You have truly caused me great suffering!

The roar of the crowd echoed throughout the streets of Bianliang, while the lit torches immediately gave the onlookers a sense of direction.

The entire city of Bianliang was now in an uproar, and the unrest began to spread into the city.

Among the crowd, the Yinzhou troops remained very orderly. Guo Hao looked at Yang Yizhong beside him and whispered, "Eliminate the wicked and restore order today. You saw it yourself, even Grand Tutor Cai has come forward. Don't waver."

Command of the new army in the capital was in Liang Shicheng's hands. Now that Liang Shicheng is dead, it remains to be seen how many people these young generals can rally.

Zong Ze approached Liu Qi and others with this intention, and Cai Jing had Guo Hao persuade Yang Yizhong to surrender with the same goal in mind.

Yang Yizhong's expression was uncertain. He was still very young, and it was inevitable that he would waver when faced with such a choice.

But he also knew that this might be the most important decision of his life.

The actions of these people today may not be befitting their status as subjects, but does that necessarily mean they are wrong?

But that's not necessarily true.
He had seen all of the Emperor Emeritus's actions. If he continued to rule, the country would be doomed when the Jin army marched south.

Although the current government is secretly negotiating peace, it is also genuinely supporting the pro-war faction. It is because the pro-war faction has been suffering defeats and has never won a single victory that they have resorted to peace negotiations.

Since they were all supporting the Zhao family emperor, it couldn't be considered treason!
Besides matters of national importance, Yang Yizhong also had to consider his family.

The Yang family was subordinate to the Zhe family, and the Zhe family was also closely allied with the Dingnan Army.

I heard that the two families just divided up the defeated troops of Fuyan Road in Cizhou, each getting more than 10,000 men.

Thinking of this, Yang Yizhong closed his eyes resignedly. The air was filled with the smell of burning torches mixed with the autumn night mist, which was very unpleasant but also very intoxicating.

Yang Yizhong always felt that the smell of these torches was just like that of the Dingnan Army today.

The blazing flames will make everyone within them want to join in the fire.

To gain fame and fortune, and to benefit future generations.

He patted his waist and said, "Since I've promised, I will definitely do it. No need to say more."

Guo Hao wasn't annoyed. He laughed and said, "Sooner or later, you'll have to thank me."

Yang Yizhong wanted to explain that he wasn't doing this for these reasons, but when he thought of the Dingnan Army's current power, he inexplicably shut his mouth.

Human nature is complex, and often people make choices in the blink of an eye. The bigger the decision, the greater the element of chance involved.

Currently, only the troops of the Three Departments are guarding Bianliang City, and it is very difficult for the garrison troops outside the city to enter.

After so many years since the founding of the Song Dynasty, there are no longer any military camps in Bianliang where the entire army is stationed. Before the Imperial Guards were disbanded, they could be mobilized at any time upon receiving orders.

Especially in the years after Zhao Ji assumed personal rule, the court spent too much money, and Cai Jing tried his best to save.

Maintaining the Imperial Guard was too costly, so they were all disbanded long ago.

Not only the generals, but even the soldiers went home to their own families.

They were called soldiers, but they were more like yamen runners; they would go on duty when assigned to a task.

In any case, they never expected Bianliang City to be attacked.
The four guards of the Three Offices and the Four Armies—Pengri, Tianwu, Longwei, and Shenwei—were the emperor's personal guards responsible for protecting the palace.

Li Gang, as a scholar of the Zizheng Hall and concurrently in charge of the Palace Guard, was in principle the person in charge of this force. However, since it was a concurrent post, it was actually always Yao Youzhong, the deputy commander of the Palace Guard, who was in charge.

Yao Youzhong put on his clothes and hurriedly led his personal guards out, where he happened to meet Cao Meng, the cavalry commander who had arrived at the same time.

After a long silence, Cao Meng asked with a bitter expression, "Brother, what should we do?"

Yao Youzhong said, "First, find out who is coming. Our superior now is Minister Li. Let's go ask him how to handle this!"

Cao Meng wholeheartedly agreed. Military officers always avoided such commotions as much as possible. They'd wait until the chaos subsided before cleaning up the mess; who would be foolish enough to get involved?

As for the soldiers, they were considered to be doing their duty if they did not join in the riots.

There's no point in expecting anything else.

What I fear most is that civil officials will fight amongst themselves, and then push military officers out to take the blame; this has happened before.

Tonight, the Song Dynasty court, the central government of Bianliang, has revealed all the weaknesses of its current ruling system:
It is sluggish, disorganized, and lacks accountability; it is essentially unable to function properly.

