Zhu Shengfei's greatest advantage was that he knew current affairs. After reading the letter Chen Qing gave him, he went to the palace that night to see the Queen Mother.
Empress Dowager Wei used to pay attention to health care and go to bed very early. Now she has a heavy mind and has to deal with various court affairs, so she can't fall asleep until very late.
At this time, Queen Mother Wei was considering Liu Qi's betrayal and surrender. Of course, she did not think it was her brother's fault.
A general who surrenders without even the slightest engagement with the enemy can never be said to be loyal. Keeping such a person around can only be a disaster. It would be an advantage for him to let him run away.
Empress Dowager Wei was worried about Yang Yizhong at this time. She knew that Yang Yizhong was loyal to the emperor and the Song Dynasty. It used to be an advantage, but now it is probably what she least wants to see.
If he ascends the throne, Yang Yizhong will most likely become the most dangerous person.
At this time, a eunuch reported at the door, "Queen Mother, Mr. Zhu has something urgent to see you!"
"this late!"
Empress Dowager Wei thought for a while and then ordered: "Announce his appearance!"
Empress Dowager Wei said with murderous intent in her eyes: "This man must be killed, but how to kill him? Does Zhu Xiangguo have any idea?"
It was so sudden that Yang Yizhong and his soldiers were caught off guard and were shot by arrows one after another. Yang Yizhong was hit by three arrows in a row, and his horse was also hit by arrows and fell down. Yang Yizhong knew that something was wrong and quickly drew his sword to fight.
, but unexpectedly hundreds of soldiers were killed. Everyone held spears, cooperated tacitly, and had strong martial arts. In just a moment, several surviving soldiers were killed. Yang Yizhong only resisted two or three moves before being killed by more than a dozen.
The spear pierced his body and he died tragically on the spot.
"Ms. Zhu, why do you want to see the Ai family so late?"
But Yang Yizhong is cautious by nature. He knows that this matter is not a trivial matter and he must be fully prepared before taking action. However, this is also a weakness of Yang Yizhong. He is too cautious, not decisive in doing things, and he is more hesitant when considering problems.
When Wei Tong saw the Queen Mother's will, he didn't know what to do, especially he didn't want to get involved in such a dangerous thing. Since the Queen Mother asked Zhu Shengfei, he could just do it himself, and let Zhu Shengfei do the rest.
"What does he want to do? Does he want to launch a coup and overthrow the Ai family?"
When he walked to the street, suddenly countless arrows were shot from both sides with great force, hitting Yang Yizhong and his men directly.
After killing Yang Yizhong, no one really wanted to mutiny, but another serious consequence emerged. That is, the military morale was completely weakened.
Zhu Shengfei immediately found Sima Chun and went to see Wei Tong together. Sima Chun also received a letter from Lu Gang, asking him to cooperate with Zhu Shengfei's actions.
Three of Yang Yizhong's trusted generals, Li Da, Pei Datong, and Yang Zhi, each led their five thousand troops out of the Yuhang Gate of the North City and went to Huzhou to surrender to the Western Army.
After all, Queen Mother Wei was a woman, and she had no experience in facing such a big event. She nodded and said, "I'll leave this matter to Mr. Zhu. I will give Mr. Zhu a hundred thousand coins to reward the dead!"
"I just got some news."
At night, Yang Yizhong came out of the residence of Zhao Zicheng. Zhao Zicheng was the father of Zhao Bocong and a famous scholar, but he was fond of drinking and greedy. He was especially jealous of the emperor Zhao Gou. He indulged in drinking and sex, and his reputation was not very good.
"Is there any chance? Will he be hiding in the military camp all the time?"
Not long after, Zhu Shengfei hurriedly walked in, bowed and saluted, "See the Queen Mother!"
Yang Yizhong did not consider him, but wanted to make the son of his eldest son Zhao Bogui the new emperor. This is where Empress Dowager Wei's ambition is revealed, and what makes Yang Yizhong the most resentful. There is obviously a suitable heir to the throne.
But she turned a blind eye.
The assassination of Yang Yizhong was the plan formulated by Lu Gang, and he used the internal guards brought by Zhong Huan. These internal guards have been arranged by Sima Chun into the army.
