Qin Xiao, who was far away in the northeast, was wondering what the Prime Minister was planning, but the Prime Minister had no energy to think about what Qin Xiao was doing.
Lao Fei's body is still hanging at the top of the imperial city, which has become the focus of discussion in the streets and alleys of Kyoto.
Since the founding of the Tang Dynasty, although there are not many assassins who have sneaked into the palace with the intention of assassinating people, it is not unheard of. However, such things must have been covered up quickly and it was impossible for the people to know.
After all, the Imperial Palace Forbidden Garden is a majestic place, and it is even more heavily guarded. If an assassin can sneak in, it will already undermine the majesty. Even if the assassin's body is eventually killed by the palace guards, such a thing that undermines the majesty of the royal family will definitely
It won't be spread outside.
The corpse of an assassin was hung at the top of the imperial city. This was the first time since the founding of the Tang Dynasty. It was naturally a major event that caused a sensation in the capital.
Of course the Prime Minister was filled with resentment.
Although Lao Fei is not his relative, he has followed the Xiahou family for decades and is very loyal to the Xiahou family. Under the instructions of the Prime Minister, he single-handedly created the Blood Kites, the guard force of the Prime Minister's Mansion.
For many years, the assassins who wanted to assassinate Xiahou Yuanzhen did not want to kill the emperor, but because of the existence of Lao Fei and Xue Yaozi, the prime minister saved the day.
Sixth-level masters, even those who are as wealthy as the Prime Minister, have very few subordinates. With such cultivation, there is no one else but a loyal sixth-level master, except Lao Fei.
This arm has been broken.
What makes the Prime Minister angry is not only that Lao Fei was killed, but more importantly, until now, he has not been able to determine who killed Lao Fei.
"Prime Minister...!" In the study, a middle-aged man in casual clothes stood respectfully not far from the desk. He was in his early forties, but he looked very energetic.
His beard is as thick as a needle and his pupils are huge, giving him an aura of bravery.
Standing next to him was Wen Xitai, the commander of the guards of the prime minister's palace.
The Prime Minister sat in a chair, looking at the pen holder on the table, and was silent for a long time.
The deathly silence in the study lasted for a long time, and the silence was finally broken by the man in civilian clothes.
Xiahou Yuanzhen looked up at the man, as if he had just come back to his senses, and said: "Chang Geng, please sit down first."
But the man cupped his hands and said: "Prime Minister, you are as kind as a mountain to the humble general. Without the prime minister, the humble general would not be what he is today. In these years, the prime minister has never summoned the humble general, and the humble general has not come to disturb him, but the prime minister has treated me with great kindness."
My general's kindness will never be forgotten even for a moment."
"When I promoted you, in addition to your talents being of great use, I also took a fancy to Chang Geng's love and righteousness." The Prime Minister said with a smile: "I know that when I really need you one day, you will never do anything.
I won’t frown."
"The prime minister secretly summoned me this time, there must be something going on." The man said firmly: "Mr. Prime Minister, there is no need to hesitate. As long as you always give me any instructions, even if it means taking my life, I will not hesitate at all. Mr. Xiang.
Master, if you have any orders, just give them and you will go through fire and water, even a humble general will not hesitate to do so."
Xiahou Yuanzhen nodded slightly and said: "You are right. If it is not a last resort, I will not let you take action." After a pause, he finally said: "Chang Geng, you are not stupid. In the past three months, in the palace,
Something is obviously wrong with the situation, and you should have noticed it."
The man hesitated for a moment and then said: "Mr. Prime Minister, I have a low status. I don't dare to ask more questions about the imperial palace. However, as the Prime Minister said, the situation in the palace does seem to be a little wrong recently. The Prime Minister has been there a few days ago.
He led all the officials in the court to ask for orders from the saint, but was brutally beaten by the eunuchs in the palace. This... This is really unbelievable. The humble general felt that something was wrong, so he ordered the nine gates to strengthen inspections these days, and anyone who entered the city
Everyone must be carefully checked to prevent anyone from taking the opportunity to enter the capital and cause trouble."
"Chang Geng has always been cautious when doing things. I am very pleased."
"Don't dare." The man said respectfully.
"The saint is in trouble." Xiahou Yuanzhen's expression became stern, he stared at the man and said: "Chang Geng, you are a person I trust. Things that I cannot say to others can be made clear to you." He signaled the man to sit down first and spoke.
Xitai also raised his hand and said: "General Tang, please sit down!"
The man then handed over his hands and sat down on the edge.
"What hangs on the imperial city gate is the person I sent to the palace to spy on the news." Xiahou Yuanzhen said: "But the rebels in the palace were well prepared and fell into a trap, so they died in the palace."
This man was none other than Tang Changgeng, the general of the Wu-Gui of the Nine Gates of Kyoto. He commanded the capital's five thousand troops and controlled the Nine Gates of Kyoto.
After hearing what Xiahou Yuanzhen said, Tang Changgeng showed a look of shock.
"The saint is in trouble. As the chief minister of the Tang Dynasty, I cannot turn a blind eye." Xiahou Yuanzhen said solemnly: "For the current plan, there is only one way, and that is to force the traitor in the palace to hand over the saint."
Tang Changgeng naturally understood and said solemnly: "If the traitor in the palace holds the saint hostage, he will definitely use the saint to threaten us. Prime Minister, do you have any proper way to make the traitor hand over the saint?"
"I have been meditating hard, but there is really no better way." Xiahou Yuanzhen said: "The only way is to mobilize troops to surround the imperial city, or even rush into the palace to quell the chaos."
