Yanping.

In the Prime Minister's Mansion, Chen Xun, Chen Anzhi, Han Zhao, Jiang Feiyan, Sun Kang and other outstanding figures from aristocratic families gathered together.

Since the incident in Hanyuan Hall, the aristocratic family has split into two parts based on whether they supported Longyou or not. Those present are the group of people in the aristocratic family who are fighting against the imperial power and have no way out.

"After the incident at Hanyuan Hall, although we were temporarily saved, we have fallen out with His Majesty and have lost the possibility of peaceful coexistence. Now His Majesty is not taking action against us, but is just waiting for the opportunity."

Han Zhao looked at the crowd with a solemn expression and a downcast look, "Everyone, what are we waiting for?"

The hall was silent for a moment, no one spoke.

After a while, Chen Xun sighed: "We are waiting for His Majesty to reach an agreement with the Zhao family, for the family to reconcile with the imperial power, and to return to the end of the national war.

"The Wei family conquered Chang'an a few days ago and are now sending troops to Huazhou. There is no suspense that the land in Guanzhong will fall into the hands of Fengxiang's army; the Yang family invaded Hangzhou, conquered Jing Haijun, and obtained the land of Wuyue."

"Geng Anguo captured Xiazhou and secured his position as the Jiedushi of the Yicheng Army; Zhang Jing captured Bianliang and made a fortune. Now he is recruiting troops and is eyeing the Heyang Jiedushi.

"In addition, there are green forest bandits and river thieves from all over the country who are robbing homes and houses, and some powerful military governors and even governors are ready to take action."

"The chaos in the dynasty is like this. Unless the poor families of the aristocratic family work together with one heart and one mind, the world cannot be restored to peace. There is a possibility of His Majesty retreating. It is not unexpectable to turn conflicts into friendship..."

Before he finished speaking, he was interrupted by Han Zhao: "Mr. Chen, these thoughts of yours are only those of those aristocratic families who beg for mercy to Song Zhi. If we think like this, what hope is there for us to survive?"

Chen Xun stopped talking.

He was just saying these words. To get to the bottom of it, his hope now lies in Zhao.

But this matter did not get Zhao Ning's permission, and he could not tell others, otherwise everyone would know that Zhao was going to replace Song.

Before everyone could discuss the reason, someone entered the hall with permission and said anxiously, sweating profusely: "Prime Minister, ladies and gentlemen, something serious has happened!"

"Why are you so panicked?" Chen Xun frowned. This was a member of his family, and he felt like his parents were dead, which made him feel that he was losing face in front of Han Zhao and others.

"Prime Minister, Your Majesty... Your Majesty has locked down the city!" The practitioner said a piece of news that made everyone's expressions change drastically.

"What?"

"Lock the city?"

"Are all the city gates in Yanping closed?"

"What's going on?"

"What does Song Zhi want to do?"

Everyone looked at me and I looked at you, and they all felt that the situation was extremely serious.

Prior to this, although Song Zhi restricted the movements of the aristocratic families and did not allow the ministers of the aristocratic families and practitioners above the Yuanshen realm to leave the city, which was regarded as putting various aristocratic families under house arrest in Yanping, things were not done completely and everyone was still able to save face.

Now, just a few days after Zhao Ning left Yanping, not long after they lost their strongest protection, Song Zhi actually blocked Yanping and put the capital into a wartime state, completely losing the possibility of leaving the city?

What Song Zhi wants to do seems to be self-evident!

Chen Xun didn't need to say anything, everyone called their followers in and asked them to find out what happened in the palace. Yan Ping locked the city, and Song Zhi must give a reason.

After the turmoil in Hanyuan Palace, Chen Xun lost the qualification to be in charge of Zhongshu Province. Although the title of prime minister was still hanging, it was described as a fictitious one - the same was true for Han Zhao.

However, the Song Dynasty did not have a substantial blow to various aristocratic families. Officials from other aristocratic families who were originally serving in the three provinces and six ministries still maintain their original positions.

It didn't take long before the people who went out to inquire about the news came back one after another.

"The Hebei rebel army has captured the entire territory of Mozhou, and the troops are approaching the capital, so from now on, the capital will be under martial law?" After hearing the report from his entourage, Han Zhao touched his chin and fell into deep thought.

This seems to be a very reasonable explanation.

But there is a 30,000-yuan imperial army led by Zhao Ning stationed in the Beitun of Mozhou. Zhao Ning has not yet fought against the Hebei rebels. Song Zhi suddenly imposed martial law in the capital and closed the gates of Yanping City.

Seems unreasonable.

"The emperor does not trust Prince Tang. Is this to prevent Prince Tang from turning back?" Someone expressed this speculation.

As soon as these words came out, everyone fell into silence again.

Indeed, the current situation in Daqi is too treacherous, and no one knows what will happen at the next moment. Song Zhi has no choice but to use Zhao Ning - he did not have this intention at the beginning, and he does not have much trust in Zhao Ning.

"Prime Minister, there is new news!" The Chen family practitioner who came in to report the news appeared in the hall again.

"What news?" Chen asked.

"His Majesty sent people to Jinyang and Yanmen Pass to summon Zhao Beiwang and his wife, as well as several powerful high-ranking generals of the Zhao family in the army, to return to the court to report on their duties. He also set a time limit. They must arrive at Yanping within three days!"

The cultivator's words caused an uproar in the hall.

"Calling Zhao's masters and powerful men to come to Yanping, what does the emperor want to do?"

"Shouldn't the emperor be on guard against the masters of the Zhao family and do everything possible to prevent them from coming to Yanping?"