The concrete manifestation of the disintegration of military morale was the large-scale fleeing wave, especially Yang Yizhong's army. The soldiers had long wanted to surrender to the Western Army. Yang Yizhong originally restrained the soldiers, but when Yang Yizhong died, the soldiers did not
The general was willing to risk his life even more and even fled with his soldiers.
He immediately entrusted the selection of soldiers to Sima Chun, who used his command talisman to select assassins with strong martial arts skills.
Empress Dowager Wei was very sensitive. She immediately guessed Yang Yizhong's intentions. He also knew that he wanted to ascend the throne, so he secretly contacted the royal family, launched a coup to overthrow himself, and then established the royal family as the emperor and succeeded Zhao Song Sheji.
Yang Yizhong's contact with the royal family was extremely secretive. He brought very few guards, only a dozen people. If he brought too many people, it would be easy to be discovered.
Zhu Shengfei pondered for a moment and said: "Wei Chen feels that he also knows that the Queen Mother wants to kill him. He is very vigilant now and may launch a mutiny at any time. He cannot be killed by conventional means and must be assassinated."
"Queen Mother, Yang Yizhong is secretly in contact with the royal family in the city."
The assassins dropped the evidence and naturally wanted to avenge Xiang Jia and Xiang Kui. Xiang Kui did indeed die at the hands of Yang Yizhong.
"The report back to the Queen Mother is basically accurate."
Zhu Shengfei stopped abruptly and looked at the maids on both sides. Empress Dowager Wei smiled and said, "You can say that they are all the confidants of the Ai family!"
"Thank you Queen Mother!"
The next day, Empress Dowager Wei was furious when she heard the news and ordered Dali Temple and the county government to investigate the murderer. At the same time, she stayed in court for three days to mourn Yang Yizhong.
middle.
Zhu Shengfei smiled bitterly and said: "Don't worry, Queen Mother, the minister is also for his own safety. If he makes a coup, he will definitely kill the minister!"
"What?"
Sometimes being cautious is reassuring, but sometimes being too cautious is a fatal weakness, just like launching a mutiny. If you think too much, you will lose the opportunity and be more likely to be backlashed by the opponent.
The only person who is truly capable of safeguarding the Song Dynasty is himself. Yang Yizhong has 20,000 elite troops under his command. With these 20,000 elite troops, he can launch a mutiny and force the Queen Mother to make the Zhao royal family emperor.
Nearly 20,000 soldiers fled overnight, and almost all of Yang Yizhong's army fled.
Empress Dowager Wei's ambition to usurp the throne was already in Sima Zhao's heart, and it was known to everyone on the road. Yang Yizhong certainly saw it, and he was extremely anxious. Especially after Liu Qi surrendered to the Western Army, Han Shizhong completely lay down again and ignored any other matters.
Queen Mother Wei's face suddenly turned cold, "Is this news accurate?"
All this was done to appease Yang Yizhong's 20,000 subordinates, and at the same time to distance himself.
Zhu Shengfei was not just talking nonsense. This was the information Lu Gang told him. Wei Yanzong, who was monitoring Yang Yizhong, did find that he was secretly in contact with the royal family.
"Queen Mother, if he wants to contact the royal family, he will definitely have a chance. The minister can discuss with Wei Zhiyuan, select a group of highly skilled soldiers from his army, assassinate him in the street, and then pass the responsibility to those powerful people.
, the Queen Mother re-confessed him and made him a county king or something like that, in order to appease his men."
Empress Dowager Wei scolded Wei Tong and scolded him for being unable to control the army. As a last resort, she ordered the soldiers' salary to be increased from three guans per month to six guans per month, which barely stopped the wave of escapes.
But at this time, there were only 17,000 troops left in her hands, which could no longer withstand the offensive of the Western Army. However, Queen Mother Wei was not worried that the Western Army would attack Lin'an. She knew that Chen Qing supported her ascension to the throne.
Three days later, Empress Dowager Wei issued an edict to officially announce the change of Yuan Dynasty to Wei Dynasty. She stepped onto the dragon throne and ascended the throne as Emperor Tianming Shengming.
The news came too suddenly, and Empress Dowager Wei's usurpation of the throne was too hasty. No one was mentally prepared. Lin'an court and people were in an uproar. At this time, the ministers suddenly discovered that more than a dozen members of the Zhao royal family in Lin'an City had disappeared without a trace.