The harm caused by redundant officials is clearly demonstrated.

It was precisely because of this system of governance that the Song Dynasty was almost powerless to fight back when the Jurchens invaded from the south, and was easily defeated by the Tartars.

In the chaotic darkness, Li Gang couldn't find Yao Youzhong and Cao Meng at all, unaware that the two were also looking for him.

He ordered all the men in the manor, including the servants, to pick up all sorts of sticks and hoes and follow him outside the manor.

The streets were crowded with all sorts of people; Bianliang, the capital of the Song Dynasty, was a true city that never slept.

There were too many people at night.

Everyone is now eager to go home to avoid being caught in the crossfire.

Li Gang looked around and saw Wu Min and the others hurrying by. When they saw him, they shouted, "Bo Ji!"

"Where are you going?"

"Naturally, we'll go to the Emperor's residence and protect him!"

"Who's causing trouble?" Li Gang asked.

Now that Wu Min is in charge of the defense of Kaifeng Prefecture, he certainly knows more about it than I do.

Wu Min gritted her teeth and said, "It was Cai Jing! Cai Jing joined forces with Guo Hao's Dingnan Army outside the city, opened the city gates, and let more than a thousand cavalrymen in."

Wu Min cursed, "This Cai Jing is truly an old man who is still alive and a thief. He is capable of anything. Today, he let military men into the capital. The foundation of the Song Dynasty is about to collapse."

"Should we open the city gates and let the five thousand men of the Junior Minister of the Imperial Clan Court in?" someone shouted amidst the chaos.

Li Gang quickly waved his hand, "The people and forces outside the city are a mixed bag, and the troops from all sides who came to the aid of the emperor have not yet dispersed. If we rashly open the city gates, the consequences will be unimaginable!"

Wu Min also knew that it was easy to invite a god but difficult to send him away. Now that only a thousand or so riders had entered, there was still a chance to salvage the situation.

If armies from all sides were to flood into Bianliang, no one knew what would happen.

At this moment, Li Gang finally asked the most important question:

"What are Cai Jing and his men planning to do?"

Wu Min's face darkened further. They weren't afraid of Cai Jing supporting the retired emperor; at worst, they would just confront him and fight.

Now they actually want to protect the government and talk about eliminating traitors. Don't you know that the leader of the six traitors that everyone wants to kill is you, Cai Jing?
Wu Min was truly terrified.

The name Cai Jing is like a nightmare for the old party, regardless of his performance in foreign wars.

When it comes to internal power struggles, the name Cai Jing is absolute authority, incredibly intimidating.

"Brother Boji, hurry up and get the seal, and prepare to mobilize the Palace Guard to protect the Imperial City."

Then they saw Yao Youzhong and Cao Meng arrive in civilian clothes.

"Where are the soldiers?!" Li Gang couldn't help but ask when he saw the two of them coming empty-handed.

Yao Youzhong said, "Without orders from the Privy Council, who would dare to mobilize troops without authorization?"

Wu Min and Li Gang both pointed at him, their expressions furious.

The two generals shrugged, indicating that they would not take responsibility as long as they followed orders.

Afterwards, whoever wins or loses, won't share the credit with us martial artists, so why should I risk my life?

Li Gang brandished the seal and said, "Now it's time to give the order. Quickly gather the troops and follow me into the palace to protect the emperor!"

"Order!"

After they had organized their troops, they set off for the imperial city with less than half of their forces.

The journey was surprisingly smooth, and in no time, the group was close to the Vermilion Bird Bridge.

By this time, all the pedestrians on the street had fled, leaving only idlers who took advantage of the chaos to cause trouble and scurried around.

In the firelight, they saw the same group hesitating in front of the Vermilion Bird Bridge. They could hear someone shouting orders in the distance, trying to drive the group forward to meet them.

Yao Youzhong, mounted on his horse, shouted, "We are from the Palace Guard! What kind of rabble are you? Retreat at once! Otherwise, when the main army arrives, you will all be reduced to dust."

The commotion came from the other side; it was none other than Shao Chengzhang from the Inner Palace Secretariat, and the people around him were a group of eunuchs he had organized from the palace and the palace guards on duty that day.

"Lord Li, Privy Councilor Wu!"

"Where is the Emperor?" Wu Min asked as she stepped forward.

"The Emperor is in the palace." Shao Chengzhang said helplessly. After the incident, he asked Zhao Huan to come out and take charge of the situation.

Once he emerges, which faction in the city would dare to truly harm the Song Emperor? All those troops outside the city will use this as a pretext to begin their purge.