"Does the emperor trust Zhao very much, or does he distrust Zhao very much?"

"Could it be that the emperor believes that people from the Zhao family dare not come to Yanping? Is this done for some purpose?"

"If the people of the Zhao family do not come to Yanping, it will be a rebellion. Your Majesty will have a reason to deal with them and declare to the world that the Zhao family is treason!"

"But if the Zhao family really wants to rebel, wouldn't the emperor be shooting himself in the foot by letting their masters come to Yanping?"

"Could it be that...the emperor has some other support?"

In just a few words, powerful figures from aristocratic families and experts came up with several inferences that are most consistent with the actual situation.

No matter what the truth is, at least at this moment, everyone feels the pressure of a dark cloud pressing down on the city.

There were many things they didn't know, but he knew at least one thing: Emperor, take action!

The emperor did not sit back and wait for death. He placed all his hopes on quelling the rebellion in Hebei on Zhao Ning, nor did he leave the decision-making power of stabilizing the country to others.

Now, the emperor is trying to solve all problems himself!

"If the emperor trusts Zhao, then calling Zhao Beiwang and others back to Beijing to report on their duties is just a test for Zhao Ning. The matter will be over soon and will not cause a big disturbance;

"If the emperor does not trust the Zhao family, then summoning Zhao family masters to Beijing at this time is either to ambush them or to accuse them of resisting the imperial decree and treason!

"No matter what the situation is, it shows that the emperor already has someone to rely on, and he is confident that he can solve Zhao's problem and thus break the dilemma he is facing now!"

Chen Anzhi looked at everyone with stern eyes, "In other words, the time to decide the life and death of our aristocratic families has come!"

Chen Xun, Han Zhao and others were all silent.

If Song Zhi wants to take action against the Zhao family, he will never let them go.

This is indeed a matter of life and death. But what can they do?

They don’t even know what the situation is like!

They felt absurd and powerless.

Everyone looked at each other and felt a strong, lingering air of death suddenly fill the hall.

...

That day and night.

Wang Zai, the left minister of the Ministry of official affairs, Xu Lin, the imperial examination doctor, and Zhongfang, the minister of the household affairs department. He Zhenzhi, the foreign minister of the Ministry of punishment, and others gathered in the east study room of Wang Zai's house and held candlelight talks at night.

They all came from poor families. Except for He Zhenzhi, a member of the imperial family, the rest were all powerful officials of fifth rank or above. They were the mainstay of officials from poor families and knew the affairs of the dynasty thoroughly.

On the day of the Hanyuan Palace incident, when everyone was waiting for orders in the Taiji Palace, Wang Zai was the first official from a humble family to take the initiative to talk to Zhao Ning. It was precisely because of his initiation that some people became familiar with Zhao Ning later.

.

"His Majesty suddenly ordered Yanping to close the city today and put the capital under martial law. He also sent people to Jinyang and Yanmenguan to pass the order, and ordered General Zhao Beiwang and others to return to Beijing to report on their work. It seems that the storm is imminent."

Wang Zai, who was over 40 years old, was a decent man and full of elegance because he had read poetry and books. He looked at everyone calmly and said, "These are extraordinary times. If you have any opinions, just speak out. Don't hide it.

Already."

Xu Lin, the exam doctor, has a Chinese character face, thick eyebrows and big eyes, and hard facial features. He has a reputation of being iron-faced. He said in a deep voice:

"These things happened suddenly. Your Majesty did not discuss it with anyone in advance. When the imperial army closed the city gate, it was the Feiyu Guards who took charge of it with your Majesty's order, so no one understood your Majesty's specific thoughts."

Speaking of this, he glanced at Wang Zai and said, "Your Excellency, you don't know the details?"

Among them, Wang Zai had the highest official position, and he was also the minister of the Ministry of Personnel. His position was naturally more important than that of other ministers. He was often seen in the presence of the emperor.

Wang Zai shook his head and sighed: "In the past, if your Majesty had any big plans, he would either summon the imperial concubine to discuss it with Mr. Gao, the Councilor for Political Affairs, or ask the cabinet members to come up with ideas.

"Now that the imperial concubine has been seriously injured and has disappeared, Lord Gao has died in Hebei, your majesty no longer invites people to discuss matters, it is all done arbitrarily."

Mr. Hubei Duzhi said differently, "I'm afraid it's not that we didn't find someone to discuss it with, it's just that we didn't summon the courtiers. Feiyuwei Zhenfu Envoy and Grand Chamberlain Jing Gonggong have always been with His Majesty."

As soon as this statement came out, several people were silent.

Nowadays, the courtiers cannot participate in making decisions on major dynasty affairs, and they have been replaced by Feiyu Guards. You can imagine how they feel.

"This should not be the norm. It's just that the noble concubine and Mr. Gao have just had an accident, and your Majesty has not found anyone who can replace them. We should not make any judgments." He Zhenzhi, a member of the Criminal Department, warned.

Wang Zai nodded slightly: "That's true. However, His Majesty sealed off Yanping, imposed a strict martial law on the capital, and summoned the generals of the Zhao family. This is obviously to attack the noble family and complete his victory in one battle!

"What I'm curious about now is, where does Your Majesty get his confidence?"

No one answered his question.

"Could it be that I borrowed a master from Beihu?" He Zhenzhi asked after a long time.

No one accepted his words.

Everyone has a face as iron as stone.

It's not that everyone hasn't thought of this possibility, they just don't want to think about it.

Because this is a result they cannot accept no matter what!

.......
Chapter completed!