Clouds gathered in the wind, and occasionally a muffled thunder sounded in the sky. The streets and alleys were gray, and the roads were full of pedestrians walking home quickly.
Night Jingtang rode Sanniang's black horse, galloping past Xizheng Street, with a black lin gun wrapped in black cloth hanging on the side of the horse.
Niaoniao, who had just woken up, huddled listlessly at the base of his legs, with his chin resting on his thighs, looking at the street, "Cuckoo, cluck, cluck, cluck, cluck, cluck, cluck, cluck, cluck, cluck, cluck, cluck, cluck, cluck, cluck, cluck, cluck, cluck, cluck, cluck, cluck, cluck, cluck, cluck, cluck, cluck, cluck, cluck, cluck, cluck, cluck, cluck, cluck, cluck, cluck, cluck, cluck, cluck, cluck, clack, cluck, cluck, cluck, cluck, tweep, twirling, twirling, clucking, clucking, clucking, clucking, clucking."
?
Ye Jingtang felt that Niao Niao meant this, so he covered Niao Niao's eyes with his hands, causing him to shake his head.
Yesterday we received definite information that the thieves were going to rob the Yunninghou Mansion, and molten oil was also spilled. The black yamen patrolled all night and secretly set up defenses. It is still unclear what the situation is, but the capital is quiet as usual, and it seems that the thunder has not exploded yet.
In order to facilitate the command, Benben stayed in the palace yesterday. Ye Jingtang quickly arrived near the Guards station in the west of the city. Without seeing Benben's bicycle frame, he flew up the palace wall with his belt tag and came to the northwest.
turret.
The turret itself is an important protective facility of the palace. There are secret guards stationed inside all year round. The black yamen arrests people close to the palace to assist in defense. They also change shifts here. The last time I saw Benben taking a bath, I came here several times.
When Ye Jingtang came outside the turret, he saw She Long and Shang Jianli standing by the city wall and looking through binoculars. At the door of the turret stood a group of palace ladies in colorful clothes, and there were carved chariots beside them. Two conversations came from the window.
:
"Really married more than a dozen people?"
"I checked the history books and found that there were more than a dozen named wives and concubines, and I'm afraid there were even more without names..."
"How could this be possible? With such love written in the book, I thought he was a humble gentleman..."
"How can a humble gentleman do such a thing as going in and out of the palace to steal the Queen Mother? Miscellaneous books cannot be taken seriously..."
…
When Ye Jingtang heard the soft and charming voice, she knew it was the Queen Mother. She straightened her clothes a little, came to the door and bowed her hands:
"Your Highness, the Queen Mother."
In the room, the Queen Mother, who was wearing a gorgeous phoenix skirt, stood beside her with her hands folded on her waist. She looked pitiful and a little unhappy. When she saw the night terror coming, she nodded, because it was an office setting, and she was not happy.
He said nothing and looked elsewhere.
Dongfang Liren was wearing a python robe and jade belt, standing with his hands behind his hands in front of the window facing the city. The prince was full of energy. When he heard the voice, his eyes lit up and he turned around:
"How was your rest?"
Ye Jingtang remained motionless and was served by Luo Nuxia. He felt so rested and said with a smile:
"Very good. Did something happen last night?"
Dongfang Liren walked out, took the bird that wanted to enter the house to ask for food from the Queen Mother, and took Ye Jingtang to the corner of the turret facing the city, looking at the Yunning Hou Mansion in the distance:
"I inspected all night yesterday, but there was no movement for the time being. The tunnel of Fushou Palace was dug out for more than ten feet. It turned out that the thieves stuffed some poison along the way and injured several people. It will be impossible to dig it out for a while."
"So now we can only wait for the molten oil to take effect?"
"We have secretly mobilized manpower to assist in the defense. However, in order to prevent the thieves from setting up a suspicious formation, the prime minister, six important ministers, and the prince of the feudal lord were killed in the capital. At present, we can only ask everyone to stand by in the yamen, and rush to the rescue as soon as possible if something goes wrong."
Ye Jingtang nodded slightly. Seeing that nothing happened for the time being, he didn't say much. After sending Benben back to the turret, he carried the bird on his shoulder and patrolled outside the imperial city, waiting for any movement from below...
