Zhong Huan's new mission was to rush to Lin'an to support the special envoy Lu Gang. He brought one hundred and twenty elite internal guards.
They used the method of constantly changing horses and rushed to Lin'an day and night, arriving in Lin'an in only ten days.
Zhong Huan arranged for one hundred and twenty of his men to rest in an inn outside the city, while he himself went into the city to Changfeng Tea House.
Soon, Lu Gang and Wang Mu rushed to the teahouse one after another. Together with Zhong Huan, Dong An and Wei Yanzong, the five of them held urgent discussions in the back hall of the teahouse.
Zhong Huan had not slept for two days. He mustered up his energy and said to everyone: "Before I left, His Highness gave me many instructions. First of all, he asked us to move the Cao family, Huyan family, Yang family, Liu family and Gao family as soon as possible.
Quanzhou, His Highness has concluded that there will be a bloody struggle within the Song Dynasty, which is not far away. We need to transfer the relevant stakeholders away. This is the first step."
Lu Gang said slowly: "I also received a pigeon letter from King Yong before, and I have already started preparations. First of all, the Yang family and the Gao family are not in Lin'an, but in Jiangning County. I have arranged for people to transfer the two families to Jiangbei. Currently, they are in Jiangning County.
There are only three families in Lin'an, the Cao family, the Huyan family and the Liu family. They also received Cao De's letter and are very cooperative with us. I have moved a large amount of property and part of their family members to Xiaoshan County for them, and then they will be there in the next two days.
Transfer their main tribesmen.”
Zhong Huan said: "The second step is to participate in their internal struggle. I gave King Yong's letter to Special Envoy Lu. I have brought 120 elite internal guards and will fully cooperate with Special Envoy Lu's arrangements."
Lu Gang nodded, "I just read the letter from His Highness King Yong. The letter requires us to temporarily evacuate Lin'an City ourselves after evacuating the three families!"
Wang Mu immediately asked anxiously: "Does the newspaper office also need to be evacuated?"
"Retreat too!"
"Don't worry about the food. You rush to Yangzhou immediately to take charge. Our Xiang family's wealth is all in Yangzhou. You have to protect me!"
Less than half an hour later, he came back again. His companion was still sleeping, and he still pretended to be standing guard.
Everyone at today's gathering reached two important consensuses. First, they rejected King Yong's land order. They would never give up their own land, even if they replaced it with overseas land.
Wang Mu nodded, "I have to go back and discuss with everyone how to retreat without affecting the issuance. We had an emergency plan before, and now we can implement it."
The reason why these powerful men dared to compete with the emperor Zhao Gou was because they also had a certain degree of confidence. They controlled 50,000 of the imperial court's 150,000 troops, accounting for 30%.
Lu Gang affirmed: "His Highness made it very clear that once internal strife breaks out, we will all become key targets. We must take precautions and retreat as soon as possible!"
It happened that his other friend was so sleepy that he couldn't open his eyes, and said to Sun Jin: "I'm really sleepy. Brother, I'll go and take a nap for a while. It's just over there in the corridor. If there's anything urgent, please let me know!"
Xiang Desheng nodded, "You rush back to Wenzhou immediately. Since everyone has unanimously decided, you can take action. Ask him to enter Beijing immediately. We will open the city gate to cooperate."
Xiang Desheng glanced at his nephew Xiang Kui again, "The third child is very silent today!"
At this time, the discussion was over, the back door opened, and carriages drove out one after another. Next to each carriage were several warriors following on horseback. These were their own guards, which were different from the warriors standing guard.
Xiang Jun assumed command of the Wenzhou Army and commanded 10,000 Taizhou troops. He had just returned to Lin'an.
There were hundreds of warriors on guard and sentry outside. They were pacing back and forth, paying attention to what was going on around them. Two patrolling warriors were deployed outside in the southwest corner. One of the warriors was named Sun Jin. He was actually one of the eyes and ears placed by the Meihua Guard at the Xiang family.
.
"Go! Be careful along the way."
Xiang Jun said in a deep voice: "Wang Dutong means that if you decide to take action, you must be decisive and not delay. Once the officials discover it, you will be in big trouble."