This was actually a great opportunity for Zhao Huan to consolidate his power.

But unsurprisingly, Zhao Huan held his wife and children, weeping, and refused to come out no matter what.

"Has no one come to the capital?" Li Gang suddenly exclaimed. "Could they have gone to Genyue?"

They all felt that since it was a coup, they should support the current emperor and fight for control of the government.

Whoever controls Zhao Huan wins. This has been the case in most previous coups.

In fact, Li Gang and his group were not wrong. In their view, since Cai Jing had taken action, he must be on the side of the Emperor Emeritus.

After all, he was the prime minister appointed by the retired emperor for more than ten years, and he was also a political enemy of his group.

The current emperor has been surrounded by the old party for years since he became crown prince. How could Cai Jing possibly protect the emperor?

But none of these people came, so there's only one possibility: they went to Genyue.

"You all stay here to protect the Emperor. I will go to Genyue with the Imperial Guards!"

"Remember, keep the palace gates tightly shut and do not let anyone in!"

The forces surrounding Bianliang are now too complex, with loyalist troops coming from all over the country, each backed by their own faction.

There's no guarantee that someone won't develop unwarranted ambitions.

At this moment, Guo Hao and Yang Yizhong had arrived at the outer perimeter of Genyue. The new army guarding this place were somewhat surprised to see Yang Yizhong.

Yang Yizhong had made up his mind at this point, and of course, there was no turning back.

Reaching the palace gate, Yang Yizhong shouted in a booming voice, "Brothers, quickly open the palace gate and release Doctor Yuwen!"

On the walls of Genyue, the new soldiers of the capital looked at each other in bewilderment.

Yang Yizhong continued shouting, "The Dingnan Army has entered the city and, together with Grand Tutor Cai, intends to return power to the Emperor. Brothers, quickly follow me to restore order!"

On the city wall, the soldiers of the new army were somewhat tempted, mainly because the alliance between the two forces sounded very promising.

Cai Jing and the Dingnan Army
In addition, Yang Yizhong has always had a wide network of connections, and in the new army, he, Liu Qi, and Wang De are known as the three tiger generals of the new army in the capital.

Inside Genyue, Zhao Ji was also startled by the sound. He was enjoying tea and admiring a famous Tang Dynasty painting when his teacup fell to the ground, spilling a fine dragon-shaped tea ball and filling the air with its fragrance.

Emperor Huizong sat up straight and asked repeatedly, "How many troops have come?"

Wang De, who came to report, simply shook his head blankly.

Emperor Huizong stamped his foot angrily: "You have a good job in charge, and you have chosen good people, but you can't even take care of this little thing!"

Wang De was still completely bewildered, tilting his head back and not knowing what to say, because he wasn't in charge at all.

This new army in the capital was personally led by Emperor Huizong (Zhao Ji). It was originally entrusted to Liang Shicheng for management, but only Emperor Huizong himself could mobilize it.

This is an old problem of his.

Emperor Huizong of Song (Zhao Ji) did not fully trust anyone. He kept military and personnel power in his own hands, but he was not a diligent ruler like Zhu Yuanzhang or Yongzheng.

Leaving aside those two overly diligent officials, even Chen Shao, whose territory was not as large as that of the Song Dynasty, still held absolute power and the sole authority to make decisions.

However, he still needed to constantly understand the people's livelihood, military and political situation under his rule, and the reports he had to read every day were as tall as a book.

Only in this way can one barely maintain absolute power without making any mistakes.

You, Zhao Ji, spend your days eating, drinking, and having fun. What gives you the right to hold absolute power?

As a result, the Song Dynasty is now unable to do anything and is finding it difficult to make any decisions!

The Song Dynasty's official system was chaotic, with various institutions operating in disarray, a chronic problem that had plagued the country since its founding.

Previously, it could still be maintained with difficulty because civil officials and scholar-officials also possessed considerable power. However, after Zhao Ji had been in power for so many years, the Song Dynasty's ruling system had reached a point of complete paralysis.

"I will punish them one by one! I will punish them one by one!" Zhao Ji roared a few times, then suddenly realized that he still needed to rely on these new troops, especially Wang De. So he softened his expression and said, "I estimate that there are not many people coming. You go and block the palace gates immediately, and don't let the thieves enter Genyue. There will be an explanation tomorrow!"

Wang De was finally able to leave. He felt a lot of pressure here because it wasn't his responsibility, but he was forced to bear it.

He was speechless at every question posed by the retired emperor.

They all came from the Western Army, and their reverence for the Song Dynasty court had already diminished considerably.

