin scholars coming with talismans, he knew that this was the saint's comfort to him - the saint knew what was going on, and he was both fortunate and relieved.

He was very ill and felt that he didn't have much time left, so there was no need to control the saint anymore - it was the way of heaven for him to retire after achieving success, just like Qiu Shiliang did.

Furthermore, based on his understanding of the saint’s nature of “devoting himself to serving the thief”, he would not be willing to be a subordinate to others.

Judging from the failure of Han Quanhui's rebellion, the saint has also proved with practical actions that the eunuchs want to control him like they controlled the previous saints - either you die or I live.

As the government develops, its authority will continue to rise.

Well, when there is no one in the family who can take up the responsibility, the Ximen family, which has been glorious for 150 years since Emperor Sukjong, cannot be destroyed by the revenge of the saint after his death.

Since it is difficult to control and there is no chance to control it, just forget it.

The abnormal relationship of fighting with the saint and calculating and exploiting each other will finally collapse today with his long illness and the failure of the rebellion of Han Quanhui and others.

Ximen Chongsui felt a little emotional and regretful - the little emperor had been humiliated by him so many times, but he could endure it and even took advantage of him whenever he could. This tenacious and clever mind was rare, and it was completely different from the love and hate in the past.

If he was not so ill that no medicine could cure him, he would really like to see how far the saint could go.

Soon, everyone reached a consensus that Han Quanhui and his ilk were in rebellion, and Hanlin academicians Han Wei, Dugu Sun, and Zhao Guangyi drafted a decree on the spot.

Afterwards, the Secretariat sent more than ten envoys to deliver the imperial edict to the homes of Han Quanhui and others, announcing the military order.

Han Quanhui, the Inner House Envoy, was ordered to commit suicide, and his adopted sons were dismissed and sent home, not allowed to go out without permission. Zhang Chengye, the Flying Dragon Envoy, was appointed as the Inner House Envoy, in charge of the financial affairs of the Northern Department.

The Xuanhui Envoy Jing Wuxiu was ordered to commit suicide, and Yuwenrou, a female official of the Ye Ting Bureau, temporarily took over as the Xuanhui Envoy, in charge of the treasures presented by the vassal states and the transfer of palace ladies.

……

And so on.

The rest of the bandits, such as Lieutenants Liu Jingxuan and Luo Quanguan, fled to the military camp with their subordinates in all directions. They were captured by the Yingwu Army and killed on the spot, and their heads were sent to Danfeng Gate.

Song Daobing, the envoy of Fengde Temple, was quite courageous. He took medicine at home before the messenger arrived. Rather than being humiliated and forced by the messenger with the decree, it was better to behave decently.

Wang Zhongxian, the Imperial Clothing and Food Envoy and National Treasures, Liu Jishou, the Internal Privy Councilor, and Han Quanhui, along with more than a thousand people, prepared to flee to the vassal state for refuge. However, the cavalry of the Longjie Army pursued them relentlessly, and they had to hide in the Xiangji Temple to resist. No one knew what would happen to them.

The power struggle slowly came to an end as the power of the master and servant waxed and waned.

……

On the west bank of Shenheyuan.

Xiangji Temple faces south and has a strategic location. It is adjacent to the Hehe River in the south, the Weishui River in the west, and the beautiful Fanchuan River in the north. The Hehe River and the Weishui River converge and linger in the southwest, and the Ziwu Avenue passes by its east side. Therefore, it has always been a place for garrison. Even now, the imperial court also has the Shen Ce Army stationed here - Liu Jilong, the adopted son of the left lieutenant Liu Jingxuan, leads more than a thousand soldiers to guard here.

Han Quanhui, Liu Jishou and Wang Zhongxian were chased all the way by Long Jie's army, and they fought and retreated and hid inside.

When Yan Gui, Liu Jisheng, Wang Xingshi and other generals who had previously raided the East Market saw that the eunuchs had failed and the Shen Ce Army that attacked Danfeng Gate had been slaughtered, they immediately realized that there was no chance of being pardoned. So after a hasty battle with Wang Congxun, they also fled with more than 4,000 people and joined forces to defend the city.

At this moment, outside the temple, there were already flags flying everywhere. Densely packed soldiers were waiting in the corners, constantly shooting arrows inside, and a large group of armored soldiers entered with spears, stabbing with all their might. Everywhere you looked, there were blazing fires and figures running and screaming...

The shrill sound of horns filled the valley, the cavalry charged with a roar, the infantry marched arrogantly and unstoppably, like a black tide. It was like the rumbling of thunder, or the attack of a raging wave. The clanging of swords, the rain of arrows, the shouting and screaming made the nearby people tremble all over, and the entire peaceful place of Buddhism was shrouded in a barbaric atmosphere.
The rebels had been running all the way and had exhausted too much physical strength. They were simply unable to withstand the waves of fierce attacks.

At dusk, all the visible buildings of Xiangji Temple were burned black. The mountain gate, the main hall, the Dharma Hall, the stele corridor, the Heavenly King Hall, and the bedrooms were all filled with piles of corpses. The blood gathered into a stream, rushing down the steps. The thick smell of blood and smoke mixed in the air, pungent and unpleasant.

"Long live! Long live, long live..." More than 6,000 rebels were slaughtered. The soldiers laughed and cursed, and chopped the corpses to show off their military prowess.

Only the tall stupa remained unconquered.

Han Quanhui, Liu Jishu and more than a hundred young knights from Chang'an were still fighting desperately. The army piled up firewood under the tower and set it on fire in an attempt to burn the thieves hiding in the tower to death. In the thick smoke and high temperature, the young knights cried and howled, and fell from the stupa like dumplings.

Han Quanhui, who was dressed in tattered clothes, covered his bloody face and screamed, "How can there be such a ungrateful disciple and emperor in the world! How dare Li Ye let me go to see him?"

The soldiers laughed loudly, adding more wood to the fire and clamoring, "Then come down!"

……

at the same time.

The main hall of the Ministry of Internal Affairs was vast and dark, with white smoke from incense and candles curling around it. The tablets of the saints were placed high up in the shrines, like individuals sitting in the shadows. But these gloomy ghosts had lost their deterrent power today, and a group of people were committing blasphemous acts under their gaze.

The gate of the province was wide open, letting in the light from outside, so that the shrines of the saints were clearly visible to everyone. Rows of eunuchs prostrated themselves on the wooden boards from far to near, looking at their fearful expressions, like tributes that were about to be slaughtered for the saints to enjoy. There were also many eunuchs kneeling in the province, sobbing.

A middle-ranking eunuch who was cursing was held by the warriors on both sides of his arms, and the graceful female official stabbed the knife from behind, pressing his shoulder up and down, slowly cutting a large wound. When it was almost done, she reached her hand in and groped inside.

Then, with a little force, with a scream, the red heart was squeezed out.

"Haha, slaves who devour their masters must be punished by having their hearts cut out." The female official smiled grimly, casually placed the heart on the tray, pulled out a dagger and walked towards the next person: "The saint can spare you, but I cannot."

(End of this chapter)