The lieutenant general, Qiao Ruixin, looked ugly. He pointed the tip of his sword at Zhuang Zhaoyang and said sternly: "Zhuang Zhaoyang, you are guilty of the following crime and deserve death. Why don't you put down your weapon and apologize to the general?"
"Qiao Ruixin, didn't you understand what I said?" Zhuang Zhaoyang sneered and said: "The saint is suffering. As officers and soldiers of the Tang Dynasty, do we have to sit idly by and do nothing?" Zuo Xuanji said to Zuo Xuanji, who was under the knife: "General, as long as you give the order
Please deploy your troops diligently, and the general will immediately put down his weapons and leave them at your disposal."
Zuo Xuanji shook his head and said: "I cannot give the order!" He was still kneeling on one knee at this time, raised his head slightly, glanced at the generals, and said slowly: "If the saint is really in danger, as a minister, I should protect him. But this general
He is the general of the Shence Army. As a soldier, he must act in accordance with military laws. Without the Tiger Talisman, I would never order troops to be mobilized into the city...!" After a pause, he said: "What do you think?
?”
All the generals present looked at each other in confusion. Such a change had never happened since the founding of the Tang Dynasty. No one knew what to choose next.
Wen Xitai once again raised the golden sword token high and said in a deep voice: "Generals, this is the golden sword token given by the saint. If not for the saint's trust, who can be given the golden sword token? The transfer order from the Ministry of War is here, but also
I have the order from the Prime Minister." He paused, took two steps forward, and said seriously: "You all know that the saint was born in the Xiahou family.
We share weal and woe with the saint. If the saint had not been trapped, how would the Prime Minister of the country have gone to war?"
As soon as Wen Xitai said these words, the expressions of many generals changed.
The generals present did not pay much attention to Wen Xitai's previous words. Although the Golden Sword Token was a thing of the Emperor, it was a dead thing after all. As for the orders of the Ministry of War, most of the time it was just a formality. Since the establishment of the Shence Army,
The Shence Army has never been mobilized by a piece of paper from the Ministry of War.
But the last few words of Wen Xitai shocked the hearts of everyone present.
The Xiahou family and the saint share weal and woe!
This sentence made all the generals suddenly wake up.
Yes, today's saint can successfully ascend the throne not only because of the late emperor's imperial edict, but also because of the full support of the Xiahou family. After the saint ascended the throne, the children of the Xiahou family rose to prominence, and Xiahou Yuanzhen became the chief minister of the empire.
Power reigns supreme.
Wen Xitai had previously produced the Prime Minister's order, so the generals naturally knew that the troop deployment was the Prime Minister's intention.
The Prime Minister suddenly wants to use the Golden Sword Token to mobilize the Shence Army, which will naturally make the generals suspicious. Some people even have doubts. Could it be that the Prime Minister wants to use the soldiers and horses of the Shence Army to rebel?
If this is really the case, of course the Shence Army cannot follow the Prime Minister.
Wen Xitai said a few words now, and the generals woke up. The saint is a member of the Xiahou family. If the prime minister of the country rebels, wouldn't he want to rebel against his own family? This is of course absolutely impossible. From this point of view, the capital is indeed
Something unexpected happened, and the Prime Minister wanted to mobilize troops to quell the chaos.
Although there is no will from the saint, the Shence Army violated military law when they stepped into Kyoto, but all the generals also know that as long as they have the golden sword token and the order of the Prime Minister, if they really want to investigate the responsibility, they will not be able to trace the generals of the Shence Army.
, and once the counter-rebellion is successful, as the main force in the counter-rebellion, the generals of the Shence Army will certainly be rewarded.
General Zuo Xuanji resolutely opposed sending troops. The reason is very simple. He is the commander-in-chief of an army and the decision-maker. He is good at mobilizing troops and horses without the Tiger Talisman. Even if the rebellion is successful and his generals are rewarded, he, the commander-in-chief, has to
Take responsibility for violating military regulations.
Even if his original intention is to protect the emperor, a general who deploys troops without the emperor's permission will be feared by the emperor anyway. Even if he can save his life in the end, his position as the general of the Shence Army will definitely not be saved.
Wen Xitai saw the expressions of the generals and understood their thoughts. He also knew that it was an emergency and he could not tolerate hesitation. The most important thing at the moment was to mobilize troops to Beijing. As for the punishment he would suffer afterwards, it was no longer the priority.
Thinking about the matter, he winked at Zhuang Zhaoyang. Zhuang Zhaoyang understood it and said in a deep voice: "The general refused to escort him. We and other generals had no choice but to aggrieve the general. Come and tie the general first!"
"
Immediately, someone came over with a rope and tied Zuo Xuanji up.
Most of the generals looked on with cold eyes. Although a few felt that something was wrong, they did not dare to act rashly when they saw that Zuo Xuanji was calm and calm without any resistance.
"General Zhao!" Zhuang Zhaoyang looked at a general and ordered: "You will lead the people to protect the general. Before the rebellion subsides, you must protect the general's safety and do not allow anyone to come into contact with the general!"
The man didn't waste any words and accepted the order. However, Wen Xitai was well prepared and signaled to the attendants behind him. Seven or eight attendants immediately stepped forward and obeyed General Zhao's instructions. The group of people took Zuo Xuanji directly.
Go down.
Everyone present saw it in their eyes, and most people knew in their hearts that Zhuang Zhaoyang's offense was not a sudden one, but must have been premeditated.