Tang Changgeng's body was shocked and he said in surprise: "Come into the palace?" Although he had some premonition before, Xiahou Yuanzhen said it himself, which still shocked Tang Changgeng.
Since the founding of the Tang Dynasty, no one has been killed by the empire in Kyoto. Although in the history of the Tang Dynasty, Kyoto was indispensable with swords and swords, but there was no foreign army that came to the imperial city, let alone the Tang Dynasty's own troops.
.
"Move troops to surround the imperial city. The traitors in the palace have no way to escape." Xiahou Yuanzhen said slowly with sharp eyes: "Then they will have no choice but to negotiate with us. As long as they release the saint, we can let them out of the city to survive.
It will be up to the saint to decide whether to pursue and suppress them later." Fu Xu said: "The number of rebels making trouble in the palace this time will not be too small. They have no way to escape, and they will eventually compromise."
Tang Changgeng lowered his head, thoughtfully.
"General Tang, do you have any doubts?" Wen Xitai asked directly: "When the saint is in trouble, we, whether we are the saint's ministers or the people of the Tang Dynasty, must step forward."
Tang Changgeng shook his head and said: "Master Prime Minister, Commander Wen, the humble general has awakened his doubts." He cupped his hands to Xiahou Yuanzhen and said: "The prime minister asked the humble general to lead the troops to attack the imperial city, and the humble general should obey his orders. It's just...
..!" After a moment of hesitation, he continued: "Prime Minister, Tantai Xuanye is responsible for the security of the palace. Could it be that he doesn't know that the saint is being held hostage by a traitor? As we all know, Tantai Xuanye is extremely brave and has served as the prime minister since six years ago.
Since taking over the Forbidden Palace, the Imperial City has been well guarded and has not had any problems. Why did the traitor succeed this time?"
Xiahou Yuanzhen and Wen Xitai looked at each other, pondered for a moment, and then said: "Chang Geng, in your opinion, why is this happening? That night, the eunuch committed an murder, but the Dragon Scale Imperial Guard turned a blind eye. Why do you think this is happening?"
"I understand, general." Tang Changgeng did not show any surprise and said seriously: "So if there is really a rebellion in the palace, Tantai Xuanye may have been involved in it. Is this possible? The Prime Minister knows that he wants to break in.
In the palace, the first line of defense is the Imperial City. Only by breaking through the Imperial City first can we continue to attack the Imperial Palace. The Imperial City is the first barrier to entering the Imperial Palace. There are three thousand elite dragon-scale guards stationed in the Imperial City. They must be broken through.
In the imperial city, we will fight with the Dragon Scale Imperial Guard."
Xiahou Yuanzhen nodded and said: "Not bad."
"This forbidden army is in the hands of Tantai Xuanye." Tang Changgeng looked solemn and said slowly: "If Tantai Xuanye is still loyal to the Tang Dynasty and joins forces with us to attack the palace, then the traitors in the palace will naturally not be worth killing.
"Ti." He clenched his fist and said: "But if Tantai Xuanye participates in the rebellion, with his control over the Dragon Scale Forbidden Army, the Dragon Scale Forbidden Army will definitely defend the imperial city, and the Wu-Gui Army will have no choice but to meet the Dragon Scale Forbidden Army's weapons."
Wen Xitai said: "General Tang, it is precisely because the prime minister suspected that the Dragon Scale Forbidden Army had rebelled, so he asked the general to mobilize the armed guards."
"Commander Wen, this is the problem." Tang Changgeng said with a wry smile: "Compared to the local state army, the Wu-Gui Army's equipment is naturally very sophisticated, and its combat effectiveness is also superior to that of the local troops. But facing the dragon
Forbidden Army, excuse me for speaking frankly. The two armies faced off, five thousand against three thousand. Although the Wu-Guang Army had the upper hand, it did not have an absolute advantage. Moreover, Tantai Xuanye was one of the most brave generals in the Tang Dynasty. He led three soldiers back then.
Hundreds of cavalry broke into the grassland, and at the cost of losing twenty cavalry, more than a thousand enemy heads were taken. This man's bravery and skill in battle can be seen."
Wen Xitai frowned and said, "Is General Tang afraid of him?"
"Afraid!" Tang Changgeng did not hide it, and said seriously: "But if the Prime Minister orders the humble general to fight with him, the humble general will not hesitate to die. But attacking the imperial city is unusual. Once it fails, it will be unimaginable for the Prime Minister.
, so we can only win but not fail. The humble general has the intention to die, but only this intention does not mean that we can win the battle. Facing Tantai Xuanye, we must be at least 50% sure before we can give it a try, but at present
Judging from the situation, the chance of winning is less than 30%."
Xiahou Yuanzhen sighed: "Xitai, this is why I admire Chang Geng. He does not act impulsively and acts cautiously. Chang Geng is right. Just because you are determined to kill the thief, does not mean you can win the battle. To be foolproof, you must plan carefully."
"Besides that, what are the thoughts of all the officials in the court?" Tang Changgeng said: "I know that after the Forbidden Gate incident, the courtiers naturally hated the eunuchs in the palace. But if they hate the eunuchs, does it mean that they represent them?
Will they definitely support the prime minister in dispatching troops to attack the imperial city? Leading troops to attack the imperial city is something that has never happened before since the founding of the Tang Dynasty. When the time comes, the world will definitely be shocked. If the officials in the court and the people of Kyoto do not support the prime minister,
By then we will be a lone army, which will definitely put us in danger." He stood up slowly, cupped his hands and said: "Xiang Ye, I humble general, a life is as insignificant as an autumn leaf, but Xiang Ye's body of a thousand gold, if this time
If you are not sure of victory, you must not act rashly, lest it bring great disaster to the Prime Minister."