Before Tong Guan's campaign against Liao, the military families in the Western Army already showed signs of wanting to establish their own independent regimes. In the northwestern military garrisons, civil officials could no longer maintain the high-pressure stance they had maintained over military officials for more than a hundred years.

Even orders from the central government could sometimes be negotiated.

When the only elite troops capable of fighting in an empire are all from one place, that empire is in danger.

By this time, the only fighting force left in the Song Dynasty was the Western Army.

Even the Dingnan Army, which emerged out of nowhere, had a core group of mostly former Western Army soldiers.

Historically, if the Jurchens had not emerged, it's hard to say how far the Western Army would have gone after exhausting their mortal enemy, the Western Xia.

After Wang De came out, he also felt very confused, wondering what he should do.
How should we talk to the brothers? Is there really an enemy outside? Can we take the initiative?
At this point, Emperor Huizong (Zhao Ji) should have come out personally to stabilize the morale of the army.

But he didn't dare. If Liang Shicheng were alive, he could also step in and take charge of the situation.

After Wang De left, Zhao Ji thought of the current situation and how Yuwen Xuzhong had brutally killed his last somewhat useful confidant right in front of him.

His face immediately turned pale, and he felt dizzy and slumped against the couch.

Everything is connected.

This old servant Liang Shicheng is my last resort. He has been in Bianliang for so many years and must have a lot of influence.

Now that Liang Shicheng is dead, how can I reconnect with his cronies?
Isn't this like cutting off one's own left and right arms?

He couldn't help but miss Tong Guan, Gao Qiu, and others. Who was still loyal to him now?
Are they hoping that the new army from the capital will quell the rebellion?
Gao Qiu was seriously ill and had died, and there was no one to replace him, nor did he arrange for anyone to take his place.

This wasn't some kind of imperial strategy; it was simply that Emperor Huizong (Zhao Ji) neglected his duties. Not only Gao Qiu, but after Tong Guan left, there was no one he could trust to take over, so he simply ignored the situation for the time being.

He was solely focused on indulging in pleasures at Genyue, playing with women, appreciating calligraphy and paintings, watching song and dance performances, and playing polo.
Later, in order to evade responsibility for defeating the Jurchens, he simply quit.

For a ruler like this, if there are still people who can be used and employed at crucial moments, that would truly be considered defying the heavens.

Now that chaos has broken out in the capital, even if I were to issue my own edict immediately, how many generals and how many troops could I possibly gather?
If it were the previous generations of Song emperors, they would still have had a chance, even if the imperial guards were useless in Bianliang.

We can also hope that the scholar-officials of the Song Dynasty will spontaneously step forward, bringing their families and retainers, to quell the rebellion!
But Emperor Huizong of Song was no match for him; he also made a mess of things among the scholar-officials.

After ascending the throne and assuming personal rule, he regarded scholar-officials as playthings, constantly promoting his household servants and favored ministers, completely obstructing the proper channels for personnel selection.

Moreover, he constantly stirred up factional strife, instigated conflict, and consolidated power in his own hands.

Emperor Huizong's seemingly clever approach greatly damaged the morale of the Song Dynasty's scholars and significantly weakened the sense of unity between the scholar-official class and himself.

Looking around, there was no one available.
Zhao Ji's mind raced. He thought to himself that since it was a coup, one side would support Zhao Huan, while the other side would support him.

Who exactly is supporting me? And is they reliable?
A group of eunuchs and palace maids looked at the retired emperor with pity; his face was pale and ashen.

After Wang De came out, the new soldiers on duty that day seemed to have found their backbone and all stepped forward to ask him questions.

"How about it?"

"What did the Emperor Emeritus say?"

Wang De shook his head and said, "The Emperor Emeritus told us to guard the palace gates and not let anyone in."

"Gone?"

Wang De nodded, then added, "Otherwise, they will all be punished tomorrow."

Everyone was greatly disappointed. The brothers were willing to risk their lives, but you not only didn't give them a proper reason for their actions, but you also refused to grant them any benefits and even wanted to punish them.

Whose crime is being punished?

What crime have we committed?

At this time, some officers and generals of the New Army who were on good terms with Yang Yizhong were already going to open the door.

Another group of people rushed in from a distance, and Guo Hao's men immediately assumed a defensive stance.

However, not many people came; Liu Qi arrived in a hurry with only a few dozen men.

He was accompanied by two military officers, whose identities were unclear in the darkness.

Liu Qi shouted from afar:
"Don't open the door! Don't hurt Doctor Yuwen!" (End of Chapter)