——
On the other side, the sky was filled with thunder and heavy rain fell on the streets.
In the block two miles away from Mingyu Tower, there is a mansion that is being renovated.
The bamboo fence on the surrounding wall blocked the house that was being renovated. People dressed as craftsmen gradually entered the house in the rain.
In the main hall of the mansion, the debris has been cleared away, and more than thirty people are standing with solemn expressions. The old man in white robes in the middle is the old boxing leader Liu Qiansheng, and next to him stands Nangong Shaofeng, the husband of Crown Prince Wu.
Next to them, there were Tiannan hero Xiao Yuan, Yazhou gunman Hao Yuanzhou and others. Some of them were top masters recruited from Jianghu by Prince Wu's palace with huge profits.
Ouchi secret guard.
A year of planning in the past, success or failure all depends on today's battle. Even Liu Qiansheng, who has been in the world for eighty years, has a bit of solemnity in his eyes.
After all, if they move today, they will face the entire Yun'an City's imperial eagle dogs.
The Seven Evils of the Black Yamen, the Six Gates, the Imperial Secret Guards, the Imperial City Forbidden Army, and even the civilian righteous men, every pass is a natural chasm. Even if everything is prepared in advance, this battle will be unpredictable.
But there is an old saying in the world of martial arts, which is 'wealth can be found in danger'.
Most of the people present are rogues who have no way to gain a foothold in the court or the world. They hide in hiding all day long and rarely see the light of day. But as long as things are done today, they will not only get glory and wealth, but also possibly the dragon.
No matter how great the risk is, it is still worth trying.
Cao Aning used to be the junior commander of the Ouchi Secret Guards. Because he knew the terrain of the capital and even the officialdom very well, he was the main executor of this plan. At this time, he stood in front of everyone, holding a bowl of wine in his hand, and said loudly:
"Fan Yu is in prison and his life or death is uncertain. Xu Bailin served the country last night. The Holy Lord will know about this merit, and King Wu will also remember it. If this is done, the two of them will be named princes, and the same will be true for you!
"Everyone who can leave Yun'an alive will be awarded the title of hereditary nobleman by the Holy General. If you die, if you have descendants, you will be awarded the title posthumously. If you have no descendants, you will be granted the title posthumously. Your soul will be enshrined in the Hall of Heroes and you will enjoy the incense of the Wei Dynasty forever!"
After that, Cao Aning poured half of the wine in the bowl onto the ground to pay homage to his dead brother.
Wow~~
The thirty or so people present picked up their wine bowls and did the same thing.
Cao Aning looked at the people who were getting ready and continued:
"I, Cao Aning, was born in a lowly alley and grew up in a palace. My family teacher, Eunuch Cao, taught me since childhood that when you deserve to live, you must grit your teeth and endure the humiliation, and when you die, you must be obligated! Today, I and the former Pao Ze use our lives as bait to lure away the empress for you.
Eagles and dogs, I will go through ten deaths and no life. I only hope that you can succeed in one battle and live up to a certain seven-foot body."
Nangong Shaofeng, who served as military advisor, stood among the crowd, cupped his hands and said:
"Don't worry, Mr. Cao. As long as we can release Cao Qiansui and involve the main force of the imperial court, we are 90% sure to pick up the Holy Emperor."
Liu Qiansheng stood with his hands behind his back, nodded and said:
"National Master Lu Taiqing, Imperial Master Xuanji Zhenren, and the bull-headed and horse-faced people are not in the capital. The troublesome court eagles in the capital are none other than the mysterious master in the palace, Listening Ksitigarbha, and the junior named Ye Jingtang. As long as Cao Qiansui can defeat these four
With people supporting you, Yun'an City is like a deserted place. Xiaoyou Cao can just go there without worries."
Seeing this, Cao Aning drank all the wine in the bowl, cupped his hands and said in a deep voice:
"Cao will take the first step, and after a hundred years, he will have a drink with you under the Nine Springs."
"Master Cao, go ahead and someone else may arrive soon."
After everyone finished drinking the wine in their bowls and said goodbye, Nangong Shaofeng quietly left the mansion with more than 20 masters.