In the back house, Xiang Desheng was still discussing the arrangements for the Xiang family with his two sons, Xiang Jun and Xiang Wen, and his nephew, Xiang Kui. Xiang Kui rushed back to Lin'an yesterday, which was why today's gathering was held.
"What do you say in Wenzhou?" Xiang Desheng asked his eldest son, Xiang Jun.
"We still have the most important task!"
Of course, this decision was actually a coup. Once leaked, the consequences would be disastrous. Everyone signed a confidentiality commitment on the spot and would never leak the contents of the discussion, even within the family.
His companion quietly slipped away to sleep. Sun Jin finally found an opportunity and immediately ran to the back wall, climbed over the wall, and ran to the nearby Plum Blossom Guard point to report.
In addition, there are 70,000 troops distributed around Lin'an, and 50,000 troops are controlled by these powerful men, including 30,000 Wenzhou troops and 20,000 Lin'an garrison. The only army loyal to the emperor is Yang Xizhong, who leads another 20,000 Lin'an garrison. Of course, there is also a
With Ten Thousand Plum Blossoms Guarding, the dignitaries had the upper hand five to three.
Dong An smiled and said: "The teahouse can be closed tomorrow, and we will assist the newspaper office in evacuating!"
Not long after, all the twenty or so powerful representatives left. In fact, they were all the powerful people living in Lin'an City, and there were ten other powerful families living in other places.
Second, they unanimously agreed to support Zhao Bocong, the seventh grandson of Taizu, as the new emperor, replacing the current emperor Zhao Gou.
Xiang Jun nodded, "The kid will leave first. If anything happens, send someone to contact the kid immediately!"
"Let's set off as soon as the sun breaks!"
Xiang Kui shook his head, "Even if the emperor is overthrown and the new emperor ascends the throne, what will happen? The Western Army comes in large numbers and sweeps across the south of the Yangtze River. We still can't keep the land, not even the property. His Highness King Yong made it very clear that if the army comes to the city,
The most we can do is save our lives, but we can’t count on our property and land.”
The time has already reached the third watch, but the lights in the lobby of the Xiang family's inner house are still bright, and more than twenty powerful families are urgently discussing countermeasures. They are excited and arguing fiercely.
Lu Gang dipped his hand in tea and wrote two words on the table. Everyone could see it clearly and their faces became solemn.
Xiang Desheng explained: "You have also seen today that except for our Xiang family, Cao family and Huyan family who agreed to hand over the land, others did not agree. We are all one body. If we insist, our alliance will split, so
We must obey everyone's opinions. I have communicated with the Cao family and the Huyan family, and they also have the same idea, obeying the overall situation."
Xiang Kui sighed and said: "Actually, our risk is very high. Obviously King Yong has promised not to confiscate our wealth and also promised to ensure our safety. We can definitely welcome the Western Army. This is the best choice. My nephew will not
Understand, why not choose the best option?”
"Go ahead!"
It was almost the fourth watch, and he was eager to rush to the Plum Blossom Guard to report, but he couldn't find an excuse to leave, which made him extremely anxious.
Xiang Jun left first, and Xiang Desheng asked his second son Xiang Wen: "Have all the belongings in the treasure house been moved?"
Moreover, 80,000 of the imperial court's fifteen major armies were deployed along the Yangtze River and in western Zhejiang.
As long as the Wenzhou army arrives at Lin'an in time, the dignitaries will have hope of victory.
The warriors all dispersed and went back to their dormitories to rest. Sun Jin found his companions and went back to the dormitory to sleep together.
Xiang Wen nodded, "Everything that can be transferred has been transferred to Yangzhou, but grain cannot be transferred."
Xiang Desheng said calmly: "In the face of land interests, don't expect everyone to look far and have an overall view, otherwise there will be no regrets in the world."
"All right!"
Xiang Kui said helplessly: "What is my nephew responsible for?"
Xiang Desheng said slowly: "You are responsible for organizing a thousand servants, arming them, and protecting Xiang Jia's retreat at the critical moment!"