At this moment, everyone also knows that Zhuang Zhaoyang, who has always been taciturn, has been recruited by the Prime Minister long ago and has become a nail buried in the Shence Army. If it hadn't been for the changes in Kyoto this time, this nail would definitely still be in Shen's Army.
Cejun kept going.
Zhuang Zhaoyang has been in the Shence Army for many years, and his prestige is not low. He already has a group of confidants under his command. Today, this group of people suddenly launched an attack. With Wen Xitai's cooperation, the situation was stabilized instantly.
However, everyone also understands that if the backer behind Zhuang Zhaoyang is the Prime Minister, it is still unknown what the outcome will be today.
"General He and General Fang, do you want to receive transfer orders from the Ministry of War?" Zhuang Zhaoyang looked at the two generals beside him. Both of them were deputy generals of the Shence Army, and their status was equal to that of Zhuang Zhaoyang.
The two lieutenants looked at each other and finally said in unison: "When a saint is in danger, he must be loyal to him."
"Okay." Zhuang Zhaoyang heard the two lieutenants agree and made up his mind. He knew that as long as the two lieutenants did not object, the overall situation was decided. He handed over to one of the lieutenants who was over fifty years old and said: "General He, the general cannot do anything.
How about leading the troops into Beijing to put down the rebellion? How about you command the entire army?"
General He shook his head and said: "Although I am older than you, in terms of military merit and bravery, I am still not as good as you. General Zhuang, General Fang, no matter who leads the army, He will strictly follow military orders."
"General Zhuang has great martial arts skills. This time it is you who steps forward to lead the entire army. Naturally, it is General Zhuang who belongs to you." General Fang said without hesitation: "General Zhuang, everyone will listen to you this time to suppress the rebellion.
You just have to do whatever it takes to get the order."
In fact, all the generals present knew clearly that if it were in the past, leading troops to leave Beijing to quell a rebellion in order to compete for military glory, these three lieutenants would definitely not be so humble.
But this time he went to Beijing to quell the rebellion, which was unusual. Zuo Xuanji would rather be imprisoned than lead troops. This task of leading troops to Beijing was not a big deal.
"Since you two said this, I would rather be respectful than obey your orders." Zhuang Zhaoyang put his sword into its sheath and said in a deep voice: "Generals, listen to your orders!"
All the generals present had sheathed their swords and faced Zhuang Zhaoyang, clasping their fists and bowing.
The night wind was like a knife, blowing into the tall imperial city turrets and hitting the faces of the imperial guards in the turrets. However, the imperial soldiers were still like statues, looking at the long street outside the city gate from a distance, walking through the empty city.
In front of the square is the broad Zhuque Street.
The planning of Kyoto City is square and square, and every street is as straight as a line.
Outside the Danfeng Gate of the Imperial City, a wide street leads directly to the Mingde Gate in the south of the capital. On both sides of the street, there are various squares in Kyoto.
When I first entered Chou, everything in Kyoto was quiet except for the faint whining sound of the cold wind.
The broad Zhuque Street is often deserted after curfew.
It was a quiet night and extremely deserted. The city of Kyoto at this hour was like a dead city.
At this moment, an ominous sound suddenly came from the night wind. Although the sound was not exciting or even noisy, in the deathly silent city of Kyoto, there was no trace of sound coming from a place where no one should be moving.
Any abnormal movement would touch the most sensitive senses of the defenders.
The Dragon Scale Guards are the most elite soldiers of the Tang Empire.
Although the Tang Dynasty had three elite soldiers and horses that shocked the world: Southern Xuanjia, Kyoto Shence and Northern Changsheng, the soldiers and horses in the world actually knew that the strength of the Dragon Scale Forbidden Army could only be higher than these three elites.
Not only do they have the most exquisite equipment and the most powerful skills, they also have the toughest willpower.
The expressions of the dragon-scale guards guarding the city head of Danfeng Gate became solemn, their hands holding the swords became tighter, and their hands holding the spears became more steady.
In the darkness of the night, the flags were fluttering. Looking down from the Imperial City, fires were already lighting up on Zhuque Street, and they were rushing towards the Imperial City at an extremely fast speed.
"Come here, hurry up and report to the commander!" Feng Wu, the captain of the Danfeng Gate, looked unusually calm and did not panic at all because of the fire on Zhuque Street. He ordered: "Tell the commander that they are coming!"
Outside the Danfeng Gate, horses' hooves trampled on the bluestone road, making a crisp sound. A row of more than 20 cavalry lined up at the front, two of them held high flags, and the others all held torches. In the night wind,
The flames twisted, and the flags fluttered in the air.
The "Tang" flag flutters in the night wind. The "Tang" with black characters on a yellow background and flying dragons and phoenixes seem to give people an indestructible power. Even in the peaceful Kyoto of the Tang Dynasty, there is still a sense of indestructible power at this moment.
Strong murderous intention.
There was a time when such a flag frightened the enemies of the Tang Dynasty. The "Tang" flag was invincible and invincible wherever it passed.
But there has never been an army holding high the flag with the word "Tang" and advancing towards the imperial city of the Tang Dynasty.
Tang Changgeng, the general of Wu-Wei of the Kyoto Nine Gate Guards Department, is under this flag at this moment, leading his soldiers and horses to advance rapidly towards the imperial city with an indomitable momentum. The word "Tang" on this flag means that even the Tang Empire