The four or five people who stayed behind were all Ouchi secret guards who escaped from the capital ten years ago. They came to the entrance of the tunnel without saying a word and jumped into it.
Cao Aning stood at the door and watched all the people raised by King Wu leave. His tragic eyes slowly converged. After some thought, he did not jump into the tunnel, but took out a letter and left the mansion quietly...
——
swish swish...
It was afternoon before I knew it, and the city was still as quiet as ever despite the mist and rain.
In the streets and alleys of XC District, Night Terror Hall holds an oil-paper umbrella and walks slowly in the rain with a horse in hand, with extremely boring birds on its shoulders.
The black police officers always work in teams of two when handling cases, but Ye Jingtang has not officially joined the job yet, and Benben has not arranged for him to have any big-ass female chief police officer as his partner. He just patrols the streets like this, which is quite boring.
But as long as molten oil is used, something strange will inevitably happen. The later the time is, the closer it is to the outbreak of the storm.
The vigilance of Night Terror Hall has never been relaxed, always paying attention to the clues in the streets and alleys. After walking around like this for a long time, the thieves who caused trouble were not found. Instead, a black police officer ran over from the street.
Ye Jingtang thought that there was a strange movement elsewhere, and walked up quickly:
"But Prince Jing has an order?"
The policeman stopped in front of him and said urgently: "There is urgent news from below. Prince Jing asked Mr. Ye to come over quickly."
Seeing this, Ye Jingtang did not hesitate, got on his horse and galloped to the corner tower that served as the temporary commander's residence.
It was afternoon, and the Queen Mother had already left. The walls outside the turret were all filled with experts who had been summoned. Shang Jianli, She Long was inside the watchtower, and even the secret guard Yang Lan and others were among them, gathered around the table seriously.
discuss:
"Wasn't Liu Qiansheng beaten to death by Jiang Zahu?"
"Xiao Yuan, an old man who has been arrested for more than ten years without a trace, dares to show up in the capital..."
"King Wu has spent a lot of money..."
Ye Jingtang came behind She Long and saw two pieces of paper on the table.
The first one is a list, listing the names of veteran boxer Liu Qiansheng, Prince Wu's young master Nangong Shaofeng, Yazhou gunman Hao Yuanzhou and others, and even the names of several officials.
On the map, there is a street map near the Yunning Marquis Mansion. Various circle arrows point out in detail the temporary hiding places of more than twenty brave warriors, as well as the direction of attack, rescue of hostages, and retreat, and even indicate the direction of Cong Yun.
Roadblocks were arranged in advance between Ninghou Mansion and Kaiyuan Gate in Xicheng...
After Ye Jingtang looked at it, his eyes were slightly startled:
"Which adult is so powerful?"
Dongfang Liren stood in front of the table and carefully looked at the battle plan:
"The unidentified informant just sent these two pieces of paper to the patrol agent. With such detailed information, there is a high probability that there is a mole among the top brass. Shang Jianli immediately sent someone to transfer the imperial guards and replace them.
All the West City defense troops and city gate officials were detained; Meng Jiao was notified, and all the Yamen on standby personnel were sent to the west of the city, and the Six Gates and Huoshi Yamen were ordered to dispatch personnel to assist in the defense..."
Seeing Benben, Ye Jingtang directly transferred the main force of city defense and asked:
"Are you sure the news is accurate?"
Shang Jianli showed several red circles on the battle plan:
"I just visited the places I pointed out, and there are indeed masters hiding in the houses waiting for orders. On the ridges of the retreat route, I also found snow moth scales, cartilage needles, fierce fire oil and other traps to block the pursuers.
The investment in the interconnected layout is huge. If the top masters, including the old boxing chief, are just the abandoned sons of King Wu to attack the east and the west, then the main force will probably be the two eight chiefs who join forces to attack the imperial city."
Ye Jingtang looked at the imperial city behind the city wall.
Dongfang Liren said: "The Queen Mother and the Holy Emperor have been asked to move to the West Palace. According to the intelligence, you will quickly exterminate the thieves and eliminate the hidden dangers in the West City. If there is any abnormality in the palace city, immediately withdraw to defend the palace city; if there is any abnormality in other parts of the capital, then
Don't worry about it, I will arrange for others to handle it."